Journal Entry: Heart of Hope Campaign Travelogue, Vol. I

by Maglaurus

Entry Date: 9/25/2004
Entry Number: 9
Entry Title: Journey to the Thunder Peaks, Early Rannmont

In the first days of Rannmont, when the snowfall stops and the sky clears just enough to set foot outside Itzan Nul, three Guardians of the Heart of Hope set out on a quest to discover the source of a vision Mortan Forgehammer had one night while staring out at the Thunder Peaks. He saw a great flame leap from the central peak, and he desperately sought to know from where it rose. Mortan, Caelum, and their new-found friend Obsidia, a Neidar mystic, leave Itzan Nul to bound for the central crag of the Thunder Peaks. Along the way they encounter many dangers posed by ogres, goblins, and even a black dragonspawn actively seeking the Heart of Hope.

Battle is not the only threat to the heroes though. Weather and rough terrain provide many dangers. A terrible fall may well have ended the journey if not for some unexpected allies, a tribe of bear-people called the Ursori. Ancient enemies of the Thanoi, this tribe of herders lives in the cold valley beneath the Thunder Peaks, cut off from the rest of their nomadic nation by Beryl's influence on the climate of Kharolis. Healed, rested, and set on the right path by the Ursori the three companions start their ascent once again.

In a cavern half-way up the central face of the Thunder Peaks the heroes encounter terrible shrieking bird-like horrors from the Chaos War, and the journey becomes more threatening when the group reaches the cliff on which the flame appeared and two Daemon Warrior emerge to challenge them. The reward for their journey is well worth it though, as the heroes discover a summit with two temples, one dedicated to Reorx and one dedicated to Chislev. Sculptures embedded into the walls of each temple tell the story of the gods uniting their peoples, the dwarves of Thorbardin and the men of Kharolis, to strengthen themselves and bring fertility and vitality to Kharolis and its mountains. The heroes now understand the Heart of Hope, for the most part, and its importance to Kharolis, but the question to empowering the artifact remains unresolved.

Entries in this Journal:

• Introduction
• The Heroes of Kamber, Late Hiddumont
• Quest for the Heart of Hope, Late Hiddumont
• The Second Siege of Gavida Keep, Early H'rarmont
• Days and Nights in Barter, Mid H'rarmont
• Journey to Newhold, Late H'rarmont
• Night of Blood and Flames, Late H'rarmont
• Sanctuary, Early Phoenix
• Fury at the Gates, Mid Phoenix
• Introduction

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