Session 001: Call to Adventure
General Summary
Prologue
The future of Thylea looks grim. Monsters menace the roads, and corruption threatens the cities. Sydon demands daily sacrifices at every temple, and his sister-wife Lutheria kidnaps children for her secret rituals. The Oath of Peace, which once protected the settlers from the Twin Titans, has begun to wane, and with it, the Five Gods find their hands tied. And now, the Oracle has prophesied the Doom of Thylea: the death of the gods, the destruction of Mytros, the razing of the sacred tree, and the total annihilation of the mortal races.
You are known throughout Thylea as mortals destined to perform great deeds. The citizens of the great city of Mytros already tell stories of your exploits, both real and imagined. Now, it seems the time has come for you to rise and meet your fate.
You have been summoned to the edge of the Heartlands in an attempt to avert the coming catastrophe by a poet in service to the Oracle. She has a test for you, to determine whether or not you are the heroes from her vision. You are to meet this poet, a woman named Kyrah, at the Sour Vintage. The Sour Vintage is a traditional country inn located at a crossroads, about seventy miles east of the city of Estoria. The exterior is rustic wood painted black, and the sign hanging from the door depicts a woman carrying a basket full of grapes; all is illuminated by the warm glow of the late afternoon sun. Inside the tavern, a haze of pleasant tobacco smoke lingers in the air. You hear the clinking of mugs and the muttering of patrons, most of whom are farmers. The innkeeper, a former huntress by the name of Aetala has greeted you and served you drinks already. The lot of you have arrived, though you have yet to speak to one another. Your patron has yet to arrive it seems, and for the time being you have a moment to yourselves.
Sydon and Lutheria, the Twin Titans, have corrupted the heart of an ancient boar and unleashed it in the verdant countryside east of The City of Estoria. They hope to create fear in the people of Thylea so that the mortals will abandon their worship of The Five Gods. The Oath of Peace once protected the human settlers from the Titans, but now the magic of the oath is weakening. This is but a small taste of the devastation to come.
Kyrah, Poet Laureate of Mytros has summoned the heroes to hunt the boar and put an end to the devastation that it is causing any way they can. If the beast has been slain, the carcass should be burned as a sacrifice to one of the gods or Titans. Great fame and riches are promised to those who make such offerings.
Date: Pythion the 3rd
The Heroes meet at The Sour Vintage Inn, after having been individually summoned in various ways to seek out The Oracle as the chosen who are destined to save the realm. Introductions are made and many shennanigans are had until a small dark-haired woman bursts through the front door, announcing herself as Kyrah, a wandering poet and emissary to The Oracle, and she's here to collect the destined heroes for their task of defeating The Great Boar. The group quickly gets the impression that this woman is, for all intents and purposes, a wacky goofball with an arsenal of terrible poetry and corny jokes. How she's made a name for herself across the land is beyond anyone's best guess. Nevertheless, the group decides to take up the call to action and vow to slay the beast that's ravaging the countryside. After some more carousing into the late hours of the night, a brief but insulting conversation with a failed group of boar hunters, a pact of epic poetic proportions made, and some attempted robbery, the heroes wake the next morning to Kyrah outside the inn, accompanied by two local hunters: Taneias and Javon.
Date: Pythion the 4th
As the group made their way deeper into the hills, they passed many ruined homesteads and farms that had been laid to waste by their quarry. After about half a day's travel, the hunters were able to lead the group up into the hills where the boar had made a home of sorts out of a small cave. The group discussed how best to confront this great beast and eventually decided on a mixture of stealth tactics and brute force. Acacius snuck into the cave, trying to flank the creature, while Hybris attempted to sneak around the other side to corner it. Unfortunately, Hybris was feeling a little heavy that day and stepped on some partially rotted remains with a loud *crunch*, alerting the beast to their presence. The fight was quick but brutal, with Ianthe taking a devastating charge attack, but was able to stand her ground. The heroes were able to take down the beast as Hybris delivered the final swing, severing its head completely off its body. As the creature lay dead and beheaded before them, some unnatural power within it spoke to the heroes once more:
“Know this, mortals. Your sins cannot be atoned. An ancient power sleeps in the heart of Thylea, and when it awakens, the age of Mytros will come to an end. Just as my broken body falls to ruin and decay, so too all mortal things will come to death and darkness. No prophecy will save you.”
After the battle, Kyrah came out of hiding and suggested the group honor the fallen within the cave and give them a proper sendoff. The party also set up a sacrificial pyre for the boar, and Ianthe convinced the group to dedicate the kill to Kyrah, The Goddess of Music. After a moment's pause, their traveling companion looks stunned before revealing that she was the goddess all along, and swears an Oath of Protection to the party:
“You’re sacrificing it to… to m--her? The Muse? That’s… weird. Okay. Sure. Makes sense. Get the storyteller on your side with the beginnings of an epic and-- oh, you know what? Fine.” Kyrah turns around. “I know this may shock you, so please, try to brace yourselves.” She turns back “It is I, Kyrah, Goddess of Music, and with my power, I swear to protect you, the Heroes of Prophecy. Should you fall in battle, my resources I shall use to return you to your destiny. Should hardship in battle begin, my songs I will use to strengthen you. This I swear, is my Oath of Protection to you.”
And with that, the heroes have proven themselves worthy to meet with the oracle and begin the road to fulfilling their destinies as the saviors of Thylea.
Rewards Granted
- 25 Gold Drachmae
- 37 Silver Obols
- 1 x Silvered Spear
Missions/Quests Completed
The Great Boar
No, husband, the mortals no longer heed your storms. Let us instead send a great beast to defile the lands they stole from us. I am sure that they will appreciate the irony.
Report Date
08 Nov 2022
Primary Location
Secondary Location
Related Characters
We gods can only do so much to keep the peace, especially when the priests abandon our temples. In these dark times, it is we who must have faith in mortals, rather than the other way around.
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