Shadows over Anuire In Brief:

The party, Devlyn, Fra Gwythyr of Cwlidon, and Vito Shadowmere, along with the Mhor’s house-guard and

scout Gaelin, is investigating reports that the lord of Dun-Hearken and his family have been taken hostage

in his own hill-fort.

The lands of the Laird of Dun-Hearken lie to the south, near the Hearkenwold, the geographical centre of

Maesilar, his clan's ancestral home. Beyond, near the border with Ghoere and Elinie, is the community of

Albridge, where once a magnificent arched bridge stood, spanning the river, back in the Empire's heyday. If

the reports are to be believed, mercenaries and bandits in the employ of Gavin Tael, the Baron Ghoere,

have overrun the place, sweeping in across the river in a lightning raid a scant six weeks ago. They levy tolls,

confiscate property, and brutally put down those who oppose their "authority".

While few roads are to be found in the valley, there are many trails to follow, indelibly etched into the

landscape by centuries-long traditions of sheep-grazing and raid and counter-raid between rival clans.

After several encounters with foreign bandits and mercenaries, dire battle-field spirits, and outcast

Wildlings, Devlyn and Gwythyr come into contact with the renowned champion and questing knight of the

Militant Order of Cuiraecen, Sir Guy de Conallier, who challenges and defeats an enemy knight in a joust.

Sir Parsifal Bronarre (from Brona, capital of the Ghoerean province of Tornilen) is the defeated vassal of Sir

Faulk Redthorn, charged with escorting a supply wagon carrying provisions and pay. Redthorn is an

ambitious landed knight and noble from the province of Conallier in Ghoere and leads a coalition of nobles

which tries to take advantage of Gavin Tael’s absence and presumed capture by the Gorgon to extend its

own holdings. Redthorn’s chief supporter, Sir Parsifal says, is Fra-Marschal Stiele Ghieste, leader of the

Ghoerean affiliate Order of the Spur (Redspurs), the hand guiding the sword of Ghoere against its enemies.

The Fra-Marschal was a long-time supporter of Ghoere’s military ambitions, and commands the loyalty of

the largest concentration of brothers in all of Anuire in the fortified temple-complex outside the city of

Bhalaene. The fortress houses a company each of elite infantry and cavalry. This one-time Ghoere loyalist

now brings the ruthless men of the blood-soaked order to Redthorn’s cause, although to date Parsifal has

been spared any contact with these butchers.

(Sir Guy de Conallier and Fra Gwythyr of Cwlidon feel a sense of shame to be associated with these violent

brothers in battle, whose sole dedication seems to be the glorification of slaughter and conflict irrespective

of the justness or otherwise of a cause. The grandmaster of the Order, the volatile and controversial Fhylie

the Sword (also missing and presumed captured) has been unable to stamp out the corruptive taint

infecting the Military Order of Cuiraecen in Ghoere.)

Sir Parsifal also notes that there are loyalist elements in Ghoere, led by a lieutenant, Jonathan Miechele,

who tries to rally support around Ghoere’s bastard, Moerghan Brelliante (Morghan Rook), who is Ghoere’s

successor, despite his illegitimacy.

As to why Redthorn has chosen to besiege Dun-Hearken (seat of the province of Maesilar) and Laird Brego,

son of Barni, he cannot say; he would have expected Redthorn to consolidate his hold of the southern port

of Riumache and key villages first, before launching an attack on so important a clan seat as Dun-Hearken.

The threat to Mhoried’s Northern provinces, particularly Torien’s Watch, which has stretched the Mhor’s

military resources thin, has no doubt played a part.

The Maesil River Valley

Sir Parsifal is afforded every courtesy as a noble captured enemy combatant. Several of the mercenaries

captured with him are offered a battlefield conversion, which is pleasing to the Strom Lord, and who deigns

to heal their injuries in return for their new-found devotion. The party secures and caches some of the

wagon’s goods and presses on.

En-route, the party encounters what turns out to be a band of brigands. After a swift, bloody battle, they

are defeated, but several escape, while one is captured. The captive reveals plans to launch a co-ordinated

attack on the community of Tor’s Hold in Tenarien with the aid of an unholy alliance with the Mere-folk, the

swamp-skum of the western marshlands at the Maesil’s confluence with the River Stonebryn. Meanwhile,

the Cwilidon community of Marl has been razed, he says.

After Devlyn’s diplomacy and gifts of food and ale secures the confidence of the suspicious community of

Tor’s Hold (sons and grandsons of the local hero Tor Hammermith, led by the Bann of Tor’s Hold, Bran

Torskin), the party learns that several attempts have been made to pacify this strategically-important

village. It was inevitable that a more concerted effort would eventually be made. The villagers are aware of

the stories of mere-folk, with whom trade-relations were said to have once existed, but who have since

embraced the Shadow. It is also revealed that the grandson of the Bann, Heron, recently wandered off into

the swamp. To date, efforts to recover the lad have failed.

Tor’s Hold

The restless Sir Guy inspects the defence of Tor’s hold, and watches for a night-time surprise attack. He

spots a strange light in the distance, and summons his companions. Devlyn identifies the eerie light as a

will-o’-wisp, the vestige of an evil soul which lures the unwary to their doom. Fearing that Heron may have

succumbed to the lure of the malevolent spirit, the party immediately follows. After an hours-long trek

through wild grasslands, the party enters the swamp, finally losing the will-o’-wisp at a hidden cave

complex.

Will-o’-wisp on the Moors

The mere-folk are quick to mobilise to repel the invaders, but despite the advantage of terrain, are

outclassed by the heroes, who have no appetite for slaughtering these unfortunate mockeries of humanity.

Somehow Devlyn manages to engage in rudimentary diplomacy with the creatures, which seem to be

under an evil influence. The heroes are shown to a ritual chamber where an enormous dire toad languidly

awaits to receive as sacrifice an unconscious boy matching Heron’s description.

Mere-folk

The demon toad is engaged and harried by the spirits of warriors summoned from Cuiraecen’s Feasthall,

and thanks to a concerted effort and a devastating blow resulting in an impossible decapitation, the

monster is defeated at last to the joyous croaking of the mere-folk Before the heroes can revel in their

victory, however, the will-o’-wisp descends upon the crude altar’s sacrifice. Finding their weapons

ineffective against the incorporeal foe, Gwythyr casts a blessing of protection over the boy, buying some

precious time, while Sir Guy and Devlyn harry the malevolent spirit before blasting it into nothingness. A

cackling remnant of what was once the will-o’-wisp speeds out of the caverns, and Devlyn recalls the

wildlings’ dire warnings of the involvement of a Scinnlaeca, a “Shining One” in the recent goings on.

Sidebar_________________________________________________________________

Cuiraecen, the Stormlord, God of Battle, Haelyn’s Champion

The son of Haelyn and Nesirie, Cuiraecen is Haelyn’s chosen champion

and herald. Warriors preparing for battle may ask of Haelyn that they

conduct themselves with honour, but it is Cuiraecen’s name they must

invoke for victory. The god of battle is the patron of young warriors, for he is the

representation of reckless courage and victory through strength.

Born in the third century after Deismaar, he has since inspired the formation of orders of

knighthood within the church of Haelyn. A tense rivalry exists between elements of both

orders to this day, with the more conservative and learned adherents of Haelyn’s faith

seeing the orders of Cuiraecen as a refuge for black-guards and violent criminals, hiding

behind the aegis faith for their acts violent acts of aggression and expediency. Since the

fall of Michaele Roele and the dissolution of the Empire, the church of Haelyn has

splintered along geo-political lines, and the rift has deepened, but fundamentally, the

two faiths, along with the worship of Nesirie the Mother, are part of a greater,

indivisible whole. In theory…

Holy Days/Important Ceremonies are Haelyn’s Festival (day and night of the Summer

Solstice) and Godsday (22nd of Deismir), Day of Rebirth (first day of spring and start of

the storm season), and six-weeks later (16th Talienir), the start of the campaigning

season.

The principal ceremony each day is in the early afternoon, immediately before spring

and summer storms typically begin. Adherents also conduct a service before any battle,

regardless of whether or not a priest is present. It is particularly auspicious (albeit

extremely dangerous…) to conduct such services on the battlefield while a storm is in

full force, as they believe enemies become particularly unnerved by the sight of metal-

clad zealots raising weapons to the heavens during the height of an electrical storm.

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Heron is safely returned to his kin, earning the party the gratitude of the Tor’s-holders, who pledge their

support in the party’s efforts to repel Redthorn’s advances. But first there is the matter of the anticipated

attack on the community and the road it controls. Vito and Devlyn, meanwhile plan to head for Riumache

while Sir Guy and Fra Gwythyr drill the able-bodied men and youths of Tor’s Hold. Before his departure,

Devlyn regales everyone with tales of an historical battle, a triumph of stout-hearted pastoralists over the

mighty, but unjustly assembled horde arrayed against them, lifting the spirits of the men of Tor’s Hold on

the eve of the battle.

The fighting men of Tor’s Hold and surrounds quickly muster, and prepare to take the battle to the enemy.

Fra Gwythyr and Sir Guy lead a procession, attended by seven young oblates and accompanied by fyfe,

bagpipes, and clashing cymbals, in cacophonous imitation of the Stormlord himself. Before long, an

unseasonal storm descends over the assembled supplicants, while Fra Gwythyr, fully armed and armoured,

calls down Cuiraecen’s blessings on the endeavour. As if in response, a bolt descends from the heavens in a

blinding flash and deafening crack, striking dead one of the Tor’s Holders. Trembling in fear, the troops’

morale wavers, but Fra Gwythyr admonishes them for their cowardice, and decrees that the deceased was

fated to die, and was spared a lingering death by the merciful Storm Lord, who has acknowledged the

supplicants and given his imprimatur.

At the opposite end of a narrow isthmus of land to the north, the assembled forces of Sir Redthorn, under

the leadership of the notorious Gorthwyn of Diemed, watch is amazement at the spectacle playing out

before the stockade of Tor’s Hold. Gorthwyn re-evaluates his chances of successfully bringing Tor’s Hold to

heel. The arrival of meddling outsiders and the apparent betrayal of the mere-folk are a significant setback.

Under a flag of truce, he tentatively approaches, accompanied by two guards.

Guy, Gwythyr and Bran Torskin ride out to meet Gorthwyn, the storm clouds still roiling about them.

Another bolt strikes from the heavens, striking Bran down, surely another sign of Cuiraecen’s favour.

Gorthwyn’s guards are unnerved, but hold firm, comforted by their captain’s preternatural composure.

Sir Guy demands surrender, Gorthwyn will have none of it. Gwythyr also spoils for a fight, as it would be an

affront to refuse the God of Battle’s blessing. After a few moments Sir Guy recognises his erstwhile

companion, whom he last saw during the aborted attack on the Chimaeras’ lair, and who knows his dark

secret… Knowing Gorthwyn to be an uncompromising and recalcitrant fellow, it seems battle is a fait

accompli, and Sir Guy calls and end to the truce, whereupon a zealous guard seizes to opportunity to strike

out at the enemy’s spiritual leader. The attack on Fra Gwythyr is countered with a thunderous wave of

energy, the breath of Cuiraecen himself, killing both guards and sending Gorthwyn reeling back. He

manages to recover control of his steed and races back to his front line, while Sir Guy gives chase after

ordering his forces to action. The battle is well and truly joined.

Filled with righteous fury, Cuiraecen’s champions cut through the ranks of Gorthwyn’s mercenary forces.

Gorthwyn’s captain surrenders to the vengeful Gwythyr, severely weakening the mercenaries’ position.

Buoyed by Cuiraecen’s divine favour and the example of his champions, the levies and irregulars of Tor’s

Hold fall upon their more numerous and battle-hardened foes, and by the setting of the sun, Gorthwyn

accepts Sir Guy’s terms of surrender.

Meanwhile, Devlyn and Vito have travelled day and night to Riumache, arriving just as the night soil porters

carry their cargo to the outlying fields. A queue of farmers bringing their produce into the town has already

started to form, while disreputable-looking guards demand extortionate tolls at the town’s main gate.

Riumache

It’s evident that foreign mercenary companies have taken up residence in the depleted town, whose male

population has answered the Mhor’s call for assistance against the incursions in the Northern provinces.

While not completely defenceless (it is harvest time, after all, and strong-backed youths are needed to

bring in the fruits of their labours), there is ample opportunity for men of unprincipled character to take

advantage of the situation and the good-folk of Riumache. These mercenaries move freely between

Tornilen and Riumache, crossing the mighty River Maesil with the assistance of the unscrupulous guilds.

Who knows what sort of concessions Redthorn has promised the avaricious guilders of Tenarien.

The few remaining brother-knights of the local chapterhouse (for the majority have gone to the aid of the

Guardians, in Torien’s Watch) are in a difficult position; their brothers from across the river seem to be in

league with the black-guard, Redthorn, but to oppose them would turn brother against brother. For now

the Order tries to hunt down opportunistic brigands and stop the excesses of these foreign mercenaries.

Sidebar_________________________________________________________________

Sowing Rumours

Swaying public opinion can be an effective way to bring down a villain or elevate a

friend. Spreading rumours is an efficient, if underhanded, way to accomplish that goal.

Well-placed rumours can increase a subject’s standing in a community or embroil

someone in scandal. A rumour needs to be simple, concrete, and hard to disprove. An

effective rumour also has to be believable, playing off what people want to believe

about the person in question.

Sowing a rumour about an individual or an organisation requires a number of

consecutive days depending on the size of the community, as shown in the Sowing

Rumours table below:

SOWING RUMOURS

Settlement Size Time Required

Village 2d6 days Town 4d6 days City 6d6 days

The character must spend 1 gp per day to cover the cost of drinks, social appearances,

and the like. At the end of the time spent sowing the rumour, the character must make a

DC 15 Charisma (Deception or Persuasion) check. If the check succeeds, the

community’s prevailing attitude towards the subject shifts one step toward friendly or

hostile according to the intent of the rumour. If the check fails the rumour gains no

traction, and further attempts to propagate it fail.

Shifting a community’s general attitude toward a person or organisation doesn’t affect

everyone in the community. Individuals might hold to their own opinion, particularly if

they have personal experience in dealing with the subject of the rumour.

Riumache is considered a Town for the purpose of sowing rumours. Tenarien is a 3/2

Holding. The Mhor has a level 2 Law holding (down from 3), with his influence eroded in

recent weeks by Ghoeran elements (level 1 Law holding). The Militant Order of

Cuiraecen has a level 3 Temple holding, while Haelyn’s Aegis has made some inroads

(level 0 Temple holding). Highland Overland Traders controls, for want of a better word,

most of the trade (level 3 Guild holding) and seems to be playing both sides of the

conflict. The Maesil Shippers’ guild has also seized upon the current tension to get a

share of the profits (level 0 Guild holding).

The current Starting Attitude of Riumache is Indifferent. A Friendly result will result in

military and logistical support for any assault on Redthorn’s besieging forces.

________________________________________________________________________

Devlyn immerses himself in town life. His natural charm and arcane talents enable him to learn much of the

current situation. He sets into motion a plan to thwart the designs of the occupiers, hoping to disrupt their

operation. He has learned that outspoken critics are arrested and executed, and that there is a steady

exodus of political rivals from the town, but with no safe harbour, they face a miserable end in the wilds of

Mhoried. There are ancient ruins nearby, to the west, he learns, thought safe enough, but since discovered

to be haunted. Devlyn dimly recalls that in the time before Deismaar sidhelien enclaves were scattered

throughout the Heartlands. Perhaps he can broker an agreement for sanctuary for the men of Riumache.

Sidhelien ruins

Gorthwyn sends word to his employer, terminating the arrangement by his failure. He marches the

remnants of his defeated and dejected mercenary company to Riumache to cross the mighty Maesil back

into Ghoere, never to return, as per the terms of the surrender. Sir Guy escorts the group, and meets with

Devlyn en-route, who has averted a planned ambush by desperate locals.

At Riumache Sir Guy and Fra Gwythyr discover that the local chapterhouse hosts several prominent

brother-knights of the Redspurs’ faction. Guy makes a strong case against the injustices of Faulk Redthorn,

and insists the Order oppose the villain, but it falls on deaf ears. The die has been cast, the de-facto Grand-

Marschal, Stiele Ghieste has communed with the Stormlord, who has endorsed the actions of the Ghoerean

knight. This apparent usurpation of the Grand-Marschal’s position angers Sir Guy greatly, and he dares to

strike a fellow brother-knight. The latter shows great restraint, however, citing the bond of fraternitas and

does not answer in kind (which only serves to anger Sir Guy even further). Cooler heads point out to the

zealot Guy that unless the Redspurs are declared heretic, killing one would be considered an act of

fratricide, a heinous crime of the highest order…

Fra Gwythyr proposes to commune with Cuiraecen himself, to prove the righteousness of his and Guy’s

position. If Cuiraecen deigns to strike him down, but he survives, Gwythyr argues, then he has the

Stormlord’s support. The logic seems irrefutable…

Summoning a storm in a field outside the town, Gwythyr calls a lightning bolt down on his own head, to the

amazement and horror of the onlookers. As the blinding flash and deafening roar fade, Gwythyr can be

seen still standing, almost revelling in the ecstasy of the moment, until a second, unexpected bolt strikes

him dead, or so it seems; Guy’s blessed touch denies Gwythyr his place in Cuiraecen’s Feasthall for now.

Devlyn, observing from the shadows, informs Sir Guy that the second bolt was of arcane origin, having

come from the Redspurs’ quarter. While he tends to Gwythyr, Guy levels charges of heresy and witchcraft

against them.

The Redspurs return en-masse to the chapterhouse, ignoring Guy’s hysterical accusations.

In fevered dreams Gwythyr sees a painfully bright puppet-master controlling a mockery of a clergyman and

a knight. He can only guess at the significance at this stage. While he recovers, Devlyn co-ordinates the

movement of villagers from Riumache to various outlying abandoned farmsteads. He has secured the

assistance of Gorthwyn’s remaining troops to guard the displaced villagers while they salvage what they

can of the harvest.

Fearing for Gwythyr’s safety, Sir Guy pulls him out of the chapterhouse before he has been able to make a

full recovery. Joined by Devlyn and Gorthwyn, they enter the haunted ruins.

The short trek takes the party to the edges of the nearby marshes where evidence of ancient sidhelien

habitation abounds. There is sufficient shelter and fresh water to temporarily house the refugees in this

easily-defensible narrow canyon. The appeal of the place is not lost on the local fauna, however, and before

long a mated pair of abominations attacks the party.

Owlbear

The battle is hard-fought, the wounds grievous, but the party defeats the creatures and seeks out and slays

their unhatched young.

After a short rest the party moves on. Devlyn investigates an arcanely-wrought trapped archway, beyond

which a tree-lined avenue leading to a porticoed hall can be seen. He barely escapes with his life as the trap

magically resets, barring entry.

Mystic Portal

The party turns its attention to a nearby mausoleum. Delving into the crypt Sir Guy disturbs an ethereal

woman in diaphanous robes, who turns her horrifying visage towards the intruders. Only Gorthwyn’s

Anduirias-derived aura of courage saves the onlookers. Devlyn quickly intervenes, and tries to negotiate

with the spectre and her newly-materialised sidhelien warriors.

Sidhelien Banshee

The spectre reveals that the ancient well-spring of magic has been siphoned by a blooded practitioner of

the arcanists’ arts, despoiling the legacy of her people. The magic portal to the well-spring is trapped to

those of sidhelien or arcane blood,, denying them easy access. If the party can defeat the well-spring’s

guardian and sever the wizard’s link, then the sidhelien haunts will leave the site in peace, for the men of

Riumache to do with as they see fit.

With divine guidance and the support of staunch allies, Devlyn is able to negotiate the arch portal and enter

the faerie regione beyond. The party enters the columned hall and immediately senses the source of

magical power, a shrine dedicated to the pre-Mannish elemental forces which shaped the land. Without

warning a monstrously huge, misshapen fey creature emerges from the hall’s half gloom, it’s all-seeing

yellow eye leaving nowhere to hide: a fhoimoiran!

Fhoimoiran

Devlyn’s elf-taught glamours manage to fool the creature long enough for him to remain hidden and limn it

in a fey radiance, giving the war god-inspired fighting allies a much-needed advantage. Gwythyr fights

through his pain to call forth a curse of blindness, and the heroes eventually defeat the giant guardian.

Devlyn quickly surveys the floor mosaics, and soon identifies a vortex of mystical energies, harnessed,

apparently, by a third party. He severs the arcane link, sundering the connection, and the party flees the

hall through the arch-portal, back into the serene outer-ruins, before it closes forever.

With the ruins’ unquiet guardians defeated and placated, the sheltered gully is now fit for occupation once

more.

Sidhelien Arcane Wellspring

In time, the good folk of Riumache rise against their oppressors. No longer will they allow themselves to be

dictated to by foreign powers. In practical terms, Redthorn’s forces are denied material aid, and a levy of

fighting men is raised to march on Albridge before breaking the siege at Dun-Hearken.

Rewards__________________________________________________________________

Sir Guy (L7): Blessing of Weapon Enchantment (one weapon becomes +1)

Fra Gwythyr (L5): Blessing of Health (+2 to Con)

Devlyn (L5): Medal of Service (Riumache); Special Favour (sidhelien); Icon Relationship

(The Sidhelien Lords), 1d6 +

Gorthwyn is pardoned of his crimes against the Mhor for his service to the people of

Riumache

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