A Tale of Two Domains
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Cast:
- Sir ExSixTen, the Warforged Fighter (Iron Sky)
- Andras, the Genasi Warlord (TwoHeadsBarking)
- Jax, the Kobold Rogue (Dekana)
- Dorn, the Half-Orc Sorcerer (nerdytenor)
- Brenn, the Elf Ranger, (pathfinderq1)
- Quagmire, the Hobgoblin Warlord (covaithe)
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These signs were foreseen by Hyskosa, a Vistani most gifted with the Sight. Spread word of these wherever you travel. Only the true hearted can stop the fall of the night of evil.
The light of the sky shining over the dead
Shall gutter and fail, turning all to red.
The night of evil shall descend on the land
When this hexad of signs is near at hand.
In the house of Daegon the sorcerer born
Through life, unlife, unliving shall scorn.
The lifeless child of stern mother found
Heralds a time, a night of evil unbound.
Seventh time the son of suns doth rise
To send the knave an eternity of cries.
Inajira will his fortunes reverse
And all shall live with dreaded curse.
Shall gutter and fail, turning all to red.
The night of evil shall descend on the land
When this hexad of signs is near at hand.
In the house of Daegon the sorcerer born
Through life, unlife, unliving shall scorn.
The lifeless child of stern mother found
Heralds a time, a night of evil unbound.
Seventh time the son of suns doth rise
To send the knave an eternity of cries.
Inajira will his fortunes reverse
And all shall live with dreaded curse.
Ravenloft, the Demiplane of Dread. Made up of domains, each of these lands are ruled by a Dark Lord. Dark Lord are irredeemable evil beings of immense power. Each domain acts as their paradise as well as their prison. They can control who and what enters and leaves their land and act as the domain's supreme ruler. The people they rule mostly are oblivious to what kind of creatures they really are, or even that they are citizens of Ravenloft. Their domains are also the Dark Lord's prison and their hell, for they cannot ever leave their lands and every day they are tormented by the objects of their desire, the same that lead them into their moral downfall. Love, victory, revenge, hate...
Behind all of Ravenloft are the Dark Powers. A being, or beings, with tremendous power, that of which rivals the gods. Able to create and trap the Dark Lords in their prisons and shape the very lands of the demiplane. Their true nature and exact intents, even I do not know, and I have spent all my life inside of Ravenloft.
Even though it has only been several years since I last left the place, Ravenloft seems to have vanished from time and space for hundreds of years in your plane of existence; for I cannot find any references or records even hinting at its existence in your libraries. That is until recently, when the "Sojourn", that is Ravenloft, literally appeared as an island in the area. Who, or what, is behind this phonomina, I do not know. This "island" is actually a portal to the demiplane of Ravenloft, taking you to one of the many bodies of water it possesses. Strong currents around the island come and go, like they are controlled by a sentient force. They trap passing boats and draw them in, further populating the lands.
If you had not stopped Marcel, he would have eventually challenged the Dark Lord of Souragne, Anton Misroi, for his domain. Both would have destroyed almost every living thing on the island in an attempt to raise a giant army of undead against one another. The victor ruling over a lifeless land.
But you succeeded says the old man, Dr. Rudolph van Richten, with a smile. He is seated before Jax, Dorn, Andras, Sir ExSixTen and Brenn and Quagmire at a table in a far corner of the Hanged Man. And now I need you to succeed again. I have heard whispers from the Vistani, the same ones you met in your first encounter in Ravenloft, of rumors of stirrings in Kartakass. They whisper that a powerful force in the area has dire plans for that domain. This scroll that you found makes me believe that the second sign is about to happen. Your finding it was not by accident, as there is no such thing as coincidence in Ravenloft. I believe that if you travel back to the island, you will find yourself at Kartakass. There you must investigate the domain, trying to stop the events alluded to in the scroll from taking place if you can. If you fail, I fear that foul events will occur that will make what happened in Sourange look insignificant in comparison.
Sadly, I cannot arm you with much knowledge of the area. Richten continues. I have spent my whole life studying Ravenloft, but still I have only scratched the surface of the place. Though I do know that most of Kartakass is heavily forested and lies in the foothills of the Balinoks. The lands are riddled with caverns. The ground is very rocky and covered in dense forests with twisted paths running from town to town. There are two large towns in Kartakass: Skald and Harmonia. Each with its own history and grandeur, but no doubt each carrying its own dark secrets. As for what you may find there, that I cannot say. The creatures of the night are many and varied in the Demiplane of Dread.
I will not leave you totally unaided however. Not only has Mr. Weaselcrust agreed to join you after I approached him with my tale, Richten says, gesturing to the hobgoblin sitting at the table, but I am also willing to help fund the trip. I have already arranged for a boat and provisions for your journey, and I am also willing to pay you 500 gold each, more than twice that of the previous outing, as well as more on your completion.
I hope this is satisfactory. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. I will do my utmost to arm you with knowledge for your journey. he says with a smile.
Behind all of Ravenloft are the Dark Powers. A being, or beings, with tremendous power, that of which rivals the gods. Able to create and trap the Dark Lords in their prisons and shape the very lands of the demiplane. Their true nature and exact intents, even I do not know, and I have spent all my life inside of Ravenloft.
Even though it has only been several years since I last left the place, Ravenloft seems to have vanished from time and space for hundreds of years in your plane of existence; for I cannot find any references or records even hinting at its existence in your libraries. That is until recently, when the "Sojourn", that is Ravenloft, literally appeared as an island in the area. Who, or what, is behind this phonomina, I do not know. This "island" is actually a portal to the demiplane of Ravenloft, taking you to one of the many bodies of water it possesses. Strong currents around the island come and go, like they are controlled by a sentient force. They trap passing boats and draw them in, further populating the lands.
If you had not stopped Marcel, he would have eventually challenged the Dark Lord of Souragne, Anton Misroi, for his domain. Both would have destroyed almost every living thing on the island in an attempt to raise a giant army of undead against one another. The victor ruling over a lifeless land.
But you succeeded says the old man, Dr. Rudolph van Richten, with a smile. He is seated before Jax, Dorn, Andras, Sir ExSixTen and Brenn and Quagmire at a table in a far corner of the Hanged Man. And now I need you to succeed again. I have heard whispers from the Vistani, the same ones you met in your first encounter in Ravenloft, of rumors of stirrings in Kartakass. They whisper that a powerful force in the area has dire plans for that domain. This scroll that you found makes me believe that the second sign is about to happen. Your finding it was not by accident, as there is no such thing as coincidence in Ravenloft. I believe that if you travel back to the island, you will find yourself at Kartakass. There you must investigate the domain, trying to stop the events alluded to in the scroll from taking place if you can. If you fail, I fear that foul events will occur that will make what happened in Sourange look insignificant in comparison.
Sadly, I cannot arm you with much knowledge of the area. Richten continues. I have spent my whole life studying Ravenloft, but still I have only scratched the surface of the place. Though I do know that most of Kartakass is heavily forested and lies in the foothills of the Balinoks. The lands are riddled with caverns. The ground is very rocky and covered in dense forests with twisted paths running from town to town. There are two large towns in Kartakass: Skald and Harmonia. Each with its own history and grandeur, but no doubt each carrying its own dark secrets. As for what you may find there, that I cannot say. The creatures of the night are many and varied in the Demiplane of Dread.
I will not leave you totally unaided however. Not only has Mr. Weaselcrust agreed to join you after I approached him with my tale, Richten says, gesturing to the hobgoblin sitting at the table, but I am also willing to help fund the trip. I have already arranged for a boat and provisions for your journey, and I am also willing to pay you 500 gold each, more than twice that of the previous outing, as well as more on your completion.
I hope this is satisfactory. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. I will do my utmost to arm you with knowledge for your journey. he says with a smile.
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