| Journal of the Poisoned Barley Campaign |
| Characters Participating: |
| Tyrion (High Elf Warrior) For more detailed Character descriptions, look at the Arwin (High Elf Ranger) Characters section on the Main Page Gubert (Hobbit Con-Artist) Garrat (Goblin Assassin) |
| Adventure String: |
| A prominent barley farmer north of Middleton sent a shipment of barley to the Human settlements south of Middleton, the Orc encampment on the Northern Plateau, and the Giant nation far to the northwest. A few days later a messenger from the breweries in the Human region reported back to the farmer that the barley was poisoned. Frantic, the farmer ran out into the fields to reprimand the Halfling farmhands for such a tragic oversight in protecting the harvested grain. Three Starters: - A bloody beaten Halfling servant comes to Gubert and pleads for his help discovering who poisoned the barley, or the farmer will torture the farmhands even more. - The farmer himself hired to stop the other two shipments, figure out who the culprit was, and bring him/her to "proper" justice. - Tyrion and Arwin (twin brother and sister) hear about the farmer's plight and decide that he needs their help. |
| (This campaigns description will not contain as many specific details as the others. This is the adventure I threw together to try out my system, so I was not as concerned with details such as specific names of NPCs.) |
| The Story: |
| The farmer hired an ariship pilot to chaufer the party. The Party decided that the Orcs woudl be the most preturbed after having discovered the poisoned shipment, and probably consider the act a deliberate attempt on their lives from the farmer. They immediately headed north to Orc encampment in question. Upon arriving the party waited outside the camp entrance to try and see if the shipment had arrived. was particularly hesitant to enter after seeing the hordes of Goblin slaves unloading crates and boxes and carrying them to various tents. Bold Tyrion marched right up to the Orc guards and informed them directly of the poisoned barley. and Arwin caught a glimpse of a small figure hiding amongst the carts that the Goblins were unloading. They caught up with their target, and were reprimanded by a goblin in a black cloak for helping filthy slavers. Meanwhile the guards did not believe Tyrion. They immediately gave Tyrion a severe beating suspecting he was there to sabbatoge the camp. Gubert ran into the scene and convinced the guards that several Goblins were escaping. Worried about the chief's temper, the guards left the Elf alone and raced off to find the escapees. Despairingly, the party abandoned the attempts to convince the Orcs of the misunderstanding. The group raced to the Jagged Peaks in the far northeast province of the empire. The elves were of noble blood and had occasionally visited the peaks to join prominent Giants in grand feasts. The peaks are steep, slick, and reach into the sky for about a mile. Each mountain peak has been levelled and holds a dwelling, shop, or other Giantish building. The Giants move up and down the slopes by means of a wooden carriage and a huge rope and pulley mechanism. The group immediatley headed for the large palace in the center of the region. As they neared the large mountain, Tyrion's belt pack was cut from his side by a sneaky Fairy. Furious, the anxious Elf ran after the thief until she flew straight up the side of a steep mountain. Too furious to worry about safety, Tyrion mustered up all his energy and began to climb. About halfway up the slope, the proud Elf slipped and tumbled to the ground far below. While Tyrion lay nearly dead on the bottom of the narrow valley, the rest of the group hoisted themselves towards the palace. It took the strength of all three characters to slowly pull the large wooden cart upward. Though the Giants rarely welcome guests without sn invitation, Gubert was able to talk his way past the air elementals guarding the entrance. The Giants listened and agreed to return the poisoned grain with little argument. Apparently an old aquaintance saw Tyrion's mishap, he was delivered to the party bandaged up and in pain, but alive. The Party flew to the Human province, and question one of the brewery owners about the poisoned grain. While continuing their investigation, they came across the goblin in the black cloak who was hiding in the Orc encampment. He was livid and blamed the party for the deaths of hundreds of goblin slaves. Apparently he and two other goblins were actually escapees, and when Gubert told the guards that Goblins were escaping, they ran into the other two. The Orcs did examine the grain and blamed the slaves for the poison. As an example, the Orcs executed 250 Goblin slaves. This sneaky little ex-slave was attempting to free the other Goblins of that camp, and admitted to poisoning the shipment. The NPC assassin was not concerned with how many Humans and Giants died, he only wanted to free his fellow Goblins. Gubert was satisfied with the information and waited for the rest of the party in a local pub, the Elf siblings, without hesitation, attempted to apprehend the Goblin, and after some moral contemplation decided that the he was hired by the farmer to kill the one who poisoned the grain, and he wanted to get paid. |