Threats and mysteries continued to develop across Kantas, but the area around Daring
Heights, and the steadily growing Port Ffirst had become largely safe. Yuan-Ti snuck
through the portal from Faerun to reactivate an ancient superweapon in a mausoleum in
the western mountains, though it was destroyed before it could wreak havoc on the countryside. An earthquake opened a chasm leading to the Underdark just outside Daring’s northern borders, and adventurers quickly found and looted an ancient puzzle tomb there. A stone portal in the northern forest was reactivated and made to link to several different planes, including Sigil.
Granny Longtooth, who had been set up in a cottage outside the town since it was founded, offered powerful magic and aid to those who would agree to her terms. She always said
that she never took gold and people could always afford her prices, and those were both true, technically. One day her entire cottage vanished from its place south of Daring, and a
great dark sphere was found in the same relative location in the Feywild. Granny had upgraded, creating a demiplane for herself in the Feywild which she called the Witchhold, a fetid place around a great tree where she gathered witches to her for deals and bargains, naming herself Queen Longtooth. Though disturbing, she claimed she posed no direct threat to Daring Heights.
When Pascal the incubus was found to be a guest under her care however, adventurers demanded the right to kill him, which Granny granted in the form of a duel. Ultimately,
Pascal was sealed inside Nowhere the warlock’s knife, contained, if not gone.
It was around this time that the rumours of orcs in the mountains began to build. They had heard of the wealthy new, lightly defended town and decided it was worth their time to destroy. Small blue creatures known as Xvarts also seemed to be working with them. They numbered in the thousands, so the town started working on its defences rapidly.
Allies were sought again, though fewer this time were found. To the south, the dwarven citadel of Vorsthold was discovered and ultimately persuaded to donate arms and
armour, though no soldiers, to the effort. It came to light that the Xvarts were actually the driving force behind this orcish invasion. Their god, Raxivort was a demon in hiding who possessed a powerful artefact called the Infinity Spindle and had used it to augment the Xvarts into a formidable fighting force.
They were determined to take over Daring Heights and use its portal to find their hidden god and travel to him, to be at his side and help him conquer the multiverse. As the orcs and Xvarts marched on Daring, Aurelia used her magic to conjure an entire fortress out of the ground, placing it between the orcs and the city to absorb their assault. Some adventurers stayed in the city as the last line of defence of the portal, along with some of the strongest members of the citizenry including Aurelia herself. The citizens of Daring Heights were evacuated through the portal back to Faerun to a temporary camp set up there.
A group of incredibly powerful Xvarts led a small force of several hundred against the city directly. Through guerilla tactics and the combined might of the adventurers, they were
able to disrupt the Xvarts’ plans and secure the portal. However, to their horror, they realised that the battle at the fortress had not gone so well, and the thousands of orcs had
overrun their friends and allies and were descending upon the city.
Desperate, Aurelia ushered everyone through the portal to evacuate, and then destroyed the portal, unravelling some of its arcane threads so that while it was still a site of power, the stable link between Faerun and Kantas was severed forever.
And so Daring Heights was lost, conquered by the orcs, with many soldiers and adventurers captured and kept in the orcish war camp. The survivors gathered in the camp in Faerun. Mayor Daffles was missing and so the people looked to Aurelia as the closest source of authority. Ultimately, the Feywild came to the rescue. A deal was made with the Bear King, who ruled a city in Kantas on the Material Plane as well, Nueyeya, populated by Bearfolk.
He agreed to chase the orcs out of Daring (which he did via a vast swarm of bees) and to help free their people (adventurers were assisted by a pack of bearfolk), in exchange for a percentage of profits, a standing alliance and a set of three small stones to be placed around the city.
Daring Heights was restored, though much lay in ruins. The orcs were routed, the Xvarts defeated, and people began to return. Without Daffles, a Council was formed and they worked to rebuild the city to its former glory. And so a year passed.
Mostly exploring the same areas. New areas include Vorsthold, an underground Dwarven citadel.
Granny revealed herself to be even more powerful than imagined, and set up a demiplane to rule over in the Feywild as a Witch Queen—not directly threatening Daring Heights yet though.
Xvarts wanted to reach their god by using Daring’s portal, so they got local orc tribes to attack en masse.
They overran Daring Heights, but Aurelia evacuated back to Faerûn through the portal and then partially destroyed it so that it couldn’t be used.
In the aftermath, the city was retaken by the Bear King, a Feywild Lord new ally and the city entered a long period of rebuilding.