From Darkbrew Monster Vanguard, Campaign Episode 16.
In Hendrerit, the western most city on the western most continent of Maecenas, a gnome cleric named Kierna Barkhide recruited four other adventurers to assist her in a quest for divine service and knowledge. The first two were an elven bard named Venzo Vace and his human wife, a wizard named Iliya Jasmine. They agreed to join Kierna as they too were on a quest for knowledge, seeking a way to extend Iliya’s human lifespan to equal that of her elven husband’s. The dwarven barbarian Angor Frostbear, and the elven warrior, Gelid Brumal, joined Kierna when she assured them that the deepest, darkest places of the world which hid the most powerful divine knowledge, also hid long forgotten treasure.
They gained fame even before leaving Hendrerit when they defeated a warband of goblins attacking the city. They travelled the world, clearing legions of undead from scores of catacombs. They defeated giants, ogres, beholders, and more. And though they never fought a dragon, they gained wide fame, and a vast reward, when they rescued the ancient bronze dragon, Kalagar’s young wyrmling from a group of rogues seeking ransom.
Interestingly Venzo wrote and shared ballads of their defeats as well. It is thought that their willingness to be shown as flawed adventurers, rather than only as successful heroes, is what made their tales so popular in taverns across the lands. The fact that one never knew if the ballads about them would end with success or failure, kept the listeners’ rapt attention until the very last word.
The most popular ballads about their failed missions included: Failing to recover the Wand of Orcus from cultists on the island of Ante Massa; Killing the orc king, Morbi before discovering the location of the kidnapped prince Donec and his stolen Helm of Brilliance in the orc city of Ut Vel. And losing the fabled Moonblade to the drow cleric, Curabitor, on the Foot Print Isles.
After helping Kierna gather much knowledge, and helping themselves accumulate much wealth, they heard rumors of a wizard living in the mountains near Sha’Araka with the ability to create youth-restoring transmuting stones. Thinking these stones might provide the life-extending answers Venzo and Iliya were seeking, they set out for the Araka Mountains. When they found the wizard, they learned he was not a transmuter, but a powerful necromancer, with a trio of devourer minions at his command. Without provocation, the wizard killed Iliya, then reanimated her corpse to fight beside him. It was a fierce battle, but the four remaining heroes fought well. On the brink of death, they managed to kill the necromancer, his minions, and Iliya’s reanimated corpse.
Heartbroken and consumed with grief at watching his wife die twice, Venzo carried Iliya out of the mountains and buried her in the western foothills. He built a house next to her grave, a fence with no gate around them both, and vowed never to leave her side again.
Having accumulated enough riches for several lifetimes, Angor and Gelid retired from adventuring and traveled from city to city as epicureans, sampling the culinary, and carnal delights the world had to offer.
Kierna accompanied them for a while, but when her unrelenting thirst for knowledge took her to more remote, less pleasurable locations, she said goodbye to Angor and Gelid.
With the loss of Iliya, and their retirement as adventurers, their fame and renown slowly faded away. They are now only remembered by a handful of scribes and bards as ‘The Forgotten Five’.
Character Art
Hero Forge Screenshots Darkbrew Monster Vanguard NPC’s, The Forgotten Five
