PROLOGUE

The Blood Lord sat on his throne of bones and blood oozing
skulls, engulfed in darkness and the putrid stench of
death and misery. Cries of pain and anguish played in the
background of Orcus’ residence of Undeath. Nothing of this
reached the dark lord. His blood-hazed eyes were lost into the
distance, his mind stretching out to listen to the calls and
prayers of his dark clergy and followers. Like buzzing flies,
their requests and calls for favors left no impression on the
Demon Price of Undeath – his schemes of power were on a level
incomprehensible for his mortal followers. But suddenly his eye
twitched, a prayer – no not a prayer – a whispered word that
brought back memories of lost causes and unpaid depts. Orcus
focused his divine attention towards the source, spanning his
godlike awareness cross planes and dimensions.

“…Master of Undeath, Tear in the shroud of Death,
listen to the words of your humble servant, a maggot in your
godlike corpse. I have found out where the followers of Bahamut
have hidden the Rod of Ruin! The paladin of Bahamut I
defiled and brought back in your name knows of its hiding
place, great Master.”

The Rod of Ruin – Found! The Blood Lord clenched his
fist around the Wand of Orcus, blood dripping between his
fingers. This opened up new possibilities, the chessboard had
suddenly shifted, and things were tilting in his favor again. As
Lord of the Undead, Orcus had the everlasting patience of the
dead, a trait seldom seen among his demonic cohorts and
enemies. But Orcus knew that if he waited long enough in the
darkness, secrets held in life would resurface in the afterlife. It
was just a matter of time, and that time was now. With the
Rod of Ruin resurfacing he could send his pawns to collect it
and complete the task once started but never finished – turning
the living world into a realm of undeath and eternal darkness.
His divine mind immediately identified the hundreds of actions
needed for setting the plan in motion, but first – he poured a
fraction of his essence into the world of the living. His aspect
materialized in the crypt of his maggot, pulling darkness and
the chill of the grave with it. The priest screamed in terror as his
eyes started to bleed at the sight of his true Lord. There were
still questions that needed answers and a dept of a soul to be
paid…

INTRODUCTION

This will be a "Trek Through WoTC," an orcus-centered spin on the standard H through E series of adventures released by WoTC, heavily influenced by Myrhdraak's work on providing a cohesive thread through the modules.

At the moment, there's a fair amount of material up that will be edited/hidden later, be patient!