Barrowmaze Part One: The Barrowmoor

[Excior]

As Allen sat at the table, his hunger clamoring for attention, he savored the simple meal of bread and stew, the warmth of the food soothing his aching head. Despite the chatter around him, his focus remained on sating his appetite, though he couldn't help but overhear snippets of conversation.

When Thomas's revelation about the potential criminality of one of the adventuring companies reached his ears, Allen leaned in conspiratorially, his voice low so only those at the table could hear.

"How can we be sure they're criminals?" he questioned, a hint of skepticism in his tone. "They might just be folks in dire straits like I'll become tomorrow morning." A wry grin tugged at his lips as he contemplated the inevitable consequences of his current indulgence.

Flagging down a passing barmaid, Allen focused on more pressing matters. "Pardon me, my lady," he addressed her with polite charm. "Could you perhaps direct us to someone who might be willing to guide us to the Barrow Mounds?"

Edited February 27 by Excior (see edit history)

[matt_s]

Tharnakalian did not know where the Barrow Mounds were. And his companions evidently did not know either. That was inferred from one of them talking up one of the admittedly pretty barmaids and another jumping to outright bribery of the keeper of the fine or finely costed establishment.

In a whisper, he suggests,

We could talk to those mercenaries, see if they're willing to hire us on as porters or camp guards or what have you in exchange for some coin and knowledge of the Barrows. But you say they are marked as criminals. What gives that indication, and perhaps they could instead be freedmen and women on a path of redemption. Or perhaps not.

Blunt honesty with the innkeep could be worth it as well. This is one of the only inns around, and he won't get none of our commerce if we don't have a coin between us to give in recompense. I'm sure he knows the score in that regard. Let's give it a few minutes to see how their efforts end up.

Then, he walks over to the Priest and says,

I am set out to seek the Barrow Mounds with some companions I have met on the road. Do you have advice or even a blessing to offer? With such a blessing, I would not ask for any divine guarantee of reward or glory, merely safe return and protection of the righteous from those who would do wickedness.

 

[cailano]

Black Dougal

The innkeeper takes your gold piece with a nod. "Nice to meet someone new in town what knows what he's doing. Now, normally, I tell people to stay out of the Barrowmoor. Dangerous out there. A lot of folks what head out there don't come back. But your lot over there looks like they're more prepared than most, so I'll tell you, you should hire a guide. The moor is big; most of it you can't cross on foot, and the Barrow Mounds are way out in it—a few hours hike. You should see the Miller's oldest boy. I hear he's looking to hire out. Just go to the Mill. See if you can find him. His name is Tamson. What's your name, friend?"

[cailano]

Allen

The barmaid - the red-haired one - just shakes her head at you. "The Barrow Mounds? You should stay away from those, sweetie. It'd be a shame if some zombie chewed that handsome face. If you want that sort of work, you should head to the mercenary guild. There's plenty of money to be made around here without going into the Barrow Mounds."

[cailano]

Tharnakalian

The half-orc priest glares at you. "You want a blessing, come to the Shrine. Catch me when I'm working. I don't do blessings at the tavern."

"What about at the Pheasant?" One of the locals says, "I could use one there!"

Some of the other locals laugh at the joke, but you have no idea what the Pheasant is. The priest just shakes his head and goes back to his breakfast.

[Ephkabey]

The young priest wandered from his room to the tavern's common area, trying to blink the dryness from his eyes. He did not know what he was going to do about his headache and hopefully some morning ale would chase the cottonmouth away. Normally he did not like to undulge as heavily as he did last night, however something about the spirit of the evening and the comradery of so many groups of adventurers being so palpable had caused him to let loose his inhibitions.

Serpe gathered his food and drink, looked for an empty seat and noticed the group of fellows as they stood up to make to their inquiries. Absent-mindly, he sat in one of their recently empty seats and placed his bag in one of the others and ate in modest silence after greeting Zaivie and Thomas, still at the table, while trying to chase the hair of the dog as best he could.

"Wouldn't it be ironic if this whole Barrow Mounds thing was just a ploy to get us all here? A gentleman last night was just saying last night that whole thing could really just be some local superstition."
 

Edited February 27 by Ephkabey
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[Raistlinmc]

"Superstition 'r no, I'm up fer takin' a peek an' seein' what we c'n see, sugar," Zaivie says to Serpe with a good-natured wink. "Hells, can't get much poorer'n I am now, so I figure, only ways ta go is up from here!"

[matt_s]

2 hours ago, cailano said:

"You want a blessing, come to the Shrine. Catch me when I'm working. I don't do blessings at the tavern."

Fair enough. One last intrusion - where is it, and what hours do you and your colleagues keep.

Tharnakalian was pretty sure "The Pheasant" was a brothel of some sort - people had all sorts of clever names for those but a brothel was a brothel - and even if he partook in such goods which he did not he lacked the coin to procure in any case. Once the priest answers he will take his leave politely and return to the rest.

To the others,

I reckon a shakedown of sorts could be prudent. Some mercenary work before we brave the Barrow Mounds itself, to take the measure of ourselves and forge the bounds of if not brotherhood then mutual pecuniary interest. We could check out the Shrine and any other leads you've turned up first though.

[cailano]

Tharnakalian

The locals laugh when you ask where the shrine is. Even the priest has to stifle a smirk. In the end, however, he claps you on the shoulder. "Brother, just go outside and look to the west. St. Ygg be with you."

With that, the priest takes one last bite of his breakfast, leaves a few silver coins on the bar, and heads out the door.

[Excior]

The barmaid just shakes her head at you. "The Barrow Mounds? You should stay away from those, sweetie. It'd be a shame if some zombie chewed that handsome face. If you want that sort of work, you should head to the mercenary guild. There's plenty of money to be made around here without going into the Barrow Mounds."

 

 

 

---

---

As Allen declared his departure from mercenary life with an air of determination, the excitement in his voice was palpable. "No more mercenary work for me," he proclaimed proudly, leaning in a little closer as if sharing a secret. "I used to be a member of the Black Crows, you ever heard of 'em?" His chest swelled with pride at the mention of his former affiliation, his eyes sparkling with newfound ambition.

"But now," he continued, his tone brimming with confidence, "I'm carving my own path. No more answering to anyone else's orders. I'll be my own boss, calling the shots and deciding my own fate." His words rang with conviction, and he couldn't suppress the thrill that surged through him at the prospect of newfound freedom.

Despite the weighty topic of their conversation, Allen couldn't help but notice the barmaid's appreciative gaze. With a charming grin, he redirected the conversation. "So, my lady," he said, flashing her a dashing smile, "what about you? Are you spoken for?" He leaned back casually, awaiting her response with a twinkle in his eye.

Edited February 27 by Excior (see edit history)

[Raistlinmc]

Zaivie, hearing Allen so eloquently shoot his shot with the redhead, can't resist and gleefully interjects, "She's wi' me, big fella, but if'n ya play yer cards right, we'll see what we c'n work out fer t'night, eh?"

Flashing the barmaid a grin and a somewhat-surreptitious wink, Ms. Wynx happily returns to her nearly-finished breakfast and pops in her penultimate bite of bread.

[Sellsword]

13 hours ago, cailano said:

Black Dougal

The innkeeper takes your gold piece with a nod. "Nice to meet someone new in town what knows what he's doing. Now, normally, I tell people to stay out of the Barrowmoor. Dangerous out there. A lot of folks what head out there don't come back. But your lot over there looks like they're more prepared than most, so I'll tell you, you should hire a guide. The moor is big; most of it you can't cross on foot, and the Barrow Mounds are way out in it—a few hours hike. You should see the Miller's oldest boy. I hear he's looking to hire out. Just go to the Mill. See if you can find him. His name is Tamson. What's your name, friend?"

"I will indeed seek out the Miller's boy, thank you for that. My name is Black Dougal. I might not be much now, but I remember my friends. Thanks for the advice."

Feeling confident about the lead, he returns to the others to share the information. "I'm going to go for a walk, see if I can find this Tamson and see what it might take to get him to guide us to the Barrows. Anyone want to come along?"

[Raistlinmc]

"Sure, Mr. Dougal!" Zaivie replies spritely, quaffing the last of her drink and smacking her lips satisfactorily. "Ready ta roll when you are!"

[LarsWester]

Thomas looks impressed when Allen mentions his previous work with the Black Crows. "You were with the Black Crows. Definitely certified stone cold killer of things that go bump. I'd not brag too much about the Black Crows right now. Didn't they do a job fighting Orc raiders somewhere close by?" Thomas gives a thumb over his shoulder towards the pair of half-orcs. He lowered his voice "Anyways that other group are at least former criminals. Don't look right now, but that 'X' brand on their left hand is mark given South of here for those who have crossed the law."

When Black Dougal comes to the table looking for volunteers to follow up on a lead Thomas added "How much company are you looking for I wouldn't want to scare a kid showing up with five or six tough looking folks?" Thomas took another bite of bread before adding to Zaive with a wink "Won't your girl miss you?"

[Sellsword]

"Zaivie and I should be enough! We'll go see if we can't secure a guide to the Barrows, will be back shortly!"

OOC: Finding the mill should be easy enough, they're generally pretty hard to miss. If we can't manage that somehow, we'll ask one of the townsfolk. Either way, we'll stroll through town square on the way and see what there is to see.