Mission 1: Bane on the Borderlands

Day 1
From prisons and dungeons across the kingdom, Damera's worst were secretly assembled in the capital of Dameran, below the ancient Castle Perilous. Bound by magic-dampening chains within the deepest dungeons were four despicable prisoners: Dayereth, a fair eladrin whose obsession with pleasure warped him into the realm's most notorious sexual predator; Vhidea, one of the psychic kalashtar whose dealings with the babbling fey left her irrevocably insane; Revil, an elf of noble Dameran birth who betrayed his station and good name by embezzling millions, hastening Damera's current weakness; and Khovius of Bane, once a shining example of Pelor's Knights of High Noon turned murderer and tyrant.

Whispers between guards and down halls suggested they weren't the only prisoners summoned, that the kingdom was calling them in droves. And soon they'd know why...

After several days rotting in cells with only bread heels and murky water, twelve soldiers led by Warden Horatio came to collect these four cretins. However not all was as it seemed. The more astute of the party quickly saw through the Horatio disguise, but decided to keep quiet. Likely Horatio was dead, stuffed in some closet or buried under a porch, replaced with arguably the most notorious villain in the dungeon, one who wasn't chained or collected, an assassin who came to Castle Perilous on a whim and with the rumor of riches and power in his ear. He was known by many names, but few knew it as Hael the Changeling.

Escorting the four through the upper reaches of the Castle Perilous, a huge military compound, even hardened veterans startled and turned aside, to say nothing of the greener guards.

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4-11

Day 12


Experience: 1045xp each
Kindle Village, 875
Infiltrating the Cult skill challenge, 600xp
Know Thy Enemy skill challenge, 1000xp
Battle for Supremacy (arena fight), 1750xp
Mission 1: Bane on the Borderlands (major quest), 1000

Magic: 5 Rings of Loyalty, +2 Magic Rod (Vhidea), +2 Frost Short Sword (Revil), +1 Whiteflame Cloth Armor (Khovius, -680gp), Jarynn's +2 Vicious Greatsword (Khovius)
Money: 2000gp (400gp each)
Loot: 5 horses (-200gp per PC), Snivelin's Eye of Naarash (Khovius), 3 Baenite Robes (Hael, Vhidea, Revil), 2 suits of hide armor, 2 flails, Herpes (Dayereth)

NPCs:
General Duringa, the old one-eyed, one-legged dwarven general of Dameran and lord of Castle Perilous; hates the squads but uses them all the same; particularly hates Khovius
Warden Horatio (dead), a human warden in charge of keeping Castle Perilous' prisoners; murdered by Hael during off hours and replaced
Majordomo Herman, a measly human caretaker and sage who oversees the day-to-day running of Castle Perilous
Smithy Roxanne, a mannish dwarven smithy who outfitted the squad with their starting gear
Sergeant Snivelin, the imp-possessed leader of the Kindle raiders; terrified of the group
Boss Gnash, Hobgoblin in control of Kelmarane; Based out of the Seven Swans Inn
Sir Klev, a maimed paladin of Bane and former rival of Jarynn, who crippled him when his guard was down; fed the squad plenty of good information on Jarynn; ended up landing the final blow on his hated foe after the squad's appeal for his intervention in the arena
Lady Nelisha, the cleric of Bane who taught Jarynn the arts of misdirection, lies and divine power; betrayed by Jarynn and stripped of much of her former power; aided the group in the arena after an appeal by the squad
Brothers of the Blackened Skull, a sect of Baenites which ensures the will of Bane is done through his cult and not the will of whatever warlord happens to run the faith; they imbibe all sorts of hallucinogens and perform strange, torturous rites in order to hear Bane's will (or so they believe at least), all of them wear charred skulls over their faces to mask their identities among their fellow cultists
Lord Jarynn (dead), leader of the Eastern Cult of Bane, formerly a paladin of Pelor who deceived Dameron into thinking himself an advocate of their causes in order to weaken the kingdom enough for an attack; planned to raise the countless dead soldiers across the contested Borderlands to fight under him in an invasion of the capital; slain by the squad and replaced by Khovius; was also the leader of the Baenite sect known as the Hand of Naarash and acted as the Voice of Naarash, whatever that means

Completed Mission:
Mission 1: Bane on the Borderlands

1. Find Jarynn
2. Uncover the Baenite plot on the Borderlands
3. Eliminate the Baenite threat to Dameran