Gather 'round good listeners to hear a tale of adventure and heroes, of magic and mayhem, and good and evil.
Sir Ian Graybeard of Kordanathal had recently retired from his life as a scholar and teacher at the famous Tellestrand University to pursue a life of adventure. He and his protege, an elf named Ga'Oin Shaftshooter had plans to roam the continent in search of treasure and powerful magic. At a tavern in the heart of Kordanathal, a dwarf tried to lift their purses. That dwarf was named Melf (no relation) Amazing who was traveling with his bondsman--another dwarf and cleric of Tormok, dwarven god of war--Dimbledorf Shieldhammer.
Dimbledorf apologized for his charge, and the group settled down for an ale. While nursing their beverages and exchanging tales, the group was approached by a student from Tellestrand University. The student informed Sir Ian that a former colleague, one Scholar Jenkiss, had a business proposition for him. The four recent friends agreed to go together to hear the Scholar's offer in the morning and parted ways for the night.
In the office of Scholar Jenkiss, the group found that the Scholar wanted to hire them for guard duty for a trip to a dormant dungeon portal outside of the mining town of Silverburg. They agreed and the next day were on the road to the mining town in the foothills of the Silver Mountains.
Jenkiss' young niece was accompanying her uncle to the portal to act as his assistant. She and Jenkiss traveled in a coach while his guard rode protection on the front and back of the transport.
Seven days into the journey, the group was ambushed by a group of gnolls. The hyena-headed humanoids killed the horses and pinned the party down by the coach with archers on a nearby rise.
Ga'Oin returned fire while the dwarves jumped into the fray. Graybeard took cover immediately in a copse of trees and began to hurl spells at their attackers. His spells took on many creative forms from burning them with fire blasts to choking the creatures on a magical, milky white substance. One of the gnoll archers escaped but the rest paid for their violence with their lives.
Sir Ian conjured pink unicorns to continue to pull the coach, and the Company of Graybeard continued on its way.
Two days out of Silverburg, two massive ogres stepped out into the road and pointed out Dimbledorf. They call him 'Kernsey' and wanted their money that they claimed he stole from them. Obviously, this was a case of mistaken identity and combat ensued.
The heroes managed to take the brutes down while avoiding the clumsy swings of their massive clubs. One near miss at Ga'Oin actually damaged the top of the coach, but other than that, the party escaped any real harm.
Once in Silverburg, the Company relaxed in the Silver Inn run by a jolly old elf named Rotundalas. After an uneventful night and at dawn, the heroes follow Jenkiss and Trella to the dormant portal. As Jenkiss is studying the glyphs and writing on the portal's arch, it suddenly activates. A large, hairy arm grabs Trella and pulls her into the dungeon while four bugbears emerge to cover this abduction. The Company of Graybeard leapt into action.
Jenkiss was smashed to the ground by a bugbear's shield. Melf sneaked in to deal some damage. Graybeard let fly more destructive (and disgusting) spells, Shaftshooter shot some shafts. Dimbledorf crushed some bugbear skull. In the end, some wounded, all tired, they see to Jenkiss.
Graybeard immediately decides to go into the dungeon for some reconnaissance while Dimbledorf calls upon the power of his god to heal the wounds of his companions. Down in the dungeon, Graybeard discovers a chamber at the bottom of a stone stairway guarded by goblins. He waits for the rest of the group, and they charge into the goblin guard room.
After easily dispatching the small humanoids, the group decides on going through the eastern most of two doors. An old dusty chamber awaits behind a locked door (opened by Graybeard's magic after Melf failed to pick the ancient lock). Dimbledorf (or was it Melf) made his way into the room and was accosted by a large spider falling from the ceiling onto his head. The arachnid did its best to subdue its food. Its intended meal and its friends, however, ended the poor spider's life. Seeing all of the dust on the floor and knowing that Trella didn't come this way, the Company decided to turn back and go through the west most door in the goblin guard chamber. Soon they found a room filled with hobgoblin mercenaries.
These militant and organized humanoids formed up ranks and aimed to keep the heroes from advancing any further through the labyrinth. These well-organized foes gave the Company a bit of trouble, but once again the excellent team work and combination of axe, hammer, shaft, and spell defeated the determined guardians. The Company of Graybeard continued after a short respite and blessings from Tormok.
The next room they stumbled into was a nightmarish chamber of death. In the chamber lit by a hellish red glow that seemed to be everywhere, three bugbear toughs stood in front of a bloody stone altar while behind the altar was a demonspawn woman, by her own admission an acolyte of Orcus. Trella sobbed behind a portcullis off to the demonspawn priestess's left. Apparently, the girl was to be a sacrifice to the evil demon god.
After a polite offer for the Company to leave was declined, the priestess sent her bugbear followers to slay the interlopers. She summoned fire to toast the heroes. The battle for Trella was on.
The bugbears were fierce and took a great toll on the heroes. The evil priestess was even more formidable. Most of Graybeard's spells rolled off of her, protected as she was by her demonic blood. A few of his spells managed to make it through her defenses. He learned that she was particularly vulnerable to water-based spells. The final one, a spell Graybeard named Golden Showers, penetrated her resistance and seared her flesh. She was defeated, but her bugbear zealots continued their onslaught. By this time Dimbledorf was down, felled by the brutes. Melf was working on freeing Trella. As the last two bugbears converged on Graybeard and Ga'Oin, Ga'Oin and the wizard came up with a desperate plan. Ga'Oin unleashed his shaft at the advancing bugbears and then did a sliding retreat toward his friend. Using the tip of an arrow to lift the robe of Graybeard, allowed the wizard to unleash an unmentionable spell he had developed that splashed the advancing foes and damaged them beyond repair. The bugbears fell. The battle was won.
The Company of Graybeard carried their wounded and escorted the sobbing Trella back out of the dungeon. Jenkiss was relieved and happy to find that his niece had not been seriously harmed. He also had a few healing potions back at the Silver Inn. They made their way back and revived poor Dimbledorf who was thankful and healed their wounds with the power of Tormok.
The Company relished being alive after such a harrowing delve into an unexpected adventure. They formed the bond that battle brothers do after fighting side by side and made a vow to travel together through the troubled lands of Kedrathas, rooting out evil and its minions wherever it may be found. They would make the world a better place and make their way into the annals of history. The name of the Company of Graybeard would go down in history, or they would die trying.
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