Price of Virtue was the sixth 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 standing outside the primary western buttress of Radiant Hold, gazing upon the ragged hole battered through it from the inside. A very tired looking raptoran commander explains the situations to the PCs, asking that they leave the defense and clean up of Radiant Hold to others while they do what only heroes of their caliber can—hunt down the rampaging beast and return it as quickly as possible. The Covenant would prefer the beast alive but dead will suffice for the purpose of closing the ever-expanding rift to Kythri.
To make this daunting task a little easier, the raptoran gives the PCs a pair of small quartz crystal spheres. These beads of force should be effective in containing the creature even if, or more likely when, it becomes violent. The PCs are cautioned to remember that a valuable ally to the cause of Good is somehow trapped inside the chaotic marauder. If they can, the PCs are urged to subdue.
Once the PCs are at the edge of the jungle treeline, they are approached by another raptoran. This avian humanoid asks for them to remain calm and talk with it peacefully for a moment. Shifting to his true form, Shellok admits to being the one responsible for violating the ritual. He pleads ignorance as to the violent results of his interference and tell them he feels terrible about his involvement in so much carnage. Shellok is not a violent man and while he may have caused a huge mess, he is honest in his desire to help fix what he caused.
He tells the PCs, assuming they agree to hear him out, exactly what happened and that he thinks the quesar Al'ar can be saved. He saw the chaos beast forming up close, after all, and he believes that somewhere inside it, the chaos diamond still exists. If it can be removed from the creature, it is possible in his opinion that the quesar will be freed from its fleshy prison.
Shellok has something else to trade for his freedom from both the guilt of his actions and, hopefully, retaliation by the Covenant of Light. His payment for this deed came in two parts. The first was his escape from the Stormreach jail. The second is forthcoming; he is supposed to meet with his employers to discuss "working for their side". He wants nothing to do with the people who put him up to this but thinks the PCs might want a chance to catch the true cause of Al'ar's corruption.
Regardless of the PCs decision, there is a monster to catch. Following the trail is not particularly difficult; it will not take a ranger to track the wake of devastation left behind by the rampaging chaos beast. Their path will take them through a previously unexplored arc of the jungle northeast of Radiant Hold. Unfortunately for the PCs, while the green depths may be unexplored, they are far from uninhabited.
The first thing the PCs come across is a small dark elven watching post, mostly torn apart by the chaos beast as it came through the area. The chaos beast, still vaguely guided by the mind of the quesar, saw the dark elves as a threat and attacked them before losing control to its madness and moving onward. The dark elves are not at all pleased to see Covenant of Light Scions "invade" their post and will likely attack the PCs unless calmer heads and diplomacy can diffuse the situation.
Before the PCs can catch the chaos beast, they will have to deal with the old-growth jungle itself and one other challenge—the ruins that the chaos beast has come across are hostile to both it and them. The beast is under attack when the PCs arrive; five aranea are locked in battle with the chaotic monstrosity. A surprise assault could take them all out but such a tactic might clash (and rightly so) with the morals of most Covenant of Light PCs.
Diplomacy and an alliance against the chaos beast might also work; the aranea are not evil and if they are aided, they will not attack the PCs once the chaos beast is defeated. In fact, the spells and webs of the aranea can be of great use against the aberration, especially if the PCs want to try and remove the chaos diamond within it.
Once the chaos beast is dealt with, one way or another, the PCs are left with the task of getting it back to Radiant Hold. If it is in a sphere of force energy from one of the beads of force, they can literally roll it back home. If not, they may have to find a more creative solution but opportunities exists for them to succeed. The chaos beast's return will be a great relief to the forces around the Kythri rift; sending it back through will negate the energies holding the portal open and seal it for good.
This ends the adventure unless the PCs were willing to talk with Shellok earlier. He is true to his word and will lead them to his meeting place in Stormreach. There, they can capture a recruiter for the Cabal of Shadows, quite a nice prize for their leaders in the Covenant. The information this evil enchanter can provide to the Covenant of Light will be of great use in the dangerous days to come. Even if the PCs are forced to kill the enchanter rather than capture him, it is still a victory for the Light.
Working with the Covenant favorably also has a positive impact on Shellok, assuming the PCs are fair and reasonable to the reticent shapechanger. If they allow it, the changeling accompanies them back to Radiant Hold and asks to join the faction out of a desire to make amends for what he did to the summoning ritual. His joining will not be without its difficulties in the future but it does show that some good can come from any situation.
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