The story began as most do - in a tavern, with a group of rowdy adventurers each looking to adventuring as a way of fulfilling their own interests. Alantin, a changeling warlock; Erdan, a half-elf sorcerer; Turok, a dragonborn cleric; Quatre, a human druid; and Wergild, a gnoll fighter. These heroes and their successors set in motion the events that would bring down an entire corrupt religious order. But such events always have humble beginnings, and this is no different.
The Siege of Ebelard
The party came together in the city of Ebelard, and were given their first job by the Master Guardsman of the city, Gerrit. They were to recover an important missive stolen by a bizarre thief known as Dinkus the Rat Lord, a man who lived in the city sewers. The party headed down, fighting through his rats & traps, eventually slaying Dinkus and recovering the missive. They returned it to Gerrit, who dismissed a scout informing him of a number of orcish movements in the area in order to reward them and provide them with a free night's stay at a local inn. They awoke to find that Ebelard had come under siege - orcs from the Untamed Wilds to the south had attacked the city, and the innkeeper had fled without waking them. They snuck through the city and to the keep at the advisement of a Granwalder harrier rider, seeing firsthand the brutality of the orcs and the threat posed by their sheer numbers. They managed to make their way into Ebelard Keep, sneaking in through the cellar. They found it to be infested with giant spiders led by a pair of anthropomorphic spiders known as ettercaps - they defeated these creatures and recovered a number of keys from the cellar which would be helpful later.
Inside the keep proper, the party snuck about, avoiding patrols as well as they could - they witnessed the city steward Eldric's execution at the hands of an imposing ashen orc (a breed of orc from the far western regions which is black-skinned and larger than the typical "greenskin" orcs) by the name of Tem'jai, who asked a number of questions regarding the location of the Sunderer. They also learned what was in Gerrit's missive - a message to a major religious figure providing evidence of a plot to assassinate Granwald's king. Within the keep they found a secret passage - but not before they were engaged by one of Tem'jai's ashen orc subordinates, Sergeant Varae'hok. Though they bested Varae'hok, they were given their first look at the ferocity of the ashen orcs through this encounter.
The King's Assassination
The party escaped through the secret passage and joined a caravan of refugees heading for Granwald, the seat of the realm. On their journey they discovered the same innkeeper, Karsten, whose inn they'd stayed at; initially hostile toward him for supposedly abandoning him, they discovered that he was, in truth, the Crown Prince of Granwald, Adalbert the Tenth. They learned of the Royal Decree of Separation, a policy which hid the members of the royal family aside from the king as commoners, a law devised as a means of protecting the king's immediate family from treachery and public notice. They were also joined by a new member - the drow assassin Azrael, a rebellious member of the Underwood Assassins' Guild. The trip was not without hazard, however, as the caravan came under attack by a legion of orcs. After dealing with this, the party took off for Granwald to try and prevent the assassination. They arrived too late, however, and watched as Tem'jai killed the king while his servant Trista the Seer kept them from interfering. Tem'jai and Trista attempted to escape on the black dragon Nachtmarok, and were mostly successful, however a Pinning Bolt from Erdan plunged them into the lake below.
With the king assassinated, the party would then meet the Vaterlord of the Church of Letira, de facto master of all religious worship of Letira in Granwald - a man by the name of Hagan Friedrich. His Paladin Lords, Albrecht and Gideon, would accompany him. Friedrich and Gideon would be mistrustful of the party - Albrecht would be more trusting.
Odd Jobs and Sidequests
With no course of action to follow for the time being, the party were set on their own, and undertook a number of personal tasks & odd jobs in Granwald. They retrieved a sextet of harrier (a somewhat smaller species of roc) eggs for the city's harrier roost, and were promised in return personal harriers to ride. They were tasked by Karsten to deal with a trio of bounty hunters who had been set upon him by the major religious figure written to in Gerrit's note. Quatre, having discovered that his former home in the Fey's Vale had been taken over by shifters, returned and drove them out. Finally, Erdan was presented with an opportunity to join the Academy of Arcanistry if he recovered a special gem - this turned out to be a trap set up by the Underwood Assassins' Guild to capture sorcerers for some devious purpose. Erdan recovered a book from the sorcerer hunter, Mazerant, written by an ancient sorceress by the name of Malowren the Mysterious. This book would prove important later - but after completing these side jobs, the party found themselves summoned by Obergeneral Wulfhelm, the leader of Granwald's military forces, and Karsten.
The Sunderer & The "Sundered" Party
Wulfhelm and Karsten informed the party that they believed they had figured out what Tem'jai was speaking of when he mentioned the Sunderer. As evidence they provided the following poem, the Legend of the Guardians:
Lance of Light shattered, Hand of Darkness felled,
The shadowed hordes, once legion, lay quelled.
In desert's womb, hidden from darkest sight,
The end sleeps in earth's cradle and fire's light.
Power Gods feared touching mortal hands,
So Six took their vigil, which immemorial stands.
Shadow in his tower, hidden in cavernous deeps,
Water under fathoms, where green into desert seeps.
Air in gardens great, high above the land,
Fire by curved blade, aiding blacksmith's hand.
Light on high, toward sweltering sun's love,
Earth in its void, with jagged lands far above.
When black hosts rise again, leaving light blind,
There are six doors to open, and six keys to find.
They went on to explain that they believe the Sunderer is the "end" hidden in the poem, and that Tem'jai took from the king of Granwald one of two keys permitting entrance to the Tomb of the Ascended, an ancient place in Falkon Forest where the location of the Sunderer is hidden. The party was told to head to Donnel and find Granwald's queen, who held the other key, and did so.
Along the way, they found one of Turok's scouting party from the dragonborn lands to the west, seriously injured and near death. They saved him, and discovered that the rest of the party had been taken by Turok's father, Vultorok, to a location called the Bone Hills for some sort of evil ritual. Turok agreed to put a stop to this, and the party headed to the Bone Hills. After an encounter with some local scavengers, they ran into a pair of boneshard skeletons, and they lost Turok and Wergild in battle. After resurrecting Turok and Wergild, the party faced Vultorok in combat - and were again struck down, this time losing all but Alantin and Azrael. The two disappeared, leaving their task unfinished, but providing what information they could to Wulfhelm.
The New Group
With Erdan, Quatre, Turok, Wergild, Alantin and Azrael all gone, Wulfhelm and Karsten recruited a new group of adventurers: the human artificer Alek, the human paladin Thomnall, the human ardent Cassandra, the elf ranger Gurahl, and the changeling wizard Hars. This new party's first task was to recover what they could from the bodies of the slain party, and with some difficulty they managed to slay Vultorok. Here Cassandra experienced a vision leading her to believe that it was her task to redeem the black dragon Nachtmarok. Having recovered what they could, this new group headed to Donnel and began their search for the queen, who disguised herself as a woman named Cordelia.
After some poking around, the party managed to locate Cordelia - or rather Madame Cordelia, the proprietor of a bordello known as the Meat Market. Cordelia agreed to provide them with the key, but asked them to retrieve it for themselves, for it had been taken. One of Cordelia's girls, Casima, had been kidnapped, and the party had to rescue her. She had been taken prisoner by the bounty hunters Tanaxus, a tiefling; and Din, a changeling who assumed Casima's form to dupe the party. The pair seemed to take a particular interest in Gurahl, and after the battle they found out why - a chain from Din's wrist wrapped itself around Gurahl's, and Gurahl discovered that he had been "chosen" by Shanis, the Betrayer God of Shadow, to locate a certain artifact. Shanis promised Gurahl great power, and Gurahl accepted. The party also saved Casima, and having recovered the necklace they needed, they headed for Falkon Forest.
The Tomb of the Ascended
With no real idea where to find the tomb, the party set out for Falkonheim - the closer they came to the city, the more dangerous the wilds got. Eventually they found themselves pursued by monstrous undead, and they were chased into a forgotten tower. Inside they discovered that they were in some sort of "holy place" for evil cults, the aptly-named Tower of Sacrifice. The party recovered a number of religious and arcane texts there, and fought their way to the top of the tower. There they found an ancient mage, Halicarnaj, attempting to revive himself as an unholy amalgamation of a lich and a vampire. They also found Fithers, an evil man from Hars' past who had killed Hars' mentor. They managed to slay Fithers, but the ritual went off as planned - fortunately for the party, the sun rose, and Halicarnaj was destroyed.
After clearing the tower, they went to Falkonheim only to find the city sealed to travelers - unable to find a way in, they set about trying to find the tomb themselves. After many days they finally located it, just as Tem'jai and Trista were departing. They entered the tomb, and found before them a puzzle. After days of deliberation, they discovered that the foyer of the tomb worked like a clock of sorts, opening ways further into the tomb only at specific times, and only when specific torches on the wall were lit. They faced many challenges in the tomb - a set of statues which only allowed the party to pass after they successfully answered a riddle; a tomb full of skeletal guardians; a massive crusher construct; a deadly trap of high winds & pendulum blades; a room full of slimes and gelatinous cubes; and a room that had been broken into by a number of hobgoblins, led by a pair of barghests (lycanthrope hobgoblins). The hobgoblins proved the biggest threat, temporarily capturing the party before being slain by the pendulum blade traps.
From each challenge, they recovered a colored gem corresponding with the "element" of the challenge they'd faced. At the entrance to the final chamber of the tomb, they had to arrange the gems in the proper order to gain access. Inside they found three sarcophagi - one sealed with chains, one with a suit of ornate armor & a beautiful eladrin ancestor known as a Fey, and one which had been disturbed. The suit or armor and the Fey turned out to be Lanjeram and Bethana, a legendary couple from the same time as the battle spoken of in the Legend of the Guardians - Lanjeram is the "Lance of Light" referred to in the poem. Before the party could examine the chamber any further, they were interrupted by Vaterlord Friedrich and his forces. Friedrich revealed he had secured the help of Tem'jai to facilitate his coup d'etat of the kingdom. In exchange, he agreed to recover the Great Cipher for Tem'jai - the lock holding the chains on the first sarcophagus. He took it from the party, and fled as the furious wraith inside was set free. Simultaneously, ancient constructs emerged from the strange light-producing water in the chamber to attack, guardians who had long since forgotten their charge. Most of his men were killed, and the party faced a difficult battle, but they triumphed in the end. However their triumph was tempered by the knowledge that Tem'jai had recovered the Cipher, and with it likely the key to finding the Sunderer.
Additionally, the party had been told by Friedrich that his paladin army had attacked Granwald. They made all haste to the capital, only to find that the attack had been largely repelled, and the paladins were making their last stand at the Basilica of the Holy Lance. The party penetrated their defenses and found a portal in the basement. Seeing no other course, they pushed ahead.
The Realm of Shadows
Beyond the portal, the party found themselves in an otherworldly realm, standing inverted upon the ceiling of a massive cavern, a fire-dotted pit below them. A tower rose before them. They discovered that they stood before the Teufel Tower, a transitory structure for souls heading toward the Pit Infernal, the destruction of all souls. They ascended the tower, which strangely treated its uppermost tier as an entrance. Inside they found the blackscale lizardfolk - the Shadow variety of the elemental realm's primary servitors. They also discovered a set of lanterns - blue, red, green, yellow and purple. Each lantern imposed an emotion on its holder - blue imposed piety and hope, red imposed a berserker rage, green imposed a willful recklessness, yellow imposed fear and cowardice, and purple imposed a debilitating infatuation on a member of the opposite sex.
Hars claimed the blue lantern, Cassandra claimed the red lantern, Thomnall claimed the green lantern, Alek claimed the yellow lantern and Gurahl claimed the purple lantern. The party adapted to the effects of their lanterns and fought through the tower, eventually trading the lanterns in for magical everlight lanterns. After disposing of the lanterns, they faced a black pudding - a vile ooze which created small simulacra of itself upon being struck. They defeated the beast, then navigated a maze through which they were chased by ethereal displacer beasts. After they cleared the maze, they discovered the final chamber - and the first portal, the Portal of Shadow.
There they saw Tem'jai arguing with Friedrich - Friedrich had apparently been counting on Tem'jai's orcish hordes to distract the Granwalder armies. Upon noticing they had company, Tem'jai headed to the portal and used the Great Cipher to attune the Shadow leyline to the portal, opening it - out came the Dark Imp, the Shadow Guardian. Tem'jai then passed through the portal, leaving the party to fight the Dark Imp. They managed to kill it, and were then immediately pitted against Friedrich and his Paladin Lords - Albrecht, however, had had enough, and turned on Friedrich, helping the party fight him by occupying Gideon. The battle ended with Friedrich and Gideon dead - and a surprise, as Erdan and Turok were returned to life by the opening of the portal with their souls in close proximity.
Returning to Granwald, the party explained what had happened to Friedrich and Tem'jai - Karsten and Wulfhelm asked them to stay for Karsten's coronation, and they accepted. After the festivities, the party were sent off with a number of rewards, most notably horses. Additionally, Alantin returned to the party to see his task to the end; Gurahl, having served Granwald's interests, retired from the group - but not before the chain passed from his wrist to Alantin's in the night. Alek and Cassandra retired as well - Alek was called back by Zesbalam's Imperial Alchemy Society, and Cassandra by her order of psychics, the Order of the Beating Heart. The departures complete, Alantin, Erdan, Hars, Thomnall and Turok headed into Zesbalam to locate the rest of the Guardians and stop the destabilization of the portals.
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