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Prologue: The Heavens Boil
It started in the city of Albore, before spreading to all corners of the globe, a grey cloud sweeping over the heavens, blotting out stars and sun alike. Soon the world of Eln had been blanketed in a seamless sheet of grey storm clouds against all the facts and figures of nature, for no wind could move the m, no force derail them. It took months from the dark walls to spread until they met upon the other side of the globe and in that time not a single droplet of rain had fallen. The crops withered, and the people wondered; they stared up towards the heavens and questioned what the grey skies would herald as adventurers from near and far gathered in the city of Arbas to discover the answer...
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“It can’t be good.” A low voice muttered Morale leaning forwards over the edge of the inn’s balcony, peering up towards the sky gaze fixing on the little near white ring shinning through the dark where the sun should have been. The seven foot Berserker gave a sigh glancing back into the room where his friends were sat.
“It’s probably just the devs coming out with some new event. You remember what they pulled with the Towers down in Lacrama a whole city and they blew it up.” Azai snorted from inside the room glaring down at her hand of cards, before turning her gaze to the young man sat opposite her at the other end of the table.
“Yeah, I remember what happened; but that was just one city and all of the players who were affected were given special rewards... This feels different.” Morale grumbled, large gauntleted fists clenching down upon the wooden railing as he watched the edges of the storm slowly creep together inch by inch, the last frail patch of blue amidst the grey disappearing as the moments passed.
“I’m sure they’ll give us a ton of items and experience if that’s what you’re worried about.” Pip laughed the scrawny cleric tossing down a pair of cards sending a smirk back at Azai “if they don’t then they’ll be hearing from me personally, I had several farms back in Udag and now they’ll all practically useless. You can’t exactly farm crops without sunlight, I can still make a few Nix off of the animals but I’m still facing huge losses.”
“Yeah, yeah, just remember before you start pitching one of your little fits you’ll have to explain how you’re running those farms in-”
“You two, quiet down for a moment!” Morale yelled his partners falling silent as the large man’s voice boomed out shaking the floor, one large steel clad hand pointing upwards towards the heavens; “it looks like whatever this is it’s about to start...” Azai and pip rose slowly rushing forwards slipping out onto the balcony the small speck of blue that remained near the centre of the city slowly vanishing as the clouds encroached over those final few metres completing the dull grey shell which covered the surface of Eln.
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From pole to pole; over wild seas, empty tundra and vast open deserts the clouds had spread casting the globe in perpetual gloom, so two months had passed without rain or wind or snow until at last in the moment that the clouds had completed their journey a gentle rain began to fall – it seemed a storm had come.
The wind whipped up within the streets, howling through buildings and houses, frozen rain pelting down over roofs. Morale let out a low cry pulling the other two back inside the inn with him the party reacting in a heartbeat each reaching for their weapons before turning to face the open door out onto the balcony. “Pip, you’ve got Lucia’s contacts right, tell her to get in here right now!” Azai yelled slamming the butt of her spear down onto the floor boards. Morale winced; if she kept that up they have to pay damages again.
Time dragged on as the rain continued to fall; the entire city plunged into tense silence punctuated only by the occasional clatter of shattered glass broken in the squall.
Soon the city was beginning to drown, water had seeped in through roofs and walls, findings its way into attics and basements, sinking down through the dirt and the stone until even in the deepest of the cities dungeons rain began to fall. But that was it, nothing else came...
“Some event this is.” Pip snorted throwing his staff back down on his bed, retaking his spot at the table and gathering up the cards he’d dropped as a clear flash of pale blue light flooded the room a fourth figure now standing with them, reddish-brown hair exploding backwards forced down by a tin witches hat with a large red eye painted on its front. Lucia panted in the doorway her dark green dress rustling as she moved “so...” she huffed brushing herself down and drawing her sword from her hip “what kind of loot are we expecting from this one?”
“At a guess I’d say damp and Mildew” Pip laughed. Lucia frowned turning in Morale’s directions the Berserker giving her a shrug before ambling back into the rain.
“I told you this was weird.” The large man grunted letting his club falling down to rest against the banister, the old wood creaking under its’ weight.
“Maybe we’re supposed to wait for the rain to stop.” Lucia pouted re-sheathing her sword and folding her arms over her chest “Call me be back as soon as something actually interesting happens. I have work to do.”
“Sure thing. Hey maybe the Devs expect us to build an arc of something?” Pip murmured punctuating the sentence with a slight yawn as Lucia raised an arm to operate her menu forehead slowly beginning to crinkle as the others turned to look at her as she continued repeatedly stabbing at thin air with her index finger the colour slowly draining from her face.
The young girl swallowed hard looking up to face her friends, four lonely little words escaping between her lips “I can’t log out...”