The Return of an Old Ally

The tiefling introduced himself as Narock and quickly led them through a maze of streets, sewers, tunnels, basements, etc to a fairly prosperous mansion. Stepping inside, the heroes were once again met by a tiefling. This one seemed to know a great deal about them and when asked about his identity, revealed himself to be Melech, betrayer of Damakos and friend of the party from long ago.

Still not comfortable with Melech, Alexander asked to speak with Narock. Melech understood and gave them the run of the mansion. Narock was introduced as a Harper and quickly filled the heroes in.

Melech is not a Harper, but a member of the Brotherhood of the Sun, a religious organization that reveres Pelor and looks to bring about good. Not as willing to do whatever must be done as the Harpers, the two groups often work together. From an old email chain: "Brotherhood of the Sun. We are a religious order founded by the High Priests of Pelor. Ages ago, the Brotherhood was founded to help in the fight against evil as information gatherers, the eyes and ears of the church. Over time, it became clear that gathering information wasn't enough, we needed to do more, so we evolved into a fighting force."

There are 2 factions looking to retrieve the Hand of Vecna. One, loyal to Lolth, the spider goddess, the other to Torog, the god that crawls. If either is able to find it, the balance of power in the Underdark would shift, eventually resulting in a threat to the surface.

Each group has been assembling an expedition to explore the caverns and both will be leaving shortly. The heroes expressed interest in mounting their own expedition, or perhaps ambushing whichever group finds the artifact first. No decision was made.

Melech was able to provide the heroes with some significant upgrades. Ekeraath received the armor he had been searching for. Leenia a new sash. Alexander, upgraded armor. I don't think Kuppies said anything, but that will be addressed. Rudy refused anything offered by Melech.

This was an excellent night, 100% role playing. No combat and only a handful of skill checks. Jeff later told me it was a lot of fun not to be led around, but to have to figure things out themselves. I will endeavor to allow that to happen. For the record, I improvised at least 50% of the night.