Hyrule Chapter 1

Risk of Reward is the first chapter of the Hyrule campaign, Shadows of the Light Realm. The player characters started the chapter at level 5 and were brought up to level 6 by its end.

Player Characters

 * Conrad
 * Eon
 * Hyle
 * Lynn Souchalte III
 * Roscoe
 * Toby

Non-Player Characters

 * Appa
 * Calidalia Fragrine
 * Clifford Linebeck VII
 * Francis Carlisle
 * Garian Cortinet
 * Grim
 * Grisha
 * Happy Mask Salesman
 * Harkon
 * Hela
 * Impa
 * Jorulph Kardiger
 * Link
 * Marin
 * Rupert Barnaby
 * Shahana

Notable Creatures

 * Big Octo
 * Darknut Malice Knight
 * Dead Hand
 * Darknut

Locations

 * Hyrule
 * Akkala Province
 * Fortae City
 * Temple of Darkness
 * Central Province
 * Aboda Village
 * Castle Town
 * Faron Province
 * Port Faron
 * Rudan Pass
 * Whittleton
 * Lanayru Province
 * Wilingard City

Sessions

 * 1) Returning Voyage
 * 2) Darknut
 * 3) A Chance Meeting
 * 4) Golden Harvest
 * 5) Red Messenger
 * 6) That Which Lies Below
 * 7) Black Armor

Summary
The chapter began after the Hyrule Party boarded the S. S. Ciela and departed from Hateno Island after the retrieval of the golden shard from the island's temple. Hyle spoke with Jorulph Kardiger, discussing with him the events that took place on the island and the vision Hyle had when he touched the artifact. The ship was then attacked by a Big Octo that was defeated swiftly by the party—a strange event, according to the S. S. Ciela's captain, Clifford Linebeck VII.

When the ship arrived back in Port Faron, the party was met with a caravan of soldiers from the Hyrulean Royal Army that was set to escort Jorulph and the party back to Castle Town. Before they could disembark, they were confronted by Rupert Barnaby, Lynn Souchalte III's attendant whom Lynn hadn't informed of his journey to Hateno Island. Some party members also noticed that they were being watched by a cloaked figure that was quick to make themselves scarce.

On the journey through the Faron Province after several days of journey, the party was ambushed by a Darknut Malice Knight and several hylian soldiers who had been corrupted by Malice who were after the golden shard. During the battle, all but six of the caravan's guards were slaughtered while the party fought to protect them and Jorulph. When the darknut reached the carriage where the golden shard was located, it climbed on top to where Hyle was and stabbed him several times through the chest, killing him almost instantly. Upon seeing this, Lynn climbed atop the carriage and finished off the darknut with a critical hit, causing it and its minions to fade to dust.

The party tried with all their might to bring life back into Hyle to no avail. After a moment, the figure that was them, revealed to be Sir Link of Linden, swiftly approached the group on horseback and used a Fairy Crystal to resurrect Hyle. While this was happening, Hyle had a vision of himself floating in an endless void, staring up at the menacing eye of The Calamity, hearing a constant whisper of "join with me" in his head before being pulled back to the light.

Link escorted the party to Whittleton, a nearby town, so they could rest for the night, leaving behind the remaining soldiers to clean up the mess the battle caused and bury those they could. On the way there, he explained his experiences with Malice and his knowledge of Darknuts and his reasoning for trailing the caravan. Link was requested by Jorulph to stay a certain distance away from the caravan in case anything would happen or if any unwanted eyes were upon the artifact, not expecting such a powerful foe to attack. In Whittleton, the party went to the Bleeding Bulbo Inn, where they were met with Grim and Hela, two paladins of Gomess, the Sleeping God, the former of which they found in a one-sided barfight. Link requested Grim and Hela, who had recently taken care of some undead nearby, to escort the party the remainder of the way to Castle Town as he had to move on ahead to tell the king of all that had transpired. That night, Hyle checked on his wounds, which he had realized weren't healing, only to discover the fatal wound was covered with a thin layer of swirling Malice that repulsed beings with divine power.