100 years later

Continuing from my previous post, I was inspired to think about what would happen if the storyline were allowed to continue. Well, I advanced the world by roughly 100 years and wrote about what happened.

Western Melheim after 100 years from when the last incidents occurred:

The city of Salanch

After the followers of Pholtus fled back to “their” city, where the main temple to Pholtus was located, they started a pogrom against the wizards and sorcerers of Melheim. They believed that people had become lax in their monitoring of mages and arcane magic would re-surface. Their spellgun production was increased and soon they had squads of mage-killers on the prowl. However, sympathy had grown for mages after several powerful individuals helped stem the tide of undead in the north, and pushed back the Gruumsh orcs in the east. Pholtus became unwelcome outside of Salanch because of their attitude towards magic, elves, and their old allies the Halflings. They also became under siege in Salanch by an allied force. In retaliation, the clergy of Pholtus performed a series of miracles. First, they pushed back the sieging force with a tide of light, killing hundreds. Second, they raised the entire city on a disc of force so that it now rests in the air. Third, a shield of force was erected around the city, preventing aerial entry. Only clerics of Pholtus may pass the barrier, or create temporary openings. This self-imposed exile lasted several decades before small amounts of trade resumed. The city fed itself through magically creating food and extreme rationing. It also became law that the first child of every family must become a cleric of Pholtus.

When the city was raised, taking the first layer of sewers/underground with it, it exposed several layers of ancient ruins. Ironically, they contained promises of old human magic.

Salanch continues their pogrom, albeit secretly, finding and capturing/killing mages.

In the south

Abominations surged forth from the south, overwhelming the regular patrols and catching everyone by surprise. With most of the armies in the north and east fighting undead and orcs, the Halflings were suffering large losses. In a major show of force, the elves in Lantern Woods and underground surged to the surface again and slaughtered the abominations. Thankful for their aid, most cities accepted their return and let them stay on the surface.

In the north

There were indications of undead coming from the north over a period of time. Groups of adventurers kept them in check for the most part until a section of the force wall came down. The north had apparently prepared for this moment and a large army of mindless undead, led by a hierarchy of sentient undead, invaded. It was only through an alliance of humans, both the seafarers and the barbarians, magic users, and other races that it was possible to defeat the undead. The northern resistance movement, a grim band of survivors from the northlands, were pivotal in breaking the leadership of the north, allowing the mindless undead to be picked apart. The gap in the north still exists, and although it is constantly monitored, undead still manage to come through. The resistance, now the authority in the north, along with southern volunteers, continue to scour the lands clearing out the powerful sentient undead.

Bacull

The port city lay under siege by the seafaring humans 100 years ago. However, their assault was intended to seek out and kill several powerful individuals who were playing with their destiny. Once the conspiracy was uncovered, a truce was formed between the sea humans and the merchants of Bacull. The sea humans exchanged their technology and their magic with the city and became a permanent fixture. When the undead surged from the north, Bacull was at the forefront of the battle. When water undead began attacking coastal regions, the sea humans fought them as well. Now the waters of the undead lands are also patrolled by the sea humans.

Bacull has grown almost double in size in the past 100 years because of the influx of sea humans. Mixed races are a significant percentage of the population, and the Meld race has proven hardy. Sea human vessels have recently begun reporting strange ships on the horizon, who always seem to vanish when investigated.

Forgetalon

It essentially remains the same, producing goods and weapons. The orcs here remain loyal to Kord, and helped fight their Gruumsh cousins from the east. The passageway through the force wall still holds importance and remains guarded.

In the East

Working with goblins and their god, Gruumsh, orcs from the east were able to penetrate the force wall within the mountains. They poured forth from holes in the hills and pillaged small villages in the east before sacking and burning the town of Mellar’s Crossing. The horde intended to keep going east, but was defeated by a combined force of Forgetalon troops, human barbarians and sorcerers, and the holy army of the church of Kord (led by its champion Grekk, raised from the dead). The gaps the orcs and goblins had created in the mountains were not all found, so a new organization was formed, the East Watch, to regularly patrol the eastern range and close any gaps found.

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Eventually, after these waves of invasions, it was discovered that a few minor deities and Gruumsh had conspired to bring down portions of the force walls and let their chosen through. It was to be a test of their armies before more walls, in other pockets of land, were brought down. Western Melheim was deemed the weakest area because of conflicting politics, etc. With their plan thwarted, the deities have withdrawn for now. Their plan was discovered by powerful adventurers travelling to the outer planes.