=Song by Valkorian the Bard=
https://youtube.com/shorts/8Vq9wPmbx-0?si=tAOX7Qw7Xid8ZvM3
=Where did you go=
Adventurer's Guild, The boundary between two worlds, Scarlet Devil's Mansion
=Who did you meet=
-Players- Nyxara, Seelia, Sylph & Takopi, Lucian, Bonnibelle, Zapin, Hacker
-Non playable Character- Yakumo, Sakuya, Remilia
-Enemies- Bone Skeletons, Wraiths and Ghouls
=What happened=
There are a group of adventurer's gathered in the adventurer's guild, Seelia, Sylph & Takopi, Lucian, Bonnibelle, Zapin, Hacker and Valkorian. They chat and mingle and recount some of the past quests that they went on. Some even made new friends with each other as they are seeing some fresh faces. Soon, a silver dragonborn lady walks into the hall, her name is Nyxara and she is asking about the location of the Scarlet Mansion in Dawnport. The existing group gathers around to brainstorm but in the end, they decided to go and look for this peculiar mansion together. The objective that was explained by Nyxara was that she was given an invitation to attend a Halloween gathering at the mansion. Before that though, she would need to bring gifts for the master of the house as a show of appreciation. The group agreed to go look around giftshops in Dawnport to see if they could procure anything nice.
As they were stepping out of the adventurer's guild, the cheerful sounds of Dawnport's Halloween preparations fill the street outside. However, just as they reach the doorway, something feels strange and the space beside the entrance seems to ripple, as though reality itself has been disturbed. The magic feels unfamiliar and the fabric of reality is being folded and manipulated. Time and space seems to stop and the space is ripped in half, revealing eyes... So many eyes.... They were all glaring at the party through the darkness. At the same time the whole group was transported into the boundary between two worlds. They were greeted by a woman in a purple dress, holding a matching parasol, she was grinning at the group that just arrived in her domain. She introduced herself as Yakumo, The Yokai of Boundaries. The group was scared but they eventually asked Yakumo if she had any gifts that they could get. In amusement, Yakumo offered four items for them to bring to the Scarlet Mansion.
Crimson Keepsake Box — An elegant crimson box adorned with a red gemstone clasp.
Serpent's Reliquary — A bone-white box decorated with an intricate serpent motif.
Haunted Porcelain Doll — A delicate porcelain doll dressed in an old-fashioned noble's outfit.
The Last Farewell — A miniature black coffin wrapped in a crimson ribbon, bearing the inscription “Until We Meet Again.”
As the group presses her for more information, Yakumo grins and provides the explanation. "How persistent you are! Very well, I suppose a little hint wouldn't hurt." She opens her parasol and glances at the four floating gifts. "Each of these presents carries a little something special within. Some are rather restless, some are quite troublesome, and one might even be a little sentimental." Her golden eyes gleam with amusement. "But don't worry! Nothing that a group of capable adventurers such as yourselves couldn't handle… probably." She gives a playful wink. She also said that it must be a coincidence because she was also looking for someone to deliver this to the party. No need to mention her name and the credit could be the group's instead. Nyxara was excited! She and the group took up the gift's and Yakumo teleported them right outside of the Scarlet Mansion.
The group gathers their bearings and glanced up at the fancy mansion. Currently in their possession are the four gifts above, in order:
Haunted Porcelain Doll - Nyx
Crimson Keepsake Box - Valkorian
The Last Farewell - Sylp
Serpent's Reliquary - Hacker
They announce their arrival as the Scarlet Devil mansion looms before them. At the front gate, a woman dressed in red and green uniform verifies Nyxara's invitation and shows them through to the entrance. She leads them to the head maid, Sakuya Izayoi, who escorts them to meet the mistress of the manor, who is already expecting them. Before she leaves them, she did mention that all must be aware of the name Yakumo (uh oh). They are brought through a pair of tall, ornate doors and beyond them lies the mansion's main hall. A grand chandelier illuminates the crimson carpets and polished marble floor. Halloween decorations hang from the balconies, while fairy maids flutter about, putting the final touches on the gathering. Mistress Remilia was already waiting for them, sat on her throne-like velvet chair. She turns her scarlet gaze to the group. "Ah. So these are the guests who have come bearing gifts." "Welcome to my mansion. I trust you will enjoy tonight’s gathering?" The fairy maids gather around the gifts, curious about what’s inside. Once they open the box, suddenly a cold breeze sweeps through the hall. The lights flicker, and a ghostly figure rises from the gift. The fairies quickly scatter as the guests turn to disappear from sight. Remilia rises from her throne, her scarlet eyes sparkling with excitement as the monsters emerge. "Oh my! What a delightful surprise!" She lets out a soft laugh, clearly enjoying the chaos. "You brought these little guests into my mansion, didn’t you? Then surely you can take responsibility for them." She gestures toward the monsters with a playful grin. "Go on, my dear guests. Show me how you handle your own presents!"
Bone Skeletons, Wraiths, Ghouls and one Revenant spawn around the group, they are targeting the ones who are bearing the gifts. The battle was perilous and bloody. Sylph was dealing radiant damage to the monsters through his divine fervor and providing healing via lay on hands while Lucian the fighter was putting his body on the line to take damage to protect the group. He swings his weapon around with great mastery and deals damage to the enemies around him. Nyxara and Bonnibelle were doing their best to cast spells on the monsters to defeat them. Nyxara used chromatic orb and also dragon's breath while Bonnibelle was dealing damage using moonbeam. Zapin was exacting holy judgement with his gavel of law and providing support at the same time. Hacker was intelligent, he knew the bones were targeting him and he set off into the skies using his flying broom, trying to crowd control the monsters from in the air, out of reach of danger. Seelia was providing cover fire with her shortbow from the back of the group. Valkorian was surrounded by the wraiths and he took a critical hit from life drain as he falls down unconscious. After he was healed by Hacker, he was still stuck in a tight spot so he used mirror image to distract the wraiths, and it saved his life. At some point, Nyxara fell under a possession spell by the ghouls and she turned towards the group with blank eyes, and casts a fireball in the middle of the room, hitting both friend and foe. The group sustains heavy damage from the spell but they all managed to survive (except Valkorian who ded again), and some of the monsters were defeated, the rest suffering heavy damages. Hacker uses healing word to bring up Valkorian.
Seeing the friendly fire that was caused by Nyxara, Zapin conjures a net and restrains her for the time being, until she can snap out of being possessed. The Revenant then targets Sylph with his vengeful glare and slam but thankfully he dodges out of the way in time. While Seelia continues to pepper the wraiths with her shortbow and hiding behind anyone she deems as a meat shield. The wraiths won't stop chasing Valkorian as he leads them down a narrow alley, they get damaged from attack of opportunity's from the whole group and also burned by the moonbeam. Remilia remarks on Nyxara's possessed condition and says that they shall send her to the Shrine Maiden, she then flicks her finger and suddenly Nyxara disappears from sight (for some of the group that were able to sense the arcane magic in the air, it was as though time had stopped and they sensed the Head Maid walking past the group and taking Nyxara away to the outside of the mansion). The battle resumes and one ghoul flies up to Hacker and uses withering touch, damaging him enough to make him unconscious. Sylph uses a quick heal on himself and squares up against the Revenant, dealing damage to it, while Zapin is fighting alongside him with his gavel of law, dealing effective radiant damage. Learning from his teammate's tactic, Valkorian launches a starry wisp to one of the wraiths and defeats it. Bonnibelle also heals Hacker and he stands back up on his feet. An ambush from another ghoul arrives with it's horrific visage terrifies most of the group and Sylph is downed. Zapin quickly uses his potion to heal Sylph. Truly a Scarlet Moon Catastrophe!
The party gets surrounded again, and in a moment of desperation, Valkorian uses a suggestion spell on the Revenant. He says: "my friend, whatever that you're looking for is not here, the one you seek is Yakumo. Go look for her and leave us be~" To his surprise, the Revenant was enticed by his sweet words and it actually leaves the mansion in frustration! The last of the ghouls also dies in the moonbeam laser. It seems the tides are finally turning around. Lucian musters his might and continues to fight on against the wraiths. Together with Seelia, they did a wombo combo with their weapons it took down the last of the wraiths. Remilia looks upon the group from her throne, clapping her hands in delight. She is happy that they have made a lasting impression for her Halloween gathering, but laments that Nyxara is still lost in the Hakurei Shrine, she thanks them again for their entertainment. As a reward, she gives them the Dread Helm, which Lucian accepts, as a token for her appreciation.
The moment that he took it, a gap opens up in reality again and they fall into the world of boundaries. Yakumo is satisfied with them and she gives them more presents wrapped in Halloween Pumpkin boxes, a Bracers of Archery and also a Decanter of Endless Water. She smiles one last time and sends the group back to Dawnport, where they can finally rest. However, what fate will befall Nyxara?
The end... for now..
Ken|Kejora🍀⁹Zamrud🧞⁶Zapin⚙️³
fyz
Yūta🍀|Yulrac⁷|Yvlrich²|Lucas¹
