Difference between revisions of "The Dawnbreakers"

Revision as of 05:26, 17 December 2014

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 magic Elendas, Sir Theodore is beset by personal demons, and has left the company of his fellow adventurers in order to still the trouble in his soul.

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

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, in hiatus

Titerius Anathema, Dhaeraowathila of Shevarash, KIA

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 Brinley, whereabouts unknown

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

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.

The 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.

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.

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.