In the previous game, the team finally made it to Baldur’s Gate. The next morning you discovered that Baern had disappeared into the night without reason. Troubled, you went to meet the King (King Cedric). The King turned out to be a bit smarter than you originally thought and had been keeping close tabs on your activities. Baern, it turned out, was under a Geas; a sworn promise that he would return to his people when they needed him. When the tattoos on his body start to move, he will stop at nothing to return and fulfil his promise. If he is prevented from doing so, his Geas will cause him unspeakable torment until he goes insane and dies. The King was unaware of the events which lead to this situation.

As for the King’s summons, the King wants to confide in you as an external party to Royal politics. When some of the players were made Dukes, the King expected them to fail; punishment for your insolence after demanding titles in return for services rendered. Instead, the land flourished and corruption was driven out. The King sees in your group people who do good where they go, not people who are out to make a profit (suggesting that his file on Modric could be a little bit thicker). As a result the King asked the group to help him. Not for profit, favour or fame: but to save the world.

The issue is that there are two groups preparing for war. The King knows one group, the Cult of Orcus, but does not know who leads the army or the cult. Of the other group he knows even less; only that shapeshifters of all kinds are rallying silently under their banners, including Doppelgangers, Lycanthropes, Mimics, Barghests, and many other types of shapeshifting creature. The King suspects that they have infiltrated politics all over Faerun and are influencing other creatures such as Giants to start attacking settlements, distracting from whatever their plans are. The King has met with the leaders of Amn, the Sword Coast, the Dragon Coast, Waterdeep and the Western Heartlands and they are only aware of the Cult of Orcus.

Making matters worse, the King’s spy network is comprised entirely of doppelgangers. His head of security is peculiar in that his shape cannot be taken by shapeshifters unless they possess a special talisman, which each of his agents wears around their necks. These talismans are made with the blood of both his head of security and the agent, and provide the doppelganger with the strength and constitution required to emulate a seasoned warrior. Acting as messengers and bodyguards, his network of spies feeds him information regularly. He is not sure how much he can trust them or their information, although it was one of these agents that fed him knowledge of the secretive Shapeshifter Cult.

The mission the King wants you to undertake is to use your status as Dukes (those not Dukes will be given diplomatic papers allowing them to travel as the Dukes’ entourage) to travel around the country and gather information. If possible, identify and remove dangerous elements from other governments and make them aware of the threat from both groups. Be careful of causing incidents-diplomats do not assassinate members of the court without their country suffering. Investigate both groups and attempt to stop their nefarious schemes whenever possible. Protect the innocent. Keep the King informed, and he will do what he can to help; however due to the chance that shapeshifters may have deeply infiltrated his government, he will take pains to appear ignorant and foolish. In short, you are to do discretely what the King cannot do in public; prevent war and save his people.

After you accepted his proposal, the King asked if you still had the Malebranch Chess chess set which was stolen from a crippled hookwing many months before. The King sat down and drew his sword, showing it to the demon within, and told him that he would be freed; however, if he does not answer the King’s questions, he would destroy the demon. Obviously terrified by the sword, but prevented from making such deals by the Malebranch Chess Chess set’s magic, the demon could only blink and give the slightest of nods.

Freed, the demon is much larger than expected, and extremely powerful. However, he remains terrified of the King’s blade. The demon reveals that the nature of his power requires that questions be asked in rhyme, with the reliability and quality of the answers depending on how well the question is posed. He insists he has no control over this. The rhymes themselves are lost, but the questions asked were as follows:

What is the Shapeshifter Cult? The cult worships a new shapeshifter god.

What can this god do? The shapeshifter god can become other things, not just take their form. It can bestow this power to others. But it must kill or destroy the original.

Where did it come from? It started small and consumed much. Now it is strong and plans to consume Orcus. This is why the two go to war. It may consume other, lesser gods first. It has already consumed 2. It plans to consume all.

Who leads the cult? You have met him before; an agent known as Q. He is devious but weak.

Who leads their army? Their army is small, with many dormant groups well-placed. They will rally to the call of a new creature, said to be part of the god himself. It is said to be very large and very powerful.

Where are they? They are not on this plane.

Who leads the Cult of Orcus? A Lich you have also met. He promised his soul in return for eternal life as a Lich to avenge his town. Now he is too corrupt to see what he has become, allied with the very thing he gave his soul to destroy.

Who leads the Army of the Cult of Orcus? Groshnak. Groshnak has grown in power and is a natural military leader. While he was initially manipulated to server this role, he is now almost fully aware of his actions. His thirst for power and his love of war drive him now.

Where are they? They are hunting powerful artefacts for Groshnak. He now possesses the Armour of the Damned. They are looking for a suitable weapon. They are both in other planes. Some of the planes are prisons. They are growing very powerful.

Tell us what the shapeshifters plan to do. I do not know. They are attempting to influence the Lizardfolk to the south in Amn.

And the Cult of Orcus? Look to the North, in Waterdeep. For what, I do not know.

Where is Baern? To the east. His people live in the stronghold of Urist in the Sunset Mountains. His people are at war with the Giants again.

Why did Baern leave? I do not know. Seek out the bard in “The Splurging Sturgeon”. He knows much. He will recognise you.

At this point, the King asserted that only one more Question could be asked each. You have one more chance to ask Questions; they must be in the form of a rhyme. This is where our adventure will begin tomorrow.