The Bright Barrow Boys and Girls

Bright Barrow and Dark Days

This was session -2 where the players played through their characters childhood before ever getting a character sheet. This is a story of 5 siblings whose simple life is destroyed when evil finds it way into their paradise and strikes at the heart of the family.

Plot points/Scenes

The campaign starts with the party (Herein known as the PCs or party) as children. They are all part of a mixed raced family working on a farm owned by an old man named Alfric Breman. Alfric Breman was once a respectable knight in the employ of the great and beloved King Carathor the Magnificent. Alfric did his duty and retired, he used his respectable severance pay to buy a farm in the middle of nowhere. This retirement was also due to the fact that his closest friends had been slain in battle and he swore an oath to care for each one of his fallen friend's children. He gather these infants and children and moved with his love Gerda to the far reaches of the kingdom to a quaint nowhere called Hayfalls. A small town nestled in the shadow of a great mountain in the Midden region. Fields of grain and grass as gold as the coin he earned rolling in every direction as far as the eye can see.
There he took his land and built a farm with his wife and raised this kids, the PCs. He chose a spot on at the edge of town upon an ancient burial mound and called it Bright Barrow. The first years where a dream out there on the golden fields of Hayfalls, the smallest of the towns in Midden. He was able to forget his past, put his sword away and have a family. He had two children of his own, boys, Praist and Hoth named for some of the bravest soldiers he had ever had the pleasure of fighting with. There with Gerda and his two boys he reared his adopted children, a kind souled half elf named Damien, son of the finest scout in his legion. A young tiefling girl, with a trouble temper and penchant for leadership, Affrya daughter of two of the most skilled soliders in the Kingdom. Then there was the eldest, an elf named Hitsuki, daughter of a great and magnificent battlemage whom he had fought side by side over the course of many years, she was a curious sort who existed as one with nature itself.
Of course, like all stories this tale grows dark by the day as deep in one brutal winter, a storm befell the then small farm, striking Alfric's beloved Gerda too early from life. He buried alone drenched in grief in the middle of the same storm seeing the last person that connected him to the great man he was pass without warning. The loss of love and life started him gray and the duties of the farm would become too much in the passing years.
This children were young, barely 5 or 6 years of age, but capable. Praist, the quiet contemplative he was, took his mothers loss hard and kept to himself in the fields baling hay and scything grain. He would spend his free time alone with his imaginary friend on top of the hill there was a erect a stone effigy to the barrow upon which the farm grew speaking to it as sunset when the blazing star would alight with the hole in the stone obelisk, it gave his young troubled mind a peace that he would need.
The youngest, Hoth was by far the built the biggest and he took well to plowing the fields. He would work his hardest to earn the respect of the others, taking on some of their task using his natural strength and endurance to work from Sun up to Sun down.
Damien loved the animals on the farm and would Shepard them to the feeding fields and make sure the stables were cleaned and maintained for his friends. He would assist Praist in the cleaning the fields so he could ensure his livestock was feed the best grain. His empathetic link to these animals gave him the a connection to nature and the world around him that would last his life.
Hitsuki wanted to learn about the living world around her. She studied the plants around the farm and learned how they grew. She made the soil fertile enough to ensure that the all plants could grow in the cold climate of Hayfalls. Under her watchful eye she made a seasonal calender and the crops would bloom and be the greatest in all the town.
Affyra would help Alfric around the house, picking up on Gerda's duties. Cleaning, cooking and caring for her brother's and sisters. She took somewhat of a role of a task master and kept a tight calender making sure everything was done right and on time. This allowed Alfric worry about teaching the others about different task on the farm as the all grew together.
The farm became somewhat the trophy of Hayfalls. At the end of every season merchants from around the kingdom would come to Hayfalls and bring with them items and wares that the simple farmers could not grow or build themselves. This was always cause for a celebration and festivities were always thrown around this time.
Though, as the farm grew better, Hayfalls grew richer and this drew the attention of Kingdom. At some point Tax Collectors began to come around the changing of the seasons. The would bring with them troops from bigger cites and take with them the hard earned money from the people. In the days where this began Alfric grew more sullen and upset. As it turns out this was a new edict from a new King. King Carathor the Magnificent was dead, and in his place his son Lysander had become king and was taxing the land to repay a great war debt that was occurred from long ago.
Alfric didn't care about the tax, or the men. He was upset that his old friend was dead. It troubled him that his Son was doing this as the great war was won and he knew personally that any debt from it was pardon and absolved by the Kingdom of Alatrion. The PCs seeing there father in an emotional state doubled their efforts in the coming month not knowing this information, Alfric had money. But they earned more regardless.
Before long the sad feelings past, and Alfric's body began to fail him more and more as he grew older. The children into their preteen years now took on more responsibility. Hoth began to smith tools and horseshoes, Praist took count of the silos and made great bread for the poor farmers around the town. Affyra and Hitsuki took all stock, priced out market terms and sold the goods their farmed produced. Damien learned how to butcher the meats and began to hunt in the nearby forest. Under their skilled hands the farm continued to prosper. Alfric was proud and his aged seemed to move away from him as he helped his children get better at everything they did.
It was this year Alfric was selected by his town to host the annual Fall Festival. The children helped by decorated, cooking and baking goods for the festival. They made sure the neighbors were assisting and helped them with what ever they needed, making themselves leaders of the community in the process. Praist and Damien even tried making alcohol, thought that wasn't a very big hit at the party as it was mostly poison. As the merchant began to the flood the city they saw the work the children had done and but Bright Barrow on the map as a top seller for the goods they needed making the farm a bit richer that fall.
The festival was a success and one that would not soon be forgot, though fall was short this year. Winter came fast and hard locked the land in a gray frozen landscape. The short days and long nights drew hard on the stores that the PCs had locked away for the winter. Luckily Damien had grown some large hefty dairy cows and award winning pigs to keep the family well feed.
But as I said before, this story isn't a happy one. One fateful day the Children heard the sounds of a bell from the town as fire rose from the horizon in the same direction. Alfric urge the children inside pushing aside his bed revealing a trap door that had been installed there. Within was a chest that Alfric removed clearing space for the children. He closed the door on them and instructed not to come out for anyone or anything other than him telling them too.
Through the cracks in the floor the could see their father, walking taller than he had throughout their childhood, drawing a sword from the chest, unsheathing a white steel blade, and walk outside with a heavy stride of a solider. From inside their cold hole in the floor the could hear the bestial roar and the sounds of steel striking steel. Blades cutting flesh and the wet retort of blood hitting the ground. A horn calls and hooves beating on the ground.. then nothing.
The kids left their hole to peer out the window, there they saw their father surround by 4 stout Dwarves on the backs of great pigs. Below them the bodies of beast-men, bleeding and motionless.
They could hear nothing, but one the Dwarves let out a word in his language and spat at Alfric's feet before all four rode out of site. Cradling his side Alfric return to the house covered in black blood. He silently sat on a bed and held his sword at his side. The sword untarnished and immaculate, with steel that was almost white lay at their father's side like an old friend.
After telling them it was safe, Alfric lost consciousness, he had lost too much blood from a deep wound in his side given to him by the grotesque feces covered ax of one of the beast-men. The PCs rushed to save him, Affyra boiling water and cleansing his wounds, Hitsuki rushing to town to grab the Apothecary, Finnergas, whom she has rented books from in the past. The boys took to the yard, cleaning the bodies and building a pyre for the wretched stinking corpses of these strange pig men, whom they assumed to be Orcs from the stories that Alfric told them before bed. The thought of loosing his last parent threw Praist in a protective mentality, where he stood watch over the farm from his Obelisk asking his spirit friends for help, keeping one of the orcish axe close to him in case he needed protect his family. Throughout the Winter they spent money and supplies trying to keep their father from fever and infection. Livestock had gone missing the day of the attack and Damien was never able to track them down, this took a hit to the farm, but it was going to be recoverable by Summer. By the first week of spring he was walking again, but as a shell of the man he was.
Grateful for his children he told them more about his past. He was the leader of the Golden Company, a great ring of Knights that fought with and for King Carathor, whom was Alfric's greatest and closest friend. He fought with their Mother's and Father's and did the Kingdoms bidding taking on the mightiest of task. He told stories of the exploits of his friends. The PCs were enthralled with their father's past, but alas, he never told than anymore than that. He has taking them to Hayfalls because it was the furthest away from civilization that he could go and still have coin that was good. None of the disease, crime, death and war of the great cities could find them here. But, he knew that this was the edge of the frontier and Orc's attacks were going to happen one day. The Dwarves had chased them out of the mountain, which what he didn't ever expect. He didn't expect the Dwarves of Clan Songhammer, who were cruel and reclusive, to extort him for “saving” him. He swore he would train them in basic combat come summer once the sun was high and could pour some warmth into his bones.
The end of Spring came, and so did the tax collectors. The towns alarm bell rang, Alfric, the solider he was eye sight still keen as the day he became a Knight, saw the soldiers in the town. He rushed to his kids and instructed them to load up all the valuables that they could and get tot he town. When they arrived, a few of the buildings in the town were engulfed in flames as well as some of the fields beyond. The villagers were begging the soldiers to leave the be and show mercy. It was not enough, they came for coin and the village was still harkened by the blow the orcs left leaving them without enough. Sir Alfric Breman of the Golden Company could not sit idly by as injustice was shown to villager whom he had come to call friends. He approached the leader of the troop who introduced himself as Tarik Malor. Alfric tried to bargain, the debt yet paid was 100 gold and with his last funds, dwindled down by the purchases of medicine from the winter, he had 75 gold to give.
It was not enough, angered by the soldiers disrespect to the town as they lit another house on fire, Hitsuki charged Tarik only to have an incredibly large solider move in front and slap her down leaving a deep gash in her young elven face.
Alfric drew his glorious sword from it sheath and revealed himself as the leader of the Knights of the Golden Company. Tarik unmounted his horse and strode to met Alfric, belittling him as an old has been who isn't relevant anymore. Tarik took the first swing and Alfric met his steel. The fight was fast and ended swiftly. Alfric was not the man he once was, Alfric was not the great war hero he had been. Sir Alfric Breman, Leader of the of the Golden Company, Husband, Friend and Father lied dead at Tarik's feet. Tarik sneered and unceremoniously cleaned his sword on Alfric's tunic. There he spat at the horrified PCs and took his men and left Hayfalls in ruin.
The PCs now 13-16 years of age, buried their father in silence on top the hill under the watchful eye of the Obelisk, in his armor as a hero. Finnergas, took the children in and suggested that they leave Hayfalls and travel south to the City of Traith or the Fort at Telmora to tell someone of Authority what had transpired in Hayfalls. The children left the farm, taking with them the contents of the chest which contained items from their parents. Hoth with him his Gerda's necklace, which was emblazoned with Alfric's coat of arms. Praist took his Alfric's sword, keeping it close in case he needed to protect his brother's and sisters. Affyra took a short sword that belonged to her mother emblazoned with runic language she could not understand. Hitsuki found her Mother's journal, which detailed all of the flora and fauna she encountered in her journeys. Damien found his father's bow within, made of a fine wood and immaculate in its design.
Together, they took of south, never looking back only forward towards justice and revenge.

Themes

The themes of family, growth and loss are important themes

Plot type

Orgin Story of the Breman Siblings

Related Characters

• Alfric Breman

Related Organizations

• Alatrion Kingdom