The Emon Shadowdance
The Emon Shadowdance
“To find the sanctum, one must follow the fox and avoid the wolf.”
— Hook · investigation
“You have tracked Dr. Kraye to the bustling streets of Emon, but the city's crowds feel thinner than they should. Somewhere between the steam-tunnels and the spires, he holds the key to the Temple of the Vacant Heart. You must stay close to his shadow without becoming the next shadow he leaves behind.”
— Hook · investigation
The damp mist of Emon's evening settles over the Scholar's Ward as Dr. Alistair Kraye steps out of his carriage, clutching a heavy, obsidian-bound tome to his chest. You watch from the eaves of a nearby library, the rest of your party miles away, while a cold chill down your spine suggests that you are no longer the only ones watching.
Arcanist Vexen (via Sending)
Vexen contacts the two split members through a frantic magical message, warning them that their target is moving toward a ley-line convergence.
Rumours
d4 · table- 01Dr. Kraye was seen buying forbidden soul-receptacles from the Clasp's black market.
- 02A legendary shadow-weaver named Vespera has been sighted near the Cloudtop District.
- 03The Temple of the Vacant Heart only manifests when two specific bloodlines are in proximity.
- 04Sewer workers have reported hearing rhythmic chanting beneath the Scholar's Ward.
If Kraye succeeds, he will trigger a localized chronal collapse that could erase the Cloudtop District from existence.
Background Lore
Dr. Alistair Kraye is a disgraced academic from the Alabaster Lyceum who believes the Temple of the Vacant Heart contains a mechanism to rewind local time. The temple is a phase-shifted structure hidden within the foundations of Emon's oldest ward. Kraye lacks the power to open it alone, so he has allied with the shadow-assassin Vespera Thorne, who serves a patron interested in the temple's dark secrets.
The party must track Dr. Kraye through Emon's districts to discover the location of a legendary hidden temple before he can plunder its artifacts.
