TOPIC: R5 2024: The silent song of Quietdale

Hi Everyone!

In this campaign, you will be part of a renowned mercenary gang known as the Iron Resolutes, led by the formidable Tarrel Strongarm, a former member of the King's Guard.

Recently, you received a letter from your old friend ???, who desperately needs your help in the town of Quietdale. Against Tarrel’s orders, you decide to assist ???, taking only your personal equipment with you.

Quietdale is known for its close-knit community, but it has been plagued by a series of recent monster attacks. With the fate of the town at stake, you set out to investigate and bring peace back to the area.

Notes for Players

• You may encounter contradictory or strange information throughout the game. Embrace it! Much of it will be significant.
• Remember to distinguish between player knowledge and character knowledge. This will be important as the story unfolds.

Session 1: Shadows Over Quietdale

The Iron Resolutes' journey began with bloodshed. As they approached the outskirts of Quietdale, a desperate farmhouse was under siege by a gang of vicious goblins. With a dazzling display of magic and firepower, the Resolutes fought bravely, only for the final blows to be stolen by the town's grim protectors, the 'Shield of the Magistrate.' Their ominous presence foreshadowed that Quietdale was no ordinary town.

Chrox, the senior of the guard, guided the group to ???’s home, where the air was thick with tension. ???, an eccentric drunkard, dismissed the urgent letter he had sent as a mere jest, provoking Fordon's simmering anger. The scene was unsettling, as if the town itself mocked their arrival.

Lady Sutherford, the cold and aloof ruler of Quietdale, barely acknowledged their presence but promised rewards for their efforts. Yet, it was the unknown artist ???, with his eager, but unsettling gaze, who captured the party's likeness. As his hand moved, it felt as though he was drawing more than just their portraits—he was capturing their very souls.

Back at the inn, the party tried to unwind, but the town’s undercurrents of dread were ever-present. ID:0 sought solace in the forge, while Gar'deen, his instincts sharp, pursued a hunch that led him to ???s son, sensing something deeply wrong. ???, perhaps in a rare moment of sobriety, offered an apology by introducing the party to Duris, a powerful figure in the merchants' guild.

Duris was visibly unnerved as he entrusted the Resolutes with escorting a critical caravan. The task was simple—until they discovered the caravan in ruins, besieged by ruthless bandits. The battle that followed was fierce and unforgiving. The Shockmaster unleashed nature’s fury, sending a bandit leader crashing into a swarm of enraged bees. Gar'deen’s magic missiles flew with deadly precision, but the victory was marred by the tragic fall of ID:0, struck down by a brutal greatsword.

Grief-stricken, the Resolutes returned to Quietdale, where Duris arranged for ID:0's solemn interment at the local temple. As night fell, the party gathered at the Trap & Squirrel inn, their hearts heavy. ???, ever the enigmatic artist, presented them with a draft of his painting. It was then that Fordon noticed something chilling—a seventh figure in the portrait, a tall, elegant bard draped in regal purple.

Who was this phantom bard? ???’s flustered apologies only deepened the mystery. The party, weary and confused, retired for the night, but sleep brought no comfort. Fordon’s discovery of a strange bag, filled with magical items and a cryptic diary, only added to the unease. And as the night wore on, Gar'deen began to feel an unsettling change within himself...

Who is this mysterious seventh figure? What dark secrets does Quietdale harbor? And how did two ordinary men drag an 800-pound warforged back to town?

The answers lie in the shadows—find out next week.

Session 2 - Thieves of Quietdale

The Iron Resolutes awoke to a misty dawn in Quietdale, where a note from Lady Sutherford summoned them to the market square for a ceremonial reward. Fordon, however, received a more urgent message—a plea from Duris, a merchant guild leader, seeking their aid once more.

Meeting with Duris at the Riches Exchange, the party learned the grim news: only one of the guild’s three missing caravans had been recovered. Duris, her voice tight with worry, suspected that the remaining goods, including precious magic items, were in the hands of the elusive thieves guild, hidden within one of Quietdale’s abandoned houses. The Iron Resolutes were contracted to track down the guild and retrieve the stolen items, but they were warned—no guards, no mistakes.

At the market ceremony, the party was paraded before the townsfolk, celebrated as honorary members of Quietdale by Lady Sutherford herself. Yet, the festivities were short-lived. Azrael, the sharp-eyed artificer, noticed a suspicious figure watching from the fringes of the crowd. With a swift command, he gave chase. The figure ran, leading to a frantic pursuit through the bustling market. Gar’deen, ever the strategist, used a mind spike to track the runner, but chaos ensued when Ayda, in a moment of panic, unleashed an Eldritch Blast. The figure crumpled to the ground, dead, in full view of a nearby guard.

Despite a hefty bribe from Fordon, the Resolutes were swiftly arrested—save for Gar’deen, who had stayed behind, confident in his tracking spell. Brought before a stern prosecutor, the party pleaded their case, showing a blood-stained slip of paper with a mysterious password as their only proof. Against her better judgement, the prosecutor released them, but not without attaching tracking anklets, a constant reminder of the law's watchful eye. Gar’deen arrived too late, earning only an ASBO for his trouble.

Undeterred, the party scoured Quietdale, eventually locating an abandoned building that reeked of criminal activity. Using the password from the dead man, only to trigger a deadly alarm. The Resolutes pushed forward, battling their way through the guild's lair. Traps sprung at every turn: Azrael was nearly killed by a lightning bolt, and ??? fell prey to alchemist fire, including Azrael in the crossfire. Luckily, Ayda's quick healing revived Azreal to fighting form.

As they breached the guild’s meeting room, ??? took a crossbow bolt to the back from the guild lieutenant, leaving him bleeding out. Ayda moved in to intercept, but the lieutenant, sensing defeat, cast a final, desperate spell. As she prepared to hurl another flask of alchemist’s fire, Ayda managed to catch it, but before the party could apprehend her, something unseen struck the lieutenant down.

With the lieutenant dead and the building clear, the party gathered the stolen goods just as the guards arrived. Their names cleared, and the magic items recovered for the merchant’s guild, the Iron Resolutes had once again proven their worth. But as they left the scene, a creeping dread settled over them—had they merely scratched the surface of a deeper, more sinister plot?

Nightfall descended on Quietdale, nothing but the silent song drawing in the dark. The mystery deepens, drawing ???, Azrael, and Gar’deen further into its grasp.

Morning eventually comes, but one of the Iron Resolutes does not see this sunrise...

WTF?! You can't leave us hanging like that!

Session 3: The Monster Awakens

The dawn breaks over Quietdale, but the uneasy stillness of the town does little to calm the party's nerves after their harrowing quest to clear their names. A cryptic letter from Duris awaits them, slipped quietly under their doors, inviting them to claim their choice of magical items. Yet, even in this moment of reward, The Shockmaster overlooks a sinister detail—the tracking anklet still shackled to his ankle. With Gar'deen at his side, he heads to the barracks to rid himself of the device, unaware of the true horror lurking beneath the surface.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party, now fortified with their newly acquired magical arsenal, find themselves drawn into a deeper mystery. Notes appear—written in their own hands—bearing a chilling message: "I saw it eat someone." Gar'deen, shaken but resolute, confesses that he had earlier found the word "sewers" scrawled in his journal. The implication is clear, and the party resolves to delve into the dark underbelly of Quietdale.

Seeking answers, they confront the last surviving member of the thieves’ guild, a woman who admits to merely storing stolen magic items, oblivious to their purpose. With cunning, the party borrows a few of the tracking anklets, hoping to use them as bait for the elusive guild.

As they leave the barracks, ??? slips away, his instincts guiding him through the hushed streets. He overhears disturbing rumours—houses in Quietdale up for sale, yet no buyers, likely due to the dreaded 'Monster Tax,' a levy imposed to fund the town's defenses against the random monster attacks that happen around the outskirts.

The party reconvenes and heads to the thieves’ storehouse, searching for an entry into the sewers. Their investigation leads them to an ancient well, its water source running parallel to the sewer system. With a splash of acid from their alchemy jar, they corrode the barriers and descend into the darkness below.

In the depths, ???’s stealth falters, and he is engulfed by a gelatinous cube. The battle is tense, the air thick with methane, but the party prevails. Yet, this victory is short-lived, as something far more malevolent stirs in the shadows.

Deeper still, they find an unconscious figure. Azrael stabilises the person, but their relief is fleeting as a creeping madness grips them. Fordon collapses, The Shockmaster freezes, and ???’s mind unravels into incoherent babble. Ayda, lost in confusion, turns on her comrades, her green flame blade striking out in desperation.

As the fog of madness lifts, they find themselves surrounded by horrors—a forest of pale, ghastly arms sprouting from the ground, reaching for them. And worse, a presence, incomprehensible and vast, blocks their escape. In their desperate bid for survival, they fight to evade the clutches of this nightmarish entity. Azrael manages to teleport past the creature, only to be ensnared by the very shadows of the sewer. The rescued body is lost, dragged under by one of the monstrous arms, never to be seen again.

With the entity seemingly vanished, the party scrambles to escape. Ayda, trapped in the grips of the foul hands, is left behind with ???. In a final act of heroism, ??? frees her, urging her to flee as the hands begin to drag him into the abyss.

Fordon, in a last-ditch effort, detonates a shrapnel grenade, hoping to destroy the arms. The Shockmaster returns, only to witness the horrific sight of ??? being consumed by the entity before his very eyes.

When they finally emerge from the well, battered and spent, their memories of the encounter are hazy, distorted by the noxious fumes. All they retain is a single haunting image—a crude drawing of a face.

Back at the Trap and Squirrel inn, the party huddles together in a single room, their minds clouded with uncertainty and dread. They know something is terribly wrong in Quietdale, something that watches them from the shadows. They can only hope that the strength they've gained will be enough, for the one who sings the silent song of Quietdale has awakened, and the real nightmare has only just begun…

Advance to level 5.

Are we still go for a one-shot tomorrow?