Unfamiliar Territory

**"Unfamiliar Territory" (1x01)** is the first episode of the first chapter of A War On All Sides. In Hasania, four adventurers revel at a festival before trouble strikes.

## **Synopsis**

The evening air of Menagerie was abuzz with the joyous sounds and pleasant smells of the Jewel of the Hills festival. The revelry was interrupted with a jolt as three small fiendish entities entered into the Market Plaza, gravely wounding several denizens. Despite the chaos, four adventurers going by the names of Crawmi, Ivantar, Ronwe, and Freynor sprang into action, seeing that the madness would only get worse. For them, this battle was child’s play, dealing with the fiends in a matter of moments (some more efficiently than others) before the town guard could bring their forces to the scene.

As the dust settled, town guard approached to assess the situation, but all they found were a bard, a shirtless man with a glaive, a half-elf with a large sack, and a naked guy. Despite their appearance, they proved themselves to be capable, and the guard recognized this, telling them they were free to join them on their next assignment. The guard was tasked with quarantining an area, and curiosity would not let our adventurers say no. They found the area in the eastern part of town to be containing a small portal, but before much investigation could be done, a powerful mage from The Arcane Conservatory teleported to the scene and dispelled the portal.

The adventurers then decided to follow the trail, with Freynor changed into the form of a dire wolf leading the way. He followed the scent of blood and footprints to the farms east of town, colliding with a small farmhouse. Ivantar and Ronwe remained amidst the crops as Crawmi peered through the window. While that was happening, Freynor continued to follow a scent of blood up to the front door, and decided to go through the locked door with his large canine form. The farmer inside, fearing death, sent his old, frail body through the now open window. Crawmi quickly diffused the situation with the obviously angry old-timer, but the farmer’s demeanor changed when he saw the large wolf was now a naked man rifling through his belongings! Before the man could stop him, Freynor found a blood-stained note, and the farmer quickly scampered from the house and summoned a fiend disguised as a house cat, and took up arms himself.

The farmer, now revealed as a demonic agent, paralyzed Crawmi. Despite this, he was disposed of rather quickly, with Freynor’s nude form bashing him over the head with a staff. The cat emerged from the stalks, revealing itself as a hunched over fiend! It quickly blinded Ronwe with its gaze, then ran back to cover amidst the crop. Ivantar chased it though, and it was quickly decapitated by his glaive. With the revelation of a mystery ‘mark’ outside those of Vaseres, and more demonic presence, Freynor and the others went to town to reveal what they found. As odd as the story may have sounded, the captain came to the scene and believed them, quelling the concerns of the other guards. The group with three guards arrived back at the farm house, and the guards investigation proved their story to be true. The farmer, now identified as Gideon, was clearly working as some sort of agent to an unknown master...while being marked with a symbol that nobody had ever seen before. The guard were to reach out to The Arcane Conservatory to attempt to get the symbol studied.

Freynor hoped he would now gain possession of the house, but the guards declined. Disappointed, the group went back to town to stay at The Dancing Flame for the night, enjoying a good rest, warm baths, sweet safes for housing perfectly normal items, and beautiful company.  When they arose, Crawmi was dragged by Freynor to the Hall of Arms to get an updated briefing on the symbol (but mostly the status of “Freynor’s” house). Meanwhile, Ivantar and Ronwe investigated the town’s Notice Board, hoping to follow up on some rumors they heard the night before at The Dancing Flame.

## **Featured Characters**

### **Player Characters**

* Ivantar
* Ronwe
* Freynor
* Crawmi

### **New**

* Gideon
* Tyrael Mynteres
* Robben Polivier
* Wilhelm Morvin

### **Mentioned**

* Nowhere
* Murat
* Griff
* Diamon Hodge

## **Quotations**

* Freynor: "I turn into a giant crab."
* Crawmi: "He just does this."