There Once Was a Man (Inactive)

Game Master Shadowtail24

The Goblin's Cavern: A tip from Rantin sends the players up the Adivian River to a spot where smugglers had been spotted. The trail leads you to an extensive underground network. The smugglers, it turns out, is actually a band of goblins that have taken up residence in the caverns. The goblins, while expanding their territory, came across another underground network, though dungeon is really a better word for it. The dungeon was in fact a part of House Charthagnion, and housed many of their most important treasures and knowledge, including their contract. The goblins happened upon the devil and fled, stopping up the connecting tunnels. Their fear became much greater though, and they decided they needed to taker action. They started robbing weapon shipments, but only silver weapons, from House Henderthane to House Thrune and began stockpiling the weapons. They also reached out to groups of neighboring goblins and were bringing in recruits. Your team, luckily, invaded the cavern system at a time when many of the goblins were out recruiting, and only had to deal with a token force. The devil was much harder to deal with, a bone devil this time, but you manage to win the day and regain Molos his memories. And then it was just Sydney's memories left.

The Performer's Trap Door: The last dungeon is made known to you by Morgrim Igmar, a dwarf performer form house Sarini. He noticed during one of his performances that there is actually a trapdoor on the platform in Thrune's Glory, an upscale tavern near House Henderthane. No longer one to leave these things unchecked, Morgrim investigated and found that the trap door led to much more than just the storage space under the platform. He shares sympathies with your party and was weilling to divulge the information. Another dungeon crawl ensued, and ended with the part defeating two Erinyes and another bearded devil. The three combined to restore Sydney's memories and the gruop was restored.

Except for that last meeting of Taishan, which no one remembers.

Molos: Simply put, when meeting with Lugen, Molos was put under a very strong coersion enchantment. Molos knew he was under the enchanment, but was so impressed with the strength he wanted to join with Lugen and eventually learn how to over power him.

Sydney: Lugen is able to tell you a story, a story of a Samsaran who helped stage that coup that set Thrune in power, of a Samsaran who proposed the deal that put Sarini under Thrune's foot, and who's deviousness led to other ideas, such as the Hell Knights having their own contract, of a Samsaran named Sydney. You are suspicious, but are too curious to pass up the chance. Prior to your memory gain, your past memories continue to floor your mind, including the discussion with the Sarini Devil, the meeting with Duranu to learn the rest of the contract had been rewritten, and finally Alana's betrayal, which exiled Duranu and left you dying on the floor of a chamber in House Thrune. The memory though, reveals one key point; the entrance to House Thrune's contract dungeon.

"Yes, it is indeed Duranu. Taishan, you have fulfilled your roll perfectly. You have almost single-handedly overthrown the Cheliax government and instilled the man who should be ruling it as Kin, and now you will be rewarded for it. You can now have the control and power that brought you too this task in the first place. Duranu needs time to remove this barrier so until then, perhaps you would like to hear a story."Lugen produces five vials from his pockets and throws them to the ground, shattering the glass and releasing the familiar blue light. Each of you are targeted by a patch of light, and sent back to your memories of the last meeting of Taishan.

The 26th of Calistril:
Lugen appears after everyone has settled and it is immediately apparent he is in a good mood. He smiles as he starts, "Taishan, it is time you learned the entire plan. We have some major obstacles in our way but thanks to your help, we will have a way to overcome them. The Hellknight contract, I have learned, identifies the destroyer of a contract 2 weeks after the fact. The two weeks gives the house time to try and sort it out for themselves but should they fail, the Hellknights are called in. I am one of the ones alerted, but there are are too many toehrs notified immediately for us to neutralize them. We could, of course, destroy all of the competitor contracts within two weeks, but that would be even more difficult. The plan as it stands would take over a month to knock out the five houses we are targeting. So that option is out.
Destroying the Hellknight contract is also not an option, as doing so immediately alerts Thrune of the destroyer's identity. So that is not an option.
The watching devils themselves are smart. They will not blame one who was forced into service, instead they will root out the man at the top; so picking a random person to destroy the contract will only lead the trail back to us; so that is not an option.
Stealing and holding onto the contracts is another interesting option, but not one I think is viable. at least one house would figure out who the culprits were, especially after the Hellknights were alerted that there had been a contract stolen and were given the identity of the thief, so that is not an option.
And so, we need to find a group of people that are able to do the work, who are willing to take the blame, and who will not lead to my own destruction. That is where you five come in." Magical bonds suddenly press against each of you, effectively restricting your movement and even gagging you. A couple of dozen shadows on the balcony reveal themselves as humanoids; at the same time, a figure enters from a side room and steps up next to Lugen. "This is Duranu, former General of House Thrune and one of the greatest arcane innovators in all of Cheliax. He is going to remove your memories, and put them into contract-guarding devils, forcing you to attempt to find and destroy each of the contracts. Well, forced it the wrong word, you will do it willingly. And even if the devils feel that you are not acting voluntarily, the blame cannot be traced back to me... as I will be dead. Well, not really dead but Duranu and I have a plan for that as well.
As a final word, I do not expect all of you to make it. I will be helping you find and conquer each contract, though of course you will not know I am the source of the information you receive. The devils will likely only require one of you to take the punishment for each contract that is destroyed, so at least one of you should be able to make it to Thrune and destroy their contract last. If you do make it, you should know that Duranu and I will most certainly reward you for your service and give you power and control in the new government run by Narikopolus. Oh yeah, I should mention that Duranu is the unnamed ruler of Narikopolus, a fact only we in this room know at the moment; Taishan itself is a plan of Narikopolus to overthrow the five stronger houses and establish itself as the power in Cheliax. Regardless, Narikopolus will need the help that resourceful individuals such as yourself, and you will most certainly have earned it should you survive. "

The Present:
You awake from your memories to find the blue barrier surrounding the island gone. You have been bound, gagged and propped up against a wall. Lugen is pacing in front of you, holding three scrolls and a roll of lead sheets (the four contracts).

"I apologize for this, but I believe I have been in error about this entire plan. Holding onto these contracts should have alerted the Hellknights to your identities but since Mallichatti was only given leads, not names (That's true) it appears I must have been mistaken about the language of the Hellknights contract." Lugen looks at the four contracts in his hand and then bursts into laughter. "It would seem then, that most of this plan was unneeded, though certainly not appreciated. Now, which of you would like a place in the new Cheliax?"

Sydney is going after Alana (for sure)