The Voices Beyond the Road
A story preview featuring Mavren Gourdgrave, the Gloaming King and Lord of the Last Lantern.
Before the Campaign
The Voices Beyond the Road takes place before the events of Holiday: The Shattered Cheer.
During a celebration in Halloween, Mavren Gourdgrave notices an unnatural fog settling over a nearby road. When someone calls for help, it quickly becomes clear that something isn't right. This is one of four short stories introducing the rulers of Holiday's kingdoms. Each can be enjoyed without knowing the campaign's story. The complete version will be released separately. For now, here's a preview.
Mavren Gourdgrave chuckled to himself as he finished his cup and watched the children chase each other between wagons and beneath the long, crooked tables. Each wore a mask they had refused to remove all evening. It had been a good celebration on the road outside Gloamwick. He walked to one of the remembrance poles, where long, sturdy ribbons of woven cloth hung in autumn colors. Each carried the name of an absent loved one. As the musicians packed their instruments and people began extinguishing the lanterns, Mavren read the names. He made a point of doing so every year. When he turned toward the road, he was the first to notice the unnatural fog swallowing the parked wagons and the horses tethered beside them.
“Well, Mavren, I must say that—” Alfred began. Then he noticed the thick fog, which had reduced everything more than thirty feet away to a silvery white blur. Fog itself was not unusual this late in the year, but fog thick enough to erase the road in the span of a breath was another matter. Somewhere farther down the hill, a loud crash sounded. Mavren was moving before the first shouts of pain and terror reached them. At the road, six people had gathered around a wagon that had slipped into a ditch and tipped sideways. Its driver was unhitching his mule and speaking soothingly to it. Mera, one of the celebration’s organizers, lit a torch and held it before her, but the flame reached scarcely beyond her arm. It was little more than a yellow smear in the fog.
“Wait, where is Pell?”
No answer came. Then someone from the fog yelled, “Here! Help me!”
Three people started toward the voice, but Mavren caught one of them by the shoulder and said, “Wait. Something isn’t right.”
“Help, please. My shoulder…it hurts.”
The woman holding the torch said, “That is Pell. He needs help! Why can’t we go and help him?”
“Just wait.” Mavren stepped close to the road’s edge. “Pell! What did you spill on my boots not an hour ago?”
Only silence answered. Then the same voice came from another part of the fog. “Help me! Please, come help me!”
End of Preview
Thanks for reading this preview of The Voices Beyond the Road. The complete story will be available on the BooneBerry Press website following its release.