The Dragon Emperor is dead.
In the Misty Vale, a forgotten corner of a broken realm, ancient powers begin to shift. Ruins groan in the earth. Shadows move in the pine-thick forests. Villagers speak of monsters in the hills and strange lights in the sky. Something old is waking.
Four adventurers have come via the Drakmar Pass through the Kummer Mountains seeking their fortune. They are one of the brave (or foolish) souls tempted to region now the orcs have left.
Ruskin Toppercoe is a halfling warrior distinguished by his shock of red hair. Strong and nimble, he relies on his diminutive stature to get out of the clutches of his enemies.
He is joined by Silas Saltfoot, a human merchant who is followed by his sweet natured donkey, Willow. Silas has a sometimes gruff nature and is not adverse to bending the truth if it will help him establish his bona fides amongst the gold-spending people.
A rather different disposition is possessed by Lunariem ‘Shadowbolt’, an aged wolfkin hunter who offers his quiet, truthful wisdom to his travelling companions when it is asked for.
Finally, rounding out the group is Thromli Coppervoice, a dwarf bard whose abrasive but powerful bagpipe playing can stir even the most timid of adventurers into rousing daring do. That is, when he isn’t making a cacophony that makes the ears of his enemies bleed.
The adventurers are a couple of days through the pass when they come across a dying man, his blackened veins and inky face indicating a powerful poison spreads through his blood.
With his dying breath, he gives them a statuette and a message to “Quick, take it! Leanara will understand… message from Master Weatherman… must find all four pieces… the secret of the dragon emperor!” The statuette is of the lower half of a man holding a sword and along with it the dying man gives them a priceless map of the region.
Before they can ask the man any further questions, his killers, a pack of goblins, pounce from their hiding place. Arrows fly past Ruskin and Thromli’s head whilst further back, Lunariem steps forward to shoot his own bow. But the aged old bow twangs and snaps, the arrow flying instead into poor Silas.
As the party recovers from the surprise and begins to give the goblins a decent fight, their leader pounces on top of a warg, its slavering teeth hungry for halfling blood. Ruskin holds up well for as long as he can as Thromli blasts his bagpipes: first terrifying the goblins who become enfeebled by the noise, then stirring his compatriots.
The fight hangs on a knife’s edge as the goblins manage to split the party with the boss and one of his lackeys keeping Ruskin and Thromli pinned down whilst the other goblins corner old Luna and Silas. Blows are exchanged and the scales seem to favour the goblins before swinging back as the goblin warg rider is brought down, demoralising the other goblins. The party is soon triumphant, if bruised and battered, with some closer to death than they would have liked.
Recovering from their first bloody fight, they find the wounded man long dead. Taking his gifts and the spoils from the goblins, the party continues onwards through the Drakmar Pass and can soon see the Misty Vale before them. Following an uneventful night’s rest, the party heads towards the village of Outskirt.
Arriving at the palisades surrounding the village, they are greeted by Hardy, whose face the party never glimpse. He challenges them to state their business and after a bit of a gruff response from some, Thromli spins a fantastical song of their prowess and reputation. The stalwart defender Hardy is suitably impressed and welcomes the adventurers into Outskirt. He suggests they speak to Vagnhild, the village’s nominal leader, at the Three Stag Inn.
Making their way into the village, they cannot help but notice the old ruined temple on top of a prominent hill. They skirt around the hill through the village’s sole circular main street, coming to a public square where some shops and the inn are to be found. They stop and look at a statue of an impressive man holding a sword. Luna recognises the man as the old Dragon Emperor and Ruskin notes the similarity with the statuette he holds in his pack.
With the sound of cheerful merrimaking coming from the inn, the party decide to head into the Three Stag Inn for some well-deserved beverages and a hot meal.
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