One Shot 4 - The Zephyr

General Summary

Riku Strak, the Iron Champion of Stormreach, journeys toward the frontier town of River's Edge. At the urging of Roderick, a half-elf agent of unknown loyalties, Riku is to meet a local hero named Alais—a man exiled to the wilderness for being too dangerous to Stormreach's political machine. Alongside him aboard the Zephyr, a grand airship, travel others: Zenith, an automaton guardian protecting a scientist; and Whis, a crewmember with sharp eyes and a sharper sense of survival.
The journey ends in flames.
A bolt of strange green lightning pierces the sky, striking the Zephyr mid-flight. The ship is torn from the heavens. Most of the crew are lost in the fall—but a few survive: Tobias, Lucy, Tilli, Jasper, Roderick, and the others crawl from the wreckage into an unforgiving wilderness. Zenith accesses his memory bank and marks a nearby Stormreach-affiliated trading post.
But safety is not so easily found.
En route, the group is ambushed by goblins. In a savage clash, Riku engages the goblin leader in single combat and emerges victorious, ending the skirmish—but not without cost. Jasper, the arrogant oligarch, dies screaming in the dirt, his wealth useless in the wild.
By nightfall, they reach the fortified trading post. Gerbald and Svenya, its caretakers and old allies of Roderick, welcome the weary travelers with warmth and food. The group also meets Zahid, a monster tamer of pride and discipline, along with his fearsome Fire Fang Jackal.
But the night is far from over.
Something slaughters Zahid’s jackal without sound or warning. Tension rises. Paranoia blooms like rot in the walls. Then Tilli vanishes—no sound, no trace. The group scrambles to hold the perimeter, but the enemy is already within. A hooded figure strikes Whis, and in his desperate defense, he uncovers a nightmare: Gerbald and Svenya, butchered in their own home.
Torches flicker on the hills.
Hundreds of goblins surround the outpost. As the battle begins, Riku sets the buildings ablaze to drive out the creature stalking them in the dark. The group defends the walls with grit and steel—until the Xenopterid reveals itself.
It impales Roderick with a blade-like arm, nearly killing him. But the goblins do not cheer—the creature was their true target. Panic overtakes them. Goblins flee or die screaming as the Xenopterid lashes out at all. The party unites. The fire blazes higher. And in a brutal final clash, Riku slays the creature.
The battle is over. The cost is high.
Roderick lives, but barely. Stormreach’s attempt to silence Alais has failed. With the mission compromised, Zenith deletes the failed directive from his core memory. He ensures the remaining Stormreach citizens are stabilized… then turns back, alone, toward the heart of the Empire.

Report Date

12 Apr 2025