Sarshan's Plans

Sarshan is an accomplished rogue and business man. Umbraforge is his home & base of operations. He takes a very active role in his business dealings and tries to stay well informed. He has a personal bodyguard of about 30 shadar-kai. These troops handle all security at the tower & forge. Each has a diamond earring, a badge of office similar to Modra's ring. Thannu is the captain of the guard.

Modra shares the following about operations in Elsir Vale: A client (unknown to Modra) has invested a great deal of money in information about the history of the vale; ancient cities, heroes of note, places of interest. The research eventually pointed to a sword of some importance, a silver(?) sword of legend with a ruby in the pommel. Agents were sent to the ruins of Shackles and Rhest to search for the sword. Clients were established all over the vale to gather info. Outlaws and villains were armed to weaken any military or police force. The Orc army was an unrelated outside force.

There are at least half a dozen silver/ruby swords sprinkled through the vale's history. Some could be the same blade, but the stories are generally old & vague. The weapons are universally wielded by some great hero, and they disappear with his/her passing. A sword from Rhest would be 500+ years old; Shackles 900+ years.

The gates under Overlook were established by Sarshan as a crossroads to many locations in the world. They were linked to existing gates elsewhere. Each destination has a key attuned to it. Sarshan is the keymaster, though some of his lieutentants have 1-2 keys necessary to their duties. Two of the destinations are Shackles (old dwarven capital) and Rhest (human capital of old). A wizard of adequate skill could reconfigure the gates to different destinations, perhaps even without the need for a key, though such service surely isn't cheap.