The Wandering Isles: Session 38
Amaedrianna and Slate made their way through the streets of Dagtorp, the chill of the air curling around them as they stepped into the blacksmith’s forge. The heat from the forge was immediate, the scent of molten metal and burning coals thick in the air. Brandon Thel, the blacksmith, barely looked up from his work as they entered.
Amaedrianna approached first, her request simple but precise—four daggers, each crafted in the shape of a feather, a deadly yet elegant extension of herself. Slate followed, requesting both a shield and a hand crossbow, tools that would further shape his path. The smith set to work, promising the blades would take a week to complete. Payment was exchanged—one gold and five silver—and they left, the rhythmic clang of hammer on steel echoing behind them.
Outside, Amaedrianna called to Albi, summoning her familiar back from its scouting mission at Gothenhammar. As the white-feathered bird returned, it relayed what it had seen: a colossal metal door, between 100 and 150 feet tall, stamped with a bold Omega symbol. Before Albi could see more, figures appeared—men clad in armor unlike anything Amaedrianna had seen before, heavy-duty and reinforced, built for endurance as much as battle. Then, a sudden burst of red light—and Albi remembered nothing after that.
Meanwhile, Dash’s keen eyes caught an eccentric man in elaborate robes moving through the marketplace. Something clinked against the cobblestone—a coin, small and gold, etched with the image of a fox. Dash picked it up without a second thought. Hatsu, ever the upstanding one, suggested turning it in to the guards, but Dash’s instincts flared with suspicion. As expected, the guard showed no interest in returning the coin to its rightful owner—only in pocketing it for himself.
Dash quickly intervened, stopping Hatsu before he could unintentionally hand over something far more valuable than it appeared. Hatsu, bewildered by the social nuances of crime and deception, insisted on giving the guard another coin instead, an act that nearly made Dash lose his mind. Gold—especially given away so freely—made you a target. It was an open invitation for thieves and trouble, something Hatsu simply did not understand. Dash, seeing no other way to explain, dragged him away before he could make matters worse.
Elsewhere, Eos slipped into sleep, only to be pulled into another dream. She saw rain hammering against the deck of a ship, a man she knew standing there, the weight of something unspoken between them. Then, without warning, the sea split apart, and from the depths rose a monstrous serpent, crashing down upon the vessel. The impact jolted her awake, leaving her breathless.
Curiosity turned to alarm when the coin Dash had picked up was examined more closely. It bore words written in Monolithic, an ancient language:
"Thunder of hooves, storm of might, run as one, join this fight!"
Before they could make sense of it, the world around them erupted into chaos.
A deafening roar filled the streets as animals—hundreds of them—spilled into Dagtorp from seemingly nowhere. Stags, boars, wild horses, and creatures too fast to name rampaged through the town, tearing through stalls, knocking people off their feet, shattering carts and windows. Buildings crumbled under the weight of the stampede. The once-orderly town was reduced to madness in mere seconds.
Hatsu and Ayame sprinted into action, driving the herd out of town in an effort to control the damage—though they nearly trampled Dash in the process. It took over an hour for the chaos to subside, the animals disappearing as suddenly as they had appeared, leaving behind only destruction and unanswered questions.
As the dust settled, the consequences of the disaster became clear. Guards whispered among themselves, blaming the tavern for the commotion, but the group managed to divert their suspicions elsewhere. Then, Dash noticed something even more troubling—a crowd had gathered in the town square, murmuring in distress.
The bank had been emptied.
Under the cover of the chaos, someone had stolen everything—hundreds of gold pieces, all gone without a trace.
Determined to uncover the truth, Eos took a quiet walk through the city, disguising herself as a human with magic, slipping unnoticed through the wary streets. Meanwhile, Hatsu and Slate hunted for the man who had originally dropped the coin. They searched everywhere, but he was gone. Hatsu, suspicious of the coincidence, began to suspect that the coin had been left deliberately, placed in Dash’s path for a reason.
Regrouping with Dash, they pieced together fragments of information about the criminals behind the robbery. They tracked heavy footprints leading toward a stable, but the trail vanished before they could get any closer. It was then that Amaedrianna, ever watchful, noticed something—a campfire flickering in the distance.
Approaching with caution, they found a sled cart—a slart—left abandoned. The scent of food drifted through the cold air.
And then, they found her.
Nora Shadeclasp, breathless, struggling to speak. Amaedrianna knelt beside her, leaning in as the rogue rasped out a single word.
"Run."
At the same time, Eos, Slate, and Dash stumbled upon two figures lying still in the snow—Eldric Shadowclaw and Rowan Darkwood, unconscious, unmoving.
Dash, seeing the warning signs too late, turned on his heel to run—to warn the others to flee.
Then, fire.
Then, laughter.
From the wreckage of flame and ruin, a figure emerged.
The Inferno had come.
A Raze Threat.
Their first.
And now, the real fight was about to begin.
