Timeline

Drod recommends that Geira, Melody, and Ignis speak with Doleb Godorn, a laywer in the city, regarding some work he may have for them.

They go to Godorn & Associates, the business that Doleb owns, and speak with him regarding his nephew Kreefdin who fell into the wrong crowd and went missing. He was last seen by a client of Doleb's, Talern JanCastle, in the Port district with the gang known as the Warbellies.

They go to the Port to investigate, although the gate to the Port is closed off ever sense the Krimkar were seen in the south lands. While Melody distracts the guards at the gate Ignis sneaks through. Eventually Melody and Geira pay some money to be let through as well.

They eventually find some members of the Warbellies in the Black Swan Tavern which is built on the docks. After provoking a fight, Geira forces one of the gang members to flee in embarassment while Ignis stops the other three at the door so that they can speak further. While speaking at the inn they find Tempest, the identical twin of Vorn, and inform him of his brothers death.

After the Krimkar overtake the North Pass, their fully gathered army descends into the south lands of JanCastle, the original home of the Krimkar. The north road is clouded in the kicked up dust created by the Krimkar. Refugees poor into the city of JanCastle or flee further south. The army can be seen from the heights of the walls of the city of JanCastle as smoke rises from the now destroyed city of North Pass.

Ignis, Vorn, Melody Hillsong, and Geira watch from the balcony of their room at The Pit as the Krimkar come into the south lands. While they watch the Krimkar, Terk, the janitor, identifies himself as Tayrigan JanCastle, the real target of Mephiston when he came into the city disguised as Varson.

Drod comes into the room to let them know that it is time for their fight in the Pit. They fight a single captured Krimkar warrior and defeat him easily. The crowd cheers for more action and Ignis asks for a tougher challenge. Two more Krimkar are let into the pit. In the match, Vorn is killed.

Jorell, Blank, Amira, and Nessie spend two days stationed as conscripts at the North Pass along with the rest of the legion that has been assigned the defense of the pass while the main army marches east. They do manual work of cooking, fetching water, and other tasks as well as occasionally being stationed on the wall.

The cold air of the North Pass whips around the top of the wall. Anyone stationed atop the wall covers there face while trying to do their duty of keeping watch against any approach from the north. Suddenly, red and black banners can be seen in the north. Within minutes, the armies of the Krimkar appear. Not at Stonehold but directly at the North Pass. Hilkar, the JanCastle captain turns to Jorell with his eyes wide and his mouth dropped open. “You said the Krimkar armies were in the east!” He stutters to find his words as he looks around at the few men left to defend the north pass. “There is no army in the east! What have you done?”

With the red and black banners flying in the wind, the Krimkar army continues to approach. Atop the wall and in the city there is a flurry of activity to fetch hot oil, arrows, and to board up the gate. The Krimkar, wearing thick hides and animal pelts as clothes, brandish axes and spears in defiance of the defenders. The column of the north men extends beyond eyesight. A man in JanCastle clothes walks out from among the Krimkar and speaks. “Greetings from Kram” the man says as he turns toward the Krimkar on either side of him and lets out a laugh. His words seem to carry along the cold air further than they should. “I am Eric JanCastle and I see…” his words trail off as he again turns toward the Krimkar, “I see that Mephiston's little diversion has been quite successful. It should be an easy day today.” He turns back to the walls of the North Pass. His gloating smile turns cruel and bitter as he continues talking, “It has been thirteen years since I have stepped foot beyond that gate. I have returned to avenge my father. This storm shall end.”

Jorell, Blank, Amira, and Nessie engaged in battle along with the legion of JanCastle to defend the North Pass. The armies of the Krimkar waste no time in their attack. The front ranks charge forward as if to guide the arrows that whirl through the icy air. The cloud of glinting shafts pepper the tall stone walls of the pass. Some however, find their mark. Screams of pain can be heard along the wall, mostly from those new conscripts that are not adorned in the iron armor that is normal for the JanCastle soldiers.

A return volley sends many Krimkar to lay silent along the cold waste. Many more however, continue the charge, even ignoring an arrow wound when they receive it. Just as the Krimkar lines nearly impact the gate, a swirling fire forms in the hands of Eric. Within moments a fireball is sent hurling through the air, blasting open the gate just as the Krimkar arrive. They are met on the inside of the gate by a charge of JanCastle Knights. The battle rages on.

Along the wall, Amira creates a whirlwind of cold air and ice within the Krimkar lines. They fight through the pain as sharp ice cuts and impacts them. However, they manage to lift their ladders into position. All along the wall the Krimkar begin climbing the ladders. Some fall to their death as the JanCastle Arrows pepper their flanks. Others step up in their stead.

Blank eyes the wizard, Eric. He raises the point of the arrow as he pulls back on the string. The reverberation of the string is drowned out by the hum of the battle that surrounds him as the arrow flys through the air. It lands harmlessly to the side of Eric, who returns the arrow with a look of his own. But, not to be distracted by his present task, he sends a second fire ball hurling over the battle to impact the second gate, wherein the Krimkar descend.

The battle begins to turn for JanCastle. The knights are overwhelmed at one gate, the second gate had Krimkar pouring through. Jorell, Blank, Amira, and Nessie hold their position, fighting off one northman at a time as they climb the ladder. But with wounds taking their toll, they flee their positions. The route is in full.

They escape into the castle, running through rooms, encountering Krimkar along the way. Jorell falls to one of the Krimkar. With no time and little hope, the remaining three press on. As they make their way south to safety, they are encountered by another group of Krimkar in the streets. An arrow from atop the wall slays Amira where she stood. Soon thereafter, Nessie, unthinkably, falls to the amassed wounds of the battle. Blank flees back through the castle, looking for some glint of hope in the midst of the carnage.

He appears out from another door, just as Eric is passing by, reveling in his victory. The Krimkar that are with him move to attack the halfling, but Eric raises his hand. "This one is mine" he says. Blank, not wasting a moment, uses the power of a scroll, surprising the powerful wizard with roots that trap his feet. Blank runs, seeing a small hope of escape. Angrily, Eric pursues this defiant one. Launching a missile of blazing magic down the road, Blank is cut down to his death.

And with the death of the halfling, the Battle of the North Pass comes to an end.

Jorell, Blank, Amira, Nessie, and Hayden quickly left the village of Tallion and headed west back to the North Pass. They arrived to find almost the entire JanCastle army encamped. Hayden immediately turned south to return to the city and check on his house, which had been abandoned for some days. They were met by Hilkar Stravo, a relation of Hayden who had been serving in the military and had been promoted to command a regiment at the North Pass. Hilkar relayed the information about the tunnel and the Krimkar to Milton, the general of the legions, who took council with Lysander JanCastle, the Lord of the North Pass.

Taking into consideration the news of the withdrawal of the Krimkar army from the siege of Morfell and the news of the tunnels, Lysander decided to send the army east to surprise the Krimkar while they were still readying themselves in the southlands. Meanwhile, half a legion and new conscripts were stationed at the North Pass. Jorell, Blank, Amira, and Nessie were placed under the command of Hilkar.

The dwarven gang called the Warbellies use the confusion of the war to harass local businesses in the Port District. They are even bold enough to come into the city proper. They recruit some other dwarves of the city such as Kreefdin Godorn.

After resting for four more days in Tallion, Jorell, Blank, Amira, and Nessie returned once again to the Sunken Castle, finding it the way they had left it, except that all of the building materials were gone and had clearly been drug deeper into the castle. After a quick fight with skeletons and ghosts in which Blank nearly died, they found that at the back of the castle a tunnel had been dug.

Before entering the tunnel, the Skeleton Lord appeared. Fear overcame everyone, and they could hear the unsettling voice of the undead king in their heads speak the following words: "Offer me a sacrifice, or be the sacrifice". They all quickly denied the request to give a sacrifice and prepared for combat. However, the Skeleton Lord disappeared as the words, "then you have chosen to be the sacrifice" echoed through their heads.

After this strange encounter, Blank scouted ahead and found none other than Hayden Stravo, shivering in the dark. He had clearly been hiding in the shadows of the tunnel for some days. After realizing that Blank was supposed to be watching his house back in JanCastle, Hayden conveyed that an elf named Mephiston has brought him and others here. After sacrificing some of the workers to the Skeleton Lord, he forced them to dig a tunnel through the mountain. Upon the other side of the mountain Hayden could make out the banners of the Krimkar, but not much else. He also heard rumor of other tunnels.

They returned to Tallion to find that farmers and herdsman had come down from the higher slopes of the mountains with news that they saw long columns of Krimkar marching eastward toward the city of Stonehold.

Jorell, Blank, Amira, and Nessie return to Tallion after nearly being killed by the undead horde of the Sunken Castle. While the others recover and reequipped with scrolls, Amira returned to the Sunken Castle at night to witness five men felling tree's and dragging planks of wood into the Sunken Castle.

After everyone was recovered, they returned in the evening to the Sunken Castle and encountered the five men again working in the woods. They were simultaneously attacked by zombies that had been placed into the graves.

Jorell, Blank, Amira, and Nessie find a map of the sunken castle that Varson is supposedly using. They discover that all of the bodies in a cemetery have been dug up at the entrance and have been drug into the sunken castle. Entering the dungeon, they find skeletons, magical traps, and zombies are waiting for them, almost placed as guards to prevent them from entering. They also find pallets full of building materials, wood planks, shovels, and other equipment. At one point a ring of fire suddenly incircles them. When the fire goes away, a horde of zombies is waiting for them. They start to make their escape and in the end kill all of the zombies but not before more skeletons show up, along with a skeleton lord in a chair, which Blank smashes to pieces.