With the party still split, Uggo and Siv wrestle with the intentions of the Natural Order, while Lily, James, and Fahima remain jailed in the depths of Terlis. But when Persta Samuels finally arrives to deliver her judgment, the Heroes’ troubles really begin…
DM/GM Intro[]
It started as a simple Dungeon Run, but it has become a run in with the law. Three of our five adventurers are locked in jail beneath the city of Terlis charged with a murder they did not commit. The other two clash with the only allies they have inside the city, frustrated and full of doubt struggling with the burden thrust upon them. But when these unlikely heroes discovered an ancient relic inside an abandoned Dragon's lair they became, for good or ill, the most important force in all of Aïn. They hold the Secret Keeper's Amulet, a link between this reality and something far more powerful, it is a portal of possibilities and a connection to chaos. It allows you the Watchers of the Timestream, to effect the fortunes of these adventurers, to tip the scales placing challenges and rewards in their path as you see fit. But, it is also the means by which the fate of the world will be decided. 300 years ago, the guilded Aureate Age came to a terrible and costly end with the War of Ideas. The great achievements, knowledge, and advancements of that time were lost, wiped away. A group of the realms greatest champions came together in sacrifice to win the war, they gave up their identities to become, the Wardens, mighty 100 foot tall beings that protected the lands with their elemental power. But the secrets of the Aureate Age, the manor and reason for the Wardens very creation were locked inside their subconscious. The only surviving memories of that time hidden away waiting for The Secret Keeper's Amulet to reveal them once again. As the Amulet bearers, our heroes were charged with unlocking those memories and uncovering the truth but the Wardens were missing. A cabal, led by a shadowy spellcaster named Kalkata Theed, had conspired to capture the Wardens one by one and extract their power. A group of Wizards, called the Natural Order, were searching for the missing Wardens. Pacifists committed to secrecy themselves, the Natural Order were spread across the realms tracking down clues about the cabal and the dangerous locations in which the Wardens were held. One such Wizard, Torvalt "the timid", helped the team find the Storm Warden inside a floating prison in the sky. As they continued to search for additional Wardens, Torvalt connected them with another member of the order, Hermil Fesh the Scholar of Nightstone Abbey. Fesh had mentored James Quillus while James lived and studied at the school. During that time, James discovered a dark book in the Abbey's library which led him to his Patron, Shothragot. [10:27 AM] As James revealed to his team, his Warlock powers manifested in earnest the night he killed a city guard named Thad Yelmings. In response to that act the Chief Regent, Persta Samuels, put the city on lockdown authorizing a moratorium on magic, which outlawed all spell casting outside the Abbey walls. Visiting Terlis for the first time, the team ran into conflict with the moratorium. An Abbey Wizard by the name of Audric Lucern tried to confescate Fahima's pet phoenix which led to an altercation. When Lucern turned up dead, the heroes were wanted for the murder and forced to flee. With the help of other members of the Natural Order, the team tracked down 2 more Wardens, and became the heroes of Bingle along the way. They freed the Inferno Warden from an underwater trap, and the Typhoon Warden from inside a volcano, and they came face to face with Kalkata Theed the Ashen Mage. At the summit of Skyscorcher Peak, Theed made Fahima an offer to join her cabal. In doing so she angered another ally, Siv's first love, a Tiefling Rogue named Vik. To retaliate and save Siv, Vik smashed an ornate urn held by the Ashen Mage causing a massive arcane explosion. In the days and weeks following the blast strange and bloodthirsty fiends appeared across the realms attacking anything that stood in their way. Uggo's brother, the Warchief of Thorn, led his city into a disturbing symbiosis with those demons. Uggo defeated him in single combat becoming the new Warchief but things remained uneasy and difficult in Thorn. Ultimately Uggo chose to relinquish much of his own experience and abilities to protect his people. No longer a Barbarian, Uggo now accompanies his team as a low level Paladin more vulnerable to the encroaching demon threat. This became clear when the heroes of Bingle returned to Terlis bringing Torvalt back to consult with Fesh. The city was under seige by a coordinated demonic attack and the heroes rushed to the Northern wall to find its defenses overrun. Uggo was knocked unconscious during the fight but the team narrowly prevailed using magic to beat back the demon horde. Disguising themselves they set about trying to clear their names for the murder of Audric Lucern. They discovered that an Orcish criminal named Beal was hired to frame them for the crime, and that Vik herself had paid the man orchestrating the murder as a way to stall the heroes and keep Siv sequestered from the Ashen Mage's schemes. James cast Suggestion on Beal compelling him to declare his crimes to the authorities. Fahima, Uggo, Lily and James marched into the front door of Persta Samuel's compound while Siv waited with their magical items outside. But as soon as Beal completed his confession, the spell ended and he became enraged, turning to attack James. Responding to the rukus and recognizing the illegal use of magic in her city, Persta Samuels ordered all of the heroes detained for questioning but Uggo would not be caged. He used his magical belt to tunnel out of the barracks encasing Beal in the stone floor as he escaped. Left alone, Lily, Fahima and James surrendered to Persta Samuels and were locked in magic dampening collars. The guards marched them to a basement prison where they reunited with Jorl, a mechant who had been arrested for merely associating with them. Determined to convince Persta to lift the moratorium they emplored her to recognize the need for magic in combating the demons bombarding her city walls. She agreed to check the validity of Beals confession and provide more humane nourishment for Jorl and the other inmates while they awaited her investigation. Meanwhile, Siv and Uggo returned to the Nightstone Abbey to demand Hermil Fesh and Torvalt "the timid" do something to help free their friends. They accused the Natural Order of remaining passive and allowing innocents to die, and expressed doubt about the capriciousness of the Gods of the Timestream, and the origins of their quest. Siv threatened Fesh until the Scholar agreed to confront Persta Samuels herself and lobby on the heroes behalf. As Fesh left Nightstone for Persta's compound, Torvalt revealed the true nature of the Natural Order. Pointing to his collar he indicated the symbol of the order embroidered there not simply a teardrop among arches the insignia represented a candle in the darkness, a light at the end of the tunnel, and a committment to find knowledge, trust and hope.