Best of Greyhawk #3

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shadows of the forest. Laying about him with his staff and wielding mighty magic, the old man saved the prince.Thus, did Prince Lynwerd meet the arch-mage Mogren. Invited to stay at the royal seat, the two became fast friends.Not long after, King Archbold mysteriously died. Lynwerd was crowned king and Mogren became his chief advisor.The Rise of Vecna: The Writ of NyrondWith Mogren's counsel King Lynwerd unified Nyrond. Striking east into Almor, the Nyrondese freed thatland from evil. Driving on to Rauxes, Lynwerd was crowned Overking of the Great Kingdom of Nyrond! In the nexttwo years, the Nyrondese established their rule over the former Great Kingdom, the North Province and the SouthProvince. A good and just man, Lynwerd respected the petition of Sunndi, Idee, Irongate and Onnwal to remain free.Mogren advised against this policy but ever his own man, the king chose to ignore the advice of his old friend. KingLynwerd again ignored Mogren's advice when he chose to marry Carolina of the Duchy of Urnst.King Lynwerd now rules from the North Province to the South Province and from the Franz River to theSolnor Ocean. But he remains busy consolidating his gains and relies heavily on his chief minister Mogren to see tothe vast bureaucracy necessary to administer the huge nation. Mogren efficiently obliges his lord.The Rise of Vecna: The Hand of VecnaMogren is, of course, a carefully concealed Vecna. As Chief Minister of the Overking of the Great Kingdomof Nyrond, he strategically places his henchmen in key positions. Nyrond is a beautiful apple, rotten at the core.Unknown to Lynwerd, his victories were the result of Vecna's planning and Vecna's diplomacy. Ivid V is no more butmany of his animates and other fell creatures now serve Vecna. They simply have no choice. With the good alignedarmies of Nyrond at his command, Vecna could and can destroy them with a word. Now, they await Vecna's word toreveal themselves and seize power in Vecna's name.For his part, Vecna is waiting for Nyrond to grow stronger. Then will he turn the forces of good against Iuz.Only with Iuz' defeat will he move to unseat Overking Lynwerd. With Lynwerd gone, Vecna as Mogren will assumethe throne as regent for Lynwerd and Caroline's children, the OverQueen being dead, and she will be dead. Then,when the children die . . .The OverQueen Carolina is a thorn in Vecna's side that he cannot pluck out. She does not trust him and sheshares the Overking's bed and counsel. Her agents have more than once foiled Vecna's schemes. Yet, Vecna daresnot move openly against her. She is a powerful force for good and beloved by the Overking and people.Vecna must also contend with Prince Sewarndt, Lynwerd's younger brother. Jealous of his brother,Sewarndt is an evil follower of Hextor. He recognizes that Mogren is the power behind the throne and fears him.Sewarndt's fear makes him bold for he knows he will have no place should Mogren remain in power. Thus, he plotsagainst Mogren/Vecna.All of these forces serve to constrain Vecna's hand. He is forced to move slowly and quietly. Nyrondproper is a good aligned land in which any overtly evil acts would be noticed by the people and Lynwerd. Here,Vecna practices a steady subversion of the institutions of government. His plots are opposed by the OverQueenCarolina and Prince Sewarndt and their agents. King Lynwerd will hear no word against his friend and mentorMogren. Carolina and Sewarndt must, therefore, move stealthily as well. It is a deadly three sided dance.In the old Great Kingdom, including the North and South Provinces, the populace is neutrally and evillyaligned, though good is on the rise. Here, Vecna can move more openly as can the agents of the OverQueen andPrince Sewarndt, though all must still contend with King Lynwerd. Assassinations, plots and counterplots are therule. Queen Carolina has secretly begun recruiting adventurers to aid the cause of good in Nyrond proper but moreimportantly in the old Great Kingdom. Mogren's control over the bureaucracy makes him a powerful and dangerousopponent, without consideration of his status as a lich.The struggle against Vecna, though veiled, is no less critical than that against Iuz if the Flaneass is to avoidbeing plunged into darkness.Iuz and The NorthNyrond's phoenix-like rise from the ashes of the Greyhawk Wars could not and has not gone unnoticed. Iuzis too old and too schooled in the ways of treachery not to recognize a shadow moving behind the throne of youngKing Lynwerd. Though he does not yet realize that it is Vecna, Iuz knows that it is the wizard Mogren who is to befeared.To more fully understand this mysterious figure, Iuz has sent his agents questing into the newly foundedGreat Kingdom of Nyrond for news of him. Few have returned.Iuz has had little time to ruminate on their fate. Locked in a war of attrition with Furondy, Iuz has turned his12
aleful gaze west for a means to break this impasse. The answer is simple and terrible. The Vesve Forest must burn.With the forest and the mettlesome elves gone, Iuz will have Chendl and Furondy in a pincer. Flush with victory overthe elves, his forces will crush the Furondians in a great encircling maneuver. Forces are being pulled from the frontwith Furondy and sent north around Lake Whystel to prepare for the final offensive against the Vesve. Thisredeployment should offer Furondy the opportunity for an effective counterstrike along Iuz' extended front but Iuzhas gained useful allies of late that make such a course of action unlikely to succeed.The Traveller ComesThe Bandit Kingdoms have proven easier to conquer than to hold. Many of the petty bandit kingdomsstubbornly refused Iuz' offer of alliance, finding it entirely one sided. In this land, Iuz' writ runs only to areasimmediately occupied by his troops. Iuz 'reach has exceeded his grasp in these lands.But aid has come. Other eyes have also marked Nyrond's rise and recognized it for what it is, the hand ofVecna.Shortly, after Lynwerd's coronation in Rauxes, a towering figure appeared in the Bandit Kingdoms. Callinghimself only The Traveller, he subdued bandit chieftain after bandit chieftain until he alone led the opposition to Iuz.Offering an alliance he scarcely believed would be accepted, Iuz hoped to kill the Traveller at the parlay. To hisamazement, the Traveller accepted the alliance provided he be given complete authority in the Bandit Kingdoms andthe freedom to move against Nyrond. In a rare good humor, Iuz accepted.Since that day, the Traveller has succeeded in uniting the bandits into a substantial, though still fractious,fighting force and has begun to raid Nyrond and the Urnst states. In each instance, he has dressed his men as leviesof the other nation. Tensions between Nyrond and the Urnst states have begun to rise as each side blames the otherfor the raids and denies their own involvement. Despite himself, Iuz is impressed.Well he should be impressed, for the Traveller is none other than Kas. Long Vecna's lieutenant, Kasrebelled and attempted to take Vecna's power for his own. He failed but in the process both were thrown out of theold Suel Empire. They have been mortal enemies ever since. A vampire, Kas has wandered Oerth for millennium,waiting for the day of Vecna's return to renew old battles. That time has come and until Vecna's defeat, Iuz could notask for a better ally.Terrone FalthingIuz has also enjoyed success in Tenh. From among the Tenha sheep, Iuz has discovered a wolf. TerroneFalthing was a young Tenha sneak thief when the Holders sacked Tenh. Turning traitor, he collaborated with theconquerors, selling his own people into slavery. Iuz' agents saw his potential and whisked him off to Dorakaa.Two years ago he returned. Organizing a Tenha resistance movement, Terrone the Liberator dealt the Fistsa string of setbacks. As his fame grew, more Tenha rallied to his cause. Miraculously, Terrone defeated the Fiststime and again. His guerrilla war proved decisive in breaking the Fists will to stay and hold Tenh. As the Fistsretreated to their own lands, the jubilant Tenha people declared Terrone Duke of Tenh! The Duke's first act was tosign a mutual defense agreement with Iuz to insure Iuz' aid in the event of the Fists should return to plague Tenh.Hailed as a warrior, statesman and hero of the Flan, Terrone rules Tenh with wide public support.Vecna can teach Iuz nothing he does not already know about double dealing. The Holders never wanted tooccupy Tenh but Tenh was a chief source of Iuz' war material and food. Only Iuz' control of the leaders of the Fistskept the Holders in Tenh. It required little to use that control to make it appear that Terrone had forced the Fists out.Now, Terrone rules as a hero and secretly serves Iuz, securing Iuz' supply base.For his part, Terrone is content to play the dutiful lackey - for now. He has no choice and knows it. He alsoknows that Iuz cannot be trusted and may yet be defeated. Terrone truly serves only himself and is above all else asurvivor. He is also a Flan nationalist by choice and seeks to bring the Rovers of the Barrens under Tenha control.Terrone would then strike at the hated Holders and build a Flan Empire strong enough to break with Iuz and standagainst Nyrond and the Theocracy of the Pale. Of course, he would be the first Emperor of the Flan.The Rovers of the Barrens are the sole remaining thorn in Iuz' hide in the northeast. They are no threat butthey require troops to keep them on the run. Of late, Terrone has offered to win them over or destroy them. Eithereventuality would suit Iuz and he is content to let Terrone deal with the Rovers.Belvor Stands AloneDespite the loss of valuable territory and irreplaceable fighting forces, King Belvor IV of Furondy has beenunable to persuade the Seven Families of Furondy to put themselves and their forces at his disposal to better repelthe humanoid invaders of Iuz. The southern nobles do not believe that another war is imminent and are not anxiousto expend their resources for the benefit of the northern lands. These nobles are also jealous of their privileges and13
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