Heralds-E1 Summary

**The Heralds of Wayinar: Episode 1-Betrayer**

YouTube: Episode 1

**Cast (In order of appearance)**

Player                                                   Role

Russel E. Welch III                            Dungeon Master

Matt Connor                                      Gorrkarraus

Zane Ellenbarger                              Lord Amadeus

Ariel Quinn                                         Rosara

Brad Marsh                                         Obi

Josh Jenkins                                      Vano

Frank French                                      Sorrel

Our story opens in a dank cave. Outside, the rain pours, and the party spies a hint of movement. They are prepared for the worst when Gritzern steps through the opening carrying a limp shape. His skin is pale green with orange, vein-like lines crawling along it. Gorrkarraus questions him, demanding he say something familiar, suggesting he suspects Gritzern may be an imposter. Gritzern confesses to spitting in Lord Amadeus’ gruel which makes the Lord angry but serves to convince Gorrkarraus that Gritzern is who he says he is as he saw Gritzern commit the act.

Gritzern deposits his burden near a fire revealing it to be an unconscious Edwed covered in wounds. He calls to Rosara for healing. Rosara asks if he caught one, and the rest of the party eyes the wounded Edwed suspiciously. Gritzern ignores them and pleads with Rosara to use her healing. She touches the Edwed, and he screams.

Dramatic music plays and the scene cuts to a more out-of-character mode as Russell introduces the show and goes around the table introducing the characters and asking each player to tell the audience a little bit about what it was like building their alter egos.

Once introductions are complete, Russell summarizes the events that led the party to their current bedraggled state. He tells them they were “pulled together by an unseen will that bent theirs to its own.” They came by boat to a lonely stretch of shoreline in Jvar-VunGal. After they disembarked and entered the jungles, they were assailed by hordes of undead and a group of powerful demons that have hounded them day and night. They have lost two companions and have taken refuge in a small cave. They know they need to reach their boat but have a large swath of this **haunted jungle** to traverse before they can get there. They also know their demonic pursuers wait for them to expose themselves.

We return to the action. The screaming figure is Sorrel and Gritzern puts a knife to his throat, hissing at him to be silent. They start to grill Sorrel who seems oblivious to their current situation. Sorrel speaks of a master and a mission, but none of this makes any sense to the party and they debate whether they should just kill him to be sure he isn’t one of the demons in disguise. Rosara is the strongest dissenting voice.

As the party argues, Sorrel wild shapes into a rodent and tries to escape. Vano attempts to shoot him, but Gorrkarraus intervenes, spoiling the shot and saying the sound of a gunshot will draw their enemies. Obi throws down a trap to catch Sorrel while Amadeus casts a grasping spell to catch Sorrel. He alters it to make its damage electrical which shocks Sorrel out of his rodent form. He tries to step toward the cave exit, but steps into Obi’s trap which snaps shut on his ankle. He tries to pry the trap off his ankle, but he isn’t strong enough, so he pleads with the party to let him go.

Rosara again argues for Sorrel’s life. Gorrkarraus tells her that Sorrel is her responsibility. She has Obi remove the trap which he does reluctantly. When he does, Amadeus does a mystical trick with a copper wire that allows him to speak with Sorrel without being heard and tells him to run. Sorrel looks at Rosara with a small bit of guilt and does something mysterious. A bit of code that passes between him and the dungeon master, prompting the other players to raise questions, but no answers are forthcoming. Sorrel’s finger flashes, blood oozes, and his hand goes numb. He then transforms into a desert owl and flies out of the cave. Vano chases after him, but Amadeus follows and argues against heading off into the forest.

Russell switches to Sorrell who is being pounded by wind and rain as he flies. Obi sees him and contemplates doing something, but ultimately decides Sorrel is too far away. Gorrkarraus tells Rosara, “This is on you,” and readies himself for any coming attack.

Rosara stomps out of the cave, and the party’s discussion devolves into finger pointing as Sorrel keeps flying away. Then he hears a whoosh behind him and the whole party hears a deafening shriek. They recognize the sound as something called the **Scourge** (though Sorrel has not encountered this creature).

Sorrel is attacked by a flying creature with talons. He is wounded badly enough that he falls from the sky, tumbling through branches of palm trees and hitting the ground where he takes more damage. The party hears his fall, and Vano shrugs, “I guess he wasn’t with the dragons.”

Sorrel sees a scaled, winged figure hovering above him and casts a minor healing spell on himself before fleeing into the thicker jungle. The party takes defensive positions at the mouth of their cave. Gritzern, however, claims they must run and takes off down the trail. Just then, they feel the ground rumble and a hole explodes from the ceiling of the back of the cave. When the dust clears, they see a hulking shape that looks like a shadow surrounded by a nimbus of orange light.

The creature leaps forward and swipes at Obi twice. The second blow hits, claws piercing Obi’s shoulder and rendering one of his arms useless. Vano grabs Obi and drags him out of the cavern. Amadeus casts a spell, flinging a barrage of ice balls at the creature. It seems to be unaffected. When Amadeus sees this, he runs. Obi, realizing he can’t fight with one useless are, flings a vial of oil then joins the retreat. Gorrkarraus uses a magical ensnaring affect on his arrow and fires. It works, causing tentacles of shadow to wrap around the creatures legs, but it is too strong and easily rips free.

The creature takes two swipes at Vano, wounding him with its claws. Vano strikes back wounding the creature slightly, but also chips the blade of his halberd. He turns and runs. The monster takes a parting swipe at Vano’s back but misses. The whole party is in full flight now. Gorrkarraus take a jab at Rosara, blaming her for this, before casting a mist spell to cover their retreat. When they have created some distance, Amadeus hurls a blast at the creature, a parting shot that hits but only elicits a low chuckle from the monster.

They think they are in the clear but turn a corner and see a cloud of **grey mist** barring their path. Vano groans and Obi acknowledges that they have encountered this mist before. Through the conversation, it is revealed that the mist has the power to possess its victims. They try to veer onto a second path, but it ends at a thirty-foot drop-off.

Rosara heals Obi, and they use his rope and grappling hook to rappel down the cliff face. Gorrkarraus goes first and spies Gritzern’s trail at the bottom. Once they are all down, they can hear the ocean and continue to run, but the mist pours over the cliff to engulf them.

Vano fails to resist the mist and is assaulted by images of a battlefield and the screams of the dying. His sense of the real-world fades and when Obi approaches, Vano turn and punches him in the face. Obi breaths the mist as well but resists its effect and attempts to drag Vano out. Gorrkarraus, who also resists the mist and is aware of what is happening, barrels in from behind trying to assist Obi by knocking Vano out of the mist.

Rosara resists as well and is the first party member to think of holding her breath as she dashes out of the mist.

Amadeus fails his resistance and finds himself in a ball room surrounded by beautiful Edwon. One of them approaches him. Her eyes are hollow, and her throat has been cut. Amadeus recognizes her and recoils saying, “No…You’re dead. This isn’t real!”

When she speaks, black blood runs from her wound and she says, “Dance with me, Lord Rykone.”

Amadeus falls to his knees, weeping. “I will never dance with you again.”

Once outside, Vano manages to shake off the effect of the mist. The rest of the party realizes Amadeus has yet to emerge. They devise a plan to use Obi’s rope as a lifeline to go into the mist and get him. Vano serves as an anchor. Gorrkarraus dashes into the mist and finds Amadeus and grabs hold of him. Amadeus thrashes about, trying to attack Gorrkarraus as he is still possessed.

The rest of the party tries to pull them out but struggles and Rosara suffers some nasty rope burns on her hands. Vano finally heaves them out of the mist and Amadeus manages to resist its lingering effect, coming out of his hallucination.

They take off running and burst through the jungle to a clearing at the edge of a cliff. They can see the ocean and a path that stretches down to the beach where they can see the mast of their boat. They also see Gritzern burst from the jungle further down the path. He waves them on and continues to dash ahead. At the edge of the cliff, they see the huddled form of Sorrel.

He looks at them in fear and mumbles something about not wanting to die. Vano tells him, “Then don’t die, you silly fool. Jump!”

Sorrel comments on never having seen the ocean. He laughs a bit and then flings himself off the cliff.

The party looks down the trail and sees hordes of skeletons, zombies, and animated shadows pouring from the jungle. Behind them, the mist is seeping forth as if following them. They are trapped between the two.

Fade out.

Pink Tie Russell comes in and closes the show.

Chaos awaits you, in the dark.

Transcript