Journey
The party takes leave from Kingdom town, making a brief stop at the Mayor’s house, finding a lone dragon sitting in the plains they walk through. They encounter the Protector, scale the inverted dwarven kingdom’s mountain, and enjoy the amenities that it offers, including the casino, where they encounter the Fortune Teller once more in a strange reading. They part ways for the night, each encountering a similar motif in their dreams: “What is your name?”
The Mayor’s House
You wake up at the dawn’s early rise, dream fresh in your minds. Each member of the party withholds the information from the rest, all unknowing that the other had the exact same dream. As they prepare to leave Kingdom Town, they notice a distinctly larger building. Though each structure is fairly modest in its construction, the keen eye of the party spots the mayor’s house. Suspecting corruption from the authority of the town (despite most coming from royalty themselves), they attempt to steal the mayor’s valuables for the greater good (a la Robin Hood-esque adventures).
They convene around the isolated building, surveying the terrain and observing the seemingly unprotected glass roof, a hallmark of all residential homes in this town. Inbad, eager to make his mark, picked up a nearby stone and threw it at the house’s roof. Almost as soon as it left his hand, the stone reverberated along the glass and bounced, hurtling towards Inbad. He swiftly dodged out of the way, and the house was left without a dent.
However, the house’s perimeter detection system started blaring, soon to wake up the still-sleeping mayor. Jaime, clearly not learning from Inbad’s failures, decided to then arm himself with two stones, catapulting both towards the roof. One stone led to the same result, significantly wounding Jaime as it hit him square in the chest. The other was thrown with such precision that it vibrated at precisely the right frequency to surpass the glass barrier, leaving an open hope that exposed the living room below. By pure coincidence, Jaime’s stone also landed on top of the security system, effectively disabling the alarm that Inbad had set off. For this display of talent, Jaime has gained the feat “Glass Houses and Stones.”
Seeing the opening, both Zephyr and Inbad attempted to climb to the roof. Zephyr slithered up, using stealth to his advantage and made it to the top without a sound. As he examined the room below through Jaime’s opening, Inbad scaled the wall with significantly less grace. As he gripped ledges and found footholds, he also made his presence very aware to those around him. The mayor, who was previously only rustling in bed, finally decided to get up and examine the commotion.
At the same time, Æ attempted to sneak through the back door, having failed to climb to the ceiling. Though he managed to bypass the deadbolt, he tripped the previously disabled alarm, causing the mayor’s footsteps to pivot to assess the new disruption. Æ started readying his hair, in a last-ditch attempt to seduce the approaching mayor, but Jaime (with his newfound skills handling stones) knocked out Æ from behind, and carried his body to the side, in order to prevent from being spotted.
Taking advantage of the mayor’s distraction, Zephyr and Inbad examined the room below them. It was a quaint living room, with spaces for lounging, eating, and discussing business (as one such as the mayor would do). They notice photos above the fireplace: a young boy, 2 men together, a man and an older lady, the same 2 men with a boy and a girl, and the photo of a pet. Searching for associations with any organizations, Inbad spots medical robes obtruding from one of the closets, suggesting that the mayor had previously graduated from the town’s medical school, and is currently in good relation with them.
Recognizing that the mayor has a family, and that he is potentially working for the good of the town, Inbad and Zephyr retreat down to the ground level; neither is completely convinced that this mayor has good intentions, but they acknowledge the necessity to do more research before further action is taken.
Jaime, however, feels no such obligation. Overtaken by a fit of rage against those who took his family, he felt a severe animosity against the mayor and any figure of authority. He thought that the only way out now was to kill the mayor and anyone who allies with him, and so he started to charge into the door which Æ unlocked. Passing through the door triggered a secondary security measure that started to release a fine mist in the house. Jaime, fatigued from the day’s travel before, starts becoming affected by the newfound aroma and starts to drift off into unconsciousness. Before losing agency completely, he rushes outside of the house before the mayor is able to see him through the mist.
Inside the house, 2 sets of footsteps are heard, along with a clatter of voices. Not wanting to get caught, Inbad rushes towards the cover of the nearby forest, sprinting away from the house. Zephyr, noticing that both Æ and Jaime are unconscious, disguises himself as a bush and covers all 3 of them.
2 figures exit the house, scanning the area, but shortly after turn back inside, unable to see the party in the dim morning light. Hearing their footsteps recede, and Æ finally awakening, Zephyr unmasks his disguise and the party begins to leave Kingdom Town. Before exiting, Zephyr stops by the medical school to pick up free supplies (first aid kits, rations, healing tools, etc.) to support them on their trip to the dwarven mountains.
The Open World
On their route, the party talks with each other about their goals to return to Kingdom town and unmask the “conspiracy” that rules over it. Midway through the journey, they spot black smoke being emitted from a patch of plains nearby. Curious, the party approaches and investigates.
In the center of a ring of scorched weeds, they find a baby blue dragon sitting peacefully. Seeing such a creature is rare, but it is even rarer to find them alone. Having lost all their material possessions to a time before, the party considers the value of a dragon, and how even one of its scales could increase their status tremendously. Inbad proposes capturing the baby, and using it for profit. Æ follows a similar train of thought, instead opting to kill the dragon and use the resources its body offers.
Zephyr, recognizing the sacred laws of nature, prevents either from enacting their plan, warning them of the consequences should its mother return. Thus, Zephyr approaches the infant and calmly starts to pet it. Feeling safe in Zephyr’s presence, the dragon slowly falls asleep and enters a rest state.
Soon, a large figure descended from the skies above, shattering the earth below as it landed in front of the party. It walked slow and deliberately towards Zephyr, each step causing the party and the ground to tremble, attempting to intimidate them all against harming her child.
Her attempts fell quiet to deaf ears as Zephyr stood next to the baby dragon, shielding her and demonstrating that he means no harm. He channels his lineage of an ancestor long past and speaks to the towering dragon, telling her that his party is peaceful and do not seek to hurt any of them.
He engages in conversation with the dragon, asking for guidance, assistance, and any help at all that she can give. He asks her about the fallen ☥ro, to which she appears to smile at the recognition of the name. Upon asking about his patron, The Informant, she seems to almost cower away – in either fear or disgust – and replies that she is not the one to give the knowledge surrounding that…being.
Noting her discomfort, he asks further questions about their journey, and especially about who they are individually. She starts to become at ease again, chuckling and laughing his questions off, with comfort in her voice. She states that once he knows the right questions, she will be able to give him the answers that he seeks.
Zephyr then asks her for her name. Remarking that Zephyr is full of bold questions, she replies that she will answer him, as is his right. She says that she is known as the Protector of the Plains, and that she guards this land in that name.
Acknowledging her role as a protector, Zephyr tries to warn her about the incoming violence and war that will soon plague the land, recalling how quickly the town of Lubellum was decimated by the voided shadows. He states that she will need allies, and that he is willing to offer his protection towards her and her child. She laughs, but quickly frowns in melancholy, and states that it will be them who will one day need her protection. And that when they need it, she will be there to provide it. But for now, she offers Zephyr her inspiration, for his bravery and kindness, which will one day be repaid to him in full. Hence, Zephyr is in possession of an Inspiration Sheep.
Feeling compelled to step forward, Jaime addresses the dragon with familiarity, claiming that he too is a protector. He introduces himself as “Jaime of House Lancaster” and speaks that he will defend his house with undying loyalty, further recounting how he fought in their name until his last breath. He states that he will devote the same level of protection to his party in the coming darkness, so that he may keep his honor, and the honor of his kingdom.
The dragon nods with approval at this demonstration of valor, and responds that she knows this all. She commands Jaime to kneel before her. Obeying her wishes, he genuflects beneath the dragon, and feels her wing tapping each of his shoulders. She commands him to rise, and as he does, she states that today, he shall be henceforth named “Jaime, Protector of House Lancaster,” and that her memory will always be preserved within him should he need it. He thanks her with custom, remembering his fallen family, and she smiles at him with pride and potential.
She offers then him the gift of her scales, to which she gives Jaime three: one for himself, one for his party, and one for their free use. Upon receiving the large, textured shield-like objects, Jaime noticed that engraved upon the scales was his own family crest. He was so shocked to see any sign of his family in this foreign world that he was unable to ask the dragon about this wonderous sign.
The Protector scanned the party, looking at each of them, until she reached Inbad, who she also appeared to recognize. They shared a glance, and while Inbad tried to greet her, she simply picked up her child and flew away, blowing the party back as her wings create powerful drafts of wind below.
The Ascent
The party then continues to their destination, and the large mountain in the distance grows closer the longer they walk. Eventually, after crossing many rivers and hills, they see a spectral sight floating above them. Instead of being rooted in the ground, they are faced with a hovering land mass, thousands of feet in the air.
They see bright lights all along the top of the mountain, so that it appears almost as if it is made from stars. The kingdom above glows a bright blue, though the island casts a large shadow below, obscuring the crater where it may have once sat previously. The underbelly of the mountain forms a conic point, with a small puddle found directly under the center. Along the sides of the mountain are a series of ropes, chains, and ladders, none reaching directly towards the ground floor.
While the rest of the party took in the sights on top of them, Jaime examined the strange puddle below the mountain. The liquid appeared to have a silver tint, and the puddle look as if it was no more than a foot below the ground. Jaime, examining the water, felt as if it were smoother to the touch, as it flowed effortlessly against his skin. And when he pulled his hand out of the puddle, it was completely dry, showing no signs of any interaction with the water. He then decides to examine the true depth of the puddle, dropping his battle axe down, causing it to be sucked in and plummet; no sounds were heard of it reaching a bottom. Feeling defeated after losing his weapon, Jaime returned to the party to survey the mountain.
Searching for a way up, but unable to find any, Inbad comes up with an alternative solution. Tying some rope to an arrow, he fires his bow towards a high up ledge. He shot true, and the arrow lodges successfully into the rock, giving a firm rope for the party to climb up. Inbad, Æ, and Jaime all successfully make it to the first ledge, though they still have a long gap to make it to the top.
Meanwhile, Zephyr examines the strange puddle, curious as to where Jaime’s weapon went. With his keen observation, he noticed a drop coming from the convex point of the bottom of the mountain, causing ripples in the puddle. Examining for any magical properties, he surprisingly finds that the liquid in the puddle is simply pure water, just with a different outward appearance than what he is used to.
While the party scales above him, Zephyr tied a rope to himself and began to submerge in the small puddle.
Continuing to climb, Inbad, Æ, and Jaime managed to reach a second ledge. Feeling weakened by the physical exertion of climbing, Æ attempted to use magic to propel himself up the rest of the mountain. He cast chaos bolt, aiming at the platform below himself, and was propelled upwards as a trail of acid was released from behind him. He landed with a thud on the mountain’s top side, though his reckless aim caused every ladder, rope, and chain below him to dissolve into fine dust, complicating Inbad and Jaime’s climb up.
Jaime, accustomed to a rugged life, started climbing without hesitation, jumping between rocks and using his bare hands to pull him up the slanted cliff. He soon made it up, as if climbing was a second nature to him.
Inbad, however, was much more hesitant to climb. He tried making his way around to a side that had climbing support available, and then slowly made his way up. As he climbed, a hole in the mountain appeared as a door slammed open beside him and a dwarf leaned over the edge to take a smoke break. He was barely able to jump up out of the way, avoiding his hands (and body) being crushed. Not too long after, Inbad scaled to the top, though Zephyr was nowhere to be found.
Getting deeper in the puddle, Zephyr’s surroundings quickly became dark. He could no longer remember which way was up, and the passage was too narrow for him to swim. He was pulled along by the current, and held his breath for longer than he could count. After feeling like ages have passed, the current suddenly switched directions. Or rather, gravity did. He felt his entire body become inverted as instead of going down, he was sucked upwards, even though he did not change directions.
He started to see a faint light glow in the distance, but his rope pulled taught against his body. Almost at the end, and almost out of breath, Zephyr let go of the rope, causing him to propel faster against the water surrounding him, and emerge in the middle of a cave. He was within an almost endless black lake, and the cave was pitch black except for a single floating light above his head.
In the distance, a deep, growling voice addressed Zephyr, echoing along the vast cave. “Your time is not yet, little pawn,” it grumbled. “But soon…I’ll see you soon.”
Zephyr felt the water start to envelope him, surrounding him in a black abyss. In an instant, he was reunited with the party. Though he remembered the strange experience below, he also had the distinct memory of scaling the cliff alongside everyone else. Both were written in his mind at the exact same time, as if both happened parallel to each other.
The Kingdom
Now gathered at the edge of the cliff, the party viewed the sight of the massive town that beheld them. They appeared to have entered the city in the midst of a large festival. Surrounded by a burst of colors and aromas, they are enthralled by the loud music and cheerful celebration. They see children running along the streets, vendors calling for those to buy food, and endless stalls of dwarves selling they intricately handcrafted wares.
Seeking to learn more about this strange place (and everything else that befell them), the party gathered outside the town’s library. While Zephyr, Inbad, and Æ sought the knowledge within, Jaime was more reluctant to enter, fearing his own self control failing in the presence of so many dwarven texts. He instead rested after the long climb, taking a nap by a nearby fountain.
Entering the library, the rest of the party passed under an arched sign engraved with the words “TRUE KNOWLEDGE IS FOUND AMONG THE PEOPLE.” As they examined it, they saw that the sign changed languages from Common to Sylvan to Celestial to Draconic to Dwarvish, among many others they could not recognize.
Within the library, the party browsed the nonfiction section, learning more about the history of the dwarven kingdom, and gaining a greater understanding surrounding the geographical and pollical contexts of the city. Not fully understanding the dwarven-styled texts, and being exhausted from the long days journey, the party was unable to gain any more than a surface level understanding of the area, finding brief pieces of information that would otherwise be common sense.
So, the party left the library’s hidden secrets for another day, and decided to join in some of the festivities throughout the night. Walking outside – and waking Jaime up – the party discussed their nightly plan, all wishing to test their luck at the famed dwarven casino. Not yet knowing where the casino is in the large town, Jaime, already aggravated after his nap, grabbed a dwarf in an alleyway and attempted to intimidate him to provide the party with directions to the casino.
After seeing the dwarf point shakily towards a large glass building, Jaime threw him to the floor and marched off through the crowds, with the rest of the party jogging to catch up with his large strides. Reaching the outskirts of the casino, the party was faced with a sea of all types of creatures trying to enter the building. Jaime, filled with brass impunity, pushed through the crowds to the front, creating a narrow straight for the rest of the party to follow.
As they crossed the crowd, pop up food stands tried to get the party’s attention, speaking of their exotic cuisine and offering free samples. Though the party ignored them, attempting to push past, one vendor caught Zephyr’s hand and offered him a free skewer of meat to try. Unable to refuse, Zephyr swallowed a piece of the meat and was immediately filled with a completely new sensation of flavor and wonder as he but tasted the first real food in ages. But as quickly as the flavor came, it was replaced with a harsh, burning feeling as his body struggled to adjust with the unnaturally spiced food of the dwarven people. Eventually, he overcame the pain, and was now invigorated with a newfound energy, replacing the weariness in his eyes with a glimmer of light.
The Casino
Once they reached the casino, each party member was asked if they consent to the fine, and after consenting, their travel rags were replaced with fine clothing matching their personality. Zephyr was suited with a bright crimson tuxedo, not mirroring his own wishes, but seemingly his patron’s. Inbad was fit with an all-black suit, obscuring him from vision even further, and hiding him in his own shadow. Jaime was garbed with his formal wear from a previous life, wrapped in knight’s regalia, and a single pin depicting his family’s crest adorning his lapel pocket. Finally, Æ was given a modest suit, with the inside of his blazer having a subtle iridescence to it; like Zephyr, his outfit was tailored more towards his benefactor than to himself.
The party then substituted their gold for specially crafted dwarven chips, noticing that the chip exchange rate displayed above their heads was constantly shifting, so that exchanging currency was already a gamble itself. While the worker gave them their chips, both Æ and Zephyr attempted to swipe from under him an additional set of chips. While Æ clumsily failed this objective, and was faced with a fine, Zephyr masterfully swiped a couple high value chips into his formal coat pocket, already starting the night with high profit. For his guile, Zephyr was awarded the feat “Not the 90%.”
Having gained the currency of the desperate, the party hit the tables and began to gamble. They started at a modified roulette, with Jaime losing all his money from betting on black 19. They then moved to slots, with much of the party increasing their profit margins with the high chance, low stakes games, though some losing at the end in a large upset. They turned their focus to the card games. While they attempted to search for a blackjack table, they instead ended up at a slight variant called 84 + 16. While they played a strong hand, with Zephyr gaining the necessary score to win, Jaime’s lack of deliberate strategy led to the dealer to make a clean sweep of the table, causing everyone else to lose a large sum of money.
Feeling defeated after forfeiting so much to the house, the party found a poker table to play at, hoping to gain back their losses from unsuspecting gamblers. As they sat around the circular table, they felt the air around them get colder, their surroundings became quitter, and as they placed their antes, the rest of the casino almost froze in time (if any of them cared to look, which they did not).
They recognized the cards as those from the fortune teller’s reading from the very first night, and as they looked into the dealer’s eyes, they were met with the wrinkled face of the woman who started this whole journey only a couple weeks prior. As Zephyr checked his pocket for his card he was gifted, he could no longer find it there, and the fortune teller flashed The Beginning card to him before quickly shuffling it back into her deck.
The cards were dealt, and the party engaged in a confusing game of moving cards around the table to craft a story that does not yet make sense. They were faced with vague occurrences: The Gem was stolen by The Rogue and found in Ruin purged in Flames; The Fool and The Jester were gathered outside the realm of cards; The Throne was guarded by The Knight and the Rogue; looming above it all was The Star that brought The Comet. The party recalls the cards and gifts they were given (Fool for Æ, Knight for Jaime, Rogue for Inbad, and Key for Zephyr), and wondered how they related to this strange telling.
When they placed the last card in its place, the fortune teller disappeared and the eerie environment was restored to the bustling sounds and lights of the casino in the background. The party found themselves in the last round of a 3 round, 5-card draw game of poker. It was as if they were playing this game the entire time, and the fortune teller was never even there. The deck was unfamiliar to them with 5 suits and duplicates of cards, leading to unpredictable hands and interesting bets. Zephyr won the first round, showing a three of a kind.
Before the next round, a new figure approached the table and asked if she could sit. She wore a just off-white dress with light blue flowers embroidered along the bottom. Æ engaged in small talk with her as she seated, trying to make her feel welcome at the table. The party introduced themselves to her, and when they asked for her name, she responded with “My name is Sophie.” Prying for further information, both Zephyr and Inbad failed to talk with her, stuttering and tripping over their words when trying to form a coherent sentence. For failing so spectacularly, Zephyr gained the feat “Maiden Voyage.”
As they started the next round, the stakes went high, with each party member growing more and more confident in the strength of their hand. By the end of the final round, Jaime had already gone all in, and everyone was still standing, no one brave enough to fold. Zephyr was the first to show, revealing a king high full house – a difficult hand to beat. Inbad and Jaime both flopped, neither able to beat his hand. Æ thought he had a straight, but tired from the day and unclear about the rules, revealed a hand with a complete lack of worth. Sophie revealed her hand to be a weak five of a kind (though still one of the strongest in the game), causing her to sweep the chips set on the table and retire for the night. She smiled at the party and wished them well, as she walked away with a slight skip in her step.
The party felt defeated once more after such a large loss, and decided to cash in their earnings, or lack thereof. Most were unsuccessful in gaining the upper hand against the casino, though Zephyr’s stolen chips allowed him to gain a slight profit of gold for his use. By the time they left, hours had passed, and all were sapped from everything that had happened, except Zephyr, who was still bubbling with the vigor granted by the food from before.
The Evening
Each went their separate ways to close off the lengthy night.
Inbad checked into the local inn and crashed on the bed to rest. As he slept, he dreamed of those whom he ran away from, and the secret that he holds, which haunts him to this day, even if he can’t remember it entirely. He heard a familiar voice question him mercilessly about who he is, before finally asking “What is your name?”
Æ went to the tavern, finding Sophie working behind the bar; attempting to sneak behind her and steal more alcohol, he clumsily walked, disillusioned by his fatigue into believing that he was being stealthy. She ignored him until he tried to dump the ale on her head, at which point she decked him, knocking him to the floor for the second time. Falling unconscious, Æ dreamed about his life on the streets, and how he no longer has a name that he can even call himself. He recalls his mysterious benefactor asking him for the very first time “What is your name?”
Jaime, feeling unsafe in this area, went to the edge of the mountain and slept alongside a wall. He dreams of his people that he tried so hard to protect, but fell just short. He thinks about how this area forsakes his very being and taunts him just by him being next to these dwarves. Recalling the Protector granting him his new title, he hears her voice resound in his head “What is your name?”
Zephyr returned to the library, visiting the fiction cooking section, and reading a book before falling asleep on a padded armchair. He feels his journal glow warm in his pocket, almost like a heated blanket to give him comfort. Falling off into a dream, he remembers meeting The Informant for the first time on that wretched night so long ago, and then again after the fortune teller’s first reading. He still knows virtually nothing about The Informant, and that concerns him. How will he ever be free? He is worried that her presence tonight may foretell his patron’s, an encounter he is not even close to being ready for. Death would be a better option than where he his now. He starts to hear The Informant ask for his name that first time when he met him on the rooftop above the city. But The Informant’s inquiry was interrupted, and the voice he heard in the cavern echoed in his mind once more, booming and overpowering every other thought or memory: “What. Is. Your. Name?”
The Next Day
Hearing these four words, each party member woke up simultaneously to a loud rumbling, vibrating the floating earth beneath them.
Inbad fell of his bed and rushed out of the inn to examine the commotion.
Æ woke up, covered with the smell of alcohol, and saw Sophie sitting on a stool in the corner, tinkering something with her hands. Bruised, he too left the tavern to go outside.
Jaime, resting along the edge, bumped into the wall that protected him from the fatal drop below. However, with the trembling of the ground, the primeval barrier started to lose structural integrity and crumbled, leaving an opening for the still-asleep Jaime to fall through, waking up just in time to grip the edge and grasp on for his life, dangling above the clouds, the ground beneath him no longer visible.
Last but not least, Zephyr awoke with a different book in his hands than the one he was reading before. A bookmark was placed between the pages, and when he opened the book, he found his tarot card once more embedded in the spine’s crease, this time revealing to be “The Comet.”
As the party members stepped outside, they saw a bright blue blaze above them, hurling towards the land that they stand on. They hear sounds of panic as alarms blared and soldiers and mages gathered alike to protect themselves against the impeding threat. Still separated, each member tries to gather their senses and process the strange phenomenon they now confront.
That is, all except Jaime, whose hand is slowly slipping from the rough ledge he holds. As the sun begins to rise above the silver clouds below, his fingers begin to let go…