Holy War for Nalepo

The fight between three factions for the Holy City of Nalepo.

Plot points/Scenes

The Dead East

Upon leaving the mansion of Lord Fallabaster, the party was approached by Gundrin and someone seeking the help of the Lord's Alliance in Wolton, a templar of The Knights of Holy Judgement; a half-orc named Ruphuol. Pledging the party's aid in ousting the threat of the cultists of Cyric, the party headed northward in a caravan of templars to The Dead East Province.
As you approach the large chapel that protrudes above the Wolton, Heart District, skyline, you see stone spiral pires rise among the sides of this enormous structure. Before it you see crowds of beggars, amongst them priests giving prayers and paladins maintaining order. Below the steps leading to the main entrance to the cathedral, you see four horse-drawn wagons holding men adorned in sets of breastplate armor. Amongst the paladins outside the carts, Rupuol the Half-Orc you spoke to with Gundrin outside of Lord Fallabaster’s estate, is talking to one of the cart drivers. You see a paladin sitting with the cart drivers, except one empty cart with a lone driver.
Recruited by someone from The Knights of Holy Judgement, the party was taken far north to The Dead East Province to aid the Knights in retaking the holy city of Nalepo from the Cultists of Cyric who had taken over the city and revolted against the empire. The city had been under siege for almost a month and the Knights seek to end it as soon as they can. On the final day of their travel, the caravan was assaulted by a squad of cultists who destroyed the carts with a fireball attack. The party with the help of Whilpy's small army of conjured giant spiders were able to defeat the ambush and continue northward to the fort settlement. The attack was fended off and the caravan finished their journey to Fort Southwatch on foot.

The Kobold Raiders

Upon arriving at Fort Southwatch, the outpost for the Knights of Holy Judgement in the Dead East, the party met with Antaeus, a member of an adventuring party who work for The Lords' Alliance. She had been scrying in on the city for the Knights before an anti-scrying barrier was put up by Cendric Phaltor, the Grand Magician of the Cultists of Cyric who have control of the city of Nalepo. Vareal, Figginan, and Mordolien were sent along with Antaeus to deal with a group of raiders who had been attacking and plundering supply routes from Fort Southwatch to the siege lines along the western side of Nalepo.
As you walk between the buildings and barracks in the massive Southwatch courtyard, you find the high elf female Antaeus sitting under a building outcropping reading a book. As you approach, she looks up at you, closes the book, and stands up.
“I thought there’d be more of you?” ... “Well, no matter. Off we go then.”
You tracked the raids down to a cave along one of the mountains nearby the supply lines. The group managed to kill the kobold clan that was inside. Mordolien was able to tame a Blue Guard Drake and named her Kocha. Mordolien also claimed a cursed flaming greatsword that was wielded by the winged kobold tribe leader.

The Assault on Southwatch

Later that day, the team met with Grum, a general for the KNights of Holy Judgement and one of the 12 members of the Hammers of Grimjaws, an elite group of paladins in the Knights of Holy Judgement who lead the faction. Grum, the blonde dwarf, explained how the plan was that the party would act as an elite hit squad for the Knights inside the city to kill key members of the cult. The party would enter through the sewers at the next morning to get past the siege lines and the city's defenses.
That night, Vareal and Whilpy detected some suspicious activity inside the fort. They watched as two cultists disguised as guards blew a hole in one of the side walls to the fort. A small army of cultists made their way inside, successfully burning down the quartermaster's supply building. The adventurers helped the Knights defend the fort.

The War for Nalepo

Into the Depths: The Nalepo Sewers

The party was sent into the city via an entrance made into the sewers a ways away from the city walls itself. They met cultists fleeing the city, losing hope in their leaders. Inside, the adventurers navigated the Nalepo sewers. Encountering a Roper and Giant Toads, the party continued forward searching for a scouting party of Knights of Holy Judgement to aid them in their quest.However, they found the scouting party fighting a squad of elite Dragonborn soldiers. The Dragonborn have claim to the city as well and are seeking to take it as their own. Mordolien, negotiating with the Dragonborn, came to a consensus with the party that they were to help the Dragonborn take the city instead of the Knights of Holy Judgement. The scouting party was slain and the party was escorted to the Dragonborn outpost set up within the city.

The Grand Magician Cendric Phaltor

The party, still trying to destroy the cult inside the city, began seeking out head cult leaders in the city to kill. The first on their list was the Grand Magician Cendric Phaltor. Navigating their way through the sewers with a map given to them from Captain Ewis of the Dragonborn, the party was able to traverse the city and burrow upwards with Kocha, Mordolien's guard drake, to get to Cendric's Tower. Going through the highly trapped tower, the party found a secret passageway upwards to Cendric's Library where he was meditating. A fight ensued and it was not until Cendric's phsical form fell where they realized he was an Efreeti in disguise. During the battle, the Efreeti knocked Elnora to the ground causing her tome acquired from Wave Echo Cave to fall out onto the ground. The Efreeti's eyes flashed and it decided to flee, almost having been defeated by the party. Then and there, Vareal decided to translate the book via Comprehend Languages, finding out it to have been written in Ignan. The party went on to free a halfling rogue named Faerun from a group of thugs. After the battle, Faerun decided to join the party.

The Temple of Tyr

The adventurers decided to go for the head of the cult and kill Adamma, "The Prophet" who is the leader of the cultists in the city. They entered the Temple of Tyr, the centerpoint of the city that was now defiled. Inside they fought General Dybbuk who happened to be a dybbuk inhabiting the body of a famous deceased Dragonborn gladiator. Upon deciding how to go about sealing Nalepo's fate, they were approached by Adamma himself who wished to talk.

The Terms of Peace

He sat Mordolien and Figginan down with Gareth Johnstone, the lord of Nalepo, for peace talks. Adamma regretted his actions, stating he was intoxicated with the idea of an independent Nalepo under the persuasion of Cendric Phaltor, the Grand Magician. Upon the departure of the Efreeti from the city, Adamma realized the error of his ways and pleaded for a safe departure and penance in return for the city itself with the exception that the people be saved from an inquisition. Mordolien and Figginan persuaded him to be a captive of the Dragonborn while the cultist army in the city fight and weaken the Knights of Holy Judgement. The party sought out to make a secondary sewer entrance to allow the Dragonborn armies to flood the city from within and allow them to claim the city as their own. The cultists, now with their uneasy alliance with the dragonborn, were to help the dragonborn take the city, fend it off from the Knights of Holy Judgement, and then were to be cast out into the desert.

The Chapter Closes

The early afternoon sun of the deserts around Nalepo beat down upon the silent city. The streets remain quiet; motionless. Tension stirs as the troops between the three armies contesting the city remain at a standoff- awaiting for one to take action. The silence breaks: footfalls descending a large, echoing stairwell. The clanking of armor and weapons, the rhythmic pounding of the footfalls of a blue guard drake, and the consistent sound of burning flame coming forth from a greatsword fill the cavernous well leading from the Drakesbluff Borough of Nalepo into the sewer system below the city. The sounds echo through the chambers of the sewers as Captain Ewis leads the party to the passageway leading underneath the Dragonborn Army stationed outside the eastern front of the city. A lock grate blocks the path. A halfling steps forward, placing their long, sharpened cursed fingers into the locking mechanism. A click is heard and the creaking, unoiled soud of metal on metal is heard before the party continues down the path.
Captain Ewis stops. "Here" he says, pointing to a position on a nearby wall. Mordolien hops off her mount, patting Kocha on the back and giving the reassuring nod, the Guard Drake begins her burrow up to the surface. The party slowly follows behind before a blinding light temporarily blinds everyone in the tunnel. Light. The touch of the dry, desert air hits the bodies of everyone in the tunnels. Inbetween rank and file of the Dragonborn armies, you all emerge into the desert outside the city. Ewis brings Mordolien into an embrace.
"When this all is over and we reestablish order in the city, find me. We'll fight for our kingdom, your brother, your mother..." he pauses and looks downward. "For your father." He looks back up to your eyes, reassuringly nods, and begins to command his troops to enter the hole you all emerged.
Heading northeast, the party continued their journey heading towards the Tomb of Imhotep.

Plot type

Chapter: Holy War for Nalepo

Parent Plot

The Dead East Campaign