The Crypts of Kirkshaw

The Crypts of Kirkshaw are not actually crypts, but a series of underground passages, magical in nature, which have an entrance in Kirkshaw's cemetery. It has been suggested that there may be entrances elsewhere in the world, although this has not been supported by the discovery of any such portal or doorway. Every few generations, the evil beneath Kirkshaw regenerates and must be dealt with. At first this evil manifests itself in small ways, such as chickens being unable to lay eggs, or small plants and weeds withering and dying unexpectedly. However, if left unchecked, the curse will spread, causing mothers to miscarry and crops to rot in the fields.

Notable Attempts to Enter the Crypts
The Elric Seven (878 AG)

Dallan Forkbeard, the leader of this group of brave Dwarven explorers was 148 years old when he entered the Crypts, leading an expedition made up of six other Dwarves. Only three of them returned. The first to fall was Kurgan the Stout who slipped and fell to his death in a vast cavern, his body was never recovered. Two others, Ulfar Stormcaller, Paladin of Grundik and Skalldor of the Bronze Foothills were swallowed by what Dallan described as a ‘buried forest of pure evil’. The last to fall was the leader’s son, Dallan II, who perished at the hands of the smoke dragon. So distraught by this was Dallan that he carried his son’s corpse all the way back through the Crypts and buried him in the Kirkshaw cemetery.

Thorpe’s Bluff Party (1099 AG)

The town of Thorpe's Bluff brought together an extremely multi-cultural group of explorers who, even more so at the time, would have surprised many by their willingness to work together. They are by far the most well-known and written about of all the parties to have delved beneath Kirkshaw. The party was comprised of:
 * Navah - A female Deva who claimed to have awoken in the Hakram Peaks and wandered to Thorpe’s Bluff, in the knowledge that she was required to meet a group of beings and unite them to save the land from evil. She was the driving force behind the party and held them together in times of distress.


 * Ku – The gnome known as Ku secretly followed the party through the Crypts for many days before they were even aware of his presence. His ability to trick enemies and seamlessly disappear into the shadows became invaluable to the party over the course of their adventure. He struck up a great friendship with the wizard Glynn whilst there. Unfortunately, Ku’s minimal stature was to be his undoing as he was crushed by a rock-slide in the bowels of the crypts. This sight was witnessed by and permanently scarred the mind of Glynn. It would later drive him to madness.
 * Glynn Johannes – This human apprentice wizard of the Tower of the Moon was on an errand for his master and happened to be in Thorpe’s Bluff when the party was assembled. Bored of his studies and tired of being his master’s lapdog, he joined up with the party. Unfortunately, his lack of experience made him something of a liability. Despite this, he survived the horrors of the crypt, but was permanently scarred by his experiences. It drove him to madness and he eventually wandered back into the crypt in search of his fallen friend Ku, whom he was convinced was calling to him through his dreams.
 * Ikkli – This Mountain-dwelling Goliath was the one who discovered Navah and accompanied her to Thorpe’s Bluff. He was fiercely protective of her and remained at her side for the whole of the journey. He accompanied her back into the mountains once the quest was over.
 * Valda – The elf ranger known as Valda was a resident of Thorpe’s Bluff. Overhearing the commotion caused by the arrival of a Deva and a Goliath in the local tavern, she agreed to take them to Kirkshaw and eventually decided to accompany them into the crypts. Sadly, she fell to one of its many deadly traps and is buried within the Crypt. Many subsequent parties have described coming across her final resting place and stopping to pay their respects.

Prince Eddin’s Party (1170 AG)

Being young and of noble blood, Prince Eddin of Esterra had a lot to prove. Until his delve into the crypts, the Kingdom had allowed mercenaries and opportunists to slay the evil within. Eddin felt that it should be the role of the King to protect the people of the Kingdom and gathered a group of his most trusted retainers to take on the crypts. This was, by far, the largest party to ever enter the crypts, numbering 18 when they began. Just two of them returned, Eddin and his brother Janus. No doubt, many of the knights who entered with them had sacrificed their lives to avoid royal blood being spilled along the way. Eddin would later state that the majority of those who fell, did so during the penultimate battle with the great evil, which manifested itself as dragon made entirely of smoke. An interesting point of note is that Eddin is the only adventurer to have returned from the crypts and not be buried in the Kirkshaw cemetery. Eddin’s corpse is interred in the Royal Mausoleum at Ishtar. Technically, Navah the Deva was also never buried in the cemetery, but she returned to the mountains and could well still be alive there.