Faalor V, The Prelude (May 13, 2006)

This session had quite a bit of waiting around for the players but I think it was worth it. Once characters were made, we briefly introduced the party to Havenshire, the main base of operations for the campaign.

10 years ago, a good number of number of the player characters were involved in a church service. The venerable and much-loved Rector Wilmer Ralm was in the middle of giving a sermon on the nature of evil. "Evil had not come into the world all at once," he said. In the begining, there was peace.

In those days, Aergot was alone with his two children. Both Maelwar and Adrahil were at peace, when Maelwar said: "The planets are beautiful and the sun is bright. Yet there is nothing for me to do." Aergot asked: "What then shall I do?" Adrahil replied: "Make things that live." And Aergot did, first the trees, then the flowers, then the insects, fish and animals.

For a long while, the Gods enjoyed life, watched it grow and change. After a while, Adrahil said: "Make us creatures that we can commune with." And Aergot did. It was neither a man, dwarf, elf or orc, but a creature that walked upright and possessed a spirit, a featureless Lemurian. This made Adrahil and Maelwar happy.

Unfortunately, Maelwar became bored and began to meddle with the life. Humans decended from the Lemurian as were the elves, gnomes, dwarves and orcs and trolls. The trolls and orcs were the product of Maelwar's bordom . . .

As he spoke, mist began to shroud the town, and infiltrate into the church. A great shape appeared from the back of the church. With a blood-curdling howl, a werewolf materialized and attacked the Rector, tearing out his throat. People were aghast and scattered. The creature lept out of the church and into the woods. People of Havenshire say it still lurks in those woods.

Then I spent some time talking individually with players about what their characters did in the intervening years after the Night of Fog and Fear. After each character was seequippedd equiped, I leveled them and moved into the main part of the campaign.

Each character was free to wander around Havenshire until they congregated in the Inn. It was announced that tonight a famous bard, one Gildmara of Duath was to be in town. Some of the party met Sheriff Westerbrook, a gruff man with little patience for loiterers and never-do-wells (Jack and Rilen were his main targets).

As night fell, the bartender, Bill, announced that the bard was ready to give her performance. After a brief introduction, Gildmara began to tell the tale of the heroes of Aaerdowns, who, with the help of Ghuilrym, the Gold Dragon of the Woods, repelled the orcish forces under the control of the Illrigger Lord some 11 years earlier. "The point of this tale," she intoned, "was that not eveything is as it seems, and, more importantly, help in times of trouble can be found in the most remarkable places." She sang some wonderful songs and told many tales, but the evening was marred by an unhealthy presence. Some of the PC's may have noticed a mysterious woman who sat attentively in the back of the room, others had no recollection of such a woman.

When the tales were told and the song sung, Gildmara bid everyone good night and left. No one was sure where she went. The mysterious woman on the other hand, walked out and simply vanished. As the night deepened, Valdo Bross and his family were walking home, when the woman snatched up the youngest child, Kasha, and disappeared into the darkness . . .

Characters attending today's game:

• Rilen Gadeli (Jas)
• Duskfang (Patricia)
• Mary Reed (Floria)
• Arrand (Lazarus)
• Cyril Tormund (Veth)
• Jack Reed (Arwin)
• Valdo Bross (Mayvik)
• Gnoth (The Beggar)
• Gregory Oak (Carn)