Author Topic: The Journal of Corora the Songstress; a Pathfinder AAR  (Read 2775 times)

Lady Grey

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The Journal of Corora the Songstress; a Pathfinder AAR
« on: January 10, 2016, 06:17:51 PM »

Day 1: The Better Crow Inn, Crowville

Having been travelling alone for some time now, I found myself in the small port of Crowville, in a local tavern. While certainly not the best kept tavern I've ever come across, the townsfolk and barkeep seem pleasant enough. It seems I was not the only adventurer to see The Better Crow as a place of refuge from the wilds, as it was here that I happened upon my companions. Eldor is an elven paladin, travelling with a personal mission to rid the world of wickedness. Miglond is human, a barbarian type, on the road in search of adventure. Finally, Fenris, another elf, is a rogue, in search of his fortune. Unfortunately for Fenris and Eldor, the barkeep mentioned that people may not be the friendliest to elvenkind. Being a half elf myself, I hope that I am accepted.

While getting to know these fellow adventurers, we happened to notice a 'Missing' poster on the tavern wall. Upon closer inspection it transpires that the missing person sounds rather important - a Lord Dumont. Intrigued, we enquired about this man, and were told by the barkeep - oh, what was his name? - that Lord Dumont is the owner of the Isle of Dumont, a short boat journey away from the mainland. Word is that he went missing en route to Crowville (he had business here allegedly), and some believe he never even left the Isle.

As the evening wore on, the tavern becoming quieter, myself and the other travellers had become a little more acquainted. It was then, however, that the atmosphere was blackened by the arrival of two drunkards, accompanied by such a pungent sea smell I can assume they were local fishermen. The few that were left in the tavern quickly scurried off, and even the barkeep moved away into a backroom. Anyway, racial slurs were shouted at Eldor and Fenris, enraging the latter particularly, I believe. Rather quickly things escalated, Fenris was shoved by one of the men, which did absolutely nothing to cool his temper. He drew sword, as did Eldor, and Miglond, though not involved, got up to defend his new found friends. Not wanting to engage myself in an altercation, I took the opportunity to improvise a ballad of the ensuing fight. It seemed to have inspired the others, as they fought fiercely. Ultimately, one of the drunkards ended up near cloven in half thanks to Miglond, and the other was stabbed by Eldor. Unfortunately, this latter action coincided with the arrival of a woman - the captain of the town guard, of all people!

She seemed about ready to arrest the lot of us, but it was rather noticeable that she seemed weary, in need of results. A little persuasion on my part revealed that the two drunkards had been causing her trouble, and she was willing to let their killings slide - on one condition. A friend of hers, another town guard, needed help on the Isle of Dumont, and the captain seemed to think people of our - skill set - could help. We agreed, for having little choice in the matter was one thing, but we had already resolved to investigate the disappearance of Lord Dumont, and his home Isle seemed like as good a place as any to start.

Day 1: Crowville Docks

We made our way to the docks that same night, for we had been told a ship was preparing to leave that very moment, and the sooner we left Crowville, the better. On the docks, one ship was moored, and we made for the man who appeared to be captain. He introduced himself as Leif Storisson, and though he confirmed he was indeed about to set sail to Isle Dumont, he did not seem willing to take four strangers with him. Though we mentioned the captain sending us, and her assuring us we'd be able to board, he still seemed reluctant. Being four adventurers, we were equally reluctant to ask him how much gold he would like for taking us the the island; though we were each carrying payment, it simply didn't seem we had enough to offer any to the stubborn captain. As a desperate measure rather than a serious proposal, I offered to write a great ballad of the crossing and our adventure, making sure he would be personally named within it. This, shockingly, seemed to sway the man, and, offering us food and bed on the way, he led us onto the boat.

Jubal

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Re: The Journal of Corora the Songstress; a Pathfinder AAR
« Reply #1 on: January 11, 2016, 01:05:27 PM »
Nice :) Look forward to reading more!
The duke, the wanderer, the philosopher, the mariner, the warrior, the strategist, the storyteller, the wizard, the wayfarer...

Lady Grey

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Re: The Journal of Corora the Songstress; a Pathfinder AAR
« Reply #2 on: January 12, 2016, 12:31:33 AM »


Day 2: Isle of Dumont

Disembarking the boat, we found ourselves in another port, Stonetown. As we had been sailing in, Leif has pointed out the Castle Dumont on the horizon, northeast of here, and the two mountains - the Isle's namesake - to the west. He talked of Wrackside, a nice sounding town in the North, and Stack, along the same coastline as Stonetown but a little inland, to the West. The towns were connected by roads, but thick forest covered much of the island, other than the bare mountaintops.

We had hardly left the dock when we happened upon the captain of Stonetown's guard, who introduced herself as Aeodira Velcato. Upon asking, we discovered she was indeed the friend the captain in Crowville had mentioned. Aeodira revealed to us that the island was having something of a bandit problem. Caravans travelling between the towns were being ambushed on the roads, and though they had attempted to patrol the roads, no sign of bandits were seen. The town guard was small, only Aeodira, her younger brother Aeforus, and five others patrolled the town. They simply couldn't afford to leave Stonetown undefended and hunt the wilds for bandits themselves. We agreed to hunt them on her behalf and bring proof of their demise when we had succeeded, and thanking us, she pointed us in the direction of a store so we could pick up some supplies.

Inside Raltis' Wares - Raltis presumably being the man who served us - we bought enough rations for four or so days. Sensing we were to embark on some kind of adventure, the keeper offered us something that he assured us was rare on Dumont - lockpicking kits. Fenris was particularly interested in these, and after some negotiation, we agreed to pay 25 gold pieces per kit. Fenris and Eldor decided taking two was the best course of action, then if one was to break, we'd have a spare. So, Fenris carrying one set, and Eldor the other, we left Raltis' and headed for the tavern, in the hope someone might be able to point us in the right direction if we were to go looking for bandits.

Day 2: The Purple Horn Tavern, Dumont

Upon entering the Purple Horn, its unusual name suddenly made a lot more sense - behind the bar, hanging proudly on the wall, was its namesake, a purple horn. Behind the bar, I was pleasantly surprised to see the barkeep was, like myself, half-elven. In fact, this tavern was much cleaner and more well-kept than The Better Crow back on the mainland in general.

We approached the barkeep, whose name was Caeril, and as we ordered ourselves refreshment, asked about the bandit problem. Caeril confirmed that these outlaws were indeed attacking caravans travelling to the northern town of Wrackside, and added that he believed they'd probably be based in the dense forests or mountains of the island, especially as road patrols had turned up nothing. We enquired also about the missing Lord Dumont, and were told that local rumours here were of a kidnapping. However, the Ealdorman of Stonetown, Aldoric - a mayor of sorts - thinks the disappearance is nothing to worry about. He apparently suggested Lord Dumont may be in the town of Stack, further along the coast. It does seem that the island is much more relaxed all round about the strange affair - there is a distinct lack of 'missing' posters here.

Thanking the barkeep and mulling over the new information we'd gained, we headed for the road out of town.

Day 2: The Road to Wrackside, Dumont

Following the road out of town for a while, all seemed peaceful. In fact, we did not even encounter any travellers or caravans along the road, though I imagine on the small island, this is not too unusual. Soon, we found the road led between farmland to the south east, being worked by a few locals of Stonetown, and the thick forest to the north west, seemingly deserted. It was not long, however, that we stumbled upon a strange set of human footprints at the roadside, leading into the forest. A single set of prints, we decide that whatever will be at the end of them, however hostile, the four of us should have no problems if attacked.