Marrin and Sailor-Jan make their way back to the Captain's Loft and join the others. A few minutes later Ula and Hammerdasher make it back as well.
"What did you all stir up back at the docks?" Hammerdasher asks. "Two giant goliath lasses dragging a poor orc around asking everyone about a stolen engagement ring."
Jenny Mauberg barrels into the main room, juggling several wrapped packages.
"The horses and ponies are just being brought up front," Jenny says then she lays the packages out. "I packed a lunch for you too. It's always good to get a good meal in at least once as you get started. The jerky will wait."
Tas nods as Avaria explains their plans.
"Well, we could still use the company if we're going in the same direction. Numbers matter when it comes to dissuading bandits."
While there's a whirl of activity in the inn, K' provides no updates on the ring.
"The orc proposed to the pretty one,"Jan runs a finger across her face to mimic Vovia's scar, "but apparently she changed her mind and he wanted the ring back... well, really he wanted her to change her mind again, but he sent us to get the ring back for some info on our favorite bald necromancer. He might have a shot, it seems that she had a fondness for the ring after all... and I dare say he'd enjoy her bossing him around daily."
"Thank you Jenny, you've truly gone above and beyond mere hospitality! If I could ask one more thing of you, however... Mister Highhead is currently occupied, but will hopefully be delivering to you a sealed letter with some information for us...", Jan looks to her companions. "Do we need the letter brought to us on the road, or shall we have it entrusted to Misters Bigge and Desbiens?"
((If the former, she'll ask Jenny to leave it somewhere unattended so that K may collect it, otherwise ask for her to see it reaches the Xanthe's Wish.))
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM:Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
At that you can hear the sound of horses neighing outside. Looking out to the street you see Jenny's big bartender with all of your steeds ready to go. Tas Lighthair's caravan of three wagons awaits down the road.
If the group has no unfinished business, everyone mounts up and gets on their way, tracing through the streets of Uthmere quickly. There's no sign of Highhead or the twins as your journey begins.
As you leave Uthmere, you encounter a handful of small farms, but soon the farmsteads dwindle to nothing. Dotted along the sides of the road you can see the white dots that indicate the folk of the dale are mostly goatherds and shepherds, not farmers.
Most of the land between the forests consists of rolling downs, a seemingly endless series of low, heather-grown ridges steadily climbing as one travels from west to east. The soil is thin and rocky in most spots, and few crops grow well at higher altitudes. Long ago, ancient glaciers gouged this land deeply, leaving behind long, snaking moraines and countless tiny lakes, but scraped the best soil into the low plains near the Easting Reach and the Forest of Lethyr.
As you travel,Tas Lighthair points out some of the more prominent features of the Great Dale.
“They say at some point in the past, a great glacier scoured a path between two slightly higher stretches of land, and since that long-ago time, the great forests have been unable to take root in the vale between. The Dalesfolk tell other stories to explain the gap; some say a great dragon burned a path through one great forest, while others claim that woodland gods held a contest to determine whether wood or wind would rule this land.” She says.
After a pause, she laughs.
“It’s a rough place and whatever its origin, the gap averages forty to sixty miles in width and stretches nearly 250 miles in length.”
You can all clearly see rumpled ridges of bare rock rise from its thin soil, growing steeper and more rugged toward the forests that flank north and south. In sheltered spots, the topsoil is thick and fertile, but most of the land is suited only for raising hardy livestock such as goats and sheep.
Across the Dalestream river to the south of the road, you can make out the closest point of one of the forests; the canopy of the trees is so thick, even in the heart of winter, that almost no light passes through, casting vast portions of the land in twilight even at the height of the day.
The Great Road, or what Tas had repeatedly referred to just as ‘the Road’ stretches on into the distance.
For the better part of the day, a fierce, biting, cold wind howls down the dale from the east
The first day and night on the road may not pass quietly given the wind, but it does pass uneventfully. Sharing stories around the fire, Tas shares stories of a colony of druids and treants to the south who work to keep the darkness away. You could use some of their magic now. While nothing malevolent comes your way, the consistent wind constantly threatens to blow out the fire and leave you all in the cold. But somehow the fire survives the night.
K’ does not make an appearance on the first day.
The next day brings more of the same windswept dale, the sight of goats and sheep becoming further and further apart.
As you approach evening on the second day, having traveled over 70 miles from Uthmere, you spot a vast dark mound rising to the north of the road. A number of lesser mounds ring it like silent cold sentinels; the long brown grasses of their rounded sides hissing endlessly in a chill north wind that never dies away completely.
Tas curses loudly at the sight of the mound.
“Damn, I misjudged our speed,” she says. “I hate being anywhere near that thing at night. It gives me the creeps.”
She sighs deeply and waves at the large mound.
“Well, that’s the Great Barrow,” she says .”And with darkness coming quickly we’ll have to camp near it.”
At this point, you appear to be in one of those sections of the dale that is at its narrowest. Across the river to the south you can make out the darkness of the woods. And to the north, behind the barrow, you can make out the even darker Rawlinswood.
Ethel looks off to the mounds rising in the north. "The Great Barrow? So its a tomb, then? Who or what lies burried there?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
(I think we said yes to Soren? Marrin was pro pending the group's determination after the interview and he did well, right?)
Marrin laughs off the sand down her neck and starts considering a new name for the clay critter.
She's happy to have gotten Ava and Ethel out of town before they were delayed by the twins. She's less happy to be on the road, and isn't interested in the terrain except noting the painful lack of inns and people.
She does do her best to provide some entertainment (with Soren's help?). Mostly instrumental, going through her songs to see what combination works the best with some humming.
At the barrows, she looks at them like she looked at the rest of the scenery, with disinterest. She is interested in stories of people buried in a hill, or rather a hill built around them.
Avaria gets settled into camp, not too worried about the situation, she was used to sleeping outside. She is however curious about these barrows and listens up when Ethel asks about them.
Soren had business to wrap up in Uthmere and was not ready to join the group when you left town quickly. However, alone, on horseback, he was able to catch up to the caravan by noon on the second day of your travels and was with the group when they arrived at the Great Barrow.
Tas shrugs at the question about who's buried under the Great Barrow or the surrounding lesser barrows.
One of her caravan merchants points to something the group had missed when they first arrived. On a small hill, several hundred yards to the east of the barrow looks to be the ruins of a small stone keep.
"How about we camp there?" he suggests.
Soren, having caught up on what the conversation is about shakes his head.
"We don't want any part of that, friend," the bard begins. "A hundred years a go, a lord named Elphras built that tower. He claimed this barrowfield and the lands around it as his fiefdom. That lasted barely a year. No one know what happened but a passing caravan, maybe much like ours, came by and the entire household, Elphras, his family, his guards and servants were all gone. No one ever saw them again."
He looks from the ruins back to the Great Barrow.
"The one story I've been told is that a brutally cruel tribe that lived in these parts eons ago buried their champion under there. After that they dwindled to nothing, though their restless spirits are said to haunt the forests nearby." Soren says then shivers. "I'd rather risk breaking a horses leg in the night and keep moving then camp here."
Soren's story seems to have scared all three merchants and they whisper quickly to Tas that they want to keep going.
"It's not safe on these roads at night," Tas says. "The horses can get injured. We can break a wheel in a rut. And the wolves will be out hunting. I'd rather face old ghost stories around a good campfire than real dangers like those."
Both Soren and Tas look at the party to see their thoughts on camping or continuing.
Keeping her voice low so as not to undermine Tas, Ethel gathers the others. "I don't know anything of these barrows, but we brought Soren along for his expertise on the dangers of this region. If he thinks camping here is ill-advised, I am inclined to trust in his recommendation. We need to convince Tas to keep the wagons moving... perhaps at least until midnight, putting some miles between us and this place before we settle in for camp."
She looks back toward the barrows, rising in the distance. "Were time no factor, I'd have half a mind to examine this place in the light of day. Alas, it isn't in the cards for us."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
"Honestly I'm not scared of a few ghosts, no matter what Soren says, but if you all want to move on for a bit longer, I'll hold a torch up with Jan. I would hate for one of these horses to break a leg." She looks at her new beast with concern having a new fondness for him.
Hammerdasher and Geffroi agree with the party and Soren. The three merchants also appear to be suitably freaked out by Soren’s story and are willing to keep going.
Tas sighs and gives Soren a less than warm look, but she relents and agrees to keep going for a little while.
She looks up at the sky and nods at the moon.
”We’ve a few hours before the moon sets. We’ll have to call a stop then but we can put some distance in still.”
————————————————
With the three wagons in a row and Hammerdasher and Geffroi riding behind the last wagon, Soren will ride out front with whomever is up there. How does the party arrange themselves about the caravan? And let’s get a perception roll from everyone.
((Yep, off to the Loft and the open road!))
Morc finds a place to duck into and alley and less than a minute later Marrin, in clean clothes, emerges and keeps on to the Loft.
She has an annoyed expression on her face as she walks in and looks around for her companions.
Marrin and Sailor-Jan make their way back to the Captain's Loft and join the others. A few minutes later Ula and Hammerdasher make it back as well.
"What did you all stir up back at the docks?" Hammerdasher asks. "Two giant goliath lasses dragging a poor orc around asking everyone about a stolen engagement ring."
Jenny Mauberg barrels into the main room, juggling several wrapped packages.
"The horses and ponies are just being brought up front," Jenny says then she lays the packages out. "I packed a lunch for you too. It's always good to get a good meal in at least once as you get started. The jerky will wait."
Tas nods as Avaria explains their plans.
"Well, we could still use the company if we're going in the same direction. Numbers matter when it comes to dissuading bandits."
While there's a whirl of activity in the inn, K' provides no updates on the ring.
(Anything left to be done before leaving?)
"The orc proposed to the pretty one," Jan runs a finger across her face to mimic Vovia's scar, "but apparently she changed her mind and he wanted the ring back... well, really he wanted her to change her mind again, but he sent us to get the ring back for some info on our favorite bald necromancer. He might have a shot, it seems that she had a fondness for the ring after all... and I dare say he'd enjoy her bossing him around daily."
"Thank you Jenny, you've truly gone above and beyond mere hospitality! If I could ask one more thing of you, however... Mister Highhead is currently occupied, but will hopefully be delivering to you a sealed letter with some information for us...", Jan looks to her companions. "Do we need the letter brought to us on the road, or shall we have it entrusted to Misters Bigge and Desbiens?"
((If the former, she'll ask Jenny to leave it somewhere unattended so that K may collect it, otherwise ask for her to see it reaches the Xanthe's Wish.))
DM: Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Active Characters:
Breldo, Halfling Ranger | Kathryn, Wood Elf Rogue/Ranger | Kroshav, Dragonborn Paladin | T'laren Farsiel, Wood Elf Fighter | Trill, Kenku Bard | Val "Janellae", Mark of Shadow Elf Warlock
Marrin shakes her head slowly,
"Well I wish them the best. If he sends a letter it won't catch up with us, especially if take a short cut. Leave it here or get it you the Wish."
She'll give Jenny a smile,
"I definitely will be stopping back here to perform, I'd be crazy not to."
She'll quickly gather her things and say,
"Let's head out before the twins decide to check this direction."
"If we want the letter on the road, I can leave my... dusty courier to bring it to us."
DM: Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Active Characters:
Breldo, Halfling Ranger | Kathryn, Wood Elf Rogue/Ranger | Kroshav, Dragonborn Paladin | T'laren Farsiel, Wood Elf Fighter | Trill, Kenku Bard | Val "Janellae", Mark of Shadow Elf Warlock
"Dust courier? Oh, right. Ya, that's a good idea. Always forget about your muck minion."
At that you can hear the sound of horses neighing outside. Looking out to the street you see Jenny's big bartender with all of your steeds ready to go. Tas Lighthair's caravan of three wagons awaits down the road.
If the group has no unfinished business, everyone mounts up and gets on their way, tracing through the streets of Uthmere quickly. There's no sign of Highhead or the twins as your journey begins.
As you leave Uthmere, you encounter a handful of small farms, but soon the farmsteads dwindle to nothing. Dotted along the sides of the road you can see the white dots that indicate the folk of the dale are mostly goatherds and shepherds, not farmers.
Most of the land between the forests consists of rolling downs, a seemingly endless series of low, heather-grown ridges steadily climbing as one travels from west to east. The soil is thin and rocky in most spots, and few crops grow well at higher altitudes. Long ago, ancient glaciers gouged this land deeply, leaving behind long, snaking moraines and countless tiny lakes, but scraped the best soil into the low plains near the Easting Reach and the Forest of Lethyr.
As you travel,Tas Lighthair points out some of the more prominent features of the Great Dale.
“They say at some point in the past, a great glacier scoured a path between two slightly higher stretches of land, and since that long-ago time, the great forests have been unable to take root in the vale between. The Dalesfolk tell other stories to explain the gap; some say a great dragon burned a path through one great forest, while others claim that woodland gods held a contest to determine whether wood or wind would rule this land.” She says.
After a pause, she laughs.
“It’s a rough place and whatever its origin, the gap averages forty to sixty miles in width and stretches nearly 250 miles in length.”
You can all clearly see rumpled ridges of bare rock rise from its thin soil, growing steeper and more rugged toward the forests that flank north and south. In sheltered spots, the topsoil is thick and fertile, but most of the land is suited only for raising hardy livestock such as goats and sheep.
Across the Dalestream river to the south of the road, you can make out the closest point of one of the forests; the canopy of the trees is so thick, even in the heart of winter, that almost no light passes through, casting vast portions of the land in twilight even at the height of the day.
The Great Road, or what Tas had repeatedly referred to just as ‘the Road’ stretches on into the distance.
For the better part of the day, a fierce, biting, cold wind howls down the dale from the east
The first day and night on the road may not pass quietly given the wind, but it does pass uneventfully. Sharing stories around the fire, Tas shares stories of a colony of druids and treants to the south who work to keep the darkness away. You could use some of their magic now. While nothing malevolent comes your way, the consistent wind constantly threatens to blow out the fire and leave you all in the cold. But somehow the fire survives the night.
K’ does not make an appearance on the first day.
The next day brings more of the same windswept dale, the sight of goats and sheep becoming further and further apart.
As you approach evening on the second day, having traveled over 70 miles from Uthmere, you spot a vast dark mound rising to the north of the road. A number of lesser mounds ring it like silent cold sentinels; the long brown grasses of their rounded sides hissing endlessly in a chill north wind that never dies away completely.
Tas curses loudly at the sight of the mound.
“Damn, I misjudged our speed,” she says. “I hate being anywhere near that thing at night. It gives me the creeps.”
She sighs deeply and waves at the large mound.
“Well, that’s the Great Barrow,” she says .”And with darkness coming quickly we’ll have to camp near it.”
At this point, you appear to be in one of those sections of the dale that is at its narrowest. Across the river to the south you can make out the darkness of the woods. And to the north, behind the barrow, you can make out the even darker Rawlinswood.
Some sand trickles down into Marrin's hair. Jan gives a not-so-innocent smirk.
((Had we told Soren we were going to travel with him?))
DM: Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Active Characters:
Breldo, Halfling Ranger | Kathryn, Wood Elf Rogue/Ranger | Kroshav, Dragonborn Paladin | T'laren Farsiel, Wood Elf Fighter | Trill, Kenku Bard | Val "Janellae", Mark of Shadow Elf Warlock
(Believe it had been left as a no)
Ethel looks off to the mounds rising in the north. "The Great Barrow? So its a tomb, then? Who or what lies burried there?"
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
(I think we said yes to Soren? Marrin was pro pending the group's determination after the interview and he did well, right?)
Marrin laughs off the sand down her neck and starts considering a new name for the clay critter.
She's happy to have gotten Ava and Ethel out of town before they were delayed by the twins. She's less happy to be on the road, and isn't interested in the terrain except noting the painful lack of inns and people.
She does do her best to provide some entertainment (with Soren's help?). Mostly instrumental, going through her songs to see what combination works the best with some humming.
At the barrows, she looks at them like she looked at the rest of the scenery, with disinterest. She is interested in stories of people buried in a hill, or rather a hill built around them.
Avaria gets settled into camp, not too worried about the situation, she was used to sleeping outside. She is however curious about these barrows and listens up when Ethel asks about them.
Soren had business to wrap up in Uthmere and was not ready to join the group when you left town quickly. However, alone, on horseback, he was able to catch up to the caravan by noon on the second day of your travels and was with the group when they arrived at the Great Barrow.
Tas shrugs at the question about who's buried under the Great Barrow or the surrounding lesser barrows.
One of her caravan merchants points to something the group had missed when they first arrived. On a small hill, several hundred yards to the east of the barrow looks to be the ruins of a small stone keep.
"How about we camp there?" he suggests.
Soren, having caught up on what the conversation is about shakes his head.
"We don't want any part of that, friend," the bard begins. "A hundred years a go, a lord named Elphras built that tower. He claimed this barrowfield and the lands around it as his fiefdom. That lasted barely a year. No one know what happened but a passing caravan, maybe much like ours, came by and the entire household, Elphras, his family, his guards and servants were all gone. No one ever saw them again."
He looks from the ruins back to the Great Barrow.
"The one story I've been told is that a brutally cruel tribe that lived in these parts eons ago buried their champion under there. After that they dwindled to nothing, though their restless spirits are said to haunt the forests nearby." Soren says then shivers. "I'd rather risk breaking a horses leg in the night and keep moving then camp here."
Soren's story seems to have scared all three merchants and they whisper quickly to Tas that they want to keep going.
"It's not safe on these roads at night," Tas says. "The horses can get injured. We can break a wheel in a rut. And the wolves will be out hunting. I'd rather face old ghost stories around a good campfire than real dangers like those."
Both Soren and Tas look at the party to see their thoughts on camping or continuing.
Keeping her voice low so as not to undermine Tas, Ethel gathers the others. "I don't know anything of these barrows, but we brought Soren along for his expertise on the dangers of this region. If he thinks camping here is ill-advised, I am inclined to trust in his recommendation. We need to convince Tas to keep the wagons moving... perhaps at least until midnight, putting some miles between us and this place before we settle in for camp."
She looks back toward the barrows, rising in the distance. "Were time no factor, I'd have half a mind to examine this place in the light of day. Alas, it isn't in the cards for us."
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
"We can push on for a ways, I can make some light to guide us."
She'll light up a bit of tack on the wagon's horses to demonstrate.
To Ethel,
"We can maybe check it out on the way back?"
"I'm not able to contribute to light beyond holding a torch, but willing to move ahead of the main group and be on the lookout."
DM: Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Active Characters:
Breldo, Halfling Ranger | Kathryn, Wood Elf Rogue/Ranger | Kroshav, Dragonborn Paladin | T'laren Farsiel, Wood Elf Fighter | Trill, Kenku Bard | Val "Janellae", Mark of Shadow Elf Warlock
"Honestly I'm not scared of a few ghosts, no matter what Soren says, but if you all want to move on for a bit longer, I'll hold a torch up with Jan. I would hate for one of these horses to break a leg." She looks at her new beast with concern having a new fondness for him.
Hammerdasher and Geffroi agree with the party and Soren. The three merchants also appear to be suitably freaked out by Soren’s story and are willing to keep going.
Tas sighs and gives Soren a less than warm look, but she relents and agrees to keep going for a little while.
She looks up at the sky and nods at the moon.
”We’ve a few hours before the moon sets. We’ll have to call a stop then but we can put some distance in still.”
————————————————
With the three wagons in a row and Hammerdasher and Geffroi riding behind the last wagon, Soren will ride out front with whomever is up there. How does the party arrange themselves about the caravan? And let’s get a perception roll from everyone.
Avaria is up front with Jan holding a torch.
Perception: 24
"I don't know that we need to go a few hours away from it? I guess it depends on what the range of a, possible, curse is."
Marrin will cast light on the front wagon's horses, some place it isn't going to blind them.
She'll hang behind it and before the second wagon.
Perception: 16