The Knot interrogated the survivors of the city watch. And find out the small resistance was hoping to weaken the Horde before the arrival of the King to "rescue" them. The Knot ensured no rescue would come.
Wasyli had a specific thing in mind for the surviving captain of the watch. He ritualistically sacrificed the captain, so he could be attuned to the powerful Codex of the Damned the Knot recovered from the Vale.
For the following weeks the Knot relaxed. They did a few more rounds of pillaging. But didn't try much to find out anything else. Instead settling down and waiting for their next assignment from Thorn. Content that they'd explored the city to the fullest.
Their desire was soon fulfilled.
Tiadora soon arrived, 9 Erinyes of hell in tow. The mission was given. Gain the aid of a great worm black dragon to attack the Princess of Talengarde. When the king uses a magical talisman to return to rescue her, be waiting for him in his secret sanctum. And kill him. In one night of slaughter the Darrian line would be broken.
The knot asked a handful of questions and got very few answers. When they asked how killing the king would stop the army of 20 thousand strong soldiers from overwhelming the much smaller army of Fire-Axe, all they got for an answer was, "Thorn has a something special planned."
The Knot was already intrigued about news of a young black dragon being held captive by eagles in the mountains near the Caer Bryr and the Shroud had some Iraen scouts around Farholde waiting to take them to the Lord of the Eagles. They decided to come up with a ruse. They would pretend to be working on behalf of Polydorus, the Seer of Dyvern. They would perform a "ritual" to banish Jaretheon, spawn of Chargammon from the prime material plane. All they needed was a location near by.
The ruins of the Horn of Abaddon sounded perfect. The teleportation master, Wasyli had never been there before, so he, and Brother Summit Shadowwalked across the span of the continent in a matter of hours to arrive around the location of the Horn.
As they came out of the Shadow plane, they both noticed like they were being... watched.
The ruins around the Horn looked abandoned. Over half a year had passed and the forest had yet to reclaim the crater that remained of the Horn. An erie silence persisted. Then Summit spotted something odd. Some sort of black pool clinging to some of the rubble. It had an odd shadowy, otherworldly look to it. It sucked up the light of the sun, and swallowed it whole.
Approaching with caution, Summit examined it at range. After throwing stuff at it, it reacted, reaching out & grasping. It was some kind of Ooze! Wasyli examined it, and couldn't determine what it was. It failed to detect as magic or anything else for that matter. Opting to avoid it, they left it. Clearly, the Horn wasn't looking like a good spot. Still, the Green Dragon, Sanderax was located near by. They'd give him a visit and see what's been going on in the Horn.
Traveling through the forest, that feeling of being watched got less, but didn't go away. Arriving at the base of the spire the Green Dragon called home, Brother Summit raised his hand, stopping Wasyli. Looking up above he pointed. Wasyli gulped. There, glistening in the wind, covering part of the opening of the lair of Sanderax. Spider webs. Giant spider webs...
The cave had a new resident.
Remembering the fight with the Leng spider at the Cathedral of Mitra-Made-Manifest, the two Knot members fled, with all possible haste for the relative safety of Farholde.
With the environs of the Horn no longer safe, they opted for another location. A few miles away, hopefully well away from the horrors around the Horn, was a large lake. Going there, they found a suitable spot to set up a fake ritual.
With a spot picked, the Knot gathered up in Farholde and prepared for their trip to the Lord of the Eagles. While in town the spoke with the now quite rich and grateful lady Marstein. A proper feast was held to send them on their way.
Guided by Iraen scouts, it took but a few days to arrive at the throne of the Lord of Eagles.
Armed with a forged letter from Polydorus and an over-abondance of guile, Mardus's silver tongue, and the lordly presence of Emmerick trick the Lord of Eagles to free his captive into their care. Better still, his eagles would deliver them and their prisoner to the lake in the Caer Bryr and leave them to their "ritual". The dragon still secured by a powerful Mithral chain and muzzle.
Once left alone, they speak with the Dragon. With threat of might and magic, they convince Jathereon he'd best obey the Knot.
With Emmerick riding a very angry and defeated looking Black Dragon, and the rest of the Knot riding on fiendish hippogriffs, the forces of hell arrive in the Domain of Chargammon. A roiling ocean below the, grey skies and relenting rain above them.
Jeratheon and Emmerick lead the Knot and a group of surprised, savage looking river drakes growl and snap in Draconic and the intrusion into their home. Some hesitant words from Jeratheon and a stern look from Emmerick kept the drakes away. Though, as the Knot dismounts and the Hippogriffs flee, a couple do swoop after them, snapping angrily, before letting the fiendish creatures flee out over the roaring ocean.
The Knot moves into the rugged interior of the island home of Chargammon. The rain unrelenting, but the noise of the roaring ocean diminishing. Within was a small area of light vegetation. It's there that Brother Summit and Quell notice Jaretheon tense. They're able to react before the remaining surprised Knot members get attacked by two large plant creatures with choking vines.
Jaretheon attempts to flee in the confusion, with Emmerick still on his back, only to be tangled up in one of the vines. Close to half the Knot staggers and under clouds of hypnotizing pollen the plants unleash, stagger back and forth, swayed under the confusing influence of the plants.
The unaffected Knot members quickly act, trying to fight off the plant-like creatures, hacking away at the unrelenting vines.
Jaretheon attempts to flee, but the vines restrict more, taking advantage of the Mithril chain & muzzle to hold the Dragon fast.
Realizing his opportunity to escape has vanished and he might very well go down to the vines, the Black Dragon roars and starts to rip into his attacker. Emmerick, coming to the same realization tries to heal his mount, in between hacking at vines with Helbrand.
Wasyli and others were rendered useless through the fight. But between a strong willed Emmerick, a madly desperate Jaretheon, and the indifferent undead vampire Yvainne, along with Quell, who fled to range and shot with his bow and Summit, who started the fight clear minded before eventually succumbing, managed to defeat the vines.
While all this was going on, a cell of the Shroud was infiltrating the Army of the King. They were struggling to get close to the command structure of the army, but they did find out one interesting fact. The Sons of Balentyne split off from the Army weeks ago. It seems Lord Havelyn is up to something.
