Session 3: The Danger Revealed

Having freed the goblin tribe of its slaver problem, the adventurers gathered the magic pillar & collars in a cart that was pulled by Tenser's Floating Disc.  Also in tow was the surviving slaver - lovingly nicknamed "Bob."  After another day's journey, they reached the keep of Astra - home of the Guardians of the Balance.

Kregis greeted the adventurers warmly, but ill ease set in once the tale was revealed to him.  The old dwarf recognized the mysterious amulet as a genuine artifact of the Blackvine Cult.  This conclusion was corroborated by other information found by Guardians who had investigated other necromantic incidences.  He retreated to his study to examine the talisman, as the adventurers resupplied and rested.

The next morning, the adventurers met with Kregis again.  He had encased the Blackvine amulet in a strange glass that seemed to prevent its ill effects.  The Master of Guardians believed that the Cult had returned in a quest to fulfill an ancient dark prophecy, which foretold of the resurrection of King Thorn as a tool of the world's destruction.

Kregis refreshed the party's memories as to the fate that had befallen King Thorn: After helping establish the Balance, the King had been assassinated by Lord Blackvine himself.  Once it had been subjected to preservation spells, the corpse was cursed by Blackvine as a vessel of  a devastating plague.  The body had been separated into many pieces, with the pieces then being distributed to the farthest corners of the Known Lands.

It was coming to light that the Blackvine Cult was seeking to capture the pieces of King Thorn's body in an attempt to raise him anew.  Under the undead Thorn's guidance, the Cult could lay waste to the land in the name of Vecna.

Kregis sent out word to the Guardians in the various parts of the Known Lands, asking them to gather information on the known pieces of the body.  In the meantime, the adventurers were to start attempting to gather the pieces before the Cult could.  The Guardians would then attempt to purify the body parts to at least eliminate the plague curse.

Being the closest known location of a piece of King Thorn (the left leg, to be precise), the party set out for the city of Emberwane - where the descendants of Thorn still ruled.  After being forced to release Bob the Slaver and running afoul of Odric - Captain of the King's guards - the adventurers finally received a royal audience.  They were met with hostility by King Braxos IV, however, as he intended to set the leg on display at the Shrine of Kings.  He seemed unduly obsessed with bringing commerce to Emberwane as a way of building a lasting legacy.

After meeting with Braxos' resistance, the party was summoned by Queen Nihila to her private chamber.  There she revealed that she did not approve of her husband's ideas, instead siding with the Guardians.  She advocated stealing the leg from the caravan which was to take it to the Shrine of Kings the next day.

The Queen's word taken under advisement, the adventurers were approached by Prince Ketar - the King's scheming brother.  He attempted to persuade the group to assassinate Braxos in exchange for the leg, but he later agreed to assist them in robbing the Palace vault, switching the leg for a substitute.  In exchange, the Prince was guaranteed that the Guardians would not interfere if he attempted a coup.

The adventurer's provided a decent amount of coin to the Prince with which to pay a chambermaid to steal the King's key to the vault.  After that, they ventured to the Emberwane graveyard to obtain a "freshly dead" leg from the local gravediggers.  This accomplished, they awaited the Prince's contact in the Guilded Goblin Tavern.

On the return to the Palace from the Guilded Goblin, the group fended off a robbery attempt by some Kenku thieves.  Rather than slaying or arresting the would-be bandits, the party hired them as lookouts.

The switch went better than expected, with only one close call.  The legs were switched, with Erik able to detect the powerful arcane enchantments upon the ancient appendage.

After escaping the Palace and paying their Kenku lookouts, the party retired to the Wolf and Fox Inn to spend their night in peace.  They departed the next morning, meeting no unusual circumstances on the return to Astra.

Once arriving in Astra, however, the adventurers found Kregis mounting a veritable war band.  The old dwarf revealed that the caravan carrying the (false) leg had been ambushed by (presumably) Cult members, with no survivors.  The Guardians had been preparing to seek the bodies of the party.

The left leg of King Thorn was placed in the deepest vaults of Astra, under powerful spells that prevented access without a specific password.  Torwald and the Guardians would seek to purify the leg as the adventurers continued their mission.

Resupplied and relieved by their narrow escape, the party set out for the city of Arrowlein - a three day journey.  On the first night, they found themselves ambushed by some rather unintelligent bandits.  The two surviving bandits admitted that they had been hired in Emberwane by a red-skinned Dragonborn.  They had been told to "hurt or preferably kill" a group consisting of "a fairy, a living statue, a dragon, and a goliath."

As we ended the session, the party was reaching the gates of Arrowlein, with the two bandits in tow - bound and gagged.