We are now in 4515 AR. It is a time of darkness where the forces of evil are at it’s strongest since the defeat of the Whispering Tyrant. There are talks that a sinister demonic group is plotting to free the whispering tyrant from Gallowspire, the current site of the Nation of Lastwall. The Hordeline, a makeshift border of wooden palisades and crude forts marking the border between Lastwall and the Hold of Belkzen, is constructed. However it is quickly overrun by orc hordes. As a bastion against the orcs, the crusader and adventurer Ekat Kassen begins his service to the nation of Lastwall. Invitations to form the 16th generation group of 7 Peers were also sent to the selected group of 7 inquisitors.
You receive the following correspondence-
The 15th generation has been fulfilled. A passing of time and an age of renewal has come. Fate has chosen you along with the blessing of your deity. Your presence is hereby requested by our Patriarch of the Nightfall Scion. Proceed to the Raker's Bridge in the Mindspin Mountains marked in the map on the 12th Day of the month at midnight. Present yourself with extreme discretion. May you live through the night.
It is sealed with the The Nightfall Scion.
Lightning seared across the midnight sky illuminating the stone bride connecting the chasm. A full bright yellow moon is eluding behind dark clouds as they formed overhead. A slight drizzle of raindrops is propelled by the gale of wind splattering against the outline of the stone bridge. Dead lifeless trees withered along the edge of the ridge looks like skeletal hands warning any passerby of the certainty of death should they fall off.
The stone bridge is well built and dwarven made. Hovering above a deep canyon of dark abyss, the fissure that stretched on as far as your eyes can see. The air carries a familiar musk scent of decay of a battlefield. Howls of wolf packs echoes in your ear drum heralds your arrival as the temperature of the night decline rapidly.
The Mindspin Mountains are a range of mountains that begin on the Storval Plateau in eastern Varisia and stretch south for several hundred miles before petering out north of the Menador Mountains.
As a natural barrier they form the east/west border between several nations. Farther south, the mountains form the western border of Nirmathas and separate dark Nidal and Molthune.
The northern section of the Mindspin Mountains, particularly between Varisia and the Hold of Belkzen, are considered a deathtrap to all but the most experienced explorers. They are filled with giants, ogres, trolls and all other manner of dangerous beasts. The abundance of such unpleasant life may be one of the reasons that the Mindspin Mountains form such an effective border between the two nations.
Grollus Ardensmith treads cautiously onto the bridge, vigilant for signs of an ambush. His hand rests warily on the whip at his belt. May you live through the night, the note said. Well, he'd lived through many nights darker than this.
Angrim creeps cautiously up to the bridge on his stomach a few hours before midnight. He covers himself with leaves and branches and holds perfectly still waiting for whatever is going to come. He's smeared his hair and face with dark mud to make himself less visible.
Pulling her heavy, grey woolen cloak closer about herself in response to the cold wind blowing across the chasm, Embrianna slowly walks over to the stone bridge. Seeing someone standing on the bridge already, she pauses before it as she wonders if this the one she is supposed to be meeting. Remembering the bit about discretion, she scans the area for any other signs of life before deciding whether or not to call out to him.
Lightning seared the darkness again. The skeletal limbs of the trees cast sinister shadows across the twisted path and writhed in the lightning. Thunder rolled over the hills, deep and booming.
You sense that someone or something is watching you. However the visibility is too dark for you to see anything in great detail even when the lighting turned night into day momentary.
Dark forms seems to be writhing among the woods above the path leading from the bridge. You cannot make out the shape. When the lightning turned the night into day momentary, the dark forms disappeared leaving only dead withered trees behind.
Diggy rides up cautiously, chatting with his pony, #5. Gettin' cold, #5. They could have picked a more hospitable place for this...
Seeing 2 figures on the bridge, he approaches, but stops short of the bridge itself. This is some weather we're having, eh?
Embrianna turns as she hears someone else approaching her and the bridge. "The weather is miserable and cold." She moves to the side a bit in case the gnome wishes to pass.
Agrim will stealthily mutter the prayer that allows him to detect evil. Attempting to maintain his hidden position.
Grollus pauses on the bridge, alternating his attention between the shadowy figure ahead, and the others approaching from behind. He unhooks his whip from his belt, and waits.
Jade approaches the bridge. She is nonchalant as she walks up, her scimitar shining brightly in her hands. She stops to look at the dirty dwarf lying in the leaves for a moment before moving ahead to the two standing just before the bridge. Are you the ones I'm meeting? she asks.
Angrim, clearly having been made stand up and moves forward. "I was called here, Miss. Thought there'd be seven of us though. Anyone else see those shadows moving across the way?" He says, unlimbering his whip and drawing his shield.
Didn't notice. Where, again?
Peering into the night, his darkvision still reveals nothing.
I could see things beyond my light, but it's too dark to say more than that.
Jade looks around, and seeing the man over on the bridge she motions to him. Come on over, she says, we won't bite.
"I was sent a message to come to this place tonight. I do not know for sure who I am to meet."
Embrianna will turn and look at the shadows the dwarf points out.
"Just be ready for death. The warning in our invitation was explicit, and there was something moving across the bridge a moment ago."
Terflynn comes riding up towards the bridge, singing obnoxiously and chuckling to himself. As he approaches, the "light" spell on his saddlebags is almost annoyingly bright against the dreary night.
Upon looking closer, anyone can tell that, although he seems quite cheerful, Terflynn still has his bow in hand, and an arrow already strung. One might guess that something alongside the road might already have required shooting.
Yes it was. Jade's eyes sparkle in the glowing from her scimitar, I do hope it's a beautiful fight though. Now down to business. We can assume we're going to get attacked and that whatever is attacking us can see in this blackness, Jade motions to the darkness around them, and probably better than most of us. There's no use hiding, but we can choose our battle ground before they come. She pauses for a moment, holding her light above her head and looking around. I thought about the bridge, it would supposedly keep them locked in to coming at us from two sides only, but in the mountains, we can't guarantee that. Any other suggestions?
Jade turns as she hears singing come up the road. She smiles as she sees the man with his saddlebags lit. A man after my own heart, she says in a wry tone.
If the rest of you were summoned to be here at this time in this gods-forsaken place, I imagine that whoever did so has a reason, and they'll tell us. Either that, or we're the victims of a very complicated practical joke. Come to think of it, I know some gnomes who'd go that far.
I'm Dignus Burrows, by the way, miss. This is my pony, #5.
He extends his small hand in greeting, thinking the half elf an agreeable sort. Atop his mount, he was almost at her eye level.
Both Embrianna and Angrim detect evil picked up an aura of evil. However it is not coming from their front but rather from their back.
She studies Dignus' hand for a moment. Finally she grasps it in her own, Jade, she says over the sound of the storm. So you don't think there'll be a fight? she asks sounding a little disappointed.
Terflynn slows as he approaches the group.
"Ho there! Friend, or foe?" He calls out to them.
Jade! Such a lovely name! A fight's always a possibility, my dear, but I doubt we were called here to fight the Patriarch. There are plenty of other dangerous creatures in these mountains that would like to eat us, though, so we may end up fighting something or other just to get out of here, heh, heh!
You look like you can handle yourself in a fight. That would be something to see, I'll wager. I'm not much with a blade, but I have other ways to help out, if there's a problem.
Call him naive, but Diggy's an outgoing sort. Surely, such a composed young lady would have no unsavory designs on a harmless gnome.
Out of the darkness appears a corpulent dwarf roughly the size and shape of a barrel, garbed in the simple spun robes of a pilgrim. His head and face is completely shaved and his left hand is raised in greeting, the other gripping a curving longbow of blackened wood.
"Cooooo-eee!" he calls out in a cheerful tone as he walks up to the group, eyes flickering as he scans the surroundings. "Greetings, fellows! Name's Thak, clan Val Zsing. Can I presume from our myriad appearances that rather than simple travellers we have both received a certain correspondence?"
Jade turns to the newcomer on his horse. That depends, what brings you here? If you've been invited by letter like the rest if us--as I suspect you are--then I believe we will all be friends before this night is done. Nothing makes friends like almost dying together, and at last my letter made it clear that it would be a possibility. She shrugs, looking at Dignus.
When the second dwarf appears, Jade smiles in response. Yes we have. I'm Jade.
"Dying together? Bah!" Terflynn chuckles jovially. "I've no patience for death. Letter be damned, I aim to live!"
He takes a quick peer towards the cavernous drop, and the unwelcoming bridge that crosses it. A look of mild concern replaces his smile.
"That's a right hefty drop though..." he trails off, trying to see some sort of bottom to the hole.
From the trickery and master of the unpredictable we have Grollus Ardensmith the whip lashing inquisitor of deity Calistra. He is Chaotic Good.
From pain and dust, a dwarf with a dark passenger we have Angrom The Tickler the stout and hardy whip fighter of deity Zon-Kuthon. He is Lawful Neutral.
Strong hearted and loyal, a half orc whom she do not discriminate we have Embrianna a follower of Shelyn. She is Lawful Good.
A hidden torrent of wild arcane power, tamed by the tenets of divinity we have Dignis "Diggy" Burrows, a maverick of deity Cayden Cailean. He is Chaotic Good.
As swift as the wind, she is a dawnflower tempest of divine fury. We have Jade Parsenol a monk inquisitor of deity Sarenrae. She is Lawful Good.
Lastly a most unlikely candidate, a cannibal escaping from his dark past. A redemption play personified. For reason much unknown, we have Thak Val Zsing
Embrianna looks over the assembled group. "My letter hinted at danger as well. I can assure you though that I am quite capable with my chosen weapon and I most certainly do intend to live out this night."
At Terflyn's comment about the drop: "Then I would suggest that you not fall and perhaps move back from the ledge."
At the rotund dwarf's appearance, Embrianna simply stares at him for now.
Grollus spies the group chatting (relatively) amiably on the end of the bridge, and approaches cautiously.
"Either you're poor hosts, or I wasn't the only one invited to this rendezvous. My name is Grollus Ardensmith; well met."
Terflynn's expression turns suspicious, and he begins eying the treeline. Suddenly, he nocks his arrow, mutters something, and lets fly about 20 feet into the treeline. The "light" spell on the arrow lights the surrounding terrain. He does this 3 more times, 2 arrows on each side of the road about 30 feet apart.
"Pleasure to meet your acquaintances. You may call me Grim. I also saw something moving on the other side of the bridge, Man of Light." Angrim says to Terflynn. "We could form a block here, with the people wielding long weapons inside, and let whatever it is come to us. I'm not fighting on a narrow bridge over a long fall unless I have to." Angrim says peering cooly over the cliff, down into the darkness.
The drizzling rain has made the ground muddy, upon Terflynn's light arrow one can observe that paw marks are being impressed into the muddy ground leaving paw track marks behind. The track marks are heading towards your direction. The intensity and pace of the marks impressed suddenly accelerated as it emulates a creature sprinting towards you. You picked up a strong feral scent.
A loud howl was heard distinctively from the bridge despite the rolling thunder. Turning to the direction of the howl, you see 2 sickly yellow eyes watching you. A giant of a wolf was seen under the silver moonlight. The creature was the size of a large horse with a long snout and jowls that curled back in a snarl, saliva flecking the animal's yellowed teeth.
Just when you were transfixed by the appearance of the giant black wolf, the paw tracks have now reached you and in a blink of an eye a pack of wolves blinked into existence broke with jaws wide open.
The wolves rushed towards the beardless dwarf and acting as a season pair of hunters they each leap with their jaws wide open.
However, Thak using his bow in his hand fends away the snarling wolves.
Another wolf sensing an opportunity charges and leaps and attacks the gnome
(Charge Bonus)
The wolf's fangs sank into Diggy's arm drawing blood. Fortunately his pony #5 instinctively rear back allowing Diggy's to break the wolf's hold to prevent further damage.
A another wolf beside it broke invisibility and attacked Jade.
(Charge Bonus)
However, Jade has already saw the wolf coming and with a flurry of footwork the wolf's jaws snap nothing but air.
Before wolf leap at Angrim.
(Charge Bonus)
With nimble senses Angrim whip out his hands and slaps the snout of the first leaping wolf away.
A wolf running before the Giant Wolf leaps at Grollus.
(Charge Bonus)
Grollus casually evades the wolf's jaw at the absolute last second.
The giant wolf howled a long howl as the other smaller wolves howled in unison before he accelerates at an unbelievable speed and leaps unto Grollus with jaws wide open baring 4 large yellowed fangs.
(Charge Bonus)
(Charge Bonus)
The yellowed fangs came rushing at Grollus. Only due to the years of seasoned combat that he managed to be scratched by 2 of those fangs as Grollus twirled away.
An enormous version of a normal wolf, dire wolves represent the wolf in its most primal form. These creatures follow the same basic behaviors of regular wolves, but are much more aggressive. Dire wolves often serve giants as hunting companions and vicious guard animals. Some ferocious humanoids and woodsmen use trained dire wolves as mounts. Darker than normal wolves, dire wolves' coats tend toward blacks and deep mottled grays. An adult dire wolf is typically about 9 feet long and weighs roughly 800 pounds.
Grollus steps back beside the heavily-armored faithful of Shelyn, drawing his whip and lashing out with full fury at the largest wolf.
The wicked whip slashed across the Giant Wolf's face. The Giant Wolf roared in retaliation as a visible line was seen between it's eyes. The line turned crimson gradually as bright red blood flows down it's snout.