"Oh, well done. You'll want to take that to Helmut by the barracks entrance inside. I'll open up the portcullis."
He starts to turn the winch, then pauses, amiably asking, "So where did you get that bugger, anyhow?"
"We got it off of a bandit that accosted us as we came to town. There were six or seven of them, including a minotaur. We were only able to get one spear though."
"We heard they were ambushing folk in the pass. Sadly, there are too few guards left to patrol the area. You fought the traitor, too? You must be very tough warriors to defeat Toro."
"Traitor?" Zayla asks. "You mean the minotaur?"
"The Baron took him in when he was just a calf, and he grew up with Lady Elsa, the Baron's daughter. When Lady Elsa was taken, he left, along with the court jester, to look for her, but he never came back. A few years ago, he was spotted working with the brigands. There's a 100 gold coin bounty on his head. Do you have any proof that you slew him?"
"Unfortunately, no," Everard replies. "So.... the Baron's lost his son as well as his daughter? How did all of that come to pass, do you know?"
Karl leaves the winch for the time being, comes to the edge and leans over like an old good wife gossiping over the back fence.
"I remember it all like it was yesterday. It all started when that vile witch Baba Yaga arrived in Spielburg Valley, oh, some twenty years ago. She wasn't even here more than a few days before she had cursed the town graveyard, so that the dead don't rest at night. The Baron would have none of that, and rounded up us guardsmen--there were a lot more of us back then--to storm her hut. But none of us could get inside her hut--it stands on chicken legs, of all things--and the witch started slinging magic. Meanwhile, members of our own families, recently dead and buried now not so much, appeared from the ground beneath our feet to drag us down. Sir Kheiron, the Captain of the Guard, took on the horse single-handedly to buy the Baron and the rest of us time to escape. We barely made it."
Karl shudders at the memory, then continues. "That evening, while we were still recovering from our wounds, a large bat flew over the courtyard, dropping a bloody sack into our midst. Inside was the severed head of Sir Kheiron. Before either grief or outrage could even build, Sir Kheiron's mouth began to move, but the words that came out were not his voice, but the sound of some old hag. His Lordship believed it to be the voice of Baba Yaga, and I see no reason to doubt it. She said, 'You have angered me, Lord Baron Stefan Von Spielburg. You should not have done that. Now here my words and tremble. Upon Von Spielburg and all his clan, This curse I now demand. What I will shall come full measure: Ye shall lose all that ye treasure!' Then, the Captain's head dissolved into a pool of sticky blackness.
"The next sign of trouble was goblins getting into the iron mines along th western slope of the valley. Normally, the Baron would lead his guards to repel them, but with so many lost at Baba Yaga's hut, we couldn't do anything about it. With the mines unsafe, mining soon dried up, and the commerce that went with it. Then, two years later, the Baroness died giving birth to the Lady Elsa. About eight years ago, Lady Zelda was playing in the courtyard when, in broad daylight, a great winged creature swooped over the castle walls and took her away. Yorick and Toro left to look for her, along with another group of guards, but they found no sign. We fear she was taken to Baba Yaga's hut to be eaten, though none dare speak such words around the Baron. Poor sweet child. Finally, just five years ago, the fields began to fail. The Baronet went in search of the White Stag, a magical creature sometimes found within the valley which is said to grant favours to one who would capture it, and had powers over the natural world. Alas, the Baronet's horse returned without him, its flank marred with deep, vicious claw marks. Ever since that day, the Baron has locked himself away in his castle. He never leaves, and he sees no one."
Karl takes a breath.
"Wow, poor guy," Zayla says. "I wish we could help him. I wonder why Toro joined the brigands."
"No idea. I suppose he gave up looking but couldn't bear to come back to the castle, or maybe they just offered him a lot of money to be their mercenary. Toro was a strong fighter, but, then, you'd know that, defeating him in battle. I'll open up the portcullis so you can get your reward for the brigand spear. If you go back to the pass, bring proof that Toro is dead and you can claim that reward, too."
Karl starts the winch again, and the portcullis slowly (and noisily) rises. Seems that the gate isn't opened that much anymore these days.
"Well, he's buried under a mountain of snow right now, but when the pass opens back up, we'll be sure to go looking for his remains."
"Did an avalanche close the pass again?" he asks as the gate finishes opening.
"So it did," Everard says, shrugging. "May be a while before we can collect on that one. So.... The Baron is bereaved and a crazy hag decimated the guard. Any other bad news we should know, sir?"
"Every spring, monsters come down from the mountains. There are too few guards to drive them off and no adventurers, until you three, for years, so the forests are full of them. They avoid civilized areas, so try to get back to town at night."
"Right-o," Everard says. "So. Who do we turn this spear in with, again?"
"Helmut. Just head to the barracks entrance along the left wall."
And with that, you pass through the gates and into the courtyard. In the centre of the courtyard is a fountain, though no water sprays up and the basin is dry and dusty. The cobblestones have heaved from the frost. A well-coifed man in fine linen holds a magnificent sword and works the forms next to the fountain.
To your left, you see the barracks. A man, half asleep on a stool sits outside the barracks door. To your right, a set of almost empty stables lines the wall. A single horse stands placidly in a small paddock.
Ahead of you, the castle proper rises up several storeys. Two guards in polished armour holding trumpets stand at attention on either side of the massive double doors.
Felix walks to the half sleep man outside the barracks. He waits a minute to give the man time to take note of them before he speaks. "Pardon me. Are you Helmut? We were told to turn in this spear to him for the reward."
The man starts as you speak. "You killed a brigand?" he asks incredulously. "Wonders of wonders."
He takes the spear and hands you a gold coin in return. "One down...a hundred to go, eh?"
Bump
Options from here are to talk to the swordsman, check out the stables, the main castle entrance, head back to town, check out the forest. Helmut doesn't want to talk and if yo ask him questions he gruffly sends you to ask Karl, cause he loves to talk.
"So," Everard says, "I believe there was a reward posted....?"
After Helmut has handed over the money, Everard turns his attention to the man doing sword exercizes. "G'day," he calls out. "Fine-looking blade you have, there."
The swordsman stops his practice as you approach. "Indeed it is. It was gifted to me by the Lord Baron himself. I presented myself to him and demonstrated my skills and he had the good sense to set me as his baronial Blademaster and Man-at-Arms."
"Fancy!" Everard says. "You must've had quite the education for that. So.... You must've been there for the battle against that witch? Know the Baron and his kids, do you?"
"I was not yet in His Lordship's employ at that time, but I did know his children. Bernard showed a fair amount of skill with the blade, but he lacked focus and discipline. A pity. Perhaps if he had paid more attention during his lessons he would not have been lost. I could tell that Elsa had quick hands and probably more talent than her brother. Too bad she wasn't a boy. Obviously, I could not demean myself to teach a mere girl."
"I see you wear a sword. Would you wish to take some lessons yourself? One gold coin is all it costs to gain access to all my knowledge, experience, and expertise."
Zayla scowls. "No, he's got more brigands to kill," she says before Everard can answer. "We all do. Besides, if you're too embarrassed to teach a clearly--by your own admission--talented mere girl, you clearly don't have the talent to be worthy to teach any of us. Good day!"
With that, she walks away.
Felix is about to give over the coin they had just received when Zayla refused the offer. He looks back and forth between her retreating form and the weapon master a couple of times. "Good day to you." He follows after Zayla.
"We may speak again later," Everard tells the weapon master before hurrying after the others. "Hardly very diplomatic," he mutters for their ears only.
Next?
Once the three of them are together, Felix offers an idea. "We should go the adventurer's guild. I mean, if we're going to be adventurers, we should be part of the guild, right?"
You make your way back to town, turning left once through the gates, walking past the inn. While you can clearly see the Adventurer's Guild Hall at the end of the street, bearing the crest of the Adventurer's Guild over the door and an elegant if worn sign beside the door, it's the strange shop with the huge eyeball that captures your attention.
The eyeball that follows you as you pass by.
Entering the Guild Hall, you see pretty much what you've come to expect of an Adventurer's Guild Hall: roaring fire in a stone hearth? Check. Stuffed monster heads (and moose head) on the walls? Check. Bulletin board with dusty faded reward posters? Check. Adventurer's Log book with feather quill pen? Check. Overstuffed armchairs next to the fireplace that growl at you as you shut the door? Che- wait, what?
There appears to be nobody on duty at the moment, though now you're certain that the armchair has growled at you again.
"Hardly very diplomatic," he mutters for their ears only.
Zayla shrugs. "I didn't intend it to be."
She falls behind a bit on the approach to the adventurer's guild to stare at the strange eye. As she realises the others are entering the guild, she gives the eye a quick wave and hurries after them.
"I kind of want to check out that store with the--" she starts to say, but jumps in surprise at the armchair growling at her. "Oh. Oh my. That's unexpected."
Felix returns the stare as they pass by the building with the eyeball. "This is a strange town." He says. "Let's go in there once we're done at the guild hall."
The Adventurer's Guild is pretty much what he had expected, at least until the chair growls at them. He jumps back fumbling at his rapier. "Maybe its a test for new members. Stay here. I'll take a look." He takes a couple of tentative steps before turning around to look at Zayla and Everard. "But be ready." With his sword out, Felix circles around the chair to see what he could see.
Perception
Stealth
Felix sneaks around the growling chair. As he moves to the fire side of the chair, he finds an older, grizzled man, asleep, with a truly momentous snore. He grips the hilt of a well-made great sword in one hand. Despite his age, you can tell that at one point he was likely a very skilled warrior.
Still keeping a bit of distance, Felix straightens up and sheaths his sword. "The Guildmaster?" He offers. "The resting guildmaster?"
"Hardly very diplomatic," he mutters for their ears only.Zayla shrugs. "I didn't intend it to be."
Everard gives Zayla a small, sad smile. "I didn't mean you," he clarifies.
At the Guild, Everard peeks into the chair and nods. "Looks like," he says.
The warrior clears his throat and speaks in a raised tone: ""
The old man's snoring sputters and stops as he opens his eyes. "Wha- Oh! My! I'm sorry, I was so busy I didn't notice you come in! Welcome! I say, you lot look like actual adventurers. You must be the three Shultz said we're in town. About time you came by!"
"This is the Adventurer's Guild Hall...obviously. Sign your names in the log book if you plan on doing any adventuring while you're here. There's no fee to join, but we do ask you to donate 10 percent of any spoils you come across during your adventures. We're on the honour system here: after all, if you're here to be heroes, you wouldn't likely be too dishonest. No need to come back every time you find some silver coins on a gobbo though. Just when you're in town. We have all sorts of gear to help you out. Sparring dummies and practice equipment out back. The climbing wall, too. Weights to help build up muscles. We don't have the room for an archery range, but we do have a target area for javelins or daggers. In here, we have the job board. In the old days, I'd be around to give lessons, or I'd go out and rescue some adventurer that got in over his head, but I'm too old for that sort of thing nowadays. I'm happy to share my knowledge of the local wildlife, if you're interested."
"That sounds marvelous!" Everard says.
The warrior strides over to the log book and signs his name with a flourish.
"There!" Everard claps his hands once and rubs them together. "So, my name is Everard Katzenjammer. What might yours be, Guildmaster?"
"Wolfgang Abenteuer, young man," he says, and waits for the others to introduce themselves as well before he begins a hefty spiel about the local fauna. I won't go into it all here, save to list the potential monsters you could encounter in Spielburg Valley. His lecture grants you each a +5 bonus to the relevant Knowledge checks to identify them in the future and know details about them, and allows you to attempt up to a DC 15 Knowledge check untrained.
Local monsters:
Goblins, goons, ogres, trolls, cheetaurs, sauruses, Saurus Rexes, antwerps, and manarays. Obviously, brigands as well. Also, floating spirits near the graveyard at night. There are also fey living in the valley, though they are seldom hostile unless provoked.
Cheetaurs are like a feline centaur. Sauruses are like dumb raptors (not hard to kill), while Sauruses Rexes are like small T-rexes (very dangerous). Manarays are magical creatures that look like flying sting rays that can shoot electricity from the stingers on their tails. Antwerps are strange rubbery creatures that can jump on you and bludgeon you to death, but are susceptible to sharp objects. They puncture easily but when they pop, turn into a horde of babies that begin to quickly grow. Nobody seems to know how to kill them, but fortunately they are rarely hostile.
The other monsters are pretty much like the core Pathfinder versions.
Zayla signs her name in the log book, and then spends some time looking at the faded reward posters while the guildmaster gives his lecture. "Can you tell me what that place with the eye next door is?" she asks when he's done.
Felix also signs. He takes the time to see who else has signed in and tries to tell how long ago it was.
"Why, that is Zara's magic shop. Nice enough woman, but very strange. Still, if your own inclinations lean towards the magical arts, you'll want to visit her shop."
Looking through the book, Felix sees the previous entry, dated five years ago last fall: On this 23rd day of October, Baronet Bernard non Spielburg slew a troll near the Flying Falls."
Looking through other pages, the names Stefan von Spielburg and Wolfgang Abenteuer appear most often.
"Where's the Flying Falls? There used to be trolls there."
"You have a head of every kind of monster in the valley?" Everard asks as he walks around the room, looking at the trophies. "And .... a moose? Um. Was it an uh, especially bad-tempered moose?"
"Darn tootin'! Thing nearly bit my nose off!"
"The Flying Falls are along the south edge of the valley, the water from them spills into Spieglesie Lake, which you probably saw a glimpse of when you came over the pass. I wouldn't go looking for trolls just yet though, young adventurer, they're pretty tough. Best cut your teeth on some goblins or sauruses."
"I have almost every kind. Nobody's ever brought back a Sauruses Rex head. Though I wouldn't recommend you tangle with one of hose until you are very, very good, if and when you do manage to bag one of those, I'll offer a hundred gold coins for its noggin."
"Something to keep in mind," Everard says, thoughtfully. "So. Are there any other Guildmembers in the valley?"
Looking at the notice board, you see several faded posters. One is for the healer's missing ring. Others are:
One shows a picture of a handsome if arrogant young man. The poster reads: reward of 1000 gold coins for the safe return of Baronet Bernard von Spielburg.
One reads: 500 gold coins for the death or capture of the brigand warlock.
One reads: 100 gold coins for the death or capture of the traitor minotaur Toro.
One especially old poster shows a picture of a young girl in pigtails. It reads: reward of 1000 gold coins for the safe return of Lady Elsa von Spielburg.
One poster reads: reward of 500 gold pieces for the cleansing of the West Spielburg Mining Company claims and properties. Inquire of Siegfried Holtz, mine manager.
One poster shows a (not so helpful) picture of a cloaked figure. It reads: reward of 2000 gold coins for the death or capture of the brigand warlock.
One poster reads: reward of 1000 gold coins and title "Hero of the Realm" for the breaking of the curse of Baba Yaga.
"Something to keep in mind," Everard says, thoughtfully. "So. Are there any other Guildmembers in the valley?"
The Guildmaster shakes his head. "We're it, plus Schultz, who's too old, and the Baron, who doesn't go out anymore. Used to be in the old days, we'd have cards here every Thursday, but now there just aren't enough of us left."
"Cards?" Everard asks. "Felix, Zayla, you hear that? We could swing by for a fun game, couldn't we? Maybe we'll drag Kaspar over, seeing as he's interested in the adventuring life."
The Guildmaster snorts. "He could be an adventurer, I suppose, but he spends too much time reading and not enough time doing. Still, don't be too hard on him. He was young when his older cousin Hans went adventuring, and he never recovered from his death - from a troll, as it happens."
"Ahh, that would hurt," Everard says, shaking his head. "Still, I think I'll press him just a little. I've offered to teach him basic combat training, and if his desire for the horizon ever outmatches his fears, he's going to need it."
"Wow. The reward for the brigand warlock went up from 500 to 2000 gold. How old would Lady Elsa be now?" Zayla asks.