As the title implies, I'm not going to pretend this is all that original. The fact is I've been playing far too much Baldur's Gate 3 lately, which inevitably led me to this. I'd like to thank Bloom for the prompt that has become my idea for this plot. Before I get to it, there is some admin to take care of.

If you can give me at least a paragraph without excessive grammar or punctuation mistakes, you'll do nicely. That's not too much to ask, is it? And if you want romance to play some part in it all, you need to be 21+. My preference for such things is MxF, by the way. If there aren't to be any romantic entanglements, then I don't care what you play. Just know that I'll be playing a male.

You don't have to post rapid-fire, either. I most likely won't. I have a job that keeps me quite busy during the evenings on weekdays and all day Saturdays. Consider yourself blessed if you get a post during those windows of time. Otherwise, look for something every few days at the longest. Basically, the more I feel is necessary to write, the longer it may take me. If I sense any additional delays, you will be told.

Let's keep the IC stuff to a PM thread, shall we? OOC discussions can be held on the Guild or over Discord. Player's choice. My Discord handle is available upon request. If you like to be gabbed at about random stuff, I'm your guy.

Now, to business.




Let's call it a typical mediaeval fantasy world. If you want to flesh out any serious worldbuilding or lore, I'm game. But for now, I'll supply a framework, and we can go from there.

Magic will play a large role. In this instance, the ability to wield magic is inherent to very few. The farther one gets from what might be described as 'civilisation', the less common it is to come across one who possesses such powers. 'Witches', they're called. In the usual fashion, our tale will begin in a village community far from anywhere of consequence. A place where the use of magic is nigh unheard of. A place where it might even be considered a tool of evil. A place where one capable of magic would be insane to go.

But it's precisely where my character ends up. He needs a place to regroup. He's been riding for miles and miles. So far from where he's from that this village isn't on any map he's ever seen. Even a witch can run low on supplies in the wilderness. Magic can't do everything. But what it can do is get one in serious trouble. Not with the villagers, if he's smart. No, much worse than that.

See, he has something that doesn't belong to him. Something that he deemed to be in the wrong hands. So he took it, and he ran and ran and ran. Or, more accurately, rode. Semantics aside, he's had to do so, because he knows that its previous owner will stop at nothing to get it back.

But what's supposed to be a quick stopover at an out-of-the-way village inn turns into anything but. Goblins from the nearby mountains have suddenly started raiding the village quite recently, and they just so happen to mount another attack while he's staying. Now he's involved, whether he likes it or not.

Where do you come in, you might ask? Perhaps I've forgotten to mention that your character is also a witch? They've lived in this village their whole life. Have they always known their power and kept it a secret? Will it manifest for the first time in a moment of desperation during the latest raid? That's up to you.

All my character knows is that the artifact he carries reacts to your character — and by extension, your character's magic — in a way he doesn't understand. A way that piques his curiosity. Perhaps he has found who it should actually belong to? But why out here? Why in the middle of nowhere?

Or is it really the middle of nowhere after all? Is there not, perhaps, some reason the goblins are seemingly being driven from the mountains they call home? Is something stirring beneath the Earth? Is the artifact the key to holding it at bay?

Let's find out, shall we?