The city of Ravenshelm is plunged into chaos and strife as many notable merchants and noblemen fall prey to assassins. No a single week goes by without someone important being murdered. One day it is the captain the guard, the next week, the son of a rich merchant lord. What is happening is that the city’s chief assassin guild, the Shadowed Knife has fallen apart in a power struggle. The two factions fighting out for the leadership are eliminating the allies of each faction; apparently, the Shadowed Knife is an influential faction in the politics of the city and many great and powerful families are linked to it.
- The current mayhem is due to the disappearance of the Master of the Knives, the chief of the guild. Both factions accuse each side of murdering the leader and are using that as an excuse to wage a civil war among themselves and in the city. The adventurers, if they are possible to find the whereabouts of the guild leader, would be able to put an end to this mayhem. The man was last saw entering exiting the city two months ago, apparently on a job. It is rare for the Master of the Knives to undertake a job himself. The adventurers would have a lead if they can uncover the nature of the job.
- The new governor of the city has long known the Shadowed Knife’s role in influencing the politics of the city and is determined to wipe them out – including their supporters. He has hired a master assassin to cause chaos within their rank; his hired man would kill an ally of one faction and put the blame on the other. If the hired knife is unmasked, the Shadowed Knife would band together once more and stop the wanton killing. However, is the governor right to remove a negative influence this way? Should the adventurers stop the governor’s plan? And who is the hired assassin who can outsmart one of the most lethal guild of killers?
- When the former governor comes to power within the city, he did so with the aid of the Shadowed Knife. He used it to enforce loyalty, inspire fear in the public and sway others to join him. However, he himself was murdered and without a heir, the city falls into chaos. Members of the ruling council has persuaded various factions of the Shadowed Knife to join them, and this has cause a massive civil war within the ranks of the assassin guild. This chaos will go on till one of the factions gain the rule of the city; however, one young but probably naive council member sees it as a chance to rid Ravenshelm of its corruption and decadence. He employs the adventurers, wishing them to find a way to destroy the Shadowed Knife, once and for all, while they are weakening from internal chaos. Understanding how each cells of the Shadowed Knife works and getting their strategists and leaders killed would probably do the deed, but what a master politician is the one pulling the thread to remove all rivals to his rule, just like the governor before him?
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