Shockwaves (1)
22 Years after the Dragonfall, Dorun is a fractured Kingdom, but healing. Towns are growing once more, and to the next generation, many of the stories of War and Dragons are little more than that; stories. Our story begins in the quaint town of Soulmyne. Although it is an old town, it has been growing in size significantly in the last two decades. The Mayor of the town, Marian Kosk, calls in her old friends, Lileran, Chirp, Soke, and Grug, for a mysterious task. She explains that there have been numerous 'vanishings' in the town, with even the memories of those missing being erased. Marian asks the party to make haste with this mission, as she too has begun forgetting. She pointed the group to the sewers, as a group of 5 Mercenaries were last spotted going down there, and that was the last time that they were spoken of. The party rested the evening in the local tavern, collected supplies, and descended down. The sewers were old and partially ruined. There was little life down there. Lileran and Chirp kept seeing red dots in the dark, but as soon as they saw them, they were gone. Their eyes must have been playing tricks on them. The group entered further in, and managed to jump over to the other side of the sewers to investigate a slimy substance. A grate on the floor led to a lower level, and dozens of red eyes were now visible. after destroying the Slimy residue, Lileran blasted a firebolt into those below, revealing them to be humanoid, with rodent-like features. One screamed, before all the previously bright and glaring eyes vanished.
-The Descent-
Shockwaves (2)
Mild panic seeped into the adventureres, unsure of the creatures they had just provoked. Despite this they continued exploring this abandoned sewer. Despite coming across many caved in entrences further below, Lileran spotted a Grate on the other side of the waterway, sending Grug who was already there to nervously go forward to investigate. Soke began heading towards Grug, passing over a rotting Bridge. His footing slipped passing over, and out of the water came a grotesque, rotting, dwarven ghoul, ripping at Soke's blue flesh. Although dispatched easily, this hinted at more sinister things afoot below.Near the grate, Grug encountered a skeletal figure, with what appeared to be a blood-soaked note written in elfish, which none present could comprehend. After managing to open the gate, the group came across a statue, that Lileran recognised as depicting an old Knight of Uild from Acerarak's time. The statue had a riddle inscribed, describing life and mortality. Before the group could ascertain it however, hoards of the beady-eyed creatures erupted from below the gutters, descending on them.
-The Collapse-
Shockwaves (3)
As the creatures emerged, the party saw these rodent-like humanoids pouncing on them in unfathomable numbers crawling over themselves. The group scrambled to solved the puzzle within the gate as they attempted to fight off the incoming hoard. After much struggle, the party managed to reveal a hidden passage, which the group descended down, sealing it shut behind them with barely a second to spare. They came across what looked like to Lileran as ancient architecture, from ancient Uild. A decrepit wooden door burst lay ahead of the party, with a large hallway opening out to them. They quickly dispatched a Ghoul, much alike the one above and came across 3 routes. Grug went alone down the left, never to be seen alive again. The rest of the group went left, finding an insane Skeleton, ranting incoherently about a party that one 'Gelthazar' was supposed to be planning. Moving down the hallway, they found large portions of this dungeon collpased, which Soke was able to climb through, using his time as a Wenga sportsman to easily delve into. Inside he found Cai, a Tabaxi who had gone missing 6 months ago. She thought only a few hours had transpired. The party healed her, and pressed forward, going down a long narrow hallway, when they were surrounded by numerous wraiths. As they reacted, Soke fell into a near deadly pungee pit, causing various critical wounds. After they dispatched these wraiths, They came across a large, rotting, ghoulish prisoner, with Frankenstein-esque features plastered onto his body. Though he had forgotten his original name, he calls himself "Grizzly", or shortened to "Gris". He described the sadistic tests and experiments Gelthazar, an undead wizard, had undertaken on him. He was accompanied by a Flesh Golem called 'Ray'. The party pitied the two, and freed them, gaining another companion. With the three surviving victims of Gelthazar's malice, they pushed forward.
-The Prisoners-
Shockwaves (4)
The party next came across a sinister sight. They stumbled through a bloodbath of what seemed like a blood ritual, littering the floor with dismembered body parts and blood. In the centre of the room was an ominous, red orb. Within the room worked an eccentric rodent-like humanoid, who called themself 'Drinkswig'. He explained that Gelthazar's dungeon had time anomalies attached to it, manifested in the magical orbs. He explained he is attempting to fix these potentially dangerous devices, though it has meant that his clan of what he called 'Ratkin' have evolved over the course of centuries without him. Chrip found an old, black dagger, which they pocketed. Along with Lileren, Chirp, Soke, Cai, Gris, and Ray, they concocted a plan. Swig introduced the group to his fellow Kin, who helped Cai, Soke, and Chrip into secret passageways leading into Gelthazar's Throne Room, whilst the rest of the group headed in face-on to serve as a distraction. The group going head onward came across a follower of Gelthazar, who was not undead, donned in black armour. He defended the doorway to his master valiantly, but was defeated. They all knew Gelthezar was beyond the large steel door ahead of them. As they opened the door, a humongous, barren, and desolate throne room greeted them. Like the rest of Gelthezar's Lair, it was desolate and devoid of life, only containing rubble, skeletons, and the ominous blue orbs that dotted the landscape. A throne sat at the end of the room, which a skeletal man arose from, greeting the intruders...
-The Epicentre-
Shockwaves (5)
At first, Gelthazar shows not malice or contempt, but civility, approaching the group of adventurers more as potential business clients than enemies. Gelthezar told them of his witnessing of the fall of Old Uild, Acererak's proud kingdom. Gelthezar tells the group of Acererak gifting him the power of Lichdom, to hid in the shadows and rebuild his Kingdom when the time comes. Gelthezar ran, and ran, until coming to the place that would one day become his Soul Mine. He dug deep, and created his lair underneath what would become Soulmyne, enticing people from above down with the help of his minions to create an undead army, ready for what he described as "fixing the future". However, before he could enact his plan, the Dragonfall destroyed his Lair, weaking his power. He then offers Lileran, the most learned of the party his powers, in exchange of staying below the surface and preparing for the right time. Realising his insanity, Lileran attacked him with a barrage of arcane attacks. As Gelthezar backed away, his minions arose, attempting to subdue them all. Lileran, Swigsip, and Gris Chirp wasted no time, pouncing on Gelthezar as they fought off his minions. Soke, Chrip, and Cai's ambush found them above the throne room, where they scouted behind Gelthazar's defences, coming across a room of coffins with a much larger orb than they had seen before. Emerging from one of these tombs was none other than Grug, their old companion. They fought off Gelthezar's minons, eventually fighting alongside the rest of the group. After casting a deadly ray of frost, Soke was killed. Fighting through Gelthezar's minions as well as the Lich himself, Chirp eventually found an old, dusty crown. They stabbed it with the dagger they had previously found, and with that, Gelthezar began to dissolve into dust, and this ancient being eventually faded into nought but ash. As he died, so did his lair with him. The Party began rushing through his catacombs, before finding a hidden passage leading upwards. Carrying Soke's body out, they made it to the surface, with a new days dawn radiating onto their faces.
-Gelthezar's Plan-
Epilogue
With the last breath of Gelthazar came the last breath of the Old Uildian Order, the rotten corruption of its archaic ideals ceasing to be. As the vanquishers of Gelthazar emerged back into Soulmyne, they found a very different town. New buildings, people, and technologies littered their view in front of them. As they walked out into this new world, the realisation dawned upon them. Though from their perspective it had not been mere hours since they saw the streets, years had passed in their absence. Who knows how many lost souls made their way down in search of them? Who had fallen too soon after their victory, or who would emerge decades from now? For now, all they knew was that they needed to step into a brave new world; a world that had forgotten them long ago, and prepare for whatever Glethazar saw in his maddened state.