Noble Savages was the eighth adventure released for the Covenant of Light Faction Adventure to be run as part of the Xen'drik Expeditions campaign.
Synopsis
The PCs are gathered at Radiant Hold for a long overdue award ceremony held in front of hundreds of their fellow Scions . For services above and beyond the call of duty in the past, they are being honored with one of the Covenant 's highest awards—The Brilliant Star , a crystal medal in the shape of a seven pointed star on a band of color-shifting glamerweave .
Just as the medals are being placed around the PCs' necks, a disturbance at the front gate of the fortress interrupts the ceremony. Guards and spectators are rallying to the portcullis where a man in ragged clothing has just collapsed into unconsciousness. The moment Lord Corvalis sees him, he immediately orders the gate opened and the man brought inside. He then has the man taken to a private room in the infirmary and goes with him personally, cloistering alone with the mysterious gatecrasher.
The PCs are left to their own devices for a short time before they are called for by Lord Corvalis, asking them to come to the infirmary for a private meeting. Once they arrive, he apologizes to the PCs for his brusque exit and explains his actions to them quickly.
After telling the PCs that the unconscious man is Karro , his estranged brother in law, he explains that his Eldeen family has returned and wishes to reconcile. As wonderful as this news is for him, it is tempered by the sorrow that aside from Karro, the rest may already be lost again. He asks the PCs as a personal favor if they will go attempt to rescue Oraan and the others from whatever fate has befallen them in Kalak'karan .
Assuming they agree, he sends them to the basement of the fortress to meet with Glitch , the gnome artificer many of them already know. (Glitch appeared in CVN-4 Brave Soldiers ) With no time to lose and a clear idea of where they must go because of a druid 's map possessed by Corvalis, the PCs will have to travel with Glitch in the Covenant's most unorthodox possession— Lady Cannonball , an elemental powered burrowing vehicle.
Glitch gets them where they need to go with only a slight detour in the form of an underground magma flow. Lady Cannonball gets stuck in a pool of lava and it is up to the PCs to figure out how to move her back onto solid land before she melts. Once this danger is overcome and the two disgruntled salamanders from the lava pool defeated, the PCs get underway once more.
Arriving at Kalak'karan, the PCs encounter the Keeper of the Grove while it is clearing away rubble from the ruined temple, opening up the huge crater at its heart. Maddened and completely beyond reason, the corrupted treant must be put down in some way before the PCs can continue with their rescue mission. Near the end of the combat, the earth shakes beneath the PCs and an unholy sight erupts from the massive well of power.
The source of the potent energy in the pit is revealed as a flying vessel in the shape of a nautilus shell with tendrils erupting from the front. Rebuilt using slave labor and parts from the wreckage of the Sureflight , the illithid nautiloid emerges from the dark earth below and rockets past the PCs, an all-too familiar creature of pure madness and terror spiraling in an elemental ring around its hull.
The PCs can do nothing to stop the ship from escaping but all hope for their mission is not lost. The fallen treant, freed from its madness by the departure of the foul entity, implores them to hurry below. "They will kill the prisoners now. Save who you can." Then, before their eyes, corruption claims the great Keeper, rotting it away into mold and brackish slime. The treant is beyond their aid but they still have a chance to rescue Oraan and the others if they move quickly.
Descending into the pit, the PCs are exposed to the horrors of Thoon , an enigmatic power from the madness of Xoriat . Brought to Eberron by the crash landing of a mind flayer vessel, the result of an impossible crossing between this world and theirs, the energies of Thoon have been contained in this ruined temple for more than a thousand years. Unsealed by the creature of chaos summoned by Garris , the crater is now home to several abominations left behind by the nautiloid's escape.
The PCs battle through the slave encampment controlled by these vile creatures, rescuing survivors on their way to the leader of the villainous Thoon devotees, an illithid slavemaster with a terrible surprise of his own—Thoon thralls created from the surviving human crew men of the Sureflight. Their grotesque self-immolations set the tone for a disturbing battle beneath the cursed earth of Kalak'karan.
With the mind flayer's slaves freed, the PCs can return to Radiant Hold with both dire news and desperate hope. If allowed to spread, the disciples of Thoon could potentially open a new portal using the power of the captive chaos-creature they now possess, ushering in a new Age of Madness .
Oraan, however, has learned a great deal about Thoon during his captivity and can aid the Covenent in tracking down the foul cult. As much as he wishes to rescue his daughter, this terrible blight upon the world must be dealt with first. Pledging himself and his people to the Covenant of Light for however long it takes to destroy these minions of corruption, the druid elder joins forces with his grateful son-in-law to that end.
In saving the noble savages from the Eldeen Wastes , the PCs may have also saved the world...
Appendix
Connections