Into Nightfang Spire

[WARNING: This column contains spoilers for the D&D adventure “Heart of Nightfang Spire.”]

On a bleak February morning, seven heroes of Helmsport—Adarrial Smythe, Man of Renown; Duran Fortnite, young cleric of Altius; Stannis Alensin, loremaster-in-training; Thomas Johnson, troubleshooter and security specialist; Eandrynn, archer of Brithonen; Jarvis Osburn, the Giant Among Men; and Alarion Northsea, paladin of Altius—gathered in the town of Spirodon, not far from the border of the forest kingdom of Brithonen. They shared a single purpose: to brave the deadly dangers of Nightfang Spire in order to destroy the vampire sorcerer/dragon cultist Gulthias once and for all. They knew that this quest would be long and arduous, but their resolve was strong.

Arriving at the Spire, the heroes investigated the tall tower. The arcane eye of Stannis revealed that a pale-colored dragon indeed slumbered in the darkened upper reaches of the tower—no doubt the “white dragon” their interrogations of dragon cultists had revealed. Not wishing to encounter the beast, the adventurers searched the rest of the tower for alternative entrances. As quiet as they endeavored to be, however, their investigations awakened the fell creature guarding the only entrance to the Spire.

As the great grey-scaled dragon emerged from the Spire, Stannis narrowly avoided being consumed by the beast’s initial attack. But this surprise was nothing compared to what came next, as the dragon spewed forth a great blast of fiery destruction.

The characters instantly realized that their preparations—made for a frost-breathing arctic dragon—would be useless against this creature. Confusion reigned as the heroes scattered before the dragon’s assault. Worse yet, the beast’s claws seemed to suck the very life of its victims, draining energy with every strike.

Could this be some kind of undead guardian? Duran’s ray of searing light proved the hypothesis true, burning away the dragon’s dead flesh. With this new information in hand, the tide of battle quickly turned in the favor of the heroes, and they managed with difficulty to defeat the “wight dragon” guarding Nightfang Spire.

Once inside the Spire, the heroes battled shadows, vampire spawn, wights, golems, and deadly traps. Repeated forays into the tower demonstrated that Gulthias was capable of replenishing lost undead troops at an alarming rate, forcing the heroes to fight wave after wave of undead. Worse yet, the heroes found that the sorcerer had scrying sensors placed throughout the tower that enabled him to transport his minions anywhere he desired, forcing the characters to fight through many ambushes.

After a particularly pitched battle against a powerful mummy, a group of spectres, and an invisible undead assassin, the heroes knew they needed rest—and help. Despite weeks of work, they felt no closer to their goal of defeating Gulthias. Worse yet, the political tension between Helmsport and the elven nation of Brithonen grew more heated by the day. Anti-elf violence had become common, forcing the young Duke Avan to establish protective enclosures for all of elven blood to seek safety within until matters cooled.

By strange coincidence, both of these issues would come to a head in short order. In Spirodon, Adarrial Smythe met a half-elf named Caedrus, who had come to the area to investigate the stories he had been hearing about Nightfang Spire. As a skilled procurer of antiquities, Caedrus offered his assistance to the heroes in their quest. What’s more, Caedrus knew of a relic that might be able to help battle the undead minions of Gulthias.

According to his research, the tomb of Spirodonus—the great priest of Altius for whom the town had been named some centuries ago—was located in the area. Within this tomb, Caedrus believed, was hidden the Orb of Dawn, a powerful artifact that supposedly glowed with the light of heaven itself.

Together, Caedrus and Adarrial determined the tomb’s location—just inside the border of Brithonen. Apparently, Spirodonus had been a great ally of the elves in his day, and honored them by choosing their land for his resting place. Of course, such goodwill was no longer shared between elf and human, so the characters knew that they must be careful indeed in following this lead. Eandrynn came along in the hopes of defusing any tense meetings with elven patrols, and Alarion joined the group to make sure that the will of Altius was represented on the mission.

Eandrynn’s presence was indeed useful, as he convinced a detachment of elf sentries of the heroes’ peaceful intent. Once the tomb was found, Caedrus helped the group thread past the inevitable traps to the sarcophagus of the great priest Spirodonus. Once there, they were halted by a glowing sphere which questioned them as to their presence in the tomb. Satisfied by the heroes’ goals, the glowing presence sank back into the tomb, moments later replaced by the spectral form of Spirodonus himself, his hands clutching a globe of pure light. With the heroes’ promise that they would return the Orb of Dawn to its resting place in one month’s time, the ghost presented the relic to Adarrial Smythe.

The four heroes quickly returned to the town of Spirodon, only to learn that riots had broken out in Helmsport. Apparently, locals sympathetic to elves and half-elves in so-called “protective custody” had sought to engineer a mass “rescue operation” of these people. Among those arrested was Alarion’s young squire, Cicero, who had fallen in with a group calling itself “Justice Blade,” primarily composed of paladins and like-minded individuals and led by Quintus, a half-elf paladin who claimed he had been cast out of the Order of the Silver Circle because of his heritage.

After hustling to the metropolis of Beloyannis, the heroes paid a local wizard to teleport them to Helmsport in time for the trial of Cicero and the others. With Caedrus and Eandrynn both safely hidden in the depths of Khundrukar, Alarion and a disguised Adarrial attended the trial. In a surprising move, Alarion spoke out boldly against the actions of the Duke and the Church alike, questioning their motives in a public forum. Refusing to be quieted by the magistrate, Alarion was arrested for contempt and thrown in jail along with his squire and the others.

A few hours later, Chief Inquisitor Lorcan—a frequent ally and supporter of the heroes—appeared at Alarion’s cell. He informed the paladin that he had been able to pull a few strings to engineer his release, though he advised the headstrong youth to lie low for a while, perhaps even staying out of Helmsport for a couple of months until tempers cooled. Only a few of the rescuers would face any serious punishments, he continued, thanks in part to pressure from the elven government of Brithonen. Both the Church and the Duke recognized that Alarion and his friends had done great services in the past, and they could afford to look the other way—for the present. Now was not the time, Lorcan insisted, to be seen as an opponent of those in power. The potential of war in the east against the goblinoids of the Ten Tribes still loomed, after all.

Realizing that, for now, discretion might indeed prove the better part of valor, Alarion agreed with Lorcan, and returned with his allies to Spirodon to continue their battle with the undead forces of Gulthias. But the paladin was a changed man. No longer would he walk the path of blind loyalty to the Church and its leaders. Though he still believed in the righteous power of Altius, the strange new draconic powers he felt growing within him suggested that he would walk a far different path indeed.

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