The Power of Betrayal

I run several games set in the 10th Age. These are somewhat simultaneous, essentially being amalgamations of the core group with different folks left out in order to make sure we always have a game to play; when one player isn't there, we play this game, when the other isn't we play that game. When everyone is there, however, we play a game set in the slaving-kingdom of Essad, a brutal landscape of cruel Masters and poor lesser freemen who's jobs have all been taken by slaves.

A few days ago, this party was set with terrible woes. They've been involving themselves haphazardly in politics in the city as a way of making some money on the side. Their main goal has been to excavate a ruined city, the presence of which is known only to them and their extremely unpleasant employer, Drozon the Sage of Dragons. The majority of the party members have generally been evil, lending the game a violent and unpleasant feeling. They have fought (both to the death and not) in the arena, murdered innocent people to get ahead, and ambushed and killed their competition for Drozon's contract.

All of that has begun to change. During a deep delve into one of the three vaults that the insane wizard Durius Wyrmcrown built to hold the keys to the sealed city (long story), they activated a trap. It was one of those "leave me alone" traps, where if they had just ignored the lure of treasure they would've been fine. As it was, a good portion of the party was hit by a pair of fireballs. Standing in the middle, at the overlap point, and failing all her saves, was their henchpriest, Elethanyra Luaaline, daughter of Aros and Windwalker. She became a molten gobbet of steel.