The Dawnbreakers

An image from the vision beholden by Theodore Logan at the Monastery of St. Barst-on-the-Rocks, on the night of his Vigil. In a stunning starburst above the clouds, Theodore beheld St. Telios, Patron Saint of Dragon Slayers, riding aloft upon his gleaming armored dragon, and flying towards a wall of evil wyrms. However, when all was darkest, the dawn broke the doom. As it echoes a line from the Holy Word of Mandador, this image was perhaps part of the reason the party was to become known as the Dawnbreakers.

An unofficial party of adventurers hailing from Dantareth, known principally for the slaying of a green dragon and for their service to the Church of Mandador in the general Mirsaki region. Their current principle members are Elendas of Quadrain, Rogaldorn of Thorogdenia, Mandorel the Conjurer, and Deryn the Wizard-Thief. Theodore Logan, the party's primary leader after the death of Titerius Anathema, was recently killed in combat. Although raised by the prayers of Elendas, Sir Theodore was beset by personal demons, and left the company of his fellow adventurers in order to still the trouble in his soul. In order to save his friends from death by a green dragon Dolnog beneath the Neutralian citadel of Nicamur, Theodore broke into the caves beneath the citadel and single handedly slew the beast. Wounded and alone, Theodore was slain for the second time by the evil halfling warrior Baldric Kaernst.

The party draws its charter from the Church of Mandador in Northern Dantareth, with its acting principle being Elendas of Quadrain and its official captain being Theodore Logan.

Membership

Current Members

Elendas of Quadrain, Acolyte of Mandador

Rogaldorn, Thane of Thorogdenia

Mandorel, Wizard of Triwaters

Deryn of Tessleton

Elton Grimm

Solveigalyn of Elfhome

Charter Members

Elendas of Quadrain, Acolyte of Mandador

Rogaldorn, Thane of Thorogdenia

Mandorel, Wizard of Triwaters

Deryn of Tessleton

Sir Theodore Logan, Paladin St. Telios, KIA by the evil halfling warrior Baldric Kaernst

Titerius Anathema, Dhaeraowathila of Shevarash, KIA by the Elder Elemental God

Junior Members

Danforth the Archer, KIA

Darrak the Mute, KIA

Hereador the Tiefling (Lario), in hiatus

Lucius of Allum, the Loremaster, in hiatus at the House of Tiluvian

Associate Members

Ulrich Wulfschtagg, on religious quest in the Thrain Mountains

Oen Mkoll, whereabouts unknown

Angus Brosten, Guard of St. Barst's

Rembrandt Brentley, killed trying to free Chadwick Merriweather Harding

Chadwick Merriweather Harding, executed

Crassus Equitus, whereabouts unknown

"Sweeney", whereabouts unknown

History

Pre-History

The Dawnbreakers is an adventuring group which has its origins in Northern Dantareth, along the Northwaters River in Mirsaki, in the Month of the Budding Rose (April), 888 After Mandador. The genesis of the organization was religious, as its first mission was inspired by the Bishop of the North, Roger Kiesmar, and led by the paladin Cecil of Dwarden, the younger brother of the deceased Judicator of Dantareth, Baron Dine of Dwarden. After a failed first assault, Cecil gathered to him the elven radical Titerius Anathema, a priest of Sheverash, Deryn, a petty rogue and mageling of former Tessleton and several other would be heroes. After freeing a village conjurer named Mandorel, the loose-knit party managed to slay the master of the fortalice, and clear it of its various evils. This victory, which brought stability to the Northwaters River in Dantareth, crystallized what would be the beginnings of the future Dawnbreakers, providing experience and treasure to who would eventually be the first captain of the Dawnbreakers, Titerius Anathema.

Upon return to Mirsaki, Cecil of Dwarden soon departed on business of the Church to the west. The party, loose as it was, was augmented by the addition of Elendas, a half-elven ranger and cleric of Mandador, assigned to them by and as the agent of the Bishop of the North. The heroes, loosely basing their operations from the old Inn of the Sleeping Maiden, warded off the threats and manipulations of the castle guards of Mirsaki, most notably one of their leaders, Thomas Lerrur.

The Party Begins

Gathering to them a small band of petty mercenaries, the budding party made an attempt upon the monsters of the sewers of Mirsaki, trying by this subterranean method to gain access to Castle Mirsaki and unseat its true lord, the evil gnome Horalio the Gray. Horalio, a senior rogue under Balathar, along with a small coterie of thieves and monsters, had effectively taken over Mirsaki since the illness of Governor Brere and the absence of General Tillerman, the former castle commander, and consolidated such control through the mental domination of Cyrus Glenwil, former Baron of Dantareth. After a disastrous first attempt, the party tried again, this time armed with loaned silver weapons from the Church. Fighting past were-rats, goblins, kobold commandos and even drown, the party pushed deep into the sewers. There they rescued Rembrandt Brinley and Chadwick Harding, two evil souls.

At last the heroes emerged through a secret entrance into Castle Mirsaki. Engaging in a protracted melee with the castle guards, the conjurer Mandorel managed to poison to death Lieutenant Thomas Lerrur. Eventually gaining access to the core of Castle Mirsaki, the party pressed until the coordinated appearance of the Archbishop of Dantareth, Quarthal Lumnis. Using powerful prayers, Lumnis melted the castle gate with holy fire and freed Cyrus of the mental control the gnomish rogue had inflicted upon him. Mirsaki was freed of rule by thieves for the time being, and Lumnis arranged for a new baron to be elected by the people.

Amidst the public settlement, Chadwick Harding was arrested and accused of the murder of soldiers. After a short trial, which found him guilty, he was sentenced to death. Elendas, disgusted with Chadwick's vanity and moral decrepitude, refused to intervene to spare Chadwick's life, and the evil young wizard was hung before a crowd.

St. Barst's, and the Founding of the Dawnbreakers

Wishing to distance themselves from the constant troubles of Mirsaki, the loose party settled themselves at the remote Monastery of St. Barst's....

Titerius Anathema, first headman of the heroes, is consumed by an unknown horror from another plane of existence. With Titerius gone forever, the heroes thereafter become the principle members of the group to be known as the Dawnbreakers, a name which they have advertised mostly in the Barony of Quadrain.

Adventures in Quadrain

In Brief

In the Barony of Quadrain, Elendas' father Sir Zathial has been severely wounded by a powerful Encyclonian count named Solonochos. Solonochos, a paladin and general, has defeated much of the region militarily, but seeks to cement his victories by claiming a lost holy avenger called Tolobranos. Unable to find the sword in the magical forest in which it is hid, Solonochos has offered to joust ten knight-champions of Quadrain, insisting that if he loses a single match he will withdraw, but that if he wins all ten, then the elves of the magical grove must show him the location of the Tolobranos. Although the legendary sword is supposed to be guarded by the invincible spirit of Nimrel, one of the first paladins of Mandador, it has been presumed that the Count has some way of defeating the guardian and claiming the sword for himself.

No method has of yet proven effective in healing Sir Zathial's grievous head wound, and it is assumed he will die in the relative near term. Motivated principally by Elendas' wish to heal his heroic father, the heroes search for a way to heal the paladin. They look especially for the halfling bishop Stoen, a hero of great wars in the East, who is assumed to have the power to fully heal Zathial. Unfortunately, Stoen has been kidnapped by the evil forces in the halfling lands, called the Holding.

After the Defeat of Nijmeden, Priest of Urdlen

Deep beneath the thief safe-house Crow's Rest, in the village of Themarch, the heroes faced Nijmeden, a halfling politician who turned out to be a secret worshiper of Urdlen. Having first

Personalities

Sir Zathial: A paladin, and father of Elendas. Wounded by the Encyclonian count Solonochos, Sir Zathial suffers from a mysterious wound which resists all attempts at healing. His life hanging in the balance, this Friend of the Forest is held in such esteem that the great druid himself, Cornelius, magically transported Elendas back to Quadrain so that he could be present for his father's death.

Nijmeden: The evil halfling high priest in white robes whom the party faced as the final boss of the dungeon beneath Crow's Rest. Commanding powerful magic from his corrupt white mole god called Urdlen, Nijmeden was killed after a protracted final battle. Nijmeden was first encountered as a slick, and powerful banker, politician and agent for the powerful grand burgher Vahaun Oetler of Aster City. Nijmeden had just concluded a major buyout of the halfling Mercantile Exchange of Murthorg for Oetler. After Theodore and Elendas attended church at the cathedral in the halfling city of Murthorg, they were invited by Nijmeden, along with the rest of the heroes, to attend an evening dinner party with himself and Baronet Ahmel Astitler. The heroes wisely declined this evening encounter. The heroes have learned that Nijmeden was very powerful in political and business terms, and ran much of Vahaun Oetler's business empire. His death, and the revelation that he was a high priest of a demoniacal blood cult, is very weighty news for the halflings, and will assuredly have massive consequences.

"Sven Hierdolh": A halfling Mandadorian priest, Friar of the Golden Candle and Knight of the Crimson Flame. "Sven", or whatever his real name was, was really a gnome who was wrapped in a powerful and permanent illusion by Vahaun Oetler. The evil cleric was a member of the evil party that attacked the Dawnbreakers amongst the boulders, and led to Theodore Logan's first death. The gnome cleric was defeated by Sir Mathamere and then was held shortly as a prisoner before the Dawnbreakers elected to put the gnome to death. The gnome seems to have wished to barter Elton Grimm's magical pole arm for large amounts of gold from Kads Kador, a nearby citadel of evil human pagans from Melisto.

The First Death of Theodore Logan, and Aftermath: An Immediate Summary

A map of southeast Quadrain and the northern Holding. Having originally arrived in the Barony of Quadrain outside the Bailiwick of the Blessed Tharvane, whereat the heroes encountered the Encyclonian count, the heroes eventually traveled to the halfling city at Murthorg, at the southernmost border of Quadrain. Illegally crossing the border into the Princedom of Faelin, and into the halfling-dominated region called the Holding, the heroes eventually arrived on the outskirts of the remote village called Themarch. At Themarch was a strange emporium run by halfling thieves and worse. The heroes used wish magic to travel from Themarch back to St. Barst's in Dantareth, but soon after used druid magic to return to Quadrain. Transporting themselves to the eastern edge of the Osholan Forests, the heroes crossed an open plain until they reached the perimeter of the old Neutralian ruins.

A map of the area around the Neutralian citadel of Nicamur, and the isle of the halfling prophet Acardy.

Summary: What are the Heroes Doing?

The heroes are presumably attempting to free Bishop Stoen from the ruined Neutralian citadel of Nicamur, a powerful crusader of Neutralis from the beginning of that faith. They intend to do this, presumably, in the hopes that his powers are such that he can truly cure Elendas' father, Sir Zathial. The heroes may also wish to settle their score with the party of evil demi-humans which recently attacked them, killing Theodore Logan, for the heroes are rather certain this evil party resides in the fortress. Furthermore, the heroes understand from Brakhauld, the rough crossbowman halfling mercenary that they let go after the fight with Nijmeden, that the Neutralian citadel is the true residence of Vahaun Oetler, who seems to be the master of evils for the halflings of the Holding. Lastly, the heroes have learned that the green dragon of this region lived under the waterfall which flows underneath the ruined castle. As this dragon has killed several of Elendas' Quadrain friends in recent days, and as it seems to be on a rampage, the heroes may feel inclined to carry out once more the obsession of Theodore Logan, and slay the green dragon beneath the castle.

Summary of Outside the Secret Path to Nicamur's Citadel: The Dawnbreakers Free Elton Grimm, Slay the Soldiers of Kads Kador, and Kill the Fire Cleric

Leaving the Isle of the Prophet (Isle of Akrazen), the party followed Ach de Treffers towards a secret smugglers entrance that leads through the great boulder field to Nicamur's castle. Moving through the grassy fields early in the morning, the heroes are met by Sir Mathamere Half-Elven, ranger/cleric and Bailiff of the Bailiwick of the Blessed Tharvane. Mathamere tells the party that there was a massacre at the bailiwick by the green dragon that lives beneath Nicamur's citadel. Enraged, Mathamere has left the ruins of his bailiwick, intending to slay the green dragon and destroy Vahaun Oetler, if he can. Mathamere is pleased to have spied and thereafter meet up with his friends.

Nearing the secret path through the boulder fields, the heroes discovered a small forest of impaled halflings, and a small group of halflings impaling others, including the human Elton Grimm. The heroes also saw a sizable troop of mounted human men from Kads Kador, including a pagan priest and a wizard. The Dawnbreakers attacked, and killed almost all those present. Elton Grimm was freed, and the halfling fire cleric who turned out to be an illusioned evil Mandadorian gnome was briefly captured by Sir Mathamere until he was put to death by Niddernock.

Early in the fight with the halflings and the pagan Melistoese cavalry soldiers of Kads Kador, Mandorel cast a well placed grease spell on the ground between Rogaldorn, Niddernock and the twenty cavalrymen and their officer. Most of the cavalrymen or spahis lost their horses as the beasts slipped on the spell, with their men sliding towards Rogaldorn and the Axe of the Dwarven Lords. Chaos erupted as Rogaldorn and Niddernock slew the doomed cavalrymen. In the depiction, a spahis slipping on the grease falls into the spears of his flailing comrades.

Of the various magical items captured from the corpses that morning, some of the most ominous or interesting were a large crystal filled with black flame and a medallion that is filled with incredible evil.

Personalities

Ach de Treffers: an old friend and former adventuring companion of Sir Zathial, Elendas' father. According to the dwarf Gramden, another companion of Sir Zathial, de Treffers was the first to leave the party, and did so not on the best of terms, for he was an inveterate rogue who stole and cheated people. After meeting the party at the Bailiwick of the Blessed Tharvane, de Treffers next appeared in the city of Murthorg as a senior halfling thief in the national halfling thieves guild run from the city of Aster. De Treffers claimed that he would smuggle the party across the border of Quadrain and into the Princedom of Faelin. Instead, de Treffers tried to drug Elendas with poison daggers. Foiled by Elendas' alertness, Ach de Treffers hid and fled away into alleys, and escaped the vengeance of the heroes. Ach de Treffers has most recently appeared on the Island of Akrazen, where the halfling prophet Acardy and his fanatical followers were based. Confronted by Elendas and the other heroes, de Treffers claimed that he felt terrible about his betrayal of Elendas, but said that he had tried to drug Elendas as an act of loyalty to Elendas' father. He argued that he could not let the son of his erstwhile friend Sir Zathial die uselessly against hopeless odds. He simply wanted to spare Elendas, and his friends. Upon the island however, and upon hearing of the heroes' recent accomplishments, de Treffers confessed his error in doubting Elendas and company, and asked forgiveness. Claiming that his cousin had joined the cult of Acardy, de Treffers said that in his despair he traveled to see his cousin and to see if there was any truth to this exiled "prophet", for if there was truth to it, de Treffers thought this prophet might be able to cure his friend Sir Zathial. Upon the death of Acardy, de Treffers now intends to free Bishop Stoen, a halfling cleric of great renown who should have the power to cure Sir Zathial. Believing Stoen is imprisoned at the ruined Neutralian citadel, de Treffers believes he can use the secret thieves' entrance to the ruined castle, and is willing to guide the heroes to this location.

Baldric Kaernst: The twice-killer of Theodore Logan. Commander of the "White Company", the halfling mercenary corps organized and paid for by Vahaun Oetler and his associates. Baldric Kaernst was a former member and eventual commander of the Black Dragons of Teuer, a halfling mercenary company. Kaernst is powerful and cruel, and wields a mighty sword which is steeped in the desire to slay paladins. Kaernst is presumably commanding his halfling troops from Nicamur's Castle at this time.

Torkane: an elder elf and Ranger of Manlen Grove, Torkane was a mighty warrior and friend of Sir Mathamere and Sir Zathial. He was the principle instructor of Elendas in all things ranger. Torkane's body was discovered by the heroes at Three Groves, where along with satyrs, dryads and others, he was found murdered by a green dragon.

Wythircar: the former great druid, who was forced to step down after a defeat. He was killed by the green dragon of the Neutralian citadel at Three Groves along with Torkane and many others.

Utrecht von Kanterstein: A peculiar halfling warrior, clad in rough looking plate mail and riding upon a great snowy white mountain goat, was first encountered by Rogaldorn and Mandorel while in the boulder fields surrounding Nicamur's Citadel, the great castle outside of which Theodore Logan was killed. Utrecht was apparently a follower of Acardy, the Prophet of Akrazen Island, and led Mandorel and Rogaldorn to that island. Rather quiet, very handsome and very young with a long mane of fine blonde hair, Utrecht was the only heavily armed halfling in Acardy's camp. Utrecht seemed to be included on the fringes of Acardy's inner circle. Utrecht and his goat Aldus followed the Prophet of Akrazen Island to the north shore of the Evenwaters, where the halfling White Company, a large mercenary force, cut them down to a man. Utrecht is presumed to have been killed in the slaughter. Ach de Treffers told the Dawnbreakers that Utrecht is the son of Aulich von Kanterstein, a high noble amongst the halflings with a hereditary right of leadership throughout the halfling lands known as the Holding (Kurfurst Archbannerbearer).

Aldus, the great snowy white mountain goat up which Utrecht von Kanterstein rides.