9/20/2018 – The rangers traveled to the Vesper Museum based on a report that a painting there had become “active”. Upon arrival they encountered a “growth” that had emerged from an enchanted painting and several minions of Shadow Stroke lurking the halls of the museum. After putting down the infestation a strange figure of a man seemed to emerge from the painting. He did not seem hostile and asked the rangers if they had any intention of destroying the painting in which he dwelled. Later in their conversation he revealed certain mysteries and histories about the enchanted paint and Shadow Stroke. The paint, originally a fairy concoction that was later enhanced by human alchemists, was known by its ancient name “Dath Beatha”, and though it had the ability to tap into the mind of an artist to imbue their work with the potency of their imagination, it likewise caused madness in the artist. The painted figure himself even suggested that he may have been one of the old master painters that had managed to acquire the paints, only to become lost and contained with his own work, but no longer was able to remember exactly.
Shadow Stroke, on the other hand, was a master painter that was said to have been mad well before he ever acquired his own set of Dath Beatha. In the course of his life, his madness had been calmed when he came to have a relationship with a woman he loved deeply, but when he acquired the enchanted paints he desired to paint the most magnificent portrait of her. And so, as he worked he became so profoundly fixated on his project that he began to love the woman in the painting more than the real woman. When his lady attempted to rescue him from his obsession he lashed out at her, spewing hatred and rejection. Distraught, the lady took her own life, only by the time this had happened he become so lost in his own work and had imbued it with so much of madness that when he learned of his lady’s death, his mind finally broke completely and became engulfed in darkness. It was then that he transformed into something like a monster, and entered an ancient slumber deep within the painted realm until the necromancers of Yew awakened him.
When asked if there was some way to fight Shadow Stroke, the living painting indicated that as the Dath Beatha was originally a creation of the fae, it was perhaps them that might hold an answer. Armed with new knowledge the rangers traveled to the fae village north of Sacrifice in Ilshenar and by good fortune encountered a fairy that called herself Meep. Meep hinted that she seemed to know a recipe for a weapon to fight the enchanted paint with, but would only provide assistance for the rangers if they promised her a future favor. Though not knowing what the favor could be, the rangers accepted and Meep gleefully began her task of brewing magical paint thinner.
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Shadow Stroke, on the other hand, was a master painter that was said to have been mad well before he ever acquired his own set of Dath Beatha. In the course of his life, his madness had been calmed when he came to have a relationship with a woman he loved deeply, but when he acquired the enchanted paints he desired to paint the most magnificent portrait of her. And so, as he worked he became so profoundly fixated on his project that he began to love the woman in the painting more than the real woman. When his lady attempted to rescue him from his obsession he lashed out at her, spewing hatred and rejection. Distraught, the lady took her own life, only by the time this had happened he become so lost in his own work and had imbued it with so much of madness that when he learned of his lady’s death, his mind finally broke completely and became engulfed in darkness. It was then that he transformed into something like a monster, and entered an ancient slumber deep within the painted realm until the necromancers of Yew awakened him.
When asked if there was some way to fight Shadow Stroke, the living painting indicated that as the Dath Beatha was originally a creation of the fae, it was perhaps them that might hold an answer. Armed with new knowledge the rangers traveled to the fae village north of Sacrifice in Ilshenar and by good fortune encountered a fairy that called herself Meep. Meep hinted that she seemed to know a recipe for a weapon to fight the enchanted paint with, but would only provide assistance for the rangers if they promised her a future favor. Though not knowing what the favor could be, the rangers accepted and Meep gleefully began her task of brewing magical paint thinner.
Continue reading...