Sleeping Giants Game 33

Intro

Jordan's Visions

You cut your hand with the ceremonial knife handed to you by the mute man, and let your blood drip into the pool of purple liquid in front of you. The blood and liquid mix together, and an image begins to form. It is a landmass, with a strip of forest roughly down the middle. The image changes, as though it is zooming in on the forest. It continues to zoom until several small huts are visible from above. It focuses in on one of the huts in particular. The image floats just outside of the hut, looking at the door as it opens.

Standing inside is the man you are looking for: Maximilian Steingard. He seems worse for wear, and is certainly not the shining paladin he once was. He says something, though there is no sound coming from the pool. He is greeting someone, someone he was not expecting. The image rotates, as if it is panning around to see who Max is greeting. And there, standing next to a small cloaked humanoid, is a man who Jordan can only barely recognize. Ford Bertrom, Private Investigator.

Before you have time to fully process what you are seeing, a ripple forms in the liquid and the image changes. You see your father, Jostan. He is sitting at his immaculate desk in the office of the High Priest that you’ve visited so many times before. A figure approaches him, slowly coming into focus as they do. Soon, you recognize the tall frame of Eva Thomsen, the Cardinal in charge of watching over James Madsen.

Eva elegantly walks up to the High Priest’s desk, and places an object on it. Her lips move to form words, but again you cannot hear what they are. Jostan lifts the object from his desk to examine it: it is a pair of shackles, completely unlocked and open. A wave of disappointment washes over him, as his gaze shifts beyond the shackles to stare into the distance.

Another ripple forms in the liquid, and the image changes one last time. This time you see a field. Trees dot the landscape, but no obvious landmarks are visible. The image lowers to the ground, focusing on a single tree with some shrubbery surrounding it. Two figures are near the tree: one is sat with their back against it, and the other is kneeling in front of them. As the image focuses, you see the face of the one sitting against the tree. It is none other than James Madsen, the man responsible for your severed hand.

The figure leaning in front of James is cloaked, and completely covered from head to toe. They reach out with a knife and cut the rope that is binding his gloved hands together. He says something to the cloaked figure, but you’re unsure if there is any response. From underneath the cloak, the mysterious figure pulls a small sack filled with what can only be coin, and tosses it at James’ chest. They then stand from their kneeling position, and in an instant they disappear into a cloud of shadow.

Just before the image cuts out and the pool of liquid returns to normal, you see the shrubbery that surrounds the tree begin to move. It takes the form of two small humanoids, created entirely of twigs and leaves. They hobble hurriedly after the cloaked figured, leaving only James behind.