What Came Before:
The Player Characters (PCs) find themselves in the port city of Hagan's Pass, located in the kingdom of Turaine. Hagan's Pass has been under the siege of a naval force for some time. This naval force is populated mostly with gnolls and other foul, savage humanoids. This siege coincides with a siege at nearby Castle Teague.
The PCs are in Hagan's Pass for their own reasons (OOC: players, feel free to state why) and met at Old Haggerty's Public House, located near the port district. Here, Strange and Kestrel, who had each acquired pieces of a mysterious map, conferred briefly concerning the map. During this meeting, Strange and Kestrel realized that their map pieces matched and that it showed the coastline near Hagan's Pass. They could also see that there was much more to the map and that additional fragments must exist.
As the PCs discussed what to do next, there were shouts and screams in the street. A cursory check revealed that gnolls had entered the city. There appeared to be some sort of big commotion at the docks; the PCs determined that gnolls had landed at the port and the city guards were dealing with them. In addition, a small force of gnolls had entered the city itself and were attacking the citizenry. The PCs exited the pub and found their way to an alley. From there, the PCs ambushed the gnolls and, eventually, defeated the small force. During the combat, the PCs learned that the gnolls were also looking for the map fragments - the same ones that Strange and Kestrel possessed. The PCs also picked up a magical whip from the gnolls' leader.
Because of the tough battle, the PCs briefly rested in a nearby building. There, the PCs recuperated. Kini took the whip and examined it.
[sblock=The Tormentor]THE TORMENTOR (Magic Item; Requires Attunement)
This is a magical whip (adds +1 to attack and damage rolls). When it strikes someone, the target must make a DC 13 Wis save or take 1d4 psychic damage and be forced to tell the truth for one turn. At the end of the target's turn, they can make a new save. The target continues to take 1d4 psychic damage and be forced to tell the truth until a save is successful. If the wielder is not of Evil alignment, they have disadvantage on all rolls while wielding the Tormentor. When someone attunes to the Tormentor, their alignment moves one step towards Evil (Good to Neutral and Neutral to Evil).[/sblock]
With the attack at the docks still ongoing, and news that the gnolls might be headed for the Book Depository, the PCs decided to head there. The PCs found the Book Depository to be abandoned, at least from the outside. Kini sent her owl to scout the area. The owl saw no one around, but noted that there was an open door to the east wing. The central tower was unoccupied and the west wing was damaged by catapult stones. The PCs decided to enter the Book Depository's west wing and check things out.
