If one travels out into the wastes, beyond all of the cities of Araevis, you may stumble upon a vast city, broken and jagged. It lies dead in the midst of a wasteland of spectrally twisted trees and seared ground. A constant wind sighs through the broken shutters of the buildings and howls around the corners of the crumbling stone towers. Should one dare to venture closer, it becomes immediately apparent that there is something eldritch and beyond explanation waiting there.
The traveler will find themselves staring up in awe at the towering walls before them, but in their stomach, a sinking feeling will dominate. One cannot put a finger on exactly what’s wrong, but the sensation of something other, something outside of the world around it, permeates the air. Taking a step closer to the wrecked gates of the city, one will feel a tingle that runs through every inch of the body like electric shocks. Of course, the true adventurer will not let such a trivial thing get in their way. They will take another step forward and cross the threshold into Valmoor.
The city rises with a shadowy, ominous presence and the sense of wrongness grows ever stronger. Faint movements may be seen from the corners of one’s eyes, barely flickering but undoubtedly there. All around the traveler, the spreading destruction speaks of some hideous force that shattered this place. Traveling deeper into the strange and twisted remains of the city, something becomes terrifyingly apparent, the whole place is caught in a limbo between worlds. Once one has gone this far, the compulsion to go further grows ever stronger.
Like being called by a wordless voice, one is compelled to continue walking, further into the depths of the dead city. At the center stands a domed building, tall and surprisingly undamaged despite the utter destruction surrounding it. As the adventurer takes a step forward, they realize that this structure has been maintained despite the chaos surrounding it. It is a building that drips with decorations that do not bear close examination, with geometry that seems utterly wrong and alien. A queasy feeling may grasp the adventurer and make them pause a moment longer. Of course, the true seeker of thrills will not be put off by that churning in their stomach, they will continue onward.
Crossing the threshold into the oddly preserved building, a sense of discomfort continues to build. The air is damp and musty, smelling like a tomb or crypt, and full of the most mephitic atmosphere one can possibly imagine. A palpable sense of being watched grows as one steps further into the shadows, a sense of hunger and strange intelligence that is not entirely of the world in which one exists.
The adventurer cannot be cowed and must continue onward, feeling a reverberation in the pit of their stomach which seems to fill them with anticipation and a need. The oppressive weight grows as you step deeper into the darkness, surrounded by a cloak of misty air.
It is at this point that the movement that was initially barely perceptible becomes considerably more apparent. There is a tentacled feeling to the shadows all of a sudden, as though they are reaching out, trying to grasp the explorer of this place. At the same time, a sensation begins to tickle in the back of one’s head, a crawling sensation that wriggles and twists.
Undaunted, the true adventurer will continue on, pulled inexorably toward whatever lies at the center of this place. A staircase yawns from a black maw that gapes in a way that is not entirely comfortable.
Descending the staircase, one realizes that the darkness is lit with a greenish glow. The emerald light gives further shape to the things that lurk just outside of it and the pressure in one’s mind grows intense. Now it feels like claws trying to open one’s skull and tear into it, baring the brain inside and seeking to penetrate and control it. The pressure between the explorer’s eyes becomes severe and one must struggle against it with more effort than seems possible for something so insidious.
At the bottom of the staircase, a slimy phosphorescence glimmers on the walls while a vast underground chamber spreads wide. Finally, one realizes that they are completely surrounded by things, alien, wrong and exuding an indescribable malice and coldness. Even the most staunch, resolute adventurer will struggle to remain calm in the face of such evil.
The realization that this strange intelligence has lured one into its chamber comes too late. It is at this point that one understands that running is pointless, as their feet have become rooted to the floor. From out of the shadows, they appear, floating as though gravity doesn’t exist. The creatures reveal themselves as strange fungoid masses with tentacles trailing from them, twitching and reaching for the air as if monitoring invisible signals.
When the explorers open their mouths to scream, they gape silently. Not only are they paralyzed, but they can no longer cry out. As the unhallowed things grow closer, their utter otherness is almost unbearable for the adventurer who writhes and attempts to move but can only squeak and twitch. Eventually, the little group of fools who have ventured into this place without knowing what’s there are completely surrounded.
All at once, the little party begins to chant, words tearing from them despite the panic in their eyes, crying out in a language they don’t understand. However, the message is undeniable. Their strange alien assailants are on the move. As the chanting continues, the eyes of the explorers become opaque and empty while their bodies tremble and convulse in seizures. After a time, all of this stops and the group’s eyes return to normal. They move about, stretching and shaking themselves. If one looked closely, their eyes would be nearly normal, but something in their gazes is no longer entirely human.
A week or so later, the party returns, journeying to Terminus. Nothing appears amiss to those around them, but they are going forth as a vanguard for events that hold the potential for unexpected and unprecedented changes to Araevis.
The traveler will find themselves staring up in awe at the towering walls before them, but in their stomach, a sinking feeling will dominate. One cannot put a finger on exactly what’s wrong, but the sensation of something other, something outside of the world around it, permeates the air. Taking a step closer to the wrecked gates of the city, one will feel a tingle that runs through every inch of the body like electric shocks. Of course, the true adventurer will not let such a trivial thing get in their way. They will take another step forward and cross the threshold into Valmoor.
The city rises with a shadowy, ominous presence and the sense of wrongness grows ever stronger. Faint movements may be seen from the corners of one’s eyes, barely flickering but undoubtedly there. All around the traveler, the spreading destruction speaks of some hideous force that shattered this place. Traveling deeper into the strange and twisted remains of the city, something becomes terrifyingly apparent, the whole place is caught in a limbo between worlds. Once one has gone this far, the compulsion to go further grows ever stronger.
Like being called by a wordless voice, one is compelled to continue walking, further into the depths of the dead city. At the center stands a domed building, tall and surprisingly undamaged despite the utter destruction surrounding it. As the adventurer takes a step forward, they realize that this structure has been maintained despite the chaos surrounding it. It is a building that drips with decorations that do not bear close examination, with geometry that seems utterly wrong and alien. A queasy feeling may grasp the adventurer and make them pause a moment longer. Of course, the true seeker of thrills will not be put off by that churning in their stomach, they will continue onward.
Crossing the threshold into the oddly preserved building, a sense of discomfort continues to build. The air is damp and musty, smelling like a tomb or crypt, and full of the most mephitic atmosphere one can possibly imagine. A palpable sense of being watched grows as one steps further into the shadows, a sense of hunger and strange intelligence that is not entirely of the world in which one exists.
The adventurer cannot be cowed and must continue onward, feeling a reverberation in the pit of their stomach which seems to fill them with anticipation and a need. The oppressive weight grows as you step deeper into the darkness, surrounded by a cloak of misty air.
It is at this point that the movement that was initially barely perceptible becomes considerably more apparent. There is a tentacled feeling to the shadows all of a sudden, as though they are reaching out, trying to grasp the explorer of this place. At the same time, a sensation begins to tickle in the back of one’s head, a crawling sensation that wriggles and twists.
Undaunted, the true adventurer will continue on, pulled inexorably toward whatever lies at the center of this place. A staircase yawns from a black maw that gapes in a way that is not entirely comfortable.
Descending the staircase, one realizes that the darkness is lit with a greenish glow. The emerald light gives further shape to the things that lurk just outside of it and the pressure in one’s mind grows intense. Now it feels like claws trying to open one’s skull and tear into it, baring the brain inside and seeking to penetrate and control it. The pressure between the explorer’s eyes becomes severe and one must struggle against it with more effort than seems possible for something so insidious.
At the bottom of the staircase, a slimy phosphorescence glimmers on the walls while a vast underground chamber spreads wide. Finally, one realizes that they are completely surrounded by things, alien, wrong and exuding an indescribable malice and coldness. Even the most staunch, resolute adventurer will struggle to remain calm in the face of such evil.
The realization that this strange intelligence has lured one into its chamber comes too late. It is at this point that one understands that running is pointless, as their feet have become rooted to the floor. From out of the shadows, they appear, floating as though gravity doesn’t exist. The creatures reveal themselves as strange fungoid masses with tentacles trailing from them, twitching and reaching for the air as if monitoring invisible signals.
When the explorers open their mouths to scream, they gape silently. Not only are they paralyzed, but they can no longer cry out. As the unhallowed things grow closer, their utter otherness is almost unbearable for the adventurer who writhes and attempts to move but can only squeak and twitch. Eventually, the little group of fools who have ventured into this place without knowing what’s there are completely surrounded.
All at once, the little party begins to chant, words tearing from them despite the panic in their eyes, crying out in a language they don’t understand. However, the message is undeniable. Their strange alien assailants are on the move. As the chanting continues, the eyes of the explorers become opaque and empty while their bodies tremble and convulse in seizures. After a time, all of this stops and the group’s eyes return to normal. They move about, stretching and shaking themselves. If one looked closely, their eyes would be nearly normal, but something in their gazes is no longer entirely human.
A week or so later, the party returns, journeying to Terminus. Nothing appears amiss to those around them, but they are going forth as a vanguard for events that hold the potential for unexpected and unprecedented changes to Araevis.