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DemonicDarkwraith -> Cold Open, A (12/13/2025 14:18:25)
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A Cold Open
Location: Book of Lore -> A Cold Open
Requirements: None
Release Date: December 12th, 2025
Objective: Alongside your dragon, you prepare for a peaceful night in Swordhaven... Wait, is it just me or is it getting colder?
Objective completed: The freeze is spreading across Greenguard, maybe all of Lore. And your only hope is that mysterious voice...
Experience rewarded: Scaled
Gold rewarded: Scaled
Monsters
(4) [link=]Blade of Kezeroth[/link]
(12) [link=]Frost Reaper[/link]
(2) [link=]Glacial Troll[/link]
NPCs
???
Anders
Aria
Artix
Celesa
Knight
Narrator
Rewards
Scythes
Blade of Kezeroth's Blades
Glacial Troll's Axe
Capes
Cloak of the Frozen Blade (I-VI)
Access to Cold Open Loot for DCs.
Dialogue
*It is a starry, snowy night in Swordhaven; you and your dragon—now sleeping—admire the stars; it appears that you also brought a telescope for this occasion.*
Narrator: On a sleepy Winter's night, our Hero and <his/her/their> Dragon admire the stars.
<Character>: I was thinking it'd be nice if it was just the two of us. Peace, quiet, you, and me.
<Dragon>: Snzz...
<Character>: *snickers* I guess it's just me.
<Character>: Who'd have thought the night sky would look this clear from the middle of Swordhaven?
Narrator: The view would look even better from a roof, but the Hero didn't have the heart to disturb <his/her/their> little buddy.
<Character>: True. <Dragon> gets cranky over half-finished naps.
<Character>: Now, how did this work again?
*You use your telescope to see around the stars.*
<Character>: Wow! It feels like I could reach out and touch them.
Narrator: The constellations glittered, spanning endlessly across the horizon.
Narrator: If only our Hero could trace them without going cross-eyed.
*You move your telescope to the left.*
<Character>: Shoot, I should have brought a star chart.
Narrator: But, <he/she/they> got lucky. Shifting <his/her/their> view a little to the left, <he/she/they>'d find—
<Character>: ...Strange. It's not there.
Narrator: —<he/she/they>'d find a spectacular asterism. The star known as Maia was... it's there. It has to be there.
<Character>: I know what you're talking about, but it's gone.
*Suddenly, some stars start disappearing.*
<Character>: Am I seeing things? Or am I seeing things disappearing?
Narrator: This was a strange yet harmless anomaly. The stars came back.
Narrator: I said… the stars came back.
*You move your telescope to the right as more stars are disappearing.*
<Character>: Is everything okay? Wait...What the—
<Character>: W-Who are you? Where are you? Why does it feel like you're talking directly into my skull?
Narrator: The stars came back. There was nothing wrong.
Narrator (angry): There was nothing wrong!
*You move your telescope to the left as more stars are disappearing; this alarms the Narrator.*
Narrator: Run.
<Character>: Huh?
Narrator: The Hero grabbed <his/her/their> Dragon and ran!
<Character>: Why would I?
Narrator: Take <Dragon> and get out of here!
*Suddenly, Swordhaven citizens look at the shooting star, which is the same one that the Narrator warns you about.*
Celesa: Is that a shooting star?
*The shooting star gets closer to Swordhaven.*
Anders: It's getting closer.
*The shooting star gets closer to Swordhaven; this alarms a Swordhaven knight.*
Knight: Send word to the Queen!
*The shooting star gets closer to Swordhaven.*
<Character> (momentarily): <Dragon>, wake up! We have to—
*As you try to get your dragon to wake up, the shooting star lands at Swordhaven; after the shooting star lands, you and your dragon are unimpeded from the blast; you kneel as you get an understanding of what is going on.*
Narrator: An entity from the beyond set his sights on Lore.
Narrator: His destiny.
Narrator: Nothing could stop him...
Narrator: Stars went dark. Planets turned to dust. A merciless frost froze the deep void.
Narrator: Our Hero miraculously escaped the impact untouched, and so did <his/her/their> Dragon.
Narrator: ...And so did <his/her/their>Dragon! Come on!
<Character>: It's so cold...<Dragon>!
*As you call your dragon, there is no response; scene zooms out as they are suddenly frozen.*
<Character>: <Dragon>?!
*Suddenly, you and the Narrator hear huge footsteps from offscreen.*
Narrator: He is here.
*Scene pans left to show the source of the freezing—an otherworldly, icy beast.*
Narrator: The cold is climbing up <his/her/their> legs. If our Hero doesn't take <Dragon> and run, he will find them.
*The beast punches and destroys a frozen Swordhaven knight; the scene turns grey as the music stops playing, signifying that the Narrator has stopped time.*
Narrator: I can stop his clock to buy some time, but not for long.
<Character>: Who?
Narrator: ...Kezeroth.
Narrator: The end of the world.
*The Narrator resumes time; Kezeroth looks at the spot where you and your frozen dragon were in, only for them to escape thanks to the Narrator's intervention; Kezeroth grins with an icy breath.*
Path to Falconreach
*You fight various otherworldly ice monsters as you get from Swordhaven to Falconreach while the Narrator and Kezeroth document your progress.*
Narrator: I know this isn't the path the Hero would usually take to get to Falconreach, but <he/she/they> needs to move quickly.
Narrator: The fog covers the Hero's escape. I can at least do that.
Narrator: Queen Victoria and her city are petrified, but they aren't dead. There's still hope.
Narrator: The Swordhaven I knew was on fire for years, and everything was fine! Really!
Narrator: The oceans are beginning to freeze over…snow blankets the deserts...
Narrator: Why… why is he here? This isn't your fight. It's supposed to be mi—
???: This planet is helpless. What a disappointment.
???: A world so gentle, it lets life sleep beneath the ice.
Narrator: Th-the Hero crept away quietly, careful to silence <his/her/their> footsteps.
???: But I can feel it in my soul. My very being. The same presence that my brother followed.
???: Destiny. Power. A proper struggle for life. I want to feel it squirm in the palm of my hand.
*Eventually, you carried your frozen dragon to Falconreach Inn, where you meet with Artix and Aria about the Kezeroth situation.*
<Character>: A-Aria? A-Artix? M-My te-teeth w-won't st-stop ch-chattering.
Aria: It's going to be okay!
Aria: Artix, are there any blankets left?
*Artix takes off his cape in order to wrap it around your frozen dragon.*
Artix: No, but take my cape! I can do push-ups to stay warm.
Artix: Let me squeeze them next to the fire, and I will head back out to look for more survivors.
<Character>: <Dragon>, th-they're—
Aria: I can help them. This isn't the first time I've lost a lizard in the snow... except, this isn't an ordinary cold snap, is it?
Artix: The wind came to a complete stop. It feels like time even froze.
Artix: I had to peel the ice off of my arms to get moving. That is definitely going to scar!
Aria: Do you know what's going on?
<Character>: S-Someone named...Kezeroth?
Narrator: Kezeroth, the World Ender. A Glaceran from beyond the stars who exists for the sake of destruction.
*Suddenly, you, Aria, and Artix feel the Narrator's presence.*
Narrator: He already froze half of Lore with his presence alone, but now the Hero is joined by Aria and Artix.
Aria: Hello? That's so weird? Isn't <he/she/they> standing right in front of me?
Artix: Could it be—
*You, Aria, and Artix look down at the Narrator's speech scroll; they are confused by its presence and its words.*
Narrator: With the Champions of Darkness and Nature, our Hero can stand up to the—
Aria: I have no idea what you're talking about.
Artix: Champions? Did I win a contest and forget about it?
Narrator: Wait. So neither of them… Do Champions not exist here?
<Character>: No.
Narrator: Okay. Alright. Not a big deal. We still have options. They decided to find Warlic!
<Character>: That's completely off the table.
Narrator: Haha... Is Tara around? No? Er, how about the Shadowscythe? They're pretty reliable.
<Character>: I-I don't even know where to begin with this.
Aria: Question. Is this a weird echo? A new type of tinnitus? Brain worms?
Artix: Well, it sounds like the brain worms are trying to help us.
Narrator: I'm not a worm! I mean – don't mind me! Just…trust the process.
<Character>: Trust a disembodied voice that only started talking right before a space disaster from nowhere showed up?
<Character>: Sure! Let me give you my house keys too.
Narrator: Yeah, I totally get it. Wow, this usually happens the other way around.
Narrator: ...No. The fire! The fire goes dark!
*True to the Narrator's words, the fireplace goes out, leaving you, Aria, and Artix shrouded in darkness.*
<Character>: Did you really have to narrate that?
*Suddenly, the scene shakes, signifying that Kezeroth is nearby.*
Narrator: The fire went out just before Kezeroth could see it, sparing the Heroes from his gaze.
Narrator: He is searching for his destiny, but he will not find it in Falconreach.
Narrator: Kezeroth will leave. He'll
*As the Narrator tries to finish his line, an ink spills on its speech scroll.*
Narrator: *cough* Ow?…That's not…Is that all I can do for you?
Aria: What can we do to help?
<Character>: Don't. We don't know its real intentions. Throwing trust around that easily is a bad idea.
Aria: Psst, Artix? This might be an internal bias.
Artix: Ehem! <Character>, it is hard not to trust this voice. They sound...exactly like you.
<Character>: !!!
*The scene shakes again, signifying that Kezeroth is nearby.*
Narrator: Kezeroth's going to start ripping open the buildings soon…
<Character>: I get it. He was hunting me.
<Character>: Keep <Dragon> safe. I'll lure Kezeroth away.
Aria: We can't toss you into the cold like that!
Artix: What if we distracted this Kezeroth guy? It will give <Character> a chance to find a way to defeat him.
<Character>: And just leave you all to die?
Narrator: Stop! The Hero and their friends stop panicking. I can fix this! I have to fix this.
*The scene shakes again, signifying that Kezeoth is about to rip the Falconreach Inn; you, Aria, and Artix are shaken by Kezeroth's action.*
Narrator: …Kezeroth shouldn't have learned about your planet's existence. Not this early.
Narrator: This world is gentler than mine. It isn't prepared for the Glacerans. That's not fair.
Narrator: To make it fair… we have to bring him back to my turf.
Narrator: Come find me in Battleon.
*Scene fades to black except for the Narrator's speech scroll.*
Narrator: My Battleon.
*Scene cuts to black along with the Narrator's speech scroll.*
Complete Quest
Loot for DCs - opens Cold Open Loot for DCs shop.
Other information
The purple fruit acts as a healing source during the quest.
Pop-up headlines during the quest:
quote:
Narrator: "There was no helping these poor travelers. All <he/she/they> could do is wait for the snow to melt."
Narrator: "The Hero can't afford to stop moving! <His/her/their> limbs were turning blue, it reminded <him/her/them> of..."
Taking bites from this weird fruit seems to keep you warm! Oddly, it seems to be... regenerating?
Narrator: "Oh! What a crazy color, and it looks squishy. I wonder what it tastes like?"
Narrator: "Is that…Ash? Woah, he's jacked! What were you feeding him over here?" This quest acted as a post-Book 3 crossover with AdventureQuest Worlds, as stated in the December 12th, 2025 Design Notes; it is recommended to play through Book 3: Epilogue before playing this quest.
Next Up: ???
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