Solferus: reclaiming of a world

Ever since Cadel had gotten caught in the last town, my luck had been down. I had moved on to Doven in an effort to evade the watch, and i was hoping to bide my time until i could go back for Cadel, or maybe they would just keep him in lockup for a few days and send him on his way and we could meet up again. Of course since we had been interupted whilst breaking into that store i didnt have much money on which to bide much time. I made it through the first night alright, managing to snitch some fruit to eat, and found a cozy little root cellar to bed down for the night (thanking the Father Mount that it was midsummer). I made sure to head out well before first light, the citizens of Doven being notoriously industrious, i didnt want to scare the daylights out of some poor farmer. Not to mention they had rather...puritanical views regarding theivery, and i had helped myself to a few turnips.
I decided that i was going to need some gold if i had any chance of making on my own, and scouted around the town that morning, locating the general store and a few other places of buisness. Not very prosperous seeing as Doven was such a small town, but not likely to be well gaurded either. I'd like to think that i was pretty slick in casing the place, none of the locals seemed to pay any mind towards me, they seem to not like strangers very much. In fact, the only person around to notice me at all was another stranger. He was human, as to be expected in this part of Glendover, and he was fairly brightly dressed, unlike most folk in this town. He was strumming a guitar as i came into his view and he smiled in a friendly manner and continued singing some song of lost love. Odd thing was, the townsfolk were most certainly not ignoring this fellow. Dark looks and scowls were the only payment he recieved for his song. Thinking it odd but none of my concern, i decided to head out into the forest near town, after all, i wasnt going to rob the store in broad daylight. It felt good to be back among the trees, and brought me a sense of peace, and hope for my future operations. After spending several hours enjoying the woodland beauty i sliped into my reverie, wanting to be fully refreshed when the time for my job came.
When i came too, the stars were shining weakly through the forest canopy and i decided that my timing was right. Silently, i stalked through the forest and to the edge of the town, my feet slipping lightly over leaves and earth alike. My senses were alive and my blood was flush with adrenalene. This is what i lived for, everything seemed brighter and more in focus, it always does. It always have, from snatching pies as a child to bagging gold as an adult, the thrill is always the same.
As i neared the town though, something odd seemed to be going on. I could see a glow on the far side of town, though i could not tell its source or purpose for all of the buildings in the way. I could also make out the sounds of many voices, they must have been loud to carry across the town like that. For a moment i remember reconsidering my plan. If the townsolk were up and about, the danger of being caught was surely higher. My blood surged again and i cursed myself for cowardice, after all the source of light and sounds were on the other side of town from the store, and if their attention was elsewhere the townsfolk would leave me well alone. My luck was down.
I remember being halfway up the wall of the general store, nearing the second floor window when a throng of citizens rounded the corner, there must have been nearly twenty of them, torches glaring in the moonlight. I cursed myself, having been so focused on the climb i hadnt heard them getting closer.
"Theres another one!" an angry sounded woman shouted.
"And theiving Millers shop too!"
Soon the crowd had all but swallowed me, pulling me off the wall and draging me to the dirt street below. A heavy blow to the head ended any further memories of that night.

Doven Jail

And there he found himself, waking up with a dreadfull pounding in his head. Shaking off the pain he looked around, and saw that he was in a smallish cell with wooden walls, a wooden floor, and wooden bars. On the other side of the bars he could see another small room with a desk, no one was occupying the desk or the other room. Looking around the cell itself he saw that he was sharing it with three others. First, he saw the man he had seen the day before, playing music in the town square, he was tall, as were most humans, and thin with a long face and long golden tresses. He looked something worse for the time they had been apart though, he was bruised and one of his eyes was blackened. What had set these people off he thought, to have done such violence to this bard. There was another human sitting in the corner, apparently sleeping, not quite so tall as the bard, but stockier of build, and darker of complexion and hair. He was wearing uniformly dark gray clothes, grey being the only color about him save for the golden symbol of the Father Mount hanging from his neck. So..a man of religious persuasions at the least. The last feast was the only one who seemed to be regarding him back, it was apparent from the start that some elven blood flowed through this man's blood. It was in the slant of his eyes, the curve of his ears...all in all this man cut a very fine figure...there was something about him, his carriage, his eyes that commanded attention.
The half-elf smiled and when he spoke his voice was melodic, musical in a way. "My name is Corem, a pleasure to meet you" The accent of the center was clearly in his voice, so he came from more civilized lands.
"Khelandrian, and I could have chosen better circumstances to meet you Corem"
"Indeed, I was simply walking down the road, passing through this retched place, when i was accosted by a mob of peasants who assured me that i was under arrest" (this in elven"
Khelandrian was somewhat surprised to hear his native tounge, but he should have expected it from one with elven blood. Corem went on, still in elven.
"And how did you end up in this hell hole?"
" Ahem..yes i was simply walking down the street when they jumped me and knocked me out" Feeling his head, he winced at finding the point of impact.
A quiet voice spoke from the corner with an unfamiliar accent "I can help your pain my friend"
Khelandrian looked up to see the gray man rising to his feet, his gray cloak swirling around him. As he was walking up, Khel noticed Corem giving the holy symbol a considering glance. "Are you a healer gray one?"
"As the Mountain wills so shall it be," he came closer and raised his hands as if to show that he meant no harm "will you accept my healing touch?"
Khel looked to the bard who was still apparently sulking in the corner "What about him, i think he needs it a bit more than i do"
"I would agree with your assesment, however he does not seem inclined to accept, and i would not force it on him unless it should prove nessacery.
The gray one's soft voice and assured way he seemed to speak set Khelandrian at ease, and he figured that it would be nice to get rid of the headache, so he agreed to the healing. The priest put his hands around the elf's head and murmered a prair so softly that not even Khelandrian could hear it, and then the most remarkable thing happened. The clerics skin turned the color of stone,as well as his eyes...seeming to be orbs of rock within his sockets, Khelandrian felt as if the weight of the world was pressed into him, and when it was over, so was the pain in his head.
"Thank you...."
"Armando, and no thanks are required, though they are accepted in the spirit with which they are given.
The three began to speak among themselves, getting to know each other seeing as how there was not much else to do in the small cell. Khelandrian revealed how he had come from northern elven held lands looking for excitement, traveling with his friend Cadel, but that Cadel had decided to stay behind in the last town. (Khel saw no reason to disclose the reason behind this) Corem as it happened was from a human nation that rested on the slopes of The Father Mount itself, and not long ago had upset his parents when scorcerous talents had begun to manifest themselves. Seeking control and and knowledge about his powers, Corem set out across the wide land. Armando was the only one of the three to actualy hail from the country of Glendover, he was a member of the Greystone Church of the Father Mount, a sect known for their political neutrality and benevolence to those in need. Speaking of religious matters led to a very long discussion involving the truth of the great god, Corem turning out to be an agnostic, not believeing as everyone else did that the great mountain at the center of the world was indeed their creator and master.

: Bed time, more tomorrow i hope :

The Benifactor

It was during this time of conversation, when they were getting to know one another, that they began to talk about the strange riot that had occured in the small town of Doven. Armando revealed that he had been aprehended in his room at the towns only inn. The locals had made a commotion about him belonging to a heathen "cult" of the Father Mount. From what the three of them could work out, shortly before nightfall, something had made the townsfolk so furious that they had rounded up all the strangers that were currently in town. Just another lucky day for me, thought Khel. As they were discussing the possible causes of the riot (Corem thought it was because he was a magic user, Armando thought it was because of his religion, and Khel kept quiet about his reasons) the broken and battered bard spoke for the first time.

"It was my music" his voice was weak and obviously strained with the pain that he was feeling. "They told me to stop singing such bawdy songs in their town, I..dindnt think that i was, but i changed my songs, and thats when they got very angry, i was going to pack up and head out of town but by that point they had decided to arrest me." He slumped against the wall of the cell.

Corem looked around curiously, "so what do we do now? should we try and escape, obviously we have been wrongly imprisoned, none of us have done anything illegal"

Khelandrian caughed nervously "Yes maybe we should try to make an early exit, i have some skill with mechanical things such as locks..." The locals had apparently taken all of his gear, including his lockpicks but Khel started to search around his clothes for one of the needles he kept hidden for emergancies.

"I rather think we should sit tight my friends, if this young gentlemans music offended the senses of Doven as i think they did, I am sure that all will be worked out soon, these are honest and sensible people, and they are probably embaressed by their actions last night. I do not think that we should cause more trouble by trying to escape, if they should forgive and forget it is best that we should as well." Armando gave them each a steady look as he was speaking and it seemed to Khel as if there was some truth in what he was saying, after all maybe they wouldnt think to bring up that he had been robbing the store, maybe he could even say that he was scared and simply trying to escape the mob by climbing onto the roof.

"All right," said Khel "lets sit this out and see where its going"

Corem reluctantly agreed, still being somewhat offended at spending a night in jail unjustly. The bard, who introduced himself as Iama Griot did not seem to be in a hurry to leave, and in fact complained of it being rather hard to move. Armando offered him healing again, and this time he accepted, they all witnessed the remarkable transformation that overcame the cleric as he cast his spell. Once again Corem began to engage the cleric in a theological debate as to whether his power might not be scorcerous in nature rather than coming from a large geographical feature. Armando asked if he would like to try healing, but Corem simply wrote this off as diferent magic users having different fields of expertise. The debate was growing wearisome for all involved (excepting Corem himself) when the door to the outside world opened for the first time since any of them had been locked up.

In walked two men, both human. One was a Dovenite, dressed in the usual array of browns and grays and blacks, he was a stocky man, and short, with long black hair and more gut than any farmer should rightly carry. Khel noticed also that a key ring hung at his belt, and marked that down for future use. The man beside the jail keeper was a about as un-Dovenish as could be. His clothes were all of silk, and bright enough to make Iama seem drab, though the colors were not as garish as those Iama seemed to prefer. Every thing about him showed that appearance mattered, his hair was meticulously styled, his nails clean and cliped, his shoes polished and the lute that was strung to his back shone with an imaculate luster. He was very much on the slight side, being somewhat shorter than Khel himself and thinner as well, and there was a decidedly feminine cast to the fellow. As he entered the jailhouse he seemed to study each of the prisoners, bowing with respect to Armando nodding to Iama with a sort of professional courtesy. With Corem however his eyes seem to linger the longest, and Khel couldnt help but think that there was a gleam of lust in his eyes, wich was not particularly shocking, that sort of thing not being unheard of among the elves.

"Thank you very much master Jherom," he said to the jailkeeper, his voice high and clear, carying the same feminine cast as his general apearance "but if i may have a moment alone with these fine gentlemen?"

"Aye, but remember they're in your custody now master Osmond, and i dont wanna see no trouble out of em" With that the jailkeeper left the room.

Osmond turned twowards Iama and shook his head "You must know your audience my boy, you can not waltz into Central Glendover and start playing songs about love and the interaction of the sexes," He grinned then "why..you'd start a riot"

Iama didnt seem to know how to respond to that, but he didnt have to for Corem had plenty to say, " What did he mean that we're in your custody?" Corem seemed to be a bit defensive and Khel thought it might have to do with the way Osmond was looking at him.

"Why simply this good master, i have payed the bail on all of you, and arranged it so that there will be no unpleasant and drearly legal matters to deal with." at this he gave Khel a particularly meaningfull look.

"Why would you do such a thing?" asked Corem suspsicioulsy.

Osmond went on to explain that he was traveling from the Capitol of Glendover to the mining town of Luminos in the far west of the country. Aparently it was a wild land and brigands were not unknown to pray upon the area. Osmond was set to play a preformance for the Warder of Luminos, one Stephen Blackshield, and he needed to make all haste to get their as he was late, doing so however would take him though one of the wilder regions of the country and so he had been on the look out for guards. And as he had not yet been paid for said preformance, he needed ....economical gaurds. So in return for getting them out of trouble, he wanted the group to accompany him to Luminos where he could then pay them for their troubles.

There was much discussion of course. Corem in particular did not seem to trust the flamboyant bard, while Iama wanted to take up the journey in hopes of adding to his repitoire by studdying with a more experianced musician. Armando remained fairly quiet throughout the discussion, seemingly content to follow the will of the group. In the end it was Khelandrian who tipped the balance in favor of traveling to Luminos. It seemed the best way to not get into trouble over the robbery issue, and besideds, he still needed the funds to return to his friend Cadel and help him out in some way.

"We shall acompany you my friend, and though it is my prayer that you shall not need our protection, I for one will gaurd your saftey with my life for the kindness that you have shown to us" It was Armando who ultimately delivered their descision, and Osmond seemed thrilled.
"Excellent! On to Luminos then."

:OUT OF STORY:

So i thought that i would provide some information now before the intrepid heroes set off on their first real adventure. The previous posts mostly took care of events that happened shortly before the first session of the campaign. Basicaly when i had the players make their characters i asked for at least a paragraph of background story and the reason they would be in this small town. At the begining of the campaign i informed them all that they were in jail. Hehe i blamed it on the bard singing "bawdy" songs and the rogue was easy to get into jail, the scorcerer hadnt actualy done anything wrong and so was a bit disgruntled. One reason that the character of Osmond was so funny was that Corem's player on rolling and 18 for charisma loudly declared "I am beautiful...even to men!" I could hardly contain my mirth, seeing as how i had already designed Osmond. So let me introduce the heroes.

Khelandrian: He stands about 5'2, and has a slight build, but is fairly well muscled, and exceptionaly dextrous. He has shoulder length red hair, and soft grey eyes. He has a ready smile and quick jest, and loves the thrill of theiving. He caries with him a beautiful rapier of elven design. He set out from northern elven lands with his friend Cadel because of some trouble they had gotten into, but in the town before Cadel was taken prisoner and that is one of Khels main concerns. Elven rogue level 1

Iama Griot: tall and thin with a long face, and long blond hair. The best way to describe Iama is Lanky. Iama has the goals of many a bard, to increase his knowledge, his skill, and his income. He has a tendancy for bright and garish clothing, and has the habbit of playing wildly inapropriate music for any given occasion. Bard level 1

Corem: A half-elf from the very affluent region on the slopes of the Mountain itself. Corem was the son of a minor noble house and was set to inherit no small sum. However, his growing intrest in magic, and denial of religious institutions eventualy led to his father disowning him and sending him out. Now Corem seeks power and money from other sources. Sorc level 1

Armando: a mysterious human priest of an obscure church to the mount, he is wise and often tempers the flaring emotions of the party, he is the voice of reason when reason is needed. Armando is the NPC i had with the party because their were only three players to start with i described him as basicaly looking like antonio banderas in the thirteenth warrior. Cleric level 3


So the world is interesting, and requires some suspension of disbelief...i disallowed physics discussions around the table hehe. Basicaly the world is a flat disk that has an enourmously huge, an unbelievably huge mountain rising from the center of it. Economic and societal development centers on the mountain and spreads outwards. Also, the mountain is the god of this plane, and all creatures good neutral and evil worship it, albeit through different churches. These churches fight each other just as polytheistic churches do. The campaign starts off in the rather small kingdom of Glendover that is about midway between the Mountain and the edge of the world. Its a very ...brittish type place with normal names and features, designed to let the players delve into the fantastic side of the world a little at a time.

A busy day

And so they set off that very morning, each of them with a newfound sense of freedom, and a bit of excitement. Khelandrian was particularly glad to have his possessions back, his lockpicks perhaps a bit more than his sword, though both had certainly gotten him into and out of enough trouble. He could see now that his new companions were not unarmed either, the half elf carried a crossbow at his side and several daggers, and the bard rather awkwardly wore a longsword on his hip. Armando however did not appear to be armed, Khel wondered whether or not his church even permitted him to do harm..some did not. Come to think of it, the dovenites hadnt given anything back to the cleric at all, either they had stolen it or he hadnt been carying anything at all. Both ideas seemed unlikely at best, and rather troubled him.

As they walked along the western highway, Iama began to converse with their new benefactor, seeking instruction as it were. Osmond did not seem to be the type to withold information, especialy when it made himself seem grander, or more learned of the world. As it turned out, Osmond had been discovered at a very young age, a musical prodigy as he put it, and had spent the majority of his life playing and singing in operas in the big stadiums of the Centerlands. It was only recently that he had moved out west and begun to "Share his gift with the outlanders". A further surprise came when it was discovered that Osmond and Iama had recieved tutilage from the same master, one Old Gus who was known in the music industry for teaching younger students.

With the artists huddled together, Khel was left to speak more with Corem. Corem seemed a nice enough fellow, and fairly intelligent as well. Corem was happily telling him about magical theory when Khel's sharp eyes picked out a disturbance on the horizon. It appeared to be some sort of cloud, only it was moving a bit fast, and against the wind at that.

"Everyone look over there" he pointed towards the strange disturbance.

As the cloud drew nearer towards them, they could eventualy tell that its direction was shifting, again contrary to the wind, so that it was now moving straight towards them. Everyone began to cast about for a place to hide, but all was open grassland around them, suddenly Iama cried out.

"Air goblins!" and with that he drew his sword and stepped in front of Osmond.

With little else to do aside from following his lead, Khel drew his rapier from the sheath at his side, the grip felt comfortable in his hand, and brought a sense of calm to him, despite the adrenalene surging through his blood. Behind him he could see Corem pulling back the lever on his crossbow. The goblin clown drew nearer and Khel could seem them clearly now, smaller than goblins, and naked with filthy batwings, they were heading strait for the party. Their shreaking filled the air and before he could think of a clear strategy, they were surrounded with the disgusting beasts. Two of them flew in towards him diving in surprisingly quick, and it was all he could do to raise his blade in time to deflect one of them, the elven steel biting into its wing and sending it careening to the ground. The other goblin however managed to scrape a claw across his swordarm, and Khel felt the blood starting to flow down his arm. He took a quick step back and pushed the tip of his blade through the chest of the stunned goblin on the ground and looked up in time to see Iama stabbing a goblin out of the air, skewering him on his sword, to the rogues surprise, there was already a first goblin impaled upon the bards sword. He didnt have time to think on it though as another goblin came screachin down beside him, Khel managed to sidestep this one and run his blade across the creatures neck, ending its disgusting war cry. A crossbow bolt streaked in front of his vision and knocked one of the things out of the air before it could slam into Osmond, who gave a girlish scream and ducked down to the ground. Turning to fend off and ultimately kill one more of the goblin creatures, Khelandrian realized that the rest were flying away, apparently disuaded from whatever plans they had for the party.

Khel felt something touch his shoulder and turned with a yell to stab whatever it was, but his blade crashed into a mace that Armando was holding up.

"Im sorry Armando," he managed to say through his heavy breathing.

"No i am sorry my friend..I see that you are wounded and I wish to repair the damage before the filth of these creatures infects the wound."

With that the cleric healed him and they set about making sure that everything was ok in the aftermath of the attack. Khelandrian couldnt help but to stare at the creatures in wonder...he had seen goblins once or twice, but these foul creatures were something else entirely. They had beens so rabid, so mindless. Iama actualy proved to be their source of information on the creatures, he knew several stories of them, how they attack small groups of humanoids or livestock. It was also quite a shock to see how well the bard had handled his sword, he had ended the fight with no less than three of the creatures impaled upon his blade like some grisly kabob. The group decided to travel a bit further on, to remove themselves from the stink of the battle before bedding down for the evening. They were all quite tired, and Osmond in particular was distressed by the entire ordeal, and assured all of the adventurers that they would be most handsomely rewarded for saving his life in such a manner as this. "I never thought that this would be the manner of protection i needed" Though the statement struck Khelandrian as odd he wrote it off as one of the mans eccentricities.

They traveled on for a few hours, untill the land around them had become lightly forested. As a group they decided that sleeping among the trees seemed universaly better than sleeping out on the open road, and so they headed into the forest, a decision that particularly pleased Khelandrian. He set out to find them a suitable campsite and after a bit of searching, he found an open clearing with a stream running through the center, it was large enough that keeping watch would be easy, one could notice anything that came into the clearing and warn the others before it could reach the center. And so they prepared for their first night together as a group. Corem began some meditative practices and Armando knelt in the direction of the Mountain and began to pray. Osmond and Iama were around the fire and were begining to play some music, their instruments similar yet different producing a pleasent sound, and the party heard Osmond's singing voice for the first time. It was high and sweet, and Khelandrian could believe that the man was famous for it.

Being thus left to his own devices, Khelandrian decided to take a tour of the surrounding forest. Much as in the forest outside of Doven, the trees kindled within him a sense of peace, so much time among human lands could only serve to strengthen his bond to the earth. It was odd really, back home he had never given it much thought, cities and people and wealth were all he cared about, but being away made him realize how much the land was in his blood. Thinking of home also made him think of Cadel. Now there was a puzzel, he had no idea how to help his childhood friend. Not much chance of paying his bail..not when they certainly wanted Khelandrian in jail as well. Then a thougth occured to him, if he could impress this Osmond and work into his good graces it would be very possible that the singer could do the same for Cadel as he had for the group. With this thought in mind, Khelandrian turned back towards the campsite when he heard a familiar high pitched scream. He began to run back towards the camp, and when he got there he saw Armando holding the other two back.

"Wait untill Khel returns, it will do none of us any good to go charging off into the forest only to become seperated and lost. You know our benefactors sensibilites as well as i, it is entirely possible that he has simply seen some woodland creature."

Of course Khel when he did return wanted to know why the man had been allowed to roam off into the forest alone. Apparently he had had to use the bathroom and was most adament in his request for privacey, Iama told them that in particular Osmand had not wanted to pee where Corem could hear. Khel could only shake his head. They decided to set out en masse to find him, and chose Khel to lead since he seemed so well inclined towards the forest. It was at this point that Khel was cursing his luck again, he had sharp eyes to be sure, and was very good at finding things, but woodscraft had always been something he avoided back home. After some searching they found the spot where Osmond had been. Apparently some sort of scuffle had taken place, and it looked as if the prissy bard had simply been dragged off. Luckily the captors did not seem very intent upon hiding their trail, and after hurridly breaking camp, the four decided to follow whatever had taken their new employer deeper into the forest.