Eberron campaign plot is progressing, but moving a bit too fast for me!

[adventuresineberron]

So I need some help with my campaign, but before I go into specifics about what kind of help, here's a little background on what has happened and what I have planned:

Krystival Valorek's Spellbook contains information that would help the Dreaming Dark reconnect Dal Quor and Eberron. The book is mostly in an arcane code designed by the archmage who wrote it, so I can use that to feed the players information at whatever pace. Also, when they first came in contact with it, the spellbook "reacted" to the players, and a voice spoke out a section of a Prophecy they had heard in Xen’drik.

The main enemy in this venture is a kalaraq quori named Zoratash who leads a significant portion of the Dreaming Dark. The first connection to him is an agent of the Royal Eyes of Aundair, Helais ir’Lantar, who was actually an agent of the Dreaming Dark and was possessed by one of Zoratash's underlings (now deceased after failing to obtain the spellbook).

The spellbook and the Prophecy hint at an ancient artifact that could be used to stop the plans of the Dreaming Dark: a key said to be able to "lock the planes." This artifact is, of course, the Keyblade (Players and I are all huge Kingdom Hearts fans, so some references will be found). They now know that the drow of Xen’drik may have some idea about the Keyblade, but I think the campaign is moving too quickly, so I need to slow things down a bit. The Keyblade has also been split into 4 pieces, 1 individual blade for each member of the party!

The Prophecy also tells about the coming of a chosen one, and has some hints about each of the players in it because, surprise, the chosen one is them as a group, not any one individual.
It’s also possible the players will need to gather information in order to know where the invasion might take place and any steps they could take to postpone it. For this, they will have to seek out some of the Gatekeepers in the Shadow Marches, possibly go to the Mournland where the Spellbook had been found, and most likely jump straight to Xen’drik to seek the Keyblade.

They met a woman named Rose Arron who has lots of knowledge about the Prophecy. They met her at the Library of Korranberg where she is an expert on the Draconic Prophecy (for good reason). She goes with them, but is also their guiding light/slight manipulator. She wants this prophecy fulfilled and will steer them in directions, good or bad, to make it so since the ends justify the means to her.

Also, here's what I have for the Prophecy. They only know the first section:

The forces of fallen light
Descend upon break of night
The ancient ties are filled again
The heart's darkness revived.
Heartless fiends renew broken bonds
Returning all hearts to the shadow.
The darkness grows to greater strength
In the center of Kingdom Hearts.

The savior comes from the skies
to know his destiny from the Progenitor’s first breaths.
He holds Light as his shield,
but the darkness of hearts still plagues him,
threatening to return to the shadow.

The one with no life,
who weaves as he breathes
and Khyber shudders at his grasp.
The storm calls to him
and he answers with fury and wrath.
Faceless he rides, the Traveler’s companion,
pulling those out of darkness and madness
and into the Light.

In his hands he holds the world,
the key to all things within his grasp.
And the darkness will overwhelm him,
the Light fades as the breaking of the world.

The many-eyed watches,
calling on broken ties and sealed allies,
to shadow the world in a darkness with no end.
The Lord of Madness comes to take all,
and where honor had once been shown,
his armies feast upon the land.

The Bringer of Light returns to the broken land,
where all was thrown out of balance,
and in her death throes,
the Dragon Between birthed madness anew.
The key is brought and meets its master
yearning to undo what had been done
in ages long forgotten.

The Keybearer, who hears the song of all souls,
comes to the place where the land once prospered,
heeding the call of the ones before.
For the nightmare is torn asunder,
and where darkness had once taken hold,
the wheel of time turns to Light.

​

I'm also taking a few ideas from the Wheel of Time series (halfway through the second book!) and have decided to use the concept of the Pattern and ta'varen, making all four of the PCs ta'varen. One way to use that was to involve the Daughters of Sora Kell, specifically Sora Teraza.
So, fellow GMs, how can I expand this campaign? What kinds of quests can they go on? How can I slow it down majorly (I revealed the "key" sidequest waaaaay to early... but I didn't have anything else for them so it just happened...)? Can't you see why kids love Cinnamon Toast Crunch???

Oh, and an immediate problem, they're in Sharn right now and I want them to stay longer. One of the PCs is a member of the King's Dark Lanterns, so I was thinking of having this guy they put in jail escape but I'm not sure how to stretch that out from more than just "Oh he's in this place. Capture him and bring him in. Combat. Session's over in less than 1 hour."
Sorry for the rant, but any help at all would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Lwaxy]

Rule #1 - anything can happen in Sharn. What about them being mistaken for someone else by some powerful interest group (or a group that would like to become powerful soon), resulting in some cat-and-mouse game? Or someone frames some of them for a crime just because they happened to be close? They can also just pass by a street party, happen to eat something that was intended for someone else and get poisoned by it - good luck finding the antidote. Or this unlucky assassin who tried to kill his evil, evil target, but for some reason the heroes keep getting in the way, accidentally, so he targets them first. And if they pull at the pattern, you could have a child been drawn to them, a kid with visions, who asks them to "please help grandma" - never telling that grandma is, in fact, a powerful force of the underworld. Things they never expect, but will give them some minor advantage in the long run - like the kid could give them another part of the prophecy without knowing what it is. Sharn is endless possibilities.

If they do not have an active opposing force yet, let them find one there. Maybe an exiled drow, intent on regaining status.

 

[adventuresineberron]

I see what you mean! So I guess one other question I would have is how do you plan out these quests? Like, you have this idea, but how do you expand it so it isn't just a hook with no real adventure behind it? I hope I'm being clear.

 

[Lwaxy]

Same as you make up any other adventure - fill in the blanks You would have to improvise on spot in some situations, of course, like with the assassin because the assassination attempts would happen where the PCs are no matter where they go and you'd need to pick up from their actions to find a reason why they foiled the attempt.

If you aren't that good in making up things on the fly, have a checklist of possibilities. You may not need most of them but it's still helpful.