Amethyst Guard

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The Amethyst Guard was a group of adventurers in Penator.

Membership

Former Members

History

The Sunless Citadel

In the winter of 2971, a band of adventurers set out from the village of Oakhurst for the ruins of the Sunless Citadel in Penator. They never returned. A wealthy family member of two of their number, a brother and sister, subsequently hired a second band of adventurers to investigate: Callisto Xanthos, a human fighter; Gilia, a gnome wizard; Lizard, a lizardfolk rogue; Vorelyth Sunscale, a dragonborn sorcerer; and Winnea Revellis, a human ranger. The five had met on the road from Eastport, and were helping Winnea search for her kidnapped fiancé, Sigurd Weissritter.

The villagers told them that there was a tribe of goblins living in the Sunless Citadel. Every year, the goblins would come to Oakhurst to sell a single fruit, an apple of perfect hue that could cure any ailment when eaten. Though expensive, the villagers would find a way to purchase it. Though they had tried planting the seeds, the resulting sapling was a twiggy mass of twisted vines that, inevitably, disappeared shortly after reaching about two feet in height. They suspected the goblins of stealing them to maintain their monopoly, but had never caught them.

The adventurers hiked to the citadel, which was buried in a ravine in the Ashen Plain. Within they found not goblins, but a tribe of kobolds and their queen, Yusdrayl. Parlaying with the kobolds, they learned that it was once home to worshipers who venerated a red dragon named Ashardalon. The goblins, who dwelt in another part of the citadel. The adventurers followed her directions to the goblins, from whom they rescued a gnomish cleric named Erky Timbers who had been captured by goblin bandits while traveling. He explained that the goblins were servants of a wizard named Belak, who used the goblins to tend to something called the Gulthias Tree, on which the enchanted fruits grew. While one fruit grew in midsummer and could cure any ailment, a pale fruit grew in midwinter and was deadly poison. Though he didn't know why the tree was important, or why the goblins sold the fruit in Oakhurst, he did know that the previous group of adventurers had been captured a month earlier and sent to Belak in the lower levels of the citadel. Together with Erky they continued their exploration, though nearly perished after surprising a white dragon wyrmling named Calcryx that had escaped from the kobolds and turned a chamber of the citadel into its lair. Eventually, they found the goblins' chieftain, who kept a pot with a twiggy mass of twisted vines growing from it. When combat inevitably broke out, the plant turned out to be a living being when it climbed out of its pot and attacked them alongside the chief.

In the chieftain's throne room was a large well, lined with thick vines. Climbing down into it, they found the chamber floors to be covered with a layer of earth and mulch, from which still more of the twiggy plant creatures attacked. While exploring, they found one chamber in which the goblins had caged a gorilla. There seemed to be a hint of recognition in its eyes when it saw Winnea, and when she found a familiar signet ring, they realized that the gorilla was in fact her fiancé, Sigurd, somehow transformed into a beast. Taking Sigurd with them, they continued until they found a large underground grove, at the center of which was an evil-looking tree, its blackened branches twisting upward as though it were a skeletal hand reaching out of the ground. There they found both Belak and the two adventurers they sought, seemingly guarding the wizard. Belak explained that long ago, someone had staked a vampire here, and the stake had taken root, growing into the Gulthias Tree. He commanded the goblins to disperse the fruit's seeds on the surface, where they would grow into twig blights and therefore spread the "children of Gulthias." The adventurers at his side had been "accepted" by the tree, and now obeyed his commands. His explanation given, Belak attempted to subdue the adventurers but was slain in the ensuing battle. When Vorelyth set the tree on fire, it blazed quickly and, as it crumbled to ash, Belak's two adventurers died with it. The band collected their signet rings, as requested, and returned them to their family in Oakhurst. Though they had largely succeeded in their quest, they were somewhat concerned by the question of how many twig blights had been unleashed upon the world by the goblins.

The Forge of Fury

A few weeks later, the adventurers found themselves in the town of Blasingdell. There, a noble named Baron Gustav Althon hired them to search the dwarven ruins to the north for a legendary cache of weapons forged by the dwarven smith Durgeddin. Before setting out, they were warned that the ruins had been claimed by a band of orcs. After carefully watching the guards, they managed to ambush them and prevent an alarm from being raised, then slipped inside and descended to the caverns below. There they encountered a tribe of troglodytes, but only after slaying them did they discover they were only protecting their young. The group decided to take the troglodyte children with them, as they could not survive on their own, though they were unnerved by Winnea's disdainful treatment of them. At the back of the caverns, where an underground river had channeled out a series of narrow passages, they found an old, abandoned dwarven storeroom. The path ahead was blocked by a dangerous roper, but rather than find another way around Winnea distracted it by feeding it the young troglodytes, to the horror of her companions. Beyond the storeroom they found a path up to the dwarven foundry, which had been claimed by duergar. Though a fight initially broke out, they were eventually able to negotiate a truce, and the duergar warned them that the upper hallways were infested with undead, while the lower led to the chasm below, now the lair of a black dragon named Nightscale.

After clearing out the undead, the party descended into the watery caverns below. Gilia fell into the rushing water and was nearly swept away until she was rescued by Lizard, but they had only barely rejoined their companions when Nightscale ambushed them. Eventually, they were able to drive the dragon into retreating; after discovering its hoard, they took as much as they good carry and returned to Blasingdell. While the villagers were grateful for the elimination of the orcs, Baron Althon was overjoyed at the weapons they had found and delivered to him.

Night of the Vampire

Baron Althon explained that he was a collector of weaponry, and was impressed enough by their services that he wished to enter into further business arrangements. Before discussing the matter, though, he asked them to join him at his manor in Keiramos, where he would be holding a ball in two weeks' time in honor of the betrothal of his niece, Lania.

When the adventurers arrived, they were introduced to Lania, Baroness Selena, and the variety of Penatoran nobles who had also come for the ball: Lania's betrothed, Lord Iago Montblanc, and his father, Lord Mateo Montblanc; Lady Constantina Brezovo; Lord Vasily Ourosco; and Lord Hugo Strolojca. They also learned that a distant cousin of the Baron's, Lord Andrew, was staying there as well but not expected to appear until dinnertime. The day began with a series of competitive games: archery, horsemanship, and even swordplay. Callisto decided to participate in the tournament of swordplay, in which she defeated Lord Strolojca. The Lord was bitter in defeat, and stalked off the field in anger.

That night at dinner, Lady Brezovo told them that Keiramos used to belong to the Ourosco family, leading to a rivalry that had persisted for nearly a century. After the arrival of Lord Andrew, Iago joked that Andrew did not seem to like him much, and was perhaps jealous of his betrothal to Lania. The ball turned out to be a masquerade. Lord Andrew dressed as a jester and proved skillful with the lute, while Lady Brezovo flirted relentlessly with the party behind a cat's mask and Lord Mateo Montblanc, refusing to participate, warned them to be wary of Lord Ourosco. Lord Ourosco, meanwhile, asked them to meet him in the parlor to discuss an opportunity he wished to pay them for. When the arrived, they instead found Ourosco's men who attempted to kill them. Taking up the arms hanging on the wall, the band easily defeated the thugs, who confessed that Lord Ourosco wanted them out of the way while his assassins targeted the Baron. The adventurers rushed to his chambers in time to save the Baron's life from the would-be-assassins, who turned out to be the musicians hired for the party. The sound of horses and a carriage alerted them to Lord Ourosco already fleeing; as they had no hope to catch him, they returned to the ball.

Shortly after returning to the ballroom, the masquerade was interrupted by a scream. They found Lania lying on the floor in the dining room, pale and cold and breathing shallowly. Noticing the bite marks on her neck, they quickly deduced that she had been attacked by a vampire; the Baron ordered the guards to secure all of the guests in the ballroom. They quickly determined, however, that Lady Brezovo, Lord Andrew, Lord Strolojca, and Iago were missing and the adventurers began searching for them. They found Iago first, drained of blood with his throat ripped open. In his pocket was a note from Lord Andrew demanding he break off the betrothal and threatening him if he did not. Concluding that Lord Andrew must be the vampire, they continued their search for the others and found Lord Strolojca dead on his bed, his throat slashed by a dagger. Lady Brezovo was found safe in her room, and readily agreed to return to the ballroom with the rest of the guests.

Shortly after they arrived, they discovered that a servant had brought Lania to her bed to rest; they rushed to her chambers and found her guards murdered, and burst through the door to find Lord Andrew crouched over her. He gloated that they would never see the sun rise, before transforming into mist and fleeing through the window. Though Lania survived, she was only barely hanging on. Despite her condition, they ordered her brought back to the ballroom so as to keep everyone together and deny Andrew the opportunity to pick off his victims. A few hours before sunrise, the ballroom windows shattered as a horde of wolfs and bats crashed through them and began causing havoc. While the adventurers tried to deal with the wolves, Lord Andrew himself appeared and attacked them, but they were able to hold him off until, badly wounded, he returned to mist and retreated once more.

When dawn came, they began a search for Andrew's coffin to destroy him. They met Lord Montblanc in the foyer, who was preparing to return him with his son's body. When they told him they intended to destroy Andrew, he gave them a scroll of protection and a magical dagger and said he would leave the matter in their hands. Though their search was at first fruitless, a servant eventually mentioned seeing Andrew in the cellars just before dawn a few days ago. When they investigated, they found a secret door that led to the coffin, and plunged a wooden stake through Andrew's heart, destroying him. Baron Althon thanked them profusely for saving his daughter from a terrible fate. Though the night's event's meant he had more immediate concerns and could no longer employ them he gifted them each a weapon from his private collection as a reward.

The Speaker in Dreams

Having slain a vampire, the heroes decided to celebrate by heading down the coast to Brindinford for their annual street fair. The fair was interrupted by a sudden attack by wererats, which they handily dispatched, keeping one alive for questioning. The wererat confessed that they were hired by a sorceress called "The Blessed" to attack the fair, and to specifically kill as many guards as they could. He met the sorceress in the back room of a bookshop somewhere in the West Hill district, but was taken there while blindfolded and didn't think he could find it again. The wererat believed that the sorceress was insane, as she claimed to hear voices in her dreams. After turning him over to the guards, the adventurers began investigating West Hill and learned of a recent number of grisly deaths in the poorer parts of the city. As they searched for the bookshop, the air around them suddenly seemed to warp and split open, as a huge wormlike creature emerged out of nothingness into the street. After slaying the creature, the local guards remarked how odd it was that the paladins at the nearby shrine of Bahamut hadn't arrive, as they were usually very aware of the happenings in West Hill.

The heroes sought out the shrine, only to discover a band of cultists attempting to kidnap the junior paladin, Torea; after they rescued her, she said they had already carried off her superior, Alein. However, she recognized one of the cultists at having been at the Reality Wrinkle bookshop a week prior, when a man died in a mysterious accident. When the heroes entered the bookshop and felt a disorienting wave of vertigo and unease, they knew they were in the right place. Passing through the back room, they discovered a hidden staircase and, at the bottom, found gibbering mouther and a group of cultists preparing to sacrifice Alein. After killing them, Alein admitted she did not understand what their plan was; they raved in nonsense and babbled about the apocalypse, and she eventually stopped listening. Further in they found more cultists and a sorceress would could only be The Blessed. Though she summoned another aberrant worm, the heroes ultimately slew it and vanquished her.

Word of their victory spread quickly, and a group of merchants threw together an impromptu feast in their honor. One presented each of them with a fine silver brooch set with an amethyst; inspired by this, they decided to call themselves the Amethyst Guard. When they at last departed the feast, a voice beckoned them into a nearby alley. Turning in to investigate, they were met with a blast of lightning magic and a group of assassins who attempted to kill them. Realizing that their job was not yet over they retired to rooms graciously gifted to them at a nearby inn and resolved to begin anew in the morning. As they slept, though, their dreams were filled with unintelligible words and incomprehensible images of an alien world. The last thing they heard before they woke was a tormented voice crying, "The bells toll! The gate swings wide!"

In the morning, it was announced that Baron Euphemes the II would be speaking to the people. The adventurers made their way to the square before the baron's keep, where the baron lamented the chaos that had gripped the city, and the assassination attempt on the heroes who sought to save them. Declaring marshal law, he commanded that the fair immediately close, that all citizens be indoor before nightfall, that the possession of weapons was prohibited, that none may enter or leave the city until further notice, and that the temple of Pelor - which he blamed for failing to protect the city - be closed and its priests arrested. Declaring that defiance would be punished by death, he returned inside as a fiendish creature with a scorpion tail appeared on the rooftop. Soon after, a pillar of flame burst forth from the dome atop the temple of Pelor, as the baron's distinctly-fiendish-looking militia began marching through the streets, carrying out his orders without mercy.

The few townsfolk willing to talk confessed that while Euphemes wasn't exactly popular, he was generally regarded as a benevolent authoritarian; though his taxes were perhaps steeper than they should have been, he was never cruel. Deducing that the baron must be controlled, the heroes decided that their first act would be to investigate the temple of Pelor. Inside, they beheld a massive column of hellfire constantly erupting from a gaping pit in the floor, recognizing it as an open portal to the Nine Hells. Everywhere they looked they saw desecrated symbols of Pelor, and it wasn't long before they were attacked by hell hounds, infernal clerics led by a tiefling in black armor, and ultimately the scorpion-tailed creature from atop the keep: a bone devil. Though they eventually purged the temple of all its hellish occupants, they were at a loss as to how to close such a massive portal.

Shifting their focus, they headed instead to the keep and snuck into the baron's chambers, where they found a mind flayer and an oni conversing while the baron sat nearby, clearly enthralled. The battle was fierce, with both the mind flayer and the oni trying very hard to kill the heroes, until a mishap with one of the mind flayer's magic items caused a blast that drained every spellcaster in the room and dispelled every magical effect... Including Sigurd's transformation, restoring him to human form. As he stood in shock, his companions quickly finished off their foes. The baron, now freed from the mind flayer's control, apologized for his actions while under their thrall and immediately rescinded his orders from the previous day, as well as granting them a residence within the city to call their own. His humanity restored, Sigurd confronted Winnea: despite being in the form of a gorilla, he was still aware of his surroundings, and he had seen how Winnea treated her companions and those weaker than her, and did not like it. Therefore, he was breaking off their engagement. Winnea was not particularly concerned, and within the day had gotten re-engaged to Baron Euphemes and decided to remain in Brindinford with him.

The next morning, the band set off for Eastport in search of assistance in closing the portal within the ruined temple. Asking around, they were directed to a wizard known as Oronnis the Magnificent. He agreed to help them, though demanded a hefty fee for his services. Being the only powerful spellcaster around, however, they were forced to accept his aid. He traveled back to Brindinford with them and began the ritual to close the portal. As it neared completion, however, a massive pit fiend emerged and devoured him. Before it could turn against the Amethyst Guard, however, a mysterious human wearing the holy symbol of Hieroneous emerged and struck it down with a blade glowing with radiant light. As the party completed Oronnis's ritual and finished sealing the portal, however, he collapsed into unconcsciousness. They brought him to the shrine of Bahamut, where the paladins agreed to keep watch over him until he awoke.

The Standing Stones

A few days later, the group began to hear chatter from the townsfolk about how unusual it was that no one from Ossington had come south for the festival. In fact, no one from Ossington had come through Oakhurst at all for the past few months. Worried that there could be trouble, the Amethyst Guard headed north into the Brindenwood to see what had befallen the village. As they drew near, they began to notice that the sounds of the forest had gone completely silent, until a loud scream pierced the air. Hurrying to the source of the sound, they arrived just in time to see an armored figure on horseback cut down a fleeing man, trample him with his horse, and then vanish into thin air. Just beyond, they found two more dead bodies slain in the same manner, with the cart they had been riding. The adventurers continued on, and as night fell they came upon the farm of an old man named Tarbee, and his daughter, Tanasha. Tarbee told them that the ones killed by the horsemen had been trying to leave the forest to get food, and warned them to turn back and return the way they came. Tanasha was more forthcoming, explaining that the people were starving because the horseman cut down anyone who ventured from the village to buy supplies or plant crops, and the elves killed any villagers who entered the forest to hunt. She told them to speak with the village elder to learn more, and the next morning the group set out once more. They came upon a small chapel filled with shrines to various gods, tended to by an old woman with an unusual monkey-like pet. She told them her name was Henwen, and her pet a creature called a hobyah, and asked if they had made their peace with the gods and prepared for their eventual deaths.

Just past the chapel the forest thinned as the road passed between two standing stones, part of an enormous circle of them. A smaller circle of stones stood deeper in, with the village of Ossington nestled within it. By the time they arrived at the village, a crowd of starving villagers had formed, begging for food, help, and rescue. The mob suddenly calmed at the sound of a beautiful melody on a lute, played by a tall gangly man in multicolored clothes. He introduced himself as the Cuckoo, and when they asked of the village's troubles he offered to introduce them to Elder Murdows. Murdows explained that their town had never been friendly with the wild elves in the northern forest, who hated anyone not of their tribe, but that they rarely had problems as long as they didn't venture into the elves' territory. A few months ago, the horseman arrived. He visited each of the local monuments - the chapel, the double stone circles, a set of standing stones deep in the forest called the Silence Keepers, and an enormous painting on a hillside called the Red Horse - before riding out to the Great Barrow in the middle of the woods. Soon after, a group of men who went out to gather wood were found dead, their bodies shot full of elven arrows. More people started turning up missing, and what bodies were found were clearly killed by the elves. Eventually, the elves started shooting villagers in broad daylight, even when they weren't in the forest. When Meril, the previous village elder, led a group out under a white flag of parley, they were massacred. Meril's body was pinned to a tree with so many arrows they couldn't remove him. When they tried to leave to get help, they found themselves under attack by the Horseman, lurking in the woods to kill anyone who tried to leave the village. Before he could ask for help, however, an arrow flew through the window and struck him in the chest, killing him. The Amethyst Guard gave chase, but found only footprints leading into the forest.

The next day, they decided that first step to solving the mystery would be to visit the places the horseman had been when he first came to town. Having already been to the chapel, they investigated the double circle of stones around the village and found them inscribed with druidic script, but couldn't make sense of it. As they headed deeper into the woods, they once again noticed that it was eerily quiet, lacking even the buzz of insects or the rustle of small creatures. They came across numerous skeletons, mostly humans but a few elves, before they were suddenly accosted by the horseman. They quickly realized he was a ghost, and when they defeated him he and his horse merely faded away. The first site they reached was Red Horse Hill, a tall hillside with a massive carving of an animal carved into it. Though the locals believed it to be a horse, Vorelyth thought back to her knowledge of the region's history and concluded it was actually a depiction of the red dragon Ashardalon, who had terrorized the region until he was slain by the druid Dyfydd some three hundred years prior. Inspecting the site closer, they found what appeared to be a flooded quarry, now a stagnant swamp. As they approached, the horseman appeared again. This time, however, he rode slowly out over the water, then turned to them and saluted before sinking below the surface. Lizard dove into the water after him, and discovered the headless body of the horseman, as well as his horse. A chain around what was left of his neck held a holy symbol of Pelor, leaving them unsure of why a knight in the sun god's service would be terrorizing the village. Surmising that a proper burial might cause his ghost to depart, they respectfully laid him to rest.

As they continued, they found themselves occasionally the targets of the elves' arrows, though their attackers never revealed themselves. Arriving at the Great Barrow, they found an opening above which was inscribed the name, "Saithnar the Warlord." Though the interior was a maze of narrow passages, secret doors, and earth elementals, they eventually arrived at the central chamber and found the warlord's sarcophagus. As they moved to inspect it, a booming voice asked their business, and they saw the warlord himself, now an undead wight. When they explained that they were merely seeking answers as to the trouble that had befallen Ossington, he agreed to aid them, on the condition that one of them best him in a duel. Sigurd elected to be the Guards' champion, and after exchanging blows the warlord yielded. He told them he was not responsible for recent occurrences, and that though he wouldn't put it past the elves to cleanse the humans from their forest he had never heard of them doing so and suspected they must have a reason, as they ordinarily didn't bother those who left them alone. His only contact with the villagers came in the form of the offerings they would leave in his barrow, but those had stopped suddenly a few months ago. He did elaborate on Vorelyth's history of Ashardalon: the double circle of stones was the holy site for a circle of druids, until they were slaughtered by Ashardalon. Dyfydd, the sole survivor, repopulated the area by using druidic magic to transform some of the forest animals into a humanoid form and inscribed the spell upon the circle of stones in case it ever needed to be used again. Though they had more questions now than answers, they bid the warlord farewell and continued on towards the Silence Keepers.

As they approached the stones, a tree suddenly attacked them, revealing itself as a massive treant. At the same time, several elves and a pixie emerged from cover and attacked the heroes in earnest. Despite a bloody battle, they proved victorious, and while the elves refused to surrender, they succeeded in taking one alive. Under questioning, she eventually revealed that her name was Yellis. She told them of how several months ago, a wizard named Dyson arrived in Ossington. Soon after, he began to use Dyfydd's spell to turn animals into people. The elves objected to so many creatures being removed from the woods, but when they send a delegation to protest against his actions, they were ambushed and massacred. Soon after, their village was set ablaze; she and her hunting party were the only survivors, and now she is all that remains. The Amethyst Guard, at last understanding what was truly going on, asked her to join them when they confronted Dyson, an offer to which she gleefully agreed.

When they returned to Ossington, the village seemed oddly empty at first. Then, an enormous mob of them swarmed out of their homes, trying to kill them. Undeterred, they fought through them until they reached Dyson's tower. The door was locked tight, so Gilia transformed Lizard into a giant ape, and he simply climbed up the side with Callisto as the spellcasters attacked from below. At the top of the top they found themselves facing not just the wizard Dyson, but Henwen and the Cuckoo as well. The Cuckoo hung back and mostly cast magic from his lute, but when the battle began to turn against him, he suddenly transformed into a vrock, spraying them with demonic spores before flying off, taunting them as he fled. Soon after, Dyson and Henwen were slain. Though Dyson had tried to burn his papers, they managed to save enough to determine his scheme: having reconstructed Dyfydd's spell, he had slowly been replacing Ossington's citizens with his own newly-created faux people. One of Dyson's agents had slain the horseman when he got nosy, causing his ghost to seek vengeance against the villagers he believed to have slain him. He had also orchestrated the elven massacre to keep them from interfering. Though his true goals were unclear, the Amethyst Guard returned to Oakhurst, satisfied that they had, at least, stopped them.

Midnight in the City of Brass

Over the next several months, the Amethyst Guard continued to take various jobs while repairing and furnishing their new home in Oakhurst. During this time, Gilia decided to depart for Eastport to further her magic studies, and Sigurd decided to go along with her as her bodyguard. Soon after, two new adventurers approached with an interest in joining the Amethyst Guard: a monk named Sai, and a wizard named Richter. Little else happened until, one day, without warning they found themselves teleported into a large courtyard in a palace of basalt and metal, beneath an orange sky. A trio of tall figures dressed with flowing silk garments stood above them on a balcony; the one dressed in white robes and a fez bowed deeply and declared that his "Conjure Minor Mortals" spell had succeeded. Before they could try to take stock of where they were, they found themselves facing a trio of hell hounds. After slaying the beasts, the three figures began to walk away, when suddenly a salamander erupted from a nearby brazier and threw something at one of the trio. It struck her in the mouth, causing her to collapse. As the salamander vanished in a puff of smoke, the other two figures began pointing at the Amethyst Guard and accused them of attempting to murder Ghunayya bint al-Sultha, scion of a line of efreeti sorcerers.

Under a ritual that confirmed the truth of their words they professed their innocence, and in the ensuing questioning they learned they had been summoned to the City of Brass in the plane of fire by Umar, a servant of Ghunayya, though he would be unable to reverse the spell. Neither he nor his companion, Manira, had seen the salamander appear from the brazier, though what it had thrown into Ghunayya's mouth was a seed of the sweet shiverrod plant and would kill her within three days. Only one thing could cure her: an antidote made from the rare Rose of Nightengale. Umar told them that Ghunayya had the power to send them home, but only if they saved her life. Should they fail, he would see them enslaved in the mines for a thousand years.

After Umar shooed them out of the manor, they wandered about the City of Brass searching for information on the Rose of Nightengale, only to find themselves largely ignored by the myriad elementals populating the city. Eventually, however, they noticed an efreet trying to get their attention. She told she was Nabila, Ghunayya's physician, and she wanted to help them. Though her loyalty was to Umar, and thus she stood only to gain by his gaining leadership of the house upon Ghunayya's death, she was moved by something far more important: love. She wished to be with Badiat al-Sugûr, daughter of the ice devil Moshir, but did not have the status to be worthy of her. She wished them to bring back a rare treasure that would win Badiat's heart: the egg of a two-headed roc. In exchange, she would tell them where to find Rose of Nightengale. Seeing little alternative, the Amethyst Guard agreed.

Following Nabila's directions, they sought out a blind human fortune teller named Ali ben Ali. After pressing a coin into his hand and speaking the passphrase given by Nabila, he took them to a secret door leading down below the city, to an old thoroughfare called the Street of Roses. There they would find a tower called the Burj al-Anwar, within which the egg could be found. As he departed, he offered a final warning about the vengeful azer that dwelled below. The warning proved prescient, as several azer attacked them as they made their way through along the broken underground street to the Burj al-Anwar. The first defense within the tower was a magic circle warded against celestials, fiends, and elementals... Though the sorcerers who laid it did not consider mortals worthy of protecting against, and they crossed without issue. Beyond was a bejeweled chamber covered in fine rugs, at the center of which was a rotating platform upon which an enormous egg sat upon a pillar of blue crystal. Lizard jumped onto the platform and managed to keep his footing as he picked up the egg, which was surprisingly light. However, as he did so, the jewels adorning the wall came alive, revealing themselves as hostile constructs, and attacked the heroes. As Lizard ran across the room with the egg, he also had to contend with the rugs coming alive and trying to rap him. However, the animated rugs and jeweled constructs were no match for them, and soon they were crossing the Street of Roses once more.

As they neared the passage that would return them to the surface, a salamander appeared from behind a ruined building and attacked them. Though a powerful warrior, he soon fell before them. As he died he muttered, "the plan was perfect... the fez..." before his body melted into molten rock. Though disturbed by this, they still returned to Nabila at the designated rendezvous with the egg. Ecstatic at having a treasure to finally woo her beloved, she readily traded them a lead-lined box containing the Rose of Nightengale. As it was nearing sunset, she told them to take it to Umar in the morning, and mentioned off-handedly that he hadn't been himself lately; he used to be patient and jolly, but had recently become short-tempered and demanding. When they mentioned the fez, she confirmed that the change occurred right around the time he started wearing it. As Nabila left with her prize, the Amethyst Guard found a very expensive inn willing to cater to mortals to pass the night.

They were awoken in the morning by the sound of drums, songs, and explosions, as the city celebrated its annual Carnival of Flames. Though they considered partaking, they did not want to risk Ghunayya perishing as they did and so hurried to her compound. When they arrived, they found the gate firmly locked and the windows dark. Growing suspicious, they picked the lock on the gates only to find themselves attacked by gargoyles and imps guarding the gatehouse. Searching through the manor they first found Nabila's quarters (and the dreadful poetry she had written for Badiat), and then Umar's, which curiously did not appear to have been used in many days. It was when they entered the antechamber before Ghunayya's quarters that they found Umar's fez sitting on the floor. Before they could investigate further, they heard a scream coming from the next room. Rushing into Ghunayya's chambers, they saw a horrific devil standing over her prone form, while a swarm of insects buzzed around Nabila, biting her. The creature demanded to know why they even cared about the fate of Ghunayya or her house and questioned whether they would even honor the deal made to send them home. When they attacked him anyway he gloated about how the power he would gain from them would allow him to grow even stronger than the Archdevils themselves. As he did not yet have that power, however, they quickly made short work of him and the swarm.

Between questioning Nabila and inspecting the tablet in the devil's possession, they were quickly able to discern what had occurred: the devil had trapped Umar within a quill pen, and used the fez--a magical hat of disguise--to assume Umar's identity. He had arranged for the salamander to assassinate Ghunayya, using the recently-summoned adventurers as cover. Breaking the quill freed the real Umar, who immediately set to work curing Ghunayya. Though he labored in his laboratory all day, he succeeded in saving her life. Ghunayya apologized to the Amethyst Guard for what had occurred, explaining that for untold ages mortals had summoned her kind as servants, and she intended to create a spell to inflict the same indignity back upon them as revenge. Naming them as friends and allies of House al-Sultha, she cast a spell that returned them to their home.

  • The Shadow Fey
  • Myrkara's Hoard
  • Heart of Nightfang Spire