Young children are sent as messengers from Greentown throughout the valley in an urgent appeal for citizens willing to undertake a perilous mission. No details are given but any and all willing people are to meet in farmer Breglund's barn as soon as possible.

Arriving at the barn you see four stern sad looking local human men sitting at a table and barrels set out as seats for all who reply to the message.

[OOC: assuming you heed the call introduce your character.]

Orlen wasted no time in going to the barn after the child delivered the message. He had few other prospects with the circus having been disbanded and the Black Foot tribe scattered this seemed like a good way for Orlen to earn some cash hopefully and increase his fame.

Orlen arrives at the barn and looks about, the accommodations seem much more modest than he initially expected. However the humans seemed sad and sorrow was often brought from hardships. Perhaps he could be a help to this cause.

"I am Orlen, circus performer, turned soldier. I have fought against the Black Foot goblin tribe most recently and their ogre overlords. I have responded to your call and am eager to help lift your burdens" the rock gnome declares. His weapons were of the finest quality as was his armor.

The men nod as if only half listening to anything other than their sad thoughts. An aged woman comes in and places down a platter of food and a pitcher of cold wine.

"Eat, drink, while you wait for others to arrive." she says handing him a goblet and small plate.

Orlen took the offered goblet and took a few pieces of the snack offered. He looked back hoping others would come as well. He shifted in his seat wishing they'd tell him the nature of their sorrows. They no doubt wanted to wait til more had gathered not wishing to repeat themselves though.

Beagan had just arrived in town for a visit with his friends his trusty riding dog knowing the way with no real guidance from him.

His dog stopped for a drink at a trough and a child came and told him there was trouble.

Thinking that surely everyone else had arrive he rode on to the barn.  It certainly was no party and certainly not the place the trouble was happening.

Seeing Orlen he sits down
“So what’s the trouble?”
This message was last edited by the player at 14:02, Sun 09 Feb 2020.

Orlen shrugged "They've not said so far. They seem very sad though. I'm sure they are waiting for more to arrive."

“Kid told me about trouble which is as you say very non-specific.”

He passes a leg of turkey from the table to his dog CoCo beneath his bench....

A Gnome woman appeared from the forest on the outskirts of the farm.  The slender gnome wore what looked like brown leather and held a staff of brown oak. Her golden hair was framed with leaves of green and orange.

Galeyn happened to come upon the child who was injured after a snake bite  The druid tended his wounds, and told him to go home and rest.  The child, upset, told her of his task, and the woman smiled. "I will go to the farm child."

That was an hour ago, and now the druid walked up, with a solemn look on her face. She rarely interacted with others, let alone humans. She saw Orlen and Beagan and nodded to them. She sat to the side a little, but still within talking distance, but the way she sat seemed aquard….a sure sign of her isolation from others.

When the woman offered her food and wine, the druid smiled. "...just water thank you." taking an apple from the platter, she took out a dagger and cut it, eating it slowly

Orlen responded to Beagan "The kid told me the same."

Orlen nodded at the gnome woman as she arrived. She had the look of a druid or nature priest. A healer was always welcomed when confronting evil.

Clover seems to have arrived last or at least close to last. as he walks in he struggles with the door but he manages despite he diminished strength.

clover recognizes many people, they have all come to borrow or study a book now and then, but knowing any of them would be a stretch. it is not that he does not want friends and companions, but having friends generally requires leaving the relative safety of his books and the library. he grown tired of only hearing other peoples stories, he wanted to make his own.

so he answered the summons for heroes and adventurers, well he wanted to answer the call any way. but walking so far was just about the bravest thing he had ever done. arriving he saw ponies and riding dogs, and even some horses.

realizing that for all the things he knew, and all the stories of knights and thier brave steeds. he had walked, because he was so wrapped up in doing his first brave thing in his life, that he forgot to get a mount.

looking around for what ever reason Beagan's table look to have the most room, and by room...it looked least likely to put stains on his books. pulling out a white cloth he wipes the seat of the chair and climbs up next to Beagan he pulls out another white cloth and wipes the portion of the table/bar in front of him. (use activated prestidigitation)


knowing from his training how much power can be contained in a single word he greets his acquaintance and more then occasional lover of obscure books on forgotten knowledge with a single word.

hi

Orlen was surprised to see Clover here, the librarian wasn't what you'd think of as the adventuring type. Still perhaps Clover's arcane magic might come in handy in a pinch. He nodded to the librarian and responded to his hi with a "Hello"

Beagan hops on board the game now afoot
“Well met with greetings and salutations.”
This message was lightly edited by the player at 15:59, Mon 10 Feb 2020.

The sad men nod to the new arrivals. One starts to stand and speak but another forces him to sit back down.

"Wait, my friend. Maybe more will come. In a situation like this extra hands may well stave off destruction," the man says.

[[OOC: Let's give it until tomorrow to see if any of the others can join us. If not we can start and they can be your rescue party catch up.]]
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 05:07, Tue 11 Feb 2020.

Beagan drinks wine and eats food while passing more under the table to Coco.

“It’s been about a month since I was in the village: what have you lot been mucking up without me here?”

"Well I tried to get the circus going again after the Black Foot tribe was scattered. To many of the original crew lost and not enough funds to get the wagons and supplies needed to make a workable circus. So I've mostly been hanging around, hunting a little, and practicing." Orlen tells Beagan.

  A short, plump, balding gnome is the next to arrive, looking a little flustered. "Sorry I'm late," he apologises, breathing heavily and resting with one arm on the door-frame. "Am I late? Cutting it fine as usual."
  He approaches the table and hops up onto one of the barrels. "Oo, food what have I missed?"

Orlen points to the sad humans "Not much, they were hoping for more and haven't shared the reasons for summoning us yet." says Orlen as he looks over the new comer. Didn't seemto be many fighters answering the call he noted. He wondered how he'd keep them all alive.

@Orlen
“I was thinking of joining up!  Much call for me to break stuff with a small hammer in one strike?”  I will keep practicing regardless.”
Beagan shrugs and touched his hammer in the loop on his belt

@Tom
“Nothing yet we are still on the first course of dinner and I’m not leaving without a full dinner with dessert!   No singing no music and no joy at all for you to miss out on.”

Clover sits relatively quietly at the end of the table. All the words that need saying are being said in great quantity, so there is no need for him to add. So instead he decides to listen and take notes.

he reached below his cloak and mutters a phrase...
[Language unknown: paenunie t prewastersan lastas es ndno notlesent]
nd a large tome appears in his hand. setting the book on the table he retrieves a quill and ink and begins writing.

carefully observing the hosts of this somber event, he catalogs everything.


Clover rolled 16 heal check.
the first thing he looks for is obvious physical clues to the nature of the call on the body of the hosts.

recent significant injuries that could indicate the cause for the summons.

Clover rolled 13 K nature.

reviewing his notes he made before his arrival here to identify local wildlife  that should be in the area and if there is any changes in the expected that could indicate an invading predator in the area

Clover rolled 27 K history

reviewing his notes on the wider region to find some cycle of a returning threat that may have  returned, or even returned early.

They are in close proximity to the bloodstone pass. Which the history books record as having troubles of its own in the past. Financially due to the change in the trade routes that resulted from the death of a dragon turtle that ended up re-opening more cost efficient sea trade routes, and secondly significant dust up some in the Summer, 1359 DR, with some orcs in the mines who were allied with the lower planes, that needed some heroes to assist. though for all the notes he has, the names of those heroes were strangely missing from his notes
This message was last edited by the player at 02:15, Wed 12 Feb 2020.

The three men nod almost simultaneously in silent agreement that quorum has been met with the latest arrival. Or they were just becoming impatient.

Clover does recall the stories of strange items being found in the soil of the valley and, it seems, this is the reason for the summons.

One of the men stands up to speak.

"Yesterday while tilling his field, Kerman here struck a large stone. He roped it to his mule and pulled revealing a gap underneath, a gap which leads to somewhere."

"Aye, and a foul stench it did emit." says another man, the aforementioned Kerman you suppose.

"Naturally we assumed no good could come of this so planned to keep it secret until the proper authorities on such things could be found. Unfortunately, our boys overheard our discussion and snuck into the hole sometime last night. They have not been heard from since. This morning old master Tilman said he'd go find them. He also has not returned.

"Now we ask you, if you are willing, to find our lost boys. A messenger has been sent to Valls to see if adventurers there can come but I fear that they will not reach our town in time."

The lithe female gnome, sitting closest to Clover, looked at him with a smile. She, like him, was happy listening to the others talk....in truth theirs were one of the first voices she had heard in a few months.

....she tended to be alone

but something about this call bothered her. she normally would not have answered - her concern were animals and nature. Hearing what had happened cemented that Nature's will was correct to lead her here.

She waited to confirm her place until others spoke up. Instead she asked a question.

"the stone...can you describe it? Was it natural or had it been worked, and was their any marks on it?" her voice was soft, musical, like the ring of dawn, but despite it's low volume, could still be heard

Orlen listened to the plight of the men and was saddened to hear that some children had ventured forward into the danger, no doubt wishing to impress their fathers. He readily volunteered for the expedition to rescue the children "I'd be happy to help you. We might need some supplies though such as a lantern and some oil or some torches to assist us in the cave."

Dessert to go then and let’s have a gander at this cave or tunnel.  No worries i have a nice lantern and pints of oil already packed.  Rope and a block and tackle and a base camp at the entrance would be very useful...

Beagan gets up from the table and immediately mounts Coco his riding dog..

“Food for sure trail rations and not sure Coco will want to venture underground so she might need proper care.”

Coco trots to the door so the humans can lead the way....

Clover listened and took notes, sometimes recording the oddest detail.

Clover rolled 5 spot check.
Though Clover is looking for dirt or soil under the hosts nails, he either did not see it or it wasn't there. Dirt would have indicated that he was very near the hole it in it while the village attempted a rescue. But just the same not all heroes are clearly visable. Few recognize the innkeepers with thier beds and nearly endless food and information as heroes. There is rarely dirt under those nails, but the life of a recognized hero would be all the more difficult without them around.

As it looks like the group is moving to leave. And despite the fact that he had not eaten or drank anything, it is not that he did not have the opportunity, he just chose not to. He nods to and tips the person bringing food and drinks. His notebooks still on the table he continues taking notes to the last moment