The Call of Atropus: Lost Kingdom (King of the Golden Hall: Chapter 5)

The party responded to a call for aid from Counciler Maren Farstrider of Daggerdale, regarding strange disturbances in the Desertsmouth mountains, and particularly the ruins of the Fallen Kingdom of Tethyamar. The party travelled, via cart, across the bottom edge of the Anauroch desert, until they entered the Dalelands. They had to deal with the clearly corrupt Daggerdale guards, who, the party discerned, bore the symbols of the Black Network. After snooping in town for a bit, they learned that the Zhentarim have seized control of much of the region, and have been cracking down more fiercely, draining the townsfolk of their money. Kuban spoke with an elderly man in the Red Rock Tavern, who told him about the old days, when Lord Randal Morn of the free Dalelands ruled. He spoke of days of prosperity and peace. He explained to Kuban that Zhentarim forces had ousted Morn, and forced him and his allies out of the Dalelands for years. One day, however, Randal Morn and his allies launched a liberating attack, and freed the Dale region from the Black Network’s grip. Morn ruled for several more years, but the stories say that he went with his friends hunting during a particularly cold winter season, and during the trip, he contracted pneumonia and died. Slowly, year by year, the Zhentarim regained their deathgrip on the Dalelands, and Daggerdale now is completely at their mercy. The party spoke to Maren, and learned that sightings of strange lights and sounds had disturbed many of the townsfolk, who reported that unnatural events where occurring in the Desertsmouth Mountains. He had sent for a reconnaissance team, who reported back to him that the old Tethyamar mines were being used, as well as the old castle. In addition, a large, black tower had been built, and it was clear that someone had taken up residence. The party agreed to investigate, and began a two-day journey through the mountains. They travelled without incident the first day, yet during the end of their night watch, they found that the wind had carried a scroll, made from some sort of unnatural substance, to their camp. Odom identified the scroll as being made from the skin of a halfling, and he was promptly traumatized and stunned by this realization, as he began to retreat slightly into his mind. The party quarreled over whether or not to open the scroll, but ultimately they decided to allow the sunlight to burn it, with Kuban casting it higher onto the mountain, where it was incinerated.