THAUMONT 3, AC 1014: Ersel Destroyed
Location: Ersel, Eusdria. SC
Description: Starved and without reinforcements for weeks, the Knights of Eusdria and the Guards within Ersel finally succumb to the raiding Huptai goblinoids(See Va 5, Va 25; Fl 14 , Fl 20.)
What This Means: King Sigismund III was unable to raise enough druidic defenders from Robrenn to clear another path for his trapped honourbound. Robrenn is also unwilling to send too many of its Guards, or to send its most powerful druids, as they still do not completely trust the "unnatural" ways of the Eusdrians. This is another sad blow for the Eusdrians.
THAUMONT 5, AC 1014: Tenpocatliotl Razed
Location: Tenpocatliotl, Azcan Empire. HW
Description: A huge wave of Schattenalfen suddenly pour out into the streets of the city of Tenpocatliotl. The initial panic and element of surprise gives the elves a huge advantage in their attack on the city. Soon, the Azcan manage to piece together a unified defence, but they are too late to stop most of the onslaught.
The Schattenalfen eventually flee back into the depths of the ground, but not before destroying and burning fully three quarters of the entire city.
Raids against the city continue on for several weeks. (See Nu 15; Ya 7 .)
What This Means: This is the most daring raid by the Schattenalfen in centuries. Over the past century, they have slowly dug tunnels to the second largest city of the Azcan Empire, built several secret passageways to the sewers and streets, and then assembled their army.
As all their previous raids with such tactics, the Azcans where caught completely by surprise. It is only because Tenpocatliotl is the second largest city in the Empire that the elves were unable to utterly destroy it.
Still, this raid will have serious repercussions on Azca, as Tenpocatliotl was the main source of gold and wealth for the Empire. The loss of the mines around the city as they are forced to rebuild, and hold their defences, will definitely be felt by all Azcans.
THAUMONT 5, AC 1014: Arturo in Akesoli
Location: Akesoli, Darokin. KW
Description: Arturo Olivera, one of the original Followers of the Prophet Sitara (who had saved him from orcs back in AC 1012; see PWA3), arrives in the city of Akesoli in Darokin. From there, he books passage on a boat to Akorros, his home town. . (See Va 25; Th 7, Ka 11 .)
What This Means: Arturo is simply doing as Sitara has commanded. He has decided that his home town of Akorros is as good as any place to build a temple to Gareth.
THAUMONT 6, AC 1014: Favian Tries Diplomacy
Location: Faraway, Verdan, Esterhold Peninsula. KW
Description: King Favian Vern sends diplomats to discuss with King Nicodemus of Verdan of a way to avoid a useless war between their two kingdoms. Favian's messengers affirm King Nicodemus and ex- King Xanthus will be allowed to leave freely, with all who want to go with them and with all treasure they want, if he accepts to relinquish all claims to Verdan.
King Nicodemus has them arrested and executed. (See Th 20, Th 25 .)
What This Means: Nicodemus is confident in his army. He has always stopped Jennite invasions coming from the wild east, and has crushed all slave unrest easily. He knows the rebels are not as well organised here as they were in Blackrock. He has prepared his army for the event, which has been reinforced last year by the remains of Xanthus', including the now-repaired flying man-o-war.
THAUMONT 7, AC 1014: Arturo Back Home
Location: Akorros, Darokin. KW
Description: Arturo Olivera arrives in Akorros. After a brief reunion with his family, he begins his task of preaching the words of Gareth to the Darokinians. (See Va 25, Th 5; Ka 11 .)
THAUMONT 9, AC 1014: Strange Magic in the Forest
Location: Canolbarth Forest, Aengmor. KW
Description: The elves of Alfheim are mystified as their magic spells fail to bring back water to the Canolbarth Forest. Some of the spells even misfire and cause minor injuries. Tension begins to mount between the shadow elves and surface elves, as each suspects the other of sabotage. . (See Va 3, Va 28; Th 27, Ya 12.)
What This Means: A few of the surface elves in the party are members of the Alfheim Avengers, but they are not responsible for any of the incidents. These elves truly suspect the shadow elves of the sabotage, and are trying to cause dissent among the two elven subraces by throwing out accusations on the slightest error made by the shadow elves. The Alfheim Avengers would rather see the shadow elves thrown out of Canolbarth rather than live with them in peace.
Jorodrin, now in charge of the Alfheim elves, believes the shadow elves, and does his best to calm the younger, hot-blooded elves in his group.
THAUMONT 12, AC 1014: New High Priestess
Location: Atruaghin Clans. KW
Description: Eelsha Spider's Kiss becomes the High Priestess of the Tiger Clan of Atruaghin after the former high priest dies in his sleep (see GAZ 14: Atruaghin Clans).
What This Means: Eelsha has wanted to be High Priestess all her life and has finally succeeded in poisoning the former High Priest. Now that she is in charge, she begins to become more ambitious and starts looking at the neighbouring clans and their territories.
THAUMONT 12, AC 1014: Zvornik on the Attack
Location: Zvornik, City-State of Zvornik. SC
Description: Derdren Zvornik, the Margrave of Zvornik, sends his military out to capture the free town of Bistr. The village falls within the day, and Margrave Zvornik declares that all of Cape Korcula is now under the jurisdiction of the City-State of Zvornik. (See Ya 18, Ya 24 .)
What This Means: Derdren Zvornik has always been power- hungry, seeking nothing less than to rule a kingdom under his name. When his father died last year, he started to build up his forces to commence his dreams of conquest and glory.
The forces of Hule watch the sudden deployment carefully, looking for an opportunity for their own expansion.
THAUMONT 14, AC 1014: Abandoned by the Knights
Location: Arypt Desert, Davania. KW
Description: Having used the Karameikans to help pilot the Alphatian skyship out of the Hollow World, General Anna von Hendriks decides that now is the time to get rid of them. The Heldannic Knights turn on the Karameikans and a battle erupts on the entire ship.
The fight is forced to a halt as the ship begins to plummet back down to the earth as no one is controlling it. The two groups work together and manage to prevent the complete destruction of the skyship as it crashes into a large sand dune. Still, the ship is now damaged beyond repair.
Coincidence has it that more Heldannic Knights were injured during the crash than Karameikans, so the Karameikans quickly take control of the situation.
The leader of the Karameikans decides to let the Knights go provided that they promise on Vanya to go their own way and not to attack them again. General Anna von Hendriks is forced to agree. The two groups separate and go their own way.
Looking at their maps, the Karameikans discover that they must be somewhere in the Arypt Desert on the continent of Davania. They start to head north, back toward the Sea of Dread.
What This Means: The Heldannic Knights and the Karameikans managed to escape the Hollow World by the southern polar opening, the route usually used by the Heldannic Knights, with the help of their skyship. It took them most of the year AC 1013 to get to the south pole without being spotted by the Alphatians. With a risky procedure that the Heldannic Knights have witnessed the Princess Ark do, they sped through the centre of the polar opening and managed to break out into the Void before the anti-magic forced the ship to crash. Luckily, it just worked and they managed to regain control just hundreds of feet above ground before crashing.
For the past week they have been flying over Davania and heading back to the Known World, where the Karameikans plan on revealing the existence of the Hollow World. General Anna von Hendriks prefers to keep the Hollow World a secret so that only the Heldannic Knights would be aware of it and capable of exploiting it. The solution to keeping it a secret was simply to silence the Karameikans, permanently. Unfortunately, she failed, and now the Knights must also find a way back home without the help of a skyship.
THAUMONT 16, AC 1014: Attack on the Monastery
Location: Monastery of Gareth, Khurish Massif, Sind. KW
Description: The next unit of Huleans arrives at the monastery of Gareth and attempts to capture the heretic priests. But the orcs and soldiers are unable to get to the top of the mountain where the monastery is, so Sitara and Anand remain safe in their religious stronghold. (See Va 17, Va 23, Va 25; Fl 1 , Fl 10.)
THAUMONT 17, AC 1014: Bandits in Heldann
Location: 100 miles from Freiburg, Heldannic Territories. KW
Description: A patrol of Heldannic Knights bringing gold (taxes and treasures from captured lands) back to Freiburg is ambushed by a large group of armed peasants. The peasants manage to grab the wagon with the gold and get away. The rebels, knowing the surrounding forests better than the Knights, manage to split up and lose their pursuers. The use of magic prevents the knights from using their own clerical magic to track down the traitors.
The Heldannic Knights believe that Geoffrey of Grunturm is behind the daring raid. The loss of money causes a serious blow to the war funds of the nation. (See Ya 14, Fe 7.)
What This Means: The Heldannic Knights were never truly loved by the commoners of the Heldann Freeholds, but were tolerated because life managed to go on more-or-less as usual. However, last year, Wulf von Klagendorf declared an Inquisition against the non-believers in Vanya (JA, Nuwmont 1, AC 1013). Too many sons and daughters have been executed in that Inquisition, and many of them only to gain land/property for the Lord leading the Inquisition more than for any religious heresy. Many Heldanners have had enough, and are ready to start a rebellion against their oppressors. This raid is just the first of many skirmishes and was as much intended to show inspiration to the commoners as to deal a severe blow to the Knights' coffers.
Geoffrey of Grunturm is behind this particular group of rebels. His own lands in southern Norwold having been overrun and conquered (and his people enslaved by the priesthood of Vanya) by the Heldannic Knights, Geoffrey has decided that he has had enough with the clerics of Vanya. He has returned to his homeland, having vowed not to give up until the Knights have been defeated so that they can no longer harm and persecute anyone else. He has managed to inspire several peasants who have also decided that enough is enough.
THAUMONT 17, AC 1014: Hard-Ball Stadium Completed
Location: Ionace, NACE. KW
Description: The Stadium that will host the Super-Hard-Ball matches in Flaurmont is completed just in time on Ionace. (See Va 1; Fl 1 , Fl 28.)
What This Means: The Council declared the season open the first day of Vatermont, although the stadium what not yet completed at the time. Magic has been used to speed it up.
THAUMONT 17, AC 1014: A Deadly Sandstorm
Location: Arypt Desert, Davania. KW
Description: The Karameikan Polar Expedition spots a huge sandstorm approaching them rather quickly. They look for shelter and soon discover a huge crystal pyramid. They take shelter within the strange structure. (See Th 14; Th 18 , Th 22.)
What This Means: The crystal pyramid belonged to the now long gone Katapec people. The reference to them is given in PC2: Top Ballista, on p.28 in the Tabi description. What exactly this culture was or what happened to them (Hollow World?) is unknown.
THAUMONT 18, AC 1014: Attempt at Communication
Location: Arypt Desert, Davania. KW
Description: The leader of the Karameikan Polar Expedition decides, on a lark, to try the scroll of communication he has been carrying around for the past three years. The scroll had failed in the Hollow World, but perhaps it will work again now that they are back on the surface world.
There is no answer to his message. (See Th 14 , Th 17; Th 22, Fl 12 .)
What This Means: The captain of the Farseeker has given up on the expedition and believes they are all dead. The Farseeker returned to Karameikos in the spring of AC 1013 (See PWA3, Ei 28.). No one is looking at the scroll of communication any more.
THAUMONT 20, AC 1014: Assault on Verdan
Location: Verdan, Esterhold Peninsula. KW
Description: Although he has troops stationed in Alpha and the Yanniveys, Commander Broderick decides for the invasion of Verdan. Knowing his submersible galleys will be no surprise, Broderick decides to attack from different directions at the same time. Of course, he puts his submersibles and ships into position on the Verdan coast and Faraway's harbour, with marines pouring out of them, but he also leads infantry through the woods of Esterhold from the port cities of Anchorage to the west and Rock Harbour to the south. At the same time, some Jennite tribes lead skirmishes on the eastern forts - thanks to Broderick's gold. The Jennite slaves in Faraway, hoping at the sight of the foreign troops, cause some trouble within the city - although they are largely disorganised.
King Nicodemus didn't expect such an all-out assault, and finds it difficult to battle on all fronts at the same time. The undefended interior land quickly falls to Broderick's marching troops; only the capital and the three eastern forts remain uncaptured, though they become isolated from each other. (See Th 6; Th 25, Fl 7 .)
THAUMONT 22, AC 1014: Marching Home
Location: Arypt Desert, Davania, and Qeodhar. KW
Description: The Karameikans decide that the best place to go right now would be the Thyatian city of Raven Scarp. With a specific destination in mind (and the sandstorm over), the group marches out into the desert. (See Th 17, Th 18; Fl 12 , Fl 25.)
THAUMONT 25, AC 1014: Faraway Besieged
Location: Faraway, Verdan, Esterhold Peninsula. KW
Description: Surprised by the way things turned out, King Nicodemus decides to throw all of his forces into the battle. His divisions have been more or less able to keep the Alphatian armies at bay so far, although the rest of the land is probably no more his - except perhaps the eastern forts. He fears an uprising of the Jennite slaves, however, and he knows he would have a hard time fighting it with all his troops busy repelling the Confederated Army. So he decides to strike with Xanthus' man-o-war, and delights in the sight of the ship blasting squads of attackers trying to break through.
Suddenly, three more skyships appear in the sky, and shoot at the man- o-war. The ship soon crashes to the ground, damaged beyond repair. The Jennite slaves cheer at the sight of the crashing ship, and seize the opportunity to rebel again.
Attacked from sea, air, land, and from inside the city, the Verdan troops find themselves overwhelmed and must retreat to the palace where they rally. By the end of the day, most of the city has been conquered. Many Verdan masters are assassinated by their rebelling slaves, and small groups of loyalist troops that find themselves surrounded by rebels are butchered - the Verdan soldiers do the same with the groups of rebels they encounter. (See Th 6, Th 20 ; Fl 7, Fl 18.)
What This Means: Broderick knew of Xanthus' ship, so he hired all the skyships that Floating Ar and Aeria could spare. He didn't put them to work immediately, however, rather preferring to surprise Nicodemus and Xanthus.
His tactic proved successful, because the destruction of the two kings' ace caused their armies' rout. Broderick himself is surprised by the rapidity with which he has taken most of the land, and hopes this will not cause Thyatis to react with hostility. Broderick now does his best to prevent the rebels from murdering everyone of Alphatian descent they see - he knows the surrender of the palace and the forts is only a matter of time.
THAUMONT 27, AC 1014: Source of Warped Magic Found
Location: Canolbarth Forest, Aengmor. KW
Description: After a couple of weeks of research, the elves discover that some strange magic is starting to overwhelm the forest and is preventing the elves' magic from working. The exact nature of this magic remains a complete mystery.
Both Jorodrin and Tanadaleyo are intrigued by this and decide to study it further. (See Va 28, Th 9; Ya 12 , Ya 19.)
What This Means: Although each sub-race of elves blames the other, in fact neither are directly responsible for preventing the magic from working. The former nation of Alfheim has always been a strong magical place. Most of the magical energies of the nation focused into areas that became known as Magic Points (see GAZ 5; The Elves of Alfheim).
When the shadow elves unleashed their great magic (some say enhanced by Atzanteotl, but that might be a rumour spread by the Alfheim Avengers) against the forests of Alfheim, that magic eventually dissipated and merged into the existing magic points, corrupting them as it once corrupted the now dying forest. At this point, the magic points are causing more nightmares, madness and insanity than ever before, and they are releasing never before seen monsters onto the world of Mystara.
As a side effect, they are beginning to influence and cause the strongest/largest magical effects (such as nation-wide weather magic) to go wild or not work at all.
THAUMONT 28, 1014 AC: Prince Malachie's Saviour
Location: Chateau Morlay, Glantri. KW
Description: A heavily armed, trained, and magical group of mercenaries breaks into Chateau Morlay and attacks Prince Malachie. The castle defenders are unable to stop the intruders, and several guards are killed. When Malachie himself is cornered by the assailants, another mage arrives and joins to the defence of the Prince. This unknown mage uses several powerful spells and manages to chase off the attackers. Once the danger is gone, the man disappears as mysteriously as he arrived. None of the attackers are captured.
Rumours in taverns about the incident seem to indicate that Etienne d'Ambreville returned to help Prince Malachie just as he did two summers ago to help his successor against Henri d'Ambreville. Some begin to claim that his ghost is watching over his former allies during his life.
What This Means: Synn discovered that Malachie gave Jaggar one of her scales and has decided that she has had enough with the interfering Prince. She used her vast treasure horde to get the best mercenaries she could find. Through a chain of contacts, so no trail could be lead back to her, she hired them to eliminate her opponent without further delay. Unfortunately they failed.
The mysterious mage that saved Malachie was indeed Etienne d'Ambreville. Rumours of his return have been going around since the summer of AC 1012, but the former Prince has decided he would rather stay in hiding until he can recuperate and regain all the power he once had (either attain Immortality again or avoid being detected by the other Immortals until he is ready for them if he is Immortal once more, depending on the outcome of Mark of Amber). When he does return, Etienne will need all the allies he can get to help him re-establish his political power, and therefore could not afford for Prince Malachie to be defeated. He was forced to come out of hiding to help his ally.
The other Princes of Glantri, upon
hearing the rumour, will begin to once more search and try and
discover Etienne d'Ambreville as they did when rumours left Chateau
Sylaire about his return. As during their previous search, all
means mundane and magical will reveal nothing of his presence.