House Manchester

The quaint city of Wyndsmere lies in the massively forested location known as the Woodland Cascades. An old noble house known as House Manchester watches over the land. Supposedly, it brings its people peace and comfort.
...But how far will they go to keep that peace?

Narnio

Prologue: Arrival in Wyndsmere

Arrival in Wyndsmere

Day One

House Manchester Prologue: Journey To Wyndsmere Colossus 12th, 1331 | October 12th 2018

– After discussions previously within the Manchester Estate in Divinity’s Reach, an invitation was sent by Venryk Manchester to the Refuge, beckoning the Refuge to visit the Free City of Wyndsmere— a large settlement stationed somewhere in the Woodland Cascades— and join in on the annual celebration which saw the city discuss relations with its allies. While hesitant of the invitation at first, Coryn allowed it to be spread around and soon enough a party consisting of Lilly, Kellam, Katherine, Isabelle, Tokemi, Launell, Ikaros, Moreera, Maya, Sunny, Coryn would be formed and joined by Corvus and Accipiter Aches, as well as their guardsmen Jinan and Basil, to set out to the Free City of Wyndsmere one late afternoon.

– The large group would arrive in Divinity’s Reach (with the exception of Ikaros and Moreera who would arrive hours later) and meet up with the guardsmen to take them on their journey along the cart ride. Included was the young guardsman Ulysses, the older and quieter Addan and if briefly the vulgar and careless Tellan. The former two would mount up onto the large cart and make their way through the city, along the way passing through Lake Doric on a rather sunny evening, whilst those who were willing rode alongside the cart on their own mounts. After passing through a checkpoint within the Harvest Cascades, the group journeyed further into the Cascades for much of the evening, coming across a variety of different fauna and wildlife along the way. Though the ride was uncomfortable, it was not without its vistas.

– Finally, the group found themselves approaching a hidden road blocked by a variety of vines, which after being moved by two cloaked figures through a nature magic revealed the impressive and fortified city of Wyndsmere. As carts and tents of various different houses, nations and other factions lined the main road, the group took a quieter path through to the commons district where they were finally allowed to stretch their legs. Unfortunately for the group, they weren’t greeted with the most pleasant of sights, as three individuals ahead would be seen arguing amongst themselves— the local butcher, Baldwig; the arrogant and pompous noble, Lord Fergus Verenzo ll; and the charming captain of the Manchester Guard known as Gallahand Greywood. Despite the noble’s absurd demands to the butcher, it took Gallahand’s assistance to stop the conflict and send the two on their way as politely as possible— not so politely to Fergus when he saw Sunny flip the bird at him. After a sincere apology, Gallahand welcomed the group to the city and escorted the large group to the Upper District for the beginning of the celebration to commence. It was there they saw the lord himself, Venryk Manchester, accompanied by three other individuals. A noble-looking charr, a human masked in white robes and a matching hood, and Fergus himself, three representatives of different organizations or nations.

– The group was promptly briefed by Venryk after being welcomed that they needed a representative from the Refuge and House Aches to stand up when names were called, for tradition’s sake. Corvus and Accipiter of course stood up to represent House Aches, and Maya was ~~forcibly~~ volunteered to represent the Refuge. After some hesitation, nervousness (and eyeboggling from Fergus) the group took their places either to watch the ceremony or wait for their group’s name to be called. First was Hiram of the Black Lion Trading Company, then came the Aches brothers, then Maya of the Refuge, followed by Lord Fergus of Kryta, and finally Sir Sebastian of the Silver Threads, the new representation of a reformed White Mantle. Unfortunately, the latter met a lot of understandable backlash from all sides of the crowd, even Lord Fergus. It took Venryk’s consolation of the crowd to call them down, and for the festival to properly begin. After being told to return in one to two hours for the actual delegations, the group made their way off to the various games and sights. Included was an archery range, a sparring arena, a drinking contest, a puppet show, a history of Wyndsmere and its people, various market stands of goods all around Tyria and those local to the Cascades, and a fortune teller stand. Most were, of course, promptly enjoyed by the group for the coming hours, until the toll of the bell marked the beginning of the delegations. Though some stayed behind for the rest of the festivities, many made their way off to attend the meeting.

– As the remaining party made their way inside the large and rather impressive estate belonging to Venryk, they were lead into a small dining room hall to sit and discuss trade relations. Hiram, the Black Lion Trading Company charr, allowed Wyndsmere to continue its trade negotiations, whilst House Aches decided to consider trade agreements, though there was some hesitation amongst the Refuge to get at all involved in treaties like that. Sebastian of the Silver Threads was denied his requests for his people to be allowed sanctuary in Wyndsmere, as well as any sort of trade agreement to keep neutrality with the Kingdom of Kryta. Before further negotations could begin, Lord Fergus began to make a comeuppance about Sebastian and the White Mantle, as well as many racist remarks to that of the charr and rest of the group. His loud mouth eventually angered most of the table, until it took Venryk to settle the scene once more and suspend delegations until Sebastian and Lord Fergus could settle their differences, both of which reluctantly agreed to do. The group and delegates were lead out by Ulysses to the lower district where they’d settle at a shanty of a tavern for the night. After some discussion, the group made their way to choose their rooms and settle in their beds for some much needed rest… A shame it didn’t last long…

Day Two

House Manchester Prologue: Journey To Wyndsmere Colossus 13th, 1331 | October 13th 2018

– Late in the night the Refuge was interrupted from their rest by Sebastian, who questioned where Lord Fergus had gone off to, having never met up with the man after all. Without much of a clear answer from the group he made his way off into the night, just as a loud scream could be heard from the Upper District which pierced through the night’s vale. As the group as well as various guardsmen closed in around the scene, the mutilated and dismembered corpse of Lord Fergus was seen hung on one of the flagpoles, with the collapsed fortune-teller Lorenzo Fantasmo to have discovered the body. As Venryk entered the scene, clearly expecting something of this, he ordered for the delegates remaining to be taken to their rooms and watched over in custody while the crime scene was investigated. To keep the possible culprit form fleeing, Venryk sent his men off to lockdown the city and keep this from reaching public ears any further. He went then to the least likely suspects of the case, the Refuge, asking them for assistance in the investigation. Though they didn’t have much of a choice, they agreed and sought to investigate the crime with the help of the recently arrived Tellan. It wasn’t long before the Refuge tracked the various clues and evidence to point towards the butcher, Baldwig, who mysteriously disappeared around the same time the murder scene was found. With this new information in tow, the Refuge went to Lord Venryk to report what they know and where he could have gone— and old shack that once belonged to him far out of city grounds. Though the noble himself was unfamiliar with the area, one of his guardsmen were, a man by the name of Benvick Blackwater stepped up to help escort the Refuge to the shed through the Wyndsmere Wilds, with the help of Tellan and Ulysses.

– After a long venture on-foot through the Cascades, the group found themselves in dense forest near a flowing riverbed, where they ventured into the old cabin of Baldwig. Inside they found tracks leading outwards, showing the man had fled the area once more. Inside, a small letter was left by Baldwig explaining his actions. Apparently, Lord Fergus had orchestrated the burning of a building near Baldwig’s where a possible White Mantle hideout was found, and to keep the blame off of him he placed it on the butcher, the only witness at the time. Upon hearing about Lord Fergus’ arrival to Wyndsmere, the butcher sought revenge, and quickly at that. He apologized to his family, to his wife and child, and stated that he hoped they would live well without him. With this new piece of knowledge in tow, the party made their way out, though some felt the brief presence of eyes following them. Tokemi and Launell stopped suddenly, a terrible scent reaching their nostrils which, when investigated appeared to be the decaying corpse of a man, a sign around his neck written as a warning— a warning from the local Quetzal tengu of the area to keep away from their lands or face judgement. The group was stunned, many fearful of the tengu’s nature and the true danger they could pose to the party. However, Benvick and others attempted to rally the group, the former stating that he had even fought Quetzal in the past, and that with numbers they could see it through the day. With this in mind, the group kept moving onwards, stumbling across the bloody trail of Baldwig leading to a small cave where he was hiding out.

– Baldwig was cornered by the group, though before long they found themselves cornered by the Quetzal, who positioned themselves outside the cave. The band of tengu recognized that the group was new to the region, and would allow the group to leave unscathed— so long as one would stay behind as punishment, most preferably to them that of Baldwig. The group however, chose otherwise, and after convincing Baldwig to stand back up as well as help mend his wounds, a plan was put into inaction. The group was mass stealthed as Launell and Coryn moved to manipulate the bushes outside to draw tengu attention, hoping to make them think that the group was fleeing a different direction. Not everything went according to plan though, as a hail of arrows rained down in front of the cavern, before smoke arrows were deployed. As the group made their way through the smog, the tengu took notice to the shifting of the clouds and opened fire, though through either sheer luck or skill from deflections through magic, the group were able to lure the tengu elsewhere and avoided confrontation.

– Baldwig was soon brought to Venryk to face judgement, though after the lord was told about Baldwig’s situation regarding Fergus, the man was allowed to live so long as he relocated to the safety of a norn settlement in the Northeastern portion of the Cascades. After thanking the lord, Baldwig made his way off and the group was rewarded by Venryk, the man allowing the Refuge and House Aches to visit again whenever they’d wish, also being thanked later by Hiram in gold for the help with clearing his name of the murder. Delegations continued later that afternoon, and before long many made their way back along the cart ride home, a sense of pride and also conflict within them about Wyndsmere.

– But at the very least, they did get cake.

Characters

Sunny Barrows

Maya Fiore

Moreera

Kellam Vulf

Lilly Sartini

Isabelle Delcroix

Chemicist Tokemi

Katherine La Via

Coryn Manchester

Accipiter Aches

Corvus Aches

Astralist Launell

Amaedon

Ikaros Gradius

Jinan

Basil

Ulysses

Addan

Tellan Fitzgerald

Lord Fergus Verenzo ll

Baldwig Bern

Captain Gallahand Greywood

Lord Venryk Manchester

Hiram Silvertongue

Sebastian

Benvick Blackwater

Act 1 Chapter 1 - Offroaded

Offroaded

Summary

House Manchester Act 1 Chapter 1: Offroaded Colossus 54, 1331 | November 23, 2018

– During a late evening in the Season of Colossus, Venryk had contacted the Refuge on the private communicator channel about sending Coryn’s father to Wyndsmere, so the boy could tell his father the truth with his mother present. Coryn of course, agreed to this meeting, and the Lord promised to contact him and the rest of the Refuge soon after for when he had arrived. In order to let other people come with him, as a few had some stake to the whole scenario regarding Coryn and his father, the young druid set a note on the Refuge’s tavernboard to invite others to come along when the day would come.

– Eventually, that day came. And the call was anticipated for a long while. Yet as time ticked on, uncertainty began to settle, until Venryk finally answered over the private communicator channel, with a warning that a large situation was afoot, and well armed people of the Refuge were requested to visit Wyndsmere as soon as possible. The message was spread to the public, and a large group consisting of Coryn, Katherine, Moreera, Kellam, Sola and Maya entered the waypoint. The group was met with a large crowd, and in front of them various guards as well as Hiram and Venryk, beside them also being a member of the Manchester Guards Marksmen: Damien. The trio approached the group as the guards held the crowd back, and Venryk began to explain that the cart carrying Coarson went off road somewhere near the borders of the Blackwoods. Damien was a part of the cart, and knew that some kind of large beast attacked the caravan, which also held special medicine Hiram hired the Refuge to return to the city. The conversation was momentarily broken as the Great/Bombastic/Magnificient Amaedon entered the scene, with which the group (begrudgingly) brought with them. In order to secure the Refuge group’s safety, Venryk ordered Gallahand Greywood: Captain of the Manchester Guard; Benvick Blackwater: A bastard and known traveler of the Cascades; Harvard Remmings: Benvick’s brother-by-law and experienced guardsman; and Damien: Leader of the Manchester Marksman to accompany. Once ready, the group left the Commons of Wyndsmere and through the various farmlands, where the familial Ikaros Gradius caught up slightly behind schedule, but was all willing to help Coryn find his father nonetheless.

– After quite the walk across the roads leading from Wyndsmere, the group found the scene of the attack, where the road was scuffled and signs of a cart veered off the cobblestone road. The group wasted no time in making their way to the foliage, arriving somewhere near the border to the Blackwoods. Immediately they followed tracks leading through the dense woodlands, past ruins supposedly belonging to the dwarves of old, and into a small clearing where the cart was seen in a wreckage, its cargo tipped over and its horses drained of all lifeforce. The crate Hiram wanted was amongst the cargo, which Coryn… immediately asked Ikaros to carry. Another familiar face was spotted in the distance, the robed man who had represented the Silver Threads at the delegations the month prior: Sebastian. He seemed to be knelt and hardly noticed the group until a few individuals approached him further. He claimed he was in the woodlands for his own reasons and saw the beast suck the lifeforce out of the horses nearby, though claimed he had no idea where any of the surviving members were located, aside from the possible idea that the nearby Brigands of Blackwood— a group of outlaws sticking near the borders of the Blackwood who were normally left alone by the Manchester Guard— may have seen where they went. Some quarrels were felt in the group however, particularly between Kellam and Gallahand over the motivations and lack of dealing with the Brigands from the Manchester Guard, as well as Harvard and Benvick, the latter claiming to have encountered the Brigands in a peaceful situation in the past. A large amount of infighting occurred before a few people decided to make the journey up the road to the large bandit fortress. With little choice left, the others followed suit.

– The group was heralded at the gates by a voice along the walls, who asked what business the Manchester Guard had in the woodlands. Though before further questioning could take place another voice spoke up to the previous, before after a few moments of tense waiting the group were allowed to see the ‘boss’ of the Brigands. They found themselves face-to-face with Hera of Stonesmill, ambitious leader of the Brigands of Blackwood. Hera explained that her group saw the trio of survivors running from a large shadowy beast of some kind, but before more information was to be provided the woman wanted to see what was in Hiram’s crate. The group opened it after some more arguments, some such as Gallahand having to keep the peace. Once Hera noticed that medicine was indeed inside the crate, she seemed to show some vulnerability and pleaded with the group to hand at least a few over so her group could remain healthy in the wilds for a while to come, offering to send some of her men with the group to accompany. After more discussion amongst themselves, Kellam eventually offered two vials to Hera, and offered more in the coming days. The woman accepted, and sent two of her men to guide the group out and later accompany them. After travelling a bit more they found themselves at the base of a cliff, large clawmarks along it. Rustling could be heard in a few nearby bushes which one of the brigands foolishly went to investigate. Out ran a doe, in typical fashion, followed by some kind of large, shadowy beast…

– Ikaros managed to pull the brigand back from the beast’s clutch, where it then attempted to assault the group directly. It was met soon by the full firepower of the group, critical strikes and slashes dealt from all around. Yet strangely, the beast refused to go down, in the meanwhile managing to severely injure Moreera and Harvard with large scratches that stung at their flesh. But there was only so much the beast could take, as it was soon driven off up a tree, climbing amongst the branches to escape as it sustained more fire. In a moment of calmness, the group moved to attend the wounded who were severely weakened. Sola noticed a drop of a black substance that was likely its blood on her hand, with which she collected with the help of Ikaros, the latter collecting the vial. Maya managed to take the injured off Moree and onto herself, whereas Harvard was given traditional medical treatment. Katherine decided to scout the cave ahead with Kellam and Damien, portaling them up, just before Amaedon stepped out of his cowardly cover. Coryn asked Amaedon to ‘be useful’ for once and portal the rest of the group up, with which the sylvari begrudgingly responded.

– The group soon entered a cavern sprawling with a carvings of a warning (in all capital letters) written in Old Krytan. The warning seemed to state that this was the tomb of the First Druid, and that all those who enter would have to turn back lest they face the consequences of their actions. Those consequences were then found when one of the brigands wandered too close to a small patch of mushrooms, a poisonous cloud leaking out which proceeded to asphyxiate the bandit, killing them in seconds. The group made their way through the hallway with this new knowledge, avoiding various traps including a large log which Moree managed to stop using her magic. Eventually the group found themselves in a large chamber, where up a path the three survivors were seen— Sarah Hardi, an experienced guard with her companion Sir Roger of Shaemoor, a raving artist who was more asylum-guaranteed than any of the other guardsmen. And of course, Coarson Manchester, who was thankful to see the rescue party’s arrival. Roger seemed to dig at some sort of grave, raving about a strange chalice inside of it, with which he pulled out shortly after much to Maya’s dismay. So much so in fact that she began to (figuratively) assault the man for it, snatching the chalice back just as the large beast entered the chamber through a large hole in the celing. It seemed to be consuming the body of a bandit, which healed the wounds previously gained, but was interrupted in its dinner by an array of cryogenic grenades thrown by Ikaros and Sola which freezed its body over, allowing most of the group time to assault the creature. However the beast managed to use some sort of magic against the group, summoning large tendrils behind them which bashed the group around a fair bit, covering them in the sticky and stinging fluid the creature seemed to be made out of.

– As Amaedon fell down their position right in the beast’s sightline, Coarson was hit severely by one of the tendrils and was knocked down for most of the fight. The beast began to charge forward at the sylvari after breaking free of its icy prison. The group continued to bombard the staggering creature with everything they had, Gallahand having Benvick cast a shield of aegis over him as he moved to drop and plunge his halberd down onto the creature’s back as it ran into position. However in an unexpected feat, Amaedon let out a loud roar of his own to combat the beasts, a series of vines escaping the earth as they moved like lances to pierce the creature’s body. There was little to be done against it, and the beast charged into its death, leaving the group to recover once and for all, the sylvari having little knowledge of what just happened. The chalice was retrieved and the injured were helped as the group made their way back out of the cavern. Sebastian was found near the entrance, knowing the group had killed the creature and was almost amused. Though the group was in contrast not amused at all, and ventured back to Wyndsmere. Once there, the injured were lifted onto stretchers and carried off, Coarson one of them, leaving just a handful of Refuge members and guardsmen with Venryk. He took the odd chalice from the group and promised Coryn that he could speak with his father when he recovered, and before long the group made their way off to do their things. Questions still, lingered as to where the beast came from, and what was truly held within the Blackwoods…

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