The Marquess

Insert linkIsolating, Faceless, Monolithic

East of the Brinkwood lies a sprawling countryside, but even away from the condensed swampland,  no freedom from the oppressive vampiric lords exists.  Enter the Marquess, a faceless vampire in a black cloak, green mask, and dark crown overflowing with blood, whose demesne creates small pockets of human life, village each kept separate from one another, each given debts to pay and punishments for failure. 

To sell out a traitor in your midst is to protect your kindred from being punished for their crimes. To even whisper treason is to invite the spectacular performance of the Ringmaster flaying you alive, or volunteer your body to the Alchemist's experiments.  Do not enter the woods in winter, for the Insidious will rip you to shreds for the crime of having a beating heart, do not enter it in the summer, or the Crimson Wall will show you the Marquess' reach is absolute. 

Who stole from the town coffers, causing this weeks taxes to come up short? Who is going to be offered as a sacrificial lamb to appease the Crownsguard? Which traveler is a member of Oculus in disguise? And should you meet the Void, will you have any chance of survival?

Art by Perplexing Ruins

All these questions may seem separate, divided, but that is what the Marquess would like for all to think. They hide behind their mask, letting each little town tear itself apart with fear and lies and isolation. But they are afraid, this you know. Because together, you would be strong.

This work is based on Brinkwood: The Blood of Tyrants (brinkwood.net), product of Erik Bernhardt and Far Horizons Co-Op, and licensed for our use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/).

Brinkwood: The Blood of Tyrants is based on Blades in the Dark (found at http:// www.bladesinthedark.com/), product of One Seven Design, developed and authored by John Harper, and licensed for our use under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)