New Whispers at the Fire
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Rumours circulate about the presence of gigantic spiders in the Rawlins, threatening hunters and game alike with their voracious appetite. Some claim the spiders are but the thralls of a greater evil, living in a spider-web palace somewhere in the deep woods…
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Rumour has it three young men from Norwick were rescued from a rabid band of vicious goblins in the woodland pass, thanks to the timely intervention of three adventurers. A wandering bard even sings the tale of the epic goblin show-down, much to the delight of the airhead known as Willow. That is, before she's distracted by a leaf flying past on the wind, chasing it out of town…
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A great show of technique and skill we're put on display as several martial artists gathered in town to prove who's fighting style was the most superior. A drunken master, a practitioner of the elegant crane, and a devastating striking style competed in an impromptu tournament, until finally a strong lean woman proved her quick strikes we're simply no match for the others. They all agreed to continue mastering their techniques and will hopefully live to challenge each other another day.
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_Tales abuzz throughout Norwick of undead shambling towards the walls. Amidst undead zombies of many races were strange ice creatures, melting once felled by stout defenders and adventurers alike to reveal a deceased citizen frozen inside. Even more disturbing are the claims that recently abducted townsfolk were seen fleeing the undead horde to seek refuge within the walls, only to combust in flames after convulsing violently, quickly becoming a burning skeletal horror.
Rumours are an evil deathlock used the subjects for dark experiments, though what devious plans the abomination had laid out were cut short after a band of adventurers, led by a towering dwarf, marched to a nearby cave and ended its reign._
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After years of travel, Dwin Dolvak has returned to Norwick and has taken up his old seat at the fire whenever possible.
"Seems not much's changed since I been away, eh? What's the gossip in Norwick these days? Anyone new on the throne?"
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_Word spreads that the dwarf Brumir Silverhammer appeared near the Norwick fire smelling like rotten eggs and farts with several flies hovering around him. Apparently several frogs came out of the lake near the Grapevine in to try and eat some of the flies, only to have Brumir curse at them and kill them with his axe.
Later on Brumir entered the Union Hall where it was reported that a customer ran off scared and that the Union Masters, including Master Z, had a very difficult time breathing and may have even collapsed._
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a brief assault on the gates which left one woman , Thrulia, nearly dead occurred a few nights ago. The culprits, a motley lot of goblins and hobgoblins, fled almost as soon add they started. The arcane advisor being caught unprepared by the attack quickly dispatched the goblins and healed the quickly fading woman's wounds saving her from a sure death.
The two women decoded bit to let the attack go unchecked and headed south after the fleeing attackers.
A day later they returned with 4 townsfolk with them. It would seem that the common folk were ambushed and taken hostage by the hobgoblins to be ransomed back to the town for supplies.
Chaevre' did not seem to care to receive their gratitude instead insisting that they learn to fight or hire guards I'd they intend to make their living in hostile territory
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_Cormac the Bardbarian returns from a northern trip to the city with tales of adventure and brutal violence! During the long cold nights he gives accounts of his tale of werewolves and werecats that do battle in the shadowy places surrounding Peltarch. He frequently refers to "the Gods" and to some ulfhednar myth throughout the tale, and lends praise to the ferocity and mad rage of the werewolves he battled. Of werecats he speaks of their cunning, their swiftness in battle - and their all too common willingness to turn their coward tails and flee!
It is a fable filled with much blood and gore, and mentions of his 'magic sword' and his magnificent shield that sent werebeasts flying backwards with its unusual powers, and how he'd slain them upon the ground where they lay dazed and reeling. All serving his own legacy and personal glory._
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Brumir, who happened to stop by the Grapevine Inn, overhears the conversation between Shesarai and Romulus and walks over to them with a grin
"Remember lass, wut happens in tha Tuck-Me-Inn stays at tha Tuck-Me-Inn! HAR HAR HAR!"
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Legion Scout Romulus was seen having dinner at the Grapevine with his sister Shesarai. The pair often meet there so patrons and staff paid little attention until Romulus suddenly exclaimed loudly:
"You did WHAT?"
"I'm Sorry!" "It was for a really valuable treasure!"
After something indistinct, she explained:
"I was helping the dwarves defend Peltarch's new outer wall from a giant attack. After we killed the giant, I ran outside towards the Icelace Beach and the Giantspires to scout and five of the dwarves followed me. We fought hoards and hoards of giants, about a dozen at a time."
"They were led by a huge giant with red skin. I dispelled some of his magics and helped the dwarves take him down. In the pile of bodies we found some rings, and the chief had the best one of all. I got a quick glance at it and it would really help me a lot. I was hoping the dwarves would take the other Bloodrage rings and let me have the big one, but they carried them all back to Peltarch to divide up. Gnarl passed ale around and insisted we all drink to the great victory, so I went along and drank one bottle."
"Everyone wanted the good ring so they decided to go to the Tuck Me Inn and have a drinking contest to settle who got it. I knew there was no way I could outdrink dwarves, so I put on my purple dress in hopes they would be distracted or something and let me have first choice. But Mom was right. Nothing distracts a dwarf from ale!"
"So they passed ten flasks to each of us for the first round. The dwarves all started drinking them as fast as possible. I started on mine, but I only got to the third one before I was so dizzy I had to sit down at the table. I must have passed out because I don't remember anything else till I woke up. The dwarves were lying all over the floor, which smelled like the old tavern at home when I used to help Mom clean up after the dwarves there had been drinking all night. The rings were gone."
"I ran outside before I got sick and saw Gnarl limping around. He offered to walk me back to Peltarch, but I couldn't make it that far. I asked who won and he said it was Disa. He couldn't remember how many ales he drank but he thought it was more than 50. I couldn't believe that!"
"I made it to the Grapevine and slept it off there."
Later Romulus was heard to say: "General Theaon wants to know about the Mor'Salen."
Shesarai looked warily around the room and said "Not here! Let's take a walk" The two then got up and went outside.
Login: AubreyMaturin
Characters: Romulus Grey, Bard the bowman
Trotter, Spooky halfling ranger
Shesarai Foutopolis, Red-haired cleric of Mystra
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_And at the Tuck-Me-Inn, Disa and Bufflin sleep the sleep of the comatose drunk, each leaning their weight against the other to remain upright on the bar stools, by the sheer rigidity of fullplate armour. The floor below is a pool of crusted vomit adorned with an armada of empty ale mug ships, amidst which Ragnar lies, face-down and snoring. In another corner, the hunch-back Igor is slumped in a similar state, while Gnarl somehow managed to wobble himself out of the inn on his own two legs.
Word around the inn is that the group took down an army of giants near the northern city, taking the chieftain's magical ring as their trophy. A trophy that now belongs to Disa, for having kept her liquor down the longest._
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A somewhat disheveled Shesarai was seen stumbling into the Grapevine early one morning. Her long red hair was down around her shoulders and instead of her usual leathers she was wearing a rather elegant purple velvet gown. But her eyes appeared blurry and she could barely walk.
"What's the matter, Honey?" she was asked as she slowly made her way towards the stairs.
"My mother told me 'Never try to outdrink dwarves. I should have listened to her!"
Login: AubreyMaturin
Characters: Romulus Grey, Bard the bowman
Trotter, Spooky halfling ranger
Shesarai Foutopolis, Red-haired cleric of Mystra
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_Another rumour speaks that it was the beautiful Rawlins witch herself, Elaine, who destroyed the undead eastlanders with the aid of her friend Artemis and a bunch of warriors of several shapes and sizes that her enhancing magics and timely interventions turned into her able battle-pets.
When asked, she happily and openly speaks of how she saved a knight from falling to a horrible crushing death by holding him with a giant magical hand atop a slippery bridge of death, as Artemis did the same for someone else. Or how funny it was to see both Garrick and the terrible dragonspawn that was fought afterwards stumble around blindly after she had moonfired them, winning the day for everyone else with the invaluable aid of Artemis' balls of lightning!
She also mentions Ky, the white dragon who has an army of frost giants in the Coldstones, descended himself from the skies to thank Artemis, herself and their momentary allies for the deed._
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_Rumours from the north suggest that the undead Eastlanders have been defeated for good, through the efforts of the Legion, the Peltarch Defenders, the Order of the Divine Shield and a number of unaffiliated adventurers. At the Tuck-Me-Inn, it is soon known that Disa Sten was amongst those who struck the final blow against the dread Barron and Chief Garric, reportedly as fat as he was fast.
Though it takes many an ale to pry any details out of the tight-lipped dwarf, Disa will eventually mention the undead spawn of Rass herself awaiting at the end of the party's long struggle through untold numbers of undead. One ale past this point, and she'll grumble something mostly unintelligable about chromatic dragons._
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_At the Tuck-Me-Inn, talk also revolves around mithral, a full and richly gleaming vein of it having been uncovered in the so called Mines O' Doom, where filthy undead Eastlanders had been trying to lay their paws on the earth's gifts. Rumour has it no dwarf there could extract the precious metal, but instead a tall blonde human from the northern city appeared, not just to mine the vein out, but to ~share~ it with the dwarves.
Dwarved by the magnitude of this story is the one of the actual fighting, Disa Sten muttering into her ale mug:_ "Was twisted dragon thing, some type of experiment… think more trouble await, in Eastlanders old village."
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Cormac Randolph sits in the Grapevine Inn in Norwick, once again telling tales for his supper. Tall tales, this time. This time the yarn goes on and on about a mystical walk among the tall trees beyond the old realms of gypsy kings.
"_…you've all heard of spiders the size of dogs, and yes there were many. My one companion who's fists were keen as any blade and I laid all challengers in the forest low, and just when it seemed the disgusting creatures had finally had enough of the grim taste of painted death and were withdrawing - the trees all about us began to shake. A creature burst forth in a swirl of leaf and dust, dropping swift from above. A giant among giant spiders, as big - no - bigger still, than any horse! My companion smashed at it's legs with her fists, I clove it's body with my axe until the beast lay dead. Done for all, another weird creature ruined. And for one foolish moment we'd assumed the battle was over. Hah! Trees lurched to one side, they popped all around us sounding like boulders that had been hurled from afar by catapults. Thump! Thump! Thump! The creaking and groaning from within the forest as the unknown beast approached us. The queen! Her body, long and black, a giant egg made of her own body boiling with young that were ready to spill forth. And claws like the snapping beaks of a great Roc. A demon spider, unnatural and wholly evil.
It slashed and it grabbed at us, I bled much that day for the beast's claws were swift and true. A cunning creature that swore death upon us in the speech of Men! Though black was her voice; as if she called from her far away home in the wide abyss. Yet, unshaken we fought on - and on - until my axe could finally breach the bitch's shell and bleed her of her vital juices until she lay dead upon the forest floor. But behold! A chest of silver? No, mithral! The box gleamed from within her guts that spilled out like a wave, and there was much treasure to be had. Before we could rush to count it the egg-sac of her body burst and we were once again thrown into battle against a thousand biting spiders, some as large as dogs - others, no larger than a man's hand. Still pissing big for a damn spider!..._"
And so the tale went on that night, a lively and animated performance with many thumps upon his tabletop and shadowed jabs with imagined swords.
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Rumor has it Yllalynn gave Anna some things donated by the various farmers who lost loved ones to help raise coin at the auction, as well as something extra special both of them had been working on for awhile.
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The Cave O' Doom, as some of the adventurers involved have come to call it, is still not excavated in full. Rumour has it that Disa Sten will lead a third expedition down there shortly, expecting a continued high level of danger from the Eastlander undead.
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Rumour has it the dwarven-lead party returned to the Tuck-Me-Inn with a bag full of treasure and hair-raising tales of a cave as cold as death itself, filled with fierce undead of the long-legged variety. Judging by the adventurers talk, there's still more trouble down there…
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_The stout and honourable dwarf Disa Sten, daughter of Sten and Flisa Sten, is making the occasional gruff enquiry about town. It seems she is looking for able adventurers to delve into a partially collapsed set of tunnels. She warns that there is a high risk of encountering undead.
Interested parties should seek out Disa at the Tuck-Me-Inn or leave a note with Loogy._
