Adventure Journal #3: The Shadow Stirs

With the horrible experience of their last adventure many weeks behind them, the heroes found themselves in yet another humble village eking out survival at the edge of the wilderness. Riad's Vale, lying in the shadow of the mysterious Cyrene Forest, was primarily a lumber town, and supplied the region with darkwood hewn from the trees nearby.

Seeking shelter at The Spitting Drake--the only resting-place for travelers in the village--the heroes encountered a reminder that the disintegration of kingdom and racial identity doesn't necessarily result in a lack of intolerance toward others. When the half-orc barbarian picked a fight with the aasimar, Godefroi, the locals quickly took sides and a melee commenced. Thankfully for Godefroi and his comrades Zelaran and Belden, two other customers took their side: a halfling named Holder and the dragonblood sorcerer Anaxachorus.

Despite the damages, Maric the owner/barkeep allowed the heroes to spend the night on his floor rather than turn them out into the cold night. During that night, the heroes' sleep was disturbed by a trio of strange intruders attempting to slay the heroes. Apparently expecting weaker resistance than they received, the three dark-skinned elven warriors were turned away, but not before spitting a warning: "The Prophecy of Night cannot be thwarted by fools such as you or that halfbreed you work for!"

Darkness quickly swallowed the fleeing would-be assassins, leaving the heroes pondering what exactly they had gotten themselves into. Who were these shadow-cloaked elves, and what prophecy did they speak of? 

One thing was for certain: the only halfbreed employer that might be connected to the heroes was the half-elf Aleanor Pathsteader of Fort Laskor, who had commissioned them for a mysterious delivery a few months earlier. Apparently, then, the only answers to be had would lie with her, meaning that an overland journey was at hand.

After apologizing once again to Maric, the heroes set out the next morning for Fort Laskor. Worrying about the possibility of another ambush, the heroes left the road to take an uncharted route through the hills. Along the way, they defeated a terrible ogre and its pet dire rat, but encountered no further evidence of surveillance or danger.

Once safely within the walled town, the heroes sought out their former patron. Remembering their earlier service, Pathsteader welcomed them back and listened intently to their story, her sagacious comrade Felix standing close at hand.

As the heroes concluded, Aleanor confirmed that their previous good deed for her had apparently come back to haunt them. She identified their attackers as the shadar-kai, or "shadowed ones." Once elves, the shadar-kai had been irrevocably corrupted by the Gloom that swept across the land of Umber, transforming them into creatures of evil and deceit. She further explained that the shadar-kai sought to hasten the spread of Gloom and, by extension, the downfall of civilization.

After letting that sink in for a moment, she continued, describing how she belonged to a quiet resistance against the forces of chaos and evil--against "those who would see the last remnants of the Age of Summer obliterated." As the heroes were already beginning to pay the price for standing against these forces, Aleanor thought it only fair to invite them to enjoy whatever meager benefits she and her allies might provide.

"I know not whether you five have the stuff of heroes. Some of you at least have proven yourselves trustworthy and brave, which is a fine start. Unfortunately for you, it seems as though our enemies have decided that for you, so whether or not you seek it, I would say that you have little choice. You could leave here and never give me and my cause a second thought, but I fear the shadar-kai wouldn't forget quite so easily.

"On the other hand, if you would like an opportunity to strike back at your newly declared enemies, I can provide that for you. What say you, gentlemen?"

With varying degrees of enthusiasm or reluctance, the heroes nodded their assent. Aleanor then beckoned to Felix, who drew away the cloth lying across a large object on the table. Before the heroes' eyes stood a red stone tablet bearing an inscription in Draconic--the very item that they had delivered to Aleanor in their first adventure together. 

The Sky Falls      Darkness Rises

The Masters of Night Return.

The Child is Born          The Blood Awakens

the Fire Burns Anew.

With a gasp, the heroes thought back to the strange inscription they had seen on the wall of the temple that held the healing relic acquired weeks ago and began to realize the scope of the mystery that now held them in its grasp.

Felix explained that the tablet was believed to have been recovered from the ruined city of Giustenal. Once a teeming metropolis on the shore of a mighty lake at the foot of the mountains beyond the Cyrene Forest, Giustenal now lay empty, a victim of the passing of the Age of Summer. The green pastures were now barren wasteland and the dry lake-bed filled with silt. Still, it was believed that the city held yet more secrets of the Ancients, including quite possibly more clues as to the nature of the "Crimson Prophecy" (as Felix described the words on the tablet).

Aleanor then asked the heroes if they would journey to the Lost City of Giustenal and search it for more information regarding the prophecy (or any other Ancient knowledge). The trip would be long and arduous, but she offered supplies and a significant payment in gold, which moved even those characters who did not share a noble dedication to her cause.

All but one, that is. Belden, his fragile mind barely holding on after repeated shocks in previous adventures, decided that he had seen enough terrifying sights for more than one lifetime and elected to end his career as an explorer. Aleanor offered to help him find work and housing in Fort Laskor, understanding all-too-well the difficult nature of such a life.

Thankfully, though, the heroes would not leave town short-handed. Aleanor introduced them to another of her allies in the battle against the forces of darkness, perhaps the most unlikely of warriors for the cause of law and good: a half-orc paladin named Ront. This simple but mighty-thewed knight eagerly offered his glaive for the journey, clearly looking forward to smiting some evil.

But would even five bold heroes be enough for this grueling journey?

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Next: The Lost City