Campaign: “A New Development”
Episode 15: Art of Deception
April 12, 2025
Trusting his gut, Korrin Vale placed the King of Clubs into the card slot above.
The puppet stage creaked to life. Curtains parted, revealing a miniature countryside—crop fields, silos, and painted wooden props.
A puppet king emerged in modest robes, flanked by two soldiers. One lit the fields. The other, the silos. Cutout flames rose. Smoke-colored cloth unfurled. Within seconds, everything burned.
Shadow puppets of invaders appeared, halted—then retreated. The curtain dropped… and rose again.
Now the land lay charred but intact. The king handed bread to his people. Starving puppet soldiers collapsed in the distance, clutching empty bowls. Their nations would not survive.
Korrin stared at the still stage. He burned it all… to save his people.
Then—a whisper in the dark.
You chose well
Szelden stepped into the light, her voice low.
The king knew. Remove the prize. Make them starve.
She paused. He was a rogue.
Korrin listened. Carefully.
The rival guilds want power—my influence over the orcs and goblins. We’ll let them believe I’m dead. You rise as the hero. And when they lower their guard…
Her eyes narrowed. We strike. Like famine.
Or…
she offered, we stage a fight. The guild watching. They’ll name you master. Rivals will come—thinking you’re weak. And from the shadows… we strike again.
Korrin assumed power would return to Szelden either way. But he considered other options—ones she hadn’t mentioned.
He could strike her down. Here. Now. End the madness before it began.
Or vanish. Escape. Bring the truth to her enemies. Let the guilds burn from the outside.
Her voice returned. Your trial is over
she said. But your choice begins now.