Session 1 Notes (4/15/10)

Varony, Clairis 12th, 868 ID.

The PCs are summoned discretely to the Fiery Rat tavern in Floivin Keep to meet with Lt. Banghorn, an agent of the Last Eidolorn guard whose duties include keeping tabs on unruly and suspicious characters throughout the Province. As our heroes arrive, they are greeted by a bar wench in a mouse costume, and rumbles of unrest by various other patrons. Several dwarves express displeasure at the sight of the half-orc Mudgol, and all Hosspotch halflings in the room jeer and turn their noses up at the do-gooder Pockny Hosspotch. One halfling in a purple frilled shirt stands and promptly exits the establishment.

The PCs are called over to a private booth by a middle-aged man with a hoarse tone and very handsome (but fake) moustache and beard. This is Lt. Banghorn (the 'h' is silent!), and he explains why he has chosen these three recruits for a task of urgency. Our heroes are dispatched to trail the merchant-entertainer Shalabarr, who happens to be the halfling in the purple shirt that just left. On the way out, a grimy, weather beaten 'dwarf' adorned in animal hides, a spear and pick-axe, reeking of fats and body oils, who is accidentally set on fire by the Fiery Rat's 'interactive' sign outside. The PCs save the traveler, who introduces himself as 'Tundra Wolf', a frost giant scout from the northern province of Wintersbreath. In gratitude, Tundra Wolf offers the party a favor in return.

Pockny Hosspotch asks if he would guide the trio on a brief jaunt to the neighboring village of Halehusk, which he agrees to. The party gathers some supplies, Mudgol grabbing some ale to share with Tundra Wolf on the journey, and after some brief and unsuccessful bartering over a Melesthesian peddler's llama (which Mudgol desires a bite of), the four are on their way. When they arrive, they quickly case out both the Blind Vixen tavern, and the Lone Wheel House, since Lt. Banghorn told them Shalabarr often frequents the village. Mudgol manages to make an enemy of the mousy innkeeper at the Lone Wheel House, but Pockny and Tundra Wolf take a seat up on the balcony to watch the road into the village.

Eventually Shalabarr rides in on a strange rickshaw, guided by a warhorse in barding rather than a person. He is greeted by two swarthy, rough and tumble halflings outside, who then take the horse and rickshaw to the local, small stablery, run by a filthy boy named Pinyon. Pockny and Tundra Wolf exchange harsh words with Shalabarr in the Lone Wheel House. Apparently Shalabarr does not like being followed, and recognizes the cleric from the Fiery Rat. Attempting to dig up some information, Mudgol puts the stable boy Pinyon to sleep, while Imperion quickly examines the cart. The PCs find a map tucked into a drawer beneath the passenger's seat which has the various communities of the Vernal Valley marked off, each with a certain # of red 'x' marks. Most of the marks appear near Floivin Keep.

The PCs bribe the foul-lipped boy Pinyon when he awakens, and all is well, but another confrontation occurs out in the street when they come face to face with Shalabarr's two 'cousins', and a beautiful human woman rides into the village to meet the flamboyant halfling. Shalabarr then threatens the PCs, telling them to leave Halehusk within the next half hour while he, his sweetheart, and cousins take a meal and drink at the Blind Vixen. The PCs remain, with Tundra Wolf (who is furious that Shalabarr keeps referring to him as a 'dwarf'), and await the inevitable confrontation...

PCs: Imperion, Mudgol, Pockny

NPCs

Lt. Banghorn (human male): A master of bad disguises whose duty is to spy on suspicious folk in Floivin Province. His name is pronounced 'bang-orn', without the 'h', and he seems to take great offense at those who mismanage the phonetics. Most of the city guard refer to him as Bang-horn laughingly behind his backs. He is a gaunt, middle-aged human with graying hair and a short temper.

Pinyon (human male): A filthy stable boy in Halehusk, with a mean streak and a knack for foul language. He accepts a bribe of several gold from the PCs, and swears to retire to a life of fishing in Tarndim with his uncle. He gives our heroes all manner of information about Shalabarr once they initiate a 'windfall' in his career. He's a short boy of around 11-12 years old, smeared in grease and shit and not afraid to use the latter as a projectile weapon when threatened.

Shalabarr (halfling male): A flamboyant, well dressed midget in purple frills, who rides a rickshaw about Floivin Province, driven by a barded warhorse. He wears a fancy tophat and wields an umbrella which conceals a bladed weapon (likely a slender sword). Shalabarr is both a 'merchant' and 'entertainer', or so everyone claims, and has several connections with seedy types throughout the Province, including his 'cousins', a pair of Hosspotch grunts, and a mysterious human woman clad in leather armor. Shalabarr is a shrewd and dangerous fellow and does not take well to the PCs.

Tundra Wolf (frost giant male?): Appears for all purposes to be a dwarf hunter and tracker who has fallen on hard times and migrated south of his native Wintersbreath to seek out new opportunities. Tundra Wolf is a thickly bearded 'frost giant', or so claims to be, who appears in the size and shape of a dwarf. He reeks of oils and seal fats, and other things, and wears thick hides even in the heat of the oncoming summer. Perhaps this is another reason he smells so... Tundra Wolf has a devout sense of honor for those who help him in a pinch, and has attached himself to the PCs until his 'blood debt' is paid. He is quick to take insult at anyone who refers to him as a 'dwarf', and seems to know the Giant tongue (which Mudgol also speaks). Tundra Wolf travels with a gnarled spear and a handy pick-axe.