Spirits are heavy in a Kingdom called Conra. Just two weeks before a celebration meant to usher in a new Winter, the people lost their most beloved. The Queen.
She was found, upon her throne, with a soft smile on her face. The Queen's body was upright in the throne, her hands in her lap, holding her beautiful head, looking up to the heavens through closed eyelids. If not for all the blood, it would have looked as if the Queen had just removed her head with no pain. The peaceful look is what really got to the lead investigator, who was the one who discovered the crime, and is also her son, Crown Prince Ian Conra IV.
The young Prince stood before a gathering of his subjects, telling them of the dire crime that had occured. He named his half brother champion, and asked his brother to retrieve the crown which was stole from their shared mother's corpse. Sir Christopher Conra agreed imediately, swearing vengeance on the one who led to the Queen's demise.
Elsewhere in the land, villages continue to burn and vanish. A darkness was spreading across the land. A darkness, two years in the making. Monsters were appearing closer to civilization and even some towns were threatened. Tensions were high enough before the Queen's murder, now it was near impossible to find travellers willing to brave to roads. If they weren't overrun by monsters, then highwaymen and bandits would get them.
It's now three days before the Winter Festival continues, in honor of the Queen. The Crown Prince insisted that the festival must continue and that his mother would have wished it. Sir Christopher was at the Southern Gate Tap, a tavern that many refugees and travellers would stop at if they were going south to the mountains. Pretty much everyone there was coming in from the South however, as the Winter is especially harsh there.
Christopher was struggling with the words a fortune teller told him. "Seek and embodiment of pure kindness, and you will find your answer. The one who killed your mother... you must seek the east..." He sighed heavily. He refused his brother's troops and was having trouble finding those who would be willing to travel to Ballion's border. Rumors had it that the wilderness at the border has become extremely dangerous. The man tousled his own hair an continued to stare into his drink. It was then he heard something interestng.
"My dear, thank you... I wouldn't have been able to do anything without you... I am sorry I can't help you get to where you are going..." And old woman was speaking to a slender cloaked figure armed with a sword and shoulder bag. The figure continued to assist the woman, them bowed respect Tully before heading toward the exit of the pub. The young figure hovered and the board and pushed back her hood to get a better view of the listings.
Sarah frowned. All of the jobs were relating to getting into the inner city and she didn't want to deal with customs again, especially with her precious cargo that she needed to take back to her hometown. The young woman sighed, ready to give up when she saw a notice from a caravan needing some help packing up to head South. She took the flyer and bolted out the door, saying "Sorry!" To all she passed.
The caravan was posted just outside the city wall, and it appeared only four people were loading cargo. Sarah showed off the flyer and they explained their situation. Sarah's hopes were dashed however when they mentioned having to go West first. Thay old take her farther from he destination. She helped them pack anyway, thanked them for the job and took her reward. She returns to The Southern Gate Tap, taking a previously owned seat. The previous owner had followed her and observed her during her interaction.
Christopher had an idea and left the tavern to find materials to make a job listing.
"Help needed to travel East to find source of Darkness" the flyer read. He would pin these flyers at all of the southern taverns in the city and even had copies entry toward them. He then sat close to a window inside the Southern Gate. He watched people pass by, quietly observing them as they prepared for the winter festival in three days. The streets were packed and the sky was overcast. He was already missing the sun.
Sarah however, scoped the room. She was glad it wasn't that late. Not many people were drinking and she was fine with that. She really needed to find a way out of Conra and she didn't want to travel alone.
She was found, upon her throne, with a soft smile on her face. The Queen's body was upright in the throne, her hands in her lap, holding her beautiful head, looking up to the heavens through closed eyelids. If not for all the blood, it would have looked as if the Queen had just removed her head with no pain. The peaceful look is what really got to the lead investigator, who was the one who discovered the crime, and is also her son, Crown Prince Ian Conra IV.
The young Prince stood before a gathering of his subjects, telling them of the dire crime that had occured. He named his half brother champion, and asked his brother to retrieve the crown which was stole from their shared mother's corpse. Sir Christopher Conra agreed imediately, swearing vengeance on the one who led to the Queen's demise.
Elsewhere in the land, villages continue to burn and vanish. A darkness was spreading across the land. A darkness, two years in the making. Monsters were appearing closer to civilization and even some towns were threatened. Tensions were high enough before the Queen's murder, now it was near impossible to find travellers willing to brave to roads. If they weren't overrun by monsters, then highwaymen and bandits would get them.
It's now three days before the Winter Festival continues, in honor of the Queen. The Crown Prince insisted that the festival must continue and that his mother would have wished it. Sir Christopher was at the Southern Gate Tap, a tavern that many refugees and travellers would stop at if they were going south to the mountains. Pretty much everyone there was coming in from the South however, as the Winter is especially harsh there.
Christopher was struggling with the words a fortune teller told him. "Seek and embodiment of pure kindness, and you will find your answer. The one who killed your mother... you must seek the east..." He sighed heavily. He refused his brother's troops and was having trouble finding those who would be willing to travel to Ballion's border. Rumors had it that the wilderness at the border has become extremely dangerous. The man tousled his own hair an continued to stare into his drink. It was then he heard something interestng.
"My dear, thank you... I wouldn't have been able to do anything without you... I am sorry I can't help you get to where you are going..." And old woman was speaking to a slender cloaked figure armed with a sword and shoulder bag. The figure continued to assist the woman, them bowed respect Tully before heading toward the exit of the pub. The young figure hovered and the board and pushed back her hood to get a better view of the listings.
Sarah frowned. All of the jobs were relating to getting into the inner city and she didn't want to deal with customs again, especially with her precious cargo that she needed to take back to her hometown. The young woman sighed, ready to give up when she saw a notice from a caravan needing some help packing up to head South. She took the flyer and bolted out the door, saying "Sorry!" To all she passed.
The caravan was posted just outside the city wall, and it appeared only four people were loading cargo. Sarah showed off the flyer and they explained their situation. Sarah's hopes were dashed however when they mentioned having to go West first. Thay old take her farther from he destination. She helped them pack anyway, thanked them for the job and took her reward. She returns to The Southern Gate Tap, taking a previously owned seat. The previous owner had followed her and observed her during her interaction.
Christopher had an idea and left the tavern to find materials to make a job listing.
"Help needed to travel East to find source of Darkness" the flyer read. He would pin these flyers at all of the southern taverns in the city and even had copies entry toward them. He then sat close to a window inside the Southern Gate. He watched people pass by, quietly observing them as they prepared for the winter festival in three days. The streets were packed and the sky was overcast. He was already missing the sun.
Sarah however, scoped the room. She was glad it wasn't that late. Not many people were drinking and she was fine with that. She really needed to find a way out of Conra and she didn't want to travel alone.