Three years have passed in the world of Nabell since the destruction at Gerafon Castle and the end of our last campaign. The Roll Seekers now find themselves in Tyve, a land quarantined from the rest of the world by an impervious storm. Under these roiling clouds, a new group of travelers emerge, each harboring their own plans and secrets. Amid primordial wars, deadly light, and a plethora of mysteries, a new adventure begins…
Our story begins with three figures on a beautiful ship caught within a ferocious storm. A compass leads them directly to a wall of clouds in the middle of the ocean, stretching from water to sky. Vyr, Helena, and Vyr’s uncle, Ildren, navigate directly into this wall of wind and rain.
Sometime later, Vyr and Helena wake on a beach amidst light, rust-colored sand. Their ship and Ildren are nowhere in sight, though the two girls are surrounded by the remnants of countless seafaring vessels. Though the weather is relatively calm on land, they can see the oceanic storm wall off in the distance.
Flashing back to a few days earlier, Ernan, Whisper, and Bjorn are walking along a road. Ernan is serenading the group with his guitar, much to their chagrin. Ernan and Whisper are on their way to complete a “job,” with Bjorn being the hired muscle. They stop at a small roadside shack to save time from building a fire for their afternoon tea and meet the occupants, Normandy and his ward, Aggie. After tea, and despite a pitiful attempt at petty theft by Ernan and Whisper, Normandy and Aggie agree to guide the travelers to the coastline for supplies.
Three uneventful days of hiking later, and the party makes it to the coast. After a few moments combing the beach for any new treasures that have washed up, Ernan spots an old, decrepit ship that has washed up against the rocks a few hundred feet from the edge of shore.
While Whisper is devising a way to make it to the boat, they hear coughing in the distance and find Vyr and Helena just coming to consciousness. Tenuous introductions are made while Vyr tries to locate her uncle. The group venture sto a spot on the beach with a waterfall and rocky outcropping where most of their splintered ship seems to be located. While searching the area, they all notice a small rockslide where the ship disturbed a presumably undiscovered cave. At the base, Vyr finds her uncle’s cloak and finger jewelry covered in blood. Assuming the worst, she performs her people’s Rite of Death.
Traveling down into the cave, they discover it is manmade, with hewn stairs and wall sconces. At the end of the hall, they come to a wide granite door covered in ancient Abyssal runes of an unknown dialect. Vyr determines this to be possibly the root dialect of this language, millennia-old:
“In the lands of Tyve, where the shadows grow
At the sacred place where the gods bent low
There is a shard so pure and white
That breeds a darkness born of light.”
The stone doors lift, and physical darkness drifts from underneath it as Vyr finishes reading the words aloud. Behind the door is a large room, empty save for sconces that light with green flame along the walls and a pedestal with a simple wooden box balanced on top. Carved into the box is more of the ancient language. Normandy reads, “Here lies our last and only hope.” The moment Normandy opens the box, a figure appears. He is of a race none recognize and seems to fade into existence.
After getting his bearings, the newcomer admits he remembers nothing about where he comes from, who he is, or how he got there. His only clues are the fragment of a crown sitting inside the box. Treasures appear around him, shunted to this plane of existence by his presence, but they disappear almost as quickly as they appear.
The party heads back outside with the mystery man in tow.
Upon exiting the cave, the party spots armored individuals riding horses along the coastline. Whisper identifies them as the Gavran Watch. To divert their attention from the non-humans, some of the party goes down to intercept the riders. Whisper is recognized by the lead figure, Captain Palligref, who taunts him about his grandmother jailed in The Reef.
The Captain and his cronies continue down the coast while the group turns their focus back on the freshly scuttled ship just off the coast. Bjorn and Whisper head over to investigate.
Barely escaping a monster of the deep, they make it across. Whisper sniffs out the captain’s quarters and breaks into a hidden compartment in the desk. He finds a signet ring bearing the symbol of a wolf surrounded by chains, a ceremonial dagger, and a sealed but waterlogged letter.
With an assist from Helena the two make it back to land without harm. They reconvene, strike a few deals, and discuss their next steps. Even though it will hamper Whisper and Ernan’s progress with their “business dealings” in the port city of Andros, they decide to proceed to Ephthalas to help Aggie put her parents to rest under the Syrexian Eclipse. As night settles over the land, the party lights a fire to keep the oppressive darkness of Tyve at bay while they continue to learn about each other and plan their next move.