Chapter One – New Beginning’s

Background here

Ciana 2nd First,  [2nd month of the year 2nd day of the 2nd week]

Roj Kir, Groschl, and Yehonala have all been back in Ice River for a week or so, they all grew up or lived here for some of there childhood before going off for training in different schools, they have come to the end of there class training and are now ready for graduation and being accepted as a adult member of there guild and society. They have been visiting their family’s catching up with each other again and preparing for graduation or new adventures.

 

ROJ KIR a half Elf  Druid age 21 – Bastard-born, his dead mother swears his dead Elven father was a man of note and station, but she herself was of low status in the clan, and you are considered even lower than she was by them. Who your father was, no one knows, but you would love to meet his family one day and discover the truth about him. Perhaps, then the stigma of your birth might be erased. You were brought up by your mothers family and trained with the Clans Druids as they thought you had a aptitude for this profession.  You where born and lived in a Northern barbarian Clan Village and have one Grandparent on your fathers side who you have not met, one sibling, three aunts and uncles and three cousins. Your Family enjoys a good reputation although there may be those either inside or outside the family who could tarnish it, and you have an ally through it. Your Family also enjoys reasonable connections within the community but you have a rival there as well. Your Aunt Ingid is Married to Nico Shoeman in Ice River, they run a shoe making shop there, they met when she was visiting from her clan to buy shoes for the clan elder, they fell in love and she returned to marry him.

Roj has now left his home clan and the grove, and gone off to see the world, find his fathers family, and protect nature. He is headed for Wildsgate fort near the Spires, going via Ice River Town where he can visit aunt Ingid,  he has visited her before, to see what that might bring. Ice River is in the border of the Stella Gialla Republic and the clans homelands.  He has heard that Wildsgate is having trouble with Goblins, and that a terrible dragon lives in the deepest pits of the Spires, slaying all that defile his realm, it is possible that a wise dragon can help in his quest.

As a beginning Druid Roj uses the time travelling south to track a wolf pack leader, which he then casts Animal Friendship on, making it into a loyal companion. As he continues his journey to Ice River, he trains the wolf to do various tricks like attack, defend, guard and perform. His Passions are Personal Honour;   Fascination with Elf’s and anything Elvish; Dedicated to Nature [protection of woodland areas and animals from the encroachment of civilization]; Druid Oath to Analdir [Son of Xatos & Ciana,  God of Woodlands and Nature ].

 

Yehonala  Human Mage age 19 – Family – Mother, four siblings, one aunt, 3 cousins, with a sound family reputation. One cousin is at Wildsgate fort working as a Watchman. Your Family also enjoys reasonable connections within its community however you still have one family enemy. Her natural affinity to magic and ability to learn, got her noticed early and her family allowed her to be trained at the Mage Guild at Twin Rivers. She has now finished her training and been sent home to Ice Rivers to graduate with the local Mage Drago.

Fate has closely watched over her as she grew to adulthood. Siblings have drowned, friends died from plague,  but she has emerged unscathed from everything. Is she truly blessed by the gods? She is a Rank 1 Apprentice member of the Guild of Mage’s ,  as well as a Apprentice of the Alchemist guild and a  Lay Member of the Cult of Ciana. Her Passions are – Dedicated to precepts of Cult of Ciana – Good, Love and Beauty [Ciana is Xatos wife]; Loyal to Town of Ice River in Stella Gialla Republic.

 

Groschl the Attractive  a half-Orc  Fighter, – his human Father Costanzo [33], a armourer, is still alive, in Ice River, as our his younger 3 brothers and 3 sisters [eldest Maria 16], one human and one orc grandparent [working with the family armour making business], and 4 cousins.  His extended family’s reputation is sound, but it may have a few skeletons and secrets better left locked away, it has gained one enemy. The family also enjoys reasonable connections within its community of Ice River but has another enemy even so.   His Orcish mother was a servant, a daughter of a orc worker, which his father seduced [not with any difficulty] and managed to have him with her. She was killed later while giving birth to another of the siblings, Groschl still has contact with the last of his mothers family who is still in service.  Due to pressure Groschl moved to relatives in Twin Rivers City while there he followed a cousin into the Fighter Guild, now after finishing his training and  first job working as a temple guard, he has returned home to Ice River, to see his family before finding new work as a warrior or going on adventures. He awoke the morning before he left, to find a priestess lying in bed with him, the question of how precisely she got there aside, and wither he used her, he placed himself under suspicion of her kidnap, so he left for home. The Spires are not far from Ice River, it is rumoured that Dwarves used to live there and made their home in the caverns beneath an enormous waterfall. They left powerful magic items and troves of gold and gems when they fled the Spires. Maybe he will find work at Wildsgate Fort near there. While back at home, his family has helped him upgrade his armour from mainly leather to scale and studded.

 

Around town they hear about this. A week ago a couple of merchants were taken hostage and have just been freed on payment of supplies and sliver. Now back in the town they have reported that a elf was held captive in the camp as well.

In the forest ten miles or so from the town is a small hamlet of a few buildings and tents, a group of outlaws have been living here. They raid the local area and highway for supplies and hold travellers to ransom.  They are mainly escaped slaves and disposed peasants, each year a few more join them and now they have become a real nuisance to Ice River and its trade.

Luigsech and the Subhne’s [Elf’s] have put pressure on the council to rescue the captive. Also Costanzo Spear has said his oldest daughter Maria who was travelling home bringing in some steel ore as well as other goods has not turned up he fears she has also been taken although no ransom has been asked as yet.

So now the Town Council have decided it is time to act and have ordered Captain James to assemble a force to clear them out. He has picked four of the nine town guardsmen, two local nobles and sixteen town militia. He also asks Groschl the Attractive as a new member of the fighters guild to help, this will be his graduation mission. They also ask the other guilds for help and Drago volunteers Yehonala  as her final exam, to support them and ROJ KIR is asked to supply support as well by Aunt Ingid, as it will improve there clans relations with the town.

Sir James organises this force into two groups each under a Knight with two Guards, four Spear and four CrossBow Militia, who can fight in line. Sir James will have each Knight group attack separately but both from the West of the hamlet. He attaches Groschl and Roj to force one while he supports force two with Yehonala. As they only expect it to a one day campaign, they can leave town early and cover the 10 miles in three hours, then they can deploy and attack.  Any loot will go 50% to the council to cover the cost of losses then 5% to each knight [15%] 35% for the others about 1.5%.

 A few days later, Yehonala gets up early to spend a hour in prayer with her deity Ciana, seeking to gain access to more magical power. the others all join with the main force and with each person taking a days supplies and the knights making sure that the militia carry there needs, the force heads out just after sun up. It is an easy march along the main track, then after an hour the force turns into the forest. Roj volunteers to Sir James as a scout, Groschl says he will go as well, but is put in his place by the knight. Roj moves ahead staying in sight as Sir James requested and see’s movement after his wolf warns him. When he finds the tracks they turn out to be human and he realises they have been seen.  He reports back to Sir James, realising as he does that the group is making a lot of noise. Moving through thr forest slows the speed down as the force moves round trees etc. The thee knights force there horses along, while the foot soldiers chat and laugh as they go. Once they can see the smoke from the local of the hamlet, Sir James gets them to stop have a drink and a snack then leave the supplies there watched by 2 militia Cross Bow one from each force. They then march towards to hamlet.  Groschl ignores this and takes his baggage with him, even though order many times by Sir James.

 

The Outlaws – are lead by Rocco the Hood and Cleric Mangiarsi [Food]. He has gathered a small group around him now, to raid for resources or take  the rich for ransom or their Gold. Rocco is a a disposed knight who is trying to help other disposed people. There are 34 other outlaws a mix of male and female including two Orcs and a 1/2 Orc who are Rocco’s guards, all disposed or runaway slaves. There are also 15 children, there are also 6 dogs, who roam the hamlet and will bark at the approach of any strange person.  The Hamlet is on a rough slope deep in the forest, the tracks are easy to follow.  The slope has pits dug in it with a spear head in each and a thorn edging along the top there are pits among the thorns as well, also there are wagons which can be used to cover the ways in.

Deployment

The outlaws in the hamlet are in 2 groups of 4 spears with 6 others with improvised weapons, behind a wagon  at each entrance.  One outlaw  is watching Maria and the Elf. Rocco, his guards are in place to support and command each group, while the Slingers under Mangiars are behind thorns on ridge.

Sir James stays with force two to the right while force one attacks on the left.

Battle

Sir James inspires his men with a pre-battle speech, while Rocco fails and disheartens his men. Mangiars tries by calling on his  and the outlaws faith to inspire them but also fails. Meanwhile Roj calls on the power of nature and bless’s the men of force one as well as himself, his wolf and Groschl.

Over the next two minutes the fight unfolds, first blood goes to the outlaw slinger’s who hit Roj’s wolf  injuring its leg, which Roj heals using his cure light wounds and Groschl in the head, that has no effect due to his scale helm. Sir James and his knights try to get their men to advance, force two stands still while force one’s crossbow release there bolts at the slinger’s, who suffer two hits even though they were hiding. The slinger’s moral falters and they are shaken by this loss.  Yehonala casts a shield spell to protect her from the slinger’s in case they decide to turn on her force.

The slinger’s pluck up courage and fling shot at force one again, hitting a militia man, but suffering another hit this time from Roj who is using his sling. Yehonala spots some of the outlaws hiding behind the wagon near her force and summons her mystical energy to throw two magic missiles at two of them, they also fail there moral under this arcane attack. Another strike by her missiles breaks that group of outlaws, which is just as well as Sir James has still not managed to get them to move forward at all. On the other flank force one has moved forward and there crossbow has hit one of the wagon defenders, which causes them to become shaken.

With the outlaws fleeing on the right and the others looking worried, Roj throws a spell, causing the plants to grow around Rocco and his guards, as they move to support the left where the militia are advancing.  Then the slinger’s, without Rocco supporting them, run while Groschl climbs onto the wagon. One of the orc guards throw his spear at Groschl, but he misses and it hits the wagon. Yehonala calls on Ciana for the extra arcane power and receives it as she fires three missiles at the outlaw cleric. These hit the cleric and should have brought him down from the two hits in his leg, but it seems the gods are being fair and he managed to ignore the pain.

With most of the outlaws fleeing or giving ground, and Rocco and his guards the only ones left, the battle ends up as a encounter between Groschl and them. [we go to initiative and combat rounds].

Rocco having freed himself from the entangling plants closes on Groschl, who with his longer halberd hits first. He catches Rocco in the head [chose location] causing a light wound. Rocco swinging his bastard sword rips open Groschl’s left arm, this means he can not use his halberd any-more [he would have tried to parry but Rocco had got in to close]. One of the orc’s thrusts past Rocco with his spear but hits the wagon while the other one struggles with the plants. Rocco attacks again and misses, while Groschl draws his sword.

Yehonala, tries to see what is happing but can’t so moves to get on the wagon near her, Rocco attacks again, hitting Groschl in his right leg, but has no effect. Roj and his wolf have moved around the wagon or under it in the wolfs case and attack a orc from behind knocking it to the ground [trip by wolf]. The other orc gets free of the plants and moves away from the fighting. Yehonala climbs onto the wagon, Rocco hits again but Groschl parries the blow,while Roj and the wolf fail to do any more damage to the struggling orc on the ground, who however yields.

Yehonala, on top of the wagon spots Rocco and casts three missiles at him, these hit his arms, leaving his shield arm useless and his sword arm badly damaged. He calls out to Groschl and yields to him. The battle is over.

Groschl takes Rocco’s scale armour to upgrade those parts of his which are only studded, while the looting begins.  Total LOOT – supplies, trade goods, 3 wagons & 6 oxen = 3,000sp; general pots etc =250sp; personal loot = around 2400sp  Total = 5650sp [85sp per player].  While this is going on Roj casts cure minor wounds on Groschl’s arm stopping the bleeding so he can heal. With the outlaws scattered, Maria and the elf, Broidhren, found and freed the mission is over. Our new want to be heroes have been blooded and not found wanting. Sir James praises Groschl’s heroics even if he did break ranks to do so. The town of Ice River is overjoyed at the outcome of the mission. with Groschl needing two weeks to heal from his wound they get to know Broidren and find out that he also wants to see the world and is another Mage, so he joins the other three to form a company.

Boridhren Gwendir  Elf Mage/Acrobatic Thief – Family – Single Parent Mother, one sibling, 1 Aunts; 3 Cousins [Luigsech lives in Ice River Town running a trading post],  family has a sound reputation and enjoys reasonable connections within its community ,however it has an Enemy. The family performed a great service for a wealthy noble of influence. As a reward Boridhren was taken into that person’s service. She has gain this powerful patron as an Ally. Born in the Northern Elf Forest near to the Stella Gialla Republic, the patron is Prince Fingolfin Tasartir of the Northern Elf lands, has made sure he was trained as a Scout Mage to interact with non elf’s by going about there world. The patron feels that adventuring with others will help Elf ‘s form good contacts and gain information. He gave Boridhren with a good bag of sliver to send him on his way.  Boridhren headed north to the border of the republic, the Northern Barbarians and the Goblinods in the mountains. Visited Ice River town and then was captured while travelling in the nearby woods by outlaws while trying to help a peasant being beaten. He has heard a rumour ‘that there is a dwarf in Wildsgate that makes magical weapons. He refuses to sell them but it is rumoured that he gives the weapons freely to those that swear to use them to kill elves.’ This is worth checking out.

What will the future bring for them?