Location: Principalities of Glantri. OW

Description: A major earthquake strikes southern Glantri, sending tremors as far north as Nouvelle Averoigne and as far south as Fort Lakeside in Darokin, with aftershocks lasting throughout the day. The most affected areas are Verazzano, South Monsterland, and Erewan (although the Erewan elves were somewhat prepared by the predictions of their clan oracles, Norelia and Bethys Erewan). Earth elementalists at the Great School of Magic divine that the earthquake was focused in the former Principality of Caurenze, very near the ruins of its capital Sirecchia. (See Nu. 4, Va. 27.)

What This Means: This earthquake is all that the world will know of the death of Innocenti di Malapietra, Viscount of Sirecchia and former Prince of Caurenze, by Frau Hildegarde von Drachenfels, matriarch of House Ritterburg of Aalban and Innocenti’s rival for the High Mastery of the Secret Craft of Earth Elementalism.
A few days ago, Frau Hildegarde left the Prime Plane with her specially trained elite guard to travel in secret within the Elemental Plane of Earth. On this day, after the Day of Dread, under cover of darkness and in the dead of the Glantrian winter, Frau Hildegarde and her troops left the elemental plane to emerge in the ruins of Palazzo di Sirecchia in search of their target.
Innocenti di Malapietra was a formidable wizard and a powerful earth elementalist, even before he became murderously insane. But he was no match against Frau Hildegarde and her carefully planned assault. Frau Hildegarde and her Aalbanese military wizards wielded an arsenal of spells and weapons, magical and mundane, targeted specifically against Innocenti. Frau Hildegarde herself had her own magical abilities bolstered by several powerful magical items. Lastly, their forces were reinforced by stone golems, living rock statues, medusae, basilisks, elementals, and other creatures from the Plane of Earth, some trained, some conjured, but all tightly under Hildegarde’s control. Even the specters of the Malapietra family that haunt Innocenti at the palace ruins were efficiently dealt with by an in-house necromancer specialist.
Ultimately, as Hildegarde prepared her most powerful summoning to unleash a horde from the Plane of Earth, Innocenti’s own magic backfired and petrified him. The only effect of Hildegarde’s summoned horde—which took the form of thousands of huge crawling caterpillars—was shattering Innocenti’s stony body and scattering the infinitesimal pieces across the Glantrian countryside.
Frau Hildegarde succeeded in killing Innocenti, but her mission was not yet over.
What the PCs Can Do: Unless the PCs have spent the last decade or so training as military wizards under the strict supervision of Frau Hildegarde, they probably would not have even heard about this secret mission, much less be able to take part in it. In the unlikelihood that the PCs were at the ruins of Palazzo di Sirecchia at the same time, surviving the harsh Glantrian winter, the undead that haunt Caurenze, and Innocenti’s own insane attacks against all intruders, they would be effectively neutralized by Frau Hildegarde’s men, if not the powerful magic and creatures in the attack.

Location: Twenty miles north of the ruined Village of Doleria, Dominion of Polakatsikes, Heldannic Empire, Meghala Kimata Plains. DV

Description: The newly regenerated Heldannic cavalry inflicts a great toll on a Mivosian caravan coming from Parthenaeum to sustain the Mivosian troops stationed in the towns north of Polakatsikes. The Mivosian escort of 50 men, seeing no hope of surviving the charge of 150 horsemen, flees north toward Syropolis, leaving behind the caravan wagons. The Heldannic Knights seize the wagon and head south to secure their loot. (See Nu. 2, Nu. 7.)

What This Means: The Mivosians have retreated 20 miles north of the ruined village of Doleria, in which the Heldannic Knights have built a fortified watchtower to survey the surrounding lands and scan the Mivosian supply lines. Today they hit hard and stole the whole supply caravan using a newly formed regiment that was training there. The force responsible for this strike is mainly composed of Meghalan warriors, for whom hit-and-run tactics are common, and petty trainer officers of the Heldannic Knights. This is a heavy loss for the Mivosians who face growing discontent in their newly conquered lands while still having to feed their troops.
What the PCs Can Do: They can be part of the attack if they are with the knights or attempt to retreat and save as much as possible from the caravan if they are Mivosians.