Return of Dunrick the Daring

• Characters: Aramir, Carn, Gallipolas & Fig, Hadith, Lazbin, V.L.
  



• NPCs: League of Wizards, Dunrick the Damned
  



• Synopsis: With the League of Wizards reformed and consisting of Mikailis, Gronchiss, Merty, Yulimmi, Loothum, Vindicus and Lazbin, the first order of task is to find and subdue Dunrick the Damned. Dunrick is the disgraced apprentice to Loothum, and the gnome still holds hope that he is redeemable. If the defenders can capture him and bring him back alive, Dunrick might hold the key to disabling the army of golems under the Dragon Coast Alliance’s control. Before Loothum was murdered, he dispatched his apprentice to the small farming community of Fallow where his apprentice was researching the great golem-maker Tyron Capell. Dunrick was communicating his learned knowledge and understanding of golem creation to Loothum via messengered letters while the gnome master wizard was advising Holundi in Tendale. Loothum read the series of letters that unofficially documented Dunrick’s mental collapse as his apprentice discovered the red glowing ore desposits in the nearby Orsraun Mountains. Dunrick was on the verge of a great discovery: the ability to make golems sentient beings. But the red glowing ore easily eclipsed Dunricks studies but before Loothum could intervene the Elven Star was stolen from Tendale setting the region’s historic events into motion. Loothum speculates that his apprentice is somewhere near the failed settlement of Fallow, and that if he can be brought in, his studies can be completed. With Dunrick’s untapped knowledge the Circle of Holundi can give life to the golems, liberating them from the Dragon Coast Alliance, and eliminating their primary defense. Then the Circle of Holundi can sack Westgate. The group of adventurers travels to the base of the Orsraun Mountains near Fallow and begin their trek towards the summit. They find Ragnov, the disgraced bodyguard to Dunrick the Damned’s brother Derrick. She is imprisoned in a crow’s cage, and barely human. Having failed Dunrick, she now serves as a warning to all trespassers. Following tracks up the mountain slope, they find a trail lined with pikes, each adorned with a decapitated head of a horned devil. The group battles a guardian roper and a legion of fiendish gnolls and hobgoblins before reaching the main mining chamber. Red glowing ore has been collected from below into a massive chamber where they find the delinquent Dunrick, or what they think is their target. Loothum’s apprentice has grafted pieces of the red glowing ore onto his body and surrounded himself in a natural cavity for the red glowing ore. Stacks of the ore climb to the ceiling and litter the cavern, creating an overpowering crimson hue that drowns out all other color. As the group tries to penetrate Dunrick’s chamber, they are each overwhelmed by the power of the red glowing ore and compelled to seek their personal desires. With Gallipolas’ mighty will they are able to overcome the crippling effects and subdue Dunrick by magicking him into a toad. The group returns with their hard fought prize and witness the revival of Loothum’s apprentice. The man simultaneously recalls every evil deed he has executed over the past tenyear and collapses under the weight of grief and remorse. Finally through tears he recalls the death of his brother Derrick and a lost love named Patricia.

• Encounters: Ragnov, roper, half-fiend gnoll horde, purple worm, Dunrick the Damned
  



• Achievements: Extracted Dunrick from his mined collection of the red glowing ore.