Game Posts

You hack and burn through the roadblock, making relatively short work of the log and clearing the road for travel once more. The howling seems to have stopped for the time being.

You march your forlorn bandit prisoners north, toward Whitesparrow. After several hours, the forest gives way to farmland. Instead of peaceful pastoral scenes, however, you encounter mile after mile of fallow land and abandoned homesteads, some burned to the ground, others on the verge of collapse.

Eventually you round a hill and the town itself comes into view. An old keep overlooks this village that was once home to 500, banners conspicuously missing from its battlements.

After the keep, a great hand carved of black stone is Whitesparrow's second-most-visible landmark, rising up at the center of the village with its thumb and five fingers splayed out. The area around the hand is a great dig, where someone has appeared to have tried and failed to excavate whatever is underneath.

An open-air temple, a two-story inn stand, and an outfitter's shop are among two dozen other buildings, some which have been boarded up. Standing farmhouses and broad fields of crops ready for harvest surround the neighbouring hillsides. The smells of productive agriculture mingled with rotting autumn leaves fill the air.

The sun is low in the sky and supper hour fast approaches. How would you like to proceed?

The bandits guffaw at the strange display before them. The female bandit pulls back her hood and steps a bit closer to you. You realize she's probably 15 or 16 by human years, still a child.

She address Barendd with a smile. "Master Dwarf, you can't fool us. For all your muscles and weapons, we can see you are really a softy. A good man."

She pauses for a moment.

"We could use Dwarves, and men, around here like you. There aren't many people left in this town with a good heart," she says sadly.

She sighs deeply. "Take us to Sheriff Willowmane. Her office is down there, by the inn." she looks like she should be on the edge of tears, but maybe has none left to give.

"I've made some stupid decisions lately. I can't believe I let myself get messed up in this. Oh gods, what will my mother say?"

The leader speaks up.

"Chief said there was a wagon coming through today. Told us it was a good target, and a chance to prove ourselves after we botched our last mission. We didn't ask any questions. The Chief isn't the kinda guy who likes questions after he gives you an order."

She smiles a sad smile and takes the metallic rose.

"My namesake, how did you know?"

She watches, mesmerized, as the metal fades into firefly sparks that disperse into oblivion. After, she listens to your question and responds.

"Whitesparrow is just another dying town in the north, I guess. Trying to make an honest living is pretty much impossible. I watched my mother do it all my life and she has to show for it is mountains of debt and a rotting inn. She told me stories of how beautiful this place used to be, but my whole life all I've ever thought about is leaving. I figured I could make some quick coin with the Night Blades, enough to get me to Katagia."

She looks ashamed of herself. One of the other bandits, the one that Raishe knocked out in a single blow, speaks up.

"Nobody would blame you for leaving, Rose. Your mama would understand."

At that moment, a person comes out of one of the buildings, and walks briskly across the main square. His eyes happen to look up in your direction, and he freezes. He breaks into an all out run back the way he came, and the next thing you hear are bells clanging.

A pair emerges from behind the inn, hastily donning jackets and doing up sword belts, which you quickly realize are old Arkasian military issue. Longbowmen emerge from other buildings and start taking up positions along a low, crumbling wall. The two dressed in Arkasian uniforms stride up the road toward you.

"Here comes the sheriff now, and her brother." says Rose.

The pair stop a bit of a distance from the party to listen to Barendd's parlay, the archers watching intently. The woman speaks up.

"Her mother won't be pleased, but things could have turned out worse. I'm Ruth Willowmane, sheriff of Whitesparrow. This is my brother, Matthew. Thanks for bringing these troublemakers back alive. If you are looking for a reward then I am happy to negotiate something. First let's talk about what your business is here."

"You have any info on Arkasia?" he said in Iman's voice. A tad aggressive, but maybe she'll think he's a rugged adventurer? He's somewhat sure that humans have trouble telling Kenku apart sometimes, at least the Mad Wizard did, maybe he can pull it off?

As an aside, Pageflap then points at the bandit leader, There's also that voidwater that Pageflap is interested in, but he decides to wait until later to go look for it. He should have plenty of time to do so.

The sheriff makes a sidelong glance at her brother as Pageflap speaks. Matthew nods curtly, some kind of signal passing between them. It lasts only a moment.
"Our pardon, Master Kenku. Arkasia? If you're looking for the latest news from the old Imperial territories, I'm afraid we have little to offer. But we keep with the old traditions strongly here."
Sheriff Willowmane turns to the bandit leader.

"Is that so, Artur?"

The bandit leader shrugs.

"Got me here alive, init?" he replies.
Sheriff WIllowmane once again checks her brother wordlessly as Iman speaks, and again nods his approval.

"We appreciate those words. Thing is, we can't pay you much. But if you're looking to do some good, we got a long list of troubles here in Whitesparrow."

"We dealt with these Night Blades years ago. We managed to trap the infamous Ralavaz the Night Blade, his younger brother Gardren, and the rest of their gang in a barn near the Lonely Torch - that was their headquarters, it's an old Arkasian watchtower to the north east. Anyway, we had had enough of those pricks and set the barn ablaze. Only Ralavaz made it out, with Gardren and the rest of the trapped Night Blades dying in the fire. We sent Ralavaz to Katagia to rot in prison, but seems he's got out and is picking up where he left off. A lot of young men and women who aren't make a living in Whitesparrow are falling in with these Night Blades creeps, and they're growing stronger by the day."

"I'm sure they got plenty of valuables from what they've been thieving, and I'm sure people would be willing to pay you a percent of what you rescue of their coin. What do you say?"