[Game Thread] Chapter 1: Shadows of a Mad Man

[Timeless Prophet]

Summer was beautiful. The sun shined for three whole months and brought nothing but a beauty to the whole city. You for one reason or another have been here to enjoy the beautiful weather as of late. However, summer has come to a close and it seems that nature has grown tired of its cheerful mood. Torrents of rain have poured endlessly on Sharanal for the last week and the sun has not shone for more than a moment or two. The citizens moods have seemed to change overnight as well. The cheery folk you once met on the streets have been replaced with vile hateful little folk. Yet you seem to have found your niche.

A quaint little building nestled on the 17th floor toward the center of the High Pier. It is painted white with a blue trim and two iron iron lanterns hang on either side of the door. A simple wooden sign hangs above the door that reads 'The Teary Eyed Maiden'. The inside is even more of sight. A few of the tables in the bar are ship wheels that are rumored to have come from the ships of giants. The walls are adorned with all sorts of sailing paraphernalia and every table has a large wax candle that is lit at the center of them.

The people who you have met are also interesting. One of the common patrons you have come to know is a dwarven wizard by the name of Karlon Steeleye. He is an ancient dwarf who has a habit for drinking far to much ale and regaling the bar with tales of his battle with a chromatic dragon (the color, number and some times the fact of whether or not it was a dragon do seem to change from time to time). However, when he is sober enough Karlon has proven a valuable source of information on all that is arcane, especially when it comes to the that which haunts Sharanal.

Your current employer, Arshana Barletz, is the proprietor of the Teary Eyed Matron. The half elven woman stands as tall as any many you known and her face wears a battle scar or two. Her long blond hair is usually kept in a neat braid that hangs over her right shoulder. She wears thin silver spectacles and a deep blue dress with a white apron. You have been in Arshana's employ for about a month now. She has had you doing various chores for her both around the bar and the town. In exchange she has given you room and board for the month and allowed you even the occasional free drink at the bar. Some thing changed recently though.

This morning Arshana handed you a letter and said, "Take this to some place quiet and read it over. If you are interested come back here tonight" She returns to what she was doing and you walk out the door. As you wander the city, you open the letter and read it:

Dear Friend,
As you may have guessed I am not always what I seem. I actually run a local adventurers guild out of my bar. I usually only contract out a few adventurers at a time and it seems that some trouble has befallen my group now. They are currently trapped on the Shakkarak Islands and will not be able to return for some time. An emergency has arisen though that requires immediate attention. If you are interested in making some serious coin then meet my associate Mr. Laveral at the Grizzled Den tonight.

Arshana

Night is beginning to fall what do you do?

[BrokenPlayer]

Sydney Rose cannot deny how pleasant her summer was, but that was more-so the weather than anything else. She had fled her home near the beginning of the summer and had spent her time in Sharanal ever since. She has grown to call the city her home, feeling an odd attachment to it that she didn't feel at her father's farm.

Sydney managed to secure a place at a small establishment and earned a room by performing various 'mindless' chores for the owner of the building, a half-elf woman. Everything was going fine for Sydney until she given a letter by this same half-elf woman. Sydney took the note to a barren alleyway, opened it behind some crates, and read it. She read it over and over and over. The time had finally come: her father would be avenged.

* * *

Taking-in a deep breath, Sydney pushes open the door leading into The Grizzled Den, steps inside, and looks around. She wasn't sure who this 'Mr. Laveral' individual was, but she was determined to find him.