On this day we take our rite, our plunge into the adult world. For all my life now, I‘ve tended to a farm and working the land and animals. Today I prove myself.

Today I wake up underneath a bench in the drink hall of our town. Trovlag yelp at me to wake up and all I want to do is slap him. I rise as he peers around the room, holds his belt and asks me if I got ‘it’. With a grin I take a luke-warm ale from his hands and gulp it for breakfast. Across the room 2 girls laugh and point. Trovlag flexes his muscles and I raise a bicep almost the same size as his torso. As Tori tells me proudly that he’ll be graced in adulthood and face any quest with divine bravery I find myself snacking off random tables.

We waddle our way to the markets for the festival. As I decide to stuff my own and other faces with apples, I find my way to the fruit stand a lot and am included in their world view of true workers and get extra apples and positive approval from the stand holders. We meet up with Groa, a local girl mostly raised by the seer and perhaps a bit ”Spiritually Enhanced”. We briefly discuss that we all have our quest into adulthood on this day before we find ourselves playing with hand-imprinted spires from the main square in our town.

We scrawl from market stand to market stand, Trovlag finds a metal necklace that shines just right on him and Groa is adoring the florist’s stand. At the fruit markets, I stand again, with apples. As midday looms over us, we find our way to the large hall in the town and prepare to have the village council speak to us.

We gather in the Elder’s hall together with others who will go through their rite of passage today. The high elder welcomes us and impresses on us what a wonderful day it will be. He assures us that he believes in us but we must never grow careless. The rest of the council take turns speaking to us, from pressing how important this will be to lighthearted inspirationals. We are requested to walk to the main square of the village, all the while the towns folk cheer for us. Groa sweetly smiles while Trovlag finds the time to flex and strut himself down the cobbled path. I find myself timidly smiling and waving as we approach the central and the seer.

We line up and are split into 2 groups. I find myself with Groa and Trovlag and our other peers combined into another. The seer produces a cap and tells us to draw a rune from it to see what our assignment will be. The other group must retrieve a dagger from the village to the far north. Trovlag quickly picks a rune and holds it up, we have been chosen to slay a white ox and bring it’s pelt back.

We receive bags with rope, rations and other useful items. On our walk to the outskirts of the town we exchange ideas on how to find an ox. We know they graze in the open tundra’s but we are also wary about Orcs. Trovlag on the other hand, boasts proudly how he will do away easily with any Orcs or beasts we will fight. Groa seems mostly unbothered as we reach the bridge leading out of the town. We take a breath and step over.

Our first day we spend on foot walking North. We find no real signs or tracks of Ox or anything else. We slowly adjust our path to the East before setting up for the night in between some rocks. Groa tells us of the surrounding area and it’s fauna while we dictate shifts. We manage to get a small fire going and Trovlag takes the first watch. I take the next watch and find no trouble. As Groa’s shift comes along, so does some excitement. Late in her shift she wakes us and tells us there’s movement nearby.

Being the valiant heroes we are ,we start by throwing a rock into the bushes, only to have a small fox jump out and run away again. After some laughs we prepare for morning. We continue North East until we find our way through rocky cliffs and hills. Suddenly, we hear roars and the trampling of hooves. We crawl over the hill and see Orcs on horses in the distance. Riding on horses with armor stained with red hand-prints. We quickly decide to hide and stay put until they pass.

Taking a moment to think about the implications of Orcs being nearby, we head a stretch South to the river. After refilling our water skins Trovlag was able to discern that a herd of ox had passed here. Together we decide to head North East again. We find our way to a small opening in between the cliffs and rocky outcroppings. We find many a tracks but they were split. Groa seeked an audience with nearby spirits and confirmed which road we would follow.

After miles of tracking we finally came across a herd of OX, and in the middle lied our objective, a white ox. I remarked that perhaps me and Trovlag could sneak on to it while Groa used a sleeping spell to ease our approach. I would lasso our ropes we had tied together on the Ox and try to keep it under control. As we started our approach one of the males came closer to us, giving a display of power. I had tried to calm it with a trick I used at the farms, but it did not work on the wild ones.

As it charged towards me and Trovlag, we could only hear confused murmurs from Groa behind us. While Trovlag was able to swiftly dodge the beast, I found one of it’s legs stomping into my chest. In a slight moment I was able to take a swing at it and penetrate it’s eye-socket, scrambling it’s brain. Groa quickly made her way to my side and was able to restore some of my wounds. Trovlag called out that the herd was dispersing. We had to act fast; I run to the white ox and quickly swung the lasso around it’s head. Sadly, my grip on the ground was not what I wanted it to be and I found myself being dragged for a few miles.

The beast found itself trapped in some dilapidated ruins. Groa and Trovlag were able to catch up and arrived in time to see me and the beast fall through the ground. After a harsh landing I find myself next to the beast. Breathing heavy and seemingly immobile I had to act fast. I grab it’s horns and twist it’s neck. A brutal snap echoes through the chamber I find myself in. From a above I hear Groa and Trovlag asking what else is down there. I take a quick look and see an odd crystal and a suit of armor. I report this and am met with a dagger falling by my feet. Trovlag tells me to get to work in a mocking tone and Groa seems unsatisfied with my description of what I’ve seen. I am 20 feet below the ground, next to a dead ox and my body feels torn and broken.

After I launch the rope up and take a rest after being dragged and dropped with the ox, the others find their way down and start to investigate the room. Groa investigates the crystal while Trovlag takes a look at the suit of armor.

The armor seems to be a full plate, a very rare thing for us to find, complete with sword. The crystal on the other hand leaves us puzzled. It floats gently above a small altar and has a purple hue to it. We are unable to move it and Trovlag tried to put the helmet from the armor on it to perhaps disrupt whatever aura it emits or was linked to.

To our shock, but not our surprise we trigger a trap. The crystal shines and the armor starts to move. The helmet and sword make it’s way to the body plate. Trovlag attempts to keep the sword of it’s reach while I attempt to break the helmet. In a quick flurry of punches and slashing, Trovlag and me were able to crack the armor. With smoke emitting from it, both the armor and the crystal start to dissolve into dust.

 

A bellowing voice thunders through our head, “Worthy” it exclaims. While we wonder we start a small fire from benches around the room. We find chiseled images on the walls. Seemingly a battle between good and evil with a dragon in it’s centerfold. Trovlag is able to take out a piece of the wall that depicts the ‘good’ warriors while I start cooking. Groa seems content with eating the Ox raw, which is only slightly creepy to me.

During the night we take shifts and I use mine to start skinning the ox. In the morning we awake to the sight of Groa having painted some of the walls in the Ox’s blood. I also noticed that I had been growing scales of some sort on my knees and elbows from an amulet we had picked up. Being highly cautious I had passed the amulet to Groa. After some quick breakfast we decide to search beyond this room. Through small corridors we find small rooms with a few pieces of paper and rotten wood.

One of the doors was trapped. When Trovlag and I tried to bash it open we were engulfed in flames. To our dismay we did not find anything useful in the room. While going on and searching this dark place, we came across a chamber with a giant insect-like creature. After some grappling and stabbing, Trovlag and I were able to subdue it. Closer examination of the room yielded us with some broken scale mail, studded leather armor and a small nest of metal eating insects.

As we searched on for a way out, we found ourselves in a room teeming with bats. After a strange attempt by Trovlag and me to swat them away, they flew off. We quickly discerned they went to a possible exit. Peering into the last room we were greeted by thousands of spiders. While not aggressive, we decided to leave them for now.

We chose to check where the bats flew of with the thought they would have gone to an exit. After a small jump and some boulders in the way, we had found our way out. He went back to take a last look at the chamber brimming with spiders. We decided to light the webs with our torches and perhaps search the room later. After the spiders all scurried through the fireplace in the room and the fire had died down, we were met with a large spider. As the valiant heroes we are we went for the exit and began our trek back to our village.

With a heavy pelt, a rock and a busted-up piece of armor we begin heading south-west. During one of the nights spend traveling back, while we were camping out and slept, we all seemingly had the same dream.

We awoke in a tent, we were all present and near us was armor and weaponry. After sharing confusing looks and under the duress of a ringing bell, we opted to peek outside the tent. Before were row upon rows of tents, people hurdling and grouping up. Never before had any of us seen so much Iron and Steel. Large numbers of the people we saw were in full plated armor welding impressive swords and large shields. We wondered at where we were, so we decided to head out and attempt to ask someone.

From our attempts we gathered small bits of information; Today was a day of war, before us stands a legion of men and woman, heavily armored and opposite Is a legion of darker clad iron and swords. In a roaring thunder, far opposite of us suddenly opens a hole in the ground, a dark, miasma follows and from it rises a being none of us have ever seen. An obscured crow with a human face, letting out shrieks and crushing all that steps too close. We shudder until we notice the legion on our side making a move.

Those centered start to move away from the middle into a circular pattern. 1 Person now stands alone in the eye of the iron legion and a blue haze and shimmer starts to appear. In a flash a giant human in plated armor floats above the circle. Large, white wings and a massive sword. We loudly wonder and to our ease we can discern the name from the crowd around us. Ragathiel.

Above us, the skies start to part, clouds move aside together with a loud roar. Through the hole in the sky, a grey beast appears. To us, the picture is complete. This is the battle we’ve seen on the wall in the ruins. Above us are the rising figure and the skies are divided by a grey Dragon with purple eyes. We awake confused and wonder for some time. We decide to take it up with the Village Elders and the Seer when we get back.

During the 2nd night, Trovlag saw something troubling around the river we camped by. He woke me up before rapidly reporting that he saw Trolls fishing by the riverside. In half of a daze we confessed to only having heard of Trolls and took solace in how Trovlag told us that they had left.

On a midafternoon we came within sight of home, a small group saw our approach and gave us distant cheer. After some time we got to the gates and were greeted by a guard by the watch tower. After giving us some praise on coming back, a small crowd finds us and cheers us on. Basking in glory and feeling at ease at our arrival home, we wave and raise our arms in praise while making our way to the Councils housing.

We are quickly greeted and ushered in by the council, who congratulate us fervently on our return and completion of our task. We are guided to the seers’ housing and the pillared town center. Warmly greeted by the seer he allows us to leave our mark on the pillars. With an amazing feat the Seer made the stone malleable and we place our hand prints. Groa choses a place close to the ground in a form of humble satisfaction, I manage to land my hand higher than most and Trovlag in his quest to show his success gets on my shoulders and plants it high upon the pillar.

Before we truly celebrate our passage into adulthood we explain our findings to the council and the seer. The Seer professes to fate guiding us and advises us to seek out his mother in the Landriri swamp lands. The council is surprised by the ruins and debates it’s use as an outpost against the Orc and for the safety of travelers.

The late night arrives and Trovlag and me find ourselves in the drink hall. We keel ale after ale and indulge in the mushrooms giving to me by my paragon. Groa opts for a relaxing evening while me and Trovlag find ourselves companionship for the evening. In the morning we group together again and solidify our plans to visit the Seers mother, against the wish of a council member who stressed to us the ruins are of large importance.

As we got ready, Groa told us she needed time to think about all we had seen. A bit disappointed that we would not travel together, Trovlag and I said our goodbyes. Before we were able to head out, Reyna of the town militia came to us. She introduced us to Grondi, one of the town militia who was chosen to go with us and find the seers mother.

After a quick exchange of pleasantries and recognizing Grondi as an Orc slayer, we slowly moved our way on. Past the farmlands we found our way into the swamp by following the river. On the road we had to pass a ditch dug by the farmers to keep cattle from escaping. I managed to leap over in 1 stride while Grondi fell face-first into the muck. With a laugh Trovlag leaped over with some rope assistance.

As we attempted to find our way through the swamp we found countless Troll tracks. The passage was rather uneventful, taking our time to camp and cook. On the road we came across primitive fetishes hanging from trees. At first I believed these to belong to the Seers mother. Later we suddenly found ourselves caught by Trolls. While they attempted to stuff us into nets, Trovlag was able to slip out while Grondi and I attempted to wrestle ourselves loose. Trovlag followed us while I feinted being unconscious.

They dragged us to their camp where they attempted to tie us to poles. I attempted to stop feinting and strike at the nearest Troll. While I was able to strike one down, a larger Troll appeared and attempted to knock me down. I was able to move a few steps and try to release Grondi from his binds. Sadly, I was quickly grabbed by several Trolls and found my way back tied to the pole.

From the distance we saw Trovlag who beckoned us to be quiet. Before us now stood the Matriarch of the this Troll clan. Pushing it’s claw into my forehead, I was suddenly able to understand it’s language.

It told us that we were in the wrong place and that we would probably be tasty. Night had come and most of the Trolls went to sleep. Trovlag attempted to sneak in and free us but was met with a surprise from a Troll feinting to sleep. Soon enough we were met with the Matriarch again. It pricked my forehead again and spoke to me. I attempted to bargain our way out and met with a deal. 1 Ox per month for the Trolls. As we agreed, it placed a spell on me, infecting my arm. The Matriarch revealed that it was a measure to ensure I would not neglect our promise. With our newfound safety we quickly escaped and found a place to camp for the night.

After some more traveling and reaffirming that the Trolls would leave us be as long as we didn’t attack them, we came across a clearing. Lush, green grass with a beautifully build house stood in its middle. In front of it was a seemingly old lady sitting in a rocking chair. We approach.

The old woman greeted us pleasantly from a distance while we made an awkward and slow approach. We ask if she is the mother of the Seer we’ve been looking for and she confirms this. We ask about the book we have, the curse on my arm and about the nearby Trolls. She states she gladly wants to help, but in return for an eye. Being rather attached to our own we ask what others will suffice. The Seers mother tells us that a humanoid eye will be enough.

We head south along one of the rivers and soon enough we find a small village. It belongs to Boggarts. We take our time to scope out the village and its inhabitants. It mostly consists of small families. Grondi accidently rests his foot on a loose branch and sends the village into silence. As the Boggarts eyes stray over to our location, me and Trovlag stay low and tell Grondi to back up and lead them close for us to grab. While backing up, Grondi fires a few arrows to keep them after him and after some punches and stabs, we fell 2 of the Boggarts. One of them before his death loudly croaks and is met with more croaks from all around us. We grab one of the bodies and make our way back to the Seers mother.

After some time we meet up again and bring the eyes to ‘Grandma’ and she is quite joyed. She removes my curse and identified it as a ‘Locate’ Spell. She gives us a run-down of the book and mentioned it was written by Elfs. We ask several questions about the book and the Elfs.

We discover that the battle from the book and the dream we had earlier was broken up by the Dragon we saw, now known as the First Dragon. While the book was written by an Elf, or at least in Elf, ‘Grandma’ tells us that the Elfs weren’t very prominent in that point in history. She also regales us tales about Dwarves.

After enjoying some tea we ask if we may camp out in the clearing. We take shifts, cook a little and I have a slight wondering moment about the Sun setting in a very speedy manner. Trovlag himself has had slight visions about a darker undertone of our surroundings. After some breakfast the next day we bid farewell to ‘Grandma’ and continue our way back to our village. It’s noted how the way back seems easier to navigate then our entry voyage.

As we return to the village, we inform Reyna about our ordeals with the Trolls, Boggarts and ‘Grandma’. She expresses some amazement at there being a person older than the Seer, Trolls demanding tribute and a wavery disbelieve about delivering eyes and the tales of Dwarfs and Elves. She tells us to get ready to move to the Ruins and see if it has the possibility of being a forwards base. We meet again in the morning after a night rest.

Our first stop after meeting up is to head to the craftsman and check on the Scale Mail we dropped off some time ago. The Scale Mail itself was beautifully repaired. Many of the links were moved around together with the material used to fix it to reveal a line-by-line design, shining with the master workings of Smitty McSmithface. We discover that none of us can truly use this armor to our liking.

We complement the work, but sadly reveal that we can’t actually make us of it. We request if perhaps we could use it as store credit in trade for other things. We acquire 4 Pilums. I carry 2 of them. We head on out to Reyna and do a quick greet.

Reyna again pushes on us the importance of the possible forward base. With a bit of rallying by me, Grondi and Reyna feel a brief moment of strong desire to slay Orcs and voice it pleasantly. Reyna asks us where to go and quickly introduces the 4 Militiamen that will go with us. Trovlaag is easily able to discern where to go and leads us safely to the ruins faster than we’ve done before. At some familiar locations we reminisce about Groa. While we understand she has no desire to throw herself into harm’s way, we do miss her and share our tales with Grondi on the way.

As we arrive at the hole left in the ruin’s ceiling, I joyfully mentions that the dead Ox was my work and I even got away alive. We move to the entrance, or exit as we used it. We pass by the small smoke stack sticking out from the ground and wonder if we could simply drop a torch and burn the giant spider. We decide not to.

Over a small leap we all come at the door leading to our fabled ‘Spider Room’. Trovlaag ties a rope to the door to close it fast and safely if needed while I stand ready at the other side of the door. Reyna, Grondi with his bow and the 4 Militiamen stand ready. As we open the door we find all the spiderwebs intact and filled with 8-legged life. We wonder for a strong moment and throw a torch in. From the fireplace a large, spikey leg appears and the small spiders start to assemble. I attempt to grab a torch and light the webs and hopefully the spider. My actions are too late and I almost run into the giant spider as it lurches out of the door.

I fumble my hands at the creature and luckily Grondi’s arrows and Reyna’s blade find their way into the beast. I am given a reprisal and bury my fists with force into the large fiend. Trovlaag makes a slide towards the giant spider and with his daggers, slices it to the end of its life. Trovi takes no breaks as he starts to carve and attach the exoskeleton of the head to his shoulder. The militia and Reyna start clearing the rest of the Ruin as we watch and guard Trovlaag.

We meet again all together at the entry room I fell through on our first visit. The stench of the dead and rotting alpha Ox makes it a dreadful place to be, but the wonderment at the incarved walls take the attention enough. Reyna is a bit more moved by what she sees while I apologize for the dead creature on the floor. Reyna is pleased with this location but notes that we’ll need materials to fix up the place. She mentions Kargath and a smith by the name of Elliot. She hands us an medallion and tells us this should prove to Elliot we are send by her. We say our quick goodbyes and Reyna repeats that we should trust no-one in Kargath.

After a short trek and hiding from Orcs we find ourselves at the gates of Kargath, the Iron City. At the gates we are greeted by a guard who asks us our reasons for coming here. Grondi politely explains we come on command of Reyna of Londro and are here to buy supplies. However, when the guard per sues the matter, I quickly defuse the conversation and we can enter.

The Iron city before us is not quite as we had in mind. While tall mountains are the strong backdrop, before us we see small cots and several small smithies. We see a few farm animals roam and note how much dirt and filth has collected along the ground. We head over to one of the larger smithies and ask for Elliot. From the side a large man appears while taking off some of his work gear. He greets us and asks us what our business here is.

We mention Reyna and the supplies and he lets us into his house. We take a small meal and explain further about the forward base and present the medallion. We also question about the book and dwarfs. He agrees on the supplies to fix up the forward base but can’t personally help with the book. He mentions a person referred to as “The King underneath the mountain” and folklore about Elf’s living in a forest by the name of Thick Thorn. We thank him (And totally don’t shit talk his house) and walk along the town for a small bit.

Suddenly we are halted by guards who exclaim that they have found the son of Torvag and promptly arrest us. Under the eyes and weapons of 5 guards, we protest but go along. With much confusion about Trovlaag’s father being mentioned we find our way into a jail. Trovi is taken away as Grondi and I wait our time away and wonder about Dwarfs for a moment.

Trovlaag is brought to a large hall, towards a large table. At the end of the table sits a person who is identified as the King of Kargath. With boredom in his voice he explains to Trovlaag that his father killed the Prince and several guards. With the death of the Prince, he was able to rise to power but could not simply let Torvag walk away. While he does note he has no intention of harming Trovlaag and his friends, he cannot simply allow them to roam freely through the city.

Me and Grondi are brought into the room after some time and with suspicion we listen to the King. He asks of us to perform a play of any sort for the town and we will be allowed to leave. We agree and are led to a small room to start making our show.

In the room we all take a second, look at each other and know we won’t put on a play. While Trovi talks to the lone guard on our room, I quickly disarm him of his spear and we all together push him to the ground. We aim a spear at him and command him to be silent. We debate wearing his armor and a window in the room.