Veil's Masquerade

Aesthetics

The majority of this story will take place at a masquerade ball. Expect the regency-era eloquence and grace we know and love from our beloved A Court of Fey and Flower but with a darker, gothic tone. An important angle to keep in mind is that identities are hidden during masquerade balls, even if you’re a big ol’ elephant. 

Invites

Your character has received an invitation to this event to witness the Veil Keeper’s grand announcement. You don’t have to be from the fey wild to receive an invitation. If you want to be from the mortal realm we can certainly work something out. If you are playing as Umbra, Dike, or Lyle, don’t worry about an invite. If you have a reason to follow Lyle to the Feywild that is hook enough.

Character Information

• Level 7 characters.

• Take standard array (8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15)

• Additional gold will be handed out at the start of the session.

• You can be from the feywild or moral world.

What I want from you:

• Who are you?

• How/why are you invited to the event?

• Where are you from in Fey Wild Society? Local townsperson? High society?

June  1st, 2024

Dike has always fought, literally and figuratively, to do the right thing with no questions asked. He advocates for creatures who don’t have a voice. He is fierce and relentless. But “everyone has their breaking point,” thinks Dike as his body breaks against the cobble floor, blood and sweat mixing like a coat of paint across his forehead. “GET UP!” A thick boot slams into his side, cracking another rib. “Dike, GET UP!” The voice drops low beside his ear and whispers slowly, “Are you giving up already?”

Dike looks up to see Calico above him, brandishing a set of jagged daggers and smiling sadistically. Dike musters up the strength and hurls himself at Calico, swinging wildly. They exchange blows for some time. Calico widdles him down slowly, screaming, “I know how you think, I know how you bleed, there’s nothing left of you! Give yourself to me!!”

Alalias, Lyle, and Umbra stand outside a lighthouse. They are back on Guilderoy’s island after following an ever-growing hum from the mask they pulled from Calico’s corpse. It has been drawing them to this place. They cautiously enter, noting the thick vines twisting across the walls, which grow more black and decayed as they ascend.

They reach a trap door and pass through it. There, chained to a wall, is their friend Dike. His head is slumped down, and his body is motionless, with the exception of the dark vines sprouting from his back and crawling along the walls of the room. Across his face is the other half of the mask. It seems fused to his face, pulsing dark veins reaching across his skin from where the mask makes contact with his flesh. After some debating about the safety of interacting with him, they decide something has to be done. Umbra steps forward and reaches for the mask to be removed. When his finger makes contact with it, his eyes glow white, and he sees Dike. 

Over the course of the month that Dike has spent in this place, Calico has taken many faces he loves. His mother, father, friends and family. But he has not worn this one yet, a face he only met recently. Umbra? An interesting angle.. His body finishes morphing and laughing as he asks, “do you even remember this one? Have I taken too much to have anything left of you to play with?” Umbra, the real Umbra, is now seeing through Calico’s eyes. He is shocked at what he sees. Dike is soaked in blood, barely standing. He is staring at Umbra with absolute hatred. Umbra attempts to communicate with Dike, though his words do not come out of the body he is seeing through, and Dike is too filled with rage to notice as he attacks.

Outside of the mindscape, Umbra has fallen to the ground incapacitated. Lyle and Alalias are fighting off vines that came alive around Dike’s body. Amidst the commotion, Alalias takes a dagger and begins to peel it off of Dike, being careful not to touch it. Inside the mindscape, Umbra is screaming for Dike to stop and let him help. As Alalias removes the mask, Dike’s eyes shoot open, and he begins to frantically rage against the chains, lunging for Umbra. “DIE YOU MONSTER! LEAVE ME ALONE!!” not too long after, Dike collapses from pure exhaustion. The torture racking his mind quieted. The group takes him aboard the ship, and they set sail for home.

Serena Starr is hard at work in her office, doing the mundane part of her job—paperwork. She would much rather be out getting her hands dirty. There’s a brisk knock at the door in a pattern Serena knows all too well. “Come in, Sibyl.”, Serena’s intern walks in with a stack of resumes in hand and her eyes glued to the floor. “Uh, Serena? I’ve compiled some of the resumes for the photographer accompanying us to the Fey Wild,” says Sibyl as she lays a perfectly straight pile of crisp white paper onto the desk. “Ugh, more to read? Can’t you pick the best, and we’ll get on with it?” Sibyl nods as if she was expecting this, “Already did! You’ll find I organized them by who I thought would be best. Though, one stood out to me. There, on top.”

Serena picks up the paper and reads the name aloud, “Daphney Sparkles?” Sibyl responds, “Yes, the only one out of the candidates to be from the Fey Wild. I’m sure she could help us navigate the realm.” Serena smirks to herself, this is why she picked Sibyl amongst the candidates to be her intern. She’s clever, and good at what she does. “Yes that will be good! Can we,” and before finishing her sentence, Sibyl pipes up, “Yes, I already booked the interview for 2:00 today.” Serena looks up from the resume to see Sibyl still staring at the floor. “Great work. Is everything alright?” Sibyl looks immediately uncomfortable and looks up. “uh yes- yes everything is alright. Just a bit nervous to see a new world I guess.” Serena reassures her, “it’s okay. Me too! But it will be completely safe, I promise.” Sibyl leaves, and the two prepare for the interview on opposite sides of the door.

Outside on the street, a fairy is flying through the street, dodging and weaving through pedestrians. “Excuse me, coming through! Ope’ watch out darlin’!” Daphney hovers for a moment in front of a large window to adjust her curls, before approaching the Ledger Gazette. Determined to make it on time, she decides to use an open window on the third floor. Sibyl watches with wide eyes as a pretty little fairy flies through the window “Pardon! Where’s ms. Starr’s office?” “Uh, um right here. But I need to let her know you’re here-” “GREAT THANKS!” exclaims Daphney as she shoots for the door and flies in, right on time. Daphney makes a wildly enthusiastic introduction to Serena, as Sibyl is quite flabbergasted at her abrupt arrival. Serena proceeds to interview Daphney, who shows some of her photography. Serena accidentally flips too far, seeing some of the feet pictures Daphney has taken. She explains it was some previous work she did, but she’s trying to get out of that business and turn over a new leaf. To Daphneys joy, she is offered the job.

Umbra, Lyle, Alalias, and John Blue, arrive at port. They get off the ship, and part ways with Jobn who has to return to the Leder Gazzete to report some of his findings. Lyle checks his watch which shows an additional dial reading Fey Wild time. It appears he needs to get too the Fey Wild for a meeting in a few hours. Dike, Umbra, and Alalias ask to go with him. 

They enter a post office, where the man at the counter recognizes Lyle. “Ayy Lyle! How can I help you today?” He has four arms and is taking packages from customers and sorting them into designated bins and other various compartments this wiz down into glass tubes, getting sent who knows where. Lyle asks for a trip to the Feywild. Serena Starr, Sibyl, and Daphney are also in the room, and say they are here for the same thing. The man invites them all behind the counter, where he asks them a set of mandatory questions. “transporting any illegal goods or gouls? Do any of you have lycanthropy? Do you have more than one bag of holding? Okay, phew! good!”

He invites them into an elevator of sorts. It looks like an old mine shaft elevator with interlocking grates. He shuffles them in and closes the grates. “Alrighty my friends, enjoy!” He pulls a lever, and the group watches as a series of smaller lights begin to light up around them like a count down.. *Bzz. Bzz. Bzz.*

Suddenly, something catches Umbra’s eye. *Bzz* Behind the next customer in line, there is a hooded figure. *Bzz* An unease settles over Umbra as it appears to be watching him, and no one else seems to notice. *Bzz* Watching, almost transfixed, it reaches a bony skeletal hand outward to point at Umbra. Its head tilts up slightly, and all he can see is darkness, and the piercing stare of one intensely glowing eye. *Bzz* Then suddenly Umbra feels it, in his mind. *Bzz* He-he hears screams. *Bzz* The screams of familiar voices, of their lives being lost. *Bzz* The sanctum is in danger.

BOOM! The elevator PLUMMETS downward, and everyone in the cart gets some air time, crashing against the ceiling and walls. Elevator music kicks on, but no one can hear it over the skidding and screeching of rock against metal. Stone is flying past them through the grates, and sparks bouncing across the walls. Then right as they begin to regain their footing, they are suddenly pulled up to the ceiling as gravity seems to switch. They look down at the ceiling, or I guess now it's a floor, as a light begins to grow closer and closer. 

The elevator stops, and the party stumbles out. They find themselves on the ground of the Fey Wild. But something is noticeably different. When they look outward, the land folds upward around them, stretching endlessly. The sky, as they know it, is gone. It’s as if instead of stretching outward, it curves upward. Looking up, there is a sort of sun, but it doesn’t burn their eyes. It’s like an intensely glowing sphere. It seems to be what’s lighting this environment. 

The party heads in the direction of Lyles cabin. As they travel the dirt road, they see a field of tall bluegrass, and at the end of each strand is a spec of glowing light. Alalias, feeling quite sick from the elevator trip, takes a nearby slide to a hospital.

As they travel and make introductions to each other, they stop and listen to a loud sound. *CHA-CHUNK. CHA-CHUNK.* They watch as a massive shadow rolls across the landscape. It reaches them, and they are immediately submerged in darkness. But it feels different than night. It’s like a deep, wet, sticky fog—almost like dark matter is permeating the air. They can feel themselves moving through it, almost like there’s a physical presence to it. Odd, but they light a fire and continue forward. Only 30 more minutes till the cabin.

Afer they are 5 minutes from the cabin, they see a light flash out in the woods. Unsure of what it is, they snuff out their lantern and watch closely. Again, a light flashes and dissipates. It grows closer, and then they see it. It’s like a horse, maybe a dog? with strange gripping claw. Its skin hangs loosely off its bones. The texture of it is bumpy, almost like elephant skin. What can be assumed as its head pulses light that illuminates the darkness, and then illuminates them. Almost the moment the light touches them, it’s anatomy changes. Its musculature goes rigid, and there's a sort of small tremor that emanates across its body. The light pules again faster than last time. Blinking rapidly. This beast fights them with blinding speed. It bounces from target to target, tearing at them with its claws as if it’s searching for something inside them.

Eventually, they escape, making it to Lyle’s cabin.

Later in the night, Dalrun came to speak with Lyle. Dalrun is an arch fey with incredible power. He has a scar over his left piercing yellow eye. He invites Lyle, and his guests to the Masquerade to investigate a claim by the Veil Keepers that they could have any debts erased. Dalrun wants Lyle to help figure out what legal loophole they might be using. The party also overheard some brief, mysterious exchanges between Lyle and Dalrun about something Lyle was asking for more of. After Dalrun left, a few things happened. Umbra had weird interactions with a rat, and heard someone's voice in her mind when the rat touched her. Calico drank himself silly. Daphney had a scary dream. Lyle dreamed about his family and brother. Sereena and Sibyl had a heart-to-heart, and Sibyl admitted why she was there.

In the morning they went to the party. Before entering the estate, Dalrun slipped something to, or into, Lyle before the party. An attendant leads the group down a hallway. They find themselves on a balcony overlooking a sprawling courtyard filled with masked guests mingling, laughing, and partying.

There’s an octangle-shaped bar where four barkeepers work tirelessly to satisfy the revelers' palettes, expertly mixing potions and flinging elixirs with an elegant flourish. At the center of the bar is also this tube-like contraption adorned with an array of fey wild beverages that glimmer with this otherworldly allure. 

Overhead, fairies flit and flutter in this mesmerizing aerial display, their delicate wings and magic are weaving a colorful tapestry of explosive color. Many people are sitting at tables looking up to watch, occasionally applauding.

There are also tables adorned with games of chance, where people get excited, shouting and laughing over games of cards and dice. In the corner is also a tent, and the group assumes it sits some sort of fortune teller by how some people walk out with huge grins on their faces and others with a terrified look in their eyes. There are servers gliding effortlessly through the throng of people, delivering refreshments and delicacies to eager hands, their trays laden with the finest Feywild delicacies.

The group splits up. Lyle offers the Veil Keeper’s his services in case they are ever in need of any legal help. Serena interviews a few guests about the Veil Keepers. She discovers they sometimes leave their estate coming back with an additional veiled member. She also meets a horribly fat satyr who’s belly muffin-tops over his goat legs. He’s celebrating his birthday, and states that he celebrates his birthday every day since at some point, every day becomes his birthday!

Dike goes to the bar, having fun tasting many of the feywild alcoholic beverages. He watches with surprise as a woman with bright red lipstick gives a bartender a very specific list of ingredients for a drink. It’s so long and precise that it seems more like a math equation than a recipe.

He watches her get the drink to-go, and disappear in the crowd. Later in the night, he and the others see her moving past drinks at tables, and believe the woman is sneaking something into them. He mentions this to the group, who decide to recreate the drink and investigate it further.

July 21st, 2024

• The group successfully recreates the drink with the help of the bartender who made it.

• They test it on the most annoying person they can find. They note that it seems to change them physically ever so slightly. Specifically, her nails grow a bit longer. But it's as if its effects are sitting dormant.

• Daphney has her fortune told, though she believes it is a bunch of lies.

• Dike has his fortune told. The lady seems scared of what's in his mind, asking things like, "Who am I truly speaking with? Who are you really? Do you know what it is?"

• There is a ballroom dance, of which Daphney and Dalrun dance for some time. They got second place, though Dalrun had quite a fun time with Daphney, which was Daphney's goal.

• Lyle finds out the Veil Keeper's favorite drink and shares it with one of them. As he does, he tells them about how someone has snuck in and is wreaking havoc. It visibly alarms the Veil Keepers, and they start to make moves to find this person.

• The Veil Keepers announce they are beginning the great news they promised everyone. At this moment, the group notices Sibyl is gone. They quickly find out they are with the Veil Keepers, who are approaching the center stage in a circle around her. Dike goes to find a high vantage point.

• When they get onto stage, Sereena looks at Umbra, alarmed and scared for Sibyl, who she promised to protect. Umbra nods and begins casting a spell to get Sibyl free. But the magic doesn't cast, as Dalrun has counterspelled it, and is now watching the two of them.

You see four Veil Keepers position themselves around her. The one behind Sibyl puts his hands over her ears, and his long fingers sort of wrap up around her forehead. Another one steps in front of her and says, “You will be unbound from your debts, pain, suffering, and be ushered into a new life. Go now with peace, we look forward to seeing you again.” He makes a quick movement that you can’t quite see from where you're standing, and then steps to the side……

A gasp flows through the room as you see her standing there motionless, her eyes wide as a clean line across her neck begins to well up with blood, flowing cleanly down her neck, and rolling down across her chest and body.

Tremoring and gasping in air she falls to her knees, the Veil Keepers hands still over her ears. One of them steps up holding a syringe with a glass reservoir. They quickly insert it into the side of their neck, pulling out the handle. You watch as seething darkness gets pulled out of her body, gnashing and raging against the syringe’s glass reservoir. It’s barely contained, swarming viciously for escape. It looks like a blistering nightmare, a darkness that absolutely should not be in anyone's body.

They finish extracting the substance, and they lower her slowly down to the ground, draping a silk cloth over her body. They all step back and assemble themselves in a sort of circle. One of them says, “Fear not, Sibyl is still with us. We shall lower the veil,” and they begin chanting. 

You feel a warm magic start pulsing against your face, you’re pretty sure it’s your mask.

You see an ethereal blue light, almost like a misty humanoid form, start crawling out of the body. As it pulls itself out, it looks up into the sky and, with a howl, launches upward, flying into the night sky, but there's a chain bound to its leg. As quickly as it took off the chain gets pulled taught, and it plummets back down to the ground landing hard. As it stands there in front of you, the mist begins to seep off of it and reveals Sibyl, looking around wide-eyed. She’s slightly transparent.

The Veil Keepers say, “Welcome back Sibyl, how do you feel?”

“Um, uh, I feel okay. What, what happened?”

“You are now free from the life you hate. You may now experience our beautiful world without worries of debts, danger, or even pain.”

She smiles wide, doesn’t seem to fully understand, and with almost a laughing cry she says “Thank you!” And begins to take some shaky steps, as if seeming to test out her new form.

The Veil keepers offer their services.

“We have been sought out by those wanting a new chance at life, an escape from their debts, a new way of living. No more do we wait to be found by the desperate or determined. We stand here before you, extending our hand, and offering our services. You CAN be free from this realm’s shackles. Thank you..”

• The group is gob-smacked.

• Sibyl comes to talk with them. Lyle offers some words of encouragement, saying that undeath isn't as horrible as it seems. Sibyl is shocked by this statement and is still unsure about what happened to her. Sereena breaks the news, and Sibyl is unsure of what to think.

• Umbra sees the strange woman watching with wide eyes, shocked, mouths the words "death is not the end.." and turns and begins moving through the crowd. Umbra follows.

• The Veil Keepers are taking Sibyl's body away. Daphney follows to retrieve any personal possessions, possibly paperwork, that she has. She mage hands the vial that the Veil Keepers extracted. She pulls a Veil Keeper aside and sticks him with the vial. It totally melts him in an agonizing, painful scream of horror and pain.

• Before the Veil Keepers can turn and react, Dike enlarges a group of spiders in front of them and immediately chomps one of them in half. It's just enough of a distraction for Daphney to slip away.

• Umbra follows the woman into the castle, where there's a library. She seems to be using some sort of divining rod. She's whispering to something in the room, "my dear there may be another way. There must be more here somewhere. It may work!" She starts throwing books off the shelves, until she finds a secret lever and pulls it. It moves a bookshelf to the side, where she sneaks down into a dark hallway.

• Umbra follows behind, sticking to the shadows. She watches the woman tearing apart a small lab, eventually finding some vials full of the black substance. 

• Umbra trips a lever that releases a tank. Out of the tank sloshes the naked body of the bartender they spoke to before. Except his brain is partially revealed, his eyes lifeless, and tentacles hanging from his mouth. They fight for a short moment, but the woman defeats it. "My sweet, did you open that tank?" Before she can find Umbra, he makes an illusionary rat scamper across the room.

• The woman sees it, assumes that it was the rat, and runs back up the stairs to leave. Umbra follows.

• The rest of the group goes outside to leave, along with Dalrun.

• Dike finds another lab. He fumbles with the door and is heard by a Veil Keeper. He slides into the room but only has moments before he's joined. It's a room with a large tank of the dark substance, many vials to fill it with, and suction tubes that lead somewhere. Dike turns into a lizard in an attempt to hide.

• The Veil Keeper enters the room, knowing he's in there. Dike escapes by jumping into one of the tubes. A vial is sent after him in an attempt to squash him. 

• Umbra is following the woman out of the castle. Penn sees Umbra approach the group and shouts, "Umbra, we're over here!" The woman stops in her tracks, and slowly turns to make eye contact with Umbra. 

• BOOM! A nearby pipe explodes, and Dike flies out, landing near the woman, Gwenevere, who looks surprised. "Looks like you found me. Now face me and DIE!" The group fights the woman. After a few moments, out from the shadows comes a dark figure, Phobia. He uses his tentacles to subdue Dalrun in the carriage.

• The party fights them for some time before turning back to see rats have overrun the party. The Veil Keepers and people attending are getting eaten alive. Umbra turns to see her old master, Ambro Boar, stalking toward her.

• Ambro Boar's shape shifts back to The Piper, and she states she will enjoy slowly taking Umbra's life.

• A snowstorm is summoned around the carriage to help shield their escape. Umbra debates joining the carriage or fighting these foes. But he sees Penn at the carriage, shouting for him to come with them, and he sprints for the carriage. 

• As they fight, Dike throws the mask on his face, compelled by some force. He finds himself in two places at once. Controlling his physical body, running away from the fight, and his psychic body, facing off against Calico.

• The battle is fierce as Calico rips into him in the form of the monster he is. Dike decides to stop fighting with his strength but instead uses his mind. He creates vines that pull Calico into the ground, burying him like a forgotten memory.

• Dike is running through the castle and hops out a window to see the carriage picking up speed. He sprints for the carriage as Umbra leans out the side, holding out his trunk. Dike leaps for it and misses, tumbling against the ground as the carriage speeds away. 

• Quickly pulling himself up, Dike summons a horse to ride and catches up to the carriage. As he holds the mask, he finds himself hating it, wanting to destroy it. But he thinks Calico's mind got buried inside it. So, not wanting it to get into the wrong hands, he keeps it. For now..

• As they ride off into the distance, Umbra looks back to see them coming out of the storm. Tentacles of darkness are reaching out toward them. Gwenevere throws potions at them that pop off the cap and, like a rocket, shoots after them. The Piper sends hoards of rats chasing after them. But, they are too fast.

August 25th, 2024

Join me as we travel back in time. Before the events of The Veil’s Masquerade. And even further still, before the events of An Actor’s Life.

We find ourselves at the Ledger Gazette. Serena Starr is sitting at the desk of her boss, Fisk Jameson. Serene and Fisk are side by side, and across from them is a reporter who wrote one of the most popular pieces of journalism in the past decade. His name is John Blue. This particular article was originally offered to Serena, but because of a conflict of time, she was unable to take it. So, it got outsourced to a journalist, not even a member of the Ledger Gazette. It was honestly a risk, as he only had a few small columns written in some smaller newspapers. But hey, Fisk Jameson loves risks, and it paid off. John blew the socks of the world. 

Ever since that piece, The Ledger Gazette has hired John Blue to write quite a few pieces. On this day, John Blue’s work scored him an invite to one of the biggest birthday parties of the century. The party of the one and only Mallory Guilderoy, a scion of the mercantile industry. Though John doesn’t know he’s been invited quiiiite yet.

Fisk speaks, “Ahem, John,  good to see you again! I hope the weekend treated you well?”

John responds "Yes it has! eh, urm.. thanks for asking."

“Good good. And have you met Serena Starr? My STARR reporter? HAHAHA!” 

Serena and John exchange pleasantries.

“Good good. Well I called you here because we received some mail on your behalf. It seems quite important, and I wanted to make sure it was hand-delivered to you!” Fisk slides a letter across the table to John. It shimmers when the light hits it, and the wax seal seems to be made of gold. “here you are! And uhm um. You can take the time to read it here if you’d like. It looks quite important. It probably can’t wait.” John notices the seal seems to have likely already been read.

Opening it, John reads that it is an invitation to Mallory Guildeoy's birthday party. John tells them what it is, and Fisk excitedly yells “OH MY STARS! That’s, what an opportunity! Say, John, will you write us an exclusive on the event?! Something dramatic is bound to happen at these types of things!” John responds with a willingness to attend. Fisk continues, "Well John I have to say Serena is one of our best investigative reporters. UNPARALLED in the field!  You should see her work sometime. How would you feel about her joining you??"

John surprises them by bluntly saying no, he works alone. He would like to go solo. Fisk seems sad, and Serena a little offended, but they brush it off and work out some business for John to write an article on how the party goes. Serena also offers some words of advice for John about thinking on his toes, and not freezing when things get tense. That advice is something John certainly uses as a lot of intense things happen!

A poisoning..

a murder!!

nobility pointing fingers..

shapeshifters?!

You saved Guilderoy’s life, only for him to order your deaths.

But he was killed by Calico!!

And Harissa, Calico’s daughter, took Guilderoy’s place to make a difference in the world, and abolish Guilderoy’s strong-arm tactics. Needless to say, it was dramatic.

John gets home after the party and spends the night writing and formulating the article. The next day, he is on his way back to the Ledger Gazette. He passes a building that seems to have completely been oblidaterated. The windows are blown out, and the door adjar. It's wrapped in cation tape, but John is curious and enters. He sees a burned and half-eaten carcass of a man behind the counter. The doors to an elevator seemed to have been ripped off. John finds one operational letter tube. He steps in curiously, hits a lever, and gets flown downward.

After a few minutes, disoriented, he steps out into a castle. It's quiet, except for the occasional scampering of some animal. Small lights flicker in the space, but it is quite dark, and the blackness feels almost permeable. Hearing voices, John peaks through a small window into a courtyard. Bodies line the grass, bloodied and beaten. Many of they are still being gnawed on by rats. A figure begins to speak that John can't help but be innately afraid of.

Phobia: “WE HAD HER!!! But you were too busy playing with your food!”

The Piper: “I can’t help but have a little fun.”

Phobia: “AND you… You seem to have lost SIGHT of our GOAL.”

Gwenevere: “Now, now sweetie… I haven’t lost sight. I simply have two eyes, each set on a different goal. I understand you don’t know what that feels like, given you only have one.”

Phobia stares daggers at Gwenevere. One piercingly illuminated eye staring at her. It narrows.

Phobia: “I have seen your fears. He is not coming back.”

Gwen: “SHUTUP YOU SENTIENT CLOUD!” Making a move for a vial at her side, The Piper steps between them.

The Piper: “Now now, as fun as it would be to watch you kill each other, it will have to wait. That Loxodon is with an archfey, adding a bit more challenge than we expec-” her eyes flick to the window, making eye contact with John. Phobia moves his attention to the window as well, "I smell fear."

John gets pulled to the side by a hand wrapped around his arm. Looking up, John sees a tall figure wearing a plague doctor-esc mask with a veil over his eyes. He is clutching his side where he’s oozing white blood, a sharp contrast to his all-black clothing. Weezing, it speaks, “Do you want to die boy?”

"UH- NO!"

"Then follow me.."

The Veil Keeper hobbles to a nearby staircase, leaning heavily against the walls as he descends. They enter a room full of test tubes and vats and vials. "Quick, get in-" as he motions to a large glass tube. "What's going on??" 

"Those things up there have slaughtered this castle, hundreds of people dead. I assume they are here for the Vitae Nectar. Quick help me!" The Veil Keeper is pushing vials of black thrashing liquid into sacks, then pilling them into John's arms, who is then placing them into the tube.

He then hands John a bottle with a floating brain in it. “This will be the last of my kind. Please, give this to a man named Dalrun Solas. You’ll know him when you see him.” Then he shuts the door of the tube, locking John inside.

John watches as Rats begin descending the stairs. They go to devour the Veil Keeper, who extends one hand and the other to his temple. The rats begin to seize and die from their brains pretty much exploding. Darkness starts to flow into the room as if it has a physical presence. Though John can not hear anything past the glass reservoir, there’s a clinking and whirring as some spiderlike horror begins crawling across the ceiling toward the Veil Keeper. He throws his hand toward it, but looks shocked as his psychic powers don’t seem to affect this monster.“What, what is that?! N, No no!!” As the mound of skin and bone, a flesh flap of face stretching over it launches itself into his face. Its spiderlike metallic legs rip into his head.

John watches this scene in silence, with no sound penetrating the glass. But by the way, he writhes on the ground, his face being ripped apart, rats consuming his body. In your mind's eye you can hear his screams of agony and pain as death overtakes him. The shadowy figure looks up toward John and points, a glowing eye staring out at him. John pulls the lever and begins to move.

The other group travels with Dalrun in his carriage to his estate. Dalrun seems to sense something and stops the carriage. He pulls open a sunroof so that everyone can see what's moving overhead. The darkness becomes alive with vast, slow, coiling bioluminescent movement. The Bleed buffets the carriage like a strong wind from an an odd seismic tremor from the fog around them. Overhead rushing through the Bleed is the underbelly of something. It’s like a massive eal, it’s body is a lengthy slinky body of filaments and segments and strange tailing lures. It’s like a huge mouth that can fly.

Dalrun speaks, "It’s a Wail. Have you seen one before? Ah, well it’s not a W-H-A-L-E as you may think. It's a W-A-I-L. Named for the sound it makes, and makes others make when they see t. It's One of the largest predators of the bleed. It can’t see, but it detects heat and sound. We are safe since the bleedsafe lights don’t give off heat, and our carriage is insulated. Soundproof as well.”

The group gets to the castle. They are shown to a room while Lyle is called by Dalrun to meet in his study. They discuss business for a little bit before Lyle asks for another dosage because he is feeling quite weak. Dalrun pulls a chair from the floor for him to sit in. 

You are strapped down. Not in a threatening way but in a routine medical procedure so that if you move your arm, it will stay in the same place. Dalrun pulls a syringe out from his medical bag and opens the top. He moves his fingers to magically flow some of the Nectar from the pool into it’s capsule. “Alright, Lyle, relax now.” You feel a press on your skin, then a sharp poke as it pierces your flesh. You slowly start losing the sensation of touch as you nod off, into a sleep where you can feel literally nothing.

Then with a jolt you wake up. Your mouth and nose, and eyes are filled with dust, and you can’t breathe. Coughing, gaging, Lyle tries to get it out. You hear a voice “Calm down,” as feeling returns to your body, and you feel VERY warm hands pulling you up and dust falling off your body. You still can’t breath. “Cough it out friend!"

You gage and cough out ash. It’s that same feeling as inhaling sawdust. You wipe at your eyes, blinking away the dust. Your vision is incredibly blurry, but many people around you are holding you up. “It’s okay, calm down. That’s good. Keep breathing.”

When your vision returns, you look around to see that, firstly, you’re completely naked, and you’re being pulled up an embankment to a river long since dried up. When you’re pulled to the top, you are gazing upon the desolate landscape of a fallen kingdom. You see toppled homes and ruined castles. Other people are being pulled up from the ash in a similar state of nakedness and surprise as you.

You look to see Dalrun, one of the men holding you up. “Hello friend, can you hear us? “How are you feeling? Do you recognize this place?”

They talk for a short moment, Dalrun saying, “I’m sure this must be a shock. We are here to give you a second chance at life. From what I’ve learned of my history, it was taken from you quite brutally. You did not deserve that.” During the discussion, Dalrun asks what Lyle's profession is. When he learns he's a lawyer, he says he may have work for him.

You leave with a massive group of people in carriages. As you leave what was once the gates to this kingdom, you see a figure hopping from rock to rock. It looks like a boy. He passes a fallen building, stops, and backtracks. He stares into the room for a long moment. Then, he slowly enters, scratching his head.

• John's tube takes him to the castle. He exits and finds himself in some type of study. Mad scribblings and complex equations across the wall. 

• John finds a man called Dr. Nikola Shock. He mentions Dalrun brought him here to refine Vitae. Currently, it can only be done by Dalrun himself, which is not sustainable for the population of this city.

• John does not tell Nikola about the deadly group that is likely following him.

• John leaves the room, and eventually pumps into Daphney. Daphney brings John to the group, and they catch up. Serena is quite surprised he is here. John likes it and says that Fisk sent him. Serena feels sad about that, thinking Fisk might not have trusted her.

• They decide to open up the brain jar to see what it is. Upon opening it, the brain begins to attempt to mind control them. John gets a sip of the brain jar juice before his mind is seized. The brain is very aggressive, which makes them take it to Dalrun. They head upstairs to him.

• They come upstairs, Lyle is concluding some business talk with Dalrun.

• They talk for some time, they party accuses Dalrun of killing people to harvest Vitae. Dalrun corrects them, that he's harvesting it from willing subjects, refining it into Nectar, and giving it to people who need it to survive (like Lyle..) 

• John tells them about the people at the castle. They decide to ready themselves, thinking they're coming here.

• While they wait, Serena gets a vibe from the mask..

Serena. Your mind is powerful and your greatest weapon. The psychic powers you have are very impressive. One of the abilities is being able to read thoughts and pick up on surface-level emotions. The Mask is powerful, and you can feel something from it. It’s, it’s like a consciousness. And, ohhh… it’s mad. And it’s furious anger is directed at something. You can almost feel its emotions like an outstretched hand reaching for Dike. But anger isn’t the only thing you feel from it. There’s also desperation. And it’s a sense of desperation you’re familiar with. It’s like when you are chasing down baddies that know you’ll catch them but flee nonetheless. So it’s not like a desperation of trying to break free, but like it’s trying to get away from something. A raw sense of self-preservation.

• Eventually, the group shows up, and they start to battle.

• It's dramatic, and eventually, the ceiling is taken away, and they are submerged in the Bleed.

• Gwen's husband-monster thing gets broken, and it makes her freak out and creates a bright light that attracts a Wail.

• Right before it strikes, Dike polymorphs the Wail.

• They are bloodthirsty for Umbra, especially The Piper. 

• The Piper throws herself into Umbra, through fire, and off the castle.

• Dike polymorphs into a giant eagle and dives after them.

• They skid down the side, fighting while the Piper screams at Umbra insane ranting of hs death.

• Dike swoops in and missed them.

• They both fall through a cloud, and a voice cries out with a THUD into the ground.

• Dike pulls up and looks down.

• The cloud shifts, and reveals The Piper's body on the ground. Dead, with a smile on her face.

• Umbra is hanging from the side of the building.

• Unseen to the party, a figure with large black feathered wings can be seen flying away. (It's Gwenevere who made herself grow wings.)

• Phobia is defeated by Lyle and Serena. All that is left is his scythe, emanating fear.