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20:45, 11th February 2025 (GMT+0)

1. Arrival.

Posted by The GMFor group 0
The GM
GM, 12 posts
Mon 21 Oct 2024
at 07:07
  • msg #1

1. Arrival

Mootsdag, 4th Eostre. Early Evening



You've been trekking along the old Royal Road all afternoon, but by the time the sun starts to set behind you and the evening chill settles in, you can see your destination ahead.

To your right, a cluster of small shacks stands by the bank of the River Culbreath, small fishing boats bobbing in the water. A couple of locals are sat by the river's edge, untangling ropes and netting. Further south, across the river, you can make out dozens of tents and lean-tos clustering by the base of the city's walls, shabbily dressed people moving to and fro amongst them.

Just ahead of you, off to the side of the road, stands a walled inn, a hanging sign by the entrance declaring it The Traveller's Rest. Rough drawings of a bed and a pint of beer impart the same message to less literate visitors. A few hundred yards further down the road wait the white walls of Road's End. The gates to the city proper stand open.
Shorm P'trak
player, 5 posts
Mon 21 Oct 2024
at 07:36
  • msg #2

1. Arrival

"Well, my fellow travellers, the question is, will we find a suitable bed in this, I dare say, shabby looking tavern, or shall we give it a couple of more steps to the city's walls in order to find something a bit more decent. I will leave the answer completely to you..."
Zed
player, 9 posts
Rogue is rogue is rogue
With a multitude of sins
Mon 21 Oct 2024
at 09:11
  • msg #3

1. Arrival

Zed looks from the inn to the city to the tents and back to the inn.

He points to the city and says, "The way I figure it the city is better than the inn but the inn is better than the jungle. Trouble is, it's coming on sunset and if we carry on, we might find ourselves n the jungle without a tent.  I vote for the inn"

OOC - jungle in this case is a slang term for a place where a bunch of homeless nomads stay for an extended period.
Alysande
player, 4 posts
half-elf
sorceress
Mon 21 Oct 2024
at 13:40
  • msg #4

1. Arrival

Wrapping her cape around herself tightly against the cold, Alysande regarded the scenery. She looked at the jumble of tents, the fisher boats and white walls of the city in the distance then made a face. She was hangry and cold and could do with an ale or some mulled wine, did she mention hangry? "It's cold and it is getting dark. I don't see why we should stumble around in some dark ally in the city, waiting to get mugged while looking for a place to stay. Let's go inside. It's probably cheaper than the city taverns anyway." the sorceress mused out loud, hoping the rest of the travelers would agree with her assumptions.
Shorm P'trak
player, 6 posts
Mon 21 Oct 2024
at 14:34
  • msg #5

1. Arrival

"Agreed, you all made a good point."
Bea Milldottr
player, 10 posts
Mon 21 Oct 2024
at 15:29
  • msg #6

1. Arrival

"A door that locks 'tween us and the road, a warm meal and possibly a blanket, I'll take the inn over the city. Plus the people we meet there might be the people we need to line up with at the gate tomorrow, so it's a good idea to make some friends now."

Bea shifted her heavy pack around, liking that the group seemed in agreement.

"Now the next question is, if all they got is one common room for bedding, who's staking out our spots and who's getting the ales bought?"
The GM
GM, 15 posts
Mon 21 Oct 2024
at 16:47
  • msg #7

1. Arrival

The warmth hits you as you step inside the inn. Logs burning in the corner fireplace cast flickering shadows around the room. It's busy; the wooden tables and mismatched chairs being mostly full, but there's just about room for you to find somewhere to sit. The patrons, most of them dressed in travelling clothes, don't pay you any mind, busy as they are with their own conversations and their meals. No sooner have you arrived, however, than a portly, bearded man comes bustling over, a big smile on his face.

"Welcome, weary wayfarers, welcome to the Traveller's Rest. Pull up a seat, take the load off and I'll have drinks with you in just a second. And you look like you'll be wanting some food inside you as well, I'm guessing. Have no fear; you've found your way to the best stew this side o' Callan. Will you be needing somewhere to stay?"

Room & board here comes to 8 sp each; based on 2 people per room and a decent meal
Bea Milldottr
player, 12 posts
Mon 21 Oct 2024
at 17:24
  • msg #8

1. Arrival

"That sounds lovely. I'm thinkin' we need two rooms and meal at least!"

Bea got down to business getting a seat and setting her pack down before buying a round for the party of the local ale
Zed
player, 10 posts
Rogue is rogue is rogue
With a multitude of sins
Mon 21 Oct 2024
at 17:59
  • msg #9

1. Arrival

Zed too takes a seat, squeezing his legs under the table somehow.  He looked around the rooom enjoying the ambience.  "Sounds lovely to me as well."
Shorm P'trak
player, 7 posts
Mon 21 Oct 2024
at 19:05
  • msg #10

1. Arrival

"Yes, my good lad, something to eat and something non-alcoholic to drink, please. We need rooms, yes, like my Lady companion just said.
We are in your debt, my friend."

Alysande
player, 5 posts
half-elf
sorceress
Mon 21 Oct 2024
at 20:50
  • msg #11

1. Arrival

Stepping through the door the half-elf looked relieved and rubbed her hands to get warm. She nodded when invited to sit and took a seat "Yes, stew sounds like a grand idea and ale even better." she commented, nodding as they were asked if they needed accommodation. "So, what plans do you have when we reach the city?" the sorceress asked her companions curiously.
The GM
GM, 16 posts
Mon 21 Oct 2024
at 21:34
  • msg #12

1. Arrival

The service here is pretty quick. A young woman with a bright smile is soon placing bowls of stew down in front of each of you.

Across the bar, a group of four young men bursts into derisive laughter. A plain-looking woman in simple peasant clothes stands in front of them, eyes downcast and hands clasped together, speaking too quietly for any of you to hear her over the din of the bar. You clearly hear the reply of one of the young men, though.

"Sod off, you daft bint, we're trying to enjoy a drink here."

The woman turns away, looking dejected, and begins to look around the bar as if searching for someone.
Zed
player, 11 posts
Rogue is rogue is rogue
With a multitude of sins
Mon 21 Oct 2024
at 21:39
  • msg #13

1. Arrival

Zed hasn't learned to look away yet so whatever happened just there, he watched the peasant woman, wondering what had inspired her to risk humiliation with that particular collection of lowlifes.  If she catches his eye, he smiles.
Bea Milldottr
player, 13 posts
Tue 22 Oct 2024
at 02:26
  • msg #14

1. Arrival

On her way back with four ales (despite Shorm's order of something non-alcoholic. That just meant there was more for someone else, to each their own!) Bea saw the woman being laughed at and grumbled, setting the ales down

"There, get these down your necks, I'm checking something out . . . "

She turned on her heel and approached the woman, intercepting if she could, her polearm back at the table but no less formidable in a jack and gambeson.

"Hello, hard to see someone just wandering in a public house without a drink. As it stands my friends and I have a spare pint, are those lads bothering you?"
Shorm P'trak
player, 8 posts
Tue 22 Oct 2024
at 06:25
  • msg #15

1. Arrival

Shorm frowns just for a second, rejecting the alcohol.
He follows Bea with his eyes, a lady alone in a crowded bar, four young lads,
maybe there is some kind of trouble ahead.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:12, Tue 22 Oct 2024.
The GM
GM, 17 posts
Tue 22 Oct 2024
at 11:49
  • msg #16

1. Arrival

The woman lets out a deep sigh. "Oh, I wouldn't want to impose, dear. And no, they weren't bothering me. I suppose I was the one bothering them, if anything. They just weren't interested in helping."

She turns to get a good look at Bea, taking in her getup with interest. "But, perhaps you'd be willing? It's my husband, you see. He's missing. I've been trying to find someone what can me help find him, but no one has the time, now the will. I'm not looking for charity, mind you. I can pay."

She anxiously fiddles with the worn sash on her dress while looking at Bea with pleading, hopeful eyes.
Bea Milldottr
player, 14 posts
Tue 22 Oct 2024
at 11:57
  • msg #17

1. Arrival

"Come sit, like I said I've purchased too many ales for the table. Tell us more."

Bea brought the woman over to her companions

"This woman here was just telling me she has some sort of problem she's looking to have solved and I thought, us being resourceful problem-shooters, we'd at least hear her out."
Shorm P'trak
player, 9 posts
Tue 22 Oct 2024
at 12:15
  • msg #18

1. Arrival

"Of course!" Shorm stands up, getting a chair ready for the woman. " Please join us, have a drink and tell us what bothers you."

He hopes for a cold glass of milk, unsure if he should order such a beverage.
The GM
GM, 18 posts
Tue 22 Oct 2024
at 15:55
  • msg #19

1. Arrival

"You're too kind," she says with a smile as she perches on the chair that Shorm pulls up. She takes the offered beer, but just holds it in her hands, not drinking. "I suppose I'll start at the beginning.

"My Fenton was always the adventurous type, you see. Always wanting to travel and see the world. And, at some point, he started getting these powers. He found he could do things, amazing things, just with his mind. He could make things move, just by thinking about it, or make these little lights appear. They'd do little dances in the air. It was so pretty.

"He started off just using it to make a bit of extra money on the side. Doin' tricks in the streets for pennies, that kind of thing. And that's how he met these people. adventuring types. Called themselves the Daring Delvers, or something daft like that. They told him that they were going treasure-hunting; that they'd heard rumours about some caves up in the Bleak Hills where you could strike it rich, and they said they could use a man with his talents.

"Fenton jumped at the chance, he did. He'd always wanted to something like this, something like in the stories the bards sing. I begged him not to go, told him it was too dangerous, but he promised me he'd be gone a couple of weeks, at most, and that he'd bring back enough money that we'd never need to work again. But he didn't come back, none of them did.

"I waited for weeks, then for months. I would pray to Frejya every day, asking her to bring him back to me, but he never came. I started to lose hope, and I thought I'd lost him altogether.

"But then I heard him! He called to me, in my dreams. He's still out there somewhere, alive, but he can't get back and he needs help.

"I know it sounds crazy, but I'm not mad, I promise you! I see things sometimes, in my dreams, you see. Real things. I saw when the big flood was comin', five years back, and I knew it was real. No one believed me then either. But I was right! And I'm right this time, too. I know that Fenton's not dead, I just don't know how to help him, and I've been searching for months for someone who does.

"I'm not a rich woman, by no means, especially now that I'm alone, but I've scrimped and saved up every penny I could find, and begged for everyone who knows Fenton to chip in. If someone can bring him back to us, we can get together about 50 gold, I think."

She looks hopefully from one face to the other, eyes brimming a little with tears. "I've tried asking everyone I can find who looks like an adventurer, but they all keep telling me I'm daft and that I should just forget him. But he's not dead! I know it! I can feel him still."
Shorm P'trak
player, 10 posts
Tue 22 Oct 2024
at 18:20
  • msg #20

1. Arrival

"I can't speak for my friends but I am willing to look after your husband and pay the Bleak Hills a visit.
And I dare say this: it is a couple of months since he left, I am not very confident that he is still alive.
I am sorry.
My friends?"


He looks at the others quietly, patiently.
Zed
player, 12 posts
Rogue is rogue is rogue
With a multitude of sins
Tue 22 Oct 2024
at 21:01
  • msg #21

1. Arrival

"If nothing else", said Zed, "If the rumours about the bleak hills are true, then we may strike it rich ourselves.  We'll do our best to bring back your husband Mrs ...?"

He frowned a little though and asked further, "Could you tell us more about your husband's powers?  How long did he have them.  How long had he had them?  Had something strange happened to him before they started.  Oh and does anybody else in his family have them?"
Bea Milldottr
player, 16 posts
Tue 22 Oct 2024
at 21:09
  • msg #22

1. Arrival

"Frankly, even if Fenton dead and his spirit calls from beyond, it would be good to bring him home so he can rest. Did any of the Delvers return since? Seems we might be looking for a few bodies up in those hills. Can you describe a sign we'd know their company by, in case seeing their bodies or equipment might lead us to Fenton?"

Tempted as she was to wave off payment entirely when the sum was outweighed by the deed itself, Bea was conscious this life took money, and more than a little.
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