Secrets of Eberron Revealed (Part 8)

King Boranel an impostor? Impossible. Or is it? And just how are so many criminals avoiding the well trained soldiers of House Deneith. In this installment of the Secrets of Eberron Revealed we look into a possible conspiracy within the royal house of Breland where a king might in fact be a changeling and House Deneith tries to solve the mystery of how its soldiers are being detected. Is there a traitor within the house or is it something else all together?

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The King and the Changeling

King Boranel has always been considered a radical thinker. He, more than any of the other monarchs, pushes for a democratically elected government. He’s been called radical, progressive, liberal and a visionary. But many are starting to also call him impostor. A man living in the slums of Sharn and bearing a striking resemblance to King Boranel claims to be the actual king.

Known only as Canty, this Boranel look-a-like does not seek power. He’s a docile man who only wants to be left alone. He claims that as a teenager he and a changing swapped places on occasions so that he could meet secretly with a woman. But the changeling grew too comfortable in the seat of power and refused to give up his new identity. The changeling became Boranel permanently while the real Boranel was forced to flee to the slums of Sharn to avoid death at the hands of the changeling’s assassins.

Anyone who’s met Canty realizes that he’s not just a common beggar or down-on-his-luck criminal. He exudes a radiance of Charisma that immediately makes people like him. He gives hope to the downtrodden simply by acknowledging them and shaking their hand. King or not, there is certainly something majestic about Canty.

Many fiercely loyal soldiers who love and respect their king disagree with his political agenda and long to go back to war. These men would never act against their king, but if he turned out to be a changeling in disguise… Seeking to undo the social and political changes that King Boranel has introduced during his reign, a group of Brelish soldier are now actively seeking Canty in hope to put him on the throne, real king or not.

• The PCs discover soldiers harassing a beggar and intercede. One of the PCs recognizes the beggar as King Boranel (Canty)
• The PCs are hired by the throne to find and eliminate a changeling called Canty who is parading around the slums of Sharn claiming to be the King.
• The PCs need to get into a posh party. They realize that if they clean Canty up he can pretend to be the King and get them inside. Of course, when the real King arrives there could be trouble.

Deneith Detection Device

Not long after the Day of Mourning, while House Cannith was in turmoil, a prospector met with a junior house member to try and sell the rights to the minerals he discovered in his mine. The prospector explained that he purchased the mine years ago with the hope of finding Dragonshards or gemstones. After the Day of Mourning, he discovered a vein of strange metal. He felt that Cannith might be interested in owning the rights to this rare find.

The junior house member examined the samples the prospector provided and discovered that the metal was stronger than any she’s ever examined. She immediately purchased exclusive rights to this find and Cannith has used this metal to make some of the finest blades in Khorvaire ever since.

What the prospector failed to tell Cannith during his dealings is that the metal has another unique property besides its unusual strength. When the prospector discovered the metal, he also discovered small, spider-like bugs nesting near the metal. Whenever the bugs were near the metal they glowed. The prospector also learned that if he held one of these bugs in his hand, he could feel it getting warmer as the bug got closer to the metal.

The prospector made a good deal of money when he signed on with house Cannith, but he makes even more money these days by selling the bugs. It turns out that House Cannith uses the metal in weapons sold exclusively to House Deneith. Now the criminal elements can get an early warning whenever Deneith soldiers are approaching, as long as they’ve got one of these little bugs touching their skin. When the bug gets warm, Deneith is on the way.

• The PCs are on the run from House Deneith. They learn that there’s a way to avoid detection and seek the prospector for aid.
• House Deneith realizes that many criminals are being tipped off and eluding capture. The PCs are hired by House Deneith to investigate.
• One of the PCs finds a magic blade made of the rare metal. He doesn’t understand why so many people assume he’s a member of House Deneith working undercover.

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