[Game] Chapter I: Northwards of Waterdeep

Departure from Waterdeep

Of course your journey eventually took you to Waterdeep. It is the largest city on the Sword Coast and despite it's nickname Crown of the North, it is the southernmost city of the Sword Coast. The people here are always busy, making it a city that never sleeps.
But your journey is not over, yet. You want to see more of the North, so you decide to leave behind the sea of stone-built houses, the many temples of countless dieties, and the deep harbor basin that gave the city its name.

Every day people are coming and leaving at the city gate. The Long Road leads northwards and eventually ends in a city called Mirabar, that is said to be inhabited by humans and dwarfs together. You do not know if your travels will lead you there, but the thought of adventure and a fresh sea breeze tingle at the tip of your nose. So you decide to join one of the caravans that are heading to the north. A few other travellers do the same thing, and before midday, your small group is ready to go.

Shortly after your departure from Waterdeep, the weather begins to change. On this previously clear day, now thick gray clouds darken the sky. In the early evening hours, a fine rain begins to pour down on you and your fellow travalers. Your damp clothes make you feel cold, and every mile feels like ten. By nightfall you reach a small settlement consisting of six small farmhouses, where you can rest for the night. Sadly, on the next morning the weather does not look any better, but you and your companions decide to continue the journey. One of the traveling merchants explaines to you, that a small town lies a day's journey to the north, and you should check out the local shops there.

The next day on the road is a torture. The cold sinks through your wet clothes and makes you freeze. You are really exausted, but finally you and your fellowship arrives in a small town called Amphail. This settlement is bigger than the one you rested before, and it even has a town square with a black stone statue of a stallion in the center. Right next to the statue is a cozy looking tavern called The Stag-Horned Flagon. You all decide to go for a meal there and see if you can find a room for the night. Some of the merchants traveling with you will stay a few days in the town, so you have plenty of time to explore the village.
After the heart-warming meal inside of the tavern, you head for the local inn called The Stone Stallion, that was recommended to you earlier by the owner of the tavern.
The rooms in the inn at the edge of the town are small, but the beds are soft and in the main hall burns a warming fire in the fireplace. As soon as you hop into the bed, you cannot keep your eyes open and you fall asleep.

The Next Morning

Early in the morning you are woken by noise and voices on the street. It seems that a heavily wounded elven boy arrived in the town. In front of the inn's entrance, a cluster of people has gathered around the boy. Some sound concerend about the boy's health, some sound somewhat angry.

Some distance away, a well dressed man in his fourties marches straight to the crowd. You hear some of the townsfolk call him Mylord.

The nice lady that led you to your room last night is there, too. She stands in the doorway of the inn and tries to calm some of the people down, but she is not very successful with that.

Your characters are still inside the inn, and barely awake. Please describe briefly why your character is on a journey to the Sword Coast first, then describe your actions in the current situation.

As always Teffen slept lightly, and woke to the commontion outside. Maybe it was because of his light fingered ways and his constant need to keep one step ahead of anyone put out with him. Rather than leave the building he peered warily through the window of his darkened room, careful not to show himself or bring attention to his observing of the happenings below. Seeing little of import Teffen returned to sleep curled up in the chair beside the door rather than the obvious bed. You never know when someone might come looking for you. It was often best not to be where people expected you to be. Anyway if it was serious the continued commotion would wake him again. So he drifted off to sleep with his hand lightly resting on his swords hilt.

One after the other you arrive downstairs. The first thing you notice is the the obviously upset lady you know from yesterday, a tall and blond-haired woman in her thirties. She is wearing a simple light blue dress and a white ribbon in her hair. As she notices the four of you, she examines everyone of you from head to toe.
I'm trying, but once these sensation-hungry pack of vultures have found their prey, there is nothing to hold them back, she says looking into Valdas direction, And this so called "Lord" is actually the administrator of this town. His name is Lord Alougarr and he is as narrow-minded as the rest of this town. Maybe that's why everyone does what he says.
She pauses for a second, but then continues: I'm Allie by the way...

Meanwhile, in one of the rooms on the upper floor, Teffen just fell asleep again, only to be woken by a booming voice that echoes from the street.
Please, make way so I can see what this is all about, the well-dressed Lord Alougarr says. With just this one sentence the crowd of people suddenly becomes silent. They form a small path so he can reach the injured boy, that has collapsed to the ground.
People of the town, please let me and my friend here do our work, and let me ask you to move along. There is nothing to see here.
With that he gestures another man to follow him. The crowd slowly breaks up and the people are leaving, but everyone is whispering about the body, where he came from and what injured him.

Grumbling, about overly loud big people and where they can stick their oversized feet. Teffen dresses and tucks his knives away in his clothing and settles his sword belt onto his slender hips. Taking several deep breaths he makes his way downstairs with a suitably grave and concerned expression on his face.

Teffen unobtrusively steps out of the Inn's door and slowly makes his way through the crowd, barely keeping his light fingered yearnings under control. This doesnt seem like a good time to risk being caught liberating pouches.
Instead he lets his ears roam through the random coversations going on, listening for anything helpful.

Allie looks surprised by Valdas question. Haven't you heard of the recent conflicts with the wood-elves around here? Apparently some of the local horse breeders and farmers wanted to have more land for farming and for their horses. They cleared some of the woodland here, and claimed it as their's, but the elves fought back, she says.

The people seem to follow the Lord's commands, and now they all carried on with their daywork. Rabal's instincts tell him that the local community isn't very strong. They all seem to live on the same place, but all by themselves. A almost dead boy arrived and called out for help, and all the people do is stare. Even though this places is not like Waterdeep, it is still strange to him.

Following Rabal is the easily overlooked Halfling Teffen. Although noone really notices him, he is ever more vigilant. Some of the people think that some of the horse breeders, especially the Roaringhorn family, are to blame for the boys wounds. Others think this is a trap set up by the elves to eliminate the ones that set out to help them. The term Woodwalker is mentioned here and there. Maybe it refers to the Wood-Elf tribe the boy belongs to.
The other thing Teffen notices is, that all people here seem to be dressed in finer clothes that one would expect here. Their pockets might be well filled with silver and gold.

Lord Alougarr and his assistant now try to lift the boy. Let's bring him to the Selember farm, she usually deals with wounded horses, but she will help for sure, he says.

At least we should bring him inside, the Lord commands, looking only briefly at Rabal, then you can examine his wounds. You do not look like the typical traveling physician, but I guess we can talk after the youngling is stable.
The two men carry the boy inside the Stone Stallion inn, as it is the nearest building. They carefully lay him onto the big wooden table in the middle of the common room.
Now Rabal can take a closer look at him. His left arm is heavily injured. It must have been squished by a heavy object, because the bones in both the upper and lower arm are completely shattered. He has grazes all over his body, including his forehead. You all wonder how he managed to walk all the way to the town with these wounds.

Just as you fed him the fourth of your berries, he regains consciousness. The first thing he sees is the beefy body of Cymer. No, you Monster, leave me and my family alone!, screams the boy in sheer terror, trying to lift his arms to defend himself. The next thing you hear is a horrible cry of pain.Allie looks a bit irritated as the Lord just used the dining table in the inn as a sick-bed. After the boy has been carried inside, she continues the conversation with Valdas: The Roaringhorns are one of the best horse breeders of the town. Many of the war stallions used by Waterdeep's warriors are bred here. To me they are a greedy pack of Waterdhavian aristocrats. They were the main force behind the idea of cutting down parts of the woods to get more farmland. I think that's why some of the townsfolk believe they are behind the boy's injuries. It's nothing official, but maybe they got into a fight with the Wood-Elf tribe living in the woods.