Renna hops off the barrel and makes her way to a shelf that contains several bottles of whisky, all of which bear the Winterfell label. She then takes a thin wand from her apron pocket and for the next minute casts some sort of spell on the bottle. When the enchantment is complete, she holds the bottle up for all to see, and on the label is a shimmering silver dwarf rune. She then tosses the bottle to Vigan. "Take this. If you do cross paths with one of the twins, this will help them to understand that you can be trusted." She smiles and continues, "Makes no difference if the bottle is full or empty."
The clanking of the bottles snaps Carrow back into the room, in a daze since the tower the Ranger had only just now began to notice the cold. "A drink would be welcome" he announces from under his hood "I would also like to ride and be free of the city, i do not like being around so many people, present company not included of course" He nods to the others in turn as he talks. Catching Vigans eye he speak directly to the Barbarian "Crossed paths with many of the Uthgardt tribes before my friend ?" Carrow casts his mind back to his early days as an agent in the far north trying to recall any information about the various tribes.
OOC: Does Carrow have any knowledge of the Uthgardt tribes in the Crag area.
Carrow knows a few stories about the Thunderbeast Tribe--the barbarian tribe that once prowled The Crags and built the tribal burial site known as Morgur's Mound. In recent years, however, the Thunderbeasts have become very reclusive and rarely seen. Morgur's Mound has been all but abandoned. But a few other tribes have been spotted in the Crags (the Gray Wolf, the Great Worm, and the Griffon), but none of them in large numbers.
"Not nearly enough to be of any help here", the goliath replies, taking the bottle and immediately handing it to Carrow. "My tribe inhabits lands further north and further east from here, and I have never ventured to this area since I traveled down from the mountains."
Vigan address the rest of the group. "Carrow has suggested we be free of the city, so Luskan is out of the question. We shall buy horses and ride south then?"
"Well, back into the cold again," I say resigned. "Are you sure we can't save the world by the fireside with a nice brandy in our glasses?" I smile wryly and hunker down as I open the door and venture into the cold, heading south towards the stables.
Haven't heard from Morgulzs or Phade for a while; so I'm advancing the story under the assumption that Ladrian and Andor agree to head south and purchase horses.
The walk southward through Mirabar, although relatively brief, is sufficient to impress upon everyone the wealth and strength of this northern city. It sits atop a knoll on the north side of the Mirar River like an unassailable fortress, enclosed on all sides by sloped outer walls as wide at the base as many city blocks in Waterdeep. There is no shortage of stone and weaponry. Even the docks have battlements and fortifications.
Within a few hundred yards of the southern gate stand the stables to which Nohl referred. In fact, the traveler can purchase far more than a horse in this place. Carts, wagons, saddlery, tack, hay, feed, and a variety of farm animals--goats, chickens, sheep, pigs, cows, and donkeys--are all within sight. The vast piece of open land upon which all of this sits explains why it lies outside the city walls. The buildings, corrals, and fields are blanketed in white from the recent snowfall, causing the entire scene to be strangely serene and beautiful.
A horse--complete with bit and bridle, a saddle, and saddlebags--will cost 90 pieces of gold. The merchant's demeanor and tone is cordial but firm. "I'll take nothing less," he explains.
I look over the stock. There are a lot of fine horses. And hardy ones. But one in particular catches my eye: a black mare high stepping around in the snow. It is almost as if she is showing off, although she is probably being playful. She must be young, I think. "I'll take her," I say. "Has she a name yet?"
Hearing the merchant's tone he understand there isn't much room to leverage "Very well, I'll take him"pointing at the brown horse at the end.l He goes to his purse and removes the required coins to pay for the horse.
"None that I know of," he explains to Rixton. "Her previous owner won her in a game of cards. He never took the time to learn her name; he turned her into gold too quickly."
Then, speaking to Ladrian, the merchant says, "Aramis...an excellent horse, sir."
After eyeing the remaining horses, the goliath approaches the merchant. "I'm sure you can see I'm not the smallest rider, which of your horses is the strongest?"
The merchant leads Vigan into the stables and says, "This mare--Nyx is her name--is what I have in mind." He points to a large bay; she's dark reddish-brown, with jet black mane, tail, and lower legs. "Was previously ridden by a knight and has seen plenty of battles."
The goliath looks the horse up and down, patting the beast's flank, and letting her nuzzle him. "Deal", he says, as he passes a purse of platinum and gold coins to the merchant.
Advancing story under the assumption Carrow has agreed to purchase a horse as well. Additionally, using the map below, let me know what sort of route the group wishes to follow as they leave Mirabar.
An hour later, the five adventurers have saddled up their new horses and are ready to continue their journey under a featureless, grey winter sky. The Crags lie immediately to the south; these rugged hills stretch for over one hundred miles toward the dwarven stronghold Gauntlgrym. The Long Road cuts through the northern part of The Crags as it leads southward to Xantharl's Keep, Longsaddle, and, eventually, Triboar.
In an effort to do things in a somewhat orderly fashion, I've opted to use a grid map for the Crags, and the time spent and distance covered there by the party will be handled as follows:
Each square represents approximately 10 square miles.
The party can cover and search four grid squares per day (in game time). This is generous, I know.
Each time the party enters a new grid square, I will roll a 1d6 to determine if there's an event or encounter in that grid. A die roll of 1 - 5 means nothing happens in that grid square. A roll of 6, however, means that I will then roll again on a separate random encounter table. Some general information about the random encounter table:
It's for the DM's eyes only
It contains the possibility of locating Mithro Merkenshard and his party of scouts
So, I think it might be a good idea for the party to come up with a plan for the route they wish to take through the Crags, one day at a time (which means identifying four squares in advance). This will allow me to roll for all of those grid squares and keep this part of the campaign from becoming a bog. For example, the party might say "We will travel through I3, I4, J4, and K4."I'll then roll and respond. Of course, if an event happens in I4 that changes the party's plans, we will modify the travel route accordingly.
Let's assume the starting point for the party is grid square I2, on the southern side of the Long Road. Let me know if any of this needs clarification.
Barely out of Mirabar, Vigan eyes the River Mirar, converging on the city from three directions. He brings Nyx to a halt in front of the rest of the group.
"I propose we follow the river heading south and west. We will have ready access to fresh water for the horses, and if we are lucky, Mithro and his scouts may have had the same idea."
OOC - Vigan's idea is to head along H3, H4, G4, F4, potentially heading off into the crags properly the following day.
"Good idea, there is no reason to blindly charge off into the crags immediately, let us see how the land lies first and then move cross country when we have already made some progress."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Vhon - Level 2 Warlock - What shall become of the Drunken Sailor?
Renna hops off the barrel and makes her way to a shelf that contains several bottles of whisky, all of which bear the Winterfell label. She then takes a thin wand from her apron pocket and for the next minute casts some sort of spell on the bottle. When the enchantment is complete, she holds the bottle up for all to see, and on the label is a shimmering silver dwarf rune. She then tosses the bottle to Vigan. "Take this. If you do cross paths with one of the twins, this will help them to understand that you can be trusted." She smiles and continues, "Makes no difference if the bottle is full or empty."
Rixton:
I smirk. "That sounds like a vote for riding. The Crags is closer than Luskan if we do decide to ride."
Carrow
The clanking of the bottles snaps Carrow back into the room, in a daze since the tower the Ranger had only just now began to notice the cold. "A drink would be welcome" he announces from under his hood "I would also like to ride and be free of the city, i do not like being around so many people, present company not included of course" He nods to the others in turn as he talks. Catching Vigans eye he speak directly to the Barbarian "Crossed paths with many of the Uthgardt tribes before my friend ?" Carrow casts his mind back to his early days as an agent in the far north trying to recall any information about the various tribes.
OOC: Does Carrow have any knowledge of the Uthgardt tribes in the Crag area.
History: 12
Carrow:
Carrow knows a few stories about the Thunderbeast Tribe--the barbarian tribe that once prowled The Crags and built the tribal burial site known as Morgur's Mound. In recent years, however, the Thunderbeasts have become very reclusive and rarely seen. Morgur's Mound has been all but abandoned. But a few other tribes have been spotted in the Crags (the Gray Wolf, the Great Worm, and the Griffon), but none of them in large numbers.
Vigan
"Not nearly enough to be of any help here", the goliath replies, taking the bottle and immediately handing it to Carrow. "My tribe inhabits lands further north and further east from here, and I have never ventured to this area since I traveled down from the mountains."
Vigan address the rest of the group. "Carrow has suggested we be free of the city, so Luskan is out of the question. We shall buy horses and ride south then?"
Rixton:
"Well, back into the cold again," I say resigned. "Are you sure we can't save the world by the fireside with a nice brandy in our glasses?" I smile wryly and hunker down as I open the door and venture into the cold, heading south towards the stables.
Haven't heard from Morgulzs or Phade for a while; so I'm advancing the story under the assumption that Ladrian and Andor agree to head south and purchase horses.
The walk southward through Mirabar, although relatively brief, is sufficient to impress upon everyone the wealth and strength of this northern city. It sits atop a knoll on the north side of the Mirar River like an unassailable fortress, enclosed on all sides by sloped outer walls as wide at the base as many city blocks in Waterdeep. There is no shortage of stone and weaponry. Even the docks have battlements and fortifications.
Within a few hundred yards of the southern gate stand the stables to which Nohl referred. In fact, the traveler can purchase far more than a horse in this place. Carts, wagons, saddlery, tack, hay, feed, and a variety of farm animals--goats, chickens, sheep, pigs, cows, and donkeys--are all within sight. The vast piece of open land upon which all of this sits explains why it lies outside the city walls. The buildings, corrals, and fields are blanketed in white from the recent snowfall, causing the entire scene to be strangely serene and beautiful.
A horse--complete with bit and bridle, a saddle, and saddlebags--will cost 90 pieces of gold. The merchant's demeanor and tone is cordial but firm. "I'll take nothing less," he explains.
Rixton:
I look over the stock. There are a lot of fine horses. And hardy ones. But one in particular catches my eye: a black mare high stepping around in the snow. It is almost as if she is showing off, although she is probably being playful. She must be young, I think. "I'll take her," I say. "Has she a name yet?"
Ladrian
Hearing the merchant's tone he understand there isn't much room to leverage "Very well, I'll take him" pointing at the brown horse at the end.l He goes to his purse and removes the required coins to pay for the horse.
"None that I know of," he explains to Rixton. "Her previous owner won her in a game of cards. He never took the time to learn her name; he turned her into gold too quickly."
Then, speaking to Ladrian, the merchant says, "Aramis...an excellent horse, sir."
Rixton:
"Well, you are mine to name now," I say as I brush her coat and feed her a piece of apple. "Irena, I think, after my rambunctious cousin."
I lead her to the stables to saddle her up and see how she takes a rider. Satisfied, I hand my coin to the merchant.
Andor.
Seeing a grey moving well with calm eyes Andor points her out "That one looks like we'd get on, what's her name?"
Vhon - Level 2 Warlock - What shall become of the Drunken Sailor?
Lyreis - Level 6 Elf Fighter - Eberron: Omega
DM - Dzenda: The Cracks - DM - Dzenda: Whispered Tales
"Kathra," the merchant answers. "She'll take you far, sir."
Vigan
After eyeing the remaining horses, the goliath approaches the merchant. "I'm sure you can see I'm not the smallest rider, which of your horses is the strongest?"
The merchant leads Vigan into the stables and says, "This mare--Nyx is her name--is what I have in mind." He points to a large bay; she's dark reddish-brown, with jet black mane, tail, and lower legs. "Was previously ridden by a knight and has seen plenty of battles."
Vigan
The goliath looks the horse up and down, patting the beast's flank, and letting her nuzzle him. "Deal", he says, as he passes a purse of platinum and gold coins to the merchant.
Advancing story under the assumption Carrow has agreed to purchase a horse as well. Additionally, using the map below, let me know what sort of route the group wishes to follow as they leave Mirabar.
An hour later, the five adventurers have saddled up their new horses and are ready to continue their journey under a featureless, grey winter sky. The Crags lie immediately to the south; these rugged hills stretch for over one hundred miles toward the dwarven stronghold Gauntlgrym. The Long Road cuts through the northern part of The Crags as it leads southward to Xantharl's Keep, Longsaddle, and, eventually, Triboar.
In an effort to do things in a somewhat orderly fashion, I've opted to use a grid map for the Crags, and the time spent and distance covered there by the party will be handled as follows:
So, I think it might be a good idea for the party to come up with a plan for the route they wish to take through the Crags, one day at a time (which means identifying four squares in advance). This will allow me to roll for all of those grid squares and keep this part of the campaign from becoming a bog. For example, the party might say "We will travel through I3, I4, J4, and K4." I'll then roll and respond. Of course, if an event happens in I4 that changes the party's plans, we will modify the travel route accordingly.
Let's assume the starting point for the party is grid square I2, on the southern side of the Long Road. Let me know if any of this needs clarification.
Vigan
Barely out of Mirabar, Vigan eyes the River Mirar, converging on the city from three directions. He brings Nyx to a halt in front of the rest of the group.
"I propose we follow the river heading south and west. We will have ready access to fresh water for the horses, and if we are lucky, Mithro and his scouts may have had the same idea."
OOC - Vigan's idea is to head along H3, H4, G4, F4, potentially heading off into the crags properly the following day.
Andor
"Good idea, there is no reason to blindly charge off into the crags immediately, let us see how the land lies first and then move cross country when we have already made some progress."
Vhon - Level 2 Warlock - What shall become of the Drunken Sailor?
Lyreis - Level 6 Elf Fighter - Eberron: Omega
DM - Dzenda: The Cracks - DM - Dzenda: Whispered Tales