Episode 1
A Call to Destiny
Within the southeastern region of the Domaarian Empire, threads of fate converge to unveil the beginning of a new adventure.
Recap
Our characters found themselves prisoners within a barred caravan along the Imperial Road. A low-born renegade soldier, named Anton, and a young girl, named Gemma, appeared to be on the run, or hiding, from imperial forces. A Pangenan thief named Raz’sik, a gem dragonborn named Willa, and a sea elf cleric of Qa’thalia named Sovemil were among them – but no one had any recollection of having been captured.
Regaining their bearings, Gemma deduced they were heading north toward the Maple Crossroads. It was then that a mysterious cloaked figure approached the prisoners and their Domaarian captors. A half-elf with Pangenan heritage claimed she was sent by a Captain Calryn to intercept and report on the captives. However, after getting a look at the prisoners themselves, she whipped out a hand crossbow and attacked the lead guard, grabbed his keyring, and tossed it to Raz’sik, who was able to unlock the caravan.
As a battle broke out, Gemma appeared to have innate magic powers while Raz’sik could channel psychic energy into glowing daggers. Two guards were killed, and the remaining leader was knocked unconscious by Willa. Raz’sik then tied up the body with 5 feet of hempen rope and hid him in the woods along with the other bodies and the caravan. Anton found a letter to the leader of the Maple Crossroads, Lady Gilkass Yarjerit, among the bodies, which demanded that, under the imperial command of Captain Calryn, that she execute the deserter known as Anton Darghost and any of his accomplices.
The mysterious half-elf handed Raz’sik a stone engraved with the twisting ruby dragon symbol of the Pangenan nation, and she asked him to tell their contact, Ollin Ketz, that he’d been rescued by Olphira Ravenwing. Channeling his psychic energy into the stone, Raz’sik communicated this to Ollin. Olphira then took back the stone, suggested they head toward the town, and she took off back to the south.
With the late afternoon sun setting quickly, the group decided it was best to find rest, food, and shelter at the nearby town, which they reached by sunset. As guards and townsfolk removed the day’s decorations for the celebrated holiday of Highsummer, the group entered a newly-built lodge deemed the aptly-named Imperial Inn.
Wary of being recognized, they sat at the only available table in the middle of the inn’s tavern and began to order food and drinks. The server mentioned that Anton reminded her of an old elf adventurer at the Eagle’s Nest Farm on the edge of town. Gemma overheard a halfling claim her wares were stolen by a group called the Crimson Knuckles, but she kept this from the rest of the group.
Raz’sik overheard a man bring up a job offering to protect his caravan out of town, and all agreed it could be a way out of the Maple Crossroads. However, Anton overheard another discussion from a distraught elven woman whose son went missing, along with many other elves in town. After speaking with her and discovering there was a large reward involved, Anton and Sovemil felt determined to investigate the matter further – as long as they could do it quietly.