The Shattering of Valoria
Our Story Up Till Now
The Shattered Crown
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Our Fell heroes awoke in the eerie Whispering Woods of Valoria, summoned by an unknown force. Disoriented and surrounded by danger, they were guided to the nearby village of Eldervale by a reclusive hermit named Garrik the Old. There, they learned of a strange sickness spreading through the town, tied to the land’s deep corruption. At the behest of Mayor Elara Thorn, the Fell ventured into the woods to find a rumored altar with healing powers. Along the way, they were ambushed by shadowy beasts known as Rendrals and found themselves tangled in a larger mystery when the enigmatic Veiled Herald offered them the location of an ancient shard of the Crown of Valoria, promised to bring healing to the land. In exchange for their agreement to allow him to place the shard upon the altar, he unlocked their ability to wield Tetherghasting, a forgotten magic that harnesses the souls of the dead.
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The players agreed, and at the altar, the Herald placed the shard, awakening the spirit of Calevar, the Rekindled King. A ghostly, broken young man, Calevar bore the single shattered shard of the Crown of Valoria, tethered to his very soul. As he struggled with fragmented memories, he revealed the truth: Valoria had been ruled by his stepfather, King Arandon, who had been erased from existence by the Veil-corrupted sword Sunderbane, wielded by the treacherous Lord Brannis. The crown itself had been shattered, scattering its shards across Valoria, each piece carrying the weight of the kingdom’s history.
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Guided by Calevar’s visions, the Fell embarked on a perilous journey to recover the shards and unravel the truth of Valoria’s fall. They confronted Lord Brannis in his fortress, the Broken Spire, defeating his monstrous Dreadpelt abominations and recovering the second shard. In the depths of Brannis’s dungeon, they also rescued Lady Serena, the mutated daughter of Lady Seraphina, who had been twisted by Brannis’s experiments. Serena’s condition added a new layer of urgency: they now had to decide whether to focus on restoring her humanity or saving Calevar from the Veiled Queen’s growing influence.
The group decided to travel to Serena's mother, Lady Serephania. After confronting her in her halls, Lady Seraphina took her daughter and demanded that the Fell find the Chalice of Purity in order to cleanse Serena.
Sanctuary Arvonis
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After departing Lady Seraphina's halls, the group—Willo, Whip, Lantern, and Professor Bullsworth—set out on their journey to find the Chalice of Purity, which they hoped could cleanse both Calevar and Serena. Given a map to guide them, they opted to rest before departing.
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During the night, Whip and Lantern engaged in a heated dispute over crafting materials, nearly coming to blows before the guards intervened. Professor Bullsworth attempted to sneak through Seraphina’s halls to locate Serena’s chambers but instead ended up in the stables. Meanwhile, Willo was visited by Halar, a council member, who proposed using the map to uncover a way to refill the Chalice, potentially saving both Calevar and Serena. She agreed to let him study it, and by morning, he returned it with additional notes.
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The group then ventured toward Sanctuary Arvonis, but Willo took a wrong turn, leading them into the dark Veiled Forest—a cursed woodland thick with the Veiled Queen’s influence. There, they discovered a small cabin, where the cries of children and a mourning mother filled the air. Inside, they found a long-dead man and a grieving woman who had lost her mind to despair. Whip attempted to resurrect the corpse, but the woman reacted violently, and Calevar, his eyes black with Veil corruption, warned them to leave immediately.
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As Professor Bullsworth scouted ahead, he led Calevar back to the correct path, unknowingly leaving Whip alone in the house. Succumbing to greed, Whip attempted to shroud himself in shadow magic to loot a hidden chest, but in doing so, he drew the attention of the Veiled Queen herself. She ensnared him with her puppeteering magic, rendering him helpless. From the outside, the illusion of the cabin shattered—the children and mother were already long-dead, and the scene had been an elaborate trap.
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The group fought to free Whip, who barely managed to Tetherghast his way out, but not before taking heavy damage. They left the cursed cabin behind and finally found their way back to the road, reaching Sanctuary Arvonis in the Western Wastes. The mist-covered cliffs and the ethereal green glow of the sanctuary loomed before them, but as they approached, they were ambushed by Rendrals—twisted, shadowy beasts from their first night in Valoria.
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The battle was fierce, with Willo and Professor Bullsworth unleashing devastating attacks, cutting through most of the creatures while Whip and Lantern held the line. As the last Rendral fell, Whip scouted ahead, discovering an enormous veiled green door embedded in the cliffs. The party regrouped at the entrance and attempted to inspect it. Lantern, ever impatient, kicked the door—only to have his leg ensnared by the Veiled Queen’s dark magic, trapping him in place.
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Before anyone could react, the door pulled both Lantern and Willo inside, separating them from the rest of the party. The two found themselves standing within the Sanctuary’s interior, surrounded by looming stone pillars and the faint glow of the Chalice of Purity, resting atop an altar in the distance. Outside, Professor Bullsworth and Whip were left alone, only to witness the pillar statues flanking the entrance begin to stir. Shadowy forms took shape from the mist, revealing themselves as the ghastly specters of ancient Valorian kings long dead, awakened from their slumber to challenge those who would enter.
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The session ended with Lantern and Willo trapped inside the Sanctuary, staring at the unclaimed Chalice, while Bullsworth and Whip stood alone against the spectral kings, preparing for battle outside.
Willo's Sacrifice
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After venturing into the Sanctuary Arvonis, Willo and Lantern found themselves inside a vast, shadowy chamber dominated by the Chalice of Purity, resting upon a pedestal and bound by five glowing chains. Each chain hummed with ancient power and pulsed with the unmistakable influence of the Veiled Queen. Despite the sanctity of the Sanctuary itself, her puppeteering magic had infiltrated this place, twisting the Chalice Guardian and imbuing the relic with her dark will. The chains, connected to the shadowy guardian tethered to the room’s magic, required significant sacrifice to break—a price that Willo would come to bear.
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Through Tetherghasting, Willo first attempted to sever the chains with Lantern's assistance. However, the chains did not yield easily. When one of the Chalice Guardian appeared, its form cloaked in chains and wielding a spectral weapon, it offered Willo a grim choice: sacrifice something of immense personal value or face its wrath. The veiled words of the guardian struck her deeply—her refusal to sacrifice would not only doom her but also Calevar and Serena, ensuring they would remain lost to the Veiled Queen’s corruption forever.
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Confronted with the impossible choice, Willo made a decision that demonstrated her profound resolve. She gave up four of her masteries—the hard-earned talents she had cultivated over her adventures in Valoria. These masteries represented her adaptability, her cunning, and her ability to survive in a harsh and unforgiving world. Piece by piece, she surrendered her running mastery, her keen observation skills, her precise inspection abilities, and even her mastery of the shadows—a skill deeply tied to her very identity. Each sacrifice took a visible toll on her as the green glow of her essence drained away, traveling along the chains and severing the guardian’s hold. By the time the chains were gone and the Chalice rested in her hands, Willo was a shadow of herself, physically and emotionally drained. The very foundation of her abilities had been stripped away.
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Before Willo could even comprehend her victory, the air grew cold, and black threads began to materialize around Calevar, who had collapsed at the foot of the Chalice. The sky darkened as the Veiled Queen herself appeared, her form towering and otherworldly, cloaked in an aura of malice. Her marionette-like threads extended across the group, reaching for both the Chalice and Calevar. Willo, still clutching the Chalice, found herself locked in a battle of wills against the Queen’s overwhelming presence. She attempted to resist, to shield both the relic and the broken king from the Queen’s grasp, but she was unprepared for the depth of the Veiled Queen’s corruption. The Queen reached into Willo’s very soul, binding her in a realm of darkness.
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There, Willo saw horrors—visions of the Veiled Queen’s true power, the shattered kingdom, and the despair that awaited if the Queen’s plans succeeded. Floating above the Veiled Queen was the looming shadow of Discord, the dark god whose influence had corrupted the sword Sunderbane. The Queen taunted Willo, promising that everything she had sacrificed would be meaningless if she did not relent. Despite her pain, Willo’s defiance burned bright. However, the Queen overwhelmed her, snatching the Chalice from her hands as she fell unconscious.
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When Willo awoke, she was devastated to find the Chalice gone and Calevar even further bound by the Queen’s threads, writhing in agony. Before despair could consume her entirely, the Veiled Herald appeared, stepping from the shadows. He offered the group a cruel bargain. With an air of feigned sympathy, he explained the Queen’s terms:
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The group would deliver Calevar and all the shards of the Crown to King Arandon’s Castle, the place where the king had been erased by Sunderbane.
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In return, the Veiled Queen would free both Calevar and Serena.
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Additionally, the Herald offered to remove all impairments and injuries suffered by the group up until now as a show of good faith. He sweetened the deal further, offering to make Willo immune to all future impairments, recognizing her as the one who had sacrificed the most.
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The group debated the terms fiercely. Whip, ever pragmatic, took the lead in negotiating, pushing for the maximum benefit. Meanwhile, Lantern, still bitter from his earlier sacrifices, struggled to trust the Herald, and Professor Bullsworth remained silent, wary of making a deal with an agent of the Veiled Queen. Ultimately, the choice fell to Willo, who stood on the brink of despair, knowing the enormity of what she had already lost. Against her better judgment, she agreed.
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The Herald fulfilled his promises:
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Lantern’s leg was restored, and Whip’s magic returned.
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Serena, back home with her mother, was healed, free from the Dreadpelt mutations that had plagued her since her capture by Lord Brannis.
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The group received a map with the locations of the remaining shards.
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However, the cost was steep. As the Herald snapped his fingers, Calevar disappeared, taken into the Veiled Queen’s clutches. The group was left with two shards of the Crown, a healed Serena, and the weight of knowing they were now bound to the Veiled Queen’s machinations.
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Willo stood silently as the Herald disappeared. Though her companions were restored, her own pain lingered. She had not only sacrificed her own power but had also enabled the Veiled Queen to take the Chalice and Calevar. The group’s unity began to fracture as distrust grew, and Willo, worn and uncertain, carried the unbearable burden of her choices.
The Rebel Camp
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With their spirits low and their purpose uncertain, the group returned to Lady Seraphina’s silver halls. While Serena was now fully human once more, the queen was unmoved by gratitude alone. She acknowledged Willo’s sacrifice and, in a symbolic act, named her the Silver Talon, her right hand. The honor was great, but Willo was hesitant—was this truly the path she wanted?
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When the conversation turned to Calevar’s missing shards, Lady Seraphina shocked the party. She possessed one of them—but could not willingly give it away. To their horror, she revealed that the shard was embedded in her very skull, placed there by the Veiled Queen’s influence. Any attempt to remove it caused her excruciating pain.
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Seraphina’s price for allowing the party to try? The destruction of the rebel leader who sought to overthrow her rule. If the party wished to prove their loyalty and remove the shard, they had no choice but to eliminate the rebellion.
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As the party ventured toward The Verdant Hills, where the rebels had established their camp, they encountered a group of weary scouts. These men, supposedly Seraphina’s loyal soldiers, spoke bitterly of the rebellion and pointed the adventurers toward the rebel stronghold. However, the journey revealed more than expected.
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Passing through a burning village, the group met a displaced elder who confirmed their suspicions—Lady Seraphina’s forces had slaughtered civilians, burning down entire villages in retaliation against rebel recruitment. The rebel cause wasn’t just resistance; it was survival.
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Upon reaching the rebel camp, Willo and Lantern attempted to trick their way inside, posing as a traveling circus troupe—the Rainbow Trout Troop. While the guards weren’t easily fooled, the ruse ultimately led them to the rebel leader, Alaric Thorne. In a stunning revelation, the party learned that Alaric was the brother of Mayor Alara Thorne, whom they had saved in an earlier adventure.
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With tensions high, Willo made a bold move. Instead of immediate bloodshed, she told Alaric the truth. The Veiled Queen was pulling Seraphina’s strings. If the shard could be removed, there might still be a way to redeem the queen and bring peace.
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Alaric, cautious but willing to listen, agreed to a plan. Instead of outright war, the rebels would fake his death and send his sister, Alara, as an envoy of peace. With her influence and the proof of the rebellion’s ‘end,’ Seraphina might be lured away from her stronghold, where the party could finally remove the shard.
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It was a gamble—but it might be the only way to save Valoria from the Veiled Queen’s influence.
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That night, as the party rested, a rift in space tore open before Willo. From the darkness stepped Spindle, a mysterious figure clad in black, her eyes glowing orange behind aether-lens goggles. She was a Riftrunner, a being that moved between realms unseen by gods and demons alike.
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Spindle brought a warning—the Veiled Queen was watching Willo. But she also brought an offer: a powerful brand from another world that could allow Willo to hide from the Veiled Queen’s gaze. In exchange? A Paragon, a rare and potent resource of untethered, uninvested lore.
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Faced with the reality of the Queen’s influence tightening around her, Willo accepted. The brand of Inkmelding burned into her very being, granting her the power to cloak herself and her allies from the Veiled Queen’s sight. Yet, there was a cost—each time she used this power, the Queen would grow more determined to find her.
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With her new abilities and a secret weapon in hand, Willo and her companions prepared for the next phase of their mission: removing the shard from Lady Seraphina and breaking the Veiled Queen’s hold on Valoria.
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But would Seraphina go down without a fight? Or was the Veiled Queen’s corruption too deep to undo?
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With the fate of Seraphina and the rebellion hanging in the balance, our heroes prepare to execute their plan. Will their deception work? Will they get the shard, or will the Veiled Queen’s influence prove too strong? And with Calevar still in the clutches of their enemy, can they truly save Valoria before it’s too late?
Brokering Peace
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As dawn broke over the rebel encampment, Alaric Thorne called the party together with urgent news—there was a spy in their midst, and if word of his faked death reached Lady Seraphina, their entire plan would crumble. While Alaric made final preparations, the group set out to uncover the traitor. Rather than direct confrontation, they used subtle tactics—Bullsworth set up a barbecue to draw out suspicion, Whip worked on recruiting soldiers to his own cause, and Willo, using her Ink Melding talent, moved unseen to gather intel. The deception paid off when she uncovered a hidden letter detailing Alaric’s plan. When confronted, the spy attempted to flee, but Lantern intercepted him mid-air, allowing Alaric to extract the truth through less-than-gentle means.
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With the traitor dealt with, the party set out for the Broken Spire, the ruins of Lord Brannis’s tower, to stage the meeting between Seraphina and Alaric’s sister, Alara Thorne. The battlefield of their past encounter had been repurposed into a neutral ground, and the party worked to enhance their deception—Willo cloaked the fake Alaric’s body in illusion, while Lantern kept a watchful eye from above. When Lady Seraphina arrived in full battle regalia, her enchanted chains in tow, she was cautious but agreed to inspect the corpse. Yet, Lantern noticed something amiss—one of her Silver Veil Knights was bound to her by unseen dark threads, revealing the Veiled Queen’s lingering influence.
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As the party attempted to extract the Shard from Seraphina’s forehead, she collapsed in agony, and the knight beside her began to absorb the corruption instead. Whip’s magic, meant to sever the Queen’s control, instead transferred the Shard entirely to the knight, who immediately transformed into a monstrous minion of The Veiled Queen, his body twisting with dark energy. The Veiled Queen’s presence thickened, and a wave of Discordant magic spread, crippling the battlefield. A brutal fight ensued—Lantern disrupted the knight’s defenses, Willo forced him to rip the Shard from his own skull, and Bullsworth and Whip struck in unison, overwhelming him before he could fully harness his newfound power. As he collapsed, the Queen’s influence surged once more, turning Seraphina’s own soldiers against one another in a bloody frenzy.
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In the chaos, Seraphina barely managed to call off her men, and in the aftermath, she turned to Alaric, furious at the deception. But Alaric, ever the strategist, turned the tables on her, forcing her to acknowledge her own past actions. Weary from battle and free from the Veiled Queen’s grasp, Seraphina reluctantly brokered peace, agreeing to end her war against Alaric. As her forces withdrew, Bullsworth seized a final moment with Serena, capturing her in a stolen kiss, while Willo cheekily petitioned Alaric for a new title—her Rainbow Trout. With a rare chuckle, he accepted, affirming the alliance they had forged. Though the war was far from over, for now, they had won—not through strength alone, but through deception, strategy, and defiance.
The Veiled Swamp
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After forging an uneasy truce with Lady Seraphina at the Broken Spire, the Fell regrouped and turned their attention toward the next shard of Valoria’s shattered crown. Guided by Whip’s map and tracking, the group journeyed deep into the Veiled Swamp, a fetid mire cloaked in fog and writhing with unseen threats. As they navigated the muck, tempers frayed and rolls failed—Willo’s compass shattered, Lantern scouted blindly into the rising mist, and even a simple search for food yielded nothing but frustration. But as dawn broke, their purpose returned: the cathedral lay ahead, half-sunken and steeped in rot.
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Before reaching it, however, the swamp struck first. A swarm of reeking, humanoid muck-creatures—Murmocks—rose from the waters and ambushed the party. The fight was brutal but precise. Whip, wielding Lantern’s severed leg as a weapon, unleashed waves of magic that crippled the enemies. Willo, with her mastery of Bash and Shadow magic, decimated the Murmocks in a series of merciless strikes. Lantern, stirred from rest by magical chaos, swept through the battlefield with cleaving fury, leaving the swamp littered with husks. Bullsworth supported the party with precision strikes and regeneration. By battle’s end, the Fell stood triumphant, fatigued but victorious.
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As they pressed deeper into the swamp, they encountered a strange runic stone pulsing with eerie green-blue light. Lantern tetherghasted the rune, piercing briefly into the Veiled Queen’s realm. Through the vision, he saw Calevar, the spectral king, strung up in the Queen’s throne room—his body wrapped in black threads like a puppet of despair. A single word echoed through the vision: Alden. The Queen noticed him just as the vision ended. Whatever lay ahead, it would not be easy.
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Soon after, Bullsworth disturbed a swamp chest and was confronted by a ghostly child, who warned: “The Cathedral is hungry. It will take from you what you will not give.” The message was shared across the swamp—fragmented, unclear—but ominous.
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Upon reaching the Sunken Cathedral, the air shifted. Choir music, angelic and haunting, echoed from its crumbling walls. Before they could enter, spectral choir singers emerged from the bog, their skeletal forms clad in the rotted garb of the sunlit faithful. The battle was sudden and staggering. Whip unleashed Bloodwake, a devastating wave of magical violence that struck nearly every enemy at once, inflicting bleeding, disorientation, and immense damage. The rest of the group followed up with lethal precision. Willo’s spells bashed and broke their enemies apart. Lantern swept through the chorus like a storm, and Bullsworth added firepower of his own. The choir was obliterated before they could even begin their eerie hymn.
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In the eerie calm that followed, the group stood before the Cathedral’s maw, knowing it would demand something personal to pass. As they rested and tallied their spoils, a dark certainty settled over them. The next Shard—and the next confrontation with the Veiled Queen—waited just beyond those shattered doors.
The Sunken Cathedral
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The Fell press deeper into the Veiled Swamp, their sights set on the next shard of the broken Crown. With Lantern absent—having decided to rest rather than risk the descent—Whip, Willow, and Bullsworth take the lead. They arrive at the edge of a sunken cathedral, half-swallowed by bog and overgrowth, where ancient magic still thrums through rune-etched stone.
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The party enters cautiously, prying open its heavy door with cunning and phantom trickery. Within, the air is thick with mildew and forgotten rites. Four massive sarcophagi ring a central altar, and a sealed rune-locked door blocks further progress. Whip sends his bound creatures forward to investigate, their spectral forms phasing through crypt stone. When one of them tickles a corpse’s toe—perhaps too curiously—the ancient dead respond. The runes flare. The guardians awaken.
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What follows is a brutal battle against the Drowned Sentinels—undead paladins once loyal to King Arandon. These spectral warriors emerge covered in barnacles and swamp rot, wielding cursed blades and divine hatred. Willow, now fully awakened in her arcane might, becomes a force of devastation. Her spells cripple, disarm, and unravel their foes with precision and poise, striking fear even into the already-dead. Bullsworth supports with uncanny aim, his bow now bolstered by Whip’s clever infusions and magical enhancements. Whip, ever the unseen hand, weaves support and sabotage—transferring afflictions from allies to enemies and healing wounds with unorthodox magic.
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As the last of the Sentinels crumbles, one of the sealed crypts stirs—and Whip negotiates with its inhabitant. This former paladin, still bound to duty, agrees to parley. He speaks of Alden the Faithful, a fallen member of King Arandon’s Council of Five and the final guardian of the shard hidden deeper within the cathedral. It is revealed that the blade Alden carries—the Blade of Judgment—curses all who face it in battle.
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Though the way forward is now open, the Fell take a moment to rest, barter, and prepare. Shards are gathered. Armor and weapons are fortified. Fatigue weighs on them, but purpose drives them on. Beneath their feet, Valoria’s legacy stirs—and with it, the truth behind the prince who should not exist.
Alden the Faithful
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Deep beneath the overgrown ruins of a sunken cathedral, the Fell pressed onward in search of the fourth shard of Valoria’s shattered crown. The cathedral, long since claimed by water and sorrow, pulsed with the presence of the dead. Lantern, their spectral companion, rejoined the group after a long absence, emerging from his self-imposed slumber as tensions mounted and secrets stirred beneath the surface.
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Willo, Professor Bullsworth, Whip, and the rest of the Fell had already endured a brutal skirmish with drowned sentinels and spectral knights—guardians cursed to protect a secret they could no longer name. With the sarcophagi opened and runes aligned, the final door parted, revealing Alden the Faithful. Once the most loyal of King Arandon’s paladins, Alden now stood as a tragic figure—his armor rusted and spirit torn, bound in grief and the Veiled Queen’s black threads. He recognized none of them. He had been waiting for Calevar.
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Alden demanded proof—not of power, but of worth. One champion was to face him in single combat, to claim the shard by honor. Instead, Bullsworth struck first. The duel dissolved into chaos. Willo's arrows flew like curses, Whip whispered enhancements and tactics, and the battle erupted in full. When Alden fell, Discord rose. The god of death lashed his tendrils through the chamber, reanimating the knight in corrupted form as golden grief-worms burrowed into the Fell, feeding on their guilt.
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Still, they fought on. With enchanted blows and coordinated fury, the Fell shattered Alden a second time—banishing the darkness, if only briefly. His cursed remnant was claimed, but the shard itself remained hidden. Though bound to Whip through ancient rite, Alden refuses to speak or yield. His silence is not rebellion. It is judgment. They did not fight with honor, and so they are not yet worthy.
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As they rested among the broken tombs, their map pointed north to the final shard’s resting place: the Cradle of Embers. Alden follows now, unwilling companion and test of their resolve. Whether they will earn the crown—or bury the last hope of Valoria with it—remains to be seen.
Cradle of Embers
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As the Fell emerged from the shadowed ruins, they set their eyes north—toward the Cradle of Embers, where the final shard of Valoria’s crown awaited. Before braving the molten lands, the group stumbled across a lonely shack in a barren stretch of wasteland. Though it appeared abandoned, a cautious knock revealed a soot-covered woman within. Initially suspicious, she probed the party’s loyalties, asking cryptic questions about their allegiance to the Veiled Queen. Lantern’s obsidian rock, found earlier on their travels, seemed to charm her—opening the door not only to her shack but to a hidden trade haven below. Maven’s Emporium revealed itself beneath the dust and decay, gleaming and meticulous, filled with strange items and relics both potent and peculiar.
In this eccentric subterranean market, each Fell bartered with Maven, uncovering rare remnants, artifacts, and the infamous Confetti Yeti—an item that burst enemies into paper and laughter alike. Whip showcased his prowess as a trader and tinkerer, creating gadgets, identifying relics, and subtly outfitting Lantern with mysterious gear. Maven herself proved just as sharp as the party’s best negotiators, outwitting, charming, and matching their bargains with glee. After sealing their deals, she shared a shortcut to the Cradle of Embers, drawing a crude red line on their map—one that promised danger but faster travel.
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Following her path, the party marched into scorched terrain, eventually reaching a lava-choked ravine. When Lantern attempted to test the "bridge" Maven had marked, he slipped and nearly plummeted into the molten river below—only to remember he could fly at the last possible moment. From the lava surged a massive fire serpent, thrashing and roaring. In a rare moment of luck (or fate), the serpent felled a nearby tree during its thrash, forming a makeshift bridge just as the group had hoped.
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The battle that followed was swift but fierce. The Fell coordinated their assault with deadly precision. Willo melted into the shadows, emerging only to land crippling strikes. Bullsworth fired enchanted arrows with surgical aim, and Lantern endured the brunt of the serpent’s fury. Even Whip's gathered entourage of lorebound creatures stood ready to fight. Within moments, the fire serpent was defeated, its molten body sinking back into the lava. Loot was gathered, laughter was shared, and the group—bruised but victorious—chose to rest at a nearby camp.
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As they recuperated, some prepared meals while others tended wounds and studied their newfound remnants. Whip fashioned an elegant bottled “smoke dish” as a culinary joke. Amid the banter, the group’s bonds deepened. With the final shard close, tension mingled with excitement. The path ahead remained unclear, but for now, around their fire and among their jokes, the Fell found strength. Tomorrow, they would step into fire. Tonight, they feasted under ash-colored skies.
The Cinder Fort
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Ash blanketed the camp as dawn broke over the scorched horizon. The Fell stirred from sleep, some more groggy than others. Lantern, last to rise as usual, earned another round of teasing from Willo, who dryly added his stone-like slumber to their ever-growing pile of party lore. “The stone travels as the stone wills,” she said, and somehow, it stuck.
After yesterday’s run-in with a lava serpent and a brief visit to Maven’s Emporium, the group now stood near the edge of the Cradle of Embers. Tired but determined, they argued over how to approach the fortress. Whip, ever theatrical, pitched the idea of being launched over the wall via improvised rope-and-spin contraption, while Lantern floated serenely above the chaos, ready to rain blades from the sky. Bullsworth, grimy and glaring, just wanted a drink and fewer ridiculous plans.
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The party debated lava ferries, hidden tunnels, and whether surrender might be the fastest way in. Alden, watching from the sidelines, eventually pointed out a narrow crevice near the lava lake. “Vaelric always had secret ways in,” he muttered, gesturing to the gap. The group exchanged glances. It might be a trap—but it was also the only lead they had to reach the final shard.
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Creeping closer to the Ember Fort, they watched undead figures rise from the molten depths, only to be scorched by siege-grade flame-launchers manned by armored sentries. The gates were guarded by obsidian-clad Cinder Knights, glowing with runes and menace. Willo’s call for subtlety was quickly ignored.
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Whip walked up and boldly declared they came to help. The guards responded with blades. Combat erupted instantly.
The battle was brutal. Lantern flew overhead, unleashing sweeping strikes with precision and power. Willo siphoned charges from enemy weapons, turning their strength against them. Whip, battered but relentless, revived Bullsworth with a surge of magic. Bullsworth—repeatedly mangled, agonized, and ignited—held the line until he finally dropped. More than once.
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Multiple Cataclysms erupted during the clash, shaking the battlefield and damaging friend and foe alike. Shards were seized, Discordants applied, and bodies fell. Through clever tactics and sheer grit, the Fell pushed through and won. Willo, eyes aglow, floated above the field of ruin, whispering a word of power as the last of the Ember Knights collapsed.
As the molten light faded, the battlefield was eerily silent. Despite the noise and destruction, no reinforcements arrived. Perhaps the storm overhead had masked the sounds of war. The group took the moment to breathe, recover, and joke. Whip raised an eyebrow and said, “You ever notice how none of us have been corrupted by the shards yet?”
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They all laughed—except Alden.
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Their rest was short. The gates of the Ember Fort loomed ahead. Inside, the final shard awaited... and Vaelric.
The Betrayer
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Inside the Cradle of Embers, the Fell pressed deeper into the lava-choked fortress, their boots echoing against scorched stone as heat shimmered from the molten lake beneath. After their brutal clash with the Cinder Knights at the front gate, they advanced into a massive chamber suspended above lava on steel platforms and rusted walkways. There, they met Vaelric—strung with blazing red threads that fed into the lava below, his voice thick with false warmth. He addressed Lantern directly, recognizing Alden among them and offering to remove the Veiled Queen’s threads from the knight’s soul if they would bring him forward. But when Willo cast a soul tether on Vaelric, she recoiled in horror—he was utterly drowned in corruption, every word an echo of the Veiled Queen herself.
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Lantern struck first but failed to land a blow. That was enough. The ritual surged to life. The lava rose. Threads pulled Vaelric into the air like a puppet, his body twisting as the chamber convulsed. The battle ignited. Willo carved through the enemy lines with merciless precision, her soul-threading talent burning brightly as she dominated the field. Lantern floated through fire and ash, unleashing devastating arcs of magic-imbued force with Malediction, cleaving foes in sweeping strokes. Bullsworth’s arrows rang true, disrupting enemy positions and even dragging the enormous dragon-form of Vaelric back step by step. Whip, chaotic and calculating, blinked allies out of danger, manipulated terrain, and observed the chaos with his usual mix of opportunism and flair.
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As Vaelric’s mortal form collapsed into the lava, an eruption of radiant flame gave rise to his final shape—a colossal lava-wreathed dragon, still threaded by the Veiled Queen’s will. The molten floor surged higher, forcing the Fell to think fast. Every attack hastened the flooding. Despite that, the party pushed forward. Willo battered the creature with relentless wand strikes. Lantern dropped a withering Ember Sphere beneath the beast’s chin. Bullsworth anchored himself and unleashed a barrage of devastating cover shots, yanking the monstrosity out of position. And Whip, ever the schemer, triggered powerful lorebound abilities while toying with an unfamiliar arcane cannon he couldn’t quite figure out.
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The battle crested in a storm of fire and blood. As the dragon faltered, Willo struck the final blow—piercing its hide and scattering its threads. The molten beast unraveled into the lava below, leaving only a crimson shard floating at its core. Lantern claimed it. With the Veiled Queen’s threads severed, Alden collapsed to his knees. For the first time, he spoke openly: the Queen's summoning would take place before the ruins of King Arandon’s castle, far from here. His voice was weary—relieved, even.
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But Whip did not forgive weakness. Without a word, he approached Alden and drew his butcher knife. Before the knight could rise again, Whip cut him down in full view of the remaining Enlisted, his eyes daring any of them to flinch. None did. From the lava below, a severed head—the last remnant of Vaelric—drifted upward, now bound to Whip’s will. The Cradle of Embers fell silent, and the Fell turned toward their final confrontation, the weight of fire and betrayal still smoldering behind them.
Character Bios
Whip
Whip, the Bogle tinkerer and collector of relics, will bargain with anyone about anything. While his heart is in the right place, his growing fascination for increasing his junk piles often leads him into mischief and trouble. He seeks to right the kingdom from the wrongs that has occurred, but only if it means it will increase his collection along the way.
Lantern
Lantern, the Hallowed battle master, is often found floating softly above the ground on invisible threads of holy power. Though his skin may be marble, you will often find a random makeshift peg leg due to an unfortunate accident with a soul golem and a sharp axe. Luckily, the remains of his leg are always nearby, as Whip has attached his orb to it as a newly fashioned staff.
Willo
Willo, the Sylvakith sword of the group, comes into battle with magic blazing as wide as her manic smile. Though she has a bit of a "small person syndrome", it doesn't stop her from focusing all her magical abilities at each enemy she comes across. This is one sweetly smiling soul-migrating Sprittle you don't want to come across.
Professor Bullsworth
Professor Bullsworth, the Flayed chef, is one of the oddest archers you will ever meet. With a passion for cooking and a heart of gold, Professor looks out for those in need with a frying pan filled with delectable delights. He has caught the eye of Lady Serena, and will not stop until she is safe from Brannis' tortured experiments.