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Presenting: The Mantaipede

Tales of the Duke Nightmare Revenge Squad

Scene 1

Place: Parts Unknown

Principle Characters: the Time Bandit (TB) and Artimus, Thief of Tartarus (A)

TB: thank you for meeting me

A: the pleasure is entirely yours

TB: I have something information to offer and in exchange all I want is in

A: in on what? If you want to join my thieves’ guild just because yours fell, well it is just not that easy…

TB: no not that, I know all about who you work for. No I want revenge on the Avatar of the god of the Church of All

A: so what makes you think that I am working on some kind of revenge on the petty temple holdings of this land?

TB: see, I do know something you don’t

A: fine, it is well known that the figure calling himself the Sword Mage (oh dear reader you know him as the Second Sword Mage) is hiding out in the Gaping Maw (layer 88 of the Infinite Abyss)

TB: now was that so hard? I am ever humble oh master thief and I do part with just a simple word to the wise

A: save your pleasantries, what do you have to tell me?

TB: well then, go back to the hole you crawled out of and see that Duke Nightmare is dead but more importantly who is running the Underground Forest

A: Duke Nightmare is not dead and besides his minions will carry on under that god you seem so scared of from the Church of All

TB: I received word from an associate of mine (the White Goblin) that Duke Nightmare was defeated by the Hydra just days ago

A: fine, so Duke Nightmare fell fighting a powerful blood monster, I guess I will check out the Underground Forest more closely to see what is going on there. But tell me how did you come across this information?

TB: You think you’re the only one who knows about the Underground Forest? Huge hauls of grain, wood, ore, and other goods flow to that stupid coliseum everyday. Daily troll fights? Come on, those trolls got to be coming from somewhere.

A: so you are not as stupid as you seem

TB: careful with your words, I tangled with a proxy for a god

A: a lesser god, you know who I work for

TB: yes, let us part friends

A: good

Scene 2

Place: The Underground Forest – the Castle of Duke Nightmare

Principle Characters: Artimus, Thief of Tartarus and the Old Man Avatar of Uranus #1

Setting: Artimus sneaks into the Underground Forest from the surface world thru small twisted passageways known only to him. Artimus has made this journey dozens of times during his adventures in the land of Cerilia; using an ancient portal that lies in the Underground Forest. When Duke Nightmare claimed the Underground Forest as his own; Artimus simply avoided Duke Nightmare and his troops.

But unfortunately today Artimus decided to take the Time Bandit’s advice and check out the Castle of Duke Nightmare. And what Artimus finds is fantastic to say the least. Besides the castle lie several pits with all sorts of foul and awful atrocities occurring in them and a small but growing city of monstrous-humanoids. Artimus can slink about and discover many interesting sites: statues to dark gods, a temple to the many dark gods of the Church of All, laboratories for alchemists and wizards, and the breeding pits for trolls and ghouls.

But the real shocking and damning discovery lies in the castle itself; where Artimus finds something that he would never believe unless he saw it for himself. Conducting court in the Throne Room of Duke Nightmare is the Old Man Avatar of Uranus. The Old Man is discussing various lists and reports with a task administrator genie and the room is full of monstrous-humanoids. And that is when the Old Man notices Artimus. No matter Artimus’ skill; no manor of deception can hide one from the Avatar of the Elder Sky God. Artimus tries to flee but the Old Man can catch up and surpass the would-be intruder to conduct a little business. And this dear reader is when we catch up to Artimus and the Old Man as well.

OM: I can tell who you serve and now it is time you die

A: oh spare me, great Elder Sky God. And know that if any knew of your existence that the heaves themselves would again bow to you…

OM: Do not try to appeal to me, thief! The heavens will bow to me again; in time…

A: yes, time. Another thief, a mortal like myself, was the one that told me to search here. Please spare me and I will help you find this thief.

OM: The Time Bandit

A: *gasping* (probably figuring out that the Old Man is reading Artimus’ mind)

OM: I will track down this Time Bandit and kill him myself if needs be. And I will kill you too.

A: oh wonderful and powerful Uranus spares me and I will serve you instead of my wicked master so that you might slay him and assume his throne

OM: You would dare think that I would rule from his throne. I will once again control the very cosmos and to start I will smash you like the bug you are

A: *death wail*

Scene 3

Place: The Gaping Maw – outside of the Second Sword Mage’s Tower

Principle Characters: The Second Sword Mage (SM), the Time Bandit (TB), and the Mind Flayer #2(MF2)

Setting: The Time Bandit was trying to approach the Tower of the Sword Mage like a master thief but the Mind Flayer (#2) “caught” him. The Second Sword Mage was summoned by the Mind Flayer and then the pair would intercept the Time Bandit and have a little bit to chat about for us dear reader.

TB: And the Avatar of the New Dark God destroyed the thief’s guild of el-Hadid.

SM: Most of us had other power bases besides our assets those creatures like Duke Nightmare destroyed or took away from us.

MF2: an ogre servant of Duke Nightmare killed my brother in the Tower of Zagig

SM: yes, everyone of us has a story very similar to that. Duke Nightmare tried to kill me to sell my soul to a demon prince

TB: yes these others, I would like to meet them. I want revenge on any who serve the New Dark God!

SM: true, we all do but it is hard for each of us to want to trust one another. That is why we have been meeting in a pretty neutral location; the city of Hopeless in the Outlands

MF2: I can take you there, but you should not stay there fore too long. That wicked city has a way of changing mortals. Probably the strong pull of Hades

TB: good then it is set; we are to unite to defeat the likes of Duke Nightmare and the New Dark God of Cerilia!

And that dear reader is the start, or maybe the middle, but definitely not the end of the story of the Duke Nightmare Revenge Squad. We can look back to past stories of how Duke Nightmare with the Monster’s Society and the High Cleric Kareem with the Royal Flush Gang squeezed the Lich Zod and the Mind Flayer (#2) out of the Tower of Zagig. We can look back to time that Duke Nightmare and the High Cleric Kareem supposedly killed the Second Sword Mage and kidnapped the Sword Mage’s wife only to be tricked by the Second Sword Mage but not before stealing several magic items from the Second Sword Mage. We can look back as see how Duke Nightmare and the High Cleric Kareem were both betrayed by the humble henchman known as the Shark.

Maybe dear reader, just maybe during the next meeting of the Duke Nightmare Revenge Squad in the city of Hopeless; the Old Man will lead a strike force against those that would seek to undue the union of Dark Gods trying to form a pantheon in lands of Cerilia. Who could stand in the way of the Old Man’s thirst for vengeance? Not even the Kool-Aid Man himself could offer the Old Man enough thirst quenching enjoyment that the Old Man could have from ringing the very necks of those that could reveal him to the universe.

The Gay Adventures of Mercenary Mao, Milo the Good Wizard, Fint the Goblin, and Jamila al-Haman the Priestess.

In the port town of Mhowe did the Mercenary Mao meet Milo the Good Wizard. And the scoundrel Mao did take all of Milo’s pocket dollars and nickels for pickles. Seeking adventure the pair of Milo and Mao headed off towards the East. Word had come that a goblin was seeking adventure at a place called the Cypress Tower.

Far into the woods of Deepshadow in the Coeranys did the pair of Mao and Milo did find the wizard tower. The Cypress Tower, stand almost one hundred feet tall is an impressive structure in the otherwise lush woods. Once home to one of the Three Brother Mages; the Cypress Tower was given to Fint the Goblin for his years of steed-fast service to Rassan the Hasty.

Fint the Goblin is a fart away from level ten and thus being able to summon men-at-arms. But Fint the Goblin has started to employ a few servants until that time arrives. Fint employs an old crone to act as his cook and a lumberjack to clear some ground for him. The old crone and the lumberjack are to live in the Cypress Tower until Flint returns from adventuring.

Milo and Mao are welcomed by the Fint the Goblin; Fint expresses his delight in finding a wizard to accompany him on his adventures. Fint introduces Mao and Milo to the Priestess Jamila al-Haman. This would be the core of the adventuring group lead by Fint the Goblin.

Now someone would have normally found this grouping very odd. Having a lawful goblin wanting to form and lead a group of adventures is odd. Having a character like Mao; who seems very powerful but more importantly not one of this world. The others might just be too nice to ask such questions or many they think Mao is from a foreign continent or a mix of Rjuik and Vos. Milo the Good Wizard seems a little too trusting, a little too good. And then there is the Priestess Jamila. What kind of priestess is she? Again, the others are maybe just to nice to ask why Jamila does not seem to call out to a particular god or carry holy symbols of her faith.

The four adventures head out to the Iron Peaks in search of experience and treasure. But each had their own motive for traveling. Maybe Fint and Milo just needed experience to progress in their respected professions but both Fint and Milo would be undone by the conflict between Mao and Jamila. Over the course of several weeks our party of four adventurers would encounter murderous monsters, fantastic locations, new plant and animal species, and even extra-planar creatures.

And this is what would be the undoing of the adventuring party dear reader. Jamila al-Haman was really a Bird Maiden. A one power, two toughness flyer for one red and two colorless, the Bird Maiden needed some helping fighting the Cat Warriors (a two-two forestwalk for three). The Cat Warriors where really Tabaxi, a species of leopard/jaguar people created by the Bloody God Zaltec. The Tabaxi where placed on Birthright to bring honor and power to Zalter. The Bird Maiden was dispatched by the forces of good to see what was up with that.

Now Jamila was firmly set in her task and after an encounter with a Tabaxi Hunt (that is a group of Tabaxi warriors out in a hunting party) that our adventuring party of four were to try and track down the Tabaxi Lair. But why didn’t Jamila detect Mao as a cleric to not one but two evil gods? Maybe it was the dark blessing of the New Dragon God that protected Mao from Jamila. Maybe Jamila just had a one-track mind set to finding the Tabaxi.

So our adventuring party of Mao, Milo, Flint, and Jamila would raid the Tabaxi Lair and confront the mysterious and powerful Tabaxi Lord. And this dear reader is when Mercenary Mao decided to strike and show his true colors as the Witchhunter Mao. Before the untimely and ill fated death of Captain Holocaust; the Avatar of Duke Nightmare would complete several missions for the now missing dark god. One such mission Captain Holocaust was assigned was protecting the Royal Flush Gang – Clubs.

So when our adventuring party encountered the Tabaxi Lord and all seemed hopeless for the mortal adventurers; Mao summoned Captain Holocaust to turn the tide of battle. Captain Holocaust easily avoided or outright resisted the Tabaxi Lord’s spells. Thinking the battle had turned, Jamila revealed herself as a Bird Maiden. But all that revelation did was reward Jamila with a smack from Captain Holocaust.

All in all; Fint, Milo, and Jamila would be subdued and the Tabaxi Lord left very much impressed by Captain Holocaust’s power. Witchhunter Mao and Captain Holocaust would then speak of their dark gods: Sepiroth the Lich, the demi-god known as Deth, Duke Nightmare, and of course the New Dragon God. The Priestess Jamila and Milo the Good Wizard would be put to death on an altar to the Tabaxi Lord’s dark god Zaltec.

In time the Tabaxi Lord would become a trusted go-between for forces of the New Dragon God and Zaltec, the Blood Hand. Eventually emissaries for the New Dragon God will have to travel to meet Zaltec, the Bringer of War and Eater of Hearts. The High Cleric Kareem’s imps can find out information like: Zaltec killed his mother and fights and endless war with his brother Qotal, the Feathered Dragon. The imps bring other information like how Zaltec alternates his time between realms in the Abyss and Carceri. In the Abyss Zaltec rules Teotli Itec; nine laers of chaos, blood, ice, and fire. In Carceri Zaltec maintains Zompantli, the Palace of Skulls, on Cathrys the second layer of Carceri.

What will become of this dark alliance between evil gods of different dimensions? First an alliance between the Tabaxi on Birthright and the Gnolls of the Iron Peaks to be lead by Captain Holocaust (fake edit, read as: Mao FeTor). Second the dark god Zaltec will grant druid powers to followers of the Church of All’s Oaken Grove Sect as long as Zaltec gets his favorite sacrifices: the heart of a captured enemy taken from the live victim on an altar to the dark god. And that dear reader is how they say just the tip of the iceberg.

Where the Power Lies

Let us dear reader talk about who the regents in the local realms are. Starting with the Chimaeron: the Council of Leaders control the law and the guilds under the name of the Chimaera. The Council of Leaders usually governs from the city of Lyssan but recently the city was set ablaze and the individual members of the Council are preparing their provinces for future changes. The magical sources of the realm are dominated by the Chimaera except in Hamein and Mhowe where the Three Brother Mages have wizard towers. There are temples to Nesirie in the provinces of Hamein and Lyssan; while there are hidden temples to Cuiraecen in Lyssan and Careine.

The realm of Rohrmarch is split between the brothers Alaric and Oden. The princely brothers fight over the land and the law of Rohrmarch. The temple holdings are dominated by Haelyn in the provinces held my Prince Alaric and temples to Cuiraecen can be found in the provinces controlled by Prince Oden. There are two guild regents: Siegfried Lessen and Frodrik Foresstannen are making a fortune off of the civil war. The Sayer of the Coullabhie has a few source holdings; otherwise there are no other major magicians in the region just a bunch of pretenders.

The Emir el-Duatim is the wizard-king of Sendoure. The many titles of the el-Dautim family require that the Emir be a wizard of some skill. The el-Dautim family is currently trying to acquire all the law and guild holdings besides ruling the land of Senoure. The Emir is almost at the point of fighting the Hydra Trading Company. The Hydra controls the law and guild interest of Sulaia and Tinsouf. The problem with the Hydra’s forces for the Emir is simple; the Hydra does not tax the people while the Emir does. Classically the el-Dautim family controls all of the source holdings in Senoure but during recent family strife the Sayer of the Coullabhie has gained a few source holdings.

The lands of Binsada are ruled by the popular Queen el-Reshid. The Queen controls the lands and the clans from the grand stone castle in Ber Dairas. The major religion of Binsada is the worship of Laerme; while in the provinces of Moura and Andujar are creeping up with the Zikalan Temple of Avani. Corazon bint Rilni, the Red Witch controls all of the magical source holdings in Binsada except in the province of High Asawre where the Sayer of the Coullabhie exerts control keeping the Red Witch at bay. The guilders of Binsada are three fold: the Hydra Trading Company, the Traders of Turin, and the Saere Consortium.

I believe dear reader you should be familiar with the famed Hydra Trading Company but let me tell you a thing or two about the other regents of Binsada. The neighboring realm of Zikala is trying exerting influence over the clansmen of Binsada in two forms: The Extraordinary Traders of Turin and the Zikalan Temple of Avani. The Saere Consortium is lead by a woman known in Khinasi as Delia of Coeranys. The Saere Consortium imports and exports between the realms of Binsada in Khinasi and Coeranys in Anuire.

But what of the Red Witch dear reader? I am sure that you are interested in this mysterious woman. Corazon bint Rilni originally hails from across the Asawre from the land of Sendoure. Corazon’s mother was also a well-known sorceress well over a hundred years ago. Corazon’s mother would eventually be killed by the Hydra and the Red Witch seeks revenge against the blood monster. The Red Witch has tapped into ancient magical sources of Binsada and has a firm grip of control of the magical happenings in Binsada.

And one last thing for you dear reader. Off of the southern shore of Binsada, directly across from a province that keeps watch over it; lies the Isle of the Harpy. For hundred of years the Queen of the Harpies plagued sailors, fisherman, and merchants who passed near the island. About a decade ago, a human adventure tried to kill the Queen Harpy and well things did not go as the adventurer planned. The legend goes that the human adventurer killed the Queen but gained her terrible curse. Now the new Harpy controls the island and the flocks of monstrous harpies that call it home. And that is that; where much of the power lies in the human realms of the Northern Marches and the Gulf of Coeranys.

Stories from up and down the Asarwe River

In old Binsada there once was a wizard who built the Tower of Evening in Sodden Falls. Since that time, old Binsada has fallen and given rise to the current realm of Binsada. But Sodden Falls did share the same fate as the lands next to it. Sodden Falls would become home to the creature known by men as the Hydra and over the many years; Sodden Falls became known as the Harrowmarsh. The Tower of Evening still stands in the Harrowmarsh, near the Binsada border. Rumor holds that the Tower of Evening is haunted with all kinds of undead and a legendary specter known as Gillwort.

In the ancient lands of Cerilia the first human tribe to arrive was the Irboud people who would be the ancestors of the Basarji people. Some would say the arrival of the Masetian people into the region would be the start of the Khinasi tradition. But really it would take generations for these people to merge even after the devastation at Mount Deismaar. But even during the early days of man on the continent of Cerilia the Asarwe River marked the Eastern most border that the human nomads would normally travel.

During the Basarji period a kingdom rose up known today as old Binsada. The rulers of Binsada pushed the borders beyond what the current realm of Binsada controls; into areas like Sodden Falls, Sendoure, and the lands of the Sphinx. The current realm of Sendoure in it’s ancient past broke off from Binsada. Currently the realm of Sendoure has reunited under a wizard-king who is trying as much to gain control of the land as the magical sources and guild interest of the region; while the current realm of Binsada maintains the tradition of Khinasi nomad clans.

The Asarwe River not only marks the border between the realms of Sendoure and Binsada but it also serves as a border between the varying cultures. Along both sides of the river, settlers have begun popping up practicing fixed-placed agriculture (very different than the traditional nomad lifestyle normally practiced in the lands of the Khinasi people). Most of the settlers are Khinasis who have a low station and are seeking a new way to improve their economic condition. Farming can be cheaper to start up then herding pack animals around grazing.

But even more surprising than Khinasis giving up their nomad lifestyle is the increasing number of immigrants from other lands. One might be able to even find a Vos amongst the farmers along the Asawre Riverbanks. The Khinasi do not seem to mind the increasing number of Anuirians, Brecht, and others as long as the new arrivals do not try and establish a city.

To get around the Khinasi disposition on cities and in particular cities for the new emigrants, the Hydra Trading Company has built a virtual city: a barge city. Known simply as Barge Town, the Hydra Trading Company has fashioned hundreds of barges together and sails the rickety “city” up and down the Asawre. Farmers and Fisherman travel to Barge Town to trade goods and buy supplies. Some barges are dedicated to certain establishments like bars, inns, dance halls, gambling dens, and the like. The realms of Sendoure and Binsada hate the Barge Town but do not have the legal authority to deal with (not to mention the lack of military authority from either kingdom and the lack of cooperation between the two kingdoms). At anytime there could be 500 people on the Barge Town and the Barge Town can be found anywhere from Westport in the Harrowmarsh to Ambies-on-Hillsfair in the Burrows.

Speaking of the Asawre River, there is an odd section of petrified-woods along the Binsada side of the border. Known as the Petrified Forest, this once part of the Serir Regal forest is all that is left of those woods on the southern side of the Asawre River. At the very heart of the Petrified Forest one can find two figures locked in mortal combat. During the time of old Binsada, a human wizard named Ventinah Falas and an elf known only as the Woodworker fought a magical duel that ended up sealing them both and the forest forever in stone. Over the centuries adventures and huntsmen alike have taken preserved stone birds, animals, flowers, and plants from the Petrified Forest and sold them as trinkets and marvels.

Not bad, I might say dear reader. But how about I leave you with one more rumor? Maybe something someone could even buy in the port of Mhowe: Qetal Root. The Guilder Kort Bregeden of the Hydra Trading Company is said to always have a lump of Qetal Root in his mouth. Essentially dear reader, the Qetal Root is a narcotic that one chews. Presumably the root could probably be cured into snuff, smoke, or maybe even a drink depending on how toxic it is. But for simplicities sake, Kort is just selling the addictive root and bringing in good money for it. Dungeons, Dragons, and Drugs. Oh my dear reader, this is starting to sound like Shadowrun.

Actual News From Around the Realm or otherwise known as "So It Is Written, So It Shall Be"

After the Gorgon marched thru Cariele to reach the Five Peaks and after the Gorgon killed the old Mhor; undead plagued the weak points of Markazor. The Gorgon sued the Elves of Tuarhiele threatening war unless Prince Fhileraene came personally to negotiate peace. Prince Fhileraene has left his wife, the new Mhor Savane as the acting regent over the Court of Tuarhiele. This has split the time the new Mhor Savane can spend in her human realm and elf realm (not to mention dear reader, the differences in how time flows between the two realms). But with the even more recent news; it is any ones guess at what will happen next.

And what news could be more shocking than a ruler of an Anuirian Realm acting as the regent of an Elf Realm? Well that would be the death of a ruler dear reader. And what ruler would that be? Michael Mhoried, the Duke of Alamie, a maybe one time hope for the Iron Throne was murdered and his wife, Aubrae Avan was kidnapped. Aubrae would eventually be tracked down and recovered jut over the border in the province of Dhalaese, in the land of Boeruine. Aubrae is up in arms and acting as Duchess of Alamie is rallying her troops to war. The reunited city of Lofton-Haes is a twitter with soldiers, merchants, blacksmiths, and all the gears of war at work.

And what of the Prince of Avanil? Prince Darien Avan has been courting the royal family Alam. The head of the Alam family, Soraene married a daughter of Gavin Tael. Gavin Tael, as in the Baron of Ghoere, as in the now dead Baron of Ghoere. So when Soraene’s ties to the Tael family became worthless, how do I say this dear reader? Soraene has set up self up as an eligible bachelor again. So it would be short work to imagine that Soraene Alam might marry Aubrae Avan and claim the birthright that was his before Soraene’s father, the once Duke of Alamie was removed from power.

But dear reader there are a few more players left to go yet in the initiative order. The ever spectacular Archduke Aeric Boeruine has declared the murder of Michael Mhoried and the kidnapping of Aubrae as nothing more than a ruse designed to lure Boeruine and Avanil into war. The Archduke has moved an incredible number of troops, engineers, and workers into the mountains and passes of Perchalinn, Monsedge, and Ghonallison. The troops of the Archduke are digging in and laying traps. This build-up between the powers of the region might turn into war at any moment.

The King of Elinie has decreed a month long state of mourning as one of his paladin son whom has been slain. The King’s son died in the Iron Peaks fighting; according to one wizard who survived: the King’s son was killed by an unknown human riding a nightmare and the avatar of the Gnoll’s dark god. After the month of mourning the King of Elinie is planning on sending several thousand troops to the Iron Peaks to eliminate the Gnoll threat. The King has issued a decree and after the month of mourning the King is planning on hiring mercenaries and adventurers on masse.

And that dear reader is pretty much most of the major news I can think of off the top of my head dear reader. Well unless you pay attention to the rumor that a guild known as the Brother’s Investment Groupe is close to being able to have a trade chain that would extend the length of Anuire. The three primary holders of the B.I.G. are the Hero of the North, Sir Lancelot along with the Church of All and the Kingdom of the Southlands. But you do not pay attention to rumors; do you dear reader?

More Rumors and Conjecture

What could be of the three Gems of Arborea stolen from the Elves of the Llaubraight dear reader? One lies still in the realm of men, one lies in the Shadow World, and the realms that lay beyond. So whom dear reader is the greatest enemy of the Llaubraight? Well dear reader who is the greatest enemy in the realm of men? Of course the answer is the Gorgon. But who dear reader could dare to steal a prized gem from under the grasp of the Gorgon? Maybe the Monkey King, maybe Atriums thief of Tartarus, or could it be dear reader that a member of the Royal Flush Gang would dear to steal from the Gorgon? Maybe, just maybe.

Another question dear reader: who could be the greatest enemy of the elves in the Shadow World? Is your answer the Cold Rider? Good guess; but there is one that has a burning hate for the race of creatures called Elves. And that one dear reader is none other than our own Duke Nightmare’s Grandmamma: Lussina, the Dark Queen of the Unseelie. Centuries ago, the Wild Hunt presented Lussina with a great trophy: one of the Gems of Aborea. Lussina hates the elves free nature, their love of all things beautiful, their resistance to charm-effects while alive, and their resistances to necromantic-effects when dead.

By simple logic, the elves of Cerillia have an older culture then Seelie. The Spirit World was destroyed by Azari and the last remaining Seelie rose up as the new Queen of the Seelie. And it was this Queen’s daughter that would become Lussina. There are very much elves still alive and active today in Cerillia that were alive in the time before the coming of Azari. Rhoube Manslayer is one of these elves and the Sayer of the Coulladaraight is another. Lussina hates these creatures.

If monsters like hobgoblins and orcs are more powerful in Cerillia in comparison to places like Anaslon, Faerun, and the like then that must mean that the elves of Cerillia are more powerful as well. The varied goblin species are one powerful race in Cerillia and there are no common orcs; just the stronger orog. Even the rare Cerillian dragon is of an ancient stock that has powers beyond the common metallic or chromatic variants.

One rumor about Cerillian elves is that they are immortal. Another rumor goes that an elf has to give up this immortality to marry a human or maybe it just happens when they marry a human. A Cerillian half-elf lives hundreds of years longer than their other-worldly counterparts. There is a rumor that humans that live in Elven Woods long enough can become half-elves.

Personally dear reader, I like the story that goes after the dragons pushed the Titans off of the world smaller races were able to spring up. The noble elves took it upon themselves to help the other races along. It was the elves who breed the goblin factions into one race, it was the elves that caused the rise of the orogs, and it was the elves that lead to the dwarves hiding underground.

I like that rumor about the dwarves a lot dear reader. The Dwarven tradition tells a much different tale about the dwarven race being hammer into creation by their creator-god. But there is some archeological evidence that the elves might have once dominated the dwarves and the dwarves retreated underground. There is another rumor that maybe the dwarves breed the orogs to serve as slave labor but the orogs out breed the dwarves and revolted. Either way the continent of Cerillia was an interesting place before the coming of man.

So dear reader: one of the stolen Gems of Arborea is in the possession of the Gorgon and another with Lussina but what of the third? The third stolen Gem of Arborea lies in an outer-plane. Maybe back in the Olympian Glades of Arborea itself; being used by a powerful elf or eldrin. Maybe the missing Gem of Arborea lies in the Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus being used as an artificial sun on a Formian Ant Hive Cog. Maybe a powerful Tanari Lord stolen it up and took it back to the Infinite Layers of the Abyss. It really seems dear reader that this one missing gem could lead to any number of adventures or scenarios being played out.