1: Trouble in the Borderlands
From the archives of Bhodi Li Shalandalan...
Like cherry blossoms
The air is suffused with peril,
But the brave stand firm.
With the green glow of the burning tower behind them, the group of travelers made their way quickly down the main trade road. Before long they located a safe place to get off the road and made camp just before sunset.
The large, brass, dragonborn warrior, Ofiera, watched them closely as they spread out to fulfill the mundane duties of starting a fire and preparing a meal. In all, there were the two Evereskan elves, a foreign looking half-elf with the staff, a wild-looking halfling who was accompanied by a high-spirited, violet tiefling and an earnest young noblewoman traveling with her aunt. They seemed no ordinary band of travelers to her and she said as much.
“You folk seem like a capable bunch," she said. "In my estimation, you have the makings of a formidable team. If you can learn to work as a cohesive unit, there is much opportunity to acquire gold and glory.”
She went on to say that, south of here, she had passed through a place called Nashkel Keep a few days earlier and that she had been offered some adventuring work by the masters there. According to her, bandits had been plaguing the travelers on the nearby roads and Nashkel's Captain of the Guard, Atros, needed capable sellswords to dispatch of them.
She said she had also been approached by another man named Marevek, advisor to the castellan of the keep - that he had spoken of the need to infiltrate a dungeon built by an adventurer and find a hidden item. Though he was sketchy on the details of the mission, it offered a fair reward - if successful.
She also spoke of a place that the locals called the Caves of Chaos; a place where all manner of monster dwelt. She said that the keep’s masters wanted it cleared of any dangerous creatures that might come to harm their people.
She softly trailed off as she spoke of her team and how they had been killed in Seltra's rescue attempt. Though she longed for the adventure, she was no longer in a position to accept such work. So after seeing this group of strangers together, she thought it might be a good opportunity for them to test their mettle.
As Ofiera sat quietly back, she watched as the group considered this through sidelong glances and pursed lips. They had only just met. And some of them barely had any idea where they were headed next.
Day fell into twilight and eventually faded into the horizon. As the campfire burned, Bhodi Li, who seemed a solitary sort, retrieved a long wooden flute from his pack and began to play an elvish-sounding tune. It was a low, somber tune. A tune that the group fell asleep to, one by one.
The next morning, the travelers rose with the sun and quickly had all their gear packed and ready for the road. Having not made any decisions the night prior, the group now openly discussed the opportunities Ofiera had spoken of and agreed that food, lodging and coin were of the utmost importance. These jobs at Nashkel Keep would provide all three - at least in the short term.
Hesitantly, Norah, the young cleric, raised concern for the welfare of her aunt Melia. She knew it would be burdensome to the rest of the group to keep the company of her aunt. She also knew it would be offensive to whisk her away as she had been so supportive of Norah's adventure to this point.
Ofiera then told her of her need to head back to Waterdeep, in the north, where she and Seltra were wont to gather another adventuring crew. She offered to travel with Melia and protect her if she wished to go back with them. Melia thought it over and decided it was best to travel with them. She promised to secure lodging for her niece and compatriots should their path lead them there. It was a good plan.
Glancing around, their fates decided, all made their farewells and left the makeshift camp, travelling the trade road in opposite directions.
It was a warm spring morning. The band of travelers enjoyed a decent pace without much difficulty. They met no one on the road for several hours. Not until passing through a grove of trees, where they encountered a group of would-be road warriors. A well-dressed couple sat atop their wagon, besieged, while bandits attacked their guards. Two were are already on the ground, bodies limp.
A debate began.
Should they get involved? How could they tell who they should help?
Bhodi Li, seeing what he considered innocent folks in danger, made the decision. He confidently strode forward and yelled, “Hey...YOU...STOP THAT!”
Two of the bandits immediately turned, glared, and trained their crossbows on Bhodi. Bhodi's new companions, now committed, stepped up to support him.
Not happy with this, both bandits fired. One missed Bhodi. The other struck Miresta, the elven ranger, and wounded her grievously. She immediately rushed into the trees for cover and returned fire with her longbow. With their attention now diverted, Bhodi took the opportunity to rush in and whirl his staff at the nearest bandit, cracking his skull.
The others jumped into action and, using a series of ranged attacks, were able to dispatch four of the hooded thieves in no time. One other, after seeing his comrades go down so brutally, ran for fear of his own life. Bhodi Li gave him chase but lost sight of him and returned to the others.
The folks in the wagon appeared to be traveling merchants with four guards in tow. After the attack, only two guards remained and one was unconscious and nearing death. Norah quickly siezed the opportunity and helped to stabilize the guard. She had him settled in the wagon by the time Bogden, the wild halfling, finished searching the bandits' bodies. He grumbled as he approached, having found only a handful of silver, which he pocketed surreptitiously.
As the group gathered around, the man in the wagon introduced himself as Lhodis and the lady seated next to him as his wife, Laurel. They were gem merchants, he'd explained, hoping to set up shop in Nashkel Keep. He went on to say that they had traveled the trade road mostly unmolested and were caught by surprise. The couple began to thank the group profusely for their assistance.
Bogden cut short the accolades and suggested that perhaps a reward might be in order for saving them from the bandits. Lhodis, though appreciative, seemed to dodge any discussion where coin may leave his pouch.
Carric, a charismatic elf, weaved into the conversation and pressed Lhodis on the possibility of reward. Finally worn down by the group and anxious to continue his travel, the merchant did agree to a better price for any gems that they wished to sell him; ninety percent of value for raw gems versus the fifty percent he usually paid. It was a paltry reward in the eyes of the party, but they accepted it in the spirit with which it was given.
It was also in that spirit that the group helped Lhodis and his wife load the bodies of the deceased guards in to their wagon and accompanied them on the last leg of their journey to Nashkel Keep.
About an hour had passed when the wood surrounding the road began to thin, revealing a huge dark shape that loomed on the horizon ahead. Nashkel Keep was built upon a raised bluff overlooking the approaches from the Cloudpeak Mountains to the south, the natural border between the country of Amn and the kingdoms of the Western Heartlands.
As the road mounted the bluff, it zigzagged across the face of a steep hill until it reached the main gates of the keep. It was imposing. It was protected. A high wall ran along the very edge of the hilltop with towers at the corners, where guards armed with crossbows could be seen walking and surveying the surround.
The gate was thrown wide when they reached it. There was a line of people already waiting to enter and the guards inspected each with wide-eyed scrutiny. The travelers, eventually making their way to the front, met the gate bailiff. He presented himself as Bilfre and handily searched the merchant’s wagon. He then asked them the nature of their business in the keep. All the while, scribbling their information in his watch ledger.
The group stepped forward and asked for information relating to the jobs Ofiera had conveyed. Upon hearing these requests, Bilfire curtly directed them to Captain of the Watch, Atros, and then moved along to the next group in line . Once inside the gates, Lhodis wished the travelers well and pointed his wagon toward the stables.
Onward, the group passed through the public part of the keep, reading the signs of the different establishments: The Shattered Mall, Nashkel Gem and Coin, The Horse and Hunt, The Wayward Rest, and The Screeching Goat. The name of the last caused snickers and bawdy jokes among the members of the party. If only for a moment, it broke the lingering awkwardness still among these strangers.
Noting that the Horse and Hunt was a trade house for general provisions, Damaia and Bogden jumped at the chance to enter and were able to purchase 1 pound of Rosemary and 1 pound of Nightshade from the proprietor, Groge. Together with the sprig of Tomato plant Leaves foraged by Bogden earlier that morning, they hoped to recreate the healing potion Damaia brewed to save Erdrich from certain death.
Once they emerged, the group headed further into the keep to find the Captain of the Watch. At the end of the winding walkway that led through the public areas, they wandered through the gates to the inner bailey. It was there that they saw a squad of guards drilling in battle tactics. A grizzled sergeant's voice boomed, ordering this movement and that, occasionally stopping to sternly correct a guard's mistep. He was merciless in his instruction. Off to the side, a tall, graying veteran adorned in armor stood stone-faced, watching the exercise.
The party approached, assuming him to be the captain they were looking for. They introduced themselves and asked after the bandit problem mentioned to them by Ofiera. After their experience with the bandits on the road, they felt they were ready and able to face any further threat from that ilk. He confirmed himself as Atros and told them how, in recent months, the bandits had organized and were attacking travelers on the road regularly. The nuisance was hurting trade and disrupting regular supply shipments.
He went on to say that he had recently engaged another group to track the bandits and run them out of the area. They had never returned and no sign of them had yet been found. He feared they were long since dead and gave our group a skeptical eye. The group was not deterred by this, though they started to approach the problem cautiously and asked what other information the captain may have that could aid them.
He told them he only knew that the group of bandits called themselves The Ravens and were led by a notorious bandit named Dee Dee Raven. He gestured outward as he explained that they were hidden somewhere in the hills, south of the river.
The group then inquired as to why Atros and his men were not actively working to apprehend the bandits. He shrugged off the question, insisting it was a civilian problem and he would not use his soldiers to search out petty thieves. His concerns, he said, were for armies and invasions from Amn, not for thieves and derelicts. And then he refused to answer any further questions related to his unit and their mission in the area.
The group then asked if any supplies or lodging would be included. The captain, now getting short with patience, heaved and said that those expenses would be their own. He did, however, concede that a bonus would be provided if the group were to return with the heads of Dee Dee Raven and her lieutenant Joey. The group eagerly agreed to the terms and left the training yard.
They again entered the Merchants Quarter and began to pass the Merchant’s Guild hall. Bogden immediately stopped and pointed. He suggested they check in with the guild and scurried into the office before anyone could object. Bhodi Li followed him in and stood just inside the door. The place was clean and quiet and occupied by a single person busily making notes in some sort of ledger.
Bogden approached the middle-aged halfling woman and, being friendly, introduced himself and inquired after the guild. The woman introduced herself as Delgna, leader of this chapter of the Western Heartlands Merchants Guild. It was an arm of the guild headquartered in Berdusk, which had dominion from Beregost to Iaeibor, and from Nashkel to Loudwater. Bogden, a little overeager, asked her if she knew of the Oilers and spoke of his ties to them. Delgna raised her eyebrow, part in irritation and part in seeming disapproval.
After a moment of awkwardness, Bogden asked about joining the guild to be able to do business in the keep and surrounding areas. She insisted on 5 gold pieces to join, which included a month’s lodging in one of the small apartments in the keep. He borrowed from Bhodi to make the fee, but recuperated his loss when he told the others of the apartment and asked for an even split of the guild fees in return for his efforts. Most seemed amenable to offsetting the cost.
Worn from the day's adventurers, the group began to tire and thus made their way to the apartment. At this point, they wished only to get a good night’s sleep before venturing into the break of dawn; into the face that troubled these borderlands.
And with food, lodging and coin secured, that good sleep came ever-so-easy.
Like cherry blossoms
The air is suffused with peril,
But the brave stand firm.
With the green glow of the burning tower behind them, the group of travelers made their way quickly down the main trade road. Before long they located a safe place to get off the road and made camp just before sunset.
The large, brass, dragonborn warrior, Ofiera, watched them closely as they spread out to fulfill the mundane duties of starting a fire and preparing a meal. In all, there were the two Evereskan elves, a foreign looking half-elf with the staff, a wild-looking halfling who was accompanied by a high-spirited, violet tiefling and an earnest young noblewoman traveling with her aunt. They seemed no ordinary band of travelers to her and she said as much.
“You folk seem like a capable bunch," she said. "In my estimation, you have the makings of a formidable team. If you can learn to work as a cohesive unit, there is much opportunity to acquire gold and glory.”
She went on to say that, south of here, she had passed through a place called Nashkel Keep a few days earlier and that she had been offered some adventuring work by the masters there. According to her, bandits had been plaguing the travelers on the nearby roads and Nashkel's Captain of the Guard, Atros, needed capable sellswords to dispatch of them.
She said she had also been approached by another man named Marevek, advisor to the castellan of the keep - that he had spoken of the need to infiltrate a dungeon built by an adventurer and find a hidden item. Though he was sketchy on the details of the mission, it offered a fair reward - if successful.
She also spoke of a place that the locals called the Caves of Chaos; a place where all manner of monster dwelt. She said that the keep’s masters wanted it cleared of any dangerous creatures that might come to harm their people.
She softly trailed off as she spoke of her team and how they had been killed in Seltra's rescue attempt. Though she longed for the adventure, she was no longer in a position to accept such work. So after seeing this group of strangers together, she thought it might be a good opportunity for them to test their mettle.
As Ofiera sat quietly back, she watched as the group considered this through sidelong glances and pursed lips. They had only just met. And some of them barely had any idea where they were headed next.
Day fell into twilight and eventually faded into the horizon. As the campfire burned, Bhodi Li, who seemed a solitary sort, retrieved a long wooden flute from his pack and began to play an elvish-sounding tune. It was a low, somber tune. A tune that the group fell asleep to, one by one.
The next morning, the travelers rose with the sun and quickly had all their gear packed and ready for the road. Having not made any decisions the night prior, the group now openly discussed the opportunities Ofiera had spoken of and agreed that food, lodging and coin were of the utmost importance. These jobs at Nashkel Keep would provide all three - at least in the short term.
Hesitantly, Norah, the young cleric, raised concern for the welfare of her aunt Melia. She knew it would be burdensome to the rest of the group to keep the company of her aunt. She also knew it would be offensive to whisk her away as she had been so supportive of Norah's adventure to this point.
Ofiera then told her of her need to head back to Waterdeep, in the north, where she and Seltra were wont to gather another adventuring crew. She offered to travel with Melia and protect her if she wished to go back with them. Melia thought it over and decided it was best to travel with them. She promised to secure lodging for her niece and compatriots should their path lead them there. It was a good plan.
Glancing around, their fates decided, all made their farewells and left the makeshift camp, travelling the trade road in opposite directions.
It was a warm spring morning. The band of travelers enjoyed a decent pace without much difficulty. They met no one on the road for several hours. Not until passing through a grove of trees, where they encountered a group of would-be road warriors. A well-dressed couple sat atop their wagon, besieged, while bandits attacked their guards. Two were are already on the ground, bodies limp.
A debate began.
Should they get involved? How could they tell who they should help?
Bhodi Li, seeing what he considered innocent folks in danger, made the decision. He confidently strode forward and yelled, “Hey...YOU...STOP THAT!”
Two of the bandits immediately turned, glared, and trained their crossbows on Bhodi. Bhodi's new companions, now committed, stepped up to support him.
Not happy with this, both bandits fired. One missed Bhodi. The other struck Miresta, the elven ranger, and wounded her grievously. She immediately rushed into the trees for cover and returned fire with her longbow. With their attention now diverted, Bhodi took the opportunity to rush in and whirl his staff at the nearest bandit, cracking his skull.
The others jumped into action and, using a series of ranged attacks, were able to dispatch four of the hooded thieves in no time. One other, after seeing his comrades go down so brutally, ran for fear of his own life. Bhodi Li gave him chase but lost sight of him and returned to the others.
The folks in the wagon appeared to be traveling merchants with four guards in tow. After the attack, only two guards remained and one was unconscious and nearing death. Norah quickly siezed the opportunity and helped to stabilize the guard. She had him settled in the wagon by the time Bogden, the wild halfling, finished searching the bandits' bodies. He grumbled as he approached, having found only a handful of silver, which he pocketed surreptitiously.
As the group gathered around, the man in the wagon introduced himself as Lhodis and the lady seated next to him as his wife, Laurel. They were gem merchants, he'd explained, hoping to set up shop in Nashkel Keep. He went on to say that they had traveled the trade road mostly unmolested and were caught by surprise. The couple began to thank the group profusely for their assistance.
Bogden cut short the accolades and suggested that perhaps a reward might be in order for saving them from the bandits. Lhodis, though appreciative, seemed to dodge any discussion where coin may leave his pouch.
Carric, a charismatic elf, weaved into the conversation and pressed Lhodis on the possibility of reward. Finally worn down by the group and anxious to continue his travel, the merchant did agree to a better price for any gems that they wished to sell him; ninety percent of value for raw gems versus the fifty percent he usually paid. It was a paltry reward in the eyes of the party, but they accepted it in the spirit with which it was given.
It was also in that spirit that the group helped Lhodis and his wife load the bodies of the deceased guards in to their wagon and accompanied them on the last leg of their journey to Nashkel Keep.
About an hour had passed when the wood surrounding the road began to thin, revealing a huge dark shape that loomed on the horizon ahead. Nashkel Keep was built upon a raised bluff overlooking the approaches from the Cloudpeak Mountains to the south, the natural border between the country of Amn and the kingdoms of the Western Heartlands.
As the road mounted the bluff, it zigzagged across the face of a steep hill until it reached the main gates of the keep. It was imposing. It was protected. A high wall ran along the very edge of the hilltop with towers at the corners, where guards armed with crossbows could be seen walking and surveying the surround.
The gate was thrown wide when they reached it. There was a line of people already waiting to enter and the guards inspected each with wide-eyed scrutiny. The travelers, eventually making their way to the front, met the gate bailiff. He presented himself as Bilfre and handily searched the merchant’s wagon. He then asked them the nature of their business in the keep. All the while, scribbling their information in his watch ledger.
The group stepped forward and asked for information relating to the jobs Ofiera had conveyed. Upon hearing these requests, Bilfire curtly directed them to Captain of the Watch, Atros, and then moved along to the next group in line . Once inside the gates, Lhodis wished the travelers well and pointed his wagon toward the stables.
Onward, the group passed through the public part of the keep, reading the signs of the different establishments: The Shattered Mall, Nashkel Gem and Coin, The Horse and Hunt, The Wayward Rest, and The Screeching Goat. The name of the last caused snickers and bawdy jokes among the members of the party. If only for a moment, it broke the lingering awkwardness still among these strangers.
Noting that the Horse and Hunt was a trade house for general provisions, Damaia and Bogden jumped at the chance to enter and were able to purchase 1 pound of Rosemary and 1 pound of Nightshade from the proprietor, Groge. Together with the sprig of Tomato plant Leaves foraged by Bogden earlier that morning, they hoped to recreate the healing potion Damaia brewed to save Erdrich from certain death.
Once they emerged, the group headed further into the keep to find the Captain of the Watch. At the end of the winding walkway that led through the public areas, they wandered through the gates to the inner bailey. It was there that they saw a squad of guards drilling in battle tactics. A grizzled sergeant's voice boomed, ordering this movement and that, occasionally stopping to sternly correct a guard's mistep. He was merciless in his instruction. Off to the side, a tall, graying veteran adorned in armor stood stone-faced, watching the exercise.
The party approached, assuming him to be the captain they were looking for. They introduced themselves and asked after the bandit problem mentioned to them by Ofiera. After their experience with the bandits on the road, they felt they were ready and able to face any further threat from that ilk. He confirmed himself as Atros and told them how, in recent months, the bandits had organized and were attacking travelers on the road regularly. The nuisance was hurting trade and disrupting regular supply shipments.
He went on to say that he had recently engaged another group to track the bandits and run them out of the area. They had never returned and no sign of them had yet been found. He feared they were long since dead and gave our group a skeptical eye. The group was not deterred by this, though they started to approach the problem cautiously and asked what other information the captain may have that could aid them.
He told them he only knew that the group of bandits called themselves The Ravens and were led by a notorious bandit named Dee Dee Raven. He gestured outward as he explained that they were hidden somewhere in the hills, south of the river.
The group then inquired as to why Atros and his men were not actively working to apprehend the bandits. He shrugged off the question, insisting it was a civilian problem and he would not use his soldiers to search out petty thieves. His concerns, he said, were for armies and invasions from Amn, not for thieves and derelicts. And then he refused to answer any further questions related to his unit and their mission in the area.
The group then asked if any supplies or lodging would be included. The captain, now getting short with patience, heaved and said that those expenses would be their own. He did, however, concede that a bonus would be provided if the group were to return with the heads of Dee Dee Raven and her lieutenant Joey. The group eagerly agreed to the terms and left the training yard.
They again entered the Merchants Quarter and began to pass the Merchant’s Guild hall. Bogden immediately stopped and pointed. He suggested they check in with the guild and scurried into the office before anyone could object. Bhodi Li followed him in and stood just inside the door. The place was clean and quiet and occupied by a single person busily making notes in some sort of ledger.
Bogden approached the middle-aged halfling woman and, being friendly, introduced himself and inquired after the guild. The woman introduced herself as Delgna, leader of this chapter of the Western Heartlands Merchants Guild. It was an arm of the guild headquartered in Berdusk, which had dominion from Beregost to Iaeibor, and from Nashkel to Loudwater. Bogden, a little overeager, asked her if she knew of the Oilers and spoke of his ties to them. Delgna raised her eyebrow, part in irritation and part in seeming disapproval.
After a moment of awkwardness, Bogden asked about joining the guild to be able to do business in the keep and surrounding areas. She insisted on 5 gold pieces to join, which included a month’s lodging in one of the small apartments in the keep. He borrowed from Bhodi to make the fee, but recuperated his loss when he told the others of the apartment and asked for an even split of the guild fees in return for his efforts. Most seemed amenable to offsetting the cost.
Worn from the day's adventurers, the group began to tire and thus made their way to the apartment. At this point, they wished only to get a good night’s sleep before venturing into the break of dawn; into the face that troubled these borderlands.
And with food, lodging and coin secured, that good sleep came ever-so-easy.
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