First off, thanks for joining the game. I am looking forward to playing with everyone and creating fun challenging scenarios.
Second, the goal here is to have all five characters familiar with one another. I'll let you all figure this out, but some suggestions: -You were all hired out by a merchant to protect his goods -A king sent you all to destroy a goblin lair -Two of you met early in your adventure life and joined the others later
I can give more suggestions, but I want to give you all a chance to help generate this part of the game.
Gimble is a meddler, so she has the chance to connect with anyone along the way. She hails from the village of Ieirithymbul, located in the western section of the Sword Mountains, north of the Mere of Dead Men, about half way between Waterdeep and Neverwinter. She is often mistaken for a young girl because of her high spirit and short stature. She will likely make it her objective to solve an issue for one of the other characters.
If you have any recommendations, I am open to working around other backstories. It seems as if she could fit in just about anywhere.
I look forward to playing through the story with you all.
Gaerich hails from the Spine of the World. After leaving his tribe because of a dispute he ended up on the wrong side of he found himself in Ten Towns among the more “civilized” folk. He soon realized he’d developed a taste for travel and it wasn’t long before he was making his way south in search of new adventure.
Gaerich (Gare-ick) seems quiet but it’s a choice. He prefers to observe at first, and when he has something to say he says it emphatically but he often finds a steady look says enough.
It’s well within reason that Gaerich would have fallen in with someone and decided to go along with them. He goes where the road takes him and when he finds someone he likes his loyalty is a thing to behold.
Raised in The Cloakwood, just south of Baldur's Gate ; Clavorus became accustomed to the Forest and her secrets, of which there were many. The small village he grew up in was nestled between the massive roots of ancient trees that grew upon a long abandoned, ancient elvish city. Deep caverns, ruins, and tombs were there for those that wanted adventure, and Clavorus wound up mapping most of them with his small group of friends. The coast was always washing up something new as well, and as Clavorus grew, his adventures, wanderlust, and desire to map everything he saw did as well... leading him Northwards towards the Sword Coast. Exploration, maps, and ancient ruins are all things that drive him onwards.
Cyrus used to sail the Moonshae Isles, spurned on by tales of his father's adventurers out into the trackless sea, finding treasure, sea elves, and mystery. He didn't quite find the adventure he was looking for, and his cockiness about his partial aquatic heritage got him in over his head. Literally. Shaken by the shipwreck and grappling with what he had to do to survive, Cyrus has found himself making ends meet along the Sword Coast, gazing out upon open waters but daring not, yet, to venture forth.
Cyrus is tall, with freckled pale green skin and vaguely pointed ears. He otherwise appears human. He is charming, with a difficulty to truly connect to many people but a sailor's loyalty for those he does. I figure he met up with the other somewhere along the Sword Coast. Maybe we did a job together? Or it could have been connecting on the road.
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Incantis, half-elf warlock (great old one) 4/bard 1 ● Thorok Earthhand, hill dwarf mountain druid 6/grave cleric 2
Cragmyre Ironseed, earth genasi ancestral barbarian 3 ● Cyrus Natriallae, aquatic half-elf warlock of the deep 3
Gimble Rockroller: Female Gnome - Monk - Way of the Four Elements Gaerich: Male Human - Barbarian - Path of the Totem Warrior Clavorus Tanbir: Male Gnome - Druid - Circle of the Land Magdar "Maggie" Dark: Female Tiefling - Bard - College of Lore Cyrus: Male Half-Elf - Warlock - The Lurker in the Deep
Super excited about this group. Thank you all for joining and I hope to make this a really fun adventure. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask. I had one question about encumbrance, and yes, it will be tracked. I want to use this session for you all to introduce your characters in-game and describe the last adventure you were all on together and what happened. Be creative, but also keep it realistic, please. So, to get the game started for session one:
CHAPTER 0 - The Oar's Rest
It's been only a few days since you were all paid and thanked for the services of your recent adventure. Though the money wasn't good, you did manage to find some interesting items during the course of your heroic deeds. Now you all find yourselves sitting at Oar's Rest, a local watering hole for sailors and dockworkers in the port city of Murann, south of Balder's Gate. Tired, money running short, you take the time to regale each other about the last adventure over mead and roast chicken. You already have rooms booked upstairs and a tab open at the bar.
Inside the Oar's Rest is the bartender and owner, a dwarven ex-pirate named Zeno Witebeard, but most people just call him Salty. A few other sailors on weekend leave and a handful of dockworkers relaxing after their shifts have ended pepper the bar.
You all sit at a table close to a small fire pit that warms you all. Drinks and plates of food are strewn across the table.
A small sprite of a girl, often mistaken as a child, Gimble is The plate in front of her has a small portion of each entree/side offered. Between excitedly looking at each option, trying to decide what to eat next, she keeps trying to engage Gaerich in conversation between bites of food.
"I heard of barbarians before, but you are not as loud as what the tales say. But wayyyy bigger than I was expecting!"
"Is it cold where you come from? How many people were in your village? I bet the houses are big there, they would have to be. We don't really have houses in Ieirithymbul, we called them hollows. My parent's hollow was quite small. You definitely wouldn't fit in there."
"You know, I fought an ogre once. Well, not by myself, but I did help give him a beating. He and his buddies won't be returning to Ieirithymbul any time soon."
"The ogre was bigger than you. I bet you would still be fun to spar with though."
If it appears as if Gaerich won't begin conversing with her, she begins to look around the table to see who is the next "victim" to see if she can get them to talk with her.
Gaerich regards the tiny gnome as he methodically works his way through his second whole chicken. “I’m bigger than some, not as big as others. And yes, it is cold where I come from,“ he looks off for a moment and smiles. ”though the summers are mild. We have houses where we stay and tents where we hunt.” He takes a bite from the chicken leg in his hand, chews, and swallows before continuing. “An Ogre? Nasty creatures, I hope you killed it.” His eyebrows raise at the mention of sparring. ”we could try that, if you like.” He finishes the last of his second chicken and calls for more ale.
Cyrus chuckles, as much at ease in the sailor's tavern as a ship on calm sea, his elbows firmly straddling his plate out of habit. Leaning back, he glances around the room, meeting the eye of a serving girl with a tongue-in-cheek half grin before turning back to the party. He idly caresses the rusted hilt of his trusty cutlass. "Always a bigger fish. I'm impressed again Gimble, you want to spar with this man after you just saw what he's capable of? Don't think I've seen many folk take blows like that." He takes a deep swig of ale, downing nearly a third of the tankard before placing it back on the table where it had sit idle and full for the past 10 minutes. Heavily salting his chicken, he begins to eat.
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Incantis, half-elf warlock (great old one) 4/bard 1 ● Thorok Earthhand, hill dwarf mountain druid 6/grave cleric 2
Cragmyre Ironseed, earth genasi ancestral barbarian 3 ● Cyrus Natriallae, aquatic half-elf warlock of the deep 3
As she listens, Maggie sorts through the food on the table and pulls a plump leg off of the roast chicken. She bites into it and peels some of the meat clean off the bone with her visibly sharp teeth. Once she swallows it, she washes it down with mead. She wipes her mouth before speaking. “Let’s not ignore what Gimble’s capable of. I mean, did you see what she did to those goblins?” She takes another bite out of the leg.
As you continue to talk to one another, Salty comes from around the bar with a tray of full mugs. "Ere' ya go m'lads and lass's," he says as he places the mugs on the table and then starts to clear it by removing the empty plates and mug. "Also," he says, "those wet parchment papers ya gave me when you entered are almost all dried up," he says. At the mention of papers you all remember the final fight you had in the last adventure. After defeating the creature you all searched the lair. You each managed to have found a wondrous item ((check your inventory. I also updated everyone's gold)) and also remember Gimble having found an old leather case with a cache of blank scroll papers. The scroll-paper was made of an excellent vellum parchment ((a kind of paper that lasts for centuries)). On the journey back to Murran, you were all caught in a sudden rainstorm and the entire cache was drenched. Upon entering the Oar's Rest one of you handed the wet papers to Salty to dry.
Gimble becomes a bit somber for a moment, "Yes, it did die. I felt bad but it was trying to hurt my people. It was a sad day, I had never seen the light leave a creatures eyes before that day by my hand. I hope I never have to see that again."
As soon as he speaks, Gimble returns to her happy nature and turns to Cyrus, "it isn't about taking hits, its about avoiding them and making sure the opponent stops being able to try to hit me" she says with a little grin.
Replying to Maggie, "Oh, the stories do not do them justice. They are the ugliest things I have ever seen. But there is something worse than their looks, their smell." At this Gimble wrinkles her nose at the memory. Does Maggie have an instrument in view?
"Ooo Ooo, I remember you inspiring us during that last battle Maggie can you..." Salty interrupting her, she looks a little disappointed until Salty mentions the papers. Gimble quickly gets excited again and says "Thanks Salty, you are a great guy. Can I get those back? I think that paper would be perfect for Clavorus's maps."
Clavorus has been writing in his journal and map book for the past half an hour or so, absentmindedly nibbling on the chicken and sipping his ale. Upon mention of the ogre, he peers up from the book, grey eyebrows raised over his spectacles as he listens to the banter... "Gimble, you did the village right that day. And you did us right yesterday against those goblins, Maggie is correct in saying so. Your skills are improving daily, Nebelun would be proud."
Clavorus stows his journal away, "Well that's done, another map and notes of our adventures from yesterday.. It was odd those goblins had started nesting in those dwarven ruins, but the hobgoblin seemed intent on keeping them safe. I can never make sense of their thoughts... although, did you see these boots?! I feel like I could run as swift as a horse in these... amazing stitching too."
When Salty comes up with their ale and the dried parchments, Clavorus becomes animated, standing up and reaching for the papers. "Oh yes, oh yes... these dried wonderfully. Now, Cyrus and Gimble, as I mentioned, these can be used by all of us. If you need them for spell books, or anything of the sort, by all means... oh my.. feel the weight of the vellum Gimble.. ahhh it's like butter. It would hold ink perfectly. Oh, oh i've become all fumblemouthed and gumwitted over parchments, again.." He slumps back on the seat, rolling the vellum back into the leather case. "There now, back in your home with you... I'll save this piece for our voyages... " He wipes mouth, his salt and pepper stubble having retained a bit of mead from his last drink. And takes another drink. Sighs, and looks at the rest of the group... "OH bother, you all know how I am about papers and inks..." And smiles an impish grin
Gaerich finishes his chicken and takes a long pull from his ale. He raises the glass to Salty and then to his companions before finishing it off. “It was a fine job and well done. You lot handled yourselves well.”
Cyrus lifts the back of his hand, peering at the magical ring he took off of the Booyahg, the small goblin shaman who tried so earnestly yet vainly to subdue Gimble with wild magic. He turns to Clavorus. "I'm not really one for books actually," he says, "but mapmaking, now that's something I can get behind." He looks around at his new companions, lifting his mug of ale. "to new adventure!"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Incantis, half-elf warlock (great old one) 4/bard 1 ● Thorok Earthhand, hill dwarf mountain druid 6/grave cleric 2
Cragmyre Ironseed, earth genasi ancestral barbarian 3 ● Cyrus Natriallae, aquatic half-elf warlock of the deep 3
The sounds of cheers bring a few looks from the other patrons. Even Salty is taken aback slightly from the cheerful group and just shakes his head as he walks away from the table. As the cheering and self-congratulations continue Clavorous takes the pile of now dried parchment from Salty and starts to place them back into the beat-up leather case, but a few sheets of paper float to the ground.
Cyrus notices the fallen pages and picks them up and starts to hand them to Clavorous, when, to his surprise, a hidden text appears on two of the blank pieces of vallum paper. The following message appears:
"When the gale finally ended, we found ourselves approximately seven days normal sailing distance due south out of Murran, in the Misty Archipelago. We replenished our supplies, patched up the ship, and traded our remaining goods at native villages along the shores of several islands. Some villages were friendly, but others were hostile and the natives attacked on sight. I suspect the hostile villages were filled with cannibals.
"We skirted the coastlines of several islands, sailing south by west until we reached a small peninsula cut off from the main island by a massive stone wall. We were well received by the natives of Tanoroa, the small village that guards this wall. The villagers have no name for the large island other than the 'Isle of Dread'. Their own small peninsula is known simply as 'Home'. The villagers told us a tale about an ancient city in the central highland of the isle that was built by the same people who built the wall.
"The villagers call the builders 'the gods', but I noticed that the names of the gods and the personal names of the clan ancestors were often the same, so I suspect that their ancestors and the builders were one and the same. I believe that the natives once possessed a much more advanced culture and that the descendants of the builders have returned to a more primitive state.
"The inland city is rumored to be filled with treasure beyond imagining. In particular, I heard persistent tales concerning a great black pearl of 'the gods' that still remains in the inland city. The island waters abound with excellent pearl beds, so the rumor of the black pearl may well be true.
"The village contains a number of huge life-like statues of iron, bronze, and stone. Since no villager currently has the skill or the craft to make such statues, the tale of a lost city built by the 'gods' seems reasonable. I would have liked to explore inland to verify the rumors, but too many crewmen died in the storm or by cannibal spears. Only five of us are left. I am the only professional adventurer, the others are only sailors. We can sail the small ship well enough but on land, in hostile territory, we would be helpless. Once back in Murran I should be able to recruit a new crew and a party of professional adventurers, then I will return to claim the great black pearl.
"One thing I managed to do before leaving: we sailed around the island and made the best map we could. We were afraid to land, since village fishermen had warned us that it was extremely dangerous to land anywhere on the main island and the coasts were rocky with no beaches. As a result, the map only shows the coastal areas we could chart from the ship, but it is better than nothing."
Gimble blushes at the praise from Clavorus. When he starts talking about the goblins, she says, "As for those goblins, the ruins they were in belonged to the Forgebar Dwarves. They were always after our ore deposits. I don't know how many times the 'Unseen Protector' helped us to fight those nasties back." She giggles at his behavior when it comes to paper and ink.
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Hello Everyone,
First off, thanks for joining the game. I am looking forward to playing with everyone and creating fun challenging scenarios.
Second, the goal here is to have all five characters familiar with one another. I'll let you all figure this out, but some suggestions:
-You were all hired out by a merchant to protect his goods
-A king sent you all to destroy a goblin lair
-Two of you met early in your adventure life and joined the others later
I can give more suggestions, but I want to give you all a chance to help generate this part of the game.
Hello All,
Gimble is a meddler, so she has the chance to connect with anyone along the way. She hails from the village of Ieirithymbul, located in the western section of the Sword Mountains, north of the Mere of Dead Men, about half way between Waterdeep and Neverwinter. She is often mistaken for a young girl because of her high spirit and short stature. She will likely make it her objective to solve an issue for one of the other characters.
If you have any recommendations, I am open to working around other backstories. It seems as if she could fit in just about anywhere.
I look forward to playing through the story with you all.
Thanks,
Gimble :)
Gaerich hails from the Spine of the World. After leaving his tribe because of a dispute he ended up on the wrong side of he found himself in Ten Towns among the more “civilized” folk. He soon realized he’d developed a taste for travel and it wasn’t long before he was making his way south in search of new adventure.
Gaerich (Gare-ick) seems quiet but it’s a choice. He prefers to observe at first, and when he has something to say he says it emphatically but he often finds a steady look says enough.
It’s well within reason that Gaerich would have fallen in with someone and decided to go along with them. He goes where the road takes him and when he finds someone he likes his loyalty is a thing to behold.
Hey Mark,
Make sure you equip your guy with some stuff. Also, just waiting for two more people to get me their sheets and we can slowly start things up!
Raised in The Cloakwood, just south of Baldur's Gate ; Clavorus became accustomed to the Forest and her secrets, of which there were many. The small village he grew up in was nestled between the massive roots of ancient trees that grew upon a long abandoned, ancient elvish city. Deep caverns, ruins, and tombs were there for those that wanted adventure, and Clavorus wound up mapping most of them with his small group of friends. The coast was always washing up something new as well, and as Clavorus grew, his adventures, wanderlust, and desire to map everything he saw did as well... leading him Northwards towards the Sword Coast. Exploration, maps, and ancient ruins are all things that drive him onwards.
Cyrus used to sail the Moonshae Isles, spurned on by tales of his father's adventurers out into the trackless sea, finding treasure, sea elves, and mystery. He didn't quite find the adventure he was looking for, and his cockiness about his partial aquatic heritage got him in over his head. Literally. Shaken by the shipwreck and grappling with what he had to do to survive, Cyrus has found himself making ends meet along the Sword Coast, gazing out upon open waters but daring not, yet, to venture forth.
Cyrus is tall, with freckled pale green skin and vaguely pointed ears. He otherwise appears human. He is charming, with a difficulty to truly connect to many people but a sailor's loyalty for those he does. I figure he met up with the other somewhere along the Sword Coast. Maybe we did a job together? Or it could have been connecting on the road.
Incantis, half-elf warlock (great old one) 4/bard 1 ● Thorok Earthhand, hill dwarf mountain druid 6/grave cleric 2
Cragmyre Ironseed, earth genasi ancestral barbarian 3 ● Cyrus Natriallae, aquatic half-elf warlock of the deep 3
Hey All,
So we have the group, here is a quick breakdown:
Gimble Rockroller: Female Gnome - Monk - Way of the Four Elements
Gaerich: Male Human - Barbarian - Path of the Totem Warrior
Clavorus Tanbir: Male Gnome - Druid - Circle of the Land
Magdar "Maggie" Dark: Female Tiefling - Bard - College of Lore
Cyrus: Male Half-Elf - Warlock - The Lurker in the Deep
Super excited about this group. Thank you all for joining and I hope to make this a really fun adventure. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask. I had one question about encumbrance, and yes, it will be tracked. I want to use this session for you all to introduce your characters in-game and describe the last adventure you were all on together and what happened. Be creative, but also keep it realistic, please. So, to get the game started for session one:
CHAPTER 0 - The Oar's Rest
It's been only a few days since you were all paid and thanked for the services of your recent adventure. Though the money wasn't good, you did manage to find some interesting items during the course of your heroic deeds. Now you all find yourselves sitting at Oar's Rest, a local watering hole for sailors and dockworkers in the port city of Murann, south of Balder's Gate. Tired, money running short, you take the time to regale each other about the last adventure over mead and roast chicken. You already have rooms booked upstairs and a tab open at the bar.
Inside the Oar's Rest is the bartender and owner, a dwarven ex-pirate named Zeno Witebeard, but most people just call him Salty. A few other sailors on weekend leave and a handful of dockworkers relaxing after their shifts have ended pepper the bar.
You all sit at a table close to a small fire pit that warms you all. Drinks and plates of food are strewn across the table.
A small sprite of a girl, often mistaken as a child, Gimble is The plate in front of her has a small portion of each entree/side offered. Between excitedly looking at each option, trying to decide what to eat next, she keeps trying to engage Gaerich in conversation between bites of food.
"I heard of barbarians before, but you are not as loud as what the tales say. But wayyyy bigger than I was expecting!"
"Is it cold where you come from? How many people were in your village? I bet the houses are big there, they would have to be. We don't really have houses in Ieirithymbul, we called them hollows. My parent's hollow was quite small. You definitely wouldn't fit in there."
"You know, I fought an ogre once. Well, not by myself, but I did help give him a beating. He and his buddies won't be returning to Ieirithymbul any time soon."
"The ogre was bigger than you. I bet you would still be fun to spar with though."
If it appears as if Gaerich won't begin conversing with her, she begins to look around the table to see who is the next "victim" to see if she can get them to talk with her.
Gaerich regards the tiny gnome as he methodically works his way through his second whole chicken. “I’m bigger than some, not as big as others. And yes, it is cold where I come from,“ he looks off for a moment and smiles. ”though the summers are mild. We have houses where we stay and tents where we hunt.” He takes a bite from the chicken leg in his hand, chews, and swallows before continuing. “An Ogre? Nasty creatures, I hope you killed it.” His eyebrows raise at the mention of sparring. ”we could try that, if you like.” He finishes the last of his second chicken and calls for more ale.
Cyrus chuckles, as much at ease in the sailor's tavern as a ship on calm sea, his elbows firmly straddling his plate out of habit. Leaning back, he glances around the room, meeting the eye of a serving girl with a tongue-in-cheek half grin before turning back to the party. He idly caresses the rusted hilt of his trusty cutlass. "Always a bigger fish. I'm impressed again Gimble, you want to spar with this man after you just saw what he's capable of? Don't think I've seen many folk take blows like that." He takes a deep swig of ale, downing nearly a third of the tankard before placing it back on the table where it had sit idle and full for the past 10 minutes. Heavily salting his chicken, he begins to eat.
Incantis, half-elf warlock (great old one) 4/bard 1 ● Thorok Earthhand, hill dwarf mountain druid 6/grave cleric 2
Cragmyre Ironseed, earth genasi ancestral barbarian 3 ● Cyrus Natriallae, aquatic half-elf warlock of the deep 3
As she listens, Maggie sorts through the food on the table and pulls a plump leg off of the roast chicken. She bites into it and peels some of the meat clean off the bone with her visibly sharp teeth. Once she swallows it, she washes it down with mead. She wipes her mouth before speaking. “Let’s not ignore what Gimble’s capable of. I mean, did you see what she did to those goblins?” She takes another bite out of the leg.
As you continue to talk to one another, Salty comes from around the bar with a tray of full mugs. "Ere' ya go m'lads and lass's," he says as he places the mugs on the table and then starts to clear it by removing the empty plates and mug. "Also," he says, "those wet parchment papers ya gave me when you entered are almost all dried up," he says. At the mention of papers you all remember the final fight you had in the last adventure. After defeating the creature you all searched the lair. You each managed to have found a wondrous item ((check your inventory. I also updated everyone's gold)) and also remember Gimble having found an old leather case with a cache of blank scroll papers. The scroll-paper was made of an excellent vellum parchment ((a kind of paper that lasts for centuries)). On the journey back to Murran, you were all caught in a sudden rainstorm and the entire cache was drenched. Upon entering the Oar's Rest one of you handed the wet papers to Salty to dry.
Gimble becomes a bit somber for a moment, "Yes, it did die. I felt bad but it was trying to hurt my people. It was a sad day, I had never seen the light leave a creatures eyes before that day by my hand. I hope I never have to see that again."
As soon as he speaks, Gimble returns to her happy nature and turns to Cyrus, "it isn't about taking hits, its about avoiding them and making sure the opponent stops being able to try to hit me" she says with a little grin.
Replying to Maggie, "Oh, the stories do not do them justice. They are the ugliest things I have ever seen. But there is something worse than their looks, their smell." At this Gimble wrinkles her nose at the memory. Does Maggie have an instrument in view?
(Her prized possession—her lute—is leaning on the table, right next to her.)
"Ooo Ooo, I remember you inspiring us during that last battle Maggie can you..." Salty interrupting her, she looks a little disappointed until Salty mentions the papers. Gimble quickly gets excited again and says "Thanks Salty, you are a great guy. Can I get those back? I think that paper would be perfect for Clavorus's maps."
Clavorus has been writing in his journal and map book for the past half an hour or so, absentmindedly nibbling on the chicken and sipping his ale. Upon mention of the ogre, he peers up from the book, grey eyebrows raised over his spectacles as he listens to the banter... "Gimble, you did the village right that day. And you did us right yesterday against those goblins, Maggie is correct in saying so. Your skills are improving daily, Nebelun would be proud."
Clavorus stows his journal away, "Well that's done, another map and notes of our adventures from yesterday.. It was odd those goblins had started nesting in those dwarven ruins, but the hobgoblin seemed intent on keeping them safe. I can never make sense of their thoughts... although, did you see these boots?! I feel like I could run as swift as a horse in these... amazing stitching too."
When Salty comes up with their ale and the dried parchments, Clavorus becomes animated, standing up and reaching for the papers. "Oh yes, oh yes... these dried wonderfully. Now, Cyrus and Gimble, as I mentioned, these can be used by all of us. If you need them for spell books, or anything of the sort, by all means... oh my.. feel the weight of the vellum Gimble.. ahhh it's like butter. It would hold ink perfectly. Oh, oh i've become all fumblemouthed and gumwitted over parchments, again.." He slumps back on the seat, rolling the vellum back into the leather case. "There now, back in your home with you... I'll save this piece for our voyages... " He wipes mouth, his salt and pepper stubble having retained a bit of mead from his last drink. And takes another drink. Sighs, and looks at the rest of the group... "OH bother, you all know how I am about papers and inks..." And smiles an impish grin
Gaerich finishes his chicken and takes a long pull from his ale. He raises the glass to Salty and then to his companions before finishing it off. “It was a fine job and well done. You lot handled yourselves well.”
Cyrus lifts the back of his hand, peering at the magical ring he took off of the Booyahg, the small goblin shaman who tried so earnestly yet vainly to subdue Gimble with wild magic. He turns to Clavorus. "I'm not really one for books actually," he says, "but mapmaking, now that's something I can get behind." He looks around at his new companions, lifting his mug of ale. "to new adventure!"
Incantis, half-elf warlock (great old one) 4/bard 1 ● Thorok Earthhand, hill dwarf mountain druid 6/grave cleric 2
Cragmyre Ironseed, earth genasi ancestral barbarian 3 ● Cyrus Natriallae, aquatic half-elf warlock of the deep 3
The sounds of cheers bring a few looks from the other patrons. Even Salty is taken aback slightly from the cheerful group and just shakes his head as he walks away from the table. As the cheering and self-congratulations continue Clavorous takes the pile of now dried parchment from Salty and starts to place them back into the beat-up leather case, but a few sheets of paper float to the ground.
Cyrus notices the fallen pages and picks them up and starts to hand them to Clavorous, when, to his surprise, a hidden text appears on two of the blank pieces of vallum paper. The following message appears:
"When the gale finally ended, we found ourselves approximately seven days normal sailing distance due south out of Murran, in the Misty Archipelago. We replenished our supplies, patched up the ship, and traded our remaining goods at native villages along the shores of several islands. Some villages were friendly, but others were hostile and the natives attacked on sight. I suspect the hostile villages were filled with cannibals.
"We skirted the coastlines of several islands, sailing south by west until we reached a small peninsula cut off from the main island by a massive stone wall. We were well received by the natives of Tanoroa, the small village that guards this wall. The villagers have no name for the large island other than the 'Isle of Dread'. Their own small peninsula is known simply as 'Home'. The villagers told us a tale about an ancient city in the central highland of the isle that was built by the same people who built the wall.
"The villagers call the builders 'the gods', but I noticed that the names of the gods and the personal names of the clan ancestors were often the same, so I suspect that their ancestors and the builders were one and the same. I believe that the natives once possessed a much more advanced culture and that the descendants of the builders have returned to a more primitive state.
"The inland city is rumored to be filled with treasure beyond imagining. In particular, I heard persistent tales concerning a great black pearl of 'the gods' that still remains in the inland city. The island waters abound with excellent pearl beds, so the rumor of the black pearl may well be true.
"The village contains a number of huge life-like statues of iron, bronze, and stone. Since no villager currently has the skill or the craft to make such statues, the tale of a lost city built by the 'gods' seems reasonable. I would have liked to explore inland to verify the rumors, but too many crewmen died in the storm or by cannibal spears. Only five of us are left. I am the only professional adventurer, the others are only sailors. We can sail the small ship well enough but on land, in hostile territory, we would be helpless. Once back in Murran I should be able to recruit a new crew and a party of professional adventurers, then I will return to claim the great black pearl.
"One thing I managed to do before leaving: we sailed around the island and made the best map we could. We were afraid to land, since village fishermen had warned us that it was extremely dangerous to land anywhere on the main island and the coasts were rocky with no beaches. As a result, the map only shows the coastal areas we could chart from the ship, but it is better than nothing."
-Rory Barbarossa
Gimble blushes at the praise from Clavorus. When he starts talking about the goblins, she says, "As for those goblins, the ruins they were in belonged to the Forgebar Dwarves. They were always after our ore deposits. I don't know how many times the 'Unseen Protector' helped us to fight those nasties back." She giggles at his behavior when it comes to paper and ink.