This one-shot was played in Jan 2026. It was set in the city of Anheim within the High Kingdom of Jørdheim on Teer.
The characters were:
Græfíl - M Mammori-Haanari Huscarl War Cleric (Aaron)
Hildur - F Orc Sage Stars Druid (Daibik)
Nadia Yevgen - F Tiefling (Abyssal) Investigator Hexblade Warlock (Suneha)
Pomelo Amici - F Aasimar Folk-Hero Glory Paladin (Ben)
Eirik - M Cloud-Goliath Soldier Zealot Alt-Barbarian (Vijay)
Yrsa - F Human Courtier Crown Paladin (Jouweria)
We open in a city called Anheim, an old elven city close to the eastern coast of Teer. Originally built as a settlement by a group of snow elves that migrated to Teer, the buildings are mostly of elven make and architecture, that have been reinforced and built upon over the centuries. We see Pomelo Amici, an Aasimar paladin saying farewell to her father as she heads off to meet one of her closest friends, Hildur, at the selection tournament arena, an annual festival-cum-tournament to appoint new Verndar, the Jarl's chosen knights. There, she meets her friend, and Hildurs mentor, Ulf Farman, the cities Master of Grain. The group exchange greetings, as they see a young Goliath Barbarian getting frustrated at being denied entry into the tournament. Ulf asks the two of them to join him and help him out, as it might make their main task of keeping the tournament participants alive easier.
Soon after, the group sees another member of the council, Vidal Gunnland, walk toward the arena, bringing with him the fourth and fifth members of this party; Yrsa, a human paladin and a proven Verndar with ambitions of higher stations, and Nadia, a Vampire Warlock who's acting as a cartographer for Vidal's shipping and trading company. After some introductions, the party decides to participate in the tournament together, and enter the arena. There, they're immediately flung into battle, which they make easy work of. However, as the fight progresses, participants that had died in the arena seem to magically come back to life, in the form of Draugers. The arena is in disarray as participants and spectators alike try to escape. One spectator however, Bior Thorson, a retired Verndar general and now council member, jumps down from the stands and helps the party in dispatching if this unknown threat. Similarly, a Mammori Cleric Verndar called Graefil, who is our sixth and final member of our party, also makes his way down. As they deal with the threat, the remaining spectators cheer for the party. Jarl Olvir asks Graefil to bring the party to the Royal Court.
Upon meeting the Jarl, and his hand, Elmyra Naefiel, and old Snow Elf, the party is praised for their bravery, albeit, with some racist undertones from the Jarl. After Hildur clarifies her understanding of the situation and how rogue spirits seemed to have overtaken the bodies of the dead, he asks the party if they could investigate this matter further, telling them that since the tournament was cut short, this can be their way to proving their worth to join the ranks of his chosen knights. He also orders Yrsa and Graefil to help with this task. He informs them about Sindri, an old Archeologist who has been taking accounts of these rouge spirits and their appearances.
Upon meeting Sindri in the market district, he tells them about the recent excavation he conducted and how it might prove his theory; that long ago, the old Kingdom of Anheim fell as the souls of its residents were bound to the land itself. He mentions that the evidence he had for this theory was stolen before he could ever turn it to the relevant authorities. However as the conversation progresses, an arrow bursts through a nearby window and pierces Sindri in his heart. Upon chasing and and capturing the assassin who did this, it is revealed that he is a member of the Allied Resistance, a resistance group that oppose the Jarl and its monarchy.
Upon heading to one of the nodes of the resistance, Pommy is surprised to find her father, Calvin, amongst the members. Pommy expresses her disappointment in her father, who is surprised at hearing of the assassination of Sindri. Calvin tells them about the artifacts they stole but swears to know nothing of the assassination that took place. They peacefully go to the leader of his node, called Galahan. There, Galahan echos the arguments they had heard from the assassin; about the indifference of the Jarl to non-humans and how they wage campaigns to further alienate them. As this conversation goes on, they see a glowing artifact from under Galahan's desk. The artifact seems to be a branch of the original World Tree, encased in a crystal with runes on it. The session ends, as they take this artifact outside with them to see a large circle of similar ancient runes floating over the skies of Anheim.