Wind howled and rain blew in sideways during the horrible storm. The roof of the Brews and Bruises Inn leaked, and the walls groaned but the beer and mead were strong and the fire blazed to heat the room. There were far more pleasant places to be in this foul weather, but there were far worse as well. Foul though the weather may have been, spirits were high as voices filled the air in the common room with laughter, song and the telling of tales.

Lightning flashed and the door was flung open. For a brief moment the storm was loose within the large room. The chill wind blew rampant and rain came in, soaking and chilling any poor soul who sat too close to the entry. All sounds within the Inn ceased and every eye turned toward the thin, wiry figure in the doorway. Despite the storm from which he had emerged, the man was dry, a fact which betrayed the use of mystic powers. He pulled the hood down from around his face and all could see it was Tanan, resident bard and teller of the forgotten tales of might, magic heroes and villains.

“Who would like to hear more of the heroes of the White Drag In? Who would like to hear how they became known as the Chosen of Aetos?” The only reply came in the silence of a captive audience. Tales of the fabled adventurers were rare, and none as reputed as those told by this man. Some had even called him the teller of the true tales, and that he had in his posession the scrolls of Starstrike, Aviann historian of old.

“Listen well friends, For the group of heroes and adventurers has changed. As has always with these people, some have come, some have gone. But the deeds and fate of these extraordinary folk is what links them all in the bonds of heroism.

When last we spoke, our heroes were lost on a new land, the land we know as Aetos. It was they who named it. They named it after the great mountain and what the then savage folk of the new world had called the mountain. But there was also unfinished business here, on Daedalan. And so it was they had found passage on a ship, some trading their very bodies to the science of Dr. Murou and his surgeries. So it was, the Heroes of the White Drag Inn, the Chosen of Aetos returned to their home in the three mountains region. Their homecoming was not as they expected.



ADVANCE PARTY



Once the ship arrived back on Daedalan, the weary travelers needed to get back to the White Drag Inn. Deciding to send an advance party to scout the area and clear a path for the rest to follow, the grou p chose who would go. Hawk was an obvious choice to go, and Darr would not hear of being left behind if there was killing to be done. Sachi offered her healing magics to the cause, and Bell offered her medicine. Lan and Alexander offered their magics and skills to better pierce the wild of the lost mountains. And last, but most certainly not least, Graham joined the party. With this mix of skills, there was little they couldn't face. It was quickly determined that the three mountains region had become as lawless as ever with the absence of our heroes. Bandits, ogres, trolls and goblins roamed freely in the region.

Within the three mountains area, but still far from the inn, the scout group met with a small band of men hauling a covered barrow. The strange men said they had been hired to bring the barrow as a gift for the heroes of the inn. After some discussion, the hero-scouts took possession of the barrow and them men were glad to be free of it. Upon removing the cover, the group found a seemingly dead elf inside. It was quickly determined that he was in fact not dead, but in a form of stasis. Simple magics did not release him, so they decided to carry him to the safety of the inn and research their new finding more thoroughly.

The troupe had not gone far when they heard the sounds of a fight. Discretion was not an option as Darr charged headlong into the fray. Two strangers were fighting a band of wild bandits. One, a man with a patched eye and a bow; the other a reptiliann carrying a hand and a half sword. Both were pressed ion the fray and the addition of the sizable group of adventurers turned the tide of the fight very quickly.

As fate would have it, Darr knew the patch eyed bowman from their days in the Academy of Confluence. Aeryc was his name, and his recent companion in traveling was known as Gators Greyscale, who said little. Unknowing to them at the time, this simple introduction bound them to the fate of the mysterious new land and the adventures of the heroes.

Bandits, ogres and other trouble harried the adventurers at every step, and so the group decided to fortify a position and wake the elf they had been carrying. Upon waking, the elf explained that he was wanted and the best way to save his hide was to die. He had made himself appear dead and paid some men to take him to the heroes, who could help him start again. In return for their help, he gave them a map, which led them to his old possessions, a small fortune of coins, gems and goods. A little stunned by the strange actions of the elf, the group accepted the map and released him to go his own way. The map was not difficult to follow and the treasure not far away. Only a few more briggands stood between them and an easy payoff.

While retrieving the goods, Alexander pointed out a blue and silver object in a large tuft of grass and sticks. Upon quick examination, it was determined to be an owlbear egg, a rare and expensive commodity. A short debate raged over whether or not to take it, but ultimately bravery and bravado won the day and the threat of owlbear attack was risked to collect the bounty on such goods. Soon enough they would be returning to the White Drag Inn, what could a beast such as an owlbear do to that mighty fortification?



HOMECOMMING



The ruins of the inn were still smoldering when the group arrived. Derrigan, still bleeding from deep wounds where his eyes had once been, ran to the sounds of voices he recognized, voices that should be dead! Though he and Darr had heated words for one another, Derrigan was overjoyed to find his friends alive. Quickly he explained that the inn had been overrun by a man calling himself a spellbreaker, who destroyed the enchantments on the inn and looted it with the help of a small army of bandits. Though the more mundane items, weapons and armor, had been kept safe within the cellar of the inn, all the powerful magic and special item belonging to the companions of the inn had been taken, among them was Derrigan's hammer. Split between the spellbreaker and the bandits, the items had gone in two directions, but it was only know which way the mysterious man had gone.

Bell immediately tried to use her considerable skill in medicine to restore Derrigan's eyes, but it was no use, neither could magic cure him. His wounds had been caused by a spellbreaker with a ritual dagger. He was likely to remain blind forever.

Joined now by Sparhawk, Lee and Henstrom; the group quickly set off after this spellbreaker and his half of their belongings.



THE SPELLBREAKER



It was not a long venture to find the man who had orchestrated the attack on the inn. He traveled alone with only a single bodyguard. As the adventurers of the inn closed with their quarry they also found a small group of bandits following the man. Without warning, the bandits attacked both the spellbreaker and the heroes. Quickly they discovered their folly, and they died before they could regret it.

Once the bandits had been dispatched, blood called for blood and the group readied to fight this new threat. But two things happened which stopped the battle before it began. The spellbreaker invoked a rite which made himself much like the inn he had attacked. No weapons other than daggers could be used within proximity of the man. Even more important to the group, Sachi recognized him as her own brother. While some held daggers, readying to fight, others bartered with the man. In the end he was released leaving behind all his ill gotten good except the fire sword, procured from the monks of the eight more than a year before. He also traded his knowledge of where the bandits could be found, and his warning that they had a dragyne in their service. He also confirmed Bell's suspicion that Derrigan could possibly be healed, but he would need his hammer, which the bandits held.

Sachi's brother and his bodyguard left the fellows behind to do with the information what they would. Sir Sparhawk however, vowed revenge and offered good pay to any who would help him.



BANDITS AND DRAGYNES



The band of intrepid adventurers returned to the inn for a brief respite before going after the brigands that held the remaining items taken from them. There, they met up with more of their crew from the ship. Grog, a large half ogre carrying sword and shield; Nima, a hill dwarf shamanistic healer; Kyle, the archon magic user of light; Cyrus, the fire elf who manipulated the flame; and Coprinus, a felyne rogue were all now in attendance.

With what was quite possibly the largest group of heroes assembled at one time, the stalwart companions set out to destroy the bandits and reclaim their goods. The brigands in question had settled in a cave with their ill gotten goods. Rooting them out from such a place proved to be a mighty feat indeed, especially with the dragyne in residence.

Full though the moon did shine, deep amongst the trees did the cave entrance sit. Steel flashed in the broken moonlight. Mystic spells lit up the area for bright flashes, plunging the combatants deeper into darkness after they faded away. Brutal and bloody was the battle. The brigands did not have the skill to match the heroes, but they had vast numbers, and once the dragyne entered the fray, there was no clear victor until the steel stopped swinging. Battle cries, the calls of the wounded, the screeching of the dragyne; these sounds drove far any natural creatures of the area. Eventually, the battle did end, and the heroes emerged victorious and weary.

They where able to find all but the great clerics hammer known as the mistress, The heroes of the White Drag Inn returned to the remains of that once great place and prepared to rest for the night. Unfortunately, the fates had other ideas for our heroes.



DREAMSCAPE



Natsumi came to visit the inn, and more importantly, its patrons. She explained that the group was in a position to take from the order of the eight the chess board to the mystical set. With the board, the group will be able to open a portal to go anywhere they desire. Unfortunately, the monk keeping it was hiding in the dream realm and the only way to get to him was to quaff a special potion that Natsumi had prepared.

Nothing in the dream world is so literal as in the mortal plane, so one cannot simply go in and get the board from the monk. Within the mist filled darkness, several shards of light could be found. These shards needed to be collected and brought together, and this would expel the monk from the dream realm and back to reality. Darr volunteered to stay behind and watch over the sleeping bodies of the companions while they made the journey in slumber to the dream world. Aeryc, Gators Greyscale, Sachi, Graham, Lee, Henstrom, Lan, Bell, Lucky, Nima, Grog, Kyle, Cyrus, Coprinus, Sir Sparhawk and Alexander all went forth into the realm of dreams.

However, guarding the light, were many shades and nightmares. Each guardian of the dreamworld instilled fear in the companions so strong that it could even paralyze them in place. Grog was struck with visions of terror that he ran in circles screaming hysterically of evil spiders. But such is the bravery of true heroes that they fought on. Scattered and afraid, each hero faced their own fears and trials. Eventually, one became two, and two became four and soon enough, all the companions were reunited. And together, there is no force that can stand against them.

With the twelve shards of light assembled, the dream was ended and the companions found themselves waking within the inn, where they had partaken of Natsumi's potion. It was Darr, who had never slept, that saw the monk first. Shocked to find himself surrounded by a retinue of skilled adventurers, he immediately attempted to take flight. Darr took off after him, drink in hand, but it was a deft throw of a dagger from Lucky that dropped the monk to the ground outside the inn. Back inside the inn, the monk was persuaded to give up the hiding place of the chess board, which to the surprise of all, was somehow stashed within his very robes!

The chess board had been recovered and Natsumi was happy to let the adventurers keep it safe until such a time as when she could call for it.



SHENANIGANS IS THE MORNING



The morning brought with it a fading of the nightmares from the previous night. It also brought the wondrous smell of breakfast, courtesy of Graham. The peaceful morning air ws broken by a scream, which some immediately recognized as Sachi. She was found bleeding and unconscious nearby. Quickly, her friends brought her back to her feet, and she informed the group tht she had been attacked by a dark elf. Heroes that they were, the group readied themselves for battle even before eating. But the only other person to come near the inn that morning was a strange man, calling himself Jason. He spoke strangely in a monotone of things that most people simply do, such as the shaking of hands to greet someone. After putting up with his strangeness for a while, Bell, the ever inquisitive healer made a small incision in the man's arm. She did not find muscle and tendon as she expected to. The man did not even bleed! He seemed to be filled with a gray matter.

The debate on what to do with the man was quickly pushed aside by a more ominous sound of drumming and a plume of smoke coming from the south. The adventurers were quickly off to investigate.



PIRATES!



Following the smoke and the sounds, our heroes headed south from the inn. But before they could reach what they were after, they found themselves surrounded by pirates! Without speaking a word, the sea bandits attacked the adventurers. Swords flashed, steel rang on steel, magic flared and pirates died, some stabbed in the back without even having seen who had done it. When only a few pirates remained, they called for a truce, a parlay between the two groups. Such is the nobility of our heroes that despite having fought out from an ambush, they were willing to spare their foes, and even make peace with them.

The captain of the pirates was happy to see such a group of intrepid souls, if a bit dismayed to hear they had slain half his crew. As it turns out, he was looking for a chest that held a magical item of many rumored powers, which was held by a vicious clan of ogres trolls and goblins.. He would pay the heroes a handsome sum if they would retrieve it for him. He warned the troupe, that the lock was mystically enchanted and only a special item that he held on his person could open it.

With that the group was off, with one of the pirates in tow, to show them the way to the lair of the ogres. Along the way, they fought several of the ogres of the tribe. Upon finding the entrance to the lair, Lucky lead the way for Aeryc and Coprinus to scout the cave and try to locate the treasure. As often happens with the bold warriors, they got bored waiting, and against the warnings of the she-pirate that accompanied them, they began making a din, drawing out some of the occupants of the caves.

Fighting valiantly the group worked their way into the den and eventually met up with the rogues, who held the large chest.

But getting it from the ogres was apparently only half the battle. A second group of pirates wanted the treasure for themselves. A man representing The Admiral, told the group that he would pay them for the chest and even more if they disposed of the pirate captain for whom they had been working. When it was learned that the second crew of pirates could not open the chest, the mercenaries of two continents decided the negotiations were over and the time for action had come. The pirates were outnumbered and out classed, soon they were disposed of, bleeding on the ground. Yet another victim of the harsh three mountains area.

Finally, returning the chest to the pirates who had originally hired them, the captain pulled out a strange contraption that is now known as a pistol. But this pistol was special, it was actually the key to the lock on the chest. Aiming and firing, the lock was removed from the chest and the pirates were overjoyed to have what they were after. Gathering around, they chanted a strange incantation and disappeared in a puff of smoke. The pirates had left behind several items that seemed to be magical in nature, which the group took as more payment for their deeds that day. As they turned to leave, Darr noticed that the captain had left his coat behind. Being a seemingly unremarkable coat, he put it on over his armor making jokes about being a pirate. Beneath the coat however, was a scrap of parchment, which Sachi snatched up quickly to see what was written on it. But alas, the parchment was a trap, a black spot, relaying only death to the reader!



THEY'RE KILLIN' ME GOATS!



When the heroes returned to the inn, they found the two half ogres, Ragnor the Amazing and Zahira Warrior Princess had made their way from the ship. They had been slow to leave as Zahira was still weary from having given birth to their young one. But none the less, they were ready to join the fight against evil, and whatever else may cross their path.

Not long after returning from the eventful run in with the pirates, a wild eyed man ran to the inn shouting, “They're killin' me goats!”

many attempts were made to calm the man, but he merely ranted on about a beast called a chupacabra. Soon the mighty adventurers were off once again to risk life and limb for someone they knew not. But evil is evil and it must be stopped.

When the group made their way to the farmer's land, they found a lone man sitting in the fields, eating what appeared to have been a slaughtered sheep. When told about the farmer's suspicion that there was a beast in the area, he laughed out loud, telling the adventurers that the simple folk tended to make wild accusations about things that the were afraid of. With a stern warning about killing another man's livestock, the poacher was released.

Soon after there were screams that came from where the man had gone, and the hunt was back on. Quickly the heroes could see what the farmer ha been afraid of, several beasts, large and hairy with wiry frames were staring back at the unbelieving companions.

The fight was on, and it raged across a wide swath of the farmer's land. Steel against fang and claw, magic against fur and sinew. These were no ordinary beasts, they were strong and fast and vicious. The heroes took wounds that the healers mended, armor was torn asunder, even the thick plate worn by some was in dire need of repair before the fight was through.

Eventually the fight lead to a killing ground, where it seemed the majority of the killing had been done. So thick was the air with the stench of death only those with a strong constitution could come near. Bits of hair, flesh and brain matter were scattered everywhere. And it was here that the last of the vicious chupacabra was slain. Weary, dirty and disgusted, the heroes returned once more to the inn to clean wounds and mend armor, they had no idea that their day had only just begun.



NEVER TRUST A STRANGER



Once they crew had returned to the Inn, they found that Jason had returned, and this time he had a woman with him, calling herself Jane, acting just as peculiarly. This time, the crew sent them away and they had a plan. Lucky, being the sneaky elf that he was, followed them into the wilderness. When he returned, he had dire news. The strange people were definitely constructs, possibly golems of some kind. At the camp where the two strangers had gone was one man who looked exactly like Darr. The heroes assumed the worst and calculated that any who had touched the strangers now had a doppleganger. Deciding not to wait around for yet another attack, the group mobilizwed and took the battle to their foes.

The first clone they ran into was the likeness of Darr. Though he looked exactly the same, he did not sound like it, and he spoke in the same strange way Jason and Jane had. As he aproached the group, he yelled out;

“I am Darr Brinkman. I like womanizing and drinking too much. Sometimes I have an accent and sometimes I don't.” Though he could fool the eye, he would never fool anyone once he spoke. But the fight would be difficult. Darr alone would not be so difficult for the entire group to handle, but he had a retinue of his own. He was followed by a number of gray, fleshy constructs.

It turned out that the constructs would come back to life after being slain if they were not properly torn asunder, and the doppleganger was even more powerful that the man after which he was modeled.

The heroes fought many more battles this way. Aeryc, Gators Greyscale, Sachi, Lan, Bell, Lucky, Nima, Grog, Kyle, Cyrus, Coprinus, Ragnor the Amazing, Zahira Warrior Princess and Alexander had all been copied and each was followed by a retinue of gray warriors.

Between the battles, our heroes stumbled upon an apparently drunk man. As they got closer, they could see he was actually undead, but he was carrying and even trying to drink from a bottle of foul smelling liquor. Quickly, he was recognized as Gregor, the evil man who had lead the remnant forces of Jasaad against the inn and ultimately defeated the heroes on the field of battle. Apparently when the forces of Derigan's troops cleaned up the battle field, they left Gregor in a state of undeath. The heroes were torn between feeling a strange pity for this undead man, and with rage and a want for vengeance. Their confusion at their own mixed emotions almost let the shell of a man get away. If not for a word of command stopping the undead, surprisingly coming from the warrior Gators Grayscale, he would have lived to see another day. Though there was little animosity left between the heroes and this poor groveling fool, they could not let so foul a man live, especially with whatever power he may find in undeath. He was dealt with quickly and harshly.

Finally, the trail of the dopplegangers they had been following lead them back to the inn, and to a man guarded by many of the fake heroes. Darr, Bell, Aeryc, Cyrus and Alexander all had clones present at this, the final battle between the heroes and the evil that would replace them with these hideous golems.

The battle raged, some could scarcely tell the diference between friend and foe, many heroes fell and were helped back to their feet thanks to the skills of Bell and Nima, the two dwarven healers. Eventually the heroes were triumphant in defeating the dopplegangers and their master, who could hypnotize and paralyze with but a glance. All were tired and weary, never had they fought such a long and arduous battle. Not even when defeating the hordes of Jasaad had they been so taxed. So when a Woman, brilliant and adorned in the trappings of battle and flying on wings of the purest white, all hoped she was an ally and not a foe.

She was one of the Great Council, one of the mysterious beings who had chosen the heroes as defenders of the new land, and the keep protecting a circle of dark, which holds many of the defeated evils of the world. She explained that the council was divided in its choice of these heroes, for they were not shining knights and examples of greatness at all times. You must remember that this group of heroes was comprised of ex villains, mercenaries and pirates as well as grand knights and well meaning mages of the order of light.

But Aetos needed a protectorate and there seemed to be little choice. But the heroes were needed back at the keep, for it had been breached and several of the terrible fiends held within had escaped. They had the lath of Illanya, and now they had need to use it, for only it could return them to Aetos in time.

So it was, the story closes on those known as the Heroes of the White Drag Inn. The saga of The Chosen of Aetos however, has only just begun.