The Crimson Door, Pt. 1: Sweet Dreams and Fiends
General Summary
Excerpted from the Journal of Shroud Agent Matt Harlow...
Month 5, Week 1, Year 908
My hard work defending Shroud HQ has finally paid off. This morning I got called into a meeting with none of than Mr. Bossman himself, Medraad Le Fey. I heard about how he killed his old man in cold blood, fought against Fairouz the Undying, and even hooked up with half a dozen prostitutes in a single day just to evangelize for a god. The man's a legend who built the Shroud from the ground up, so he knows when someone's putting in the work or not. I arrived at the meeting early to take the only guest seat, watching as a bunch of weirdos started crowding into the office. An old-looking hobgoblin (didn't he teach one of my entry courses?), a sulky human girl, and the strangest-looking tabaxi I've ever seen in my life showed up like the weirdest premise to a joke. Before my curiosity got the best of me, Medraad appeared before us with the kind of flair you'd expect from the Shroud's founder. I tried to catch a glimpse of it, and sure enough I saw the clawed hand given to him by the Man in Black. It radiated magic power and shadowy tendrils, the coolest prosthetic I've ever seen. Anyways, Medraad wanted me and the weirdos to check out some new religion gaining ground in Gameth. The religion supported hedonism which is all well and good, but the locals were blaming the new faith for a series of plagues and misfortunes that had recently affected the city. I'm a little skeptical that the two are related, but if Medraad has a hunch then it's worth checking out. One of our agents named Zuula was out in the field keeping tabs on the religion's leader Auriel, but it's been too long since her last report for the Shroud's taste. So it's off the Gamerian wilderness! I hear Oftin is a fun place if you want to gamble and party with co-eds from Eldermere, but instead we're going to some backwoods town called Watchtower. One of Gameth's hot-shot adventurers came from there apparently, so hopefully it won't be a complete snoozefest. On the plus side, Medraad's letting us bring out the big guns for this mission! I donned some solid breastplate armor to replace my entry-level studded leather, and I even requisitioned an honest-to-god magic rapier!!! I've never met a Sardivelian that didn't try to swindle me, but they sure know how to make some of the lightest and sharpest weapons this side of Southern Pescat. Medraad wanted us to keep a low profile until we made it to Watchtower, so no train ride for us. With the cart hitched up, we began our month-long journey into Gameth and the Kelethian Woods. Month 5, Week 3, Year 908
The countryside sucks. We traveled north through Ravi then passed over the Nestorian Mtns., I swear my body will stay sore for years after that mountainside carriage ride. Give me a good city and a crowded tavern any day of the week, even the ones in Poroshenko where they threatened to chop my fingers off after too many good hands at poker. At least I've learned a little something about the weirdos I'm working with. The hobgoblin's name is Chamberlain, some type of soldier from down south in Rakka. I knew he looked familiar, turns out he's been training the Shroud's new recruits for the past couple years! I heard he was pretty talented with an instrument like myself, but when I asked him about it all he said was that instruments 'Should be saved for the dirges of our fallen allies after days of desperate fighting'. Bummer. Next is Lellia Arazmus, but to be honest I'm starting to think she's not a tabaxi. Chamberlain droned on once about this race of monsters known as gnolls down in Rakka, and while there's definitely something canine about her I don't think she's bloodthirsty enough to be a gnoll. I tried asking her about where she was from, but she just glowered at me and replied 'Wouldn't you like to know?' Yes, I would like to know where you're from and whether you'll eat my face off in the middle of the night. Hence the question. Finally there's the sulky girl, Sonia Belmont. Still not sure where she's from or what her deal is, but she's cute and she can clearly hold her own in a fight. Medraad asked about her credentials at the meeting in Kanara, and Sonia replied by saying 'My kill count speaks for itself.' Badass. It's the strangest group I've rolled with in a while, even stranger than the gang of bullywugs I joined back in Poroshenko. So long as they'll watch my back up in Watchtower, I'll watch theirs. Month 6, Week 1, Year 908
FINALLY. We arrived at Watchtower the other day, a sad little town buried deep into Gameth's northern forests. It's got some fancy temple and a decent downtown, but without the Rusty Caltrop I'd be loathe to even to call it a town. But I'm getting ahead of myself. About a mile outside of town, we ran into a massive battle between devils and demons! I thought we'd be ripped apart in a matter of seconds, but the fiends seemed perfectly content to tear each other apart and save us as dessert. Somehow we still ended up fighting them all, myself providing spells to distract the fiends and leave them open to attack. I single-handedly stabbed one devil to death with my rapier, and afterwards I went over to Sonia and patched her up with a 'Healing Word' like the gentleman I am. Lellia mentioned something about a blood war between devils and demons, how they have to drop everything they're doing and start fighting the moment they see each other. Sounds like a good arrangement, not sure why we need to get involved in that?? Anyways, Watchtower. The paladins patrolling the city gave us a hard time before letting us through, even though we're working for literally the best group in all of Pescaliat. If they were doing their job well we wouldn't even be here! Rusty Caltrop had a good selection of drinks, and I treated myself to a glass of Joseph for the first time in weeks. I found a handful of tavern patrons willing to gamble, including a sad-looking pally nursing a mead over by the wall. Along with the respectable amount of gold I won from my gambling, I picked up on some juicy gossip about the goings-on here in Watchtower. Turns out a lot of the nobles and paladins in town are blaming Auriel's new religion on the city's recent bout of unpleasantness, though if I learned anything from my lessons at Shroud HQ that's a clear 'post-hoc ergo propter hoc' fallacy (I think I have my Old Elven right). I try to give all religions the benefit of the doubt, the Man in Black isn't the most conventional deity after all, but if Auriel's church is doing everything they're blamed of then that's some pretty bad news. Oh, and that Zuula girl we're here to check on? Yeah she's a part of Auriel's inner circle now!! Either she's playing the real long con, or we may have a bad case of brainwashing on our hands. I filled the rest of the weirdos in on this info, and we all agreed to check out Auriel's tent revival happening on the outskirts of town tomorrow. In the meantime, everybody was excited to sleep in a bed for the first time in weeks. The best sleep of my life happened at the Rusty Caltrop, dreamless and reinvigorating. Feeling five years younger, I headed downstairs for a morning drink to discover that nobody else in the group had enjoyed such a peaceful slumber. The weirdos were all cranky and complaining about bad dreams of a red door. I spent a night with a halfling from Mulane College, and they said that doors in dreams represent repressed feelings or secrets that the dreamer's trying to hide from. I never dream though, so I have no idea if she's right or not. Sonia seemed to suffer the most from the lack of beauty sleep, a whole buncha warts covering her face and arms in the morning. Like a gentleman though, I held my tongue and finished my morning breakfast of Joseph Daniels and kanapka. I don't miss the harassment and abuse back in Glace for my powers, but it's been rough trying to find a decent Glacian restaurant on this continent. Anyways, we finally made it out of town and headed up into the woods to check on Auriel's little tent revival. The pallys around town seemed a little on edge, but I didn't pay them much mind. It was a couple of miles marching through the Kelethian Woods, and halfway there we got jumped by half a dozen monsters! It wasn't my proudest moment, but I got blinded by one of the creatures, ran away after casting 'Bestow Curse', and fell flat on my ass. I was worried Sonia may have seen me, but thankfully she seemed to have been blinded by the same monster. Just to be safe, I summoned one of my Tales from the Beyond to help her out in the fight and deal with any of the monsters in the area. We finally managed to deal with all the elementals, giving us a change to catch our breath. I'm using this time to update my journal and cook up something special for the group, I think they'll like what I can accomplish with my Spiritual Session...
Month 5, Week 1, Year 908
My hard work defending Shroud HQ has finally paid off. This morning I got called into a meeting with none of than Mr. Bossman himself, Medraad Le Fey. I heard about how he killed his old man in cold blood, fought against Fairouz the Undying, and even hooked up with half a dozen prostitutes in a single day just to evangelize for a god. The man's a legend who built the Shroud from the ground up, so he knows when someone's putting in the work or not. I arrived at the meeting early to take the only guest seat, watching as a bunch of weirdos started crowding into the office. An old-looking hobgoblin (didn't he teach one of my entry courses?), a sulky human girl, and the strangest-looking tabaxi I've ever seen in my life showed up like the weirdest premise to a joke. Before my curiosity got the best of me, Medraad appeared before us with the kind of flair you'd expect from the Shroud's founder. I tried to catch a glimpse of it, and sure enough I saw the clawed hand given to him by the Man in Black. It radiated magic power and shadowy tendrils, the coolest prosthetic I've ever seen. Anyways, Medraad wanted me and the weirdos to check out some new religion gaining ground in Gameth. The religion supported hedonism which is all well and good, but the locals were blaming the new faith for a series of plagues and misfortunes that had recently affected the city. I'm a little skeptical that the two are related, but if Medraad has a hunch then it's worth checking out. One of our agents named Zuula was out in the field keeping tabs on the religion's leader Auriel, but it's been too long since her last report for the Shroud's taste. So it's off the Gamerian wilderness! I hear Oftin is a fun place if you want to gamble and party with co-eds from Eldermere, but instead we're going to some backwoods town called Watchtower. One of Gameth's hot-shot adventurers came from there apparently, so hopefully it won't be a complete snoozefest. On the plus side, Medraad's letting us bring out the big guns for this mission! I donned some solid breastplate armor to replace my entry-level studded leather, and I even requisitioned an honest-to-god magic rapier!!! I've never met a Sardivelian that didn't try to swindle me, but they sure know how to make some of the lightest and sharpest weapons this side of Southern Pescat. Medraad wanted us to keep a low profile until we made it to Watchtower, so no train ride for us. With the cart hitched up, we began our month-long journey into Gameth and the Kelethian Woods. Month 5, Week 3, Year 908
The countryside sucks. We traveled north through Ravi then passed over the Nestorian Mtns., I swear my body will stay sore for years after that mountainside carriage ride. Give me a good city and a crowded tavern any day of the week, even the ones in Poroshenko where they threatened to chop my fingers off after too many good hands at poker. At least I've learned a little something about the weirdos I'm working with. The hobgoblin's name is Chamberlain, some type of soldier from down south in Rakka. I knew he looked familiar, turns out he's been training the Shroud's new recruits for the past couple years! I heard he was pretty talented with an instrument like myself, but when I asked him about it all he said was that instruments 'Should be saved for the dirges of our fallen allies after days of desperate fighting'. Bummer. Next is Lellia Arazmus, but to be honest I'm starting to think she's not a tabaxi. Chamberlain droned on once about this race of monsters known as gnolls down in Rakka, and while there's definitely something canine about her I don't think she's bloodthirsty enough to be a gnoll. I tried asking her about where she was from, but she just glowered at me and replied 'Wouldn't you like to know?' Yes, I would like to know where you're from and whether you'll eat my face off in the middle of the night. Hence the question. Finally there's the sulky girl, Sonia Belmont. Still not sure where she's from or what her deal is, but she's cute and she can clearly hold her own in a fight. Medraad asked about her credentials at the meeting in Kanara, and Sonia replied by saying 'My kill count speaks for itself.' Badass. It's the strangest group I've rolled with in a while, even stranger than the gang of bullywugs I joined back in Poroshenko. So long as they'll watch my back up in Watchtower, I'll watch theirs. Month 6, Week 1, Year 908
FINALLY. We arrived at Watchtower the other day, a sad little town buried deep into Gameth's northern forests. It's got some fancy temple and a decent downtown, but without the Rusty Caltrop I'd be loathe to even to call it a town. But I'm getting ahead of myself. About a mile outside of town, we ran into a massive battle between devils and demons! I thought we'd be ripped apart in a matter of seconds, but the fiends seemed perfectly content to tear each other apart and save us as dessert. Somehow we still ended up fighting them all, myself providing spells to distract the fiends and leave them open to attack. I single-handedly stabbed one devil to death with my rapier, and afterwards I went over to Sonia and patched her up with a 'Healing Word' like the gentleman I am. Lellia mentioned something about a blood war between devils and demons, how they have to drop everything they're doing and start fighting the moment they see each other. Sounds like a good arrangement, not sure why we need to get involved in that?? Anyways, Watchtower. The paladins patrolling the city gave us a hard time before letting us through, even though we're working for literally the best group in all of Pescaliat. If they were doing their job well we wouldn't even be here! Rusty Caltrop had a good selection of drinks, and I treated myself to a glass of Joseph for the first time in weeks. I found a handful of tavern patrons willing to gamble, including a sad-looking pally nursing a mead over by the wall. Along with the respectable amount of gold I won from my gambling, I picked up on some juicy gossip about the goings-on here in Watchtower. Turns out a lot of the nobles and paladins in town are blaming Auriel's new religion on the city's recent bout of unpleasantness, though if I learned anything from my lessons at Shroud HQ that's a clear 'post-hoc ergo propter hoc' fallacy (I think I have my Old Elven right). I try to give all religions the benefit of the doubt, the Man in Black isn't the most conventional deity after all, but if Auriel's church is doing everything they're blamed of then that's some pretty bad news. Oh, and that Zuula girl we're here to check on? Yeah she's a part of Auriel's inner circle now!! Either she's playing the real long con, or we may have a bad case of brainwashing on our hands. I filled the rest of the weirdos in on this info, and we all agreed to check out Auriel's tent revival happening on the outskirts of town tomorrow. In the meantime, everybody was excited to sleep in a bed for the first time in weeks. The best sleep of my life happened at the Rusty Caltrop, dreamless and reinvigorating. Feeling five years younger, I headed downstairs for a morning drink to discover that nobody else in the group had enjoyed such a peaceful slumber. The weirdos were all cranky and complaining about bad dreams of a red door. I spent a night with a halfling from Mulane College, and they said that doors in dreams represent repressed feelings or secrets that the dreamer's trying to hide from. I never dream though, so I have no idea if she's right or not. Sonia seemed to suffer the most from the lack of beauty sleep, a whole buncha warts covering her face and arms in the morning. Like a gentleman though, I held my tongue and finished my morning breakfast of Joseph Daniels and kanapka. I don't miss the harassment and abuse back in Glace for my powers, but it's been rough trying to find a decent Glacian restaurant on this continent. Anyways, we finally made it out of town and headed up into the woods to check on Auriel's little tent revival. The pallys around town seemed a little on edge, but I didn't pay them much mind. It was a couple of miles marching through the Kelethian Woods, and halfway there we got jumped by half a dozen monsters! It wasn't my proudest moment, but I got blinded by one of the creatures, ran away after casting 'Bestow Curse', and fell flat on my ass. I was worried Sonia may have seen me, but thankfully she seemed to have been blinded by the same monster. Just to be safe, I summoned one of my Tales from the Beyond to help her out in the fight and deal with any of the monsters in the area. We finally managed to deal with all the elementals, giving us a change to catch our breath. I'm using this time to update my journal and cook up something special for the group, I think they'll like what I can accomplish with my Spiritual Session...
Rewards Granted
- Matt Harlow got a good night's rest at the Rusty Caltrop
Character(s) interacted with
- Medraad Le Fey - founder and leader of The Shroud
- At least three or four depressed paladins in Watchtower
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