Only four members of the Swords survived the onslaught: Anya, a clockwork assassin built in the guise of a young girl; Aries, a devilish paladin pledged to an oath of conquest; Brigid, a barbaric human storm-priestess from the hoary northlands; Vargen, a mutant ranger accompanied by Olaf, his wolf companion.
The game began with the party tracking Taltos Draghul across the Borderlands of Urazya. They knew that Draghul was not traveling alone. As they followed Draghul's trail, the adventurers spied a way station watchtower at dusk. Curiously, the tower's beacon was not lit even though night was approaching. The party argued about whether it was worthwhile to search the tower or not, but ultimately curiosity won out.
The tower eerily silent, but showed signs of enduring an assault: the door had been broken and hastily repaired, some of the furniture inside had been smashed during what appeared to be a pitched battle, and there were blood stains on the floor throughout the structure. However, there were no corpses to be found. While exploring the tower, the party was set upon by a group of degenerate humans and slavering ghouls who were hiding in the upper floor. The battle was brief, their enemies were slain, but the adventurers received dire enough wounds that they decided to rest for the night inside the relative safety of the tower before picking up on Draghul's trail.
Examining the corpses of their foes yielded an important revelation: although they didn't recognize the degenerate humans, the ghouls were all wearing the uniforms of members of the Swords of Avernus. In fact, Vargen recognized one of the ghouls--he had fought side by side with the woman in a past battle fought by the Swords.
In the morning light, the party could see a walled village in the distance. As they rediscovered Draghul's tracks, it was confirmed that the village would be their next destination. Perhaps the villagers would be able to help them find their traitorous former commander.
