46th session: The Extraordinary Gnome

2nd moon, 5th day, year 5218

After receiving the quest, the brothers quickly decided to port to New Hope to learn more about this gnome. Posing as disciples of the Sunlord, a cult of Pelor-worshipers who embalm themselves because beauty has no meaning, they entered New Hope and began asking around for Araxmus.

They quickly learned that he was easily found on 3rd Street, usually in the most expensive establishments. The T'orghs stopped at the most expensive restaurant/tavern, and bought some wine while waiting. And they were luckily. Less than an hour later, Araxmus arrived with an entourage of 7, composed of 3 human males, 3 human females and an elf. 

For a couple of hours, they ate. Araxmus ate and drank for 10, but none of the others, nor the staff seemed troubled or surprised by the fact. After dinner, the gnome and the men started to bet heavily and play a game of Dragon Ante, a fairly complex game of strategi and chance. The stakes quickly went up, and it soon became apparent that the ladies were part of the stakes as well.

2nd moon, 6th day, year 5218
Late in the night, the game finished and the gnome went home with two women, while the T'orghs followed the elf to his town-house. They broke in, and tortured him to tell about the gnome. But he knew nothing of value, except that he (the gnome) sometimes claimed he was cursed by the gods.

Belos stole the elf's visage using foul necromantic magic, and the brothers went to wake up Araxmus for more drinking. They succeeded in luring him out in an alley, and jumped him. And while Araxmus could certainly hit like a truck (or rather, like a cloud giant) and had whirlwinds and such at his disposal, he was still no match for the dark elf brothers.

After taking his money, they went back to the temple, and activated the next rune, the Silver Symbol. A horned devil appeared in a puff of smoke. 

The next symbol is the silver rune. Find the dragon named Argatha and steal the biggest of it’s eggs.

When you have the egg, soak it in the blood of the gnome and place it in the Eternal Brazier for a month.

Before heading out to find the dragon, the brothers returned to their palace to see how things were going with their nation. The nation was running well so far, and they learned that Argatha was a more than 900 years old dragon, known to deal with humans, lover of magical items and said to live in the highest peaks, or maybe in the clouds. Fairly accomplished spellcaster, rumored to take the corpses of enemies to her lair and bury them, after stripping them of items, of course.

 2nd moon, 13th day, year 5218
After some time back in the capital, where they started rumors that elves from the Ghostwood were sacking nearby farms, the brothers headed to New Laketown, where they hired 10 hard mercenaries to cause havoc around Ghostwood, posing as elves. The band was called the Black Unicorns and their leader was called Ghiram.

2nd moon, 18th day, year 5218
With their plans set in motion, they headed to Tuskam, the city nearest Webwood, which again lies at the feet of the mountains that most suspect to be the home of Argatha. She is supposedly also a sort of talisman for the city of Tuskam.

45th session: The Eternal Brazier

2nd moon, 3rd day, year 5218
After spending a month getting acquainted with their new country and setting up a puppet ruler (simulacrum of human Nalfein and a loyal priest and wizard of Asmodeus to help the magical construct), the T'orghs were finally ready to get back in business and get the Eternal Brazier from the fire giants of Dragonhome, and not of Ashbringer as they originally thought.

2nd moon, 4th day, year 5218
Using the magical steads summoned by Nalfein, the brothers quickly made their way to Dragonhome, where they found a very large fire giant clan living in a volcano which seemed ready to erupt.

They killed a few giants but otherwise made it to the throneroom unseen, where they confronted King Inferno and tried to strike a deal with him. He asked for the head of a red dragon living nearby, and off the brothers went again. They soon found what would later be revealed to not be the dragon's lair, and then the dragon. The fight was short and brutal, and even though Belos succumbed to the dragon's mighty breath, the brothers managed to kill the 700 year old dragon.

Quickly returning to the fire giant king with the head, they soon found themselves once again a throne-room packed with giants. As they were leaving with the mighty brazier, the giants decided to strike and take them out, but the T'orghs managed to flee to the border of the Underworld, shadowwalking back to Menzo.

2nd moon, 5th day, year 5218
There they decided to hide the brazier, and then headed to the temple to activate the next rune with the next symbol.

That was the symbol of air, and a horned devil appeared as usual and said:

Well done, much better. The Lord of Light appreciates your speed. To complete the next trial, you need to kill Araxmus Tirax, a gnome in New Hope. Bring his dead corpse to the altar.

44th session: The final lich-battle

12th moon, 29th day, year 5217

After some days, having bought some spells for Belos and set up a plan, the brothers returned to the mortal world, and headed towards the ruins of Menzo.

As soon as they engaged the golem, Belos felt they were being scried upon. He threw up a false vision destined to lure the lich to them. And it succeeded. Minutes after dispatching the golem, the lich arrived. 

For what seemed an eternity, the battle raged back and forth with spells being thrown left and right. Dunder was useless, Jegred was quickly dismissed, Belos was naked and almost useless, Ta'gar was out and counting more than 5 times and Nalfein was stunned more than half the time. But yet, the brothers managed to defeat the lich in the eleventh hour.

12th moon, 30th day, year 5217

After a good night's sleep, the houseless T'orghs tracked down the phylactery of the lich. Their divinations brought them to Araxis (as they presumed), where they found the lich's hiding place below the crypts of the royal palace.

It turns out that the lich was the king of Panolia, and the brothers decided to take over the control of the country. Using history to justify the odd transfer of power, they created an illusion of the king abdicating the throne and passing on the crown to the human version of Nalfein. 

1st moon, 1st day, year 5218

And now it was time to find or create a puppet to control the country when the dark elf brothers were out. And who better to do so than one of them, yet not one of them...

43rd session: Return of the Lich

12th moon, 25th day, year 5217

Arriving at the temple, the brothers activate the next trial. 

A horned devil appears in a puff of smoke:

It’s been a while. Our lord was starting to wonder if you had forsaken him. What do you have to say in your defense?

The T'orghs explained that they had been stuck in a time-trap in the Faerie, and it was out of their hands.

Ah well, that is most unfortunate. Luckily, the Lord of Light sees far and beyond the mortal keen, and should you succeed in getting the scrolls, there is no doubt he will still have a use for you. 

The Eternal Brazier is the next thing to acquire. A giant-sized brazier whose fire can not be extinguished. Bring that to the altar. You can find it somewhere in the bowels of the Ashbringer

With the Ashbringer being way north of the human lands, they decided first to visit a nearby village called Trinity, before settling on a way to get up north. Trinity however, had changed quite a bit. No longer was it a small village, but instead now a busy city filled with a trade focused on wood. 

In Trinity, which they were visiting under illusionary guise, they found out that a large clan of fire giants have their home in the Ashbringer, and as they were leaving, they were attacked in the street by the Jhalavar lich. Jeggred is sent back to Hell, and soon Belos is dying and Nalfein flees. The lich disappears with Belos.

12th moon, 27th day, year 5217

After using a lot of traveling and divination spells, Nalfein tracks down Belos in the north. He is kept prisoner in the palace of the metropolis Araxis (formerly known as Laketown), the capital of the Kingdom of Panolia. Using an Aerial Servant, Nalfien manages to break out a naked Belos. Together they flee Araxis, when Nalfein uses his Word of Recall to return to the altar. 

There they find themselves facing an iron golem, surely a little surprise left by the lich. The two brothers opt to run.

Once away from the golem, the dark elves start to hatch a plan to lure the lich into a trap and once and for all be done with the pesky undead and get Belos' items back.

They flee to the Casino in order to avoid further attacks.

42nd session: Castle NeverNever

10th moon, 20th day, year 4554

With the 3rd trial out of the way, the brothers headed over to the Grieving Palace, where they received a golden token so that they could enter Castle NeverNever.

10th moon, 23rd day, year 4554

Some days later, the dark elf brothers arrived at Castle NeverNever. With the token in hand, they had no trouble getting in, and found themselves in a huge hall. With the help of a house goblin, they were led down to a huge dining room, where more than 700 people sat and dined with the King and Queen of Faeries. 

The brothers sat down, and were soon approached by a human fellow named Lotar Hubert. They quickly discovered that his interest in them (Belos had noticed he had starred at them quite a lot and followed them a bit around) was purely academic. After some talk, they were shocked to know why. Apparently, their passage into the Faerie had warped time, and 350 years had passed in the mortal world. Imix had sacked Menzo, then destroyed the Silent Forest before being banished and imprisoned by an unknown group of humans and elves (last bit divined by Nalfein a bit later). The remaining dark elves had fled underground and founded a new city, Menzar, while those who stayed above ground had been put to the sword, as divinations clearly had shown that dark elves had freed Imix.

Some years had passed, and then Menzar had seen a revolt, as House Mizzrym (divined by Nalfein) had turned out to be mindflayers. They enslaved all the dark elves and ruled Menzar for a while. Then the drow struck, and they killed the mindflayers, sacked Menzar and enslaved the surviving dark elves.

Meanwhile, above ground, an invasion force from another continent sailed in from the east and conquered most of the human lands. Nowadays, the lands are divided between the empire of XXX, and the three kingdoms YYY, ZZZ and VVVV.

After learning this, the brothers were very shocked. Nalfein was horrified while Belos and even Tagar seemed quite happy about the new situation. They each retreated to a chamber, Nalfein to seek the councel of Asmodeus about a number of things, Belos to look for some interesting books, and Tagar to spend some quality time with a willing nymph. 

The next day, they approached the King in order to get the cup. He challenged them to prove themselves in 3 different contests against the eladrins. Tests of strength, wit and knowledge. Against the cup, they bet something very personal, be it an important memory (all 3) or their soul (Belos). 

As it seemed impossible to win the cup fairly, Tagar snatched the cup as Nalfein cast a spell to leave the Faerie and return to the mortal world. As the brothers changed plane, the King stopped time just a second too late to catch them, and home they were. 

12th moon, 16th day, year 5217

The brothers arrive in a snowstorm, in the middle of nowhere. Quickly they port back to what was Menzo, and find the altar of the T'orgh temple still stands, now in the middle of a forest, overgrown by all sorts of vines and bushes. Soon after they arrive, Belos notices that they are scryed upon. 

Under the cover of the darkness stone, they quickly flee and camp in Belos' portable house.

12th moon, 17th day, year 5217

As they get up in the morning and leave the house, they are attacked by their old friend, the lich from House Jhalavar. Luckily, Tagar manages to turn him and the lich is forced to port away.

They decide to get on with the trials, so that they can free their people and rule all 3 together, with the scrolls.

41st session: The Caves of Oblivion and an odd thing to ask for...

10th moon, 13th day, year 4554

Arriving at the Caves of Oblivion, the brothers meet Andro, a Sphinx. He tells them that the second trial is simple, all they have to do is to enter the Caves and exit on the other side. 

Nalfein summons his new buddy called Dunder, a huge earth elemental, and they proceed towards the entrance. As Belos enters, Jeffrey transforms back into a skull, and afraid to lose Jegred, Nalfein sends him over the hills, while he enters with Dunder, who disappears in similar fashion.

With the exit closing behind them, the brothers are now trapped inside, with no magic working.

10th moon, 15th day, year 4554

After two days of wandering into traps of all sorts and getting lost countless of times, the T'orghs manage to find their way out of the depths of the Caves of Oblivion. Andro finds them and sends them to the third trial, the Grieving Palace.

10th moon, 17th day, year 4554

Two days later, and a nightly encounter with some Will'O'Wisps that turned out to be some nasty buggers, later, the dark elves arrive at the Grieving Palace, an ancient ruin in the fey forest, filled with statues that weep salty tears. There they meet a pegasus, who tell them that the third trial is to acquire and give him the sound of a butterfly's wings under a dragon's breath. Bemused that such a thing exists, the brothers spend some time wondering how on earth they could deliver just that, until Nalfein recalls that the Faerie is known for it's Gnome Fair, a place where everything and nothing is traded.

10th moon, 19th day, year 4554

Located in the woods, surrounded by dark mushrooms, the dark elves find the Fair. The entrance guarded by a pair of ettins.

The market is a strange place: eladrin rub shoulders with quicklings, gnomes, goblins, and centaurs, and everything seems to move to the beat of music that the brothers can hear everywhere: pipes, drums, and harps.

The merchants there sell hunting imps, offer bottled passion and the services of house goblins, as well as cold iron exorcisms to banish mortals, rituals for hibernation, rituals for baking, debauchery and waterproof roofing, all at the top of their lungs.

After some inquiries and a fortunetelling (will defeat enemy, find big treasure then lose all earthly possessions) the brothers find a gnome called Strahvi, who has a bottle with the sound of a butterfly under a dragon’s breath. He wants the priest’s wisdom, the mage’s intelligence, a soul, a memory of a great prowess, a future moment of great success and last but not least, he wants the purple diamond of the formorian king who lives in the Iron Chateau.

10th moon, 20th day, year 4554

The brothers have no intention of parting with their abilities, and haggling with the gnome doesn't help. They consider a lot of options, but end up using a scroll to trick the gnome and trap his soul in a gem, and thus force him to hand over the potion they need. They also force him to promise to never seek them out for revenge.

40th session: The Crystal Lake

10th moon, 12th day, year 4554

After wandering the Faerie in search of the Crystal Lake, but without encountering any dangers, the brothers finally found the Lake which was aptly named, since translucent crystals were floating all around it's surface. They met Gnigan, a friendly-looking gnome. He asked them to enter the 60' diameter circle he had drawn on the ground.

My name is Gnigan and this is the first trial. Please step into the circle.

The brothers, not quite sure what kind of ambush to expect, hesitated for a while, but eventually stepped into the circle.

It is a very simple trial of your strength and stamina, as well as your ability to handle yourself when outnumbered. In a moment, a few local monsters will arrive and take up position outside the circle. On my word, some will start to attack you, as you kill them, more will step into the circle and attack you. In order to pass the trial, you must not leave the circle before all monsters are slain. You must also not attack before I give the go ahead. Do you understand the rules? 

Good, here are the opponents..

Numerous very large werewolves started to come out of the woods, encircling the circle and the T'orghs. Their fangs dripping with saliva and tongues hanging out, they looked at the brothers as if they were the first food they had seen in ages..... And then they attacked. Wave after wave after wave. They kept coming. At first, the T'orghs didn't have any problems keeping up with the living flood. But as all their buff spells started to run out and Jegred and Jeffrey died, the situation became more and more untenable. Eventually even the might of the dark elves was no match for the numbers of the fey werewolves and they were all ripped to pieces....

God grief, that was very impressive said Gnigan as they woke up. I can't recall seeing anyone lasting that long in a while. You killed more than 70 wolves, or would have, had they not been illusions. Very good, you have completed the first trial, the next is in the Caves of Oblivion. You may go now.

39th session: The Creation Symbol

10th moon, 1st day, year 4554
Home and rested from the fight with Imix, the brothers immediately started to research about the fire-dude.

They soon learned the following: Imix is one of four Elemental Princes, he is extremely powerful and lives in the Elemental Chaos. He is a force of nature, a step below the avatars of the gods in terms of power, and very few people can stand up to him for long. Imix has several small cults of mortal worshipers, the most famous one being the Cult of Flame, which is popular especially amongst orcs.

10th moon, 3rd day, year 4554
Thinking that Silverclover had someone tricked or Quested them, the T'orghs swiftly ported to his cabin, which they found as they had left it a couple of weeks earlier, in order to fix what they had caused and that which the Council of Menzo was now debating whether they should hold the brothers accountable for.

They searched everywhere, and even consulted beings from other planes, and learned a few tidbits. The note regarding the Rod of tremendous power had been place by someone called Argonus, a dark elf.

While they were talking with the outer planes, 6 assassins of the drows attacked them, but the T'orghs quickly killed the drows.

10th moon, 4th day, year 4554
Returning to Menzo, Nalfein decided to fast and pray in order to get some more answers, perhaps even from Asmodeus himself. While the Lord Light himself did not deign to answer, he did get some more info. That Argonus was in Menzo, that he was not a dark elf, and a lot of other stuff.

Not quite feeling it, the brothers decided to move on with regards to the scrolls. 

They ported to the temple, and activated the Creation Symbol. 

A horned devil appears in a puf of smoke: "You must enter the Faerie Realm, find Castle
NeverNever and steal the Golden Cup of Nymph Tears. Fill the Cup with blood from 3 different types of faeries and bring it to the altar.

10th moon, 8th day, year 4554

After some research, the brothers headed to Ched Cinlu, where they met with Tiam O'Blogroth, who against two future council votes agreed to send them through the portal to the Faerie Realm he had under his control.

On the other side, they got attacked by a fey ogre and four quicklings that had been placed in stasis to take care of people porting up. 

Afterwards they encountered Omar the Satyr, who explained that to navigate the Faerie, you merely had to think of a place and start walking, then you would be there at nightfall, unless you got lost, then you would have to try the next day. Omar adviced them to head over to the Eternal Oak, he could place them on the right path. 

10th moon, 10th day, year 4554

Once arrived at the Eternal Oak, he told them, that if they wanted access to Castle NeverNever, they would have to prove themselves worthy three times over to the King and Queen of the Fairies. 

First step could be accomplished at the Crystal Lake. 

38th session: The Rod of Power

9th moon, 17th day, year 4554
Once again back in Menzo and rested (Nalfein quickly shed all adverse effects from his encounter with the specters), the brothers bask in the glory that killing the Queen of Drows has gotten them. Everywhere they go, their dark elf brethens are clearly impressed with them.

9th moon, 18th day, year 4554
The T'orghs are summoned to the Temple of Asmodeus. Two officers of House Argith and House Hume, along with 40 elite guards, come and escort them to the Temple. Before leaving, they are warned by Father to be vary of what they say.

Up in the Temple, they are presented to High Priest Da'kar Argith and High Priest Q'lor Hume. They are respectively protected by a Pit Fiend and G'lor, weaponsmaster of House Hume and first warrior of Menzo.

The two high priests enquire about the scrolls, about the drows, the balor, and last but not least, about Nalfeins plans to become High Priest of House T'orgh. The brothers leave after a lengthy chat, not really sure why they were summoned, except for a few hints and perhaps threats.

9th moon, 20th day, year 4554
The T'orghs take the portal to Hope, and head north into the mountains, towards the Mountain of Despair, the volcano that holds the Temple of Azarath and the Rod of Hope.

9th moon, 28th day, year 4554
After 8 days of climbing through the mountains, killing a few stupid orcs and ogres on the way, the brothers arrive at the Mountain of Despair. They promptly enter the tunnels, heading towards the Temple, which is in fact a whole city.

9th moon, 29th day, year 4554
The brothers are attacked by a mind flayer, who apparently knows them:

Ah, T’orgh brothers. Finally I find you. I will feast on your brains and then tell my allies how to destroy your House, using your knowledge. Delicious, right?

He says right before attacking them, along with his two hulking abominations. The battle is quick and brutal, with both Nalfein, Jegred, Belos and Ta'gar falling prey to his mind. Luckily for them, Jeffrey has no such thing, and is able to finish off the foes.

9th moon, 30th day, year 4554

The brothers arrive at the Temple of Azarath, a city built around the center of the volcano. They head down for a central structure, avoiding all dwarven ghosts, and investigate the 4 sections. They quickly find the first valve, and battle a fire, earth and air elemental that are summoned as they pass through the room towards the valve.

Vary of traps, they spot that 3 of the statues in the second room are magical. From great distance, Belos imprisons two of the statues behind a wall of iron, and thus the brothers only face one iron golem before they can turn off the second valve.

In the third room, they use magic to locate all the trigger traps and dimension door to avoid them, completely bypassing any eternal guardians there.

In the last valve room, as they enter, a radiant being appears, an angel.

I, Doranor, 23rd angel of Moradin, command you to stop. You must go no further. The last valve must not be closed. The power trapped inside the volcano will only bring death and destruction to the world, and despite what you may think, it can not be controlled. So leave immediately, dark elves of House T’orgh, or I will kill you without mercy.

A few spells are exchanged, and then Ta'gar closes in for melee and chops off the head of the angel. Dead. The last valve is closed, and the T'orghs can hear a rumbling. They head out and head towards where the entrance to the volcano and the Rod of Power must be, when they suddenly find themselves facing a 60' feet tall towering inferno, with the hint of a man-shape behind the flames.

Thank you for liberating Imix, mortals. 3000 years is a long time to be imprisoned, even for an immortal. Tremble before the almighty Imix   Now feel his flames of wrath. Imix will destroy you, then the rest of your world. 

Ta'gar wants to leave, but the others want to stay. Before anything can happen, however, they are hit by a very thick and hot wall of fire that expands, nay explodes out from Imix, and hits them hard. Belos  is down and dying, and Ta'gar decides he was right and ports back to Menzo, leaving Nalfein to face the beast on his own. Nalfein, wise beyond years, decides to follow his two brothers, and just as he fades out, he sees Imix tossing the biggest fireball he has ever soon at him.

Note:

Armors should be done around 11th month, 5th day. 

37th session: Queen of Drows

9th moon, 16th day, year 4554
The next day, the T'orghs put their plan in motion and started the ritual. Yakkar led them to a empty warehouse somewhat near the palace compound. There the 13 virgins were killed, and their brains and hearts were cooked over elemental rocks heated by elemental fire, and then the now gooey substance was mixed with crushed unicorn horn and then used in the creation of the pentagram.

Nalfein used the dagger to open the gate, and for a while, all was silent.

Then came the smell of sulphur in the air, chills started to spread along the bodies of the brothers, a shimmer in the air, and Yrok, might balor of Hell was in front of them...

Yrok loves the smell of mortals in the morning....
The great fiend leaned forward to Nalfein, poking him in the chest with a huge lethal-looking claw:

So, YOU are the mortal trying to strike a deal with the almighty Yrok. My, my, you do look tasty.

Nalfein played it cool, and stood his ground.

Are you not afraid? I believe you not. You do not strike Yrok as an idiot. And you should be afraid....

Nalfein kept composed, and finally the conversation turned to the deal, and the fact that they had the elf as agreed. Yrok was pleased, and immediately began torturing the elf. 

The brothers hurried down to the temple-palace, cloaked by a Seeming spell. With the help of some fake papers provided by Yakkar, they easily got access to the sanctum, where the drow queen received her people. 

It was a big temple-like room. There were about 60 visitors and 30 elite guards, a spellcaster of some sorts, and two private bodyguards of some sort. 

The brothers sat down and waited for the mayhem to start. They didn't have to wait long, maybe Yrok had gotten impatient, or the elf had died. Suddenly demons landed outside the castle (summoned by Yrok) and the mage, who was some sort of leader, ordered the guards outside to deal with the demons far away from the queen. Using some charm spells and hanging back while the other visitors were ushered outside, the brothers managed to find themselves alone in the temple-palace-hall with 2 guards, the queen and her two bodyguards.

The brothers played along, and faked they were about to help deal with the demons, then turned the tables on the drows, and attacked. Unfortunately, a wall of force was protecting her, and the dark elven ambush was turned around when the specters of 7 ancient drow warriors emerged from the tombs, along with a beholder.

Within a minute or two, things looked critical. Jeffery was dismantled due to the Anti-magic ray of the beholder, Jeggred was suspended while caught in it, Ta'gar was down and dying and the specters and monk bodyguards kept flailing at the two remaining brothers, while the Queen was tossing death spells left and right.

The brothers were gone. The battle was over, and there was nothing they could do. Except one thing. Belos pulled out a scroll with Limited Wish on, and wished that the beholder's eye would cease to work, for the rest of the encounter. That turned things around, it gave the brothers a fighting chance, but there was still a long way to go. But with Jeggred back in the fight to kill and take some hits, the brothers clawed their way back from the Abyss.

Nalfein got Ta'gar back up, so when Belos was killed, there was still two brothers up for the fight, and together, they managed to kill the queen and everyone else. They planted the drow noble, who had been in Ta'gars portable hole, and then hurried outside where they found a burning city. Yrok had done good on his part of the deal.

Then they ported home.

(note: Nalfein was drained 8 "levels")

36th session: Gone, but not forgotten...

9th moon, 12th day, year 4554
Jegred returns from Hell, with good news. He has found a Balor, named Yrko, who has agreed to do as the brothers want, provided they do one thing for him. They need to find an old elf called Ghera Silverclover, and make sure he is there, when Yrko steps through the portal from Hell.

The T'orghs zap back to Menzo, and spend a couple of days at the library finding information about Silverclover. 

9th moon, 14th day, year 4554
As it turns out, Ghera Silverclover is a former adventurer who led a crusade more than 150 years ago, against the undead and creatures from Hell. When his band of merry crusaders got old and retired, he carried on for a couple of years, but then stopped, after tricking a Balor to return to Hell.

He retired somewhere near Ashenwood.

9th moon, 15th day, year 4554
Before leaving Menzo, the brothers start Ramzok on gathering the items needed for their dragon armors. The T'orghs then zap to the hills outside Hope, and quickly make their way to Ashenwood. There they found a little village and got directions for Silverclover's house.

On the way to the house, which was about 5 miles away, they were jumped by two spirit trolls, rare creatures usually conjured by powerful shamans to protect holy sites or the like.

Once at the house, things quickly turned into a long battle. Silverclover, although old as hell, was still pretty handy with his crossbow. Not only that, but his house was also warded both against demons and devils, but also protected like a king's treasury. And as if that wasn't enough, the entire cabin was cloaked in illusions making it very difficult for the brothers. Eventually the fight ended up outside, with Silverclover caught between the brothers and Jegred. Then he called a purple worm up from the depths, and things got slightly more complicated. Jegred got eaten, and things got very close, although it ended without further deaths.

Silverclover got tied up, and the brothers zapped back to Nedergard with him and his considerable treasure. Aside from all the magical items and the money, there was also a note of interest.

In the Temple of Azarath
Beneath the Mountain of Despair
All that is standing between you
and the ancient artifact
Is four very special locks
And the eternal guardians

The Temple of Azarath is an legendary dwarven stronghold which fell about 1500 years ago. Little is known about the dwarvens that ruled it, except that they were peerless crafters of weapons and armor, and that their King had an artifact, rumored to the Rod of Power, an even more legendary artifact, said to have been used by the gods when the races were created.

35th session: Coldbreath

8th moon, 29th day, year 4554
The brothers soon decided to attack the dragon, as they didn't want to risk that it could begin to eat the giants. Tagar turned invisible and charged, but the dragon saw him, and ripped half of his guts out. The battle was quick and intense. Jeggred got ripped to pieces in mere seconds, Tagar was out for some of the combat from a nasty tailslap, and if not for his ring, Belos would have joined Asmodeus in Hell. But in the end, the T'orghs killed Coldbreath and claimed the giant hearts (1k lbs in total) and the frost giant treasure.

8th moon, 30th day, year 4554
The next morning, they set out to find Coldbreath's lair

9th moon, 2nd day, year 4554
After a couple of days of tracking in the mountains and casting divination spells, they found the lair of Coldbreath, high up on top of one of the tallest mountains, inaccessible without flight. 

After filling their portal hole, Nalfein decided to use Word of Recall to return to Menzo quickly, while the others walked. But when he arrived, his two brothers were already there, Tagar grinning stupidly.

9th moon, 5th day, year 4554
After taking care of the hearts, the brothers meet up with Father, who presents them with a new opportunity. After their discovery of the House Jhalavar plot, Father fears the drows might attack Menzo at an oportune moment. And that would be a disaster. Therefore, he wants the brothers to travel to Nedergard, the drow capital of the region, and kill the drow queen while framing the murder on one of the most powerful families. Belos is a bit leery about the project, but Nalfein convinces him that it would mean enormous prestige doing so.

9th moon, 7th day, year 4554
After a failed attempt of scribing Tongues, the T'orghs take the portal and arrive near Darkfort.

9th moon, 8th day, year 4554
The brothers run into a small patrol of drows. Although obviously skilled, the drows are no match for the dark elf brothers, and they are quickly run over.

Later the same day, the brothers are attacked by 3 phase spiders. While the spiders are quick to phase in and out, they fail to poison anyone and eventually die.

9th moon, 11th day, year 4554
The brothers arrive at Nedergard, the drow capital. Nalfein disguises his tattoos with some minor illusion and casts Tongues, while his two brothers disguise themselves as members of the Fellowship of the Raven Queen, a drow assassins clan who are mute.

The enter Nedergard fairly easily, and get directions for Devil's Corner, where they are supposed to meet up with Yakkar, a spy of their father's.

On the way to Devil's corner, they are stopped by some guards, but Nalfein, with his newfound charisma, talks them out of the bind.

Arriving at Devil's Corner, a luxurious house of ill repute, Nalfein gains admission, while the two others choose to stay out, near their weapons. Inside, Nalfein forgets himself and is recognized as a dark elf. Luckily for him,  the girl runs to her boss, who happens to be Yakkar. Yakkar kills the girl before she can warn others, and the 3 brothers gain admittance. 

They quickly hatch a plan. They will, using the dagger Nalfein has, summon a Balor and convince it to wreck havoc in Nedergard. When the Balor attacks, they will in her temple/throneroom, posing as important merchants. Hopefully most of the guards will head out to help deal with the balor, leaving her somewhat less protected. In order to deal with the balor and strike a deal, they kill Jeggred sending him back to Hell, so that he can convince the balor beforehand. 

9th moon, 10th day, year 4554
While they wait for Jeggred to return, they plan the ambush of one Tagar V'rex, the oldest son of a very powerful noble drow family, and a wellknown fighter. The ambush goes well, and the Vrex son and his bodyguards are dead. The body gets dumped in the portal hole, for later use.

Now they just have to wait for Jeggred to return and see what he says.

34th session: The Ice Symbol (part two)

8th moon, 28th day, year 4554
With a runner gone, the brothers felt they had no choice but to enter the caves. However, before long, they spot - or rather the magical owl does - some giants making way towards them. The T'orghs run back out and Nalfein plants (haha) a wall of thorns right as the 8 giants arrive, so that their force in split in two. The dark elf brothers start killing off those giants on their side of the wall, but before they can kill them all, the frost giant "king" and his shaman as well as a couple of guards manage to get through the wall of thorns. Luckily for them, Nalfein offs him immediately with a Phantasmal Killer, while Tagar and Jegred tear through the remaining giants helped by another wall, this time of fire.

No sooner that the brother take a breather and the wall of fire shuts down before more giants arrive. The brothers balance on the edge, and Jegred is (once again) killed. Yet they somehow manage to kill the all and then run for the woods in order to hide and rest.

8th moon, 29th day, year 4554
The next morning, they return only to find the remaining giants (all 17 of them) in the middle of making some sort of giant (haha) ritual. The brothers decide to attack them and somehow manage to win the battle, but not before the giants offer their souls to Coldbreath for vengeance. Tagar informs that Coldbreath is one of the oldest, biggest and meanest white dragons in the wold.

The T'orghs hurry inside the cavern system in order to find treasure. As they find the loot, Coldbreath arrives and starts hunting them in the cave system. The T'orghs grab whatever can be in the portable hole and dimension door back out into the woods.

When they return later, the white dragon is sitting atop a huge frozen pile of frost giants, which usually means that they are getting prepped for dinner, according to Tagar.

33rd session: The Ice Symbol (part one)

8th moon, 14th day, year 4554
The Torgh's use their newly acquired portal room (due specifically to the portal room, Father has decided to take over the Jhalavar palace and installed Hu'ar there) and beam to the temple with the symbol room. There they activate the ice symbol, and learn that they must harvest the heart of every single member of the Icebear clan and burn the hearts on the altar in Menzo.

Tagar informs the others that the Icebear clan is probably up north of Laketown, near a volcano called Blackhole. Nalfein is skeptical.

8th moon, 22nd day, year 4554
Returning to Menzo (with 50 new orc minions in tow), they once again use the portal room, this time to land in the hills south of Laketown.

8th moon, 23rd day, year 4554
The T'orghs stop by Laketown, to investigate. They learn that the Icebears are one of the most powerful frost giant clans in the area, and that they live on the north side of the extinct volcano called Blackhole Volcano.

8th moon, 28th day, year 4554
After some day of traveling, where the most scary monster they encounter is a mountain lion, they enter the frost giants' territory and ambush a couple of giants, killing them quickly. They investigate further, and find a plateau at an altitude of more than 2 miles, and behind a pine forest, they find the huge entrance to the giant lair. The brothers attack the giants outside, killing eight before proceeding inside, or rather, luring some more outside. They finish those off as well, but one escapes and runs into the cave....

32nd session: House Jhalavar

8th moon, 7th day year 4554
After some days of gathering intel and prepping for battle, the day arrives. House T'orgh goes to war with House Jhalavar.

The brothers spearhead the attack, and burst into the courtyard, then into the palace, before they make their way through halls and such to arrive at the temple. On they way, they kill at least 10 vampire nobles and a huge big-ass elemental.

The final battle takes place in the Jhalavar Temple, where the brothers face not one lich, but two liches. They manage to kill the priest, but instead, he kills them all. With the rest of House T'orgh coming for him, he flees. Nalfein is brought back from the dead by his shield and comes out of his hold monster spell before Tagar bleeds out. Belos is meanwhile kept alive by his new ring.

After they find the priest's phylectary before he can reform.

The wizard escapes, but the brothers accomplish their mission. House Jhalavar is no more. As a bonus, on top of the loot, the brothers also discover a room with seemingly 7 portals to different parts of the world.

8th moon, 10th day year 4554
The T'orghs decide to go after the Ice Symbol next.

31st session: The copper dragon

7th moon, 14th day, year 4554
Leaving the red dragon lair, they use various magics to determine the approximate area of the copper dragon and then Nalfein uses a scroll with Chariot of Sustarre to get them close.

At night, they are attacked by stone giants, but even though they are caught in a cross-fire, they manage to get the upper hand over the stone giants.

7th moon, 15th day, year 4554

The T'orghs bravely enter the copper dragon lair, and find it hiding in ambush behind illusion. Battle starts, and the dragon soon receives help from it's stone golem guardian. The fight is long and brutal, but the dark elves end up the ones alive.

The brothers loot their second dragon lair in just two days, and their extradimensional spaces are threatening to burst.

8th moon, 2nd day year 4554
The T'orghs return to Menzo, and start working on House Jhalavar, since Father decrees that they must die.

30th session: The Red Dragon

6th moon, 27th day, year 4554
The brothers leave Menzo and head north, towards the Dragon Mountains, where they hope to find the copper dragon Arguex who humiliated them recently.

7th moon, 13th day, year 4554
The T'orghs arrive at the mountains after a fairly uneventful trip. The Dragon Mountains are, as their research had shown, infested with ogre tribes.


7th moon, 15th day, year 4554

After a couple of days of climbing around and fighting small bands of ogres, they finally find an ogre village near where they think the copper dragon is.

They assault the village with an insect plague, driving the ogres out. Massive slaughter follows, and while 20 ogres including an ogre mage and a very weapon-proficient leader causes them some trouble, they end up winning the battle.

But just after, the red dragon who had been ruling the village descends on them, and a much harder fight follows. Yet the brothers still win, and then scale the mountain to find it's lair on top, inaccessible from all but the best climbers... and those who can fly.

29th session: The Crown

6th moon, 10th day, year 4554
Invisibly the brothers penetrate the broken and almost desolate city. Recon has shown that the two most significant buildings are a palace and a Raven Queen church.

They arrive at the palace, where they end up fighting the ancient leader, now a death knight. Barely, just barely, they manage to survive and defeat the ancient evil and his wights. In the basement, they find the crown after defeating numerous traps and a magical guardian that is almost impervious to weapons.

They also pick up a lot of books about an ancient sorcerer called Elias, said to be entombed somewhere.

6th moon, 11th day, year 4554
After getting some sleep, the brothers uses the powers of the crown to avoid all undead and get to the church. There they fight some more wights and some ghosts. Protected by the crown, they manage to win relatively unscathed. As they finish up killing undead and looting the temple, more undead have arrived outside, and the place is surrounded. Nalfein destroys the altar and part of the roof, and they safely leave the undead city.

6th moon, 16th day, year 4554
After a very uneventful trip, the brothers arrive home to Menzo.

6th moon, 17th day, year 4554
The T'orghs are introduced to Ra'mok, one of their cousins, a fighter and a mage who will be assisting them in their quest and such. Father trusts him. He is tasked with discovering more about a ritual ending with the summoning of a Balor.

The brothers start investigating the copper dragon that got away..

28th session: Back to the Underdark

5th moon, 28th day, year 4554
After a couple of days in Menzo, the brothers headed out and towards Dragon Mountain in order to enter the Underdark.

5th moon, 29th day, year 4554
Shortly after entering the Dragon Mountain, the T'orghs run into a few derros who are far from their usual hunting grounds and deal with them quickly and without mercy.

5th moon, 30th day, year 4554
The brothers run into some troglodytes, but they are killed even before they have a chance to engage the dark elves.

6th moon, 1st day, year 4554
The T'orghs run into a weird fungi creature, a rolling ball that sprays a nasty poisoneous stunning jet. After some trouble, they manage to deal with the ... thing.

6th moon, 2nd day, year 4554
The T'orghs run into a basilisk, and both Belos and Nalfein are turned to stone.

6th moon, 4th day, year 4554
On his way back to Menzo, Tagar almost dies, when he runs into two drow fighters.

6th moon, 5th day, year 4554
Tagar arrives back in Menzo and convinces father that he must help. Father (and Tagar) shadowwalk back to where the statues have been hidden, and father turns them back to flesh. Alas, the shock is too much for the fragile body of Belos, and he dies. Father ressurects him, clarifying that this is absolutely the last time, for *any* of them.

6th moon, 7th day, year 4554
After a few more days of dodging gas spores and the like, the brothers stumble over a cluster of shriekers that attract an umberhulk with their noises. A battle is fought, and the umberhulk dies.

6th moon, 8th day, year 4554
The T'orghs arrive at the dragon cave behind the waterfall. They find it inhabited by a mindflayer and some pet hook horrors. The battle is short and brutal, but the brothers manage not to die - again. They find a lot of treasure and some interesting books, that shows the mindflayer must have been searching for an elven artifact called the Crown of Alnadarr in the ancient elven ruins.
(where Belos was drained dry)

They decide to find it.

6th moon, 10th day, year 4554
After some identifying and such, they head out of the cave and towards the elven ruins.

27h session: The bronze pendant

5th moon, 15th day, year 4554
The brothers have once again left Menzo and headed out to the temple in the forest to activate the next symbol, the bronze symbol.

A horned devil appears in a puff of smoke. "Warlord Zakarias has in his possession a magical pendant crafted from the smallest scale of one of the great bronze dragons. Retrieve the pendant and bring it back to the altar in Menzo".

A portal opens.

"If you wish, this portal is a short-cut and will deposit you much closer to Durgarth Keep, where Warlord Zakarias has his home"

The brothers step through and find themselves outside Blackwell, near Durgarth Keep. After some deliberation, they decide against carpet-bombing the place with spells from afar, and instead sneak in at night.

5th moon, 16th day, year 4554
A bit after midnight, the T'orghs sneak up to the keep, levitate up top the main tower, and Nalfein suggests the guard that he should take them to his leader. They are led down the stairs to the first floor, where the guard knocks on the door, telling his leader he has guests. Nalfein panics and kills the guard when the leader doesn't open the door immediately and starts kicking down the door. Belos fills the staircase with noxious fumes, and as Nalfein beats down the door, he finds the human warrior halfequiped and alone but for a serving wench in bed. The fight start, and it turns out the wench is a succubus. Things are not looking well for the brothers, especially when a two-headed troll is released down in the courtyard and comes charging up the stairs. Luckily for the brothers, the troll is affected by the spell and they can keep focus on the warlord and the demon. They manage to kill the warlord, but the succubus is a hard one, especially because Jeffrey can not affect her with his sword and she seems to ignore every single spell thrown at her. Fortunately, Nalfein has Asmodeus on his side, and his Slay Living spell utterly destroys her, while Jeffrey takes care of the troll. As they succeed in killing the opposition, guards and a fool appear. Nalfein closes off access with a wall of fire, and while the wall is up, the brothers find a magical chest with the necklace, and dimension door their way out of the keep.
The brothers move out and south, heading back towards Menzo.

Around daybreak, the brothers feel someone is scrying on them. When Belos notices it, he hears a voice in his head. Give me back my medallion, and I will let you live.

5th moon, 23rd day, year 4554
The brothers sense that someone is scrying on them.

5th moon, 21st day, year 4554
After days of moving invisible at night, and sleeping in their magical cottage during the day, the players wake up one morning, and as Nalfein opens the door, he finds a note under a stone. Last chance. Leave the medallion and you will live. Nalfein steps out, and they find themselves facing a gargantuan bronze dragon. A few seconds later, the dragon breathes, and Belos is dead and the dragon says. Are you sure you do not wish to yield me the pendant, dark elf? Nalfein hands the pendant to the dragon, and heals Belos as soon as the dragon is gone.

After talking things over, the brothers decide to return to Menzo to research a bit, then head back to the Underdark and empty the dragon lair they know should be without an owner.

5th moon, 25th day, year 4554
The brothers arrive back in Menzo.