Campaign summary of Preemptive Justice, set in the World of Kiynan (5E compatible, based on Wizard of the Coast’s SRD 5.2.1).
The time following the notable events around the city of Spire saw the companions scatter to pursue their own ends, yet the threads of destiny soon began to draw them back to Haven, the capital of New Ornland.
In the downtime, Shep, the blustery Druid of House Hope, sought to shed his wild nature for a more grounded life. He donned a dark green suit and began a career as an agricultural consultant. Though he strived for a serious demeanor, a deeper part of him yearned for the return to true adventure. Bitoh, the gruff Warlock of House Fury, endured a season of dark despair. His relentless search across the continent for his former mentor had failed, leaving him depressed and estranged from his training. Only a cryptic, personal message from Spenser the Blue, served as the summons that would reignite his purpose. Ethane, the hedonistic Enchanter of House Lust, returned to Haven to reclaim control of his tasteful pleasure house, the Hall of Lust. He launched an aggressive, city-wide marketing blitz and hosted nightly parties to aggressively expand his social network, welcoming all as long as they offered no violence. Finally, Oren, the Valkan rogue and engineer, having truly severed his ties with the Inventor’s Guild, traveled the world as an eccentric anthropologist, studying other cultures and finally traveling to Haven to reunite with his old friends.
The three House Magicians received urgent, private messages from Spenser the Blue, summoning them to Castle Haven. The castle now floated high above the city, a feat made possible by the adventurer’s return of the mighty Floatstone. Lifted to the keep by a novice Augur, the party received their unsettling commission. Spenser revealed disturbing prophetic visions of three imminent, grizzly killings connected by a shadowy hand and an unseen motive. The visions revealed the victims in their final moments: a frightened male youth by Haven’s harbourfront; a weaver woman working the intricate threads of a loom; and a man in rags kneeling in prayer before a simple shrine. Spenser charged them with an impossible task: Preemptive Justice—to halt the murders before the fatal blows were struck and uncover the truth behind them. To grant them the authority needed for such an act, Spenser deputized them with the Seal of House Calm.
The moral ambiguity of the mission was immediately challenged by Bitoh, who demanded of Spenser how one could prove the necessity of such a pre-crime intervention, but the party accepted the charge. Shep voiced his own concerns privately, questioning the morality of acting on premonitions alone, noting the serious implications of attempting to arrest someone for a crime they had not yet committed. The party acknowledged his sincere concerns, but Oren, with his engineer’s mind and scholarly knowledge of the arcane, confirmed the legality of their mandate, assuring them that an Augur’s prophecy was considered compelling evidence in Haven’s theocratic court. The party decided to proceed.
Their first stop was Haven’s harbourfront shrine of Orn the Illuminator, hoping to find a clue related to the first victim, but they came away empty-handed. They then headed to the fish market to search for clues. Ethane proved key to the investigation, using his charm to glean the youth’s name, Kaelen, from a local clam merchant who spoke of a recent kerfuffle nearby. It seemed that the youth had argued with an eel merchant, then somehow affected the minds of everyone around him, causing widespread confusion. The party followed the trail of the youth through twisting, damp alleyways. When the heroes accosted the young man, he was distraught, believing that he was cursed. The magicians explained that it was no curse that afflicted him, but a rare gift, the power of forbidden magic. Kaelen, it seemed, was a budding Mesmerist. Shep cast a protective spell on the young man in preparation for the expected violence. Just as the heroes managed to calm the youth, a mysterious figure appeared: a tall man dressed in black, his eyes glowing like pits of darkness. The figure raised a hand and frost began to creep across the stones. The assassin had arrived.
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