First let me say thanks for taking the time to read this and respond, I appreciate it.
Here is some quick back ground so you know how I got to my situation.
During Book 1 the party captured Tsuto & Lyrie which were held in Sandpoint until Justice Ironbriar made a trip to town with some city guards to pick them up and return them to Magnimar for trial. They were picked up prior to starting Book 2.
The party has now completed two thirds of Book 2 and were on there way to check the Seven's Sawmill when they were attacked by Tsuto, Lyrie and some Scarzani toughs. After a long hard fight they defeated them all and recaptured Tsuto having kept him alive to find out what happened.
The bard got a natural 20 on his intimidate so Tsuto spilled the beans about how Ironbriar had freed the two of them and had them doing odd jobs for him. Earlier in the day Ironbriar had let them know the party was in town and to take care of them.
Now due to several LG people in the party they could not just kill Tsuto once they had the wanted info, but were reluctant to hand him over to the Magnimar authorities since they had already released them once. So instead they went to the Order of the Nail Hell Knights that are stations in town.
They took Tsuto in to custody verified the parties claims and promised they would make sure he saw trial for his crimes. The party also told the knights about the sawmill and their suspicions about it being used for the murders going on around town. They did this hoping the Hell Knights would take care of the sawmill for them but still get access to any additional clues for the mystery. The Hell Knights agreed to share any info the had lead to things outside Magnimar, which the party agreed to.
The next morning the party woke to the town criers announcing the Hell Knights had solved the issue of the murders and obliterated the cult involved, with not mention of the group. The party went to see the Hell Knights to see if there was any information for them, which the Hell Knights said no because all the clues led to stuff in Magnimar. They did tell the party that one person had escaped and they found no sign of Ironbriar. The party asked for permission to check out the sawmill which the Hell Knights allowed.
Luckily for the party the Hell Knights either did not find or understand the significance of the ravens in the rookery. After some discussion the party allowed one of them to go free and was able to watch it return to the Shadow Clock, and will be heading that direction soon.
So Ironbriar is still charmed, so would he continue his normal life but other wise lie low or would Xanesha have him doing something else?
I considered adding him to the Shadow Clock since I have 7 PC's, but I'm not sure where he would be if Xanesha had him there.
Thanks
JD
Side Note, Nualia also escaped but I plan to have her return to try and destroy Sandpoint again along with the giants at the beginning of Book 4
Oh my. You've really strayed far from the corral.
Ironbriar doesn't have a life any more; it's completely ruined. Where is Tsuto? With the HK's? Or back in the hands of the Magnimar authorities? Who has Ironbriar's journal? The HK's? They probably have someone who can decrypt it. His cover is completely blown, it's only a matter of time now. Without the charm, he would probably flee (as written in the AP if the charm is gone and he is defeated by the players.)
However, I'll assume the charm is still in place so he would consult with Xanesha before fleeing. She, of course, doesn't care one whit about him except that he has been a valuable pet. She gets nothing from him fleeing Magnimar so that's not what she wants. She has a couple options:
1. Try to save him. Risky but he's damn good at harvesting greed, hard to find someone quite as good at doing all the messy bits for her. She's got a lot of loose ends to clean up. She needs Tsuto silenced, the HK's taken out, the journal recovered and the pc's killed. A tall order indeed. She, Ironbriar, the Scarecrow and her faceless stalkers assault the HK's. She can charm her way in, the faceless stalkers can fake their way in, etc. I'm picturing something like the Terminator's attack on the police station in the first Terminator movie. The HK's need to be punished for meddling in her affairs. If it goes really well, they can frame the murders on the HK's and make the HK attack on the mill seem like a diversion/cover story.
2. Use him to get new pets: the HK's. She tells Ironbriar to hide out in the clock tower for a day or two while she tries to find out what the HK's know. She adopts human form and does go to the HK's but not to investigate but narc Ironbriar out. She tell them Ironbriar and the pc's have a convoluted plan to seize power in Sandpoint based on destabilizing the governments of both cities. They framed and killed poor Aldern Foxglove and his wife (insert distraught tears here.) She claims she's a maid in Ironbriar's estate and overheard them plotting. The HK's need to hurry to the Shadow Clock because the pc's are meeting Ironbriar there tonight on their way to assassinate Mayor Grobaras! And frame the HK's for it! She uses charm and other seductive techniques to persuade the HK's of the urgency. While the HK's head off to the clock tower, she and the Scarecrow hunt down the pc's. If they're already at the tower so much the better, she tries to kill them in all the confusion. Maybe she tries to bring the tower itself down and take out the whole lot. Remember, she's Chaotic Evil!
I guess the party has lost out on the reward that would have been given to them by the mayor if the hellknights are taking credit.
I would definitely add Ironbriar to the shadow clock. If you have seven players you want extra bodies in the last fight. When they get there they might hear him trying to get Xanesha to help him.
I don't think Ironbriar can return to his former life unless the PCs are dead, and the HKs are placated somehow.
If you are giving XP the party will be behind since they didn't face the enemies in the sawmill; they also didn't get any of the magic items and there was a fair bit of treasure there. So it's also good for your players if they get the chance to face him.
Latrecis' ideas for the HKs are interesting but if the players act quickly they could get X and JI before any of those plans are enacted by them.
Xanesha is powerful but I'm not sure she could pull off an assault on the HKs with what she has at hand. A decent sized group of Fighter 5/Hellknight 1's could probably take her on, though with some losses. How big is the HK outpost that you've added? I'm pretty sure canon does not have any Hellknights in Magnimar (though they are in Korvosa). If it's a small embassy then this might work. Also remember that not every member of the cult was necessarily at the sawmill, so there could still be cultists around for Xanesha to use.
The Order of the Nail has a contingent in Magnimar, in the Naos (the Bastion of the Nail). While not numerous, they are tenacious and skilful. Their leader is Paralictor Darean Halst (LN male Chelaxian Fighter 5/Hellknight 3).
Ohhhh I like that Latrecis - turn the hellknights against them :)
Although be ready for the mess that could result if the players are fighting with an established order within Magnimar - although given the rest of the cities politics getting rid of them may actually be looked at in a favorable light (assuming they succeeded).
Perhaps Ironbriar fled with his book and managed to take the list of murders with him - enough evidence to implicate him.
The hellknights get the visit from X and want to arrest the players - but the players in the meantime get a lead on where Ironbriar is hiding - with a bunch of cultists (they weren't *all* in the sawmill after all) - and the hellknights try to arrest the players.
So now the only way to clear their names is to find Ironbriar and the information that links him to the crimes.
Or perhaps the players get arrested and when being questioned one notices the items and information showing the hellknights captured Ironbriar - now they are in prison (the small one the Hellknights keep) and need to get out and get the evidence to clear their names.
Another possibility is that the leader of the Hellknights is in secret a member of the skinsaw cult....
There are all kinds of threads that could be plucked here...
Thanks for the ideas and thoughts.
The idea of X going after the Hell Knights is interesting I will have to consider it or other similar options.
The big thing I was looking for was if Ironbriar would be at the tower the next evening when the PC's show up to investigate.
Now to decide if he grabbed his journal so the HK's don't have a lead to X or if they know and are opting not to act on it yet.
JD