The party were asked
by a mysterious woman to help free her homeland, a village called Haven, a
remote valley in the Stonecrown mountains. The village had been built in a
fertile valley which had grown up round an ancient abandoned castle. For three
generations, the inhabitants, a group of families fleeing a local war had
farmed peacefully and lived quietly, unmolested by the sometimes violent
inhabitants of the Stonecrown area. That had all changed six weeks ago, when
one night a strange light was seen in one of the towers of the abandoned
castle, next morning the entire building was shrouded in a mysterious red mist,
any animal that strayed into the mist died instantly, wracked by terrible
pains. The people of Haven fears of this development was as nothing when a week
later bands of Orogs began arriving in the valley and commenced a systematic
campaign of murder, pillage and burning!
The woman went on to say that she believed the valley has fallen under
the control of an awnsheghlien, a former servant of the Gorgon, now seeking to build his own power-base away from
his former master.
Following
instructions from the Sorceress, the party travelled north to the remote valley
deep in the Stonecrown mountains. They found a land devastated and corrupted, the fields empty and
blackened. Bands of orogs patrolled the borders, and other monsters had made
their way in from the wilder parts of the Stonecrowns.
Dodging (most) of the Orog patrols, the party made
their way to the castle in the middle of the village the heart of the valley.
The village was deserted, its population having fled, and the castle shielded by powerful magics – a poisonous red mist
that killed anyone who strayed into it.
Exploring the
area surrounding the village, the party found a hidden tunnel which enabled
them to enter the castle, they confronted and defeated the evil sorcerer.
On completion of
the mission the Sorceress appeared and placed a geas (never to discuss the
location of Haven) upon them.