Return to Great Rock

After a cold rebuff from the priests of Altius, the heroes once again turned to the dwarves of Undermountain for assistance with a fallen comrade. Adarrial Smythe, after his transformation into a shadow and subsequent destruction at the hands of Duran Fortnite, was no more. In exchange for his resurrection, the characters traded their discovery of the lost dwarven stronghold of Khundrukar—news that was eagerly greeted by the dwarves, who immediately began organizing an envoy of loremasters and engineers to investigate the ruins.

Once their friend was back among them, the heroes returned to Helmsport, determined to look deeper into the tragedy that had befallen the city. In Ossington, they had learned that the murderous sorcerer Dyson was working for someone or something called “the Cathezar," and had since found out that the name was an archaic title used centuries ago by the priesthood of Seth, god of evil. Clearly, something very bad was afoot, and the characters knew of only one loose end: the vrock who had masqueraded as a bard named “the Cuckoo.”

Borrowing a scrying mirror belonging to his master Granius, loremaster-in-training Stannis Alensin put his divinatory prowess to work in search of the demon, while his allies Alarion, Beran, Thorgrimm, and Adarrial stood by. The magic showed an image of a gaunt man sitting at a writing table in a typical inn’s bedroom. Cocking his head to the side, the man looked up at the scrying sensor as if expecting it, laconically noting, “You’re early—I won’t be done until tomorrow. Don’t worry, I’ve found the target, and it will all be over soon.” Stannis described the surroundings, including a brief view into the main room of the inn as the disguised demon moved through the open door.

At that, Beran jumped up from his chair, for he knew instantly where the demon was. This wasn’t just any roadside tavern—the demon was staying in the Wayfarer Inn, in the heart of Great Rock itself!

The heroes had no time to waste. After borrowing two scrolls from Granius, the characters used the first to teleport to the town where the adventures began, many months earlier. They kicked in the door just as the “bard” was beginning his performance. Taking advantage of the element of surprise, Adarrial used the second scroll—dimension anchor—to prevent the fiend from escaping as he had before. Despite the vrock’s cowardly tactics, including charming the locals to protect him and creating multiple mirror images to frustrate his attackers, he could not escape the vengeful heroes.

After dispatching the demon, the characters investigated his room, where they found evidence that the vrock was half of an assassination team. Their target: the hermit “Scary Dan,” who lived in a beach cave south of town. While Beran and Thorgrimm helped patch things up in Great Rock, Adarrial, Alarion, and Stannis rushed to the south caves.

Once there, the hermit was nowhere to be found. However, the heroes spotted a wolf-headed humanoid lurking in the underbrush at the top of the cliff above the cave. With their recent experiences with a local werewolf, the characters confronted the creature with weapons in hand.

But this was no werewolf. Instead of a feral beast, the characters met a powerfully muscled dog-headed being of noble stature. Identifying himself as Rexander the hound archon, the mysterious individual apologized for not showing himself, but admitted that he was waiting for his friend who lived in the cave below.

Before the characters could ask what business an archon had with a mad hermit, another newcomer arrived on the scene: a great spiderlike creature firing beams of energy from its eyes. Together, the three heroes and the archon defeated the horrible creature—the second half of the assassination team.

As they congratulated each other on a good fight, the combatants were joined by a winged man in silver robes. He embraced Rexander as an old friend, who greeted him as Seridan, the resident of the caves. Turning to the heroes, Seridan admitted that he was indeed “Scary Dan” the hermit, and had been stationed here as a watcher. When the characters asked him what the purpose of his vigil was, he merely smiled knowingly and replied, “I’m sure you’ve noticed that Great Rock is a very interesting place. Many beings are interested in what happens here—and what doesn’t.”

With that to think about, the heroes returned to their homes, knowing that at least for now, the town of Great Rock was safe, and that the mystery of the Cathezar would have to wait for another day. The end of the year—and of the millennium—was fast approaching, and deep down, each character knew that the new year would bring even greater dangers—and rewards—than had the last.

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