Tantris - Session 1

Game Date 3/7/09

Characters:
Rolan Daan (Bryan) - Elf Rogue
Rhogar Burnscale (Rick) - Dragonborn Fighter
Nara Cavell (Matt) - Human Cleric of Pelor

OOC Intro:
The game began with Rolan picking up his nightly job from his contact at the Bleeting Goat in Tantris. He receives instructions to visit the House of Derai, where he is hired to take care of a bandit problem. He is allowed to hire an additional bit of muscle, and he is given aid by the church.

Meanwhile, Rhogar wins 500 gold in a pit fighting tournament against a Half-Orc named Krusk. Rolan hires Rhogar due to his prowess in the ring. He then visits the Church of Pelor, where Nara is added to the party.


Nara's Journal:

This has been a most trying time to say the least. I have been assigned to aid an unusual pair of fellows, on a mission from the House of Derai to relieve a caravan from a bandit problem. Our band is led by Rolan, an Elf with a charming smile and the stench of ale on his breath. His companion is Rhogar, a seemingly fearless Dragonborn with a scar for every day of his life. I'm not quite sure if I trust either of them, but I am more concerned with the greater good at the moment.

We had to take a small boat to the caravan's origin point, where we were assigned a wagon to protect. We were given the middle of the three wagons, and were ordered not to leave it for any reason. The trip was rather uneventful until the caravan was attacked by goblins. The three of us managed to fight off our attackers, but not before the other wagons were set ablaze, and all the other travelers were killed. During the battle we discovered an odd property our wagon possessed - some sort of force field thwarted the goblins' attempts to enter it.

The goblins seemed terribly excited about something, and I longed to understand their exclamations, but of course none of us could comprehend their language. I am tempted to study it when I have the time. I picked up Draconic relatively easily, and I do enjoy learning new things.

Once the goblins had been driven away, we continued our trek, with Rolan now at the reigns. The rest of the trip was thankfully less exciting. We passed another caravan on the side of the road, apparently camping for the night. We started to greet them - Rolan and I even left the wagon to approach the other caravan - but as we got close we thought better of it. We were afraid that they might think us to be bandits ourselves, and didn't want to rouse them. In retrospect I have second thoughts... we could have warned them about the goblin threat.

A bit farther down the road, we had to stop for the night ourselves. Like any smart band of travelers, we slept in shifts, one of us keeping watch at all times. Which makes me that much more curious about the other caravan... why did no one see us approach? Either they had no one keeping watch, or someone was sleeping on the job. Curious. I hope they weren't needing our help. I trust Pelor to guide me in these decisions, but sometimes the right path is hard to see.

Once we were back on the road, we were nearly attacked by goblins again, but we managed to outrun them. When we reached our destination, we weren't exactly given a hero's welcome. We stayed the night in the local inn, Rolan and Rhogar sharing one room, and I in another. The following morning we were presented with a most atrocious breakfast, and were shortly thereafter arrested. Though we failed to notice our wagon's cargo at the time, apparently we were protecting a cache of precious gems. Gems that were now missing, leaving us as the only suspects. We were detained and searched, and questioned separately. I answered all questions with complete honesty, though I'm afraid I didn't know enough to help their investigation. The gems were found in Rolan's room, though I'm not convinced of his guilt.

I was the first to be released. Apparently my church's name precedes me, as I was given a formal apology by a very well-dressed man, and given the royal treatment for the rest of my stay. I'm not much for luxury, so instead of enjoying my lavish new room, I stayed in the inn lobby and questioned the Dragonborn innkeeper if he'd seen anything suspicious while we slept. Unfortunately he had little information to offer.

Rolan and Rhogar were released shortly thereafter, which surprised all of us. As I write this, we are planning our next step. According to our interrogators, the goblin attackers were not the bandits we had been assigned to locate. If we want to be redeemed in everyone's eyes, we should still locate those bandits and bring them to justice. But beyond that, we have several other questions to answer. Was Rolan framed? If so, why? And why was he let go? Did the goblins know of our cargo? Why were we not attacked by the real bandits? And what of the sleeping caravan?

Whatever our next step is to be, I humbly pray for the light of Pelor to illuminate our path, and dissipate the shadows of evil.

- Nara Cavell, Loyal servant of Pelor

XP Rewards:
250 xp each.