A Brief Interlude III: The Blood of Malgen

As Told by Lady Myrs Kratys of Kratys Keep

In the days following the Siege of Kratys' Keep by the Half-Orc Hallir and his Broken Moon Orc tribe, much was done by the peoples of the keep to rebuild. Walls were mended, the injured were cared for, and the dead were buried. Yet the Lord of Kratys' Keep remained ever concerned that the Broken Moon Tribe was not completely destroyed. For in the battle, the fabled gem called The Salamander's Heart was stolen and could not be located. Lord Tarran believed that some orcs had survived and made off with the magical stone. Being too weak from the many wounds he suffered during the battle, the Lord himself was not able to ride out and ferret out any straggling orcs. So he sent his son in his stead, along with a band of light cavalry to scout the lands to the east and north.

The Salamander's Heart

While out on this mission, Brand and his band were ambushed. It was not until some days later that we learned of what had happened. On the morning two days after his disappearance, Brand's severed hand was found at the foot of the front gate. Curled in its rigid fingers was a note. It indicated that if Tarran Kratys wanted to see his son alive again, he would bring The Salamander's Heart to Malgen's Keep in exchange for what remained of Brand. It was signed by one Mullahey, Blood of Malgen and Blessed of Gornadhun. This note brought both further confusion and concern to the already weary Lord Tarran, for if this Mullahey did not have The Salamander's Heart, then who did? And if the gem was stolen, how could he possibly deliver it to this Mullahey?

The people of the keep were too few in number and too inexperienced to mount an assault on Malgen's Keep to rescue the heir to the Westmarch, so the heroes who had proven themselves so valiantly in the keep's siege were sent for once again. Perhaps a well coordinated strike by a small band could succeed where an army would fail. Then again, Malgen's Keep would surely be prepared for any offensive action, and it could very well have been that we were sending these brave souls on a suicide mission. Only time would tell if this desperate attempt to save the Lord's son would be successful.