Episode 2: The Crimson Drum

After several hours on the road, the two horses pulling the wagon begin to tire and need to rest. The gang notices a lone inn called the Crimson Drum along the road, and decide to rest there for the night.

The innkeeper, an elderly woman called Ivana, seems surprised to have guests. She explains that business has not been good recently due to rumors the Drum is haunted. The adventurers agree to investigate as they stay the night.

During the night, they hear banging noises coming from the hallway. Leaving Milla safely in their room, Kika and Fan narrow down the source of the sounds to a locked room at the end of the hall. Breaking down the door, they discover a painting of a middle-aged tiefling man wearing a blue, red and gold uniform, with a crystal star badge. They also discover a red drum under a sheet. When Kika taps the drum, a group of ghosts becomes visible for a split second, circling the drum.

The adventurers are interrupted by a scream from the staircase, where they see a female dragonborn spirit wearing a similar uniform to the tiefling portrait seemingly under attack from a spectral dog. Fan commands the dog to leave, and it does so. The dragonborn spirit, too, disappears.

Kika and Fan notice Ivana is suspiciously absent. They investigate the rest of the guest rooms and find six more portraits like the one of the tiefling, one of each major race in Panterra. All have different colors of crystal star badge.

They eventually are led by one of the ghosts to a hidden door in the dining room, and descend to find a puzzle. The seven crystal stars from the portraits are sitting in front of a stone panel, with star-shaped slots in it. Kika brings the drum and hits it, revealing the ghosts, who reveal the star formation to unlock the door.

Inside, they find Ivana playing some kind of strange chess-like game with the tiefling ghost. She explains that the ghosts have become more active in recent months and seem to want something from the living, but the only thing that seems to help is coming to this room and interacting with them, despite the limited nature of these interactions. The rest of the ghosts are sitting at a long banquet table in the room, reliving an old memory also depicted in a painting above the table.

Before they can investigate further, a three-headed spectral dog appears and attacks the ghosts. The adventurers intervene and destroy the dog.

Investigating the room, Kika discovers a journal with the majority of the entries torn out and missing. Only one entry remains:

“''Day 1. I cannot help but think we have made a mistake. Freedom is a right of all, and we have taken that away.”''

Kika comes to the realization that these ghosts may have been the founders of Panterra and the ones who created the barrier. They decide to stay another night in an attempt to get more information.