#briknerd

The Village of Lies

On a sandy beach near the coastal shore lies a small, private, lovely village in the shadow of a large volcano. 

Now there’s many a nasty rumour floating around the many taverns that litter the countryside nearby, concerning this small village.

 A drunken sailor will tell anyone who listens that he once crashed ashore near there and was kidnapped by flesh eating mermaids, barely escaping with his life.

 A rambunctious bard says that he once rescued a virgin princess from being sacrificed to the volcano by the village shaman, and that she gave him a kiss before returning to her home among the stars on the back of an eight-legged flying mule.

An exasperated bounty hunter claims that the village is a hideout for a secret society of the country’s most notorious villains and criminals, and that the volcano is synthetic and built to disguise the organizations tireless work in building a super weapon large enough to hold the country hostage.

A sleep-deprived archaeologist claims that it is the sacred city of a powerful Outer God and home to a terrible treasure of awesome power, but his cryptozoologist (drinking) companion disagrees, believing instead that the area is home to the Mokele-mbembe that he has been hunting for half his life.

You have arrived at the ancient temple atop a twisting peak. Thus far you have narrowly avoided avalanches and fought off dire wolves on the mountain trail. Now things are quiet as you step through the broken down gates into a courtyard that must have been maintained once. The cold has killed a great deal of plant growth, but you see winding frozen fountains that once flowed into each other in a complex pattern.

At the center of the courtyard is a massive bell that once rung out the hour of religious ritual for the monks that cared for this place. Now the ball that once rung is frozen in place. You step forward into the courtyard and glance across toward the bell. You’ve come for a piece of it. A shard to prove the holy artifact is still in place.

You approach to claim your shard and the ground shakes. Something moves at the edge of your vision. The frozen fountains. The water. It’s…alive? The ice shifts and lashes out and now you and your friends are surrounded on all sides by a single massive ice elemental. A rough fight lies ahead of you as you deal with slick ground and a creature so large that you don’t know if hitting the icy tentacles of water is really hurting it.

Wait…the head…could it be? Inside the Bell! We’re one clear ring away from victory from this icy elemental demon. You run to the bell and shatter the ice keeping it from going. A clarion ring of the metal bell shatters the ice and reveals the creature’s core.

Discovering a monastery, especially this far into the wilderness, is quite literally a godsend. The women of the cloth who live there in quiet reverence are pleased to see you and your party - particularly delighted is the headmistress, an austere-looking but seemingly-kindhearted lady with a magnificent pet eagle.

During your stay, as the women feed your party and let you recuperate and prepare for the journey ahead, something doesn’t seem quite right. Maybe it’s the look that the nuns give each other when you pass by. Maybe it’s that eagle, always watching you as if it knew more than it possibly could.

But you definitely realize there’s something deeply wrong with this place when curiosity takes your party to a shed far behind the monastery proper. The air is fetid and warm, and flies buzz together in great swarms around a great cluster of dead bodies - all men and women whose uniforms are adorned with the badge of your home kingdom.

The headmistress is waiting as you exit the shed. As her eagle swoops silently down to her shoulder and begins to buzz with magic, two things dawn on you. First, now you know where all those scouts had been disappearing to; and second, these nuns have no intention of letting you live to tell the tale.

Roll for initiative.

The headmistress could be a boss-level Witch, Wizard, Oracle, or another magic-wielding class with a familiar. The other nuns could be appropriately-leveled Adepts, Clerics, Oracles, Sorcerers, or even Monks if the idea of fist-fighting nuns fits the tone of the game. (And yeah, this is based around Pathfinder, because I love Pathfinder.)

Strange news fly’s in strange times. You hear rumors, from travellers from far off lands, of an equestrian who can tame the darkest steed, of dread horses for sale. The Dark Breaker

The Lower planes are an unnatural place. The air is thick, and the sky’s dark, and all manner of unnatural creatures roam free. Your tired and haggard from constant skirmish with the denizens of this foul land, trying to find some safe haven. From deep within a cave, you sense something. Goodness. Perhaps, a place to rest. Perhaps your goal. 

You make your way through the cave, carefully checking each crevice. You com to a clearing of sorts, and see a paddock of unusual design. 

Not a paddock at all. A bird cage. Full of Pegasi. The cage opens and a dark rope lashes up towards one of the frightened creatures, dragging them away, down, into a pit just beyond view. Unearthly noises burst forth, followed by three ebony, flame wreathed animals, birthed from the pit birthed from pain, followed by a dark robed figure, carrying wicked metal implements, used to turn the winged creatures into monsters,  

The rumors were wrong. There is no equestrian here. Only the Midwife of Nightmares. 

Roll for initiative.

Edit: Idk if the name made sense to everyone, cause Nightmares come from corrupted pegasi... thats a clarification 

I cant get enough of @briknerd ’s newest profile pic, too awesome!

“Eat Nerf, zombie!”