No answer was forthcoming.  The group fought a number of loose bands of the undead effectively enough, and then set to scour the location for any clues.  Aside from a ledger leading them to a mine to the south, there was little to see.  They moved from the compound proper to Mr. Peterson’s cabin, and found our murdered proprietor.  Quickly looking through the structure, they found the deed to the lands, Mr. Peterson’s name accompanied by that of a mysterious Ragnar.  Leaving the cabin, the group was attacked and nearly defeated by a possibly undead creature.  They immediately dubbed this creature “Ragnar.”

This taste of  the supernatural had the group all too ready to leave Peterson foundry, but not before they made certain that the furnace could never be used again.  They set the furnace on fire and left.  After limbering up a mule to cart out some of the refined steel, they beat a hasty retreat across the river.  Their plans were to head to the mine listed in the ledger, owned by some person named Ryals.  As they traveled through the forest toward the South Road, they ventured too close to a wary community of fey.

A few of the fey hunters brought down their quarry and brought the party into their copse.  The fey, known as grigs (think of a pixie with the lower body and hindquarters of an oversized cricket) discussed the last few hours’ activities in “their wood” with the group.  Upon learning that Grant, Sho Tao and Ark-Amedes were responsible for destroying the zombie smithies, they rejoiced and rewarded the intrepid band handsomely (with some useful equipment and food), then sent them on their way.

The group agreed that it was in their best interest to travel to the south, following the River of the Three Pines to New Thesh.  The mine that they had word of was located near the Great Library of the Conclave. Stopping there would give the group an opportunity to possibly communicate with their contacts back in Morville.  The trip should have been straightforward and short.  New Thesh is only a few leagues east from the South Road, and this portion of the road was wide and clear.  However, they were beset upon by highwaymen disguised as part of the Red Duke’s guard.

The Red Duke (a very powerful and influential noble who shall be discussed at a later time) had been charged to protect the South Road. His guard kept travelers on the South Road safe from brigands, wild animals, even bad weather.  In these disguised brigands, the group had uncovered the barest clue to a much larger problem.  The group was able to rout the would-be thieves and claim their horses, weapons and hauberks, deciding to pay Duke Offa a visit.

Ark-Amedes was the first of the group to speculate that they were being followed.  Rather than possibly endanger Winny, Sho-Tao conceded that the group should break off from the Road and travel due east.  This would take them to the headwaters of the lesser Thesh River. Then they would cross to the northeast of New Thesh.  This trek would take more than twice as long to reach their destination, but highwaymen and anyone tracking them would be much more hard pressed to follow.

The passage was relatively safe, considering the location.  The foothills of the Great Thesh Mountains that cradle the headwaters of the three tributaries of the Thesh river are not very suitable for cities and castles.  This makes for a wild and uncivilized area, where kobold are free to live in their grottos without being accosted by men.  Likewise, the mountain villages of hobgoblins enjoy relative prosperity away from the heavy hand of the Emperor.  However, as a result, travelers such as our erstwhile companions are also free game.

The group was first ambushed by a squad of kobold hunters who destroyed their cart and drove them to the Headwater Bridge, which the kobolds had already destroyed.  Grant led the group away from the ambush and they traveled up into the mountains to continue their journey.  Along the way they narrowly avoided a series of traps laid out by both their kobold hunters and a company of hobgoblins.  The hobgoblins tried to scatter the group, but Sho-Tao kept the band together and they retreated out of range of their assailants’ bows.  Weary and exhausted, the group managed to, at long last, reach the small town of New Thesh.

They boarded a room for the night, purchased a new cart, and stabled their horses, allowing themselves a short respite.  With Winny’s help, Ark-Amedes took the time to visit the Great Library of the Conclave, the largest library in the Theshian Empire.  He was only allowed to view a handful of tomes.  Meanwhile Sho Tao performed for the inn patrons to pay for their room.  Grant visited a shrine of Arguth, tithing and restoring his spirit.  Battered and tired, the group had a good day of rest in New Thesh.  The next morning would see them traveling to the Ryals Mine, a good ride to the west.

It is at this point, when the group leaves the relatively safe walls of Morville, that their path swerves from the wide and sunlit to the narrow and choked with weeds.  It will be months before they return to Morville.

The trip to the Peterson Foundry really starts in the hamlet of Swanvale, named after the Swan river that serves as it’s lifeline.  The Swan River is hardly a river by any standard – a simple tributary to the River of Three Pines to the south, but it is large enough to support the fishing and transport that these small villages require.  Swanvale itself is hardly much of a community.  It is too small to warrant the direct involvement of the Empire, too isolated to be a stop for wayfarers, too quiet to notice.  That is exactly why Ark-Amedes was sent down.  Mackie prefers clients who are quiet, small, and isolated.  It keeps his nose clean.

Swanvale happened to be on the way to Peterson Foundry, so stopping over was not any sort of inconvenience.  The group arrived in good time, and Ark-Amedes handled his transaction quickly, and procured a shipment (guarded by an obedient clay golem) from an elderly gentleman named Janus.  The two hit it off well enough, and the old man gave Ark-Amedes a bit of a clue as to what they might expect later.

They didn’t spend too much time in the small community, but instead traveled downriver to Grant’s primary destination, the foundry.  The foundry itself was small and it was rather isolated, but had historically done good business with Morville to the north.  The group was not immediately impressed with the foundry, because it did not look particularly active, but they strode in and began to investigate.

Their immediate discovery was that the foundry was dead, that is completely operated by the dead.  The workers had somehow been killed, but then forced to work as the undead.  They first encountered an undead woman who had no free will and only spoke through some unknown magicks, and only to welcome the group to the foundry.  They uncovered a ledger in what seemed to be an office, and the group also discovered the reason for the poor quality steel.  In short, it was zombie-made.

The group entered the furnace building and found that there was a group of undead loading separated iron ore and crushed charcoal into the furnace.  Grant noticed that the poor soul responsible for adding coal to the eventual mixture was unintentionally adding too much.  He teachings reminded him that too much coal made for very brittle steel.  He carefully corrected the creature, and the process improved, and the next batch of steel was quality.

The group explored a bit more, with Sho Tao finding a large chained ogre’s skeleton pounding out steel ingot, and also found several bodies of workers near the compound’s well.  It was clear that there had been some sort of foul play that happened at the foundry, but the group could find little evidence at first as to what had caused it.  Through Grant’s insistence, the group thought it best to halt the workers.  Things are sometimes easier said than done.

The dragons of Kuralia were the first sentient people brought upon Kuralia, by Arguth. It was the dragons who brought magic to Kuralia, and who taught it to Elves, Dwarves, Centaurs, Ogres, Kalikai, Orcs, and Goblins. Dragons refused to teach magic to men, who then were compelled to steal it from their neighbors. The Dragons also created some of the early wonders of Kuralia which can still be seen, if you know where to look.

As far as population is concerned, Dragons in Kuralia came in different forms as in other worlds, but manifested somewhat differently than their peers. Represented upon Kuralia were Steel, Blue, Marsh, Storm, Dwarf Gold and Green dragons. All those listed of the common true dragons are not completely identical to common expectation. Blue and Green match up with their counterparts fairly well, though there are a number of blue dragons who were not evil.  Marsh dragons, while physically different (Being gray with mossy looking scales) than Black Dragons, fill the niche of the lurking dangerous swamp dragon quite nicely. Storm Dragons are similar enough to Red Dragons, but deal with weather, not fire, and are not evil. Steel Dragons are somewhat similar to Bronze dragons in most respects, but are entirely subterranean, and have other differences, as well. Dwarf Gold dragons have all the abilities of a Gold Dragon, but are the size of a Faerie Dragon, manifesting the subsequent physical traits of that species. See the bestiary for more details about these creatures.

After the dragons brought magic to the world, they were satisfied to explore the world and all of its domains, eventually spreading throughout all of Kuralia. All nations have stories about Dragons, but the dragons, even before the War of Nations, made a point to not directly interfere with the affairs of the “lesser people”. Only on a handful of occasions have dragons, by design or by accident, drastically affected the affairs of Kuralia.

The dragons, for the entire duration of their dominion in Kuralia, led a simple existence, occasionally warring between each other, and indirectly meddling in the affairs of mortals, as was their whim. Generally speaking, dragons did not concern themselves with the chaos of the lesser peoples, and set out to make their own lives pleasurable and interesting.
Most dragon traditions were particular to the dragon in question, and individuals varied wildly even among clutchmates. Storm Dragons, for example, played a game where pairs would “Chase the Lightning”, diving from cloud cover toward Kuralia at a phenomenal speed. The goal was to be the last to pull up from the potentially fatal dive. Many Storm Dragons, indeed, suffered crippling injuries from this pastime.
Much of dragon society was far and apart from the purview of man or dwarf. Even the powerful Old Culdorian Empire had no real control over the actions of dragons. As such, there was very little known about dragon society. There were, however, a very few identifying events that marked their presence, such as the naming of the Dragon King.

Every millennium, all of the dragons would come together and declare the Dragon King, a seemingly simple event, but not so for their capricious attitude. The title meant nothing, except as a position of honor. The actions that decided the title were the most direct involvement the dragons, as a whole, ever had with the “Lesser People”. It was usually a competitive event, chosen long beforehand and involved the dragons “creating” unusual events, instigating small wars, moving entire cities from one location to another; pretty much anything was acceptable as long as no other dragon was harmed. The winner was decided by the whole of the dragon community, who would generally gather en masse at a predetermined location. The decision was based upon precedent, creativity, and scope, though dragons have always tended to be rather arbitrary about such things. Generally speaking, these events were done without molesting other people, but occasional disruptions had occurred, mostly forgivable, except for the creation of the Minotaurs.

Minotaurs, as a race, a people, and a nation, are completely accidental. The first Minotaurs were a created people made, in part, to determine the Dragon King, near the middle of the Old Culdorian period. The Dwarf Gold Dragon Snillrik transformed the human denizens of the northern section of Culdorn into cows, in part to display the largess of the Culdorian regime, but also because she found cows to be funny. The other dragons agreed that she should reign as Dragon Queen for the next millennium.

Snillrik, however, did not completely think her folly through, forgetting that there would be consequences for this event. The selection of the Dragon King was held just after the Festival of Planting, a fertility celebration. As a result, there were an unusually high number of Culdorian women who were with child when they were transformed. The number of women who were pregnant who were transformed into cows gave birth to Minotaurs. The cows, still lucid in their transformed state, had managed to eke out a semblance of civilized life, laughable by any means, but enough to properly care for their offspring, and teach them the ways of men. Subsequent couplings between the enchanted cows brought forth more Minotaur progeny, and the Minotaurs became populous rather quickly. Growing in both number and culture with each subsequent generation, as the Minotaurs were determined to prosper.

Maintaining a vestigial human culture through their parents, the Minotaurs grew quickly to be an organized group of clans cloistered in and around the islands of the Terrible Sea of Maldorath. Once united by cause and number, they went forth beginning a protracted campaign to overthrow the dominion of the Dragons, especially in the dominion of magic. This was the second of the two events that sparked the War of Nations. This war would be the defining moment for the Minotaur people.

The Minotaurs, for their part, were a major force during the War of Nations, being the chief engine for the fall of the Old Culdorian Empire. Upon their human cousins’ collapse, the Minotaurs took up the mantle of the Culdorian Empire, and claiming dominion over all of the holdings of that Empire, they quickly dominated the northwest mainland of Thesh. The Culdorian Minotaurs quickly gained control of most of the island holdings throughout the Misty Sea and the Terrible Sea of Maldorath. They forged a solid alliance with the Turmishites, and pushed into the western holdings of the Old Culdorian Empire. They attempted a short peace with the Plains Elves and some of the Kingdoms on the Theshian mainland, helping, in part, to re-establish the Conclave of Great Magic, guaranteeing that something like the creation of the Minotaurs would never happen again.

It was after the war of nations that the dragons of Kuralia opted to withdraw from the world en masse. Being essential to the essence of magic in Kuralia, the dragons could not completely leave. The dragons instead decided to join their essence into five forms, which would become known as the Great Dragons, and they scattered themselves across Kuralia, hiding from the lesser peoples. The Great Dragons bound themselves to never interfere directly in the affairs of greater Kuralia, unless the flow of magic or one of the Great Dragons individually was put in danger.

The Great Dragons have held their pledge for not being involved in the ways of the lesser peoples, for the most part. Of the five Great Dragons, only two have been seen since their inception. Gnomes in Stonefoot discovered the Dragon of the Thesh Mountains, and its presence has been continually monitored, even though it has remained aloof about its discovery. The Dragon of the Jade Sea, however, had made a habit of making itself plainly visible to the Gi and Chenchu, which served to greatly facilitate a civil relationship between the two peoples. It is this Great Dragon who was captured by Lao Tsi, and whose essence was tapped, creating the Dragon Warriors.

The whereabouts of the other three Great Dragons are speculative, at best. The most isolated, and least known regions of Kuralia, The Midnight and the Barren Gray, are good candidates for Dragon strongholds, though there has been little evidence of any activity there. The Vast Pale and the northern ranges of the Northlands too might be good secluded spots for the Dragons. Drow in Kanaella, have scattered reports of a creature fitting the description of a dragon roaming the mantle, and the Svirfneblin have substantiated this on at least one occasion, so it is quite likely that a third Great Dragon has been located. The Kalikai have suggested that a Great Dragon sleeps in the Deep Morass, but that story has been linked to legends far older than the events that created the Great Dragons.

You’ve probably heard any number of tales begin in such a way.  This phrase suggests that the person telling the story isn’t exactly the primary source.   That really is the problem with storytelling, but I’d argue that it is also the main reason for its success.  Primary sources get in the way of a good story.  It is where you get unpleasant, uncompromising truth, and that is a Good Thing.  The problem comes in when people enter the mix.  People like a good story.  The primary source may not meet that criteria.  It is up to the storyteller, be it the scribe, the historian, or the songwriter, to turn what is likely ugly into beauty.

Ark-amedes has taken it upon himself to write down everything that has happened to the group and placed it into a bound book that, when the time for diplomacy arises, he gives away a copy to whomever they are speaking.  This tome is the hard truth version, as close to the primary source as the group can touch.  As such, it is completely inaccessible to most people the party encounters.  It takes the storyteller (Sho Tao) and the diplomat (XaXa) to make it accessible.  It isn’t Ark-amedes’ fault, either.  The primary source is ugly.  No sane person wants to believe it. Perhaps we should begin at the beginning.

Grant Stoneridge and Ark-amedes arrived in Morville from the east at a very busy time for the northern Theshian city.  The two Durga, or dwarf-kin, had been traveling for only a short time when they arrived at the “Gate to the North.”  Morville guards the entrance to a dangerous mountain pass that is only clear for a few weeks per year.  Merchants and other travellers gather in Morville, awaiting the time when the snow recedes enough to allow the dangerous eight day passage to the neighboring kingdom of Nysond.  Our priest and scribe arrived just days before the opening of the pass, with plans to set up shop in the town for a while, hoping to buy some goods, and hear the news from arriving merchants that were passing through.

The two encountered Sho Tao, who appeared to be a foreigner, but his manners were local.  It turned out that his Zuihou parents who were killed in a war, so Sho Tao had been raised Theshian.  He made fast friends with Ark-amedes, and the group decided to travel together to explore the folklore of the Dragons*.  However, three things happened to sidetrack our intrepid heroes from that destination.  First, Grant joined the Guild of Craftsmen of Morville. Second, Ark-amedes got in trouble.  Third, Sho Tao met a girl.

Grant is a priest of Arguth.  Arguth is the patron God of the Dwarves, though some other groups also hold Arguth in high regard. Arguth exemplifies all the qualities present in Dwarven culture, and it is his teachings that have formed the lives of the Dwarves. Other races follow him as a deity of war, smithing, and knowledge, but to the Dwarves he is their progenitor. They are his children, and serve him faithfully.  As an acolyte of the order, Grant opted to become the liaison for the temple of Arguth in the Guild at Morville.

A smith by clan-trade, Grant attended a few of the meetings of the Guild, and found out a few important things.  Firstly, Morville has no furnace, and as such, no place to actually smelt steel.  Secondly, the Peterson Foundry, where most Morville craftsmen purchased their piglets, had sent some rotten steel – brittle, shoddy, low in carbon.  In short, steel that would not be serviceable for weapons of war.  Grant was to accompany a Guildsman, Mercy (another Durga) on her investigation of the Peterson Foundry.

Ark-amedes is a kid.  Seriously, he’s only about 7 or 8 in human years.  He’s a runaway gnome child with a head full of book learning and very little walking around sense.  As such, he’s fine when he’s supervised, that is, when he’s in the company of friends.  He was left on his own the day Grant went to the Guild meeting.  He was “minding his own business” (looking for trouble), got noticed, and proceeded to get attacked in an alley.  He managed to compel the two toughs to start fighting each other while he fled.  The authorities questioned him and let him go.  He was then, against his wishes, introduced to a local fence, a minotaur named Mackey, who demanded he take a package to a man in the village of Swanvale, about a week to the south.  He didn’t realize until it was too late that the “package” was two young women who had likely been recently purchased by one of Mackey’s clients.

Until very recently, Sho Tao had been  a ward of the Conclave.  His adoptive father, Mortimer, is an agent of the Conclave who endowed him with a good education and small bit of material wealth.  He had been visiting Morville looking for information about the Dragons, when he met a young conclave apprentice named Galswintha (Winny, for short).  The two hit it off and, when Sho Tao decided to travel with Ark-amedes, Winny opted to go along as well.  Sho Tao didn’t know it at the time, but Winny had been ordered by her master, a paranoid archmage named Cunare, to keep tabs on him.  According to Winny’s later admission, Cunare and Mortimer were rivals, and Cunare didn’t trust Sho Tao.

So, the short of it is that Grant was sent to the Peterson Foundry on official Guild business as an escort to a Guildsman, Ark-amedes was sent to a village near the Foundry on very unofficial business, and Sho-Tao went along with his new gnomish friend to the south, with a spy in tow.  It is at this point, when the group leaves the relatively safe walls of Morville, that their path swerves from the wide and sunlit to the narrow and choked with weeds.  It will be months before they return to Morville.

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*I’ll devote an entire post for the Dragons of Kuralia, since they are indirectly related to what’s going on with this campaign, and because Sho Tao digs ‘em.

The second thing you need to know is that Kuralia is an old place.  With the help of my friends, I’ve been building Kuralia since 1991, and I still consider it a work in progress.   Many characters have visited the ancient forests of the Alafalans, traveled to the shores of the Vast Opal Sea, or climbed the Thesh Mountains.  I could spend time – a great deal of it – looking back at those who have come before (and you know, I may do just that someday), but I think I’ll start off with the current campaign.

So, to get right to it, I’d like to introduce the cast of characters that are playing in my current campaign.  After you see who is immersed in the world, I’ll take you on a trip through what my players have lovingly dubbed “that nasty garbage the DM dreamed up.”*

Sho Tao, the Seeker, is Gi, that is to say, he’s a human from the Far Reaches.  The Far Reaches is an archipelagos isolated from much of what I call Central Kuralia.  He was orphaned at a young age, rescued and adopted by an agent of The Conclave.  I’ll talk plenty about the Conclave, but rest assured, Sho Tao’s adoptive father is a member of a very powerful, very influential group.  Sho Tao does not care anything about some political machinations of a cadre of powerful wizards, though.  He’s more interested in dragons.  No, let me rephrase that.  He’s more interested in becoming a dragon.  He’s dedicated his life to discovering and learning everything he can regarding the Five Great Dragons of Kuralia.  It is this passion that led Sho Tao to meet Ark-amedes.

Sho Tao, Male Gi Dragon Shaman, level 8 .  He would be considered the “meat shield” and backup healer in combat, and makes a decent living as a storyteller.  He is as close as the group has to a woodsman, and is the group’s tactician.**

Ark-amedes, The Lost Child, met up with Sho Tao because of common ground.  No, Ark-amedes doesn’t love dragons, and he’s not Gi.  He’s actually a runaway adolescent Rock-Gnome.  What he loves, though, is knowledge, and he’ll go to the ends of Kuralia for it.  He’s hoping Sho Tao is successful in finding the Great Dragons.  That would be very impressive to find such rare knowledge.  Ark-amedes is amoral, hyperfocused, and a little bit like a pre-teen with Asperger’s.   He is a consummate archivist, and is traveling central Kuralia in search of hidden truths and secrets.

Ark-amedes, Male Rock Gnome Telepath 5 Metamind 3.  He is the “Glass Cannon”, using his ‘Path powers to bring down dangerous foes quickly.  He is a scribe and tattoo artist, making a good living in at least three of the ports of call they have visited.  He is a walking library, and also makes for a very good spy when the time calls for it.

Grant Stoneridge, the Wayward Priest, was travelling with Ark-amedes when they arrived in the city of Morville, meeting Sho Tao.  He is a brazen, zealous dwarf, a diplomat from the Temple of Arguth (one of the two Creator Powers, and the chosen diety of most dwarves and gnomes).  Grant is on his Wandering, where he is charged with making a lifelong friend, righting a wrong, and finding something to which he can devote his life.  Even though his an invested priest, he’s still working on all three of these goals.  He is a very opinionated man, and is very heavy-handed in his service to Arguth, but he is a dedicated and stalwart companion to Sho Tao.

Grant Stoneridge, Male Thwendar Dwarf Priest of Arguth 6 Earth Dreamer 2.  He is the “tank” and primary healer.  He comes from a clan of weaponsmiths, and makes fine weapons from scrap metal, donating any proceeds to his temple.  He is a Journeyman in the Morville Guild of Craftsmen.  He is also a religious scholar.

XaXa, the Reluctant Compass, met the group after they had traveled for a few months, tracking down a handful of leads regarding the group’s greater goal.  A bit of an aloof wanderer, XaXa has a mysterious past, being a half-orc of noble human descent.  She doesn’t ken to anyone telling her what to do, and her sense of independence is empowering.  XaXa is the newest member of the group, but leads by example.  She is quick to temper and a tough negotiator, but has a mind for picking out the truth.  It is her critical mind that has kept the group in check on more than one occasion.  She is a tremendous diplomat, and her social talents combined with Sho Tao’s tactical knowledge have forged the group into a keen tool for uncovering the dark secrets before them.

XaXa, Female 1/2 Orc Rogue 7 Nightsong Enforcer 1.  She is the “sniper” and fast flanker of the group, hitting foes hard sight unseen.  She is also the trap-springer and scout.  She’s the de facto leader when it comes to the social machine.

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*Please note that I’ll do my best to keep this blog rated “PG”, because I know that I would like to use this as a resource for my own kids, and so I might expect the same for other gaming parents.  Understand that the player who said the aforementioned did not have “garbage” on her mind.

**We’re still using the D&D Third Edition Revised (3.5) ruleset.  We are planning on migrating to GURPS or perhaps the Savage World System, but not in the middle of an existing campaign.