<em>There was a legend on the tropical island of Hrozenzi. Once the place was nothing but another expanse of ocean, until the red dragon Hrozenzi arrived. Where his flaming breath touched the water, it cooled down into solid rock, and thus was the volcano created. He lived in the heart of the volcano, and his fiery breath continued to belch out from the peak of the mountain, flowing down slopes red-hot until it reached the sea.<br/><br/>Then one day, the Dragonslayer arrived, garbed in gods-granted Regalia that protected him from dragonfire. He ascended the volcano, descended into Hrozenzi's lair, and slew the dragon in epic single combat. And the volcano has laid dormant ever since.<br/><br/>Millennia passed, and island of Hrozenzi has remained a tropical paradise ever since, with relative peace between the humanoid villages on the sunny coasts and kobold tribes on the volcanic slopes. But now a young arrogant red dragon has arrived once more, calling himself Hrozenzi after the figure of legend. He fooled the kobolds into worshiping him as a living god and burnt down villages until everyone else submitted to him as ruler of the island...<br/><br/>Except for the few brave souls of the resistance, who swore to recover the mythical Regalia of the Dragonslayer, slay Hrozenzi, and liberate the island once more.</em><br/><br/><hr/><br/><em>The middle of the island is a dormant volcano that had been inactive, according to legend since the defeat of the original mythical Hrozenzi. Since the second Hrozenzi's arrival though (a little more than a century ago - in any case, before the birth of any of the player characters), the volcano has been seen periodically smoking, although nobody knows whether that's coming from geological activity or the dragon. His lair is rumored to be inside the volcano.<br/><br/>The slopes of the volcano are a thick jungle inhabited by tribes of kobolds and other reptilian folk that worship the dragon. "Soft-skins" are not welcome and any caught in their lands are sacrificed to the dragon. Mostly isolationists, the tribes engage in limited trade with the coastal settlements, usually trading diamonds they mined from the volcanic rock.<br/><br/>Special feature - Weeping Skull: A large rock that looks like a dragon skull in the side of the volcano. Water pours out from openings where the the eye sockets and mouth would be, giving it its name. It is the largest source of freshwater on the island, creating a river that flows down to the sea, but its secrets are jealously guarded by the tribe that lives nearby.<br/><br/>The coasts are inhabited by humanoid races who farm the land and fish the sea. Traditionally the settlements were minor baronies that could muster up enough militia to drive off kobold raids, but the dragon removed all the old power structure and installed a new Council to govern in his name. The Council's guardsmen supposedly keep the peace, but in reality they suppress any dissent and rebellion.<br/><br/>Special feature - Crossbone Reef: The island has never been much of a trade hub, but it is a convenient base for pirates raiding nearby trading lanes, and even a dragon's arrival couldn't change that. The pirate town of Crossbone Reef is a collection of shipwrecks run aground on a particularly notorious reef on the island's coast, lashed together into a mini-island of its own. Every year or so some ship trying to dock would run afoul of the reef and involuntarily expand the town that way (leave it to pirates to have their dock on top of the most dangerous reef in the place!). The pirates placate the dragon by giving him a cut of their booty, and he in turn leaves them alone.</em><br/><br/><hr/><br/><div class="floatright">(https://i.imgur.com/7GvztVj.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/xm3fvWX.jpg)</div>It was a dark and stormy night - perfect weather to head out for those who did not want to be seen or followed. Their destination was the Halfway House, the local tavern in the sleepy village of Fisher's Row on the coast of the island Hrozenzi.<br/><br/>The tavern was a homely place, with a roaring fire burning merrily in the hearth, warm and dry inside compared to the cold and wet outside. The elven proprietress Sharielle behind the bar was popular for her... large mugs, among other things.<br/><br/>Though, it would be the halfling server who greeted each person at the door.<strong>"Welcome to the Halfway House! My name is Freya, how may I serve you tonight?"</strong>For the people who shared in their burning desire to see the dragon Hrozenzi vanquished, all they possessed was the password that would connect them with others of their kind - a simple drink order: (the non-existent) Martin's Shaken Ale.<br/><br/><strong>"Right this way,"</strong>Freya would say, and lead them to a table in a secluded corner. Five large mugs of frothy ale were already set on the table - their arrival had been expected, and now for the first time the would-be dragonslayers would meet one another.