Here it is... my synopsis.
The story begins in Sharn with the murder of a male half-orc. Thurn the Eagle-Eye, a male dwarven investigator who handles the cases the city watch doesn’t want to get involved with, takes the case. He soon discovers a signet ring on the body, identifying the half-orc as a member of House Tharashk and also finds out that the he was murdered using an extremely rare poison called Blood Rot. He retires for the evening and while he’s heading back to his office, he meets up with an old friend from the war, the male Valenar elf Malaris. The two go to a local bar and reminisce about old times and there Thurn learns that Malaris is working for House Tharashk, although he won’t say anything about the job. After the two retire Thurn heads to his office, but on the way he is approached by a cadre of mysterious figures that advise him ‘to back off’ the case. Thurn ignores the threat.
Meanwhile, the two male human assassins that killed the half-orc – Jalas and Eren – are making their way across the city carrying the package they were hired to retrieve. On the way, the two are ambushed by a group of sinister figures led by a human half-fiend. The figures easily kill Eren, but Jalas slips away, weaving through the city with his shadowy pursuers not far behind. Jalas is shot in the leg and tumbles off the towers and into the river below, while carrying the package. He survives the fall and manages to get away from his pursuers with the package.
The next day, Thurn begins his investigation of the murder and turns to the local House Tharashk guildhall for information. However, the members of House Tharashk deny that the dead half-orc was even a member of the House at all. Thurn leaves and contacts the owner of a local rare herb shop. There he learns that only two days ago, a small amount of bood rot had recently been bought from him by a man wearing silver falcon cuff-links. Thurn then goes to his contact in one of the local Thieve’s Guilds in order to discover the name and location of the assassin.
Meanwhile, Auric Went, a dwarven merchant lord and a secret member of the Aurum, learns that Jalas and Eren were attacked and killed by a mysterious third party. His servant Zen, a female changeling wizard, informs him that Jalas survived and has gone into hiding with the package. Auric sends Zen to Sharn to have Jalas dealt with.
After talking with his contact, Thurn discovers the location of the assassin and heads there to apprehend him. Thurn arrives at the assassin’s hide out and sneaks in. There he questions the wounded Jalas and discovers that the real target was an iron box that the half-orc was carrying. Thurn takes the box and is about leave with Jalas in tow when the cambion and his men break in. The cambion identifies himself as Valyx, a priest of the Dragon Below, and demands that Thurn hand over the package. Thurn refuses and just before a fight breaks out Zen and Auric’s henchmen arrive and start a fight with the cultists. Jalas slips away during the fight and soon after Thurn also slips away with the package in hand.
The package turns out to be a simple iron box that has been magically sealed and can only be opened with a House Tharashk signet ring. Thurn opens the box and inside he finds a journal that details the location of a large cache of Khyber dragonshards. Unfortunately, the journal also details that the dragonshards are being used to imprison one the daelkyr and that if the shards were mined, the seals imprisoning the flesh-shaper may weaken, allowing it to escape.
Thurn decides to destroy the journal in order to keep that from happening. Before he can, his office is attacked by Zen and Auric’s thugs. His assistant, the half-elf Merat, is killed and Thurn is knocked unconscious when one of Zen’s fireballs collapses the building. He later wakes up in the House Tharashk guildhall, healed of his wounds, and discovers that Malaris pulled him from the rubble of his shop. Malaris and the head of the local Tharashk guildhouse, a female half-orc Narak, explain that Auric’s men have taken the journal and are riding the lightning rail towards Auric’s estate just north of First Tower. Malaris and Narak ask Thurn to help recover the journal, so that the dragonshards can be safely mined by House Tharashk. Thurn explains the problem with the imprisoned daelkyr, but Narak doesn’t seem to care and Thurn reluctantly agrees.
Malaris, Thurn, and a small group of House Tharashk members, take a House Lyrander airship and quickly intercept the lightning rail. They board the train and begin to make their way to the compartment where Auric’s men are holding the journal. A gruesome fight ensues. All of the House Tharashk members are killed, leaving only Malaris and Thurn alive. The two fight valiantly but are hopelessly outnumbered. Valyx arrives suddenly along with the cultists and two dolgaunts. He easily kills Zen and takes the journal. Thurn pursues him while Malaris holds off the other cultists and the dolgaunts. Thurn pursues Valyx to the top of the lightning rail and the two fight. Thurn grabs the journal and slashes one of Valyx’s wings sending him plummeting off the side of the lightning rail to his death. Thurn then quickly moves to stop the lightning rail.
Meanwhile, Malaris is killed fighting the dolgaunts and cultists, but after seeing Valyx die the remaining cultists flee. Narak arrives in the airship and demands that the journal be turned over. Thurn refuses and burns it before her eyes. He turns away and begins his long walk back to Sharn.
Comments, suggestions, critiques.
