“True, this isn’t much to go off of. Hopefully we will learn more once we arrive at our destination but....we should be on guard in the meantime,”Ebony says after a moment of contemplating.
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"Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup."
You continue driving along the path, the path curving around an orchard that is growing apples, revealing a small hill that was just out of view. You see that the hill is covered in buildings, with a small, circular temple at the top.
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"Well that looks promising. This land is abundantly fruitful - a good sign against any truly evil corruption in the vicinity. Come! Let's approach that temple! I am confident it is where we will find our nightmare mystery beginning." Grumm hums happily to himself, then squints, rethinking his phrasing.
Evas drives to the temple than stops the car. He steps out of it, and opens the doors. "Well, here we are." Evas dons his cloak and hat. "And the adventure begins!"
Hopping out of the cart, Ash says nothing. He heads to the top of the hill to investigate. If the others follow, he waits so they can arrive as a group.
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“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
Ebony hops out, shield in hand and his other hand on the hilt of his rapier. Ivory hops out from the back and takes to Ebony’s right side. He sniffs the air a bit as the two of them follow Ash over to top of the hill.
“This place seems peaceful......is it wrong that this make me feel more uneasy,” Ebony says softly as Ivory looks around a bit cautiously, feeling Ebony’s uneasiness.
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"Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup."
As you drive up the path leading to the top of the hill, you see as groups of people come out of their small, round-shaped homes to view the visitors. Almost all of these people are halflings, but there is also the occasional stoutling, half-elf, and dwarf. They all have a mix of emotions on their faces at the same time; extreme tiredness (both physical and emotional), deep sadness, a twinge of terror, and a slight glimmer of hope and curiosity. Among the group are the occasional child, who are tiny in comparison to all of you (as none of you are Small), standing between 1 and 2 feet tall. The children look mostly terrified, tugging at the arms of their parents. You see that some of the children only have 1 parent, these children appearing particularly distressed.
You park the combat vehicle outside the temple, which you now see is made of pure white marble with streak of gold, standing just over 20 feet tall (40 feet in Halfling size). There are no doors to the temple, instead there are arched entrances that are always open, which are just about 5 feet at the keystone. From the nearest "doorway" exits a middle-aged halfling woman, wearing a robe of golden silk and a golden-colored brass wreath atop her head. From all of the members of this commune, this woman looks the most worn out and worried, staring deeply at you.
She takes a moment to look at the strange group, clenching her teeth as she begins to walk towards you. She stands about 3'4" tall, but walks confidently, not letting your size demean her. As she approaches, she shakes her head, and says, "You lot were sent by the Keepers, right? Took you long enough. Seven are missing and two have been driven insane. Come inside. Let me show you."
She then turns her back to you and walks into the temple, gesturing for you to follow.
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Grumm stumbles off Evas's vehicle and looks around for a moment. "You seem short of hands for the work, Daywalker Lightstream, I presume. Have you anything my comrades might attend to in the moment, of shall we follow one as all? I am Grumm, and this is my quest."
Kane looks at the carnage and destruction. He looks sad, because it reminds him of the attack that took his mother from him. His father had fought bravely, but he couldn’t save her. Kane was left without a mother, just as some of the Halfings were. Kane steps out of the combat vehicle and follows the woman.
Grumm stumbles off Evas's vehicle and looks around for a moment. "You seem short of hands for the work, Daywalker Lightstream, I presume. Have you anything my comrades might attend to in the moment, of shall we follow one as all? I am Grumm, and this is my quest."
Jayva sighs, shaking her head as to say of course, just my luck, "Great. They sent me a sparky. Unless any of you can cure madness, there's not much you can do at the moment. It's best that you see what happened and decide what to do from there."
“Well, in that case we can save the pleasantries for after we make tangible progress then Ms. Daywalker. Show use what has been transpiring and fill us in on what you have managed to learn and we can begin helping you and your people,”Ebony says sensing the urgency in her voice as he picks up his pace to follow. Ivory trots up to keep up with his Hearthdrak friend.
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"Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup."
“Well, in that case we can save the pleasantries for after we make tangible progress then Ms. Daywalker. Show use what has been transpiring and fill us in on what you have managed to learn and we can begin helping you and your people,”Ebony says sensing the urgency in her voice as he picks up his pace to follow. Ivory trots up to keep up with his Hearthdrak friend.
"Indeed,"Jayva grunts as you duck into the well-decorated temple through the short (in comparison to you) archway. The archway is more of a small tunnel, with doors to the right and left marked "Storage Closets 1 & 2" respectively.
"You're not the strangest bunch I've ever seen,"She comments as you walk into the main room of the temple, "but you're up there. A Prysmex, Hearthdrak Dragonrider, Planar Tiefling, Half-Orc, and Human all in the same group. Hopefully you can use whatever skills you've got to help us."
She pauses for a moment, sadly admiring the beautiful temple. The temple has a large sky-light that is partially filled with the sun, keeping track of the time using its beam of light on the central tiles of the floor, which is shaped as a giant sun that reflects light as it hits it. The dome is mostly hollow, but there are pillars built to support the building throughout the room (12 of them), and 4 curved tables arranged as a ring in the center of the room with a circle of chairs around it. The walls of the room both serve as a supporting structure for the large dome, but also as a partition that divides up the building into multiple, closed-off rooms. As you enter the main room, you hear a choked-off moan from your left and a muffled scream from the right side of the room.
She winces a bit as she hears the grunt and scream, stopping in the middle of the room for a bit, and then begins to talk a bit more, "It started 11 days ago. We all started getting the nightmares. We didn't realize until much later that all of us had gotten the same nightmares, just thinking it was a one time thing for us. Besides, we were a bit busy searching for the Jansen kid, Fenrick. After the second night of the nightmares, we figured out that all of us were getting them, and that the dreams weren't going away anytime soon. Then, the third night that the night terrors came, and Glawn disappeared in the middle of the night-"She shudders, "We knew something awful was up. That's when I sent the letter to the Keepers."
"It's been going on ever since then. Every night, the same awful nightmares, over, and over, and over again. Some of us haven't slept in almost a week. It's driving us right out of our minds. The children in particular are extremely distressed, with someone disappearing every other night. If we can't get things figured out within the next week, we're going to have to leave the Mound,"She wipes some tears from her face, "It mustn't come to that. This is our home, has been for centuries. That's why we need you. That's why you need to see this."
Jayva heads for the right, grabbing the golden handle of a door on the southeast side of the wall. Before she opens the marble door, she warns you quietly, "Prepare yourselves. This may disturb you. It'll give you some taste of what we've been dealing with for more than the last week."
She swings open the door and steps in, looking pitifully at a tied up figure in the left corner of the room. The figure is a young female halfling, about 15 years in age. She lies on her side with her face turned facing the corner of the room. You can't see much of her front, but can see a cloth tied at the back of her head, stuck in her mouth. Piles of blonde hair lies on the ground around her, grouped in chunks that she appears to have ripped from her head in desperation. Her formerly beautiful white dress is now ripped to shreds and covered with dried blood, as if she had run for miles through blackberry bushes. Her hands are bound behind her back with a dark-yellow hempen rope, and her feet are tied to the same knot to restrain her from moving. She wriggles on the floor, screeching through her gag as she tries to free herself from her bonds. Just as she hears you enter the room, she squirms until she begins to face you. She stares at you deeply, with her green eyes filled with tortured madness, unending desperation and everlasting pain.
Her lips are covered in raw, fleshy marks that appear as if she has been gnashing her teeth, trying to tear through the blood-soaked cloth that gags her. Her eyes are covered in streaks of crusted blood, as if she had tried to tear out her eyes, and her forehead is covered in bruises, as if she had been banging her head against a wall for hours, and hours, and hours without end. Suffice it to say, she is in a sorry state (which is a huge under-exaggeration).
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Grumm shrinks back from the door in shock. His mind tries to grasp what could drive a person to such lengths, but his imagination fails utterly. Ashamed of his own timidity, he lowers his gaze, unwilling to bear looking at the girl. "Is... Is there anything to be gained from looking at her for longer? Please, I can see that this is serious, but what is it that you would have us do? We are none of us adept as healers of the mind - though perhaps with time and effort, I might find a compound or philter strong enough to suppress the worst of what you have shown us. I assume you have been getting these nightmares as well - perhaps you might share what has kept you from succumbing to... this."
Grumm shrinks back from the door in shock. His mind tries to grasp what could drive a person to such lengths, but his imagination fails utterly. Ashamed of his own timidity, he lowers his gaze, unwilling to bear looking at the girl. "Is... Is there anything to be gained from looking at her for longer? Please, I can see that this is serious, but what is it that you would have us do? We are none of us adept as healers of the mind - though perhaps with time and effort, I might find a compound or philter strong enough to suppress the worst of what you have shown us. I assume you have been getting these nightmares as well - perhaps you might share what has kept you from succumbing to... this."
She nods sadly and steps out of the door, closing it quietly behind her. She chokes back a sob, speaking softly now, "We tried everything we could. I used all the spells and magic I had available to me, to no avail. Nothing worked."
She looks at the door glumly, "This doesn't happen to everyone. This only happens if we catch someone as they try to leave in the night. They walk away during their nightmares, following whatever is calling out to them in the woods. When we try to stop them, they screech in a manner that no halfling should be able to screech. They unleash furious strength that their bodies should not possess. The first one we stopped -"Her voice cuts off, "He didn't make it. We didn't know what the madness would do to him. He bit off his own tongue and dro-"
"I'll spare you anymore details. You've seen enough. At least one person is going to try to leave tonight, it happens every other night. You can either help us keep them here and go insane, or you can follow them to wherever they are heading in the Ardeep, stop it at the source. You need to stop the madness. We are relying on you. If any of those that disappeared during the night are still alive, bring them back. But stop whatever is causing this. We all depend on you. Understand?"
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Grumm nods, assessing and absorbing this information. "Very well. Is there a place where we might rest and attend to our things, perhaps help attend to these. Do you have a way by which to feed them? Provide them with a little water, or does any tampering with their restraints result in further self-harm? We will begin our watch before sunset, and pursue a swift resolution to this horror."
Evas steps back, all the light in him seems to disappear. "Many younglings such as her, all trying to... Trying to get in the forest, and if they can't, k-kill themselves?" Evas puts his hand to his chest. "I will make sure that we discover the problem and fix it. First, I have to ask a few questions. Has she and the other victim attacked you? Did anything happen before the nightmares started happening? Is the nightmare the same every night, or is it a different and new maddening nightmare each night? And last, if you are fine with telling us, could you tell us some of the contents of the nightmares?"
Grumm nods, assessing and absorbing this information. "Very well. Is there a place where we might rest and attend to our things, perhaps help attend to these. Do you have a way by which to feed them? Provide them with a little water, or does any tampering with their restraints result in further self-harm? We will begin our watch before sunset, and pursue a swift resolution to this horror."
"Go amongst the townsfolk. Perhaps you can cheer them up, reassure them in a way that I have failed," She instructs, "I'll take care of the others, as I have for days now. They eventually wear themselves out enough that we can force-feed them food and water without them hurting themselves or us too much."
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Ash shakes his head "You mean keeper Illan told you no more than he told us? We are operating on less than rumours."
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
“True, this isn’t much to go off of. Hopefully we will learn more once we arrive at our destination but....we should be on guard in the meantime,” Ebony says after a moment of contemplating.
"Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup."
Characters for Tenebris Sine Fine
RoughCoronet's Greater Wills
You continue driving along the path, the path curving around an orchard that is growing apples, revealing a small hill that was just out of view. You see that the hill is covered in buildings, with a small, circular temple at the top.
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Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
"Well that looks promising. This land is abundantly fruitful - a good sign against any truly evil corruption in the vicinity. Come! Let's approach that temple! I am confident it is where we will find our nightmare mystery beginning." Grumm hums happily to himself, then squints, rethinking his phrasing.
"Shoulda said that better."
🤣
(I'm guessing that's your version of "at least it could be worse")
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(The ork speak is strong with this one (meaning me).)
Evas drives to the temple than stops the car. He steps out of it, and opens the doors. "Well, here we are." Evas dons his cloak and hat. "And the adventure begins!"
When players get creative.
Hopping out of the cart, Ash says nothing. He heads to the top of the hill to investigate. If the others follow, he waits so they can arrive as a group.
“I will take responsibility for what I have done. [...] If must fall, I will rise each time a better man.” ― Brandon Sanderson, Oathbringer.
Ebony hops out, shield in hand and his other hand on the hilt of his rapier. Ivory hops out from the back and takes to Ebony’s right side. He sniffs the air a bit as the two of them follow Ash over to top of the hill.
“This place seems peaceful......is it wrong that this make me feel more uneasy,” Ebony says softly as Ivory looks around a bit cautiously, feeling Ebony’s uneasiness.
"Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup."
Characters for Tenebris Sine Fine
RoughCoronet's Greater Wills
As you drive up the path leading to the top of the hill, you see as groups of people come out of their small, round-shaped homes to view the visitors. Almost all of these people are halflings, but there is also the occasional stoutling, half-elf, and dwarf. They all have a mix of emotions on their faces at the same time; extreme tiredness (both physical and emotional), deep sadness, a twinge of terror, and a slight glimmer of hope and curiosity. Among the group are the occasional child, who are tiny in comparison to all of you (as none of you are Small), standing between 1 and 2 feet tall. The children look mostly terrified, tugging at the arms of their parents. You see that some of the children only have 1 parent, these children appearing particularly distressed.
You park the combat vehicle outside the temple, which you now see is made of pure white marble with streak of gold, standing just over 20 feet tall (40 feet in Halfling size). There are no doors to the temple, instead there are arched entrances that are always open, which are just about 5 feet at the keystone. From the nearest "doorway" exits a middle-aged halfling woman, wearing a robe of golden silk and a golden-colored brass wreath atop her head. From all of the members of this commune, this woman looks the most worn out and worried, staring deeply at you.
She takes a moment to look at the strange group, clenching her teeth as she begins to walk towards you. She stands about 3'4" tall, but walks confidently, not letting your size demean her. As she approaches, she shakes her head, and says, "You lot were sent by the Keepers, right? Took you long enough. Seven are missing and two have been driven insane. Come inside. Let me show you."
She then turns her back to you and walks into the temple, gesturing for you to follow.
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Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
Grumm stumbles off Evas's vehicle and looks around for a moment. "You seem short of hands for the work, Daywalker Lightstream, I presume. Have you anything my comrades might attend to in the moment, of shall we follow one as all? I am Grumm, and this is my quest."
Kane looks at the carnage and destruction. He looks sad, because it reminds him of the attack that took his mother from him. His father had fought bravely, but he couldn’t save her. Kane was left without a mother, just as some of the Halfings were. Kane steps out of the combat vehicle and follows the woman.
Jayva sighs, shaking her head as to say of course, just my luck, "Great. They sent me a sparky. Unless any of you can cure madness, there's not much you can do at the moment. It's best that you see what happened and decide what to do from there."
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Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
“Well, in that case we can save the pleasantries for after we make tangible progress then Ms. Daywalker. Show use what has been transpiring and fill us in on what you have managed to learn and we can begin helping you and your people,” Ebony says sensing the urgency in her voice as he picks up his pace to follow. Ivory trots up to keep up with his Hearthdrak friend.
"Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with ketchup."
Characters for Tenebris Sine Fine
RoughCoronet's Greater Wills
"Indeed," Jayva grunts as you duck into the well-decorated temple through the short (in comparison to you) archway. The archway is more of a small tunnel, with doors to the right and left marked "Storage Closets 1 & 2" respectively.
"You're not the strangest bunch I've ever seen," She comments as you walk into the main room of the temple, "but you're up there. A Prysmex, Hearthdrak Dragonrider, Planar Tiefling, Half-Orc, and Human all in the same group. Hopefully you can use whatever skills you've got to help us."
She pauses for a moment, sadly admiring the beautiful temple. The temple has a large sky-light that is partially filled with the sun, keeping track of the time using its beam of light on the central tiles of the floor, which is shaped as a giant sun that reflects light as it hits it. The dome is mostly hollow, but there are pillars built to support the building throughout the room (12 of them), and 4 curved tables arranged as a ring in the center of the room with a circle of chairs around it. The walls of the room both serve as a supporting structure for the large dome, but also as a partition that divides up the building into multiple, closed-off rooms. As you enter the main room, you hear a choked-off moan from your left and a muffled scream from the right side of the room.
She winces a bit as she hears the grunt and scream, stopping in the middle of the room for a bit, and then begins to talk a bit more, "It started 11 days ago. We all started getting the nightmares. We didn't realize until much later that all of us had gotten the same nightmares, just thinking it was a one time thing for us. Besides, we were a bit busy searching for the Jansen kid, Fenrick. After the second night of the nightmares, we figured out that all of us were getting them, and that the dreams weren't going away anytime soon. Then, the third night that the night terrors came, and Glawn disappeared in the middle of the night-" She shudders, "We knew something awful was up. That's when I sent the letter to the Keepers."
"It's been going on ever since then. Every night, the same awful nightmares, over, and over, and over again. Some of us haven't slept in almost a week. It's driving us right out of our minds. The children in particular are extremely distressed, with someone disappearing every other night. If we can't get things figured out within the next week, we're going to have to leave the Mound," She wipes some tears from her face, "It mustn't come to that. This is our home, has been for centuries. That's why we need you. That's why you need to see this."
Jayva heads for the right, grabbing the golden handle of a door on the southeast side of the wall. Before she opens the marble door, she warns you quietly, "Prepare yourselves. This may disturb you. It'll give you some taste of what we've been dealing with for more than the last week."
She swings open the door and steps in, looking pitifully at a tied up figure in the left corner of the room. The figure is a young female halfling, about 15 years in age. She lies on her side with her face turned facing the corner of the room. You can't see much of her front, but can see a cloth tied at the back of her head, stuck in her mouth. Piles of blonde hair lies on the ground around her, grouped in chunks that she appears to have ripped from her head in desperation. Her formerly beautiful white dress is now ripped to shreds and covered with dried blood, as if she had run for miles through blackberry bushes. Her hands are bound behind her back with a dark-yellow hempen rope, and her feet are tied to the same knot to restrain her from moving. She wriggles on the floor, screeching through her gag as she tries to free herself from her bonds. Just as she hears you enter the room, she squirms until she begins to face you. She stares at you deeply, with her green eyes filled with tortured madness, unending desperation and everlasting pain.
Her lips are covered in raw, fleshy marks that appear as if she has been gnashing her teeth, trying to tear through the blood-soaked cloth that gags her. Her eyes are covered in streaks of crusted blood, as if she had tried to tear out her eyes, and her forehead is covered in bruises, as if she had been banging her head against a wall for hours, and hours, and hours without end. Suffice it to say, she is in a sorry state (which is a huge under-exaggeration).
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Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
Grumm shrinks back from the door in shock. His mind tries to grasp what could drive a person to such lengths, but his imagination fails utterly. Ashamed of his own timidity, he lowers his gaze, unwilling to bear looking at the girl. "Is... Is there anything to be gained from looking at her for longer? Please, I can see that this is serious, but what is it that you would have us do? We are none of us adept as healers of the mind - though perhaps with time and effort, I might find a compound or philter strong enough to suppress the worst of what you have shown us. I assume you have been getting these nightmares as well - perhaps you might share what has kept you from succumbing to... this."
She nods sadly and steps out of the door, closing it quietly behind her. She chokes back a sob, speaking softly now, "We tried everything we could. I used all the spells and magic I had available to me, to no avail. Nothing worked."
She looks at the door glumly, "This doesn't happen to everyone. This only happens if we catch someone as they try to leave in the night. They walk away during their nightmares, following whatever is calling out to them in the woods. When we try to stop them, they screech in a manner that no halfling should be able to screech. They unleash furious strength that their bodies should not possess. The first one we stopped -" Her voice cuts off, "He didn't make it. We didn't know what the madness would do to him. He bit off his own tongue and dro-"
"I'll spare you anymore details. You've seen enough. At least one person is going to try to leave tonight, it happens every other night. You can either help us keep them here and go insane, or you can follow them to wherever they are heading in the Ardeep, stop it at the source. You need to stop the madness. We are relying on you. If any of those that disappeared during the night are still alive, bring them back. But stop whatever is causing this. We all depend on you. Understand?"
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Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
Grumm nods, assessing and absorbing this information. "Very well. Is there a place where we might rest and attend to our things, perhaps help attend to these. Do you have a way by which to feed them? Provide them with a little water, or does any tampering with their restraints result in further self-harm? We will begin our watch before sunset, and pursue a swift resolution to this horror."
Evas steps back, all the light in him seems to disappear. "Many younglings such as her, all trying to... Trying to get in the forest, and if they can't, k-kill themselves?" Evas puts his hand to his chest. "I will make sure that we discover the problem and fix it. First, I have to ask a few questions. Has she and the other victim attacked you? Did anything happen before the nightmares started happening? Is the nightmare the same every night, or is it a different and new maddening nightmare each night? And last, if you are fine with telling us, could you tell us some of the contents of the nightmares?"
When players get creative.
"Go amongst the townsfolk. Perhaps you can cheer them up, reassure them in a way that I have failed," She instructs, "I'll take care of the others, as I have for days now. They eventually wear themselves out enough that we can force-feed them food and water without them hurting themselves or us too much."
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms