As most of the group passed a night in Corrin's dungeons, the party's Foulden fugitive took refuge in the western North Moore Forest, across the North River from Corrin. There he followed a creek westward until dark, then made his way north, intending to make it to Reid his own way. His path was blocked, however, by a nearly impenetrable wall of vines and thick undergrowth which he followed east until it took a turn northward. Finding a suitable place to make camp, he had to rid it of a hostile vine before doing so.
His sleep was disturbed by a foraging wolverine, which Calings had the incredible natural charm to befriend. Having named it Toby and providing it with a drink and a bed, he fell back asleep with the tamed beast licking berry juice from his fingers.
As they Mystic Ranger slept, he had a vision of a man, severely wounded and stranded at the bottom of a ravine through which the creek he had been following flowed. The man was young and handsome but for the pallor of his condition, and bore the crest of Corrin on the breast of his leather armor. Upon waking, Toby was gone, and Calings knew his path must be diverted for the sake of the dying man.
Finding him along the creek in the ravine as he had seen, feverish, delirious and with a severely broken leg, Calings took some precautionary measures to secure him should he become violent when brought around. With his arms and the good leg secured to nearby trees, he used the powers of the Spirit to at least get the bones of his leg bound again by flesh. Roused by Calings' efforts, the man was grateful but wary given his disposition and bindings. Calings proceeded to interrogate the man, who turned out to be none other than Rufus, the son of Lord Daris of Corrin. He had set out on a routine day of trapping, but had found the most unusual sight of a bear cub in one of his traps near the ravine, just above where he now lay. As he was collecting the trap, mama bear showed up in her baby's defense and startled the young noble right off the edge, putting him in the injured and helpless state Calings found him in. Rufus hoped to enlist his rescuer's help in hunting the bear, which Calings wisely declined to offer alone.
For his part, Calings remained cryptic about his reasons for being in the forest, his destination, and most of all, why he wouldn't assist the young man back to Corrin. He did gain some valuable information about the ale from Reid, most importantly that it primarily came from a single brewery owned by a man named Aritus. Despite his cooperation, Calings was obliged to leave Rufus in his still injured state while he went in pursuit of his still unstated mission. The mystic at least untied him before going on his way, and Rufus was nonetheless grateful for his assistance, promising help in Corrin if ever he needed it.
Climbing out of the ravine, Calings did indeed find a savagely destroyed trap near the top that must have held the cub Rufus mentioned. Despite his declination of services to Rufus, Calings tracked the bears away from the site, and came upon mama bear within an hour. Fortunately, the wind and his skills were on the ranger's side as he assessed the bear, rummaging through the undergrowth and behaving exactly as a bear should. Returning to the site of Rufus' initial encounter with the bear, Calings set a type of spring trap with a tree branch and returned to the beast's foraging grounds, finding it there still, and still unaware of his presence.
Getting the bears attention and rising it's ire with a couple of thrown rocks, he got the bear to chase him back to his trap, only it wasn't intended for the bear at all. Instead, the intrepid woodsman used the spring of the tree limb to carry him over the edge of the ravine just as the bear caught up with him and lunged, intending for it to take the same tumble as our stranded prince and hopefully, receive the same disabling wounds. Unfortunately for our hero, the bear managed to grab hold of the edge of the ravine and scramble back up beneath his dangling form. After a missed attempt at a dropping strike on the bear's head, Calings found himself face-to-face with the huge black bear as it reared up a full two heads above him and roared it's challenge.
Knowing the odds of surviving a straight-up fight with this woodland terror, Calings took an unorthodox approach to dealing with the bear. Mimicking it's posture, he sought to throw it off by roaring back. Miraculously, the ploy succeeded and the bear relented long enough for the ranger to get in a swipe with his claws of steel. As the bear re-engaged, an arrow sank into it's side from the ravine below. Rufus called up to the foreigner in wonder at his methods as the battle went on, the unlikely duo wearing the bear down until Calings was able to deliver the coup de gras.
The bear dispatched, Calings gave it a shove over the lip of the ravine to provision Rufus below, who again thanked him and promised favor in Corrin should he return.
Having spent himself on the fight and subsequent healing, Calings decided to get on with his original purpose and set out northward through the forest to Reid, following the creek once again as it turned that direction. After some minor harassment of a bear cub and near encounter with papa bear, he found himself following a marked hunting trail. After coming upon an apparently permanent but empty camp, the trail led to a lodge on the shore of a lake attended by one of the hunters. There he found out about unusual animal migrations from the eastern wood into the western, which explained the origins of the rare creature he had just dispatched and it's family, though the hunter had no theory to explain the exodus from the east.
Staying the night at the welcome of the hunter, Calings set out the next morning for the road across the river that his companions had followed the previous day, following his host's directions to a ford to avoid having to utilize Corrin's ferry. Making his way until nightfall, he camped beside the forest road before setting out in the pre-dawn for the forest's edge, and the wayside beyond, where his companions awaited the morning to depart for Reid....
Monday, September 3, 2012
Friday, August 31, 2012
Oooooh, slides!
I've just added the "Overview Slideshow" tab to the blog, featuring the Kingdom Overviews I presented during the initial session of the Chronicles at Colosseum Games. It's been buggy for me so far, so I've added the link to the glorious, fullscreen version in a comment. It appears to also be a bit buggy, since the controls weren't visible for me and I had to hunt for the tooltips to operate them. No biggie, and better than cut off slides. Anyways, it's here by popular demand of the players, so I hope you enjoy!
Monday, August 27, 2012
Session II Summary
Varial, being the only unwanted free man left in the party, made his way to the North Moore Inn after a survey of the manor grounds dissuaded him from attempting a jailbreak for the heavy guard presence there. At the Inn he met an Elf with a glowing symbol on his forehead named Iran (ee-RAHN), who is seeking his dead Wizard brother to recover the family heirloom he was carrying, and is now causing Iran’s forehead to be so illumined. Varial also met the Inn’s resident entertainer, a Dwarf named Borar who was passed out drunk and whose only entertainment consisted of falling off the stool that Varial kicked out from under him.
As for the incarcerated members of the party, each got a talking to before being released. Ozu and Jadek were addressed by the village guard’s captain, who cleared the air about their intentions before letting them go for having nothing official for which to hold them. As it turns out, they were merely acting in what they saw as the the best interests of a young baker’s daughter and the village at large when it was in danger. Nonetheless, one of their party did manage to break into Lord Daris’ house and steal a valuable document, for which he demands retribution. The good captain therefore banished them from the village, rescinding Lord Daris’ offer of free lodging, and saw them separately to the Inn. Both the Sorcerer and Cleric responded with a great deal of contrition and respect, though the former didn’t exactly go quietly...
Jace’s conversation with Lord Daris was similarly themed. While the noble understood the Paladin’s intentions, the violations of his trust were too many and too severe to be ignored: causing insubordination among his guards, completely disrespecting his herald and breaking into his home, all while mourning the loss of his beloved wife, were not things taken lightly by the man. Adding to all of that, of course, the actions of Jace’s associates had somewhat lessened the Lord’s hospitable spirit. So, for consideration of Jace’s intentions and their greater mission at hand, he also was set free and sent to the Inn, having made strong oaths to return Lord Daris’ property as soon as possible, and by whatever means.
With everyone now at the Inn, Jace ordered an uncustomarily strong drink which sent him quickly into a drunken rant at the group, scolding everyone for their actions last night and asserting that things would go differently from now on. Insisting on also having words with the “glow stick”, as Iran had become sarcastically dubbed by Varial, Jace not so gently roused him to accost and interview him regarding his brother, his brother’s profession and whereabouts for the last several months. Seems that Jace has it out for the Wizard who killed his brother, whom he has tracked thus far to the Moorelands, and suspects this may be him. After some gentle ribbing from his more sober companions, and a few outbursts from the likewise inebriated Dwarf, Jace eventually became satisfied that Iran was on the level about his own brother, Aran. He explained that his wizardly brother has been estranged from the family for decades, though they have a long thaumaturgical lineage. When the family crest appeared on Iran months ago, he set out on his own search for his prodigal elder, which has led him to the Moore as well. Iran can’t account for his brother’s whereabouts for at least several years, but knows he must be dead for the symbol to have been activated, and that his remains lie in the North Moore Forest. He would readily accept the party’s assistance in finding Aran and the heirloom, which Jace had the presence of mind to promise consideration of in the morning.
When said morning came, the group did indeed consider the Elf’s proposition at length, weighing it’s relevance to the mission at hand of investigating the Moore calamity and hotly debating multiple options for dividing the group to accomplish both missions at once. In the end, when Iran was asked for input to the debate, he urged the group to stay on task for now; he has waited months to find his brother, he can wait a few more days for the completion of such an important matter. Thus it was that the party did decide to stay the course to Reid for now, and attend to Iran once they had fulfilled their present commission.
Between Corrin and Reid lies the North Moore Forest, in which the group found some trouble in the form of bandits demanding a toll be paid for the use of the “Red Raven’s” road. After a short and ineffective parlay, steel met steel as arrows fell from unseen archers in the trees. Most fell harmlessly amidst the combatants but our Sorcerer fell to a grievous strike, followed by an odd bird call from the forest canopy. Fortunately, Jadek the nearly impervious Gnome was quick to respond, only drawing a scratch from his assailant as he fled to his companion’s side to tend his wound. Varial also was quick in his dispatching of both Jadek and Ozu’s attackers, while Jace finished off the robber’s captain, quickly followed by the only other left in the melee. Once the men on the road had been dispatched, two human-sized birds took flight from the trees above as two more arrows struck the ground. Varial loosed a killer missile at one of the avian creatures, and as it tumbled down the branches to the ground two more hidden bandits made their break for the eastern woods. Jace gave chase to the men, catching up with one as he tumbled over a fallen branch. His interrogation was short, since he refused to answer any questions about the Red Raven. Jace mercifully gave him two chances to answer his questions before cutting off his head.
On his way back to the road, Jace met Varial as he concluded his search of the bird-man. He wore some light leather armor beneath patchwork robes, and carried nothing but a dagger and shortbow. However, his beak had been pierced with a ring from which hung a red feather. The other bandits were similarly lightly equipped, but their trove not far off yielded a fair amount of gold for the party’s trouble.
Fortunately, the rest of the forest passage was untroubled, and the party emerged at dusk with the small Fork Wayside in view. There, the party headed straight for the Fork-Inn where they settled for a contrastingly uneventful evening to the one they had spent in Corrin. They did manage to learn a few more things about the goings on in Reid as well as the surrounding area. It turns out that a Reid guard passing through to find out her father’s fate in Moore had seen the questionable ale depart Reid’s very gates, appearing as normal as could be for the journey south. She also informed them that Reid has cloistered itself since the Moore tragedy, and that the owner of the brewery which supplied the majority of the ale, a man named Aritus, has taken the position of Councilman since the former Councilman Reid died there. Otherwise, as far as she knew, all was as usual in the rural community, including the regular but not too frequent goblin raids on Reid.
The Inn’s proprietor was also a Reid native, though she didn’t get up that way much. She could confirm, however, that ale still came in daily from her brewery in Reid, and it was just fine for drinking, thank you very much.
The innkeeper herself mentioned hearing that a witch had settled into the eastern North Moore Forest, and that bandit activity seemed to be down as of late.
In all, between the conversations at the North Moore Inn and the Fork-Inn, the group had plenty of material to sift through and consider. Besides all the above, there were reports of slaving Ogres who were harassing travelers on the road north to Dhungen Post, and mention of something digging tunnels beneath Reid’s breweries (which the aforementioned guard and proprietor could not confirm). However, no one had seen or heard of bird-men, or knew anything about the Red-Raven.
The group retired for the night in the comfort of the wayside Inn with much to ponder, and the prospect of arriving in Reid in the morning pressing on their minds.
As for the incarcerated members of the party, each got a talking to before being released. Ozu and Jadek were addressed by the village guard’s captain, who cleared the air about their intentions before letting them go for having nothing official for which to hold them. As it turns out, they were merely acting in what they saw as the the best interests of a young baker’s daughter and the village at large when it was in danger. Nonetheless, one of their party did manage to break into Lord Daris’ house and steal a valuable document, for which he demands retribution. The good captain therefore banished them from the village, rescinding Lord Daris’ offer of free lodging, and saw them separately to the Inn. Both the Sorcerer and Cleric responded with a great deal of contrition and respect, though the former didn’t exactly go quietly...
Jace’s conversation with Lord Daris was similarly themed. While the noble understood the Paladin’s intentions, the violations of his trust were too many and too severe to be ignored: causing insubordination among his guards, completely disrespecting his herald and breaking into his home, all while mourning the loss of his beloved wife, were not things taken lightly by the man. Adding to all of that, of course, the actions of Jace’s associates had somewhat lessened the Lord’s hospitable spirit. So, for consideration of Jace’s intentions and their greater mission at hand, he also was set free and sent to the Inn, having made strong oaths to return Lord Daris’ property as soon as possible, and by whatever means.
With everyone now at the Inn, Jace ordered an uncustomarily strong drink which sent him quickly into a drunken rant at the group, scolding everyone for their actions last night and asserting that things would go differently from now on. Insisting on also having words with the “glow stick”, as Iran had become sarcastically dubbed by Varial, Jace not so gently roused him to accost and interview him regarding his brother, his brother’s profession and whereabouts for the last several months. Seems that Jace has it out for the Wizard who killed his brother, whom he has tracked thus far to the Moorelands, and suspects this may be him. After some gentle ribbing from his more sober companions, and a few outbursts from the likewise inebriated Dwarf, Jace eventually became satisfied that Iran was on the level about his own brother, Aran. He explained that his wizardly brother has been estranged from the family for decades, though they have a long thaumaturgical lineage. When the family crest appeared on Iran months ago, he set out on his own search for his prodigal elder, which has led him to the Moore as well. Iran can’t account for his brother’s whereabouts for at least several years, but knows he must be dead for the symbol to have been activated, and that his remains lie in the North Moore Forest. He would readily accept the party’s assistance in finding Aran and the heirloom, which Jace had the presence of mind to promise consideration of in the morning.
When said morning came, the group did indeed consider the Elf’s proposition at length, weighing it’s relevance to the mission at hand of investigating the Moore calamity and hotly debating multiple options for dividing the group to accomplish both missions at once. In the end, when Iran was asked for input to the debate, he urged the group to stay on task for now; he has waited months to find his brother, he can wait a few more days for the completion of such an important matter. Thus it was that the party did decide to stay the course to Reid for now, and attend to Iran once they had fulfilled their present commission.
Between Corrin and Reid lies the North Moore Forest, in which the group found some trouble in the form of bandits demanding a toll be paid for the use of the “Red Raven’s” road. After a short and ineffective parlay, steel met steel as arrows fell from unseen archers in the trees. Most fell harmlessly amidst the combatants but our Sorcerer fell to a grievous strike, followed by an odd bird call from the forest canopy. Fortunately, Jadek the nearly impervious Gnome was quick to respond, only drawing a scratch from his assailant as he fled to his companion’s side to tend his wound. Varial also was quick in his dispatching of both Jadek and Ozu’s attackers, while Jace finished off the robber’s captain, quickly followed by the only other left in the melee. Once the men on the road had been dispatched, two human-sized birds took flight from the trees above as two more arrows struck the ground. Varial loosed a killer missile at one of the avian creatures, and as it tumbled down the branches to the ground two more hidden bandits made their break for the eastern woods. Jace gave chase to the men, catching up with one as he tumbled over a fallen branch. His interrogation was short, since he refused to answer any questions about the Red Raven. Jace mercifully gave him two chances to answer his questions before cutting off his head.
On his way back to the road, Jace met Varial as he concluded his search of the bird-man. He wore some light leather armor beneath patchwork robes, and carried nothing but a dagger and shortbow. However, his beak had been pierced with a ring from which hung a red feather. The other bandits were similarly lightly equipped, but their trove not far off yielded a fair amount of gold for the party’s trouble.
Fortunately, the rest of the forest passage was untroubled, and the party emerged at dusk with the small Fork Wayside in view. There, the party headed straight for the Fork-Inn where they settled for a contrastingly uneventful evening to the one they had spent in Corrin. They did manage to learn a few more things about the goings on in Reid as well as the surrounding area. It turns out that a Reid guard passing through to find out her father’s fate in Moore had seen the questionable ale depart Reid’s very gates, appearing as normal as could be for the journey south. She also informed them that Reid has cloistered itself since the Moore tragedy, and that the owner of the brewery which supplied the majority of the ale, a man named Aritus, has taken the position of Councilman since the former Councilman Reid died there. Otherwise, as far as she knew, all was as usual in the rural community, including the regular but not too frequent goblin raids on Reid.
The Inn’s proprietor was also a Reid native, though she didn’t get up that way much. She could confirm, however, that ale still came in daily from her brewery in Reid, and it was just fine for drinking, thank you very much.
The innkeeper herself mentioned hearing that a witch had settled into the eastern North Moore Forest, and that bandit activity seemed to be down as of late.
In all, between the conversations at the North Moore Inn and the Fork-Inn, the group had plenty of material to sift through and consider. Besides all the above, there were reports of slaving Ogres who were harassing travelers on the road north to Dhungen Post, and mention of something digging tunnels beneath Reid’s breweries (which the aforementioned guard and proprietor could not confirm). However, no one had seen or heard of bird-men, or knew anything about the Red-Raven.
The group retired for the night in the comfort of the wayside Inn with much to ponder, and the prospect of arriving in Reid in the morning pressing on their minds.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Session 1 Summary
Our heroes arrived in Moore, the seat of the frontier kingdom, for it’s annual Brew Festival. The city was alive with celebration as families from throughout the north flocked there to partake of the festivities and free ale from Reid, the Moore’s premier provider of the beverage.
After an uneventful entrance to the bannered and bedecked city, Jace attempted to warn Markus Jerryl, the captain of Moore’s guard and lord of the newly established Fort Eastguard of the potential threat his fugitive sorcerer from the Ash Valley could pose to the festival and the thousands gathered there under his watch. Jerryl none too politely dismissed the foreign paladin’s counsel and went about his rotation among his men’s stations. It seemed that there was always some threat against the people of the frontier, and Jerryl wasn’t about to evacuate the city for one more from an unknown source.
As the festival neared it’s climax with the arrival and distribution of the free Reid ale, most of the yet unacquainted and all foreign party chose to forego the offer and just observe the native tradition. Ozu, however, partook with the festival-goers as Councilman Moore, the chairman of the ruling council, gave the traditional toast to officially kick off the festivities. Fortunately for the sorcerer, the ale didn’t have the effect it did on many others in the crowd as the square quickly filled with the sounds and smells of retching. Most of the thousands gathered fell violently ill, many so that they would never rise again.
Adding to the crowd’s woes, more than twenty of the Reid-supplied barrels burst open to produce goblins who jumped into the sickened mass with violent abandon, cutting down all in their path and producing a terrifying panic among the people. One even made it’s way to Councilman Moore, beheading him amid the throes of his own sickness. The monster’s celebration was short-lived, however, as Jerryl ran him through and rallied the crowd to fight. The party and several peasants answered his call and the malevolent interlopers were all slain in moments. Ozu’s magic missiles blasting amidst the master dual-sword and scythe-work of Calings and Jace were the goblin’s worst undoing, though the others weren’t exactly slack in their efforts in the fight.
When the dust settled, the cries of the victim’s loved ones filled the square and Jerryl demanded answers from the Reid cart-drivers who had brought the ale from the northern city. The drivers swore ignorance and were arrested, after which Jerryl put out another call to the people, this time to tend to the sick and wounded. Jadek and Calings both put their talents and powers to use in the task, while Ozu and Varial did what they could to ascertain the properties of the tainted brew. Ozu’s magical inspection yielded nothing, but Varial was able to identify the contagion as a natural substance that seemed to him to be associated with vermin.
Jace, in frustration at what he saw as a preventable attack, accosted Jerryl for his inaction after his earlier warning. Again the captain brushed him off, scolding him in turn for his finger-pointing when there were so many around them in critical need of help.
At the appointed time, the members of the party all gathered in the Moore Council chambers, where Jerryl commissioned them to go to Reid and investigate this calamity. So it was that our band of adventurers came together for the first time and were united by the cause of justice...and better beer!
The next morning, as the group departed the city amidst the mourners, Jace took the lead in proposing strategies for their approach to the investigation which were mostly met with indifference. This only made it easier for his suggestions to become their plan, since there were no dissenting ideas.
Calings, moved by compassion and empathy for the thousands coming to the city to find out their loved one’s fates, showed his concern for a particularly forlorn traveller by taking a moment and spending a bit of his power to impart The Spirit’s blessing as he passed by. The man was speechless in his anxiety, but deeply moved by this foreigner’s care for him.
After passing by the outlying farms and villages of Moore and coming to the open road, the party spotted several man-sized creatures take flight from the eastern horizon toward the northeast, but decided after a short deliberation to press on northward to Corrin, their stopover for the night before traversing the North Moore Forest.
Upon arriving at the small village, the heroes were surprised to find it virtually devoid of activity until they were met by the local lord’s herald, Gavin, who informed them that the town was in mourning for the Lord Daris’ wife, Lorin. He extended the lord’s apologies that he could not host them in the manor for the night, but offered the hospitality of the local brewer and baker at the village hall. Of course, the North Moore Inn just up the road remained an option. Many of the party found the mood of the village and the behavior of it’s lord suspicious, and paid Hilde, the aforementioned brewer/baker, a cursory visit at best before making their way out to dig for answers.
Ozu, the only one to more fully engage with their hostess, overwhelmed her with the (modestly embellished) gruesome details of the festival the day before, which heightened her concern for her daughter, Erin, who was out a little too late at the village’s river ferry docks awaiting her lover’s return from a day out trapping in the western North Moore Forest. Summarily assigned the task of convincing her to come home, he set out and found the lovesick girl waiting as her mother had described. Unfortunately for the socially inept sorcerer, his repeated details of festival-goers corpses “stacked like cordwood” failed to charm the lass into seeing the follies of her too-late-going vigil and come home. Hilde understood her daughter’s stubbornness, however, and cheerfully provided him with more bread.
Meanwhile, the rest of the party dispersed between the manor and the local temple. Jace and Jadek at the latter made inquiries of the priestess there into Lord Daris, his wife and what she thought about all that was going on in the village. She informed Jace that she was concerned for Daris. He didn’t seem to be taking his wife’s death well at all. Seeing this caused her to be concerned for the village as well, and what might become of it without Lorin; not that Daris is cruel or in any way a bad man, but his wife was the heart of the village, always showing kindness to all and giving as much as she could to see to everyone’s well being and happiness. As Jadek began his devotions, Jace left to see what could be done about Lord Daris’ spirits.
As the Paladin made his way to the manor grounds, Calings and Varial were making their way into the manor house, having snuck along the river to it’s rear. Calings scaled the houses log wall without difficulty while Varial made his way around the front to provide cover from a tree from which he could survey the grounds.
Jace had little difficulty talking his way past the guards at the manor gate, but Gavin would hear none of his persuasions at the front door. His lord was in no state to be receiving visitors, and had ordered the house shut to all besides. When it came to threats of staying the night in the dungeon instead of accepting Lord Daris’ generous offer, Jace withdrew...to the side door, which he found unlocked.
Calings also found the second-floor windows unlocked, into which he slipped, finding himself in the manor’s display hall, as it were. Suits of armor lined the wall abreast a glass display case containing Lord Daris’ record of lineage and the original deed to Corrin.
Back at the bakery, Hilde slipped to Ozu, amidst concerns that their lord was drowning his sorrows, that when runners from Moore brought word about Lord Daris’ wife they also ordered that any Reid ale on hand in the village not be opened. The recent delivery of the brew was taken then to the manor house, which was simultaneously secured by order of Lord Daris. Ozu promptly left the suddenly silent Hilde for the manor, meeting Jadek on his way back to the bakery from his devotions. After a loquacious appeal to the cleric for assistance in bringing their headstrong hostesses daughter home, Ozu made his way toward the manor while Jadek stopped at the bakery for a bite before obliging.
In his exploration of the manor, our Paladin came upon a door from which he could hear drunken ramblings of a sorrowful man. Finding it locked, Jace had the courtesy to knock instead of bursting in upon the nobleman into whose house he had intruded. Lord Daris called for Gavin, who appeared a moment later in the now opened door. Jace literally pushed past the man’s cries of outrage to counsel with his inebriated lord, and barricaded the door once the herald had rushed out. Though it took quite a bit of patience and repetition, Jace was able to deter Lord Daris from his suicidal binge for the sake of his people and the memory of his wife, noting that a copious amount of the supposedly same ale that had had killed her had no effect on Daris except to put him three sheets to the wind.
As the benevolent knight was having his breakthrough with the lord of the manor, a crash sounded from the room above them when Calings broke the display containing his precious documents. Taking the deed to Corrin, he made for the same window by which he had entered. Much to his surprise, a patrolling guard heard the commotion and saw him escaping the scene of his crime. His cries for the guards echoed those from the front of the manor as Gavin also called Corrin’s finest to respond to the intruder on the first floor.
Calings managed to make his escape relatively cleanly. Nearly missing a leap onto a nearby shed and calling on the plants in the path of the guards to delay them, he made for the river, deed tucked safely beneath his leather armor. Once across, however, he was spotted by the guards and made for the Western North Moore Forest where he disappeared into it’s darkened depths.
Ozu and Jadek both attempted to respond to the call for guards from their respective paths, but were turned away at the gate and escorted back to the bakery after Ozu’s verbose attempts to persuade the guards to allow them past. Once inside, the crafty pair used the perceived peril Erin was in to convince Hilde to sneak them out the back door. Initially willing, the innocent mother had a change of heart upon opening the back door to a swarm of passing guards. Reassured of her daughter’s safety, she tried to get the pair back to the front. Without a moment of consideration they pushed past her into the street between the bakery and the manor grounds, where they were instantly spotted by the remaining guard at the gate. After a very short chase they were both arrested, caught between the straggling guards from the manor and those at the river. At least they had the satisfaction of seeing Erin being escorted safely home by the very guards they were evading, carrying on about Rufus’ delinquency in returning.
Jace, having accomplished his mission of saving Lord Daris from the depths of despair, allowed himself to be arrested and taken to the manor’s dungeon once the guards swarmed him as he attempted a casual stroll out of the dining room.
Varial, having observed the dozens of guards passing beneath him, finally saw it clear to leave his perch and see what would become of his companions. In a rare moment of clumsiness, however, his descent became a fall, drawing the attention of the only guards left on the grounds up in the tower atop the garrison. He managed to escaped unharmed and unpursued to observe Ozu and Jadek being taken to the garrison, presumably to be kept there in shackles.
After an uneventful entrance to the bannered and bedecked city, Jace attempted to warn Markus Jerryl, the captain of Moore’s guard and lord of the newly established Fort Eastguard of the potential threat his fugitive sorcerer from the Ash Valley could pose to the festival and the thousands gathered there under his watch. Jerryl none too politely dismissed the foreign paladin’s counsel and went about his rotation among his men’s stations. It seemed that there was always some threat against the people of the frontier, and Jerryl wasn’t about to evacuate the city for one more from an unknown source.
As the festival neared it’s climax with the arrival and distribution of the free Reid ale, most of the yet unacquainted and all foreign party chose to forego the offer and just observe the native tradition. Ozu, however, partook with the festival-goers as Councilman Moore, the chairman of the ruling council, gave the traditional toast to officially kick off the festivities. Fortunately for the sorcerer, the ale didn’t have the effect it did on many others in the crowd as the square quickly filled with the sounds and smells of retching. Most of the thousands gathered fell violently ill, many so that they would never rise again.
Adding to the crowd’s woes, more than twenty of the Reid-supplied barrels burst open to produce goblins who jumped into the sickened mass with violent abandon, cutting down all in their path and producing a terrifying panic among the people. One even made it’s way to Councilman Moore, beheading him amid the throes of his own sickness. The monster’s celebration was short-lived, however, as Jerryl ran him through and rallied the crowd to fight. The party and several peasants answered his call and the malevolent interlopers were all slain in moments. Ozu’s magic missiles blasting amidst the master dual-sword and scythe-work of Calings and Jace were the goblin’s worst undoing, though the others weren’t exactly slack in their efforts in the fight.
When the dust settled, the cries of the victim’s loved ones filled the square and Jerryl demanded answers from the Reid cart-drivers who had brought the ale from the northern city. The drivers swore ignorance and were arrested, after which Jerryl put out another call to the people, this time to tend to the sick and wounded. Jadek and Calings both put their talents and powers to use in the task, while Ozu and Varial did what they could to ascertain the properties of the tainted brew. Ozu’s magical inspection yielded nothing, but Varial was able to identify the contagion as a natural substance that seemed to him to be associated with vermin.
Jace, in frustration at what he saw as a preventable attack, accosted Jerryl for his inaction after his earlier warning. Again the captain brushed him off, scolding him in turn for his finger-pointing when there were so many around them in critical need of help.
At the appointed time, the members of the party all gathered in the Moore Council chambers, where Jerryl commissioned them to go to Reid and investigate this calamity. So it was that our band of adventurers came together for the first time and were united by the cause of justice...and better beer!
The next morning, as the group departed the city amidst the mourners, Jace took the lead in proposing strategies for their approach to the investigation which were mostly met with indifference. This only made it easier for his suggestions to become their plan, since there were no dissenting ideas.
Calings, moved by compassion and empathy for the thousands coming to the city to find out their loved one’s fates, showed his concern for a particularly forlorn traveller by taking a moment and spending a bit of his power to impart The Spirit’s blessing as he passed by. The man was speechless in his anxiety, but deeply moved by this foreigner’s care for him.
After passing by the outlying farms and villages of Moore and coming to the open road, the party spotted several man-sized creatures take flight from the eastern horizon toward the northeast, but decided after a short deliberation to press on northward to Corrin, their stopover for the night before traversing the North Moore Forest.
Upon arriving at the small village, the heroes were surprised to find it virtually devoid of activity until they were met by the local lord’s herald, Gavin, who informed them that the town was in mourning for the Lord Daris’ wife, Lorin. He extended the lord’s apologies that he could not host them in the manor for the night, but offered the hospitality of the local brewer and baker at the village hall. Of course, the North Moore Inn just up the road remained an option. Many of the party found the mood of the village and the behavior of it’s lord suspicious, and paid Hilde, the aforementioned brewer/baker, a cursory visit at best before making their way out to dig for answers.
Ozu, the only one to more fully engage with their hostess, overwhelmed her with the (modestly embellished) gruesome details of the festival the day before, which heightened her concern for her daughter, Erin, who was out a little too late at the village’s river ferry docks awaiting her lover’s return from a day out trapping in the western North Moore Forest. Summarily assigned the task of convincing her to come home, he set out and found the lovesick girl waiting as her mother had described. Unfortunately for the socially inept sorcerer, his repeated details of festival-goers corpses “stacked like cordwood” failed to charm the lass into seeing the follies of her too-late-going vigil and come home. Hilde understood her daughter’s stubbornness, however, and cheerfully provided him with more bread.
Meanwhile, the rest of the party dispersed between the manor and the local temple. Jace and Jadek at the latter made inquiries of the priestess there into Lord Daris, his wife and what she thought about all that was going on in the village. She informed Jace that she was concerned for Daris. He didn’t seem to be taking his wife’s death well at all. Seeing this caused her to be concerned for the village as well, and what might become of it without Lorin; not that Daris is cruel or in any way a bad man, but his wife was the heart of the village, always showing kindness to all and giving as much as she could to see to everyone’s well being and happiness. As Jadek began his devotions, Jace left to see what could be done about Lord Daris’ spirits.
As the Paladin made his way to the manor grounds, Calings and Varial were making their way into the manor house, having snuck along the river to it’s rear. Calings scaled the houses log wall without difficulty while Varial made his way around the front to provide cover from a tree from which he could survey the grounds.
Jace had little difficulty talking his way past the guards at the manor gate, but Gavin would hear none of his persuasions at the front door. His lord was in no state to be receiving visitors, and had ordered the house shut to all besides. When it came to threats of staying the night in the dungeon instead of accepting Lord Daris’ generous offer, Jace withdrew...to the side door, which he found unlocked.
Calings also found the second-floor windows unlocked, into which he slipped, finding himself in the manor’s display hall, as it were. Suits of armor lined the wall abreast a glass display case containing Lord Daris’ record of lineage and the original deed to Corrin.
Back at the bakery, Hilde slipped to Ozu, amidst concerns that their lord was drowning his sorrows, that when runners from Moore brought word about Lord Daris’ wife they also ordered that any Reid ale on hand in the village not be opened. The recent delivery of the brew was taken then to the manor house, which was simultaneously secured by order of Lord Daris. Ozu promptly left the suddenly silent Hilde for the manor, meeting Jadek on his way back to the bakery from his devotions. After a loquacious appeal to the cleric for assistance in bringing their headstrong hostesses daughter home, Ozu made his way toward the manor while Jadek stopped at the bakery for a bite before obliging.
In his exploration of the manor, our Paladin came upon a door from which he could hear drunken ramblings of a sorrowful man. Finding it locked, Jace had the courtesy to knock instead of bursting in upon the nobleman into whose house he had intruded. Lord Daris called for Gavin, who appeared a moment later in the now opened door. Jace literally pushed past the man’s cries of outrage to counsel with his inebriated lord, and barricaded the door once the herald had rushed out. Though it took quite a bit of patience and repetition, Jace was able to deter Lord Daris from his suicidal binge for the sake of his people and the memory of his wife, noting that a copious amount of the supposedly same ale that had had killed her had no effect on Daris except to put him three sheets to the wind.
As the benevolent knight was having his breakthrough with the lord of the manor, a crash sounded from the room above them when Calings broke the display containing his precious documents. Taking the deed to Corrin, he made for the same window by which he had entered. Much to his surprise, a patrolling guard heard the commotion and saw him escaping the scene of his crime. His cries for the guards echoed those from the front of the manor as Gavin also called Corrin’s finest to respond to the intruder on the first floor.
Calings managed to make his escape relatively cleanly. Nearly missing a leap onto a nearby shed and calling on the plants in the path of the guards to delay them, he made for the river, deed tucked safely beneath his leather armor. Once across, however, he was spotted by the guards and made for the Western North Moore Forest where he disappeared into it’s darkened depths.
Ozu and Jadek both attempted to respond to the call for guards from their respective paths, but were turned away at the gate and escorted back to the bakery after Ozu’s verbose attempts to persuade the guards to allow them past. Once inside, the crafty pair used the perceived peril Erin was in to convince Hilde to sneak them out the back door. Initially willing, the innocent mother had a change of heart upon opening the back door to a swarm of passing guards. Reassured of her daughter’s safety, she tried to get the pair back to the front. Without a moment of consideration they pushed past her into the street between the bakery and the manor grounds, where they were instantly spotted by the remaining guard at the gate. After a very short chase they were both arrested, caught between the straggling guards from the manor and those at the river. At least they had the satisfaction of seeing Erin being escorted safely home by the very guards they were evading, carrying on about Rufus’ delinquency in returning.
Jace, having accomplished his mission of saving Lord Daris from the depths of despair, allowed himself to be arrested and taken to the manor’s dungeon once the guards swarmed him as he attempted a casual stroll out of the dining room.
Varial, having observed the dozens of guards passing beneath him, finally saw it clear to leave his perch and see what would become of his companions. In a rare moment of clumsiness, however, his descent became a fall, drawing the attention of the only guards left on the grounds up in the tower atop the garrison. He managed to escaped unharmed and unpursued to observe Ozu and Jadek being taken to the garrison, presumably to be kept there in shackles.
The Chronicles Begin!
After a couple weeks of fits and starts and lots of overviews, the Chronicles of Dera are finally underway! The players are:
Donovan, playing Jace the Human Paladin from Ash Valley
Brandon, playing Varial the Elven Ranger from the Emerald Forest
Kevin, playing Jadek the Gnome Cleric from as of yet undetermined origins (correct me please!)
Anthony, playing Calings (Cu-lin-ee-us) the Human Mystic Ranger from the Foulde
Jay, playing Ozuherouzeuvavis A'Zantharr (Ozu) the Half-Elven Sorcerer from Karun
After the party's baptism in blood and beer, things have gotten a bit rocky on their first stopover en route to their objective in the North, as you'll see in the next post's summary of the first session!
Donovan, playing Jace the Human Paladin from Ash Valley
Brandon, playing Varial the Elven Ranger from the Emerald Forest
Kevin, playing Jadek the Gnome Cleric from as of yet undetermined origins (correct me please!)
Anthony, playing Calings (Cu-lin-ee-us) the Human Mystic Ranger from the Foulde
Jay, playing Ozuherouzeuvavis A'Zantharr (Ozu) the Half-Elven Sorcerer from Karun
After the party's baptism in blood and beer, things have gotten a bit rocky on their first stopover en route to their objective in the North, as you'll see in the next post's summary of the first session!
Friday, June 15, 2012
Welcome to Dera!
I've spent years building this world bit by bit. It all started as a much humbler campaign setting for a D&D campaign, and has grown considerably since. The final touches are coming into place, and it's time to put the place to use!
As you can see in the "World Information" tab above, I have quite a bit of write-up done, but much more is coming. I will be finishing up the bodies of water section soon, and will move on then to the kingdom summaries, which will include a bit of information on each city therein.
The "Map" tab contains a link to the full-sized version on my Picasa page, on which you should click the magnifying glass above the map to get a good look at all the details.
Tabs to come will chronicle whatever games I happen to run in the setting, and will likely include house rules and such for them. One is already underway with my seven year old son, so I look forward to sharing what's going on there! I plan on beginning a more grown-up campaign soon as well.
Dera is also the setting for the book I've spent nearly as long developing. You can find it under the "Redemption" tab. I'll post new material here as I write it, but the entire story will live there. The first chapter is already there, in fact.
I hope this becomes a place for all involved in Dera to meet, commiserate, scheme and banter, so enjoy!
I've spent years building this world bit by bit. It all started as a much humbler campaign setting for a D&D campaign, and has grown considerably since. The final touches are coming into place, and it's time to put the place to use!
As you can see in the "World Information" tab above, I have quite a bit of write-up done, but much more is coming. I will be finishing up the bodies of water section soon, and will move on then to the kingdom summaries, which will include a bit of information on each city therein.
The "Map" tab contains a link to the full-sized version on my Picasa page, on which you should click the magnifying glass above the map to get a good look at all the details.
Tabs to come will chronicle whatever games I happen to run in the setting, and will likely include house rules and such for them. One is already underway with my seven year old son, so I look forward to sharing what's going on there! I plan on beginning a more grown-up campaign soon as well.
Dera is also the setting for the book I've spent nearly as long developing. You can find it under the "Redemption" tab. I'll post new material here as I write it, but the entire story will live there. The first chapter is already there, in fact.
I hope this becomes a place for all involved in Dera to meet, commiserate, scheme and banter, so enjoy!
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