Lord Zerai the Collector

Possession of the Halfling artifact weighed heavily upon him, so Brumbar decided to leave Gelder and the domains of men in order to return it to the Halfling Realm of Merrydale from whence it came. The rest of the party was to remain behind in Gelder for his quick return, with the exception of Apollo, who had a matter of vengeance to see to in Bolden. Unfortunately for Apollo, the boat leaving Gelder was not due to depart for another four days.



As the party waited, the sky was darkened by the arrival of three men-at-arms upon fell winged steeds. These three sought audience with White Prince Alegar who in turn immediately summoned the adventurers to his court. When they arrived, Apollo, Snow and Urambe, saw that the three men-at-arms were human, and probably of Southrun. Their commander called himself Rigsmarten and he was a Captain in the employ of one Lord Zerai whose domain was said to be a day’s flight from Gelder.

Rigsmarten promised safe conduct for any able fighters who agreed to join him and hear the proposal of his master. To guarantee their safety he would leave behind his two companions as captives of the White Prince. All three warriors agreed.

The ungainly steeds did not carry them as far South as they anticipated, rather the party was carried nearly straight up. The domain of Lord Zerai turned out to be a massive floating Keep some thirty thousand feet above the surface of Erenth. Lord Zerai proved to be a giant with many human and inhuman servants -- not all which were free, not all of which were visible to the naked eye, and few of them were good aligned.

The three men were put up in fine quarters with many servants attending and asked to hold their questions until a great dinner to be held later. Snow’s curiosity got the better of him and he set about exploring and meeting other residents of the keep. He found a Eastrun warrior called Vong, two brother thieves from Southrun called Hammoud and Hamzun, a Westruner warrior and hedge wizard named Perry of Saklan, and a half-orc warrior princess from the Goblin Kingdoms calling herself Gresmag the Bleeder. All of them were guests of Lord Zerai and waiting to hear his proposal. Some had been there almost a week, some only a matter of days. Each was picked up from their land of origin by Rigsmarten but had nothing further to offer.

That evening Lord Zerai feasted his guests and answered many questions. First, by the terms of an ancient agreement he would not be setting foot on Erenth itself. Second, he was only allowed to enjoy brief visits in this plane. He only had twenty-four more hours to remain here before having to leave for at least 28 days. Third, he was a collector of rare and important goods, including artifacts of noteworthy significance. Fourth, he was looking to assemble a party of able bodied treasure hunters to help him run down a curiosity or two.

However, the intent of his visit had changed within the last twenty four hours. Somewhere in the vicinity of where Apollo, Snow and Urambe had been recruited, it came to his attention that a very significant artifact had been discovered. He was aware of it only an hour or two before it once again escaped his attention. If he could obtain such a rarity, he would consider his collection complete and disregard the other baubles he had been seeking. The item he said, was a crown of very old manufacture.

Apollo admitted he knew who had the crown (“a friend”) and that he was equally certain that its present owner would not part with it, especially not to one such as Lord Zerai. For his part, the Collector only wished for the opportunity to present a sales pitch to Ayfrend, and asked Apollo to simply return to Erenth’s surface and make carry the message.

Apollo agreed in exchange for the release of all the slaves held captive on the floating rock. Zerai scoffed at the notion, but when he saw how serious Apollo was, decided to grant the release of any two that Apollo picked, with a promise to release all remaining slaves should Ayfrend return to hear the proposal.

Deal struck, the party made ready to return to the surface. But Gresmag the Bleeder emerged from the Keep and challenged Apollo for having made a contract that excluded her. Snow inserted himself in the conversation and was immediately attacked by the half-orc. He might have been slain was it not for the interference of Apollo, who flanked her and struck her unconscious. The party then bound her and returned her to the surface with them, thinking her a fine addition to their number.