Having finally run into the map-seller at the market, the PCs bought a map. They've cleared the tunnels under Beren's warehouse, by defeating the last Fire Beetle (they forgot to collect its glow-glands however so couldn't sell them to the Alchemists) and also killing three Bandits, as well as finding some of the loot and other goodies that the Bandits and Cultists had hidden down there - some +1 Leather Armour (which will look great on Josef if they ever work that out), a Wand (of Magic Detection), and a rather nice Ring (of Protection +1) - and they're frankly too grateful for the 20GPs Beren agreed to give them. They've recruited two new members - Wiz Kalufa, a cleric from the Temple of the Mother in Threshold and Josef, a thief who the party found tied up in the basement lair of the Snake-Cultists and their Bandit allies. None of the humans believe it of course, they all know the witch-queen died in the battle that re-united the northern and southern halves of the Grand Duchy, that used to be known as Nockmaar and Galladoorn.Īnyway, the PCs are at it again. Did I mention that the Halflings in these parts are known as Nelwyn (there are three kinds of Halfling in my campaign world - Hin, Kender and Nelwyn)? There used to be a small settlement of them downriver, and those that still live in the district tell crazy stories of how one of their number helped defeat the witch-queen. But the retired Halfling adventurer who grows Wolfsbane in Threshold shares his family name of Ufgood, and if you ask around you can find out the Halfling's name is Ranon. The Halfling wizard is a legend whose whereabouts are not known. She was defeated and killed (or, possibly, banished to some shadow-realm, no-one's very sure) by a young Halfling wizard and a good witch. The ruins near 'my' Threshold are a destroyed city that stood on the lakeside 50 or more years ago, at the time of an evil witch-queen who previously ruled these lands.

There's a very detailed map of the region at the Vaults of Pandius site, but I know nothing of the majority of places noted on it.

I don't have access to them, so I've never incorporated that info into 'my' Grand Duchy. For those who have access to the Known World Gazetteers, this is probably Castle Mystamere or something. There are 'ruins' marked on the map of Threshold, or, at least, indicated as being off the map to the north, and arguably, by the lake-shore.

Barsoom lake