Today, the banners of Angorok fly proudly above the main gate of the small township...
Though ultimately an eastern outpost for the City of Silverymoon, over the last several years Angorok has begun to draw beings to it's walls in search of new opportunities on the fringes of the northern wilderness.
This morning brings with it a cool breeze blowing down from the frozen north. Mariel Moonsinger, the elven owner and proprietor of the Inn of the Welcoming Fire, thinks twice before she opens the windows of the Tavern. She sighs knowing that the patrons who frequent her establishment will need the cool air to keep their moods comfortable.
She opens the windows, and gives thanks to the Goddess Sune for another beautiful day.
Mariel begins her day as she always does, with cleaning and preparing for the coming work of the day. The responsibility of owning the only inn and tavern in Angorok is quite a task at times, but Mariel loves her work. She feels blessed to use her skills and powers in this fashion. Bringing comfort to those who fight for good is a task that few are able to cope with.
A knock comes at the door. ”We’re open! Please come in and warm yourself by the fire,” Mariel calls to the early morning patron.
An aging Bard enters the Inn.
“Abin?” Mariel stops her work to help the elderly, blind Storyteller to his normal chair by the fire. “You’re never here in the morning. Is everything alright?”
"It is my dear," Abin says as he settles comfortably into his seat. "Quite alright." The old man begins to blindly thumb around one of his many pouches. He skillfully pulls out a long wooden pipe, and some dry, green leaf. He grounds the leaf into the pipe with his thumb and then holds it up to his mouth. He then purses his lips and ever so gently blows out a small, quick stream of flame that ignites the leaf within. He takes a long drag of his pipe smoke and settles deeper into the chair.
"Today is the day I have been waiting for Mariel. It's the reason I settled in Angorok these past ten years."
Mariel's attention focuses fully on the elder Bard. She listens anxiously to what he might reveal, having always wondered about his mysterious past along with the others of the growing town.
This elder Bard, known to all as Abin Fz, has sat by this fire and regaled the townsfolk with stories of heroes distant and near. Many an eve would he tell the tales of heroes such as Drizzt Do'Urden, and Elminster Aumar, enrapturing his audience with the skills that only a true Bard has. Many a night would he speak of the Gods, and their fealty to Ao, the God above all, inspiring hope to all of the good folk wise enough to sit a moment, and listen to his tales.
Abin was also one of the driving forces behind her opening of the Inn of the Welcoming Fire, and has always been one of her most trusted friends, and patrons.
She sits down by the fire, her attention completely removed from her daily duties.
"Today," Abin says. "It all begins...