21 May 2024

Yeah, I missed Monday. I plan to catch up soon enough; I still need to write my poem for the week, after all.

This was a tricky scene to write in some ways; I wanted to smooth things out, include foreshadowing bits, and make the conversation fit the reality of the situation better now that i’ve prepped more and have a deeper understanding of what that is. I think it turned out well, though, and I really got in the groove here.

…towards the ship. They halted, and one of them stepped forward. “I am Commander Slepoy of the [unit name/title]. I apologize for the inconvenience, but would you mind accompanying me for a few minutes? I have a few questions for all of you.”

From behind Maranys, the sailor girl muttered a phrase–one Maranys recognized as the spell “prestidigitation”–and the next moment an absolutely fold stench started wafting from the commander, like sewage that had been sitting in the sun for hours. A number of Sunkeepers turned and glared at the girl, but to the commander’s credit, he (mostly) kept his composure.

The tiefling–Shaxes?--stepped forward. “If you mean to inquire about the status of the ship, we were attacked by a kraken. The good captain and a number of other, powerful passengers dealt with it, while we helped fend off its sahuagin followers. Is there anything else you needed?”

Maranys noticed one fellow, a young man with warm brown hair, first eyed Shaxes’ horns, then his holy symbol, and sneered. The tiefling himself didn’t respond; if anything, he seemed more resigned to it than anything.

The commanger replied, “That is helpful, thank you, but that is not why I am here. I don’t intend to take much of your time; would you mind following me?”

With narrowed eyes, Maranys studied the commander. What did he want, then? She noticed that his eyes flicked over everyone who left the ship. Was he looking for someone? A passenger, perhaps? Since when did the Sunkeepers have this kind of authority in Oileanda, anyway?

She decided it would likely be more trouble than it was worth to get away, so she accompanied the commander into a nearby warehouse. Both Shaxes and George, an axe-wielding mercenary who’d drawn the attention of a sahuagin attacking her during their previous fight, joined them, though george looked a little green in the face. Was he still feeling seasick? Or maybe he just ate something that disagreed with him. Maranys also thought she caught sight of the water genasi from the ship slipping in with them.

It wasn’t until they were inside that she realized Myst hadn’t joined her. She looked out the window and found him out there, flashing that same infuriating smirk, next to the sailor girl who’d stunk up the commander’s collar. Fortunately, the girl had decided to undo her spell before slipping away.

Commander Slepoy cleared his throat. Maranys turned his attention back to him, and he asked, “I apologize if this seems strange, but we heard a troubling report, given the circumstances. Do you know if, among the passengers aboard your vessel, any of them may have been a vampire?”

Maranys immediately thought of the heavily cloaked shadow monk that helped them fend off the kraken. Except, well… She didn’t know for sure, and this was definitely more trouble than it was worth. So it was with no guilt that she beamed at the commander. “Nope. Haven’t seen anything.”

Shaxes shook his head, and poor George just looked more nauseous than ever. The tiefling asked, “If I may, why are you asking?”

The commander grimaced. “There’s… been an incident at the Temple of the Rose. We believe it is related to vampires in some way; if we are correct, evidence indicates the mastermind is not local. We figured they may be coming in person to move the work forward or some such, and wanted to prevent the issue from escalating.”

Shaxes raised an eyebrow, but he only said, “I am not aware of any vampires aboard the ship.”

The commander sighed and nodded, then excused them. Maranys turned to leave, but nearly ran into the unpleasant Sunkeeper from before. He’d approached for the sole purpose of spitting at Shaxes’ feet. For his part, though, the tiefling merely sighed.

Once outside, Maranys made a beeline for Myst. “Where have you been? Why didn’t you write me to let me know where you were, or that you were okay, or–”

In Elvish, still smirking, Myst cut her off. “I take it you missed me then?”

Maranys wasn’t sure if her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment or fury, and she started getting after Myst, absentmindedly following Shaxes deeper into the city.

25 April 2024

More D&D lore bits, about an event occurring roughly 60 years before present day in-game. And yes, this is 100% based on the Butterfly Knight story I was writing. The city names are hidden, because I found most of them by looking up really place names, and didn’t want to create any unfortunate implications on here. And there is one country I named after a country in Brandon Sanderson’s books, so that is also censored. For a private game, those things don’t matter, but out in public it does a bit more.

The Shattered Rose War

The Shattered Rose War shocked most of the world. There were a great many factors on multiple layers that led up to it, with fiends infiltrating society and goading people closer and closer to bloodshed. A number of pride devils infiltrated the lower ranks of the Eternal Rose, flattering those above them into puffed up self-importance, while a number of demons of wrath and envy incited unrest among the lower class. This created friction in all the human lands.

No one is quite certain what spark first lit the blaze. Some claim a madman in A——-, Marrue, attacked a young noblewoman and scarred her face. Others say the temple to the Rose in A———, Piege, closed their doors to all but the wealthiest of patrons, cutting the common folk off from their worship.

Whatever the case, the flames of war spread quickly, with riots ranging from M———— to N——-, all within a fortnight. The high elves of southern Serni closed their borders, unwilling to let the conflict enter their hallowed halls; the dwarves similarly developed a “wait and see” approach.

The first to respond were the Skybreakers of N———-. They stormed Piege in force, forcibly ending the conflict. Maintaining the peace there took all their manpower, however, and they were unable to extend their reach to D——— or beyond.

Oileanda also calmed down quickly, thanks in large part to the efforts of Saint Aislin, the Butterfly Knight. The first recorded devotee of both the Rose and the Shadowed, she rallied the people to her cause, and showed that the war opposed the will of both goddesses. Once S——- and its surroundings found peace, Saint Aislin recruited a handful of like-minded warriors and set sail for T———. She campaigned throughout the land, recruiting the wood elves of northern Serni along the way, and brought peace to both Marrue and D———, along with founding a new knightly order.

The Order of the Butterfly is still viewed with suspicion in Piege, however. The Skybreakers view them as little more than well-intentioned vigilantes, and the people of Piege are still simmering with unresolved discontent, with new, added distaste for foreign powers. Both D——— and Solstrana are keeping a wary eye on the nation, so that whenever it erupts, the chaos stays contained within its borders.