King Theodric is slowly losing his kingdom, and he knows it. The war with the wicked sorcerers from the west has gone on for over a century. For many years the war has been a stalemate, neither side gaining an advantage over the other, but the evil magic has began to slowly creep farther and farther east, corrupting and destroying as it progresses. The king, fearing the worst, has ordered his champion Aggronak to put out a summons for the greatest adventurers in the land to convene at The Red Tortoise Inn, in the capitol city, and to select and hire a group of these champions to undertake a mission to save the kingdom. Legend tells of a great weapon guarded by a dragon to the north. The journey is sure to be full of peril and danger, but the king has promised riches beyond imagination to those selected to undertake this task upon a successful return.

Our story begins on a cloudy afternoon, the day of the summons, in the incredibly crowded and noisy Red Tortoise Inn. The inn itself is packed, one cannot walk through the room, and many hundreds more wait outside, hoping to gain an audience with Aggronak, and the rices the adventure promises. As the day progresses patience grows then, and brawls become more common.