At this point an old man will step out from a wooded part of the forest into the clearing complaining about the underbrush and branches hitting him in the face, it is Charilus. “All that work and you end up losing the masks!” He looks very annoyed as he glances at everyone. He continues complaining about how the PCs lost the masks and all that wasted time spent trying to gain them. After a few seconds Elan runs up to her father and hugs him teary eyed thankful that he is alive. Charilus quickly stops complaining and hugs his daughter back. He finally calms down.
Charilus and Outcome #2 where the PCs are captured by Baron Ganth: Charilus was keeping an eye on the PCs from a distance when he realized they left the camp with the masks. He caught up with them after they were captured. He used an invisibility spell to stay nearby trying to find a spot to rescue them. He knew that he could not take out all those men and 3 wizards with a single spell. He might disable or kill some but they would eventually overpower him, so he waited. Once Charilus overheard the 3 wizards discuss how they were going to execute the PCs he figured out how to take out all the men and wizards with a single spell. Just before the fireballs went off Charilus cast a wall of force, from a distance, between the wizards and the PCs. Since a wall of force is invisible and a fireball explodes when they come into contact with something solid… well you can figure out what happened. If the 3 fireballs had not taken out the group Charilus would have cast his own the next round. If you wish you may add this to the scenario for effect.
If Shar was ambushed in her camp Charilus will point out that she is resting near one of the trees. He found her half dead during the battle and dragged her off to safety. The rest of the Marauders are dead. After healing her a bit he realized she had the mask of divination on her. Since the mask was bounded to her she would be able to use it the quickest. He decided to bring Shar with him to rescue the party. Shar is very injured at this point and has only 5 HPs left. Shar will insist on going with the party to recover the masks.
If Shar and the Marauders are alive (Phantasm stole the masks and got killed) then they will make an attempt on their own to recover the masks unless the PCs can convince them otherwise.
If Shar is dead then the Baron will have all the masks and their task will be much harder to defeat Xoth.
If the PCs ask about Charilus’s demise after the encounter with Xoth he will explain that the power of his own magic and the magic of the masks possibly allowed Xoth to form and go after them. He decided to keep in hiding researching more on the masks and staying away from the PCs. But now that all or almost all the masks are with the Baron there is no need for him to stay hidden.
Charilus has discovered more history on the masks. He knows of the binding spell needed to form the masks and bring back Xoth to mortal form. He does not know of the phylactery within the mask of alteration.
Now the PCs must stop the binding spell from being performed or they will have to face Xoth in human form. The binding spell will return Xoth back to life and place the Baron’s soul within the phylactery.
When playing Shar remember her goals and mission. Use judgment with her to justify her actions. There are only two possibilities. She is alone and wants to go with the PCs to recover the masks or her and her Marauder’s lost the masks and will recover them alone. Play her accordingly depending on how the PCs interact with her. In the end the PCs should try to incorporate Shar into the plans. It will only help them in the end.
The PCs will find that there are two of the Baron’s wagons left behind at the camp. Ten soldiers were left guarding them waiting upon the arrival of the group sent to dispose of the PCs. In this wagon will be their equipment.
