[D&D 4E PbP] (IC) Keep on the Shadowfell+ - Chapter 1: The King's Road

Aegis

"Downs?" The dwarf asks in a confused tone, scratching his beard idly and picks at some food still left in his teeth, "'Downs' dun sound like a mountain'. We sure tha man was diggin' in tha right place?"

History Check: 1d20+0=10.

hippofant

After a spell, Tara opens her eyes and murmurs quietly. She turns to their innkeeper escort and speaks her first audible words of the day. "Excuse me, but have there been any others who have come in here since Douvren checked in?"

Fiaryn

Godfrey taps his chin and sighs, seeming to come to a decision of sorts. Turning to address Andrei and the others, he begins his assessment.

"While the Rod is certainly the most pressing issue before us, we lack a clear cut means by which to pursue it at this moment. I understand the frustration of Vrancea, but at this time I feel it would be tactically inadvisable to just wander off northwards and hope for the best. On the topic of Douvren, on the other hand, we have ample leads. The man is a wizard of no mean skill, and would be a credit to our search. As such, I suggest we make haste for these Downs at earliest opportunity."

Kay

Salvana shakes her head at Tara's question, while Godfrey and Andrei converse.

"No, m'Lady. Only the cleaning staff, and they touched naught."

Rius

Finished with his breakfast, Andrei pushes the plate into the center of the table and leans back with a satisfied sigh. All too soon, though perhaps for the best, he finds himself accompanying the others as they head up to inspect Douvren's room.

And promptly finds himself pacing in the hallway as several of the others squeeze into the man's unoccupied room. Only when Godfrey emerges from the crowded space does he speak his mind, and for once he's pleased to see his thoughts aligned with the unusual fellow.

"If this Douvren is any sort of gifted arcanist he should be able to help locate the rod. It is an artifact of exceeding power, more than strong enough to be detected by Stahl; even if he turns out to be a complete imbecile."

He leans to the side and looks past Godfrey into Douvren's room, nodding at the tidy effects and organized desk.

"Astonishingly, we might be in luck."

hippofant

Puzzled, Tara presses Salvana for more details, though she dips her head in apology. "Please, I am no Lady. Just Tara will suffice. I apologize for the questioning, but we need to be sure, nobody ever came in except Douvren and the cleaning staff? What about traveling companions? Guests?"

Kay

Again, Salvana shakes her head. "Meister Douvren's 'pprentices slept in the barn, only he was in here."

Acratia

Zeke strolls around the room, nudging things. He places his hat back atop his head for good luck despite being indoors, and thoroughly pores over the maps and notes left by Douvren. He responds aside to the questions about Gardbury Downs somewhat absently, as he traces a fingertip over the lines of the map, as his brow creases in sympathy with the wrinkled paper.

"Gardbury Downs is commonly rumoured to be haunted, after a battle in the Bloodspear Wars. Fallcrest and orcs. Treasure hunters try their hand at it every now and again, hoping for some trinket of the fallen..."

He trails off into thought, tapping at the map.

Spoiler:

History Check: 1d20+7: 25 [1d20=18]

Aegis

The dwarf scoffs, "Treasure Hunters. More like vultures ta be disrupting tha places o' tha fallen for a bit o' gold. If'in we be followin' that map ta find this lost scholar Oi'd be hoping we'd be a bit more careful with tha spirits there."

Kay

Ezekiel

Spoiler:

History Check: Success!

There are always tales of ancient battles that, somewhere along the line, are altered.

One of the more famous skirmishes during the Bloodspear Wars concerned a mighty Green Dragon that the Bloodspears goaded into attacking the walls of Fallcrest, so the history books say. The Lord Warden at the time, a Lord Queynt Garrelsburg, was said to have defeated the dragon at the Nentir Falls themselves, leaping from the ruined Nentir Inn to thrust his mighty Flamberge into the thing's maw, killing it only after it had destroyed outlying farms, most of the town watch, and the Five Arch Bridge. Many scholars have disputed this 'historical fact', citing numerous primary sources including the accounts of the Lord Warden at the time, reports on the repair of the outer walls, and a distinct lack of evidence at the supposed site itself of the supposed battle.

Instead, they suggest, the battle occured elsewhere (given that the dragon's skull is still mounted in Moonstone Keep). A small village on the King's Road is hardly as heroic a location as the walls of Fallcrest, after all.

Acratia

He smirks as the half-remembered lore assembles, and presses his fingertip down on the marked spot.

"Here be dragons."

Straightening a little, he locates some blank parchment.

"Give me a few minutes, and we can have a copy of all this to go with us. I'll explain in full on the road."

Aegis

Removing himself from the room, Nolar makes his way back down to their table, downing the remaining swill in his drink this morning and gathers the remainder of his effects, "Oie be outside if'n you need me lookin' about fer this farm. Downs be out o' town as it is, might as well check in with tha two men that the man met with before he up and disappeared.".

hippofant

Shaking the fatigue from her eyes, Tara addresses the remainder of the group still in the room, "I would suggest that we make our way to the Downs immediately. The longer we delay, the worse things could get, both for Douvren and our chances of retrieving this rod."

Kay

The village of Winterhaven is quiet, with few people to bustle or otherwise interpose on our adventurers. It seems most likely that the bulk of the populace are out working the fields around the town, rather than walking the few streets. The horses have been well looked after, and are quickly saddled by the stableboy ready for the expedition.

Guardsmen at the gates wave the party on as they pass, and a light drizzle comes and goes, giving way to an overcast look to the weather, promising more rain, or even a storm at some point.

From the map, the best route seems to be to follow the King's Road to a point north of the marked area, then trek across the Downs themselves. Travelling on the road is swift and easy, while the rolling hills of Gardbury would be slower, and harder on the horses.

Spoiler:

Okay, everyone gets two rolls that they think may be valid for the journey, with Perception, Nature and History (though you have pretty much all the historical background here) being the obvious ones. Arcana if you wanted to try and sense any magic in the area, religion if you wanted some more specific background on the Abbey nearby, that sort of thing. Feel free to include a bit of flavor, and your two rolls for the trip.

Aegis

The wizened dwarf takes a swig of his canteen as they trek down from the mountains, more than occasionally glancing back to admire the sights of Winterhaven's environs before grumbling about the prospects of returning to rolling land instead. Just prior to having left the town, Nolar made rounds of the area, stopping in to speak with some of the local guardsmen and offering words of encouragement and advice to those professing some faith in the divine. That and it never hurts to ensure that one has drinking buddies when one expects to return after a long trip abroad.

Once out of sight of the walls and mountains Nolar's attention sometimes sticks to the road ahead in search of any sign that they might be nearing their destination, though usually breaks off to wander about the countryside as his visual search starts turning up nothing. When his eyes start to wander he distracts himself from the growing irritation at the lack of a roof or solid ground over his head by pawing through his memories at any mention of the Abbey. This proves to be far more successful and he starts to sort through what might be relevant to their trip and to the man they're looking to find.

Perception: 1d20+2=10
Religion: 1d20+7=25

hippofant

Trailing the rest of the group, Tara daringly attempts to skim one of her tomes on regional history, trying to see if there were any mentions of or allusions to the Downs that she missed in her research last night. Balancing rather precariously, she struggles to both hold the book and flip its pages with one hand, while gripping the reins with the other, occasionally raising her head to check her surroundings for magical traces and to right her errant mount. As docile and well-trained as her horse is, however, she often finds herself falling back from the others, forced to briefly gallop her horse to catch up.

Altogether, the effort is a little too demanding, and distracted as she is, Tara fails to find anything of note in her book. Perhaps she should have paid more attention when they had attempted to teach her how to conjure a third hand back in the guild....

Arcana: 1d20+10 17
History: 1d20+10 13