We find our adventurers wandering in Sandpoint, a small fishing town. The day to day bustling from all walks of life can be seen doing trades, socializing, and even the sketchy activities lurking in the dark alleys. A sweet melody can be heard on the wind, coming from a certain tavern called the Rusty Dragon down by the southern-most bridge entry into the town. As dusk falls upon the town, our first adventurer can be spotted in the nearby woods. She seems intrigued by the melody coming from the tavern and decides to investigate further. Bellarael, a half-orc half-elf druid, isn't much of a socialite let alone someone use to a town setting. This song though, it sounds so familiar and genuine. This song has coaxed her into dismissing all of that and convinces her into crossing the bridge into Sandpoint. She soon finds herself standing outside of the Rusty Dragon, looking around the area as if reassuring herself that this is indeed, the location of the familiar tune. Bracing herself for what may come, she enters the Rusty Dragon.
Ra'z Yuri finds himself cold and on solid ground after weeks at sea. Being left on the sea docks in the south western area of Sandpoint, he starts to think of his next step. Pulling his hood over his head, he starts to make his way into Sandpoint. His half-orc half-human ears pick up on a welcoming tune, floating on the air. Where has this tune been heard from before? Entranced by the song, he wades through the bustling townsfolk towards a tavern in southeastern part of Sandpoint. Standing outside the entrance to the Rusty Dragon, Ra'z pulls his hood back just a tad to ensure that this is the place of origination. Pulling the hood down again, he makes his way to the door and enters.
Hurv Gox, a half-orc half-human monk, finds himself in the outliers of a small fishing town named Sandpoint. With a knapsack over his shoulder and a quarterstaff in hand, he crosses the eastern bridge and kneels at a religious alter, paying his respects with prayer. Standing up and taking every sight in for the first time, he takes a deep breath and moves further in to the bustling streets as dusk falls. As he searches for a place of food, he hears a familiar song entwined in the ebbs of street sounds. He blindly follows the melody, heading south to a tavern named the Rusty Dragon. Being that he has never been in a tavern before, he braces himself for what is to come as he pushes the tavern doors open and enters.
Keystone lumbers his way towards the stone archway of Sandpoint with a large bag in tow. Tired from his recent bounty hunt, he enters the town from the north, being sure to head straight towards the guild that posted the bounty. Dropping the bag and collecting the reward, Keystone moves towards a few known taverns that have a reputation of "shady work". Not really wanting to get involved with another bad deal, he passes on them, traveling further into the system of street cart vendors and people hurrying home for dinner. His half-orc half-human ears pick up on a haunting tune, dancing on the twirls of air in the streets. As if the music manifested a hand, Keystone finds himself being led down the streets of Sandpoint, towards the doors of a tavern named the Rusty Dragon. He comes to his senses and realizes that this tavern seems legit for work. Intrigued by what has led him here, he enters the doors as dusk falls and the street lamps light.
Bellarael saw a group of people gathered towards the back wall of the tavern, as if huddled around something important. She walks towards the group, thinking that the source of the song must be there. Upon listening to the others chatter, she learns that the singer of the melodious tune had left the tavern not too long ago, via the back door just within reach. Something within her spurs her into action and she runs towards the door, exiting the tavern to see....nothing. The street was empty with no sign of life anywhere. Saddened by this, she turns back towards the tavern but feels a strange warmth in her satchel strapped to her thigh. Palming the area, she realizes that the small, crystal shard her mother gave her as a child was...warm. Lifting the flap of the satchel, she sees a purple hue emitting from the shard. Worried that something might be wrong, she closes the flap and makes her way back inside, hoping to not draw attention. Sniffing the air, the delectable smells tantalize her tongue and trigger her legs to wander over towards the bar. She leans against the bar, noticing a handsome half-orc half-human sitting nearby at a table. Her leg pocket starts to feel warm again. Not knowing what to do, she sits and waits for something to happen.
Lingering near the back door, off to the side from the small mass of people, Ra'z lurked in the shadowy parts of the tavern. Who the singer was, he doesn't know but he will find out. He felt a warmth coming from his chest, beneath his clothes. He placed a hand on the source of the warmth and realized it was a the crystal shard his mother had bestowed to him and his twin brother. The shard was something his mother cherished, a reminder of his estranged father. When Ra'z decided that enough was enough with the Amanandaran military, he packed up his things and took the shard without a second thought. He was abandoning the military camp and leaving everything he knew behind. Realizing he had taken the shard, he bound one end in a thin, leather strap and fashioned it into a necklace. Using it as a reminder of who he was and where he came from, he kept the shard close to him yet hidden from the world. Why was is warm? He pulled his clothing away to glance down at the shard. He noticed it was glowing purple. What was going on? On the borderline of being frantic, Ra'z withdrew himself to the far end of tavern and sat down at an empty table. The crystal stopped glowing. As he was calming his thoughts, he saw a disheveled half-orc half-elf walking in from the back alley door. Strange to see in a place like this, he made a mental note of where the crystal started glowing and possible causes, that disheveled person being one of them. Suddenly, from out of thin air, Ameiko appears beside his table. "Hey there. Is there anything I can get for you this evening?" Startled, Ra'z jumps in his chair and turns sharply towards Ameiko, placing his hand into his cloak. Not knowing what is going on with this customer, Ameiko thinks that perhaps this one doesn't speak common tongue. She repeats her lines, this time adding in gestures in case he didn't know what food and beverage were. Ra'z responds with gestures, saying no, I'm fine. She walks away after telling him to find her if he needs something. As he made his final glance around the tavern, he noticed another half-orc half-human not far from the first one. This one had placed something down on the table in front of him, along with a bag of something else. He lingers in thought while watching that table.
Overwhelmed by the amazing smells the tavern held within it's walls, Hurv Gox's mouth started watering. Looking around, he noticed an unoccupied table near a rail, on the elevated floor of the tavern's north wall. He seated himself there, providing a decent view of the rest of the tavern's floor. Soon enough, a waitress appears. She looked as if she wore a forced smile, perhaps hiding a tired and worn out face beneath. "Hey there. My name is Ameiko and I'll be your host this evening. What can I get for you?". She seemed pleasant enough. Pondering of what to order, he decided on a beef stew, bread, and ale. "Do you happen to know who was singing here just a moment ago?" he asked. Adding some extra coinage to his hostess, she answered "He's a traveling bard. His name is Andre." Pondering a little bit, Hurv asks "Do you know when he'll be back?" Shaking her head, Ameiko replies "He's pretty famous, so I doubt any time soon. We haven't seen him for well over five years since he's booked in the much larger cities." Acknowledging this, he places his order and watches Ameiko walk to the other side of the tavern, disappearing into the kitchen. As his gaze wandered, he noticed another half-orc in the tavern. This one was dressed in heavy looking armor and held kind of a battle-worn aura. He noticed a set of dice in front him on the table, looking as if he was waiting for someone that would never come. Making a mental note to join him in a game of dice, his eyes wandered towards the back bar area. He noticed something...different. There was a half-orc half-elf shambling towards the back bar area. The appearance of this individual was very out of place. Various sticks and leaves were woven throughout her hair and her clothing was something he heard about in children's stories - wilderness. She looked as if she had just walked in from the woods outside the town. Odd, he thought. He made a mental note to speak with them later. Perhaps they would like to become a sparring partner in this new place. Ameiko had reappeared at his table without him noticing her arrival, placing his food and beverage. Seemingly lost in thought, she told him the price, accepted payment, and walked off. Hurv looked at the food in front, glanced back at the two half-orcs, and started eating. How delicious the food was.
Keystone, thirsty from the bounty hunt earlier, sits down at an empty table near the bar in the back of the Rusty Dragon. He notices the table he picked had a built in game board, yet no tokens were present. Thinking about things that happened earlier, he pulls out a set of dice. While fumbling in his leg pocket, he noticed the crystal shard he carried with him was glowing. Reaching for it, he felt warmth emitting. Strange he thought to himself. He pulled it out and placed it on the table in front of him. It's never done anything like this before. Pouring through his memories of his childhood, all he could remember was his mother who gave him the shard, the horrible fire, and the countless villages he encountered while looking for his father and the culprit to the fire. Ameiko approaches his table. Nothing really stood out from the hostess's features. She looked plain and just like any other body in this town. He smiled at her, ordered a beer, and waited. Perhaps what was causing the crystal to do these strange things will emerge. Glimpsing over the rest of the company in the tavern, he notices a half-orc half-human on his left, way down on the other side of the tavern. Strange. In all of his travels, he doesn't really pass by a lot of half-orcs. Mostly because they are ostracized from most social places and gatherings. They briefly made eye contact, nodded and went back to perusing the rest of the tavern. Further back and to the right of that half-orc, Keystone saw a shady figure duck out the back alley door. He might have to watch himself later tonight when leaving the tavern. On his right, he sees a half-orc half-elf approaching the bar. To see such a mix of orc and elf, he was taken aback. Besides the sheer fact that half-orcs are rare to see, having three in one place was bizarre. He glanced her over, noticing the wild look in her appearance. Not one of the city or even town dwelling folk he thought. He's seen others similar to how she looked throughout his travels and work. Usually kept to themselves and called themselves druids. Why would a person like that be here? As the disheveled being approached the bar, closer to him, he saw the glow in his crystal grow brighter. Just then, Ameiko arrives with his beer. "Ah, thank you. Would you be so kind to give a beer to that lady over at the bar for me? You can place it on my tab" as he points to Bellarael. "I also noticed you speaking with some gentlemen over on the other side of the tavern. Do you happen to know who they are?" as he slides a few gold pieces in her direction. Ameiko looks down at the extra coins, then looks back to Keystone with a face of tiredness and a look of 'really bro'. "I appreciate the offer but I don't require coinage to tell you what I don't know. All I know is that they came in about the same time you did. The one fellow in the back seems a bit jumpy, so you might want to approach with caution." Ameiko excuses herself and walks back to behind the bar, giving the beer to Bellarael. Now we shall see, he thought to himself.
Ameiko approaches Bellarael from the other side of the bar. Getting some weird vibes as the half-orc looks her up and down, she hands a beer to her and asks if she needs anything else. Bellarael, in turn, asks who sent the beer. Nodding in Keystone's direction, Ameiko looks at her customer with a face of conduct. Getting right down to business, Bellarael asks "I'm good on food. I had a feast before arriving here. Do you know who the musician was earlier?". Ameiko, starting to piece some things together in her head, responds. "His name is Andre and he performs for us once in awhile. Last time we had him here was about five years ago just because he is super popular. If you're wanting to track his performances, you need to just follow the fliers for his next performance." Nodding in acknowledgement, Bellarael then asks if Ameiko knows where Andre would be staying for the night. Ameiko shakes her head and replies that he usually shows up for the performance and then leaves straight away, usually over by the docks. Bellarael takes the beer and says thanks with a smile, turning towards Keystone. She takes a deep sniff, licks the foam, and drinks it all in one gulp just as Keystone makes eye contact. His jaw dropped.
Hurv finishes his dinner and makes his way towards the dice laying on the table, waiting to introduce himself to Keystone. As if on cue, Keystone greets Hurv in Orc'ish tongue, welcoming him to the table. As he takes a seat, he notices warmth coming from a pocket. Paying no attention to it initially, both Hurv and Keystone agree to best of four games of dice. Loser buys drinks. As the rolls start, the crystal shard Keystone placed on the table is intensely glowing and a slight hum can be heard. Reaching into his pocket, Hurv brings out his shard of crystal and looks at it under the table. Keystone notices the glowing shard Hurv carries. "Hey, that's a nice piece of crystal you have there. It looks very similar to...mine..." as he glances at his on the table. Hurv nods in agreement as Keystone hails down Ameiko for a round of beer for the table. A loud belch emits from Bellarael in the distance, eliciting an "Impressive" shout from Keystone. Bellarael grunts an orc'ish laugh.
As time passes by,Ra'z sees that the half-orc is joined by another half-orc. Strange. Perhaps they know each other and are discussing events. Ra'z stands and approaches cautiously, ensuring that he stays unnoticed. As he gets closer, his crystal starts to warm, causing panic. After collecting his thoughts, he pulls his hood up and leaves out the back alley door. He will make an effort to follow those two when the tavern closes. Maybe he can find out more information about what happened. With that, he disappeared down a nearby alley in the manner of a homeless wanderer, into the darkness.
As Bellarael hails Ameiko for another beer, she grabs her by the hand and pats her roughly on the head. Giving praise and several thank yous, she releases Ameiko as the hostess walks to the bar for another beer. Ameiko repeats in her head that this is just a part of the job, just accept it. Waiting for her beer to arrive, Bellarael starts licking her lips, tapping her thighs and eyes the table where Keystone and Hurv are playing dice. Ameiko returns with the beer and hands it to Bellarael, making sure to keep some distance between. Keystone glances over at Bellarael when the exchange between her and Ameiko takes place. He nods to Hurv and says "That's definitely one of our own." With that, Keystone motions towards Bellarael to join them over at the table, being that there was an open seat waiting for company. She shambles towards the table, grinning as big as possible with beer in tow. "Thank you for the beer?" she manages to say, as she approaches Keystone. He nods as she takes a seat. With the latest member joining the table, the crystal shard from Keystone starts to hum even louder than before. "I see that you are of mixed orc yourself" Keystone says while making eye contact to Bellarael. "My fellow dice player over here is also of mixed orc." Bellarael attempts to introduce herself to the party. "My name is Bella" she spurts out. "My name is Keystone and this gentleman over here hasn't introduced himself yet" as Keystone motions towards Hurv. Hurv, not realizing that he forgot to do simple introduction upon sitting, quickly introduces himself "My name is Hurv."
As the party settles in at the table, Keystone brings to their attention the crystal shard. "Have either of you guys seen something like this before?" he asks. Bellarael pulls her crystal shard out and places it on the table in front of her. "No" is all she manages to say, entranced by the eerily similar look as Keystone's. Hurv pulls his back out of his pocket and places it down in front of him on the table. "Never seen mine do anything like this before." When all three shards are placed on the table, some similar shapes are noticed by Bella. She gently grabs the other two shards and starts looking for the connection. The shards are glowing an intense purple hue, have a warmth to them as a pleasant fire on a cold night, and a hum so loud that it starts to drown out the other sounds in the tavern. Hurv mentions that if she breaks his, he will have to beat her up. Bellarael gives a toothy grin and a giggle grunt as she continues to find the connection. Keystone mentions that the shard is all he has of his mother. Hurv mentions that his shard is all that his mother left him as he inquires Keystone for another dice game. Keystone obliges.
"Did anyone notice the skinny, nervous looking fellow that was lurking in the back corner earlier?" Hurv nods in agreement and mentions that he might be of the sketchy type. Perhaps the group should keep an eye on him if he reappears later tonight. Bella finds two shards that fit together perfectly, but the third seems to have a part that is missing. Showing her findings, she mentions that she too, saw the strange fellow earlier. Keystone mentions that perhaps they should track him down later tonight. As if on cue, Ameiko arrives with the final beers for the group. "Since I've never seen any of you here before, I'm going to assume you are all from out of town. If you would like, I can offer you rooms, a public bath, and laundry service for a mere 2 gold pieces 3 silver each." Each person at the table decided that a room, bath, and launder would be great since it has been a great deal of time since the last time. Hurv glances at Keystone and a defeated, happy sigh emits from losing player. As Keystone starts to count out the gold and silver pieces, Bellarael slams down 2 gold pieces and gives him a goofy smile. Thanking her, Keystone hands the coinage to Ameiko and the party follow her up the back stairs to the first floor lodging. As the last of the group disappears, Ra'z enters the tavern once again. Since the lights outside started to dim and that the curious characters from before never emerged, he could only assume that they were staying the night. Pacing around the bar area, he waits for Ameiko's return.
Once upstairs, Ameiko shows the trio the public bathing area, handing each one a token with a number on it, and an empty basket. "These are for your assigned rooms and the basket is for your clothing. If you could place the garments in the basket and leave it for the staff, it'll be ready for you by morning. Bellarael hurridly strips down naked, tossing her soiled clothing in the basket and hands it to Ameiko. She then starts to enjoy the room, seemingly impressed of what a bath is according to Ameiko. With a sigh, Ameiko then takes Keystone and Hurv to their rooms, leaving a naked Bellarael in the public bath, basket in hand.
Finished with her latest customer assignments, Ameiko decends the stairs to find a Ra'z, pacing the bar area. Recognizing him as the jumpy customer from before, she approaches with caution. Ra'z, seeing Ameiko appear, holds back his angst when asking where the trio sitting at a particular table went. Ameiko, not knowing what is going on with all of these half-orcs, replies "They chose to stay the night. Were you looking to stay the night as well? We offer a room, a public bath, and laundry if you wish to utilize those services." Ra'z, having not a lot of coin on his person, offers the 1 piece of gold and his hands to work for his stay. Not understanding fully what this half-orc's internal demons are doing behind the closed doors, Ameiko sighs, takes the 1 gold piece, and asks for Ra'z to follow her into the kitchen.
Tune in next time for what happens next!
NOTE: I am LOOSELY basing some of this campaign off of the Jade Regent Adventure Path. My reasoning is that I have never played a Pathfinder game in my life and I needed something established to learn from. I am a bit more of a demented, let's-see-what-happens-with-this kind of DM. Please don't come at me and tell me I'm doing things wrong. It'll do nothing.
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