After defeating the Naga deep in the Mines of Karak, the party uncovers several papers that tell them that Queen Shephatiah was actually part of a larger organization that also has a “Page”, “Knight”, and “King”. In addition, a map was found that showed the location of the cave where the raw ore was turned into saleable platinum ingots. It was marked simply as “The Forge”.
When they arrive at the cave, though, they find that “The Forge” is actually the name of an artificial construct who looks like a Dwarf. This creature was built by the Ironfell Dwarves roughly two centuries earlier – and had been repaired about eight months ago by an arcanist known as the “Knight of Wands”.
From the Forge, the party learns many details about the “Four Courts” – including the fact that Azêllay is the “Knight of Coins” and his lieutenant, Izemrasen, (described by Majid) is the “Page of Coins”. Rounding out the Court of Coins is the Queen (Shephatiah, the Naga killed in the mines), and an unknown “King”.
Also in the Forge's cave is a gate similar in style to the ones the party has seen previously. The Forge tells them that it leads to the city of Akersim, where Izemrasen lives – but it only opens from the other side and only on the new moon.
On the New Moon, the party gathers in the Forge's cave to wait for the gate to open. When it does, they rush through – hoping to achieve surprise on Izemrasen. Unfortunately, the Page is sufficiently paranoid and distrustful of the Queen, so he has a contingent of soldiers waiting in formation on the other side.
While the initial battle goes badly for the party, once a few of the soldiers are killed – and Oin puts up her new “Blade Barrier” prayer, the tide turns quickly.
Once Izemrasen is killed, the party opts to retreat back through the gate, rather than explain their presence in the highly lawful (and corrupt) city of Akersim.
This adventure was a home-brew, using the poster map from Marauders of the Dune Sea and combat stats from “The Eye of Justice” in Dungeon Magazine issue #171 (pages 89-97).
This was a non-combat encounter designed primarily to give information to the party. However, since my players have become lazy, they got bored and stopped asking interesting questions after an hour or so.
For Izemrasen, the Page of Coins, I used the combat stats for “Uthias Darkwell” from “The Eye of Justice” article in Dungeon Magazine #171. For his soldiers, I used “Justice Watchers” and “Knights of the Eye” from the same article.
| # | Challenge | Type | XP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Izemrasen, the Page of Coins | Elite Soldier (Leader)/12 | 1400 |
| 2 | Justice Watchers | Brute/10 | 500 |
| 6 | Knights of the Eye | Soldier/3 | 150 |
| Total XP | 3,300 | ||
| (5 PCs) | 660 | ||