Upon arriving at the town wall, the gate guards offered the companions a friendly greeting, and directed them towards the market square, where Market Day was just getting underway. The friends looked around, but saw little of interest. Small tables and carts were set up throughout the square, most containing a sad looking assortment of vegetables, and stringy meats. A few vendors sold some curious, if useless, odds and ends. Raxil examined the knick-knacks, and practiced making fire in his hands while the rest of the party continued to look around.An aging elf woman, and her beautiful arrangements of wildflowers, caught the group's attention. When they approached her, the woman--who later identified herself as Delphina--greeted them warmly and offered a fresh, spring flower to each. Phoebe was wary of the elf's overt friendliness, and risked some measure of offense by carefully examining her gift. But, nobody could detect any sign of malice. The flower vendor's cheerful nature seemed genuine.
Delphina remarked that she was pleased to see newcomers in Winterhaven, and lamented that, of late, travelers in and out of town were scarce due to the recent rash of kobold raids. She suggested that such a strong, and brave group of adventurers should find the time to speak to Ernest Padraig, the Lord of Winterhaven. He might be interested in the friends' assistance in ridding his community of the plague of kobolds.
Gildras
After talking to a few other villagers, the friends discovered that the most likely place to find Lord Padraig at breakfast time was inside Wrafton Inn, Winterhaven's only accommodations. They met back up with Raxil, and discovered that he had acquired a crude map of the lands surrounding Winterhaven. The map was near useless, as it contained almost no landmarks other than Winterhaven itself. But, Raxil was very proud of himself, so his friends humored him.
Raxil
Inside the Wrafton Inn, the party was greeted enthusiastically by Susan Wrafton, the owner. She ushered them to a clean table by the fireplace, and offered a hot breakfast of eggs, bread, and fresh milk. Susan apologized profusely for not being able to offer anything more substantial or tasty. She explained that she was expecting a double wagon-load of supplies the previous morning, but the merchants never showed up. With all the kobold and goblin activity in the area, she feared the worst. Before heading back to the kitchen to prepare their eggs, Susan pointed to Lord Padraig, who was eating his own breakfast at a corner table, and suggested that the newcomers might wish to speak to him.
Gildras approached the Lord of Winterhaven and, after a short conversation, the weary-looking mayor came to the friends' table to speak with them.
“You’ve encountered the kobolds that have turned the old King’s Road and our outlying farms into their personal hunting grounds? Those beasts vex me sorely. Yet the villagers refuse to recognize the seriousness of the problem. Attacks along the road have grown more frequent over the last few months. Something’s stirring the kobolds up. I don’t suppose you would be interested in taking a commission from me? I promise you, I can pay well for your services.”
Furthermore, Lord Padraig stated plainly that, if the party was able to help the people of Winterhaven by making their roadways and farmlands safe again, the residents would most assuredly be willing to aid them in their quest to map out the Keep, which was located north of town.
After such a difficult and tiresome journey from Harkenwold, the companions' supplies were running low, and an offer of gold and assistance for a task as simple as dispatching a few kobolds seemed a no-brainer. Gildras and Lord Padraig settled on the sum of 100 gold for the job. Padraig took Raxil's map, sketched out brief directions to where he believed the kobold hideout to be, and returned it to the young wizard. Before the sun even had a chance to reach high noon, the adventurers were heading back out the east gate of Winterhaven, in search of the kobold lair.
DM Notes: All of this interaction was role played at the game table. The party learned much in a short amount of time. I don't think this in-town encounter took more than 15 minutes out of our afternoon. I could have done a lot more to bring Winterhaven to life, created more in-depth RP opportunities, and possibly even some skill challenges. However, with a 9-year-old at the table, and limited time to be able to play each week, this worked out just fine to keep everyone's interest, and keep the story moving forward.
No comments:
Post a Comment