1 - Fort Morninglord
The party descended to the edge of the crater that once was Elturel. After mingling with the survivors of the cataclysm, they decided to leave for Baldur's Gate the next morning, offering their services as armed escorts to those that can afford it. A family of three and a lone merchant agreed to pay 2 gp / person / day for their protection and sustenance.
The company was also joined by Emeryck, Galserys and Larkam. Emeryck wishes to get to Baldur's Gate as soon as possible to report the loss of Grad Duke Ultan Ravengard. Galserys has shown interest in tracking down the cult that has decimated her band of thieves. Larkam left for the same reason as most people in and around Elturel: without the protection of the Hellriders and The Companion the region will likely become unsafe to live in.
The first milestone on the road to Baldur's Gate is Fort Morninglord, an outpost of the Hellriders located on the banks of the Chiontar river. The party hoped to acquire provisions for the journey and a safe place to rest for the night when entering the fort. However, they did not find what they expected.
The main gate to the fort was open, no one to be seen. As they started exploring the abandoned fort, Tarhun saw a vision of a golden sun and heard a woman's voice beckoning him 'Find it!'. They first checked the gatehouse, whose door they found to be rammed down. Upon entering they saw two corpses in the attire of the Hellriders, who rose to their feet and attacked the party, calling out Tarhun to be a 'betrayor'.
After dispatching the undead, the explorers turned their attention to the main tower. As they were passing by a barred cellar window, a voice called out from the darkness below. He introduced himself as Nephyl, a prisoner locked up under false pretenses. He claimed to be the sole survivor of the events that transpired in the Fort a few days ago. In exchange for an account of what happened, Nephyl asked the party to free him from his cell.
Thus the company started to explore the main tower. Upon entering the lobby they were met with a mural on the hallway reciting the Vow of the Hellriders:
After exploring a bit, the party headed to the cellar to free Nephyl. After doing so he recounted a short summary of what happened:
"A group of Hellriders arrived to the fort a few days ago. Shorty afterwards a big portion of the original garrison rode out, leaving the visitors with only a few of the original guards here. Some time has passed again, when a fight broke out in the tower above. I hid under the bed and luckily wasn't noticed as the attackers swept the fort. It seems that the recently arrived Hellriders had slaughtered those originally stationed here, and then left."
Angered by this story of betrayal, Tarhun lead the party to cleanse the tower from the undead, laying his former brethren to their final rest. The party emerged from the fight victorious, though badly battered and bruised. As the final zombie fell in the chapel, the fighter's gaze turned to the altar - an effigy displaying the symbol of Amaunator: the golden sun.
They found a sacrificial circle set up in the meeting room, which turned out to be a farce, probably left there by the attackers to set up the scene of the massacre as the workings of a cult.
They found a key in the quartermasters room, which opened the storage area in the basement.
The party also found the room of the fort's former captain, Ansell Lonestride. The room was in upheaval as if someone was searching for something inside. They found the body of Lonestride and took her signet ring, which opened a safe hidden behind the symbol of Amaunator in the chapel.
“It’s indeed concerning how much we deviated from our Gods during the past
decades. Almost all shrines I encounter walking on the streets are dedicated to
The Companion, but the true gods are all but forgotten. Even our Creed mentions
to set aside our old beliefs in favor of The Companion.
I shall make sure to not to stray outside the light of Amaunator – the first
act of which will be resetting the passphrase for the Vault.”
Another entry says:
“My quest to figure out the origins of The Companion have is more difficult
than I anticipated. Everyone I talked to seem to give a slightly different
account of the story.
It seems it has appeared about 2 weeks after the Red Coup. By then Ikaia’s
forces had the city in a firm grip despite the best efforts of Lightfall and
Kreeg. The populace of Elturel have rallied behind the two leaders of the
resistance, but the vampire lords forces were too powerful.
It appears that the city was only saved from utter destruction by the
appearance of The Companion, but it didn’t come soon enough to save Lightfall it
seems.”
The last entry says:
“The more questions I have the less answers I find. Not sure who I can trust
anymore. We pledge to uphold the oath of the high observer. But what oath does
the high observer pledge?”
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