The Temple Between.pdf

The Temple Between
THE QUESTS
“The Temple Between” offers PCs several opportunities
to earn quest XP. Provided here is a list of
quests, and their rewards, in the adventure.
Minor Quest—Learn Haelyn’s Fate
As requested by the priest Lavinya, the PCs must
investigate the shrine of Erathis, and Grovald, its
new caretaker, to learn what happened to the
kindly old woman who once attended it.
Reward: 400 XP.
Major Quest—Recover the Incunabulum Primeval
This ancient religious text, dating back to the dwarf
rebellion against the giants, exists somewhere
within the depths of the Mountainroot Temple.
Durkik wants it returned before their enemies
can get their hands on it. (It’s currently on the
hag Hethralga, in area M8 of the Mountainroot
Temple.)
Reward: 2,000 XP (and 3,600 gp—the equivalent
of three 9th-level treasure parcels—as promised
by the priests of Moradin).
Major Quest—Prevent the Fall of Overlook
Once his scheme is prematurely cut short, General
Zithiruun decides to take the city with what forces
he already has available. Although Overlook is
hardly a population of weaklings, they do require
the PCs’ aid.
Reward: Up to 2,500 XP, depending on Victory
Point totals; see page 37 (and up to 7,000 gp—the
equivalent of four 10th-level treasure parcels—as
promised by the Council of Elders).
ADVENTURE SYNOPSIS
The PCs have just completed an adventure of obvious
importance (the freeing of Amyria from her imprisonment
in the form of a platinum sword, if they’re
playing through the Adventure Path). It appears as
though nothing of consequence immediately follows—
at least until the next night, when the PCs, through
one of various means, receive hints that all is not well
back in Overlook.
Returning to their home away from home, the
heroes initially find nothing amiss. Slowly, however,
they discover—through the prodding of Lavinya,
priestess of Erathis, if not on their own—that several
of the city’s priests are acting peculiarly and, perhaps
more importantly, Haelyn, keeper of Erathis’s shrine,
has vanished. Following up on these minor discrepancies,
the PCs swiftly find hints leading to a conspiracy
worming its way into the city’s hierarchy. Several of
the conspiracy’s members are possessed (though the
PCs do not learn by whom), while others—including
High Priest Durkik Forgeheart of the Stone Anvil—
have been replaced by doppelganger mercenaries.
The PCs trace the conspirators back to their headquarters
in a large warehouse, where they have the
opportunity to rescue the real Durkik.
The PCs then learn of the Mountainroot Temple
and find out that one of its mystical portals is located
in a hidden sepulcher beneath the Stone Anvil. Using
it, the PCs go to the abandoned ancient temple, where
they must confront both a cadre of fey and a band of
mercenaries employed by General Zithiruun. They
also find, unfortunately, that they cannot leave! Here,
assuming the PCs defeat their various foes, they make
the following discoveries:
✦ The Caretaker of the temple is currently being
tortured, and the pain and madness inflicted upon
him have thrown the temple’s defenses into chaos.
This is why, among other things, nobody can leave.
✦ The fey are seeking an ancient tome of great
power. They were sent by Cachlain, the Stone-
Skinned King, a fomorian noble who—along with
his new advisor, Sovacles—will play an important
role in future installments of the Scales of War.
✦ The mercenaries serve someone called General
Zithiruun, who seeks the temple—and indeed, the
entire region!—for access to the various planar portals.
The conspiracy in Overlook was only the first
step, and the city will soon be facing a full-scale
military invasion!
Finally, once the Caretaker allows them to leave,
the PCs must return to the Council of Elders with a
warning of the forthcoming siege. Here, the PCs can
finally cement their place as heroes to this military
city, as their help proves instrumental in Overlook’s
survival—and as they finally come face to face with
General Zithiruun, and learn of the githyanki involvement
in all that has come before.
December 2008 |
7
DUNGEON 161