[ARCHIVE] 01 - New Arrivals in Malforten

[max_vale]

Vax just shook his head at Eryl's comments and attitude. He was all to used to it; and he knew it would do no good for him to mention that he had never so much as seen one of 'his people'. The comment about his Deity being one for con-men and Thieves DID make him grin though; while this was certainly not an all-encompassing description of his chosen God; it wasn't inaccurate to say either.

Turning back to the matter at hand; Vax suggests in a quiet voice that only his companions may hear; "Why don't we go to the tavern and tell our.....cheerful....new employer that we will certainly do our part to bring an end to these Gnolls' attacks; and as the first part of that, we will require to survey the area around town. We then retreive our weapons and leave here in one direction; with much twisting and turning and back-again to throw off our trail once out of sight and attempt to set an ambush for any would-be spies or informants. Sound like a decent plan?"

[NJWilliam]

"I agree to strike out at once, the sooner the better. But twisting trails will slow us down and let the spies forge ahead of us. Let's strike straight for where they say they ford this river."

"If anyone follows us, we'll just take them."

Arot then looks at his companions searching his wilderness knowledge for what they might help them in fording the river.

Fording is a natural thing for barbarians, no? "With the deerstalker ability barbarians are capable of climbing typical
natural slopes and inclines, such as a steep, rocky hillside cliff, without the need to make an attribute check. Barbarians can ford and swim
typical rivers and bodies of fresh water."

Arot will go to Rope & Barrel where he hopes they sell rope, and will find out from them how wide the river is at the ford point, and buy enough rope to span that distance with some to spare to be secured on either side.

Arot thinks to himself that he will run ahead of the others, ford the river with the rope, and tie it off at both sides if possible before the others get there due to their slow "civilized" speed. With luck he might even overcome any spy or messenger. . .

[mithrandir138]

Fording is a natural thing for barbarians, no? "With the deerstalker ability barbarians are capable of climbing typical
natural slopes and inclines, such as a steep, rocky hillside cliff, without the need to make an attribute check. Barbarians can ford and swim
typical rivers and bodies of fresh water."

Yep.

[mithrandir138]

The party heads toward the Rope and Barrel to acquire adventuring supplies. The house (6) directly across from the Rope and Barrel appears to be one of the larger and nicer ones in the village. An ornate sign above the door, reading “Hoskin”, can be seen from the main thoroughfare. The decorative sign seems somewhat out of place in contrast to the somewhat rough exterior of the house. It seems to have clearly been made by a master woodworker.

As you approach the front steps of the Rope and Barrel, you think you smell leather and pipesmoke mixed with pitch or pine tar. As you walk up, a grizzled old man with a large unkempt beard with a cheek full of chewing tobacco from behind a makeshift counter inside says, “Welcome to the Rope and Barrel, m’name’s Walker. Let me know if I can help ye!” When he is finished greeting you he spits a large amount of brown fluid into some sort of container on the floor behind the counter. He pauses a moment to look at the Alias and Vax, but doesn't seem overly concerned -- your coin spends as well as anyone else's.

This is the only trading store in town. It is run by Walker the Shrub, who spends more time chewing tobacco and ruminating than selling wares. He carries a wide assortment of farming equipment, but usually lends them out rather than sells them. In return, he is well fed and taken care of. He travels west every couple of months to gather more goods. He often trades foodstuff from Malforten for the farming implements.

He is always stocked with rope, barrels, salt, and lamp oil. He rarely has any but the most common of weapons such as daggers and a few short swords and axes. He never has any armor nor the more exotic of weapons. See standard equipment list: viewtopic.php?f=62&t=1087

His wife, Nelda, badgers him constantly about his profligate habits and wasteful or lazy nature. However, thankfully for Walker, Nelda is found more often at the Empty Flagon complaining to neighbors than at home complaining to him.

[Mondego]

“I have about as much as I can carry already, but with the prospect of fording a river I will purchase some rope. I suggest that we get what we need quickly. I don't like the prospect of being unarmed if Griznak and his men decide to return early. I am guessing that he may not approve of the townspeople bringing in outside help.”

OOC: I plan on keeping the rope on the mule so as to not affect Yorick's Encumbrance.

[Dogma]

"While you fine fellows handle over that fine piece of cordage, l'm going to go sample the local brewers wares and see what fine people are about. "

Tomas is going to the inn for a drink and to talk to the locals for any more info regarding the raids, local politics, etc. anything that might be useful. If he needs to spend a few coppers buying drinks so be it.

[mithrandir138]

Tomas makes his way across the square to the Empty Flagon. Tomas’ natural ability to charm and inspire (along with 5 silver worth of drinks for fellow patrons) pays off. After merely an hour of generating merriment and jubilation through song and story, his conversations with patrons result in the disclosure of following rumors (since it is a full moon tonight, there is a recurring theme):

* It is said a spirit of great evil lurks in the waters of the Drunderry and only awaits a full moon to come out and take people back to its watery hole, which is possibly in the Elmarsh lake that is fed by the river.
* You learn of a beautiful fair-skinned red-haired woman in the town named Amanda Rhyan the Paish, who is a worshiper of Wenafar (The Faerie Queen-Mother, who’s provinces are nature, animals, the Elements, woods and trees) Several of the townsfolk are suspicious of her worship and do not see the fey as beneficial creatures at all. However, those who ask her to bless their crops or livestock, and provide offerings, never experience milk cows to suddenly going dry, crops withering, or rodents getting into food storage as the others do. She has been seen leaving the town (heading northwest) on full moons with baskets in her hands, but she always returns empty handed.
* During the night and under the full moon, one can see a thousand pinpricks of light twinkling in clusters at the foot of Craggy Ridge. They appear only under a full moon and then only for as long as it remains visible.

Remember, some of these are rumors, meaning: not all of them are necessarily fact.

Tomas’ show of goodwill even loosens up Eryl, who is also in the tavern. He overhears the mention of Craggy Ridge in Tomas’ conversations and he shares that the party should travel this direction on your search. The ridge is only a mile away and the Drunderry runs wider and more shallow along the far side of the ridge. This is likely to be the spot where Gritznak’s forces ford the river.

[moorcrys]

Embiri, who has remained quiet throughout the uncomfortable welcome with Eryl, heads south from the well to examine the rest of the main buildings about the 'town' - assuming nothing terrible happens, his stomach will eventually get the better of him and after the leisurely stroll southward he will head back to the tavern for a meal and a drink. Hopefully he catches a bit of the entertainment as well.

[Blazeguard]

Filibert's rumbling stomach eventually overcomes his uneasiness and he joins the others at the tavern. If there is room to sit with the others he will join them, otherwise he will find an unoccupied table in a corner and quietly eat his meal and then keep a watchful eye on everyone in the room. He will look for any unusual activity or anyone who appears to be watching the newcomers with more than a casual interest.

[mithrandir138]

Filbert makes his way to the Empty Flagon and enjoys a nice meal (which turns out to be on the house, after they find out you are friends with Tomas) while he watches Tomas schmooze with the locals.

[mithrandir138]

EDIT: I forgot to add detail to house 11 in my original post. See below.

Embiri makes his way south down the main thoroughfare of town. The house to his immediate left (8) looks excessively drab. There are no markings on the outside of the house to give any clue as to who lives there. There are planters in the front with dead plants in them. If you didn’t know better, you would think that this house is abandoned, but that is unlikely for a house to be left empty here in the frontier lands.

The house on the right (7) smells of sage and honeysuckle. There are pots with herbs and other aromatic plants all along the front porch. There are creeping vines with white flowers growing up the sides and front of the house. There is also lush grass around the house. It seems very strange for this type of lush plant growth to be around this house because the areas around the other houses are almost barren. Also, the weather is turning cold, and it seems a little late in the year for plants to be growing so well. You can see that the interior of the house is lit by either candle, fire, or lantern.

The next house on the left (10) seems to have a small vegetable garden on the side of the house. Like the plants around the house up the path, this garden seems to be flourishing. There is not much else that is remarkable about this house. The interior of this house seems to be dark, there doesn’t seem to be anyone home.

The last house on the right (9) is smaller than the others and doesn’t appear to be well crafted. It appears to have people arguing inside. It sounds like a husband and wife in a heated discussion. Unmistakably the woman is getting the best of her husband in this encounter. You decide to not get too close to this house to avoid a potentially embarrassing situation.

The next house on the right (11) seems about the same size as the Hoskin residence. It seems like a pretty nice house, all things considered. There is a coat of arms displayed on the front door. It is the crest on the coat of arms is of the Lords of New Enoch. There is a vegetable garden on the side of the house that is almost barren. Instead of steps up to the porch of the house, there is a ramp.

The last house on the left (12) is a modest house that has a slight smell of sulphur and minerals, but as you get closer it mostly smells of ink. There is a small vegetable garden here, and it appears to be doing quite well. There are also potted plants in the front of the house with plants that seem familiar to Embiri, but they are not indigenous to the area.

Embiri makes his way back to the Empty Flagon to enjoy the jolly ruckus that Tomas has stirred up.

[Mondego]

After purchasing a 50’ coil of rope Yorick joins his companions in the tavern.

[jdluna]

Luna joins the gang at the Inn

[max_vale]

Vax buys a meal and asks for some water to drink and sits with Filbert, Luna (and the others?) at the Inn. He considers keeping the hood of his cloak on to attempt to keep the stares down to a minimum; but then shrugs and realizes that in a small place like this; it would be pretty pointless and just keeps a quiet vigil to make sure that a pack of people with pitchforks and ropes doesn't show up....

[mithrandir138]

Vax buys a meal and asks for some water to drink...

For future reference, here are the prices at the Empty Flagon, max_vale: please adjust your money appropriately, it is "Dinner" time:

Breakfast – 5cp
Lunch – 10cp
Dinner – 5cp
Brew – 1cp/cup

[Vargr1105]

When Alias has finished his mushroom picking he will head into the tavern and order a meal.

[NJWilliam]

After Arot buys his rope, he tells the others he is more comfortable outside, and he stays outside the inn, watching for any uncommon looking activity, including anyone appearing to head out of the village.

[mithrandir138]

After Arot buys his rope....

Hemp or silk? If Hemp, it's 1gp -- silk is 10gp.

[moorcrys]

Embiri purchases a cup of the local brew and purchases a meal, eating anything and everything put in front of him. He smiles generously and stomps his feet (slightly off rhythm) as the music flows and mood within the tavern lightens.

If the party proceeds with the OOC thread plan put forth, he will make his way to Eryl when Tomas lightens the mood to apprise him of our plan and seek his blessing.

[NJWilliam]

Arot buys hemp rope, not that silly silk stuff.