Serpentus Rift Delved, Death of the High Druid, and the Conquest of Zaarnath

Alukahn the Dragonborn Mercenary tries his luck in the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, but a great wild minotaur lurking there brings him to a quick end as he probes the caves in search of treasure. As Worg Oswe the Half Ogre has been named Lord of Solandir, the Citadel declares Baerth Talg the Bugbear it's new champion and sends him to the ruins of Serpentus Rift, the oldest city of the ancient Dragon Empire.

Baerth fights his way through hordes of undead dragonborn guarding an ancient temple and unearths an old Figurine of Wonderous power. He brings it back to the throneholds and summons a great Tyrannosaur with it's power at court to the surprise and wonder of all seated before him. He is showered with wealth and riches and a great feast is held in his honor, along with several games where slaves from Rethmil are cast into a pit to be consumed by the great beast.

The Citadel also lays plans against the High Druid beyond Druid's Reach on his isle. Lord Worg Oswe, the half ogre, leaves his court in Solandir to assault the island by sea. He brings two forces of footsoliders and a storm elemental. The High Druid and his forest folk manage to pin down and shatter one of the half ogres legions of pikeman, but Worg Oswe finds the High Druid and slays him in his sacred circle before burning the sacred grove to the ground, blackening the ancient stones.

On the central Island, Kein the Bloodmagus, the Teifling power broker in Numoth, leads his neighbors from Rellis Vullin to conquer Zaarnath. The league city, already weakened by aid pledged to the north, could not hold out against the attack from the two southern city states, and their garrison of knights sworn to the Order of Light fell to Kein's dark sorcery.

Many Zaarnath men flee in fishing and trading craft from the Northern shore to the other League cities to the North and further West, decrying the Iron Citadel's treachery.

Dissent in Vailin

Admiral Swordhand gives commands to his fleet to raise more ships and begin defending the coastline of Zembar's central island. Against the orders of the crown prince himself, Vailin's home fleet strikes off on the Admiral's orders to patrol, where they encounter a storm elemental positioned by the Iron Circle in the Saris Straight. The fleet is sunk, but not before its own storm elementals overwhelm and consume the magical essence of the Iron Circle's guardian.

Back in Valindor, the King's advisor Magus Graycloak, sends the bowman guarding the city gates south to guard the Deep Havens, against the protest of the kings cousin Alrick Silvanus, the captain of the Knights of the Vale. Graycloak argues that he is merely defending the free and loyal peoples in the Deep Havens who are providing Vailindor's crops. He sets his own woodshaping mages to work building war engines to guard the city gates.

Crush the Rebellion! The Death of Roq Firebeard

From the Throneholds, the dark lords of Karkoth quickly summon their armies to suppress the rebellion. Ebrek the Drow warrior takes his elite unit of soldiers riding giant spiders from the jungles of Zannad north to Slaughtergarde. There they ambush Yvonne the Punnisher, capturing their web and putting down her slave revolt. Yvonne and a handful of strong survivors are taken to the Vault of the Drow and put to work in the deepest mines of the dark elves.

The freedom enjoyed by Blisterforge's peasants is quickly soured by the arrival of the Karkothi hero Darkranger, a twisted being who once may have been human, but over time became corrupted exploring the shadowy parts of the feywild. He brings a legion of skeleton warriors, and elemental and a dracolich with him, firmly establishing the Karkothi lords authority through fear and destruction to those who openly oppose them.

The Gorgon King sends his personal orc guards south to the Maze of Markull, along with some bolt throwers, a pair of medusa riding iron gorgons. The huge black dragon from the crimson ramparts flies up the coast to join their assault.

The League of Nerath's combine armies had taken refuge in the great tower at the center of the maze. As the orcs and bolt throwers set up positions on the cliffs alongside the tower, the Lunarmancer lead the dire bears out across a wide stone bridge crossing a chasm to confront them. The Lunarmancer cast a great blinding light from the sky as they crossed and the bears tore into the seige engines and troops.

The iron gorgons mounted by medusa's charged into battle, turning the bears to stone. The Lunarmancer dove off the bridge, featherfalling to safety. The two copper dragons atop the tower swooped down to strafe the gorgons on the bridge, their hide turning stoney as they resisted the creatures dark powers and continued to rain cold and fire on the bridge. Finally they cracked the great bridge with the force of their breath weapons, crumbling the stone bridge with the gorgons atop it, who fell to their doom.

During the battle, the huge black dragon silently sailed to the opposite side of the tower, intent on killing those remaining defenders inside. Roq and Toj Firebeard the northmen, hid themselves just inside a balcony as the beast prowled along the far side of the tower, looking to ambush the copper and silver dragons when they were vulnerable. Roq distracted the great beast with a mightly blow that severed one of its wings, and died in a great blast of acid that melted his flesh from bone. Toj cried out and leaped to the other side, severing its other wing before forcing the great beast off the balcony with a furious smack that the thing falling to its doom.

In the aftermath, the Lunarmancer used his rituals to reverse the petrified Dire Bears and their handlers. Toj burned Roq's remains in a great pyre atop the tower of Markull, as the mighty dragons and bears roared in tribute to the fallen hero.

The Iron Wolf Hold Strikes! Rebellion in Karkoth!

From the Iron Wolf Hold, the king plans a powerful offensive against the Karkothi lords to the east. He sends his best mage, called The Lunarmancer along with two northmen heroes, Roq and Toj Firebeard to rally forces in the White Raven chieftain. They join up with the copper and silver dragon and unit of shifters driving a pack of dire bears to mount an offensive against the Maze of Murkull, land of the minotaur chiefs.

The Maze of Murkull is a treacherous series of valleys, canyons, and tunnels. Some are natural while others are carved from the rocky cliffs by picks and magic. The Maze's master, a wicked mage called the Nightmaster lets the army press deep into his territory before his army of minotaurs, ogres, and shadar-kai attacks. The White Raven clansmen charge valiantly forward alongside their dragon allies, taking the brunt of the ambush. As the dragons and men pin the armies of Murkull down, the Lunarmancer weaves a powerful mist spell that blinds and chokes their army. The dire bears then wade into battle, decimating their lines. Roq and Toj the northmen fight through the ranks of brutish guardians to slay the Nightmaster as he is chanting to reverse the Lunamaster's incantation. Once their leader falls, the remaining Ogres and Minotaurs flee into the labyrinth.

Further north, Ella the Enchantress, a powerful adventurer journeys to Skalgard to join Prince Stalkingwolf. They lead their army east to exact their revenge on the Cloven Skull Orc Hold. The orcs rush out to greet them on the field of battle before they reach the hold's gates. Leading the charge into battle is the dread wraith Kraxus. Prince Stalkingwolf and Kraxus square off, but the wraith envelopes him and drains his life essence. In his weakened state he still manages to defeat Kraxus, but the elite unit of frost giants charging over the plains surround and crush the prince and his retinue. Ella the Enchantress squares off against the orc hold's foul necromancer. Fighting and dodging her way through a skeletal legions arrows, she slays the deathpriest with a silver dagger through the heart. Ella rallies her army and routes the few orcs and giants remaining.

In the far northern icebound wastes. News of the giant's defeat encourages a slave revolt. It first starts with a champion, a half elf named Yvonne the Punisher, who kills the frost giant guards and sends the newly freed people west to join up with the League's units on the Plain of Ebon Spires. As the miners labor to build a fortification and defenses in the plain, Yvonne takes a small force on a raid further south, across Blisterforge and into Slaughterguard. Along her path she frees slaves and takes her growing army of rabble toward the Thoneholds, to unseat their former masters.

Back in the Iron Wolf Hold, the King buries the Prince at sea, setting his burning funeral vessel north into the icy waters. Songs of his great battle with the dread wraith tell of his valiant end, though his closest friends hold their tongues. For they all dream that he has not ended, but has risen again as a wraith himself, haunting the bloody field of battle, draining the souls of the lost in the night.