Drulissa's Domain

 Cold, wet, and slush-covered lanes best described the city of Qeynos in January. The cold, salt-smelling air, mixed with the constant mist and grey skies, lent a dreariness that belied the city’s radiant optimism, the one time of the year when a cold darkness took hold of the streets and avenues. Lady Alustrae D’Arbene stood on the naval docks of Qeynos Harbor, her daughter Opalynna by her side, along with her Royal Guard Asuka. She sighed as she watched her luggage being unloaded and put onto the back of a cart. “Will we be in the city for a while?” Asuka asked, the drops of mist already adorning her gold armor. “No,” Alustrae said, “just in town for the annual Royal Court meetings for the new year, the parliamentary boards, position appointments, treasury meetings, and Ambassadorial Service yearly planning sessions. After this, we are back in the jungle to finish the matter with the hellfire weapon and put an end to that once and for all.” “Understood, Milady,” Asuka said with a...

"What is this about?" Royal Guard Asuka said as she adjusted her gold armor, having hastily gotten dressed in the middle of the night. She walked towards Qeynos Castle with the rest of Alustrae's group, dedicated servants of the Qeynos Ministry of Justice. The elven sisters Angelaya and Kaliaya walked ahead of her, meeting Lady Alustrae and her daughter Opalynna at the end of the bridge over the castle's moat. "Security breach at the castle," Alustrae said. "The Queen is calling us all in." In moments, the group stood in the Royal Reception Room as Queen Antonia Bayle entered, her anger apparent. "There has been a security breach," Antonia said, her voice filled with authority. "Someone entered the Queen's Chambers. Information was shared with me by a trusted source, which gave me reason to doubt the effectiveness of this entire investigation." Alustrae and her team were quiet, as was the rest of the group, who stood nearby....

Ophyila stood on the deck of the ship, staring out at the open sea. She could hear the waves crashing against the hull, and the smell of saltwater filled her nostrils. She looked back at the crew, a group of burly sailors who were working to keep the ship afloat. "So, what's the plan?" she asked. The captain, a grizzled human, grinned. "We drop you fools off at Dead Mines Island, and then we wait, but not too long. Got another shipment of goods to pick up from Freeport." "Sounds good," Ophyila said, turning back to face the ocean. The ship sailed towards the shore, and she could see the island's outline ahead. It was a small, barren place, with little vegetation. As the ship drew closer, she could see the remnants of a ruined city, long since abandoned. "Rich in iron ore," Captain Ashvale said, "Very little else here. It is rumored that the ancient dwarven city of Karanath was here before the Sundering. There is an old dwarven fortre...

 Reports came in from the Harbor District that a small, local candle shop specializing in custom candles had exploded, taking out the first floor of the shop and damaging the row houses above. No casualties reported, but injuries have been reported. The shop's owner and staff are still reported missing. Queen Antonia Bayle and the Qeynos Department of Justice are working closely with the Mage's Guild to determine the cause of the explosion. Qeynos City Guard is currently on scene, investigating. The area has been blocked off, with city laborers and those a part of the City Construction Guild assisting in cleanup efforts. Some say that the candleshop must have had specialized crafting stations for working on magical candles, and an accident while crafting led to a severe feedback loop, causing a chain-reaction explosion. Rumors from ships in the harbors, and visible on the docks, indicate that the most severe damage is isolated in the back of the shop, which some say was o...

 Alustrae rode across the windswept plains of the Thundering Steppes, a scarred, torn, and hammered land full of craters hundreds of feet deep, and cut in half by a massive canyon filled with the dead. It was a dangerous land, a place of ancient battles and fallen civilizations, a testament to the power of the gods and their wrath. A place that should be avoided at all costs, but where the wickedness had decided to make their home. Somewhere out here, an evil soul had hidden a group of hunting dogs, crossbred with dire wolves, and trained to hunt Ratonga. And she was not the only one searching for them. The Qeynos Royal Court and the Crimson Inquisition were working together, trying to find the evil menace, but so far, no luck. But now, two suspects leaving the Festival of Unity had entered the Stepps, and her team was following them wherever they went. Two Freeblood vampires, by the name of Cainan and Saphra Duskthorne, had left the Festival and, by chance, managed to ...

Gadilus lay behind the eave of a third-story roof, watching the candleshop below. The blond ranger kept his bow within reach as he watched the morning crowds amble along the street below, and for all they knew, he wasn't even there. The candleshop had been implicated in selling ritual candles to a secretive group of demon cultists in town, and he watched and waited for the owner to open the shop to handle the afternoon crowds. None of the general populace knew of this shop's secretive deals, and the Crimson Inquisition wanted to make sure that their suspicions were correct. Either the shop owner knew what he was making. Or the shopowner has been lied to and had no clue. He didn't know which answer he'd rather have. He didn't want to drag the innocent into their business, but the Inquisition had a reputation to maintain. Especially when they were invited to work in this city, Qeynos of all places, where the two kingdoms were still technically at war with each other. ...