Greater the Fall was the eleventh adventure released for the Covenant of Light Faction Adventure to be run as part of the Xen'drik Expeditions campaign.
Synopsis[]
The adventure begins with the PCs seeing a trio of raptoran youths waiting for a magical lift beneath the shadow of the Aerie, the raptoran tribal skyship high above Radiant Hold. While this is a common enough sight since young raptorans cannot truly fly yet, several signs are present to let the PCs know that something is not right about this group.
Following the three 'raptorans' using a second lift, the PCs arrive to find the guards around the entrance hold of the Aerie dead and bloody tracks leading deeper into the vessel. What follows is a hunt through the ship to find the traitorous birdmen, a hunt that ends with a single harpy (the real identity of the killers) getting caught and defeated after a heated battle. The harpy, slain or at risk of being captured, tries to will the necklace it wears to teleport it to safety as she was told it would.
That was a lie, of course, and instead the necklace detonates along with all the others aboard the Aerie. Explosions rock the ship but, because the PCs intercepted the one harpy before all of them could get into position to take the ship, the blasts do not immediately cripple the vessel and send it plunging down in a ball of burning wood and steel.
The PCs have a chance to either evacuate (the safer route, though doomed to failure) or try and regain some control over the crashing ship. The Aerie is going down either way but if they stay to be heroes, the PCs can save a lot of lives. With the Aerie on the ground, either destroying half the main keep of Radiant Hold or just breaching the outer wall, Seraphen's troops attack!
The PCs miss most of this battle, having been struck unconscious by the impact of the Aerie. When they awaken and manage to pull themselves from the wrecked vessel, they can participate in a very important rear guard action, intercepting Cryheart's vile commander and a pair of magical bombs that would have completely changed the tide of the siege. In this way, they are instrumental in saving Radiant Hold and bringing an end to Seraphen's dark army.
As for Seraphen himself, the premature detonation of the necklaces caused his personal plan to go awry. He was not expected the couatl to appear as a reaction to the deaths of the raptorans aboard the Aerie. Unprepared, he failed to ambush Shyyr-dahna efficiently and although he did deal her a terrible wound, she was able to cry for help before he could silence her.
Responding to the distress call with a retinue of elite guard, Xandrin arrived in time to save Shyyr-dahna from a killing stroke and engaged Seraphen in battle. The duel raged for some time with Seraphen clearly better but drained from his fight with the couatl. Defeated and brought low, the blackguard was spared because Xandrin could not bring himself to kill his best friend, no matter how far the man had fallen. Cryheart was brought back to Radiant Hold in chains and imprisoned until the faction's Lord could decide what to do with him.
When the PCs see Xandrin next, he has had a long conversation with the sorely wounded couatl and needs their aid once more. Radiant Hold is in terrible peril and needs him here more than ever but something just as important must be done. He bids them to speak with Shyyr-dahna and do as she asks. He is very adamant that no matter what hse asks, they sweat upon their honor as members of the Covenant that they will do it.
Once he has their oath, he sends them to a tent pitched on the dais of the Starried Shard, a stone platform in the middle of the Hold where a massive golden dragonshard hovers and glimmers with dozens of flashing inner lights. Inside the tent, the couatl is being tended by acolytes of the faction, doing all they can to heal her grievous injuries. She sends them out with a gentle hiss, wishing to speak with the PCs alone.
Her first request is a straightforward one. She knows what darkness has befallen Seraphen Cryheart and she thinks she may be able to restore him to the Light. If they can discover from him the location of the ruins where he encountered the "thing that turned him", she can provide them with a way of ending its evil and giving Seraphen a chance at redemption. "This will only be the first step, but it must be done. The second will be harder," she tells them.
Though the PCs may assume getting Seraphen to talk will be difficult, it is surprisingly easy to obtain the ruins' location from him. With no loyalty to the rajah and a suspicion that the rakhsasa's death will provide him with even greater power, he happily (perhaps even eerily) gives them what they ask.
Armed with this knowledge and Shyyr-dahna's gifts (rainbow feathers that will allow the PCs' weapons and spells to ham the rajah), the PCs are sent into the jungle via a strange ground-traveling contraption called a tumbler. One of the Covenant's greatest secrets, the tumbler and its quirky gnome pilot gets them hundreds of miles into the jungle interior very swiftly and (for once) without incident.
There, the PCs face a dangerous green obstacle before coming face to face with the black-furred rajah himself. Always one to parley and charm, he tries to convince them to ally with him and offers them great power in exchange. Assuming they rebuff his offer, battle commences. Killing the rajah is a great victory for Good, a valiant act that is instantly rewarded by the divine powers supporting the Covenant from afar. The rajah's spiritual hold is broken on Seraphen, freeing him from the madness.
Unfortunately, this does nothing to "free" him from the evil inside his corrupted soul. Lucid and focused in a way he never could be before, Seraphen begins to exact his escape even as the PCs are racing back to Radiant Hold to meet once more with Shyyr-dahna.
It is here that the PCs are faced with a horrible choice. Shyyr-dahna reveals to them that Cryheart is not yet cured of his raskhasa corruption. Because he never willingly became evil, there is a chance his soul can be saved but it will require a great sacrifice. The PCs must be the instrument but she is to be the vessel. To save Seraphen, they must purge the rakshasa taint in his soul by giving him a draught of her heart's blood. Only her power can combat the foul darkness of a rajah's evil.
Though the PCs will undoubtedly be against the idea of sacrificing a couatl, they are under oath to do as she asks. She will tell them that she is alraedy dying and nothing can be done to save her in any case. "Most of my people have already left this world. It is long since past time for me to rejoin them."
What the PCs do is up to them but if they do as she asks, they will also be filled with her power as her dying gift to them. "Go now," her spirit commands as it fades away, "go and save him if you can. Remember that he is not himself. You may have to fight him and destory what he is if you are to reclaim what he once was."
Shyyr-dahna's words are prophetic. Seraphen has killed his guards, recovered his unholy sword and made his way into the Master's tower to confront his old friend one last time. Their final battle had raged all across Xandrin's suite, ending in the foyer as the PCs arrive. The outcome of this battle is entirely up to you as the DM; you get to have a direct hand in determining the future of the Covenant of Light.
One way or another, the PCs must confront Seraphen Cryheart and defeat him in battle. They are fully healed, empowered by Shyyr-dahna's last blessing and pitted against a foe of truly epic power. Only by rendering him unconscious or killing him can they fulfil the couatl's wish and feed him her blood. The holy power of that libation is enough to drive the shard of the rajah's soul out of Cryheart, allowing him to seek his own redemption free of its evil.
The greater the fall, the more one grows by getting back up...
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