Tales from Etheraz: May Event Recap pt. 2

Greetings, heroes, hooligans, and harbingers!

I, ATLAS THE BARD, have returned with another report of the actions of the group of soldiers known as the PC Party, who have embarked on a perilous mission to defeat the Coltar Spawn of Hatred. This is a continuation of my previous correspondence (which you can read here), recounting the longer mission the party has been undergoing. Last we left off, the party had suffered a great loss: the party leader, Nemen, had fallen to Hatred’s blade. In fleeing Hatred, the party fell into a trap, and were stuck in a pit in the forest floor. 

For those who may be unaware of the party’s past sins, around this time last year, the party chose to abandon the two villages of Eventide and Twilight in a moment of great need, causing the land to become magically corrupted. Now, no new life teems in Eventide or Twilight, and survivors are few and far between. Those who still walk the land are bitter and cautious, starved of both food and kindness. One of these survivors goes by the name of Abbadon, and it was his pit the party lay trapped in. Here was one of the last survivors of Twilight, personally wronged by the party’s actions. Needless to say that Abbadon was not impressed nor moved by the party’s mission to get rid of Hatred. Though he held half of a scroll — an artifact necessary to purge, destroy, or purify Hatred — he could not be persuaded to give it to the people responsible for the land’s destruction. Shocker, right?! 

The party found their way out of the pit with no assistance from Abbadon. But, good news! An ally was near! An actual ally, not an angry person they’d screwed over in the past! As the party trampled through Twilight, complaining loudly, they saw a beautiful figure meditating in the woods. Here sat Benevolence, the purified remnant of the Coltar Spawn of Cruelty. Previously, the party faced Cruelty, and using three scrolls, were able to transform what was a monstrous manifestation into its opposite. Benevolence offered a welcome reprieve from the madness of Eventide and Twilight, and pledged to join in the crusade against Hatred in any way she could. She spoke evasively of some sort of ritual that would permit her to recreate the artifact they’d need in order to defeat Hatred. 

Meanwhile, in Eventide, some members of the party encountered the remaining survivors, who held the other half to Abbadon’s scroll. The Eventide survivors were perhaps even worse for wear than the Twilight ones, with most of the village elders having starved to death in the previous year. When the party approached asking for the scroll, they were NOT AMUSED. The party caused the land to go magically kaput, and here they were asking for favors? NOT NICE. 

The party members there made some grand promises to try and earn some goodwill: well, they’d just killed a Hollowed version of one of the Eventide citizens, why don’t they resurrect them so everyone can be a big happy family? Sounds pretty good, right? 

WRONG. Readers, do you recall that Hollowed are basically unholy necrotic shades wearing the body of dead people? Of course you remember that. So, what do you think would happen when you resurrect a dead Hollowed? YOU HAVE A HORRIFYING, SNARLING ZOMBIE WEARING THE CORPSE OF A FRIEND. So, when the party brought back the HORRIFYING, SNARLING ZOMBIE WEARING THE CORPSE OF A FRIEND, they were obviously a little horrified and appalled. It turns out resurrecting a Hollowed brought back the Hollowed (not the person who’d been turned). 

Needless to say, the party did NOT get the Eventide half of the scroll. 

Not all hope was lost, though: another scroll, a FULL scroll, resided inside a well under the Temple of Hatred. All the party had to do was go, defeat an incredibly powerful Avatar of Hatred (multiple times) to drain the well, and not die. They kind of died a little, but after only some significant bloodshed, they got the scroll they needed. 

Finally, all that had to be done was to find a suitable replacement for the artifact that Hatred had corrupted, that would permit the party to finally get rid of Hatred. Benevolence could undergo a ritual that would provide the party with what was essentially a new artifact, but doing so would destroy them. The choice seemed both impossible and inevitable. Benevolence was a great ally and being of immense power and wisdom, and understood the gravity of the sacrifice she was about to undergo and what was at stake. But, still, the prospect of this great loss stung. The party had just lost Nemen, and now Benevolence? 

At dusk, Benevolence performed the ritual. It was a peaceful going, in a corner of the ruined land where the trees were almost beautiful and the setting sun lay against the horizon. Benevolence gave herself to the land in hopes to rid it of Hatred. It was her nature to be kind, to be giving; and she gave it all. Benevolence was gone, but the artifact had been successfully created, and the demise of Hatred became much closer to reality.

Readers, this is where I shall leave you until my next report arrives: at dusk, with the wind whispering in the trees, the sun setting in the horizon. I will leave you with this moment of Benevolence’s peace. Next I write, I shall tell you of the battle between the party and Hatred. Until then: fight together, or die alone. 

Signed,

Atlas the Bard

P.S. I was told to pass along the following cipher to the members of the party. This is vital information that you will need to know for an incoming mission. More information soon!

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