"The Blood in the Cult"
They waited until night fall before approaching the camp a second time, and spent several hours planning their next crucial movements. M reckoned that he could craft a sort of delayed dancing lights effect off in the distance, that mimicked the same alert signal that the Emerald Claw spellcasters had been using to signal an attack, and draw their main force out. This way, when the main force was pulled out, they could sweep in from behind and enter the fort. After a few hours of preparation and buff spells, they enacted plan "backdoor."
The flare went off without a hitch, pulling the force of troops that were having an evening meal to the north, along with the patrols of cavalry. A bastion force of a single drow spellcaster and the man clad in black remained behind, along with a half dozen guards. Pulling the half dozen troops into the eastern woods, the party eliminated them swiftly, charging into the main gate before it closed. Inside they found four well equipped troops guarding the stairwell down, and proceeded with moderate resistance into the basement. The party discovered a makeshift dungeon, with manacles and a drain slope in the floor, as if to keep the floor clean from blood. In addition, they found a room with a large, evil looking circle scribed in the floor. An altar to Vol rested against the far wall, and one of the Emerald Claw retainers was scrambling to burn documents in a fire. When the party entered, the man fled through the wall, as if passing through it. In addition, the members became filled with an uncontrollable sense of dread and fear, a crushing despair immobilizing it. Unable to disable the trap, they passed through it one at time, each feeling like they were on the precipice of death.
Through the illusionary wall, they came upon the man in black, Viktor LeStronn, arguing in a language they couldn't understand with the drow, later revealed to be Torven Silesia. The drow appeared to issue a command to the third man, the Emerald Claw retainer, who responded by turning his blade on Viktor. Viktor then parried the attack and decapitated the Claw retainer, engaging his former ally in vicious combat. Taking advantage of the changing tides, the party charged in. Kiiba initiated by bolting through the corridor and crashing into Viktor, followed by Hessth, who body checked the drow into the nearby fire pit. After a short and brutal combat, Parg's blade was spliced into Viktor's chest; Torven's head crushed flat by Hessth's maul.
The momentary reprieve allowed the party to reform, and route the remainder of the Emerald Claw before making their way back to town. The end of the journey and was rewarded with little pomp, but with gold and a follow up. It seems that the captain of the guard was entirely uninformed regarding the purpose the kidnappings and the black powder that Tiz had been collecting. The involvement with the Blood of Vol in the basement of the Emerald Claw fort puzzled the party, but not nearly as much as it puzzled the captain of the guard, who suggested that they take the investigation to the King's Guard in Sharn, as they deal with all the major law enforcement in Sharn. Armed with this knowledge, and fueled by their desire to figure out what has been happening to the children of Xandrar, the party suited up, and headed south, towards Sharn.
Rewards: 2625 XP, 150 gp each, 500 gp to Hessth and Rhonne, masterwork spiked full plate, masterwork bastard sword, LeStronn Papers