Hook 1: Knights of the Eternal Dawn.

Dragos has an operative working in the Church, in a small town on the lake. They haven’t
checked in, and he is getting a bit worried. Their last message implied that they had found
something worth checking out.
Turns out that there is a priest (Silvanus) there who has begun researching undead.
Speci cally, whether it is possible to create undead infused with Astral magic instead of
Shadow. Unfortunately, he has (unbeknownst to himself) been corrupted by his “advisor”, a lich
named Vlad. The Knights defeated the lich years ago, and Silvanus was tasked with destroying
its phylactery. He has already been researching, and saw an opportunity too good to pass up.
Silvanus kept the phylactery, allowing the lich to partially regrow. He keeps the Skull
suspended over a vat of holy water infused with additional Astral energy. Vlad is able to talk,
but can’t grow more (his vertebrae grow into the vat and instantly dissolve) or use magic.
In the beginning, Silvanus gained valuable insights that advanced his research. However,
Vlad slowly twisted the priest’s mind, and like the frog in a slowly boiling pot of water, Silvanus
was unaware of his decline.

The heroes journey to City on the Lake, a large town in the Astral Kingdom built on…a lake.
It is famous for the enormous library run by the Celestial Church.

Notable NPCs
Silvanus - Human priest of the Celestial Church. Once a devout man, he has succumbed to
madness.
Vlad, the Lord of Bones - a Lich, originally from the Shadow Kingdom. He was engaged in
research on the edge of the Blightlands when the Knights of the Eternal Dawn defeated
him.
Mirabella - Aesimar posing as an acolyte within the Celestial Church, in reality an agent of
Dragos.

Astral infused undead: The undead created from Silvanus’ experiments are unstable as a result
of the warring energies within them. Shadow magic damages the Astral half, causing the
undead to spawn a shadow. Radiant magic overwhelms the Shadow half, causing a small burst
of light.

After the battle, the PCs follow the trail to Silvanus’ lab. The door is partially open, and they
hear the sound of a man crying and saying things like, “It’s not my fault…I didn’t want this…I
was only trying to do good…” Another, harsher voice is saying, “Of course it isn’t…but good
will come of this, you just need to carry it through…otherwise everything will have been for
nothing…all those lives lost…for nothing…”

When the heroes enter the room, the man, a high ranking priest by his garb, stands up in
surprise. There appears to be no one else in the lab with him. The room is lled with strange
devices. A pair of large doors stand open, leading to a dark and foreboding tunnel; a gleaming
silver portcullis is raised. The most notable feature in the room is a oating orb, slowly spinning
in the air above a magic circle. The orb seems to be made of both Astral and Shadow magic;
you see the two energies intertwined as if they are battling one another. Tendrils of energy ow
from the orb into the dark tunnel.
The other thing of note is a large glass container lled with a brightly glowing liquid. Wisps of
golden light waft up from it to swirl in the air above it. Suspended atop the container with a
series of thin wires is a skull, still covered with bits of esh and thin hair. A single eye stares
blankly. As you watch, a second eye begins to grow in the empty socket, while at the same
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 time pieces of esh peel o the skull and fall into the vat, dissolving even before they hit the
liquid.

Silvanus is willing to talk to the PCs if they aren’t immediately hostile. It is clear he is hiding
something, and he claims to have been talking to himself. He keeps glancing toward the dark
tunnel. The PCs can learn the following with successful checks:
1) The markings around the tunnel identify it as a holy burial site.
2) The mechanism for closing the portcullis has been jammed.
3) The holy wards on the doors have been deactivated (only if they look on the other side of
the doors, or close them).
4) The skull is “alive” and is clearly watching the conversation.
5) Silvanus is afraid of the skull.

I. In the nal encounter with Sylvanus, the heroes must accomplish the following:
A. Disrupt the ritual that is sending Astral energy (infused with Shadow) into the Crypts.
Every round, more undead arrive. The energy is to strong for the doors to contain,
although there is a portcullis.
1. Optional: Lower the portcullis to delay the undead. The mechanism is jammed,
so it will need to be fanagled.
B. Close the doors to the Crypt.
C. Activate the Seal on the doors.

After the ght, Silvanus’ head seems to clear; he is lled with remorse over what he has done.
But now the phylactery must be destroyed, and quickly. Unfortunately, the prolonged presence
of the lich has corrupted the once holy site, and so the heroes will need to go somewhere else.
It will be dangerous, as the phylactery will be calling to undead. The heroes need to nd a
place of holy water. Silvanus suggests another city in the Astral Kingdom, but the heroes know
about the Githzerai monastery.

The journey is hard, as there is no real chance to sleep. Everyone must make Strength saving
throws to see how well they endure. In addition, have everyone make an attack roll, modi ed
by how many power points they want to spend (no limit, but spent points will be gone until the
next long rest). The result determines how much damage they have when they arrive.

The monks are initially reluctant to accept the PCs, saying they have been tainted by evil. But
as they are discussing, undead attack. Due to the bravery of the PCs, the monks agree to bring
them in to speak with Master Cyrus (Jazmine’s father and Molly’s former teacher). Cyrus
pretends to not know who Molly is. If Molly brings up their relationship, Cyrus says that the boy
he trained died the day he left, stealing the teachings for his own ends.
Cyrus tells the heroes that he is impressed with their daring; lesser people would have simply
abandoned the phylactery to save themselves. Unfortunately, their extended proximity has
cursed them, and they will need to be cleansed. Happily, Cyrus knows of the perfect location…
it too is in need of cleansing, and in doing so the PCs will gain what they need.
One of the purest sources of the holy water in these mountains was corrupted by a clan of
dwarves. Exiled by their fellows, this clan is dedicated to one of the fel beings that dwells in the
Void beyond the Dream. The monks lack the resources to deal with the dwarves, but if the PCs
do so, the waters will rid them of their curse, and will also deal with the phylactery. Simply
leave it in the waters and time will do the rest.

The waters come from the Dream, what the PCs would call the Ethereal, and so are not
a ected by in uences such as the phylactery. However, the insidious magic of the Void is quite
damaging to them.
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The mystery is how the dwarves got to the mountains in the rst place, as they are not natives
of the region. The PCs should try to nd out how the dwarves arrived and see if they can
somehow prevent more from coming.

The answer is a crossing. The dwarves, through their experimentation with Void magics,
accidentally opened a crossing. The initial crossing was temporary, but the dwarves were able
to glimpse the ethereal cavern beyond. They slowly stabilized it and have constructed a portal
to keep it open.

The magic of the monastery will temporarily block the e ects of the phylactery; Cyrus will allow
the PCs to spend one night recuperating.

Cyrus will give the PCs assistance in the form of Dreamsight Potions. Their e ects will only last
a short time, but they will allow the PCs to see into the Ethereal. This prevents creatures from
turning invisible. In addition, the Sight will be valuable against users of the Void, as their auras
will become visible.
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