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--- coins_end:to_almraiven [2023/09/08 10:19] – created davidm
+++ coins_end:to_almraiven [2023/09/08 10:20] (current) – davidm
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 ==== Detail ====
+It started with a simple letter from your old friend Arowain.
+"Elenor, Gather a company of like-minded adventurers and Please make haste to Almraiven". It is a small town on the northern banks of the Shining Sea. I have a perilous journey to make and would prefer a retinue of trustworthy, young and strong folk as yourself. I believe the adventure will be profitable and enlightening for my employer and all. I must set out soon so, if interested, come to Almraiven and seek out Veoden. It will be good to see you again my friend."
+Arowain. A friend indeed. An alchemist and mage by trade, he concocted all sorts of potions and magical gadgets to entertain young folks. And then remedies when they went awry. It was obvious to even the most foolish among you, that he was quite gifted. You were dismayed but not surprised when he set off to Calimport to apprentice with the legendary mages there. He kept in touch from time to time. The years passed as you advanced in your chosen crafts. The communications became less frequent. However you knew he had left Calimport to explore the wildlands on a mission of discovery. "Think of the countless components we have yet to discover. Magic is only limited by what we know of it.". Being so much younger than he, You and your friends had taken a more practical approach, learning what you can, taking odd jobs here and there to make a modest living.
+Now this letter arrives. You notice, to your dismay, the origination date is over a month past. Frustrating. That should have been here weeks ago. You place the letter back in the worn envelope and gather with your companions at the DangleAngle Tavern.
+Gathered were the half-elf Kipp Asheton, humans Elenor Norewood, Pyreece Vellore, Audra, and Oglesby Percival Hawthorn the Third, and the halfling Brandy Oakhill. Arowain was a friend of all of these gathered here, but more so with Elenor. They both pursued fields that dealt with magic. He was more of an alchemist but still used magic as well. He made stuff for everyone in the group over the years but all of those items have since been used up. Occasionally he messed up and made things that had unintended consequences but he was also the person to fix it. All of them have nothing but good memories of Arowain.
+They set out from Saradush and began making there way to Almraiven. As evening neared, they walked into an area where there was a rise just north of them as they were traveling east. Kipp was out in front and was suddenly charged by a black bear. The bear had arrows sticking out of it so it was full of rage. It headed straight at Kipp. It hit him with one swipe of his claws and his bite. Kipp took a lot of damage but was still standing. Oglesby fired at the bear with his sing but missed. Brandy ran up to get a better angle on him and fired her crossbow at it and hit. Kipp attacked with both weapons, hitting with one of them. About that time, two goblin archers appeared to the north, on the rise, and fired. One fired at Pyreece and missed while the other fired on Audra and also missed. Pyreece called out that there were goblins firing at them as she turned and used her sling to fire back. She missed. Audra charged the bear and missed it. Brandy got in a final shot on the bear and dropped it. The goblins fired again but missed.
+Pyreece charged the goblin nearest her and missed. That goblin dropped his bow and drew his sword and swung back at her but also missed. The other goblin fired on Oglesby again and missed. Oglesby backed up toward Brandy, fired back and hit. That goblin fell. Kipp ran up to the other goblin but missed both attacks. Elenor fired at that goblin and missed. Audra ran up and over the ridge and attacked the last goblin killing it. Thus ended the first battle of the campaign. They searched the goblins and found 9 silver pieces amongst them. They also had decent food, 6 rations, on them so they took it. Audra suggested that they track back from there and see if there was a camp nearby. They went a little ways north but knowing there are a lot of goblins in this region, thought better of it and headed back to the rest of the group. Pyreece cast a cure light wounds spell on Kipp healing him back up. They thought about taking the fur. Seasonally, it's fall. They decided it wasn't going to be worth the time it would take to stay here and get it so they left it.
+They continued south and eventually made it to Almraiven. It took several days to get there so they had completely recovered by the time they got there. As they entered town, they spotted a hand bill posted in several places. It read as follows;
+"Adventurer's needed to undergo a quests to find valuable treasure. Some danger involved. 100 gold pieces to be paid to any survivors. Contact Veoden in the leaning tower at sunset.".
+In looking at the buildings immediately around them, they were guard houses. Almraiven was a fishing and trade town with a population of about 300 or so. As they moved deeper into the town, they also moved closer to the coastline and the docks. Looking around the city at the taller buildings, they did spot one that looked as though it was a tower. At first they thought it might be a lighthouse but studying it some more, they determined that it was too big for that and instead reminded them more of something like a wizards tower.
+They made their way to the tavern to rest and eat something before the possible meeting at sunset. As they were making their way to the tavern, Oglesby was scouting the buildings trying to spot the more affluent section of town. He was able to tell that the northeastern area of town was the more fashionable district. The tavern they found was the Thirsty Hound, a dive in the middle of town. They entered and found a table. It was busy and there was a woman performing with a flute playing battle hymns and songs of war. There was a fat dirty barkeep that picked his nose a lot. It was a pretty lively place with many voices talking and laughing. There were dwarves at the bar. Oglesby and Brandy moved straight to the bar. Brandy got a drink right off and Oglesby spent the next few minutes trying to convince the tavern keeper to contribute to the cause of the orphaned halflings. He failed to convince him to give directly to the cause but managed to wrangle a discount on his drinks with the understanding that he would donate the amount reduced to the orphans.
+The dwarves started talking about collecting money also. When Brandy asked who they were collecting for, the closest one said The Dwarven Fur Traders Convention. There was more talking and laughing and one of the dwarves suggested that one of the other dwarves smelled badly. The rest of the group ordered drinks and food and relaxed for a while as they waited on the time to pass. Brandy and Oglesby joined the rest of the group at the table. There was one table with a couple of gentlemen eating and talking quietly with each other. Brandy elbowed Oglesby and suggested that he ask about to see if someone would tell him where they could find this Veoden. Elenor stood and moved to the table with the two affluent looking gentlemen and asked for their assistance. She asked if they knew where they could find the leaning tower and this Veoden mentioned on the flyer.
+They notinced that she wore the outfit of a mage and then suggested that there was only one tower. She told them that she was just trying to be sure, "We didn't want to just show up at someone's home only to find they were at the wrong place. Then she asked if they could tell her anything about Veoden. They didn't offer much information, only that he kept to himself most of the time. She asked if they knew of good places to shop. They took that as a chance to talk down the current establishment. She asked about apothecaries and weapons and armorers. She was told they had decent weapons and armor merchants and that as far as apothecaries go, Veoden is probably the best person for that. She asked about inns and where might be the best place to spend the night. They told her she could stay here at the Thirsty Hound pretty cheaply or if they had the coin, they could go to the Keyryn, a bit more expensive but a nicer place. She thanked them and she bought them a round of drinks.
+They waited until close to sunset and began making their way to the tower. As they got their, they noticed that the tower was the residence and the smaller outbuilding was a shop. The shop was currently closed. It was suggested that Elenor knock on the door. She did and nothing happened. She knocked again. This time an older gentleman. Opened the door. He appeared to be sleepy and asked if he could help them. Elenor answered, "Yes, are you Veoden?". He acknowledged that he was. She told him we were here in response to the hand bill he had placed around town. He was like, "Oh yes, come on in!". They entered and spread out in a round sitting room.
+He looks around at everyone, looking them square in the eye and then said, "Mythral, is used to make magic swords, armor, weapons, and other enchanted things. I want some. I'm willing to pay you 100 gold pieces for 1 pound of the metal, or proportionally more if you bring me more. Are you willing to seek out this metal?". Oglesby spoke up and introduced himself. He said, "Any kind of opportunity to enrich ourselves is always welcome, but, in addition to that, we received a letter recently from a dear friend of ours and in the letter, he invited us to seek you out.". Voeden responded, "Really!". Oglesby continued, "Yes, his name is Arowain. Are you familiar with him?". Veoden answered, "Yes, Arowain.. he was my associate. I say 'was' because he is quite disappeared. He set off on a fools errand to try and recover mythral from a the mountains. Legend had it a meteor had fallen to earth years ago. He didn't wait to properly research the issue and ran off with a few rag-tag adventurers to seek it out. The mountains to the west are vast and infested with Goblins, Ogres, and wild beasts of all kinds. I have not seen him or any of his group since. Nor, by now, do I expect to.".
+He added, "But, let me tell you a story."
+He continued, "A little over a hundred years ago the Star fell from the sky — or so the legend goes. It fell this time of year, on a quiet night with just the slightest chill of winter in the air. The ones who saw it said that it flashed blue and white and screamed as it fell. Many felt it was a sign of the gods. It fell northwest of town, far away in the Marching Mountains where the giant-kin rule. Most believed the Falling Star destroyed itself when it struck the earth. Still, many foolhardy souls sought the Star. None succeeded and few have returned.
+Eventually, the people forgot the Falling Star. Years later, the great sage Caaranian proved that stars are made of mythral, a magical metal that takes enchantment much more readily than normal steel and is stronger than that metal as well. Sages agree that the site of a fallen star is often a good place to find mythral. When the locals heard of these findings and remembered the legend of the Star that Fell, they once again searched the hills and mountains for the Star. All met with failure.
+Save one man, Walker Dairoo, who was found just west of town almost dead from exposure and wounds. He claimed that he had found the Star but that wizards and monsters guarded it. He carried in his pockets a few bits of an odd, silvery metal that the town blacksmith could not work. No matter how hot the forge, the metal simply refused to melt. Dairoo claimed it was mythral but refused to reveal where he had found it. He would only say that it lay in the evil lands to the west and was not worth what he had seen to get it. He never did tell exactly where the Star was located, but he drew a map for himself. The map long outlived its master,
+who died the following harvest of a mysterious wasting disease. Dairoo seemed to just waste away over the course of a month. He blamed a curse but would say no more about it. He called his son to his bed just before the end and held a whispered conversation with the youth. Then he expired, his flesh seeming to whither even as he lay there. The map was handed down from father to son in the Dairoo family, until the last son who had no children. During the harvest of his twenty-fifth year, he died of the same disease that befell his ancestors. No one knows for sure, but some suspect that the map was buried with him in the cemetery outside of town. Legend has it that the Dairoo curse continues even after death. Fear of the curse has kept even the most determined grave robbers away. That is all I know of the map and the Fallen Star."
+Oglesby asked, "So do you think that this fallen star is where Arowain has gone, to try to find this mythral?". Veoden answered, "That's where Arowain should have gone. I'm not sure where he wound up since he…we didn't know of the existence of a map at the time, but Arowain was so excited about making this discovery that he…the people had just…the legend had it that the star had fallen in those mountains and he just…the mountains are vast. The monsters and wildlife…I've never seen giants or really heard much of giants though they're supposed to be up there. But the goblins, trolls, ogres, and even the regular wildlife, bears and wildcats and such, are in that forest and in those mountains. Any number of things could have befallen him, and he really didn't have enough food stuffs for a prolonged journey so after two or three weeks, I don't know".
+Oglesby asked, "So he went seeking this meteor, right?". Veoden confirmed that. He told them that Arowain did not have the map. Veoden added, "Apparently the map lays with Atuur Dairoo, the last of his line. I believe he is interred in the mausoleum at the center of the cemetery. I would suggest that you start there and see if you can locate he map.". Elenor asked, "Why would we want the map if the map is cursed?". Nobody answered her. They asked more about what happened to the metal. Veoden didn't know. "Perhaps it was buried with him.", he said, "It was handed down through the line.". He restated that the blacksmith couldn't work it. He also told them that the Dairoo men have died off. There have been sons and daughters over the last hundred years that are scattered all over but there are no more Dairoo's here. Elenor asked, "So when you say 100 gold pieces, that's 100 gold pieces each, correct?". Veoden said yes but then added qualifications. He said that they were free to keep anything they found along the way. Elenor asked if he could supply some potions of healing or other things to assist them as they were new to this and would have a hard time surviving without some aid. He said he would. He said he was not opposed to giving them some things to help them on their path.
+Oglesby asked Veoden, "Who was employing Arowain to go find this, were you employing him?". Veoden responded, "Yes, I suppose I was, I thought of him more as an associate, I was paying him so I guess in a way yes, he was my employee.". He continued, "We've made many discoveries together. We had…". As they talked more, he learned of their history with Arowain, and that they realize that Arowain is a kind of student and an alchemist. Veoden is the same kind of guy. He was not quite as rambunctious as Arowain was. He's a little more measured but he is basically the same kind of character. He liked to study ways to use new materials to improve magic and to make magic more reliable, and make things that have good effects even stronger than they might normally be today. Oglesby said, "Well, my companions and I, being friends with him, need to pick up the trail and see if we can find him.". Veoden stated, "Again, my suggestion is that you find the map. That should prevent you from, if he managed to find it, if he managed to get there, then if you find the map, then you would be able to more directly get there. He thought that Arowain was relying on finding natives of the area and maybe learn of some passed down stories or legends that might lead him to it. Pyreece suggested, finding it and making a copy of it. Then we technically aren't robbing the grave.
+Elenor asked what kind of provisions could he provide us? She asked for some potions to help with healing. He left the room going up a level or two into the tower, and came back a moment later and gave her a vial of a potion of extra healing. He also pulled out a Keoghtom's ointment. He said, "This is something we wanted to see if we could improve it's effects. We haven't been able to accomplish anything of note yet. This is just a regular Keoghtom's ointment. Nothing that we've tinkered with.". He pulled out a ring from his pocket and handed it to Elenor. She saked what it was. He said, "It's a ring of protection!". (Plus 1) He added, "Arowain found it while traveling, but we have no use for it.". Oglesby asked if he might have any special arrows. Or anything like that. He told him no as they don't really get into enchanting weaponry or things of that sort here. He suggested he try the bowyer in town. They thanked him for the items and said they would see if they could find this mythral and Arowain. Elenor asked where this cemetery was. Veoden said, "It's about a half mile southwest of town, just off the road.".
+They discussed who should where the ring and decided that Kipp for now should. If later it looked like Elenor was taking hits then maybe switch it to her. They discussed who should carry the potions and ointment. Pyreece ended up carrying the extra healing and Audra carried the Keoghtom's ointment.
+The recording stopped there. The rest is from memory so may have gaps.
+They headed out that evening to the cemetery. They made it there without issue. They entered and began searching grave titles for the name, Artuu Dairoo. They remembered that Veoden had said that he thought that he was buried in a mausoleum. They crossed under a walking bridge and found a mausoleum in the southwest corner of the cemetery but the name above the door was not Dairoo. They continued looking and eventually crossed over the walking bridge and found another entrance to the mausoleum. This one had no names above it. Maybe this was a different level with different people. Oglesby picked the lock and they made there way in. Very quickly, they were set upon by some living skeletons and zombies. They fought three of them directly while Pyreece was able to turn three of them away. They eventually dispatched them as well. They searched the whole mausoleum and found no coffin for Dairoo. They went back out the front door of the mausoleum and searched the gravestones.
+Under one of the twisted and evil-looking trees in this morbid place they found the tombstone for which they had been searching. Beneath a carved human face, the inscription simply stated, “Atuur Dairoo, b.10 Harvest, 713 YND; d.18 Harvest, 738 YND; Last of the Dairoo line; may the gods watch over him and keep him. They began digging. While they were digging, Pyreece noticed that the rest of the Dairoo men buried in this area all had something in common. They all died at the ripe old age of 25.  It took a long time to dig him up as none of them thought to bring a shovel. They did eventually reach the casket and opened it. Inside was Atuur. They found a folded piece of parchment in his hand and pried it out, opened it, and looked at it. It wasn't like any map they had ever seen before.  In fact, it didn't look like a map at all. They began studying it.
+That is where this session ended.
+Please start the recorder.