Tales from Etheraz: August Event 2025 Recap Pt. 1

Greetings, travellers, troubadours, and troublemakers! 

I, ATLAS THE BARD, have some incredible news to share: the Southern Barricade has fallen!! Yes, the barricade (formerly) controlled by the House Blakka army that controlled travel and trade in and out of Southern Arancis was overtaken by Hollowed. How did this come to be? How did the stronghold of the bloodiest, most brutal, most depraved army on this side of Etheraz fall to these snarling monsters? It’s all thanks to a small group of soldiers who underwent this fated mission and gave their lives to destroy the barricade. I have here the information, given to me by my late friend Pavel — a scout who accompanied this mission and, determined for the soldiers’ legacy to live on — wrote in great detail their accomplishments. Additionally, the group of Coalition soldiers known as the PC party underwent a strange and magical ritual within the Dreamlands to experience the memories of these soldiers so their deeds would not be forgotten. 

The soldiers hailed from all over. One was a hired bodyguard, tricked by his client to undergo the mission in his stead. Another was a smith who had never held a sword in his life but vowed to fix any crucial repairs along the way. But, most were children without homes or families who had nothing to go back to who decided that this mission was worth their lives. Here, I recount the tale of this mission, reported with complete integrity and absolutely no artistic flavoring. 

The soldiers decided the best way to infiltrate the barricade was to travel through the small hole in the barricade the PC party had traveled through previously (you can read about that here). The Blakka soldiers stationed there had permitted the PC party to pass through in the past in exchange for supplies and a vow of secrecy. Now, this new group of soldiers were trying their luck. They cleared the path of the Hollowed that infested the passage and emerged to find some extremely confused and rather grumpy Blakka soldiers. Our brave heroes lied smoothly and effortlessly to convince the soldiers to pass them through, using such incredible cover stories like “I got lost”; “I’m making a map of Arancis”; “I’m just here to write stories”; and, my personal favorite, “I don’t know, I just followed everyone else and now I’m here.” It’s a miracle that they got far enough to use the bathroom in the Barricade, much less reach deep enough to destroy it. 

Needless to say, the Blakka solidiers were not entirely convinced by the litany of deeply convincing and not nonsensical stories they were hearing. The Coalition soliders saved themselves from getting instantly slaughtered by leaving their weapons at the entrance (and also really really sticking to that “we got lost” cover story), but it appeared their path were stonewalled by the fact that they were truly terrible liars. What was a rebel group to do?? 

Some people started on the potentially fruitless task of convincing the Blakka soldiers to let them through. Though Blakka soliders are, by reputation, evil conniving cannical ruthless ugly stinky disgusting killers, many of these soliders found themselves moved by arguments of safety away from the Lord Commander Blakka and promises of a steady paycheck. Some just wanted to return home to their families (who knew monsters could have families?) But, all progress was instantly destroyed when someone claimed they were traitors to the Coalition looking to join Blakka. UH OH. Now the Blakka soldiers had it in their minds to give them a test of their loyalty. They said that in the Barricade dungeon, there was a Coalition prisoner… and these so-called “traitors” would have to kill him to prove their loyalty. OH GODS. With wicked grins and barely suppressed bloodlust, the Blakka soldiers knocked out the Coalition soldiers. 

When the Coalition soldiers came to, they were in a Blakka prison where they festered in fear, anxiously awaiting the moment of the test. Some considered escape, but under the watchful eye of the cruel guards, options were limited. In a nearby cell, some people chatted with another poor prisoner down on their luck: a beaten and bloodied man named Sandu who yearned to return to his wife and child. Though the Coalition soldiers knew they weren’t returning home, they promised to free Sandu and give him a chance to return home. How noble! How virtuous! How fruitless. 

After about an hour of fear, the door to the dungeon slammed open and a new figure emerged. Instantly, the color drained from the Blakka soldiers’ faces and they stood immediately to attention. What kind of man makes seasoned killers quake? The Commander of the Barricade does, that’s who. Commander Myrden stalked in with quiet and deadly grace, wound with the energy of an incoming detonation. With hardly a word, he grabbed Sandu by the hair and threw him to the ground. With a mere flick of his head, he called for one of the Coalition soliders to be taken out of a cell and tossed him a sword. It was Allume, the aforementioned smith who had never wielded a sword before in his life, much less drawn blood. 

Sandu lay panting, begging for his life. Allume stood with the sword helplessly dangling from his hands. What was he going to do? The whole mission relied on this action, the false defection towards Blakka, the simple taking of a human life. Just one life for the sake of thousands. 

With a cry, Allume plunged the sword down into Sandu’s chest. It was done. Someone passed out Blakka uniforms to the new recruits and congratulated them on passing the test. Silver, splendor, salt, and blood: they were the newest members of the Blakka army. 

Readers, here is where I must pause my correspondence. I regret leaving you here, in the dregs of the Blakka dungeon with blood staining the floor, but I assure you: this story’s ending is victorious. As soon as I receive further information, you (my loyal readers) shall be the first to know. Keep your chins up, your swords unsheathed, and remember: fight together, or die alone. 

Sincerely,

Atlas the Bard

This is blog written from the perspective of an in-game NPC intended to catch players up on what they missed during events!