NUWMONT 1, AC 1015: Celebration Rudely Interrupted!
Location: Zeaburg, Ostland. OW

Description: While making a public appearance during the New Year's celebration in Zeaburg, an assassination is attempted on King Finn Hordson. The young king manages to survive the attack, and his assassins are caught. They are revealed to be in the employ of one of the Ostman jarls on Kalslo island. A scandal ensues. (See Th. 15, Fl. 7.)

What This Means: Ever since his coronation two years ago, King Finn has been the target of numerous assassination attempts. This time, the assassins have been caught, and a noted jarl is indicted in the matter. The jarl is exiled from Ostland, which will only serve to increase tensions between the Ostman and Cnute clans of Ostland.

What The PCs Can Do: If the PCs are present, they can foil the assassination attempt, and earn the respect of the King. Alternatively, the PCs can be hired to perform the assassination attempt (though with grave consequences if caught).

NUWMONT 1, AC 1015: Fights Among Shadow Elves Goes On.
Location: Rafielton, Aengmor. OW

Description: In the Canolbarth Forest the civil war between "reformist" Shadow Elves and "conservative" ones continues. Even the army is split on the issue and barely manages to keep order in Rafielton.
In the city of Aengmor the reformists, secretly supported by the cult of Atzanteotl, get the best deal. General Garafaele flees underground to meet King Telemon's army that is marching toward the surface. (See Nu. 13, Nu. 15.)

What This Means: This is the natural continuation of the civil war started on Kaldmont 22, AC 1014. The cult of Atzanteotl started this war and now, almost without fighting, finds the city of Aengmor in its hands and the Shadow Elves totally confused.

NUWMONT 2, AC 1015: Ogre Speaks Out.
Location: Sumag, Suma'a. SC

Description: An ogrekin prophesies today outside that temple of Sumag that the faith of Sumag will crumble under the greater wisdom of Gombar.
The ogrekin is taken away by city guards and imprisoned awaiting trial. (See Th. 8.)

What This Means: The clerics of Sumag had the ogrekin removed mainly because they fear the ring of truth in his words. They are more frightened that the change in faith should be seen to be happening rather than actually happening. They therefore petition Sumag for help in this matter. Some higher members of the faith decide to make sure that the outcome of the trial is a non-damaging one.
Ever since the finding of the Gold Mine near Malabar, the more economical teachings of Gombar have found a foothold in the people of Suma'a. They still believe in the teachings of peace which is a concurrent theme in both the teachings of Sumag and Gombar but the general populace is beginning to see that profit and peace can go together as well.

NUWMONT 4, AC 1015: Goblinoids Raid.
Location: Canolbarth Forest, Aengmor. OW

Description: Goblinoid forces led by Hutai-Khan of Nu Hobgobland sweep down into the northern part of the Canolbarth forest and begin a series of vicious raids on the Shadow Elves in the region.

What This Means: Hutai-Khan is just doing what comes naturally. Fortunately for him, as the Shadow Elves are currently experiencing internal problems, they are unable to rouse a very effective defense, and Hutai's goblinoids will make off with quite a few spoils.

NUWMONT 6, AC 1015: Elven Ambassador Arrives in Wendar.
Location: Wendar City, Wendar. OW

Description: A foreign elf magically arrives in Wendar City and demands to see both the Elf-King and the exiled King of Alfheim as ambassador of the unknown Elven Nation of Ironwood. He tells the Royal Chancellor that he bears an interesting proposal that could solve the inner problems that Wendar is experiencing. (See Nu. 8, Nu. 14.)

What This Means: This is not a trick. The Ambassador has a proposal that could bring benefit to both Wendar and his country.

What The PCs Can Do: If the PCs are on friendly terms with the Wendarian government, they could be hired to uncover the real intentions of the foreigner and act as bodyguards for the time of his staying.

NUWMONT 6, AC 1015: Dragon Attack.
Location: King's Road Keep, Karameikos. OW

Description: At sunrise, the soldiers stationed at King's Road Keep are surprised to see a large shadow suddenly pass over them. The source of the shadow then lands atop one of their towers and lets out a breath of frost and ice down into the parade square where most of the young men and women were performing their morning drill. The white dragon then destroys a few towers and takes off before any organized defense is brought upon it.
An assessment of the casualties reveals that over half the "Goblin Crushers," the army stationed at the keep, have been killed or severely wounded. Most were caused by the initial surprise attack during the morning exercise. (See Nu. 10, Nu. 12.)

What This Means: The young white adult dragon has just left its home and it carving out its own territory. It has chosen the mountain peaks of the Black Mountains as its new lair. Now, it seeks to remove all other creatures from the area, including the humans stationed at King's Road Keep.
Since the snow has already started to accumulate, the mountain passes are none too safe to cross, and the dragon figures it will be some time before any reinforcements can arrive to help the humans out.

What The PCs Can Do: Unless they happen to be in King's Road Keep at the time, which is highly unlikely, not much. If they are there, they can help drastically reduce the number of casualties. The white dragon will get away, however, unless the PCs are very quick and powerful.

NUWMONT 7, AC 1015: Monastery Rediscovered.
Location: Barleycorn Monastery, Western Broken Lands. OW

Description: Schattenalfen spies already in the Outer World based in Aengmor discover a large tunnel beneath the ruins of Barleycorn Monastery in the Broken Lands. To their surprise, it does not seem to be a natural tunnel - it is completely straight, with smooth sides.
They decide first to follow it upwards, towards the surface. Soon they come to a dead end - a cavern with the remains of what appears to be a gigantic worm. The leader of the spies recognizes the remains: the huge creature was a great annelid. With great delight, she realizes that they have stumbled upon the end of a huge tunnel created by the Schattenalfen over ten years ago under the orders of their patron, Atzantoeotl. (See Nu. 8, Va. 12.)

What This Means: Although they have known about this tunnel for some time, the Schattenalfen did not know where it was - that knowledge died along with the Schattenalfen who lost their lives during Thanatos' Blood Brethren plot more than a decade ago. Now that they know where one end of it is, it is a simple matter to travel, with the aid of a summoned earth elemental and the Schattenalfen Distance Distortion spell, to the other end, somewhere in the Hollow World. Once there, they will take their bearings and begin their journey back to Schattenalfheim.
The fact that the tunnels were actually created at Thanatos' order (while impersonating Atzanteotl, of course) is not really relevant anymore. Thanatos' work will now service Atzanteotl's covetousness of the Shadow Elves.

NUWMONT 8, AC 1015: Narvaez Complains About Sanctions.
Location: Ciudad Real, Gargona. SC

Description: In the meeting of the Signatory Council in Ciudad Real, Narvaez complains about the smokepowder sanctions placed upon her. Baron Hugo demands that the sanctions be lifted so that Narvaez's economy can return back to normal. He swears that he does not plan on invading any of the other baronies.
After much deliberation, the Council opts to keep the sanctions, although the vote passes by just a small majority. Both Torreon and Gargona strongly supported Narvaez, stating that the sanctions were too severe against the people of the land.

What This Means: The Baron is honest when he states that he does not want to invade the other baronies with wheellock pistols. He is secretly planing on claiming a large piece of territory within the Terra Vermelha so his nation can also share in the cinnabryl mining. He figures that his men will need the weapons to defend themselves against retaliatory strikes from Torreon, Texeiras, Vilaverde and Hule.
Still, should the need arise, having such weapons against the other baronies would be useful.

NUWMONT 8, AC 1015: Ironwood Makes Proposal.
Location: Wendar City, Wendar. OW

Description: After some investigations the Ambassador is finally received by the Elf-King in an official audience. He explains that an elven dominion exists in Norwold, made up of elves ONLY, and that its ruler is trying to assemble a huge library regarding the elves' history and magical secrets as well as the greatest natural preserve of the world. The clan holder and Baron, a Karameikan adventurer named Elariathas Blackblade, and the clanmasters of Ironwood have therefore invited the Alfheim elves to join their project up in Norwold, and they will be welcomed at any time. (See Nu. 6; Nu. 14, Va. 16.)

What This Means: The Ambassador is telling the truth: this is indeed a major project set up by this elven Clan Holder, Elariathas Blackblade, who wants to unify all the elves of Norwold under his banner. To attain this, he has thought about giving a common goal to all those elves: the creation of a Natural Paradise and Research Center for all the elves. But he has realized that he lacks both the magic and the knowledge to do this, and so he is now trying to gain the support of the Alfheimers.
Doriath will report the news to the other Clanmasters in Wendar, and they will soon start debating about the proposal: it will be a long talk. In the meantime, the Ambassador will wait and enjoy the hospitality of Gylharen.

What The PCs Can Do: Unless they are Clanmaster or have high position within the Alfheim clans hierarchy, they will not be engaged in the real discussion. The only way to get involved is to be asked to act as bodyguard for the Ambassador during his presence in Wendar. The Ambassador isn't either a fool nor is he weak, but he will still accept the offer of having bodyguards taking care of him just to please Gylharen and maybe to have some fun (he may very well decide to take a tour of Wendar, attracting troubles in every form).

NUWMONT 9, AC 1015: Battle at Sea.
Location: Western Sea. SC

Description: In a great sea battle the Yavdlom Navy defeats Hulean pirates that have recently plagued the sea lanes between Tanakumba, Kladanovic and Slagovich.
Back in Tanakumba, the leader of the fleet, kwa'a (count) Zuberi ("strong" in Yavdlom), is honored as a great war leader. (See Va. 13)

What This Means: With this victory, Zuberi has fulfilled his prophetical role among the Yavdlom people, so he's stripped of noble ranks and is now a swetanga, i.e. a destitute noble that retains a status equivalent to that of knight in eastern societies.

What PCs Can Do: PC can take part in the sea battle. This is a chance to use the Sea Machine (from "Dawn of the Emperors") or the other systems for sea battles presented in GAZ 4 - Ierendi and GAZ 9 - Minrothad.

NUWMONT 10, AC 1015: Hosting the Games.
Location: Shireton, Five Shires. OW

Description: Discussions in the Five Shires begin about the World Games to be hosted in Shireton this summer. The major concerns deal with various locations for ceremonies and events as Shireton is not a very large city.
Tentative decisions are made to use the Clanmeet Hall Amphitheater (the largest building in the city with a capacity of 5000) for the opening and closing ceremonies and the numerous parks around the city for the events. (See Th. 20, Fl. 3.)

NUWMONT 10, AC 1015: Escape From Aengmor.
Location: City of Aengmor. OW

Description: The Radiant wizard Kanafasti, now a Wanderer according to the old Shadow Elves customs, rallies all the Wanderers living in Aengmor to tell them that they've to flee, because the once buried city is sacred to Atzanteotl and thus very dangerous to those who worship Rafiel.
The Wanderers quickly set up an escape plan: they'll head for Rafielton, where the practice of Wanderers is no longer performed. Some of the Wanderers however decide not to leave Aengmor, they'll serve as Rafiel's eyes among Atzanteotl's minions. (See Nu. 1; Nu. 20, Fl. 11)

What This Means: Kanafasti learnt that Aengmor was sacred to Atzanteotl since he first studied the archives of the temple a couple of years ago, but he was too busy devising a way to avoid becoming a Wanderer to realize how dangerous this city was to Shadow Elves.
Anyway the Civil War and the odd behavior of his old friend Xatapechtli in the last months prompted him to leave the city and report to Princess Tanadaleyo of his suspicion about an incoming threat.

NUWMONT 10, AC 1015: Patrol Destroyed.
Location: Black Mountains, Karameikos. OW

Description: A patrol sent out to find the white dragon's lair is instead discovered by the white dragon. No one escapes from its attack. (See Nu. 6; Nu. 12, Nu. 15.)

NUWMONT 10, AC 1015: Famine Feared in Gaity.
Location: Gaity, Alatian Islands. AS

Description: The situation in Gaity has only worsened since the beginning of the Baronial Wars. Nobody has yet been victorious, though some have been assassinated. The battles are indecisive, if bloody, and chaos reigns. Crops have been burnt or destroyed, and battles have prevented many peasants from harvesting. As winter settles in the Alatians, armies retreat to their barons' dominions, but famine is feared as grain is scarce, and the barons do not have enough funds left to import it - all their money went into paying their troops or recruiting new mercenaries.

NUWMONT 12, AC 1015: Messengers Arrive.
Location: Penhaligon, Karameikos. OW

Description: A group of three soldiers arrives at Penhaligon after crossing the snow-filled pass in the Black Mountains. They inform the baroness about the white dragon attack on King's Road Keep. Messengers are sent to inform King Karameikos of the situation. Meanwhile the baroness begins gathering her troops, preparing them to face a white dragon. (See Nu. 6, Nu. 10; Nu. 15, Nu. 17.)

What This Means: The Dragon's belief that reinforcements would not arrive until spring is wrong. There might soon be an army it cannot possibly deal with arriving at its lair and teaching it that humans do not like to be thrown out of their own homes.

What The PCs Can Do: Perhaps the PCs are the messengers sent by the fort's commander to get help.

NUWMONT 14, AC 1015: Bensarian Investigates.
Location: Wendar City, Kingdom of Wendar. OW

Description: Bensarian discovers something interesting about the man who attempted to assassinate Gylharen last month (AC 1014). Examining his corpse after the execution which took place yesterday, he spots a tattoo on his left shoulder displaying a black dragon-like creature with open wings. He starts to investigate deeply into the matter to find out who's behind the anti-elven propaganda. (See Nu. 6, Nu. 8; Va. 16, Va. 24.)

What This Means: Bensarian is taking steps to avoid a civil war. He has realized that somebody is instigating and backing up the humans in their assaults against the elves, and recently against the King himself, and wants to find out the truth. The mark on the assassin's corpse revealed him that the Church of Idris is probably pulling the strings behind the scenes, and he is resolute to find out the head of this network of hatred in Wendar. He will investigate very carefully and not reveal his suspects to anyone until he has concrete proofs against the traitors.

What The PCs Can Do: The PCs (if they are renowned heroes) can be contacted by Bensarian to help him uncover the Church of Idris's spies in Wendar, but he will never reveal them his suspects and will keep them uninformed about the whole thing until they can be trusted.

NUWMONT 14, AC 1015: Tension in Esterhold.
Location: Faraway, Verdan, Esterhold Peninsula. AS

Description: Tension mounts in Verdan as many Jennites accuse the Alphatians of still considering them as inferiors and keeping some of them as slave. Some even say Jennites are used in magical experimentation by evil Alphatian wizards. The pacifist Jennites are considered traitors under Alphatian charm spells who sell their kin to their foes. Some Jennites in other provinces of Esterhold are also convinced by such xenophobic ideas. (See Ya. 5, Ya. 9.)

NUWMONT 15, AC 1015: Civil War Ends.
Location: Rafielton, Aengmor. OW

Description: Prince Erian, son of King Telemon (see the novel "Son of Dawn"), amazed by the Shadow Elves' silliness and annoyed by the senseless deaths, manages to evade his own bodyguards and reaches Rafiel Square, where he improvises a speech urging his brethren to stop this absurd Civil War. Suddenly a crossbow dart pierces Erian's chest and the young Prince immediately falls unconscious to the ground.
Erian is quickly rescued, but he looks severely wounded and shows no sign of life.
Faced with the lifeless body of the young prince, the Shadow Elves realize how stupid and senseless is the war they're fighting. Rumors of Erian being dead quickly spread all over the forest and the Shadow Elves begin to lay down their arms one after the other.
In a few days the army manages to retake control of the situation. (See Nu. 1; Nu. 20, Va. 21)

What This Means: This is the end of the civil war. Shadow Elves aren't an evil race and they certainly are not predisposed to fight each other. They started the civil war simply because they were manipulated by the Atzanteotl Shadow Elves, so it didn't take much to stop them either.
Erian was beloved by the Shadow Elves (as clearly shown in the novel "Son of Dawn"), and his lifeless body made them think what would have happened to their son and the whole Shadow Elf race if this stupid war had continued spreading down to the City of the Stars.
Ironically, the poisoned dart that hit Prince Erian was fired by a follower of Atzanteotl, a renegade member of the Second Shadow sent in Rafielton by Xatapechtli to stir up more trouble.

NUWMONT 15, AC 1015: King Informed.
Location: Mirros, Karameikos. OW

Description: King Stefan Karameikos receives the message about the devastating attack on King's Road Keep and the casualties suffered by the 4th Division ("Goblin Crushers").
He discusses the situation with his Minister of War. They determine that if they send an army, the dragon will go into hiding and can come back at another time. The best solution would be to send in a band of adventurers. Their smaller size will give them a better chance at getting to the dragon's lair without scaring it away. (See Nu. 10, Nu. 12; Nu. 17, Nu. 18.)

What This Means: Several criers will start announcing that the King is seeking brave heroes to deal with a white dragon lairing in the Black Mountains. The reward is announced to be the dragon's treasure, completely tax free, as well as the gratitude of the royal family.
Of course, many adventuring bands begin preparing for a quest into the mountains.

What The PCs Can Do: Go dragon hunting, what else?

NUWMONT 17, AC 1015: Wulf Receives a Message.
Location: Freiburg, Heldannic Territories. OW

Description: Herr Wulf von Klagendorf, leader of the Heldannic Knights, has a dream in which he is leading a great horde of Knights across a vast plain to certain victory. Above it all he sees a woman dressed in armor and wielding a great sword. She tells him that all this is possible, if he takes the greatest champions in the realm to Vanya's Rest in Davania, and from there to victory against the hated Milenians.
Herr Wulf is puzzled by this, but the clarity of the dream makes him wonder. (See Nu. 27, Va. 5.)

What This Means: Vanya has decided to give the Heldannic Knights, who were her personal champions, a chance to redeem themselves by engaging in honest warfare against the Milenian city-states in Davania. The Milenians were Vanya's enemies while she was mortal, and she has no love for them, or any remnants of their culture, even now. She has sent Herr Wulf a dream to this effect.

NUWMONT 17, AC 1015: Wanderers Reach Rafielton.
Location: Rafielton, Aengmor. OW

Description: The Wanderers who left the City of Aengmor a few days ago finally reach Rafielton, where Kanafasti asks to meet the Radiant Princess immediately.
The Royal wizard advises Tanadaleyo not to try to retake Aengmor, because the city is corrupted by Atzanteotl and thus can bring no good to the Shadow Elves. Princess Tanadaleyo immediately sends envoys to stop her father's armies that are coming from the City of Stars to quell the rebellions in the surface colonies. (See Nu. 13; Nu. 20, Va. 21.)

What This Means: Unfortunately all the magical items that allowed fast communication with the City of Stars were destroyed during the riots. The Radiant Princess has to send messengers both to General Garafaele and to her father in the City of Stars. Most of these messengers are ambushed by Atzanteotl's shadowelves who want to spread more confusion and start another war if possible. Not all the shadowelven forces receive their orders to stop.

NUWMONT 17, AC 1015: Sir Yuschiev Starts his Quest.
Location: Mirros, Karameikos. OW

Description: Sir Yuschiev, the hero who solved Davinos's murder last year, begins gathering his band to deal with the white dragon harassing King's Road Keep.
Yuschiev admits he knows nothing about the King's Road Keep, and decides to find some help who knows the area better. Grygory, one of his henchmen, suggests the frost giant who is training at the School of Magecraft. Since this giant once raided King's Road Keep himself (back in AC 1012, see PWA 3), Yuschiev thinks it's a great idea. The band of adventurers head for Krakatos. (See Nu. 12, Nu. 15; Nu. 18, Nu. 26.)

What This Means: Sir Yuschiev is simply being the hero he wants to be. Of course, a dragon's treasure hoard as a reward is rather encouraging as well.
Sir Yuschiev and Grygory are characters from the novel "Dark Knight of Karameikos." The adventures in that novel take place during the year AC 1018.

What The PCs Can Do: Yuschiev is also gathering a group of heroes to go with him, and this can obviously include the PCs. He might even seek them out if they helped him solve Davinos' murder last year.

NUWMONT 18, AC 1015: Frost Giant Recruited.
Location: Krakatos, Karameikos. OW

Description: A band of adventurers arrives at the School of Magecraft and asks for permission to talk to the frost giant student. With classes closed for the season anyway, the frost giant informs his colleagues that he will be leaving for a few days. (Nu. 15, Nu. 17; Nu. 26, Va. 4.)

What This Means: Sir Yuschiev has managed to convince Derkost, the young frost giant witch-doctor, to join him on his quest to defeat the white dragon. Derkost agreed mainly because of the potential for becoming rich with the dragon's treasure (tuition is expensive at the School of Magecraft!). He really couldn't care about the human's plight or of their nation (frost giants are evil after all).

NUWMONT 19, AC 1015: This Is Not Logical.
Location: Five Shires. OW

Description: A group of several dozen spherical mechanical creatures suddenly appear in the wilderness of the Five Shires. They begin marching in a straight line to some unknown direction, ignoring everything in their path. The entire group is in perfect formation the entire time.

What This Means: First of all, this event is a random encounter of the purely AD&D game. There is no D&D equivalent to this event.
These creatures are a group of modrons from the PLANESCAPE setting. In the outer planes, the modrons are currently undergoing a Great March, and they have just reached the plane of Limbo. In that chaotic plane, many modrons were lost. This bunch was also separated from the main group and found themselves flung through a portal to Mystara. Now they are intent on finding a way back to rejoin the others on the Great March, or at least get back to Mechanus.
How they get back, if at all, is up to the individual DM. For more information on Modrons and their march, DMs should obtain "The Great Modron March" adventure for the PLANESCAPE setting.

NUWMONT 20, AC 1015: Skirmishes in Aengmor.
Location: City of Aengmor. OW

Description: Some shadowelven troops reach the City of Aengmor in the Western Broken Lands and launch disorganized attacks against the rebellious shadow elves inside. Due to their better organization, the rebels manage to defeat the troops sent from underground and even take some of them prisoner. (See Nu. 17; Va. 21, Th. 26.)

What This Means: Atzanteotl's followers managed to kill most of Tanadaleyo's messengers, therefore she was unable to stop all of the troops coming from underground. As a result, the attack on the City of Aengmor is a complete failure.
Other shadow elven armies led by General Garafaele pop up in Rafielton just to discover that the civil war is over. At first, Garafaele refuses to believe that everything is quiet, thinking that the secessionist Radiant Princess is trying to trick him. He orders his troops to take control of the whole forest, but soon realizes that the fighting is indeed over.
All these events put the Shadow Elves armies, now spread out everywhere, into confusion.

NUWMONT 22, AC 1015: The Great Migration Marches On.
Location: Atruaghin Territories. OW

Description: After last year's devastating raid on Bangore, the Great Migration was scattered by Sindhi forces. Hool and Nizam Pasha have managed to regroup a majority of the surviving goblinoids (despite some guerrilla attacks by Turtle Clan warriors). They are ready to proceed once more with their migration. They also have their ranks bolstered by a group of ogres from out of Sind. (See Va. 12, Va. 19.)

What This Means: The search for the Blue Knife that was started when Wogar sent his shaman, Hool Red-Mane a vision last year continues into Tiger Clan territory. The presence of the ogres demonstrates that other goblinoid Immortals are taking an interest in this migration as well.

What The PCs Can Do: If the PCs are Atruaghin natives, they can participate in attempting to drive the goblinoids away. If goblinoids, they can scout out the surrounding areas, and stave off attacks from Atruaghin warriors.

NUWMONT 23, AC 1015: Very Promising Area Found Near Odom.
Location: Mountainous region to the northeast of Odom, Suma'a. SC

Description: Geologists who have been working in the Odom region since AC 1002 have finally found a promising layered mafic intrusion. They begin tests to determine the exact position of any metalliferous reefs. (See Nu. 27, Fl. 9.)

What This Means: No real promising mining operation has been started in the Odom region since the town was founded in 1002 AC. This has led many who supported the idea both financially and ethically to doubt their move, with many people having distanced themselves from the whole scheme. Now with a real promise of mineral wealth interest will again be placed in Odom.

What the PCs Can Do: The PCs may be part of the geological team to find the layered mafic intrusion or they may be in town to hear about the whole thing early on. If they act quickly they may be in line to become very rich.

NUWMONT 26, AC 1015 : Timeline Inconsistency Investigation.
Location: Andaire, Jafilia, Alphatia. HW

Description: Empress Eriadna orders some famous sages and historians an investigation on the inconsistency in the Alphatian timeline.

What This Means: In Alphatia, only name-level characters [that is, those of 9th level or higher. Ed.] remember the true history of the empire in the outer world, while the populace believes they always lived here under the red sun. Though it hasn't been the cause of any major troubles so far, Eriadna wishes to know why it is so, and the possible consequences of this phenomenon.

NUWMONT 26, AC 1015: Help Has Arrived.
Location: King's Road Keep, Karameikos. OW

Description: Sir Yuschiev, his men-at-arms (including Grygory), and the other adventurers he picked up as his entourage arrive at King's Road Keep.
At first, there is somewhat of a problem about allowing a frost giant into the keep. Some of the veterans of the keep recognize Derkost as one of the giants who captured the keep three years ago. They are not pleased to see him back, since the giants killed several of their compatriots and kept them hostage for several weeks.
The problem is solved when the commander of the keep orders his men to let the giant in. Derkost had received an official pardon (see PWA 3, on Va. 5) and has the rights of any citizen of Karameikos. Although unhappy, the soldiers comply with their orders. (See Nu. 17, Nu. 18; Va. 4, Va. 15.)

What This Means: Although allowed into the keep, Sir Yuschiev and his party will be treated rudely by the soldiers whenever they think they can get away with it. They take an instant dislike toward the soldiers, who are mostly of Thyatian descent. This only serves to increase Sir Yuschiev's dislike toward the Thyatian Karameikans.
On the flip side, Derkost gains respect for Sir Yuschiev as he continuously stands up for the frost giant, despite having absolutely no reason to do so.

NUWMONT 27, AC 1015: Emdur Merchant Arrives in Odom.
Location: Odom, Suma'a. SC

Description: One of the most well known precious metal dealers from Emdur has caught wind of the news from Odom. He has traveled quickly to Emdur, with a troupe of geologists, to assess the situation. (See Nu. 23; Va. 2.)

NUWMONT 27, AC 1015: A Spell Worked!
Location: Freiburg, Heldannic Territories. OW

Description: Herr Wulf, still pondering his dream, half-heartedly attempts to cast a spell, having prayed for several that morning out of devotion. He is astonished to find that his spells have returned!
Subsequent attempts fail, but he sees this as a sign from Vanya, and immediately makes preparations for the voyage to Davania, and considers who he should take with him. He realizes that, with fighting still going on in the Freeholds, any expedition to Davania would not be approved by the other senior Heldannic Knights. He decides this must be done in secret. (See Nu. 17; Va.5, Va. 8.)

What This Means: Vanya has given some of Herr Wulf's magical powers back to him, just once, as proof of her intent and her power. He understands the meaning of this immediately, and begins to make plans for the voyage. Also, it has become clear to Herr Wulf that without Vanya's guidance, the Knights will not be able to regain control of the country.

What the Players Can Do: Players who are renown Knights/Clerics of Vanya could attract Herr Wulf's attention as potential companions on this journey. Otherwise, enthusiastic players could lobby anyone they know in positions of power to gain an audience with Herr Wulf.

Something big is happening in Wendar these days: there are voices among the Alfheimers of a possible exodus to Norwold. According to the information I've gathered in the past days, an elven ambassador from Norwold has recently arrived in Wendar with a proposal for the Alfheimers to relocate in an elven dominion under the protection of a mighty Elf Mage. Normally this could seem an unrealistic idea, given the fact that the Alfheimers had to experience a similar situation only seven years ago and are now living in a country very much similar to their lost Forest of Canolbarth. Yet I think the Norwold Elf Baron couldn't choose a better moment to make his proposal to his brethren, and considering how things are going in Wendar these days, the chances the Alfheimers accept are high. In fact, if you read carefully my brief commentary on Wendar, you will notice that life has not been so easy for the Alfheimers since their arrival in the Genalleth Valley. But in order to better understand this situation, we must take a few steps back in Wendar's history and examine its society in depth.

Many of my esteemed colleagues of the University of Darokin used to say that Darokin and Wendar are the perfect examples of multicultural integration in the Old World. In Wendar, elves and humans live peaceably side by side respecting the other's way of life and cooperating for the good of the nation. Emile DurkŠme, one of the most active scholars of Glantri, has spent a great deal of his life studying the Wendarian social system and his theory of the social solidarity is commonly used to explain the success of those multicultural societies like Wendar and Darokin. However, now that I've experienced first hand how things work in Wendar, I must say that I respectfully disagree with DurkŠme's theories. Maybe twenty years ago (when DurkŠme made his studies on the field) Wendar was indeed the perfect example of social integration, but now it has become a place where hostility can be smelt in the air and social tension is the most dangerous problem the ruler has to face. And the Alfheimers are apparently in the eye of the maelstrom, so to speak.

Since the arrival of the Alfheim refugees the situation has been changing in Wendar. With the Alfheimers came the plague, and even though the Wendarians helped the elves resettling in their own territory, the humans began to view the newly arrived with mistrust. After all, they were bringing more problems to their country (plague and demographic changes) and the Alfheim clans were not so much open to the humans either (some of the most conservative - if not xenophobic - clans migrated to Wendar and they were not really in the right mood to make friends with the humans; they had just lost their homeland after all). Mistrust soon began to spread all around the nation as if carried by the winds, and many small frictions between bordering human and elven settlements came to happen, with the fault on both sides. At first these were nothing more than squabbles regarding logging rights and exploitation of the forest, but they soon degenerated into open rivalry when humans became the target of jokes and pranks by the Alfheim Avengers. The burgmasters were able to calm things down for a while, but the friction fueled by false rumours spread by unknown people (though a reliable source blames the phantomlike Church of Idris) couldn't be eliminated simply with proclamations of goodwill. And then the Second Plague came. The climax of the tension between humans and Alfheimers was reached during last year (AC 1014), when some magical fruits discovered in the Alfheimers' forest resulted to be lethal for humans who ate them. The magical disease caused the death of nearly one fifth of the human population and the Alfheimers were soon blamed for the whole thing.

Their denial of any involvement in the fact was of no avail for the humans, who now felt threatened by the Alfheimers. Open skirmishes occurred then in the forest of the immigrants, causing unrest among the races of Wendar.

This is the current situation in this country, a tense one at best, and that's why I think the proposal from Norwold could be pivotal in relieving (albeit a bit) the elves who now feel loathed, and the humans who, on the other hand, feel "besieged".