The Apocalypse Chimes ring throughout the world.
This is not the first time.
The adventuring party are members of each civilization in this decaying world, elected by their people to delve into the Lone Tower and stop the chimes before all is lost.
The chimes have been ringing for the past five years, and the fabric world has been fraying with it. The only habitable space left in the world is a small island, upon which the Lone Tower resides. The remaining four civilizations in the world have come to an uneasy peace as they deal with the world around them. They managed to trace the source of the chiming to the Tower. In an attempt to save what little is left of the world, each civilization has elected a representative to form an adventuring to ascend the Tower.
The one-shot begins with the party arriving at the tower, having introduced themselves to one another on the ride up. They look up at the tall stone tower as the caravan that brought them departs. The only entrance to the Tower, large double wooden doors, lay open, inviting them into the dark expanse beyond.
At the top of the Tower in a large chamber are the Apocalypse Chimes, four large chimes hanging from the roof. Each one represents a different aspect of the world: Space, Life, Water, and Civilization. The only chime that has yet to begin ringing is the final one, Civilization, as evidenced by the existence of the four civilizations still outside the Tower. Aside from the stairs leading up from the last room, the only connections to the outside are a large window and a single door. As the party approaches the chimes overhead, the door creaks open, and three individuals step out:
- Gribb
- A plasmoid, his movements have become slowed and deliberate. Some parts of his gooey body have begun to calcify, evidence of his old age. He is from the First World. Despite the murals showing two people from the First World, he is the only one remaining.
- Yahenni
- An aetherborn, their ethereal body kept contained under dark robes. They are far more silent than the other two survivors, always looking longingly out through the window. The murals depicted a whole cloud of aether entering the tower. It seems as though Yahenni is all that is left.
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