DreamLyrics™ Play-by-Post Forums Fantasy SKT: The Storm King's Thunder 1 - Highharvestide in Phandelin

It wasn't until summer solstice that any of the heroes of Phandelin were able complete their individual trainings at the earliest. A few more months would pass and they each went on about their lives until Harvesttide approached. The Autumnal Equinox was their individual signals to make their way back to Phandelin for the festival which would commence in under a tenday.

The town was abuzz when they approached. There were dozens of carts wagons pulled by various beasts of burdens filled with supplies and crops jammed the road leading to the town green. The sounds of people talking, yelling and laughing blended with the sounds of annoyed draught animals made for a scene as lively as the last time they were all here after liberating the mines and saving Nundro Rockseeker from the clutches of the Drow known as the Black Spider.

As each hero weaved their way through the crowd, the townsfolk instantly recognized them. Attention was drawn to them immediately and the noises of people toiling changed to cheers and applause as each approached. To their surprise, children were ready with garlands and wreaths of woven fall leaves and baskets of fruits, candies and cookies. Among them was Carp Alderleaf, the boy who led them to the secret tunnel into Tresendar Manor. The children encircled each hero upon return and led them all past Bathan's Provisions which was too busy to approach anyway and the Stonehill Inn toward the center of town. As the stepped into the town square, they joined a swelling crowd that parted way to let the children lead the heros forward towards a large tent had been erected in the town green on the far side of the square.

A stage had been erected and there were about a dozen still-empty seats there. In front of the stage you were led towards familar faces. Over to one side are in the square as were Sildar Hallwinter who was arguing with Harbin Wester, the fat, pompous old Townmaster of Phandelin that Sildar had pushed aside when Harbin wouldn't tackle the problems with the Redbrands in town. Linene Graywind who ran the Phandelin post of the Lionshield Coster merchant company was directing traffic for supply drop-off's. Not far away was Daran Edermath and Sister Garaele conversing by the Shrine of Luck with an old friend, Luminmorn. But front and center were the surviving Rockseeker brothers, Gundren and Nundro who were having a discussion with Halia Thornton who ran the miner's exchange. When the dwarves spotted the approaching heroes, they rushed in to greet each returnee with warm hugs.

"Welcome to Highharvestide!" Luminmorn called out.

<Bern>

He was pensive as he approached the town. It had been a while and he was not looking forward to what he expected would be a 'big ta do'.

He had spent most of that time with the Enclave, training himself as well as being trainer those who needed wanted to learn what he could teach. He had a =bit= of time with his friend who was kept pretty bust with his own initiation and training. And a bit of time in solitude in the wood.

He was also thinking back on the 'ordeal' that they had found in the mines and what they had discovered and recovered. It was good to know that they =had= accomplished something important and worth while.

Now, unfortunately, he had been 'recognized'. He did his best to accept their 'enthusiastic' greetings humbly and with as much 'reciprocal cheer' as he could muster.

He had a smile and a nod of greeting for the 'town officials' as he was let to the stage. He was a bit 'put off' by the enthusiastic hugs from Gundren and Nundro, but accepted them, none the less. They had their ways, after all.

Kriv

The Dragonborn noble was well dressed for the occasion, representing as he was all of Norixius Keep when it came to Clan Rockseeker. He accepted the garlands and gifts with equanimity, for truly, they had put in the necessary work to secure this town and the mine from that which imperilled it, and thus were due this reward and recognition as befit the natural order of things.

Being hugged was a tricky one to deal with, an expression of mammalian affection that did not translate well to those with hard scales and sharp claws, but given the source, the Eldritch Knight accepted the embrace in the spirit it was intended, for as much as he might carry himself as a lord in most places, the ancient debt of honour placed him as a servant where Gundren and Nundro were concerned.

He returned Luminmorn's greeting in kind, glad not to be the only Dragonborn present, holding the diligence and skills both martial and arcane of the other in high regard.

Jaliera

As it becomes clear that this 'welcome' is for them, she shares her surprise with both of her companions, Davroar and Bern, as they had travelled back together. None of them seem to have been expecting this.

She feels shy with all these people paying them so much attention but tries to accept it all with good grace, remembering to smile from time to time. She greets the Rockseeker brothers more warmly though.

"Good to see you both again. All the left over issues in the mine resolved now?"

She has a concern that maybe their greeting is because they are not.

Ryssa


Ryssa entered the town alongside Kriv, her traveling companion, and was surprised at the welcome they received. Her hand instinctively moved to her hair, pulling a large strand across her left cheek and covering the disfigurement there. She blushed slightly but smiled and waved with her right hand to the crowd, offering the blessings of the Morninglord to all around them.

Seeing Sister Gareale off to one side of the crowd, she nodded her acknowledgment as she continued toward the town leaders.

Davroar

He is quite surprised at how many people are here in town. Getting caught up along with Jaliera and Bern with the children encircling him to be escorted to the town's square, Davroar takes things in stride, smiling to everyone, and grabbing an apple from an offered basket. Luckily he manages not to lose an mouthful of apple when greeted by the hugs from Gundren and Nundro. He mumbles around his full mouth a "Well met!" to both dwarves and then looks up as Luminmorn calls out to them and waves a hand in return.

DM

"Yes, yes" Nundro said to Jaliera. "Things could not be better!"

The heroes of Phandelin were each led by the dwarves to seats on the stage and the dwarves didn't take 'no' for an answer. Up there they were joined soon by several of the town leaders and Luminmorn. As they looked out onto the square, they could see food and drink being brought out to the tables that surrounded the square. The townsfolk all gathered in front of the stage.

Luminmorn excused himself from Kriv after they exchanged only a few scant words and down sat next to Daren Edermath, the aging adventurer. Luminmorn seemed to be very involved in the planning of this day's activities. Sister Gareale walked up to her fellow priestess, tucked her skirt and sat down next to Ryssa. "It's our great fortune to have you join us!" she said with a genuine smile. Gundren and Nundro walked over with Halia Thornton and Linene Graywind to Bern, Davroar and Jaliera who had arrived together. Linene, the prioprietor of the Lionshield Coster led the three heroes "It's good to see all of you all again. Let's get seated." Sildar made his way directly over to Kriv and addressed him as if he was the leader of the returning team, "I trust that your journey was easy. It is good to see you again, friend." He led Kriv to a seat and took his seat next to him, "Let us hope that the pompous old weasle keeps this short" as he glanced towards Harbin Webster who was walking out in front of the stage.

The rotund townmaster made his way to the front of the stage and started to wave his arms to the assembled throng to quiet down. It took a few minutes and he was assisted by random snickering taunts directed at him from voices in the crowd that got the assembly to focus on him. It didn't seem that the fool understood the barbs because they didn't seem to insult him and soon he was able to begin his speech.

"Ladies and gentlemen, It is so wonderfult to welcome you all here on this glorious Autumn day! And a very Happy Highharvestide to all! It is my distinct pleasure to welcome back some of our greatest heroes: Bern, Chandan, Davroar, Jaliera, Kriv, Luminmorn and Ryssa!"

The crowd cheered loudly at that and someone called out "Hey Harbin, Chandan's not here!".

Once again the townmaster didn't react to the outcry and continued as the cheers died down. "As you all know, several months ago, before Greengrass, I asked them to help us remove those awful Redbrands. Not only did they do that, but they also liberated the mines!" Although it was an outright lie that he had asked the heroes for help, nobody corrected him. "And today marks the day that we reopen the mines! Those on the stage behind me will escort our great heroes to the mines after lunch for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. I, unfortunately because of some pains in my knees will need to stay behind. Sildar will officiate in my stead."

The speech went on and on with Wester making up lie after lie, most to make it seem like he was the orchastrator of all that led to this day. Eventually he came to an ending, "And now I ask you all to enjoy the Highharvestide festivities!"

With that the relative silence was broken as the crowd flocked to the tables with food and drink. This was really the first opportunity for the honored guests to find out what has transpired in the town since they were gone.

<Bern>

He did his best to 'go with the flow' with a smile, a hand shake, nod as required.

He acknowledged Gundren, Nundro and Halia Thornton with a smile and nod as they joined him and his friends 'on stage'. He did his best to avoid the 'congratulatory praise' from the locals as he took his seat. He reallt =didn't= like all this 'fuss'. He did try =not= to chuckle at the 'jibes' from the crowd. If he were not up here, on stage, he might well have offered one or two of his own.

He was not particularly pleased to be the first mentioned by the 'mayor', but did his best to suffer that without issue. He did manage a smile and acknowledging nod when mentioned though.

He managed not to sigh at the discussion of a 'ribbon cutting' that had not been mentioned, but could not quite suppress the groan at 'his' explanation of why he could not attend.

He frowned as the man continued on and on about how =he= had been so important, but managed to resit the urge to take him by the throat and sake him senseless ... since it seemed clear that he was =already= senseless. As the 'diatribe' proceeded, he =did= ... idly ... wonder why the town put up with him ... and why =he= continued to sit here smiling.

=FINALLY= the man ran out of breath. The 'populace' didn't seem to mind, but he was going to be looking for an opportunity to 'escape' this madness. He would rather have had to face a tribe of goblins!

Kriv

Lies. Lies upon lies upon lies, spoken brazenly and before a vast audience, most of whom lapped them up credulously, their placid mammalian faces devoid of guile. It was a good thing that being bad at reading Dragonborn expressions was amongst their many, many faults and flaws. By all the Gods, what a putrid, teeming mess these humans were!

The absence of the vagrant was a small mercy, not truly surprising given his fickle nature, and the lack of olfactory telltales. He made small talk with Sildar, one of the few exceptions to the general trend. “A forlorn hope, it seems. Anything of particular interest in our absence?”

Ryssa Noman


The cleric of Lathandar waved to the crowd, smiling a bit and holding her icon of the Morninglord out toward them to offer his blessing to the cheering group. She scooted slightly over to make more room for Sister Gareale as the holy woman took a seat beside her.

"I am pleased to see you again, Sister," Ryssa said, reaching over to pat Gareale's hand. Half-listening to the words of the politician, she rolled her eyes briefly skyward and head-gestured toward the pontificating man.

"I will be glad when he has completed his... sermon."

Jaliera

She cannot believe the audacity of the man and his claims.. and worse he seems to believe his own propaganda!

She is pleased though to hear that the mines are being reopened. That surely means all the problems have been sorted and many in the area will have gainful employment again. A good reason to celebrate.

Davroar

He follows Linene as instructed yet remains somewhat fidgety being seated up on the stage with everyone looking up at them. He leans slightly to Jaliera and says "Hope this doesn't go too long", but his spoken wish is not granted as the old mayor gives a long boastful speech. Davroar does not listen much to the speech and instead will make small talk with Linene asking about the town. Only when Harbin Webster finally announces that they can enjoy the festivities does he stand up, eager to be off the stage.

Jaliera

"My, that was tiresome" she whispers to Davroar. "Shall we go and get some refreshments? I feel I need them after listening to him ramble."

She too stands, ready to leave that centre stage.

"Wonder why Sildar let him take over again?"

DM

The spread of food was impressive. It seems that anyone who owned a pot or a pan prepared something delicious to eat. And Toblin Stonehill provided barrels of wine, ale and soft ciders to quench the thirsts of all the guests.

Sildar accompanied Kriv to the tables and continued their conversation there, "We cleaned out the mines. It wasn't easy but you did most of the hard work. Luminmorn showed us how the Forge of Spells worked and that helped. We encountered undead and there was one room that had a poisonous fungus but we finished that early. Then the dwarves got to work preparing for today. Otherwise, Luminmorn has really done a great job of rebuilding Tresendar Manor. He's been working a lot with old Daren and they're not done, but you and the rest of your team have places to stay there sine it's yours."

Sister Gareale was eager for Harbin Wester to be done and when he finally was she said, "I'm glad to see you too and I hope that my sermons are not that boring! By the way, am I to understand that you're wearing that pin I gave you?"

[ooc: I'll give everyone an opportunity to talk to NPC's, to see what you can learn. I'm still finishing up the last of the PM's.]

<Bern>

He was relieved when the 'formalities' were done. It had been difficult to listen to the pompous ass that passed for a mayor. He sampled bits from many of the 'offerings', happy to offer praise for the dishes. But there wasn't anyone here he really wanted to get to know. He was happy to leave it to the others to do that and figure out their next 'job' ... or maybe he could take some time off and enjoy the wilderness around.

Ryssa


"I cannot imagine your sermons being anywhere close to so incipient," Ryssa said with a smile. She folded back a lapel-like piece of her cloak to show the Harper's Pin.

"You can see for yourself," she said in an even softer tone as they moved off the stage and down to the heavily laden tables where the scion of the Morninglord availed herself of wine, bread and fruit.

Kriv

The noble scion provided human-style nods as Sildar outlined Luminmorn's contribution: To him it made perfect sense that a Dragonborn would prove exceptionally useful, especially compared to the average specimen in a town full of humans.

"Run that by me again. Tresendar Manor has been accorded to us for our habitation here? Good to know, are we responsible for its disposition in our absence as well, or is Luminmorn handling that for the time being?"

He lowered his voice for the power behind the town's ears only, and enquired,

"Any reports of potential giant activity of late, and are you aware of why I might be asking?"

Luminmorn

The dragonborn had not had a chance to talk to his friends since they returned so he approached Bern, Davroar and Jaliera who were all nearby.

"My friends! Welcome back to Phandelin. How have you been?"

Sildar
He nodded to Kriv, "Yes. The town, grateful for your heroism, and not knowing what to do with the manor after the Redbrands were removed, offered it to all of you. Luminmorn stayed behind and has been repairing it these past few months. It is my understanding that he wants to build a chapel to his god there. But it is your residence while here. Yes, there was some argument with Toblen who claimed he would lose business if you weren't renting his rooms at the inn, but the town will compensate him when you visit."

"What is the deal with the giants? I have not heard."

Sister Garael
She grinned once she saw the pin, "That's good. I have not heard news from outside since you were gone. Is there news that I should concern myself with?"

<Bern>

"Well", he began slowly, "we seem to have survived another one", he added ... with a big grin for Luminmorn. "What have you been about ... other than relaxing and enjoying the local drinking establishments", he added, then chuckled.

Ryssa


Ryssa took a sip of her wine and smiled, nodding slightly in response to her fellow Harper's question.

"I have not heard little while traveling," she said after a moment's thought and a glance around to make sure no one else was in earshot.

"I spent most of my time communing with my mentor, Father Athelor, and other followers of the Morninglord at the monastery which is under the leadership of Father Athelor."

Ryssa again looked around the area.

"I suppose we will have to keep our eyes and ears open."

Davroar

He gives an enthusiastic nod to Jaliera's suggestion and says, "Yep, lets go!" He shrugs his shoulders at her question as to her question why the old mayor did most of the talking and only offers, "Perhaps the people still like him. Old folk typically don't like big changes anyways."

He lets his nose lead him around a few serving plates, sampling a few items when Luminmorn approaches. Davroar smiles at the dragonborn oddly finding him a little more approachable than Kriv at times. "Hello Luminmorn! I am good, thanks." Davroar holds his tongue for the moment since Bern has asked the same question he would have, being curious of all the changes going on here in Phandelin.

Jaliera

"Maybe.."

She isn't convinced though, finding it strange however Davroar's enthusiam to go and raid the food tables brings a happy grin to her face. So she joins him, taking a plate and adding a few of the choices on offer, happy to try items new to her.

"Hi Luminmorn. Good to see you again. I've been back to Neverwinter to see my mentor and square up with him. And yes, please update us on what has been happening here?"

Kriv

Quietly and discreetly, Kriv almost casually turned his palm face up and mentioned,

“Word from on high is that certain individuals...” At this he tapped his insignia ring twice with his thumb talon, in Sildar’s line of sight alone, “...May be being targeted by them. Discretion is advised, but getting ahead of any threats of that magnitude will be lucrative. We should probably discuss this between ourselves in the near future, if clarity is needed.”

DM

with Davroar, Bern and Jaliera...
Luminmorn is in an especially jovial mood, as far as the less lizardlike humanoids can tell. "Yes, yes. All is well! I've made great progress on our home. There's much, much work left to do, but you all can stay there tonight. I've made sure that private quarters are all ready for you!"

He looks in a funny way at the trio and then continues. "Oh, you are probably not aware. The town gave us Tresendar Manor. It's ours, and I've spent the past few months fixing her up with Daren...you rememeber Daren, right? He's been a big, big help. After I helped the town clear the undead out of the mines, we started work."

Luminmorn looks around and spots Daren Edermath. The fit, silverhaired half-elf is with a silver haired elven woman.
The paladin waves towards the pair and they make their way over. Daren approaches and says "It is so good to see you all again. I hope that you've fared well these past months!" He stops a moment and then adds, "How rude of me! This here is Zhuirentel Elendaril." He turns to the elf, whose skin has a blue-white tone to it and says, "These are the ones we've been telling you about, well not all of them. That there's Bern, and next to him is Davroar. And of course there's Jaliera."

with Kriv...
The look on Sildar's face grows slightly ashen, "That is troubling. I think that was what needed to be private," he said glancing at the signet. "Two of the merchants asked me about giants. It seems that the rumor is quite widespread within the cities. The trouble you speak of is likely common knowledge. Let us talk privately later."

He slapped the dragonborn on his shoulder, "I think we better get together with some of your other friends over there". Sildar glances over to the group around Luminmorn.

with Ryssa...
"Then our fortune has yet to be determined," Sister Garael said. "Thankfully today is a day of great fortune as the mines will reopen."

The young priestess then went on to describe what she saw in the mine "That place was quite interesting. One area in particular, I think you know the one I speak of, the forge, was amazing. I would be surprised if when word of it's existence gets out, it will be coveted."

Her mood then darkened somewhat, "I worry that the changeling that got away will either want to return to take control of it or would sell the information to those who might. We searched far and wide for him to no avail."

She looks across the square and says, "Perhaps we should heed your own advice, and put our eyes and ears to good use. It looks like a small crowd is gathering around Luminmorn. Some of your old associates are there. Maybe we can learn something. Shall we join them?"

Ryssa


"Our fortune is always ahead of us," she said with a small smile.

"My faith stays with Lathandar and my friendship with my friends there."

Ryssa touched Gareale's elbow and headed off toward her companions.

"We will have to find that shape-shifter, though," she said, her expression serious in thought as they walked.

"The forge was bad enough. He was worse."