Welcome to Reyr's Well

[Mark Chance]

[MENTION=1465]Li Shenron[/MENTION], [MENTION=6749529]Jimmy Disco T[/MENTION]

Karl "Plink" Erickson and Molly "Short Temper" Wheatbarney climb to the top of yet another hill, following the rugged road leading into the frontier. At the top of the hill, they see the source of the thin plumes of smoke they'd been seeing against the dark blue sky.

The village of Reyr's Well waits no more than a few hundred yards ahead to the northwest. Reyr's Well sits in rolling, forested hill country. Established four decades ago on a gently sloping large hill as a refuge for debtors, this young hamlet remains populated largely by first and second generation settlers. Today, about 240 adults with 60 children call Reyr's Well home. An appreciable number of travelers pass through Reyr's Well each year. The hamlet is located at the intersection of High Road, leading to northern districts, and King's Road, which connects the hill country with the coast to the southeast. The forest around Reyr's Well has been cleared back to a several dozen yards, creating a rough oval of arable land with the hamlet in the middle.

Surely this far from civilization adventure awaits.

 

[Li Shenron]

"Oh they'd better have a good tavern open, down there... All this uphill-downhill on dry rations has made me lost weight."

 

[Mark Chance]

The pair of adventurers trudge along the road, heading toward the bridge that spans a steep-banked stream. The burbling stream joins the wider river in a swirl of currents just a bit south of the bridge. Karl notices about a third of a large bell sticking up out of the muck at the river's edge.

At the fork in the road, looking to the north, the street passes by a couple of residences and a watchtower. The other branch leads across the bridge and to a crossroads. A few more houses can be seen. Partially obscured by trees dotting the roadside stands a mill, its waterwheel turning noisily.

An armored man stands atop the watchtower. He spots Karl and Molly, and raises one hand to wave.

 

[Li Shenron]

Molly confidently waves back at the guard, then turns to Karl: "So, should we head straight to the town square?".

 

[Jimmy Disco T]

Karl nervously eyes the watchtower and edges closer to Molly.
"Fine by me" he says with little enthusiasm, "provided it gets us out of sight of that tower and that oh so cheery guardsman. You know I'm not too comfortable around law enforcement..."

Karl turns to look at his traveling companion only to realise with a start that Molly is already several yards ahead of him. Rolling his eyes he breaks into a jog to catch up.

 

[Li Shenron]

"Ah buddy... you always see threats everywhere, don't you? What kind of dangers could this peaceful village possibly hide? Let's find something to eat first, and see if we catch some rumors from the locals..."

 

[Mark Chance]

The pair of adventurers continue on across the bridge passed the bell mired in mud at the river's edge. At the next cross street, to the right, they can better see the mill with the guard tower farther on. The guard seems to be watching still.

The mill's modest waterwheel splashes and creaks in the surging current of the adjacent brook. Atop the building spread the vanes of a windmill, the motion of which adds to the noise. Behind the mill is a cultivated field. Several people, men and women and a few children, are in the field working, bending down picking something here and there, which they put into sacks slung about their shoulders.

A couple of clean, sturdy-looking dwellings stand on the roadside not too far away. A bit past the houses, the road forks, continuing northwest and veering to the north. It looks like the north road might lead more toward the center of town.

 

[Li Shenron]

Molly keeps walking towards the town center showing confidence, but thinking to herself "Perhaps Plink has a point... frontier villages sometimes harbor secrets and dangers, and this one almost looks too peaceful. What was that bell in the mud for example?". As she walks the streets and squares, Molly will casually glance at towers and rooftops to see if she notices a belltower or similar, clearly missing its bell.

 

[Jimmy Disco T]

Karl keeps pace with Molly, while taking stock of the locals and their reaction to their presence... Especially where guardsmen are concerned.

Reaching down his side, Karl's hand subconsciously moves to his shortsword in its scabbard. Glancing down he quickly moves his hand, not wanting to incite any aggression from passers by.

(OOC: are we moving unnoticed through the streets or are we receiving wary looks from the locals? And how much guard/watchman presence is evident?)

 

[Mark Chance]

OOC: Wow! Work is killing me. There's something really different about this school, but I'll be durned if I can figure out what it is.

Karl and Molly continue their stroll deeper in Reyr's Well. Karl keeps an eye on the locals. He and Molly certainly attract attention, but no one seems to pay them much mind. In the fields, he does see a child tug on a woman's sleeve and point. The woman looks up from her work at the pair of adventures, says something to the child, and they both return to their work. As the travelers near the next bridge, this one spanning the river that cuts across the field (area 19 on map in OOC OP), the warm smell of fresh baked bread wafts across the road. Molly's stomach rumbles a bit.

"Come back here!"

An elven woman comes around the corner of a building to the left of the bridge. She appears to be addressing a small bird with brightly colored plumage.