~ SESSION 1 (BRIEF RECAP) ~
Tristram is a small town, nestled in the heartlands of Khanduras, known only for it’s local trade connections, and it’s close proximity to the castle of King Leoric, however… until recent times at least, it was considered a small and insignificant town, and was rarely ever spoken about.
Over the years prior to the recent events, Tristram was a quiet town, with townsfolk being warm-hearted, even if somewhat simple.
The land upon which the town thrived, was perfect for agriculture, and so crops and livestock upon farmland kept a constant flow of trade for markets across the region.
Very few people inside the town were little more than farmers, though a skilled handful lived nearer to the centre of town, and had built shops to sell their wares in, such as Weapons and Armour by the Smithy, or Potions and Poultices by the Apothecary.
There was also a fairly large Tavern built to accommodate any tradesmen, scholars, or warriors who would visit the town from time to time for business, or perhaps simply passing through on the way to reach the castle, or towns further north and south of the settlement.
Three new adventurers had arrived in the early hours of the morning, at the eastern edge of town, and found as they arrived that the outskirts were merely burnt out husks.
Homes made of stone, straw, and wood had been gutted, their structures were mostly left unstable, or in many cases, just ruins.
Broken and mutilated bloodstained bodies of slain townsfolk – men, women and children alike, all lined the roadside near to what remained of their once family homes.
Seeing that the destruction had not been exaggerated by rumours, the three adventurers quickly moved towards the centre of the town, where they hoped they could find someone alive to speak with and find out just what had actually happened here.
Sure enough – Lyra, Cornan, and Dorian, all found the Tavern Keeper, Ogden – Just as he was opening up for business.
They asked him what was going on inside of Tristram, and Ogden confirmed what they had already come to suspect.
The town itself had been beset by forces of evil which lurked below ground mostly – but now and then they reached the surface to commit acts of murder, theft, or kidnapping.
Ogden pleaded with the three of them to venture into the church at the edge of town, and look for any survivors of townsfolk who had been dragged away in the night, or people who had at one point ventured into that evil place of their own accord, for whatever reason they had at the time.
During the conversation, Ogden mentioned of Farnham, and how he was one of the lucky ones to go in, and actually return from the church grounds, but he came back as a man with a broken spirit – so now he just sits all day supping beer from a stein, and getting very drunk… to help take the edge off of his ordeals that he faced inside the dungeon below the church.
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After speaking with Farnham briefly, and gleaning what little information from him they could, the party headed for the church grounds which Ogden had spoke of.
Instantly they saw that it was bathed in an eerie red light… It was coming from inside the building, unnatural beams of light were jutting out from all the church windows, covering the ground around it in a bright red hue.
The party looked around the area, outside at first, and noticed that a figure crawled from the doorway, it was a man, he was totally covered in blood and his body was broken in several places, yet he had managed to crawl this far to what he had hoped was salvation for him.
Dorian rushed to the mans side and knelt beside him at once – taking the man into his arms for support, he heard the final words of this heavily wounded man.
He spoke of a Demon, known as a The Butcher, and how it had killed everyone who went into the church, begging Dorian to find and slay this Demon – then Dorian felt the man take his final breath, and with wounds being too great to heal, he became lifeless in his arms merely seconds later.
Dorian, notified the others as he laid the body to the ground, and with that, the three of them entered the church main hall, looking around they saw a rotating red gem, hidden inside a broken bell tower on the highest gangway… It was the source of the eerie red light, but what other purpose it had, they had no clue, and couldn’t reach it to claim it or investigate further.
Moving towards the far end of the hall, nearer the altar – Cornan noticed a strange unknown marking was etched onto the wall nearby the altar itself, though he had no idea of its significance there.
Nearby the altar was a set of steps which led down to the next floor below, and very quickly, the party took to the stairway, as they discussed the marking and the red crystal… and to what their purposes may be.
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The party then fought their way through this new floor, braving their lives against small red skinned demons, and decaying walking zombies.
Its here where we catch up with them – just as they have finished off the last of these threats, and have searched a very dusty and dimly lit library of sorts.