After rescuing the baron, the heroes wen to meet up with him in his home in Syris. After a long trek, they arrived in Syris, restocked and visited the palatial home of the Baron Cyrus Drakclar. It finally dawned on Eraclius just how influential this baron was being of a lesser family under the royal Drake family. The baron thanked the heroes again for his rescue and paid them a thousand platinum pieces, and wishing he could grant more to his saviors. He also granted them a writ that stated he would sponsor the group with the League of Questing Companies, the adventurer’s guild that operated in most civilized countries.
With their new writ in hand, they went to to local branch of the guild and found a couple of interesting postings. They chose to aid the beleaguered soldiers at Knightswatch Keep at the southern borders of the country to fight off a seemingly non-stop undead assault coming from within the Marsh of the Fallen.
They traveled by barge down the river and got as close to the keep as the captain would allow before disembarking. They walked the rest of the way, and eventually found themselves in the marsh itself, the ground giving way to a spongy, wet morass under their feet. Eraclius would see torchlights bobbing nearby and decided to check it out. The others followed hesitantly, and eventually they managed to get lost. That’s when they heard a shout, almost like a herald’s call. a few minutes later a griffon with a rider flew overhead, and the rider called upon them to beware the wisps and to follow him to the keep. They followed and finally found themselves at their destination. The griffon rider met with them and introduced himself as Knight-Commander Eroth Gryphon, of the royal house, cousin to the crowned prince. His pure white panther-hawk griffon had been seen by the group before, during the attack on the mercenary fortress.
Knightswatch Keep was built once as a strategic point of operations for the Kyradorian military when it was at war with the elven nation of Duania to the south. Now it stands to guard against undead incursions from Shadestone, who tend to send their undead soldiers on the long march from their home kingdom around the southern edge of the mountains and into the marsh. Just like the one that seemed to be taking place. The heroes were thrust into battle shortly after their arrival, and afterwards came across Navina, a half crystal elf that is training to become a Magi-Knight, and her adopted father Garock, a dwarven soldier.
After a restless night, the group aided in the burning of the undead and afterwards waited for the arrival of a scout that was just sent out. He returned with news of a nearby elven crypt, leftover from the Kyradorian -elven wars, not too far from the keep. He said he noticed that the doors were open, and within was a sense of…wrong. He agreed to lead the group to the crypt, and did so with all due haste. Now the heroes stand in front of the crypt and are preparing themselves to enter…