Character Introductions

[dmw71]

I will use this tread to slowly begin introducing the characters that have already been approved into the game. My plan is to work with your backstory... and continue it. Your backstory is where you were. This thread will bring your characters to the "now."

Note: These are meant to be private updates for each character, so I will be wrapping them each in spoilers. Please only read updates meant for your characters. Any player that is interested in responding to my update -- to clarify or elaborate upon something, etc... -- should feel free to reply right here in this thread (making sure to wrap their response in the spoiler tag as well).

We can continue with this 'session 0' for as long as we'd like, or until everyone is ready.



I will begin posting these updates shortly.

[dmw71]

Aubron Wranlana
Note: This post is for Shaede only.

The life of seclusion has been making Aubron restless, and the ranger found himself feeling progressively more adventurous. After faithfully celebrated Greengrass -- the traditional beginning of spring -- by presenting a display of freshly cut flowers as a gift for Solonor, he set out to explore some of the deeper areas of the High Forest.

It was during this exploration where Aubron stumbled upon a grove of small, hallowed out trees. In the center of this clearing, he spied a small hut constructed of oak trees and mud, and at the entrance to this hut stood Merkyl, an elderly hermit. Not accustomed to having visitors, Merkyl, after determining Aubron did not present a threat, welcomed the ranger into his abode, where the pair spun tales over drinks and a meal.

"A quest for you, I have," the old druid finally shared with Aubron after learning of the ranger's restlessness. "Tis something I would be interested meself in my younger days."

"Tempted, might you be?" he asks.

[dmw71]

Storm Clouds in the Sky
Note: This post is for Monsieur Rose only.

"What's another 500 miles?" Sky thinks to herself as she licks the fur on her left shoulder to groom a rough patch that been developing.

After gaining some success as a traveling musician, amassing some notoriety for her skills with the lute, Sky was able to afford some low wage messengers, which she disbursed throughout Faerun in hopes of locating Kallista, her long lost companion. After receiving word that a tiefling bard matching Kallista's description was spotted in Waterdeep, Sky hastily departs Daggerford and makes her way north, hoping for a happy reunion.

Unfortunately, either it was unreliable information or bad timing, but Kallista was no where to be found once the tabaxi arrived in the City of Splendors.

Sky spent several days and nights questioning any and everyone that might be able to provide her with information about her friend's location. She was starting to lose hope when a city guard in the North Ward shared that an instrument-toting tiefling left, heading north a ten day ago.

"The road splits when you read the Sword Mountains," he starts. "The High Road runs along the coast all the way up to Luskan; and the Long Road takes you inland, all the way up to Mirabar."

"I can't tell you which way she might have gone," he admits. "But, the High Road leads you past Thronhold, and Neverwinter.... it might be your better bet.


"Good luck," he adds.

[Shaede]

Aubron Wranlana
Note: This post is for Shaede only.

The life of seclusion has been making Aubron restless, and the ranger found himself feeling progressively more adventurous. After faithfully celebrated Greengrass -- the traditional beginning of spring -- by presenting a display of freshly cut flowers as a gift for Solonor, he set out to explore some of the deeper areas of the High Forest.

It was during this exploration where Aubron stumbled upon a grove of small, hallowed out trees. In the center of this clearing, he spied a small hut constructed of oak trees and mud, and at the entrance to this hut stood Merkyl, an elderly hermit. Not accustomed to having visitors, Merkyl, after determining Aubron did not present a threat, welcomed the ranger into his abode, where the pair spun tales over drinks and a meal.

"A quest for you, I have," the old druid finally shared with Aubron after learning of the ranger's restlessness. "Tis something I would be interested meself in my younger days."

"Tempted, might you be?" he asks.

Shaede's Response

Aubron

Whether it be the drink or the ambition, Aubron was very intrigued by this old druid. He has felt Solonor's pull to leave the High Forest for quite awhile now, and the timing of meeting this druid and Greengrass can be no mere coincidence.

"Merklyl, your years in the High Forest have been long, and you are as much a part of this forest as the leopard or the shrewberry bushes. I am honored to have met you, and I hope that one day, I can learn to be a champion of the forest as you have surely become. I am also humbled to think there is a task that you ask of me that you cannot do yourself for I feel that I still have much to learn. Yes, I am tempted, and please tell me more of what you would have me do."

[dmw71]

Kelben Timbers
Note: This post is for GreyWolfVT only.

Note: I took a few liberties with your story, especially the new ending you provided. We can change this story up a bit if you'd like, or just go with it.

Kelben was always told he was born in a castle, but growing up in such meager conditions always left him questioning this, or at least eager to get back to one if true. That's why, when he learned that the halfling barmaid he was chatting up actually belonged to a royal line, it was "love" at first sight. He accompanied her to her family's halfling stronghold in Beluir, and it is there that they were married. It took about a year to gain acceptance in the almost exclusive halfling community... and this goodwill quickly unraveled when his roguish tendencies took over and he stole more than just the halfling princess' heart. Kelben was forced to flee in the middle of the night, after being caught red-handed trying to acquire a precious family heirloom. Halfling guards stayed on his tail for days and drove him to the point of exhaustion before the gnomish rogue was able to finally evade them.

It took Kelben the better part of a year, while keeping a low profile, to travel from Beluir in far southeast Faeurn to Neverwinter on the complete opposite side of the continent. He hoped maybe there he'd be safe, but found there was too large a halfling population in the larger city and was always looking over his shoulder. His stay in the "City of Skilled Hands" was brief, and he snuck out the northern gate one night with plans to distance himself even further from Beluir.

He traveled briefly along the coastal High Road when he felt he was being followed, so he took his progress inland and disappeared into the Neverwinter Wood... which gave him a creepy feeling, so he kept moving, north. Before long he escaped the forested area and found himself at the foot of the Crags, a series of hills and broken mounds, but found them infested with orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, and worse. Kelben barely slept that night, but did manage to avoid detection.

The gnome pressed on, lingering between the creepy woods to his right, and the monster-infected hills to his left, until he came upon a bit of a clearing between the two, near where the Crags elevate into more a mountain than a hill. He successfully established a camp in this "safe" area, and remained their safely for several nights... until, one day, when he was returning from an excursion to locate some berries, he noticed his little campsite had been discovered by a band of goblins, who were in the process of ransacking the possessions he left behind. There were too many of them, and they turned the location into their own site, so he could no longer afford to wait for them to leave, and hopefully leave behind some of his belongings.

Armed with just what he was carrying, Kelben found himself on the move again. He soon stumbled upon a seemingly well-traveled but somewhat secluded dirt road.

Unsure of which direction he's actually traveling, he considers his two options and discovers that they're virtually identical, at least from his current position, but he can take this new road left or right... or some other course of action entirely.

[GreyWolfVT]

Kelben Timbers
Note: This post is for GreyWolfVT only.

Note: I took a few liberties with your story, especially the new ending you provided. We can change this story up a bit if you'd like, or just go with it.

Kelben was always told he was born in a castle, but growing up in such meager conditions always left him questioning this, or at least eager to get back to one if true. That's why, when he learned that the halfling barmaid he was chatting up actually belonged to a royal line, it was "love" at first sight. He accompanied her to her family's halfling stronghold in Beluir, and it is there that they were married. It took about a year to gain acceptance in the almost exclusive halfling community... and this goodwill quickly unraveled when his roguish tendencies took over and he stole more than just the halfling princess' heart. Kelben was forced to flee in the middle of the night, after being caught red-handed trying to acquire a precious family heirloom. Halfling guards stayed on his tail for days and drove him to the point of exhaustion before the gnomish rogue was able to finally evade them.

It took Kelben the better part of a year, while keeping a low profile, to travel from Beluir in far southeast Faeurn to Neverwinter on the complete opposite side of the continent. He hoped maybe there he'd be safe, but found there was too large a halfling population in the larger city and was always looking over his shoulder. His stay in the "City of Skilled Hands" was brief, and he snuck out the northern gate one night with plans to distance himself even further from Beluir.

He traveled briefly along the coastal High Road when he felt he was being followed, so he took his progress inland and disappeared into the Neverwinter Wood... which gave him a creepy feeling, so he kept moving, north. Before long he escaped the forested area and found himself at the foot of the Crags, a series of hills and broken mounds, but found them infested with orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, and worse. Kelben barely slept that night, but did manage to avoid detection.

The gnome pressed on, lingering between the creepy woods to his right, and the monster-infected hills to his left, until he came upon a bit of a clearing between the two, near where the Crags elevate into more a mountain than a hill. He successfully established a camp in this "safe" area, and remained their safely for several nights... until, one day, when he was returning from an excursion to locate some berries, he noticed his little campsite had been discovered by a band of goblins, who were in the process of ransacking the possessions he left behind. There were too many of them, and they turned the location into their own site, so he could no longer afford to wait for them to leave, and hopefully leave behind some of his belongings.

Armed with just what he was carrying, Kelben found himself on the move again. He soon stumbled upon a seemingly well-traveled but somewhat secluded dirt road.

Unsure of which direction he's actually traveling, he considers his two options and discovers that they're virtually identical, at least from his current position, but he can take this new road left or right... or some other course of action entirely.

Kelben's Actions

Before deciding on which road to take the gnome looks for a tree or some other such thing to climb so that he can get a better view of each roads path from a higher vantage point. Upon locating such a thing he climbs up and investigates his options.

[dmw71]

Aubron Wranlana
Note: This post is for Shaede only.

"Agreed you are. Good." Merklyl says, producing a long, churchwarden pipe and stuffing it with tobacco; lighting it; and taking a deep huff. "Is far, where I will send you," he says, extending the pipe in your direction and pausing just long enough for you to accept it... or not. Either way, the elderly druid continues.

"Ever been to Neverwinter?" he asks, and is not offended or surprised when Aubron replies negatively. "Fear not... is not where you're going, anyway!" he says with a deep chuckle, which quickly transitions into a coughing fit. Once he regains his composure, Merkyl continues. "Is near Neverwinter, though... to a small village named Oakhurst, you go."

Merkyl goes on to explain that, for the past dozen years, on the summer solstice, a magical fruit is produced. A perfect, ruby red apple that possesses extreme healing powers. "Behind this, an old rival of mine may be," he says. "You find apple. You find health."

"I tell you not his name -- you tell me once you find him." he states determinedly, adding: "I care not what happens to him, or the apple, but I need to know if behind this he is."


"Yes?" he asks, awaiting confirmation of your intention to help him.

[Shaede]

Aubron Wranlana
Note: This post is for Shaede only.

"Agreed you are. Good." Merklyl says, producing a long, churchwarden pipe and stuffing it with tobacco; lighting it; and taking a deep huff. "Is far, where I will send you," he says, extending the pipe in your direction and pausing just long enough for you to accept it... or not. Either way, the elderly druid continues.

"Ever been to Neverwinter?" he asks, and is not offended or surprised when Aubron replies negatively. "Fear not... is not where you're going, anyway!" he says with a deep chuckle, which quickly transitions into a coughing fit. Once he regains his composure, Merkyl continues. "Is near Neverwinter, though... to a small village named Oakhurst, you go."

Merkyl goes on to explain that, for the past dozen years, on the summer solstice, a magical fruit is produced. A perfect, ruby red apple that possesses extreme healing powers. "Behind this, an old rival of mine may be," he says. "You find apple. You find health."

"I tell you not his name -- you tell me once you find him." he states determinedly, adding: "I care not what happens to him, or the apple, but I need to know if behind this he is."


"Yes?" he asks, awaiting confirmation of your intention to help him.

Aubron takes the pipe from Merkyl cautiously but reverently. He knows that he is in a place of power and in the presence of a true power. He ponders Merkyl's words and the mystery surrounding this tree.

"I am ready and with Solonor's guidance, I will bring healing and protection to all things that others would try to bend to their purposes." He then takes a long a draw of the pipe, solidifying his promise to Merkyl.

[Monsieur Rose]

Sky

"Thank you Sir. It's always good to see a man with a keen eye. This Neverwinter, I've heard of it I feel. Could it possibly live up to its name?"
She asks as she wraps her tail around herself to gain a bit more warmth.
She shakes the man's hand and deftly passes him a silver for the information. "I have enjoyed Waterdeep's splendor, but I must be on my way. Thanks again."
Questions asked and answered, Sky heads north intending to take the High Road towards Thornhold and Neverwinter.