Shadow War Strategic Studies

[jmecha]

Collected outside the Tower of Luck
Ches 25th, 1401 Dale Reckoning, Year of the Sheltered Viper
Scribed by Pawn Xandos Klaxxan of the House of Heroes

Several people of all ages were abducted from the streets of Waterdeep, near the Tower of luck. In response several different members of the city's adventuring community and a government official gathered to investigate and plan a rescue effort. Those that responded were as follows.

Adventurer's Guild
Guild Master Dorian Orthallas
Assistant Guild Master Gael Lynch
Cornelius Tauber

Lhuvenhead Trading Company
Sarenna Irithyl

Adventuring Community
Flynn

The Grey Hand
Aries Vexx

Companions of the One True Vision
Inquisitor Guardian Hans Copperpot

The Third Circle
Jed Ironwing

The House of Heroes
Pawn Xandos Klaxxan



As we decided a course of action outside the Tower of Luck, Collectors came upon us in waves and took each of us to Shadoweep where we reunited and decided to work together to search for survivors and safeguard them back to Waterdeep through a Moondoor. It was there and then that a blighted man with wisps of shadows trailing him, introduced himself as Vasen and proved a valuable ally in protecting several Waterhaviens from the draining negative energy effects of Shadowdeep by providing them shelter inside his boarding house located North of the Tower of Luck. With Vasen's guidance we managed to find his boarding House after combating some of the Legions Patrols, Shadows, and Shadow Mastiffs.

Unfortunately several Blue Slaad who were being lead by a pair of Grey Slaad had decided to raid the boarding house in search of victims to aid in creation of the next generation of Slaad. The fighting was fierce as we engaged the Slaad in the very crowded central hallway of the Boarding House. Despite the Slaad having slain some inhabitants during their initial attack on the Boarding House, we managed to save several of the Waterhaviens from infection and safely lead them home by accessing a nearby Moondoor.

[jmecha]

Black Knight takes Red Prawns
Tarsakh 2nd, 1401 Dale Reckoning, Year of the Sheltered Viper
Scribed by Pawn Xandos Klaxxan of the House of Heroes

I was informed there was trouble at the Foundry and set out with the company I was with to see the staff were not in danger.

The Grey Hand
Aries Vexx

Companions of the One True Vision
Inquisitor Guardian Hans Copperpot

Sky Pony Tribe
Frauzoth Em

Dwarven Clergy
Raldin Thunderbeard



We entered the Foundry to find it ablaze and several of the staff slain while what appeared to be an undead corrupted Righteous Brother Hronkil Elgredsson formerly of the Sun Soul Order dragging my ward Danny Lu through a Void door while ordering other former monks of the Sun Soul who had also been corrupted with undeath to deal with our intrusion. In the fighting that followed Danny Lu was taken and the Corrupt Brother Hronkil Elgredsson disappeared through a Void Door, that vanished before we could pursue. The fast thinking actions of Inquisitor Guardian Hans Copperpot put out the flames, sparing the building from total destruction.

After taking a quick assessment of the situation and finding no sign of survivors, we set out immediately for the Void Door located North of the Nature Shrines of the Temple Ward. After passing through to Shadowdeep, we traveled southwards towards the analog for the Foundry in search of any signs or clues as to where Danny Lu and any others may have been taken. We were immediately set upon by a Sharran Priestess, Undead Soldiers of the Legion, and more former Monks of the Sun Soul. It was not until after the fighting had ended that the shadows of several Prawns, my former students and the staff of the Foundry appeared before us.



They were mere ethereal shadows of their former selves and Inquisitor Guardian Hans Copperpot warned that they had been corrupted and could not be trusted. I though reached out to them offering a comforting hand, one that they reached for but could not grab. They complained of being trapped in cold and darkness, of being lost and hopeless. They seemed to slowly flicker in and out of existence until Clergy Raldin Thunderbeard used his divine favor to temporarily provide one stability enough to answer a few questions.

What was learned is that the corrupted Monks, formerly of the Sun Soul have been collecting children from across the city and using them as slave labor within Shadowdeep. Due to the fire it is unknown how many of my students were slain, and how many were captured alive. What is known is that there are no signs of any Prawns having escaped this raid upon the Foundry.

The corpses that could be recovered from the Foundry have been, and they will receive burial rights under Highsword Bloodhelm of Tempus within the House of Heroes.

[jmecha]

Delegation
Tarsakh 8th, 1401 Dale Reckoning, Year of the Sheltered Viper
Scribed by Pawn Xandos Klaxxan of the House of Heroes

In an effort to continue to pursue previously presented potential leads and opportunities to learn more about the current conflict and those involved, I have enlisted the aid of the adventurer Selu and the Clergy of Kelemvor Alain to search and investigate deceased Agent Cesa Brul's apartment for any potential clues or case notes that might be contained within. The pair have been issued an enchanted wand of wound mending as well as six hundred coins from the temple armory and coffers to aid them in their endeavor and cover any expenditures that need be made to procure both success and their survival.

[jmecha]

Loose Ends
Tarsakh 9th, 1401 Dale Reckoning, Year of the Sheltered Viper
Scribed by Pawn Xandos Klaxxan of the House of Heroes

• 1) Agent Cesa Brul's Lead
  Whatever she died investigating she did so knowing the risks, and believed it worth while. Someone had her murderd for her efforts. Learning what she knew and who killed her to prevent her from learning more maybe exceptional valuable.
  
  
  • Updated Tarsakh 10th, 1401 Dale Reckoning, Year of the Sheltered Viper
    by Pawn Xandos Klaxxan of the House of Heroes
    
    Doomguide Alain and Selu proved competent and capable in accessing Agent Cesa Brul's apartment where they found evidence of the place having already having been searched and looted by someone previously. They though were able to access a lock box the previous intruder could not, and inside was found another receipt from Balthorr's Rare and Wonderous Treasures with a map drawn upon the back and concealed by magic. After careful study Doomguide Alain was able to reveal a map of the area around Balthorr's and the store encircled. Also of note was a Toy Soldier found inside the lockbox, one that appears identical to the one I found inside the surgical room of the Shadowdeep analog of the Thirsty Throat Tavern.
    
  • Unsure how to proceed at this time, need to consult with Selu and Doomguide Alain to see if they are both willing and capable of further investigating Balthorr's Rare and Wonderous Treasures
  • 2) R.R. and the Monster Pit
    Someone knew in advance the Lathanderites would use the House of Heroes to aid in the delivery of curatives from Kappiyan Flurmastyr's to the Lathanderite Compound, and they were prepared to sabotage our efforts with efficiency. Who are they and how did they know what they knew?
  • 3) Alathene Moonstar
    Not only has she been combating Vanrak Moonstar longer then any of us, the designs of her plan and her knowledge of the Resonators remain a mystery to us. Where is she hiding and how best to find her and make contact to learn what she knows?

[jmecha]

Lost Shadows and Black Jungles
Tarsakh 9th, 1401 Dale Reckoning, Year of the Sheltered Viper
Scribed by Pawn Xandos Klaxxan of the House of Heroes



In an effort to better understand the mystery of the Moon Doors I have turned over a copy of all of the information currently collected related to dates, times, and locations of the Moon Doors that have been collected to the House of the Moon for review. While no immediate insights were gleamed from the information shared, the House of the Moon has promised to review the field research members of the greater adventurer community have worked, risked, fought, and sacrificed to collect.



In a gesture of alliance and open exchange the House of the Moon did provide a book that had been donated to the House of the Moon hundreds of years ago by the Moonstar Family. Together Inquisitor Guardian Hans Copperpot, Adventurer's Guild Master Dorian Orthallas, and myself retired to the House of Heroes to make a study of the book. Together we surmised that long ago when Vanrak Moonstar was a living man he was a capable and accomplished explorer who despite his rebellious nature perhaps maintained a loving relationship with his Father. This insights combined with the profile on Vanrak Moonstar that Lhuvenhead Trading Company's Sarenna Irithyl assured me she has been working diligently to complete should help all of us understand who Vanrak Moonstar was and currently is.

It was after reviewing the book that Adventurer's Guild Master Dorian Orthallas pointed out both Inquisitor Guardian Hans Copperpot and myself were missing our Shadows, and then explained several members of the Adventurer's Guild were missing theirs as well. It remains unknown what the loss of Shadows truly means, but Adventurer's Guild Master Dorian Orthallas seems to believe such is a marking of who Vanrak Moonstar has recgonized as an enemy and threat. While several members of the Adventurer's Guild have confronted their Shadows inside the Shadowdeep Analog of the Adventurer's Guild House with conversation, the Shadows proved unwilling to rejoin with their previous owners physical form.

When I gave voice to the option of physical confrontation with one's missing shadow, it seemed my own missing shadow questioned the thoughts within my head. It appeared to want to know why I would be willing to kill my own Shadow. I shared this with Adventurer's Guild Master Dorian Orthallas and Inquisitor Guardian Hans Copperpot, and verbally responded to my Shadow's inquire. Letting it be known that I would sooner sacrfice pieces of myself and my being, then allow them to possibly become the tools of Vanrak Moonsrar.

Setting out for a Void Door located in the Northwest corner of Waterdeep with aims to reach the Shadowdeep analog of the House of Heroes, we three encountered a Dweomervore. During the brief combat to reclaim some potions from the winged thief, and medical attention to Inquisitor Guardian Hans Copperpot after removing some misplaced elven arrows from his Dwarven back, Adventuer's Guild Master Dorian Orthallas excused himself from our combined effort to reach the Shadowdeep analog of the House of Heroes.

Inquisitor Guardian Hans Copperpot and I pressed onward only to be turned back by supieor numbers and overwhelming forces encountered near the Shadowdeep analog of the Shrine of Nature. Due to the good fortune of a Moon Door being opened, we were able to escape back to Waterdeep.

[jmecha]

The Setting Sun
Tarsakh 10th, 1401 Dale Reckoning, Year of the Sheltered Viper
Scribed by Pawn Xandos Klaxxan of the House of Heroes



Upon visiting the Monastery of the Sun Soul we were halted by a young initiate of the Order and told the Monastery was closed. After announcing our alliance to him and Raldin Thunderbeard invoking a zone of truth, it was revealed the Monastery had been attacked only an hour before by a host lead by the Corrupted Brother Hronkil Elgredsson who had none other then my ward Danny Lu serving as his bannerman, flying high the colors of the Dark Goddess. The young initiate went on to say he only survived the slaughter by hiding under a table and later a book case, and the Corrupted Brother Hronkil Elgredsson and his chorus slaughtered their way through the ranks of the Sun Soul on their way to the Monastery Armory and Treasury.

The few remaining senior members of the Order were sequestered upstairs holding private council to determine their next course of action. I left a copy of my collected notes regarding the Forces of Darkness with the young initiate and was prepared to leave when he invited us to help, by helpping remove the debris and battle damage done to the Monastery. It was then that he provided us a tour of where the fighting took place.

Along our tour revelations were made from the battle wreckage.

• 1) Darkness Enchanted Shurikens were used to blanket the battlefield in magical layers of darkness. Several such enchanted shurikens had been recovered from our search of the Shadowdeep Foundry. This weapons work by the moment of impact releasing the enchanted darkness. This to me implies that not only did Hronkil and his cohorts have a means of effectively fighting in such Darkness, but are very likely to wield such darkness in future engagements.

• 2) The halls and various resources of the Monastery were not only scorched by flame, which evidence suggested was wielded with expertise and precision, but also the unnatural aging and pitting damage done by large area negative energy explosives. Dwarven Clergy Raldin Thunderbeard and Doomguide Alain agreed after closely studying the damage that there was an effort made to saturate the battlefield with both positive and negative energy in a combination that should not have been possible. There were even expressed concerns that the deaths of the Sun Soul Monks killed in the fighting may have served as a bridle to help bind the two forms of energy together in an unnatural manner.
  
  • Theory: As Mana Crystalizes in the plane of Shadows because it can not move freely, perhaps the slaughtering of the Sun Soul was not just to gain access to the Treasury and Armory, but also to saturate the area with enough combined Positive and Negative Energy as well as death to leave an echo of such energies upon the Shadowdeep Analog of the Sun Soul Monastery so that a Positive and Negative Energy Resonator maybe created. I will ask the Gnomish Arcanist Wyk Whitehorn to make a study of such energies to see what his keen mind and education may produce.

[Burt]

A missive written in scratched, awkward script is left on Pawn's desk at the House of Heroes.

[jmecha]

True Colors
Tarsakh 17th, 1401 Dale Reckoning, Year of the Sheltered Viper
Scribed by Pawn Xandos Klaxxan of the House of Heroes



During the continued efforts to restore the damage done to the Monastery of the Sun Soul, the Monks of the Order of Lathander, Selune, and Sune discovered a letter hidden amoungst the battle wreckage. Upon delivery to myself at the House of Heroes I have carefully scrutinize the letter and had it studied by Clergy of Kelemvor Alain to determine if there was hidden magical writings concealed. Analysis has shown the letter bears no magically concealed script, the hand writing appears to match samples of Danny Lu's hand writing, and there appear to be no hidden references to it being written under duress or coercion.

It is in my opinion the letter was written intentionally by Danny Lu to be dropped at the Monastery of the Sun Soul during the fighting in an effort to reach out from captivity to provide vital intelligence upon where he and other prisoners are being held and how they are being used to support Sharran forces. It is in my estimate there maybe as many as half a dozen Prawns being held prisoner there building weapons for Sharran Forces, as well as an unknown number of additional Waterhavians of all ages who have been taken over the course of the last Month or more.

Successfully freeing these prisoners is not only an oppertunity to save half a dozen or more from the clutches of Sharran Forces and the deprivation of Shadowdeep's Negative Energy, but also an oppertunity to make a raid against the facility supplying enemy forces with their weapons, as well as an oppertunity to remove one of Vanrak Moonstar's Lieutenants by means of confronting and destroying the Unrighteous Brother Hronkil Elgredsson.

I will be working to dedicate resources to determining viable means of escaping Shadowdeep with a number prisoners likely incapable of withstanding prolonged exposure to Negative Energy as well as studying the Shadowspire's Defenses. I ask all of you to not discuss this matter loosely for the element of surpise maybe critical in our being able to rescue the prisoners before they are relocated or worse in effort to prevent rescue.

There will be a board dedicated specifically to organizing the battle plans to conduct this rescue operation, and I ask any and all allies willing to volunteer themselves or resources to this effort to do so.

[jmecha]

The Cost of Freedom
Tarsakh 22nd, 1401 Dale Reckoning, Year of the Sheltered Viper
Scribed by Pawn Xandos Klaxxan of the House of Heroes



The Champion of the Field of Triumph and Gray Hand Enforcer Brujo had been captured by Vanrak Moonstar's forces within Shadowdeep and held within a prison located where the analog of the Waterdeep Dock Ward Watch House exists. Once the location of Brujo's imprisonment became known, allies moved to free him. Using the Void Door located directly East of the Dock Ward Watch House the party made immediate contact with Vanrak Moonstar's forces and were quickly overwhelmed.

Jed Ironwing of the Third Circle was struck dead, as was Sarenna Irithyl of the Lhuvenhead Trading Company, and Flynn of the Grey Hand Enforcers. Only Gray Hand Enforcer Aries Vexx and Inquisitor Guardian Hans Copperpot of the Companions of the One True Vision remained upright as I came upon the fighting while researching Moon Doors. The three of us managed to finish the fight and move our fallen from the streets of Shadowdeep to the Positive Energy Haven of the Druid Shoppe a few City Blocks North East of where the battle took place.



Once the fallen were safe from the deprivation of Shadowdeep, we three steeled ourselves to continue the mission to see Brujo made free from his captors. We quickly retraced our steps in before additional Legion Forces could replace the ones lost to the fighting and arrived at the Prison where Brujo was being held. Once inside we moved room to room encountering Legion Sentries, Shadows, and Negative Energy Traps and eventually found a Key to the Cells in what appeared to be living quarters occupied by a Sharran Priestess and Shadow Mastiffs. With the Prison Key in hand we traversed the long stairwell down to the cells where we encountered a Death Knight that appeared to have once been a Helmite Livery, now reduced to the ragged trappings of undeath and prepared to take our lives. As the Death Knight charged up the stairs with his lance at the ready, Gray Hand Enforcer Aries Vexx charged down the stairs with his War Maul raised high. The clash that followed was a violent one, and once it was over we proceed below in search of Brujo and any other prisoners that may have been held captive.

The first Cell we opened contained what appeared to be Brujo's Shadow given form and it attacked the three of us violently before being dispatched. Within this Cell we found a chest containing Brujo's personal effects, of which I grabbed his greatsword and a set of cloths incase we did find him alive and we four needed to fight our way out of the Prison. Moving Cell to Cell we found each empty except the last in which we found Brujo feral eyed and ready to attack anyone or thing coming through the door. Once he recognized us for who we were, he quickly dressed and armed himself with the cloths and greatsword we had previously gathered for him. Together the Four of us collected the rest of Brujo's personal effects and marched out of the Prison in search of a nearby Moon Door.



Our search was in vain and the current Moon Door Model we had been working from proved exceptionally Imperfect, and so we Four retreated to the Druid Shoppe Safe Haven where we watched over each other and the fallen until the Moon Door in Virgin Square opened. It was then that we were able to escape Shadowdeep and carry our fallen back to Waterdeep to see them properly tended to and protected from any perversions of Shadowdeep. The Gray Hand Enforcer Aries Vexx tended to Fylnn, while I delivered Sarenna Irithyl of the Lhuvenhead Trading Company and Jed Ironwing of the Third Circle to the House of Heroes where the bodies were cleaned and made ready for rites while Highsword of Tempus Bloodhelm prayed to see there corpses freed of any Shadowdeep taint that may reanimate them. Currently the fallen are laid out before the Shrine of the Red Knight and will in time be moved to their respective places of worship and faith. Sarenna Irithyl of the Lhuvenhead Trading Company will be delivered to the Tower of Luck dedicated to Tymora, and Jed Ironwing to the Third Circle Tower.

[jmecha]

The Shattering of a Legion
Tarsakh 28th, 1401 Dale Reckoning, Year of the Sheltered Viper
Scribed by Pawn Xandos Klaxxan of the House of Heroes

The journal of 1st Sergeant Larbjeld Bjaarsvadson of the Legion is recovered from a safe haven located south of the Shadowdeep market, and is used to create a better understanding of the timeline of events the Legion experienced.

[jmecha]

Found Wanting
Tarsakh 29th, 1401 Dale Reckoning, Year of the Sheltered Viper
Scribed by Pawn Xandos Klaxxan of the House of Heroes

The Gnomish Wizard Wyk Whitehorn, Gray Hand Enforcer Aries Vexx and I entered Shadowdeep to see if it would be possible to bind an Arcanist Teleportation Spell to a specific location within Shadowdeep. Due to the low levels of available magic present within Shadowdeep, Wyk Whitehorn suggested using Crystalized Mana to lay out a six pointed star pattern at the location we desired to teleport to. Once we laid out the Crystalized Mana at the desired location we moved a short distance away to attempt the Teleportation.

The effort failed to produce the desired results and the Crystalized Mana that had been laid out to prepare the site was consumed in the process. After a second attempt to determine the amount of Crystalized Mana that would be needed to successfully empower the the Teleportation, Wyk Whitehorn determined fifty individual pieces of crystalized mana would be needed to prepare the destination site, and additional crystalized mana would be needed to be carried by the arcanist to insure the Teleportation Spell had enough energy to be successfully invoked.

[jmecha]

Operation: Sea Shades
Mirtul 7th, 1401 Dale Reckoning, Year of the Sheltered Viper
Scribed by Pawn Xandos Klaxxan of the House of Heroes


Volunteers
Gray Hand Enforcer Aries Vexx
Gray Hand Enforcer Brujo
Gray Hand Enforcer Fylnn
Inquisitor Guardian Hans Copperpot of the One True Vision
Pawn Xandos Klaxxan of the House of Heroes

[jmecha]

House of Heroes Raided
Mirtul 7th, 1401 Dale Reckoning, Year of the Sheltered Viper
Scribed by Pawn Xandos Klaxxan of the House of Heroes



While making final preparations for Operation: Sea Shades, the House of Heroes was successfully attacked and all of our on site intelligence stolen.

A Void Door was opened in the Temple of Tempus, and Shade Mercenaries, Corrupted Sun Soul Monks, and a Corrupted Sun Soul Blackguard poured into the Temple through the East and West entrances, quickly overwhelming Inquisitor Guardian Hans Copperpot of the One True Vision, all of the Clergy of the Foehammer, and myself. During the worst of the fighting Inquisitor Guardian Hans Copperpot used the Void door to escape the battle and tend to the worst of his wounds inside the Shadowdeep analog of the House of Heroes, while I retreated to the Temple basement to tend to my own wounds before returning to the Temple of Tempus to in an effort to repel the attackers. I fought a losing battle long enough for the Gray Hand Enforcers Brujo, Fylnn, and Ares Vexx to arrive and turn the tide of the battle.

After the attackers were defeated, the grievously wounded clergy of the Foehammer were quickly tended to, and the Gray Hand Enforcers and I set off through the Void Door to find Inquisitor Guardian Hans Copperpot. Once inside the Shadowdeep analog of the House of Heroes, Inquisitor Guardian Hans Copperpot told us of the Shade Mercenary he saw using the Void Door carrying stacks of journals and paperwork and how the Shade Mercenary swiftly fled out into the streets of Shadowdeep. Assuming the worst we moved in an effort to track the Shade Mercenary in hopes that even if we could not stop him from delivering our intelligence, we could at a minimal learn where he was delivering it to.

After consulting with Sandrew the Wise at the Font of Knowledge it was revealed that Telemont Tanthul a master of Shadow Magic was capable of sparing the Floating City of Thultanthar the cataclysm that befell the rest of the Netherese by transporting the entire city to the Plane of Shadows.

For reference, records show Karsus's Folly, the event that is argued by some to be the beginning of the end of the Netherese Empire to have taken place in the Year of Sundered Webs, -339 Dale Reckoning, and currently it is the Year of the Sheltered Viper, 1401 Dale Reckoning. This means that that if the Telemont Tanthul referenced in the note is the same Telemont Tanthul who saved the Netherese of Thultanthar, He has survived for one thousand seven hundred and forty years since the fall of the Netherese Empire.

In pursuit of the Shade Mercenary we found this note that appeared to have been dropped in his haste, and together we moved Southward towards the Shadowspires on the hunch that it was the Enemy stronghold nearest to the Shadowdeep analog of the House of Heroes. Despite meeting heavy resistance by the way of large Legion Patrols and numerous Sharran Priestesses, we managed to get near enough to the Shadowspires that I was able to observe the Shade Mercenary making use of a secret door located in the North West corner of the compound.

Corrupted Brother Hronkil Elgredsson is as of the time I am writing this, studying and reviewing all of the intelligence that had been previously collected and generated by the House of Heroes. Due to the volume of the intelligence we have a very short window of opportunity to reclaim what was taken before it can all be properly dissected and properly processed. It will only be a very short matter of time before they know that Danny Lu left a note behind at the attack on the Sun Soul Monastery, they have a complete understanding of the riddle of the Moon Doors, an accurate count of the number of Resonator's we have collected, our allies, and everything else.

Preparations have begun to launch an immediate counterstrike to either reclaim or destroy the stolen intelligence records, liberate as many of the Shadowspire prisoners as possible, and provide to Corrupted Brother Hronkil Elgredsson and his corrupted allies a nonnegotiable opportunity at redemption through the cycle of death and rebirth.

[Burt]

A missive written in scratched, awkward script is left on Pawn's desk at the House of Heroes.

[Burt]