A Brief Overview –-
Having accepted the job offered them, the party travels to the Watcher’s Den and picks up a wagon of supplies. They successfully return the shipment to Northshore Landing and are paid for their work. They are then offered another job: to take a shipment of building supplies to Zjarn Village. They accept, but while on the road to the village they are attacked by the Black Flame. After a harrowing engagement with the bandits, the party decides to return to dead bandits to Northshore Landing to collect the bounty on the heads of members of the Black Flame. They are rewarded for their efforts, and become the talk of the town. Deciding to take a one night furlough in the city to recover from the battle, they will resume their job of delivering supplies to Zjarn the next morning.
The Fifth War; Chapter I ~ Home Is Nowhere
Day 1, A New Opportunity –-
Oathday, the 14th day of Illihorn in the year 3220 of the Aelthion Imperial Calendar
The sun arose in the east from behind the distant Stonepeak Mountains casting its illumination down upon the walled, shoreline city of Northshore Landing. Its warming rays greeted the crisp, cool air of an early spring morning on a cloudless day while the island residents began to wake and start their daily chores. The party, still deep in slumber, was awakened in their house to a knocking at the front door.
Oswald, groggy from a full night’s sleep, rolled out of bed, hopped to his feet, and hurriedly walked across the rough wooden floor. Short in stature, the kinderling strained to stretch up and unfasten the latch, which was positioned upon the locked portal well above his un-exerted reach.
Opening the door, his eyes tightly squinted in response to the bright morning, and were nearly blinded by the glint of sunlight blaring off of the polished plate armor worn by Kresh Alvison, captain of the Northshore Landing Guard. With an amused grin having crept upon his lips, the captain glanced down where he stood; helm suspended between arm and hip, and casually greeted Oswald, whose hair was as scattered and unorganized as his slumber-creased clothes.
With a single eye open, the other eye mashed shut, Oswald invited Kresh into the house, and lead him, with a sleepy limp, into the central greatroom as everyone else in the home stirred from their slumber and, one-by-one, made their way out of their rooms to greet the captain.
First came lumbering the minotaur, Rygan War-torn, standing nearly eight feet tall; even tiredly hunched, with his heavy hooves knocking against the floor with each step.
Following the man-beast from the room opposite the hall was Serventez, the Darkwoode elf, blinking widely to clear his glassy eyes from the hours of meditation he had just been startled from.
The two men joined Oswald and Kresh in the greatroom as a fifth individual quietly escalated the spiral staircase ascending from the lower level of the house. Lithaldoren, the Silverfelgn elf, almost unnoticed before his final steps, paced from the stairs and into the greatroom. As usual, his head and hands completely obscured by layers of tattered bandages, hiding his horrible burn scars. The rags made him look more mummy than elf in appearance, only his physique and stature betraying his heritage.
After a few cordial words of greeting, Kresh announced to the four men standing before him that he has come to pay them homage in commemoration of their first year in the Landing, and to congratulate them on becoming full citizens.
Lithaldoren, Rygen, Oswald and Servantez were each handed by the captain a small, round bronze medal suspended from a bright red ribbon – their Citizen Medals. It was a small token, but one the company had worked hard over the previous twelve months to obtain. Though of little tangible value, they were signets of trust bestowed upon them by the community.
Kresh, with his baritone voice, announced that in addition to coming to congratulate the “Flame Stag” family of their new status within Alvison’s Haven that he had also come to offer them a new task to perform as their civic duty. That is, if they were willing to accept the risk associated with the need.
Rather than the medial tasks they had been laboring at for the past twelve months, Kresh offered them a position as Goods Transporters. The position was granted with the responsibility of picking up and delivering supplies for the Trading Post.
If accepted, their first assignment would be to pick up a load of supplies in Watcher’s Den, and transport them back to the Northshore Landing Trading Post. As encouragement Kresh noted that the pay for this service is 50-pennants each for every delivery (a substantial amount more than their 1-pennant per week pay that they had been earning since their arrival to the Landing). The captain, continuing his explanation of responsibilities, informed the party that they will be provided by the city with two horses and a wagon for operational purposes.
All four eagerly agreed to the task set before them, but Kresh halted them, warning of the dangers that laid before them by agreeing to the job. The captain informed them that the position didn’t usually pay such a high rate, but due to the recent attacks by the Black Flame on supply convoys, that the pay rate included an added bonus of hazard compensation.
He also admits that one of the main reasons that he approached the “Flame Stag” family about this position was the presence of the minotaur, Rygen. He explained, while indicating the muscular, horned figure with an open hand, that he suspected the powerful presence of the minotaur might serve as a deterrent against bandit raiding while in the wilderness.
Now bearing a full understanding of the risks, the party murmured a bit amongst themselves, but still agreed to the assignment being offered. From behind a mass of wrapped bandages, the muffled voice of Lithaldoren told Kresh that the “Flame Stag” family was willing and ready to assist the people of the Landing.
After enthusiastically thanking them for their service to the community, Kresh informed the party to meet with Demetria Vanyss at the Trading Post near Alvison Keep to get the papers for their first assignment. Noting that he still had much to accomplish in the morning, the captain bidded the four farewell, made his way to the door, let himself out, and closed it shut behind him.
Wasting no time, the party made the unanimous decision to start their new job immediately. They prepared by battening down the window shutters, dousing the hearth, and gathering their gear. Knowing the journey to Watcher’s Den is at least a day and a half of traversing untamed terrain, they gathered an ample supply of travel rations.
Rygan, uncomfortable about leaving their home unattended for so long, paid a visit to their nearby neighbors, The “Snow Falcon” family, which consisted of four young seamstresses, and alerted them that that he and his family would be departing promptly on their newly assigned duty.
The young women agreed to keep an eye on the unoccupied house in their absence, and offer to feed and walk Rygan’s pet dog, Barbus; though he informed them that he would be taking the snowy-white northern mastiff along for the trip, so there would be no need. After flirtatiously thanking the youthfully attractive women, the minotaur made his way back to the “Fame Stag” house to assist the others with completing the preparations.
At mid morning, they regrouped and made their way down the central street of Northshore Landing towards the Trading Post, interrupted only briefly by a gaggle of laughing and cheerfully shouting youngsters, each merely a chin taller than Oswald, as they chased each other down the cobblestone street.
The large warehouse was located just across the street from the main gate of Alvison Keep. The grey stone walls surrounding the castle seemed to tower over the rest of the inner city, and cast a long shadow across the wooden-slat roof of the trading post. The small square, no more than two blocks from the guard barracks, was probably the most defensible position in the entire city.
Inside the warehouse, though widely opened sliding dock-doors, seated behind a large oak desk nearly hidden behind rows of fully-stocked shelves, they found Demetria.
The fair-skinned, brunette woman was busily attending to a set of ledgers. The party was a bit surprised to se her working furiously on two separate ledgers – simultaneously, with one quill in each hand. Sarvantez, gruffly, cleared his throat while the others watched in amazement at her ambidextrous feat. Momentarily startled, she glanced up at the four men standing before her; at first seeming lost in thought, as if she was unaware of whom they were, but quickly she regained composure of her addled mind as she smiled friendly and greeted them.
Demetria thanked them for their willingness to assume such a dangerous task, and reached into a drawer of her desk to retrieve a folded document. With the utmost of care, she passed the red wax-sealed parchment to Lithaldoren, and requested the men deliver the document to the Watcher’s Den fortress. She also informed them that, while there, they would be loading up a wagon-full of items recovered from the northlands and returning those supplies to her as soon as possible. Demetria continued to inform the party that the stable-master, Heimlich Vandenboom, was awaiting their arrival at the Community Stables, and that he had a pair of horses, and a transport wagon prepared for the journey.
With an almost nonchalant demeanor, Lithaldoren, having accepted the paperwork from Demetria, turned to walk out of the warehouse, his comrades quickly following behind him. Before the men had passed the threshold of the massive sliding doors, the woman had returned to her feverish jotting.
After uttering a lewed comment about what Demetria could likely do with her hands, which was met with virtual silence from the others, Sarvantez quietly laughed to himself and shrugged.
The party made their way to the community stables, which were located directly next to the trading post. As they entered, Heimlich, a tall, slender and seemingly frail individual greeted them with a less than enthusiastic introduction. His monotonous tone was immediately noticed by the four men, but went unquestioned.
The stable-master gathered from within a row of stalls, two horses: a pair of old, shaggy mares. One muddy patched mare named Helga, and another gray mare named Gertrude. Both aged, and the later walking with a noticeable limp. Heimlich, forcibly drug the two horses towards a rickety six-wheeled, flatbed wooden cart. With a sarcastic grin, Heimlich introduced the men to their “fine new steeds,” while tossing a jingling bundle of tangled bit, tackle, and harnesses into the wagon bed along with a haphazardly folded stained burlap tarp. One last time, he glanced at the party before simply walking off to tend to other horses in the stable.
Seeing no reason to wait about town any longer, the four men harnessed the mares to the wagon, and brindled them with the bits that had been provided. Unnoticed, except for the rickety creaking of the wagon, the four exited the stables and returned to the street outside.
Headed up the central road to the northern gate of the city wall, the four briefly discussed their plans for the journey. Their conversation was only interrupted briefly by the baritone bark of Barbus, who sought his master’s attention.
At the gate, the company was halted by the group of guards standing station. Upon displaying their citizen medals, and explaining their assigned task, the gate guards raised the grated iron portcullis and allowed them to freely pass, though not before a few of them muttered racial slurs that were discreetly directed at Rygan. The minotaur, used to the human anxieties regarding his kind, simply ignored the comments and walked on with his three friends at his side, his dog trailing briefly behind.
More Detailed Notes coming soon…
Game Session Statistics —
In attendance: Aaron (Lithaldoren), Cody (Rygen), Chris (Sarvantez), and Brian (Oswald).
Experience Awarded: (1,377.5 XP Each, Including Bonuses)
- 250 XP each for Successfully Completing Pick-up/Delivery of Goods from Watcher’s Den to Northshore Landing (Civic Assignment).
- 1,062.5 XP each for Defeating 7 Black Flame Bandits and their Field Commander while on road to Zjarn Village.
- All players awarded Attendance Bonuses of 200 XP and + 1 Free Re-Roll Attempt
- All players maintained possession of their heirloom items during game-play, + 5% bonus to EXP earned.
Objectives Completed: 1
Enemy Kills: 8
Re-roll Attempts Used: (1) Cody, (1) Chris
Play Time: 7:00 PM – 3:30 AM
(8.5 Hours)
Game Location: Justin’s House
Campaign Time: Day 1 – Day 5
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Loot Obtained: (Not Including Purchased Items) —
* Heirloom Items
* Starting Potions/Oils (Randomly Determined)
* (4)
Citizen Medals
* 52 Pennants (Accumulated over 1-year basic civic duty)
* 200 Pennants Payment for Goods Delivery from Watcher’s Den to Northshore Landing
* 100 Pennants Won in Dice Game @ Watcher’s Den
* Heavy Horse, Black Stallion (Named: Clyde)
* Frostbrand (+ 1 Rapier, + 1d4 Frost Damage on Hit)
* Life Drain Dirk (Dagger, 1d4 (no other mechanical bonuses added to damage), no crits, wielder gains HP equal to damage caused on successful hit
* Evasion Armor (Studded Leather, Spiked, 1/day Perfect Evasion)
* Whip of Disarming (+ 1 Whip, Non-lethal damage, On Critical Hit: May choose to disarm opponent’s weapon. If disarmed, the whip is entangled with disarmed weapon, and can’t be used again until manually untangled)
* 160 Pennats bounty for Capture/Killing of 8 Black Flame Bandits
* 1 Book on Herbology (+ 1 Knowledge Herbology after being read)
* 2 Books ~ 2-Volume History of the Empire (+ 1 Knowledge History after both being read)
All three books obtained from Watcher’s Den loot in “secret” bribe/deal with Demetria Vanyss at Northshore Landing Trading Post {Herbology book returned after being read}
* Common Heavy Crossbow & 10 Common Bolts
* (3) Common Longswords
* (3) Common Hand-Axes
* (7) Common Daggers
* Heavy Horse, Amber/White Stallion (Named: Dale)
*
Handcannon & 2 Bearings and 3 Shots of Black Powder
* 7 Medium Horses [Traded in with
Heimlich Vandenboom at Northshore Landing Community Stables for High-Quality Covered Wagon]
