Secret of The Black Tomb

After winning the battle of Espoir, the heroes earned their freedom from the local noble and were free to once again concentrate on learning more about The Divine Order. They were sought out by Ambassador Morellius from Arathor, himself about to leave the frontier land of Corennia for home. He also brought them news from the Civilized Lands. The kingdom of Arathor had all but fallen after full war broke out between The Wizard Council and The Divine Order. With the king dead and no apparent heir to the throne, Queen Amaphina was fighting to keep the kingdom together under the strain of this war. And so, Morellius was going back to help her in any way possible.

While the group of heroes had been helping the local prince Enri of Espoir defeat an Orc tribe and neighboring prince Guyarde – whose head they brought to Enri, who firmly planted it on a stake outside his castle gate – Morellius had gone looking for information that might help the heroes in their quest for the secret temple of The Divine Order. Morellius had found a former follower of the order, who claimed to have been on a mission to a place called The Black Tomb. Here, he had witnessed Krogar Shadowsting lead his Eight Clerics in a dark ritual dedicated to some strange god, in spite of The Divine Order being supposedly non-denominational. This cast a doubt in the follower’s mind. As the leaders of the order entered the tomb, the man chose instead to run away, risking flight alone through dangerous lands rather than entering that horrid place in the company of Krogar and his followers.

This was good information, except for the fact that the mission took place two years earlier. The heroes dug deeper, researching The Black Tomb and learning that Enri du Espoir himself had financed two expeditions to this place, hoping to find grand treasure. The tomb dated back to ancient times and was known to be haunted by the undead. To get to it, travelers would have to go straight through the Orc Forest, cross a dangerous stream and climb a steep cliff. Neither of Enri’s expeditions had returned, though the prince mused that now would be a good time to try again, given the recent depletion in Orcs after the battle the heroes themselves had been so instrumental in.

And so, the heroes set out towards the tomb, fueled by the feeling of once again being on the trail of the elusive order. The prince turned out to be right about the Orcs. Using stealth and cunning, the heroes successfully discovered and avoided an Orc netting trap as well as any patrolling soldiers. A little more than half-way through the dark Orcish woods, they spotted a light through the trees. They went closer and sent Remi the Elven Ranger up ahead. It was a small tone keep built on top of a stripped hill in the forest. She heard gruff voices from the gate and decided to turn back. After some deliberation, the heroes concluded that this was likely to be Orcs and unrelated to their final destination, and so they chose to continue their journey and let Orcs be Orcs for the time being.

Finally, after a strenuous day of travel, they came to the stream that made up the northern border of the Orc Forest. However, it was decided that the water was too dangerous to cross in the fading light of the evening sky. The heroes set up camp and got a night of rest, and in the morning light were able to find a safe place to cross. It still was not without danger though, as Rhed the Dragonborn Paladin learned when the currents swept the feet out from under him. But this holy warrior of Bahamut regained footing and made it safely to shore, where the cliff was waiting to be scaled.

And still, this day was far from over…