|
Greetings and salutations!
Permit me to conduct my introduction if you will and I will get to my plight. I am Chord, first herald of the Acquired Lands, a bard by trade, a survivor by necessity and even though I arrived with good and healthy company, brave of heart and sharp of mind, they have all found themselves perished within the wilderness with one exception. As the sole survivor, I list in order these fallen companions as precaution to other unfortunate enterprising individuals who may have received a charter from the lord of Restov.
Urie the Impatient, rushed out ahead of the party to hunt bears in the woods nearby Oleg’s trading post only to run face to beak with an owlbear. His remains were seen but not recovered.
Yurie the very cold and witless, decided during a snowstorm to light a fire in Oleg’s barn consuming the barn and 6 stabled horses. Though not caught in the fire himself, he was last seen being hogtied and dragged to Restov to await judgement.
Sianide the poor sighted, cavalier of the dragon and rare rhino rider, charged a gigantic trap door spider only to fall into a deep hole, the fall instantly slaying him. It took us over a day to figure out how to get the rhino out of the hole.
Voldan the obnoxiously loud, dwarven inquisitor of Torag, pierced by bandit arrows along the Thorn river after exclaiming “there’s a wagon here, let’s take it before its owner comes back”
Yorric and Synead, almost twinlike brothers of Yurie and Sianide, were cut down where they stood by the whole of the Stag lord’s men after devising a great plan to kill a guard at the Stag lord’s fort in attempt to lure out a few bandits at a time to an ambush location deep in the wild. The ambush site, an event which would be forever known all over as the “Stag Lord’s Massacre” in which no less than 20 bandits, lieutenants, wild druids, an owlbear and the Stag Lord himself gleefully took part of.
Amazingly, through all of this, I alone have lived to tell the tale. I have heard often over sneering comments by swordsmen and wizard alike in the tavern how the profession of bard is unrewarding, often the death knell of one’s career. My travels have taken me far, and I feel we are making progress in the acquired lands. We now have a friendship with some of the local fey, a grigg and fariedragon due to my efforts of performing with my flute. The Stag lord has left his fortification and is on the move but know we must track him. In Oleg’s trading post I await other adventurers soon to arrive from Restov, maybe I will be fortunate to find a ranger among them.
If you see any seasoned adventurers, please send them my way.