The Heroes
Emet-Selch {Vedalken Artificer}
Eralyse Sarrallon {Aasimar Paladin}
Jon Mastiff {Human Wizard}
Mala {Aarakocra Monk}
Mellow Leaf {Tabaxi Ranger}
Campaign:Heart of Annilation
Current Year:756
1
That night after returning to braedor you each awaken to find yourselves in a vast trackless desert at night, with the vague memory of having traveled here. The dunes are lit by moonlight and a soft breeze blows across the land stirring the scent of spiced meat. You stand at the top of a small dune and below you see a stone cottage with white smoke curling out of its chimney.
DM Notes
DC: 15 wisdom save to realize you're dreaming
You approach the cottage, the door was once a periwinkle blue, adorned with white stars. But now it is faded with the paint peeling in multiple places.
When you knock on the door a female voice you don't recognize calls out "Quickly, come in before the storm hits." You hadn't noticed a storm before but a crack of lightning heralds what is sure to be a terrible sand storm.
When you open the door and step through you see a vast space within. Before you is a three-story library crafted of highly polished grey marble. Marble staircases grant access to each floor which is supported by marble columns. Upon each floor are shelves, desks, and chairs all crafted of a similar marble material. Each marble shelf is filled with books of various sizes and is secured with silver gates. The gates glow and crackle with magical energy.
In the center of the library stands a human female with dark brown hair and piercing green eyes. She wears blue robes trimmed in gold and holds an ornate metal staff that appears to have been crafted from mithril. A star-shaped emerald floats above one end acting as a headpiece.
She waits for a moment giving you the opportunity to sit or stand, though she clearly doesn't care which you choose to do.
I know our meeting before was brief and so I understand if you don't recognize me. I am Aleus, the Magister of Braedor. I have brought you here to deal with Victorio once and for all. I've reached out to you this way because I wasn't sure how long you would be reachable. — Aleus
She pauses for a moment to answer questions before continuing.
I have been going over the notes I have on him and gathered some additional information. What I discovered is that his location can be ascertained in the village of Nithorne. Nithorne was one of the earliest villages to go missing. I sent the other group to investigate the village and they reported that it was simply gone. In it's place was just an expanse of trackless forest as if the town was never built. My divinations indicate that if you travel to the location the village can be found. Once you find it you'll need to meet with Branwen Depraysie from cross refrencing records it seems she was a sort of village hedgewitch. There's no indication that she was particuarly powerful, but the facts speak for themselves. — Aleus
She answers any other questions the group has. Aleaus then waves a hand a circle of runes appear in the air.
before you are coordinates for the town of Highmedow, a farming community that is about 2 days from Nithorne. A detailed map appears on the table showing Highmedow and the path from it to Nithorne. The other group said that the road ended about a mile from the town. Beyond that I don't know much except that the town is supposed to be there. — Aleus
Once the meeting has concluded you awken finding yourselves to be unusually refreshed (+1 on all saves until your next short rest)
2
Your travel to the area is fairly uneventful, after several days of travel you arrive at the spot which as described the road simply ends. As you begin to look around several large beasts stalk out of the surrounding woods. Large wolf like creatures composed of black smoke. a erie moaning howl seems to emminate from them, as they move in to attack.
3
After you dispatch the last creature the air at the end of the road waivers and additional road simply materializes.
DM Notes
investigation check DC 12 reveals the road has not been used in awhile, but anyone or anything
As you approach the town, it appears to be a typical medieval village. The wooden palisade surrounds it, with a gate that is currently open, allowing access to the inside. The forest surrounding the village is dense, and it seems as if the trees are almost encroaching upon the walls. The buildings inside are made of wood and stone, with thatched roofs and chimneys billowing smoke into the sky.
However, as you enter the village, you begin to notice something strange. The villagers are all going about their daily activities, but they seem unaware of their surroundings. They move mechanically, almost as if they are in a trance. They do not acknowledge your presence or even seem to notice that you are there.
You walk through the village, passing by the blacksmith's forge, where the smith is hammering away at a sword blade, his eyes unfocused and distant. The baker is kneading dough, her movements slow and methodical, and a farmer is tending to his animals, but he seems unaware of their needs or even their presence.
As you continue to walk through the town, you notice that everything seems to be in disrepair. The buildings are crumbling, the fences are falling down, and the crops are withering in the fields. It is as if the villagers have stopped caring for their homes and their livelihoods.
4
After investigating the village you realize two things.
1. these people aren't alive, they are ghosts of their former selves going through the motions.
2. You are being watched, a halfling woman is paying close attention to your group.
Upon recognizing these things it seems the halfling woman has realized you know and runs off. You have no choice to to chase her down
5
When you catch the woman she turns around and her entire body turns a translucent blue color. You can see tendrils of blue energy stretch out from her form and touch every townsperson connecting her to them.
She angrily calls to you
"why do you presist? I can never rest while the villian who brought about the death of Nithorne is vanquished. But none have the might to accomplish this task, neither living nor dead. Leave me be! I currently have no quarrel with thee, but if you continue then you will"
her eyes flash with purple energy as she awaits a response
6
After you talk her down she laughs a hearty laugh that causes her form to temporiarly become golden.
"if you truly seek the death of the one who did this to me then I will gladly aide you in your endeavors. I know where the villian hides and I would strike against him myself if I could but reach him. You might have noticed there are no guardsmen in this place. They marched forth against him and have not returned. I know not their fate, but I know that they were unsuccessful in vanquishing the one responsible. But I know the path the guardsmen took and I can guide you along that same path. Hopefully, you will have more success than my friends did. "
7
Branwen floats through forest, her ethereal form glowing faintly in the darkness. Rounding the corner you see that a magical fence had been constructed from the bones of humanoids. The bones had been carefully arranged in a pattern, forming a barrier that glowed with a pulsing, otherworldly energy. As Branwen neared the fence, she felt a strange force pulling her toward it.
At the end of the encounter there is a sudden burst of energy, the Branwen was pulled into the barrier, disappearing from sight.
8
After dispatching the guardians you notice that one section of the fence seems to be a sort of gate. The area over the fence feels like a solid icy barrier. The gate is just a simple latch with no other locking mechanism.
Unlatching the gate causes a wind to rush through the gate.
The forest beyond is a place of darkness and dread. The trees are twisted and contorted into grotesque shapes, and the air was thick with the eerie sounds of whispering voices and rustling leaves. Ghostly apparitions roam the area, their spectral forms flickering in and out of the shadows, their faces twisted into expressions of malice and threat.
Beyond this you see some additional potetial hazards. Areas of some kind of dark, otherworldly energy that cracke and hum with an ominous power.
---------------------
Once you leave the forest area you find yourself at the edge of a valley. At the far end of the valley, a towering gate stands, constructed entirely out of humanoid bones. The bones had been arranged in a twisted and macabre pattern, forming an ominous and foreboding entrance that seems to lead to some kind of dark and malevolent place.
Strands of thick fog seem to emanate from the earth itself, and the air is thick with the sound of eerie whispers and chilling laughter.
9
As you enter the glade you find yourselves exiting a ghostly barrier that shimmers and glows with an eerie green light. The barrier seems to enclose a glade, or atleast what used to be a glade, the ground is scourched and charred.
Victorio's fortress stands tall and imposing in the center of the scorched glade, its walls crafted from a dark, polished stone that gleams in the sunlight. The fortress appears to be in pristine condition, with no signs of wear or decay marring its surface.
Outside of the fortress, there is a ramshackle town of bandits and pillagers who have made it their home. The makeshift buildings and tents are constructed from scavenged materials. There are no permanent structures of any kind in this town.
DM Notes
The bandits who live in this town are a rough and dangerous lot, known for their cruelty and willingness to take what they want by force. They are fiercely loyal to the powerful villain who rules over them, and will stop at nothing to carry out his bidding.
Despite the appearance of normalcy, however, there is an air of tension and unease that hangs over the town. The bandits are always on edge, their eyes flickering nervously towards the fortress in the center of the glade. Those who live within the walls of the fortress are rumored to be harsh and cruel, quick to punish any who dare to cross them.
As for the fortress itself, it stands tall and imposing, a testament to the power and wealth of its master. The walls are thick and imposing, with imposing towers rising high into the sky. From within the fortress, the sound of metal on metal can be heard, as the villain's armies train and prepare for war. It is a place of great danger and intrigue, with secrets hidden within its walls that few are brave enough to uncover.
Unfortunately, before you're able to formulate a plan it seems your group has been spoted by a patrol, which now bears down onto you.
A huge mechanical Cat is running toward you. Three humanoids ride upon a platform strapped it's back. The humanoids have strange canisters on their backs with tubes going from them into their bodies. Additionally your eye catches two mechanical bee like creatures that flank the cat and keep up with it as it fastly approaches you
10
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