The Third Eye

The Third Eye was an adventuring company formed around the time of King Waldrann Azennar's death in Hargram.

Membership

 * Ilara - Female shifter barbarian, seeking a pack and a place to accept her.
 * Ililen Wuntohiin - Male firbolg monk, seeking his friend's killer.
 * Isabelle Darrington - Female orc wizard, and member of the Arcane Tower.
 * Leon - Male human druid, searching for answers about when the Queen tried to have him killed.
 * Sylas Asidia - Male eladrin warlock, working to investigate a mysterious murder.

The Couatl Feather
The beginnings of the Third Eye occurred in 3002 when Leon and Ilara, both on the road to Hargrave, met. Leon was going to meet with an investigator he had hired to learn why someone had tried to kill him years ago. Ilara, meanwhile, was simply searching for a place to belong, and had heard Hargrave was welcoming of all races. The pair soon met with Ililen Wuntohiin, a firbolg monk also on the road to Hargrave to purchase medicinal herbs and other supplies. In Hargrave, they met the investigator, Sylas Asidia, who told Leon that his investigations pointed to Queen Lyrencia herself having given the order to have Leon killed. The group then went to the Lucky Leap tavern to have a drink and absorb this information, where they met the orc wizard Isabelle Darrington of the Arcane Tower.

While getting to know each other, they saw Crownwarden Cyne Mondar at a nearby table engaged in a business transaction to purchase a rare couatl feather from a halfling for a large sum. After Mondar departed, a bugbear entered and threatened the halfling over gambling debts, in the course of which he knocked over a lantern and burned up the couatl feather. The distraught halfling then appealed to the obvious party of adventurers with a deal: if they helped him buy a second couatl feather from his grandmother, and then escorted him to sell it to Mondar, they could keep the difference after the halfling's debts were paid. Seeing the opportunity for easy money, they agreed. They accompanied the halfling to his grandmother's house, where after chiding him for his gambling she finally agreed to sell him the feather, with the adventurers' money. As they headed towards Lord Mondar's manor, however, the halfling suddenly tried to escape into the crowd but was quickly grabbed by Ilara. The commotion attracted the attention of a guard, at which point the halfling transformed into a doppelganger and surrendered himself to the authorities.

Summons at the Old Grinder
The party continued to Mondar's home to try and complete the sell themselves, only to learn that not only had Mondar never made any such deal, but the feather wasn't even real; the entire transaction had been a scam from start to finish. Lord Mondar sympathized, and told them that he had a need for adventurers with a task that he did not necessarily want to involve the Knights of the Crown in. Mondar's friend, Lord Rumlyn, had heard rumors of suspicious gatherings and dark rituals near the old windmills. Cyne Mondar asked him to look into it and report back any further details; Rumlyn's report was that the clues seemed to implicate Countess Maritayl, owner of the Royal Stud Farm. Mondar didn't want to move against a respected noble with an important position in court without further proof and asked Rumlyn to dig deeper, but he hadn't reported back in. Mondar was getting worried, but didn't want to sent his knights in case his fears were unfounded, so asked the party to check on him under the pretense of retrieving Lord Mondar's horse, which he would need for the upcoming King's Games festival.

They arrived at Lord Rumlyn's manor, some ways out of the city, to find it on fire. Ilara barely managed to pull Lord Mondar's horse from the stable, while her companions found Lord Rumlyn's cook hiding in a barrel. He said that Countess Maritayl had arrived a short time ago with cloaked figures, murdered the guards, kidnapped Lord Rumlyn and his family, and set everything ablaze. The cook heard them saying something about a sacrifice at the Old Grinder, an abandoned mill several miles distant. After sending the cook back to Hargrave with Lord Mondar's horse, the group gave chase and, after several hours, arrived at the Old Grinder. They entered to find it guarded by hooded cultists and mercenaries, and after dispatching them descended to the basement to find a summoning circle with two dead bodies lying in it, and a bound and gagged woman and child nearby. A bearded devil had a wicked-looking knife pressed to the child's throat, while more cultists stood nearby. Ililen was unable to prevent the devil from slashing the child's throat, though Leon managed to heal the wound before he died. Once all of the foes had been defeated, the two captives confirmed that one of the cultists was Countess Maritayl, while the dead bodies belonged to Lord Rumlyn and his father. Lord Mondar arrived soon after, having heard the news from Lord Rumlyn's cook, and escorted his late friend's family back to Hargrave.

The next day they met with King Waldrann Azennar, who was grateful to them for stopping an infernal cult from summoning more devils. Unfortunately, from what the two survivors were able to recall, a second devil had also been summoned. While they didn't see it, being blindfolded at the time, they described hearing the beating of wings. The king told them that the annual King's Games were in two days; if the Royal Swords were unable to find the devil themselves, then afterwards he intended to lead the hunt himself and invited the adventurers to join him. He also promised front row seats at the Battle of Champions, for those not intending to participate in the tournament. Sylas spent the two days researching devils, though found a wide variety possessed of wings. The others, meanwhile, simply rested and waited for the games.

The King's Games
The King's Games were the annual celebration of Hargram's founding. As usual, they began with a royal tour throughout the city, followed by a full day of festivities and contests. The adventurers, still exulting in their victory at the Old Grinder, gleefully took part. Ilara won a strength and endurance contest known as the Merfolk Lumberjack, even beating one contestant who the crowd booed as a cheater on account of being an actual merfolk. The mood was dampened a bit late in the day when, during a cliff-diving competition, a halfling crashed into the rocks and died, but the tragedy was soon forgotten as the day concluded with the Battle of the Champions, a combat tournament in which each contestant wagered a magic item to their opponent. The grand prize ws a private audience with the king, but since the king himself competed and was skilled enough to emerge victorious nearly every year, it had become a popular joke among the populace about a "royal audience of one."

Ilara and Leon both elected to take part in the contest. Apart from the king, the other competitors were the paladin Gratus Ultio of the Knights of the Crown, the dwarven blacksmith Kagrian Ironsinew (who was using the tournament as an opportunity to show of his wares), a traveling monk named Vragi, a half-dragon sorcerer named Cay Tali Valberg, and a mysterious figure known as the Raven Knight. Isabelle caught Cay Tali cheating by surreptitiously accepting magical aid from the spectators, disqualifying her, while Kagrian was defeated by the king. Meanwhile, Ilara defeated Vragi and won his quarterstaff, and Leon defeated Gratus and won his sword.

The next fight, between the king and the Raven Knight, proved a surprisingly even match, with both fighters wielding their magical arms with great skill and neither yielding any ground. Finally, the Raven Knight stabbed the king in the leg, causing him to fall. With his opponent's blade at his throat, the king raised his hands in surrender. Praising his opponent's skills, he urged her to remove her helmet and receive the cheers of the crowd. Releasing a catch on her armor, a pair of black feathered wings unfurled from beneath her cape as she removed her helmet to reveal the face of Queen Elyssa, the king's late wife. She denounced him as a kinslayer and a traitor, declaring that she would claim his punishment and they would meet again in Hell. Then she plunged her sword through his heart before vanishing in a vortex of fire. Though the clerics and paladins rushed to his aid, there was nothing they could do. King Waldrann Azennar was dead.

Funeral of the King
The king's funeral was held a week later, following a national period of mourning. Lord Mondar invited the adventurers to attend, given their recent deeds. The funeral procession moved into the royal mausoleum, past the statues and sarcophagi of Hargram's past rulers, until they arrived at the space that had long been prepared for King Waldrann, including a glorious stone statue. Flanking it where the statues and sarcophagi of his first wife, Queen Elyssa, and their son, Prince Krasnar. As the king's body was lowered into the sarcophagus, a mournful wail filled the air as the crypt doors slammed shut. A ghostly voice whispered, "Murderer! Your line will end here and your deeds will be avenged!" From the statue of Krasnar, holdings the prince's signature glaive, a spectral version of his weapon appeared and began lashing out at the assembled people. As the Knights of the Crown moved to protect Queen Lyrencia and Princess Aphinah, and the other guests attempted in vain to pry open the doors, the adventurers attempted to attack the spectral glaive but found their attacks ineffective. Eventually Leon hit upon the idea of attacking the iron glaive held by Krasnar's statue, and when he and Ilara managed to break it, the spectral weapon vanished and the doors opened once more.

Later that night, Lord Mondar met with the adventurers once more at his manor. Clerics had inspected every inch of the crypt and found nothing to explain what had happened; the king had subsequently been buried in a smaller ceremony attended only by his family. Lord Mondar was concerned, however, by the events. The Raven Knight was almost certainly the winged devil summoned by the cultists, which pointed to a greater conspiracy. He and his knights were also troubled by Aphinah's impending ascension to the throne; she was known to be cruel and sadistic, and some of the paladins had begun to debate whether their oath was to the crown, the monarch, or the kingdom. A rumor had even spread that Aphinah intended to disband their order. Above all, Mondar was worried that they just didn't know enough about what was going on. He asked the adventurers to help him uncover the truth beind the king's murder, promising a suitable reward afterwards. For now, though, he wished them to join him for the coronation the next day. He hoped the ceremony would be uneventful, but wanted them in the room just in case something happened.

Cursed Coronation
The coronation was well-attended by important people: nobles, influential merchants, members of the Court of Voices, and even Laromarius, golem master of the Arcane Tower. Queen Lyrencia motinoed for silence before beginning a gracious speech evoking the royal heritage of House Azennar and the noble lineage of her daughter, Aphinah. The speech continud into a lengthy explanation of all the rights, privileges, and duties of the sovereign. Finally, she declared that she was bestowing these right upon Princess Aphinah, crowning her Queen of Hargram. As she placed the crown on Aphinah's head, the royal headpiece changed appearance, growing bony claw-like protrusions and thorns. Dark magical runes appeared on its surface, and a ring of downward angled fangs extruded outward. Thunder boomed outside, and through the windows strange purple clouds could be seen gathering in the previously clear skies. As lightning struck outside the hall, Queen Aphinah laughed hysterically as she stood, her mother casting a wall of force across the dais at the front of the room. Aphinah declared herself the new queen, demanded obedience and loyalty from all of her subjects, and began proclaiming harsh and arbitrary new laws, with penalties ranging from stiff fines all the way to death for such infractions as "dressing the same as the queen" or "wearing your hair in a ponytail." She then called upon the Children of the Coven, and as a number of cultists appeared in the crowd as their illusionary disguises disappeared, Aphinah called them her "eyes and ears" who would "tell on you if you misbehave." Finally, directing her yelling at the Knights of the Crown, she demanded, "Voice your loyalty to me now, my hounds, and I shall reward you with power beyond imagining! Otherwise, you will perish in the flames of Hell!"

Many of the knights immediately dropped to the knees and shouted "For crown and kingdom!" As they did, they were suddenly transformed into terrifying werehellhounds. And as her first command, Aphinah told them to slaughter all the priests and paladins who did not take the pledge. The throne room erupted into chaos. Lord Mondar and his closest knights immediately formed a protective circle around the nearest priests, and began a fighting retreat towars the door. Meanwhile, the adventurers tried to both fight the werehellhounds barring the exit and save the innocent, panicking people who were mostly being caught in the middle of the chaos. Meanwhile, Aphinah leaned against the wall of force and grinned at the carnage. Eventually they managed to dispatch the werehellhounds guarding the doors and break them down, and Lord Mondar called for them to follow him to a secret exit. Leading the adventurers and surviving priests down into the royal crypt, he barricaded the doors before opening a hidden passage that led into the sewers. While the priests broke off to tend to their followers throughout the city, Lord Mondar and his remaining knights led the adventurers back to the Lucky Leap tavern, where Ricio Tane pulled a hidden lever and closed metal plates over all the doors and windows. Bedrools were laid out throughout the tavern and the basement, while Tane and Mondar discussed next steps.

In the morning, Lord Mondar told the adventurers that they had a plan. But first, he wanted to relate the story of what happened fifteen years ago. He cautioned that his memory of the time in the Feywild was somehwat unclear, like a vivid dream, and also that he had vowed to speak of the events in no further detail than the story he was about to tell. In 2987, the stayr lord King Dasmag kidnapped Queen Lyrencia into the Feywild. King Azennar put together a group to rescue her consisting of himself, Prince Krasnar, Lord Mondar, Father Lestor of Ioun, and Master Eydan of the Arcane Tower. Lord Mondar did not recall precisely how they entered the Feywild, but distinctly remembered a tree with many eyes. Once in the Feywild, King Azennar defeated King Dasmag in a duel. The satyr lord was so impressed by the king that he returned Queen Lyrencia, and invited them all to a feast at his court. During the celebrations, he enchanted the crown of Hargram with a blessing of plenty to make up for the trouble he caused. Tragically, as they passed through a swamp on the way back, they hit a quicksand-like area of sucking mud and both Prince Krasnar and Father Lestor were lost.

Lord Mondar now suspects that the events of that quest are related to recent happenings, and that Queen Lyrencia, and possibly Queen Aphinah, are in league with Dasmag. He had no idea Lyrencia could cast magic, and always knew her as a kind woman. As for Aphinah, he always found her a spoiled and vicious child but now wondered if there was more to it than that. As far as he was concerned, a regent would likely need to be appointed until a new heir could be found. He presented his plan: in a nutshell, to steal the crown. Lord Mondar would try cleansing it with his own divine magic. It that failed, he would bring it to Master Eydan, who had not left the Arcane Tower since returning from the Feywild and had since appointed a new Archmage. If Eydan proved unable to remove the curse, Lord Mondar was even willing to destroy it if need be, believing it to be the source of the curse now afflicting the kingdom, as the terrible storm had not abated since the day before.

The royal quarters of the palace would be filled with sealed doors. However, Ricio Tane had a solution: he knew of a magical item called the Master Key, capable of opening any lock. Once the crown was in hand, however, they would need to prevent it from being magically tracked while they moved it throughout the kingdom. Ricio Tane also had a solution: a magic item in his possession called the Chest of Magic Nullification, which would completely block any and all magic from penetrating it. Unfortunately, it already containd a cursed item of catastrophic power which would need to be safely disposed of first. Finally, in order to get into the palace itself, they would need to utilize a secret tunnel. Mondar knew of its existence, as the king had frequently used it to sneak out of the palace for extramarital dalliances, but not of its location. For that, they would need to find and ask the Royal Architect, Nandor Tyk. The adventurers, however, would need to accomplish all of these tasks; they were still unknown in the city, while Lord Mondar and his knights were all easily recognizable.

Tomb of the Constructor
The adventurers decided that their first task would be acquiring the Master Key. Tane explained that twenty years ago, an old adventuring companion of his, a master burglar named Davrillo Princarr, had appeared at the Lucky Leap and told him that he'd found the tomb of Master Arlen the Constructor, first Archmage of the kingdom, and intended to plunder it using the Master Key to get inside. Ricio declined, having just opened the tavern and pondering permanent retirement. Princarr never returned, and Tane suspected he had died in the attempt, but he still had the location his old friend had shared with him.

Following Princarr's directions, they traveled ten miles west of the city, finding that the choking rain and cursed lightning that now fell from the sky were found througout the kingdom. There, hidden by an illusory cliff face, they found a large chamber filled with broken golem pieces and containing a large door with a massively complicated locking mechanism on the front. Staring at the door was a young green dragon. After some discussion, it admitted that it had been unable to open the door, and struck a bargain: if they helped it open the door, it would get full access to all information within as well as half of whatever treasure they found. Upon agreeing, Sylas was able to decipher the process to open the gate.

Within the first chamber was a massive statue of Master Arlen in his youth, and several pedestals containing models of his various creations (with descriptive labels). These included the Arcane Tower, the Royal Palace, the king's Falcon Blade, and a multifunctional construction golem called a daedal wright. The first door they entered revealed a room full of broken golem pieces, but nothing of value. The second door opened to a flood of inscribed clay tablets; the room beyond was completely filled with them, floor to ceiling. At the far end of the chamber they found the skeleton of Master Arlen, slumped over his desk. Arlen's ghost floated nearby, dictating complex mathematical theorems to a deadal wright that was furiously writing down his words on a clay tablet. When both ghost and golem ignored them, they looked at the tablets to find them filled with dry, technical, and incredibly long-winded writings on history, medicine, magic theory, construction techniques, and more. His skeleton and what remained of its garments crumbled to dust practically at their touch, but they did find a piece of blue crystal fused into the forehead of his skull; the gem was also visible on the face of his ghost.

The final chamber was where they found the skeleton of Davrillo Princarr, a daedal wright standing over it. At the far end of the chamber of a massive iron stove, flanked on one side by a stack of clay tablets and on the other by clay and straw. In the center was a massive spiral staircase descending into the floor. Leon conjured a vine to try and drag Princarr's skeleton closer to them, but succeeded only in removing its leg. They instead stepped into the chamber, which caused the daedal wright to attack them as well. After destroying it, they found the Master Key on Princarr's remains. Lookking down the staircase, they saw that it was just countless walkways and shelves full of clay tablets going down more than two hundred feet. At the bottom they could see two broken golems, which appeared to have had their metal components chewed off. Deciding they had what they came for, they split what little treasure they'd found with the dragon and departed.