First Landing Spooky Costume Anniversary Party

As night fell upon First Landing, a mysterious individual showed up in The Blinking Pug, bringing ominous warnings of an invading threat. The eclipse occurring soon will allegedly mark the start of this invasion.

The following morning, all seems normal. It is a clear day, and the strange individual from yesterday seems almost forgotten. Until, two hours after the guildhouse opens, it gets a little colder, as if a cloud has moved in front of the sun. For those who look up, they'll instead find a dark circle encroach on the sun, almost like someone took a big bite out of it. 

As it becomes apparent that there is indeed an eclipse going on, the townsfolk become a nerveus buzz. Some leave their workplaces to watch.

Over the course of about thirty minutes, the sun grows more and more obscured. As the eclipse progresses, the moon seems to be moving slower and slower, inching away the light. 

Then, at the moment of total eclipse, there is a suddenly silence. Not only does the buzz around town grow quiet, so does the rest of the surroundings. You wait. A minute goes by. Four. Five. The moon is not moving. Ten minutes. An unnatural worry begins to take hold. Why isn't it moving anymore? Why did it stop?

Then, in the dusky light of the eclipse, dark clouds start to gather. Not large angry storm clouds, but wispy, shadowy things. They hang low in the air, and from the town walls one could see them touch down on the ground as mist. There is movement in the shadows.

A bell rings through town. The guild is declaring an emergency.

Shadow creatures begin to assault the town to take The Portal, forcing adventurers to rise up and put a stop to them.

The beginning of the end was rather dramatic. A devoured sun, an ominous moon, a thunderstorm perpetually brewing in the sky, like a horrible potion in a hag's cauldron. Now, the apocalypse enters its second act, and total darkness settles over the lands. Reach out and touch it, if you dare; hide, and it will touch you. 

The Guild Scouts exit the Portal, one by one, having urgently recalled from wherever they were. They tell stories which walk the line between campfire fiction and genuine horror. Some don't say anything at all, and might possibly never speak again. 

Then, villagers from the outskirts of First Landing arrive, either also through the Portal, or through the gates. Their tales are not reassuring, and many are carrying every belonging that they could bring with them.

Some bring corpses, too. 

Townsfolk shut their doors and windows tight, barricading - or outright sealing - themselves inside. How safe can a mausoleum be? 

The gates are eventually closed, and guards are patrolling the walls, bringing with them the last remnants of day - torches, lamps, candles. Civilians follow suit, clinging desperately to tiny lights. There is a lot of crying, a lot of pain. In the vast shadow behind the walls, where fire cannot touch them, deeper shadows lurk, prowl, lair, scheme, plot - hunger. 

The skies are darker than dark, like a long-decaying cadaver. The moon settles comfortably in its dirty, cloudy furs. Even the stars are barely there; those that can be seen are falling down, down, down. Where do they land, and what do they bring?

Fighters rush to their positions, and dark things stalk the alleys.

In the sky above, a swarm of flying things circles in a large ring.

There's clamoring at the walls. They've arrived.

The struggle in First Landing still rages, but some of the attackers have let up their pressing assault. It seems the defenders are holding strong. The hour the eclipse started the day before is approaching, and some of the people think they can see a glimmer, one side of the glowing ring shining from behind the moon being brighter than the other.

Could the end finally be near?

A crack of sunlight now definitely appears. Attackers are departing, fleeing back into the dark fog that surrounds First Landing.

Then, suddenly, the crack widens. The strange discoloration of the moon fades out, and over the course of only a few minutes releases its grasp on the sun in the sky. The veritable cloud of flying shadow creatures dispersed about an hour ago, but the few straggling drakes become see-through in the sunlight, as the rays burn away at their form. Most of the smarter enemies have already vacated the field of battle.

The sounds of battle quiet, and the town breathes a collective sigh of relief. The assault was weathered, thanks to the efforts of many of the town's reliable explorers.

Over the course of the following days, the extent of the damage will reveal itself. Losses in the scout corps. A ruined guild hall. Crops in the fields destroyed. Several civilian casualties, mostly among those who stayed to protect their property. Overall, the damage could have been much worse, but the Guild successfully defended the portal from the attackers. First Landing has survived its first proper trial.

After the valiant efforts of the people of First Landing to fend off the Shadow Siege, the winner of the costume party was announced to be Kakkariel, for his costume as a jester. For his dedication, he received an Elvira's Cookie Jar.