There is talk of thieves being used as roughians to take all the belongs of those travelling from the north to the Village. Some say they come from no where, others think they are part of the evil night. The Village cannot spare any soldiers so they are willing to give 1 GP a day to any skilled warrior that will voulenteer to seek out the den of these thieves, raid it and rid the land of this nightmare.
You plan to organize a group to scout the area, as soon as you do you will meet with the Village Elders beforehand and they will make official your appointment and give you further instructions.
GM: Party Stats has been updated. This story is scheduled to start as soon as party order has been started and leadership appointed.
You are brought before the Elders of the Village. They are aged men and the worries of the unknown future seem etched into their brow. Wrinkles cover them from head to toe, yet they seem strong willed. One of the leaders gestures you to look his way, he will speak on behalf of the rest.
"Saviors of the Village, we are grateful that you are willing to take up these matters at hand. We are concerned about the crime and evil that surrounds the Village. This used to be a quiet place, a place of peace, a place where you could walk the plains in fear of nothing, but now... oh but now (he shakes his head in disappointment) you can't even walk but a furlong from the boundaries without wondering if the week's earnings will be taken by these thieving bastards."
The rest of the Elder's nod their heads in agreement with what is said. He then raises his hand and gestures...
"We have two missions, choose which one you feel that you can best handle. One is to find the actual hideout of these bandits, these thieves, these wolves to our society. Our scouts have pointed out a probable location. We will tell you about it and you can both investigate and rid our lands of this pest. The other is a patrol... you are to act as harmless travellers and when attacked, use this as a means to secure both location and destroy the vermin."
You can see this old man is heated about this issue, he awaits which mission you prefer.
"So my young folk, to which will you journey?"
GM: Decide which mission you will take. You may also take the time to ask any questions before you are ushered on your way. You will only one post to ask so use it wisely.
The old man seems agitated by the number of questions as most old men do, but he is willing to answer as you have volunteered.
1) Will everyone, not just our warrior, be paid 1GP/day?
"Yes, we estimate this will be about a week or two depending on how good you are at finding them"
2) Are we supposed to kill them or capture them?
"Do what you must"
3) Do they have a leader or are they just a band of rogues?
"We would imagine there is a leader"
4) Are there bounties for them? If so, how much?
"We do not know, but you are welcomed to what they might have"
5) How many thieves are there to capture, or just an estimate?
"We are hoping you discover this"
6) How many attack at one time?
"We do not know"
7) At what time(s) of day do these attacks occur?
"Mostly during the evening and night, but there has been an attack during the day"
8) What is the physical setting of where these attacks happen?
"On the plains and in the forests"
9) Were the victims' lives spared or were they killed?
"Usually, only if the person tried to fight back were they assassinated"
10) Are there any definite descriptions of any of the thieves?
"Who knows what a thief looks like, they could look like you I suppose" ( Chuckles can be heard from the Village Elders)
11) Is there a map of the area that we may have?
"We have none to give, however if you tell us which job you will choose already then we will give you directions so that you can be assured of not being lost"
12) Once we have confirmed the location, might there be any villagers willing to assist us?
"You are the Villagers willing to assist, this is a place of the Elderly"
13) Before we set out, may we refresh our supplies with the village merchant
"Do what you must, but do it with haste"
The old man sighs, and then says, "Be that all or should we arrange dinner?" The Elders laugh and one gestures to not take them seriously, but they are however looking for your reaction.
GM: State which job you will take along with what you will do next.
The Elders look at you in a curious manner and then one of them says,
"Really young warriors, we are not asking much of thy mind at the moment, be it the patrol or the hideout of these vermin?"
He then shows the palms of his hand extended as though you will give him the answer in his hand, he then retreats both of his hands to the sides of his waste.
GM: Such simple decisions should not take more than 24 hours to make, in fact it should be less, the 48 hour limit should be considered a rare occurence in the case of emergency, etc. Please make your decision so the game can move on.
The Elder that first addresses you now continues after your response to go to the hideout.
"Well done, now here are the probable locations..."
He then pulls out a parchment of the area and shows you a familiar place not to far from the Village, but still a good distance nevertheless.
"It is about 20 miles from here, you should find it easily"
He then turns around as though he is looking for the approval of other members, nods his head, and then turns back around and adds...
"We shall expect you in let's say about 10 moons?"
He then bids you farewell and thanks you for your willingness to serve the Village.
GM: Say what you will do now. Please READ the post about Mulit-tasking under the Rules thread otherwise it will take us another week just to get you out the Village.
You stand there mumbling to yourself. One of the Elders asks...
"Is something wrong, do you have doubts about this? Shall we look for others to volunteer?"
GM: Make haste lest the same happen to you as it did with others who took much too long to make a simple decision. Look at the date this adventure started and where you are at the moment.
You walk away without answering the Elder and he does not take it likely. He closes the door while mumbling something with regards to the rising generation.
Airmed declares that she needs to visit the market to get some items to which Shade responds,
"Why do you wo'men always have to be busy buying old rags and needles?"
Eissa, being of the dark maiden variety, not liking the sound of that says something about the top lip and smell of Shade.
What happens next can be anyone's guess and your trip is already frustrated.
Some hours later...
You wait til the sun is almost ready to set before you begin your journey, this allows you to reach the location described by the Elders. A certain tree here, a certain hill top there and so on indicates that you have reached the place you are supposed to be. At least this is what you hope. None of you can be certain, but Shade feels it is the place. It is dark and the moons are out in their glory so you can see your way through the trees that make up a heavy set forest. You notice that there is a certain unusually large oak tree about 100 feet ahead that is giving shelter to three hooded figures around a small camp fire. They have not seen you.
GM: Say what you will do now in specifics for each character.
Ariadne attempts the call of a wild animal in order to attract the hooded figures, but her call comes out muffled and sounds anything but a wild animal. The rest of the group thinks it sounds more like that of a dying animal. A blacksmith with low soul and mind had not given thought about it. The hooded creatures do pick up the unusual tone of Ariadne's voice and quickly put out the fire within a matter of seconds. All indications of light from 100 feet away are gone save the moon light which still settles on the leaves of this unique forest.
All is dark, all is quiet... you now wonder... "Am I the one being watched?" You start looking around in a frantic manner and thoughts of death lurk in your heart.
GM: Say what you will do now.