Dear friends,
News has reached me that you’ve successfully met and befriended the monk Ulanbaatar, and that, as a group, you have made your collective marks on the city of Athkatla. Congratulations, and well done!
On my side, it is with great excitement that I report I have made contact with several other like-minded individuals who have the same concerns as myself (dare I say OURselves)
The news from Baldur’s Gate is grim, and Lord Homfray’s betrayal should serve as a warning to us to be careful who we trust in the future. Even the nobility are corruptable. Not a day after his trials began and the depth of his misdeeds became public, the Twilight Brotherhood severed all ties with him and claimed no part in his duplicity to the city and the noble nation of Elturgard.
And this is where his tale turns dark. Before his trials could complete, an unruly mob attacked and destroyed his manor, killing the majority of his servants, and burning his manor house out. And if that were not enough, sometime during that very night, Lord Homfray disappeared from his cell. No one has seen the man since.
The Twilight Brotherhood denies all involvement in his escape, and indeed now sits at the center of suspicion with the citizenry. The city is becoming a seething mass of bitterness and unrest. I pray the light holds for that city, it would be a blow for our cause should it dissolve into anarchy and lawlessness. The Flaming Fist is doing its best to appear unbiased, being largely funded by the Twilight Brotherhood, but its credibility with the overpopulated city is beginning to crumble. Through the associates I have made, I will endeavor to keep my eyes and ears open concerning the future of Baldur’s Gate, and we may yet need your unique talents there should things turn afoul.
But now to the heart of my purpose for this letter, and hopefully you’ll forgive an old man for his ramblings, for this tale takes some time to explain.
Being a devout follower of Amaunator, and a generous contributor to its temples, I caught the attention of a group of crusading paladins a number of years ago, mayhap five or six years ago. They beseeched me to lend support to their cause. They were heading West towards the Sword Coast to an unnamed frontier area between the Gray Vale and Netheril. A cult calling itself “The Hand of Naarash” came down from the Moonsfall Mountains there and began to subjugate the settlers in that region, preying upon the isolated and weak settlements. Of this “Naarash”, little can be found in the history books, other than a vague reference to a demon in the service of Bane.
These paladins, devotees of Amaunator as well, were led by a charismatic and courageous human named Jaryn, and they called themselves “The Light of the Sun”. Jaryn and his followers were determined to put an end to the Hand of Naarash and defend the frontier. I, along with several of my wealthy connections, feeling pity for these lordless undefended frontiersmen, gave them a gratuitous amount to outfit them. I had not kept tabs on their success since then, though my understanding of the rumours I hear is that the defense and struggle against the Hand is still ongoing, this many years later.
I thought nothing of them all these years, and yet as of two days prior to me sitting down to write this note, I received evidence that the Hand of Naarash had at some point made a connection to a certain network we’ve had the misfortune of dealing with… The evidence came in the form of a few obscure lines from the journal of a captured agent. I’ll spare you the details, but the phrase from the journal that jumped out at me was the following:
“Once the Hand of Naarash gains control over the region south of Moonsfall Mountains, it will prove a perfect staging ground to launch operations againts both Netheril and eventually Waterdeep. For this reason alone, we should be supplying them with the weaponry they need…”
I tell you, with all honesty, that I felt chills down my spine at the thought of them having designs to move against such powerful entities.
Now to the meat of the matter. I’ve arranged for passage north for your group, past Waterdeep and up the Graywater past Loudwater. There is a frontier town called “Autumn’s Hollow” there, and there you should be able to find Jaryn and The Light of the Sun. I implore you to help the man as you see fit, but most importantly, determine what involvement our mutual enemies may have with this Hand of Naarash.
This note comes with all haste, but there is a second matter we must discuss, but I cannot trust it to parchment – it has to do with my, or I should say OUR, new allies. They beseech me to take caution in my communication with you.
From here on in, I will endeavor to have my messages passed through intermediaries. The first will meet you shortly, and you will know the man when you meet him. He also is aware of the arrangements I made for your passage north, and will help you on your way.
Good luck, and may the light of blessed Amaunator guide your steps.
Yours humbly,
Yazeth Cobb.
