Funded!
over 3 years ago
– Mon, Nov 21, 2022 at 05:25:07 AM
We funded, and within the 48 hour mark - thank you all so much!
We're delighted to confirm the Novice Booster 2 Set will now be added for free to every pledge that includes a Core Set (Weeping Caves second printing, Great Sewers second printing, or the Deepsorrow set).
We want to grow that by a lot more though folks and we have the Stretch Goals to do so.
Please note based on backer feedback many people stated they did not want more than one Update per day this time round. If we break through new SGs during that period our intent is to update the campaign page and summarise it all into that one daily Update.
For those that want to join us on the adventure in Mor Nadar, here is the narrative:
Episode 1 – A leaf and a stone
The desert was icy cold and dark. The night sky above was a glorious mix of purple, blue and black, not unusual for this time of year, but nonetheless remarkable in its beauty. The stars shone as milky pearls lying on a bed of velvet pillows, untouchable treasure for the travelers below who, without their shining wisdom, could so easily get lost in the vastness of the Nabti dunes.
Isesi swatted at the air with his hand absently, ‘Go away I’m trying to sleep’ he chided his disturber and pulled the blanket round his neck in an effort to stay warm and sleepy.
The Sand Wisp landed gently on Isesis’ shoulder and whispered into his ear.
‘Show me now!’
***
The Lost Forest; an endless sea of grey petrified trees standing silently, timelessly, in a desert of creamy sand. Isesi did not have to run for long to reach the outer trees from his watcher village that had stood on the outskirts of this place for as long as any could remember, scraping a living as hunters of the few animals that dwelt in the forest for shelter. Life was hard in these relentless and unchanging conditions, however the Watcher Tribes lived in relative peace as very few of the other peoples of Mor Nadar were interested in such an inhospitable environment. Now and again a boat travelling on either of the two great rivers that bounded this land would stop and trade. Very occasionally somebody would seek a guide to the ancient stones at the heart of the trees, but by and large this place remained quiet and nothing ever happened here.
Until this morning.
Isesi stopped his run and stared open mouthed as the Sand Wisp flickered excitedly and illuminated the branch in the dead of night. There, for the first time in millennia, a tiny bud had burst on what were assumed to be long dead trees, preserved only by the lack of humidity in these lands.
‘Are there more?’ his companion flirted from tree to tree and darted back nodding in assurance. Isesi wiped his brow and swallowed hard as he toyed with the carved antler pendant that hung at his neck.
‘We must tell them.’
***
Nothing.
Templemaster Aur’k’nah stared intently into his contemplation pool and saw nothing. Some of the other masters would advocate that this was a good thing. The product of a focused mind, one switched off from outside influences but Aur’k’nah knew this was not the case. He knew this could not be because he saw nothing, and yet it caused him angst.
The Templemaster gazed at the calm surface of the water, passing a flat pebble between his fingers over and over again. To an outsider this might look like an absent-minded activity, such as touching one’s hair while talking, but this was very much not the case. Decades of training and dedication enabled the master to focus on multiple things simultaneously with a level of perception that most visitors to the sanctuary could not apply to a single task. He sensed the tiny variations of the stone rub against his skin, each movement imparting an awareness of his own unique fingerprints.
Aur’k’nah’s awareness changed from the tactile to the audible, he could hear the noise of the stone within his fingers. As he focused further the noise grew until it felt like a woodcarver’s plane, slicing layers of skin off every time if passed between his fingers.
That is where the realisation came from.
As I move the stone, I impart an essence of my form upon it. The more I do this, the less pure the stone becomes and yet by removing a layer of skin it encourages regrowth within my own form.
He thought for a moment.
So, if I am the stone and the earth is me, the earth can use me to reinvigorate itself. And leave me with a tiny essence of itself upon me…
Soft, rapid footsteps could be heard approaching the chamber.
‘Enter Nakhem,’ Templemaster Aur’k’nah spoke before Brother Nakhem reached the door. He rose from his contemplation pool and adjusted his robes. ‘Speak Brother.’ The Templemaster could sense an unusual urgency in the monk’s tone.
Grateful that he had received permission to dispense with some formality Nakhem, opened the door, composed himself, bowed and addressed the Templemaster. ‘A rider has arrived.’
This was unexpected. ‘A Rider? From where did they hail?’
Nakhem, handed over a small wooden box to the Templemaster. ‘They brought this.’
Aur’k’nah opened the box carefully and for the first time in centuries a Templemaster of Firesorrow gasped as he saw the verdant foliage of a leaf bud, carefully nestled inside the box on a bed of feathers.
“Nakhem, summon an audience of the Masters – all of them!’
The story will continue with the next Stretch Goal unlock.