Of Paladins and Paragons
Corruption runs rampant in Kadesh, and is doubly true in the sector of Paladin's Place. What was once a bastion of faith, has wilted into a cesspool for violence, mercenaries, and illegal activity. Although the Wanadead had been here on numerous occasions, something new drew them to the sector, a friend in need. Melas, the proclaimed "Hero of New Orenith", had recently found strange elemental occurrences in the sector, as well as found a new figure that needed to be uncovered, the Shadowed Coin. Having no one else to turn to, Melas asked the Wanadead to help her uncover what was really happening in Paladin's Place.
After encountering multiple Genasi, the Wanadead believed that the Shadowed Coin was responsible for their actions. However, after uncovering a letter from the Shadowed Coin telling them where they could meet him, the Wanadead obliged. Upon meeting the Coin, he revealed himself to indeed be another Genasi. Nonetheless, after taking Aeolus into his ring, Aeolus reemerged and told the rest of her group that the Shadowed Coin was working against the other Genasi, a group known as the Paragons of Primos.
Melas was not fully convinced of the Shadowed Coin's innocence. Although she agreed to play along, she asked the party not to tell their other ally, Atticus, seemingly the only noble Paladin left in Paladin's Place. Before this, they had agreed to help Atticus take out the Shadowed Coin, as he was potentially responsible for the Paladin's continual ignorance to what was happening in their sector. In return, Atticus would help Arsenius rebuild the Paladin's in the name of the Great Griffon. Due to them believing Atticus would not agree to working with the Coin, they agreed with melas to withhold the information of the ring the Coin had given to Aeolus. Besides, the Coin was trapped in the Ring, as far as Aeolus knew.
After a few encounters with the Leader of the Paragons, the Air Genasi Feng-Bao, the Wanadead proved that they could hold their own against the group. The Paragons seemed to want the ring that Aeolus held, and Aeolus was not willing to give it up. While the Wanadead kept the ring away from the Paragons, Atticus and Melas continued to track down the Coin's operations. Not too long after their second encounter with the Paragons, the Wanadead agreed to help Atticus and Melas investigate one of the Coin's supposed hideout. After clearing it out the hideout, the Wanadead and Co. searched the area. After finding some notes, they were interrupted by the Paragons once again. A battle ensued which ended in the Paragons retreating once again, and the Wanadead, actually managing to kill one of the four Genasi. Now, with Eirkoris having placed a magical tracker on one of the other Genasi, the Fire Genasi Shao-Shang, they decided to become the hunters.
Tracking the Paragons proved easy, they had hold up in an ancient ruin connected to the sewer underneath Meteorite's Meadow. There, the Wanadead found the Paragons drawing energy from what could only be described as a chamber of pure elemental energy. Nonetheless, a fight ensued. During this fight, the tides shifted between the two groups. Although the Wanadead and Co. outnumbered them five to three, the Paragons had the power of the elemental energy at their disposal. At the peak of the battle, one of the Genasi, the Earth Genasi Miburui, managed to knock Atticus unconscious. Before anyone had the time to react, the Earth Genasi proceeded to bash Atticus' head into with his fists. Upon seeing her ally die and needing to escape Feng-Bao's relentless onslaught, Aeolus went into the ring in hopes of getting Coin to aid them. During this time, Melas and Arsenius managed to finish off the Earth Genasi, rendering him unconscious, while Eirkoris beat and killed the Water Genasi, Uzushi. Upon seeing his allies fall, Feng-Bao attempted to fly away yet was grounded by a well placed shot from Aeolus as she emerged from the ring as well as a firebolt from Arsenius. With Arsenius going and ensuring Feng-Bao was no more, Aeolus, with the Coin, went to Melas and Eirkoris who were standing over the bodies of the unconscious Earth Genasi and their dead ally, Atticus. Before anyone could do anything, the Coin killed the Earth Genasi and retrieved the ring from Aeolus, then, upon seeing Atticus' corpse, thanked them from eliminating his enemies, and vanished. The realization soon set in that they had just gotten the only Paladin that wanted the Coin killed and killed the organization that was wanted to kill the Coin. With their leads on the Shadowed Coin exhausted, and the hopes of reigniting the Paladin's spark diminished, the Wanadead buried Atticus, and left Paladin's Place, unsure if their hubris had really just led them to fail their mission.
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