However, as soon as you kill it, you begin to feel light-headed. You drop to your knees, and then fall face-down, unable to move. What is this?  you think, just as you lose consciousness. The last thing you hear is the shout of soldiers, along with the clank of their metal boots. 

Your dream is pleasant at first - you're in a meadow with beautiful butterflies and sunflowers. Then, you start floating into the air at a rapid pace until you're floating in space. You see Deo beneath you. Then, a giant, shadowy thing surrounds the planet, changing colors and shapes at a mind-bending pace. Suddenly, the planet explodes in a massive explosion. "Stop its rise, or face demise," a deep voice says. 

Then you wake up. You're in a large room, on a red carpet with intricate gold patterns. You stand up, and see massive windows looking out on the city of Rend. Marble columns line the carpet, leading up to a large golden throne. A large painting of the gods is on the ceiling. You look at the throne and see the Lord of the City, Eldrak Farbeer, sitting there. She's another dwarf (dwarves make up over half of Rend's population), but rather young. Her long auburn hair is braided in intricate patterns (a feature said to be able to hypnotize people), and she is about 3'6. "Mighty warrior, thank you for coming here," she says in a deep voice. "I have called you here for a very important reason."

"Wha...?" I put one of my hands on my head, feeling the slight grogginess and pounding on my head. "What is happening, I feel...weird," I mumble, but I start regaining my composure and start standing up straighter. "And may you tell me that reason...my lord" I start kneeling, but fumble a little bit because of the grogginess.

What is in this room, and are there/how many guards are in here?

There are no guards (that you can see) and it isn't actually that interesting! Lord Farbeer is known to go for simplicity. What has been described is everything in there, there's nothing else. 

"My brave warrior," she says, "you have proved your worth fighting against the monsters." 

"I am sending you on a mission," she says, "to kill the "god" these monsters worship." Before you can respond, she keeps going. "You won't be alone, you'll have a companion. I already sent them ahead to meet you across the Ocean, where the monsters are." 

Context: The Ocean is the hundred-mile wide lake that surrounds The Island, scattered with tiny islands full of all sorts of wild beasts, and the Monstrous Lands (as they are called) are across The Ocean. Rend is situated on the edge of The Island, on a 10,000-foot tall volcano. The palace that you are in is at the top of the mountain. 

"But why me? I may have killed that monster, yes. But how does that make me worthy of that...especially because of what I have done in the past." I need to redeem myself...

I hesitantly said, "I...accept your mission, but.. what do you see in me?"

"You were important in the forces of the monsters, and we have seen how you redeemed yourself," she replies. "Contritus, you not only saved those people, but the rest of the city. The assassin was meant to destroy the whole city- they were carrying a mysterious device that could turn a living person into an undead servant. You also mourned the dwarf they killed, one who dared to fight against them in the wars. The dwarf, many years ago, led the prosecution and execution of several of the Feil. They've wanted to kill him ever since."

"You will not be unarmed in this dangerous mission, although we do not have much," she says, opening the large golden doors, showing a long hallway lit by large, intricately-shaped chandeliers, and gestures for you to follow her. 

I stop and contemplate for a minute...

...

And start to follow the lord

Lord Farbeer leads you down through the halls of the palace, full with people rushing around, most likely preparing something. Finally, you make it to the end of a hallway which looks just like all of the others, with chandeliers lighting it and dark wooden doors lining the sides. A rough stone door, which seems entirely out of place, ends the hallway. Lord Farbeer pulls out a silver knife and slices a small cut in her hand. Blood flows and streaks the door red.

Roll a Perception check. With a 10 or higher, you notice faint streaks of red on the door, a sign that this door, and whatever is behind, must be important. This also uneases you. 

She leads you down a spiral stone staircase that looks thousands of years old. "Here, our greatest treasures lie," Farbeer says just as you reach a wooden door, not unlike the ones aboveground. Two guards stand on each side. They wait for a moment, and then begrudgingly open the door. Inside, massive piles of gold, gems, and other treasures lie. It looks very much like a beholder's lair. 

I try to figure out the lord's intentions

Insight check? 

And I look more closely at the environment

"This is...a lot, to say the least."

I search the area

Yeah, you can make an Insight check to decipher the lord's intentions. 

Looking around the room more carefully, you see piles and piles of gold pieces and gold bars- lots of gold! But that's not all- there's quite a few glowing weapons and suits of armor, along with several magical bags. 

Lord Farbeer walks ahead, disappearing behind a pile of gold pieces. You hear rustling sounds, and she comes back to you, holding two leather bags with long drawstrings- one black and one gray. "I'm afraid this is all we can give to a warrior of your caliber, but I hope it is enough. We need the rest to defend the city." 

She hands you the grey bag first. "This is a magical Bag," she tells you, opening it up. Inside, you see a few small, fuzzy objects. "These objects look normal, but pull them out of the bag and they can turn into beasts under your command." 

Then, the next. "This bag holds five hundred gold pieces, hopefully enough for bartering and buying. Do you think that that will be enough?" she asks.

Insight: 1 ( :( )

"I see..." I whisper to myself. I grab both of the bags and do a slight bow. "Thank you, I think this is enough for now, wait...Can I get a map of the city and the island? I need it to go to the ocean...and to know where I am going." I say.

You can't tell her true intentions, but she seems trustworthy. 

"Yes, you can," she says. "As a matter of fact, we'll send you with several guards. They can take you down to the ocean just in case someone tries to assassinate you. We have a small boat prepared for you, with several daring sailors who will take you to the Monstrous Lands." 

"Then I shall go, my lord" I said "Along the way may I go to the general store, I have some things to buy, don't worry, I won't spend too much."

"It's fine," she says. "We can stop along the way." 

And with that, you're whisked out of the palace and are marching down the uneven cobblestone streets with six guards, clad in armor and holding spears, marching with you. Wagons roll by you, delivering supplies up the city to the richest people. There's always a sight to be seen walking down these streets, and today you see it in a few dwarves and elves marching up the hill at a surprisingly fast pace with metal ale tanks on their backs, connected to long tubes that empty the tanks. The soldiers, having received orders from Lord Farbeer, march you down the streets, until you get to Holga's General Store. It's a two-story building that looks about a hundred years old, with planks of wood precariously holding the heavy stones it's made out of together. It has a large window in the front, which is completely covered in multicolored signs and pieces of paper crudely pasted to the window with tree resin. A neat sign outside says We specialize in weapons! One of the soldiers looks at you. He has long, dark hair that spills onto his shoulders and light blue eyes, along with a gray beard. He's human, and looks about 50 years old. 

"Here you go," he says in a gruff voice. "Holga might not be the nicest person in the world, but she knows her stuff." 

"Well, I have known lots of people who weren't nice, so I don't really mind," I said.

A ghost-like voice spoke to me and said, "You really think that, huh? The people you are talking about are trying to better the world,"

I ignored the voice and say "Thanks for telling me"

And enter the store

A bell jingles as you enter the store. Large wooden shelves, clumsily stocked with everything from swords to chicken, separate the space into vague aisles. You can just barely see Holga, a winged kobold, standing on a desk which appears to be used as a counter. 

"Who is it?" she says in a voice that shows age. 

Winged kobolds are kobolds with small leathery wings. 

"Hello, Holga is it? My name is Contritus, Contritus Percentum." I do a small bow and say before she asks "I am not hostile in any way, if you are going to ask. Don't worry about me just window shopping, I do plan to buy some things"

I ready myself, so if Holga tries to stab me, I will hit the blade out of their hand.

Holga flies up to you and takes a long, good look at you. "Well, well, well. Contritus Percentum. A face I thought I would never see again," she rasps, poking your chest with a long wooden cane. 

Then she laughs. "Look how we've changed. Alright, what are you looking for?" 

"It's good to see you again, I never really believed that statement that no one can change" I look to the left for a second, "I actually believe quite the opposite...Ah, back to the matter at hand, see..." I bring up a small pouch filled with some gold, "I need some items for a trip, an adventure you can say." I point to Holga's wares.

 "So what do you have that I can buy, Old friend?" I smile slightly.

"Well, we have weapons, provisions, and a bit of everything else," she says. "I'm assuming you want weapons. Since we're both old veterans, I suppose I'll give you fifty percent off." 

As soon as she says this, a massive, shadowy hand crashes through the wall behind her, grabs her by the throat, and disappears. Then, you hear a voice in your head- a voice you're familiar with, after all of those years of service.

"TRAITOR!"  the God screams in your head, shattering your mind with its roar.

Colors and shapes and things you cannot comprehend swim in your mind as you valiantly battle the torrential force invading your mind. A thought suddenly pops up: Who is this God? Why do I not know its name?

Roll a Wisdom saving throw to see how this affects you.  

2

"WHO ARE YOU" I YELL.

I grapple the person holding Holga