[ her eyes cast down, a shadow of anxiety across her features now. ] We were sent to a small town in Russia that had fallen through the Veil many years ago, had remained more or less isolationist, preferring to keep the traditional values of the world they'd hailed from. We were originally hired by the parents of a woman named Anya, who was from this world, and had married the baron of the town - Stepan Boroi. Her parents were concerned because she had dropped contact after expressing increased concern over Stepan's behavior. She'd called him paranoid, been worried for their new child.
When we arrived in the town, we discovered that some kind of unusual illness had broken out, that the locals were calling tallowthroat. It had affected even the captain of the village watch, and people were quick to blame it on the small population of fetchlings who were often discriminated against in the city. We managed to save some of those fetchlings from an angry mob, and they told us that Stepan had inherited the title of baron when his father and two older brothers all died within the same year.
Some of the team went to speak to the Baron and his wife, found him twisted with paranoia and fear about a fetchling uprising and the disease in town. They also noted that he had no shadow.
It turned out that the Baron had discovered an artifact in his ancient home, called a Midnight Mirror. [ she looks around, frowning ] I don't know how familiar you all are with the goddess known as the Maiden of Pain, but these mirrors are magical prisons used by her church to punish those who offend it. They're extraplanar prisons that host a connection to the Shadow plane, trapping the victims there, where they never age, and can be tormented forever.
This mirror hosted a prisoner from many years ago, one who had attempted to lead a fetchling uprising in the town hundreds of years before. The prisoner struck a deal with Stepan - the mirror would allow them to switch places by touching hands through it, and Nicasor, the prisoner, could inhabit Stepan's body for a year at a time, gaining some small measure of freedom. In return, he assured that Stepan would become Baron, helping trap his brothers in the mirror itself.
Stepan grew to regret his decision after marrying Anya and having a child, decided he would not fulfill his end of the bargain when the next time arrived to do so - every decade, they had agreed to exchange for one year. When he did not, Shadow material began leaking from the broken mirror, causing the illness.
We agreed to enter the mirror and destroy it from the inside out, the only way to save the town and free Stepan of his bargain. That's when... things took a turn.
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When we arrived in the town, we discovered that some kind of unusual illness had broken out, that the locals were calling tallowthroat. It had affected even the captain of the village watch, and people were quick to blame it on the small population of fetchlings who were often discriminated against in the city. We managed to save some of those fetchlings from an angry mob, and they told us that Stepan had inherited the title of baron when his father and two older brothers all died within the same year.
Some of the team went to speak to the Baron and his wife, found him twisted with paranoia and fear about a fetchling uprising and the disease in town. They also noted that he had no shadow.
It turned out that the Baron had discovered an artifact in his ancient home, called a Midnight Mirror. [ she looks around, frowning ] I don't know how familiar you all are with the goddess known as the Maiden of Pain, but these mirrors are magical prisons used by her church to punish those who offend it. They're extraplanar prisons that host a connection to the Shadow plane, trapping the victims there, where they never age, and can be tormented forever.
This mirror hosted a prisoner from many years ago, one who had attempted to lead a fetchling uprising in the town hundreds of years before. The prisoner struck a deal with Stepan - the mirror would allow them to switch places by touching hands through it, and Nicasor, the prisoner, could inhabit Stepan's body for a year at a time, gaining some small measure of freedom. In return, he assured that Stepan would become Baron, helping trap his brothers in the mirror itself.
Stepan grew to regret his decision after marrying Anya and having a child, decided he would not fulfill his end of the bargain when the next time arrived to do so - every decade, they had agreed to exchange for one year. When he did not, Shadow material began leaking from the broken mirror, causing the illness.
We agreed to enter the mirror and destroy it from the inside out, the only way to save the town and free Stepan of his bargain. That's when... things took a turn.