TheBlackStarBeamRandom

Solar storm!

TheBlackStarCascadeRandom

Deep space!

TheBlackStarCloneCasterRandom

Replica!

TheBlackStarCloneMeleeRandom

Simulacrum!

TheBlackStarDeathRandom

The dark light fades…

TheBlackStarDeath2

How… unexpected…

TheBlackStarIntroRandom

Maven! The Challenge begins! Your champion will fall.

TheBlackStarLeapRandom

Star flare!

TheBlackStarMeteorRandom

Astral avalanche!

TheBlackStarPlayerDefeatRandom

Your champion… has fallen.

TheBlackStarPlayerDefeat3

The Cleansing Fire prevails…

Introduction

Oi, it’s you! You’re Renly’s foundling ah, Renly’s {son}, aren’t you? Good to finally meet you. I am Finn, and I shall be your humble provider of useful and diverse objects that are most definitely {not} scrounged or stolen. If I don’t got it, I {can} get it. {You just let me know.}

Introduction_2

Oi, it’s you, the mysterious woman in the forest! We’ve never officially met, but you’ve certainly given me quite the fright a time or two. I am Finn, and I shall be your humble provider of useful and diverse objects that are most definitely {not} scrounged or stolen. If I don’t got it, I {can} get it. You just let me know.

Introduction_3

A Druid! I should have expected one of {you} to emerge from the forest, given these dark days. I am Finn, and I shall be your humble provider of useful and diverse objects… that are most definitely not scrounged or stolen. If I don’t got it, I {can} get it. You just let me know.

Introduction_4

Have we met? Ah, no, we haven’t. Hard to tell monks apart. You lot let me stay in your enclave one winter. I was, ah… unfairly asked to leave, under suspicion of {thievery}. Wasn’t me, though. I’m well known as an honourable man around ‘ere, ask anybody! The name’s Finn, and I shall be your humble provider of useful and diverse objects… that are most definitely not scrounged or stolen. If I don’t got it, I {can} get it. You just let me know.

Introduction_5

Welcome, violent stranger! I am Finn, and I shall be your humble provider of useful and diverse objects that are most definitely {not} scrounged or stolen. If I don’t got it, I can get it. You just let me know.

Survival

You killed the Devourer in its own lair? That’s mighty brave of you, hero. Now we at least won’t starve to death! One less way to die, I guess.

The Red Vale

Spirits in the trees be damned, you actually entered the Red Vale and survived? Every Ogham kid knows, {“If you step one foot in there, you’ll be skewered and eaten!”} Well, those kids that are lucky enough to have a mother, that is. Oh, shite no offense. I was talking about me, not you… Although, I guess we do have that in common. How rusted is the gear? Any of it salvageable? Worth anything? Just… uh… thinking out loud.

The Red Vale_2

Spirits in the trees be damned, you actually entered the Red Vale and survived? Every Ogham kid knows, {“If you step one foot in there, you’ll be skewered and eaten!”} Well, those kids that are lucky enough to have a mother, that is. How rusted is the gear? Any of it salvageable? Worth anything? Just… uh… thinking out loud.

FinnWildHuntingGrounds

Well, this is ominous.

Ominous Altars

Now see, I used to frequent the clanless enclave that makes its home high in the trees near here. The locals call it Freythorn. A little while back, a group of strangers arrived out of the deep woods. {They} made altars like this, and started whispering to the others about their ‘religion’. That was when I decided to move on. And judging by the size of this one, things have gotten worse. A lot worse. Something’s wrong, hero. Something’s definitely off. I thought I was imagining the whispers in the shadows at night up there. Thought I was just spooked by the cultists that had moved in… but maybe not. Though it is full of scoundrels, I was mildly fond of a fair few of them. Care to pay them a visit and see how they are doing?

Ominous Altars_2

So… I was right to be worried. They’re still making these damned altars. And this one’s bigger. Something’s wrong, hero. Something’s definitely off. I thought I was imagining the whispers in the shadows at night up there. Thought I was just spooked by the cultists… but maybe not. Please… check in on the enclave. I’m gonna get while the getting’s good.

Ominous Altars_3

I have a grand quest for you, hero. The kind that’ll get you woven into legend. It’s not at all a minor personal matter that you might ignore. How do I explain this? Before this dreary place, you could say I was something of a, uh… wanderer. There’s a clanless enclave known as The Freythorn that makes its home high in the trees near the Hunting Grounds. They helped me out a time or two over the years. A little while back, a group of strangers arrived out of the deep woods. They made strange altars, and started whispering to the others about their ‘religion’. That was when I decided to move on. See, now I got to thinking. If Count Geonor and his men are mad enough to burn the village, then maybe the clanless are in trouble, too. Will you pay them a visit? I used to be mildly fond of a fair few of them.

Ominous Altars_4

Everyone I knew in Freythorn - the lot of those miserable rascals, curs, and thieves - they’re dead or insane. Clearfell’s all I have left now. If I was a drinking man, it’d be a sobering thought.

The Village

Una’s house… {your} house!… You lot had real places to live! I was always so envious, but I guess… you’re like me now. Vagabonds. Vagrants. It begs the question… is this our home now? Does that make us bunkmates? I call the top bunk!

The Village_2

Una’s house… Renly’s house… They had real places to live! I was always so envious, but I guess… they’re like me now. Vagabonds. Vagrants. It begs the question… is {this} home now? You’ve caught me in a moment of sappiness, hero. My apologies.

Count Geonor

Never had any love for ol’ Count Geonor. Give him a stab or two for me.

Death of the Count

The clan leaders are all dead, but there’s one man who remains with the leadership to carry on. Your old man will take good care of us, as is his nature. We’ll be just fine, hero. You can ride on out of here with your head held high. Seriously, though. I hope you return someday, if only to guard my back.

Death of the Count_2

The clan leaders are all dead, but there’s one man who remains with the leadership to carry on. Renly will take good care of us, as is his nature. We’ll be just fine, hero. You can ride on out of here with your head held high. Seriously, though. I hope you return someday, if only to guard my back.

Finn

{Oh, that Finn’s a bad influence! No daughter of mine will consort with such a type! We should have the village guards give him a good beatin’ just to teach him a lesson!} Though I suppose nursing a grudge is foolish, given they’re likely all dead now…

Count Geonor_2

I was first to notice the mad Count’s fist closing around this land. He kept rounding up people like me… for reasons that smelled like wolf droppings. I’m a bit of a slippery fish though, so I dodged his nets. Then, his mercenaries started coming for people I actually liked, and that’s when I knew something was up. The village folk kept defending his actions. I don’t know why they couldn’t see it. Maybe they didn’t want to see it.

Leitis

I always make sure to avoid noblewomen like Leitis. Her kind seem to think I’m {insincere}, for reasons neither you nor I could {ever} comprehend, I’m sure. Still, I certainly heard about her, and I’ve heard what she’s said about the Manor. I know liars, hero, and she isn’t one.

Una

Oh, Una? Yeah, yeah, I know her. I was, um… elsewhere… when the Count tried to arrest her family, but I certainly heard about it! It’s just a coincidence we both ended up here. Don’t get the wrong idea. I didn’t follow her or anything like that. It would be unheard of for a clanned girl and an outcast to well, whatever you’re thinking, don’t. That’s where I stand on it. You gotta be grounded in the real world. Don’t get hung up on things that can never be. It’ll just break your heart.

Survival_2

{This} is a wooden tomb, if you care to see it objectively. We’re not quite dead yet, but the food supply is dwindling, and I’ve seen what hunger can make a man do. The monsters out there are not the ones that will get us in the end.

FinnClearfellAfterDevourer

Well, it seems we can venture out to gather food now, thanks to the timely intervention of our local hero against the dreaded Devourer. Congratulations, you’ve saved us from hunger. Now the monsters in the forest can kill us instead!

The Hooded One

So, you found a shadow in the forest, and you brought it {here}. Good. Great. Superb.

The Hooded One_2

Those glowing blue eyes make it hard to sleep at night. I’d wear something over my face to block out the glare, but, silly me, I left my sleeping veil back at my palace.

Home

As an esteemed member of no clan at all, I had the distinct honour of wandering through the lovely sights of all four seasons. Summer heat, winter chill, take your pick. For company, it was my pleasure to sup with the outlaws, the deranged, and the unwanted. It’s simply unthinkable that I never met a nice girl to settle down with, isn’t it? It won’t be like this forever. I’m going to build my palace someday. Been planning it since I was small and found myself on my own. Imagine with me, if you will, a vast span of wood above you in the trees. That’s the foundation you’re looking at. You ascend a tremendous spiral staircase around an ancient trunk, and find yourself approaching a treehouse worthy of the First Ones. Dozens of lavish bedrooms, two {two!} stocked kitchens, tall spires, a tower that looks out over all of Ogham, and half of Phaaryl for good measure. Isn’t it glorious? {That’s} where I really live. This cold, damp, hungry world is just an illusion.

Renly

Your old man’s alright by me. Never said an unkind word. Treasure what you’ve got, you hear me?

Renly_2

Renly’s alright. Only man in the village that didn’t run me out of town whenever he saw me. Maybe it’s because he didn’t have a daughter to protect.

Freythorn

I… can’t believe it. The whole bloody place has gone mad. Cursed cultists! Please, hero. Find the other altars and… dispose of them. Put an end to this. I’m going to check around here for any… sane survivors.

The King in the Mists

So, the cultists really did have a king lurking out there in the shadows. Shame. I might have followed him myself if he’d simply promised decent meals instead. Thank you, hero. It’s not the result I was hoping for, but at least I know the truth. Clearfell’s all I have left now. If I was a drinking man, it’d be a sobering thought.

FinnOnEinhar

Ah, you heard about him, have you? Some of the scoundrels up in the enclave would spin all sorts of tales after a few too many drinks. {“The Legend of the Great Hunter”} was one of their favorites. They say that many moons ago he’d frequent Ogham, specifically for the Hunting Grounds. Over time, he grew to be someone that the clanless idolized. But honestly, the whole idea of him to me sounds like some drunken man’s dream.