Ok so a huge magical sphere fell to earth destroying Miggin, the capital of the Barony of Miggin. All in the line were slain as were thousands of folk. One son, the youngest son of Baron Miggin was abroad being schooled in Col Tilth when this disaster occurred. Chaos reigned in Miggin, and bands of outlaws and humanoids roamed and pillaged.
The group of hardy heroes was all set in motion by the urging of the Merchant Prince of Rastgoth. He had allied himself to the new Baron of Miggin (since his son was now married to Conrad's cousin*), and set an army against the armies of the Tilth. The army of the Tilth crossed into Miggin to restore order. Conrad of Miggin declared this an invasion and took up arms in Marnot. The Tilth army set up a bloody siege of Marnot. The Rastgoth army marched west and met the Tilth army in the field. The Rastgoth army, poorly led and outclassed was easily beaten and routed east. That night, a second attack came from the west out of Miggin Wood, as an army of undead led by the Necromancers of Necros crushed the Tilthian army and sent the survivors to rout.
Iam was encouraged to trade the Rod of the Fane for a large sum of money, which his agents assured him, could be used to garner a mercenary force to move into Miggin and thereby attack Baron Greaves. Iam would then marry a minor relative in the Greaves line from somewhere and gain legitimacy.
While this was occurring assassins slew the Baron of Arden, under the guise of Lord Quai. Their plot was traced back to the workings of a fanatical half orc wizard who wore a ring with a white snake eating its tail, and a beholder. Baron Arden's body was eaten by said beholder so un-raisable. His Barony on the edge of Miggin was thrown into turmoil as vassals feuded and warred.
Iam and his army of mercenaries from the north (Ron Marl to be precise, which JP and Pip acting as emissaries secured, along with the payment by the Merchant Prince of Rastgoth of 250,000 gps payment for the Rod of the Fane, an artifact linked to the sphere which destroyed Miggin and set off the warfare and chaos) had a stalemate imposed on them by the Tilth. Baron Greaves and Lord Grim are not allowed to attack each other or by proxy. If they do the Tilth will attack the aggressor, meaning their sure destruction. A truce between the Tilth and Miggin has been sustained with Baron Conrad of Miggin agreeing to pay taxes, and in return those taxes are to pay solely for the Gray Bolt Mercenary Army to patrol the lawless lands of Miggin. In no other way will Miggin by under the control of the Kingdom.
Iam is now in control of a sizable chunk of Miggin and the town of Thorpe, and has agreed to be a vassal of Baron Conrad ('the younger', since he is all of 22). His closest ally is a former vassal of Baron Greaves who turned coat at the Battle of Thorpe's Crossing. Uthront, a half orc who has to date not met Iam in person, leads a band of rebel half orcs under his banner. Uthront gained fame under Baron Greaves as a ruthless yet wild mercenary and is renowned for creating several new battle maneuvers. He had been promised the portion of Miggin Iam now controls, but let the Doom Legionnaires take the lands instead. Doing so was a standard move for Baron Greaves, have a supposed third party attack, and then bring in his forces to 'bring the peace'. But in this case the Doom Legionnaires had gotten so powerful, and with no opposing authority to act against they were assumed to control the portion of Miggin for good.
The 'Goddess' Talakara has a neutral position with a small isolated town on a high cliff overlooking the river to Iam's south. She is powerful, and her people talk of her as 'the goddess in white' and her symbol of a white snake eating its tail has blossomed in the region. So far Iam's folk and the group have had little contact with them.
Back in Seavering, where Iam's army landed and headed up river. The group had uncovered a plot to unleash a devil in a vile ceremony, and failed to stop the aspect of Asmodeus from being unleashed by a band of Pirates. The town itself was set upon by a horde of Devils under a pit fiend, and the Baroness of Seavering was slain as were all loyal to her. Weeks after a Countessa arose to take the reins of power.
Lastly, while the group of hardy heroes was in the chaotic city of Seavering, they met with the Abbot Ulric and Adolphus, two old friends from Wittenshire in the north. Adolphus Frost was on a mission to bury his son - Tobias Frost, the rogue son who led the assault on the Iron Fane, the artifact which destroyed Miggin. In return for burial outside the city next to his mother, Tobias would tell them of the greater conspiracy. Abbot Ulric spoke with the dead man; here is the questioning as written:
PART FOUR: THE GRAVE OF TOBIAS FROST
When the grave site of his mother is found Adolphus and Ulric will take out shovels from a pack and start digging a grave. After 2 hours they will be finished digging and will cut open Tobias’ bag to expose his face. Since the PCs slew Tobias they will suggest if they want to listen in that they remain invisible.
Ulric will cast Speak with Dead on Tobias.
“We have done as you asked Tobias. You will be laid to rest next to your mother - Marietta. Now answer our questions true.”
Question 1 “What was your purpose in seeking the Black Egg?”
Answer 1 “Orders had I to join the rod and Egg and gain mastery of the Sphere.”
Question 2 “To what purpose?”
Answer 2 “To rule over the shattered lands of the South, raining hell born drakes upon the land and to send it into eternal darkness.”
Question 3 “Whom were you working for and with?”
Answer 3 “My Grandfather, Dark Lord Zebedaster Frost bade me to seek the egg. With his half dragons did I conspire.”
Question 4 “Where is Zebedaster now?”
Answer 4 “He rules over the accursed orc city of Chon Dath to the south and east.”
Question 5 “Is he the master of the Black Dragon Brigade?”
Answer 5 “Yes”
Question 6 “Who are his main allies and what are his plans and goals?”
Answer 6 “‘The Devil behind Thrones’, ‘the Living Goddess in White’, ‘the Iron Baron’, and ‘He who lives in Flame’ are his main allies. He plans to unite the south into a new Kingdom and in the process ascend to godhood.”
Question 7 “Don’t give me riddles, give me their real names!”
Answer 7 “Their names are Markosian, Talakara, Greaves and Tyranthraxus.”
During this all the group also met with Sirianna the green, an agent of Svarus, Cirus a hunchback and agent of Tonalil Silversword, and through them they were able to utilize a magical gate under a waterfall, operable only by means of Bard Song, which led directly to Svarus. The heroes treated with the leaders of Svarus and revealed all they knew, and in return the elves traded with them and supplied their army with scarce food.
The band of Heroes led their mercenary army west in boats and under cover of night skirted the clifftop top of South Fork. The army sped north. While foraging for food Alorian’s elven scouts found a band of orcs foraging. The army traced them back to a larger band of humanoids, Orcs, Ogres and Hill Giants in a ravine. They large force of Mercenaries outnumbered and quickly slew the 160 humanoids.
This was just a precursor of the larger battle to come. For they found Thorpe was occupied by an army calling itself the ‘Doom Legion’. A bridge had been built across to Uthront’s Fort and a force of half orcs was also present.
During the night a half orc approached the mercenary heroes of Rastgoth under a white flag and offered to negotiate a deal between Uthront and Iam. Uthront hated his orc parentage and was outraged that Baron Greaves gave the lands of Thorpe to the Doom Legion and to add insult was employing orc mercenaries. Uthront meant to succeed from the Barony, to do so he would need allies. By the time dawn was a glow in the night sky Iam had considerable intelligence and an agreement neither his forces or Uthront’s half orcs would attack each other. Also assuming Iam won, the two would become allies and come to each others aid should wither be attacked.
The battle of Bloody Thorpe began the next day and before it was done Iam’s force would lose 1/3 of their men and the Doom Legion was scattered. Their leader and sub-leader captives, and their spiritual leaders, the clerics of the Doom Prophet were killed to a man.
