The Compass Rose Job Board:
Missing Hunter: Lady Baranova is looking for help locating a missing hunter, Barlus Chorton. Inquire at the Temple of Gerana at the Civic House.
Elusive Antidote: Several residents have fallen ill to a strange disease, and help is needed locating a key reagent in the remedy. Inquire with Laurel Gebre at Roots and Remedies in Honey Alley.
The Darkmoon Beast: Woodsmen have reported a cunning wolf that seems to be hunting them down and picking them off one by one. Reward for killing the grey-pelted wolf. Inquire with Boss Teedum at the Cutyards.
The shaven headed woman approaches the group.
”Apologies, I couldn’t help but overhear. And as a newly inducted member of this town of Hearth’s Advneturing Guild I find myself in equally esteemed company. Ascaede, at your service. Call me Shae. I…come from a Yolanite temple - our Flamekeeper has sent me to investigate a strange wasting illness that struck down some of our lay-members - thankfully I am not infected. But it seems perhaps Hearth is not immune - Laurel Gebre here in Hearth seeks ingredients for a cure to a similar illness. I do not mean to burden you good folk further, but perhaps you might assist?”
Ustemir snatches all the papers from the board, and approaches the group again.
"Right." he puts the 'Missing Hunter' page on the table. "This is what I do, and I am already looking into Barlus' disappearance. Might as well do it for money."
Then, he puts the 'Elusive Antidote' on the table, and points his fingers towards the woman without hair. "I mean, this doesn't have your name on it, but it might as well."
And he puts the last page on the table - 'The Darkmoon Beast'. "And a little fun on the way? Or we can leave that on the board for now."
The dromaar spends a few seconds in thought. "Missing people... Well, here's my thoughts on the matter. There's a reason why I work here, you see. People don't come here for the sights, usually. It's like a fugitive runs to join a ship crew to... disappear. We're in the woods here, and you can just make up a name when you arrive. Nobody will check your paperwork, so to say. However..." he puts an index finger to his lips. "Barlus, I've known for years. He's not the type. And he's gone. Maybe it's connected to your disappearing fellow. We could join forces, and help a medical problem while we are at it, hm?"
Ustemir spits in his palm and presents it for a handshake.
Sébastien nods politely while keeping a weathered eye out for There seems to be a magic hole swallowing people up in this area .
His hand grasping Shemar by the speaking sorcerer's robes.
Shemar looks around at the group of adventurers gathering at the notice board. "Okay, so Sebastien and I have been sent to check up on an old adventurer named Glint Axe that went missing, Stepnik and Waedin are looking for a 'Vazenko Penchev' that might be in Drazmorg's tower to the north, Ustemir is looking for a missing 'Barlus', and Ascaede here is on a mission for life saving herbs. It certainly sounds as if we could all group together and accomplish these tasks while out and about. Shall we head over to Lady Baranova's to gather some more information before we head out?" He says, clapping Ustemir on the shoulder and giving Ascaede a smile.
Waedin perks up at the mention of the Temple of Gerana. Yeah it'll be good to have allies to do all this work. It's a lot of work yeah? Let's put our names in for the jobs at the Temple first then the herbalist and then the Boss.
Stepnik's eyes light up at the thought of finding some rare herbs... but he realizes he needs stanch allies and agrees with the group plan. "Sure we can check out the tower later... unless we hear bloodcurdling screams emitting from there... then it moves up in the pecking order".
"Great! Danyl, can you slap our names to those?" he finishes one of his mugs, and picks up the other one. "I'll wait for you outside. A friend is waiting for this." he raises the other ale to his face and walks outside. "I'll leave the mug on the windowsill!" he shouts at Danyl.
As you walk out of the Compass Rose, you see Ustemir bent forward with a mug of ale in his hand, feeding the drink to a brown bear cub. Well, cub is a strong word. Probably the size of a dwarf at this point, but still relatively young. It's interesting to see this rugged-looking dromaar with eyes full of adoration and love as he smiles widely, doing baby talk at this future beast.
"Who's a good boy? You are! Yes, you are! Gonna get you a nice fish later, buddy? You want some fish?"
The brown bear cub huffs into the mug, sending the contents spraying all over his face. He pulls the snout out of the container and looks at the door into the Compass Rose as he licks his own face.
Ustemir stands up, puts the mug on the windowsill, and smiles as he scratches the bear's neck. "Say hello, Kolek!"
The bear sits down, raises one of his paws, waves and roars... gently.
"Good boy."
Ascaede’s eyes widen in a mix of shock and mirth.
”Hiya Kolek” she smiles with a small wave. She turns to Ustemir, still smiling.
”You feed him….ale? Is that good…for a…bear?”
Ustemir shrugs. "Just gets nervous in the city. Mauled a horse once. Nasty business, that. Fortunately, most of our business is out of town."
"And besides... If he can take a spear to his side, he can handle a pint once in a blue moon."
The man thinks for a second, and smirks. "Well, damn. I made that sound bad. He's fine. We live in the woods most of the time and he eats fish, honey, berries, fruits..." he pauses. "Yeah, to be honest, this guy will eat pretty much anything that doesn't eat him. Including rotting fruit. So probably doesn't mind the ale too much. In small doses, of course."
Sébastien exits the clubhouse. The halfling's blue eyes smile as he sees the bear cub.
Hello, Kolek. Welcome to the team.
As Shemar drops the name 'Glintaxe', Danyl chimes in, "Ah yes, old Druingar, the dwarf, I remember, although it's been a few years. He used to hang out here while doing his research. He claimed to be onto so.e great treasures, what'd he call it? 'The Seal to Eternal Life', or some such. But, he went off to explore the mountains and never came back. I believe he left a copy of his book behind, you might find it at the library, also at the Civic House. Sounds like you're already going that way."
As Ustemir hands him the stack of want ads, he asks, "Well, what do you call your little company?"
Hah, let's survive for a bit before we go about giving ourself airs. Waedin snorts at Ustemir. [b]Pleased to meet y'all. Gerana keep you safe. I'm Waedin if I didn't introduce myself, forgive my manners. Just been distracted a bit lately.[b]
"Heh. Is that like some cultures not naming their babies until they are one year old? We need to make sure that we survive the winter? I can see the logic in that" He says to Waedin.
Turning to Danyl he says, "Maye you can just call us 'The Company' until we turn a few of these ads in."
"Oh look, Langivar, he's got a puppy. Alright everyone, we've added a book to our to do list. The Civic House seems to be the place to go."
Amazingly, the newfound nameless party doesn't skip a beat and gets straight to adventuring! Such professionals.
Leaving The Compass Rose, they head towards the Civic House at the center of town. Along the way, they are stopped by two gruff looking guards at the gate and forced to pay the gate tax.
Passing through the gate, they notice a difference in town. Although most buildings are timber framed or constructed of logs, a few others are built of stone masonry. The roads here are cobblestone, not dirt, and cleaner, and the general populace looks a little better off than outside.
The civic house is not hard to find, as the main road leads directly to the town square, and a large masonry building sits off the west side of the square. In the square, you spot Oona selling goods from her cart. She promises your cut of the merchandise 'found' in Silverpine Watch by the end of the day.
The Civic House is part court house, jail, record's hall, library, Temple of Gerana, town hall, and the seat of the Civic Council, the appointed government officials of Hearth. You are here to see Dagmara Baranova, Priestess of Gerana, and so are directed to the temple, which is little more than a shrine adjoined to the court house, record's hall, and library.
Lady Baranova is a stately, middle-aged human woman with greying hair, dressed in immaculate purple robes. She greets you with formal politeness, and recognizes Weadin as a cleric of the faith with a warm smile. "So you are here to answer my call for help. Now, it's not strange that people go missing around Hearth from time to time. Most simply venture off elsewhere to fin their fortunes, other fall victim to the dangers of the territory. Other fates, I'm afraid, are obscured by the obfuscations of Creed's dealings. But, Barlus came to me seeking a blessing for his upcoming hunt. Now, hunting is not normally the purview of Lady Justice, but the religiously inclined are few and far between in these parts, and so I performed the rites and gave Barlus my blessing. Now he has been missing for weeks and I fear I may have given him false confidence and misguidance in his pursuits. I've gone to the Lumber Consortium agents for help, but I've never been well received there, so I must turn to you for help. I can offer a Silver Longsword in my possession for what closure you may find in your investigation, or better yet, if you can return Barlus home alive and well."
Knowing Waedin is also a priestess of the same god as Lady Baranova, he waits for her to respond first.
That seems appropriate. She opened up with the missing person quest associated with her anyway. I'll ask about Glintaxe's book after they've gone back and forth. And ask about Creed and the Lumber Consortium.
Shemar smiles as the woman greets them, nodding here and there.
Being somewhat new to the group, Ascaede opts to stand attentively, musing on whether she has any treats that Kolek might like. Honeycakes perhaps?
Mmmmm….honeycakes!
Sébastien jerks his head away from looking and goggling all the fancy finery about this side of 6 coppers.
...Barlus...hunting..blessings...woods...lost....fine...any particular woods, me lady? Ots of trees about.
"Barlus informed me he would be using the logging camps in the woods north of town to stage his hunt, but as I said, they have treated me with unwelcome, which is typical of Creed's people. Hopefully, they will be more helpful to you folk. That would be a good place to start looking."
"Just put down 'Placeholder' for now! If we are not dead in a few days, we can work on it." without slowing down and already in the door, the dromaar shouts back with a smile on his face.
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As they walk to the Civic House and through the gate, Ustemir strikes up a conversation. "So... Where are you all from? What do you do? What are your skillsets?" he pauses. "I'm from the woods nearby, originally. Played between the trees as long as I recall. Me and Kolek make money by catching people. I am handy with light blades, I can do little tracking and rig up a tourniquet. A little sewing of stitches, and in a similar vein..." he clears his throat and hushes his voice "open a locked door."
He raises his voice back again, and adds "You gotta go where the work takes you." with a shrug.
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In a gesture similar to Shemar's, Ustemir occasionally looks at Waedin to drop the icebreaker after Baranova's pitch.
Waedin waves her hand at the offer of the Longsword Ah we don't need a reward for this. She glares at Sebastien for a second. We'll be glad to help ya in your good works in Garena's name. Did Balrus say what he was huntin'? And what's the trouble with Creed? We're new here so we don't have the lay of the land. Could you let us know how the place works?
"It is only fair that you be rewarded for your troubles. If the sword does not suffice, we can arrange an appropriate compensation. Balrus did not specify his quarry. Could be deer, boar, or even wolves I suppose."
The priestess takes a long sigh, then continues, "I don't mean to bother you with personal matters, but I guess it's good to give you forwarning. Our town here is run by the Civic Council, of which I am a sitting member as is Rikard Creed, but truly the seat of power lies in the Lumber Consortium, of which Creed is sole proprietor. The Creeds are the last of the three founding families of Hearth, after a long and bloody feud. They are a cruel people, Rikard especially. Sometimes I feel I am all that stands between him and pure dominion over this town, and he certainly treats me as such. Sure, he can be polite and professional on the surface, but he has deep pockets and a strong influence, and plenty of citizens here are happy to serve his corrupt will."
"Be careful in your dealing with Creed or any of the Lumber Consortium. And watch your back when in the Lumberyards."
Ascaede seems initially reticent to divulge…anything about herself, but at some point opens up.
”There’s not much to tell on my behalf. Raised in a Yolanite monastery, I am not as wordly as others….but we have an extensive library, and I made it a point to pester the few visitors we had…endlessly. Slightly precocious I guess…and a blessing that our Flamekeeper did not dissuade me!” Ascaede pauses, perhaps in a reverie of memory.
”Since the mystery illness appeared, I have been tasked with finding any information I could about it. In my travels I have encountered [here Shae counts off on her fingers] a half-coven of false “witches”, a pack of crazed jackals, mutinous townsfolk, a troupe of low players and their attendant bandit gang.”
Shae smiles.
”I’ve been learning about the world.”
Her smile hardens a little.
”As for what I can do…mostly I look at the world, and understand it. The weft, weave and balance, and where the cracks and fissures in creatures and objects are that can be taken advantage of.”
Her smile returns, brighter.
”Then I hit them with my sword.”
"Ah. I'm from kind of this area originally but spent my early adulthood in Absalom. Apprenticed to a Mortician there and learned a lot about how things go together in the body... so no divine healing, but I can brew up a mean healing elixer and am pretty darn good a stitching up wounds. Also, know a little more than is probably healthy for my sanity about undead and all that kind of creatures. I usually prefer to stand back and chuck bombs and potions at things and make stuff".
Ascaede frowns as the priestess details the hold the Creeds have on Hearth. ”I have heard of a velvet glove inside an iron gauntlet, but htis sounds more like a hand of gold inside that iron gauntlet. I thank you for this warning - ever it seems that those with wealth and influence take power and abuse it.”
Shae seems more sorrowful than angry. She stands taller as she poses a question of her own.
”Priestess, I am Ascaede Voheque, serving Yolana. Apologies for the interruption. [Makes appropriate obeisance/genuflection/bow] My Flamekeeper tasks me with gathering intelligence of a strange illness that has struck down some of our laity. It seems there are those here who also seek such information - have you any knowledge of this…plague?”
Shae tries not to enunciate “plague” too loudly lest it affect any listener’s….equilibrium.
"Opening doors. We could have used you in the towers. That's a handy trade for rough adventuring it seems. I'm from Darkwater Crossing. We called our original group leaving from town the Darkwater Six. That name doesn't exactly fit now. I am a sorcerer. My family originates for the endless sea of sand over the horizon, but my great grandfather took his riches out of the desert and settled our family in Darkwater Crossing. There, I drew upon our Draconic heritage," He waves his hand toward the tiny brass dragon hopping around at his feet as if he were a game show host."to learn sorcery. I cast spells. A dragon, not Langivar here, but an adult dragon visited our manor in Darwater Crossing and told me that it was my destiny to set out for adventure, like my great great grandfather. Here we are"
"The Lumber Consortium seems a logical place to start. Maybe the common loggers, toiling away with their axes would be more forthcoming than their prickly boss. Also, I've been asked to look into what has happened to a dwarf by the name of Glint Axe. I'm told that he may have left a copy of a book here. Are you familiar with it, perchance?"
My Clan's big on crafting and jewellry and I always wanted to follow in that tradition, but pretty early on the temple of Gerana tested all of us, and it turns out Lady Justice had a different idea of my true destiny in life. Truth be told I resisted it for a while. Had no idea there was so much evil outside of my clanhold.
Sébastien stands back a few steps allowing the clergy to converse. The bard studiously takes notes of the offered information concerning their quest.
Ustemir listens to Baranova's pitch intently. "So we don't know what or where he was hunting. But we have a direction, at least. Is there anyone you would consider trustworthy in the Consortium? Do you know whether that is where Balrus headed to at all? I don't mean to undermine your information, but it was never really stated. Just implied. Is it an assumption or fact?"
Lady Baranove clarifies, "There are four lumber camps in the woods north of town. Barlus stated he would be using one or more for staging his hunt. I wish I had more information, but that is why I'm asking for help. If you go to the Lumberyards you may find a woodsman there who can guide you, but, well, like I said, watch your backs."
"I have heard of people ailing from a strange illness of late. I have not seen the illness, as, sadly, not many in Hearth are faithful and few seek the healing power of the divine. Most choose the herbal remedies of Laurel Gebre at Roots and Remedies. I would speak to her of the matter. You are welcome to utilize our library here for further research."
"Speaking of research, yes I remember the dwarf Glintaxe. He would spend many hours scouring our library, researching and writing his book. He seemed certain he was onto the location of some lost Dwarven artifact, and headed off toward the mountains some years ago. I believe he left a copy of his book behind. If you'd like I can try to locate it for you."
Lady Baranova returns empty handed, "Yes, the name of the book was The Shadows of Toil, but I'm afraid the book has been checked out by Drazmorg, a local wizard. His tower is located outside of town, to the northeast."
I think we have everything we need. we'll call on Laurel and Drazmorg as well. Gerana will we'll find Balrus safe and sound and we'll watch our backs around Creed.
"Drazmorg has the book? Our quests cross. Even so, it seems as though this sickness is the most immediate issue. Let's be off to the Roots and Remedy's to speak with Laurel and then maybe the lumber consortium headquarters and then the lumberyards, and then we can see where we are."
Langivar stops what he was doing, which was pouncing on imaginary things, and bobs his head enthusiastically at each 'and then'
Ascaede nods at Shemar’s suggestion.
”Without wanting to promote my own mission, I am somewhat desirous of establishing the whereabouts of an efficacious cure, and if possible, the provenance of said illness…”
The young woman pauses momentarily.
”None of us shall discover much if we all lie dead.” she offers by way of needless explanation.
Waedin blinks at Ascaede's language. I'm fine with that Roots first, then the two lumber places in town, then swinging by the wizard on the way to the camps, and I nominate you to talk to the Wizard when we get to him Ascaede, Don't think I've ever heard 'effacious' or 'provenance' before let alone in the same sentence.
"Of course, please feel free to access the library as you need. The line of Geranan priests before me kept immaculate and accurate records of the comings and goings of Hearth since its inception in 1261." Lady Baranova gives you her blessing before you depart.
Leaving the Civic House, you pass back through the High Market. There, you see Oona seems to be being harrassed by a tough looking halfling and some other rough looking mercenary types, although Danus and Travis are doing their best to protect the merchant and her wares.
"Oh, we definitely might need to stop by a library. To buy a vocabulary." Ustemir looks at Shae, momentarily confused. "I would say you have a way with words, but I am not sure what those mean, really."
Sébastien d’Este seems amused by the words that encompass a full tour of /he Vale.
Better bring lunch.
Ascaede turns a slight…shade…of pink.
”My apologies. My education was somewhat…formal and my command of vernacular thus somewhat compromised.”
Having in no uncertain terms cleared up the matter of verbiage, Shae steps up to the mercenaries.
”Is there some disagreement that requires mediation here?” she asks the meanest looking ruffian…
"...so I had to give him leaves to wipe because he had manacles behind his back. Terrible job, that one." Ustemir finishes his tale laughing and notices Ascaede diverting towards a group in the middle of an argument.
"Uh... better leave that- Nevermind." he calls after Shae, but she is out of earshot. He moves a bit closer and stops about 20 feet away. He scratches Kolek's ear and watches the scene unfold.
Shenar walks up behind Ascaede and Ustemir, adding his presence in defence of Oona.
Stepnik begins to approach those accosting Oona.
"Oona my dear friend. Is everything Okay here. I see you negotiating with these fine gentlemen can we help in any way"?
Deception.
Waedin bustles up, glaring at the halfling causing problems. She's a bit slower than the other but she has a mean look.
Shemar hopes that the presence of so many supporting individuals affects the bullies' intentions.