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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Justinian" data-source="post: 1184386" data-attributes="member: 6358">The thread for commenting about the plot of the campaign, or changes to OSM, or related such queries, is here: <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=67091" target="_blank">http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=67091</a> That thread is off-limits for my players, since I know some of you read these boards. ------------------------------------------------ Session 2a: Introducing Of Sound Mind A wide plain stretched out around the confused adventurers and frightened commoners. There was no sign of recent human habitation or teleportation circles of any kind. After looking around, some of the group realized that the mountains to the north were the Barrier Mountains. With that clue, they decided to head southwest, which should lead them to the farmlands of the Chamavir*. After five days of walking through the plains, stretching their rations to the brink, the group came upon civilization. A large river flowed past from the north to south, and a lone farmhouse could be seen on the other side. With some difficulty, but aided by a raft, they crossed the river and asked for shelter for the night. The farmer was glad to put them up in his barn and share his dinner for a little gold, and he also was anxious to hear any gossip. He was disappointed to find out that they had been at sea, but when Baikal told the story of their adventures, he was amazed. Baikal was just happy to have some ale again. In the morning, they headed to the nearest small village to try and find a way back to Erendar that didn’t involve walking. The elder there was more than happy to break up his uninteresting day by talking to them, and they asked him what their options were for getting back to Erendar.“Well, you could walk it. Takes about four to six weeks, depending on how fast you go.” They knew about that, and wanted a better option.“You could go to the city and buy horses. Much less time that way, although if you buy cheap horses, they won’t get you far.” After some discussion, the group decided that the money from the tasloi bodies wasn’t enough to buy a full set of horses, so that option wasn’t going to work.“So...you want to go fast, but cheap. Is that about right?”They conferred for a minute, and Sigarda remembered something about the Chamavir traders, “Actually, yes. We were hoping that we could hire one of the barges that you use to ship grain down to the city.”“Well, those barges only run at certain times, and they’re expensive to send up and down the river. Without any crops in them, that’s pure loss. I’m afraid that would be even more expensive for you than the horses.” The party was disappointed at this, and began to break up a little bit. Sigarda decided to go to the city, and see if she could find some paying adventures. Iayen wandered off looking for trouble, and suddenly they realized that Adrian had slipped off sometime on the journey from farm to village. After they left, as the rest of the group was sitting in the elder’s house, thinking of options, suddenly he spoke up again.“Actually, I’ve thought of something. You want cheap, and fast? You can take one of the barges, but under my conditions. I’ve got a problem, you see. We’re one of the few villages near a river, so we supplement our food trade in the off seasons by shipping goods in from further north and sending a barge downriver when we fill it. Usually this is metalwork from some of the dwarven clans, or art and other nonperishables from nearby towns. One of our most regular suppliers is the small town of Bellhold. It’s relatively famous for its copper work, and there is a good market for it in Erendar. They send a wagon every month, right on schedule. They’ve missed the last two months, though, and I’ve been worried. A wandering psion came through a couple weeks ago and said he’d look into it, but he never came back. Since the town is only three days away, walking, he’s definitely overdue. If you go check it out, and bring in the missing copper work, I’ll send you on a barge with what we have, even if it isn’t full. How does that sound?” The party agreed to see what was going on. Despite the lack of pay, it promised a shorter trip when they’re done. Wallace decided to stay with the Chamavir, and possibly visit a dwarf clan or two, with Haakon in tow. The remaining adventurers discussed their upcoming mission, and decided to split any reward that they found. They spent the night in town, and left the next morning. Two days later, the group reached the river again, and saw the mountains ahead to the north. According to their information, Bellhold was less than one day away, on a relatively easy road through the foothills. They continued on down the road, and around midafternoon, saw the first sign of human habitation. A man was standing in the road, trying to catch a pair of horses. When they walked up, he began talking almost immediately, introducing himself and asking for help. His name was William, and his horses weren’t cooperating this morning. Othi got in touch with his inner animal, and successfully bridled the horses, but he noticed small scars on their heads. William explained that the horses had run away the week before, and they had just returned that day. He invited them in for dinner, and the party accepted. Over dinner, they questioned William about the town of Bellhold. He was quite talkative, especially after he and Baikal begin drinking each other under the table. When asked about the copper shipments, William couldn't remember seeing any of the wagons go by recently. In fact, he said the last visitors he had received were a group of townsfolk hunting for some lost children. William explained that he had lived outside of town for years, ever since the dragon was defeated. A collective gasp went up around the table, and some suggested leaving town. Quickly, William added that the dragon had been dead for almost forty years. He said that it had controlled the townsfolk, forcing them to mine copper endlessly. He said that it was a huge blue crystal creature**, and it ruled the town from its lair in the mountain. Finally, a group of adventurers came through the area and destroyed the dragon, but half of them died. After the citizens were freed, William moved out of town to live by himself. He didn’t want to work in the copper mines, even when it was managed by a human instead of a dragon. When asked, William was able to tell why the town was named Bellhold. Apparently, to celebrate the death of the dragon, a bellmaker in town had sworn to craft the biggest and loudest bell ever, to warn people in the future. When he was done with it, the town built a belltower in the central plaza, and installed the bell at the top. The bellmaker went up to ring it, and it was indeed the loudest bell ever. When people went to investigate, the sound of the bell at close quarters had killed him, although it’s possible that he died happy. The town renamed itself to Bellhold, and the making of bells (smaller ones) to commemorate this had become common. The bell remained in the belltower, but no one ever rung it again. A smaller bell was placed below it, and that was used for alarms. The party questioned William about the copper trade wagons, and he admitted that he hadn’t seen them go by on schedule lately. However, he didn’t know why this was, since he only went into town every few months for supplies. At this point, William reminded them drunkenly that he was very good friends with Tokket, one of the heroes that killed the dragon, and Tokket always gave him free food at the bar. He invited the party to breakfast with him tomorrow at the inn, and the party agreed. They requested to stay the night in his house, and William didn’t take a whole lot of convincing at this point to give in. ------------------------------------------------ *The Chamavir are a large tribe of peaceful orcs that farm an area of land south of the Barrier Mountains, which run roughly diagonally across the continent that Erendar is on, from southwest to northeast. The Chamavir have racial adjustments of +2 Con and –2 Int, and have favored class: druid. There is a single major city in their land, and many small cities that have just a tavern, an elder who nominally governs it, a few shops, and the numerous buildings necessary to store crops in. **Campaign note: Gem dragons are psionic constructs similar to golems that have slightly lesser psionic powers than as written and lack any psionic resistance similar to the spell resistance of golems. Naturally, Popo noted that William was talking about a renegade creation rather than a true dragon, and this also helped to reassure the party somewhat.</blockquote>

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