Our heroes are seeking their adventuring companion, Kor, aka “General” Kor. The former down-on-his-luck adventurer has found new purpose, a new religion, and even new competence thanks to a pair of magical items: a rusty gauntlet and a vicious battle axe. Both of these items are holy relics of Hextor … and Kor has used their power to attract dozens, if not hundreds of followers to them. Together they have taken the old headquarters of the Steel Skull Mercenary Company. This company, led by the now-fallen antipaladin Lord Randall, once offered its services to the various barons of the Pomarj, but secretly coveted their own kingdom.
To that end they forged the Ironbound Warriors, fierce automatons or golems (the stories are unclear on their exact nature) but never had the opportunity to use them. Lord Randall was lynched by the families of his many victims at his ancestral home of Bloodstone Tower, and the mercenary company feel on hard times soon after. Kor, however, has found the company’s secret vault and — if rumors are to be believed — taken control of the Ironbound Warriors within. Now he works to found the “Wyvern Empire”, a force that will drive back the humanoid invaders and establish law and order on the Pomarj once more.
While searching for the Steel Skull fortress, the heroes encountered a band of “Death’s Head” gnolls. These creatures were hunting them with the intention of capturing the adventurers and bringing them back to their hag masters. They might have succeeded had it not been for the timely intervention of a patrol of “Wyverns” — followers of Kor sent out into the Pomarj on a wide patrol. The Hextorites helped defeat the gnolls, a handful of whom escaped with their pack leader.
The enemy defeated, our heroes joined forces with the Wyverns, asking them questions about “General” Kor as they made their way toward the Steel Skull fortress. On their way, however, they were attacked by ol’Triple Threat, a huge and ancient wyvern. They were barely able to fend the creature off, but the fight cost them all but two of their Hextorite escorts. The survivors and the adventurers continued their trek north only to realize that the wyvern was following them. Realizing they needed to make a stand, they sought out an old open pit iron mine that the Hextorites were familiar with. They laid a trap in one of its large warehouse buildings. They rigged a firestorm to be triggered at their command, and then lure the great flying reptile into it using the party’s gnome as bait. The trap worked and the wyvern died in an inferno of oil and wood. Unfortunately the rest of the Hextorites died in the fight.
Talthanas, the party’s rogue-bard, was fascinated by the wyvern, and explained — even while they were being pursued by the creature — that he knew where the monster’s lair was. “Reading all those field reports finally paid off!”
Read the saga at the Griffin’s Crier Wiki.
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