OK so thought I'd set up a discussion thread for character stuff, setting thoughts. As you've probably read from the campaign outline a lot of the world remains fairly hazy and I want to encourage a colloborative approach. So if you're character hails from the war-torn steppes of the Rus feel free to fill in those blanks in the world so far.
So the first post is some more detail on the starting point of Raudurfoss:
Raudurfoss
Fall has come to Norvanbard. The long sunlight of summer has begun to wane giving way to gray ashen skies with icy rains and longer nights. In the mornings a touch of frost blankets the ground and patches of thin ice have appeared on the River Wend.
In Raudurfoss the preparations for winter have begun in earnest. It is much like most years; farmers finishing the harvest, boys stocking wood for winter, the closing days of the traders market, and Earl Thorolf’s loggers clearing the final tracts of Waleska trees for the last shipment before the Wend freezes over.
However, a pall has been cast over the small town. In the last few weeks disease has come to Raudurfoss. It began with a few aging servants of Thorolf’s household. They were wracked by a violent coughing, then disgorging of black sputum from their hoarse lungs, a fever and then inevitably a painful wheezing death.
Since then many more especially the very young or elderly have fallen to this disease. Some hardier souls have successfully fought off the affliction but several dozen souls remain in dire jeopardy from the disease. It is feared that many households will be unprepared for the hardship of winters without members of their family. Among the sickened is the respected Earl Thorolf. The old warrior has seen many winters and had already been prone to fits of ague. Yet the Earl clings tenaciously to life but many fear that he cannot last much longer.
In his stead, Thorolf’s son, Egil, has taken charge of the town. On the advice of Unn the Deep-Minded, an old herbalist and matriarch of her esteemed household, Egil has forbidden the use of the north well. This has seemed to check the progress of the disease yet Egil has done little more to find a cure for the disease instead he busies himself with ensuring the final shipment of lumber is sent out and maintaining the patrols watching for goblin incursions. The bullying son of the Earl has never been popular but now many openly curse his name calling him Black-Heart Egil.
Unn has called a meeting that will be held at the Alf this evening. Little is known but she has said she has a plan to save the town.
Locales of Note
1.Jokul’s Forge: The aged Jokul, a jovial prankster who once sailed with Earl Thorolf has ran this forge after settling on lands provided to him by the Earl. He once had the reputation of a rabid womanizer and great drinker but has mellowed in age. However, his appetite for jests and pranks has not lessened to the annoyance of many locals. His family and sons tend to his small farm while he busies his days in the smithy. Several apprentices and other craftsmen work with old man. In addition, to providing a smithy Jokul sells various other goods and is the closest thing to a general store in Raudurfoss. Most locals simply barter their goods with each other. However, Jokul has contracted the disease. He is still alive though bedridden. He may pull through but only time will tell.
2.The Alf: A ramshackle hall that serves as the village’s public watering hole. It is mostly frequented by loggers and traders. The establishment is run by the sharp-tongued Thora, the wife of the late ‘Alf’ (so named for his duck like waddle) who died three winters ago no doubt hastened by his own fierce brew of ‘Raudur-mead’(a potent concoction of local herbs that spice the mead and give it a distinctly reddish hue).
Kjartan Bloodeye a fierce looking one-eyed half orc serves as the Alf’s settler of disputes. Surprisingly, for a half-orc he has a poetic wit and many of his biting verses have shamed unruly patrons in leaving. However, his strength and his skill with the axe has often been called upon to send out many into the cold winter night.
The Alf also boasts a few rooms in some buildings behind for traders and other transients.
3.Thorolf’s Hall: This is the homestead of Earl Thorolf. Perched at the edge of town where a small brook runs through emptying into the River Wend, a significant tract of fertile farmland rings the wooden hall. The Earl possesses an abundance of livestock and has rights to most of the forest groves where the Waleska trees can be found.
4.The Unn Homestead: The household of Unn the Deep Minded is a simple home but next to Thorolf, Unn and her sons possess the richest farmland in the region. Unn is the daughter of one of the original settlers of this area and is a respected wise-woman and herbalist. A few people that have run afoul of her sons whisper that she is an enchanter who gives her enemies bad luck by inscribing runes but most give little credit to such malicious gossip.
5.The Docks: Several piers line the bank of the river providing berth for at least four knorrs. The lumberyard sits at the north end in a small bay of the river. Logs that had been sent down from the logging camps are collected here to be loaded onto to the knorrs.
6.The Market: A wide muddy flat area within a stone’s throw of the piers forms the local ‘market’. It is only used in the warmer months when there is enough traffic going up and down the river to warrant it. Various tools, crafts, weapons or commodities such as fish, mead and other foodstuffs are common items for sale. At the time of the adventure the market is still operating but will be closing in a week’s time when the last shipment of lumber is sent out.
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