Let's journey
400 years into Pandora's storied past, to the epoch of
King Henrick, renowned as the King of Kings. Henrick possessed a magical blade, imbued with the power to grant its wielder invincibility and the formidable might to vanquish gods. This legendary weapon, christened the
Dawn Blade, enabled Henrick to dominate all of Pandora, bringing every corner of the realm under his unyielding banner. For nearly a century, his reign was uncontested, until his inexplicable demise left the whereabouts of the Dawn Blade shrouded in mystery.
Our tale unfurls during Henrick's relentless campaigns, as he waged wars across Pandora, determined to claim the entire land as his own.
The final faction resisting Henrick's sweeping dominion had allied themselves with a cadre of enigmatic mechanical beings known as the
Farsight Onclave. These machines, seemingly relics of the ancient Elders, boasted technology unseen in Pandora. Designed for war, these relentless automatons, even when believed to be vanquished, would reanimate in mere moments, ready to continue the battle. The Onclave posed not just a challenge to Henrick's ambition, but a palpable threat to the entirety of Pandora.
To confront this menace, King Henrick entrusted a mission to four valiant heroes: to infiltrate the heart of the Onclave's stronghold and unearth intelligence about the origins and construction of these machines. Only by understanding their genesis could Henrick hope to dismantle the threat at its source. He entrusted them with three rare gems, each possessing the
power to paralyze machines upon contact. However, each gem held this ability for a single use; once activated, it would turn black and become inert.
Benngeus, a Gerblin arcane sniper. A formidable warrior wielded a mystical lightning bow, capable of releasing two bolts of electricity simultaneously, yielding devastating results upon his foes.
Ella and Jin, Merfolk siblings. Their mother is a revered spiritual leader, while their father is a formidable warrior. Ella harnesses the powers of water and ice, whereas Jin is accompanied by an unusual animal familiar, a chicken named
Ling Ling.
Marnius Lupercall, the goblin guide chosen by King Henrick, was entrusted with leading the heroes on their vital mission. This particular goblin possessed a singular ability to move objects with his mind. Additionally, he had an uncanny knack for either rolling natural 20s or natural 1s!
Mission Recap
Upon reaching the Farsight Onclave's stronghold, the heroes resolved that a stealthy approach was paramount. Regrettably, their covert operation was compromised early on, leading to a fierce skirmish. The battlefield was littered with ice shards, laser rifle beams, lightning strikes, psychic judo, and even a scattering of chicken feathers. Despite the odds, the heroes emerged triumphant.
Aware that infiltrating the heart of the compound would pose greater challenges, the heroes opted to give stealth another shot. They concocted a plan to disassemble the chief robotic leader they had just vanquished. Their aim was to modify it in such a way that Benngeus, with his diminutive goblin stature, could maneuver it from within. The ruse was to convince the adversaries that the robot had been damaged in the earlier skirmish and had subsequently captured Ella, Jin, and Marnius as prisoners.
And it worked!
Navigating through the stronghold, they successfully deceived the overseeing robot and gained passage. Benngeus explained how his voice box was damaged and could only communicate using Merfolk Sign. As they delved deeper, they beheld the construction of an imposing new war machine. Towering and menacing, it bore massive bladed arms. Although its paintwork was incomplete, its lethal potential was evident, surpassing anything else being assembled in the vicinity.
Their path led them to an intricate mechanical door. Faced with its enigmatic locking mechanism, anxiety crept in. If they couldn't swiftly navigate this obstacle, their cover might be blown. Fortuitously, Benngeus, skilled in the art of lockpicking, managed to decode the lock, granting them entry just in the nick of time, avoiding any suspicion.
As the door sealed behind them, they were met with a sight most chilling. Trezan, the leader of the Onclave, was engaged in communion with a grotesque demon, facilitated through a sophisticated mechanical portal. Trezan was outraged by the distrubance and demanded answers!
Benngeus, thinking on his feet, proposed he had brought Trezan a unique gift: an immortal chicken. Skeptical, Trezan dismissed the claim and promptly dispatched the chicken. Yet, moments later, Ling Ling miraculously reappeared, perched atop Jin's head. Intrigued, Trezan considered the offering.
Seizing this momentary distraction, Ella activated one of her magical gems targeting Trezan, causing him to collapse, convulsing uncontrollably. In his agony, he beckoned the demon beyond the portal for assistance. Without hesitation, the demon thrust its massive arm through the portal, aiming a powerful swipe at Benngeus. The force of the blow sent Benngeus hurtling across the room shattering his robotic disguise to pieces.
Not to be outdone, Jin directed his magic gem towards the portal. A powerful surge ensued, destabilizing the portal's connection and forcing it to snap shut. This sudden closure severed the demon's protruding arm, which then toppled onto the incapacitated Trezan.
Ella began sealing the door they came through with ice to slow down any unexpected visitors while the others pondered what to do with the situation.
The heroes quickly scoured Trezan's desk, collecting every piece of research documentation. The papers detailed a macabre process: constructing war machines by siphoning souls and ensnaring them within mechanical forms, binding them to an eternity of servitude. Recognizing the gravity of this revelation, they believed King Henrick should interrogate Trezan directly for deeper insights. Approaching the crushed form of Trezan, pinned beneath the gargantuan demonic limb, the heroes were met with an overpowering stench that emanated from the severed arm. It was so vile that they were compelled to retch and wretch. They hastened to move Trezan's body, realizing that prolonged exposure to the arm's noxious fumes could prove fatal.
Benngeus, having heard tales of Trezan's capabilities, was drawn to the metallic hands adorned with intricate magical runes. It was said that Trezan could conjure portals using the power of these runes. With hopes of harnessing or at least understanding such formidable magic, Benngeus carefully severed the hands, intending to study their enigmatic inscriptions.
Leveraging his experience from Benngeus's earlier disguise, Jin successfully extracted Trezan's head from its robotic casing. Disconnected from his body, Trezan's voice emanated in furious protest, humiliated by his current state. However, their momentary success was interrupted by a shrill alarm, triggered by a mechanical drone stationed in a corner of the room. Soon after, they heard the thudding of adversaries, who began to relentlessly pound on the door Ella had sealed with ice. The stakes had just been raised.
The team frantically scoured the room for an escape route, and their eyes settled on a lofty window leading to the rooftop. Swiftly, they unfurled their rope and began their ascent towards safety. However, Marnius found himself struggling, grappling awkwardly with the rope's rough texture.
As his comrades reached the top, the door below shattered into fragments, revealing the nightmarish war machine they had observed earlier. With its bladed arms gleaming menacingly, it lunged straight for Marnius!
But in a turn of fate, Ling Ling, the ever-valiant chicken, swooped down, intercepting the machine by flapping right into its face. This timely intervention caused the blade to swerve just shy of Marnius's vulnerable throat. With the death machine momentarily distracted by Ling Ling's frenzied fluttering, Marnius seized the opportunity to clamber up the rope and join his companions in their rooftop retreat.
But as they made their escape, they bore witness to a heart-wrenching sight. Without a moment's hesitation, the war machine killed Ling Ling, absorbing its resilient soul, thereby preventing the cherished chicken from resurrecting atop Jin's head.
LING LING NOOO!
The party hastened towards King Henrick's encampment, bearing with them Trezan's incessantly grumbling robotic head and the invaluable research notes. However, they were not alone. The relentless death machine pursued them, catching up just as they neared the boundaries of King Henrick's camp. But, just as it seemed the monstrous robot would deliver a fatal blow to the party, it was cleaved in twain. King Henrick, wielding the legendary Dawnblade, had intervened, silencing the monstrosity. The harvester of souls was vanquished, liberating Ling Ling's spirit. To the team's elation, the bird rematerialized atop Jin's head. Cheers echoed!
With their mission accomplished, the team presented King Henrick with the research notes and Trezan's severed, still-chattering head. In gratitude, King Henrick bestowed upon them magnificent rewards for their valiant efforts. The Merfolk twins, Ella and Jin, made a plea: they requested that Henrick exclude the northern territories from his ambitions, allowing the Merfolk to retain sovereignty over their ancestral lands. Henrick agreed, clarifying his intent was primarily the unification of the Viking clans; he had no desire to annex the Merfolk domains.
Using the salvaged runes from Trezan's metallic hands and with Ella's healing expertise, Benngeus managed to etch the symbols onto his own flesh. After much experimentation, he mastered the art of portal creation, revealing the entrance to Trezan's treasure-laden vault. The vault's contents, artifacts of elder origin, played a pivotal role in King Henrick's decisive victory against the remnants of the Farsight Conclave.
The End
