A Burning Premonition

[badams30]

You've come from points in the Barony both near and far - a bunch of strangers brought together by an ominous dream - or was it something more?

You're racing down a dirt road as the village around you burns. You swore you were sleeping just a moment ago but now you feel the terrible heat of the flames and hear the cackling horde closing in from behind. A collection of green, and teeth, and claws, and yellow eyes pursue you; Goblins. You look down and realize that you're carrying something they want; a large, glowing stone. Fire dances across its surface and it somehow seems realer to you than everything else around you. You scramble past a sign that reads "Sooner's Field" just as the creatures catch up to you and rip and tear and bite and burn you - you wake with a start. It was just a dream. Or was it? You have the strangest feeling; like someone just walked over your grave. And your bedding is smoldering...

You do your best to ignore the dream, but it comes back - each time more vivid and worse than before. It robs you of your sleep, and begins to eat at you. The flames feel hotter, your muscles ache like you've been in a fight, and the last time - you actually had some bruises, cuts and burns - obviously something more serious than a dream is afoot.

It doesn't take much research to turn up Sooner's Field. You learn that it's little more than a dot on the edge of civilization, but you get the feeling that something or someone wants you to go there. So after gathering your limited funds and resources, you journey North - past Tathor and the northern borders of the Phoenix Barony, following the King's Road (along the King's River) toward Sooner's Field and whatever awaits. Over the course of your journey, you come across an odd assortment of lone travellers, and as you get to know each other, you are shocked to learn that each of your new companions have been driven here by the same dream - and the same determination to learn more and get to the bottom of this.

Your journey is a lonely one, but oddly - an uneventful one. You don't encounter a single soul on your trip north, and odd omen, to be sure. The cold and clean river provides all the water and fresh fish you need, and game is plentiful. Before you know it, you have arrived, just past mid-day - you see a small village of modest houses, and a wide expanse of fields of various crops - all healthy looking and well cared for. And as you approach the edge of this settlement, a chill inadvertently goes down your spine as you see the same sign as in your dream: "Sooner's Field". A hard packed dirt track leads into town. (See the map in the MAP thread.)

About 1000 feet ahead of you lies a large two-story building that is unmistakably an Inn. A wooden sign hangs over the door bearing the image of a plow and sickle. You see people walking about here and there within the village. Just past the Inn (SEE AREA 2 ON THE MAP) there is a small wooden platform and a two merchant wagons with a handful of people milling about. It seems tranquil and quiet - but as you survey the surroundings, you plainly see that this is the location of your disturbing dreams...

You are 1000 feet from building 1 on the Sooner's Field Map. Actions?

[connivingsumo]

Bizenghast: Magic-User

Her nose hardly lifting from her book the entire way here, she glances ahead momentarily, and directs here feet - roughly - in the direction of The Plow & Sickle.

Upon arrival and entry, she surveys a quiet table with ample space for her book, and politely orders a goblet of wine (flagon of ale, second choice).

She pays with one gold coin, and - pushing past her shyness - inquires about the cost of the rooms, and what local work there might be.

[bearded_dork]

Gerolt - Fighter

Gerolt enters the Plow & Sickle, grateful to see the inside of an inn as he wanders over to an empty trestle. He's aware of the eyes on him. He's no lord, that's for sure, nor a proper knight. His plate armor is second-hand and he has no squire to work out the rust nor coin for an armorer to keep the dents hammered smooth. Gerolt appears more of a hedge knight than anything else, just a step up from a common man-at-arms.

He shrugs off his shield and tosses his scabbarded sword onto the trestle with a clatter before easing down onto the bench seat with a drawn out sigh. He orders an ale and slowly looks around the inn. His brow is troubled, what with the dreams that lead him and the others here...the very same village in his dreams. Nothing made sense yet but he was determined to figure out the mystery. As he quenched his considerable thirst, Gerolt kept his ears open for any talk that might shed some clues.

[tumblingdice]

Wulfric - cleric

Wulfric, huffing and puffing from the long journey and the occasional lecture on the virtues of St. Cedrik the Tardy, stops to catch his breath as he takes in the sight of the village. His eye lingers on the sight of the inn for a moment, but then shifts to the two merchant wagons and the people milling about. Slowly, and with caution, he closes the distance between his companions and the edge of the village. Careful, lads. m'lady, he adds with a nod at Bizenghast. Don't know yet who's friend or foe. Watch yourselves.

Assuming nothing or no one gets in his way, Wulfric will pass the entrance to the inn, then try to engage any of the villagers/visitors assembled in front of the wagons.

[greyarea]

Faro heads into the town. He will head to the wagons and slip into the shadows and listen.

[merias]

Gorin - Fighter

Gorin eyes the inn, a welcome sight after the day's travel. "It's about time fer an ale," he says, but then sees Wulfric pass the inn and head to the wagons, and decides to follow.

[jcftao]

Horst brushes the dust off and considers a tankard of ale in the tavern. He looks around the area and notices several of the party moving towards the merchant wagons. Horst will look for any common folk in the village that may be passing by. He will strike up a friendly conversation. Being little more than an armed farmer himself, he feels well suited to speak with the villagers.

Horst will ask about Sooner's Field and also casually inquire if the villagers have heard of any strange dreams.

If no villagers are present, Horst will return to the tavern for his ale.

[spanningtree]

Calardir - Elf

Seeing Gorin and Wulfric passing the tavern, Calardir will tag along.

[badams30]

Inside the Plow & Sickle (Bizenghast and Gerolt)

The P&S is everything you'd expect of an Inn in such a small town: it has all the rustic charm that a quaint farming community can offer. The main room is 60x70 with a large fireplace centered on the back wall, and to the right and left of the fireplace are two staircases leading up to the second floor. The second floor is open overlooking the main room of the inn with a balcony circling the upper floor - 7 doors are visible, you'd assume them to be guest rooms.

There are 3 doors on the first floor, two on the right side - both are half open and have nice beds and some plain but quality furniture in each. The large swinging door on the opposite wall leads to a kitchen.

The main room has 5 round tables and one long rectangular table. At this time there are only two men seated at the table closest to the door leading to the outside. They look to be farmers, and they nod and bid both of you a greeting as you enter.

Assuming that your colleagues will join you in good time, you take up seats at the long table (if you wish different seating, just let me know) and almost immediately you see a man with long black hair, and a black eye patch stick his head out from the kitchen door and says "Marta! we have guests!" and almost immediately a young woman with an apron comes to your table and takes your order. Bizenghast, when you ask for wine, the server smiles and suggests Dragon's Tail - and says it's bottled at an abbey far to the west. As for Gerolt's ale, she suggests some of the house ale, it's brewed at a small settlement a few miles distant.

Bizenghast politely inquires about rooms and work. The server says "Our upstairs rooms are 2 gold per night, the rooms downstairs are 4 gold, and if you're just looking for a comfy cot in a common room, Miriam pushes all the tables aside after close and puts out cots in this room, and that's just 3 silver. It's a common room, but the fireplace makes it nice and warm, and it's not too much coin. You're in luck though, almost all our rooms are open at the moment." When asked about work she eyes the mage oddly and says "Forgive me, but you don't strike me as the farm worker sort. That's about the only thing 'round these parts that is in demand. But I'm just a barmaid, you might ask Miriam. Or you could see the Mayor, that'd be Jacob Sooner. He's always looking for strong types."

Gerolt listens, the locals at the nearby table seem to be engrossed in a conversation about cutting down a pesky pine tree that is threatening to fall on a barn.

[badams30]

The Village Square (remainder of party)

The rest of the party makes their way to the square, where a handful of people mill about, and there are a couple merchant wagons selling their goods. The square is a wide open patch of dirt. The ground is riddled with small holes and marked with wagon tracks. A small wooden platform sits near it's center. Two other structures of note are close to the square - #4, a building with a small covered porch, it has a sign depicting an anvil with demonic eyes and a wide, fang toothed grin. The sounds of a hammer hitting an anvil make it clear that this is a blacksmith. And #5 is a what looks to be a burnt building just to the east of the road. Half of the structure is still standing, but not for long by the looks of things.

As Wulfric approaches the square, he notices that the ground near the platform appears to be uprooted somewhat, perhaps signs of a struggle. He also grimly notes some dried spatters on the platform itself, these appear to be dried blood.

The wagons appear to have some spices, plain household flatware and dishes, and several dozen bolts of fabric and spools of thread available for sale.

Horst seeks out some folk to engage, and he's in luck - a middle aged man and his wife (common folk, by the look of them) approach him and offer some greetings, asking him where he's from, and commenting on his polearm. Once he's dismissed with the pleasantries, Horst asks about Sooner's Field, and realizing that he's not familiar with the village, they give him the quick lowdown of the settlement.

"Our little part of the world was just a nice empty bit of grassland until Durlan Sooner and his bride Mia came here from the south land. They became farmers and their crops did pretty well, their stock was healthy, and Mia was pregnant with their first baby - then some goblins came. A war band of goblins was making short work of the small settlements along the river and then they came here - to the Sooner's farm. The burnt the fields and were about to do the same to the house and barn when they met the two angry Sooners. Durlan, with a sickle, and Mia with all that anger of an expectin' mom, took on about 30 goblins. It looked bleak then fate intervened - it was in the form of a band of elves who had been tracking the goblins. What should have been a massacre became known as the battle of Sooner's Field. The goblin chieftan was slain, the band routed, and the farm was saved. Word of the battle got back to civilization and others started to come here to stake a claim at the edge of civilization. The area became known as Sooner's Field, and Durlan served as a reluctant mayor. That was years ago, Durlan and Mia have passed in the last few years, and the farm is in the hands of their first son, Jacob, and his wife, Willow. We get several caravans coming through here each year, most of them stopping here on their way to do business with the elves or dwarves. The village has about 50 people living here, and the innkeep, Miriam, has set up a militia of sorts with 8 able bodied locals. You''ll see them about, they usually work in shifts of 2, and they have whistles and pretty plain weapons."

When Horst mentions the dreams, the smiles fade from the faces of the couple, they gasp and they make signed gestures of protection. The woman places her hand firmly on Horst's shoulder and she says"You should talk to Evianna, in the grove." She points to a grove of trees (area #3 on the map) The couple shake their heads and the husband says quietly "You be careful now." And they nervously excuse themselves, walking away chatting amongst themselves.

The remaining people milling about the square take little notice of Horst's conversation, and they generally go about their daily activities, pausing only to glance curiously at the diverse band in their midst. The people all seem to be friendly, and most nod politely or offer hasty greetings as they move about on their way...