The air in Uffergand always smelled of pine resin and the nervous sweat of ambitious men. It was a kingdom of the free, a beacon where adventurers and scholars united to govern themselves, but that freedom came with the shadow of Incultum looming just over the horizon.
Inside the central tavern, flickering candlelight danced off the bottom of a stained mug as three unlikely companions gathered. They were drawn together by a Guild contract
A quest to slay six goblins in the woods at the forest
Nikia, a tiefling, sat with her back to the wall. She was incredibly slow to trust, her eyes instinctively noting the location of every coin purse in the room. Across from her, Lukas, a human bard who claimed to value "equitable solutions" was busy misinterpreting long words in a vain attempt to sound more " educated". Between them sat Caryavata, an elf ranger who checked his bowstrings in silence, preferring the company of trees to the chatter of the pub.
"The... uh... jurisprudential nature of this contract is clear," Lukas declared. "Six goblins. For fairness we share the reward equally". Nikia merely leaned forward, her expression unreadable. "I'm loyal to the gold, and maybe the two of you if you don't get me killed," she muttered.
At the same time, deeper in the forest, Alaric d'Edric moved with a cold, proud grace. Though he still wore the insignia of the Knights of Hallows, he had been kicked from their ranks, a fact he masked with a charming, manipulative smile.
When a separate scouting party of goblins emerged, Alaric's nature flared. He didn't care about the safety of the realm; he cared only for glory. He charged the first goblin, his blade igniting with a brilliant Divine Smite that killed the creature in a single strike
A second goblin managed to score a shallow wound on him, and Alaric's face contorted with rage. He lunged, piercing the creature's heart with such force that it was pinned in immobile agony before he dealt the final blow. Alaric stood over the corpses, his heavy boots grinding their broken forms into the dirt. He looked at his own wound, then at the dead, his eyes cold. To him, the weak didn't even deserve the effort of his blade, only those who could grant him the glory he craved were worthy of his notice.
The trio found their objective in the dense woods. Looming over them was the massive mountain range that served as the final barrier between the free lands of Uffergand and the dark, corrupted frontier of Incultum
Caryavata made the first move, silently dropping from a low branch to behead a lone scout before it could even notice his presence. However, as the rest of the pack scrambled into view, his composure shattered. He vanished back into the canopy, seeking a superior vantage point, but his fingers betrayed him in the heat of the skirmish. He released a shot that whistled harmlessly into a trunk, then another spending the rest of the battle hiding among the leaves and missing every subsequent shot he took.
"Focus, Caryavata!" Lukas hissed from the brush. "Actually, your aim is a complete... catastrophe! You're USELESS!!"
As Lukas scrambled for cover, she hissed a curse under her breath"By the gods, Caryavata! Did a Caroline cross your path this morning?"
There was no worse insult, or omen, than being blamed for attracting the Carolines' notice.In the realm of Centra Gaia, the Carolines. Mysterious entities or phenomena often whispered about in ancient texts.It became the primary scapegoats for the continent's recent misfortunes.
From the shadows, a goblin spotted the elf and loosed a jagged arrow, tearing through Caryavata's shoulder and rendering him weak. Nikia stepped in, her hand glowing with the pale light of Chill Touch. The spell slammed into the goblins, freezing them where they stood. Lukas, despite her talk of bravery, promptly scrambled to hide behind the tiefling.
Nikia used her magic, using Thaumaturgy to intimidate with the language of the goblins, promising them death. Terrified, the remaining scouts backed off. It was the opening Lukas needed; she stepped out and cast Earth Tremor, killing the remaining goblins instantly as the ground buckled.
As the fight settled, Lukas and Nikia immediately began mocking him for his pathetic performance. But the laughter died when Lukas turned her gaze toward the mountain peaks. Behind that stone wall lay Incultum, and a sudden, cold dread washed over her an omen of the nightmares that would soon begin to haunt her sleep.