The dawning of S.T. 1709 saw the start of what had long been expected, namely the Lunar invasion into Sartar proper. This had been severely delayed by the sacking of the Temple of the Reaching Moon at Furthest some years before by a party of adventurers.
By the end of Sea Season a jubilant CiC was able to report the capture of Too Far, Alone, and Dangerford, having decisively beaten off the Northern Tribes at the battle of Herongreen on Clayday, Deathweek. He decides not to mention in his report the shattering defeat of his troops by the magicians clustered around Wintertop and the Earth Shaker Temple.
During this season, a Praxian Impala rider, Granos was blessed by meeting a number of historic personages, including one Rurik Runespear and someone calling themselves Jaldon. He was not the only one so 'lucky'.
Part of the reason that the Lunar campaign was proceeding with such alarming alacrity was the very dry weather experienced during the Season (the other reason being the very lax attitude to invasion of the Northern border towns, more on this later).
So a party of adventurers led by the Sword Priestess Rowena Humaktsdaughter one night recieved a vision in their dreams of Orlanths' magical quest for Heler. This very same dream was also seen by that wandering trader Harry Bushtill, as he was travelling down through Tarsh.
Deciding to follow the path of the dream Rowena and her entourage: Bink (her husband, a Wind Lord, and dark troll); Argrath (initiate of Humakt, a great troll); Kragor One-Arm (another initiate of Humakt); Tozer (yet another Humakti initiate); and Vlad (a shaman from Corflu in far off Prax); decide to head from their current locale at the Humakt temple in Battle Valley, where Mistress Sazdorf had been entertaining them as her guests, into Sartar since that is where they feel they might be able to obtain the Klanth spoken of as one of the necessary tools of the quest.
Whilst wondering down the path from Jarolar Keep the group is suddenly met by a group of Dragonnewts, and a traditional 3 task contest is entered into. The dragonnewts, having the first choice of contest, choose leaping and promptly lose (after all, they were not to know that Bink's magical armour had jumping abilities to rival a Teleport spell). It has to be said that the party do not do much better in their choice of competition (singing), finally winning the day on the mutual choice contest (single combat between champions) thus gaining the dragonnewt champion's klanth.
The party then proceeds down to Jonstown, where they meet Harry Bushtill who decides to go along with them, being one of the few people alive who have had *any* sort of questing experience. They take the King's Road South, then turn West towards Duckpoint with the intention of skirting around the Southern reaches of The Swamp before climbing up Kero Fin to start the quest proper.
The party decide to pay no heed to the tall black person leading a line of shambling humans they spot whilst crossing The Swamp, after all he'd only be a slaver, (nobody's heard from Delecti in centuries.)
However, they find it much more difficult to ignore their next encounter, which is with a greying bluff old General leading a team of extra heavy cavalry riding horses with glowing red eyes. Intelligence about the Lunar positions is swapped, and the party sent on its way with his good wishes.
Finally the party reaches the foothills of Mount Kero Fin and start climbing up the path. They shortly notice a small old woman sitting by the path crying. With the immortal cry of "What ails thee, old woman?" from Kragor, the party are gifted with 2 tears of Kero Fin who sits alone and cries for her child so brutally ravished by the force of Yelm.
After a false start where Bink hammers on the doors of the Orlanthi Temple with a spear, thus imitating the sun trying to break through a storm they are let through into the inner sanctuary where their quest proper starts.
Fortunately for the party only one of them are destroyed whilst on the hero plane, and since he failed to follow his runic association to death, Tozer's spirit was bound into a seed later to be planted at the new Temple of the Tree of Gold on the borders of the Sun Dome Lands. So finally rain fell... and it was good.
Fire Season 1709
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