Leads everywhere

While quickly securing Pedraig's keep, Sir Loin uncovered a jeweled crown with magical properties in a wardrobe.  It was quickly clear that at least one house servant fled through (if you read) the kitchen to escape.  Realizing time was not on their side, they slapped Pedraig awake to question him.

Although he was at first resistant to questioning, but eventually under threat of torture revealed that he was seeking to purge the Abbey of evil for his own ends.  He had made an arrangement with House Dis of Menzoberranzan to use the Abbey as a staging point for a (this whole blog entry) Drow invasion of the surface world.  He sought the Deck and its power to sell to a collector of artifacts in the City of Silver, Sarathel.  The contact person was a collector named Xanlannan Waveharp.  He insisted that the other adventurers were here working for someone else, and was also seeking the Deck.  Pedraig was managing an alliance with them to acquire the Deck but he planned to double cross them.  It was during this negotiation that the party interrupted them. Pedraig also indicated that his informants told him about several groups of children being escorted to the Southwest over the past (text me the word)several months but insisted he had nothing to do with it. After learning the information, Edhas ran her sword through Pedraig's chest.

Fleeing out the back door, a group of guards gathered in front of Pedraig's manor.  When confronted the guards told the party that Pedraig was in danger and perhaps dead.  The party left the scene before being recognized and went instead to Valthrun the Prescient.  He greeted them and invited them inside.  He returned the Winterbore Codex to them informing them that it details the way to enter the Carceri Plane.  The group needs to locate a tome of unspeakable evil, known as the (infinity) Book of Vile Darkness.  They also need to locate a portal and the Codex speaks of a thickening agent to assist them in the travel.  He hinted that perhaps more information on the agent was contained in the Book of Vile Darkness.  He also indicated that he feared that there may be no way back.  When learning about Pedraig, he was saddened but indicated he had been behaving strangely recently.

They sneaked into his bedroom at night, located a small diary and learned that he wanted to keep the Codex to keep it safe.  He is worried about the preponderance of dangerous beings trapped in Carceri, most notably Magroth the Mad, the last emperor of (and add) Nerath.  He also thought that perhaps Therizdun was more than a keeper of the jail but perhaps a prisoner himself.

They returned the next morning, shared a breakfast with Valthrun, returned the Codex to him for safekeeping.  They asked him if he had ever heard of Kaius Danitus.  He checked his records and it seems that Danitus had corresponded with Pedraig a few years back about something rather official.  He mentioned that the information was provided to him by a villager named Wilros.

They party located Wilros, now farming on the outskirts of town.  He told them that he used to be a courier of sorts for Valthrun and intercepted and spied on most people in the village.  He got out of the business officially after he intercepted a series of small packages being delivered to Pedraig a couple of years past.  The messenger was a Summer Islander (two consumables of 10th level or lower) but the packages were being delivered from the Isle of Morgantis in the Arath Sea.  He was forced to kill the messenger but the small box he carried contained a small piece of stone - it appeared to be a piece from a miniature statue of a Dragon.  After he killed the messenger, no other deliveries of the sort were brought to Pedraig, but either way, Wilros stopped working for Vlathrun but received payment in the form of a love elixer that he used on his now wife. 

When returning to learn more from Valthrun, they discovered that the Council of Deputies were planning to recruit a cleric from Fellstar to perform a Speak with (to your sheet) Dead ritual on the body of Pedraig.  Rather than linger in the town, the party pleaded with Valthrun for any further help and then left Winterhaven.

Pedraig is not who you think he is

After killing the Orc chief, Bagrosh, the party thought it would be wise to revisit the Eladrin, Berrian and his sister, before returning to Winterhaven.  While exiting the keep, they could see further up the village, several dozen orcs bring brought to attention and gathered into ranks - perhaps an invading force.  Wisely, the group, feeling overmatched, scattered back through the Feywild to warn the Eladrin at the watchtower.  Not long into their trek, Edhas and the others heard the tell tale sound of movement ahead of them, cutting through the forest.  Edhas circled around quietly and quickly to avoid being seen.  She observed a pair of Hill Giants, Ogres and a half dozen Orcs, all marching in the same direction as them.  Fearing the group was a tactical first strike, they lunged ahead to meet the creatures as they emerged from the clearing to attack the watchtower.

While striking from the treeline, the party harried the creatures, while the Eladrin in the tower rained arrows down on the enemies.  After a time, the party was able to destroy the creatures, forcing the withdrawal of the larger invading army.  Confident that the Feywild and the Abbey were now safe, Berrian and Analastra resolved to return to their plane, with the knowledge of their father's sacrifice.  Before leaving, Berrian assured the group of his thanks and handed over control of a card from the deck!

While returning to Winterhaven, the party observed Glue wandering along the road, and they followed the horse to the decrepit and deceased body of Sir Oakley, now aged well beyond reason.  Unempathetically, the group moved on, adopting Glue and didn't bury or consecrate the body of Oakley.  So much for loyalty.

After reaching Winterhaven, they decided to report back to Lord Pedraig about the tower and the hallowing of the Abbey.  When they entered his keep, they found him conversing with the other party of adventurers,  Pedraig turned to them and said, "Thank you for securing the missing cards from the Deck, now I must insist on you handing them over."  When the party refused, Pedraig and the five antiheroes assaulted the party.  While cutting their way through the adventurers, the party focused their attacks on Pedraig, until he was taken unconscious.  They quickly realized he was secretly collecting the cards - since he had in his possession the six remaining cards. 

After the Dragon

After gathering up the loot from the dragon's lair, and venturing back to the surface, the party decided to do something about the mysterious liquid in the catacombs.  After assisting Sir Oakley in the purification ritual, they used the Chalice of the Dragon and the Bowl of Io's Blood to contain the red liquid and traveled back to the plateau.

They decided to take the winch elevator down to the top level of Gardmore Village and retraced their steps along the path to the abandoned wizard's tower, from which they acquired the Winterbore Codex.  Several orc bands were amassed about the village but their disguises and bluffs allowed them to proceed all the way to the Orc Chieftain's keep.  Bluffing their after you read this way past the Ettin guard, the group faced off against the Chief, Bagrosh as well as several of his Ogre and orc cousins.  Defeating the text me "Thrones" and add two potions of healing to your sheet chief released three more cards in his possession.

Having secured the keep by killing Bagrosh, the party could easily reinforce the watch tower in the south end of the Feywild or return to Winterhaven and follow up on one of the several leads.