Tales from Etheraz: May Event Recap pt. 1

Greetings, peacemakers, poets, and pirates! 

I, ATLAS THE BARD, have arrived safely at the stronghold of the Coalition where preparations are underway for a potential attack against our forces. Meanwhile, the group of soldiers known as the PC party have returned to the ravaged villages of Eventide and Twilight to face the Coltar Spawn of Hatred and attempt to get rid of him once and for all. Though I am far away, my network of informants have been keeping me informed on the party’s deeds, which I shall now regale to YOU, gentle reader! The flow of information coming from the region is slow coming (and here at the fort, they’re insisting I learn how to use a sword correctly — who knew a broken lute was not a great weapon?), so I will be splitting these reports into a few parts. The following information comes from nonfiction, solidly truthful reports, with absolutely no narrative embellishment or fictional flavoring whatsoever. Absolutely none.

When I left the party, they were planning on entering the ruined regions of Eventide and Twilight. They planned to head straight for the Temple of Hatred in order to survey it and hopefully find the ancient artifact that would permit them to complete the ritual to get rid of Hatred. Enacting this plan, however, proved to be rather difficult in practice. The temple was swarmed with Hollowed of all kinds, violent and itching for blood. Several eager party members tried to race ahead to clear the way, itching to advance, but party leader Nemen urged them to stay back and fight together. Safety in numbers, after all (boy, what a great guy! I sure hope nothing bad happens to him…) 

At last, the party reached the lower Temple. To their dismay and horror, they’d found that the artifact they’d need to banish Hatred was corrupted and unusable, meaning their plan to defeat Hatred got quickly and suddenly significantly less easy than it was before (and it wasn’t particularly easy to begin with!) Now, it was rather odd that the Temple of Hatred was currently uninhabited by its titular Coltar Spawn. Perhaps the party just got lucky, or Hatred was out to a quick visit to the bathroom. Or — as it seems increasingly likely — Hatred wanted the party to come to his Temple. But for what end? 

Hatred himself soon appeared, and his plan was revealed: he did not want to slaughter the party in one fell swoop as they stood in his Temple. No, instead he wanted to face a single member of the party in a one-on-one duel. His opponent would be Nemen the party leader. Now, for context, the Coltar Spawn of Hatred inhabits the body of Warrick, a former member of the party who betrayed and deserted them around this time last year at almost this precise spot. Though Hatred wears the face of Warrick, Warrick’s true soul is long gone, subsumed by inhuman and ancient magic. But, when Hatred called for Nemen to duel, wearing Warrick’s face and citing Warrick’s memories, Nemen could not resist the call to face his old friend. 

The duel was brief, but vicious. Nemen fought admirably as a seasoned warrior, but was no match for the very embodiment of Hatred itself. A flash of steel, a gasp of horror, and Nemen fell. Shock! Horror! Hopelessness! Nemen bravely led the party with a level head and kind heart, and now he lay bleeding out on the Temple floor. 

Overwhelmed by Hollowed and suffering from this great loss, the party had no choice but to flee and regroup. As they fled out of the Temple, pursued by endless masses of snarling Hollowed, the ground opened up beneath them and they tumbled into a gaping pit. They had fled straight into a trap, and were now stuck in a hole in a haunted forest. What will they do?!

Unfortunately, this is where my current correspondence ends. As I wait for my network of informants to send updates, I’ll leave you all with this: This is not where the story ends. Though the future seems bleak, and Nemen lays dead on the Temple floor, the tale is not yet ended. Keep your head up, your eyes open, and remember: fight together, or die alone. 

Signed, 

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!