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Post by ragnorakk on Mar 24, 2009 21:01:35 GMT -5
BY hook and crook, boat and foot (and perhaps by cleaving from the Standing Stone at the edge of Lake Akzeton one night) - you've all arrived in the free town of Furess in the early spring. The Elder Council of Furess has opened the year's markets and traders from Nargan villages, from the Folswood, from the Halls of Rydall and Gend have established themselves between the town and the lake. Many other travellers have come too - from Silguhn (another freetown to the far north) and the crests and signs of many western hill Lords are displayed. (If you have purchases to make or want to try to procure something specific, now would be a good time  At the north edge of town are The Three Inns (three three story affairs all built facing a center plaza) and nearby are stables and a few hostels. The Three Inns (The Belching Demon, Henk's Shield Taproom, and The Shaved Squib) are lively at this time of year, entertainments in the common square often running into the early hours. In the course of your time here already you've all heard many details of some potential interest... 1. Lord Rydal's Hills are plagued by gnomes and other inimical deep-earth spirits have infested several old habitats in the hinterlands. He's seeks to hire those who would go into these underworlds and eradicate the threats. 2. A Wizard's Manor in Lord Gend's Hills has stood abandoned for a hundred years and was explored late last summer. The adventurers never returned. 3. The spring rise of Cold Lake has swamped a section of the Elves' Darkwood. It is said that they are pressed by hordes of Gibberers rising from the depths... 4. A rich merchant now in town seeks guards for a journey to Fairedge, a town in the far East, from which he plans to travel into the Fae Queen's realm for trade. He leads a very well-behaved goat by a short leash wherever he goes. 5. The Cult of the Thing in the Lake is pleading like plague - they sacked a village an hour's walk east of Furess on Midwinter and left none alive. 6. Kuor the Turgid, adventurer, plans a long travel north and offers to sell you a map that leads to an ancient king's tomb, in the mountains at the south end of Cold Lake, as his plans are taking him elsewhere. 7. The Gibberers are filling the swamps at the foot of the Blackwall and the towns and villages there are desperate for armsmen and adventurers to hunt them down. 8. A mystical teacher and his four students have come to Furess from the east. They look like men, but they are hairless, and of coal-black skin with tan/olive patches. They are lodged at Henk's Shield where they are rarely seen in the common room. 9. The merchants of Toor are not to be trusted and kidnap unwary customers. |
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Post by mahrundl on Mar 24, 2009 21:41:34 GMT -5
This looks good! Have an Exalt!
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Post by ragnorakk on Mar 24, 2009 21:50:00 GMT -5
too bad you're not playing, otherwise you'd wake up with a bag a gems under your pillow!  |
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lostheretic
2nd Level Troll
Unpublished Author, Published Poet
Posts: 74
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Post by lostheretic on Mar 24, 2009 22:00:27 GMT -5
Antonio kicked up dust as he paced by the inn door, "Freezing hells, I can't believe there's no more room!"
The paymaster shrugged, keys jingling, "You've slept on the ground for two months, what's another night?"
"I stood watch at night to cover your sorry ass! We'd never have left those swamps if I hadn't the stamina." Antonio's feet snapped to face the merchant. The ex-paladin extended a single finger and poked the short man for good measure. "If you won't respect me, I quit. I'll take my money and leave."
The paymaster grinned, "You quit? That's a breech of contract. You'll receive no pay. Now, leave."
Three armored guards stood a few feet away and while they would relish seeing the paymaster dead and having his keys in their hands, the trouble wouldn't be worth it for Antonio. The Ex-paladin turned on his heel and headed towards another inn.
OOC Feel free to jump in, guys!
Ragnorakk, are these Gibberers inspired by Mike Stackpole's Dark Glory War? OOC
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Post by ragnorakk on Mar 24, 2009 22:23:10 GMT -5
 AHA! I have read those books - maybe they've bubbled up from my boggy subconscious...if so, I can't remember the deal with them - I DO remember the vicious birds in the first book...maybe those bird-beasties are in the forests here...
I cant remember what exactly the deal was with MS's gibbermen - these are slimy amphibious 'kin-eating' frog-men (kinda thinking of Gratar from Rolemaster....)
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Post by Toad-Killer-Dog on Mar 25, 2009 1:29:51 GMT -5
Thurgood dirty and trail worn from days on the road reaches the outskirts of the Freetown of Furess-on-Akzeton.
After his masters death the sentiment in Bywater had taken a nasty turn towards the orphaned half-orc son of a miller and his mercenary wife.
Old Skods the hedge wizard who lived in the swamps had taken him in after the elves had killed his parents and carved and branded their sigils of hate into his flesh leaving him to bleed to death in the wilderness.
Old Skods found him on the edge of the swamps and took Thurgood in as apprentice. Soon after his recovery Thurgood learned that the sigils that the elves carved and branded into him gave him a kinship with rats and rodents of all sorts.
*Unknown to Thurgood the brands on his face and body translate in elvish to "Vermin".
Late last year Old Skods passed away in his cottage in the Blackwall Swamp. Thurgood tried to carry on as the local hedge wizard, but the dark, scarred half-orc was an object of suspicion and fear to local Hob community and soon another wizard had set up shop in Bywater and only the poorest and most desperate came to Thurgood.
Thurgood tried to survive trapping and living off the land in the swamp, but remembering the tales his orcish mercenary mother told him of the wider world beyond the swamp the lure of the road and adventure called to the solitary half-orc.
So he locked up and warded Old Skods cottage in the Blackwall swamp and headed to the Freetown of Furess-on-Akzeton to find his destiny.
So Thurgood makes his way to the town square and fingering the pitifully few coins in his pouch wonder where to best to find the opportunity that will lead him to his future.
OOC:
Apeloverage did you want to tie out two characters together at all our have we made our way here separately.
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Post by Toad-Killer-Dog on Mar 25, 2009 1:32:12 GMT -5
Oh and for your hard work and bringing the first P-B-P game to the Trollbridge have an exalt on me Ragnorakk! ;D
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Post by ragnorakk on Mar 25, 2009 11:55:41 GMT -5
(BTW - if you want to insert an action into any point of the narrative, do so, a la
'before I get to the Squib...' or somesuch)
(and I've got Antonio & Thurgood here)
Antonio: You stalk through the plaza, consider grinding some broken glass into the paving stones...have to walk over or around a few clusters of revelers from the night before who were passed-out before they hit the ground...
and arrive at the door of the Shaved Squib. The door to the common room stands open, and you can smell cooked meat and seasoned potatos wafting out...
The door is flanked by two statues of man-demons, each with a monocle, their faces grinning toothily, and tilting their heads toward the door. At the foot of the statue to the left of the door a 'guard' lies recumbent, deep and drunkenly asleep. He looks pale and sallow, a poor mercenary by your estimation...
Thurgood: On your approach you pass near or through the market green. It is near noon. The vendors stalls, wagons and tent-stands are active - though it seems from cursory observation that the traders seem to be selling to each-other moreso
than to the townsfolk of Furess...
As you pass through the south gate, out of the corner of your eye, you see a clutch of townswomen make small private signs to themselves. You are more than passingly familiar with this...the guards at the South Gate do not trouble you - the market has brought perhaps left them jaded...
On the road to the square you pass several wooden houses set off from the road and surrounded by low stone walls. One of these has a lone goat grazing on a bush near the
road you walk. This looks like a 'middle-class' section of town. There are also several businesses that you pass - Woodwright Nekten's shop, The Fishes' Shade (looks like a bar, not open now), and facing the town square, where the South Gate road empties into
a greensward, The Woodwrights Guildhall and also a what looks to be a private library or bookshop (the sign over the door is written in a script you don't know)
The town square is roughly 200' across, given over to light grazing. There are 3 wells in the square, and in the center an ornate statue. You have heard that this statue is dedicated to a deity called Eps - the patron of Furess, generally called upon to ward off the evil eye, to promote security within the town's walls - altogether a pretty bourgeois deity...
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Post by Toad-Killer-Dog on Mar 25, 2009 12:43:44 GMT -5
Dusty and parched from the road Thurgood makes his way to one of the wells and draws a bucket of water to quench his thirst and wash the dust from his face and hands.
After that he will look around for a cheap place to stay while he looks for work, perhaps a tavern or hostelry. Someplace where even his meager coin will be welcomed.
While searching Thurgood will try to see if Furess-on-Akzeton has any readily apparent wizards or other magic workers in business. Perhaps they would be in need of an assistant.
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Post by ragnorakk on Mar 25, 2009 16:15:33 GMT -5
( I posted a map of Furess to crude maps thread. I'll use a different color for numbers next time...  ) Dusty and parched from the road Thurgood makes his way to one of the wells and draws a bucket of water to quench his thirst and wash the dust from his face and hands. After that he will look around for a cheap place to stay while he looks for work, perhaps a tavern or hostelry. Someplace where even his meager coin will be welcomed. While searching Thurgood will try to see if Furess-on-Akzeton has any readily apparent wizards or other magic workers in business. Perhaps they would be in need of an assistant. The town is generally quiet. You know about the Three Inns on the north side of town - and no inns are visible from where you are. There are freshly planted gardens nearby, and past them to the northwest you see the Elders Hall(#4), a sturdy stone building, with guards in the blue-and-green livery of Furess' Guardsmen. The Merchant's Hall (#9) is on the north-east edge of the green - a two-story wood and stone building. It's doors are open but you don't see any activity there. From a shift in the wind, you deduce that there's a tanner at work to the west, and you can see some activity in the street in that direction. Those persons that you do see from the well are generally headed toward Southgate street. None of them look particularly 'wizardly' - mostly children and younger people. [I'll continue to fill out the details of the city map...] |
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Post by Toad-Killer-Dog on Mar 26, 2009 1:22:39 GMT -5
Thurgood will make his way up the main northern thoroughfare at a leisurely pace, keeping an eye open for any interesting activity.
Thurgood muses, "Hmm, perhaps tomorrow I should enquire at the "Mercenaries Guild" they might be able to point me to what I seek."
OOC:
Ragnorakk would Thurgood already have a good idea of where to stay in town or should I inquire at the various Taverns and Hostels?
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Post by ragnorakk on Mar 26, 2009 10:17:22 GMT -5
OOC: Ragnorakk would Thurgood already have a good idea of where to stay in town or should I inquire at the various Taverns and Hostels? [I've assumed that you spent some time walking around town, to familiarize yourself with the place, so you are heading toward them now, that is, the north side. I am also assuming that you are passingly familiar with the town, that you have probably at least breifly passed through here before. The Three Inns have something of a 'monopoly' on rooms for travellers, but many smaller 'ma-and-pa' shops of various sorts will rent out rooms for a night (usually cheap broom-closets and such, but cheap - I marked a few on the key to the town map - and with the influx of travellers for the market time, it's likely that more shopkeeps/etc than usual will make space available to cash in) and there is a flophouse(#14) near the Three Inns. It's a free common room offering little comfort and no food. The Academy of Nyor-Elze (#19) is a magical 'establishment'. It is a large stone building of two stories. It was founded by a dwarf mage more than 300 years ago. Nyor-Elze has lived here and taken students for all that time. The students of Nyor-Elze mark themselves with plain crimson red bands tattooed at their wrists. ] Some observations from your wanderings around town - You dont see very many guardsmen in the streets, most seem clustered on the south wall. - Near the small west gate there seems to be more fairies and leprechauns than elsewhere. - A couple of wandering criers are wandering about also. Announcements include 1. 400 gold to today's best pugilist 2. Slots are still open for the General Melee, daily winnings no less than 50 gold, 100 for teams 3. Nyor-Elze holds 'safe-duels' at the Standing Stone by the lake's edge. You come to the plaza where the three inns face each-other. Several small gangs of leprechauns blink about, cleaning up the messes, kicking the groggy drunks to life and chasing them off. A few parties eat meals at tables set up outside the Shaved Squib. A few small groups, mercenaries by the look, are loitering between the inn buildings, crudely encamped there. |
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Post by Toad-Killer-Dog on Mar 26, 2009 21:26:01 GMT -5
OOC: Well I kind of hoped that someone else would have picked up the story by now and I don't want to get to far ahead of everyone else. So I think I'll just send Thurgood to get something to eat and a bed for the time being.
Thurgood looks on the encamped mercenaries with interest, but the growling in his stomach overrides his curiosity as he head toward the Shaved Squib where the tantalizing aroma of grilling meat compels him into the tavern as surely as any spell.
Perhaps if the rates are reasonable this would make a good stopping place for the night.
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lostheretic
2nd Level Troll
Unpublished Author, Published Poet
Posts: 74
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Post by lostheretic on Mar 26, 2009 22:17:20 GMT -5
Antonio only slowed his pace as he passed the plastered mercenary. Entering the rotten old tavern, he asked the host about rooms and who replied with a careless nod. Taking a seat next to a particularly sullen half-orc, Antonio ordered a pint of thick, black mead he had no money to pay for.
OOC Sitting next to you, Thurgood! Antonio isn't a very imposing human, but is carrying a scimitar and wear's the dusty, tattered uniform of a Paladin. OOC
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Post by apeloverage on Mar 27, 2009 4:24:04 GMT -5
OOC: Apeloverage did you want to tie out two characters together at all our have we made our way here separately. OOC: Seperately, I guess. Sorry for the delay in posting. |
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AHA! I have read those books - maybe they've bubbled up from my boggy subconscious...if so, I can't remember the deal with them - I DO remember the vicious birds in the first book...maybe those bird-beasties are in the forests here...
)