A monk silently but quickly walks through the halls of the Sanctum. Stopping at a large wooden door, he opens it slowly and steps inside. The room is dark and the monks nose picked up the heavy scent of burning incense. As his eyes adjust to the dim lighting, he spots a figure sitting in the middle of the room in meditation. Quickly he strides over to the man and bows in front of him, waiting to be called up.

"Speak, brother” The man in the middle of the room opens his eyes and stares at the monk, waiting for his message.

The monk sits up and looks at the man in the middle of the room. The man is Archpaladin Amonadan, leader of the Heironean faith in Paladorn. "My Lord Amonadan," the monk starts...and then falters.

"What is it?" The high priest is now getting impatient, annoyed that his afternoon meditation is being interrupted.

"I...I have bad news. Apparently the Temple of Heironeous has been sabotaged...and now stands a crumbled ruin."

Amonadan's eye lit up at the news, his face distorted in rage. "Who's responsible?"

"I...I don't know."

Amonadan quickly stood up, and strode across to a corner of the room. There, he put on his scabbard containing his longsword, as well as his bronze cuirass bearing the lightning bolt symbol of his patron deity, Heironeous. Satisfied that his armor was strapped on properly, he headed for the door, motioning for the monk to follow.

Amonadan soon reached the sight of the ruined temple. Spotting a couple of royal guardsmen nearby, the Archpaladin called them over. “Who’s in charge?” He asked.

“Captain Calgacus” One of the guardsmen replied.

“Take me to him” Commanded Amonadan.

The guards led Amonadan to a nearby building, a tavern commandeered to be used as a base of investigation. As Amonadan entered the tavern, a large man looked up, and quickly greeted the priest. “Greetings, Lord. Captain Calgacus at your service.”

“What have you found out,” asked Amonadan, not waiting for curtsies.

“My men have searched the ruins, and have found that the temple walls were sapped, the foundations of some key points of the building walls dug out. Whoever did this must have been an extraordinary engineer who knew exactly what to do to bring the temple down the way he did.”

Just then the tavern door opened and four guardsmen walked in, pulling behind them a prisoner. “Sir, we believe we have found our saboteur.”

“Bring him to me,” commanded Amonadan to the soldiers. They quickly complied, and dragged the prisoner over to him. Amonadan looked over their prisoner, a dwarf with pale grey skin and a dark grey beard. He was a Duergar, or grey dwarf. The dwarf wore a black leather tunic, which offered him a little protection but didn’t hinder his movements. Amonadan, knowing that the dwarf wasn’t likely to willingly talk, started an incantation, drawing upon the divine magic of Heironeous. The dwarf tried to resist the spell, but was soon enchanted. Satisfied that the enchantment was properly in place, Amonadan began his interrogation. Resist as he tried, the enchantment upon him forced the dwarf to talk and soon the Paladorians had all the information regarding the temple sabotage.

The Ironfist Clan of dwarves were behind it, and had sent in an expert sapper. They felt that if they can show the Paladorians that their god was weak, the spirit of the people would be broken, and thus be an easier target for a Duergar attack.

“Captain, call out your messengers and gather the people in the city square. I want to speak to the people.” Amonadan commanded.

As the Captain and his guards left, the Archpaladin took in a deep breath and silently said a prayer to Heironeous before setting out to the Sanctum to prepare for his speech.