Fire Newt/Yuan-ti Conflict of 4824

A conflict contained in the Serpent Sands region of the Royaume du Terdiore. The conflict involved a local tribe of Yuan-ti trying to summon Szzeth, one of Mulin's generals during the War of Ascension. Their actions caused the disappearance of every caravan traveling through the desert by the hands of the Fire Newts. This in turn starved the town of Feriq of food and goods from Ironmar and Havere - The Crystal Port almost causing a mass famine in the town. A party of travelers heading West from Ironmar spoiled the Yuan-ti plot and stopped the raids by the Newts.

Return of the Yuan-ti

The Yuan-ti are the progenitors of the modern-day Nomadic tribes. They worshiped Szzeth and in return, the Snake God granted them powers and magic. When it was clear that the Yuan-ti and the forces of Szzeth would lose control of the region, the remaining high priests of Szzeth gathered to the temple city of Mal'Arok and hid it using a powerful illusion spell. There the survivors of the War of Ascension lived for millennia.
In late 4823, the high priests of Mal'Arok decided that the time had come to try and summon back their God Szzeth. To assist in this plot, the High Priests convinced a group of Dopplegangers to kidnap and replace citizens of Feriq. The kidnapped where used as human sacrifices to increase the priests power. Many of the population performed the necessary rituals to turn themselves into Pure bloods, Malisons, and even an Abomination.
As more human sacrifices were needed for the Yuan-ti's dark rituals, it was decided that someone should be placed in Fariq to organize the efforts of the Doppleganers and to spy on the settlement. And so, a pure-blood illusionist agent under the name Kammeela el-Ramun was sent to Feriq. Al-Ramun seduced Prince Salim Al-Jabar, the current governor of Feriq, and put him under a powerful charm spell.

The Fire Stone Stolen!

By the summer of 4824, the Yuan-ti at Mal'Arok had grown into a sizable and powerful force. They then turned their efforts in finding a way to summon Szzeth. The Yuan-ti sent agents throughout the Serpent Sand looking for anything that would assist them in this task.
Dopplegangers disguised as fire newts discovered that the Fire Newts used a powerful, magical artifact called the Fire Stone to communicate directly with Imix. The priests believed that perhaps the stone could be re-purposed to open a portal to the Abyss setting Szeth free from his prison. Under the blanket of night, the doppleganger agents stole the Fire Stone. As they made their escape, they turned back into their humanoid-shaped forms. The Fire Newts seeing humans leave with their Fire Stone became enraged at all the humanoids in the desert.
The Fire Newts mobilized their forces and started to attack the caravans in the desert. No caravan made it through the Serpent Sands for months, and survivors of these attacks stayed in Feriq to protect themselves. With the majority of the supplies from Ironmar or Havere being destroyed by the newts, and the population of Feriq balooning due to the survivors of the raids, food started to be come scarce in Feriq. Prince Salim Al-Jabar in Melikkan of 4824 ordered that the food stores be rationed and that all new supplies from caravans be confiscated and used for the sustenance of the town.

Strangers from the East

In early Jerni of 4824, a group of adventurers arrived in Feriq from Ironmar. They reported that they had spoken to and defeated several raids of Fire Newts, and that the Fire Newts were looking for an artifact called the Fire Stone. The Party seeing the condition of the town decided to look for the Fire Stone themselves to try and stop the raids. In the meantime, the local city guard captain Nashet al-Yasin is recruiting able-bodied men and women to deal with the Fire Newt threat directly.
In their investigation of the town, the Party discovered that something was strange about the Prince Salim's girl friend Kameela. The Party broke into Kameela's private apartment and found a letter laying out a plan to use the Fire Stone to summon Szeeth. The letter was signed by a Yuan-ti high priest. The Party then decided to follow Kameela herself.

"Daughter of Szzethh, The Priests are working tirelessly on how to best use the power of the Firestone to summon the Great Snake Szzethh, General of Mulin back from the Abyss to help us reclaim these dry lands and rebuild our empire. We, as His liberator, will surely be the chosen clan among the many scattered on this continent. Until this great day comes we must continue the work that we have put into motion.

As days after days pass the Firenewts have grown more and more aggressive and reckless. We fear that soon they may uncover our beloved city. You must convince the humans to go and wipe these primitive beasts from desert. Moreover, we will be sending you more Doppelgangers to replace those you choose worthy as tribute. We will need as much power from the Sibilant Death as we can muster. Great battles lay ahead, and we must be prepared.

Be vigilant daughter, and be sly like the cobra. Slow from the shadows and deadly to strike.

~Izshiu, Abomination of Szzeth"

When trying to investigate Kameela, Kameela became suspicious of The Party and sent doppleganger assassins to dispatch them. The assassination attempt failed, and the Party captured their assailants. After some morally grey methods of extracting information, they learned that the Yuan-ti was hiding at a site of an ancient city no longer in existence.
The Party then recruited the help of Sage Humbolt Ravenheim a member of the Circle of Sages in Feriq to research the local flora and fauna of the Serpent Sands. Sage Revenheim, using an old map found in one of his dusty history books about the region, narrowed the possible locations down to three sites: Mal'Arok, Mal'Kalan, and Dalwaiti. "Convincing" their remaining doppleganger captive to lead them to the correct site, the Party headed out to the desert to confront the Yuant-ti threat.

Mal'Kalan

The doppleganger led the Party through the open desert towards the ancient city of Mal'Kalan. On the way, the party is attacked by a pack of bulettes and the doppleganer perishes. When they arrive, they find that Mal'Kalan was a tomb city. They rest for the night and are attacked by a group of wandering mummies. Himo contracts mummy rot. The party decides that Himo can't make it back to Feriq before he would pass away from the disease, and so the Party continues on to explore the city.
The Party comes across an old tomb that seems to have foot prints going inside. They dispatch a small army of undead guarding the first room and discover that many of the undead guarding the tomb were adventurers or tomb raiders that had tried to rob tomb. In the sepulcher room, they are confronted by a a group of undead Yuan-ti warlocks and warriors guarding a lamp. The guards tell the Party to turn back and to never return. The Party asks the undead sentries if they know anything about the plot to summon Szzeth from the Abyss, but the sentries do not. They have been down in the tomb for thousands of years. Their souls bonded tot he duty of guarding the lamp.
The lamp, the Party learns, contains a captured efreeti - a general of Imix during the War of Ascension. It was one of the greatest Yuan-ti victories during the war. The Party negotiates with the sentries to tell them where the temple of Szzeth would be and to cure Himo of his mummy rot. The undead Yuan-ti agree to in exchange for a few magical items.

Mal'Arok

With the knowledge given to them by the Yuan-ti at Mal'Kalan, the party traveled to Mal'Arok. They are immediately attacked by the guards on the city wall which are hidden by the illusion spell that protects the city. The party kills the guards and immediately storm through the Temple of Szzeth.
Floor the floor the Party makes their way to the top of the temple. They avoid poisonous traps and kill the priests, pure bloods, and malisons. They even burn Yuan-ti hatchery along with its eggs and guards.
On the top floor, the party interrupts the start of a dark blood ritual. They attack the priests but they cannot kill them all before they sacrifice two human prisoners - one of which is the inn keeper who they had met (they think) earlier. The Fire Stone now hovering above a pool of human blood starts to turn from a ruby red to a dark green. A portal appears in the ceiling of the room, and the visage of Szzeth approaches. Those not afraid of the visage of Szeth continue to fight. The Party frees a warlock sacrifice who fights along side them. At last when the Abomination performing the ritual is slain, the portal closes and the Fire Stone drops back down into the pool of blood.
Findley WickerWeave finds the stone in the blood pool and when he touches it, faints into a stuper. He receives a vision of Imix who gives him the gift of tongues to speak Infernal and tells him to return the stone to his children - the Fire Newts.

The Fire Stone Returned

The Party returns to Feriq. They realize that the militia has already left to fight the Fire Newts, so they go and see Prince Salim al-Jabar by-passing his guards. They convince the prince to go with them to recall the militia and to return the Fire Stone back to the Fire Newts. He agrees.
While the prince is getting ready for the journey through the desert, the Party goes to the Inn and demonstrates that many of the town's populace has been replaced by dopplegangers. The town immediately thrown into chaos as the towns people try to figure out who is real and who is not.
The Party travels to the Smokey Mount the home of the Fire Newts with Prince Salim and Kameela. They go and negotiate a truce with the Fire Newts and the Newts agree not to attack the humanoids in the desert in exchange for the Fire Stone. When the party returns to Feriq, the town is mayhem. The town citizens have constructed a gallows where two dopplegangers and two humans hang lifeless by the neck. The party figures out that dogs can be trained to sniff out who is real and who is not, and when Prince Salim returns, they train two of his dogs to do the same. The party leaves the town leaving its safety in the Prince's hands.