The group left Castlewood intending to head for the steading of the hill giants, but was attacked on the way by another raiding group of the creatures. From them they learned of the frost giants in the mountains. The adventurers returned to Castlewood with the news, but while camping they saw and heard the Hunter pass by on his own errand.
The adventurers defeated the hill giants, setting off a teleporter that landed them high on a snowy mountain. Nearby was a lone black tower. While investigating it, the group was captured by the drow who lived there. These elves, the first of their kind any of the adventurers had ever seen, know that the group had messed up the plan using the giants. But these drow were of a rival house to the ones that were running the operation, and were actually just observing what was happening. They made the adventurers an offer. They could let the drow transport them to the fire giant’s lair, where they could destroy the giants and Eclavdra’s operation and complete their task. Or they could die here. The group chose the giants. They were teleported far north into Bloodrock, but not before the drow had secretly taken Aphax and, using her little finger, replaced her with a simulacrum to spy on the group.
The adventurers fought and defeated the giants. They drove the drow and Eclavdra back underground, but could not prevent them from sealing the tunnel behind them. An accident then revealed and destroyed the simulacrum. The group was overjoyed to find a portable hole well packed with the giants’ treasure.
Palanius had a map that now was discovered to be of this area, well north of the edge of the North Country. The adventurers traveled south through the desert, which gradually turned into scrub, plains, then to a tropical forest. Here they entered the domain of Morgan le Fay. After getting past her guards and a magical path, they were welcomed to her castle on a lakeshore with twin waterfalls on the other side. She tricked them, her guards were killed, and Karnak chased her across the water to a small dock at the bottom of the cliff, where he killed her.
The dock was at the end of a rising tunnel carved into the side of the cliff. About one-third of the way up, the tunnel reached the surface and became a rock path the rest of the way up. Near the top the path entered a man-made cave, the monastery of the Master of Copper Dragons. Derek was pleased, as he was even more powerful than he needed to be here, but still had to prove it through combat. He defeated the Master and assumed the title. The loser accepted, and left with those monks that chose to keep following him. As he left he told Derek that the Master of the North Wind had passed by on the river two days previously. Again, luck favored Derek. He caught up to the traveling Master, challenged him, and took the title. He returned in triumph to claim the cave, now called the Monk Hole, as his own. The few remaining monks were pleased.
At the top of the path the adventurers looked upon a new land. They realized that they were north of the mountains that defined the top of the territory. The group claimed the High Lands in the name of the kingdom.
The group envisioned building a city at the top of the waterfall, on the edge of one of the many lakes that fill the area. But for the time being, they just wanted to build strongholds and saw the High Lands as the perfect area.
Karnak claimed Morgan’s castle as his base, and decided to make it into a port. He traveled to Castlewood to report on what had happened and to leave messages for the Duke. He also advertised for henchmen and followers and requested a small military force. He then began to research how to make ink for an improved invisibility scroll.
Kodiak made arrangements with Teuer-Kan to teleport needed materials to the sites. Kodiak started building a tower complex at the very top of the path, straddling it and guarding access. He also hired a few of the people that Karnak found.
Judar Bash found an apprentice cleric named Bob, and became "adopted" by a group of leaderless gnomes. He found an abandoned temple and began to hold services there for Pan, and ordered armor for the fighter gnomes.
Derek still felt ready to take on even more responsibility. He located the Master of the West Wind, living to the west in the kingdom of Cola. Accompanied by Paladino, a paladin from Roystille, Derek traveled there. The challenged master nearly killed Derek by cheating, but Derek was able to win and return home victorious.
Clem started construction of a castle. (He never managed to put much time in there, as he liked the city life and between adventures spent most of his time there.)
The first ships soon arrived at Karnak’s place in response to his information. Karnak returned north with the ones he hired.
The adventurers had found a sentient chaotic evil sword (nine lives stealer?) which they dared not try to wield. So they threw it into the middle of the lake.
Derek began advertising for clerics and followers, and made it known that a city would be built and that settlers were encouraged in the new territory. He began to get involved in government and planning.
From clues and local history, reported by the native elves, the adventurers knew of a hidden temple in the forest. They deduced that it is at or near the entrance to the underworld. Since they needed to carry their battle to the ones behind the giant raids, they knew they had to descend into the earth and fight the drow. The church was found surrounded by undead controlled by a mad cleric. Underneath the temple they discovered the Living Way, a nauseating tunnel and cave system that was unfortunately the only possible passage. Defeating it at least removed the nauseating aspect.
Teuer-Kan asked the group to look for a particular spell component, the tail of a wyvern. The adventurers traveled down into the earth. Their encounters included a wyvern, and a lich that killed Karnak with a powerful finger of death spell. They traveled past the Shrine of the Kuo-Toa, past drow guards, into the Vault, became involved in the house feuds, and finally arrived at the Fane of Orcus where the evil clerics were finally defeated and the Spiritwrack of Orcus was gained. Victorious, and with the rescued Aphax, the adventurers returned to the surface.
The wyvern tail was given to Teuer-Kan, along with the group’s report. Shortly afterward, Teuer-Kan’s tower exploded. It was assumed that whatever experiment he had been working on backfired, and he was annihilated.
Karnak traveled back to Roystille to report to the Duke. The rest of the group began their own adventures, and only had indirect contact with Karnak in the future.
In Roystille, Karnak was placed in charge of a platoon and told to investigate a strange disturbance in the town of Woodside. A black howling tornado was appearing at random intervals, but in a fixed location. He discovered the area around a sorceress’s house was weirdly affected by gravity, and only a pit remained of the house, with a strange glowing object visible at the bottom. While he mulled over what he could possible do about this, the vortex struck again, catching Karnak squarely and hurling him out of his reality and deep into the etheral plane.
Karnak met a prisoner, sitting on a small asteroid circling an unknown star. The being’s name was Larz-Dun. Larz-Dun agreed to help Karnak find out how to return home, but Karnak needed to do a few things for him first. Karnak went to the planet Ataz, met the Scro and killed their leader. Then he traveled to a water planet, where a creature named Floparn said he could help Karnak if he would bring him the head of a particular storm giant on the planet Siltrus. After this, Karnak was taken to a planet of dragons, and then to Dednu-Delsu, the prison planet.
How did Larz-Dun use Karnak to open a gate back to Karnak’s own world?
Using Karnak as a conduit, Larz-Dun was able to affect his escape from the temporal prison and emerged into the Prima Material again as Set. ("What have I done?") Karnak realized that no time had passed from when the vortex hit him, and he returned to Roystille with his troops, having another run-in with hill giants on the way.
Soon, Karnak learned of a war developing with the elven city of Gray Eagle. With the approval of General Zot he helped develop a flying platform to assault the well-defended city, and assisted in drawing up plans for troop movements into the area.
To further help, Karnak decided to return to the Vault to obtain some adamantine armor. Traveling there with Clem, he was joined by a renegade drow named Skiddly. The deal struck with the drow armorers was less than successful, as they charged him well in excess of the going rate for armor construction. Skiddly ended up dead, his body left by Karnak to moulder in a forgotten tunnel. Karnak got a noble house angry at him. What did he do to them? Maybe because of Skiddly? In retaliation, the house sent a psionic swat team to Roystille, but Karnak was able to outwit and defeat them.
Karnak went back to his castle, but while riding across the lake to the path, he was suddenly engulfed by a whirlpool, and transported to Wonderland. When was Lord Chaz met? In the chessfields, or before?
At the end of Wonderland, Chaz was dead. Karnak was able to escape by going ethereal. There was also a strange appearing tower that moved between planes. When did this occur?
When Karnak made his way back to the Prime Material plane, he found he was transported far into the past. He found his way to the city of Ataz (formerly Aahz). In the royal court Karnak met Ransitar, actually Teuer-Kan. Karnak recognized that he was in the past and Ransitar had never met him before. Karnak was also given an ultimatum: accept Set as master and change alignment to lawful evil, or die. Karnak chose life. The ultimatum was given by a Raver.
Karnak received an assistant named Cass. He found that the government was working with the githyanki, and there was a permanent gate to the astral plane. The githyanki had created flying vehicles for maneuvering in prime material atmospheres. Working with them, Karnak started on his plans for the Void Cruiser.
After a short training period, Karnak was sent to the Barrier Peaks. He requested to take a large force there, considering the uncertainty of the situation, but was refused. After a short stop at Baron Elmo’s place, they explored the peaks.
Up to this time, Karnak had started talking about wanting to fight the planetar. The planetar heard of it, and decides to put a stop to him. On the return from the peaks, Karnak saw silver dragons and decided to investigate their lair. The planetar arrived too late to save the dragons, but for some reason showed mercy to Karnak in the end (why?) and allowed him to leave, but not before removing Karnak’s probability travel ability.
On Karnak’s return, he was given a mission to go to Baator and deliver an offer of truce to the master of Caina. On the way, Karnak met Aragorn de Vega, a human who had been trapped in the plane. Karnak struck a deal with Charon the boatman, agreeing to find and return the True Ankh to him in exchange for permanent free passage on the Styx. The treaty accepted by Mephistopheles, Karnak left Baator with Aragorn via the Styx. Is that true? He ended up in Limbo, and met Circe, a group of angry cyclops, a shipwrecked anti-paladin and a group of paladins. The trail of the Ankh led him back to Circe’s lair, where underneath was a gate to the plane of Shadow. Karnak defeated the Shade and avoided getting sucked into a sphere of annihilation, and left with the Ankh. He returned to Baator and completed the bargain with Charon.
On his return to Ataz, Karnak focused on his revenge against the planetar. He obtained its true name from Set, set a trap, and summoned the planetar. Using a prepared Spiritwrack, Karnak was able to exile the planetar to its home plane of Elysium.
But it wasn’t enough. Karnak wanted to finish the job. Taking his new Void Cruiser, he and his crew traveled to Elysium. The crew included a cleric of Hastezini (a minor ally of Set), and Aragorn. There, Karnak nearly defeated him but was uncertain about the effectiveness of his psionic attack, and broke off the attack too soon, allowing the planetar to escape. His forces overwhelmed and beginning to flee in the face of the planetar’s brother and minions, the arrival of a solar decided the matter. Karnak tried to escape by leaping through the solar’s own gate, but was followed by it. In desperation, Karnak grabbed his portable hole and plunged it into his bag of holding.
The ensuing astral cyclone hurled him, the void cruiser, and some of his men far from the battle. He limped away with the few survivors from his crew.
Somewhere he ran into some Githyanki and killed them, taking a silver sword. Then he ended up back at Roystille, but how? The astral gate in Ataz may have been destroyed, trapping Teuer-Kan in the astral plane.
Karnak now wanted to find the Soul Gem. He hooked back up with Clem, who was able to find information leading to Willoby the sage. But Jubal Smithson had killed Willoby. (Plot details of the 21 Club, clerics of Osiris, and local war in the town) Karnak led an attack against the stronghold of the paladins of Osiris (Justice League). Karnak determined the location of the sunken city of Ataz, and took a ship into the Inland Sea. There was a battle with weresharks and a kraken. Then Karnak invaded the lair of Teuer-Kan and Galap-Dreidel. He won the Soul Gem, but accidentally set off a summons and was transported into the future by a time elemental. There he caught a glimpse of the devastation that Galap-Dreidel had planned, which would be used to fill the Soul Gem and create an army for Set. Karnak negotiated a return to his own time.
Karnak now traveled to visit Red God. He didn’t want to be lawful evil, but also wanted protection from Set when he rejected him. Red God protected Karnak from loss of level, and Karnak became neutral in alignment again and reaffirmed his commitment to Red God. Set promptly put out a contract on Karnak. The Ravers set up an attack on Karnak, using the cenobites. Karnak was able to get away.
Karnak returned to Red God and petitioned for demi-godhood. Red God told him he must make amends to the planetar, and assigned him a task involved collecting particular keys. Karnak spent time learning the details of the outer plains. He was sent to visit Rilmani and Fenzuf, and was shown the way to open a gate to the Dragon King’s realm and the Mausoleum of Chronepsis. Set warned the evil dragons there, but Karnak killed them anyway. Chronepsis gave Karnak the key that leads to the Norns. But on the way there, Karnak was tricked by two of the Ravers. Thinking he had the opportunity to repent to the planetar, Karnak nearly got killed. But since the Ravers took Karnak to their home plane when they set the trap, when he defeated them he was able to do so permanently.
The Norns gave Karnak the next key.
Karnak returned to the Prime Material, and was promptly confronted by the real planetar. Karnak gave up the Soul Gem and asked forgiveness. The planetar accepted and forgave Karnak.
Karnak soon learned of a distant battle on another planet, and recognized the call of destiny.
Final Log of the Surveyor II
He spelljammed to another realm, attacked by strange lobster-like creatures on the way. He found a world in its death throes, and descended to its surface. He confronted an arch-criminal called Rayth Dunoss, who was currently possessed by the essence of Yog-Sotthoth. In the battle, Rayth’s form was killed and Yog-Sotthoth emerged. Karnak figured out how to work the keys, and was able to lure the insane god into a specially prepared trap, setting it off at the cost of Karnak’s own life. But in that sacrifice Karnak’s ascension to demigod was confirmed.
Karnak was left with a magical gem; the seed of the land he needed to create to expand Red God’s realm.