Episode 1 Scene 1a : The Arrival

The trip to Far Reach was long and fraught with peril. On more than one occasion those being employed to protect the caravan definitely earned their keep be it wages at journeys end or safer passage to Boareskyr Bridge. However the last leg of the journey proved to be the worst. For upon the constantly wind swept fields of the Sky Plateau the group was set upon by a large contingency of raiders. It took a massive effort upon the protectors behalf to finally repel them leaving many badly wounded and a few dead. Still the caravan was able to make the safety of Titan's Cleave. It was rumored that a Titan's Great Sword had created the break in the Sky Plateau and it appeared that the rumor may have well been true for it resembled a jagged gaping wound. Still from there forward the most dangerous element was just the occasional falling rock as the caravan descended down through Titan's Cleave into the valley of Far Reach.

As the caravan begins moving out of the Cleave and into the valley proper one could see the fabled Boareskyr Bridge in the distance and next it the rather ramshackle town that rests at its southern end. The warmth of the valley was quite noticeable compared to the colder air of the Sky Plateau and one could imagine that at times it might actually it uncomfortably warm at times. Still the weather in the valley seemed to be pleasant enough right now. And the hills the caravan travels through peaceful enough. One could tell when one was getting close to the village as even a few farmhouses had already sprung up indicating that some protection was given to the region immediately south of the village.

Upon arrival just short of the town but in sight of the large wooden sign labeled "Southbridge Village" the caravan pauses for inspection. A small contingency of archers flank the caravan on either side while four seasoned looking veterans walk the length of the caravan two a side and a fifth with a writing board speaks with the caravan master up front. Their surcoats over their chain mail denote them as followers of different deities. The one up front who is obviously a well-groomed Tiefling wears an equally fine surcoat of Kelemvor while one of the walkers who is obviously a Dragonborn wears the surcoat of Bahamut, next to him is a Human wearing the surcoat of Torm, on the otherside is an Elf wearing the surcoat of Correllon and along side him a Half-Elf wearing the surcoat of Lathander. While a mixed group of dieties even the most unknowledgable in religion would easily note that they are all dieties associated with law and order. Perhaps these were some of the actual seven Paladins that are rumored to be the anchor of government and safety here.

On their walk back up from the rear of the caravan the Dragonborn states in Humanish in a deep booming voice that is easily heard by all. "We here welcome you all to Southbridge Village. Please refrain from excessive roudiness as that may get you a visit to our wonderful stockade. If any of you are planning to stay on please report to the garrison in the next few days as all long term residents are expected to actively help with the defenses of the village. Other than that we hope you enjoy your stay here in Southbridge Village."

Brindel turns to the Dragonborn, continuing to speak in Common, "Pardon the interruption, good sir, but I don't want to leave my companions in the dark." He turns back. "Friends, our first step after the caravan is safely inside should be to go the garrison and check in with a dwarf named Kustaa. We'll rest from our travels there, and if we decide to stay, we can decide on a suitable inn. For now, there is no present danger outside we should be concerned about."

Facing the Dragonborn once more, Brindel says, "Once the inspection is over, we will be heading inside. Would you be so kind as to give us the description and location of the garrison building?"

It does not take the group long to enter through the ramshackle yet rather sturdy looking gate. Up close one can see that the gates and the wall are quite sturdy they just appear to be shoddy due to their non-uniform lengths. Still the gates are not the first thing one notices as they get near as the odor wafts out to greet them first. The strong scent of animals, manure, cooking, campfire smoke, and earth all mix together creating a none civilized smell that while pungent is not necessarily unpleasant, especially for those who prefer outdoor living versus city living. The dirt packed streets are lined with make-shift board walks making it obvious that when the streets get wet they might not be easily navigable. The semi-sea of kaleidoscopic tents seem to make up the bulk of the interior accompanied by the din of the marketplace that they represent. Off in the distance rising above these tents like majestic wooden towers stand five wooden structures the signs hanging from them, due to their shape as they are too far away to make out clearly, indicating that they were Inns. The fact that these flat roofed structures actually stand taller than the walls lends to the sense that perhaps they are even used as towers when needed.

As the escorted group moves through the village they do draw curious looks from time to time but if there were any "ne'er do wells" amongst them it is hard to say, however it is definitely a mixing pot of races and nations.

The group finally arrives at the bridge. Travel via the main streets within the village seems pretty easy as there appears to be only three. One that goes from the south gate to the north gate, one that comes off that road near the south gate and heads almost straight to the Fort and then another that goes from the Fort back to that road connecting with it near the north gate. However once you get off a main street the tents appear to be a haphazard maze of narrow walkways interspersed with small open areas where a tent once stood. The bridge itself which looks rather crude turns out to be very stable and probably capable of handling a pretty heavy load before even complaining.

Shahadur leads the group past the first set of guards and across the bridges expanse below it is just cliffs and dark water. On the opposite side is a wooden palisade with gate that is about half the height of the Forts 30 foot walls that encloses the area directly in front of the gatehouse itself. The stark difference between the wood and the old but very solid looking stone is quite noticeable making the palisade seem even more inferior than it is. This little courtyard of sorts is filled with a handful of men, numerous small barrels holding ammo and even a small catapult. However perhaps the most noticeable things within the courtyard sit just inside the gate on either side, a pair of sturdy tierces (aka @40 gallon barrel) painted bright red.

The group passes through this little courtyard uneventfully only drawing some glances from curious guards. They then pass under the open exterior portcullis through gatehouse and then under the interior portcullis. Those experienced in castle design could easily see the the murder holes and ceiling holes used to decimate any trapped units. The gatehouse opens into another courtyard that surrounds the 3 story fortified stone building that sits in the middle. If there were stables they were around back because they could not be seen from here. Sitting on the steps of of this building is a old looking Gnome smoking a pipe, he watches the group as they approach with seemingly casual interest.

As the group passes through the door it is only Brindel that notes that the door is actually textured stained stone and from his limited knowledge knows that such a door that size has to be set expertly in order to be opened with the ease that was used. Further he knows that this was something that got assigned to the more experienced Dwarven Engineers due to its complexity.

The group steps into a 20 foot wide hallway and, once everyone, including Katsmon, has entered, Shahadur steps in and closes the door completely shutting out the exterior light as there are no windows within the hallway and so finely are the doors set not even a crack of light can be seen about them. The evenly spaced wall sconces that provide ample light to the hallway and whose fires, which are noticed by all, give off no smoke thus indicating that some sort of magic was at work here.

Shahadur walks down the hallway and just past a pair of doors about 30 feet on either side are a set of 10 foot wide stairs on either side and at the end of the hallway are another set of large doors. The stairs on the right go down and the stairs on left go up which are the ones that Shahadur takes leading the group up to the second floor. Upon reaching the second floor he turns to his left down a 10 feet wide hallway that actually goes in both directions with Arrow Loops spaced evenly along the outer wall. Shahadur goes only about 10 feet down before opening a normal sized door and ushers everyone inside.

Inside the 20 by 20 room are a pair of desks between which a large map of Far Reach hangs on the wall. Off to the left is a large table covered in stacks of parchment and scrolls. To the right is a large book shelf containing books and scrolls. Sitting at the left-hand desk upon entry is a Dwarf, must be Kustaa, and standing beside him is an Elf. They both watch as the group files in. Again once everyone as entered, including Katsmon, Shahadur enters and closes the door.

Kustaa replies to Brindel's final question by saying, "Once you have all taken the official oath there will be no need for any special dispensations. Further I think you misunderstood as you were never restricted from carrying a weapon in the village, you just cannot enter the Garrison with weapons without having taken the oath first. We have too many strangers from too many kingdoms coming here to allow just anyone to enter the Garrison. So if you have nothing more to say about your axe or your great-grandfather then we can begin with the oath taking or you can forego the oath but you will not be allowed in the Garrison and you will be asked to leave the village within a months time."

Kroog eyes the group currently within the room, they almost out number their opponents 2 to 1 but Kroog also gets a feeling by the rather relaxed nature of their potential opponents that even out numbered they might not be beatable by their group.

Kustaa acknowledges Kendra's apology with a semi-wave of his hand.

The book Egret finds himself reading is a Druidic dissertation on The Wilderness within Civilization written in Druidic no less.

Egret is only half listening to the proceedings and hearing the majority of the group agree to the Oath when asked, with head still buried in the book, replies, "Yeah I'll do it."

With that the Elf walks over to his desk and pivots out a lectern that sits beside the desk then each person who has agreed to the Oath is called forward to take the Oath. The elf places a small emerald green orb covered in sigils in the users left hand and instructs them to place their hand on the bottom of lectern below the words and then recite the words. If someone is not literate the Elf will simply say repeat after me and then will recite the Oath for them to repeat.

The Elf calls Kendra forward first and upon completing the Oath she finds the bracelet she'd been wearing opens and she was released from its restriction, the sudden unexpected flood of re-connection was exhilarating to say the least. She profoundly felt the presence of her deity and the world once more took an its natural beauty even in a rather drab room.

After Kendra the Elf called Brindel, Lex, Kroog, and finally Egret. When called Egret asks Katsmon to hold his place and hands him the book before moving to the lectern. These four actually noticed a slight tingling sensation in their left hand when they took the Oath but that seemed to be the extent of it.

@A_True_B -- Yes the Oath as taken place -- so all but your question in your post was viable -- in case you wanted to change your OOC into a normal post that is[/ooc]

Lex thought about it for a bit, and he recalled that historically they used holy water and other holy things to combat undead and that salt was believed to be helpful against demons. Further he believed there was a particular alchemical mixture involving salt that might be used against demons but what it was or how to make it he did not know but nothing specifically geared towards undead.

The group heads to their right in the direction of the Rock Inn and then Mams Inn upon getting to the Rock Inn Brindel veers off the road in its direction while Lex continues down the road towards Mams Inn. It is fairly obvious to the group that not everyone was on the same page at this point.

The group leaves the Rock Inn behind and continues on down the road, they eventually hook up with the main north-south road which hooks up to the south gate. Near the gate but off to the right some they spy two of those knights that had been present when the caravan arrived, the well dressed Tiefling and the fFolk sitting at a outdoors table.

After crossing the road and weaving up through a path in the tents they arrive at the front entrance to Mams Inn. The thirty-foot building is made of stout looking trunks and the door is fairly large, looking like it could easily accommodate someone eight-foot tall and proportionally wide. The door latch and handle are about head height for Brindel and upon opening the door it becomes apparent why as the place has more Yrocs than would make any sane dwarf comfortable. Along with the Yrocs, though there are Humans, Uriaks, fFolk, and Tieflings as well. The decor inside the place is one of a more primitive nature as beast heads adorn the walls of the nearly ten-foot ceilinged common room. In the center of the room is a large fire pit with a the body of an animal roasting on a spit. As the group steps in there is a lull in the conversations as the folk present take in the new comers.

In response to Kendra's tune and the transpiring events a Yroc begins to drum out a rhythm upon his chest and begins to sing, which is quickly joined in by many others. The tune is not difficult for Kendra if she wishes to join in but she'll have to put some effort into the music if she wants to even have her flute be heard. The lyrics seem to be some kind of welcoming song aimed at returning warriors.

As Brindel and the others step outside Kroog remains behind to enjoy the atmosphere. Once outside Brindel heads back towards the Rock Inn planning to work the Inns in rotation looking for the other two.

-- off to S1E1-1c --