EPISODE 1: The Call to Adventure and a Missing Child

Somewhere in The Sword Coast, a land littered with magic, monsters, and adventure, a small, unremarkable village houses the start of our story. Evening has just arrived, and the local tavern fills with villagers who've finished their day's work. The tavern roars with laughter, clinking mugs, and idle chatter as the locals share food, drinks, and merry conversation with one another.

Four outsiders, our soon-to-be adventurers, sit among them, each enjoying their evening meal.

In a lone corner, a tiefling sits by himself. An invisible barrier of prejudice and fear separates him from the villagers, who subtly avert their gaze whenever they glance his way. In stark contrast, an aasimar finds herself at the center of attention. The locals gaze at her with awe and reverence, seeing her as a blessed, holy figure. One woman even shoves her infant toward the aasimar's face, begging for a blessing for her child.

Nearby, a dragonborn draws a curious, though less intense, crowd than the aasimar. Most have never seen her kind before, their fascination is evident. They marvel at her shimmering scales, some even asking embarrassing questions about how dragonborn conceive. Finally, a dwarven man finds himself the target of a persistent drunkard. Having heard tales of dwarven strength at drinking, the man pester him for a contest, hoping to claim bragging rights. The dwarf, of course, will be the one paying the bill for the drinks.

These four, strangers to one another, share one common trait. For their entire lives, each has felt incomplete, as though a vital piece of their existence was missing. In a second, that is about to change.

Suddenly, a loud THUD echoes through the tavern as the door bursts open. A middle-aged man, dressed in simple clothing, frantically runs into the room. His face is red from exertion and panic. "Monsters!" he screams, voice filled with terror. "They took my boy! Right out of his bed, dragged him into the woods! Please, someone... anyone... help me save him!"

At that pivotal moment, our four heroes realize this is what they've been missing. Adventure!

[OOC: Please introduce your characters! Don't forget to include your character volunteering to help save the child!]

Dawn, the Aasimar, leaps to her feet, ready to help. "Show me which way they went," she requests in a voice as silvery as her skin. Her golden eyes sparkle at the upcoming adventure, while her white hair trails slightly behind her rapid approach to the man in trouble. At 5'7" tall with a slender build, she's a bit on the shorter side and not very imposing.  But the chain shirt she's wearing, the shield strapped to her back, and the mace at her belt show that she's ready for trouble.

In her enthusiasm to help, she forgets that she's spent her life inside a temple and has no experience tracking people through a forest. 

{This exactly matches her Ideal: Charity. I always try to help those in need, no matter what the personal cost. (Good) 😊 }

Zalvok, the Tiefling, slowly gets up from his table and woalks toward the walks toward the man and asks:"What monsters?". Zalvok is rather short, he is 4' tall tiefling with grey skin.

He doesn't have anything better to do and who knows, maybe people value deeds way more than looks here, so he decides to join resque party too.

{Will everyone having golden eyes be our thing?}

{I like that both the Aasimar and the Tiefling have golden eyes, though Dawn's eyes are all gold, just the iris.. But the dwarf looks to have normal eyes. 

I think our thing will be everyone not remembering that they don't have tracking skills....}

(Surina's whole thing is being a guide in the wilderness, but her eyes are indeed, amber XD)

Surina is grateful for the distraction from the small crowd she has gathered inside the inn. At 6'0'', she towers over everyone else that has rushed over to the man, offering their assistance. Like her companions, her eyes are a shade of amber, but her skin is royal blue and covered in scales. When she speaks, her voice is low and rumbly.

"I can be of assistance," she says. "I am a local guide and wilderness explorer. Where was your boy last seen? Take us there. I should be able to pick up the trail."

The dwarf looks at the others gathered around. "Looks like we have ourselves an impromptu search and rescue party.  Lets head out to the place the boy was last seen, whether it be at the homestead or a trail."  Looking at the man, he says, "Lead the way." 

He looks at the others and continues on with, "I am Ulf of Clan Stahle.  Cartographer and outpost builder by trade, student of the mystical arts by hobby."

He motions towards the door as the others introduce themselves.

The aasimar joins the introductions, "I am Dawn, an acolyte from a Temple to Dawnfather, sent to learn more about the world so as to be a better cleric. I am lacking in practical experience, so please take care of me."

She joins the others in following the man asking for help.

 Besides our four heroes, a few brave villagers rise from their seats.

“I’ll come too!” one of them shouts out. A young man, around nineteen, with calloused hands and clothes covered with dirt from fieldwork. He raises a rusty pitchfork and steps forward. “Timmy’s my cousin. I can’t just sit here and do nothing.”

“I’m not letting that boy get eaten alive by monsters!” says an older woman, gripping a small table knife like a dagger.

A third, frail old man steps forward with a walking stick and nods. “I’ve hunted those woods my whole life. I can guide you-”

“Sit down, you damn fools!” barks an older woman, banging a wooden table. “You think a rusty pitchfork and dumb courage will save that child?”

“Wild beasts have been prowling the forest every night!” shouts another. “Fearsome, starving things. They don’t fear fire or steel anymore!”

An old man points at our four heroes with a boney finger. “Look at them! Chainmail, actual weapons, maybe even magic. Let them go. You lot? You’ll just die out there.”

Half the tavern murmurs in agreement as the volunteers head back to their seats, head down in shame.

The tavernkeep, a short, pudgy man wearing a brown apron, clears his throat and steps forward with a bundle wrapped in simple cloth. “Here,” he says, handing it to our heroes. “Food, water, and torches. It’s what I can spare.”

The bundle contains four rations, four waterskins, and two torches.

“Thank you! Oh, gods, thank you!” the man who cried for help says, half-sobbing as he moves toward the strangers. “Come with me. I’ll explain everything on the way.”

He pushes open the tavern doors, holding it for them, the cold evening air rushing in as he gestures them to follow him out.

Surina looks to each of the villagers who volunteered and gives them a respectful nod. "Your courage is admirable," she says. "Your trust in us will not be misplaced. We will find the child."

Turning back to her new companions, the dragonborn introduces herself. "My name is Surina of Clan Xarith."

Surina accepts the supplies from the tavernkeep with a nod of thanks. Then she turns back to the distraught man. "Lead the way, good sir."

Dawn follows Surina and the father out of the tavern.

Ulf speaks to the farmer, "I have a number of questions.  Please answer them as well as you can.  Can you tell us what type of creature took your boy?  Can you describe your son to us?  Do you have any keepsakes of his or maybe something of yours he recognizes so he'll know we are there to help him on your behalf?"

Zalvok gets his mule from stable and follows rescue group.

The party follows the distressed villager out of the tavern. Outside, the evening sky has a bright orange hue, signalling that the sun will soon set. The distressed villager turns to the party.

"Timmy's my only child, and my only family after my wife passed a few years back. He'll turn seven this winter. He's near your height," he nods to the dwarf, "with brown skin, curly brown hair, and brown eyes. He's got a cute, button nose and field of freckles on his face. A near copy of his mother." He says with a reminiscent smile.

"Usually I take my boy with me to work the fields, but he woke up with a nasty fever this morning. Thought it best to let him rest at home for the day." He shakes his head with regret. "I come back home and see these little, red devils-" He abruptly stops as he meets the tiefling's gaze. "Ahem, monsters dragging my boy right out of his bed and into the woods. They were around this high," he raises his hand around 2-3 feet off the ground, "had blood-red scales and..." he pauses as he looks at the dragonborn, Surina, before meekly continuing, "had faces similar to hers, but much uglier." He quickly adds the last detail.

"Please, save my boy, and I'll sing praises of you all until the day I pass. Dawn, an acolyte of the Dawnfather. Sir Ina of Clan Zaryth. Elf of Clan Stanlee. And..." he blanks as he reaches the tiefling. "I'm sorry, I haven't caught your name."

[OOC: Everyone gains 38 XP for accepting their first quest and forever changing their fates!]

The Dwarf frowns and says to the others, "Sounds like Kobolds.  Nasty little critters that usually live underground.  A well-known bane to my kin."  He turns to the farmer, "Are there any abandoned mines in the direction they took your boy?  Any known caverns? Or any place that is out of direct sunlight for all or most of the day?" 

As darkness begins to settle, Dawn asks, "Does anyone need a light to see?" As for herself, she could see just fine in the twilight. But especially their human guide might be helped by more light.

When their guide looks at tiefling he says: "I'm Zalvok Trysh and don't worry, I haven't heard your name too."

Later he agrees with a dwarf and answers Dawn: "I don't need light"

Surina's mouth twitches with amusement as Timmy's father hastily adds the detail about the kobolds being ugly. "Kobolds can be quite the nuisance," she agrees. "Did you notice any tracks after they took your boy? Perhaps we can follow them."

The dragonborn shakes her head at the offer of light. "I can see quite well, thank you."

"Zavlock Tresh..." he wrongly mutters the tiefling's name before introducing himself. "Name's Tim."

Tim pauses to think before answering Ulf's question. "Hmm. I remember stumbling on a small cave back when I was about my boy's age. You think those... cobalts might've taken him there?" He asks with a worried voice.

As he talks, Tim comes to a stop in front of a humble wooden house. The front door hangs open.

"We're here." He gestures for the party to follow and quickly heads inside.

In the far corner, a messy bed sits among a pile of scattered belongings. Beside it, an open window faces the forest. Right outside it, fresh tracks are clearly visible, leading to the woods.

Dawn says, "Shall we start with following the tracks? If we lose the trail, then we can check out the cave next."