Inne på värdshuset The Big Barrel, i byn Tripple Ford stod som vanligt bartender Anal Johnson och putsade Nightcap-glasen när en väderbiten dvärgkrigare steg in i värmen. Skägget och och läderrustningen var nedstänkt med blod. Över axel hängde en sköld och i bältet hängde en otäck stridsyxa. Dvärgen lät blicken svepa flera gånger över gästerna. Sedan skakade han på huvudet och hoppade likt en pingvin fram till bardisken. 

-"En Nightcap", sa han med dov och rosslig röst.

- "Jaha, så är man då först igen", fortsatte han och tittade bort mot ytterdörren.

-"Ska min Herre bara ha en Nightcap", frågade bartendern med pipig röst.

-"Nej för tusan! Rada upp dem! E du helt go eller?!?!", svarade dvärgen, tittade förvånat på bartendern och stoppade sedan in något mörkt, tobaksliknande under överläppen.

-"Men va faan e de j-a sengångarna???"

     Det visade sig att den fingerfärdige halflingen Rylle redan hade smugit sig in bakvägen och satt längst inne i värdshusets dunkel där han studerade värdshustets gäster. 

     Strax därpå anlände barden Odo Smeding och halvalv-druiden Galderan till värdshuset och sällskapet startade göra upp planer för en expedition.

     Odo hade snappat upp några rykten om intressanta platser som ev bara låg några dagsmarscher härifrån. Innan de bestämde sig för vilket rykte deras expedition skulle inrikta sig på såg de till att utrusta sig inför resan. Men vilken plats skulle de välja att undersöka? Sällskapet beslutade att ta sig en närmare titt på The Hollow. 

Dessa rykten var det som Odo, men sin speciella talang, lyckades snappa upp.

1. Graveyard of Thunder   (Västerut)

I followed the stag deeper into the forest, beneath giant ferns and around stinking bogs. I thought I had lost its tracks, when I suddenly saw the deer stand and stare at
me, just fathoms away. Completely still, it was, as if it had given up. I notched an arrow, whispered a short prayer, drew and took aim and was just about to let fly, when the sky exploded in a blinding light.
I must have been struck by lightning and fainted when I was thrown to the ground, for when I woke there was a ringing in my ears and my mouth was flooded with the taste of blood. When I finally regained my legs and took in my surroundings I saw the stag, or what was left of it, hanging
from a tree. It was as if something huge had just lifted it, taken a bite and then thrown the remains into a tree. I
heard thunder roll in the distance, but couldn’t see a single
cloud above me.

2. Amber's Peak   (Österut)

It is whispered that the half-elf Zertorme was one of the first generals of the monster Zygofer, but that he was disgusted by the villain’s tyrannical rule and joined the Elvenspring of the eastern Forbidden Lands to fight his former master. When the fleeing horse-people arrived during the wars, Zertorme allowed them to stay on the plains in exchange for their submitting to his commands during the wars, and because of this, the riders hold him in the highest regard.
A melancholy has fallen over Zertorme ever since the Blood Mist lifted. He is said to have retreated to the old ruined fortress of Amber’s Peak, where magical flames burn ever stronger. People say that the sorcerous Zertorme is trying to tame fire itself in order to turn it against Zytera, but many villagers are terrified as the number of fires around Amber’s Peak have increas-ed. On the few occasions when Zertorme has appeared publicly, he has been wearing a mask that is said to hide a burn that he incurred during his studies of the fire.

3. Hollows    (Söderut)

The Hollows… Have you ever been to that dump? It’s a village at the back of beyond. Cowards and milksops hid from the Blood Mist in that sorry excuse for a village, waiting for better times. They were un-aware of one thing, however… that their peaceful village was built on a site of blood and death.

4. Grindbone    (Syd-väst)

Hunters whisper of Grindbone, the village of slavers and thieves that lies beyond the forest. Many have heard the cry of the village’s mill from the river but few have dared to approach. It is said that the millstones grind the souls of the enslaved to dust since slaves have no use for spirituality. Some come to Grindbone through compulsion, others in exultation. There, those captured by the cruel arrive. From there, those sold by the greedy leave.