Snow falls softly on a town dressed for the holidays, where lanternlight glows warm, hearths stay lit, and peace feels almost too easy to find.When people begin to quietly disappear—without fear, without struggle, without alarm. The party is drawn into a mystery that refuses to call itself one. Homes remain warm. Bread stays in the oven. Chairs sit empty, waiting for someone who may never return.As comforting traditions give way to subtle wrongness, the party follows whispers, rumors, and unfinished routines toward something the town insists is kind… even as it feels increasingly impossible.Part I ends at the threshold of a place that shouldn’t exist. Where warmth lingers, music waits, and every visitor is promised one simple truth:Everyone has a purpose.Part II continues next week.

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Syndicate Disclaimer:

By scale and by secret, we endure. The tales within this episode draw upon the great game of Dungeons & Dragons, used here under fair use for storytelling and camaraderie. The Scalebound Syndicate makes no claim to the trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, only to the memories forged at our table.

-Scalebound Syndicate High Command