"Who can have done this... this... massacre!"

The distressed cry echoed across Sapience, rallying adventurers to
Delos, where the young liquor merchant Naoise had stumbled upon a
macabre scene. A small wedding party had been brutally murdered in the
garden behind the Fellowship Hall of Scarlatti, pools of blood drying
around the bride, groom, and their guests. Among the corpses was one of
particular note: Lord Makarta, figurehead of the Ivory Mark.

As onlookers puzzled over the identities of the victims and the cause of
such carnage, a lone figure clad in crimson robes appeared on the
rooftop, gazing down at the crowd. Brandishing Makarta's severed head,
the figure called out with cryptic words before disappearing, leaving
the crowd with a final warning: "Beware the coiled serpent. The
unskilled fall before the blade!"

The only witness to the horrific crime appeared to be a terrified mime,
who by his nature could not speak to adventurers. Indicating that he had
seen the murders take place, the mime shakily began to draw in the dirt
with his finger, forming the image of a coiled serpent. With this clue,
adventurers dispersed across Sapience, bound to determine the meaning of
the strange symbol.

Nissa, Head Archivist of the Lucretian Athenaeum, was able to identify
the mark of the Quisalis for the trio of Ariettie Jinx-Ech'lir, Ilireth
Lighthawk, and the Magi Exrael. Sir Goryllin Dawyn and Jaiz Gothfraidh
extracted the same information from Gontathis, a thief hiding near the
Shala'jen monastery. Ssathis, house tutor for the Cult of the Serpent
Lord, revealed the mark's source to Saralyn, Nizaris Xanatov, and
Montago Vas'amaen-Ze'Dekiah. Some took this clue and made their way to
Derillin Yu'tar, recruiter for the Quisalis Mark, while others
approached simply on a hunch.

Yu'tar remained disdainful and evasive of questions, his mind on other
matters. After a time, he finally mentioned a task he was charged with
and passed a scroll to the newly inducted assassin Jaizsur Ta'sa. The
instructions upon the scroll were brief, and it was quick work to
assemble materials and travel to Dun Valley, where an orc blacksmith had
already been comissioned for his services.

From the humble forge of Garnok village, a bejewelled serpentine idol of
gold was crafted and delivered to New Thera, where it was placed upon an
obsidian pillar in a secret room beneath Yu'tar's lair. As the final
piece in a mystical device, its use granted access to a sprawling
network of caves.

Within the caves, dwarves and elementals laboured under the direction of
a trio of Quisalis assassins known as the Triad: Dakrol, the Swiftblade,
Nevon Talkar, and Isiva, the Blood Maiden, who proudly claimed
responsibility for Makarta's brutal murder. As the Triad welcomed their
Quisalis brothers and celebrated the death of their Champion rival,
exploration quickly turned to bloodshed as Champions made their way into
the caves, and the latent feud between Quisalis and Ivory Mark was
rekindled in a fiery blaze.

Penned by my hand on the 7th of Glacian, in the year 447 AF.