Band of the Hand

The Band of the Hand was a group of adventurers operating out of Silverstone. After a disastrous foray into the Tomb of Horrors, the survivors disbanded.

Membership

• Falon T'selvin - Male elf ranger. Soul sucked out by Acererak.
• Aaron - Male half-elf ranger. Crushed by a stone juggernaut.
• Tiefon - Male dwarf fighter. Dissolved by green slime.
• Grunther - Male human fighter. Lost a hand, but survived the Tomb of Horrors. Later lost in the void below Moil.
• Lyla - Female human rogue. Disintegrated by Acererak.
• Sather - Female human cleric of Ehlonna. Survived the Tomb of Horrors, but forsook her deity and retired in Silverstone.

History

The Band of the Hand had earned a great deal of local fame by the time the wizard Desatysso hired them in 2940 for an expedition into the Tomb of Horrors, promising them a wealth of loot from the adventure. Following Desatysso's directions, acquired from Acererak's ancient journals and his Amulet of the Void, the band traveled through the jungles of Estorium and into the swamps of the Nsi Wastes, where they discovered a skull-shaped hill containing a portal to the Tomb of Horrors in the Iron Crags.

Their exploration of the tomb went badly. First, Teifon was dissolved by green slime. Then, Gunther lost a hand to a sphere of annihilation. The next day Aaron was knocked unconscious by poison gas, before being crushed to death by a rolling stone juggernaut. Sather, who had developed feelings for him, was heartbroken. Though their hopes were raised after making significant progress with no further injuries, when they arrived in Acererak's crypt their hope turned to terror. The demilich immediately disintegrated Lyla, before sucking out Falon's soul. Though Sather, Grunther, and Desatysso fought back, their attacks were ineffective. Gathering Falon's body, they fled; though Acererak did not pursue them, Sather's leg was crushed by the juggernaut as they made their escape.

As Sather cursed Ehlonna's name, Desatysso gave her his journal and Acererak's amulet before returning inside once more. Furious at how the wizard had led them to their doom, Sather hurled the amulet off a nearby cliff. She and Grunther buried Falon in Silverstone's cemetery, then retired from adventuring.

Years later, in 2970, the Sutler Expedition found Grunther while following Desatysso's trail. He took them to Sather, who gave them Desatysso's journal and warned them not to follow in their footsteps. Grunther accompanied them to the Tomb of Horrors, and through the secret portal into the city of Moil, where he ultimately perished after falling into the void below the city.