The Slave Trade of the Upper Darklands

• Characters: Cheynar, Jebeddo, Sentalial, Teldowen, V.L.
• NPCs: JadeBlade Doppelganger, Mack Doppelganger, Piper Tall-Lad
• Synopsis: Sentalial and Jebeddo return from their evening patrol to the guildhall, and find JadeBlade and Cheynar preparing for the night patrol along with Teldowen and V.L. discussing current events in the grand hall. JadeBlade requests a debriefing meeting with Jebeddo in his own private chambers where he presents Mack. The two break character and speak freely to Jebeddo, revealing their false personalities. The Mack look-alike says that he has retrieved the ever-soaking sponge and says that the bounty placed on the artifact is equal to a year’s worth of effort on their slave trade operation. Presenting Jebeddo with an option to leave with them, the two are planning on vacating Threshold tonight and journey to the Black Legion encampment for the slated bounty. Jebeddo’s bluff cannot fool the infiltrators as one lashes out and makes for an escape. The gnome wizard summons his allies as the battle breaks out into the courtyard of the guild hall. Sensing defeat, the Mack look-alike triggers the failure of the giant plug, sending the massive boulder plunging into the tunnel below. Both of Jebeddo’s opponents attempt to escape beneath the surface, but Teldowen’s spells kill one of the spies. The body that once resembled Mack shifts into the form of a doppelganger. The remaining spy is captured and questioned, revealing the deception. The prisoner is pressed into unveiling the truth of their presence. A cluster of doppelgangers has been infiltrating the people of Threshold for some time, using the duergar tunnels beneath the city to extract their victims to sell into slavery in the Underdark city of Drik Hargunen. It bargains with the adventurers to unveil other infiltrators as well as a map to the doppelganger outpost. Leading the prisoner from the guild hall the group moves towards the Bur’Dvay household only to find a drunken Grem complaining of his absent wife, gone more than a tenday. The doppelganger continues to challenge his captors by shifting from person to person, earning the ire of Sentalial. Stumbling through the heavy snow, the party returns to the guild hall and retrieves a map that the doppelganger says will guide them to his outpost in the Underdark, a midpoint between Threshold and Drik Hargunen. Next it leads them to the house of Piper Tall-Lad. The inquisitors realize that Piper is attempting to evade them through the tunnels beneath the town. He is tracked down by Cheynar and Teldowen and subdued. The man’s form does not revert to a doppelganger. During the chase the doppelganger makes an escape but is quickly dropped. The prisoner says that it was attempting to get to the Great Rise, a massive mile-and a half pit leading into the Upper Darklands. Perhaps he could lead them through the network of chasms and caves to the doppelganger outpost. Having had enough of the shenanigans and deception, Sentalial paladin of Torm leaves the prisoner to the blade of V.L. who ends the creature’s life. Cheynar revives Piper Tall-Lad who spills the truth regarding the town’s thieves gang he belongs to, lead by none other than Tess Bur’Dvay. They have been leaderless for some time and with the death of Rellun Sherry, Piper believes that he is next. Under submission Piper fingers the town’s blacksmith, Jesh Sparklight. The investigation must continue, but daylight will prevail first. The group decides to regroup at daybreak to develop a plan.
• Encounters: Doppelgangers, Piper Tall-Lad
• Achievements: unveiled spies to the Adventurers Guild, recovered a map leading from Threshold to a doppelganger outpost in the Underdark, uncovered the slave trade to the duergar city Drik Hargunen