[Archipelagos of Atropan] - Issue 1

~ When You Wish Upon A Star ~

Having received word from Nelebrie regarding a distant land requiring aid, Celestia decides to trust in her pact deity and portal towards the Archipelagos of Atropan. There, she takes up a quest issued by the Alderman of Cosecca...

Most Honorable Coseccans!

After careful deliberation, I, Lindberg Rusesci, Alderman of Cosecca, have decided to announce that any good traveler that would be so kind to aid our humble village in these uncertain times will be rewarded most graciously.

And other loyal adherents of Lathander! If you know no fear and seek work, I implore you, continue reading this notice, for the call contained therein will be of great interest to you.

In recent days, several of our humble townspeople have been plagued with unsettling dreams. Our investigations have revealed some notions on the origin of this ailment that I shall not elaborate upon in this writ. Any further details shall only be discussed in-person. Being greatly concerned for my brothers and sisters in Lathander, I have decided to grant a purse of 2500 gold pieces from my own coffers to and a promise that the compassionate folk of Cosecca shall treat and accommodate YOU who ends our predicament with the utmost hospitality for the rest of your days.

Please, whoever can find the charity in their soul to help a village in need, come see me at my estate, just past the main square and over the bridge. If you lose the way, ask any reliable fellow where the alderman has his home and he will be sure to politely direct you.

Lindberg Rusesci,

Veteran of Battle of Strust, Siege of Trohl, the Attack on Glenahs, Strahz, and Maiht, and Defense of Sotava.

Retired minister of the Elseighn temple of Lathander,

21st Alderman of Cosecca

As it turns out, Celestia was not the only person to respond to this quest - two other adventurers from distant lands appeared in response to aid. The first, Loyola, an alchemical savant and artificer that specializes in faerie fire firearms. Her style of combat can only be described as elegant, beautiful and flawless, as is her composure and wit.

The second, a trained ranger, spy and assassin from the Desert Tribes of Harengon, by the name of Mivvy. This particular Harengon underwent a Hungry Jaws mutation after exposure to alien artefacts, enabling him to revert to a more feral form, at will.

And thus forms the adventuring party of the Archipelagos of Atropan...

With the party finally arriving the Town of Cosecca by caravan, Celestia notices the entirety of the townsfolk slain by gashes and javelins. Blood trails soak the dirt roads that lead further into town, and from each path into each home...but without much time to investigate, as the remaining corpses of the townsfolk were being feasted upon by Ghasts and Ghouls.

The party makes quick work of the undead with their combat prowess, and decide to investigate the town further. The Alderman's quest note mentioned the townsfolk being plagued by nightmares, not a massacre. As the group inches closer towards the blood trails leading through the town, all that was found was more death and destruction - all the way to the Lighthouse of Cosecca.

There, the heroes are ambushed by a wary yet gravely injured Tiefling Barbarian who introduces herself as Oradani of the Flaxdams. Being extremely suspicious of Oradani, the party offers to heal her up in exchange for information - and a grave twist was revealed.

Oradani and her party, known as the Obodain Oafs, were also adventurers responding to the Alderman's quest, but not only did the townspeople refuse to pay them for their work; Oradani's friends, by name of Osphidrith and Osmorn, were slain by their hand. In retaliation and for survival, Oradani laid waste to the townspeople, and took cover by the lighthouse as Ghouls came...

Only the lighthouse was no refuge, and Oradani spent days there with no rest; plagued by nightmares and screams coming from the structure itself. She takes Loyola hostage by the neck (though Loyola was never in any danger, having cast Sanctuary upon herself), requesting the party accompany her to retrieve her friends' corpses for a proper burial.

Once deeper into the lighthouse, Oradani mysteriously disappears, and the party is ambused by a Banshee; the source of the Lighthouse's cursed wailing. Again making quick work of the horror, the party finally reveals the tragedy behind the Lighthouse...a tragedy of love, as the Banshee's soul is laid to rest.

Once upon a time, eons ago, a forbidden love was blooming in this very lighthouse; one involving a fledgling elven necromancer named Gilmoira, and Shela Ruseci; the current Alderman's great aunt. Only, this story takes place so long ago that at the time, she was but 25 years of age.

Let this tale be told in full by Gilmoira herself, as it deserves to be....

The villagers of Cosecca, being fiercely devout to Lathander, were and remain extremely xenophobic and homophobic to this day. They were not aware of Gilmoira's presence in the lighthouse initially, where she was training her necromancy. First, graves were disturbed, then sightings of ghouls towards the southern periphery of the village.

The current alderman's great-aunt, Shelah Rusesci -- who was 25 at the time, and the prior alderman's sister -- investigated unperturbed and desperate for some semblance of excitement amidst the monotony of village life, especially after abandoning her wild youth where she studied as a bard. With her family's heirloom rapier in hand, she followed the ghoul tracks to the lighthouse where she met Gilmoira, a fledgling elven necromancer. Shelah was defensive, then intrigued, then infatuated, and would frequently meet with the infernal witch for late night rendezvous and some magical education on the side.

Eventually, the previous alderman, Algernon Rusesci, realized who and where the culprit for the undead and stolen bodies, as well as his sister's passionate romantic involvement with the necromancer. A retired paladin, Sir Godefrey, who also lived in the town, rallied a militia and stormed the lighthouse.

The militia fought against a handful of undead and there were losses on their side, but still they decimated Gilmoira's small rotting vanguard. In a desperate attempt to salvage the situation, the two hatched a scheme. Gilmoira planned to hide while Shelah, disowned from her village and with a bounty of her own, hid in the lantern room as her lover casted feign death on her and dressed her 'corpse' as a victim of suicide if the militia would ever break through the watch room below.

And the militia did, quite easily in fact, not even a few moments after. Gilmoira was slain before she could hide herself. The ritual for Shelah was imperfect and she lay there incapacitated far longer than originally intended. Thinking she had perished, the militia left Shelah's body to be feasted upon by gulls, skuas, and terns...rotting on the bottom of the lighthouse cliff...where she remained.

The party, moved and brought to tears by the tale of forbidden love, offer to collect Shelah's body from the cliff bottom, giving her a proper burial, a proper funeral, and proper respects. With Shelah laid to rest, Gilmoira too passed into the afterlife; perhaps now finally together with her lover.

May Shela and Gilmoira rest in peace, rest in power, and rest in love together.