The captain of the royal guard says, 'We require a weapon of great strength
to serve as a protector for our soon-to-be King.  You might have heard of
the sword Excalibur, which was King Arthur's weapon back when he was alive.
Unfortunately, Excalibur was absorbed by King Arthur as part of a worship
ritual and can no longer serve its original function, seeing as how it is
irremovable from the spirit of King Arthur.  The weapon we want is King
Lancaster's sword: the Scimitar of Souls.  It was a virtuous tool of
tremendous power, but it was lost along with the late king during his
failed attempt to destroy Chaos.

'You look to be a seasoned adventurer.  Doubtless, you have heard of Chaos,
the land of maurading monsters surrounding the Green River on our northern
marches.  In the heart of this corrupted area, there is a portal leading to
the Plane of Chaos.  It is the source of the infectious magic that warps
the bodies of beasts and minds of peoples living nearby.

'Three long decades ago, the Kingdoms of Avalon and Thalenwood assembled an
army to destroy the Corruption of Chaos once and for all.  The army
overcame all obstacles and slew all of the infected beasts, until nothing
was left but the portal.  They could not discern a means of closing the
rift from our plane, so our leader, King Lancaster, took a group of humans
and elves through the portal, hoping to be able to close it from the other
side.  They never returned.  The Queen went into mourning, and has been
ever since.  We have sent scouts through the portal since then, trying to
discover their fate.  What we learned is that King Lancaster was slain,
and, because of the nature of the plane's ambient magic, was transformed
into an undead monster who now claims to be a lord of Chaos.

'Our clerics have determined that the spirit of King Lancaster is still
trapped on the Plane of Chaos within his undead body.  We fear that
violence may be the only means of releasing it.  If you can destroy the
body, it should release the spirit within.  But, be forewarned that the
planar magic of Chaos may have corrupted his spirit, and he may attack you.
We really have no hope of saving his body, it can be destroyed if
necessary.  Our best hope is to help the king's spirit to the afterlife, so
that the Queen's burdens may be lifted a little bit.  Do not linger there
too long, lest you be corrupted yourself.

'The clerics highly suspect that the bladeless sword was destroyed by the
magic of the plane.  If that is the case, you may need to reassemble it.
We are not sure how King Lancaster first constructed the sword, since it
was a quest he completed personally and never told anyone about.  If you
can bring the Scimitar of Souls to me, the Kingdom of Avalon will be in
your debt.  Xandar bless you.'