And so begins the tale of our doomed adventurers...

The Ruins of Norn were ancient, untouched, not even by the various nations would would benefit from their bounties. In the past, great empires, mighty kingdoms, and federations of some of the most promising and powerful counties tried to utilize their resources to reap the benefits of Norn. For a few years, they've proven successful, accelerating their own progress and granting them powers to rise above all else. But ultimate downfall always came from the same treasures they've raided, destroyed internally and their lands simply expanding the ruins of Norn. Even now other nations, who continue to feud and battle each other for whatever reason they had, would never step foot in the ruins even if they were all bout wiped out.

This made the ruins a lawless place. Clever individuals have tried to take advantage of this to start a new world, and like those before them, success was short lived. Towns built, infrastructures formed, and for a while there was even a city where people could come to Norn and possibly seek their fortunes in the ruins. But of course, a few years passed and the city was now a ghost of it's former self. Brighthaven; it was suppose to be the first bastion to help discover the secrets of Norn. Now a gutted, rotten place where only vermin and trash live. The only civilization are small clans and tribes who live like nomads throughout the ruins, feuding with other clans for resources or being eaten alive by the various threats within. At least Brighthaven provided a usable port for anyone to use to arrive to this place; for a steep fee brave sailors would be more than willing to drop you off here and leave before anyone could have second thoughts.

Those who arrive would be greeted by nothing but the smell of sea rot and the sight of decayed corpses. Animals, birds, and people who have been killed and left behind by whatever murdered them. Most don't look to have been eaten, but torn apart by wild beasts. And still left whole enough for everyone to identify their remains. Even the animals derive some sick pleasure from cruelty. Yes, the Ruins of Norn were indeed a nightmare... But for those brave enough to venture here, it was also the only solution they had to their problems. Perhaps they seek wealth. Power. Knowledge. The Ruins have these things for those capable of taking it.

But could they survive? We shall see.

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The party begins in a ruined house just outside of Brighthaven. They know each other, if only for a short while; once there were ten. Now it's just four. Various beasts and monsters had made sure to cull the weak, tearing apart flesh and steel as easily as a hungry man tears apart bread. A new day begins and the group must decide where they must venture to first. Brighthaven was still largely unexplored, with a potential treasure trove of items and artifacts that might've been left behind by those who didn't make it. To the north they could try and brave the Morkador forest to the ruins of Norn itself. East and west had large imposing mountains, but during their time traveling they would know that the eastern mountain had some sort of fortress at the very top. Little was known about what was there, but it still remains standing vigilante nonetheless. Additionally they would also know that to the east is a civilization. There had been signs, notes written in common, of people who are willing to speak to outsiders. Whether this was an invitation or bait however, the party must learn on their own.

Their fate, whatever it may be, was in their hands now.

@Tim@Lunarlord34@Ookawa@Simple Unicycle

Chad rose from his seat. The party had been resting there for a while, considering their next move in this dangerous land. They've lost a lot of people, and hope was in short supply. Now was as good a time as any to make a bold move into the unknown.

"Well, friends, I believe we should head back through Brighthaven. Good as a place as any to make some quick loot."

Chad moved towards the door and took a quick look outside to emphasize his point. The town was close, and what this group needed was some easy loot to raise the mood. Then, once morale improved, they could explore more of the island.

The barbarian was cleaning his blade with a woolen rag to pass the time when the sorcerer began to speak. Todd looked at Chad, taking in the man's suggestion for a moment, before nodding his head. "Aye, there must be a fair amount of goods we could find in the town. Let's just pray there ain't any monsters 'round, don't need my head chopped off or my guts spillin' outta my chest."

The tiefling girl shrugged and proceeded to pick apart the stones on the wall her small, but fit frame was leaning on.
"There probably are, as always. This place is teeming with bugs..."
Lilli pushed herself from the wall. "But to be honest, I don't care where we go, as long as I get my fair share of gold and items, I am down for whatever. So... sure, let's go back to Brighthaven."

"It matters little what we do. There'll be monsters...there always is." The armoured Paladin sighed as his companions talked about heading into town. There were negatives to the idea, but then again no matter what they did here there were negatives. The more important matter at hand was that there was the potential for supplies, or loot at the very least. His lord had sent him here to bring back treasure and while he wasn't overly fond of the idea, wasn't one to argue with his orders. He always got the short straw.

"But, it's better than sitting about here twiddling our thumbs waiting to be attacked I suppose." getting up, he checked his sword before nodding to himself. "Shall we get going then?"

Back to Brighthaven. Indeed true to it's name, the stones the city was made of reflected what little light came to the haunted islands and practically made the place glow. But it only served to highlight the depravity and death that festered this place. Rotting, half-eaten corpses littered the streets. Rusted scraps of weapons and armor were embedded into the stonework or corpses. Occasionally birds might be picking at relatively fresh cadavers or rats scurry off to their next meal. Brighthaven's radiance just made it clear what sort of place the Ruins of Norn really was.

For better or for worse however, there was something to plunder here. Most of the inhabitants were mindless creatures or beasts who care more for meat than plunder, and thus they left behind veritable treasures or even amass a large horde of loot. All the adventurers had to do was find them. The first piece of plunder they'd run across was a almost fresh corpse of a troglodyte. These twisted, mutated humanoids were more like ravenous beasts than the mortals othey once were. The group had encountered them before and would know their tactics well enough; each troglodyte was relatively weak but had a foul odor that made anyone standing too close to them sicken and noxious. Worse still, these creatures attacked fast and ferociously; they could get in a bite and two claw attacks by the time they could attack once. Thus it would be in their best interest to attack first to prevent the monsters from overwhelming them with their vast numbers and fury.

This troglodyte corpse was still warm. It had died very recently, enough that anyone who came close could still spell it's sickening odor (Constitution Save). But anyone could see that it had obviously been decapitated. How or by what, it wasn't certain. But there was a bloody footprint leading further into the city heading east. This footprint was obviously not a trog. It actually looked more like a boot. Perhaps another survivor? Or a monster in the guise of a man? What shall our adventurers do with this information?

The disgusting odor from the corpse rose up and into Todd's nose, causing the barbarian to release a dry heave and pinch his nostrils shut. "Damn, that ought to be the rankest thing I've ever smelled..." Still, he kept on the look out, noting that there had been other monsters in this area recently, and there were more around. None waiting to ambush them, but he didn't want to stick around for too long just in case. "We better get to searchin' for supplies, don't wanna stick around and meet the thing that done this."

Chad took one look at the body and gave a look of disgust. He crossed his arms and took no further steps towards the Trog.

"Ugh. I'd rather not go over there, thank you. I get we're adventurers, but that's just vile. Might catch something."