Session 1
Revaderan's Lucky Night
General Summary
1 Kythorn 1492 OR
In the light of a full moon, in the sleepy village of Dunmorrow, there lies the quaint Inn of the Strapping Turtle. In this inn, a fair maiden named Divine Shifty approaches the counter with a curt "I'd like to rent a room for the night my good sir." "Why certainly Madam...", Langworth the Innkeeper responds. "Divine, Divine Shifty if you may." With a few short strokes of the pen, the rustling of parchment, and the exchange of 8 silver pieces (sp), Langworth grabs a key and extends his arm towards Divine.
"Your key Ms. Shifty."
"Why thank you Langworth", Divine responds, just as the door of the inn bursts open, two grundgy and bloodied fellows emerging into the doorway. One, a short roguish looking Dwarf with shaggy and disheveled brown hair. The other, a rather dread sought of a human hanging from the shoulders of the Dwarf, quite obviously in need of urgent medical attention.
"Quick, we need a healer!", yells the dwarf named Grimgar.
Slightly shocked by the sudden entrance, Divine quickly responds, rushing over to the men as the dwarf lays the human on the ground. Divine takes a deep breath, centering her thoughts, as she rests a slender hand upon the humans blood soaked abdomen, creating a connection between the healer and the wounded. Divine's voice invokes the ancient words of restoration that define her Cure Wounds spell.
"By the grace of the divine, by the power that mends, I call upon the energies of life. Hear my plea, O healing light, mend the wounds that afflict this valiant soul!"
Her words, imbued with a resonance that seemed to transcend the material world, echos in the foyer like a distant hymn. Divine's fingers trace intricate patterns in the air, a dance of arcane symbols that accompany the verbal incantation. A soft glow envelops her hands, a manifestation of the positive energy she channels.
As Divine continues her rhythmic gestures, a warmth emanates from her touch. The healing magic surging through her fingertips, a gentle tide of rejuvenating energy. The Human, Revaderan, breathes a sigh of relief as a comforting warmth spreads from the point of contact, soothing the pain and hastening the natural mending of his wound.
The inn seems to hold its breath as the healing energy works its magic. The gash on Revaderan's side slowly closes, leaving behind only a faint scar as a testament to the battle he had endured. Divine's eyes soften with relief as she concludes the spell, the glow fading from her hands.
"Thank you", Revaderan says in a low and tembor voice.
"I'm just glad I was here to help." says Divine. "Ever since I was a child, when I discovered an ancient shrine, I've been guided by an unknown force to help those that need help the most. I've been traveling for many a day, drawn to this place, for reasons I know not. So to be here, when I'm needed so badly, fills my soul with pleasure. You are most welcome..."
"Revaderan, Revaderan of the Woods. My friend Grimgar and I were searching out a Gumienniki named Ninu. We had set up camp for the evening about 2 miles north of here. We knew better, but hadn't heard or seen anything dangerous for days, so we didn't worry about securing the camp. Much to our shagrin, we were ambushed by a quartet of these strange wax like creatures. They had a halo of light flickering around their heads from some source behind each of them. Their furror was too much for us."
Just then Langworth chimes in "I've heard of those things. They sure sound like Living Wicks. Nasty creatures made almost entirely out of enchanted wax. Obedient only to the one whom lit the wick. Willing to explode if commanded. But, fairly short lived, however, at least by human standards. They are statuesque when unlit. This can be beneficial though, as their ownership is easily transferred."
"Willing to Explode!" says Divine, "My, you two were lucky to get out of there alive."
"Apparently so." grumbles Grimgar. "Apparently so."
"Listen," says Divine, "You two have been through a lot, we should head over to the tavern and grab a beer. The first round is on me."
Agreeing with Divine, the three retreat to the tavern, which just so happens to be attached directly to the Inn and conveniently is manned by none other than Langworth himself. Paying the bar keep 12 copper pieces (cp) for beers the party settles down at a table to enjoy the fine brew.
Once settled in, the conversation turns to how Grimgar and Revaderan came to working together. Grimgar explains that he was searching for a Headband of Intellect that had been stolen from the Ruling family of Arvim's Castle. "It's kind of what I do. Search for artifacts. Unfortunately, the search has been fruitless thus far" he remarks. "I was down in the underbelly of Arvim's Delve searching when I came across Revaderan here. I had evaded a number of fiendish creatures and Revaderan was down there killing the lot of them. He didn't really axplain why he had such hatred for abyssal creatures, but I can't say as I blamed him. So I decided to help him out. We didn't end up finding the headband but we had a great time killing demons. After that, we just kept at it. Following fiendish trails and leads on the headband."
"I'm looking for the Demon Fraz-Urb'luu, you haven't heard of him, have you?", Revaderan added in a very grumpy and somber tone.
"Can't say as I have", replied Divine.
The conversation continued for some time as Grimgar and Revaderan spun many a tale of their adventures together. Eventually they got to their current task of hunting Ninu. The two didn't have much knowledge of exactly what a Gumienniki was, but they knew it was a fiend and Revaderan couldn't resist the hunt. It is here that Revaderan notices Langworth had been drying the same glass for a good 30 minutes. Obviously Langworth either knew something or was just eavesdropping, as small town folk are apt to do. Upon this revalation, Revaderan turns to Langworth and asks, "You haven't heard of a Gumienniki have you?"
"Well...I guess I have, now that you mention it. There's been rumors around town that one of those foul things has been preying on formers livestock and striking deals with some dark cult members about three miles north of Dunmorrow."
Turning his head to Grimgar with a grin Revaderan asks, "So we weren't too far off, were we Grimgar?" "Mustn't have been." Grimgar responds.
Langworth continues, "But you two, or even three now, won't stand a chance against Ninu without some help. Especially if it's allied with some form of cult."
"What would you suggest we do then?" asked Grimgar somwhat incredulously.
"Well...I have heard of a sorcerer of some reknown that lives near the town of Cloister, about 30 miles ESE of here."
"I've been through there", Divine adds with a pip in her voice. "I came through there about a day ago on my way here. It was kind of a charming little town."
After that, the group discusses the plans for tomorrow for a few minutes before Revaderan realizes that he had lost all of his gold back at the camp and politely asks if he and Grimgar could crash up in Divine's room for the remainder of the night.
The following morning the party rises early, gets ready, and heads down to the tavern for some breakfast. Many of the inn's patrons are enjoying a nice breakfast as the party eats and makes light chit chat trying to overhear any conversations that might enlighten them on a information. Sadly, there was nothing but the normal chatter of generalized traveling, vacations, and the occasional sales pitch from a traveling salesman. Hearing nothing major of interest, the party decides to split up for the day to scour the village for some clues.
Of the things that sparked thoughts in Revaderan was that Dunmorrow is the home of a fairly successful lumber business just east of town. He decides to head up there and see if they need any day labor. Reaching the lumber yard, Revaderan speaks to the owner, Sherwood Knotsplitter, whom happily offers up 1 gold piece if Revaderan proves himself worthy with a hard days work. Eagerly, Revaderan takes up the offer and soon finds himself looking over the yard at the current workers. Choosing to work near the laziest looking soughts, he hauls up between them and starts hewing away at the logs. Easily outpacing the other two while chatting them up. One of the men tells of a chicken farmer on the north side of town who’s been losing a lot of chickens lately. "A lot more than one would expect from normal animal theivery this time of year," he describes in a very slow tembor. Revadern suspects this must be the work of Ninu and files away the information. He can't get much more information from the fellow lumberjacks the remainder of the day. Easily earning his gold piece, Sherwood asks "You sure you can't stick around? I could use a good lumberjack like you. You made these other jokers look like weak worms." "Much appreciated Mr. Knotsplitter, but I have other roads in front of me that I must travel," Revaderan responds as he departs back to the Inn.
Divine, for her part, chooses to head towards the center of town where she meets up with the local showemaker Brett Solefield. Conversing with him for some time, describing her current plight, she learns that there's a Magic Shop in Cloister that might have some information on the whereabouts of this hermitted Sorcerer. Unfortunately, Brett hadn't heard anything about missing livestock or a cult that might be forming near the village. He really didn't seem like the gosipping sort. Taking the rest of the day, talking with a few more local villagers, Divine returns to the Inn with relatively little information.
Returning to the Inn tavern, Divine finds a rather depressed looking Grimgar waiting with a beer already in hand. "I was out all day." he chimes up. "I found one fellow named Penley who was willing to talk to me, but he was dumb as a rock. He hadn't heard anything, and could barely even form a complete sentence. This town is horrible."
Deciding to hit the sack early to prepare for a long travel day tomorrow, the party retreats back to Divine's room, resting as well as one can in such a situation.
Character(s) interacted with
Langworth, owner and keeper of the Inn of the Strapping Turtle
Sherwood Knotsplitter, perveyor of the local lumberyard
Brett Solefield, the local shoemaker
Penley, a Dunmorrow resident
Sherwood Knotsplitter, perveyor of the local lumberyard
Brett Solefield, the local shoemaker
Penley, a Dunmorrow resident