Marching Orders

[Dave]

Greetings, Ninth Chord. The Cardinal Adrastus Thorn, your master and mine, sends his greetings.

Have you enjoyed your stay in beautiful Manassas? I hear you’ve been quite the tourists, traveling across the whole span of this metropolis. Tell me, have the locals been friendly?”

Regardless of how the PCs answer, she simply smirks and continues.

"Victory over the Lake States and the culmination of your vengeance draws near, and yet still there is one final errand that must be done. It is time for Markadian V called the Brave to die. You shall be our chosen assassins.

“Even now the king moves towards Manassas at the head of an army, easily numbering forty thousand strong. He is surrounded day and night by his mightiest and most loyal knights. Attacking him at his camp is folly. But the king does have a weakness. He has not marched to war with his beloved daughter, the princess Bellinda, heir and last scion of House Darius. She is watched over by a relatively small honor guard at the Adarium, the palace of House Darius, near the capital city of Ianstown.

“Perhaps it would be within your purview to infiltrate and slay Bellinda, but that is not our aim. The princess is merely a teenage girl and of little consequence by herself. Instead, it is your mission to endanger the princess.

“Everywhere Markadian goes, he bears with him a magical pendant. If ever his daughter is endangered, the talisman signals her peril. With but a word, he can return to the Adarium. He will teleport into his sanctum beneath the palace, eager to save his daughter.

“Your mission is first to proffer the gravest peril, and when it strikes the Adarium, you are to be in that sanctum awaiting the king’s return. As he appears, destroy him. In one swift stroke, you will decapitate the House of Darius. With his death and the death of Bellinda, there will be no leader of the Lake States. The Fire-Axe will defeat the army in the field and then the Lake States will be ours.

“But what peril could be so calamitous that Markadian’s most trusted servants would call him away from his campaign to save the kingdom? It can be no simple threat. It must be a threat of legend.

“Thorn has pondered this problem long and decided there is only one threat in all of Arre of worthy stature– the elder wyrm Chargammon the Black. You must find a way to gain Chargammon’s service and have him attack the Adarium and slay Bellinda.

“Chargammon’s sunken throne is easy enough to find but it is a fool’s errand to enter unbidden. Chargammon slays all who enter without his warrant. And he gives his warrant to no one. Still, Thorn has confidence that you will find a way. This is your mission. Gain the dragon’s assistance and then kill Markadian.

“There is one more trifling matter. After Markadian is slain and his palace lies in ruins, Thorn bids you find a book. Perhaps it will be in the sanctum or perhaps in the king’s personal chambers. It is the Liber Darian – a large bound volume containing the chronicles of the House of Darius. Fetch it and then break this seal. And then your labors will be done and you shall be rewarded for them.

“You must sense that this may well be your last mission for the Cardinal. Soon the armies of the Lake States will be broken and their leadership will be shattered. Thorn has always known that stands because of four pillars.The first pillar was the Watch Wall Everard keeping the northern border secure. It burned by your hand.

“The second pillar was the Order of St. Marcelius. You extinguished their flame. This third pillar is the Knights of the Alerion. They march to their doom against the Fire-Axe. And now the final pillar will fall by your hand – the House of Darius. Of all of Thorn’s servants no one has done more than you to see the triumph to its conclusion.

“Do not think this will be forgotten when the rewards are given. You will be princes of the realm. The great game enters its last phase. Soon the Lake States will be ours.”