September 02, 2023

Hook

Clouds and Mist Riches and Honor Intro Part 1

Plot Synopsis

~~Seven~~ Eight Adventurers were called to through their dreams with an ominous message, directing them to go to Beihe Teahouse, an extremely popular gathering place for Adventurers in Chongbai. Seven of them arrived, and after a few pleasantries, were greeted by a young human priest, who had some draconic features (some scales, draconic horns), named Kuanxin Ying. It turns out, Ying had sent out a message through the leylines, which happened to be heard by these adventurers, and asked that the magic of the land show them images of Lo Village’s recent troubles. He wanted the adventurers that responded to travel back to Lo Village with him (a journey of three days) and undertake a hiring: to investigate an abandoned-temple-turned-lab where weird noises have been heard, and people had gone missing from. Furthermore, Ying also described that the town is suffering from a rather severe Leyline Poisoning Season, and many people are suffering from severe fevers. Due to the town’s agèd population, traveling and moving away from the leyline upon which the town is built is impossible. Through this exchange, Ying hinted at some distrust he had about the centralized government of Ruefang, but would not elaborate until they had left the capital city.

The seven adventurers accepted, and Ying led them to the edge of the city, where a single horse drawn wagon was waiting. One of the adventurers also brought their own horse, and others insisted on walking / running ahead. The three days of travel were picturesque and calm, and the adventurers were lucky enough to bear witness to a butterfly migration. Some of them were unlucky enough to decide to eat some of the butterflies, and two adventurers poisoned themselves by eating them. This was quickly solved through the combined efforts of medicinal knowledge. As they neared the village the first night, they saw and heard the telltale signs of celebratory fireworks, traditionally set off during the new year festivals, but it was strange that such fireworks were being set off 5 months later.

After arriving in the village, the adventurers did what they knew how to do best: find the quickest way into some trouble. They made a stop at the Mushroom Capstone Inn, and met Lu Bian, a black tiger beasthide man, who helped them with getting rooms and drinks. They also got a quick overview of the various places and people of interest in the village. One of the adventurers spotted a huntress for the village, Yu, and tried (unsuccessfully) to steal her bowstring, which resulted in her stomping his hand, breaking a few of his fingers. The group decided to split their focus before the end of the day, half of them went to the medicine tent to find Baihe, a wood elemental botanist and merchant, the other half went to the temporary temple, to find Ying and Liming Taiyang, the head priestess and leader of the village.

Baihe managed to grant a bit more clarity as to the current state of illness in Lo all while the adventurers present were able to see the extent of the illness as well as feel the notable temperature difference in the tent. The others’ interactions with Taiyang elucidated the truths of the visions that the adventurers had received upon first being contacted by Ying, described as ‘Death Throes’ of individuals who had perished near the leyline.

Soon after, the group reconvened and noticed the entire town gathering outside of the Temple of the Beast as sundown came, red lanterns being lit aflame and the beginning of a large fireworks display to ward off evils with the colors of the Beast. One adventurer, Juno, had a panic attack in reaction to the explosions, but quick thinking and assistance from Yugon and Raiden managed to calm him down as the fireworks ended.

As the day came to an end, the adventurers went to sleep and encountered a second dream of glowing red eyes uttering the words, “So, you have come to my village. You have seen my people. Please, bring the end.” With that, our intrepid adventurers awoke to a new day, discussed the contents of their dreams, and did some shopping, though the sudden smell of smoke in the morning signaled a warning of things to come…

Noteworthy Postgame Events