Chapter 15: Xonthal's Tower - Rise of Tiamat

Chapter 15: Xonthal's Tower. Though Severin's hold on the Cult of the Dragon is strong, there remain traditionalist elements within the cult that long for the old ways of reverence for the dracoliches. Many such elements center around scholars and academics, for whom the cult's new focus has made their knowledge and research irrelevant. Others think that Severin is being taken in by devils and that Tiamat will play him for a fool-a notion fairly close to the truth. Two of the leading dracolich traditionalists-a dragonsoul named Jorgen Pawl and his trusted lieutenant Iskander-have been most vocal in their objections. As the time of the summoning ritual approaches, Severin understands that he can't risk losing loyal troops to infighting and insurrection. He has thus agreed to give Jorgen Pawl and his followers a dragon mask to examine, allowing them to determine whether Severin's understanding of the masks' power is correct. If Severin is wrong, he will know before risking everything on a do-or-die gamble. If he is right, the traditionalists will give their support to Severin's plans. What Jorgen does not know is that Severin asked his Red Wizard allies to create a false mask, supplying the scholar with a duplicate of the Blue Dragon Mask that appears both powerful and inscrutable, though it holds little in the way of real magic. Severin knows the scholars will discover the deception eventually, but he hopes that the false mask will keep the traditionalists occupied while he completes his plans. The Cult of the Dragon recently took control of Xonthal's Tower-an ancient and mysterious wizard's tower on the southern slope of Mount Hlim. Although not all the cult members at Xonthal's Tower are dracolich traditionalists, Jorgen Pawl and Iskander are in command there, and they have drawn many like-minded individuals under their sway. Iskander The young second-in-command at Xonthal's Tower stands an impressive 6-feet-5-inches tall. Iskander is not overly brave, but he is...