The Dragon Senator

A BLACK EMPIRE CAMPAIGN

SYNOPSIS
A seasoned senator named Crassus Ligarian has discovered that an exceptionally intelligent blue dragon
has replaced a member of the Imperial Senate.
Nine months ago a senator named Sartius Toranius and his friends and servants were on a hunting
expedition near the great volcanic mountains in the northern part of the empire. While camping for the night,
Sartius wandered into the nearby mountains to steal a few moments of starlit solitude. After a long stroll he saw a
bright glimmer in the black rock ahead of him. He discounted it at once, thinking it the reflection from a piece of
volcanic glass. Still, he was curious. Sartius climbed closer and discovered a flask half buried in a dormant
volcanic outcropping. He managed to free the flask from the rock and, thinking it to contain a magical servant
such as far away stories are about, he opened the flask. When the glittering azure smoke from the bottle cleared,
Sartius was dismayed to discover that he had awakened an ancient blue dragon, cast long ago into a once active
volcano. When the dragon whipped the air with its great wings he was frozen with fear. The sky filled with rain
and thunder summoned by the dragon. It then spoke with Sartius and read his mind in an attempt to gather the
major details of his life. Having determined his station and power the dragon saw a great opportunity. He seared
the senator to death with his breath and devoured him. The dragon then took his form, wandered back to camp in
the midst of the storm, and ordered the expedition back to Rame the next morning.
The dragon has since infiltrated the political scene. He is now reveling in the subtle chaos and ruin he is
bringing to the lives of mortals. He regards Rame as his personal playground, as valuable as any hoard. Because
of this unusual greed for power, the dragon senator committed a dangerous, if not fatal mistake.
During a heated argument over one of the dragon senator’s recent actions, it revealed itself to Crassus in
a fit of barely controlled anger. Stunned into silence by fear, Crassus remained nearly inactive for several weeks.
Only members of his family would believe he had encountered the dragon. He decided he could tell no one. But
his silent dread would get the better of him. He visited the libraries of the Imperial University for answers as to
the dragon’s origin. After several weeks of research, he discovered a vague story about a bronze dragon and a
group of adventurers. They had, nearly three hundred and fifty years ago, trapped a great blue dragon in a flask
and tossed it into an active volcano, the end of a long and perilous quest ridding the land of the beast. The dragon
was called Aziz and his short command in the guise of a military commander three hundred and fifty years ago
caused thousands of deaths. Crassus decided at length to take some sort of action, though he knew the dragon was
watching him through human and monstrous agents alike.
Crassus has started a strange and cautious plan the execution of which is designed to take one year. He
has recruited a promising imperial operative named Zeranthus Verres. Zeranthus, an officer of the imperial secret
service, has been noted for his prowess and discretion. Crassus was also present several years ago at the tribunal
wherein Brys was ousted from the military. He was impressed with the man and has followed his career as an
adventurer with no small amount of interest. Aware of his reputation as a skilled and fearless warrior, he has
ordered his operative to hire Brys and company for an unrelated mission. Crassus is in the process of forming a
small private network of communication outside the city in order to communicate with Zeranthus. It is his hope
that he can allay the dragon senator’s suspicions by removing his operatives from the city where they are too
visible. He also hopes to test the loyalty and mettle of his operative and those he has hired. His ultimate goal is
for Zeranthus to form a genuine bond with Brys and company so that upon their return they might be engaged
against the dragon.

EPISODE 1  THE EMPLOYER

The campaign opens in the city of Lord where Zeranthus searches for Brys and company at the behest of
the senator, about whom he knows nothing. He has been directed to hire them to accompany him to the Great
Swallows, where he has been given the task of arresting or neutralizing the Archmage Draskilion, a powerful
renegade wizard. Rumor has it that he has been providing sporadic aid to the Green League Rebellion for three
years in exchange for magic plundered from the empire. He is rumored to be personally responsible for the deaths
of seventy citizens of the empire. The episodes to follow should be the catalyst for the eventual bonding of the
company and the climax of the campaign  player handout Zeranthus #1.
EPISODE 2  CARAVAN GUARDS
Before leaving Lord, the company is approached by Sir Bryan, a caravan trader from Bel Sakar. He
bears diplomatic papers granting him and his caravan special traveling rights in the empire. The trade caravan is
headed for the town of Daemord and, in return for an escort, they offer generous pay. The truth of the matter is
that the caravan traders, a pack of werewolves, are hiring their next meal. The diplomatic papers are cleaver
forgeries. The caravan is headed for Daemord, but the traders assume wereform and attack the company before
they even reach the halfway point. Surviving werewolves may later plot revenge  Dungeon Issue #26, Caravan
Guards and adventure revision for Caravan Guards.

EPISODE 3  ELIXA’S ENDEAVOR

The company should retrieve the parrot from Sir Bryan’s wagon once they have defeated him and his
werewolf comrades (see Episode 2). The company soon learns that the parrot speaks and before long they also
learn that the bird is actually the polymorphed Elixa Justheart, a Thedisian priestess. She has a problem and has
been looking for a way to solve it. Opportunistic Green League Rebels have taken her uncle’s keep and thrown
her Uncle Harkon Justheart in the dungeon. She aids anyone afflicted with lycanthropy and beseeches the
company for help in rescuing her uncle  Dungeon Issue #53, Elixa’s Endeavor and adventure revision for
Elixa’s Endeavor.

EPISODE 4  THE GHOST OF MISTMOOR

Once the company has succeeded in solving Elixa’s problems, they should resume their journey toward
the Great Swallows. Elixa offers to accompany them to the edge of the swamp, if they fail to ask her to come
along. Upon reaching the edge of the swamp, they are approached by the frantic Lord Blaine, recently granted the
title of viscount. Due to his new title, he owes a large debt in taxes to a local duke, a man named Urgus Oram IV.
Blaine is also in love with the duke’s only daughter, Briana. The duke is trying to ruin Blaine through legal,
financial means because of this unfavorable relationship. The only way for Blaine to pay the debt is to recover
the lost family fortune from haunted Mistmoor Manor. He knows that he can’t do it alone and asks for the
company’s help.
Should the company succeed in helping Blaine, he rewards them generously. He then requests that they
escort him to see Duke Urgus. It is Blaine’s intention to pay his debt and ask Briana for her hand in marriage at
long last. Briana will joyously accept. Blaine invites the company to the wedding and may even select one of
them to be his best man, if he grew close enough to one of them during the quest. Elixa performs the ceremony in
a small local church, with the angry duke in attendance. The company has, perhaps unknowingly, made an enemy
of the duke. He may plot revenge against the meddling adventurers through whatever legal means is later at his
disposal, though this may take some time and brooding upon  Dungeon Issue #35, The Ghost of Mistmoor.

EPISODE 5  THE GREAT SWALLOWS

Upon entering the great swamp the company is presented with the difficult task of locating the keep of
the renegade Archmage. The keep is hidden and protected by powerful magicks and it is rarely visible (see
adventure revision for Sleepless). Through inquires with intelligent denizens of the great swamp, the company
may discover two possible sources of information for its whereabouts:

 The first is a disgusting green hag named Urlagaza. She lives in an abandoned cabin on a muddy spider-
infested island in the middle of the swamp.
 The second is a female black dragon named Syrinx. She has made her lair in an ancient skyship wreck in the
western part of the swamp.

The company should use one of these sources of information to locate the keep. The company may also encounter
Galest Selestialis, the chronomancer who accidentally sent Krullin back in time and space to the Black Empire.
He can be encountered at any time during the journey (see campaign outline Thy Kingdom Come)  planned
encounters for The Dragon Senator (The Isle of Spiders, Krullin’s Dilemma, and Wreck of the Alliance).

EPISODE 6  SLEEPLESS
The company may realize that they have bitten off more than they can chew upon entering the bizarre
world of the renegade Archmage. It is up to the company to apprehend the wizard, dead or alive, and/or get
themselves out of the wizard’s besieged keep in one piece  Dungeon Issue #28, Sleepless and adventure revision
for Sleepless.

EPISODE 7  THE JOURNEY HOME

The road home is a troubled one. Three days ago the rebellion attacked a frontier garrison. The garrison
commander was killed and the remaining garrison troops are in total disarray, despite an impending second attack.
When the company arrives it is apparent that Zeranthus must take command and prepare the garrison for battle
until relief forces can arrive  planned encounters for The Dragon Senator (Garrison Duty).

EPISODE 8  THE DRAGON SENATOR

Crassus arranges to have Zeranthus promoted to commander if his mission was a compete success. He
may offer Brys a commission in his section of the Imperial Secret Service as well. The rest of the company is
paid as promised. Zeranthus is then contacted by an imperial operative and informed about the dragon senator.
The final events unfold and the campaign ends with a dramatic battle against Aziz  planned encounters for The
Dragon Senator (The Dragon Senator).