[D&D 5E] Shadows of the Past: Part 1, Chapter 1

[truemane]

D&D 5E - SHADOWS OF THE PAST
Part 1, Chapter 1:
An Unexpected Party

"It's a dangerous business, going out your door."

It all began with the rain.

The night, before the rain, was calm. Like the muted hush before a wind. Like an intake of breath before story's telling. Like the pregnant silence before anger boiled over to violence.


And beyond that? The great white spaces where maps and certainties end.
The locals called this forest the Roundwood. No one could remember why. Think and nearly trackless, at sat at the very edge of civilized lands. Beyond the Roundwood, the river Rhim, beyond that, the great orcish plains to the north and the deep elven woods to the south.

But that was for later.

Here, now, was the Roundwood. Bathed in calm. Sleeping under a sky so clear and so crisp the stars looked close enough to reach out and touch, and sharp enough to cut when you do.

And then, in the space of a moment, the skies darkened, thick black clouds obscured the stars, and without sound or warning or even wind to herald its coming, the heavens opened and a curtain of rain poured down upon the forest.

Within moments the ground was a thick sucking slog. All clothing soaked through to skin. All skin soaked through to bone. With the stars and moon lost, the night was as dark as pitch, and what little visibility remained was stolen by the endless, endless, rain.

And then, impossibly, in the darkness, there was a light. And a wall. And the gate of a small military encampment.

Into this strange night stumbled several strangers, each alone in the wood for different reasons, the threads of the stories leading them here extending out to different horizons. But each of them come to the gate, to the wall, to the light, and are allowed entry into a long, low, humble structure with a dozen long tables and benches.

They are bid to sit. And wait. While overhead the sound of rain upon the roof echoes through the air.

A moment's silence.

And then, into the tent comes an armed and armoured man. His face looks like an old oak root, like a sheet of granite hacked into a human face, like a statue, eroded, all extraneous detail worn away until all that remains is its barest, truest essence. He walks with the confidence and purpose of a man used to command. He limps slightly.

Behind him are three others. One of them seems a servant, with a tray of heated water and cold bread and strips of cured meat. One of the remainder is a younger man, similarly arrayed, whose face is open and curious and whose eyes are kind. The final person is a woman of middling years, stocky with broad shoulders and thick, muscled arms. Her face stern and her gaze sharp and active. She wears a small metal badge on her chest of a woven circlet of thorns with a single deep green rose inset.

The older man stands and looks upon the gathering with a stony face.

"By crown and thorn, This is indeed a strangeness. I'll have ye all fed and watered and warmed, for even here in this fateforsaken place the Compact holds. But I'll know the why of this first. If a why there is."

As he speaks, the younger man flits forward with surprising grace and examines the sojourners for injuries or illness. To each he approaches, pauses, makes a gesture as if to ask if he might approach, and checks eyes, neck, skin, knees, arms. His touch is light and knowledgeable, his manner crisp and professional.

He wears a pair of skintight sheepskin gloves, unadorned but finely made and tied in the back with simple lacing.

Spoiler: EVERYONE

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Okay! After much ado, welcome to Shadows of the Past! Your first post should include a quick description of your character, what they were doing in the woods, and some idea of the sense of urgency they might feel to be done with this and get back to their lives.

I like to throw a lot of balls in the air, and offer a lot of bits and pieces of in-world information, some of which might be important and some of which might not. So any time you want to know a thing, feel free to make a pro-active Knowledge roll, and don't forget to let me know if an Aspect applies.

This is not my game, it's our game, so please don't be afraid to interact with things, ask questions about things, suggest things, and get right into the middle things and mix it up. You can't break the game, you can't ruin the story, and if anything goes horribly awry, posts can always be edited.

If you have any questions, you know where to find me.

Game on!