Belhaim presents a sleepy, rustic facade to the wandering visitor. The town is in large part self-sufficient. Its main commodities are pottery and fish, but the town doesn't receive enough trade to garner much renown from these industries. Most of the town's inhabitants work for family businesses or provide services. Residents are fractious, and they have long memories. Minor squabbles are common among neighbors who have differing beliefs.
Our heroes find themselves in this sleepy little hamlet, enjoying a meal at the Wise Piper Inn. The proprietor, one Talia Orem, took pity on the poor caravan guards and offered them room and board for a few days until they could manage to travel out of Belhaim. The Heroes are seated at a long table, enjoying a free meal of fresh bread with cheese and honey, washed down by watery mead.
Having stored his gear in the room above, Davin relaxes at the table with a pint of warm local beer at hand. An average looking man, with dark hair and eyes, Davin could easily fit in almost anywhere with his plain clothes and common looks. Without his armor or weapons he resembles a farmer perhaps, or maybe a merchant.
"Well friends what is next for you? Seems I will need to find another caravan passing by...or join some of the locals in their fields!"
He laughs at the thought of working as a field laborer, but seems comfortable with the thought.
Vakase the tiefling sits a bit farther from everyone else. The hood of her robe is up and the opening looks like a tent propped against the two small yet prominent horns growing from her forehead. Her eyes reflect red in the ambient light.
She's breaking off small chunks of bread, dipping them in honey and feeding them to the small black raven perched on her left shoulder.
"Tttt-ttt-ttt" she calls out as she hands a morsel to the bird, who quickly snaps it out of her hand.
"It seems the locals aren't happy to have me around, judging by their stares. I'll be looking for the next caravan out or anyone that needs some discrete work without questions." she replies from under her hood.
"I'll find something. I usually do." she smiles.
Davin looks back at the cloaked figure and smiles.
"Fret not the locals Vakase, they just do not know how to react to your exotic beauty is all."
Hack, a large, muscled and scarred man with long hair tied back in a pony with a leather thong, comes down the stairs from putting his pack in his room. He is unarmored, but a greataxe is strapped to his back and two hand axes are tucked in his belt.
Hey, Davin.
He nods in the direction of the tiefling.
Vakase.
He sits at thd table across from Davin and leans back after grabbing the watered mead. His feet are crossed on the corner of the table with his legs extended to their full length. He chugs the mead.
Brrrrrp...Hits the spot. I am gonna need a pitcher of these. Any word on a new caravan since we got stiffed on this last one?
Vakase nods back to Hack.
She takes a sip of mead in between feeding crumbs to her raven.
"Thank you Davin. Flattery will get you everywhere." she says with a smile, mostly concealing her sharp teeth.
"I had the strangest dream last night. I was an elf sneaking onto a pirate ship, and I was worried about being attacked by giant spiders. I don't know whether to take it as a vision, or perhaps too much of this mead."
Her raven caws in acknowledgement and dips her beak into Vakase's cup.
A hearty belly laugh echoes out from the kitchen, signaling the arrival of Rurik, escorted by Talia, Now ye see lass, yeh got ta wait fer three more days afore ye prime it fer the second stage a fermentation, yeh got that?
An exceptionally stout man, nearly as round as he is tall, with a bushy beard and twinkle in his eye. He is dressed in mostly browns and greys, though occasionally the vibrant pinks and greens of his priestly garb can be seen beneath the armor straining to keep his portly frame contained.
Ahh, friends, the blessings of Lathander to ye all! How fairs ye on this glorious morn?
A lanky muscular elf enters the room, his torso covered in sweat. He is muttering to himself in his native tongue.
"Good morning all. Did you just get up?" Kartoss sits and takes some bread and fruit and begins eating. His question, while normally a polite one, had shades of a challenge in it.
No lad, I been up fer a bit. Just showin the mistress o'the house a few ways ta enhance her ale so it'll put some hair on yer chest! An ta answer yer question Hack, not sure how many a caravans come out ta the fringes like this lil village, but I doubt anythings changes since yesterday. That said, the rotund man says a few short prayers to Lathander before tearing off a hefty chunk of whatever was offered for breakfast and downing in a few huge bites.
Yep, Katoss, just got up. Not everyone does the freaky no sleep for elves thing. Plus, if ya had as much to drink as I did last night, maybe ya would have needed the extra hours too.
He smiles at the elf, and then turns to Rurik.
Well, brewer priest. If no caravans come this way soon, it will give ya time to perfect this swill. Hell, if there is some other way to earn glory in this burg, then that and the better drink may just keep me around.
"I've been up throughout the night Kartoss. I witnessed a woman die of old age just before midnight, surrounded by her family. Around dawn a hunter in the nearby woods was stalking a deer and ran into a hungry wolf doing the same. The wolf decided he'd make slower prey. A farmhand startled a horse in a stable shortly after that and was kicked in the head."
"And between all that were the strange dreams."
She grins beneath her hood.
"All in all it's been a typical night for me, witnessing the cycle of life and death repeat through Elsa's eyes. All's normal with the world, except for the lack of caravans."
The raven caws again in agreement and snatches another scrap of honey-soaked bread.
Rurik chokes down on his food to prevent spraying it across the group,Three deaths in one night? he sputters, Were they in yer dreams as well, or do I have a'day o last rites ta perform? A small town like this'll likely not have much in the way o'priestly members.
"Elsa tells me the old woman's passing was expected. She'd been ill for some time. The other two were unexpected, but fickle is the finger of fate."
"Like our elven friend here, my raven doesn't sleep, so I bear witness through her eyes."
"I suppose there could be some some coin in it for you though Rurik, so you can afford to continue your brewing experiments."
Vakase then finishes her mead and stares sadly at the bottom of her cup.
Three more to the mud without a song to be sung of their glories.
Hack stands, and stretches with a mighty yawn. He then struts to the bar where he addresses Talia.
How's about a bit more of that mead, lady?
Davin sits and listens to Vakase tell of the goings on in the village. Coming from such a place himself, he knows the hardships the people endure everyday. He quietly continues to sip his brew and thinks about the future.
"I just got back from a 5 mile run. The hillside here is great for running." Kartoss continues to pick at his food while talking to the others.
Hack just rolls his eyes.
Really, a five mile run, for fun? You've lost yer wits, Elf!
Vakase raises her head and laughs.
"Was something chasing you, Kartoss? I witness deaths via a magic raven and even I think running for pleasure is strange."
No coin needed fer that lad. Lathander's blessing be upon any who ask fer it, and I'll not have folk dying around me without a few words said fer'em. Turning toward Vakase, he adds, Any chance ye remember where the folk were when they passed? It'll save me some awkward questions ta the town.
Rising from his seat, he pulls out his holy symbol and a few ceremonial ointments and herbs before heading out to tend to whatever duties are needed.
"How do you fight things if you can't even run such a short distance? How do you get up and down stairs?"
I didn't say I couldn't do it, just that I wouldn't do it for fun! The primal spirits of my clan bless my axe and my heart of valor in battle, friend. That's how.
|
Kara had contented herself to only listen with half an ear as she played with the candle in front of her. In turns she'd wet her fingers and put it out. Then she'd touch the wick with her finger and when the flame sparng back to life, she'd giggle like a schoolgirl at her first sleepover only to start the cycle anew.
Kara is a very, very good-looking halfling. With blazing eyes and perfect hair, lithe waist fanning up to a supple back and a generous bosom eternally spilling out over a tied corset, one wonders why she chose the life on the road. Asking her does no help as every story she tells about herself contradicts every one before. One can only suppose that her sublimely ephemeral personality must have played some roll.
That and the fire.
"Have fun, Rurik! Let me know if you're gonna build any pyres! I could, like, totes help you out, if you need it!" she calls after the priest. Kara imagines Rurik wandering around town asking 'Hello? Is anyone dead around here? I want to help the dead people!' and giggles uproariously. She doesn't tell them why she laughing.
She takes another sip of the mead in front of her and frowns. This will never get her drunk. She knows because she stayed up trading drinks with Hack, trying to drown her past. Her past won.
"Vakase, what's the most deaths you've witness in a night? You can include those you yourself had a hand in, but not any natural disasters. Go!"
Not waiting for an answer, Kara drains her mug and holds it up, turning and yelling unnecessarily loud toward the kitchen. "HEY! While we're young, eh?"
Workin' on that, Lass!
"They shouldn't be hard to find, Rurik. This is a small town. Except maybe that hunter. You might need to look for an unusually fat wolf in the woods."
Vakase turns to Kara.
"Really, this question again?"
"Hmmm... Discounting that flood I'd have to say ... I was with my mentor, walking a path overlooking a large valley when he was summoned by his raven. It was the aftermath of a battle, must have been 400 or so newly dead solders from several armies. Some kind of land dispute."
"Wars always keep the Raven Queen's agents busy."
"So what about you? You can include accidental fires that you may or may not have started." she knowingly adds with a smile.
|
|
Kara blinks several times in rapid succession. It's an odd habit, possibly battling some internal demon. Or a prelude to a lie. Or both. Or neither.
Kara speaks up, "Did I ever tell you of my first real campaign? High-Father Joakim had agreed to dispatch a company of Doomsealers to the Ironhide Hills, to crush a war band of SteelClaw orcs that had overstepped their bounds and raided farmsteads in earnest.
Though a mere hundred of us marched, the wagon train of provisions and fodder stretched back on the road 'till it crossed the horizon. At every village on our path everyone, from elders without teeth to farm girls, bouncing in their simple frocks, came out to shake our hands and litter our path with sweet-scented flowers, or offer hard-crusted bread and tough salted pork or even an earthenware pitcher of good clean water to wash the dust of the road from our throats.
Throughout the campaign, a steady caravan brought bread fresh-baked from local ovens and news from home. Acolyte Rufus was granted leave to see his first son born, and StormCleric Arrian was raced home when his grandfather, a warlord in his day, fell to his deathbed.
As we marched home, the corpses of the greenskins rotting at our backs, along the track we were showered in kisses and gratitude. Not a one of us did not feel a hero in a bard's epic, and each warrior knew what good was done that day."
Kara tries to take a fortifying sip, and frowns at her empty mug. "I suppose my hope here is that I can return to my order with another such tale, but this time secure on the knowledge that 'twas mine own efforts that did reap the victory, and 'twas not just a cog in a mighty host.
Thirty score corpses were left on the battlefield, only a tenth-part were our own.
So I guess I, like, totally win?" She smiles.
As the heroes eat their meal, and swap stories, a loud rumble interrupt their meal.
Several other patrons gasp and run outside into the evening light.
Rurik, out and about in the town checking to see how the folk are handling the rash of deaths in their midst, and guiding them in prayers for the fallen as they make their way to Kelemvor's grace, hears the rumbling in the distance. Oh dear, this canna be good. he grumbles as the portly man hurriedly huffs his way towards the sound, doing his best to keep the hodgepodge of flasks, bottles, and holy implements from flying loose from his giggling form.
|
|
Kara screams "Landslide!" loudly and runs outside with the crowd. Before leaving she surreptitiously grabs several buns, a large steak, and someone's full mug of ale. Once outside she stuffs them into her beltpouch and quietly sips from the mug.
Scrambling about the crowd outside, she mumbles something about SO not going back inside to pay the check.
Vakase's bond with her raven warns her of seeming landslide outside.
"I think our contest has to wait Kara."
She grabs her gear and heads outside to survey the situation and catch up with The others.
"Well Elsa, are we going to be busy today?"
Kartoss is about to pick up a piece of fruit and peel it, and then it sets it down and runs out of the inn. a few scant seconds later, there is a rumble.
Kartoss begins looking around for people in need of help. This will be the beginning of a good story. he thought to himself.
Perception:
Dozing in his seat, Davin wakes as everyone begins to file out of the building.
Eh! Whats going on? Where is everyone going?"
Hack files out behind Davin.
Our heroes dash out into the dusty byway and immediately notice a huge plume of dust rising to the northeast. It isn't long before someone
comes running down the path, out of breath, with the news The Witch Tower has fallen! A buzz runs through the twenty odd villagers that have gathered.
"It's the tower built by this place's founder, last remains of a castle. While you were busy raiding the bakery Kara some of us were learning things." Vakase quips with a smirk.
"So now the question is what would cause it to fall? And, I suppose, was there anyone up there?"
Kartoss makes his way to the tower, stopping to help anyone he passes.
Stumbling out of the tavern after the others, Davin lets loose a low whistle.
"Wow...what could have caused that to happen? Maybe we should go and see if we can help?"
Rurik barely stops his rumbling jog as the call for help and checking on the villagers murmurs through the crowd. Aint no maybe bout it. he states and continues on without checking to see if the others follow.
"Maybe I can get a better look at what's going on."
Vakase instructs her raven to fly and survey the catastrophe, sending it just less than 100 feet in the air so she can see through its eyes.
The heroes head towards the Northeast. Soon a they see villagers passing them on the left and right, heading away from the wreckage.
There are dozens of Kobolds corpses in the wreckage! the heroes hear and The Sheriff is gone, what are we going to do! Those Deputies are fools!
Soon, the heroes arrive at the scene. At the site of the collapsed tower, two locals putter about aimlessly. One wanders about scratching her head, and the other stands with hands on his hips, chewing on a stalk of grass. About fifteen townsfolk stare at the collapsed tower, gaping.
|
|
"Hey! That bakery had -realllly- good muffins. Oh, man, if you woulda tasted those muffins you wouldn't know nuthin' either!" Kara retorts to Vakase without a hint of irony.
Kara rolls her eyes as she sees the two men, Letha and Varyl. Ugg. At least they found something to stare at other than her chest. For the moment.
Stuffing the last of a bagel in to her mouth, she knocks back the last of the drink and tosses the tin mug to the side. "Alright, stand back stand back! There might be survivors in there! Let me through!" she shouts. Most likely they have dumb orders like, "For their own good, don't let anyone go in there" or "Don't let anyone into the wreckage until we know it's not trapped" or "don't let anyone in there until we get more trained professionals here" or "don't let anyone in so they don't loot nuthin'".
Or dumb things like that.
Hoping that her words carry the prerequisite weight, she heads into the wreckage like a boar snuffing out truffles.
She uses her small size to get in as far as she can.
Of course by "survivors" she means "survivors, and anything shiny. Or valuable. Or odd. Or shiny. Or valuable. Or shiny. And, also, valuable."
Or shiny.
Hack approaches the two onlookers.
What happened here?
where's yer boss?
Kara rolls her eyes as she sees the two men, Letha and Varyl. Ugg. At least they found something to stare at other than her chest. For the moment.
No one stops the small halfling from trying to gain access to the ruined and collapsed tower...in fact several of the townsfolk sigh audibly in relief that someone else is taking charge instead of the Deputies.
impossible to tell how much of the basement survived). Second, the rubble is unstable, and could shift if not traversed carefully.
Hack asks the Deputies about their boss and they look at him strange
You can see what happened. The Witch Tower fell. And Sheriff Benhovy's takin yer old boss to the gallows in Cassomir.
|
|
"Hey! Um, guys, it just fell into a sinkhole. That's something that'll happen with poor medieval construction and a lack of proper seeding of the foundation's structural integrity, which is totally a thing and not something I made up just now.
But, totes srsly, don't anyone else come in here! Any more weight than my little, firm and shapely buttocks an the WHOLE THING could come CRASHING DOWN!!!1!
Um...like, even more that it already has. So, uh, stay out n'stuff."
That done, she keeps crawling deeper into the structure, determined that thing of this impressive magnitude must've had SOMETHING worth stealing in it.
Which she was going to do anyway, but she does it extra-extra carefully now.
Kartoss is going to check out the cleared area (A2). He moves right past the guards without interacting with them at all and begins looking for survivors:
Rurik huffs up to the tower's ruins and begins looking over the people milling about to see if any require assistance. When Kara tells everyone to be careful around the rubble, or at least he thinks that's what she says in her odd lingo, he nods, likely being the most robust of the group.
Vakase keeps her hood up and her head low as she walks past the guards and follows Kara to the edge of the ruins. She sends Elsa to carefully poke around the rubble as she watches through the raven's eyes.
Kara climbs into the ruins
An enormous heap of cracked stone and splintered wood from the tower lies in a low mound here, tumbled partially down the hill to the southeast. The mound of rubble forms a natural ramp that leads up to the now-exposed second floor of the tower above.
Vakase sends her Raven Familiar into the air, she gets a good visual of the collapsed tower (map)
Kartoss atempts to gain access to the tower via the iron door, but the door is blocked from the inside with rubble. Kartoss gives the door a shove fruitlessly.
Someone in the crowd says Hunclay will know what to do. Why doesn't someone go ask him! and they call attention to the fact that another building lay on the far side of the hill, some 300 yards away.
The two Deputies begin arguing loudly about who will go "bother Hunclay"
"The wizard might not be a bad idea. He either caused it or would know what did."
|
|
'Uh, okay, this is getting to be a little like 'work'. Not sure if I'm liking this," she mumbles to herself, seriously considering just going back and telling the others she didn't find anything.
But, the hubris of certainty that she's already come this far...and that, for once, no one is looking over her shoulder making sure she's not doing exactly what she intends, emboldens her onward.
'Well hell, alright let's do this thing.'