The Peering Eye

Overview

Four unlikely companions meet in a tavern in Bigany. None is entirely forthcoming about his reasons for being in Bigany City or his past. A chance encounter with a thief and the events that ensue, draw them together into what is at first an uneasy alliance . . .

But fate draws them onto the trail of hobgoblin slavers and towards Clovenmane, the minotaur sorcerer king who has conquered the Dwarven fastness of High Hall.






The Blunt Instrument:
Vince Alfred Tristan Forc – a Human Warlord, follower of Tacticus
Turan Gashlicker – a Dwarf Fighter, follower of Cogadh
Immeral Jones – an Eladrin Wizard, favoured of Draiocht
Lucius Caranthanious – a Tiefling Warlock, favoured of Bas

Episode 1: Well Met in Bigany

Scene 1: Forging a Blunt Instrument
The Broken Bucket, Bigany City
The characters meet in a Tavern
They meet the proprietor Braggi Vec a fat, jovial, heavy breathing, sweaty jolly, large mustached man.
Vince asks them to join his adventuring band.

Scene 2: Street Thieves
The Dark, Bigany City
Sent to gauge their abilities, a guild cutpurse, in his early twenties, botches his attempt at sleight of hand.
A craven, squirmy man with broken yellowed teeth, his feet move under his shattered visage with surprising alacrity.
Vince chases the thief and leads the heroes to his lair where they are ambushed.
They defeat several tough Thieves Guild enforcers and their brutish commander.

Scene 3: Black guard justice
The Dark, Bigany City
A blackguard arrives after the battle has ended.
The imposing blackguard impacably assesses the bloody chaos and rules in favour if the heroes.
He then leaves the minutiae to be dealt with by the town guard.
This allows the thieves guild to judge the heroes abilities.

Scene 4: Tests of Akos
The Tower of Shale, Bigany City
Word arrives that Akos Kinnett of The Church of Shale wishes to see the heroes.
They are lead to an extra dimensional hall in the Tower of Shale.
This is a Hall of Testing, and so they are attacked.
The three clay scouts are frustrating opponents but easily bested by the Blunt Instrument once Vince engages his brain.

Scene 5: Audience with Akos
The Tower of Shale, Bigany City
Akos wants a slavery ring investigated as it may have Fallen links.
Akos advises Vince to 'follow the money' to track down the slavers.

Episode 2: The Heist

Scene 1: Fire Beetle Battle
The Dark, Bigany City
An infestation of beetles erupts inexplicably in the middle of the street near the heroes.
It is not established if this is a natural phenomenon, a magical experiment gone awry or a deliberate attack by a malevolent external entity.
The heroes leap into the fray to protect the citizens of Bigany from the monsters and to assist the town guards.
They slay the horse sized fire beetles and most of the man size black beetles before the town guard manage to get the situation under control.

Scene 2: Town Guard
High Bridge Guard Tower, Bigany City
The day watch guard sergeant gives the heroes a reward for their help with the beetles.
He advises them to join the Heroes Guild to avoid taxes and to allow their easier co-operation with the forces of law and order in Bigany.

Scene 3: Heroes Guild
Heroes Guild, 10 Parade Square, Bigany City
The heroes join the guild as advised using their reward money.
This gives them access to several facilities including a safe haven while in the city.
Lucius purchases several maps from a Bigany cartographer, but he insists that he needs more detailed maps of the sewers. He uses his contacts in the city to determine that these can only be obtained from either the city engineers guild or the priests of Fileadh. These groups are unlikely to sell the maps to him to he decides to try to obtain one from The Thieves Guild.

Scene 4: Thieves Guild
Broken Knee Tavern, The Dark, Bigany City
Lucius makes contact with the Thieves Guild in The Rats Nest Tavern.
They go to The Broken Knee to meet Estevez De La Manchia.
Lucius buys a few city maps from Estevez.
To get a detailed sewer map of engineer quality, Estevez will require services as payment.
To prove they are sufficiently trustworthy, discreet and able, Estevez sets them a task.
He asks them to retrieve a Silver Chest leaving from "The Twins" at dawn.

Scene 5: Silver Chest Investigation
The Twins, Bigany City
They go to the city defense towers known as "The Twins", to check out the area in advance.
They notice that there is no where for a carriage to exit the city via the twins and while they are watching the area a noble carriage pulls up. It is guarded by several footmen and a couple of teamsters.
A few drunken and excited young nobles exit the carriage and enter the tower.
They then return to the carriage with a silver chest which races away.
A similar carriage arrives each hour and the same process is followed.
Each carriage belongs to a different noble family.

Scene 6: Dawn Raid
The South Road, Bigany City
Lucius and Vince purchase a couple of horses and await their target in a secluded copse not far from the King’s Highway south of South Gate.
When the carriage arrives, they give chase, pretending to be couriers.
Their questionable acting skills allow them catch the carriage before the teamsters realise their true intentions.
Vince hobbles one of the horses with a vicious axe blow and sends a cursing teamster flying with it’s backswing. Lucius teleports into his seat black robes flapping madly, scythe glinting in the sun.
A flash of his crooked implement, sends a terrified footmen screaming to the dusty ground.
He spews a baleful sinister curse at one the frilled ladies inside the carriage who promptly faints. The power of her fear allowing him to appear in shadow over her body. Oddly, her companions seem more excited than frightened.
Lucius demands the silver chest which they happily surrender.
When he demands their personal possessions however, their frivolous demeanor evaporates instantly, devoured by drunken belligerence.
Rapiers are drawn.
With deathly intensity Lucius curses the remaining noble lady, the terrifying fey power of the warlock’s curse slams into her. A flimsy mind will often escape floorwards. As she faints, he offers her defeat to his fey patrons and is allowed to step through shadow onto the lathered back of his galloping horse.
They escape into the dawn.

Scene 6: Thanks. But no thanks
Stirge Suite, Heroes Guild, 10 Parade Square, Bigany City
The chest is collected from their quarters in the Heroes Guild later that day.
Lucius skulks about the city making discreet enquiries.
He discovers that the nobles aboard the carriage were Isabella De La Manchia, Don Diego De La Manchia, Carlotina De La Vega and Federico Salieri.
They were en route to a party in a mansion south of Bigany City organised by some young Mome nobles.
There is no further word or reward from the Thieves Guild.
Neither is there any mention of Nobles being accosted on the King’s Highway.

Episode 3: Follow the Money

Scene 1: Strands come together
Heroes Guild, 10 Parade Square, Bigany City
Estevez tells Lucius and Vince that Mitchell Bestin is suspected of transporting supplies for the slaver ring.
He believes that goblins, orcs and hobgoblins are involved in the ring.
Bestin is reported to be leaving with a Vec merchant caravan the following day.
The Blunt Instrument decides to try subtlety and investigate the slaver ring.

Scene 2: Guard Interview
Caravan Staging Camp, Bigany City
The evening before the caravan is due to leave the Heroes speak to Bestin.
They tell him that they can protect the caravan more effectively and chaeply than the existing guards.
A skeptical Bestin asks them to prove it.
The Heroes beat the well trained guards after a difficult and close fight.
Immeral's magic proves to be the deciding factor in the battle.
He devastates the enemy with force explosions and acid blasts.
His sense of style directs him to teleport to the roof of a nearby house during his fearsome assault.
His sense of balance is no so finely honed. After the battle he is found sheepisly hanging from the guttering waiting for his magical reserves to recover so he can telport to safety.

Scene 3: Sleepy Trade Caravan Duty
The Leaping Coin, King’s Great Highway, Central Bigany
The caravan heads north and there is little trouble on the well protected Bigany highways.
At The Leaping Coin Inn the heroes are accosted by drunken louts but they keep their temper.
When they exit the inn they are attacked by the louts’ friends, caravan thugs and guards.
Immeral casts a spell and instantly places all the troublemakers into a magical slumber.
His reputation among the caravan guards on the trade route grows rapidly after this impressive display.

Scene 4: Siroshi
Caravan Market, Siroshi, The Bigany Az-Ylar Border
The caravan arrives unremarked in Siroshi.
Mitchell Bestin pays the heroes for their work and they use the money to buy horses and wilderness travel gear.
Mitchell passes the suspected supplies to several individuals, thoroughly wrapped in desert garb.
They follow them into the wilderness north east of Siroshi for several days.
The riders reveal themselves to be hobgoblins, humans and goblins.

Scene 5: Wolves in Cold Camp
Mountainous Wilderness North of Siroshi
The heroes make a cold fireless camp to avoid being spotted by their quarry.
This means however, that the wild creatures of the woods are not kept at bay.
A hungry and aggressive wolf pack starts to stalk them.
Using his arcane powers, Immeral coats an unwitting Lucius in the scent of recently killed deer and with wolf pheromones, in order to lure the wolves into an ambush.
Unsurprisingly Lucius is badly mauled by the wolves before the others manage to slay them.
Immeral bravely teleports into a tree for the duration of the battle.

Scene 6: Hobgoblin Fortification
Near Hobgoblin Slaver Base, Sandysnow Mountains
The riders arrive at a fortification manned and built by hobgoblins.
The supplies are split, some are taken north by a well armed group of hobgoblins and ogres lead by a minotaur warrior.
The rest are taken south by goblins.
A group of slaves is lead north with the supplies but they are too heavily guarded for the heroes to mount a rescue.

Episode 4: Emancipation

Scene 1: Goblin Scouts
Near Hobgoblin Slaver Base, Sandysnow Mountains
Vince, ever worried about security, wanders in the woods merrily beheading goblin scouts.
The others occasionally lend a hand when they can tear themselves away from the comforts of the camp.
Between wanderings, Vince surveys the hobgoblin fort. He estimates that there are a over score of hobgoblins defending the base.
These are supported by archers and veteran soldiers as well as a warcaster and a warleader. He proclaims a direct assault as a tactical impossibility.

Scene 2: Goblin Patrol
Near Hobgoblin Slaver Base, Sandysnow Mountains
Meanwhile the goblin patrol whose scouts Vince has killed, don't seem to appreciate his thoroughness
When they finally catch up with him, a bloody battle ensues.
An initial tactical blunder sees Immeral almost gutted by goblin blackblades.
But once Vince recovers his wits and works with Turan the battle is easily won.

Scene 3: Slave chase
Near Hobgoblin Slaver Base, Sandysnow Mountains
Distant shouts, footsteps crashing through underbrush and dogs barking alerts the heroes that more visitors are inbound.
Several bedraggled humans stumble exhaustedly into view chased by a pack of dogs.
Immeral incinerates the dogs with a swift but powerful scorching burst.
The goblins racing along the deer run in hot pursuit blunder straight into them.
Within a few heat beats, a dozen goblins lay dead and the heroes have surrounded the lone survivor, a bugbear soldier.
Thanks to a particularly ill-advised teleport maneuver Lucius is almost knocked senseless by the muscular warrior and earns a morningstar's distinctive bruise cluster for his collection sinister facial wounds.
Meanwhile Turan and Vince, now finishng each other’s tactical sentances, dance around the hairy brute and dispatch him with ease.

Scene 4: Slaves story
Near Hobgoblin Slaver Base, Sandysnow Mountains
The humans are Creedvale villagers.
They tell the heroes that a huge raiding party of goblins, hobgoblins and orcs attacked they village.
Bugbears, ogres, a minotaur necromancer and his mage cabal supported the raid.
All of the villagers were captured and sent to a goblin camp.
Some were lead north in small groups, most of the others were lead south.
The villagers ask to be brought back to Creedvale, because there are familiar trails from there to the Bigany highways.
They fear for their lives roaming the mountainous woods so far north.
At this point Turan decides it is time to reveal that his family name is Gashlicker. None of the others are entirely sure if he is serious.
Just as Lucius is about to start the interrogation of a goblin captive, a horn sounds.
The hobgoblin fort is mobilising. They all ride south to escape.

Scene 5: The Boar Duplicity
Wilderness North of Creedvale, Sandysnow Mountains
A wild dire boar attacks the camp at night during Turan's watch.
Turan’s growing skill saves him from it’s savage tusks and he prevents the boar from attacking the others, while they rouse themselves. The boar is enormous but no match for the combined assualt of The Blunt Instrument.
When the boar's mate charges the camp they deal with her with relative ease.
Vince and Turan are satisfied that their tactical teamwork is beginning to shine.

Scene 6: Entering Creedvale
Creedvale, Sandysnow Mountains, Northern Bigany
The village has been almost completely destroyed.
Over eighty villagers and their children have been slain or enslaved.
Only a handful of structures are still in tact. The rest are damp skeletal heaps of charred wood.
The smithy, the inn, the temple and a single shop are the only buildings left intact.
All have been thoroughly ransacked.
Immeral notices that the altar in the temple has been removed but not desecrated.
He believes that this was done to cut off the power of the Gods in the area without alerting the Inquisition.
Vince notices that several villagers appear to be conducting approximations their normal lives, eating carrion in the devastated inn and sitting in charred ruins of their former homes.
As they notice the new arrivals they stop their activities and move towards the heroes.
Vince realises that the villagers are a mockery of their former selves, cursed into undeath.

Episode 5: Village of The Damned.

Scene 1: Welcome to Creedvale
Village Green, Creedvale, Sandysnow Mountains
The undead villagers shamble forward to surround the heroes.
Turan has a field day. The zombies have no finesse and no regard for their own well being. They foolishly try to barge past him and they are cut to shreds by his axe.
In a matter of moments Turan has dispatched all but the strongest of them.
Shortly after even the toughest lies dead.
Barely even a sweat was raised.

Scene 2: Scavengers
Village Store, Creedvale, Sandysnow Mountains
There are no survivors so the heroes decide to search the village for valuables.
The obvious choice is the store.
As they start their search they are oblivious to the three giant hunting spiders lurking in the shadows of the roof overhead.
The spiders pounce attacking with blinding speed and lethal venom and manage to split the group.
The battle is long and vicious and in the course of it Immeral is forced to flee using a fey step to bypass the shops wooden walls.
There his is ambushed by one of the spiders as it flees from the main battle.
Immeral succumbs to it’s poison and a second spider escapes the battle to assist it’s companion in dragging the wizard into the woods.
Turan and Vince drive off the last hunting spider and then race to reclaim Immeral’s unconscious body from the retreating spiders.
A final savage battle sees an end to the spiders, but the heroes are wounded and exhausted.

Scene 3: Champions of Charon
The Chosen Temple, Creedvale, Sandysnow Mountains
Vince is assisted by Turan and Immeral in relighting the forge and re-dedicating it to Tine and Tionscail.
After a short rest, they decide to investigate the Temple to see if it is safe to inhabit for the night.
The Temple is a stout building and easy to defend. Most importantly, there are no creatures inside that will threaten a good night’s sleep.
Vince suggests that he and Turan fight each other in the Charon Arena in order to restore the blessing of Charon to the Temple.
Turan, being a skilled fighter and a worshipper of Cogadh, has the advantage.
They fight, calling on many of the Charon Gods, Cogadh, Neart, Cre, Uisce, Compleasc and Tionscail, to assist them.
They are granted supernatural divine blessings during the combat such as Neart’s strength, Uisce’s frost, Compleasc’s toughness and Cogadh’s skill. Immeral is most impressed when Uisce fills Vince’s lungs with water and when Cre briefly turns Turans skin to stone.
In the end Turan wins the day.
The temple is re-consecrated to Charon, a task that can usually only be performed by powerful clerics of The Church Of The Moons.

Scene 3: Champions of Shale
The Chosen Temple, Creedvale, Sandysnow Mountains
Immeral challenges Lucius to an arcane duel in order to re-consecrate the temple to Shale.
Lucius agrees and in a moment of frivolity pretends to appeal to Feo.
Draíocht is not amused. Not even a little.
Immeral’s first spell is charged with a tiny spark of Draíocht’s power and it almost kills the warlock.
He calls on Bas and hurls curses and eldritch blasts back at Immeral.
The arcane battle rages for a while, but Immeral retains the upper hand.
A flash of inspiration leads him to invoke Áisnéis and he makes a prophecy that his opponent will fall to his next spell.
Aisneis supports the prophecy. Lucius falls.
Then Bas intervenes. Bas, God of Death, claims Lucius for himself. The warlock’s body and Scythe disappear from the mortal world. Bas then returns Lucius to the fight. Heralded by his ominous scythe his repaired body materialises from the beneath his discarded black robes.
The fight continues. Magic missiles and eldritch blasts are exchanged and both are on the verge of collapse, when inspiration strikes again.
Immeral calls on the power of Brionglóid, and the exertions and wounds of the past day are wiped from him as if they had merely been a dream.
A battered and exhausted Lucius is no match for a fully invigorated Immeral and the battle is swiftly concluded.
Again the Temple is re-consecrated, this time to Shale and to The Cycles.

Scene 4: Reward is it’s own reward
The Chosen Temple, Creedvale, Sandysnow Mountains
Immeral humbly thanks Draíocht for his assistance.
He offers to do whatever Draiocht asks of him.
Draíocht requests that Immeral learns as much arcane knowledge as he can.
Immeral accepts. Draíocht causes a magical tome to appear in the arcane dueling arena. It contains knowledge of basic rituals. Draíocht expects Immeral to master these and then fill the rest of the tome with more rituals of greater power.
Brionglóid sends Immeral a dream which reveals that an amulet is hidden within the main altar in the temple. When he awakes he presses a sequence of symbols on the altar as revealed in the dream and locates the amulet.
A fragment of the power of the plane of dreams is woven into the amulet.

Scene 5: Nice place to visit...
Village Green, Creedvale, Sandysnow Mountains
In the morning, they are all reinvigorated by their rest in the temple, all fatigue, illness and wounds are washed away, thanks to blessing from Compleasc.
The villagers set off for the safety of Bigany, along well known trade trails.
Lucius and Immeral sense that there is something amiss to the south and Vince notices that most of the raiders footprints are also heading south.
After a few minutes of concentration, Immeral determines that there is corrupted magic being used. Lucius can tell that Bas power is being usurped.
That can mean only one thing.
The captured villagers are being used to create undead.
They leave Creedvale and set off to put an end to this.

Highhall: Potential Allies

There are several potential allies that may be persuaded to assist with the war against the minotaurs in Highhall.

These are:

The Eladrin of Elledrin in both the fey and mortal realms.
The Kingdom of Elledrin will send troops to assist in the scouring of the High Hall Passes. They are in a defensive posture and will not attack until they believe there is a chance of victory. They will be eager to press the war once sufficient allied forces have been marshalled.

The Dwarven Merchants and Smiths of Bigany.
The most influential Dwarven Merchant in Bigany, Krumnor Gemcracker, has pledged the assistance of his bretheren on the promise that they will be repaid once HighHall has been taken. He has also been promised preferential trading rights in HighHall.

The Dwarven Clans of other Holds.
They will not intervene in any Hold wars when there are Dwarves fighting on both sides. Once the Crimson Axes and the Stone Axes are no longer being controlled by the Duergar, the other Holds will send troops.

Potential Allies - Highhall

There are several potential allies that may be persuaded to assist with the war against the minotaurs in Highhall.

These are:

The Eladrin of Elledrin in both the fey and mortal realms.
The Kingdom of Elledrin will send troops to assist in the scouring of the High Hall Passes. They are in a defensive posture and will not attack until they believe there is a chance of victory. They will be eager to press the war once sufficient allied forces have been marshalled.

The Dwarven Merchants and Smiths of Bigany.
The most influential Dwarven Merchant in Bigany, Krumnor Gemcracker, has pledged the assistance of his bretheren on the promise that they will be repaid once HighHall has been taken. He has also been promised preferential trading rights in HighHall.

The Dwarven Clans of other Holds.
They will not intervene in any Hold wars when there are Dwarves fighting on both sides. Once the Crimson Axes and the Stone Axes are no longer being controlled by the Duergar, the other Holds will send troops.

Duergar Report

[Note: due to the nature of Duergar thought and langauge, this report has been sanitised for public consumption by non-Duergar].

... and whooped their hides REAL gooood. We cleaned our weapons, armor and (Obscencely Sexual or Violent Reference Omitted OSRVO), before the slaves made camp and we settled in for an evening of (OSRVO).

I was (OSRVO) like a crazed hell hound's mother when one of them thar sentries squealed like a pig. Then nothin. As my old Maw used to shout, ain't no problem no way no how until the pig stops a squeal'in! I drawed out my axe and dipped it in my (OSRVO) and charged my ass over to the fun.

Snake headed mother-...(OSRVO) ...gusting. The Yuanti scum that dun be dogging our asses for the last three weeks dun struck again. I lashed out with ma furious anger and dun smote them snake fellars tween da eyes.

Cealg dun lied in my own eyes, an I didn't see nun, no way no how, but'n I sure did feel 'em. Don't get me wrong boy, I luv, I say I luv, taken on a bitta hurten 'fore a squirten but, whooeee!, ten snake arrows in the chest slows a body down a mite.

He whooped my hide REAL goood. That (OSRVO) should have dun (OSRVO) and then killed me but he damn well thieved my best hackin axe. I dun needed that thur axe fur killen and (OSRVO)!!

I lay on the ground like slave in a (OSRVO), a-writhen and a-wrigglin with the hurten of the poison. Damn! And I saw, I tells ya, I saw, them (OSRVO) snake heads thieven every durn axe they could get thur slimy flips on. Didn't take nuthin else! Not the gold, not the slaves, not even the (OSRVO). What in the hell of Cealg, is that all about? Damned if I know.

I reckon though them snake heads lookin for somethin. And if they're lookin, then sure and Cealg is a cheatin liar, the abominations ur maken 'em do it. Buy why? What in the hell of Cealg's armpit are the snakeheads up to looking for The Axe. Trouble is a brewin, Yes siree ...