Chapter One: The Adventure Begins
Chapter One: Exposition and Heavy Handed Plot Hooks
Cast of Characters
Agnak Stonestalker Monekekali: A seven foot Goliath and walking EEO complaint. With an axe.
Solomon Hawkins: The haunted human monster hunter. He makes brooding an art.
Gilphine: The feral half elf. She likes trees. More than she likes you.
Sheen: The bongo wielding dwarven bard. He likes everyone. He really likes you.
It was a dark and tropey night in Daggerford.
As with any tale of adventure based on shameless plagiarism, our story begins in a tavern. Not just any tavern. (OK, actually it really could be any tavern. They're pretty much all the same). On this dark and stormy night, a cheerful ebony skinned dwarf is making merry playing a set of bongos to the delight of the crowd. He winks at the few lady townsfolk as he continues to beat out his joyful rhythms. This is Sheen. He is a dwarf. And he likes the ladies. Because he is a bard.
Right front and center at the bar, a seven foot tall goliath drinks. Heavily. Even for a goliath. This is Agnak. He's only been away from military life for a short while and like many returning veterans has decided that alcohol is easier than forming meaningful interpersonal relationships with those who will never know the horror of war. Actually that's a lie. Agnak just has zero social skills and really likes to drink.
(Editor's note: Upon declaring that Agnak was seated at the bar, alone, drinking heavily, the following was overheard from that player's girlfriend: "Ha! It's like she knows you!")
The doors of the tavern fly open and in walks a rather flamboyantly dressed man. Part thief. Part mercenary. Part circus performer. All chest hair. He speaks with a heavy, unidentifiable accent and walks straight to Agnak. "My friend... I have a message for you. A wonderful opportunity." The man deposits a letter in the goliath's hands. Surprisingly, the goliath does not ask any questions as the man saunters out of the tavern. His curiosity is apparently so low, that he doesn't feel the man's hand rooting around in his pockets for loose change.
(Editor's note. We all saw that coming.)
Eventually he reads the letter:
The goliath contemplates this briefly, then goes back to drinking.
In a shadowy corner of the tavern... the shadowiest...a dark clad human sorcerer, Solomon, waits patiently. He's expecting someone. And she arrives. Right on time. She's an equally dark clad and quasi-sinister looking sort of human. She has a message for Solomon. A "job" of sorts from their employers, the Zhentarim. Solomon has been a member of the shadowy mercenary faction since he was a lad, taken in and adopted in a way. However, despite his tenure, he hasn't really risen in the organization, preferring to take the easy monster hunting job over working on inter-faction politics. He's not what you would call a team player. But he's good at what he does. And what he does is usually lighting things on fire.
The unnamed woman informs him that there is a pack of werewolves in the area and his job should he choose to accept it, is to exterminate them. But.. there's a catch. She wants the leader's head brought to her. Directly. And would prefer that specific request not be mentioned to the rest of the faction. This of course piques Solomon's curiosity. "Discretion costs extra," he replies with feigned indifference. A terse reminder that the job itself is from the faction and refusal would go poorly, a counter-reminder that her request is "extra" and some "I'm too cool for you" posturing and a deal is struck. The regular faction rate. Plus a "favor" to be named at a later time. Solomon returns to his ale. Brooding. In the broodiest way.
In the second shadowiest corner of the room, sits a young half-elf. One might mistake her for a very tall halfling. But no. She is half elf, half human, and all feral. This is Gilphine. A member of the Emerald Enclave so sworn to the safety of the natural world that the forest spirits themselves once offered to grant her a wish. She wished to look more like a tree. So they bestowed on her deep brown skin, shaggy green hair, but no more height. She is, it would appear, a short tree. Perhaps even a shrubbery.
Gilphine has stopped in this tavern to get a bit of food and drink after a busy night of werewolf hunting in the name of the Enclave. She's noticed a presence in these woods and she means to destroy it. Assuming, of course, that she can get the creepy goliath at the bar to stop hitting on her.
Shortly into the night, a thin man in expensive clothes peers into the tavern and looks about. Dismayed by his choices, he points first to Agnak. "You." He looks at Solomon and, while visibly unsettled says "You." He then spies Gilphine in all her feral glory. "You. Aaaaaaannnnnd...." of all he has left to choose from, the bard is apparently his best option. "You. My mistress wishes to have a word." The adventurers seem rather nonplussed. "My mistress would like a word with you." After some taunting, and gratuitous threats of violence against the little man, the party agrees to follow him.
The group takes a moment and decides to eschew escorts in favor of making their own entrance. This, of course, results in an unexpected rat ambush when the group takes a wrong turn. Fortunately four adventurers prove capable of inflicting gratuitous violence on three rats. Though Agnak manages to miss one. Twice. And get bitten on the ankle for his troubles. Sheen tries to use his bardic charisma to convince the rats to simply flee... but the damage had been done. Agnak does not suffer insult. And he had a reputation to defend. By killing a rat.
The group proceeds to what is clearly the most expensive home on the street where they are led to a well furnished dining hall. A dinner is laid out. Perhaps not the most expensive foods the lady of the house, Duchess Morwen if anyone had bothered to ask her name, has to offer, but the seasonings have not been spared and the soup is filling. She proceeds to tell them about a "problem" she needs "dealt with." Apparently a band of "travelers" with a very liberal use of air quotes have taken up residence outside the city. These miscreants, calling themselves Vistani, seem harmless enough but they have begun harassing the decent folk, begging coin, demanding tolls, threatening hexes, and playing far too much accordion music at highly inappropriate hours. The Duchess would like them gone. Ideally without violence. She has sent some of her guards in to deal with the problem, but they all seem to come back convinced that these riff raff are their best friends, as if they have all fallen under a charm spell. She would like them gone. If a peaceful solution cannot be reached, she will simply burn their camp to the ground.
The initial offer of 5 gold each for this simple task was met with upturned noses. Not sure where a level one adventuring party gets off setting terms, but there you have it. And so an open tab at the tavern is thrown into the mix. Agnak is intrigued, but not quite satiated. He wants an open tab in perpetuity. One open tab. In perpetuity, between the hours of 8 and 10 in the evening. Settled. But of course, that's useless to Gilphine, who does not drink. Instead, the Duchess makes a casual remark about the recent werewolf rumors. Certainly some silvered weapons would be of value to one so clearly allied with the forest. Done. Solomon too would like these gifts. Finally, with an exasperated sigh, the Duchess turns to the bard and asks "anything else?" The bard, surprisingly, asks for nothing. A relief. And so the group sets out, escorted by one of the Duchess's household guard.
The come upon an encampment filled with boisterous people singing, dancing, sharing tales and generally being an interesting nuisance. Solomon surveys the scene, then sends their escort back to town instructing him that they have an open line of credit at the tavern and he should bring back a full barrel of the most expensive beverage.
A barrel of something in hand, Solomon bursts forth calling a welcome and asking if he might join them. In a not so subtle display of force, Solomon uses his mage hand ability to bust open the barrel. "Ooops! Now you'll just have to help us drink it all!"
The clear leader of the group laughs. "Oh. Yes yes. I can do that too," he says as he manifests his own mage hand. As the group settles in, the leader introduces himself as Stanimir and immediately wants to know what they want, it being suspicious and all that they would just show up and start giving out free booze. The adventurers deliver the message and Stanimir is oddly quick to comply. He agrees that they will all leave without incident. It was, however, fortune that brought them together on that night. He has a story to share. Because of course he does.
Stanimir tells the tale of a wounded soldier, a prince, who once sought shelter among his people. But now a curse plagues their once noble master. They fear for him and would like help in restoring him from the evil curse. And, while they are at it, they should meet Madam Eva, their most powerful fortune teller. She will be able to tell them their futures. For a small fee. The will not, however, leave until the morning. The roads are too dangerous at night, but if the group wishes to travel with them, they will guide them to the land of Barovia.
Wisely, the adventurers elect not to stay in a camp full of strangers with a seemingly cursed master, and so they tell the group they will meet up with them on the road. with that, farewells are given and the adventurers return to town to retrieve their reward. The duchess hands them each a purse and presents Sheen a tightly wrapped cloak. The dwarf seems bewildered as she explains that she found it refreshing that he wasn't a greedy little turd like his friends. The cloak does... something? She can't remember quite what. Use it in good health.
(Editor's note: Sheen is a first time player. At this point the two veteran players immediately broke character and, with the urgency of near death, made sure he knew "that means it's probably magic, maybe cursed, don't put it on until you know what it is!" As if I would curse a first time player in his first game. Wait.... I would totally do that. Just not this time.)
The ranger and sorcerer get a nice coating of cheap silver on their weapons. The goliath goes back to drinking. The bard goes back to barding. The tavernkeeper is so pleased by the bard's performing and the general uplifted spirits that come with a good heavy drum solo that he offers the group his extra room. The bard manages to get the *second* prettiest girl in the tavern to join him. Which is only slightly awkward as we had established Solomon had already gone upstairs to sleep. Agnak makes a few more failed efforts to get "cute elf girl" to be big spoon, before passing out. Gilphine elects to sleep in a tree. Where it's safe.
The next morning, the group rises. Hangovers are nursed. Consent omelets are shared. Gilphine enjoys fistfuls of berries pulled from the woods. And the party decides to let curiosity get the best of them. Werewolves can wait. We've got to make sure the job was done.
True to their word, the Vistani had left. Wagon ruts and hoof prints showed that they had, in fact, traveled the way they had said they would. Down the Old Trade Road. In what's left of their campfire, Gilphine spies a copper coin.... it's no currency she's ever seen. In fact... no one has any idea from what lands this coin came. There is a man's profile on one side, the other side too worn to tell any design.
The four adventurers followed the road for a time but, in not at all expected turn of events, at the first sign of mysterious tracks in the dirt veering from the road, the adventurers decided to ignore every single warning they had been given and wander off the trail looking for... adventure.
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