Difference between revisions of "Starting Small"

Revision as of 00:07, 13 March 2012

This adventure began in the city of Nazivonema, where Rhone, a garath of Shoto, was seeking to form an adventuring party. Along with his good friend Calirain, where they set themselves up at the Red Dragon Inn to interview candidates, intending to do so on three consecutive evenings.

Gathering the party

The interviews

The first day

On the first evening, they met a pair of Elves named Nimbus and Stratus. When they were unable to communicate, they asked Muria whether someone might be available to translate Elven, and she suggested Lucille, an acquaintance of Rhone's and a member of the Thieves' Guild of Nazivonema. The two revealed themselves to be avariel, seeking to acquire magical methods of protection from fire. They later met with Brianna, a priestess of Helandra, and her charge, a young flyer saurial thief named Skellion.

Lucille went to the Temple of Helandra that night and invited Brianna and Skellion to join the Guild. The two went the next morning and met with Slinter, who signed them up. Since they were short on their first dues payment, he agreed to try and find Skellion a job to do to defray the expense.

The second day

The next day, a fleet of barges arrived in town, and several of those traveling with it came into the RDI. Two of these were Simry, a half-Elven bard, and Stom, a half-Orcish fighter. As they were settling in, another group of travelers entered the inn: a pair of Earth genasi and a pair of Dwarves who settled in at a table. Stom was fascinated and attempted to engage them in a sparring session, but they were uninterested.

Rhone and Calirain returned to the inn, as Calirain told his friend what he learned about the strange people they had met the previous evening. Meanwhile, a third group of travelers arrived in the inn. This one comprised Lorelei and Tempest Planewalker, both mages, a druid named David, two fighters named Xotznoxl and Sloj, and a ranger named Elmadon.

Lorelei particularly seemed interested in Simry's humming at one point, and they exchanged a look, but nothing came of it. Shortly thereafter, Simry and Stom went to visit the temple of Perasin. Tempest, meanwhile, was excited about having seen Rhone's posted message, especially the opportunity to do good deeds. Once the time for meeting arrived, Lorelei's group, with the exception of Elmadon, eventually approached Rhone as well. Rhone told them of his mission, and the group was interested, but unsure.

As the evening went on, everyone eventually returned to the inn. The genasi and Dwarves retired upstairs, while Stom came in with an orc named Melctz with whom he had brawled at the temple. The two avariel brought a translator named Chalk from the temple of Sedric and introduced him to Rhone and Calirain as well. Then, the group settled in as the entertainment for the evening began in the form of the Terrible Brutish Minstrels.

During the concert, a friend of Lucille's arrived, and she called him over to Rhone's table. He introduced himself as Richard the Feral, and offered his services as a fighter. Also, Lorelei took note of Skellion's discomfort at the music and, at intermission, she and Tempest went to his table. They spoke with Brianna, and discovered that they had all spoken with Rhone. As Brianna worried at Skellion not eating, Tempest offered to warm his food, using a jet of flame from her finger. This gave the two avariel a start, and Chalk came over and asked them not to do it again.

Brianna, Skellion, Lorelei and Tempest went over to Rhone's table to get an update on the mission. They worried over the fact that they had had few prospects for warriors, and Rhone wondered if the group of genasi and Dwarves might be convinced to join them. Tempest agreed to attempt to convince the rest of her comrades as well.

After they left, Chalk came over to Rhone's table and provided a demonstration of how fire affects the wings of the avariel and attempt to dissuade him from hiring Tempest. Rhone was steadfast, however, and Chalk reassured him that the two only wanted to make sure that things were handled with care. Calirain and Nimbus agreed to visit the mages' guild library the next day to research a solution to the fire issue.

The third day

That next morning, Rhone sent notes to all interested parties that anyone who wanted to join him would need to come back after the interviews for a skills demonstration. Since there was still some question about what the group was going to do, Elmadon decided to depart, but not before meeting with Simry. He told her about Rhone's group, and she told him about her family's caravan that might be willing to hire him. Afterwards, she went back to Perasin's temple with Stom. He encountered the group of genasi and Dwarves. They sparred for a bit, and while Stom held his own against Thoren, the Dwarven fighter, he was knocked for a loop by Zemetreseni, the genasi fighter. Still, it was enough to build some mutual respect.

Meanwhile, Brianna informed the Thieves' Guild that she and Skellion would likely be leaving town soon. She then went back to the RDI, where she ran into the rest of Lorelei's group. Skellion refused to enter because there was a lizard man within, and Tempest, wanting to perform a good deed, "convinced" him to leave. The three then joined his lunch companion, who introduced herself as Airlia. While they ate, Brianna told Airlia about Rhone and his adventure. She seemed intrigued upon hearing he was a garath, and soon excused herself to get some rest.

Simry, Stom, and their new fighting companions returned to the RDI. With Brianna occupied, Skellion seized the opportunity to sneak over to get a closer look at Stom. Simry spied him, they exchanged gestures, and Simry alerted Stom to Skellion's presence. As the saurial approached, Stom loudly protested at having his lunch interrupted. After further attempts to communicate, the saurial flew across the room, ripping down Rhone's poster, and dropping it into his lap. The group presumed that the saurial was asking for him to join Rhone's mission, and Simry filled in the Dwarves and genasi about the poster's contents.

In the midst of the commotion, Nimbus and Stratus entered the RDI with Chalk, They stopped and stared at Skellion, and were taken aback at Stom's display. When Brianna came over to collect the curious creature and apologize for the disturbance, Chalk took the opportunity to introduce his two companions. They followed Brianna with Skellion in tow back to their table to continue their conversation. Overhearing that Chalk would not be going on their adventure and they would be in need of someone who spoke Elven, Tempest took it upon herself to do a good deed and left abruptly.

That afternoon, Simry confirmed with her family contact that she would not be returning with the caravan. He mentioned that Elmadon had joined them and told them about Rhone's mission, saying that two of the other guards, Marg and Targ, had decided to attempt to join. They also mentioned a used weapons cart where she might be able to buy a bow, and she proceeded there with Stom. The Dwarves and genasi paid a visit to the temple of Severn, where they spoke with Koltar, the high priest. They asked about the recent rumours about the city of Dekh, and about ways to potentially make money while in the city.

At dinner that evening at the RDI, an excited Tempest introduced a half-Elf named Sythora, who she stated would be joining the adventure. During the ensuing discussion, Brianna realized that Lorelei actually understood what she was saying. Tempest confirmed her suspicions, but let her know that Lorelei couldn't speak in any other languages than those she knew.

The avariel noted the Elven-blooded newcomer and sent Chalk over to talk to her. Conversations got crossed and Sythora got rather flustered at the whole situation. Brianna did her best to smooth things out and Tempest pointed out that Sythora should go with the "rude, fire-hating gnome". As she departed to talk to the avariel, Chalk, trying to make peace with Tempest, left a piece of his family's chalk with her. After Brianna prevented Skellion from grabbing it, she put it on the table, and it was eaten by Xotznoxl.

Once Sythora got to the other table and informed the avariel that she was not an adventurer herself and was told she'd be paid well, they balked at hiring her, deferring instead to Rhone. When Tempest came over to his table with Lorelei, Brianna and Skellion, Rhone asked her if she'd hired Sythora, and then said that since the avariel hadn't yet been hired themselves, she shouldn't make such promises. This upset Tempest, but she turned around when she found another way to do a good deed - hire someone who can fly, but isn't afraid of fire and doesn't need a translator. She immediately departed despite Rhone's protests, and Lorelei followed to try and calm her.

Meanwhile, Skellion attempted to coax Stom to the table with Rhone, but Stom steadfastly ignored him. Then, Skellion swooped over and snatched Stom's mug of ale. Stom stormed over to the table and picked up a chair, apparently to swing, and activated the RDI's defenses, causing him to drop through the floor. After reassurances that he was OK, Rhone went over to the others at his table and attempted to recruit them into his party. This did not go over well, especially the idea of needing to demonstrate their abilities, leaving Rhone to return to his table. The remaining five discussed the possibility of forming their own party based on the leads they'd gotten from Koltar.

After the minstrels from the previous evening finished their performance, Simry went over and introduced herself to them and made the acquaintance of Thomlin, a local impresario. He gave her a ticket to his troop's production of "The Sea-Going Ghost" for the following day at noon in the city's amphitheater.

Demonstration day

The next morning, Rhone sent out invitations to those interested to take part in a demonstration outside the city. Simry and the Dwarves went to the temple of Severn, while Stom returned to Perasin's temple along with the two genasi. He tried to interest Sloj and Xotznoxl in joining them, but they declined. When they arrived, they discovered that Rhone had sent a blanket invitation to everyone at the temple, and a few had decided to check it out, so Stom decided he would go along.

At Severn's temple, Simry, Thoren and Kurzik met with Koltar, who told them that grimlock had been attacking travelers at night west of the city along the East-West Road, near the ruins of Pallinnore. The trio showed interest, and Koltar said he'd talk to Vorbix Mackle, a member of the Council of Merchants, at lunch that afternoon and would get back to them.

The demonstrations

As the time for the demonstration neared, people began arriving at the demonstration, which was to take place at a field across the road from Tarkus Academy, which had been prepared by Rhone and Calirain that morning. Nimbus and Stratus gave their demonstration first, with mixed results. Nimbus' darts and sleep spell were impressive, but Stratus' seeking motes missed their mark (a rat they'd let loose on the field). Skellion took it upon himself to retrieve the rat that had been used in their performance, but it got destroyed by a magic missile spell cast by Suterza, a force mage that had interviewed on the second night.

Next, Rhone came over to Stom, who was standing off to the side with Melctz and a couple others from Perasin's temple, and invited him to spar with him. tom followed him onto the field with a gleam in his eye...

Cast of characters

Below is a list of characters who were involved at one point or another in this adventure:

• Brianna - run by Lou McLeary
• Calirain - run by Scott Ford
• Cedic - run by Vinny Beckles
• David - NPC
• Kurzik - run by Rob Pires
• Lorelei - run by Shelley Proulx
• Lucille - NPC
• Nimbus - run by Phil Vlasak
• Rhone - run by Scott Ford
• Richard the Feral - NPC
• Simry - run by Korin Trytko
• Skellion - run by Lou McLeary
• Stom - run by Shelley Proulx
• Stratus - run by Phil Vlasak
• Thoren - run by Vinny Beckles
• Zemetreseni - run by Rob Pires