Error 420
One Thousand Club
Sir Tristan, Sheriff of Hawkins, most honoured knight of the five realms, looks out from atop the towering walls of Hawkins, into the moonlit forest which seems to exhale darkness in the winter wind. His trusted eagle, Bloomingale, takes off into the breeze, not with his typical quarry of rodentia, but with a mission, to find heroes. While the old castle town slumbers peacefully below him, Sir Tristan watches the foothills of the Wabash mountains carefully. Beyond his sight, countless glowing eyes watch back, steaming nostrils blowing against the winter breeze, black blood dripping from one massive, gaping maw. Great evil is coming to Hawkins.
He retreats to the town hall, where, in the cover of night, you three are gathered. All of you are brought under different promises.
Xoco Sunfury is deep in contemplation of the druidic texts of the Circle of Twilight. In their infinite spirals of shifting times and energies, they give a much less cryptic and far more fearful omen than usual. They tell you of great evil, gnashing teeth and searching eyes, a dark spirit alien to the forest. Your tribe will suffer great horrors if it is undefeated. A black eagle arrives promptly as you finish reading the omen, a letter in its beak. You know this eagle, as well as many of the birds of the woods. It calls Sir Tristan its master. It drops the note at your feet. It reads "Meet me at the town hall at midnight tonight. The forest is in danger. - Sheriff Tristan" .
Y'Menkos is in the midst of a minor festival of the moon. While the public of Hawkins is largely unaware of the Moonmaiden Selune, children take great pleasure in hearing you recount tales of Selune and her sister Shar. The moon is bright yellow above, which you know as an annual show of Selune's grace, but the festival refers it as the Hunter's moon, and they view it as an omen of good game in the coming months. For a single moment, you see a black shadow race across the moon. You figure it as a trick of the light, but the thought lingers in your mind. A town guardsman approaches you soon after, handing you a letter without a word. It reads "Meet me at the town hall at midnight tonight. Hawkins is in need of your aid. - Sheriff Tristan".
Adron is at a local tavern, attempting to drink in peace, only to be surrounded by drunken festival-goers. However, among the raucous celebrations are low murmurs of danger, of the Sheriff seen pacing the halls, muttering below his breath, consulting with ancient texts late at night. It's at this time that you're passed a letter by a figure you can't make out, and is gone before you can process it. "Meet me at the town hall at midnight tonight. 100 gold pieces if you can solve a certain problem for me.". No name is signed, but you're unable to refuse such a high price point, regardless of the job in question.
It's midnight now, and while the Feast of the Hunter's Moon continues pounding away outside, you three meet in the barely lit town hall, which is usually alight with conversation and a massive fireplace. Now the coals are barely embering, and the massive hall is empty, aside from two guards, and a dark figure in a throne at the far side of the massive hall. The figure snaps their fingers and the fireplace comes to life, revealing himself to be the Sheriff of Hawkins.
Xoco and Y'Menkos, although not native of Hawkins, recognize the usually joyous and jubilant Sheriff as deeply distressed. Although often seen as aloof and possibly dim-witted, his sorrowful eyes are filled with tempered determination. His shrunken stature doesn't quite stand up to the stories Adron has heard spread among criminal communities, of a powerful knight in shining white armour, with the power of armies. Instead, in his place, is an old man in wrinkled robes, his muscular body bent in on itself in a pitiful manor. It's unusual to see him out of his armor, and now you can see what he's concealing. Along his chest, visible under the robes, is a massive bandaged area, blood and pus oozing to the surface of the yellowed bandage.
"Gentlemen. I've called you here in a time of great need. I understand you may be quite busy, so I'll cut to the point. Hawkins, and the forest surrounding her, is in great danger. Hundreds of years ago, the Five Realms were attacked by a monster known as the Thessalhydra, a beast with eight heads and venomous teeth. It claimed thousands of lives in that first attack, only to be turned away by a circle of ancient druids known as the Circle of Twilight. The Circle sealed the beast away, and it was forgotten to the sands of time, as well as the druids, who were hunted down two-hundred years ago for their use of dark magic. It seems as though the seal has been broken. The old mill down on the Wabash river was found torn to shreds. Nothing remained of the workers. I went out with my best men to find the beast, and I fought the Thessalhydra. There were fifty of us. Only I survived. It has eight heads, around a massive mouth ringed with teeth, each head being that of a fearsome monster, including a lion, a dragon, and a beholder. Most dangerous among these heads are the head of a gorgon and the head of a basilisk. My men were all turned to stone when looking upon the Gorgon. I managed to evade the monster's attacks, and disable the gorgon's head by stabbing out its eyes. However, the basilisk gnashed at me, filling the wound with its venom. I turned the beast back, but its magical venom is slowly killing me. The only way to return my men from stone to flesh is with the head of the gorgon, and the only way to cure my venom is with the head of the basilisk. I will give you all 100 gold pieces to slay the beast and return their heads to me. If the Thessalhydra is given time to heal, it will not only destroy Hawkins, but the five realms as well. I'm depending upon you. The world is depending upon you."
He retreats to the town hall, where, in the cover of night, you three are gathered. All of you are brought under different promises.
Xoco Sunfury is deep in contemplation of the druidic texts of the Circle of Twilight. In their infinite spirals of shifting times and energies, they give a much less cryptic and far more fearful omen than usual. They tell you of great evil, gnashing teeth and searching eyes, a dark spirit alien to the forest. Your tribe will suffer great horrors if it is undefeated. A black eagle arrives promptly as you finish reading the omen, a letter in its beak. You know this eagle, as well as many of the birds of the woods. It calls Sir Tristan its master. It drops the note at your feet. It reads "Meet me at the town hall at midnight tonight. The forest is in danger. - Sheriff Tristan" .
Y'Menkos is in the midst of a minor festival of the moon. While the public of Hawkins is largely unaware of the Moonmaiden Selune, children take great pleasure in hearing you recount tales of Selune and her sister Shar. The moon is bright yellow above, which you know as an annual show of Selune's grace, but the festival refers it as the Hunter's moon, and they view it as an omen of good game in the coming months. For a single moment, you see a black shadow race across the moon. You figure it as a trick of the light, but the thought lingers in your mind. A town guardsman approaches you soon after, handing you a letter without a word. It reads "Meet me at the town hall at midnight tonight. Hawkins is in need of your aid. - Sheriff Tristan".
Adron is at a local tavern, attempting to drink in peace, only to be surrounded by drunken festival-goers. However, among the raucous celebrations are low murmurs of danger, of the Sheriff seen pacing the halls, muttering below his breath, consulting with ancient texts late at night. It's at this time that you're passed a letter by a figure you can't make out, and is gone before you can process it. "Meet me at the town hall at midnight tonight. 100 gold pieces if you can solve a certain problem for me.". No name is signed, but you're unable to refuse such a high price point, regardless of the job in question.
It's midnight now, and while the Feast of the Hunter's Moon continues pounding away outside, you three meet in the barely lit town hall, which is usually alight with conversation and a massive fireplace. Now the coals are barely embering, and the massive hall is empty, aside from two guards, and a dark figure in a throne at the far side of the massive hall. The figure snaps their fingers and the fireplace comes to life, revealing himself to be the Sheriff of Hawkins.
Xoco and Y'Menkos, although not native of Hawkins, recognize the usually joyous and jubilant Sheriff as deeply distressed. Although often seen as aloof and possibly dim-witted, his sorrowful eyes are filled with tempered determination. His shrunken stature doesn't quite stand up to the stories Adron has heard spread among criminal communities, of a powerful knight in shining white armour, with the power of armies. Instead, in his place, is an old man in wrinkled robes, his muscular body bent in on itself in a pitiful manor. It's unusual to see him out of his armor, and now you can see what he's concealing. Along his chest, visible under the robes, is a massive bandaged area, blood and pus oozing to the surface of the yellowed bandage.
"Gentlemen. I've called you here in a time of great need. I understand you may be quite busy, so I'll cut to the point. Hawkins, and the forest surrounding her, is in great danger. Hundreds of years ago, the Five Realms were attacked by a monster known as the Thessalhydra, a beast with eight heads and venomous teeth. It claimed thousands of lives in that first attack, only to be turned away by a circle of ancient druids known as the Circle of Twilight. The Circle sealed the beast away, and it was forgotten to the sands of time, as well as the druids, who were hunted down two-hundred years ago for their use of dark magic. It seems as though the seal has been broken. The old mill down on the Wabash river was found torn to shreds. Nothing remained of the workers. I went out with my best men to find the beast, and I fought the Thessalhydra. There were fifty of us. Only I survived. It has eight heads, around a massive mouth ringed with teeth, each head being that of a fearsome monster, including a lion, a dragon, and a beholder. Most dangerous among these heads are the head of a gorgon and the head of a basilisk. My men were all turned to stone when looking upon the Gorgon. I managed to evade the monster's attacks, and disable the gorgon's head by stabbing out its eyes. However, the basilisk gnashed at me, filling the wound with its venom. I turned the beast back, but its magical venom is slowly killing me. The only way to return my men from stone to flesh is with the head of the gorgon, and the only way to cure my venom is with the head of the basilisk. I will give you all 100 gold pieces to slay the beast and return their heads to me. If the Thessalhydra is given time to heal, it will not only destroy Hawkins, but the five realms as well. I'm depending upon you. The world is depending upon you."