DREAMS of a CLOUD
Peruse the many random ramblings of a writer-in-training as I build stories and develop my craft.
5 June 2024
As he turned to leave, though, he noticed the strange halfling pocketing… Was that the head priest’s seal? He caught the priest’s eye, but the priest shook his head. Shaxes sighed. He would let it go, then. Although… Might as well make the man work for it. He strode up to the halfling. “You. Come with me.”
And here it is! This is the final entry to the first session of my D&D campaign, wrapping this chapter up.
The shadow monk cursed, and turned to leave, but her companion, a death-touched aasimar cleric, clamped a hand on her shoulder. “We have more urgent matters to attend to. Remember?”
The monk looked like she was about to argue, then changed her mind. “Stupid bleeping princess.”
It took Shaxes a moment to put together what she meant. “Are you referring to the ambassador from Táixià?”
The cleric woman nodded, while the monk let out another curse. The head priest watched a moment longer, one eyebrow raised in apparent amusement, before he addressed Shaxes. “Could I perhaps trouble you to look into this further? If there truly is a wayward child of the night involved, it would be best for everyone to resolve this before it escalates, especially given the… potential interference of outside forces.”
Shaxes nodded once. “What can you tell me about the situation?”
“Not much, I’m afraid. The assailant was a priest named Marcus Kensworthy, Sr. He is from a noble family with a long line of history with the church of the Eternal Rose, with all the implications related to that. He was a key figure in the concerning movements I spoke of earlier. Many priests and priestesses around him have recently begun acting strangely. His victim was one Eliza Peckham, who was one of the primary figures within the temple promoting peace between the Rose’s church and our own.”
“I see.” The Rose temple seemed like the next best place to begin searching for more answers.
As he turned to leave, though, he noticed the strange halfling pocketing… Was that the head priest’s seal? He caught the priest’s eye, but the priest shook his head. Shaxes sighed. He would let it go, then. Although… Might as well make the man work for it. He strode up to the halfling. “You. Come with me.”
The halfling shared a look with the half-elf woman and shrugged. Then, without much fuss, the two followed Shaxes to the temple of the Eternal Rose.
3 June 2024 part 2
“Actually, that was my question for you, Father. I’ve been sent from Trixhaven; have you had any issues? Any concerns with your local congregation?”
The priest mused for a moment or two. “No, not so far as I am aware, at least with our congregation.”
Next bit of the Flames of Piege campaign.
When Shaxes entered the shrine of the Shadowed Princess, he found the head priest speaking with the mysterious duo from the ship, including the vampire shadow monk. It seems it had been wise to keep her existence from the strange Sunkeeper delegation.
The head priest was a thin, man with large, black robes, and skin so pale he looked like he might be dead. Which… was actually a possibility. He looked over at Shaxes as the tiefling entered, then looked behind him and asked, “New adherents?”
Shaxes looked behind him only to discover the half-elf noblewoman from the ship arguing with a dark-skinned, almost drow-like halfling in Elvish. They seemed almost as surprised to be there as Shaxes, but the half-elf shook her head and said, “No, we’re just touring around the city.”
The head priest nodded, then turned to Shaxes. The tiefling looked at the other two and asked, “I am not interrupting, am I? Nothing I wish to speak with you about is particularly urgent.”
“We ar nearly finished. How can I assist you?”
The corners of Shaxes’ mouth quirked upward by the slightest amount. “Actually, that was my question for you, Father. I’ve been sent from Trixhaven; have you had any issues? Any concerns with your local congregation?”
The priest mused for a moment or two. “No, not so far as I am aware, at least with our congregation.”
Shaxes raised an eyebrow, and the priest offered a wry smile. “Recently, a rather troublesome group of nobles among the Eternal Rose’s priests started moving in concerning ways, but it looks like that particular problem is resolving itself.”
“I wonder if that is related to the mess the Sunkeepers were telling us about,” Shaxes mused.
The monk cut in. “Eh? Sunkeepers?”
“Yes. A squadron of them confronted us at the docks, wanted to ask a few questions. It seems there was an attack at the temple of the Rose, and they suspect vampires involved. They were concerned about rumors are had a vampire aboard our ship.” At that last statement, he gave the monk a very pointed look. “Fortunately, none of us knew anything about that.”