Town of Pell

[Distorted Humor]

The Town is quiet in the morning as the boat arrives, leaving you at the small ramshackle town of Pell, you see there is a Inn, a general store, blacksmith, all the usual comforts of a town. Soon you hear of three things that are on the townfolks mind as you ask for directions. The merchants are discussing a self professed "Skeleton King" who is starting to cause problems in the south, disrupting trade to the south. To the North towards the frontier, the Ratmen community is up to "Something", they are buying things and preparing for something, but no one knows. If it a attack on the new settlements, Pell will be the first town attacked.

Also there is some evil in the great bog and swamps to the south. There is a Officer of the lords of Irongate in the inn, trying to hire someone to investigate and report back.


(OCC: this is the start of the game, this is so the party can decide which way they wish to go, and get any last moment supplies before heading out for fun and treasure.)

[Khaboom]

H'Block looks at Sandy Bob and says 'To be sure, your man over there could be using help like ours, Bob.'

Bob leers at the inn and replies 'I've a powerful thirst on me, so I have, H. Would be a terrible shame to have me belly rumbling when we volunteer our services. These here look likely lads to shout us a drink or three now!'

Bob winks mightily at those standing near.

[danhem]

Finnegan looked speculatively around the small town.

"Well this is not right at all," the hobbit said despondently. "Dump of a place if you ask me. We're a long way from Irongate, that's for sure. Slim pickings."

Finnegan's eyes wandered from person to person looking for an easy purse to nab.

Olaf merely chuckled.

"But there's an inn," the dwarf said, "and apparently work to be done. Let's go see what this officer is willing to pay for our services. Maybe then we can find a pint."

Olaf looked down a the two leprechauns and furrowed his brow.

"But only one. We don't have much to spare and will need to eat as well as drink."

[Khaboom]

'That's me favourite number.' cries Bob, slapping the dwarf on the thigh. 'One right now, one for absent friends and one for the road!'

H'Block grins a offers his pocket to the hobbit. 'You can see if there's gold at the end of the rainbow, Shirely.'

[kwll]

"See, Udulf, if you had listened to what I recommended, we would have taken another route and would not have ended up in this sordid town." tells Celyon the elven wizard to his servant. "You should pay more attention. I cannot be looking over your shoulder all the time!"
"Of course, of course, master, you are undoublty right. But I would beg you to consider the fact that I was not barring the ship, so I would not..." tried to answer Udulf, with his soft but cunning voice.
"Enough of that now! So where are we heading now? Ah! An inn! Exactly what we need to rest ourselves! Let's move that way Udulf!"
"But master, you forgot that we are broke! How are we supposed to..."
"You keep blabbering nonsense all the time! I will really have to turn you into a toad if you continue this way!" His eyes catch the dwarf Olaf going to an officer. "There, you see, even the dwarfs can see more clearly than you do. Go to this good man and ask him what is required by our skilled few to obtain a just retribution."
"Of course, master, as you command." answers Udulf, before following the little dwarf.

[Khaboom]

H-Block wanders over to the rogue and says 'Yer man the wizard doesn't look too flash. Why are you beholding to him with all this 'master' nonsense then?"

[kwll]

Udulf casts a disquiet look at his elven master, who is more interested by the Inn than the dwarf anyway, and answers, a bit tensed: "I don't want to discuss that with you now, master dwarf." After a short while he adds: "Or any time for that matters." Then he focuses his attention to the officer.

[Distorted Humor]

The Officer smiles at the small crowd that has approached him. He looks over the group and go on.

"I am a city watchman from Irongate. Our Lord Commander has sent me to Pell to spread the news. Their is something wrong with the swamps south of here, the bands of goblins and orcs are suddenly being more organized and things like Swamp trolls and other horrors are starting to be seen. The Ranger-Swamp folk have all reported that something is wrong. We are hiring groups to go out and check out these concerns. There is 5,000 GP reward for anyone who can locate the thing that is starting to cause problems. Of course, as you know, any items or gold you find on swamp folks is fair game as well."

He then take a mug of ale and sips it and awaits any questions.

[kwll]

"Errr... This is a very interesting offer you make, master... errr... watchman, but would you consider anything in the form of... an advance, or a downpayment?" asks Udulf with the best smile he can make.

[Khaboom]

Sandy Bob leers at the officer and says 'Let's discuss this like civilised men over a pint, why don't we?'

H'Block has taken his hand and is tugging him towards the tavern.

[danhem]

Finnegan looks at the watchman speculatively.

"So what is it exactly that you'd want for the 5,000?" he asks. "Do you want someone head? Or maybe just an ear? As you might have noticed, we're new around these parts. What's the quickest route to get to these swamps?"

[Khaboom]

'That's easy,' says Bob cheerily. 'Through that door over there - they give you a map when you've bought the right number of drinks.'

[Distorted Humor]

Soon the group is in the bar, and ale is poured,and the officer looks over the group.

Now, you will need to go into the swamp, there are three major spots of note, there is "Hardrock bottom" showing a rough, hand drawn map, and pointing to a area, here the swamp gets stoney and is a logical place, and has a small ruined keep, Deeper in the swamp is Trollpoint, which is dank, swampy place, but we had some people insist that something is going on, and finally there is Hells-Keep, its another stronghold in the swamp, rises out of the bog and was built by a wizard forced out Irongate 20 years ago, he died five years ago, and who knows what moved in...Find out which of these spots is the source of the problem, and you will be rewarded. Of course if you could eliminate it, I am sure Irongate would be most...appreciative.

[Khaboom]

H-Block coughs in a hacking rasping explosion. 'Let's start on the hard stuff, as me old mammie always said. Then we can dip our feet in the squelching stuff once we've acclimitised. I take it you're all in, me buckos?'

[kwll]

While master Celyon is evasively looking at the bar's decoration (or lack of it for that matters), Udulf presses his point: "All of this is very interesting. Now about this advanced payment..."

[danhem]

"Sounds good to me," Finnegan says. "I'd rather stay dry."

"A ruined keep you say," Olaf interjects. He steps up and looks intently at the map. "I don't suppose that you know anything about that keep do you? Who built it and how much is still standing?"

Finnegan only half listens to the conversation at this point and begins to turn his attention to the crowd in the bar. He keeps a watchful eye for any loose coin purses or distracted customers that would make easy benefactors to their upcoming expedition.

[Distorted Humor]

As for the keep, I do not know who built it, the walls are still up, but by all reports the battlements are falling down, but it is said that underground is a extensive system of fortifications, as it is one of the few places in that area that is dry enough to do so."


"As for advanced payment, we are hiring anyone for this information, no advanced pay, think of it as a bounty, and not a job contract, as if someone else finds the info first, they get the money. "

[Khaboom]

'So you'll be providing us with transport then so we can get there fresh and fighting fit and then get back at the double to give you the good news, so you will.' H'Block looked up keenly.

[Distorted Humor]

Yes, we have hired guides and here is a list of three of them that we have vetted, these guides will prevent you from getting too bogged down in the swamp" and the officer laughs at his not-funny semi-pun.

[kwll]

"As for advanced payment, we are hiring anyone for this information, no advanced pay, think of it as a bounty, and not a job contract, as if someone else finds the info first, they get the money. "

Udulf looks a little bit concerned with this answer. Briefly casting a fearful look at his master, he says with a slightly lower voice: "Would it be possible, at least, to accommodate us for the night, so that we would be, as my dwarfish friend here said, fresh and fighting fit?" He uses what he believes to be his most convincing face.