Fate, Interrupted was the tenth adventure released for the Covenant of Light Faction Adventure to be run as part of the Xen'drik Expeditions campaign.
Synopsis[]
The PCs are sent to Savya on an erroneous mission, seeking to track down a foe that has nothing to do with the faction's current troubles. On their way out of the Covenant's fortress, they are approached by Korvin, a raptoran scout and a good friend of Lord Corvalis. He has deep sympathy for his friend's troubled mind but is also mindful for the true danger facing the Covenant.
He asks them to do as the Lord of Radiant Hold suggests but also requests that they be mindful of the damage the woman's soothsaying has done to their faction. If they can discover why she would foretell a dark future no one else seems to be predicting, it could be vital to closing the rift that has opened between the Covenant of Light and many of its supporters.
The PCs' first stop is the Wandering Eye, a small storefront in the southern part of the city. Here they meet Lady Savya and her young son Canter. Canter shows them in and takes them to see his mother even if they do not have an appointment (which they do not). Both are very hospitable and in no way deceptive, though Savya's mannerisms are purposefully mysterious because that is part of what her customers wish when they come here. The PCs might mistake her obfuscative attitude for her trying to hide something.
Once they learn that she did not actually perform the readings in question, a secret she will not give up easily, the PCs will be set on the path of tracking down Dal. They find her suspicious, sick and in bed, suffering from an illness that normal medicine is failing to cure. The PCs may discover that she has been poisoned and if they help her, they will find her far more cooperative.
Before they can finish interviewing Dal, Whisper makes her move., Trying to reinforce the illusion of the Nightmare Lord being involved, she summons a spectral undead and sends it into the room with the PCs and Savya, all the while using illusion magic to make the encounter seem otherworldly and unreal. After the battle, astute PCs might discover the body of an old man, looking as if he died of fright in his sleep.
This is just a ruse. Truly observant PCs will be able to find traces of Whisper's involvement, including an unlocked window, a few strands of hair near the bed, a faint scent from a rare and exotic perfume and traces of the scroll used to summon their ghostly assailant. For better or worse, the traces could easily send the PCs straight to the doorstep of one of the Covenant of Light's most questionable supporters, the necromancer called Grave.
From Grave, the PCs learn that one of his side businesses is selling necromantic magic to a very exclusive clientele. Diplomacy or subterfuge will be needed to find out who bought the summoning scroll from him—a rare goods merchant named Taelic'ador. This name in hand, they can head back into the city to determine why a notable caravan master would want such a thing.
Immediately upon entering Taelic'ador's warehouse, the PCs are attacked by his security team. This is because Whisper has been working several angles in the city and one of these is making Taelic'ador believe there are assassins after him. When she discovered the PCs were on her trail, she began planting rough descriptions of the PCs in Taelic's mind. When the PCs arrive, he 'recognizes' them as his would-be killers and orders his people to attack.
If the PCs are heavy handed in this encounter, it will cost them. The only solid lead to Whisper lies with one of the guards. If he is killed, that trail ends here and the PCs will have no good way to track her further. Taelic'ador knows that he has not purchased anything from Grave in several weeks. if the guard in question is alive, she can reveal that while returning from a few drinks alone, she holed up in a small abandoned building and caught a nap that lasted a lot longer than she intended. This happened on the same night as the purchase of the summoning scroll.
The scene with Taelic'ador is not done; moments after the PCs leave, an invisible stalker set on the caravan master begins to strangle him. If the PCs can make a fairly simply Listen check, they can hear the altercation begin and help him. The stalker has a magical item to call in aid if it needs it and when the PCs arrive back in the room, another foe is summoned for them to fight. Once the battle ends, the PCs will either have a living, grateful ally or another death to mourn.
If the PCs do not get the information from the female guard, Whisper's trail ends cold but the original mission is not lost. Savya is willing to discuss the matter with the PCs and offer a retraction of sorts, especially if they suggest it. She is understandably concerned about her reputation and does not want to come out of this looking like a fool. If the PCs can come up with a way for her to undo the damage done by the false prophecy, she will be willing to do her part to help.
If the PCs learn about the abandoned building, the trail leads them to a small tenement that might seem familiar to them. This was where the serving girl that inadvertently set up Corvalis for a murder charge (CVN-6, Things Fall Apart) once lived. She has moved on but Whisper has been using it (and her appearance) to come and go without raising suspicion.
In this small, run down building, the PCs will not find Whisper. She has realized that her cover is blown and that her mission is likely a failure. Rather than fight the PCs and risk defeat at their surprisingly capable hands, she has grabbed her things and fled back to Dar Qat for now. In her haste, however, she has left behind two genuine clues to her identity and origins. With these, the PCs finally have definitive proof of one of their faction's most insidious enemies.
Fate has lately been turned against the Covenant of Light. This scenario offers the PCs a rare chance to interrupt the darkness coming for them all.
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