" Not one of us could have endeavored to guess the impact of the Outsiders coming to the An’Desh capital would have had on the world as a whole. It is this humble Bards opinion that something akin to fate brought these reluctant heroes to the very epicenter of the nation that would determine the fate of Worlds. Final from Excerpt from The Coming Of The outsiders ~ written by Yolo Swaggins
The Party flew on the backs of the Military Wyverns, becoming quite surprised with the beasts ability to teleport a days distance toward the city. Seeing for the first time the expanse of the world it was almost too much to take in, as it differed so much from the dessert world that they came from. It was then they saw the grandeur of An’Llivi’an, the capital city of the An’Desh empire.
Landing before the An’Desh Palace. Aya informed the party that the portals that brought them here, were created by some other force, and should not be. With Goll’s help, they plan on destroying the portals, and now would be the time to return home if they so wished. It was here that Kira, said goodbye to her brother and the rest of the party to return home. She also promised to look for Hal’s ex-wife and son, to keep them safe from the war between the Church of Ariex, the Bannteth, and Betrand the Benevolent. Kira returned to her home world.
Once inside they were escorted, to a side room where they were given new armor and clothing emblazoned with the insignia of the An’Desh Empre. There they were met by Anku, lady in waiting to the Empress who made sure that they “presentable” for their meeting with the most powerful person in the world. This is also, where they met a half orc woman, named Tarzi, who was also here for the same audience, as she had attacked and decimated a slave ring in Valsunor, and was directly responsible for making Kennel Master Luthias return to the Pass and meet his inevitable end.
Once in the throne room, they watched as Lady Anku and Aya seated themselves on either side of the Empress. From there, they watched as the head of the Taerian Delegation was brought before here in Chains. He cursed at the gathered elves and promised that his Lord would bring destruction on their heads if he was not released. Unfortunately, for him, a rider was already dispatched to Warlord Damus of Taer. The Warlord, decried the actions of his emissary and denied any involvement in the theft of living stone, promising to return it should he locate it. The future of the emissary was to be left to the Empress’ discretion. Empress Na’Dine sentenced the man to death and was taken Batheus, champion of the realm to be beheaded.
Lord Governor Talvas was then brought before the Empress, his incompetence in ruling the pass being deemed criminal. The Empress took partial responsibility in his failure by not recognizing his lack of leadership. Instead of ordering his death, he was exiled, to Haven, in the Westetrn Marshes, to help the people fight the hordes of the Faceless Queen.
With that unpleasantness complete. Hal, Balsatra, Lyman, and Tarzi, approached the dias. They were met with mixed reactions, from respect to outright racism on the party of Dynast Wynvoris and his cronies. They were thanked by the Empress and offered positions within the Empire as Knights. This of course was met with mixed reaction as well. To add feul to the fire, Pellar arrived in the throne room, claiming that Hal was his father and he too was granted citizenship in the capital. The teifling seemed to be the last straw, for the more conservative of the elves.
Once the nobility was dismissed, the empress also gave them gifts for their service, and told them that she had a selfish reason that went along with the positions. She wanted to show her people that their isolationist practices were not correct and that the other races, whom they have had very little dealings with in the old world, were to be respected and seen worthwhile.
Before the party could leave, the throne room was attacked by a wight, speaking with the voice of the Faceless Queen. The Wight offered a dire warning, that the Faceless Queen had returned and would bring the An’Desh to heel. The wight attacked and the empress and Anku were teleported out of the throne room by Lady Corina. Leaving the Party and Aya, the Party, and Pellar to deal with the undead. Once dispatched, on a balcony Keiren Rathal Emerged in his full Vampire Glory! He dropped a orb on the floor which then turned into an undead Hydra.
Aya and Kieren disappeared from the throne room as they fought. The party fought the Hydra as Batheus returned to help. As this occurred, Pellar seemingly exibited Divine powers during the fight. The Hydra was killed and Kieren Rathal escaped.
Once the enemy was defeated, Aya brought the party to their new home. Here they agreed to be under her personal patronage. She gifted them with 5000 gp a piece and a personal butler and house keeper (Greta and Grendel). She instructed the party to get to know the city and wait on her summons.
Over the first few days the party realized that Batheus was watching teh house and asked to speak to Pellar. Batheus informed Pellar that he was a Paladin but to what god the young teifling is not saying. Batheus has taken the young man under his wing and is training him.