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5/24/2026 13:40:48   
  Lorekeeper
And Pun-isher

 
Shadowfall I

The War Between Shadows part 3



Deep in the waters north of Falconreach, Erebus enters the scene from the left and approaches the giant dragon bones.

Erebus: Well, well, well. So you are the best that my estranged extended family could do without a harbinger to coordinate them. Or second best, as it were. Rest far from assured, though, you can and will do better.
Erebus: Do make it worth the long walk. It will take long to get back to myself without my usual travel arrangements. Longer still without drawing the hound's nose with my power. But YOU get to be quite loud.
Erebus: Not being out of time leaves me quite out of time to find a suitable distraction for my pursuers. Time to rise from your rime-rimmed sepulchre now. Even if we have no Sepulchure to make a matching set--

The seabed quakes as the bones shift.

Erebus: My, you aren't nearly as plucked as I had expected. Have I been beaten to this coop? Under the dragons' snouts? Well, now I've most certainly been noticed.
Erebus: If Entropy hasn't noticed *this* flock, then his claws must be as full as he hopes the pantheon's are. That is good news, but you are not. Shall we... improvise?

The eye sockets begin to emit light.




Guardians flee across the shore east of Dragonlorn Keep. As undead begin to enter from the left, the massive undead dragon emerges from the water.

Cut to a shot of it flying across the sky, roaring, and generating a darkness shield.




WAR!


Scene: The same as in Dragonlorn Keep part 2.

War Scroll: An enormous Dracolich has emerged from the waves north of Falconreach... This terrifying beast may be bigger than Carnax! As undead swarm to and from the Far West, defenders are now fighting on all sides!

Lucretia: Everyone line up! I don't want to see anyone going past this line without a few health potions!
<<You>>: Lucretia! I just got here, how did it get this bad so fast?!
Lucretia: <<You>>! Glad to see you -- Just a second.
Lucretia: You all know what the Far West is like! Anyone starts sleepwalking or not acting like themselves, you give them one of these potions and bring them back! Alright...
<<You>>: You're starting to sound like a leader yourself.
Lucretia: ...I guess war changes everyone. They're going out into disasters, I have to give them the tools to deal with it... And make sure they know what to do if the worst happens.
Lucretia: I can't tell you much you don't already know. That thing came out of the horizon, the Dragonlords rescued some stranded guardians and knights...
<<You>>: ...Then the undead started pouring in. And I know we didn't leave nearly this many standing before. This will get rough.
Lucretia: It'll be a lot rougher unless you've been browsing my special stock. Do you need to come buy some when I resupply?
  • Go / Stay



    Twilly: Twillies thought his old home was finally gonna be safe again...
    Twilly: It's... it's going to take a lot more work. And... I remember this monster... it's even scarier now. But we can take it together, right?
    Twilly: If you need healing, I can help you. Just don't be gone too long this time, okay?





    33%


    Aodh and Rhiannon join the player character in the Far West's desert wastes.

    Rhiannon: Can't blame those guardians for mounting a rescue mission before their trail went cold, but that thing nearly got them. They better clear it through Terminus next time. Good thing Thoralune saw them.
    <<You>>: I'll remind Nimrod. What's the situation up there? The defenders are still busy fighting off the undead, so we haven't figured out how to get to the main attraction. Magic and artillery aren't cutting it.

    If INT>100 <<You>>: It'll be a long time before the mana interference and anti-elemental fallout are clear enough to send someone up there. Plus it'd be a terrible idea to rush any ritual powerful enough to hit it...

    Rhiannon: Believe it or not, it's rougher down there than up in the sky. The knights say these undead showed up from the start, but they appeared the moment we took our first swings at the ancient dracolich.
    Aodh: Up there, the sky is a lot clearer. Save for the obvious. Tiamoth used to swarm the sky with undead back when Sepulchure enslaved her, but now her remains are doing the opposite.
    Rhiannon: The dracolich has been culling the dragon wraiths that always try to ambush us. The most heavily corrupted disappeared into its shield, and the others are getting blasted back down into the ground.
    <<You>>: What about Gráinne? I know she's a loner, but we'll all have to work together for this one.
    Aodh: She's right up there, testing its defenses. I don't think it's an enslaved soul anymore, but that doesn't stop her grudge. I'm not happy seeing our ancestor's remains played around with yet again.
    Rhiannon: You have to understand, she lost so much in the Calamity... I wouldn't EVER say it broke her, but she's... driven. Still, even if she doesn't talk much, she's more a team player than she'd admit.

    If Paladin level >= 19 <<You>>: I know. She has swooped in to save a Paladin in need more than a few times.

    Aodh: Even with her help, that shield is a pain. We've given it our biggest shots, and it just concentrates in response. We also tried coordinating to draw power away from a gap. ...There aren't enough of us left for that.
    Aodh: It's got more than enough spirits casting that shield from its spine that we can't find a blind spot that STAYS blind. At best, we could blast a spot thin enough to drop a boulder. Or a really big bomb.
    <<You>>: ...How about getting one good shot with something smaller than a boulder?
    Rhiannon: That would be easy enough. Aodh and I can team up to cast a disruptive light spell, and we've had plenty of target practice over the years. What kind of projectile do you have in mind?
    <<You>>: Well... This is going to sound kind of crazy. Okay, it's going to sound absolutely insane.
    Rhiannon: ...Oh no.





    Mid-flight, as the undead dragon blasts darkness beams at a downward angle, a silhouetted dragon drops a humanoid figure through its shield and onto its spine



    The player character walks along the spine of the giant undead dragon.

    <<You>>: ...Oww, that's rough on the knees. And on the *everything else*. Thankfully this is a lot steadier than I expected... I wonder if these bones were enchanted to support the fortress I saw on its back.
    <<You>>: Even then, this won't be a walk in the park... Time to find these barrier-casting spectres.

    A ShadowScythe Wardspinner appears, speaking in a bubble without a name.

    ???: You are not meant to be here. You will be cast down.
    <<You>>: Then I'll keep getting back up here until you're too scared to come back out.

    BOSS FIGHT: Shadowscythe Wardspinner


    66%


    The giant undead dragon loses its energy field. Dragon sillhouetes attack the middle of its spine, then Gráinne hits it with a big light beam. The beam snaps its weakened spine in half, causing it to fall to the ground



    100%


    Raikenin and Dante are looking eastward from the tree cover of the elementally-scarred forest wastes.

    Dante: I have to admit, big guy, I was wrong to suspect you. You came through for us, big time.
    Raikenin: No, you were not misstaken. Caution and ssolitude go hand in hand, this a child of the swamp knowss best. Those who firsst wore this guise forced that lesson upon both of our kin, and will now pay dearly.
    Raikenin: ...Ah, but I musst keep my vehemence in check. There are... accordss that bind us, and a hasty display would reveal uss to the inciter. Once they are revealed, THEN we sstrike as in ancient times...
    Dante: I'm all for waiting for the right moment to strike, especially if there's a manipulator to flush out again. Right now, though, I'm just taking the chance to make amends for being snappy with you.
    Raikenin: *seething* I do appreciate your gratitude, but your willingness to learn more sso. The former is unnecessary. We made a bargain. It was fulfilled. Studying the root will bring us closer to restoration.

    The player character enters.

    Dante: Whoa there, don't run all the way out of cover. That thing is still thrashing and blasting like crazy. What are you doing so close?
    <<You>>: I'm hoping to try and spot a weak point or something from here. I'd have expected that thing to be a lot less dangerous when off the air... I could say the same to you, though.
    Dante: I'm here to keep an eye on it and coordinate with Magnus while he moves the wounded out of its reach. Don't be discouraged, though.
    Dante: Sure, grounding the dracolich turned an impervious flying fortress into a desperate siege monster that's thrashing around and actually hitting our ground forces now...
    Dante: But it's not COMPLETELY impervious anymore. Just incredibly tough. And blasting holes into the land while we figure out how to contain it. So, y'know. One step at a time.
    Raikenin: ...When wass the last time you attempted words of encouragement? Regardless, the Walker and I have been working on precisely ssuch an attempt. I have been reading the broken shell of its nature.
    Raikenin: There is purpose, forced into these remnantss without subtlety. Where it was once forced to destroy and bear burdenss, there is now nuance. Orders... exceptions... Some, it is only meant to capture. Raikenin: Some such as ourselves... Or you. The Walker has prepared bindings for its limbs. However, if the sshade is running amok again, we should not reveal oursselves to it. Would you be willing to be bait?
    Dante: Just one person acting as bait for a monster the size of a city...? Even if I get it, that sounds more reckless than anything I'VE ever done. Besides, I could see why it might want to catch you, but <<You>>?
    <<You>>: ...I'll do it. Point me to where the traps are laid and I'll get it stuck. Just be ready to bail me out if things go wrong.



    Past the borders between the forest and arid wastes, the player character approaches the area of the giant undead dragon.

    BOSS BATTLE: Claw of Tiamoth

    After the battle, the player character is shown quickly crossing the screen from left to right to avoid the second claw slamming down, leading to it getting trapped in the magic binding.




    The undead Tiamoth tugs at its restraints and fires a massive beam of Darkness forward. It slows down, eyes going dim and then fading away completely, then slumps down as if inert.

    Fade to black.


    The scene begins with Tyranna to the left, while Myrr and Nihama are together at the right.

    Nihama: ...It went still. I can't believe it. Is it over...?
    Tyranna: I doubt it all the same, Dame Nihama. I would imagine that it has been deemed too wasteful after being trapped... it has still succeeded in scattering forces and destroying siege gear.
    Tyranna: Perhaps it's conserving power. Even a husk twice over, I would not count Tiamoth to be exhausted already. We can't afford to take our eyes off of a single one of its bones.
    Tyranna: Return to Terminus. Instruct the reinforcements to instead take positions at the farthest cover they can find, observing it from each cardinal direction. I will go learn how Tiamoth was trapped.

    Aodh and Rhiannon enter.

    Rhiannon: That would be <<You>>. <hie/she> lured it to arcane traps placed by some allies of ours. If that thing had stayed mobile, it's possible that neither the Keep nor Terminus would be standing right now...

    If the player is a Demon Knight: Tyranna: ...Are we quite sure that my knight-errant is a human?
    Otherwise: Tyranna: ...A single human lured that crawling monstrosity into arcane traps? I see one is expected to grow into the title of 'Chosen'...

    Aodh: I'd say <hie/she> earned some good rest, at the least.
    Tyranna: Unfortunately, neither we nor the Chosen will get any. For if my theories are right, Nihama, your paramour has some bad news.
    Myrr: ...That is right. Sir Tathlin sent me to report movement towards the desert. We intercepted what looked like Mantle bearers who were on their way North, but turned around when the dracolich rose.
    Myrr: We caught them all, but Cerin of Deren suggested that we assume that there would be more movement elsewhere and report it to Terminus as soon as possible.
    Nihama: ...This streak of cooperation gives me hope, Myrr, but it makes me wary all the same. Cerin is staying at Rennd, then?
    Tyranna: Our prodigiously clefted ally has sent most of his Frogzard Knights back to Deren to aid in the crisis, and will be traveling between the kingdoms with an elite contingent. He appears to believe we are...
    Tyranna: "Ready to seek an understanding." While I am not prepared to agree, I am interested in the details of his plans and the force behind his words. But that is enough diverging. You have your orders.
    Tyranna: Tell Cerin to pray to his Water Lord that we are not caught off guard...
    • Post #: 151
    5/24/2026 13:48:28   
      Lorekeeper
    And Pun-isher

     
    Land of Returning Evil

    The War Between Shadows, part 4





    The scene opens at the entrance to Terminus. Nihama, Myrr, and Warlic stand to the right, and Artix to the left.


    Nihama: Blue Mage. Paladin. Thank you for coming. I understand you've been briefed already.
    Artix: Greetings and salutations. You can just call me Artix -- And yes, we have been told everything upon arriving. I am ready to assist as best as I am able to.
    Nihama: I'm honestly surprised you didn't arrive with the contingent from Rennd, but we'll take all the help we can get as long as we can be in position before the enemy twitches again.
    Myrr: About that, Nihama -- I haven't gotten to return home since we first met the Dragonlords, but my fellow knights say they have no allegiance with the new Paladin Order. It's not hostile, just... a little shaky.
    Artix: That is correct. I am given to understand that Tathlin has been party to some serious crimes, but believe that he can make amends if kept on the right path. Our Order bears no ill will to him nor Stormfallen.

    If the character is a Demon Knight:
    Artix: In fact, our strongest Paladin arose from your own ranks. That is all the proof anyone should need of the good that Demon Knights are capable of, human or otherwise. I hope your queen takes heart from this.
    If the character is a Pria Knight:
    Artix: As our strongest Paladin rose from the ranks of the Pria Knights, I believe Tathlin is more than capable of practicing and teaching honesty. If he lost his way, I am nobody to judge him unworthy of finding it.

    Myrr: Inspiring. Although I'll remain cautious in my optimism. That does explain why there aren't more of your rank here, at least. How quickly do you think you can have the giant dracolich's remains exorcised?
    Warlic: About that... I don't believe you *should* try to perform an exorcism yet. Your reports make it clear that the remains of Tiamoth have indeed been defiled again, but they have not bound its spirit to them.
    Warlic: It seems as though they're inhabited by many entities acting in concert, similarly to individual dwellers of cursed weapons. They are strictly exploiting what power they can extract from the fallen bones.
    Artix: I see. So there is nothing to reach out to. It is good to know the spirit of Tiamoth has not been compromised once again, but I would need a lot of backup to exorcise many hostile entities at once.
    Warlic: You made it sound like it was hunting or pursuing something, so lying in wait doesn't add up... But we can't take the chance. I will instruct our wizards on how to disperse the enemy's power.
    Warlic: I'm sorry for not helping with that spell, but it would be dangerous to everyone if I cast it. Even that far from the epicenter. However, I'll be able to protect the recovering defenders around Terminus.
    Artix: Do not be hard on yourself, old friend. I will smite any remnants of the shadows that took our home. That should keep our allies safe while $player and the Dragonlords cut off enemy reinforcements.




    FOUR BATTLES: General undead, including Doomhosts and ShadowScythe Scavengers but excluding Shadowrisen Knights. Full heal after every second one.

    At the Oaklore Forest Wastes, Mantle Ritualists stand near the broken remains of Doombinders. One is named 'Scythe Necromancer' and the other 'Scythe Ritualist'.

    Scythe Ritualist: Better get moving again. It'll take time to move in forces from so far away, but we need to be ready to transfer the salvaged power before they arrive.
    Scythe Necromancer: We could muster armies much faster if we'd kept going towards the Archive.
    Scythe Ritualist: And then we'd have the rest of the Mantle to contend with. Do you seriously think they'd let us regain an edge over all of them without muscling in while we're vulnerable?
    Scythe Ritualist: IF they haven't already turned on us, we need reinforcements before meeting them anyways. It's not like Silas will be appeased if we say WE didn't mean to kill their retreating ranks.
    Scythe Necromancer: It wouldn't be the first or last time we hide something from each other... But fair enough. The weapon doesn't follow orders. It's supposed to focus on one target, but they draw its attention too.
    Scythe Necromancer: You don't suppose they've gotten even closer than Grimveil dared?
    Scythe Ritualist: Not for a lack of trying. Whatever they wield is JUST close enough to the shade that the weapon is constantly thrown off. They can actually hurt it a little, so it slows us down while getting nothing.
    Scythe Necromancer: It has to be the shade itself to do any good?
    Scythe Ritualist: Only Erebus did... whatever that was to our new "master's" predecessor. Anyways, the scavengers are done with the Binders here, and we haven't found a single extra piece. Time to go.
    Scythe Necromancer: Let's get the others, then. How do you propose we get near Tiamoth?

    The player character enters.

    $player: How about bruised and hogtied?
    Scythe Necromancer: ...I'm going to be completely honest, the witty one-liner entrances are a solid third of the reason I'm bringing doom your entire land, and about half of why I accept being claimed by it if I fall.
    $player: On the one hand, I can respect the honest spite. On the other, I had to deal with so many cheesy lines from the likes of you for OVER TEN YEARS that I'm entitled to some payback. Speaking of which:

    BATTLE: Scythe Mantle Necromancer, Scythe Mantle Ritualist, full heal.

    Raikenin enters where the Mantle enemies were.

    Raikenin: Ssatisfactory. They deserve a more grim fate than their sso called escape... But a greater vengeance against thrice deceiverss is worth letting a few wretches esscape into undeath.
    Raikenin: Do not wait for me. I will undo the scavengers. It seemss they are once again under the wing of an interloper. How it remainss, I do not yet know, but through it they will know their kith have fallen.
    $player: You're being a lot more intense than before. This is as personal for you as it is for my friends, isn't it? ...Nevermind, I'm not prying. You're right, I have to run.

    The player character exits stage right.

    Raikenin: Clever.



    Elsewhere in the wastes, a group of Mantle Ritualists stands beyond the tree line while a Shadow Mantle Necromancer bars their passage.

    Scythe Necromancer: ...We have been delayed enough! None of us will make it to the Archive if we waste time fighting each other! Heed the Recall. Only ONE circumstance would make us risk gathering.
    Shadow Mantle Rebel: We're not the ones turning around mid-Recall to serve old pacts. Your leaders were smart enough to at least pretend to flee. You? You don't even have enough of an edge left to lie properly.
    Shadow Mantle Rebel: Your creature seems to have learned that we're not its mark, nor empowered by it. It also certainly doesn't care enough to protect you. Bummer, isn't it?
    Shadow Mantle Rebel: Besides, you're right. There's only one reason to sound the Recall. It has clearly not been solved. Otherwise, we would all already know... if either of us were still loyal to the Mantle.
    Scythe Necromancer: ...No! NO!

    The Shadow Mantle Rebel attacks with a torrent of shadows, killing the Scythe mantle members.

    Shadow Mantle Rebel: Die with SOME dignity, please.

    The shadow torrent fades.

    Shadow Mantle Rebel: What a mess. When will they learn that the invaders are no better than Erebus? Or at the very least, to cull those who actually make pacts with them.

    The player character enters.

    $player: Well then. It looks like you're not exactly part of the mess south of here.
    Shadow Mantle Rebel: Not for a lack of trying, Chosen. It's a good opportunity to take care of those foolish enough to bind themselves to the ShadowScythe.
    $player: That's rich coming from someone wielding magic that looks and feels suspiciously like Shadow powers. Playing into Erebus's hands, putting the whole world in danger... Which do I call you a hypocrite for?
    Shadow Mantle Rebel: I don't care to plunge all of Lore into shadows, but there is no sense in shutting away a source of power instead of learning from it. You scramble for ways to expel shadows.
    Shadow Mantle Rebel: I instead learn how they work. Now, while I don't fancy my odds, this is going to come to blows regardless... So how about I show rather than tell?

    BOSS BATTLE: Shadow Mantle Rebel




    At a clearing in the forest wastes, Raikenin and the allied cloaked stranger await the player character.

    Raikenin: The Chosen iss skilled, but there is but one of <him/her>. Against the Sscythe, I see no need to bargain for further assistance. Loremaster, a pleasure as alwayss.
    Falerin: Would that we could take the chance for reminisce, but my windows grow ever slimmer with the so called Rutan at large. Once $player is here, we should get right to... business, shall we say.
    Mysterious Stranger?: Are we to involve Hadin, then? That would be helpful, mind, but a hard sell.
    Falerin: I said business, not Business.

    The player character enters.

    $player: Hello there. I see you do know each other.
    Falerin: Extensively enough that I can assuage your suspicions. It is out of respect for our friendship and accords that I have respected his anonymity. Not that you are unwise to be cautious of his guise.
    Falerin: Speaking of which, shall we swap notes? I believe our individual findings may prove complementary, and it would be wise to take this opportunity to assess the interactions between our enemies.
    $player: We're clearly on a rush, so I'll get us started. Seems Erebus wasn't lying about running from a 'weapon'. Mantle wearers were fighting, and the ones on the invader's side were talking about two things:
    $player: Scavengers reclaiming power from enemy binders, and a weapon they don't control, trying to home in on Erebus. As of Erebus, there's only one new detail: I don't think they can teleport at all.
    $player: Hollow and I caught them wiping data in an odd bunker, almost straight out of the future he's from. Alpha technology. Only personal journals remained, but they were working on the Epsilon project.
    Falerin: ...The Knights of Order removed all such outposts. The removal must have been undone by Entropy's attacks, but it would now cause a paradox to address it. The data is lost to us, but that is for the best.
    Falerin: In trying to throw off Entropy's notice, elude the ShadowScythe's reckoning, and entirely circumvent the banishment... Erebus needs us to win, but not so soundly that we retain an advantage.
    Raikenin: The Wrûn is undoubtedly that of the true ShadowScythe. If their weapon trailss Erebus, it explains the indirect methods. Yet, though the sshade wishes us to succeed, mistrust takes root all the ssame.
    Falerin: I trust you see now how the guise will bring you anything but freedom. What dealings you do wish to make have now had the well thoroughly and doubly poisoned now. I do not ask you to befriend them--
    Mysterious Stranger?: Yes, but again my friend, this is a distraction I can ill afford. While this would leave me unfettered, it is not Balance. This guise will be discarded, but only once I have taken my leave.
    Raikenin: In this, we stand at a crosssroads. *You* cannot, nay, may not press our advantage. But I am not required for what you musst do next. And this? Is personal.



    At the Desert Wastes, the hostile Mysterious Stranger from the Scythe Mantle portal stands on Tiamoth's head.

    Mysterious Stranger: ... I see. So that is why you allowed them to learn from you, even if that might aid your undoing at other hands. One long false trail, a contingency for the day you cannot slip outside of time.
    Mysterious Stranger: In putting them at odds with those who would come to our aid, you ensured they would expose our reinforcements. They fell as the weapon adapted to your deceit and left them behind.
    Mysterious Stranger: Unfortunately for you, "Firstborn", we are ever so familiar with the one deceiving YOU. We know how you must hide and move to avoid his notice... Or, by now, *their* notice.
    Mysterious Stranger: I would have preferred the Lorians to distract each other. But if it forces you to choose between your betrayer and us, I am not above being the distraction..
    Mysterious Stranger: You will be smoked out, and then consumed. With your essence, we will never shy from the light again.

    The Stranger merges into Tiamoth's bones, reanimating the undead dragon. As its eyes gain an even more intense glow, fade to black.

    Unlabeled bubble: WE RISE.




    Post #: 152
    5/24/2026 14:17:47   
      Lorekeeper
    And Pun-isher

     
    Shadowfall II

    The War Between Shadows, part 5





    Empowered by the Mysterious Stranger, the giant dracolich rises over the Desert Wastes. Knights of all factions observe it from a distance, taking cover behind rocks as the the player character arrives.

    <<You>>: Stay behind cover, the dracolich is going wild! Zardspit, I thought we'd caught all the enemy Necromancers before they got here...
    'Emoran Knight: That's still good news. It should mean these undead won't be getting back up faster than we can deal with them. Getting out of here is another story...
    <<You>>: I've been helping our ritualists get to cover. They can team up with mages to cover the retreat while dragon allies distract the big guy. We'll have to go from reinforcing this line to defending from afar.
    Demon Knight: ...You've been moving around a lot more easily than we have. How come that thing never aims for you, or the groups you run with?
    Pria Knight: Now is seriously not the time to make random accusations. If that's true, it's very strange and I'd like an answer, but <<You>> is unquestionably an ally.
    Demon Knight: I'm old enough to remember the western refugees coming through our borders. I remember them crying about heroes who betrayed them to the shadows. Too much of a warning sign to ignore.
    <<You>>: Whatever part of me fighting this thing every step of the way you missed, but I've been too busy doing just that to stand there looking at who is or isn't getting attacked. I took down its defenses myself.
    <<You>>: Now, if it was seriously aiming away from me instead of missing, we'll get to the bottom of it, but it's something we can use to get you out of there and mount a defense.

    If the player is a Pria or 'Emoran Knight:
    Demon Knight: Perhaps I'm too used to treachery from the knights that trained you.
    <<You>>: Then I'm sure you can lead by example and not make threats at the drop of a hat when there are lives on the line.

    If the player is a Demon Knight:
    <<You>>: Now, unless you'd like to find out what Tyranna does to people who waste time bickering when their citizens are in danger, save it for when we get back.

    Otherwise, skip to the next line.
    Demon Knight: ...Fair enough. I apologize.

    Thoralune enters.

    Thoralune: The dracolich's aim isn't the only anomaly. It would be best to not make assumptions until we are out of immediate danger.
    <<You>>: Good to see you, Thoralune. I figured you might be around here. What else did you notice?
    Thoralune: Did you? Is that perceptive or flattering? Well, whatever is animating Tiamoth's remains is not just avoiding you, or at least not ONLY you. In fact, it only ever attacked after being struck first.
    Thoralune: I am NOT saying it should not be attacked. We face sworn enemies of all life here and in all other worlds. They may not be mounting a full scale invasion, but they ARE hostile.
    <<You>>: ...It sounds a little like divine restrictions. Or some way to avoid divine retribution. But if that's their angle... I have an idea of what they're up to. We need to meet up with the defense force NOW.



    WAR!


    War Scroll: The undead Tiamoth rises again! It's even more powerful now, and it's taking everything we have to keep it from breaking free. Battle through one last undead horde to expose weak points and take it down!

    Lucretia: Something is very wrong here. The moment we made the first move against that thing, it started spewing out an even bigger undead force.
    Lucretia: With only two titan dragons and one without a Dragonlord, they can't be out all the time. The undead regroup too fast to keep the advantage they create.
    <<You>>: I'd never even seen a dragon of that size, let alone a dracolich commanding entire undead hordes. It's looking better for us, though. Our own reinforcements are finally here.
    Lucretia: Yeah... And I don't want to imagine how much worse it'd be if you hadn't stopped the Mysterious Necromancers along the way.
    Lucretia: But the Knights are only getting along because they have to, and if we don't bring that dracolich down before it breaks free, it'll be Carnax all over again.
    Lucretia: Sorry, I usually try to keep high spirits, but I'd only heard stories about Tiamoth and... Well, you know how those end.
    <<You>>: Hey. Don't lose hope. There WON'T be a repeat of the Calamity while we're here. We'll figure out a way to make those opportunities count.
    Lucretia: ...Alright. But I'd feel a lot more hope if I knew you're going into battle with some of my advanced potions.
    <<You>>: ...Gah! Are you playing with our heartstrings for sales now?
  • Go / Stay


    Twilly: Everyone is banding together! Twillies won't give up either!
    Twilly: ...There are so many of our friends getting hurt, and they're counting on Twillies, right?
    Twilly: Even if Twillies gets very tired, it's worth getting to see them again!
    Twilly: So if you need healing, I can help you.
  • Heal me, please. / I can handle this!



    25%



    BOSS BATTLE: Wings of Tiamoth

    After battling the boss on the wastes, the player character rests at the western border of Terminus.

    <<You>>: That thing sure doesn't mind trying to kill me now. It almost took me on another trip to the Boatman... Who knows how this would look by the time I got back. I'm not sure of how to do this AND keep an eye out.
    ???: Perhaps I may offer some insight while you take some well earned rest, Chosen.

    Xilar enters from the right.

    <<You>>: Xilar! It's been a long time.
    Xilar: All the more of a pleasure to meet you for it, <<You>>. The Silari will be joining the defense forces, lest we burden others with the protection of our ancestral homeland instead of contributing to the Unity of all Lorians.
    <<You>>: We're happy to have you. What's your advice?
    Xilar: Deceit is my legacy, Chosen. The shade and the ShadowScythe may practice it, but I can see their limitations in plain sight. One cannot recover well from exposure, not without the right perspective.
    Xilar: The others depend entirely on preparation, on breeding such fanaticism that their lies won't be questioned and others will spin the web for them. As you can see, they lack this advantage now
    Xilar: If the ShadowScythe are attempting any manner of deceit, it may not be targeting you. Not beyond enabling themselves to fight you without certain... consequences, be they by your hand or that of my Lords.
    <<You>>: You're right. Reanimating Tiamoth is enough of a distraction that they could be hiding something else, but their power base on Lore is badly eroded. That leaves Erebus... How would this fool them?
    Xilar: Everyone whom Erebus might currently benefit from manipulating is occupied with reacting to their pressure. Any nudges from the shade would alter this response in a way they can read. Ripples.
    <<You>>: Right. Because of their hunter. This really is all about Erebus, then. They're each using us to gain an advantage against the other, and wearing us out in the process.
    <<You>>: We only have a read on the ShadowScythe.
    Xilar: Do you?
    <<You>>: Our leads on Erebus are all over the place, and they're all half baked. I've got a solid idea of how the banishment is affecting their usual movement, and what they need us to do, but that's about it.
    Xilar: You're watching out for lies; for what Erebus can accomplish while unfettered. But when an illusionist knows you're expecting a trick, they will lead you on instead. Watch out for convenient truth instead.
    Xilar: Either something that would be convenient to believe, or an assumption that would be difficult to get rid of.
    <<You>>: Easier said than done. We can keep a closer look on any information we get, but if this is a three way war... We don't have long to expose Erebus. As a third side we can't see, the shade could easily win.
    Xilar: That may just be the first assumption...




    50%


    The player character and Falerin talk near the western border of Terminus..

    <<You>>: I'll want to head back out there as soon as I'm rested, but thank you for stopping by again. We've all missed you a great deal. I understand it takes some serious effort to cover for you so you can see us.
    Falerin: It has been assuredly mutual. There is much I'd like to share, were it not for the pressure of our enemies. I barely have enough time to investigate thoroughly enough to be satisfied in my own assistance.
    <<You>>: Your help has been invaluable, Loremaster. We only have the leads we do thanks to your initial intervention. Don't feel pressured to solve everything yourself... oh, that must sound rich coming from me.
    Falerin: We choose to carry similar burdens in that regard, but protecting you is not one of them. There is much I wish to say to alleviate yours -- That I wish I could take joy in being colleagues, however briefly.
    Falerin: How the bearer shapes the mantle, arduous as the process may be, long as the enduring takes. How deeply we regret that the power remains hidden within you to remain out of our enemies' grasp.
    Falerin: Unfortunately, even this is stretching the time I can spare without causing even greater trouble. We must be expedient. What have you learned since we last met?
    <<You>>: The possessed Tiamoth only attacked when struck. Most likely to avoid trouble with the Pantheon, but it must have cost them some shots at Erebus. I'm fairly sure they know my... secret as well.
    Falerin: The technicality serves them nonetheless; they can argue to be only going after Erebus... Who just so happened to lead them close enough for Lorians to react. It serves them best when it comes to you.
    <<You>>: Then it's clear what they're trying to accomplish against us. Talking to Xilar gave me a good idea of their strategy is against Erebus as well. Their goal at least seems simple: Killing or consuming Erebus.
    <<You>>: Meanwhile with Erebus, we have an idea of individual goals, but not what they may be doing NOW. The ShadowScythe's weapon has his scent, but our own trail for that thing went cold at Mt. Thrall.
    Falerin: Every strategy begins with a victory condition. You know that of one enemy. Erebus has many goals, but survival is the only one we know that is directly accomplished by the ShadowScythe's defeat
    Falerin: I am inclined to suggest that the shade has no plan to 'win' this war. In fact, I would go as far as to consider they may be aiding you in some manner. That allows for greater influence over the outcome.
    Falerin: Erebus was cautious in aiding against Entropy, going as far as to hide information we would find regardless. That suggests victory on our own terms would put us in a position of advantage against them.
    Falerin: That I am now fully involved in a chronomantic war on foreign soil, even if in self defense, further strains my attention for Caelestian affairs. This compromises my position and benefits both enemies.
    Falerin: Against the ShadowScythe, they only need to play it safe. Against Lore... Whether to turn finite failure into eventual victory, or for some other purpose... perhaps Webb truly does plan to be defeated.






    75%



    At the desert, Tiamoth's ribcage is shown low over the ground. A giant Stranger-shaped portal opens at the front of it, beginning to unleash spells and minions.

    Cut to a desert wastes scene, with the player character and Raikenin entering as allies retreat.

    <<You>>: It's getting reinforcements again?! ...Hang on. Does it hold still every time it does that?
    Raikenin: Their old champion was grown on an exissting conduit. It only needed to expand it. This one iss an affront to nature. Taxing, even for an elder shadow. There may be an opportunity to sseize in this...
    <<You>>: ...I don't often top my own list of insane attempts, but can you do something about it if I keep whatever pours out busy?
    Raikenin: This flow iss the heart of the haunting. Without it, there will be no new reinforcements. I will gladly dissrupt it.
    <<You>>: I'll buy you as much time as I can. Let's do this.

    BOSS FIGHT: Heart of Tiamoth

    Cut to the entrance of Terminus, where Cerin is speaking to a Guardian.

    Guardian: How I would rate it? Why, I would say that being forced to collaborate has left them with no time to act on prejudice. Oh, they still preen and huff, but now it goes no further than banter.
    Cerin: They have had no short succession of foes that enforced cooperation, but it's reassuring to see that such doesn't fall apart outside of the battlefield. Of course, that goes only for those who deployed together.
    Guardian: Those risk their life for each other every bit as much as for their own pride. That should be all the example their citizens need, if not for the pesky politics and leaders casting a different light on it...
    Cerin: Indeed...
    Guardian: Ah, but that's neither a job for Guardians nor Knight companies. If you truly don't need a contingent to travel safely here, I'm no one to question your decision to send them back to Deren.
    Cerin: Had I waited longer to send them back, we would perhaps struggle less against such overwhelming odds, but that is moot now. Our heroes are striking decisive blows when opportunities open.
    Guardian: Indeed! To have clipped its wings already, we may just live through this after all. But I must depart now, cunning Knight. It would ruffle some feathers if they caught me chatting instead of helping.

    The Guardian leaves.

    Cerin (Thinking): How curiously hard to read... The surface thoughts eluded me entirely. Unless...
    Cerin (Thinking): But why would you wish for unity? Surely, keeping Deren divided benefits you as well... Ah, I see now, Webb. You wish Entropy to be foiled *now*.
    Cerin (Thinking): Then there is more to this civil strife than using the Brilhado against King Tralin, and it still serves a purpose after stealing the youngest orb.



    100%



    Tiamoth is shown taking hits from siege weapons; projectiles imbued with fire and light. After it fires back, one volley finally makes it slump.

    Dialogue bubbles from offscreen:

    Guardian: Good hits! It's starting to falter!
    Demon Knight: Hundredth time is the charm...?
    'Emoran Knight: Don't let up! Raise shields while we reload!

    Tiamoth fires a beam offscreen (Assuming this release is heavy enough without an animation for blowing up enchanted catapults/trebuchets).

    Pria Knight: Lords, we're hit! Siege down! SIEGE DOWN! Get the wounded out of here!

    The head drops onto the ground.

    <<You>>: It's down...! Time to finish this.

    BOSS BATTLE: Head of Tiamoth

    Tiamoth abruptly rises and breaks free, taking a menacing step to drag itself forward, only to fall inert and eject a shadowy shape that bounces hard before crashing down.

    Cut to the desert wastes scene, where the Mysterious Stranger enters from the right.

    Mysterious Stranger: ...Well, then. I don't suppose it's too late to parley.

    Fade to black with a "TO BE CONCLUDED" splash.

    • Post #: 153
    5/24/2026 14:53:29   
      Lorekeeper
    And Pun-isher

     
    I Name You Deceit

    The War Between Shadows finale





    Mysterious Stranger: ...Well, then. I don't suppose it's too late to parley.

    The player character enters.

    <<You>>: It's too late for whatever sick joke that is. You failed again. Your invasion is over.
    Mysterious Stranger: Invasion? You'll find that I'm guilty of no such thing.
    <<You>>: You brought an undead army into our world, for at least the second time. You raised the bones of Tiamoth and turned the region upside down with it. What do you call THAT if not invasion?
    Mysterious Stranger: Self defense, of course. The laws of your world have proven to be quite strictly enforced; we wouldn't have gotten away with raising a hand without being struck first... This time, at least.
    Mysterious Stranger: Why, I have even gone out of my way NOT to expose your little secret in the process. I learned my lesson about messing with you directly, hidden demigod.
    <<You>>: ...It was you trying to possess me through that Doombinder, wasn't it?
    Mysterious Stranger: Oh, I am not quite so highly... ranked, let's say. But I HAVE been cleaning up after that rude attempt, as you've no doubt seen. We are strictly here to leash the one who supplanted my kin.
    Mysterious Stranger: By my orders, we were to strictly hunt down our rogue, but it resulted in quite the great misunderstanding. However, we will happily leave your world once we have taken the impostor.
    <<You>>: Alternatively, I'm going to call your bluff. *You* are clearly weakened, and *I'm* not even going to PRETEND to be that naive, so my foot is going up that cloak and you are going back out to the Void.
    Mysterious Stranger: Ah ah ah! I would really like to do this diplomatically... Once you've blown off some steam with my bodyguards.

    Two Dissonant Dracoliches land to guard the Stranger.

    TWO BATTLES: Dissonant Dracolich. 1.5 power each. No heal afterwards.


    Mysterious Stranger: Looking a little worse for wear there, Lorian... Shall we talk without violence now? My search for the usurper shade is over. For as wide of a net as I cast to cut off all escape, the effort was in vain.

    Various knights and Guardians enter behind the player character. The mage Guardian casts a spell on the player. Full heal.

    <<You>>: Thanks for the assistance, but stand back. You might have punched through the undead, but trust me, you still don't know just how dangerous this guy is.
    Mysterious Stranger: Oh, but they do. They even know why I couldn't find our 'friend'.... And why we're fighting in the first place. Here I was, trying to cut off all escape so that no aspect of Erebus could run or hide...
    Mysterious Stranger: Neglecting the perfect hiding spot. Clever, clever shade, I'm not afraid to admit it. Led us out to plain sight and into the conflict we tried so hard to avoid, while the hunter chased a false trail.
    <<You>>: You picked up on all of that just now? I'll admit that you're smarter than you smell.
    Mysterious Stranger: No, I did not. If we're to put this in terms that this brash hero can understand, we clearly need to drop the charade. I've already found you... Seth Cay Dhows, was that your mockery of a name?

    The Knights and Guardians turn into copies of Erebus, then merge.

    Erebus: How very rude of you to say that before the one who named me. I'll not have any of that from estranged un-family. Sure, you fancy yourself cuckoos with your chronic habit of stepping in on others' nests...
    Erebus: ...but this is as low as refusing to acknowledge an adoptive parent to their face. My name is Erebus.
    <<You>>: Please don't ever imply that I'm anything like a parent to you ever again. Just... Fine, you know what? I'll bite. Let's play nice. We'll even have introductions.
    <<You>>: I'm <<You>>. Erebus, this is Grandiloquent Maniac. Grandiloquent Maniac, Erebus.
    Mysterious Stranger: Your alleged new identity is irrelevant, shade. The one you *stole* is why I'm here. The only introduction that you need is that the vacancy you caused is not yours to fill.
    Mysterious Stranger: I am THE Mysterious Stranger now.
    <<You>>: That would sound more menacing if Erebus hadn't *obliterated* your predecessor without even trying when they met.
    Mysterious Stranger: The shade knows that won't work this time. You see, this is why I'm not at... full performance. We don't lightly deploy a weapon meant to devour one of our own.
    Mysterious Stranger: Duality is not our paradigm, even one that no power of Erebus can overwhelm. Containing it alone is dangerous. And so we never release one unsupervised... Or only release ONE.

    The ShadowScythe Virophage, a dark monstrosity with a mawed spiral of light and dark energies leading into its abdomen, emerges from the Mysterious Stranger.

    Mysterious Stranger: Step aside, little godling. We will not harm you willingly, thus you cannot bring your flame to bear without consequence. Our forces can only spare the rest for so long. Let us have the shade.
    <<You>>: ...No. I don't care what loophole you're trying to exploit, but I'm not about to let your kind get your hands on power like that. Don't think for a SECOND that I'm happy to defend you, Erebus, but get back.
    Erebus: Oh my. Dropping the charade indeed.
    <<You>>: Enough nonsense. I'm going to finish this.

    Checkpoint.
    BOSS BATTLE : Shadowscythe Virophage (Stage 1, then full heal)




    Between the battles, a Deren scene shows Tralin at his throne, with Drakath standing before him.

    Tralin: No, we will have to keep from involving you any further. I am grateful for your defense of our cities during my journey to the Brilhado fortress, but it is this very aid that the insurgency's propaganda targets.
    Drakath: ...Your Highness. You have been through this before, so I will not question your wisdom, but I find it difficult to suddenly remain idle after becoming the cause for further attacks on your name.
    Tralin: I am afraid that you have joined me as the target of slander. When they failed to do much damage with the rumors of foreign royalty proving a more dedicated defender of my people than myself...
    Tralin: Their angle changed. Abruptly at that. A contingency disguised as the changing lens of the fickle masses. They present you as a Brilhado spy. More extreme rumors claim you remain under their direct control.
    Drakath: ...They want some people to think me a hero, and others the proxy of Brilhado infiltrators?.
    Tralin: Close. A territorial dispute was a solid source of tension to foster. Initially, this only worked on those waiting for a cause. Those already eager to radicalize under the guise of pride and love for our kingdom.
    Tralin: Low hanging fruit or not, it gave those influenced by Entropy a base of influence that would discredit the notion of peace with the Brilhado, or there even being a new administration of their base.
    Tralin: Thus they go from the dispute to poisoning the well, then from fearmongering to questioning the dedication of my rule, then to rallying a militia to take on the Brilhado so that I can look the part of the tyrant.
    Tralin: After all, their very king stood before them, in defense of those they were led to believe would attack them first if unchallenged. Yet given that this failed, and they were unable to use you as a figurehead...
    Drakath: ...They want me to be a scapegoat instead, so that they can change their approach to the role of loyalists defending their king. They disenfranchise part of their own following and turn it on itself.
    Tralin: And thus the civil strife perpetuates itself. Sir Cerin is sending back his retinue of Knights after reporting a reduced need for deterrent force, but the added protection of our citizens is only one step.
    Tralin: However, we would do well to prepare to anticipate our enemy's next propaganda before they arrive.
    Drakath: What is their next step?
    Tralin: That would be happening to find out about your health, of course. There are only so many fainting spells you can hide, prince Drakath.
    Drakath: ...I...

    TWO BATTLES: power:0.5 enemies from the war pool, full heal, then
    BOSS FIGHT: Shadowscythe Virophage (Stage 2, then full heal)




    The shadow of a large winged shape flies over the entrance to the Alpha outpost from part 2 of the saga, then looms over from the left.

    ENTROPY: Perfect. The Knights' removal of this remnant is undone. That alone makes losing access to Memory Prime worth it...
    Door: SECURITY OVERRIDE ACCEPTED.
    ENTROPY: Working perfectly, too. The Devourer's attention is slipping. And how kind of his Network's rogues to retreat so sloppily as to lead me here. They WOULD take an interest in the place, but without Ojo...
    ENTROPY: They couldn't open it AND restore security... Hm. Tracks...Transmorphers were here as well?! I sent none, the independents have no such ambitions. Then some remain loyal to the shade.
    ENTROPY: They were driven away without entering. Good. They cannot have reported the base's contents to Erebus just yet, but I must finish before they return. The project data will take time to extract...

    Fade to black. Reload the scene without the shadow, then the next dialogue bubble comes from the door as the scene shakes.

    ENTROPY: DELETED? HOW...?!

    Checkpoint.
    TWO BATTLES: power:0.5 enemies from the war pool, full heal, then
    BOSS FIGHT: Shadowscythe Virophage (Stage 3, then full heal)


    Scene - Safiria's Castle, Darkened Desert Wastes for the fights.
    Characters - Safiria

    At Safiria's castle, the queen is looking out a window while receiving a report.

    Safiria: The White Order is to take him in, then? Very well. Lady Evina is not one to make frivolous requests. I will take her word about the situation. Lorelei.
    Handmaiden (Offscreen): Yes, my Queen?
    Safiria: Relay this to your sisters. We will omit his... existence from our fledglings for their own safety and to maintain a necessary subtlety. I will not be so presumptuous as to believe we have plugged all leaks.
    Safiria: If any encounter him or come upon the information, they will be informed and sworn to secrecy. No threats. A geas will do. I will not react to the threat of Donovan by becoming a juvenile tyrant myself.
    Safiria: All agents who already know of either identity are to keep their distance, as they would with any known members of the White Order or its counterpart. That is as far as we go. The lycans already know, but...
    Safiria: I would like to think their instincts will be enough. With Evina's influence, it may even provide leverage to draw their little scion back into the fold... That would be a pleasant resolution, if a grueling attempt.
    Lorelei (Offscreen): It will be done, Your Majesty. However... Am I free to ask a question?
    Safiria: Always, my dear.
    Lorelei (Offscreen): After our long history of war, why are you hoping for the werewolves to regain an ally? Is it to deny a lieutenant to Donovan?
    Safiria: *sigh* I suppose that this lesson had to be repeated eventually, but few seem willing to accept it. I am to take responsibility, of course. Sit, forget the formality.
    Safiria: It's exhausting, dear, to hate for a thousand years. I am no fonder of one upstart than the next, but I could not be so consumed. At some point into this endlessly quelling and reigniting conflict, I... stopped.
    Safiria: Long ago, before our night became eternal, there was another war. One lost to the Devourer's passing, but not to be forgotten. The lesson was too important.
    Safiria: The history you know is no less true than what was lost. In your memory, I have been Queen of the vampires for as long as anyone remembers. A ruler by the sole claim to First Blood.
    Safiria: However, I remember a different time as well. An age of hubris. Of betrayal. A time in which it was by my own hand that ours was the only empire of night. What little I spared, the Devourer did not. Hatred...
    Safiria: I reserve it for the memory of those of us who razed fiefdoms where vampires protected humans. ...I don't expect peace. But I wonder how much more than the initial conflict is owed to the shade.

    Checkpoint.
    TWO BATTLES: power:0.5 enemies from the war pool, full heal, then
    BOSS FIGHT: Shadowscythe Virophage (Stage 4, then full heal)



    Back in the desert wastes, the Mysterious Stranger is now exposed without the Virophage. The player character stands between them and Erebus.

    Mysterious Stranger: ...YOU accomplished that without divine power?! You have been nothing short of an oaf bull rushing the issue throughout...

    Falerin appears.

    Falerin: Very well performed, <<You>>.
    <<You>>: Thank you, Falerin. It had been a while since I'd met someone I could try the fool act on, I was starting to worry that I might have gotten too rusty.

    Falerin turns into Lanfiré.

    Lanfiré: As a matter of fact, we're going to have to take this from the top. If the seams on your transition to and from inanity were any sharper, your act would be the most chafing set of underwear in this multiverse...

    Falerin returns to normal.

    Erebus: And here I was actually enjoying the show. Here for the satisfaction of banishing me again, then? How like you to do this just as I could finally take *second* scalp... or mantle... scalple? Nurse!

    Charasuke Ryuusei enters.

    Ryuusei: You will have to settle for a doctor, shade. I'm afraid that this time it's you who is dealing with but a fragment of the Loremaster... Who was kind enough to serve as a reference to expedite my own arrival.
    Ryuusei: As of you, invader... My Lord The'Galin respects a good use of a loophole, but your affiliation's precedent speaks for itself. You were on thin ice the moment you brought a force of this scale into our borders.
    Ryuusei: Only the scale of your meddling saves you from uncreation, but my lord requires a permanent solution to your murder of innocents. Thanks to Erebus's failures and the Chosen's acting, we have one.
    Mysterious Stranger: ...Do you, now? I am but a representative, and you may just be rid of me. But a permanent solution to something more ancient than divinity itself? This is a height of arrogance I want to see.
    Erebus: ...I see <<You>> has become an ornithologist in <<his/her>> own right. Heh... Should I be personally proud?

    Ryuusei raises his cane. A spell circle appears in the sky.

    Ryuusei: To reenact a banishment that has been circumvented is inconvenient. The abuser tends to alter their identity to remain. However, on this occasion we can simply... expand the definition.
    Ryuusei: From strictly casting out the entity and identity of "Erebus"... To that of the Mysterious Stranger. That would be far too vague...
    Ryuusei: If not for the fact that you were so readily goaded into defining yourself as, and I quote: "THE Mysterious Stranger". By my reckoning, there are now two such beings on Lore with a legitimate claim to that.
    Ryuusei: Now that this identity is added to the terms of Erebus's banishment... Neither is allowed on Lore. Our world will no longer be your hide and seek arena..
    <<You>>: Meanwhile, Erebus may not be trapped in the Shadow Universe anymore... But there isn't really anywhere else that you can be truly safe from these blankets.
    Erebus: Very clever... I AM frustrated, in both senses of the word. Once, I would have been incensed too, but I have been expecting this since my return. Preparing, even. In the short term, loss was inevitable.
    Erebus: It's a pity that I won't be around to see a mutual friend's face when he realizes the victory I extract from this defeat. Do look me up if you ever venture beyond Lore again, birdie... I'll be waiting.
    Mysterious Stranger: ...There will be others. Even without me, this world and all others will return to the peace before the darkness. I have seen it. If not by my hand, then they will fall to yours! FOR THE SHA-

    The Mysterious Stranger and a gaggle of Erebus are drawn through the magic circle, which then disappears.

    <<You>>: ...I almost can't believe it's over. It will take such a long time to repair all the harm they've done... But if Erebus is gone for good, then we're finally not caught between two shadows.






    From a distance, Atlas Maxwell can be seen alone after watching the scene.

    Maxwell: The doctor really has replaced Cartwright. The sacrifice may not be a lie, then. It's hard to picture him serving evil nowadays... But the Devourer, protecting Lore?
    Maxwell: His servants seeking to avoid the loss of life? The means of these so-called "heroes" are limited indeed... Even outside of this fallout. None venture into the Void, still?
    Maxwell: If even the Order's technology is so limited... Hmm...


    The End

    Post #: 154
    5/24/2026 15:05:34   
      Lorekeeper
    And Pun-isher

     
    Necromancer Order




    Introductory Scroll- For years, those studying death itself have been forced to scatter. Turned into a scapegoat by the Order of the Mantle, hunted down by the Paladin Order during its fall from grace, and left nigh powerless when the Ley Line of Life and Death burst... Little remained of their old power but a dwindling supply of artifacts.

    Cut off from the Network and the Brilhado, others have grown desperate. Many have been bargaining with friends and fiends in high places, performing ghastly experiments, dissecting anything that might promise power... Seeking a shortcut back to power. The Mantle bearers entertain no half measures, grasping for everything and everyone with promise.

    A single figure stands apart from the corrupted and the desperate. Patient, resolute, principled. Seeking not mere power but knowledge, and an understanding of death itself. She has been waiting for the right moment to turn her betrayers' greed against them, with a hero at her side to redefine what it means to be a...

    Necromancer






    Scene - Obsidian Sanctum. Kaley's personal study is expanded with the following features as level milestones are reached.
    Assets -
  • Perch for Eapoe, Kaley's raven.
  • Added on level 5: A small silver prism on a black tripod. Popup: An experimental focus to disperse tenebromantic bindings on enslaved undead.
  • Added on level 10: Large blue crystal with shades of different blue hues, inside a runed casing. Popup: One of your own foci, used to store your anima to later reabsorb it.
  • Added on level 15: An alchemy set with a Liminal Mantle mask propped up against it. Popup: Is brewing health potions for your students wholesome or concerning?
  • Added on level 20: A rack meant to hold five masks. Liminal, Scythe, Shadow, shards of a Void-purple mask, and an empty space. Popup: Taken from the Inner Circle as trophy and research. How long have they been falling apart?
  • Added with Advanced Gear: Kore's scythe, sans energy effect, mounted. Popup: Kore said she'd be watching. She sounded sad, but hopeful. You don't plan to disappoint her.



    Hub Dialogue


    Necromancer Quests
    If Necromancer class level is 0:
    Kaley Obsidia: Welcome to my abode, $player. How flattering that you've decided to take my invitation... Your timing is ideal. I am pioneering a new method of Necromancy, but can't very well throw the doors open just yet.
    Kaley Obsidia: Not with our mutual 'friends' of the Mantle about. Playing Necromancers against each other, smuggling artifacts via bandit networks, hunting down any scholar with relevant research. Charming, really.
    Kaley Obsidia: They're usually too scattered to counter effectively. Fortunately for us, that's changing. Recent events and the rise of a new Paladin order have them on the run. Shocking news to you, I'm sure.
    Kaley Obsidia: Between that pressure and making a big show of breaking into their arcane communications, I've got them thinking that someone has been selling secrets. Their leaders are meeting to solve this.
    Kaley Obsidia: The poor fools are jumping at shadows, looking for traitors, and waiting for some sort of invasion or backstabbing plot. Well, far be it from me to disappoint. Be prepared for a practical learning experience.

    If Necromancer class level is greater than zero:
    Kaley Obsidia: Have you finished your preliminary studies, $player? Good.

    Either option opens the quest menu.

    Necromancer Gear

    (After closing the shop)
    Kaley Obsidia: My stock is limited, but I trust you'll find something to your liking. Please don't take the prices personally... Enchanting is expensive and rather time consuming.

    Become a Necromancer/Restore Necromancer Class

    (Become a Necromancer)
    Kaley Obsidia: Necromancy is *not* for the faint of heart. It'll make you few friends, and many enemies. If knowledge is worth the prejudice you'll face and you can be principled in its pursuit, I'll take you in as a pupil.

    (Restore class)
    Kaley Obsidia: Oh? Are you prepared to focus on your studies again? Delightful, you'll be known as a Necromancer once again.

    Reset Levels

    Kaley Obsidia: Having studied under me before will ease your transition into the new methods, but relying on talent alone isn't good in the long run. If you'd like to review your knowledge of the fundamentals, I'll help.
    Kaley Obsidia: Now, my time is limited, so I'm a very strict tutor. I won't let you skip any steps when you start from the basics. You'll have to put in all the work from step one, so are you sure you want to start over?
  • Reset my level./I'm fine.

    Necromancer Lore

    Kaley Obsidia: The matter of what makes a Necromancer has been its own conflict of late. What do you want to know?


    What is a Necromancer?

    Kaley Obsidia: In the strictest sense, a Necromancer is a magic wielder focused on the dynamics of death and manipulation of life force. Traditionally, this refers to the more specific field of undeath.
    Kaley Obsidia: With some very rare exceptions, Necromancers have historically been arcane practitioners who drew from the Ley Line of Life and Death, a flow that shaped mana in a way perfectly suited for anima manipulation.
    Kaley Obsidia: It was essentially effortless metamagic, cutting into the effort of spellcraft. Millennia of dependence made its loss break every model and paradigm. The Order of the Mantle has been looking for substitutes.
    Kaley Obsidia: Pacts with hostile entities, blood rituals, shadow channeling... So long as it's compatible with their subjugation and control, they'll take any shortcut. For my own part, I'm a researcher first and foremost.
    Kaley Obsidia: I study life, death, and undeath as part of a greater whole. There's power in this path, yes, but my goal is understanding. Learning more every day without having to worry about any more pointless wars.

    New Necromancer Order?

    Kaley Obsidia: You're curious about why I've placed my sanctum separate from Granemor? To be completely honest, I feel stodgy even starting an order, let alone calling it that, but it's best to be organized in advance.
    Kaley Obsidia: I'm not withdrawing my patronage, mind. The people of Granemor need all the support they can get, and the Knights have been wonderful. Besides, it's my home. Still, I'm only comfortable doing this privately.
    Kaley Obsidia: General Herous has been a stalwart leader, but his excesses cross unacceptable lines. I've made it clear that there's a limit to the knowledge I'm prepared to share until I see consistent evidence of improvement.
    Kaley Obsidia: Which takes us to what you see here. A private study for the expansion of my new method of Necromancy. A new method for the direct manipulation of the practitioner's life force and that of willing undead.
    Kaley Obsidia: Combining some aspects of Brilhado methods with ancient anima manipulation techniques, I have developed a means of unbinding your anima recovery to wield the excess as part of new magical feats.

    Order of the Mantle

    Kaley Obsidia: Yes, our many-named, monochrome "friends". The loss of the Ley Line hit them hard, mind, but they ensured that every other Necromancer took the brunt of the damage by leaving us exposed to war.
    Kaley Obsidia: They play at ineffability, but there is SOME structure to their organization. Enough to maintain a truce centered on their one neutral sanctuary. The Orcus Archive. Lore's oldest library of necromantic knowledge.
    Kaley Obsidia: The Archive is the designated meeting point of their leaders in times of crisis. I've learned its location, and the structure of their organization, through liberating undead minions and working with turncoats.
    Kaley Obsidia: It's where the current 'Mantles' are converging. Surprisingly, there is a... potentially redeemable faction. The Liminal Mantle. They strictly study death itself, and are mostly confined as guardians of the archive.
    Kaley Obsidia: Keeping the Archive's neutrality gives them SOME authority, but the other Mantles have always followed the path of least resistance. Subjugation of the dead, shortcuts to power. Many knives and a hard place.
    Kaley Obsidia: The Scythe Mantle, you've already encountered. We owe them the Calamity. The Shadow Mantle went from being puppets to experimenting with the power of his home plane.
    Kaley Obsidia: There are loosely affiliated remnants of Mantles, fallen or otherwise excised, and scattered members who don't have a specialty or affiliation. Typically fodder that turned traitor and joined them.
    Kaley Obsidia: I apologize if that was a lengthy explanation, but there is a lot to unpack about them... And the only way to summarize my opinion of the organization as a whole would be a fireball to the face.

    Back to Town





    Quest Menu


    Necromancer Training!

    Mouseover Text: Go on a random mission to increase your Necromancer level!

    If Necromancer level = 0, play this dialogue when clicking on Necromancer Training. Otherwise, skip to the scroll.

    Kaley Obsidia: I've managed to forge false identities for the two of us within the Orcus Archive. We'll be posing as members of the Liminal Mantle, assigned to internal security. It's a very... limiting role, outside of one circumstance.
    Kaley Obsidia: The Liminal Mantle is about the one way for a captured Necromancer to escape a very unpleasant existence. This makes them ruthless peacekeepers, because of how vicious and powerful their peers are.
    Kaley Obsidia: We will use this to our advantage. Archivists would be questioned for starting fights, but never for *finishing* them. This alibi would be stretched against enemy leaders, but we can't use the same masks forever.
    Kaley Obsidia: It won't be hard to push them into conflict, but our enemies are already expecting trouble, so they'll be prepared with all sorts of curses, wards and countermeasures when we push them. Watch out for that.
    Kaley Obsidia: I'll work on spreading our influence to make sure we can assume different identities with every strike. You exploit the enforcement system to take out enemy leaders as we expose them. Ready to begin?


    The scroll uses the following template according to the generated quest, with each variable pulling from a corresponding name list below.

    A potential or ongoing threat to the neutrality of the Orcus Archive has been identified. Through the reports issued by <SNITCH>, the Liminal Mantle has been informed of the following disruption of our peace accords. Evidence suggests that the <ENEMY TYPE> known as <BOSS> has compromised the peace within our halls by <INFRACTION>.

    In the current situation, any conflict could bring about our destruction if allowed to escalate. Due to the stance of other Mantle authorities, Archivists are expected to use all necessary force to neutralize this threat in the event of noncompliance. Proceed with haste.
  • Go now!/I need some rest first.



    Level 5 Quest


    Kaley Obsidia: Very good work so far, $player. Your initial grasp of the new method is solid, and the Liminal Mantle is busy enough with settling the security incidents that they're not picking up on us.
    Kaley Obsidia: Not that most Mantle Necromancers would be able to pick up on this power quickly enough to distinguish us from the crowd. Their wards aren't tuned to this, and we use anima overflow very efficiently.
    $player: Their own powers are distinct and loud enough to cover our traces with longer lasting interference, but these haven't exactly been quiet incidents. I've already been involved in a lot of fights, that'll draw SOME attention.
    Kaley Obsidia: Par-anoia for the course. So long as you don't get exposed in the process, solving minor incidents actually solidifies your cover. We'll have to be more careful when we move on to major ones, though.
    Kaley Obsidia: Which we'll want to, eventually. And by 'eventually', I mean now. Authorities from each Mantle are all settled, but they haven't met yet. The Archive will be in high security for weeks first, in case they were followed.
    Kaley Obsidia: They'll be jumping at shadows. Especially after I ensure the Shadow Mantle leaders get a positively *incendiary* report about their peers and hosts while a certain Liminal Mantle enforcer approaches...
  • I'm ready! / I should prepare first.

    Level 10 Quest


    Kaley Obsidia: I'm impressed. My expectations were already mostly high, but this performance is at least months ahead of what I would expect experienced magi to achieve. It seems you're a natural when it comes to death.
    $player: ...You know, you're one of the only people who can manage to make that sound like a compliment.
    Kaley Obsidia: It won't make your scholarly progress any faster; there are only so many hours in a day. The rate at which your anima recovers, though, could be a research subject in and of itself. It's a little concerning, frankly.
    Kaley Obsidia: However, we're busy enough as is. Beheading the Shadow Mantle hasn't stopped it; not that I expected it to. Silas's eagerness to overrule them has left the faction without direction, but that won't last forever,
    Kaley Obsidia: The fact that their thralls are the only ones I have no reliable way of freeing makes them our top priority target. So, while they're exposed enough to have many members here... We have to seize the distraction.
    $player: You managed to convince Silas that the remnants of the Scythe Mantle turned on his entire faction. If we just sit by, that'll cause SOME friction, but probably stay a rumor.. What if we were to make it more than that?
    Kaley Obsidia: If I didn't know better, $player, I'd suspect you've been peeking at my notes. I do have just the right idea, and we have a briefing to attend. We had better learn our new alibis before acting again.
  • I'm ready! / I should prepare first.

    Level 15 Quest


    $player: If your next plan involves bait, we're switching roles this time.
    Kaley Obsidia: Surely you can't blame me for putting your improvisation skills to good use, $player. You found the shortest possible route to cement the infighting between our enemies.
    $player: The Scythe and Shadow Mantles aren't going to get along any time soon, which means we don't need to provoke individual incidents anymore. It would've still been a smoother run if you'd told me about the cursed artifacts.
    Kaley Obsidia: Oh, definitely, but there would've been less potential gain if we'd waited. The Scythe leader starting to snag Liminal Mantle members to try and personally break them is a major betrayal on its own...
    Kaley Obsidia: ...but we need both rivals to weaken each other before the Liminal Mantle takes either one down, so that neither can take the chance to overpower the Archive's guardians. You've ensured they'll both lack coordination.
    Kaley Obsidia: Not only that, they specifically lost it when their last direction was turning on each other. Now we can have enough mayhem to cover for taking away their minion advantage, and the setup for our final preparation.
    Kaley Obsidia: It's time to capitalize on the influence we've built within the Liminal Mantle. To convince everyone who has been hunting for a conspiracy to join one instead. If anyone can help me redeem them, it's you.

  • Go / Stay

    Level 20 Quest


    Kaley Obsidia: The infighting has finally died down. The treachery of the Mantles is exposed, and the trial of the Scythe members is beginning soon.
    $player: We know that trial will be a farce, and we even know which councillors in the Inner Circle are selling out to the Scythe.
    $player: But with the farce being held so soon, how do we tie the last loose end? The remainder of the Scythe Mantle thinks they're about to have an easy coup, but the Shadow Mantle expects to have their chance AFTER this.
    Kaley Obsidia: Multitasking is a myth for most, and an art for me. I've already taken care of it.
    $player: Oh?
    Kaley Obsidia: Our little rebellion did well enough to catch a few moral enough ears in the Inner Circle. Spend enough time in the Mantle, though, and you learn to pretend to be anything *but* moral.
    Kaley Obsidia: While you worked on finally ending all the open conflict, our insiders pretended to mirror their peers' plot. They invited our Shadow friends to the party.
    Kaley Obsidia: Just hide outside the chamber, like we planned... Then let them in. Act like you're just letting them barge in, then follow behind them and do what you do best.
    $player: ...Remind me to never get on your bad side.
    Kaley Obsidia: If this works out, $player... You won't need a reminder.


  • Go / Stay


    Advanced Quest


    Kaley Obsidia: Time to move, $player. I just got an urgent message from Cenara that someone left Darkovia and is making a beeline towards the Archive with a squad of trolls and large creatures in tow.
    $player: No stops, no signs of where they mustered, just suddenly moving straight in that direction as if they know exactly where they're going?
    Kaley Obsidia: Exactly. I'm thinking that our 'competition' is making their final move at long last. Evidently their end game is not as... precise as ours, though.
    $player: I'll say. That sounds less like a takeover and more like a siege. ...Wait, who else outside of the Necromancer Order knows about the Archive?
    Kaley Obsidia: Just Cenara. I did say she's like my sister, and we can keep an eye on possible threats for each other. I insisted that she doesn't try anything on her own, so she's on her way as well.
    Kaley Obsidia: Whoever this is has been slipping under our notice all along. That means they're both a serious menace and very unpredictable. Let's get a welcoming party ready.
  • Go / Stay


    Necromancer Training


    All random quest backgrounds are interiors of the Orcus Archive. The player fights the standard four battles with heals every other fight. Boon seizing rolls precede the boss battle, resulting in status effects being applied during the fight.


    Enemy pools (Name lists on the reply post)

    Scythe Ritualist: Undead and magi given the Doom/ShadowScythe tags by the 'Doom Pact' effect, with the description 'This enemy is a wielder of subject of necromancy powered by a pact with sinister spirits from beyond.'

    Shadow Ritualist: Shadow monsters and magi. Enemies are tagged as Shadows by the effect 'Direct Tenebromancer', with the description: "This enemy is powered or contaminated by reckless use of collapsed Shadow power!"

    Thrall: General menacing looking monsters, meant to represent battle thralls let loose within the Archive. The boss is an undead knight or big (Non-burrowing) monster.

    Curse/Boon rolls

    Before facing the boss in each repeatable quest, players are informed of a trap laid by the enemy (Random battle circumstance). A scroll reads "Beware! Your mark is protected by a trap, or has turned a focus point into a battleground that favors them! Unless you do something about it, the following effect will be in place: <EFFECT>."

    This results in a choice between three buttons:

  • Seize Power: Turn the enemy's effect against them or otherwise seize control of their power site, gaining a beneficial effect!
    Attempting a roll to seize a purely beneficial status condition (Difficult roll, threshold based on the relative benefit).
  • Magical Mayhem: If taking control seems unlikely, even the odds by throwing their magics out of control!
    Choosing a combination of a positive and negative effect at no cost.
  • Dispel: Take cover and attempt to nullify the effect hindering your approach before you're noticed!

    Rolls are randomly INT, END, or CHA.

    INT roll title: Arcane Analysis!
    INT roll description: This is a competently concealed effect, or being cast very quickly. Can you figure it out in time for combat?

    END roll title: Concentration Check!
    END roll description: The enemy's traps are protected by painful countermeasures! Can you quietly endure them?

    CHA roll title: Subversion!
    CHA roll description: It's not a trap, but an undead servant casting the effect! Can you free or dismiss them?


    Name Pools

    Snitch 
    
"Steve",
"the Janitor Mantle",
"the Circle",
"Shadow Mantle representatives",
"Scythe Mantle representatives",
"ghostly sentries",
"Sylith's messengers",
"Brilhado refugees",
"Theon Notches",
"Archive alchemists"


    Infraction 
    
"committing unauthorized battery within the Archive",
"leaking sensitive security information",
"forging security clearances",
"interrogating Archive prisoners without clearance",
"performing unregulated tenebromancy within Archive walls",
"attempting to open inadequately obscured portals",
"failing to elude hostile pursuit while retreating",
"provoking conflict within the Archive",
"engaging in espionage",
"being Steve",
"soliciting aberrant flatbread combinations"


    Ritualist names (Both types) 
    
"Steve",
"Malcanth",
"Vana the Soul-Stained",
"Rune-Eater",
"Chanter Rogan",
"Hexweaver Qant",
"The Empty Mantle",
"Johnson",
"Iadomsa the Paranoid",
"Threadcutter Victoria"


    Thrall 
    
"Steve",
"The Fettered",
"Scorn",
"Scourge",
"Crown Eater",
"Neverborn",
"The Example",
"Broken Osha",
"Evon the Punisher",
"Puffles"
    • Post #: 155
    5/24/2026 15:13:36   
      Lorekeeper
    And Pun-isher

     
    Triple Crossing

    Necromancer Level 5 Quest



    At the Orcus Archive, Shadow Mantle members meet in a dimly lit room, where a scroll sits on the magical table.

    Silas: Perturbing. I had meant to blend in with a few of our more experienced necromancers so as to employ a decoy during the summons, but it seems you were correct about them being identified and tailed.
    Shadow Ritualist: How long should we wait for our Deren operatives? They should have set sail soon after the Recall. Even if they boarded civilian vessels, the other leaders should be here soon.
    Silas: Don't wait for them at all. Whoever is puppeteering the civil war foresaw that we'd attempt to expand our power base and laid ambushes to scapegoat us. As if the blackmail wasn't trouble enough.
    Silas: Any that haven't already returned... Consider them lost. We've had enough defections to the Brilhado and the Celegras in particular that any intelligence they can bring is compromised anyways.
    Shadow Ritualist: They'll be easy pickings for the Scythe Mantle. It'll expand THEIR influence.
    Shadow Ritualist (2): Please. They're in tatters. They barely had enough grunts to send North while their leaders hid here. Trying to encompass Deren as well would spread them thinner than rice paper.
    Silas: Mm. Careful not to underestimate the ones here, though. This Mantle has always recovered swiftly. Their many pacts and hasty bargaining habits make them a wildcard for recruitment.
    Silas: The unaffiliated and those *pressed* into our ranks could swell their numbers if they pull off a power grab. I've had them watched for such moves since their arrival, and -- Ah, there's the report.

    The scroll emerges from the table and unfurls before the leader.


    Shadow Ritualist: What's the matter? What did they find?
    Silas: The Liminal mongrels are coming for us. They know it all. The Veils closing. our experiments in direct and localized tenebromancy... They had an informant all along, stalking the other leaders.
    Silas: The Scythe Mantle planted one. They're starting a coup, and leaked our attempts to contact Erebus to the white masks as a distraction. The Liminal will have our heads, then get stabbed in the back.
    Silas: We leave. NOW.



    Outside the room, the doors are guarded by two Liminal guards, with other necromancers along the hallway.

    The player character enters.

    <<You>> (thinking): That's a while since the false report should've made it here. I wonder if I came here too early...

    Liminal Mantle Guard: Hold it there. I just saw the patrol for this wing. Where are you going?
    <<You>>: Oh, I'm headed back to check on this threat report. I got an urgent one sent to me, but I'm pretty sure there's been an error of some sort.
    Liminal Mantle Guard: Ah heck, not this again. Let me guess. Reported by Steve, threat name Steve.
    <<You>>: Close enough. That's got to be a mistake, right?
    Liminal Necromancer: I wish it was. But it keeps happening, and they keep being actual reports. Sometimes it's a silly infraction, but I show up and they're up to something big. So just go check it out and... Did you hear that?

    The doors get blasted out.

    Liminal Mantle Guard: What are you-- Incoming!

    SIX BATTLES: Mage type enemies, shadow monsters.

    Silas: Not a moment too soon. So you were already upon us...
    Liminal Mantle Guard: Contain yourself, Silas. You are violating the sanctity of the Orcus Archive. If you value your life and leadership over the fledgling Shadow Mantle, you will stand down.
    Liminal Mantle Guard: Attack anyone else and neither shadows nor lichdom will save you.
    Silas: 'Fledgling'? Listen to yourself talk. We derive our methods and power from the most accomplished plots to have shaped our world, and YOU of all people talk down to me. Savoring the moment, are we?
    Silas: The Scythe Mantle turns on us, and you are all too pleased to finish the job. The guardians of knowledge. Keepers of the very pillar meant to prevent us from falling to treachery.
    Silas: How does it feel to finally have the upper hand? I'd genuinely like to know, before you lack the sentience to express it.
    <<You>>: Make things even easier for me, why don't you...
    Silas: What?
    <<You>>: Ahem. Silas. Make this easier on yourself.
    Silas: Oh, I intend to.

    BOSS BATTLE: Silas, Shadow Mantle Leader

    After the battle, some of the other necromancers are gone, and others lie on the ground. One guard remains standing.

    Liminal Mantle Guard: ...You just... You just took down one of the strongest combatants in the Mantle.
    <<You>>: I did? I mean, should I not have done that? He attacked first, and looked a little... unhinged. They must have been fighting each other inside there, judging by the ruckus. Am I in trouble?
    Liminal Mantle Guard: No, you're absolutely not in trouble. We'll all vouch that it had to be done, but for the leader of the Shadow Mantle to turn on us like that? The Inner Circle's warnings may have been right.
    <<You>>: Which warnings? I've been getting flooded with security reports, so excuse me if I seem out of the loop.
    Liminal Mantle Guard: Jeeze, you must be the poor soul that's been running around taking care of half the recent incidents. I've been wondering if someone figured out a way to redirect their orders to you.
    <<You>>: Wouldn't surprise me.
    Liminal Mantle Guard: It's from two days ago, right about the time the troubles started. The big hoods think the Scythe and Shadow mantles are each trying to get Paladins to finish the other so they can recover.
    Liminal Mantle Guard: When the whole Void Mantle disappeared, they started testing the limits of our neutrality. A task force has been in place for a while, watching influential hoods for signs of a hostile takeover.
    Liminal Mantle Guard: I'd like you to join us. Silas may not have been the most powerful Necromancer, but as far as fighting goes... Even if he was worn down, I'd say taking him on merits a recommendation.
    <<You>>: That's a lot to take in at once, but if we have to deal with being stuck here while they loom over our heads and plan to take over... It's not like I have much of a choice. Alright, I'm in.


    Post #: 156
    5/24/2026 15:18:44   
      Lorekeeper
    And Pun-isher

     
    Paid in Kind

    Necromancer level 10 quest





    At a security post in the Orcus Archive, the player character and Obsidia are disguised as Liminal Mantle necromancers.

    <<You>>: This sudden spotlight over taking down Silas is inconvenient. I'd prefer to ditch this identity if it looks like I'll be exposed. You seem pretty pleased, though. What have you been up to?
    Kaley Obsidia: I'd have more time to say what I haven't been up to. Now that I've got a higher access to the security correspondence, I'm able to get a feel for where loyalties lie in the Liminal Mantle's general ranks.
    Kaley Obsidia: I'm down to one cover to burn after working on a lot of Scythe minions. Our power is subtle compared to them, but setting up curses that'll free enslaved souls isn't quick work. Oh, here they come.

    The rest of the necromancers arrive, setting up the aforementioned formation. The one at the head speaks.

    Liminal Mantle Agent: Is this everyone? Good. Because a handful of you are new to this task force; I'll catch you up briefly before proceeding with the new orders.
    Liminal Mantle Agent: We originally sounded the Recall to shelter each of our leaders and investigate a suspected violation of our non-hostility accords. Our evidence has thus far been incomplete, but concerning.
    Liminal Mantle Agent: The effectiveness of the new Paladin Order in tracking down Scythe mantle operations suggested some sort of information leak. After they nearly died out in the Far West, though...
    Liminal Mantle Agent: Around the harvest season, an undead army was raised to bait and exterminate any Binders that were too slow to retreat. Only the Brilhado or the full Mantle could possibly muster that force.
    Liminal Mantle Agent: Drained focus sites and a limited supply of artifacts rules out the possibility of Liminal Mantle rogues. The others, though... The Shadow and Scythe Mantles have been at odds for ages.
    Liminal Mantle Agent: If either is attempting to eliminate the other, we must root out and stop this conspiracy. Without the lost factions to keep them in balance, whichever side prevails is sure to turn on us.
    Liminal Mantle Agent: Even if you care little for the Mantle, know that our neutrality keeps you alive. Each of you will be planted in a position suitable for your skills, and receive orders hidden in security scrolls.
    Liminal Mantle Agent: Because of Silas's outburst, the usual restrictions on force are lifted, but remember to work as teams. Their necromancy is much harder to counter, and you may be compromised.

    Fade to the starting setup for the same scene, with Kaley and the player character's guises alone again.

    <<You>>: Well, that gives us an idea of what we can get away with. If the others are confident that it takes teams of Liminal agents to bring down single members of theirs... I guess we'll have to blend in together.
    Kaley Obsidia: Who said anything about blending in?
    <<You>>: ...What? YOU did. You asked-- Blending in is the whole point! ...Why are you grinning like you're up to something very specific that I'm not going to like at all? That's a disturbingly eloquent grin.




    TWO BATTLES: Random monsters from the Thrall pool. Full heal.

    The disguised player is alone in the middle of the hallway

    <<You>>: Another incident taken care of. I sure wish my team wasn't too held up to help me.
    <<You>> (Thinking): "I'll bail you out if it gets bad", she said. "It'll be fine", she said. Well, she's not the one getting outed as a lone agent, ripe for capture!
    <<You>> (Thinking): And who's going to buy that these masks are cursed to kill you if you remove one by force?

    A Scythe Ritualist enters behind the Chosen.

    Scythe Ritualist: Now isn't this an unusual surprise... Aren't you supposed to be patrolling in groups? We're not usually in the business of taking people *alive*, but if our informant is right--
    <<You>>: Good grief, you're long winded. Just get it over with.
    Scythe Ritualist: Uh... Sure.

    Fade to black.

    <<You>>: Ow!
    Scythe Ritualist: Oh, right, that's not how it goes.
    <<You>>: Oof! That's my side, you... OW! Do you even know how to knock someone out?!
    Scythe Ritualist: It's my first time, okay?! We usually just kill people and turn them undead, I don't have a lot of practice with this!
    <<You>>: For the love of... THIS is how you knock someone out.

    The player's silhouette runs into a wall, slamming head first into it with a *BONK* before passing out.

    Scythe Ritualist: Man, taking prisoners is weird.

    THREE BATTLES: 0.5 power Doom Sheep. 1, 2, then 3. Full heal. The scene for the battles is any farm background with the cloudy border from the Naval Fan Club in "Obsession!" (Snugglefest 2019, mislabeled as 2018 because Cray dun goofed).

    Transition to a darkened room, with a closeup on the Scythe Mantle Leader standing to the left of a Scythe Ritualist, both on the right side of the scene and looking to the left. The dark crystal is floating a little to the left of the leader as they interrogate the player character. This artifact is one of the dark crystals smuggled in the Paladin questlines.

    Scythe Mantle Leader: You're finally awake. Good. You might just stay that way if you collaborate. I understand you finished off Silas, and an informant tells me that you know about a certain undead army.
    <<You>>: ...Who are you and what do you want?
    Scythe Mantle Leader: I'm the actually functional Necromancer whose curse you're under, and I just want you to answer two questions. Give me good answers, and I might have a job for you. Call me Trophon.
    <<You>>: Scythe, then, and in a position of authority. You're high up and messing with the Liminal, but need me alive. So you're at least smart enough not to use necromancy on us... yet.
    Trophon: "Yet." I love how you realized that. I really might have a job for you when we're done here, I need all the people that I can get working for me. But yes, it would be bad to leave that sort of trail for now.
    <<You>>: So... How about we get to the part that makes me think I should trust you?
    Trophon: The sass, now that we'll have to work on. Well, I trust you recognize this artifact? I know you're running low of them; I've smuggled enough out of here to practically make sure of it.
    Trophon: You Liminal Mantle have been less than daring, still depending on trinkets. Although they have their uses, particularly when modified. If made to attune forcibly to someone who still uses the old power....
    Trophon: It can make for a wonderfully entertaining lie detector. One little lie, and you'll be brought within an inch of your life. Two... And I'll have to find someone else. Now, go on. Tell me a little lie.
    <<You>>: ... You've cursed this to cause a feedback loop with traces of the ley line's mana? ... Alright, then. You're not annoying at all.

    Lose 10 health.

    <<You>> (Thinking): ...Wait, that was supposed to hurt? Oh, all those years of acting are about to pay off so much.
    <<You>>: AAAAAAAH! *huff*... Alright, alright! What do you want to know? I'll... I'll tell you anything.

    Lose 10 health.

    Trophon: I did say we'd have to work on the sass. But now that we've got a basis for communication: Two questions. What was the Shadow Mantle up to, and what do you know about the army?
    <<You>>: The Shadow Mantle used the undead army to attack the binders, since the light element in their shadow magic would destroy them.
    <<You>>: Silas used the Recall to lure the Scythe mantle here, so he could ambush you and then us.

    Lose 20 health.

    Trophon: ...<<he/she>> lives. Very well. You. Report on this right now. Take reinforcements, and set up preemptive attacks. This will exhaust the Liminal Mantle's sanctuary, so we must erode them as well. Go!

    The Ritualist leaves.

    Trophon: Now, while my underlings are being superstitious nincompoops about your mask, let's see just who it is that managed to finish off Silas before I decide whether to offer you a more... gainful pact.

    Zoom out to the full scene. The player character enters.

    Trophon: YOU!
    <<You>>: Me!

    BOSS BATTLE: Trophon


    Post #: 157
    5/24/2026 15:24:57   
      Lorekeeper
    And Pun-isher

     
    Unveiled

    Necromancer Level 15 Quest





    FOUR BATTLES: Enemies from the Thrall pool, mage type humanoids. Full heal after every two.

    At a storage room of the Orcus Archive, Kaley Obsidia is looking over the skeletal remains of a knight. The player character enters.

    <<You>>: Sorry I'm late, I wound up finding more possible recruits than expected... Huh. Why are you uncloaked?
    Kaley Obsidia: Because as much as I'm trying to do this with the least possible bloodshed... if anyone other than you had walked into this storage, I would have killed them where they stood.
    <<You>>: ...What happened?
    Kaley Obsidia: Nothing we hadn't suspected, it just... hits differently when working up close. This is where the Inner Circle keeps the council guards. I got the unlocking spell out of a disgruntled member.
    Kaley Obsidia: The Liminal Mantle guards their stronger minions well. They're the only edge they've got over the others, other than numbers. What with not getting involved in the wars or the rush for new power...
    Kaley Obsidia: However, most of these aren't maintained by their magic. Not anymore for some, and others clearly never were.
    <<You>>: ...Lords, you're right. There's no connection to an artifact or source, this is like a curse. Nothing but commands and torment, and the trigger is the same we've seen around here. This is Scythe Mantle magic.
    Kaley Obsidia: She doesn't even have a voice. Just enough sensory input to have better responses than a golem or mindless minion, but the soul is barely more than a battery for a battle thrall.
    Kaley Obsidia: This entire existence is torture. It'll be a lot more work to free them. Not needing a link means that their masters won't notice until they try to command them, unless we... Ugh, this feels horrible.
    <<You>>: ...Unless we leave just enough of the curse for them to feel the torment that makes them follow orders. The caster would still feel like it worked. They'd get to defy orders, but... It'd be awful until they're free.
    Kaley Obsidia: It's not like we have a choice. We can't march them out of here unnoticed. But *she* should have a choice. They all should. You work on half of them, I'll free the rest. We can ask for their help.
    Kaley Obsidia: I'll help any of them who want to move on. The sabotage will burn my cover, but I'll help you from the shadows from now on. I'll get the recruits organized for the final move. *sigh* Let's get started.

    Fade to black, with the following text.

    quote:

    After posting sentries and making sure that no one will disturb you, you spend the remainder of the day locked in the crudely named "guard storage" room. After the comparatively easier task of freeing the undead animated by older methods of Necromancy, you begin the arduous task of altering the curse binding those trapped by the Scythe Mantle.

    The hours and pressure weigh on the two of you. Enchantments and curses are even more difficult to alter than they are to simply undo. In this case, the task is neither safe for the arcane process nor the caster.

    Substituting the effects with a reanimation based on your own anima-powered method. Strengthening each captive soul until they're prepared to break their curse on your cue. Soothing those that choose to move on. It's arduous, especially given the need to do so quietly. Even with your combined arcane knowledge, Kaley and you have to take turns and split tasks just so that the exertion and time pressure don't endanger your lives.

    In the end, a surprising amount of souls consider remaining, rallying behind the charisma of an 'Emoran Knight: Dame Olivia. Long past midnight, you have finally organized those who remain as this fallen defender of Granemor makes her own choice.


    Return on a closeup on the knight's face, the dialogue bubble for them reading Dame Olivia.

    Dame Olivia: ...Yes, I do remember. I could do nothing but watch and remember, as I hurt my own people and fought for evil. Remembering is what kept me here. I remember my friends. I remember my oath...
    Dame Olivia: I remember you asking me if I was sure I wanted to swear my oath. You knew my family only had me. I remember my little brother's alchemy books - actual books- being paid for, on your orders.
    Dame Olivia: And... I remember <<You>>...

    If the player is a Demon Knight:
    Dame Olivia: An enemy, and a hero. I remember that painful, beautiful contradiction. That paradox was the inspiration for my last stand. For that example, for my oath and family... I'll help you. I will be Deathless.

    If the player is an 'Emoran Knight:
    Dame Olivia: I was there when you joined us. To be the Chosen's sister in arms... it was the inspiration for my last stand. For that dream, for my oath and family... I'll help you. I will be Deathless at your side.

    Otherwise:
    Dame Olivia: Knowing that you will die, needing some hope that you won't, what other hero would come to mind? For that hope, for my oath and family... Yes, I'll help you fight back. I will be Deathless at your side.

    Dame Olivia: Those who stole my undeath. Those that sold it out. Those who didn't want any part in such evil. I'll help you tell them apart -- I know more than their voices and their footsteps, I know their *souls*.

    Her eyes flash green. Fade to black.




    TWO BATTLES: Thrall pool.

    Checkpoint, then Boon/curse roll from the random leveling, albeit affecting two battles instead of one.

    TWO BOSS BATTLES: Random boss from the Thrall pool. Heal after each.
    The first boss has the Shadow Infusion status, giving it Light imbue, Darkness backlash, and the Shadow tag.
    The second boss has the Shadowscythe Corruption status, giving it Berserk and a soft cap, but status vulnerability instead of boss boost.

    After the battles, Liminal Mantle necromancers stand in formation inside a barracks. Kaley and the player character are in disguise among them.

    Liminal Necromancer: That's every rampant thrall dealt with. Not as big a deal as the security reports said, but we can use the incidents to justify deploying this big of a team.
    Liminal Mantle Guard: It'd be a hard sell if anyone saw you kick that much butt, but I have more of an issue with putting so many of us in one room. That's like begging for a Shadow ploy.
    Liminal Ritualist: It might as well be bait for them, but don't be silly. This room is clear of magic other than scrying interference, and the others can't take whole groups of us.
    Liminal Mantle Guard: Pah. They've looked down on us since before the other mantles died out. I've lost count of how many generations of them saw us as their cage for those with less necromantic talent.
    Liminal Ritualist: ...Yeah. Too good to be a minion, they push you onto us. Join us of your own will? Strictly out for the knowledge? Sucks to be you regardless, you'll still have to deal with them.
    Liminal Mantle Guard: So I'm ALL for payback. Especially now that we've been getting actually usable information. But how are we going to use the home advantage, when we're also a splinter group now?
    Liminal Ritualist: That's what I want to know. Scythe and Shadow get tricked into fighting each other -- Okay, good. We can work with that. But they each also want to take us down before it's done. And the Circle?
    Liminal Ritualist: So complacent that they're complicit. They might as well be a third enemy that we have to hide from, but can't actually do anything about. The Mantle might as well be a prison while they live.
    Liminal Ritualist (2): I couldn't have put it better myself. They *are* complicit. The Scythe Mantle's trial will be a sham. But the part about not being able to do anything about them? Don't undersell yourself.
    Liminal Necromancer: A few of the Inner Circle can be trusted. Like you, they're scholars that were pressed in or made a terrible mistake. They fought their way to the top. The others? You can take them.
    Liminal Ritualist: What's with the second person... Wait, hold up. Taking on our leaders and most of our own Mantle? We can barely keep the Archive peaceful for a consecutive week. How would we even DO that?
    Liminal Ritualist (2): Become Necromancers. Real Necromancers. You all held out for this long without giving in to the pacts and reckless shortcuts that your *lessers* pursue. You've proven your integrity..
    Liminal Mantle Guard: You sound awfully like you're about to offer a shortcut to power yourself. That or... You're one of the leaders we're waiting to meet. Alright, that's it. Who are you?

    Kaley and the player character exit, then enter without disguises.

    Liminal Ritualist: Zard pearls, it IS a trap!
    Liminal Mantle Guard: I can't believe I'm saying this, but no. No, it's not. Everyone... settle down. <<he/she>> isn't attacking. And if anyone has a right to turn on us, it's Obsidia. But it was you doing this all along, right?
    <<You>>: You all know my reputation. But after working with us all this time, now you know *who I am*. I don't need this mask anymore. And if you're willing to try Necromancy without oppression... Neither do you.
    Kaley Obsidia: Your enemies turned their own trial into a trap. The leaders that betrayed you let them seize your guardians. We have freed those guards, and many chose to help. Now we do the same for you.
    Kaley Obsidia: I don't ask for loyalty. I'd welcome you as students, and only ask that you carry yourselves like scholars, not tyrants. Even then, you will be free to make your own path. Are you with us?

    Fade to black.

    Liminal Mantle Rebels: ...We're in.
    Post #: 158
    5/24/2026 15:30:27   
      Lorekeeper
    And Pun-isher

     
    In Tatters

    Necromancer level 20 quest




    The scene pans through the few remaining Scythe Mantle members as they stand in the middle of the Orcus Archive's Inner Council chambers. Councillor bubbles come from offscreen to the right.

    Liminal Councillor: The Recall was sounded almost exclusively for your protection. The Liminal Mantle's integrity has been compromised for the sake of sheltering you from predictable consequences.
    Liminal Councillor: This is the most you have strained a burden that you and your peers imposed in the first place. Now that you find yourself so exposed by comparison, it would do you well to drop the attitude.
    Liminal Councillor: Bear in mind that Trophon, the leader you boasted so highly of, perished from what you claim was overexertion seven days after being suspected of scheming to overthrow us.
    Liminal Councillor: You are broken, and held under our wing because SOMEONE must respect the accords, lest we collapse. It is only out of courtesy that we acknowledge you as a Mantle at this point.
    Liminal Councillor: I will ask one last time: Do you understand the charges leveled against you?
    Scythe Mantle Ritualist: If it makes you feel any more powerful, you could repeat them.
    Liminal Councillor: ...Instigating infighting within the walls of the Archive. Espionage. Drawing attention to our operations. Evidence pins multiple disappearances and acts of sabotage on your members.
    Liminal Councillor: Though Trophon may have fallen, the charge of abducting members of the Liminal Mantle remains for you to deal with. And now, you are in contempt of the one court that won't end you on sight.
    Liminal Councillor: To all other charges, how do you plead?
    Scythe Mantle Ritualist: Bored, mostly. But after playing along for long enough to confirm who's on the right side of this, I plead--

    Shadow Mantle members enter, in greater numbers.

    Shadow Mantle Necromancer: For your life, if you have any sense.
    Liminal Councillor: ...So, the last of you drop the charade at last. Guards! GUARDS!

    The Shadow Mantle members move closer,

    Scythe Mantle Ritualist: ...Guards?
    <<You>> (Offscreen to the left, or entering): We've got this.

    FOUR BATTLES: Shadow Ritualist pool. Full heal every two.


    The scene cuts to the Inner Council chambers as Scythe Mantle members invade from the left.

    Scythe Mantle Ritualist: What's the meaning of this? Why didn't the guards protect us? We had even more losses while your "forces" finished "helping"!
    Liminal Councillor: Why didn't you try ordering them to help?
    Liminal Councillor (2): ...What?

    Some Liminal Mantle members turn to face their peers.

    Liminal Councillor (3): How do you...
    Scythe Mantle Necromancer: ...That's enough. Too many things have gone sideways. Knights! Attack.

    The undead knights enter, but flank the Scythe Mantle instead of attacking. The speaking Necromancer raises a hand to command the knights.

    Scythe Mantle Necromancer: I command you to *attack*.
    Dame Olivia: For once, scum, I will gladly take that order. Make your peace with the powers you've sold yourself to.
    Liminal Councillor: You thought *you* were the one playing along? Please. We've known you meant to seize leadership for a while, and we know that these cowards were about to let you.
    Liminal Councillor: Unlike your sorry lot, however, our leaders CAN act. Necromancers! Leave the traitors to their fate.

    The Liminal Mantle members who didn't turn leave through the right. The player character enters from the left, and Kaley from the right.

    <<You>>: Your masters failed in the West, and you failed here. Don't think we need an army to take a handful of you down; just surrender and no one else needs to get hurt.
    Kaley Obsidia: I appreciate you trying that, <<You>>, but it never works with them. I've seen what they do to their own people when it looks like they might be... susceptible to diplomacy.
    Scythe Mantle Necromancer: Do you think taking down a figurehead like Trophon gives you the right--
    Kaley Obsidia: Quiet. The actual necromancers are talking. Unless you have a mind to prove me wrong? If you really would like to plead for your life after all... I'm all ears, darling.
    Scythe Mantle Necromancer: ...Everyone, cover me. Wear them down while I bring help.

    FOUR BATTLES: 0.5 power magi from the Scythe Ritualist pool. Enemies have Berserk and +MRM effects, with the dummy status "Last Stand" and the description "These foes are desperately blocking your way to their leader, who is casting some sort of ritual."

    After the battle, the scene resumes with a closeup on the Scythe Mantle Necromancer.

    Scythe Mantle Necromancer: Years subverting Trophon's masterpiece. I gave it my soul, my name, to escape our pact without giving up the power. To have to use it in battle... I might as well have failed already.
    Scythe Mantle Necromancer: But I'll have a few decades to figure out how to undo the damage to the incomplete process. You... Let's see how long you last.

    The necromancer summons the Dragonbone Phylactery, an animated set of dragon bones controlled by a massive red gem where souls swirl.

    Kaley Obsidia: That's... You massive fools, that's not a process you can accelerate with raw power!
    Scythe Mantle Necromancer: Keen eye. But this isn't finished yet. The souls aren't there as a shortcut, but to free me from--
    <<You>>: You're either stupid enough to monologue with an exposed phylactery, or buying time for this aberration to do something. I'm done listening.

    Checkpoint.
    BOSS BATTLE: Dragonbone Phylactery. Full heal afterwards.

    <<You>>: ...That could have been disastrous. What lengths AREN'T desperately power hungry fools like you willing to go to?
    Scythe Mantle Necromancer: Whatever it takes to break free of the ShadowScythe's grip.
    Kaley Obsidia: ...There are scores of people who would be willing to help you. Powerful people, even servants of the gods, who believe in redemption. Why would you think your chances are better on THIS side?
    Scythe Mantle Necromancer: ...Redemption? You know what this Mantle is like, and you come out with the heroic speech? Too much time around <<You>>, Necromantress... You don't get to believe in that over here.
    Scythe Mantle Necromancer: It's not being weak that gets you dumped in the Liminal. It's being *too old*. Unless you're already our "kind" of mage, the Scythe gets you while you still think you're invincible.
    Scythe Mantle Necromancer: By the time you're old enough to really understand the pact you took, you've already done way too much to believe in redemption... Or you were killed for looking like you might turn.
    Scythe Mantle Necromancer: Sneaking in and playing heroes... you don't even know who the real conspirator is, do you? Do you think you're the only one who despises this guise? Who would bring it all down?
    <<You>>: Our entire goal was to dismantle the organization that did that to you. If you'd let us try to understand you, we could figure out a way to help you. Stand down, please.
    Scythe Mantle Necromancer: No. You just barged in and stole a victory others had been waiting for. I already had my way out, Chosen. Lichdom, with the souls of my 'leaders' to shield me from being claimed.
    Scythe Mantle Necromancer: I needed the Liminal Mantle out of the way to find the knowledge Trophon refused to reveal. Now? Now I'm doomed. And if I'm going down either way... You're coming with me.

    The necromancer casts merges with the broken phylactery, then hovers before the player character.

    Checkpoint.
    BOSS BATTLE: Dragonbone Wight
    Full heal.




    Kaley and the player character stand in the middle of the Inner Council chambers.

    Kaley Obsidia: Thank you for dealing with that, <<You>>. I couldn't have asked for a brighter pupil. The Liminal traitors tried to flank while you fought that... *sigh* That poor, stupid wretch. They're out cold now.
    <<You>>: At least they'll answer for their evil without going to terrible extremes like these. Is it finally over, then?
    Kaley Obsidia: Yes and no. The Mysterious Necromancers are no more. I've been planning for this moment for... so long. Now, I knew from the start that there'd be some remnants out there...
    Kaley Obsidia: Still, I thought it'd feel better than this, you know? Taking down the people who put us through so much suffering, freeing everyone they dragged along, I thought it'd be something to celebrate.
    <<You>>: Not every victory is satisfying, Kaley. I've seen enough to know that sometimes it exhausts you more than just physically.
    Kaley Obsidia: I've seen a lot myself, and I know some secrets that even these fools wouldn't have messed with. But... I'm a scholar, <<You>>. Not a hero. This is a first.
    <<You>>: You're wrong, though. All of those people who helped us make it to this point? You're not just their teacher. You're their hero now.
    Kaley Obsidia: ...Flatterer. But you have a point. We have a responsibility. It's not as if we can cut their ties and then leave them to adjust on their own. Besides, this isn't over just yet. That schemer's words...
    <<You>>: ...Yeah. That bit about the "real conspirator". I really doubt he was talking about himself.
    Kaley Obsidia: We weren't the only ones planning to take down the Order of the Mantle from within. I doubt that whoever else was scheming would be very friendly, the way this went. Something else is worrying.
    Kaley Obsidia: I've been digging my way into the Liminal Mantle's security for years. Not once did I find signs of a plot like this, or another guiding hand behind all of these betrayals. Even now, I can't think of a lead.
    Kaley Obsidia: I need time to get the Order organized. The Orcus Archive doesn't feel safe with another conspirator out there, so we should still operate from the Sanctum. Can I call on you once I find anything?
    <<You>>: I'm surprised you feel the need to ask.
    Kaley Obsidia: Well, as dour as the mood got... I have to show *some* professional courtesy to the second best Necromancer I know. *wink*
    <<You>>: That's a little closer to the teacher I know. I'll help whenever you need me, Kaley.


    Post #: 159
    5/24/2026 15:35:50   
      Lorekeeper
    And Pun-isher

     
    Where Legacies Meet

    Necromancer Advanced Gear Quest





    Kaley Obsidia, Cenara, and the player character, meet inside the Orcus Archive.

    Kaley Obsidia: Hello, sis- Ah, er. It's good to see you again, Cenara. How goes it?
    <<You>>: No need to catch yourself like that around me, you've told me a few times that you two are close.
    Kaley Obsidia: Well, no, but... it's the principle of it. My pupils live here. It's awkward.
    Cenara: ...Right. Hi, Kaley. Hello, <<You>>. I *would* love to catch up, but I shouldn't be here long. Darkovia is... complicated right now. Donovan isn't advancing, but we're not at our best. Can we get ready?
    Kaley Obsidia: Way ahead of you. We've secured all the students and posted the guards with them, but on THIS short of a notice...
    <<You>>: ...Yeah. It's just going to be us against this force. Worst case scenario, we can stall while they evacuate. Let's go.



    Scene - Orcus Archive exterior view

    A half-cloaked woman stands at a distance from the rock face that the front of the Orcus Archive is built into. She looks over the entrance before speaking.

    ???: There it is. May everyone forgive me for breaking our peace... But today, I will make amends for our oldest mistake.

    Monster shadows loom over the scene.



    Cenara, Kaley, and the player character stand outside the Archive.

    Kaley Obsidia: ...They're here already.
    <<You>>: ...That's not a small band of monsters, big or otherwise.
    Cenara: Don't look at me! They must have been picking up more along the way! Gah, I wish we had a choke point or some favorable terrain... Who builds a secret fortress into a plateau?!
    Kaley Obsidia: People with vast undead armies that can hide in the sand, deadly curses to cast on whoever gets worn down by the long trip, and other things I've either not rebuilt or refuse to reenchant?
    Cenara: ...Alright, you've got a point. Well, we can't fight from the walls without SOME rebuilt defenses... So we'll have to spread out. Let's each take a third of them?
    <<You>>: The usual way, then. Sounds good to me, let's head out.
    Kaley Obsidia: Wait, wait. We're just rushing out, individually improvising, and taking on a third of them at once? You're way too used to swords and sorcery with other insane heroes. I'm a *scholar*, not a warmage.
    Cenara: ...Really, sis? ... Oh. Oh Lords, it's not false modesty.
    <<You>>: ...You're a scholar of death that pioneered a new school of Necromancy by yourself. You're more versatile than any mortal Necromancer ever was WITH the leyline, other than the freaking Celegras.
    <<You>>: If you've somehow made it this far without realizing what you're capable of, then... Well, I'm impressed, but take it from me: You can do this.
    Cenara: Give yourself some credit, Kaley.
    Kaley Obsidia: I... Well then. That's one way to give a lady a confidence boost. This is still not my style, but... I do have a theory or twelve that I've been eager to test. Let's do this.

    FOUR BATTLES: Various large monsters. Heal every two.



    The lone woman from before approaches the player character after the battles.

    ???: Well, this is weird. I was certain that the Archive was out of strong defenders, and your Necromancy is... very unlike anything I had intel on. That's some worryingly fast innovation.
    <<You>>: ...Weirder than just waltzing in and rambling in the middle of a monster attack?
    ???: A little bit, to be honest, but touché? I do want to talk to you, though. Was hoping I could convince you to step aside and let my forces demolish the place.
    ???: Since, unless I've been vastly underestimating the Liminal Mantle... You must be the people who eliminated the others, right?
    ???: You beat me to that punch, but I really do have to finish the job. It doesn't look like your Necromancy is related to the Mantle, so I don't really want to kill you.
    <<You>>: ...Right. This is getting weirder. I'm afraid just abandoning my friends here isn't an option.

    Kaley and Cenara enter.

    Cenara: They've stopped attacking. Is this a truce, or...?
    Kaley Obsidia: Did you see that?! I just-- Ah. So this is the enemy leader. Would you care to tell me who you are and why in Heck's blazes you're trying to lay siege to my fortress?
    ???: Oh! I'm sorry, I do get carried away rambling and forget my manners. I'm Kore. Nice to meet you all.
    Cenara: Um. Hello. I'm Cenara.
    Kore: GraceFang! I thought I recognized you. Kind of jealous of the hair.
    <<You>>: ...I'm <<You>>.
    Kore: Oh. So you are! Well, this is even more awkward, I should've recognized you..
    Kaley Obsidia: ...Kaley Obsidia.
    Kore: Right, the reasonable Necromantress. That's the last piece I needed. This was an infiltration, not just an attack on the Mantle. I'm going to have to insist, then. Please leave the Archive, for your own good.
    Kaley Obsidia: You seem... weirdly friendly, Kore, so please listen. My school of Necromancy is not like the Mantle. I'm taking in what good was left in the Liminal, and putting the knowledge here to good--
    Kore: I was hoping you wouldn't say that. You're attached already. It's not that the place itself is evil, but as a resource... Well, it's only ever brought harm. Hm. Perhaps I can still drive you away.

    Checkpoint.
    TWO BATTLES: As before. Full heal after the second.


    Cenara: HEY. Stop right there! Before this gets any worse, just actually listen for once. Could you tell us why exactly you want to destroy the Orcus Archive?
    Kore: My people made the mistake that led to its creation. It remained hidden from us for centuries, until the Mantle began to turn on itself and I was able to infiltrate it. It's... an open wound in history.
    Kore: Even if I can believe that you won't cause any damage with it... What of your successors? What if another schemer like the shade subverts what you create?
    Kore: No. Our knowledge was exploited to create it. Necromancy is far too widespread to erase now, especially with multiple sources. But even if there are evidently some wonderful Necromancers...
    Kore: It's my responsibility to wipe *this* slate clean. We finally have the chance to not have even one more tragedy weigh on our conscience. Please, stand aside. I won't ask again.
    Kaley Obsidia: ...No. Especially not after that speech. Believe me, I get where you're coming from. I've had some... tragically disappointing pupils. But tragedy is no reason for no one to ever try again.
    <<You>>: I'm with Kaley. If you give us the full story, I'm sure we can figure something out. Too many people force me to fight them, Kore... You seem really nice, don't be one of them.
    Kore: You seem really nice yourself! I hope not to have to kill you.
    Kaley Obsidia: Incoming from the sides!

    Kore floats up and manifests a giant scythe and spectral cloak as a pale mask covers her face

    BOSS FIGHT: Kore, Arcane Reaper

    Kaley Obsidia: That's enough. We handled the rest of your little army, and you just got handed a thesis on *part* of why <<You>> is known as the Chosen. Would you finally tell us what this nonsense is about?
    Kore: Huh. You're not going to kill me? That really is nice of you.
    Cenara: What? No, of course we're not killing you. But you said something about your people having a responsibility to destroy this. You made it sound like you feel like it's your fault Necromancy is... around.
    Kore: It *is*, our fault, at least in part. My family comes from an ancient circle of the faithful of Death. I'm sorry, but I can't give you a name. The last time we were open with our secrets... Orcus happened.
    Cenara: I don't mean to judge, but worshipping death sounds a little... sketchy. And what do you mean, Orcus happened? Is the Archive named after an event, a place, a person...?
    Kore: No no, ew no. We don't go around killing each other. We don't worship death. It's Death. The only Endbringer whose trial is peaceful. We were never a church, because Death does not respond to any prayers.
    Kore: We have strived to understand Death since before Luminovia fell. In peace, and in secret, because we understood the danger and discomfort it could put others through. Orcus... was our last exception.
    Kore: Orcus was a demon who visited the material world without hostile intent. Pure demons don't experience death as we know it, and so he sought to understand it. He learned of Death, and came to us.
    Kore: He was wise enough to find us, humble enough to ease our concerns. He *needed* to understand. But for all his grasp of the great secrets, the simplest truths... hurt him. One day, Orcus snapped.
    Kore: He left, and used what he learned to become the first Necromancer. He rejected the idea of an end to life. The powerful and corrupt flocked to his side. The influence went both ways, in the end.
    Kore: Even long after he was banished, his followers remained. Erebus was all too happy to reshape them. Sure, other sources of Necromancy emerged in time, but this one... This evil was our fault.
    <<You>>: Since it's not Necromancy itself, but it's the origin of the knowledge ... Kore, we can't force ourselves to atone for BEING betrayed. That's how evil keeps you from protecting others from the same fate.
    Kore: ...I remain convinced that some knowledge never should have been shared. But perhaps, after all this time... It's actually in good hands now. I'll... I'll be watching.

    Kore disappears.



    The party reconvenes inside the Archive.

    Kaley Obsidia: The history and implications alone shake some foundations. But it's ACTUALLY over now. We... We did it! I've been so caught up in the planning, fighting, and... everything that I never... Hee!
    Cenara: That gave me an awful lot to think about. There's a *peaceful* cult of Death out there? I... kind of feel bad about Kore now. ...Wait, Kaley, did you just *giggle*?
    Kaley Obsidia: I'm at the head of the most comprehensive library of necromantic knowledge in HISTORY. There is enough research material here for a lifetime of reading! <<You>>, I could kiss you!

    The player character backs away slightly.

    Cenara: ...Please don't. I'm right here.
    <<You>>: I'll... I'll just go tell everyone it's safe before you realize what you just said, or a ship of protestors crashes into the door.

    Fade to black.

    Kaley Obsidia: ... Oh.


    Post #: 160
    5/24/2026 15:45:11   
      Lorekeeper
    And Pun-isher

     
    Zombie's Landing

    Mogloween 2021





    The player character enters Yulgar's Inn

    Yulgar: Evening, <<You>>. Bowing out to rest already?
    <<You>>: Kind of the opposite, really. I'm looking to stretch my legs a bit.The Sisters have really gone nuts with this year's celebration.
    <<You>>: You'd think they're trying to leave us with enough spares and leftovers to last until Frostval.
    Yulgar: Now that'd be a funny reversal on the early decorators. You know what they say, Cauldron girls hold the line. Those ladies are cooking up something big, and these parties aren't even half of it.
    <<You>>: Bigger than marching an entire undead army West last year?
    Yulgar: Considering they've been buying enough supplies that they could have two years straight of Mogloween if they wanted, yes.
    <<You>>: ...Don't jinx it. Anyways, I'll head out for a walk. Do you need anything taken care of out there?
    Yulgar: No hero-caliber business today. Just keep an eye out for anything weird if you stop by the hills. Every trader stopping by on their way South had someone give them the same spook story on the way.
    Yulgar: Something about being careful on those roads and watching out for the zombie apocalypse.
    <<You>>: ...What? The hills have looked clear all day.
    Yulgar: I know. Artix combed the whole area and didn't find a single zombie. He's still sulking about it at the corner table.
    <<You>>: Now that's just playing with his feelings. Alright, I'll send word if I find anything weird.



    Cut to the hills south of Battleon.

    TWO BATTLES: Two RA pool enemies, full heal.

    The player character enters. After a short pause, Zorbak enters from the right.

    <<You>>: ...Zombie apocalypse, huh. Awfully quiet for one. Kind of low on zombies, too.
    Zorbak: Yes! That's exactly the problem! And here I was thinking you'd be too thick to get it. You're smarter than you smell after all.
    <<You>>: ...I- You... What? Okay, it's not like randomly running into you has ever made sense. But nobody who's checked out this zombie report found anything. Did you spin that story to lure me out here?
    Zorbak: No. Maybe? Meh, sure. I was going to take what help I could get, but then that pally two-shoes Artix started excitedly running all over the hills. I had to lay low until he sulked off.
    Zorbak: Look, we've got a bit of a situation at EbilCorp. Zombies are going extinct, and if the last of them keep heading West, we're going to lose them-
    <<You>>: Happy early Frostval to you too. I'm going back to town.
    Zorbak: HEY. I'm serious here! Zombies haven't been a viable business since the ley line went kaput! My brother's lost his entire product line, and the zombification process isn't even working anymore!
    <<You>>: ...Good. Have fun with that. Good night, Zorbak.
    Zorbak: So you don't mind if a gathering horde of the last uncontrolled rot piles rampages through the countryside until some hooded bathrobe club survivor decides they're the leg up they've been waiting for.
    <<You>>: ...Okay, now I'm interested, but I'm *very* low on patience for people playing mysterious. So you had better tell me *everything*. Including why YOU would call me out to ask for a good deed.
    Zorbak: Gee, I wonder why a family moglin would be interested in denying any Order of the Hoodie outcasts the power to get back at him where it hurts. All the minions you could want...
    Zorbak: ...But there's magic-tangling pollution EVERYWHERE! Zorbak is putting the blue back into going green, baby. Necromancy is all about recycling and... and green energy ...and you don't believe me.
    Zorbak: Look, the big deal is that I just can't be seen dealing with this. For family reasons. I'm not leaving you out to dry here, I've got recent intel on their movements that I can share... On one condition.
    <<You>>: You're asking me to help clean up after your mess, and you want to put a condition on giving me the essential details? ...Fine, I'll bite. What's the actual catch here?
    Zorbak: Don't tell Kabroz I sent you. Don't tell ANYONE, actually. If he finds out...I'm going to make sure undead hornets follow you around every time nature calls. Now let's get you on your way.



    FOUR BATTLES. Two random Earth mobs, two zombies, full heal every two.

    After battling through zombies in a rocky hill area, the player character ponders while surrounded by their remains.

    <<You>> (Thinking): Alright, there's obviously way more to this than Zorbak was letting on, but he was being openly secretive, not coy. Still, nothing gets more suspicious than him trying to be genuine.
    <<You>> (Thinking): So far, the horde is going exactly the way he said. I'm not sure what drew them together in the first place, but they're acting very differently now.
    <<You>> (Thinking): Any lone shamblers are way more aggressive than before. I guess the rocky terrain is getting some of them stuck behind. The moment a few group up, though... They're quick to coordinate.

    If the player's active class is Paladin:
    <<You>> (Thinking): It makes a twisted kind of sense. There's no way to save them now except for exorcism, and it might be because of the same reason making them behave like this.
    <<You>> (Thinking): They've become actual undead over time, but the curses keeping them near death until then turned them into something like spectres trapped in physical bodies.
    <<You>> (Thinking): Consumed by hunger, recognizing each other through vague resonance... It'll be a lot of work to help that many tormented souls move on.


    If it's Necromancer:
    <<You>> (Thinking): The original zombification process definitely can't work anymore. They're still driven by an urge to consume, but not in the way the likes of Kabroz relied on. Especially as true undead.
    <<You>> (Thinking): I can't find more than broken traces of a binding curse either, but a soul being subject to it for long enough would likely have its anima capacity too badly damaged to simply move on.
    <<You>> (Thinking): They're instinctively trying to recover what they could only have healed in life, and potentially feel more... cohesive in numbers. It could be due to some trace of a command that I could dispel.


    Else/And continue
    <<You>> (Thinking): Either way, they're also getting stronger. Fast mutations and a wandering horde are a recipe for disaster... And I'm stuck dealing with them on my own. Better start by getting folks to safety.






    TWO BATTLES: Random Earth mobs, full heal.

    Woodson and Cunning stand along a rocky cliff, near a drop into a canyon.

    Will Cunning: That's funny. My buddy's got some survival laws of his own, and he's figured out almost thirty higher priorities than your routine, or your obsession with questionably wrapped tarts.
    Harryl Woodson: You expectin' me to take that insult after you just spooked my horse?
    Will Cunning: Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting some malformed pony to be hitched to my pole.
    Harryl Woodson: YOUR pole? Dire wasn't hitched to no - Look, that's the same stupid argument that got us kicked out of the festival, and it's goin' to get you kicked into the canyon.

    The player character enters.

    <<You>>: Hey! You two! Now's not the time to be arguing, there's a-- Oh no. Not you again.

    (Simultaneous) Harryl Woodson: I don't like you at all.
    (Simultaneous) Will Cunning: I don't like you at all.

    <<You>>: Okay, I am officially creeped out. HEY. TWINS.

    Woodson and Cunning turn to the player character.

    Harryl Woodson: Well, if it isn't Battleon. C'mere, help me settle an argument with-
    <<You>>: No. Nope. No way. No arguments, I am not getting dragged into this OR any tart-chasing tomfoolery. You two need to leave. There's a horde of zombies on its way here.
    Will Cunning: We know. And loath as I am to let a pastry pusher do a real survivor's work, about the one thing we agree on is how to deal with these mutant zeds.
    Harryl Woodson: See, they ain't headed straight here. They're makin' a beeline for the festival. Must've changed course from all the noise and bustle.
    <<You>>: Wait, hold on. I just got here, so fill me in. There's a *festival*?
    Harryl Woodson: Sure is. Just look West over them rocks.

    Over the rocks, a massive festival encampment can be seen in the distance.

    <<You>> (Offscreen): OH, COME ON! There's that many people in the way?!

    ONE BATTLE: Zombie (2), full heal.

    Back in the scene, with the two still facing the player character.

    Will Cunning: Easy there, fella. We said they're attracted to noise. There's a few that came way ahead of the big wave.
    <<You>>: What is going on, and why is there even such a big gathering this far in the middle of nowhere?
    Harryl Woodson: That's Babble On, fifth annual. It's got just about everything. Bands, stories, pretty sure they've got debate clubs too. 'Middle of nowhere' is the only way to fit the whole retreat anywhere.
    Will Cunning: It's concert night, and the hungry hobblers are almost here, so we've got a plan to rally the audience. We got a barrel of blasting powder from the Catering & Cratering crew...
    Will Cunning: The zeds have to run along the canyon to reach the festival. We're going to roll a nasty surprise into the horde and rally the audience to shove whatever's left right over the edge of the cliff.
    <<You>>: That sounds surprisingly competent. Is everyone ready, then?
    Harryl Woodson: Minus the herdin' crew.
    <<You>>: ...The people aren't organized yet? With the zombies bearing down? Have you been too busy arguing to get anything done?

    Awkward pause.

    <<You>>: So you mean to somehow get a concert audience to become an organized phalanx at the trop of a hat. Then take on a horde that you'll spread out and turn into an outright stampede.
    Will Cunning: The first law of survival is working together-
    <<You>>: Which you're not doing. You're bickering and expecting to be obeyed at the last minute. *sigh* Okay, if that's what you respond to, fine. Forget pushing, we'll *drive* them off a cliff.
    <<You>>: We can lead them on a close chase so that some will run off on their own. Let's pick a narrow ledge. Once we've got them running over it, start driving them over the edge and I'll rejoin you.
    Harryl Woodson: I can't help but notice you're not mentionin' the barrel of boom. You're savin' that for the stragglers, aren't you? I would've thought you'd want them bunched up for the explosion.
    <<You>>: These aren't the zombies you're used to anymore. You've got the right idea with the herd behavior, but they're tough enough that some might just climb back up a few days after bolting off a cliff.
    Harryl Woodson: ...Unless they're blown up and buried in rocks. Alright, let's do this. You've really shaped up since the last time you sidekicked for me, rookie.
  • *TWITCH*




    Scene - Rocky cliffside
    Characters - Harryl Woodson, Player Character, Will Cunning
    Assets -
  • Silhouetted view of zombies clustered at the edge of the cliff.
  • Barrel rolling off the cliff, leaving a dusty trail before falling off.
  • View of a fire pillar going off at the encampment.

    Checkpoint. The cliff gets swarmed by zombies, followed by the player character taking up the rear to block them.

    BOSS BATTLE: Hungry Horde

    <<You>>: Don't throw, don't throw...

    The player character backs out as the zombies start to fall off

    <<You>> (Offscreen): THROW!

    The barrel harmlessly rolls off the cliff

    <<You>> (Offscreen): ...Tell me you lit the fuse.
    Harryl Woodson (Offscreen): This numbskull didn't even put one in, so I made and lit one myself.
    Zombies: *COUGH* *HACK* *Grroooaaan*
    <<You>> (Offscreen): Is this black pepper...?

    Briefly cut to the camp, where a barrel explodes into a fire pillar.

    Will Cunning: Whoops. Must've picked up the wrong barrel.
    <<You>>: ... I'm going to go deal with the stragglers, and the fire, myself. I'll send for someone to deal with the zombies trapped in the canyon. You two just... Just stay here, don't do ANYTHING, or so help me...

    The player character leaves.

    Harryl Woodson: You know, I think I ought to get the shrimp to add one more to that list of laws...
    Will Cunning: I'm thinking a new mandate is in order, myself.
    (Simultaneously) Harryl Woodson: #74, don't make <<You>> mad.
    (Simultaneously) Will Cunning: LXXIV, don't make <<You>> mad.




    Zorbak and Kabroz are arguing at the former's lair.

    Zorbak: Meh. The situation sorted itself out. You don't have to worry about anything tracing back to you.
    Kabroz: I don't care. My entire body of work has been evaporating for years now. I'm done trying.
    Zorbak: ...But we've got a solid business going, you can still--
    Kabroz: No. I appreciate that you've been trying to spare my pride, but I knew this was coming. That's it.

    Kabroz exits stage right.

    Zorbak: Wait, what do you-
    Kabroz (Offscreen): I quit! Again!
    Zorbak: You still have shares in--
    Kabroz (Offscreen): GO HOME AND BE A FAMILY MOG.




    Artix is sitting at a table of Yulgar's inn, reading a letter from the player character.

    Artix: "...need your help with exorcising a canyon full of zombies..."
    Artix: Canyon... full... of zombies...

    Artix starts rapidly vibrating in excitement. Fade to black.
    • Post #: 161
    5/25/2026 11:50:01   
      Lorekeeper
    And Pun-isher

     
    Liar's Pilgrimage

    Quest for the Lost Talon set, part 1




    In the scorching wastes near Terminus, the player character meets a Silari warrior at night.

    Scout: Hail, <<You>>. Excuse the offense of interrupting your return -- Your aid is urgently requested at our encampment.
    <<You>>: I *was* having a hard time believing we'd caught a break... What happened?
    Scout: Lord Xilar has gone missing. His attendants report him growing erratic and quiet before walking off into the wastes when they thought him asleep.
    <<You>>: ...He managed to disappear into the wasteland and escape your notice *walking*?
    Scout: Our elder is more capable than he would be pleased to admit. He has walked amidst armies unnoticed before, even without using our technology. Not that it's much good with this interference.
    Scout: But he didn't escape *my* notice, Chosen. I found his trail, but it fades into the more heavily contaminated areas. I have a rough idea of his direction, but most of our warriors are still recovering.
    Scout: We can't yet assemble a full team of scouts who are confirmed to be resistant to the mental contamination-
    <<You>>: You've done well already. I'm sorry, but there's no time for a briefing. I'm not eager to underestimate Xilar himself, but IF something here has managed to get into his head...
    <<You>>: ... I don't even want to know what his knowledge of The'Galin and the Network could do in the hands of any of our recent enemies. I'd better head out immediately.
    Scout: May the Uncreator bless your determination.
    <<You>>: ... Be careful of what you wish for. Just one question and I'll be ready: What was he doing leading up to this sudden change?
    Scout: Seeing to wounded scouts along with our Protean allies. They were sharing information on areas where the contamination has receded, and where it's still very dangerous.
    <<You>> That gives me an idea of where to go from the point of his tracks. Show me where his tracks end, and I'll take it from there.





    Tracking through the wasteland runs into battles while following a trail.

    FOUR BATTLES, full heal every two. Mob pool: Far West creatures, specifically including Wind undead used in Dragonlorn Keep (Dragon ghosts, wind moglin phantoms). Excluding the mostly extinct Doombinders.

    <<You>> (Thinking): ...Alright, I can see how anyone but another Silari might have had a hard time picking up on this trail. There's barely anything to track until the harder parts of the dark sand.
    <<You>> (Thinking): Still, with this little wind, he must've been hiding footprints with his tail to get rid of them so fast. But suddenly doing nothing to cover his trail the moment it takes a little more effort?
    <<You>> (Thinking): I don't buy it. For someone who can 'walk amidst armies unnoticed' without needing to call on his god's power, this isn't erratic. This is a tricky trail to find, but way too obvious as of this point.
    <<You>> (Thinking): It leads straight to where the Protector teams were fighting before. Those were rescue missions... Dangerous area, but not AS dangerous... And they're familiar enough with it to escape.
    <<You>> (Thinking): Was Xilar leading them into just enough trouble to shake them off, without worrying that they'd get seriously hurt...? But where would he be headed instead, that he wouldn't want to mention?
    <<You>> (Thinking): ...I need a vantage point.

    FOUR BATTLES: Two from the same pool as above, two Doomhosts, heal every two.




    The player character treks south of the contaminated zone, looking toward a mountain range.

    <<You>> (Thinking): Jackpot. Xilar led them to be bogged down by lighter threats, but that's a false trail. He went straight through the rougher regions.
    <<You>> (Thinking): I thought getting to higher ground might let me get a better perspective, but it looks like he was heading straight for where the contamination has cleared... This path wasn't even visible before.
    <<You>> (Thinking): With the kind of fight he put up here, I feel bad for any Silari he scolds... And he still has a serious lead on me. I'm going to have to rush without much rest to catch up to him.

    FOUR BATTLES. 0.5 power, heal after the fourth. Pool: General Wind creatures, non-undead.



    <<You>> (Thinking): ...What is going ON here? I've never seen arid land creatures this active. It's like Lore's most aggressive migration wave is trying to reclaim what the Calamity took.
    <<You>> (Thinking): But I've seen creatures steer very clear of this place before. Something else is whipping them into a frenzy... Or maybe *everything* is strangely territorial here.

    The Frenzied Wyvern enters from the right.

    <<You>>: ...Whoa there!

    MINIBOSS FIGHT: Frenzied Wyvern




    The scene starts with Xilar standing at the center of the screen, looking to the right amid a rocky valley.

    Xilar: I'd expected to get a little farther before having to rest... You've changed so much over the centuries, if only my bones remember you well. Are you Skraeling or Sandsea?
    Xilar: Where the rocks fade and the dunes have nothing to root them... I suppose I don't know anymore. A gale persistent enough to collapse caves and erode borders. The afternoon shade will have to make do.

    The player character enters.

    <<You>>: It looks like you've got more guile than even your own people expect, Xilar.
    Xilar: <<You>>. I'm always pleased to see you, but your presence tells me I erred in my timing. My people are used to my occasional departures, but... Ah, this one was much too hasty.
    <<You>>: You have fine scouts. I wouldn't have found you without them. But another hour and I wouldn't have been around to notice the false trail, either. So, may I know what's going on? You seem well enough.
    Xilar: More than well enough for someone who has lived too long, I'd dare say. We have been unable to map out the Far West, but the Protectors have been helpful in identifying specific places of interest.
    <<You>>: Like this passage, and the caves where you pretended to go instead.
    Xilar: Tragically used to deceit, indeed... Yes. This pass was lost to history long before the fallout from the Calamity obscured it. It became completely unreachable when the region darkened.
    Xilar: Beyond this pass lies the Temple of the Four Skies, where the Wind Orb was once enshrined and later shattered. The place where my lies drove the Githari near extinction.
    <<You>>: ...There was a passage about this at the Temple of Hope's library. Even that library didn't have records of the name or location.
    Xilar: The prime orb may have been elsewhere for centuries, but I... I have to see this place. I have to know that neither manner of shadow reached it before the veil receded from this pass.
    Xilar: If my legacy has caused yet more damage, I must contain it. I apologize for having wasted your time with my complacency, Chosen. If you wish to depart, I trust you have seen I can hold my own once I rest.

    A Windkeeper Dragon enters from the right and immediately attacks.

    BOSS BATTLE: Windkeeper Dragon.

    Xilar: That was unexpected. A living survivor of the Calamity? Barely coherent, still affected, but... lashing out against anything touched by the Far West. If not for the timing, I--
    <<You>>: Xilar. I'll grant that you can fend for yourself, and I won't pretend to know your remorse better than you do. But I know VERY well when someone is pushing themselves too hard.
    <<You>>: Falerin told me how badly distracted The'Galin is, so I'm guessing you're refusing to call on any divine magic... And the chance of intervention is low. Even if you don't mind that, you got caught off guard.
    <<You>>: That would've gotten you hurt even if your own power was enough to defeat the dragon immediately.
    Xilar: ...Young heroes these days. What I wouldn't have given to see more like you in my youth, as much as it weighs on me to have to burden you further. Very well... Would you join me in my pilgrimage?
    <<You>>: Of course. Besides, if the Temple would be a threat in the wrong hands, I have to know if our enemies reached it.
    Xilar: The pass ahead will be treacherous, but working together should give us a better chance to find shelter when needed. And beyond it... We shall see what judgement history has in store for each of us.

    Post #: 162
    5/25/2026 11:50:37   
      Lorekeeper
    And Pun-isher

     
    Temple of the Four Skies

    Quest for the Lost Talon Set, part 2





    Scene - Temple of the Four Skies, valley crater
  • A rocky valley scene with only sparse vegetation, with a temple area akin to the Parthenon in the distance. The area the characters stand on is part of one giant, smooth crater taking up the entire way to the temple. There is a crack in the sky leading to the intact main building on the horizon, like a once giant and splintered rift that is a few feet from closing.
  • The general aesthetic of the temple here and throughout would be an enchanted take on a temple citadel in the style of an Acropolis. The stonework is simple, but grand in size and colored to contrast with the sky during any time of the day.
    Characters - Player character, Xilar
    Assets -
  • A dusty haze to signify the wind-worn area.
  • Animation: Rumbling screen. A rockslide dropping looming over the characters while the ground splits under them.

    The player character approaches Xilar, who is looking through a very sparsely forested valley with rocky features and a temple high in the distance. A very thin rift extends from the temple to the sky. The temple is surrounded by a giant, soft-soiled crater that spans the distance from it to the scene.

    Xilar: ...It's... It's still standing. I thought it would be in ruins by now. Even if it was made to withstand the winds, it has been so long...
    <<You>>: That's... a lot to take in. Is that rift the source of all this constant wind? Not that a crater you could fit all the castles I've ever seen into isn't ominous enough... But that looks like it's still a hazard.
    Xilar: I... I'm sorry, I was out of it. You were asking about...? ...Right. You have seen a Prime Elemental Orb in pieces before, and perhaps what became of the land where it was broken or kept, right?
    <<You>>: Yes, the Fire Orb was scattered before the Manifestation.
    Xilar: Orbs have been broken before, but never quite *this* intensely. What you have seen is a fraction of what their power can unleash -- In the hands of one who truly understands their secrets.
    Xilar: A fool or a novice might use them for influence or as a mere amplifier, but they are far more complex than glorified elemental cudgels.
    Xilar: The knowledge of how to truly work wonders with them was scattered among mortals, that they might unite to fulfill their purpose. This disaster is the tragic work of someone who understands that.
    <<You>>: Like with any tool, the greater the feat you can perform with it... The worse it can be when it goes wrong.I've known that there's more to the Orbs for a while now, but this is... a whole other scale.
    <<You>>: The Wind Orb-
    (Isolated bubble, simultaneous) Voices: De... Deceiver...
    (Isolated bubble, simultaneous) Voices: Corruption. ...rid... of it. Guard the Scar.
    <<You>>: Look out!

    TWO BATTLES. Pool: Windkeeper Dragon, Tenebrophage Wyvern, general non-human Wind mobs. Full heal after the second.

    Xilar: That was no random ambush. Something recognized me and reacted... <<You>>, I fear I am not so much accepting your assistance as dragging you into peril. And seeing this place, there may be no point in it.
    <<You>>: Something mentioned ridding this place of corruption. It probably reacted to our heading, or some trace of the Far West's magic. They're going to come after me with or without you, so don't start again.
    <<You>>: What do YOU want to do, and what do you make of this place?
    Xilar: It's obvious enough that something is protecting the Temple of the Four Skies. Maybe set in place by the original clergy, if they recognize me, but they can't still be alive.
    Xilar: But this "Scar"? That is an opening to the Wind Realm. All but closed, yet something of that size... It's not my place to reconnect Lore with the lost temple, but I'm not comfortable leaving it as an uncertainty.
    <<You>>: I know I'd want to make sure it's actually safe instead of assuming nothing has gotten past these flocks of barely coherent guards. Are we taking a closer look and leaving to report on it, then?
    Xilar: That would be perfect.

    TWO BATTLES. Pool: Windkeeper Dragon, Tenebrophage Wyvern, general non-human Wind mobs. Full heal after the second.

    Xilar and the player character are crossing the crater toward the temple as the former tries to examine it.

    Xilar: It's almost directly above here. This is as close as I need to be to study its stability, but... something is very strange about this crater.
    <<You>>: I agree. I guess the wind would have smoothed it out over time, but the rocks under all this dust don't... sound right. We should look for some more solid footing before we get a nasty surprise.

    After a sudden rumbling, a rockslide looms overhead while the ground cracks open under Xilar and the player character.
    <<You>>: ...Nevermind.

    Fade to black.




    Scene - Temple of the Four Skies, Zephyr's Cradle
  • A temple room with no visible walls, bordered by fog. There are runed doric columns, an altar, and a runed monolith with an empty recession where the Wind Orb is meant to be. Everything is in oddly good shape save for claw marks around the recession, and there is pointedly no hole overhead or any indication of where the characters fell through.
    Characters - Githari Raiders, Player Character, Xilar
  • Githari Raiders are listed below as a mob.
    Assets -
  • Dust and a few rocks falling around Xilar and the Chosen at the start of the scene.

    Xilar and the player character find themselves within Zephyr's Cradle: A foggy room with runed columns, where an altar lies unattended and a central monolith sports an empty recession for a large sphere.


    Xilar: Even with magic to slow it down, these bones aren't quite meant for falls like that. Are you hurt, <<You>>?
    <<You>>: Weirdly, no. Not at all. That was a *really* long fall, and a lot of tumbling, but I'm just fine... Wait, what? There's no hole in the roof. Where did we end up?
    Xilar: ...Zephyr's Cradle, I believe. The original shrine of the Wind Orb. We're at the deepest part of the temple. I had never been here before, but my Lord had the information that I was to use to sow discord...
    <<You>>: Okay, I can *almost* wrap my head around falling sideways, but no magical trap would take an invader to the single most important place in the temple. Unless it's become something else entirely since then.
    <<You>>: Maybe the whole temple is a trap to guard the rift now, reacting to Far West corruption. But reacting to the possibility of your return is awfully specific. There might be echoes, like at Dragonlorn Keep...
    Xilar: A solid theory. Unfortunately, I am the last person who could soothe any tormented souls lingering here. What powers my Lord granted are ill-suited for such healing... And I am the root of all their suffering.
    <<You>>: That's... to be honest, I'm still uneasy about that story, even if we're on friendly terms, but I've got your back. Now, there's no welcoming committee, but it can't be safe to stay still. Let's find a way-

    Two Githari fade in, appearing to the right. One of them speaks:

    Githari: -find a way to survive the coming storm without the Temple's aid. I know you tried to vouch for us. The rest of the priesthood is the problem. But you see the truth, you can still save my people.
    <<You>>: ...Is this an illusion?
    Githari: A *delusion*. What makes the priests think the cursed armies won't come for them too, now that the High Communicant is gone? Leaving us out to die is insane.
    Xilar: Vision or otherwise, these are indeed the Githari who stole the Wind Orb.
    Githari: ...It's the high clergy who decided that we must be out to steal the Orb, so our people can't get close to the temple. And they won't bring it out to help us leave... Do you see the cruel irony?
    Githari: There's no middle ground between utter devotion and being a criminal. If the Brilhado claim us, the dead will rule the skies, and you will be to blame. That leaves us no choice... I'm sorry. I really am.

    FOUR BATTLES: Two Githari Raider fights, two random wind mobs, full heal every two.

    A Githari Raider slumps down and disappears with an eerie sound, the other flies away.

    <<You>>: First of all, ow. The talons feel real. There's something familiar, though. Fighting those felt a lot like Sage Uldor's power to share his visions. Like hitting something in your dreams, only way less sluggish.
    Xilar: Visions made manifest... None of the old clergy had that power. I held what few I could at bay. I'm glad to not have hurt a... ...Ah, nevermind... shall we follow the one who fled?



    Leaving the Cradle, Xilar and the Chosen enter the Dawn wing, moving through a corridor where there appear to be no walls. Instead, there is a view of an infinite sky with dawn-like light coming from glowing streaks far overhead.

    <<You>>: ...Say. You had mentioned that we were deep under the temple.
    Xilar: That I had.
    <<You>>: That generally involves being underground.
    Xilar: That it does.
    <<You>>: Points for saving on walls, but... there isn't a whole lot of ground here.
    Xilar: That there isn't.
    <<You>>: Or anywhere, if I look outside. From *underground*. In a hall so big that I get lost just looking at it.
    Xilar: I... believe the temple may be steeped in the Wind Realm. The walls are as windows.
    <<You>>: It *feels* like open air, but since there's no wind... I'll take your word for it and stay clear of them.

    More eerie noises mark the appearance of voices further ahead.

    (Offscreen) Githari Raider: The guards are catching up! Get the Orb to the Archon, we'll hold them at the Dawn Wing!
    <<You>>: Wait! Whoever is doing this, we just want to talk!
    (Offscreen) Githari Raider: So did we.

    TWO BATTLES: Two Githari Raider fights, full heal afterwards.

    After the battle, the attacking Githari raiders split like the ones at the Cradle: One falls and disappears, the other flies away. Sounds of battle play further ahead.


    <<You>>:.I'm starting to hear fighting up ahead. The vision isn't just happening directly around us.
    Xilar: All across the temple. The fall of the Githari unfolding before our eyes. I... I am to witness it directly, then.
    <<You>>: Easy there. We don't have to keep right up with it. I know you're no frail old grandpa, but if you're starting to choke up, we can slow down.
    Xilar: No, we can't. With the temple in this shape, their escape path marks the one route out of here. And I... I have no right to hide from the blood staining my hands.

    TWO BATTLES. Pool: Githari Raiders, random non-human wind mobs, full heal afterwards.




    Xilar and the player character enter the Noon wing, where the sky beyond has a midday light.

    TWO BATTLES. Pool: Githari Raiders, random non-human wind mobs, full heal afterwards.


    Xilar: *huff* ...Perhaps... Perhaps I do need a moment, <<You>>. We may only be *seeing* the Wind Realm, but the sense of height is disorienting. I think this would be the Noon Wing?
    <<You>>: The trail's gone cold and quiet. I'm starting to see the differences with Sage Uldor's gift. This is being projected to the temple, not into our minds, and there are some unaffected gaps. We can rest here.
    Xilar: Contrary to appearances, it's not my body that needs rest. I have much to do still, and even more to atone for.
    <<You>>: So you keep implying. But what exactly do you intend to do? Walking headlong into danger that you've caused isn't exactly the same as atonement, that's self-punishment.
    Xilar: You know my story. The thousand years of lies.
    <<You>>: Convincing people that the Elemental Lords were at war, giving Brilhado the idea of raising their own dissenters as undead... I have an idea.
    Xilar: You know history. Secret history, but history nonetheless. Broad strokes, facts... And after all this time, that's all I am left with as well. Just the *knowledge* of what I did.
    Xilar: I always had another ploy to move on to, while the prior unfolded. Cause, effect, consequence. That alone weighs on my conscience, but to see the details and watch each drop of blood being shed...
    <<You>>: Is it getting to be too much?
    Xilar: ...No. I... I can hardly bear it, but -- You must understand, Chosen, I have no regrets. To have to make the same choices again would be agony, but I would do it all again. What I do have is remorse.
    Xilar: I've never known what to do with it. Never in my centuries have I had an idea of how I could ever make up for what I've done. The lesser evil, the necessary evil, is evil all the same.
    <<You>>: ...It's a lot to process, but I can't pretend I haven't struggled with the idea.
    Xilar: It pains me to raise my hand against them, vision or not. But this is all exactly what I need to feel. The pain of knowing exactly what I've done. If I don't experience their pain, how can I heal it?
    Xilar: We share similar burdens, Chosen. Mine are ancient, yours are many.. Divine purpose is a burden to even learn about, let alone pursue. In learning to lighten mine, perhaps one day I may help with yours.
    <<You>>: You're overwhelmed by your own remorse, in a vision seemingly made to torment you, and still trying to worry about me. You're a better person than I think you'll ever admit, even... Wait. Incoming!

    Checkpoint.
    TWO BATTLES. Pool: Githari Raiders, Tenebrophage Wyverns, random non-human wind mobs, full heal afterwards.



    The player and Xilar enter the Dusk Wing, staying close to the left side of the screen.

    <<You>>: I've completely lost the trail now... And they've led us away from the last place that didn't have that dreamlike feeling.
    Xilar: We are certainly not the pursuers anymore...

    A Windkeeper Dragon makes a roaring entrance, immediately attacking from behind..

    BATTLE: Windkeeper Dragon. Full heal

    The scene resumes with a defeated dragon in front of Xilar and the Chosen, fading away with the same eerie sound. Another Windkeeper Dragon enters normally from the right.

    Windkeeper Dragon: You don't have to do this! You are a hero of your kind, leave the traitor waiting! The clergy doesn't need to know, nobody does. He can't escape without you. Please - Nobody will know.
    <<You>>: I would know. I'm not turning my back on him.
    Windkeeper Dragon: The Wind Orb is only safe from the Brilhado demons in this temple, and you know it. There might still be a way to get this forbiddance reversed, but stealing the Orb can only bring war!

    The prior dialogue bubble changes to the following on its own, and then back as an eerie sound marks the voice overriding the dragon's.

    ???: This is not your burden to bear, hero. The Deceiver wishes to suffer. Let him. Walk away. He wishes to make a show of atonement. Let him. Walk away. He is willing to die here. LET HIM. WALK AWAY.

    <<You>>: I'm sorry that I can't change your fate, but I'm not abandoning Xilar.

    MINIBOSS BATTLE: Windkeeper Dragon (2)

    The dragon is suddenly gone without a trace.

    Xilar: We are being regarded as the Githari ourselves now. So many Wind Dragons were willing to pursue a peaceful resolution... Perhaps if they had rebelled against their corrupt leaders...
    Xilar: And yet, I whispered to them as well. They were decadent to begin with, but did I only expose that or make it worse as well? It's almost over, but I still have so much to learn...
    <<You>>: Xilar, you're starting to get dangerously carried away. If we're playing the role of Githari, we're the ones on the run now. We need to keep going while we can.




    Archon Xhun enters the Midnight Wing from the left, then suddenly disappears as Xilar and the player character appear in his place, taking his role in the vision.

    <<You>>: ...Whoa, that felt weird. Where are we now?
    Xilar: The Midnight Wing. I've actually been here before. This is where I was sent away from the temple. It's where most of the raiders were surrounded and met their end, before the orb was shattered.
    (Bubble points at the player character)Archon Xhun: That doesn't bode well for us.

    Suggested sound effect:
    _Sound FX Kit\Monsters _ Creatures\Beasts - Extra Large\RockMonster_Roar1

    <<You>>: I hear something huge coming. ...Zard spit, get behind me!

    Zephra looms from the right while Xilar and the player character are suddenly replaced by Archon Xhun.

    (Points at Archon Xhun) <<You>>: There she is -- Everyone, keep your distance! I'm the only one who can face her!
    Zephra: Xhun. As if the clergy wasn't backwards enough, now you bring the threat of war as well. I expected better from someone so wise in the ways of the elements. Has your genius become madness?
    Archon Xhun: Desperation, Zephra. While you toil to prevent one war, another has found us. And your kin have ensured that we're left with no choice. Step aside, Whisperer. I beg you. You will have the Orb back.
    Zephra: No. I will not have you fall for a ploy to steal the Wind Orb -- You may be truly capable of using it, but to protect it from your foes is another matter. Both you AND the clergy will have to answer to me now.
    Archon Xhun: ...If you had not been delayed until the Brilhado were nearly upon us, I would gladly defer to you. I do not lightly stare down a fully realized Great Dragon... But the Githari are out of time.
    Zephra: You can still stand aside.

    Zephra attacks.

    BOSS BATTLE: Zephra, Great Wind Dragon. Full heal after.

    Archon Xhun: I know I can't beat you, Zephra... But I'm not trying to. I have bought enough time. If your kind won't let my people go to the Wind Realm... Then the Wind Realm shall come to get my people!

    Archon Xhun sends the Wind Orb up, which shatters in an explosion that covers the screen. After the light fades, the vision ends, but Zephra is still there.
    Xilar and the player character are left standing in front of her.

    Zephra: You continued to protect Xilar... Even against me. I believe I finally recognize you. And you.. How fitting, "Deceiver", that you would be your own latest and greatest victim.
    <<You>>: ...So you weren't part of the vision. Or you aren't *now*. Before we go on with any speeches, please tell me the charade is over.
    Xilar: ...I think the lesson is over. Isn't it, Great Dragon?
    Zephra: Please, I haven't served that role in over a thousand years. Titles have never suited me, I barely tolerate 'Whisperer' without gagging at the formality. Just Zephra will do. So. Lesson learned?
    <<You>>: If we're dropping all formalities, I have to be blunt... *What* lesson?
    Xilar: I know that the rift is cleverly guarded, not left to the whims of untended wards. I understand the *personal* suffering I have caused. There was no atonement to be found without first feeling true empathy.
    Zephra: ...That's *correct*, but way too pompous. The point is that you're dragging yourself through coals to learn how to help the people who got burned by your fire. You're an exception to your own wisdom.
    Zephra: Against everything we expected, you genuinely want to make amends. But you're putting yourself too far down to be in any shape to do it. You have to be at your best to give your best to help others.
    Zephra: You have to be willing to forgive yourself. I'm not saying to do it immediately, but you don't even imagine it's possible right now. Well, you don't have to imagine this: I've already forgiven you.

    Archon Xhun enters from the right, joining Zephra.

    Archon Xhun: We both have. After all you have done, after all WE have done because of it, and the terrible means of making us see the error of our ways... I forgive you, Xilar, that you may forgive yourself.
    Xilar: ... Why? I haven't even begun to make up for what the Githari have gone through -- ... Even though I said I don't regret what I have done, you still forgive me?
    Archon Xhun: This world is built on second chances, Xilar. For people like us, forgiveness isn't a magic word to make your wrongs go away. But unlike the useless anchor of guilt, this is a duty to build upon.
    Xilar: But I... ... Thank you. I need a moment.

    Xilar leaves.

    Zephra: Cleverest Xilar, out of words! So the world IS changing... Hero, you may want to check on your companion in a moment. I am sorry that you've gotten dragged into this. I understand if you need to rest...
    Zephra: Or, perhaps you're not quite done. I'm sure you've noticed Xilar was not the only one being tested throughout this vision. If you're ready for a greater challenge, there is one final test awaiting you.

    Two choices:
  • I'm wiped. I should check on Xilar. (Level 135 shop, quest end)
  • Show me what else is going on here. (Level 150 set challenge)



    Challenge Scene Temple of the Four Skies rooftop, close to the Singing Scar.

    The player character enters from the left. Zephra and Archon Xhun wait at the right.

    <<You>>: Alright, then. What else is there to this test?
    Zephra: On your guard!
  • Wait, wha-

    Gear Checkpoint
    CHALLENGE BATTLE: Zephra and Xhun, Wind Sages


    <<You>>: ...And what in the world was THAT about?!
    Zephra: The end of your training, you could say. I'm sure you've encountered the armaments of this temple's former guards along the way. However, you may notice there were no Talonguard in the vision.
    Archon Xhun: When I shattered the orb, it created what you see behind us. The Singing Scar is what remains of a rift to the Wind Realm, made for my people to escape their Brilhado pursuers.
    Archon Xhun: I didn't follow them, even though the rift wouldn't last forever. I remained behind to face justice for my deed, and contain any threats from either side to the other.
    Zephra: Fat chance of doing that when he was set to be chained up or executed by pompous priests of the Wind Lord... But given the crisis, I took charge. We needed his knowledge, not a disgraced clergy.
    Archon Xhun: We recruited any able guardians into the Talonguard. They were to help safeguard the rift any time we were too busy with the Orb's restoration. Waiting for a new one to coalesce was not a choice.
    <<You>>: ...I imagined it might take intervention from an Elemental Lord if an Orb was seriously destroyed instead of broken into pieces. They can be recovered by just... waiting for another to form?
    Zephra: If one is beyond restoration, and you fancy a trip to the heart of an Elemental Realm, sure. There must always be a full set... That is a safeguard built into Lore itself.
    Archon Xhun: The Prime Orbs are more than power. They're more than *proof* of unity. They are meant to let mortals unite to perform divine work, should the divine fail, but only if they should work together
    Archon Xhun: What I did ran directly counter to that purpose. The Scar was unstable, and would not close all the way... It would have to be defended from both sides. We would not ask... Yet they volunteered.
    Archon Xhun: The Talonguards with longer lifespans took on the ultimate responsibility, becoming the elite Lost Talons. We trained them ourselves, one final test to ensure they could withstand the Wind Realm.
    Zephra: The same test you just went through. Earning their -- and your -- wings, so to speak. Well, no, kind of literally. Although it was practically a formality in your case. I already knew you would succeed.
    <<You>>: ...You did mention that you recognize me. Where do you know me from?
    Zephra: "A great flame defies the waning of its kin. Usurped once, then grasped at once more... But it shan't blaze true in a pretender's skin, and will be reclaimed from Death's door."
    Zephra: Uldor isn't the only seer around. Nor the only one who can share visions. His gift is more refined, from what I have felt... But I can reach over far greater distances. See you around, my fiery friend...



    • Post #: 163
    5/25/2026 11:51:22   
      Lorekeeper
    And Pun-isher

     
    Parting Whispers

    Lost Talon Set, part 3





    Scene - Still shot of Terminus's overview

    Sleep comes quickly when you can finally slow down after your pilgrimage to the Temple of the Four Skies. Sharing the burden of Xilar's remorse, learning just how much more dangerous the Orbs can be, and being reminded of your prophecy, your need to rest after the war is even greater.

    Thankfully, the harsh Terminus is not without its comforts, and you finally enjoy a night of deep rest.

    As you near waking, however, a pressure drags you back into fading dreams. Whispers fill your mind with a familiar voice that seems lost in its own trance. Zephra's mind touches yours, sharing her omens as she once did with the Vartai who learned of the Burning Solstice.

    Your dreams become a mirror for hers, and you sink in their ripples. The future uncoils before you, threads of possibility being set and torn apart by madness, before your mind and Zephra's voice make sense of what little they can.





    Scene - Space view of Lore, standing atop a platform made of vines and strands of blue energy with star-like wisps.

    The world's veins unravel and snap to new order. A change spun with care and already in motion now grows wild, defying sight and scheme.

    To fool fiends and heroes until the corrupt find no haven, or carve time wide open that the brow 'neath each crown strains.

    The question: Which design can survive its own wake?

    SIX BATTLES: Random dragons and nature creatures, including dryads. Full heal every two fights. Enemies have Harm Backlash and Regeneration, as well as the dummy effect "Heart of the World", with the description: "It beats more intensely than ever, steeped in dissolving divinity. Without the eightfold reins, who will withstand the tremors?"





    Scene - Total darkness, save for a patch of soil where the battle unfolds.


    The shadows of two foes faded, the twin stains now beyond their control. One began to fade, the other to grow rampant.

    Banished forevermore, they lock in pursuit. One seethes at a small thorn felling grand designs, one learns in parting to be a small thorn.

    The Storm's bones will finally rest, that the memory of their life may outshine their death's. But what its death will spare it will yet find another, and in torment the Mountain shall wake.

    The question: How far will you go?

    Checkpoint
    BOSS BATTLE: Omen of the Mountain.
    Full heal

    The prophecy continues in the Omen of the Mountain's description:

    When dreams awaken out of turn. When the body stirs before the dreamer wakes. When an exile is all that remains of the storm's shadow... the world will shudder under the Mountain's grief.



    Scene - The Void

    Two regencies mourn, certain yet regretful, the scars of success and the weight of their favor. Eight principalities stand silent, lamenting old hubris, their chief boons each lost to the world.

    Crowns fall like forsaken stars, seeping into a land unprepared to reclaim them. While one stands, the rest fall, an echelon broken.

    A bowed head, a fallen one, a seething one clinging to dust. Where many are forgotten, one shines as only a dying star can, and another rebels like only love would.

    The question: Who will they remember after the end?

    Checkpoint
    BOSS BATTLE: Omen of the End
    Description: There is always a choice. There are always consequences. Some will only be judged by time.


    Scripted "battle": Future?
    This is an altered version of the similarly named encounter from Burning Solstice part 6, with the description: I will ask the Void who I will be, and the weight of the answer will sunder me. It sets the player's health to 1, then is automatically defeated, leaving War's sword embedded on the ground.


    Post #: 164
    5/25/2026 12:23:35   
      Lorekeeper
    And Pun-isher

     
    The Ratty Crown

    Harvest 2021




    Nimrod and the player character stand guard on the hills south of Battleon, backed by Guardians.

    <<You>>: I got here as fast as I could, but just to make sure I didn't hear the message wrong: We're meeting with the... Royal Ratinue? Can someone fill me in?
    Nimrod: It's as silly as it sounds, but there's still a serious situation. It turns out that King BURP is back. The 'little biter' isn't with Famine or Pestilence anymore, and, well... It got to his big head.
    Nimrod: He calls himself the Rat King now, and sent word that he'd personally visit Battleon to discuss a proposal for a trade deal 'For assurance of a beneficient and mutually prosperitous link of our peoples"
    <<You>>: Please. *Please* tell me he doesn't actually talk like that.
    Nimrod: We've both heard enough lies this year, <<You>>. Which takes me to the reason we called you over... No confirmation yet, but I'm pretty sure we're not the first settlement he's asked to trade with.
    Nimrod: *sigh* I'll become allergic to kings at this rate. See, a lot of bandits seem to be coordinating on a regional scale now, and we've been catching rumors of a Bandit King for almost two years now.
    Nimrod: If they weren't getting hit by the Umazen... It'd look ugly. It's still making other settlements grow more insular, since it's harder to depend on trade when caravans don't arrive on time.
    Nimrod: This "Royal Ratinue" was seen migrating away from a few places the bandits hit. It looked like cooperation, but it turns out they *were* trading. Except those towns are suddenly too poor to trade with *us*.
    <<You>>: Either they're extorting vulnerable settlements, the trade is a cover for hitting them while they're down, or... Oh, here they come. ...Wait, is that really King BURP?

    The Rat King enters from the right, carried on a palanquin by BURP escorts.

    Rat King: Salutant greetings, future friends of the Royal Ratinue! Please, let us dispensate with the antiquity-ed epithetics-- I come in one piece today as the Rat King, pleased to make your aquantity.
    Nimrod: *twitch* I don't think any of those words... Ahem. Your... highness? While you asked to meet in the town proper, I trust you'll understand recent conflict would make us wary. Would you like to present your--
    Rat King: A comprehendable concern, most estimated Guardian! This location is... not coarse. Howevertheless, I am most constipated by the presence of such armed numerals in the welcoming confetti.
    Rat King: We came to bows in the past, but I can usurp you that we mean you no farm! For soothsay, we wish to acquiesce your grain legitimately, share our considerate wealth- ...You're not buying it.
    <<You>>: Nope, sorry. To be fair, you've got some unfortunate timing. We're just done getting rid of the most competent deceiver in the history of Lore... Even Guardian recruits would take real effort to fool right now.
    Rat King: We are disappalled by these scandigrade accus... acous... OhwellItriedATTACK!

    TWO BATTLES: Random BURPs, excluding BlackWhisker. Full heal

    The Rat King starts backing away.

    <<You>>: Not so fast, you decadent language murderer, you've got a lot to answer for--
    Rat King: Your threats are no match for my secret royal rat to the face technique!

    The Rat King plays his special attack animation while the BURPs advance on the player character.

    TWO BATTLES: Random BURPs, excluding BlackWhisker. Full heal.

    Rat King: Fall back! Fighting retreat, my subjects! Don't let them trail us!
    All enemies leave.

    Nimrod: Hold! Don't give chase!
    Rat King (Offscreen): Why, you- Keep running!
    Nimrod: I don't like this. Hold your ground, everyone... Rats, I hear fighting! They must be hitting the farms! Why didn't the horn call go out?!
    <<You>>: They must've been ready for things to go wrong. Keep an eye out, I'll get there as fast as I can!




    In the middle of the fields, a BURP crosses the screen with a stolen horn/bugle. The player character enters as more BURPS burrow out of the ground

    <<You>>: HEY! Come back here with that... Since when can you guys tunnel this fast?!

    BURPs slowly start crossing the screen with a kidnapped farmer.

    <<You>>: ...I don't know if this is more sinister or ridiculous, but that crosses a line. If ridiculous violence is the only language your king is willing to speak... Let me show you my thesis.

    FOUR BATTLES: Random BURPs, heal every two fights.

    With the BURPs cleared out, Guardians enter from the right.

    <<You>>: That's the last of the burrowers. Easy enough to drive out, but this isn't looking good... We're going to have to comb every field for pits and tunnels before the farmers can feel safe working.
    <<You>>: Going after the farmers themselves is new... Not even Serenia's going to save the harvest if something snagged them right under our noses. They could have genuinely taken the whole crop, and fast.
    <<You>>: Can you guys take it from here? They were clearly trying to get us to overextend and leave the farms underprotected, so I'd like to check up with Nimrod on my own.
    Guardian: Now that they've lost the element of surprise, we've got this locked down. Thank you for your help. We'll protect everyone and set up a perimeter -- But Nimrod sent word to ask you to sneak around..
    Guardian: I'll show you where he said to meet him.



    Nimrod and the player character enter a forest area.

    Nimrod: I'm glad you got our message. I got my squad to pretend to ignore my orders and give chase while I flanked around a forest trail. He's probably luring us into the shifting areas of the woods...
    Nimrod: But we're not insane enough to chase someone that far. I'd rather cut him off here than fight on his terms. Ready for an ambush?
    <<You>>: I genuinely wish we were dealing with a sincere attempt at peace. But Nimrod? I've been ready to knock that throne rats over teakettle since he first opened his mouth. Let's go.

    Pan further to the right, where the Rat King is attacking Guardians from his palanquin.

    Rat King: Are these the defenders of Battleon? How did you ever stand up to Famine? The Riders can no longer contain me, and you're clearly too slow to catch me.
    Rat King: I'll have your whole harvest yet! And here I thought the famed "unbroken" Battleon would be an obstacle to my vision.

    The player character enters from the left.

    <<You>>: You might want to worry about your peripheral vision first,
    Rat King: ...Aw, humans.

    BOSS FIGHT: The Rat King

    <<You>>: I can't tell if we've gotten so used to grand deceivers that schemes like this are just dull in comparison... Or if that crowned nuisance really is that much of a nimrod- Ah, er. Sorry.
    Nimrod: No offense taken. Between you and I, it's fun to trip people up with the definitions of my name. As of this "Rat King"... a little bit of the former, all of the latter. Something still doesn't seem right about this.
    Nimrod: All of that overacting incompetence and obvious baiting doesn't match with the subtlety of burrowing under our farms for however long that must've taken.
    Nimrod: They dealt extensive damage to the fields and almost seized farmers too. Even then, it feels like things went too smoothly.
    <<You>>: You have a point. The farm attack was well planned and executed, and could've been much worse if we took even a little longer to repel it. Compared to that, everything else went too easily in our favor.
    Nimrod: The BURPs have never been much for mind games. I have to say, I'm not keen on them getting started. Let's get back home for now, and I'll see what I can learn from the Rat King's other victims.



    In the usual crop restoration scene, Serenia swoops down before the player character.

    Serenia: Another wonderful offering, <<You>>. It warms my heart to see you all come together this year as well. The fields were so heavily undermined, restoring them was... delicate work, even for me.
    <<You>>: ...Are you okay, Serenia?
    Serenia: I am... exhausted, but I endure. I don't believe the stranger we met is interfering with my domain any further. But whatever they are doing now, the war of uncreation wears heavily on us all.
    Serenia: The other powers of nature, if they even live... Don't fear, <<You>>. No matter what happens, I will ensure the fields' bounty remains prosperous. All I've ever wanted was to keep a simple dream alive.
    Serenia: For my people to always have a roof over their heads, a comfortable bed, and warm bread to look forward to. Whatever waning my future has in store, I will protect that dream. As of your future...
    Serenia: You are right to beware the Rat King's guile, for he is more powerful than you realize. The greater danger, however, is that the self-proclaimed ruler is more powerful than *he* realizes.
    Serenia: The power lost to divinity is reclaimed by the world itself, and wild new magics promise boons and curses untold.
    Serenia: A buffoon gorged on this promise may prove more of a king and more of a monster. Even cracking the source to free his victims may not erase the curse fueling a king of rats and tatters...



    Post #: 165
    5/25/2026 13:25:17   
      Lorekeeper
    And Pun-isher

     
    Battleon's Untimely Rat Problem

    Tree Decoration 2021





    Following the tree decoration, with a Guardian arriving partway through.

    Robina: Another lovely tree! And we're just getting started this year. We have so much to celebrate, and don't you think for a moment that we're taking our eyes off of you this time.
    <<You>>: ...Thanks? I think?
    Robina: We're not getting a repeat of last year, that's for sure.
    <<You>>: Okay, that's more reassuring. Although, thankfully, I haven't felt anything weird or heard any odd whispers lately.
    Robina: Good! Because you're the protagonist of this year's party. We're rid of Erebus for good thanks to you! And word is that you also helped us kick out the same kind of invader that sparked the Calamity.
    <<You>>: Well, I-
    Robina: So, I've been talking to Valencia about a surprise...
    <<You>>: Oh no.
    Robina: And Hans has really outdone himself working on gear for the farmers after this year's attack, so Yulgar said they'd take the week off... You should see what they put together for you.
    Robina: The whole town is going to be there -- We lost our homeland to these creeps, so it means a lot to them that a hero kept history from repeating itself. They all want to shake your hand, hear stories...

    The undercover Guardian enters.

    Farmer: Hail, <<You>>. You might recognize me from the attack on the farms. I'm in a real rush, but I wanted to stop by and drop off this letter of thanks from the community. Enjoy the festivities!

    The following letter is handed to the player character:

    quote:


    To <<You>>

    Excuse the covert delivery. I suspect I'm being watched through magical means, so I needed a roundabout way of reaching you. There's definitely much more to the Rat King's plans than it seemed. I've investigated the other towns this "Ratinue" has visited, and figured out how the BURP pack operates.

    These BURPs have been visiting border settlements with their trade offers. Once they're heavily relied on, their rates grow extortionate, and they begin targeting messengers from their target towns. They prove easy enough to shake off, but some defenders always go missing in the pursuit when they're lured into traps deep in the woods.

    Anyone who doesn't buy their act is raided, and the same disappearances happen. We fared better, though I wondered about what would make them overconfident enough to take on Battleon. We got the best descriptions we could of the missing people to try and scry on them, and turned up nothing. Either the details weren't good enough, they're tragically lost... or something even stranger is afoot.

    The BURPs now scatter in advance wherever I go. I've left some undercover agents in the fields of Ashenvale, where the Ratinue was repelled. Some Pria Knights visiting their families went missing. Perhaps you can find something out while I lead their attention elsewhere.
    - Nimrod


    Robina: Oh no, it looks like adventure came calling and you have a legitimate excuse to get away from all the attention from the surprise early party that your friend Robina totally didn't just tip you off about.
    Robina: Now you're probably going to be busy until the huge mob quiets down and we get it organized into proper celebrations. *Such* a pity.
    <<You>>: ...You had me for a while, I'm not going to lie. Well, I'm eager to see how the people of Ashenvale have been doing since Drakonnan's attacks. ...You can be a creepily good actress, you know.
    Robina: I... should tell you where I got those skills one of these days. Go on, before the crowd gets here. Get your hero on, and I'll distract them. You owe me one!


    Post #: 166
    5/25/2026 13:25:39   
      Lorekeeper
    And Pun-isher

     
    Curse of the Rat Queen!

    Frostval 2021, part 2




    The Chosen enters a dead end role that cuts off in a forest.

    <<You>> (Thinking): ...Okay. This looked weird from a distance, and it's weirder up close. This is definitely the road to Ashenvale, but there was barely a savanna left last time I was here.
    <<You>> (Thinking): It'd make sense to plant trees to restore the area, but covering the road is definitely more of that strange growth of the forests. I'm going to have to get a new map if the madness slows down.
    <<You>> (Thinking): Well, I COULD look for whatever new trails the travelers and traders use nowadays, but that's probably where these rats have eyes. Maybe I can surprise any lingering BURPs if I cross the woods.
    <<You>> (Thinking): If I run into Dryads, maybe I can convince them that we should help each other out. Getting the Ratinue out of the woods has got to be a priority for them.
    <<You>> (Thinking): ...Whoa, it got loud around here.

    FOUR BATTLES: Forest creatures, including nature dragons but excluding Dryads. Full heal every two.




    An unmarked path through the trees is guarded by two Gym Rats.

    Watchrat: Freaking guard duty. All this exercising and standing around on two legs to knock out anyone who gets too close to the circle, and for what? Last pick of the spoils, all the nagging to leave no traces...
    Outrat: You's a simpleton, Watch. Worried about the little things. The way I see it, this 'ere's as cushy a post as it gets for a loyal rat down on the ol' luck. 'Least if you don't fancy bein' killed for goin' back to Famine.
    Watchrat: The heck are you talking about?
    Outrat: I'm talkin' about using your head. Haven't ya figured out why we're movin' around all the time? It's so's we don't get ate -- Or worse. Every time the Queen works her mojo, the forest gets mad. Real mad.
    Watchrat: ...Well, yeah, you can't expect the critters, dragons and whatnot to be happy with the lot of us eating all the forage and the Queen carving up clearings to lay traps for the humans. It makes sense to move.
    Outrat: Told ya. Simple mind. I said the FOREST gets mad. The whole thing. It's growin', and dreamin', and we've gone and poked it. See, Queenie's mojo isn't really HER mojo.
    Watchrat: That's the kind of talk that'll get us whipped with human belts... But what do you mean the magic isn't hers?
    Outrat: She found it, I just don't rightly knows whereabouts she did. Didn't know it'd give the forest a tizzy the first time she used it, so I's seen the whole show. What really happens if we stick around too long.
    Outrat: First, them Dryads show up. Took out a good chunk of the Ratinue, they did. Made the trees start movin' and gave everyone a whoopin'. And them's the least gnarly thing that came at us.
    Outrat: Dryads might be dangerous, but they's just humans what heard the forest's call for defenders. It's the things what come straight from the forest's dreams that you never wants to run into, Watch.
    Watchrat: ...Out of the forest's... dreams?
    Outrat: Aye. Don't rightly know what to call those. 'orribly pretty, they are. Dryads just want to beat ya to a pulp. THOSE? Those play games with you. And their fun's your undoing. 'specially when they seem nice.
    Outrat: Slowest of us, the pretty monsters took their names. They couldn't leave the forest anymore. We're forgettin' them, slowly. So yeah. Best you've got to worry about 'ere is Dryads, those just pummel you.
    Watchrat: Uh. Nevermind me about not leaving a trace. Say... Dryads still sound bad. I literally lived under a rock until I started deadlifting it, but aren't some friends with this "Chosen"? What can THAT one do?

    The player character enters from the left.

    <<You>>: For starters, I'm better at eavesdropping than you guys are at keeping watch.
    Outrat: EVERY FRIGGEN TIME. I'M NOT JOININ' ANY MORE VILLAINS WITHOUT CHOSEN INSURANCE.

    FOUR BATTLES: Two Gym Rats, two random BURPs. Full heal every two.


    The view pans over a roughly carved out clearing with broken branches and dug out soil making room for a runic circle in the middle. The circle glows a mix of gold and sickly green. The right side of the circle is smudged and torn up, with a broken stone and pieces of rope from someone who broke free of it.

    While various BURPs stand guard around the circle, the Rat Queen is standing on the damaged part

    Rat Queen: They should not have been able to leave the circle... Stronger bindings are in order, yes, but metal chains would disrupt the channeling. Had they concealed some manner of charm...?
    Rat Queen: Their will was on the verge of breaking, or the curse would not have found such strong doubt to become rooted upon. Bah. The transformation has begun, we will not find them by smell anymore.
    Rat Queen: We must find replacements quickly. Be ready. I must know that the process is perfected; your King will lay the final trap soon. I have invested too much of the source into him to fall short now.
    Rat Queen: Once the supplies are assembled and enough of Battleon's defenders follow his lead, the Hungerless Army will be born. We will no longer fear the starveling god, but feast on what power he has left!
    Rat Queen: You there! I hear screaming to the east, but no reports of Dryads. Investigate! If they are beginning to appear even from an incomplete ritual, we are out of time!

    The leftmost BURP leaves to the left, then tumbles back in, unconscious. The player character enters.

    <<You>>: ...I was about to ask if that convinces you to surrender, but I've got a real history with people who make big ritual circles not listening to a word I say. That and it seems you have some escaped victims.
    <<You>>: So, are we repeating history, or are you going to surprise me?
    Rat Queen: ...<<You>>? ...This is almost worse than the smiling ones. No, you're right. We stand no chance against you in direct combat, and my ritual is dashed. I cannot safely trap you...
    <<You>>: That IS surprisingly reasonable. Now, I--
    Rat Queen: DELAY $HIM! I shall have to use the magics directly, or we will be undone!
    <<You>>: There's no 'or' about it.

    TWO BATTLES: Different kinds of BURPs in packs. Full heal every two.

    Only the player character and the Queen are left. She begins casting.

    BOSS BATTLE: Rat Queen

    <<You>>: Did you seriously think I was going to let you finish a spell? Now, you've got some questions to answer. ... Wait.

    Zoom in on the now wooden Rat Queen.



    Time passes, and the scene returns to the player character having gotten rid of the ritual circle.

    <<You>>: Alright, whatever this ritual was, that'll make sure nobody can pick it back up while I find the missing knights from Ashenvale. I'd bet they're the ones who broke free of it.

    The Dryads enter from the left.

    Fall Dryad: We can spare you the uncertainty, Chosen. From what we can gather, this is indeed where those stolen from the unburnt land were taken.
    Spring Dryad: You have done the forest a great favor. This area can begin healing immediately. I can see why some of our sisters speak highly of you. We would like to... keep this wretch, if you would stand aside.
    Spring Dryad: Perhaps by studying the irony of her remains, we could learn the origins of her... overreach. This power is not unlike that which made the forest dream, but wasn't taken FROM the forest...
    <<You>>: That sounds a little macabre, to be honest, but go right ahead. Wooden statues are high maintenance anyways. Do you have any idea of where the knights might have gone from here?
    Fall Dryad: I'm afraid not. However, these are knights from Ashenvale... Yes. Yes, the memory is faint, but enough for divination. I know my old home well.

    The Dryad's eyes change as she casts a spell.

    Fall Dryad: ...This is unusual. I can tell that the essence has changed, but not find it. Gleaning that would be impossible if they were simply gone. Instead, it's... drowned out.
    Spring Dryad: That worries me. The sisters of Fall are the watchful eyes of the unwaking. What clouds your vision?
    Fall Dryad: A blind spot. No, a *blinding* spot... Where the power of nature is as pure as the moment the forest's dreams were born. But it is so tightly concentrated that I can hardly see *near* it.
    <<You>>: Where is this? That sounds incredibly ominous, and we *are* dealing with some manner of stolen or corrupted nature power here.
    Spring Dryad: Perhaps. But is it wise to take a human to such a place?
    Fall Dryad: Most likely not, sister. But we both know the will of the forest is not to make such a beacon. Nature reclaims and grows, it does not shrink towards a single point.
    Spring Dryad: Very well. We will trust you to remain a hero for now, in spite of certain... worrying traces.
    <<You>>: ... Alright then. Where is this place?
    Fall Dryad: To the North, near Frostvale.
    <<You>> Uh-oh.

    Post #: 167
    5/25/2026 13:26:11   
      Lorekeeper
    And Pun-isher

     
    Wood You Kindly

    Frostval 2021, part 3





    The player character enters a forest scene crossed by floating wisps of green light that flow in the same direction. Defeated BURPs littered the area.

    <<You>> (Thinking): O...kay then. Not exactly the trail I was looking for, but I'll take it. It looks like some of the Royal Ratinue got a seven-course knuckle feast.
    <<You>> (Thinking): Dryads would have dragged them out of the woods, though. So unless fate is conspiring to annoy me by adding another third party... You know what? The chance is there, but I won't jinx it.
    <<You>> (Thinking): Hopefully this is the knights' handiwork.
    <<You>>: HEY! You there! Did you catch the armor plate of the knight that ran you over?
    BURP: Five more eons, mum, the nice Pria lady put my head through a tree and I forgot to wear my skeleton to the math exam.
    <<You>>: Well, there's my confirmation. They had quite a head start, but it looks like they got bogged down while the dryads gave me a shortcut. It shouldn't take me that long to catch up.

    FOUR BATTLES: Forest mobs (Dryads excluded), random plant mobs and BURPs. Full heal every two.




    The Drossel siblings, wooden people with nutcracker heads, are standing in the middle of a denser trail of wisps, looking right as a giant Gym Rat falls over.

    Sir Drossel: One more for the list of victories under the illustrious banner of the Drossel family! We'll be rid of your arboreal blight yet, vermin varlets! This bark of servitude will darken our lineage no more!
    Dame Drossel: It was bad enough dealing with a FIGURATIVE big talking head, please don't make the literal one even more of a curse. Stop monologuing and let's go, I'm not done pummeling rats.

    The player character enters. The knights turn to face them.

    Dame Drossel: Hold it there if you don't want trouble. Name, friend or foe?
    <<You>>: <<You>>. Friend. I just took care of the Rat Queen you ran away from, I'm here to help.

    If the player is a Pria Knight:
    Sir Drossel: My word, if it isn't the Chosen. I had hoped to make the acquaintance of Rennd's most storied Knight-Errant in better circumstances, but to happen upon you in our time of need is its own glory.
    Sir Drossel: Not since well before the unfortunate besmirching of our father's reputation have we had the occasion to collaborate with a figure of your reputation. And you say you dispatched our captors? Wonderful!
    Dame Drossel: What the pompously pedantic pile of pine nuts means to say is that we're glad to see a fellow Pria Knight, but we're in a bit of a rush. We'll take the help, though. Sorry for the aggressive greeting.

    If the player is a Demon Knight:
    Sir Drossel: My word, if it isn't the Chosen. A glorious occasion to be sure, to meet such a renowned hero in our time of need, but your allegiances pose an interesting conundrum.
    Dame Drossel: Do they? This seems really simple to me. I don't see the government of Stormfallen in front of us, just one knight with a clear reputation. And <<You>> just said <<he/she>> came to help, not fight.
    Sir Drossel: True. I must be mindful not to fall into wartime propaganda; that bile lasts long after any armistice. The nobility's own divisive preaching doesn't help, nor does the secrecy of the treaties... Apologies.

    Otherwise:
    Sir Drossel: My word, if it isn't the Chosen. A glorious occasion to be sure, to meet such a renowned hero in our time of need. I had hoped to invite you to the Drossel manor for the festivities, but alas...
    Dame Drossel: Now is REALLY not the time to hobnob. We've got a curse to lift, or failing that, pummel. If you really want to do the whole family networking routine, please save it until we're done.
    Sir Drossel: You're correct, sister. I couldn't help myself, but it was truly inappropriate of me. My apologies, <<You>>. I should not bog down your assistance with ill-timed matters of pomp and nobility.

    Continuing:

    <<You>>: It's alright. We can save all the social complexities for later, we've got two crises to deal with. What was done to you two, and what I learned the Rat Queen was probably taking power from.
    <<You>>: There's some sort of nexus of nature magic near Frostvale, but the Dryads that defend the forest don't know much about it. It matches with a spot the Ratinue was moving back and forth from, too.
    Sir Drossel: Ah, I knew it! Or, more accurately, we can feel it. Magic is not our forte, mind, but we can perceive a connection to this place, a... resonance, if you will? We've felt this since we were freed.
    <<You>>: Wait, you were freed? Who released you from the Rat Queen?
    Sir Drossel: That is a bigger mystery than this malediction. We could see them out of the corner of our eyes, while our captors neither saw nor heard them. Whilst our forms turned, they broke locks and smudged-
    Dame Drossel: In short, we saw figures sabotage the ritual in little ways, then disappear. Our chains were loose, we saw our weapons against a tree. We broke out, but then... Ever had a splinter in your face?
    <<You>>: And the BURPs didn't see anything? That sounds less like help and more like something was messing with them. But yeah, I've had plenty of those.
    Dame Drossel: Basically that, but *all over*, then you realize that YOUR ENTIRE FACE IS MADE OF SPLINTERS, EVEN YOUR TEETH, and you're going to punch the cause in the spleen until it's fixed. Let's go!

    FOUR BATTLES: As before.



    Deeper in the forest, the energy wisps form a streaming trail of light flowing into a half-buried nut or seed of huge size. The seed seems embedded in front of a major flow of energy from the other direction. The characters enter in succession, Sir Drossel getting closer to the seed.

    Dame Drossel: ...There it is. I don't know what I expected, but that's what we've been tracking.
    <<You>>: This place feels about as wild and weird as it looks. Something intense is throwing nature into disarray here. It feels... familiar, but wrong. Or like something was wrong, but it's settling. What a headache...
    Sir Drossel: Hold fast, Chosen... Our enemy has clearly been here recently, but although they left already, the source of our woes remains before our eyes. This bloated abomination clearly doesn't belong.
    Sir Drossel: Dissecting this dastardly, deciduous instrument of evil should prove most satisfying. I can bear this bloated head no longer, Mariya... but even it will serve to crack this nut if weapons don't suffice.

    If player INT is >= 200, the following line plays.
    <<You>>: I see what you mean. This plant is filtering power from that dense emanation beyond it, with an unsafe intensity. Careful, though. Unless it's actively enforcing your curse, destroying it won't necessarily lift it.

    If it's <200
    <<You>>: I'm not sure that destroying this thing will instantly lift your curse, but if you feel like it's hurting you, then it's worth taking a crack at it.

    Continuing:
    Dame Drossel: Hold on. I want to turn that thing into splinters more than anyone, but look at the ground here. ...Tarron, step back about seven paces. Slowly.

    Tarron slides back. The screen shakes.

    Dame Drossel: I said step back, not do the rockslide!
    Sir Drossel: It's the only dance step I know! It's the only backward step I know, too! It's not my fault we can't have sneaking animations!
    Dame Drossel: You can just turn around instead of blaming it on the--
    <<You>>: I don't know what you're going on about, but watch out!

    The Krakanut emerges.

    BOSS BATTLE: Krakanut

    Only a pit of leftover green and golden radiance remains where the Krakanut was.

    Sir Drossel: Is everyone alright? That turned into rather more of an adventure than I expected...
    Dame Drossel: No big wounds here. I don't think I could tell if I was slightly wounded, so let's say I'm fine.
    <<You>>: I'll be fine. There's still way too much power going wild here, but you were definitely on to something. I'll have to make sure the Dryads know everything that happened. Still, it feels freer, somehow..

    Flares of energy leave the siblings.

    Dame Drossel: Freer... Funny, I get what you mean, but it's because I don't feel anything from this place anymore. Unfortunately, I still feel like a top-heavy sack of peanuts in a hollow stump.
    Sir Drossel: Our disgrace continues... But I'm afraid we have another burden to worry about, first. Those tracks we saw before the beast started thrashing -- They were indeed bound for Frostvale.
    Dame Drossel: ...Yeah. We can find someone to help us later. Small, but deep tracks make me think of that so-called king's throne. Frostvale will need defenders who know his tricks..
    <<You>>: Nobody would fault you if you sought help right away. I've got enough contacts out there that I'm sure we can find someone who knows about this magic.
    Dame Drossel: That's kind, but you know *someone* would. I'd definitely blame myself. We can still fight... We should worry about our misfortune later. Especially when we have three good turns to repay.
    Dame Drossel: Someone broke us free, even if it was just to see things go wrong for the rats. Dryads apparently helped you find us faster. And then there's you. Come on, I'll prove I can still defend others.
    Sir Drossel: Such is a knight's duty. We know you wouldn't demean us with doubt, but as long as I'm able-bodied, even if warped... I would feel unworthy if I stepped away from those in need.
    Sir Drossel: The Rat Queen would have forced us to use these tireless forms as slaves strung by this creature's magic. It's fitting that we use them against her ilk.
    <<You>>: Compared to your earlier bickering, I'd say you've proven something already. Especially if you put your weapons where your mo... er, words are. I'm glad to have your help.
    <<You>>: Let's move quickly, though. It's only a matter of time until the Rat King finds out about his recent losses... Things will get weirder or nastier, probably both. Well, time to save Frostval again.


    Post #: 168
    5/25/2026 13:26:30   
      Lorekeeper
    And Pun-isher

     
    The King of Rats and Tatters

    Frostval Gift Delivery 2021




    The player character and the Drossel twins approach Frostvale, where Chilly is talking to Yaheem.

    Sir Drossel: --no compensation whatsoever, of course. What would our father think? Certainly, gold finds its way to the pockets of an artificer of his skill. To say nothing of reputation!
    Sir Drossel: The fame of Meiyer Drossel is no small challenge to live up to! Why, I hear that even the great Hadin once recognized him! Or at least pronounced his name correctly, heh. But we're *knights*, and--
    Dame Drossel: Tarron! I said the word honor ONCE and you go on a speech. All I'm saying is we'll owe whoever frees us, and beating the biggest bounty around would help us do something suitably good for them!
    <<You>>: Yaheem! Good to see you organizing Frostvale's defense again. Now please save me from this endless yammering. Er, I mean... These Pria knights were cursed by the Rat Queen, who has now fallen.
    <<You>>: We haven't figured out how to free them yet, but they're determined to help with the defense. They're really competent, but I can't get them to stop arguing for long without dragging them into combat.
    Yaheem: Oh, I know the type. Don't worry, <<You>>, I got you. *ahem*... KNIGHTS! Fall in!

    Exclamation marks flash over the knights' heads.

    Yaheem: Welcome to the Frostvale defense. I'm Yaheem, head of the Frostvale detachment of Guardians. <<You>> vouches for you, so I'll assume you know and accept the risks of fighting in your state.
    Yaheem: We've already repelled scattered assaults from this 'Royal Ratinue'. Their command structure broke down, which I assume we have the three of you to thank for, but we're not done here.
    Yaheem: Major delivery operations are about to start, and BURPs can come out of anywhere. Lots of rats means lots of sanitation and medicine, we don't want to catch and transmit anything when giving gifts.
    Yaheem: I'm assigning you to protection and escort detail for our apothecaries. Also, our Guardian medics need extra eyes looking out for them on each stop. Chilly will see you to your posts. Move out!
    Drossel Knights: Sir, yes sir!
    Chilly: Yay! That means I'm a commanding officer now!

    Chilly exits stage right, followed by the knights.

    <<You>>: ...How did you DO that? I tried everything along the way, including orders.
    Yaheem: Abdomen, diaphragm, chest, throat... And YEARS of stubborn recruits with something to prove. My guess is those two admire you and want to impress you, but I'm an allied authority figure.
    Yaheem: Now, we should swap news while you take a break. We've already kicked the Rat King back into the woods, and BURP morale is six feet under. I don't think they'll rally from it, but you might know better.
    <<You>>: I took out the Rat Queen, who turned into wood, ruined their plans to magically turn kidnapped people into an army to fight Famine, and destroyed the source of their magic. That maaay upset him. A bit.



    Back in the pit that the Krakanut rose from, the silhouette of the Rat King is shown hunched over the creature's pieces, desperately eating them. His form suddenly bloats, and an enormous rat head on a long neck stretches out of the pit to lead a charge of BURPs.




    WAR!


    War Scroll: Even without the Queen's magic, the Royal Ratinue has rapidly gone from scattering to attacking Frostvale! This isn't the opportunistic attack you predicted; something sinister is afoot...

    Lucretia: Word on the road is that you ran out from a party that I happened to be a supplier for in order to go be a hero. I guess this was why. Yikes.
    <<You>>: I take it you're not a fan of why Frostval sales are high this year?
    Lucretia: Everywhere these new BURPs go, alchemists and apothecaries can't make potions and rabies tonics fast enough.
    Lucretia: Prevention's not good enough if they can't get to everyone, so they run out of supplies FAST. I'm an alchemist AND apothecary, so...
    Lucretia: I'm having to help them all at the same time. With training, supplies, distilling...
    <<You>>: Yikes indeed.
    Lucretia: Yeah. I don't mind helping, but my free time is gone for MONTHS. So kick that BURP king in the crown jewels for me, will you?

    Twilly: Twillies has been seeing rat heads poking out of the snow and asking for weird things...
    Twilly: But those wooden knights always come right along to keep us moglins safe! And they want to know all of our stories about you! They must be really inspired. Or really like you!
    Twilly: If you need healing, I can help you.
  • Heal me, please!
  • I can handle this.


    33%




    The head of the Rat King pops out of the snow as a moglin approaches, carrying a present.

    Moglin: Here you goes! You're being really creepy, but you still get a present. Maybe stop attacking us now? Miss Mariya has been teaching adventurers to knock out the rat peoples that bully Moglins, so...
    Rat King?: ... I did not ask for baubles in boxes. You cannot fit the manner of secret I hunger for in a box.
    Moglin: Um. You can put books in boxes. We have really good bookbinders in Frostvale.
    Rat King?: Do your tomes carry the secret to overturning the ravages of the Endbringers? Of stealing from death and misery? Of devouring the rotting carcass of divinity? Do you carry the dreams of fallen Syl--
    Moglin: ...I, uh...I can get you some Frostval tales?
    Rat King?: Not... enough... If I eat your history, I will still find precious little of what I crave... Aah... But without my Queen, anything will do. Feed me these tales.
    Moglin: What?
    Rat King?: GIVE ME YOUR BAUBLES. FEED ME YOUR SECRETS, OR I WILL BITE OPEN YOUR MIND AND SPILL THEM ONTO THE SNOW.

    The Moglin is startled and flees.


    66%


    Guardians are protecting a stuck cart with wheels stuck in the snow.



    Guardian: Looks like the ground's too soft under the snow. Can't move the wheels out of the mud without unloading.
    Guardian: You know the drill. Assume it's an ambush, poke the snow as you patrol.

    BURPS enter from the right and out of the snow.

    Guardian: ...Friggen' BURPs dug trenches. Guardians! In formation!

    The Drossel twins enter from the left.

    Dame Drossel: That won't do. Leave this one to us. You can get the cart out of the snow while we fight them off, if you work together.
    Sir Drossel: I'm sure you can handle these foes, but it wouldn't do to let the work of our Moglin friends get damaged.
    BURP: ...Aw, *humans*. The Queen's soldiers broke free! Everyone, with me!
    Dame Drossel: No monologuing this time, Tarron?
    Sir Drossel: No hotheadedness, sister?
    Dame Drossel: We'll prove our worth later. Our friends are counting on us.

    Fade to black.

    Several simultaneous bubbles:
    BURP: OW! My spleen!
    Dame Drossel: That one's for Chilly!
    BURP: Gah! My childhood!
    Sir Drossel: HA! You fight like a mouse!
    BURP: ...What? OOF


    100%


    Warlic meets the others at Frostvale.

    Warlic: You were right to call this a strange curse. There's definitely some strange combination of divine and nature magics involved. You said a plant monster was siphoning this from some rifts in the forest? Well...
    Warlic: It's not my specialty, so I'd hesitate to attempt a quick and risky approach. Especially because the hex is oddly whimsical for such a supposedly pragmatic strategy. I DO know the right people, though.
    Warlic: We can make time for proper study as soon as we're done here. If I'm right about the folklore this arcane structure corresponds to, Kalanyr and other associates should be able to pinpoint a solution.
    Dame Drossel: Thanks for looking, at least. Oh, I don't mean to sound ungrateful. It's just only now sinking in that we might be stuck for this for a while. With the battle slowing down, I have more time to think...
    Warlic: Don't worry, you didn't say or do anything wrong. I'm told you've been exemplary knights from your arrival. You've fast made yourselves heroes of Frostvale; I can see why <<You>> vouched for you.
    Sir Drossel: That is wonderful praise, Warlic, thank you. However, the delivery efforts aren't quite over yet, I would prefer to focus on the task before letting it get to my head. Roomy as it may be right now.
    <<You>>: ...I'm equal parts worried and impressed here, but that's fair enough. Let's move on for now. Yaheem, you're doing great directing the defense of our Moglin friends here. What did you want to meet for?
    Yaheem: Much appreciated, <<You>>. Consolidating delivery with our relief outreach to the prior victims of the Ratinue saved us a lot of effort, and your detour let Nimrod get us good intel on unsafe routes.
    Yaheem: However, our steady progress isn't caused by a slowdown in the attacks. The BURPs are still attacking frequently, but they've gotten easier to repel. They're exhausted and battered, but keep coming back.
    <<You>>: ...I'd better find their king again. If they're so much less of a threat now, I can leave the delivery guard to you and track him down.
    Sir Drossel: This cannot continue. If it wasn't for what they did to us, I'd feel bad for the scoundrels... Perhaps not all of them knew what they were getting into, but we must still stop this.
    Dame Drossel: We're coming with you. It's funny, I thought going after the biggest, baddest rat and giving them the biggest, baddest concussion would be a cathartic idea. But it's a mercy at this point.
    <<You>>: If it's just the three of us, we should be able to find him quickly enough. I wouldn't be surprised if he came for us.

    FOUR BATTLES: Terrified BURPs, ice monsters. Full heal every two. Scene: Nocturnal snowy scenes.



    At the hill where a Moglin tried to give the Rat King a present, the player and knights find him on his palanquin in the darkness, carried by no one.


    Rat King?: You found me...? You found me. My subjects never get close enough to take my commands anymore... They wage my war, they try to appease me, but had I known they would bring you...
    <<You>>: They're too scared of you to stop fighting, even when they're exhausted. And you've clearly lost too many marbles for whatever your original plan for Frostvale was, but this has gone too far regardless.
    Rat King?: I was wrong, very wrong. I consumed their failure to absolve them of it, to learn why it all went wrong, but my subjects weren't failing after all.They failed at what they thought I wanted, but this...
    Dame Drossel: O...okay, on a scale of one to ten, I'm rating this creepiness at 'Sham in a rat suit'. Let's get this over with, King BURP.
    Rat King?: Yes, it ends now. Give me back my Queen.
    <<You>>: Your Queen isn't coming back. She lost control when trying to twist whatever power you were pilfering into a curse. She's a wooden statue now.

    The darkness pulls back, showing the king's body on the palanquin, with his massive neck stretching and winding around to end in an incoming giant head.

    Rat King?: Give me. Back. MY QUEEN.
    Sir Drossel: ...I had figured that reason wasn't on the menu. Onto the unfortunate solution, then!
    Rat King?: YOU WILL RETURN MY QUEEN. I WILL CONSUME HER DREAMS, AND WE WILL BE ONE AGAIN. YOU WILL FOLLOW HER, AS WILL THE STARVELING GOD.

    BOSS BATTLE: Ravenous Rat King

    The scene resumes with the knights to the right, facing left.

    Sir Drossel: I hadn't expected taking that obscenely creepy rodent down to immediately cure us, but... It felt as though all connections to this curse were severed, so I had hope for a moment. Yet... it still takes root.
    Dame Drossel: What if Warlic doesn't... can't...? We... We have to be prepared for that. We could be stuck in this ridiculous wooden form until we splinter or rot. We haven't slept, or looked at our wounds... Can we even heal?
    Sir Drossel: Perhaps we can't even die normally. How I've boasted, yet look at me now. An unworthy wretch, bound to remain conscious as I fall apart. A broken, abandoned wooden head, that's all I'll be.

    The Knights begin to stiffen, becoming more wooden and bark-like.

    <<You>>: ...Wait. I'm not going to ask you to magically get over your pain, but listen to me for a second. This isn't how you normally talk, I've seen you change that... And the curse is getting stronger as you go on.
    Sir Drossel: You don't need to worry about me any further, Chosen. I have... nothing left to prove. There was nothing I could have proven in the first place.
    Dame Drossel: Go on and find a way to cure Tarron. I'm probably stuck already, I'll just... I'll just be here.
    <<You>>: Listen! You were the most like your usual act -- Trust me, I could have told even if it wasn't obvious -- when you weren't feeling linked to plant monster anymore. And now the curse lost its last link.
    <<You>>: The Queen mentioned having invested that thing's power into the King -- Now that he's gone, I think the curse is *fighting*. Its power supply is gone, its casters aren't affecting it... It's like a backup measure.
    <<You>>: She also said something about the curse finding a doubt 'to take root upon'. I didn't think anything of it because you stopped trying so hard to prove yourselves, but that has to be the key.
    <<You>>: Tarron, you haven't tried to boast about heroism, or your renowned lineage... The moment it was time to act, you used your words to encourage *others*, and focused on getting things done yourself.
    <<You>>: Mariya, you try to keep your brother in check and look for the next big deed to prove yourself with. Well, you just spent an entire campaign doing good for its own sake, and teaching others to do the same.
    <<You>>: You don't have to prove that you're heroes. You ARE heroes. You've had it in you all along, and no curse fighting for its last gasp of magic can convince me otherwise.

    The knights gradually regain their color, then suddenly transform into their normal forms.

    Dame Drossel: ...It would be false modesty to keep insisting, I think. Thank you so much, <<You>>. Now let's... Wait. I can feel my lips. I have teeth that don't splinter! My eyes aren't making creaky noises! Thank you!
    Sir Drossel: You... You have. To read our hearts so and carve out the curse, I... It would take a lifetime to repay you, yet I am bound by honor. You have saved my sister, my fate, and my name. All I can think of...
    Sir Drossel: Please, grant me your hand in matrimony! I will honor you with my life!

    The player characters backs up slightly.

    Dame Drossel: ...Ew. Don't put that mental image in my head again. You can't just skip to a proposal like that. Besides, I'm just as honorbound to repay this salvation... And wouldn't babble about myself all day.

    The player characters backs up more. The next two lines are simultaneous.

    Sir Drossel: Well, certainly there are steps to take, but if <<he/she>> would have me, they deserve appreciation--
    Dame Drossel: Stop making it about yourself! <<he/she>> pushed us to be more confident, not to blunder to the opposite extreme! <<You>>, if you would like to go to Lolosia sometime, I know this place--

    The player speeds off.

    Sir Drossel: You made it weird.
    Dame Drossel: Your FACE made it weird, Tary!



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