Under the Shadow: The Story So Far…

The once civilized world is coming under the shadow, an amorphous threat arising from the east. Long ago the Golden Empire maintained peace across the known world but it has since retreated to the Capitol and its immediate surrounding lands. In the far reaches of the north, near the Azamun mountains, the fortress town of Nurfirg marks the last vestige of human civilisation. Across the ancient stone bridge crossing the river Nur, elven refugees from the Great Forest trickle in, hoping to find refuge from the rising menace with their cousins to the south.

Drawn to the town at this critical juncture are our potential heroes.

Catalina Ysadora Aznarize de Villaseca is a former guard from the city of Aelsburg. Cat, as she is known to her friends, has been hearing voices from what she believes is the Divine Will. This puts her at odds with the Order, the established religion, who believe only their clerics can act as mediators between the lay folk and the Divine.

Cat has followed an unsuspecting Odion Asherah to Nurfirg after she was tasked to investigate his wife’s mysterious disappearance. Strongly urged to do so by the same voice Cat believes is the Divine Will, she’s keeping a close eye on Odion, a former clerk for one of the great trading houses of Aelsburg. After his wife disappeared, Odion has exhibited strange powers and looks to be a troubled young man.

Also, in town is the former hoodlum Nox who appears to have found redemption thanks to a travelling monk who taught him his unusual form of unarmed combat. Nox likes to stick to the shadows and has found plenty to hide in the urban sprawl of Nurfirg.

Whilst in the market one typical autumn day, they find themselves at the pavalion of Tizor Moramru , a wooden toothed merchant, when a green cloud billows through the place. Out of the fog, skeletal shapes with glowing red eyes appear and begin to attack the shoppers. Thrust at the center of the attack, the heroes fight back. They are assisted by Aiden, a warrior with a dream of following his grandfather’s old trade of hunting monsters, and Imp, a wood elf poet who has come to the human town to escape his family’s urging him towards becoming a druid. The heroes fight the skeletal invaders and find they are risen bodies of members of the infamous 13th Legion who lost the standard of the Golden Empire in the Great Forest hundreds of years ago. Strange black stones are found in their mouths, sure signs that a powerful necromancer has been at work.

After the battle, the five get to know each other, finding common cause in their unfamiliarity with the town and the uncertainty about what just happened. Their unusual presence draws the attention of the aristocratic Eshe Cinderwing who invites them to lunch at her townhouse not far from the market. There they learn a little of the town’s power dynamics, particularly the dominance of House Crowthorn. Odion proves to lack social graces, offending their host, who becomes enamoured by Cat despite her provincial manners. Nox begins his trademark pilfering of cutlery from the homes of the well-to-do.

Later at the Inn of the Last Home, the party agree to work together to uncover the source and purpose of the strange skeleton attack. During the night, a young boy brings a warning to Nox and suggests he looks to the street urchins for clues. So the next morning the party head back to the marketplace and learn of a handsome man called Zisso who seems to be a master of the secrets of the town. He agrees to help them but not in open daylight so they agree to return in the cover of dark. The party explore more of the town, meeting other merchants and taking a walk to the high walls of the Temple of the Order where the gates remain shut and unwelcoming except on holy days.

That night a street urchin arrives at the Inn and beckons the party through the dank streets but disappears shortly before they are ambushed by cloaked men. After defeating the ruffians, they find some of them have a strange tattoo on their backs: a five-pointed star with a flaming circle at its heart. Interrogating one of the ambushers, they learn of one of their safe houses nearby.

The next day, the party proceeds to the safe house where they find an unfortunate wretch of a girl imprisoned. They set her free and learn from her about a secret trapdoor the men have used. The party take the door down into the ancient sewers of the town and follow the tunnels to an exit some miles south of the town. In the scrubland overlooking the river, they find a lone enormous dead tree with a small crawl space through to a hidden lair. There they confront more of the thugs and presumed cultists including some who wield dark magics. Overcoming their foes but sparing a couple for questioning, the party learn that their master’s name: Zisso.

The party also uncover a parchment left behind by Zisso as he made his escape. Inscribed upon it is a strange prophecy:

When the final sun begins to fall,
And stars in silence cease to call,
From the East and West, the shadows rise,
Gog and Magog, beneath black skies.

With iron wings and thunder’s breath,
They walk the earth, heralding death.
Cities crumble, oceans roar,
The sky turns red, the heavens pour.

The mountains bow, the seas will burn,
The ancient fire, they shall return.
In their wake, no life shall stand—
Only ash upon a barren land.

So heed the storm, both fierce and slow,
For when they march, the world will know:
The end is here, the fate is sealed,
By Gog and Magog, the last battle revealed.

Returning to town in the evening the party search for Zisso, foregoing a much needed rest at the Inn. Heading to the market area, they are once again ambushed. This time the cultists are supported by Zisso and his great pet arachnid, whose cluster of black pearly eyes are as big as a man’s torso. The already tired party throw everything at the spider with Aiden attempting to firebomb Zisso with an improvised explosive device. Alas, Zisso proves to be a cunning sorcerer and the party overcome the cultists and the giant spider by the skin of their teeth.

Just as victory seems assured for the party, Zisso transforms into a demonic visage of beauty and tries to turn Cat and Aiden to his side. But his wiles prove ineffective. The battle continues with Zisso disappearing from the material plane and striking at poor Imp who falls to the ground dying. Repositioning to retaliate, the heroes fight on and have Zisso on the ropes. But before succumbing to their attacks, he flees back to whatever hell dimension he came from.

The party are victorious but left with more questions. Their reputation in Nurfirg is growing but it is at this time Aiden and Imp part ways with the others, seeking their own destinies.

Next time the party are joined by two new heroes and are invited to a great banquet at the Crowthorn Guild House.