After the titanic, history-making battle with Drago, the heroes revived the mage Zinsaber using one of the potions they had found. Amazingly, this method worked. However, three questions must be asked at this point: 1) Why didn't they try this in the volcano? 2) Why did they revive him? 3) WHY THE HELL DID MURIC DRAG ZINSABER'S BODY ALL THIS WAY???

In any case, Zinsaber took them for a week of rest in his Lighthouse, and the group began the tedious work of planning their next move. Gaarik (still in drake form) took Emmaeai aside and gave her a personal quest: to complete the treaty between Gritton and Fastague, restoring the balance of power before another war could break out. Therefore, Emmaeai suggested to the group that they head for the town of Dartrent, thus crossing the Vrolok Forest into Gritton. Dittoc and Renee agreed, but Zinsaber had other plans for the remainder of the group, which included Mathurin Delaros, Ovarin (the elven Bladesinger), Muric Goblinslayer, and Smitty Selindoff (keep in mind Irana is now a vampire and she and Oak are missing). They were sent to Avondale, then south, beyond the Garren Desert, beyond the southern border of the Kingdom of Fastague, to the mountainous barony of Balovia. They were sent with a scroll and an ultimatim to stop the rebellion taking place there and end the bloodshed.

It was a month's journey from Avondale to Balovia, and then the surprises began. Zinsaber had said that he had no map of the area of Balovia, and he made no mention of any other group sent into the area. Yet in the Haunting Hallow Inn just north of Balovia the adventurers found another adventuring group sent by Zinsaber who possessed a map! Since the Paladin in the other group had been told by his deity not to enter the mists surrounding Balovia, the other group handed our heroes their map, but not before one of their members had first driven off the Paladin and then attacked Smitty, who, being a crazy little thief, tried to steal the jerk's coin pouch. In addition, the keeper of the inn paid the adventurers a sum of gold to deliver a cart of supplies into the city of Balovia. When the adventurers drove the cart into the mist and then into the walled confines of the province, they were set upon by both a goblin patrol and a pack of wolves led by a werewolf! The heroes did their best to protect the cart of supplies and the nag that drew it, but the wolves successfully killed the nag before being driven off. Muric and the other adventurers buried the nag then pulled the cart to the town.

More surprises awaited our adventurers at the inn in town, called the Brown Bag Tavern. First of all, the mist that surrounded the barony was revealed to be magical in nature, and anyone within the mist could not leave it without being suffocated. Second, the city of Balovia had been reduced to a mere town of 150 frightened villagers. Third, the Baron, Grey Tashiad, had died, reputedly of illness. Fourth, the count of this province and two others, Count Paron von Strahd, had taken residence in the castle to the north. Fifth, an old abandoned castle to the south was now inhabited by a known vampire, Eichre Deltowsi and his "family". It was of this "family" that the villagers feared so much, though they feared also Strahd's vengeance because of the rebellion that had recently been put down by Strahd's forces.

Zinsaber had told the heroes of a female elven mage in the town that they could trust: a woman named Starlia. This turned out to be a lie, a lie that Ovarin suspected all along. First of all, Starlia was the leader of the rebels, who were now in hiding because of Count Strahd. The "supplies" in the cart were for her, a bunch of silver weapons and armor as well as food and drink, and she sent men to fetch it straightaway. Second, when Zinsaber's scroll was opened and read by Mathurin, it was revealed that Zinsaber suspected Starlia of being an ally of Count Strahd the vampire! Starlia denied these allegations, saying she had become Baron Tashiad's lover and friend after the beginning of the rebellion. She had originally been a second in command before Strahd took out the leader of the rebels in the most recent of their attacks against the Barony. She also explained that though her superior was very much a warrior, she favored a peaceful approach to implementing democracy in the Barony. The heroes had little trust left for her, but were then interrupted from further pressing of the issue by the arrival of Eichre, Irana and Oak to the Brown Bag.

It was close to sunset. The heroes followed the vampires and the young elven girl inside, confronting them, and Eichre explained that he was planning a coup of the province, attempting to take it away from Strahd with the help of Starlia and the other rebels. It so seemed that Eichre wanted Strahd dead in the hopes that he would be made human again, and thus so would Irana. In this wise, the heroes inferred that Strahd had bitten Eichre while he was still human, but Eichre had not partaken of Strahd's blood. Meanwhile, Starlia and Eichre spoke of a coming attack by Strahd upon the village, and Irana was put in charge of the defense, much to the dismay of Muric. So the rebels and the adventurers planned for the attack, and just before Eichre left, Smitty picked his pocket. (Too bad there was nothing in the pocket to pick, eh, halfling?) :)

While the group was planning against Strahd, the Count appeared in a puff of mist before them. He scared off Oak, but before Irana could run after her, Strahd stopped the former ranger and gave her the ultimatim to take Eichre and leave or he would consume the town. Then he left. Irana then went to console Oak, but the girl shocked the vampiress with an important revelation: the Count was after a woman in town by the name of Tatyana. The adventurers decided to find this Tatyana, and proceeded to ask questions of the villagers. However, the more they questioned, the more confused they became, for it seemed that Tatyana was dead, and of the line of the Tashiad family. Further answers, as the group knew, could only come from the surviving members of the Tashiad line, Ireena and Ismark Tashiad.

Ireena and Ismark were in a small dwelling not far from the Brown Bag Tavern. One of the tavernboys there showed them the way. After this, the adventurers were reluctantly invited inside by Ismark, though he knew Irana was a vampiress. All went well with the subsequent meeting with Ismark and Ireena, until Oak identified Ireena as Tatyana. This scared both Ismark and Ireena, and, voicing their fears that the adventurers had been sent by Strahd to retrieve them, they fled the dwelling, heading for the only temple in town, the temple of Dartal.

The heroes, most of them being followers of Anala, were extremely wary about entering the temple, and thus allowed the pair of Tashiads go free. They then set about laying various traps and helping the townspeople of Balovia prepare for Strahd's attack, most likely also allaying the fears that come with a full-moonlit night. Irana, meanwhile, used her natural spider-climbing abilities to ascend the abandoned keep of the Baron, the Tashiads' former home before the death of the Baron. She ascended to the third floor... and found an old chapel. Count von Strahd sat on the altar step, his back to the altar of an unknown deity, weeping. Weeping???

Irana wanted to know why, so she turned into a mist and floated through the broken stain-glass window. She then appeared at Strahd's side, asking him why he cried so much. Strahd, however, being the chaotic, evil, macho vampire he is, resisted all attempts to crack under her motherly cooing and persistent questioning, and soon fled with the first rays of dawn. Irana knew his attack would now come soon, and she fled the chapel to warn her friends.

The sounds of the attack came unexpectedly. The villagers and adventurers, having taken some time to rest during the day after their endeavor, took to their places quickly, armed to the teeth with the silver weapons and armor that had come for them. However, Starlia was not with them. Then, as the adventurers looked out over the battlefield... they saw they were a mile away. To the south, where they had first heard the alarm, they saw that beyond the river Eichre's castle was being attacked by all manner of evil creatures: zombies, skeletons, ghouls, wolves, dead goblins and dead orcs, an army of undead flooding through and systematically destroying the castle. Irana began to gain color in her cheeks. The color spread throughout her body as the destruction continued, and she felt warm to the touch. Somehow, she knew that Eichre had been destroyed, and she had reverted back to her true form.

Suddenly, Oak exhibited an enormous amount of fear, all directed at Irana. She ran away, ignoring all attempts by Irana to return to her. She disappeared as the last rays of the setting sun vanished from sight. It was again night.

The heroes knew that they were next. They fled the edge of town, ignoring all inhibitions and herding the frightened populace to the only place of safety left in Balovia: the Temple of Dartal. Irana eventually found a frightened Oak standing at one corner of the outside of the tavern, next to a small wand, and without allowing her to refuse she scooped her up in her grasp, along with the wand, and ran to the temple. Just outside the temple, Irana caught up with Mathurin and asked him about the wand. Mathurin replied that it was a wand of Vampiric Touch, and Irana, in disgust for the vile rod, snapped it in two. Suddenly, a scream came up from the wand... Oak's scream, a scream that signified agonizing death. Irana looked curiously at Oak... but nothing seemed to be amiss. But then an army of ghouls and zombies clawed their way up from the earth, and came at the adventurers, who therefore packed inside the temple, waiting for the inevitable.

Oak, however, would not enter. She refused again and again, yelling at Irana to be invited in. Irana, thinking this to be some inopportune child's game, agreed, and invited her in as she pulled her inside by the arm. Muric screamed in protest, but the damage was now complete. Oak's form shivered and grew, to the amazement and fear of all around her, and she became the vampire Strahd. Ireena screamed as she was magically carried to Strahd. Then, a booming voice shook the whole of the temple, "How dare you fight within my sanctuary!" Naturally, this got more than a few trousers soiled. But then, the adventurers and Strahd found themselves out in a clearing, surrounded by mist and forest. The fight began, Ismark struggling to save Ireena, and the heroes struggling to stave off the ghouls and zombies that Strahd had called to his aid. But before the heroes could dispatch all of the zombies, Strahd killed Ismark and fled with Ireena...

The heroes felt as if they had failed. They had done nothing of purpose except to perhaps restore Irana to life. Irana was sure that Oak was dead, and they all feared that the town would now be destroyed in the fury of Strahd's wrath. Then Zinsaber came to them, aided by magic, and offered to take the adventurers to the edge of the fog, back to the Haunting Hallow Inn. Irana refused, and instead asked Zinsaber to take her to Eichre's stronghold, for she wished to see whether or not he was truly dead. Zinsaber obliged, but not without protest from both himself and Irana's companions, most notably Muric's. Irana and the group were taken to a pile of rubble, with no stone left unturned or unbroken. Searching as best she could, she could not find any trace of Eichre. As satisfied as one might be under the circumstances, Irana reluctantly told Zinsaber to take them back.

Once back out of the mist and given an antidote for the fog by the halfling cleric of Anala from Avondale, the cleric and Zinsaber went into a shouting match about Zinsaber's "constant violation" of a "contract that was out of whack the day it was written," of which they meant the non-interference pact Zinsaber had signed over a millennium ago. After such a hard and long couple of days, the heroes eventually ignored them and went to sleep in the inn.

The morning after, the cleric of Anala gave Irana a personal quest, to drive the goblins from Yuvegar Forest. Thus, the group left the Haunting Hallow Inn and traveled north to Dartrent to gather the remaining adventurers, then the heroes traveled north to Great Star Lake. As they neared the forest surrounding the lake, however, Muric opted to check on the nearby dwarven stronghold that was being built for him. The adventurers agreed, and they changed course, finding soon an empty city nestled within the mountains. It bore all the earmarks of betrayal and bribery: the walls, the buildings, nothing had been touched by catapult stone or siege machine... yet there were ten dwarves in a stronghold that originally held a compliment of 300. The heroes found the benefactor of the stronghold, Skanker, and upon questioning the aging half-elf, learned that goblins had invaded the stronghold after an accident with a brick in the wall had occurred. The heroes resolved to aright the situation, and headed in the last known direction of the goblins: the Castle of Grey Cooks.

The Castle of Grey Cooks lay deep within Yuvegar Forest, and was once the home of many a famous Paladin. However, it was overrun by gnolls a century before, and now it seemed to be the operating base of the goblins left over after the invasion. The characters had a difficult time locating the castle until they found a company of goblins out on patrol, which, after they had defeated them, the heroes were able to gleen the location of the castle. Then a few of the adventurers got sidetracked and fell into a pit, finding Zaishalla inside. These adventurers, Muric, Smitty, Ovarin, and Mathurin, took her along and eventually were able to rejoin the group. Then, as the adventurers camped outside the castle, they were joined by two women, the elven Riollaneise of Red Rose and her companion, Alyn of Laurel, a human. These two friends hesitantly joined Dittoc, Muric, Smitty, Mathurin, Irana, and Ovarin, and the group was airlifted by Dittoc's griffin Airsword onto the castle parapets.

Quietly, the adventurers penetrated the lowest levels of the castle, searching for their missing dwarves. In the process, Muric took a bad step on one of the stairs and fell to his death, only to be revived by Mathurin's Rod of Ressurrection. Then, at the area where Muric fell, the adventurers were met with a choice: North, or East. Dittoc and Ovarin went east through one corridor, while the others traveled north through another corridor.

Ovarin and Dittoc were met by an elven guard near a door, who challenged them to a duel and promptly lost his head. Meanwhile, the other adventurers thought they had found their missing dwarves. They unlocked two of the cells to allow the dwarves to leave, only to find that all of the occupants were dead. What was worse: The occupants were not dwarves, but disguised goblins. Suddenly, rumbling shook the castle to its very foundations as two hideous beasts rose from under the bodies of the goblins. They proceeded to attack the adventurers, and only by a concerted effort by all the heroes, Dittoc and Ovarin coming to the rescue as well, were they able to defeat such horrible monsters.

After the ambush, the adventurers explored the door that the elf had been guarding. Inside was another jail cellblock, with living, breathing dwarves. This time, the group was careful in making sure these were the real dwarves, and soon, they had freed the dwarves and set about to the task of cleaning up. While Mathurin, Dittoc, Riollaneise, and Muric cleared the monstrous goblins from the castle interior with the freed dwarves, Ovarin, Alyn, and Smitty went searching for treasure... and found it, guarded by four goblin stooges. Alyn charmed the goblins into "relinquishing" the treasure as her companions finished these individuals off, then they plundered the treasure and rejoined their companions. Meanwhile, Dittoc, while chasing off goblins from the area, jumped into a portal right after the goblins, finding himself trapped in another world as the rift closed... the Goblins' Homeworld!!!

With the Castle of Grey Cooks secured and Dittoc trapped on another world, Gaarik, still trapped in the drake, suggested that the group migrate south to the Great Star Lake to learn of the health of the Prophetess of Dath. The group agreed, with Riollaneise and Alyn agreeing to join the adventurers for a time. So the group traveled back to Great Star Lake, only to find the whole area changed. The very inhabitants of the lake tried to kill them. Getting across the lake took more than a simple wish, and the group nearly drowned before they were able to find the shore, with the help of the will o' the wisps. The island itself had also changed. The ruins had been replaced with a grand yet ominous castle, and inside the castle was all manner of foul undead creatures. At the top level of the castle stood Strahd, who told the characters that the Prophetess had fled the lake in search of a more peaceful and habitable home. He suggested that the group look for Starlia, who may know more than he about the subject. Then Gaarik, confused by the entrance of the vampiress Ireena, attacked the vampiress, provoking the anger of Strahd. Alyn and the others barely escaped with their lives, battling minion after minion, trying to break free!

Days passed, and the adventurers retreated to the castle town of Selina. There, they finally found the woman Starlia, who turned out to be the same green-haired elf maiden mentioned earlier. She was in hiding from both Strahd and Zinsaber, who both obviously wanted her dead. As she was about to exchange information on the whereabouts of the nereids for protection, a poisoned crossbow bolt in her back killed her. Muric ran to catch the assassin, but failed to do so. To the best of their knowledge, the Prophetess was dead, and the surviving nereids were somewhere in the underground dwarvenlands. The adventurers agreed: their destination, the home of Muric and Dittoc.

Months passed. Gaarik eventually found a new body, and left the Filitus the drake behind to pester the heroes. He found his old friend Daxar, an elven mage of immense fame in Fastague, on his way to the city of Nihgh. Then, in Nihgh, Gaarik and Daxar met a ragtag band of sturdy and diverse adventurers: Ethan, a half-elven ranger, Xavier II, an elven mage, Natalia, a human paladin, and Belor the Bold, dwarven fighter. Gaarik also met Daxar's young daughter, Mirris, who had already taught herself the rudiments of Bladesong.

This strange assortment of unlikely adventurers were told by Gaarik and Daxar of a quest to explore the underground reaches between Nihgh and the Lake of Yorkan, to the west of Johnsville. They followed Gaarik from the inn where they met, the Yellow Dog, to the Sword and Scabbard Tavern, where Gaarik gave a shady bartender a diamond and then led the adventurers to the cellar, where, in one of the caskets, was a secret entrance into the underground. The group hesitantly wandered inside, led by Gaarik...

Once inside, they were encountered by a number of orcish beings when Ethan threw a rock into the darkness to see what was beyond his torchlight and infravision. The orcs advanced and attacked, and soon a necromancer joined them, claiming to be working for the Tiger Clan of Bladesong, and demanding Daxar's daughter be handed over. Daxar naturally refused, and a mighty battle ensued, ending in the orcs' and the necromancer's gruesome demise. Gaarik himself cut the final blow into the necromancer's back, proving that magical power has its limits. However, in the struggle, Belor temporarily fought against Daxar. Strange... Daxar was more than able to defend himself, yet for the Paladin Natalia's pleading spared the insolent companion's life.

The group trekked further into the cavern, finding a set of three chests, all magically trapped. Needless to say, they attempted to open them, and they blew apart. Ethan attempted to gather together the contents that had scattered, but when he went for the heavy armor and weapons against the wall, the floor caved in, and Ethan fell 10 feet... 20 feet... 30... down farther and farther, until Daxar turned him into a bee to fly out. Ethan did so, but resented the idea of being an insect. He was later restored to form by Gaarik, who had a number of spell scrolls with him. Belor, however, was curious as to why Gaarik would carry so many polymorph: animal spell scrolls...

Then Daxar saw something out of the corner of his eye... huge, rat-shaped... Wererats. The group, upon hearing of the wererats, ran, heading towards the cellar, but were cut off by a wraith! Night had fallen, and now doom would come! Suddenly, Daxar disappeared, and a heavenly apparition bathed in pure light appeared, claiming that Daxar was needed elsewhere to stop Zinsaber... Stop Zinsaber from what? Mirris, seeing all these terrible things happening, charged the evil wraith with the sword her father had given her, a sword of Life Draining... Belor, feeling especially sorry for attacking Daxar earlier, tried to protect the lass, but was smote down by the wraith. Mirris charged, and stabbed the ghostly apparition in its chest... the wraith shrieked and shriveled as it was sucked into the sword. Mirris instantly grew fifty years, the sword transforming her with the negative energy of the wraith. Thus, the group was able to leave the catacombs and rejoin the surface world.

Gaarik, Natalia, and Mirris were not satisfied with their job down below, and resolved to return at first light. Gaarik told of another entrance in the forest to the north of the Lake of Yorkan, where they might have more luck exploring the caverns. Furthermore, the church of Alfadon commissioned Natalia on a quest to brave the depths of the caves and clear out any evil therein. Natalia, unable to resist the edict of a bishop, agreed, and so the adventurers set forth for the forest.

The first obstacle in this course came in the form of not one, not two, but seven orcs. Gaarik had gone ahead to scout out the territory... but was soon waylaid by these monsters. Mirris and Natalia, following a bit farther behind, reached the battle as Gaarik went down. The paladin and bladesinger sprang into action. Mirris was knocked unconsious after killing one of the orcs, and Natalia finished the other orcs off and saved the bard and bladesinger's lives.

Three more orcs were charging. Natalia and the revived Mirris turned to face the new attackers, but watched as two men on horseback took out strange metallic missle weapons (what we know as laser guns from earlier) and shot the three orcs down. Gaarik identified these men as friends of his, and told Mirris and Natalia to go on ahead with the quest, while he sought medical help from them.

Mirris and Natalia explored the area until Mirris found a little white rabbit hopping into a larger cave, partially hidden by a tree. Mirris, still having the mentality of a young child, followed the rabbit down the hole, and ran right into a small patrol of goblins! Natalia saved Mirris and the two of them killed the goblins, the two explored the cavern, finding several goblin patrols, until they happened upon a beautiful, petite woman bathing in a pool. The woman was a nymph, as the two females realized soon... but the nymph was also shy and dove under the water. Natalia followed, and swam underneath the caverns to another section of the cave, where more nymphs awaited her. They asked her to help them reach their sisters on the second level of the cave, a request which the paladin gladly accepted. So she returned by way of the cavern passageways, tripping one of the traps on the way, to retrieve Mirris (who could not swim) and get to work. First, near the trap, the two met a group of hostile elves, whom they defeated easily. Then, guided by one of the defeated elves, they found a group of bandits who had just left the Red Raven Society (i.e., they killed the Red Raven Representative). Mirris and Natalia were able to convince the bandits that they were mercenaries for hire (Mirris did all the talking), and so the bandits agreed to help the women. They then traveled down to the second level with one of the bandits and found another group of nymphs, and the bandit, at the sight of these, instantly went blind. Meanwhile, Mirris and Natalia saw the source of the nymphs' dilemma: a large boulder on the far side of the cavern below plugging up the wall. The nymphs asked the two heroes to unplug the hole so they could again be with their sisters. Natalia and Mirris, of course, agreed, and brought along the rest of the bandits to help. Mirris convinced the bandits that there was treasure on the far side of the boulder, and thus convinced them to dig out the boulder, a task that ultimately killed the bandits when the water on the other side poured in.

Natalia was not happy about Mirris' "misdirections", but felt it was for the greater good, and therefore said nothing. Well, that and Mirris constantly motioning for her to be quiet... Furthermore, the nymphs rewarded them for their help with a huge sparkling jewel and a set of books, books that could be given to the Church of Alfadon in penance. Natalia and Mirris, thus satisfied that their journey was at an end, returned to the city of Nihgh with their findings, to find Gaarik and his companions missing...

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