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FROM THE SHADOWS Written & edited by Victor Cheng

Page 0

BACKGROUND

You can tell that something is wrong even as the caravan draws near to the town of Stonebridge.
You work for the trader Tareg Villett, protecting him and his wares as he takes them around the towns
and villages scattered throughout the Pagan Plains. Normally, a crowd starts to gather as soon as the
caravan comes into view of its next destination, the locals eager to see what Tareg has for sale, and to
hear the latest gossip from elsewhere in the region. Today the Dwarves of Stonebridge look wary, even
fearful, and only a small group of armed guards assembles to greet you.
Seeing this, Tareg reins in his horses a safe distance from the town. "Get out and see what's the matter
with them," he orders you.
Taking care not to make any moves that might be misinterpreted as hostile, you approach the guards.
"What do you want here?" calls out a Dwarf with streaks of grey in his beard.
You explain that Tareg has come to sell his wares, and the Dwarf says they'll only let the caravan past if
Tareg lets them check it first. Reluctantly, Tareg agrees to this, and two of the Dwarves clamber into the
back of the caravan, emerging moments later to pronounce its contents safe.
The guard with the grey-streaked beard tells Tareg he can come in. As the caravan begins to move once
more, you ask what the guards were checking for.
"Dark Elves," mutters a guard with a large nose, and spits on the ground.
Gradually the whole story comes out. Somewhere in this part of the country, an army of Dark Elves is
assembling with the intent of taking over the whole region. Their leader, an evil Sorcerer by the name of
Malbordus, is attempting some kind of Dragon-summoning magic to add to their strength. Yaztromo, a
good Wizard who lives somewhere to the south, found a champion to confront Malbordus, but there has
been no news of how this champion has fared. Under the circumstances, it's hardly surprising that the
locals aren't particularly interested in trading.
Unwilling to risk running into a Dark Elf raiding party, Tareg decides to stay in Stonebridge for now.
Leaving you to tend to the horses, he stomps off in search of a tavern.
You have just finished dealing with the horses when a voice cries, "It's Yaztromo! He's coming here
again!"
You hurry to join the crowd that is assembling to meet him, everyone hoping for good news, fearful of
bad. It soon becomes almost impossible to make out anything in the babble of voices, but everyone falls
silent when Yaztromo finally reaches the town square.
"Malbordus is dead," announces the Wizard, and a massive cheer erupts from the crowd, dying away
quickly as he glares at everybody through his spectacles.
"That doesn't mean the danger's over," he continues. "Far from it, as a matter of fact. A good army is
something like a Hydra - cut off its head, and it grows another one." For a moment he pauses, lost in
thought. "Actually a Hydra grows back two heads for every one you cut off, so they're not exactly the
same. Still the point is that if a good army loses its leader, it doesn't fall apart, it just appoints a new one.
And, judging by what I've managed to find out concerning this new leader, this one is just as dangerous as
Malbordus was. Maybe even more so."
"This morning an attempt was made on my life, using a magic arrow, engraved with the Rune of Death. If
my crow hadn't spotted the assassin and warned me, I doubt that I'd be here now."
"Did you catch him?" asks one of the Dwarves.
"Of course I did. A Dark Elf archer. He wouldn't talk, of course, but I know a mind-reading spell, and he
couldn't completely block that. He put up a good fight, though. Must have been trained by an expert. And
I won't be able to find out any more from him, either. While I was recovering from casting the spell, he
managed to get to a poisoned needle he had hidden in his jerkin, and killed himself. But I had enough
fragments to piece together the Dark Elf army's new plan."
The Wizard pauses, but this time nobody else dares break the silence, and after a moment he carries on.
"Their new leader is a High Priest, and he appears to be trying to open up a Chaos Gate. There's not a lot
known about such things as, fortunately, whenever anyone's been fool enough to try and create one,
they've been prevented from completing it. But it's clear enough that if one ever is opened, it will let all
manner of monstrosities through from somewhere in the depths of hell. For such a portal to exist, its
creator would undoubtedly require an extensive base of operations to perform the necessary vile rituals in
secret. The trouble is I wasn't able to find out where this one's being built."
Several of the crowd gasp upon hearing this, and Yaztromo flaps his hands at them. "Oh, there's still hope.
Silzedel, my would-be killer, isn't the only member of the Dark Elf army who's out and about. He was just
one of four lieutenants who've been sent out to cause trouble, and the other three are still at large, as far as
I can tell. Find them, and we may have a chance of finding the Chaos Gate before it's too late. They
should all have one of these." He holds up what looks to you like a large discoloured tooth. "While I
haven't been able to completely decipher the runes inscribed on it, I could at least ascertain that the
correct word of command will cause this to transport its bearer to the Gate. I'm sure I could find out a lot
more about the spell if I had the rest of the teeth. Maybe even just one or two more of them. So all we
need," he gives a short, bitter laugh, "is for someone to find the other lieutenants and acquire the teeth
they carry. It's just a pity that my young friend who took care of Malbordus isn't back from the Desert of
Skulls yet. We really can't afford to wait for..."
"I'll go!" In the shocked silence that follows the interruption, you realise that the voice which spoke up is
your own. You catch sight of Tareg over to one side of the crowd, looking displeased, and feel a strange
sense of satisfaction.
"Oh?" Yaztromo peers at you and beckons you towards him. "And who might you be? No, don't tell me,
it doesn't matter. More to the point, what makes you think that you're up to the challenge? Have you even
faced any Dark Elves before now?"
"No," you admit, and add. "But I once fought off a Hill Troll raiding party single-handed." A feeling of
shame overcomes you as soon as you speak these words. How foolish and insignificant that fight, your
greatest triumph, must seem to someone as powerful as Yaztromo.
Tareg gives a snort of derision at your embarrassment, but to your surprise he is immediately shushed by
several of the Dwarves around him, and you hear muttered expressions of approval from those closest to
you.
The wizard is smiling as well. "Whether or not you have the skill for this quest, you certainly have the
courage. It takes a lot to admit to everyone that you've never fought any Dragons or Demons or the like.
Such courage may not be enough, of course, but it's a good start. Now, I'm not sure exactly where any of
these other lieutenants are, but I've managed to narrow it down to just five probable locations. The sooner
you start searching, the better."
He fumbles in his robes for a roll of parchment. "Here's a map with them all on. They're all quite some
distance from here, so you'd better get a move on. And... Hold on a moment, where did I put that... Ah!"
He holds up a copper ring. "Yes, this will allow you to communicate with me over long distances. But it
only has a few charges, so you'd better use it very sparingly. Don't try to contact me until your search is
over. If you can get hold of the other teeth, I should be able to find the right general area and cast a spell
that will transport you there."
You take the map and the ring from Yaztromo, and promise to do your best to find the location of the
Chaos Gate.
"You do that. And if you can stop the lieutenants from doing whatever it is that they're up here to do, so
much the better. They're all up to no good, no question of that. Oh, and maybe you should have this, too."
He drops the tooth into your hand. Studying it, you see that the discolouration is actually a series of seven
elongated runes inscribed upon it. If you do obtain any more of these teeth, make a note of the number of
sigils they bear.
"Anyway," concludes Yaztromo, "it's about time you were on your way."
Wondering what you might have got yourself into, you unroll the map.
Turn to paragraph 1.

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NOTES

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