S2E1 Ripples in the Wind

On the continent of Hylak, where humans, dwarves and elves, rarely roam. Kyrealle the Air Genasi Wizard and her trusty goose, Honkers, come to a small village with a monastery to rendezvous with a friend. Keywynn, the Firbolg Cleric, and Kerrick, the Dragonborn Fighter, come to the same village looking for Keywynn’s lost brother. Naphako, the Lifeforged Paladin, and Eclipse, the Tabaxi Rogue, come to that village on the Lake so Naphako can take her vows as a Paladin. What do the missing people have in common, and is Honkers truly a sacred bird?

### Player Characters Present

Eclipse, Naphako, Keywynn, Kyrealle, Kerrick

### Synopsis

It has been 40 years since the defeat of the darkness, where the Light Bringers defeated Riha and her armies. We travel three thousand miles south into central Hylak, a foreign land to those who dwell in the lands of men. Hylak is a different than many realms you may have heard of, there are no humans, elves, dwarves or halflings in this realm. This is the land of monsters, well, monsters to the untrained eye. The land of Hylak has a beautiful landscape with mountains and forests as far as the eye can see. It's filled with many amazing creatures such as orcs, goblins, bugbears, gnolls and alike. These creatures are not the ones we’ve been told about in our bedtime stories. They are in fact, just like us in every way imaginable. They are farmers, fishermen, crafters, traders, fathers, mothers and siblings. You see we have been led to believe that all those creatures are evil and want to destroy our way of living. Well that simply isn’t the case. There are two sides to everyone. There are evil humans and elves as there are good orcs and goblins. Some would say every bit as good and kind as us. That brings me to this new story. A story of several unlikely heroes from different parts of that continent who met it seems for no other reason than fate itself, but my friends this story goes even further, beyond fate.

Meeting in the crossroads south of the hallowed woods our first two adventurers meet for the first time. Eclipse of the Moon, a young Tabaxi rogue, running from his past, bumps into Naphako, a Lifeforged Paladin seeking to prove the goodness in herself. The two have an interesting exchange about the nature of personhood before agreeing to travel together towards Silver Lake where Naphako was headed to complete her vows.

Further west outside the city of Stormere the Firbolg cleric, Keywynn, wanders far away from her swamp home looking for her brother. There she finds a traveler who brings her to the city. During the travels she notices a bloodied Dragonborn fighter laying lifeless in the cart behind her. Without thinking she granted the wounded traveler some healing, awakening him. Grateful Kerrick lets his guard down long enough to get attached to the young Firbolg. Finding out her story he agrees to travel with her south to find clues for her lost brother.

Much farther east traveling to the city of Dalsa, Kyrealle, a young Genasi Wizard prepares to meet her betrothed. Upon arriving in the city she found terrors instead. The city was under siege by a group she later finds out is called the White Cloaks. A religious group worshiping their savior god Mardek who is hell bent on ridding this world of all “unpure” races and burn anyone who claims to wield magic. Luckily Kyrealle was reunited with an old friend and fled to the city of Keldune. She was able to flee the city before it was also attacked but got separated from her friend. Completely unfamiliar this new land she travels north to a monastery that her friend spoke of many times searching for answers.

On the north west side of Silver Lake stands a monastery for believers of Jazael, the goddess of beginnings, choices and doorways. A safe haven for all travelers in the region. Upon arriving Kyrealle, along with Honkers her goose familiar, immediately started asking questions about her friend and family. Not getting the answers she sought, she sat on the edge of the dock watching Honkers splash in the water. A short time later Eclipse sensed something, after a long travel he was hungry, he spied a large white bird splashing in the water that looked delicious, until Naphako also noticing the same bird, told him it was the crane from her visions, she'd hoped to see. Eclipse’s instincts subsided and the two decide to seek out a tavern for a proper meal instead. They notice the tavern was completely empty except for the bartender and two interesting looking characters sitting in the corner table, both large in size, one a Firbolg and the other a Dragonborn. It wasn’t long before Kyrealle and Honkers arrived in the tavern. After some time the three groups convened and shared information, some too much. Eclipse excused himself to do some last minute shopping, and on his return he darted into the shadows, waiting for the right moment to get the jump on Kerrick. With a knife to Kerrick's back and throat Eclipse questioned the Dragonborn. Apparently, the two knew each other. The blades were relaxed and the two faced eye to eye with a basic understanding of how to move forward.

Regrouping, the group decided to follow Naphako as she took her vows at the lakeside, and as she looked for a sign of acceptance from her goddess, Honkers once again made his presence felt. A the lakeside they met a Tortle terrified of water, the current caretaker of the Monastary. This caretaker informed him that a dozen people had gone missing since the blood moon just three days ago. Without wasting any time the group planned out a trap and waited for the shadows to show themselves. Show themselves they did. Three phase spiders attacked. The majority of the group was on the ground fighting two of them, while Eclipse fought one alone on the rooftop where he had hidden himself. A costly mistake. Eclipse was overpowered by the beast, quickly paralyzed and coiled up in the spider's web to be dragged away for a later meal. Once the other two spiders were slain the group realized that Eclipse was nowhere to be found. Jumping into action investigating the area they found a faint trail of blood being dragged out of town towards a small hole in the side of the mountain. Looking at one another for a brief moment before proceeding into the darkness.