Chapter 1: Goliath's Fate

The Road so far:

Storm clouds roll overhead as three heroes, Magni, Seraphina and Arne, make their way to the Red Larch Hunters Guild.
The rain has died down outside. A man comes rushing. "The sky! The sky! A sign!" In the sky above the daggerlike mountains in the north is a black sphere blocking out the moon, a second convergence.
You enter the Red Larch Hunters lodge and see a sparsely decorated antechamber. The only adornment is runes painted on the walls.
A man rushes in, silver blade in hand. He levels it at Ffi. "What are you and what are you doing here creature?"
A woman walks in. "Put down the sword Somerled, she is no monster. She is a genasi." The woman steps between you and Somerled. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Ragna Solveig The mentor of the Red Larch Hunters....
Ragna Selvig stands before you. "Do you swear to uphold the laws and customs of the Hunters?
Do you swear to never attack a fellow hunter?
Do you swear to never shame the guild?
Do you swear to always finish a contract,"
The three took contracts, facing Scarecrows, doppelgangers, Demons and fey. They returned to Red Larch often, "Summerled, where is Ragna? She's been summoned to Waterdeep for a council, I'm in charge while she is gone."
More contracts come and go when you return to Red Larch once more.
you come to the hanging tree, a leafless skeleton of a tree, yet tall and strong, as if in the prime of its life. A corpse frozen in time. A new cadaver swings in the gentle breeze. It’s impossible to recognize the body from here, but dread freezes your blood as you all get the feeling that the body is somehow familiar.
"get out of here Hunter's you are no longer welcome!" "What's happened?" "Summerled murdered another Hunter as well as two town guards."
Searching the room you find a strange maroon cloak hidden in Summerled's closet. A strange magical energy pulses from the garment.
Your rings glow with a warmth, you've been summoned to a war council.
You stand before the council of Hunters 10 Hunters surround you at the table. Ragna speaks. " The council in Waterdeep among the lodge mentors ended badly. A splinter group emerged and attempted to take power. They were the same group that Summerled was a part of. They wore cloaks similar to his. The guild is now in a civil war. The intention of the enemy is as of yet unclear, but they are led by a man named Radulfr....."
After the council a Tabaxi Hunter comes up to you, "I'm Branch of the River, but you can just call me River, She smiles at you...
As you look at the job board one immediately catches your eye Magni. The residents of the small mountain village, Stige Pass have all vanished, A traveling trader passed through the village and found no trace of the native Goliaths...
The town is earily silent, homes torn open ransacked. You see no sign of the Goliath's. A small group of men sit by the fire in the center of the town. I ain't seen no Goliath's we are just here to pick up any left over scrap. How about you come take a seat, warm yourself by the fire Magni. "I don't remember telling you my name... "Shit..."
The sword swings up and catches Magni in the eye. Arn steps over Magni's fallen body "Come at me!"
The sword pierces Arn's heart he lets out one last roar before collapsing to the ground, dead...
"He told us to take care of you, hes the one who told me your name." "Who?" The man dies before answering your question.
You follow the tracks deeper into the mountains, the storm builds and snow comes down obscuring your vision. The wolves howl in the distance. "There a cave! We can shelter there for now."
As you go deeper and deeper into the cave the Air grows warmer and warmer.
You emerge onto a white sand beach...
Above you a young black dragon soars. She lets out a deluge of flame nearly destroying you immediately. You retreat into the cave...
You are captured
The constant noise of the waterfall is maddening. As your consciousness reluctantly returns to the realm of existence, a searing ache consumes your weary body. Slowly, your eyes flutter open, revealing a suffocating dampness that surrounds you. Within the confines of this clammy cave, an eerie pale light emanates from an unfathomable source near a stagnant pool, casting disorienting shadows that writhe and contort like the fevered nightmares of a deranged mind.
Emerging from the shadows strides a figure with an air of quiet intensity. Standing at an average height, her lithe form cloaked in what appears to have once been a crimson shirt with the insignia of the hunters emblazoned across her chest, is a tiefling with flaming hair that dances and flickers as if ignited by some otherworldly power. Draped around her neck is a pendant fashioned in the likeness of a blazing sword, serving as a sacred emblem of Tempus, the revered deity of warfare. Hello, My name is Belrissa, but I go by Bel.
As your gaze pierces through the veil of darkness, the shape of a pit materializes before you. Its edges glisten with an unnerving array of massive teeth, jagged and uneven, as if hewn from the depths of nightmares. The pit yawns wide, an insatiable maw ready to consume and devour all that dare approach. Within the depths of the pit, a creature seems, melded with the very essence of the earth itself. It writhes and squirms with an unnatural vitality, defying the boundaries of conventional life.
You come across Some strange and horrible pages that you can not decipher, gruesome images adorn the pages. You show them to the Librarian at the Hunter lodge in Waterdeep using your rings. "These are fascinating pages I will do my best to decipher them."
Visions flash before your eyes, nightmarish scenes that twist and distort reality. Aberrant shapes and grotesque forms slither through your mind, their existence a blasphemous affront to the laws of nature. Your very perception unravels, fragmented by the incomprehensible horrors that assail your senses.
As you swim to safety you see the massive form of the Kraken swims away into the depths, the undead sharks are almost on you as you reach the surface.
You emerge from the ocean cold and drenched in saltwater. The moon is high in the sky and a freezing wind rushes over you from over the sea. On the shore, you see a blazing fire and the silhouette of an old man tending it. You hear the faint sound of humming over the waves as if magically brought to your ears.
I'll swim and sail on savage seas With ne'er a fear of drowning And gladly ride the waves of life If you will marry me

Hello my friends, please sit, tell me your stories, where do you hail from and what brings you to the isles of Manaki?
Magni, hunting is a dangerous business, not for the faint of heart, nor for those of weak conviction. What made you wish to become a Hunter?...
Do you miss you'r homeland Fifi?....
Paladin Bel, there are many noble causes for one of your order, why work with the hunters and not the church? What attracts you to the lodge?...
“Now, isnt this a merry gathering?” The old man jumps to his feet much quicker than you imagined he could. An attractive young human woman steps into the firelight. None of you heard her approach, even now her bare feet make no noise in the sand as she seems to glide into your midsts.

“Ahh, Bel, wonderful to see you again. And the rest of you as well, we spent so little time together last we met. I didn't have time to properly introduce myself during our last encounter. As my old friend here has said, my name is Lilth.”
“My master has told me all about you four of course,”
I simply came to deliver a message to our *Esteemed* friends here.”
“My master bids you farewell, and asks that you stay out of his way, no harm shall come to the Goliath’s as long as you four keep your noses out of our business from now on.” “Oh, before I go, thank you for feeding the Kraken, it is very grateful.”
“Enjoy the fire, this is a safe place for you, for tonight at least. Though I suggest that you head for the town of Makolf in the morning. Follow the beach northward and you will strike the port. There you will find the Manaki hunting lodge, the only lodge on the isles, I suspect they will have plenty of work for you. The Mentor of the lodge is a Kia’i named Judge. He is, well, to put it bluntly, lazy. The local lodge needs Hunters of stronger character.”
You stand before the Hunter's lodge of Makolf, A rundown hut of a building.
Judge sits with his feet up on the desk, he seems to be asleep.
"Here these are the jobs available, he throws a mass of parchments at you."
"You are a maroon cloak arnt you!" You accuse him. You are thrown out of the lodge.

Ragna looks exhausted and frightened. Thanks to some help I received I was able to translate the pages you found. According to them Monsters and dark old gods were the original occupants of the material plain and it’s them who created the races. And long ago before recorded history, they were locked away in the other plains. Every couple of thousands of years they awake and return, these are the convergences, and they have done this countless times before, always annihilating all civilizations before being forced back into the outer void, this is why these histories are not recorded. This cycle will continue, and our civilization's days are numbered. The cult you took the pages from seems to want to bring the old gods back, and they seem to have ways to do it. Several focal points around the world where the plains merge, one is where you currently are, somewhere in the isles of Maniki. From what youve told me I believe Judge is a Maroon cloak, you have my authority to remove him from the leadership of the Isles Lodge.
"This is a mistake! The isles are only held together because of me!"
"Didn't the woman say the Goliaths would be punished if we kept interfering?"
The half elf stands defiantly on the raft magic emanating from her being. creatures are summoned by her will. She transforms Fifi into a massive Ape. "I'm Gwen..."
The assinn steps into the firelight, Did you think my masters had forgotten about you and your interference? I'm here to end you.
"I cast suggestion" "What has been the Goliath's punishment for our actions?" "The left hand." Where are the Golath's....
It will be a weeks journey...

Sarren You came to this island following strange and corrupted storms. Something is disrupting Thor's domain and you must find out what. As you approached what you believed to be the source of the corruption You heard vague stories about ruins in the jungle where you may find your answers.
You see before you a black void mind flayers dot the spaces between you and it.
You feel the voice more than hear it, "Why if it isn't the Hunters who have been following the trail I've laid out for them. So nice of you to join us. I'll be honest you did arrive earlier than I was expecting so forgive the state of the place. had you given me a few more days to prepare you would have been welcomed to a grand palace, but as it is you have arrived just in time to see the creation of the new world that you have been helping me create."
"where do you think the souls of the spirits and monsters you slay go? Back to thier own plane? Hardly, they are just as trapped in this plane as any other soul. But they need somewhere to go." He gestures behind him to the void, "Every monster youve slain, every one of my cultists youve killed, at least the ones since you foolishly took that maroon cloak, all of thier souls have been dragged here to the void, and they are a feast. Soon the table will be set and the dinner guests will arrive."
"The Hunters where the perfect orginization to help bring about the new era. They where more than willing to continue killing as theyve always done. Just add some magic Maroon cloaks to channel the dead souls and everything falls into place."

Fifi is grabbed by the mind flayer litch. He lifts her up by the neck and whispers a word in her ear. she falls limp and he tosses her into the void.
In a dramatic turn, a fiery goddess rises from the depths of the void, a beacon of divine power. With a gesture, she smites down the minions of darkness, her radiance dispelling the shadows that sought to envelop the figures below. The defiant stand of the five against the mind flayer's minions is now reinforced by the intervention of this celestial force. Masses of fire erupt around her as she stands against the creatures emerging from the rift....

Burnt Othur Fumes (Inhaled): A creature subjected to this poison must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or take 10 (3d6) poison damage, and must repeat the saving throw at the start of each of its turns. On each successive failed save, the character takes 3 (1d6) poison damage. After three successful saves, the poison ends.