Whispers of the Voidbringer (The Voidbringer Campaign Book 1) Read online

  Contents

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Letter from the Author

  OGL

  Product Identity: The following items are hereby identified as Product Identity, as defined in the Open Game License version 1.0a, Section 1(e), and are not Open Content: All trademarks, registered trademarks, proper names (characters, deities, etc.), dialogue, plots, storylines, locations, characters, artwork, and trade dress. (Elements that have previously been designated as Open Game Content or are in the public domain are not included in this declaration.)

  Open Content: Except for material designated as Product Identity (see above), the game mechanics referred to in this product are Open Game Content, as defined in the Open Game License version 1.0a Section 1(d). No portion of this work other than the material designated as Open Game Content may be reproduced in any form without written permission.

  Copyright © 2021 M. Allen Hall

  Cover by federikary

  All rights reserved.

  For Logan, Madison, and Amelia,

  who know to never split the party

  PROLOGUE

  “PLEASE, AMELIA!” MADISON begged her younger sister. “Please come play with us."

  “Yes, Amelia,” Logan joined in. “We really want you to play. And Dad said this is going to be a full campaign! Not just random battles. Three players are so much better than two.”

  Amelia glared at her brother. “You’re just saying that because you need a cleric,” she countered. “Why don’t you just play both characters? You’re always bossing me around when we play, anyway.” She turned her focus back to the book she was reading.

  “He won’t boss you around!” Madison said quickly. “You get to choose everything for yourself. You can build your character and choose all the spells. Right, Logan?” Madison glared at Logan, hoping he wouldn’t try to correct her.

  “Right,” Logan reluctantly agreed. “I promise not to boss you around. I’ll just give helpful advice.”

  Amelia raised an eyebrow at him.

  “And I’ll only give advice when you ask for it,” he finally conceded.

  “And you’re going to share the loot and stuff. No more hoarding the magic items?” Amelia questioned, laying out the terms of the agreement.

  “Absolutely!” Madison said before Logan could respond. “Everything will be fair.”

  “Fine. I’ll play the cleric,” Amelia said as she put her book down. “Where are we starting?”

  CHAPTER ONE

  “ROSE?” HALFRED WHISPERED. He waited.

  “Rose,” Halfred stated, a bit louder this time. He sighed as he leaned heavily on his golden staff. Another moment passed.

  “Rose Fairfoot! It is time to wake up!” shouted Halfred, his cheeks turning red above his long, silver beard. Halfred Potts stood at the round door to Rose’s bedroom, tapping his foot beneath his gray robe. He glanced at the symbol of the rising sun that sat atop his staff and muttered under his breath, “Selaia, give me strength.”

  At that moment, the door in front of him burst open, nearly knocking him over. He yelped in surprise as he swung the staff around to keep his balance. Rushing through the doorway was a young halfling woman, her tangled, brown hair covering most of her face. Her robes were of the same gray color as Halfred’s, but they lacked the gold trim and details that came with his position as the high priest of this temple to Selaia. Around her neck hung a golden amulet bearing the same symbol as the top of Halfred’s staff. Her hands clutched a small prayerbook nervously in front of her, which she dropped as she reached out to help steady Halfred on his feet.

  “I am so, so, so sorry, Halfred!” Rose exclaimed. “I was just, uh, finishing up my morning prayers.” Her voice trailed off at the end of the sentence, and she looked down and tried to smooth some of the wrinkles out of the front of her robe. She made a half-hearted effort to sweep her messy hair behind her ears, but most of it ended up back where it had started. Only now did she notice the prayerbook that had dropped at her feet, and she quickly bent down to retrieve it.

  Halfred heaved an exasperated sigh. “Very well. In that case, I would advise completing your chores sometime before your midday prayers. Otherwise, you will barely have time to fit in your dinner before your evening prayers.”

  He slowly made his way down the tunnel away from Rose’s room, his staff tapping lightly on the smooth stone floor as his slight form shuffled along. Once upon a time, he had been rather tall for a halfling, standing nearly four feet. But the weight of years of service had left him hunched, relying on the staff to navigate the tunnels of the temple.

  “Thank you, Halfred!” Rose called after him. She made one last attempt to brush her hair out of her face and another to smooth out her robe, neither of which was successful. She placed her prayerbook back on the table next to the bed, took a single pink rose from the vase on the windowsill, and pinned it onto her robe carefully. She then set out to complete her daily tasks of cleaning and tending the garden on the hill into which the temple was built.

  The sun was approaching the top of the sky as Rose finally began her chores within the temple’s garden. She slowly moved from one bed to the next, pulling weeds from around plants that were just starting to bear fruit as spring turned to summer in the Mossy Hills. From the garden, Rose could see well into the Virdes Forest to the west, and she found herself quickly growing distracted by the gently swaying trees of its green expanse.

  “Val, it’s time to run!” Adelaide shouted up at the thin half-elf that was peering down at her from the tunnel opening. Adelaide scrambled up and out of the hole, brushing red-hot embers from her bare arms. “That was definitely a trap, and someone knows we are here!”

  Valduin let out a loud sigh as he tightened his grip on his crossbow. “I told you that I was better at checking for traps than you. Besides, you can’t see in the dark. Next time I go in first, and you stand guard.”

  “It was not dark in there! And this is not the time to be having this discussion,” Adelaide replied as she pulled herself to her feet and took a moment to survey the surrounding forest. She could hear the sound of many small feet running up the tunnel behind her. As she peered through the settling dust from the explosive trap that she had triggered, there was a sudden flurry of movement in the bushes on either side of the two treasure hunters. Bursting out of tunnel openings that had somehow been hidden from view were dozens of small, brown, scaly creatures. The creatures ran on two legs and wore patchwork bits of
leather and hide armor. They were snarling back and forth in a language neither Valduin nor his human friend Adelaide understood.

  “Kobolds! I knew it!” Adelaide shouted at Valduin as she took off running east through the woods. “We’re going to have to try to make it out of the forest. Maybe lose them at the river.”

  Valduin briefly considered firing the crossbow but decided instead to focus on getting out of the woods as fast as possible. He ran after Adelaide as the kobolds began hurling rocks at them. Each time a kobold paused to sling a rock, Adelaide and Valduin’s lead grew. They each took the occasional hit from the barrage of stones, but they pressed forward. The number of kobolds managing to keep pace with them gradually diminished as the subterranean creatures struggled through the thick undergrowth of the forest.

  Moving at full speed through the wood, Adelaide did not know what other creatures might be taking notice of their retreat. She was sure, however, that the pack of kobolds would make short work of them if they slowed down. Neither Adelaide nor Valduin had any interest in being taken prisoner and forced to work in the kobolds’ mines. On they ran.

  By midafternoon, Rose had completed her day’s work tending to the garden. She was just finishing up loading her tools into her cart when movement on the edge of the forest caught her eye. Two tall figures had just emerged from the tree line and were moving quickly across the intervening meadow. The tall ones were followed closely by what looked like a pack of small, brown creatures. At this distance Rose could not quite make out any details of what either party looked like, but she could tell that they were heading toward her temple. As quickly as she could, she ran down the hill, pushing her cart of gardening tools ahead of her. She left the cart at the base of the hill and ducked into the cave that held the main entrance to the temple.

  Within the cave, which was about twenty feet deep before it ended at the circular door bearing the symbol of Selaia, she hid herself as best as she could among the large rocks. She considered fleeing deeper into the temple, but she was curious about the approaching figures. She stayed low and listened for the footsteps that she knew were coming.

  Her heartbeat pounding in her ears, she quietly recited a prayer to Selaia as she tried to gain control of her breathing.

  “When the shadow of evil falls over my heart, Selaia will bring the light.

  When the temptation of evil touches my mind, Selaia will give me strength.

  When the corruption of evil poisons my land, Selaia will purify.

  When the power of evil threatens my home, Selaia will be my shield.

  Selaia, guide my footsteps, and my path will ever lead to you.

  Selaia, watch over me, and my soul will forever be yours.”

  Glancing over her shoulder, Adelaide counted only six kobolds remaining in the group that was chasing them. They had been running for several minutes now, and they were both starting to tire.

  “We need a plan,” she said to Valduin, who was breathing hard, this chase clearly wearing him out. “If we can break line of sight with them, we might be able to hide and let them run past us. I don’t think I can make it to the river at this rate.”

  “Let’s head around that first hill,” Valduin suggested breathlessly after taking in the upcoming terrain. “Maybe there will be something on the far side to duck behind.”

  Adelaide grunted her agreement. She did not have the breath to say another word while they dashed toward the hill.

  As Adelaide and Valduin cut across the edge of the hill, they saw the rocky outline of a cave entrance. Without hesitation, they both threw themselves into the cave. They scrambled on hands and knees to hide behind some loose rocks as they tried to catch their breath. Valduin drew his crossbow and shakily aimed toward the cave mouth; Adelaide wiped the sweat from her hands and unsheathed her two handaxes.

  The pitter-patter of the kobolds’ steps slowed to a stop. Adelaide guessed that the little lizards knew that they were hiding. In the moment of quiet as the kobolds searched, Adelaide took a chance to glance around the cave they had hidden in. She was surprised to see a round, iron-reinforced, wooden door about ten feet away from her. There was a golden emblem of a rising sun in the center of the door. She was even more surprised when she made eye contact with a brown-haired halfling standing just five feet behind Valduin’s crouched form.

  “Hello there!” the halfling broke the silence of the cave with what seemed to Adelaide to be an overly cheerful greeting. “I’m Rose.”

  “SHHHHH!” Adelaide brought a single finger up to her lips as she tried to shush Rose, but it was too late. Valduin was so startled by the unexpected voice behind him that he pulled the trigger on his crossbow, loosing a bolt out into the sunlight. The ensuing flurry of movement outside the cave could only mean that they were now cornered by the pack of kobolds.

  “Come on out, intruders!” shouted a squeaky voice that held on to the s at the end of intruders for just a half second too long. The kobold was speaking Common now, but then it reverted to the guttural barks and snarls of what Valduin assumed was Draconic.

  Adelaide looked at Valduin with wide eyes. Valduin had spun around and was now looking at Rose in confusion and surprise. Then his eyes fell on the pink rose affixed to the halfling’s robe, and the flash of an idea crossed his face.

  “I need this,” he said to Rose as he reached out and snatched the flower. He proceeded to grab the bloom in his fist and tear the petals free from the stem.

  “Hey! That’s mine!” Rose protested, but it was too late to save her flower.

  “There are a half dozen kobolds out there, and they are a little upset with us,” Valduin hastily explained. “I have one trick up my sleeve, but if there is anything you could do to help us out, we could really use it.” With that, Valduin nodded to Adelaide, stood up, and stepped toward the mouth of the cave.

  “What are you doing?” Adelaide shrieked as she watched Valduin begin to chant in a language that she had never heard him speak before. His right hand traced a pattern in the air, leaving a faintly glowing, green glyph hovering in front of him. He then threw the handful of rose petals that he had in his left hand through the glyph, and they absorbed the pale green energy and hung in the air in front of him for a moment. Completing the incantation, Valduin pointed through the cluster of floating, glowing rose petals at a space in the middle of the approaching gang of kobolds. Silently, five of the six kobolds dropped to the ground as the rose petals fell at Valduin’s feet. Adelaide’s mouth hung open in shock.

  Watching Valduin draw the glowing glyph in the air, Rose reflexively grabbed her symbol of Selaia out from under her robe. “When the power of evil threatens my home, Selaia will be my shield,” she recited in Halfling. To her surprise, the amulet began to glow with a faint golden shimmer, which quickly spread around her entire body. Emboldened by the sudden divine warmth that embraced her, Rose smiled and then walked purposefully past Valduin and out into the bright sunlight. After surveying the fallen kobolds, she looked at the one kobold left standing.

  “I suggest you run along back to your cave. You are not welcome here within this temple of the Watchful Mother,” Rose proclaimed with a confidence that even she did not expect of herself.

  The kobold did not reply in Common or Draconic, but rather drew a dagger and charged toward Rose. Rose froze in place and cringed, bracing herself for the sting of the blade through her robe. But as the kobold brought the dagger up toward her chest, the golden energy sparkling around her condensed on the blade and stopped it before it could touch her. The kobold shook its head in confusion. It then snarled at Rose in frustration before looking to move past the halfling into the cave. Adelaide had just come out of the cave, and she was preparing to throw one of her handaxes at their last standing foe. Before Adelaide could attack, however, Rose raised her hand. When she opened her mouth, this time it sounded as if another voice, deeper and much larger than Rose’s, spoke each word in synchrony with the halfling.

  “I command you to flee,” R
ose stated as the golden shimmer around her seemed to be sucked back into the amulet. The kobold looked at Rose with fear in its face at the immensity of the voice coming from her slight halfling form. It then turned its back on Rose and dashed away around the hill, back toward the forest.

  “Did you just use both of your spell slots? On Sanctuary? And Command?” Logan asked incredulously.

  “Yeah. Why?” Amelia replied, unfazed by Logan’s attitude.

  “You didn’t even check if we needed healing!”

  “You ALREADY used your ONLY spell slot,” Madison interjected, defending her sister. “And when they all wake up, what are we going to do?”

  “Warlocks don’t get a lot of spell slots!” Logan said, becoming defensive.

  “You said you weren’t going to boss me around!” Amelia shouted as she stood up from the table. “I get to use the spells I want to use. Or I’m leaving.”

  “Okay, okay, okay,” Logan quickly tried to placate Amelia. “You’re right. Everything is fine. Besides, we still have most of the minute that the Sleep spell lasts,” Logan explained, reviewing the description in the rulebook. “I think we’ll be able to get out of this.”

  “I hope so,” Amelia said, slowly sitting down again. “I don’t even have any gear yet to help in a fight.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  “QUICKLY! WE HAVE less than a minute before they all wake up,” Valduin said to Rose and Adelaide in a hushed voice as he rushed out of the cave.

  Adelaide moved forward, both handaxes still drawn. “It’s going to get a little messy,” she said to Rose as she positioned herself above the nearest kobold. “You might want to head inside.”

  “You can’t!” Rose protested, trying to move between the motionless kobold and the advancing human.