Fylaine Hellkeeper

437TuFyHe

As the sound of her plate boots echoes down the streets as she walked away from the Church of Gond with the Bag that she was entrusted with reaching its destination of her home, the Church of Selune in Karaol. The Prison of Gesig, a master crafted artefact that held an entire legion of demons. The bag had suffered significant enough damage that only the master crafters and those in service to Gond, one of the deities who had a hand in its forging, could repair it.

However, they could repair the physical bag but the seal on the prison itself, the enchantment that held the demons within was failing and she had to carry it to the clerics that could seal it. As she moved towards her steed, Fillsmir, she felt a vibration from the bag. Pausing she placed a hand on the great sword that was hung between her shoulders and looked around.

There was not a soul in sight this late at night, all the better to be transporting such a foreboding and cursed item out of the city without a audience. But something moved out there, darting across the stone-studded dirt street as it rushed towards her. Drawing her blade and slashing in a low arc she thought she caught a glimpse of the creature before it leapt over her blade and disappeared again. A demon, a trivial nuisance in this case but it was intent on getting to the bag.

If she did not take care of it now it would hound her, delay her and potentially even reach its goal. Calling upon her deities blessings she extended her holy senses and felt the presence of the fiend. Darting forward she slashed once more, this time the blade bit through the creature and a leather wing landed on the round with a splatter of gore. A quasit, she knew it. A weak demon but this one seemed to have a goal, a fixation on the bag she carried. If thrummed as if inviting the creature to take it and Fylaine had to step back to a more defensive position.

It came again, this time shifting its form as it moved, something smaller scurried up her armour and landed on the bag, attempting to bite through the straps. A mailed fist is what greeted it and a large, misshapen spider with missing legs fell to the ground. A final thrust downward felled the creature and a small prayer to Selune saw its corpse, and the separated wing, burn into nothing.

“It seems the seal really is failing fast…” she mused as he flicked the remaining gore from the blade. As she moved once more towards Fillsmir she increased her pace and kept a hand near the short sword at her hip in case something else attacked while she as in more confined spaces.

Mad King Foranen

436TuMaKiFo

As the adventurers cautiously step into the grand hall, their eyes widen at what lays before them. Tall Gothic arches stretch towards the ceiling high above, and vibrant stained glass windows cast a tapestry of colours across the marble floor and wooden furniture. The air is thick with an eerie silence, broken only by the soft clinking of their armour and the guards who accompany them to see King Foranen.

At the far end of the hall, seated upon a magnificent ornate throne is the mad king Foranen. His luxurious royal robe, a blend of deep blue and shimmering gold, drapes elegantly over the throne’s armrests. The intricate patterns and embellishments on his attire speak of a once-great ruler, now lost to the depths of madness. His crown, adorned with precious gemstones, glints in the filtered sunlight as he smiles up at them.

“Are these the people? my champions who will fight the storm for me?” he asks

The king’s eyes, wild and unpredictable, dart between the adventurers. His expression is a mix of regal authority and untamed unpredictability. He leans forward slightly, as if to better scrutinize the newcomers, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the throne’s armrest.

“Well I don’t have forever, hurry them up. If my gold is not good enough for these adventurers, like the last, then send them on the way. A visit to the dungeon to learn some humility would be in order!” King Foranen calls out as he becomes more agitated.

The adventurers exchange uneasy glances, each silently questioning the wisdom of this encounter. The tension in the room is palpable, a stark contrast to the beautiful, almost serene light patterns dancing on the floor. They know that this meeting could either lead to valuable information or plunge them into very real danger.

Bastion Sparrow

435TuBaSp

As the party retired back to the Crispy Basilisk, their inn for the night, they walked though the gathered tables looking for a place to sit. Finding a table that looked mostly vacant they approached the table but before they reached it a familiar man sat down with a tankard of ale and a small book. Bastion Sparrow.

As bastion sat down he looked up. “You are the adventurers who were at the guild today so I won’t need to introduce myself. But I find myself at a loss which is not a good look for a guild master. Well a retired guild master that is.” he said looking mournful at his book.

After sitting down and talking to Bastion the party found out a bit more about him. He started the guild as a way of supporting his growing family. He was not a warrior but had some skill with a blade, he wasn’t quite skilled enough to work in the trades in the city and so he did what he had done as a child, delivered messages. Soon he was doing well enough for himself that his name, B.Sparrow, had grown a reputation behind it and more people were requesting for just him to deliver the messages of the city at the cost of a silver.

But when other cities started to approach him asking for work he had to grow and expand and so the Silver Sparrows was created. “And that’s where I made a mistake.” he punctuated his confession with a sigh. “I ran into some trouble with a few guilds who wanted to cheat me out of the pay that the guild was earning, started roughing up my people and tarnishing my reputation. So I made a deal with someone I thought was a friend. Next thing I knew the threats, ambushes and issues disappeared. I thought it strange at first but then the bodies started to appear and my friend was caught as the cause behind it.”

“I had to do what was right for the Silver Sparrows, for my family and the families of the men and women who worked for me. So I let them take the fall for it. It turns out that someone else, somehow, knew about this and I got a letter threatening to expose me for it unless I resigned and appointed the newest, member to take my position. It turns out that a few people had resigned recently so the newest member was that Kilt Retcher. A mystery really.” he paused to take a long drink from his tankard.

The Clerics of Kelemvor

434TuClKe

As the party started their search for the person who healed their companion the clerics were gathering in the main hall. The door had been closed with two of the younger, more pious looking members of the clergy standing watch over the congregation of the clerics of Kelemvor. As they all gave worship to their god, the lord of the dead, they were silent in the room.

The unnerving silence finally ended when a crow cawed form one of the open windows in the wall behind the altar and slowly the head of the progression, the kinder older human, stood up and slowly walked through the others who rose when he passed.

“High priest Matihas has not been sleeping properly again. I do hope that his energy sustains him for the search for the one that broke their vow.” one of the nearby priests muttered as they walked on passed.

“I have seen him in the halls at night, head bent in prayer to Kelemvor as if he is seeking his guidance. I do hope our lord helps him rest soon” the sister with the man replied as they walked past.

Over the course of the day the party looked for clues, overheard many conversations but no one had any solid leads on who was the person that had healed against the wishes of their clergy. A single cleric in the order, a young initiate, had managed to pray for the power to detect lies. But it was only as powerful as the wielder and so far he was not able to pinpoint who among them was the culprit.

As the day passed the party were excused from the rest of the search and were invited to the meagre meals that they had that night. A small portion of bread, some cheese and wine was produced tonight and many ate in silence. High Priest Matihas rose and left earliest, retreating to his room to rest before the others followed suit. Soon it was just the party members who were in the hall and eventually even they needed to return to their rooms for rest.

“Do not worry, tomorrow you will be free to leave. We will find who is responsible tomorrow and all will be well again” one of the older clerics muttered as he passed them heading to his own chamber.

The party had just turned into the hallway towards their room when they saw the High Priest in the hallway in front of their rooms. They knew that he had a room not far from them so it wasn’t unusual to see him. However, when he was addressed he did not respond and he stood there, swaying lightly as if in a trance of prayer. When they got closer they could see that he was in fact asleep and was mid-sleep walk.

The High priest began to walk down the halls, muttering prayers that manifested around them. Cantrips caused the lights to change colour, shadows to swell or lessen and the party even felt bolstered as he moved through the hall back towards his room.

Nobles Anointed

433TuNoAn

Voiron watched as his chosen stood at the beginning of the first trial and marvelled at what his house had produced this year. Declared the Nobles Anointed already their victory was nearly all but decided and even the surprise nominations of a group from outside the nobles house had not shaken the belief that House Voiron would succeed.

As Voiron’s chosen began the trial, taking down illusionary targets within the confines of the arena, the crowd was silent in awe at the ruthless efficiency in which these warriors took down their quarry. That was until a rogue bolt from a crossbow found flesh instead of illusion.

One of the other noble houses warriors lay motionless as his life blood seeped from the wound in his chest. As the nobles murmured the warriors from the house of Voiron stood obediently. It wasn’t uncommon that a contestant or two would lose their life in these games but the question was yet to be answered. How did the warrior make its way onto the field and what was he doing there when he knew that the games were in place.

As the warriors had followed the rules of the test and Lord Plero’s man was found at fault, which ultimately cost him his life, the warriors from the house Voiron were awarded their points by the Arena’s geass and were released from the field.

Lord Plero watched as his most skilled archer’s body was taken from the field and bristled when the surprise contestants were called to take the test. This group was the direct competitor with his warriors and despite his loss he was confident that his warriors would still come through. That was until the surprise arrivals scored a near-perfect score, better than the Nobles Anointed from Voiron’s house.

Plero watched as his warriors scored well, but nothing like they would have if they had a full force on the field and if their archer hadn’t found himself dead. Plero watched as the scores were tallied and noticed that the new comers had somehow managed to find themselves in second place.

Other nobles were muttering nearby and as Plero’s own team dropped in ranking the whispers of foul play reached his ear. Plero stood and with deliberate steps sought out the game organisers – those who had best knowledge of how the Geass worked and what could have caused this.

Herbalist and the Hunter

432TuHeHu

As the party left the Alchemists shop Tyreal continued to give them a wish list of a dozen or so other ingredients. “If you see the Lilly-heart plant a dozen or so leaves should do it. You should find plenty as there are are no elves that would dare to go that deep into woods these days!” he calls as the party walk out, for their own safety.

As they walk through the desolate streets they find their way to the north gate where the path splits to curve to the west to continue onto the next city along. However the road that they need to go travels further north into the Sarkred forest. The path gets rougher as they travel and the trees begin to grow older, more twisted and gnarled and darker. Several creatures that they would not normally expect to see become a commonplace as they travel deeper into the woods.

However the signs of civilisation all but disappear as the road ceases and only a path, ancient and worn remains. The rough ground and stone looks like it could have been sung out of the earth before being twisted and reclaimed by the ancient trees and their massive roots that breached the surface. The curious sound of a whistling bird, reached their ears as the travelled along the path and following the sound they were greeted by something out of place.

A woman knelt as she dug in the soil a dozen or so feet from the road. Her hair was wild and she had a strong but crudely made bow and quiver of arrows on her back. As the party watched her she turned her head to reveal she was an elf, more wild than the ones they had met in Wellspring. “Well I wasn’t expecting to have an audience. I assume you don’t wish me harm or you would have done so already like the others have in the past.” she called as she slowly turned revealing her dirt covered tunic and hands.

“If you haven’t come hunting for the woods for me then I suspect you are here to hunt something else. The animals in these woods are protected, sacred to my kind so I would suggest that you refrain from defiling the balance of nature if you wish to leave the woods in one piece.” she warned. After a brief discussion she seemed to understand what they were after, but her response was cold and abrupt.

“You wont find the Thren plant without help. It hides from those who seek it and only those who know where to find it will realise what it is. Something that I admire of these woods is the resilience of all its living things.” she smiled. “My name is Thren, and much like what you seek I am normally quite elusive. I can take you to where the plants grow if you promise to leave after you find them and do not upset the balance of these woods. Everything is carefully measured and checked, the plants, creatures and elements all working to protect the woods.”

After receiving their agreement she dusted her hands off on her tunic and walked away from the path. “you won’t find the Thren at the end of a path, you find it by looking where no one will find it.” she called back as she unslung her bow from her back as she silently moved deeper into the forest. It was a matter of moments before the party lost sight of the elf and only when she called out to them did they realise where she was.