Dereth: A Brief History for Travelers

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 Dereth: A Brief History for Travelers 

by Chris L'Etoile

WHAT CAME BEFORE

In ancient times a powerful race -- the Empyrean -- flourished across the island of Dereth. Their empire fell into ruin when the Empyrean magician Asheron accidentally opened a portal to another world, ushering in hordes of vicious monsters known as Olthoi. Asheron sent the Empyrean into a dimension between worlds and stayed behind to try to find a way to defeat the Olthoi.

The Empyrean's flight opened additional portals that summoned other creatures to Dereth, among them humans from the world of Ispar. For many years the humans lived as Olthoi slaves, but a band of rebels -- led by the noblewoman Elysa Strathelar and the warrior Thorsten Cragstone -- chose to fight. Aided by Asheron's magic, they slew the Olthoi queen and won freedom, though the fight cost Thorsten his life. Now, ten years later, Elysa has vanished and Asheron's whereabouts are unknown.

ISPAR: THE WORLD THAT WAS

Ispar is home to many different cultures, including the warlike Aluvians, the scholarly Gharu'ndim, and the disciplined Sho. Recently, portals began to appear there. They seemed to exert a mystical pull upon those who saw them, almost as though someone were beckoning from the other side.

The most adventurous answered the call and were transported to Dereth, with no way to return. At first the portals appeared only in the land of Aluvia, but in recent years they have spread to Gharu'n and the Sho realms. Their spread may well continue into other lands.

DERETH: THE WORLD THAT IS

When humans first arrived in Dereth it was a world in ruins, overrun with ferocious creatures. Faced with the prospect that they might never return to Ispar, humans have made the island their new home. They have built towns and carved out small pockets of safety in a perilous world.

Though the Empyrean have vanished, some of what they wrought remains: magic flows through the land; mystical portals carry travelers many miles in a heartbeat, enchanted Lifestones bind the spirits of those who use them, allowing the dead to be resurrected. Those who come back to life find that some of their life force has been drained away -- some say to power Asheron's magic. Even more ancient secrets may lie amid the crumbled remnants of Empyrean society.

THE WORLD THAT COULD BE

Many challenges await newcomers to Dereth. Exploring the island is both dangerous and rewarding: monsters lurk everywhere, especially in the hostile Direlands, and wondrous sights, both natural and crafted by the Empyrean, await the adventurous. Scores of dungeons -- some built by the Empyrean for arcane purposes, others dug by the Olthoi or other creatures as lairs -- riddle the earth. Somewhere among these is the stronghold of Asheron himself, its location lost with Elysa Strathelar and waiting to be found again.

Gathering of Heroes

Asheron has summoned many to Dereth; only the bravest have answered the call. Here, warriors will battle creatures of awesome might, magicians will discover magical items and create new spells, and rogues will seek out precious treasure. Quests will impel adventurers to uncover the wealth and lore of legend. Adventurers will form allegiances and fellowships, for often many can accomplish what one alone cannot.

The island of Dereth is strange, beautiful, and perilous. Power and riches are here for the taking. Many mysteries wait to be explored and solved, not the least of which is the whereabouts of the lost Empyrean race. And, it is said, there is a deep and ancient darkness at the heart of things, striving to reawaken. These tasks are not for the faint of heart -- brave adventurers are needed to explore the dangerous wilds, delve the deepest catacombs, and rise as rulers in this new world.

Dereth: Frostfell 10PY / Earth: December 1999

In the month known as Frostfell, the isle of Dereth was beset by a sudden freeze. As mages scrambled to explain the dropping temperatures, the snowline dipped down from the lofty peaks of the Lost Wish and Linvak mountain ranges, until the entire island was coated with several inches of snow. Even the Gharu'ndim, deep in the hot and barren A'mun desert, awoke one morn to find their stately brick courtyards blanketed with white. In Samsur, the Fountain of Musansayn froze solid.

Somewhere in the wastes, the exploration party of Sir Joffre Tremblant fell afoul of dark forces. The legendary Knight of the Golden Flame order had gone in search of a fabled lost city alluded to in certain Empyrean texts. At first, his party was presumed lost in the blinding snows. Intrepid bands followed his meandering path from Arwic to Stonehold, gathering clues to his final destination. Along the way, many assisted the aims of Lady Tallial of Neydisa Castle, or those of her rival MacDugal in the Bandit Castle. Others grappled with Hoary Mattekars, ferocious mountain creatures the size of a house. The hides of these creatures, when given to the skilled tradesmen of Dereth, were quickly turned into fine Mattekar Robes.

With the assistance of the scholars of Zaikhal, the search parties discovered the path to the mysterious underground city of Frore. Here the fate of the Tremblant Party stood revealed; the group had been slain and then turned into undead slaves by an ancient cult of Empyrean necromancers calling themselves the Gelidites. In the depths of the frozen hell of Frore, adventurers struggled through legions of undead sorcerers, who were lead by a council of three dark priests. These three, Ferundi, Frisander, and Fenngar by name, were slain at the gates of the city. In the deepest caverns, parties were brought up short by a cadre of Gelidite Lords lead by the powerful sorcerer Frisirth. The Gelidite necromancer controlled Sir Tremblant, who pleaded for death even as he was magically forced to defend his evil master.

When Tremblant was released from his misery and Frisirth defeated, the parties confronted a greater mystery -- a large, rotating crystal the Gelidites called the Great Work. This magical artifact had been discovered by Frisirth centuries before. Under the enchantments of the Gelidites, the Great Work sucked the heat from the earth, causing the snows that carpeted Dereth. When the explorers rushed to destroy it, the crystal defended itself with powerful magics. Many were slain, but in the end the Isparians prevailed. Abrim of Morningthaw chronicled the final battle against the Work in his tale “Return to Frore,” which became a bestseller at the capital towns of Cragstone, Hebian-To, and Zaikhal.

With the Great Work shattered, warmth began to seep back into the land. The exhausted and battered adventurers returned to their homes, to enjoy the blessings of the Solstice, Festival of Lights, and Night Feast holidays. During the celebrations, new culinary delights had been invented to delight the palate. Kakori of Thistledown made Carrot Cake, Dani the Crazed of Leafcull introduced Famous Pizza, Raszagal and Tassadar of Morningthaw created Hot Kimchi, and Firedemon of Thistledown baked the first Spiced Apple Pie. Bortin of Frostfell created Fruitcake, but he has since been forgiven, and is occasionally allowed back into town.

The remnants of the Gelidite cult were left in sorrow, their great hopes dashed. Departing adventurers even seized their ancient scriptures as spoils of war. Our Great Work, a memoir written by Ferundi, was given to the scholars of Hebian-To, and the ancient Book of Minesh, a history of the Gelidite cult, was seized by the Zaikhal Arcanum.

Dereth: Snowreap 11PY / Earth: January 2000

As the heat seeped back into the earth, snowlines receded. Patches of slush still dotted the landscape, but hints of green returned to most of the land. All was not well, however.

The enigmatic Shadow creatures began to walk the landscape openly, harassing adventurers and making travel through remote areas a dangerous proposition. In addition, floating Crystal Fragments appeared. While originally thought to be pieces of the Gelidites' Great Work, the vast numbers of Fragments that soon swarmed across Dereth seemed to imply another origin.

Fortunately, the most learned mages of the land had taken to heart the dire prognostications of the recovered Gelidite scriptures. The Archmages Celdiseth, Fadsahil al-Tashbi, Nuhmudira, and Shoyanen Kenchu offered for sale Master Mage Robes of fine quality, while they allowed their Apprentice Mage Robes to be sold by the local mages of various towns.

Non-mages were not left without fashionable attire, however, as the traditional warrior garb of Ispar began to appear in Dereth. Celdon, Amullian, and Koujia Armor became visible signs of a warrior's prowess.

Dereth: Coldeve PY 11 / Earth: February 2000

Providence smiled upon the refugee nations of Ispar in the month of Coldeve. Rumors sprang up of ancient storage vaults hidden across the length and breadth of Dereth. Bold parties sought these lost facilities out, and discovered the fragments of weapons used in the last war with the Shadows, some two thousand years before humans first arrived in this land. These were designed ages ago by alchemist and warrior Lord Atlan, and his wife, the enchanter Lady Maila. While the contributions of both were apparently vital to winning the last war, the documentation recovered suggests both died in the conflict -- hardly a reassuring statistic.

The Atlan artifacts were a set of melee weapons -- swords, daggers, maces, and so on -- fashioned from raw pyreal motes. Any one of a number of special, magical gemstones could be embedded in a weapon to imbue it with a particular elemental power, and by means of a special stone tool, each gemstone could be exchanged for another of a different power. Thus, for example, a frosting axe could be turned into a lightning axe. While pyreal motes could be recovered from any type of golem, the stones and the tool were securely stored in several remote and dangerous dungeons. One of these was defended by legions of powerful undead, one by fire elementals and magma golems, one by never-before-seen lightning elementals, and one by a band of Tumeroks. A final vault, named Incunabula, had been infested with Olthoi, who transformed it into the most deadly hive known to exist in Dereth.

Perhaps in response to the discovery of these weapons, the Shadows that had made overland travel a terrifying prospect melted away into the night. Very few remained under open skies, although this made some more nervous than relieved. New rumors abounded in taverns that some dark force was biding its time for a major assault.

Many powerful monarchs were whisked away to a remote island, said to lie to the southwest of Dereth. Here they were challenged by a dark presence to run a gauntlet filled with bizarre monsters. While most lost their sense of direction, or were slain by the gauntlet's fierce inhabitants, two of the most dangerous fiends in Dereth survived the trial: Blackthorn and Vidorian of Thistledown. They were rewarded with corrupted Shadow Stones, which could be fitted into the Atlan weapons. These stones gave a weapon tremendous power. . . though their use seemed to drain the will and sense of self from the weapon's wielder. It remained to be seen what the two so-called “Dark Masters” would be called upon to do. Fafhrd of Thistledown and Killean of Morningthaw made a heroic decision to defy the gathering evil, and refused to take the dark presence's test. Their selfless denial of easy power would be remembered in the days ahead.

The hand of darkness also sought allies using means as subtle as the monarch kidnappings were gross. Hamud ibn Rafik, leader of an extremist sect of the Gharu'ndim Zharalim called the Tenebrous Edge, made his presence known in Dereth. He and his daughter Devana sent many adventurers on a test of their own. Success earned a magnificent Pyreal Katar that pulsed with dark power, trailing streamers of sooty mist. Rumor held that Rafik had lost his mind taking to heart Archephoros' maxim that to fight darkness, sometimes one must become a shadow.

On the opposite edge of the A'mun desert, Dizah ibn Nadqab began excavating a massive crypt complex built beneath an ancient fortress near Zaikhal. He apparently ventured where he shouldn't have, and the ancient dead of the Impious Temple reawakened, chasing him out of the complex. In exchange for funds to continue his research, he let the bold enter the Temple. A shattered staff, apparently unusable, was discovered in its depths. Fortunately, some adventurers managed to find someone wise enough to repair it.

Not all the news was worrisome. The land continued to recover from the damage wrought by the Great Work of the Gelidites. Flowers blossomed all over Osteth, filling the air with drifting clouds of pollen. Rabbits, delighted by the return of warm weather, quickly did as rabbits are wont to do, resulting in a veritable plague of baby bunnies on the landscape, which nibbled crops and tripped inattentive travelers. Most were harmless irritants, but tales of more dangerous bunnies trickled out of the Direlands. ..

Meantime, the excavations of over twenty Meeting Halls that dated from the Empyrean Era of Lore were completed near the major towns of Dereth. These underground amphitheaters are thought to have been built for assemblies of nobles and scholars, or for the briefings of local troop garrisons. Allegiances across Dereth soon began holding their meetings in these structures. In other local news, Guthima the Wise, archmage of Arwic, moved down the road. Complaints from neighbors about crowds of mages practicing their craft all hours of the night convinced the town's nobility to build a new shop for him outside of town.

Lastly, as if in omen, the beginning of the month saw a titanic bridge, carved from dark volcanic glass, appear over the River Prosper between Holtburg, Cragstone, and Arwic. Formerly cloaked by the lost magical arts of the Empyrean, the Obsidian Span drew crowds of gawkers. Not a few mad souls actually jumped off of it. Sages could only speculate what other structures might lie in the open without our knowing.

Dereth: Wintersebb PY 11 / Earth: March 2000

The festive spring atmosphere of flowers, bees, and marriage ceremonies was disturbed by a series of earthquakes that preceded the eruption of bizarre Shadow Spires across the face of Dereth. These enormous constructions burst from the ground near the towns of Khayyaban, Tufa, Sawato, Tou-Tou, Cragstone, and Eastham. Travelers reported seeing Spires in the deep wilderness as well. Sages claimed they were somehow alive, but little could be proven, for no way could be found to enter them. Though brooding and malevolent-looking, the Spires floated harmlessly over the land for many days. Then came the abductions.

Many adventurers reported being magically pulled into the Spires, and subjected to a battery of questions by three invisible presences, each distinguished by the tone of its questions. Some of these questions were quite unfathomable, referring to people and events not yet familiar to humanity in Dereth. Most shocking, however, was the final question: Which of the six towns visited by the Spires should be destroyed? Some of the abducted answered with a random town, in fear of the power shown by the unseen presence; others chose a specific town out of spite. A few refused to choose. All were returned uninjured.

As the month progressed, disturbing changes were wrought in the heavens. The sun shrank, turning a dim, bloody red. The dark clouds faded to a sulfurous tint during storms. The moons of Alb'arel and Rez'arel swelled to grotesque size, and some feared they were falling. Through it all, the form of a demon lurked along the northern horizon, visible only during the most violent tempests.

In the face of what seemed to be an impending catastrophe, the people of Dereth worked feverishly to prepare their defenses. Many sought the ancient weapons of Atlan that had been recovered the previous month. Studying the Atlan weapons and referencing clues in ancient texts, the Master Smiths Jibril ibn Rashid, Koga Hideki, and Alean the Steel Forger managed to create suits of Shadowhunter Armor from the gems and shards taken from Shadows and Crystal Fragments. Those who brought them these hard-to-recover trophies could have them fashioned into this exquisite mail.

At the end of the month, an expectant silence hung over Dereth, broken only by the howl of the Spires and the frantic hammering of the Master Smiths. Ground tremors struck the island, as if something within the earth was stirring...

Dereth: Morningthaw PY 11 / Earth: April 2000

In Morningthaw, darkness and blood flooded the land in equal measure.

The month began inauspiciously enough. The pent-up tension of the previous month, the sense of threat, like a towering wave about to break, hovered still over the heads of all. The clouds still raced, the moons still loomed, and the figure of the Demon still appeared during storms. . . yet no Shadow activity broke the oppressive quiet. The biggest news was the murder of the Banderling thief known as Gertarh.

In the desert, Hamud ibn Rafik fought a personal battle with the forces of Darkness, and it did not go well with him. “We no longer fear our mortality,” he wrote his daughter Devana, “but there exist worse things than death.” Having given his loyalty to the forces of Bael'Zharon, he found himself less and less able to resist their commands. He told Devana of a portal in the South Direlands leading to a facility called the Nexus. He seemed to think that some key to defeating the Shadows could be found in that place. Unfortunately, those attempting to investigate the complex found the way blocked by strong doors. Some attempted to slip through by exploiting unpredictable forms of teleportation magic.

During the pause, explorers rediscovered the legendary Silifi of Crimson Stars -- an artifact many despaired of ever finding. The weapon had been lost after the death of the One Queen, when the warrior Wari al Sha'im had wandered into the A'mun Desert in search of new challenges. Apparently he met a violent end, for his weapon was broken into many pieces, none of which were easily found. It seemed that the blade had been utterly shattered. Only careful exploration of the desert lands allowed the bold to reconstruct the Silifi. Kayna bint Iswas, a recluse Walim scholar learned in the lore of the Silifi, was instrumental in forging this Isparian relic anew.

Then the Shadows launched their invasion. The first wave, lead by a Shadow Captain, hit Fort Tethana and the Direlands. After a sharp battle, the defenders of the Fort repulsed the dark warriors, slaying the Captain. Shouts of victory echoed from the walls, but the euphoria was short-lived. The Shadows advanced across the northern land bridge into Osteth, encamping themselves at Plateau. They were defeated there as well, and moved further east, into the Mount Esper area. Their last Captain moved to Stonehold to lead her forces, but was anticipated. A large force met her there, and she was cut down.

While the remnants of the Captains' forces could be found in the forests and on the slopes of Esper, the Shadow armies seemed to have gone underground once more. The illusion of peace was shattered a week later, as their armies poured into the Direlands once more, under the leadership of the dread general Black Ferah.

She first assaulted the religious retreat at Wei Jhou. The defenders were hard pressed, but once Ferah appeared to lead the attack personally, she was quickly surrounded and cut down. Again, the defenders rejoiced, but Ferah, as she fell, hissed, “A fine attempt, but this is but my shadow. I shall move on!” So she did, advancing across the southern land bridge into the Linvak Mountains. Ferah was perhaps too bold in stating her intentions, and was met in the hamlet of Kara by strong forces. She and her Lieutenant were smote down within seconds of appearing. Again, the Isparians rejoiced. After this easy victory, some of the more powerful defenders thought the battle no longer worth their time, and left the field.

This proved a mistake, as the general moved her command post into one of the howling Shadow Spires. The portals leading to this blasphemous construct appeared randomly on the landscape. Not a few adventurers wandered into these gateways, and were slain by Ferah and her bodyguard. In the end, the Isparians assembled at the portals to launch a cohesive assault on the Spire. Ferah again found herself overwhelmed. She fell, coldly stating, “A fine attempt. . . I see I must reformulate my plans.” Again, the Isparians celebrated a victory, and again it was but a temporary respite.

Eight days after the climactic fight in the Spire, Ler Rhan's forces flooded the wastes of the A'mun desert. Unlike Ferah, he elected to establish his headquarters in the Spires at the outset. However, the portals to the Spires proved unresponsive to powerful adventurers. Younger warriors, mages, and archers made sorties into the Spire and were beaten back by this fearsome apparition. Eventually, however, he was overcome, and moved on to the plains in the Aluvian-settled regions of Dereth. Again, he was tracked and defeated. Once more he moved, into the Spire found in the festering Blackmire Swamp. Once more he fell, and Black Ferah reappeared in the Direlands to give his troops time to regroup.

To assist her, she brought to life the spires that loomed close to the towns of Osteth. The Shadows of the Spires -- Shadow Children, for the most part -- were fought by the newest arrivals to Dereth, as the portals leading to their lairs refused to activate for the mighty. The town Spires, however, did field two new horrors: Shadow Sprites and Spire Shadows. Sprites appeared to be Zefir that had been absorbed by the darkness. Spire Shadows, possibly the most disgusting of Bael'Zharon's followers, appeared to have grown out of the floor of the Spires. The implications were troubling -- it now appeared that the Spires were bizarre, living fusions of multiple creatures, twisted and bent to the will of the Hopeslayer.

Each of the Shadow Spires, however, carried a secret treasure: a piece of a key. When these were combined in the proper fashion, the doors to the Nexus were opened. Massive parties flooded the facility. Legions of powerful Undead and Shadows resisted their advance, but the sheer numbers told on defenders. At the bottom of the Nexus hovered a floating crystal, similar to the Great Work of Frore. It was quickly swarmed by the vengeful Isparians, and fell. Tayway of Thistledown, Freeze of Frostfell, Al Neo of Morningthaw, Qua Badib of Leafcull, Hell Maker of Harvestgain, and Lop of Darktide made the killing blows, and were rewarded with chunks of the Crystal. At the fall of the Nexus, the Shadow-armies melted away into the Darkness, leaving behind only an echo of unsettling, strangely satisfied, laughter.

Many questions were left unanswered. Where was the third general, Isin Dule, and why had he not participated in the assault? What was the purpose of the invasion, and why, if the Shadows have limitless armies, did so few participate? What was the Nexus Crystal, why were the Shadows protecting it, and why did they melt away upon its destruction? Most importantly, what was to come? The generals, it seems, were pushed back, but not defeated, with what consequences for Bael'Zharon, no one knows.

Dereth: Solclaim PY 11 / Earth: May 2000

A hush fell upon the land. The sun, so recently dimmed to a wan, bloody red, flared bright yellow once more. Of the Shadows, there was no sign, and their intentions remained inscrutable.

Jaleh al-Thani sought an answer to the mystery in the depths of the Direlands, the only area where Shadows were known to remain in numbers. Leading a caravan of like-minded Sho and Gharu'ndim, the noble settled near the Darktide Festival Stone, and established the town of Ayan Baqur. Rather quickly, a group of Aluvians arrived, driven by the overcrowding in Arwic. Among this group was Ulgrim the Unpleasant, a discredited scholar. While Ulgrim's stout-fueled rants entertained many, few believed a word he spoke.

Ayan Baqur's most unique resident, however, was “Claude,” a Virindi who floated into town one afternoon with a wave and a hollow-voiced, “Greetings. Might a simple human archmage dispense his wares from within your defenseless hovel?” Claude was given a tent a safe distance from his “fellow humans.” Whether the residents accepted him primarily out of fear, curiosity, or amusement remains open to debate.

Meanwhile, in the north, Lady Tallial acquired a seneschal to oversee her long-neglected tasks at Neydisa Castle. The Lady had been in a deep depression since the death of Sir Joffre Tremblant in Frore. Hence, her decision to take on the untrustworthy Gormling may be forgiven. Like Ulgrim, the seneschal could neither hold nor forgo his drink. Worse, he was discovered to be an agent of her rival, the bandit MacDougal. Tallial, who spent her days staring wretchedly at mementos Tremblant had left her, seemed oblivious to her peril.

Harking to the abandoned arts of Ispar, weaponsmiths recreated Viamont's piercing rapier weapons, sneeringly referred to as “the big stick-pins” by Aluvian highlanders. Many were promptly stolen by Drudges seeking shiny objects, and eventually passed on to more powerful monsters. Other new weapons were discovered by adventurers afield: a cursed dagger and electrical throwing daggers belonging to the elusive assassin Oswald. Again, the crafty rogue managed to evade his pursuers.

Finally, in the fastness of his mountain stronghold, the assassin Hamud ibn Rafik continued to fight his lonely war against the dominion of the Shadows. When some Tenebrous Edge initiates came to see him, they discovered he had been transformed into a Shadow himself, with barely any ability to speak. “I am unable to leave my chambers in this ancient, cursed fortress,” he had written his daughter. “I know now what will become of me. The Dark Master himself spoke to me and told me what lies in store. . . What awaits me now surpasses even the depraved rites of the Milantans.” Alone and tormented, the entity that had been Hamud stoically awaited his fate.

Dereth: Seedsow PY 11 / Earth: June 2000

The Shadow Spires, which held ceaseless vigil over six towns since Wintersebb, began to move. Almost simultaneously, a wave of fierce portal-energy squalls slid down the length of the Direlands, bringing with them fiercer varieties of banderling, shreth, and other familiar creatures. The scholars of Hebian-to, Zaikhal, and Cragstone argued that these events were far too coincidental and had to be somehow related. It was previously known that the Spires could disturb portalspace, as portals had begun to appear at random on the landscape at the same time the Spires rose.

Other creatures made their first appearance in Seedsow. Several powerful new types of undead skeletons began to rise from the sands and mires of the Direlands, and were seen to march to the northeast. As well, beautiful and deadly Empyrean diamond golem artifacts flooded out from long-abandoned storehouses.

Fortunately, the skilled bowyer, Yuan Hanzu, completed his research into replicating the old composite bows of Ispar with locally available materials. Archers and Crossbowmen across Dereth rejoiced, washed their hands often, and promptly joined the hoards of warriors and mages crowding into a number of newly discovered dungeons, heavily populated with Olthoi, Tuskers, Lugians, and other creatures.

The most mysterious discovery of the month involved a number of unusual new war magic spells, previously unknown to the arts of Ispar. Wandering mages in the wilderness claimed that mysterious voices from the darkness offered them “long-dormant powers” if they attempted bizarre combinations of reagents. The source of these whispers was not discovered. While hard to learn and cast, the new spells, including rings and streaks, quickly spread by word of mouth.

In local news, Yu Vuo-Ki and her sister Dansha-Ki moved to the north of the besieged town of Dryreach. Dansha, a rather inattentive woman, found herself captured by the roving Tumerok patrols that surrounded Dryreach, and had to be rescued by passing adventurers.

Dereth: Leafdawning PY 11 / Earth: July 2000

The Shadow Spires continued their slow, imperturbable glide over the landscape, moving towards goals none could yet guess. Small groups of Shadows could still be found wandering the landscape, but their army, and their generals, remained sight unseen. Many began to wonder what the enemy was planning, if anything. Some optimists insisted that the dark ones had forgotten about this world, and gone on the bigger conquests elsewhere.

In north- and southwestern Osteth, residents were harried by an influx of creatures from the Direlands, driven east by the new, ferocious creatures that arrived in Seedsow. They were not the only creatures busy, however, as the massive Lugians discovered an ore with unique properties in the Linvak Mountains to the south. Soon they had opened three mines to recover this “Chorizite,” which appeared to be conventional metal that had somehow been rendered magically “dead,” and could not be affected by enchanters. When humanity discovered this marvelous material, the workers quickly found themselves overrun with eager would-be miners.

While the Lugian miners logged a staggering number of workplace accidents with their supervisors, Isparian sages found a variety of uses for Chorizite. Refined and forged, it could make weapons capable of piercing all protective enchantments to self and armor, although these weapons also shrugged off all manner of arcane enhancement. Ground, it could be used as a reagent by mages. As a result of Chorizite's unique properties, spells that used powdered Chorizite were able to dispel enchantments on their target. Distilled, the ore could be used in alchemy, allowing those skilled in this art to make drinkable potions that would dispel low-level enchantments.

Meanwhile, one of the earliest defenders of Dereth was found to be not quite as dead as had been earlier assumed. The crypt of Mi Karu-Li, perhaps the most famous user of the Sho jitte weapon (some said he was the only user) was found empty. A note found nearby complained that he had been buried alive, and had gone off to complete his work. Explorers did later find Krau-Li, quite dead and half-decayed, but still maintaining that he was alive. In exchange for the return of one of his older jittes, he offered the reward of his newly developed “improved” jitte.

The smiths of Dereth also developed new weapons. Swordstaves and tridents came into use by spear users, as did spiked clubs for those who preferred the mace. Perhaps inspired by the ingenuity of humans, the mewling drudges “developed” wooden boards with nails stuck through them, and used them to poke innocent passersby. The giant Lugians took this “innovation” one step further. Young Lugian hooligans were soon to be found bashing one another with bigger boards, and bigger nails.

The biggest news of the month was the discovery of a passage to a heretofore-unknown island. A pair of undead heralds arrived in the Direlands, one in the northeast at the undead fortress of Chalicmere, and the other in the southeast, at a trio of sandy old crypts. In exchange for huge sums of money, these emissaries would cast a portal to the island of Aerlinthe, lying to the northeast of Dereth.

Aerlinthe was an intensely volcanic island, with several peaks ringing a central lagoon. It seemed, in fact, that the island's nature had been the death of its original population long ago; a ruined port was discovered along the southeast shore, its inhabitants frozen into positions of horror by falling ash. Many fossilized undead skeletons still wandered the island, as did a host of bizarre new creatures. Coral golems lined the navigation channel into the lagoon. Tenuous vapor and plasma golems roamed the calderas of the volcanoes and the underground.

Intrepid adventurers, following instructions found on the bones of an undead Empyrean smith, managed to restart the old forge mechanisms built into the central mountain of Tenkarrdun. With a rumble that could be heard as far away as Ayan Baqur, the volcano came to life. Plumes of magma and a hoard of powerful blue-white fire elementals issued forth from the caldera of great Tenkarrdun. Those who visited the steaming crater found themselves overwhelmed and driven back.

However, the sighting of a great beast brought them back for more. The “Behemoth of Tenkarrdun,” a huge and powerful (though stupid) magma golem, had crawled up from the depths of the mountain to blister and squash all who dared approach its home. It was, eventually, overwhelmed and killed. Some say a mere duo managed to slay it, others insist that it took an assault of nearly a hundred to bring it down.

Unfortunately, Aerlinthe has managed to keep its remaining secrets for the time being. As Leafdawning drew to a close, the bulk of the invading force of fire elementals still held the caldera of Mount Tenkarrdun. While many searched unsuccessfully for some obscure, hidden method to end their reign, few seemed willing to directly challenge them in open combat. Perhaps this was due to the fierce conditions in the crater, or perhaps because what commanded the occupying forces could not easily be discerned.