Quests, Rumors, and Information

Here Quests, Rumors, and Information are listed in chronological order according to when they were acquired. Each entry begins with an all-caps indicator of type (QUEST, RUMOR, INFORMATION).The difference between rumor and information is one of relative reliability. Quests are missions, job offers, or other things NPCs have asked you to do. Then comes the location of the where the quest/rumor/info was acquired. Finally a summary and/or quotation of the item is provided. Open quests and rumors/info that are still relevant are listed first under "Open Entries." Completed quests, or no longer relevant rumors/information, are relocated to the "Archived Entries" section below it.

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OPEN ENTRIES

RUMOR: Fairbrook, 3 July 1280: There is a ruin, called Blackwell, a short way north of town on the Woodfield Road. No one knows its origin. Legend says it has deep dungeons filled with danger and treasure. Enough adventurers have gone in and come back with sufficient loot to substantiate the rumors of wealth to be found. But tales of their struggles and scars seem to keep too many others from following in their footsteps.

RUMOR: Fairbrook, 4 July 1280: Rumors in the Red Tankard regarding Blackwell

1. At night high winds blow through the ruins atop the hill, so strong that torches and lanterns are blown out and cannot be relit;

2. An ogre lives on the first level of the dungeon, collecting tolls from adventurers in exchange for passage to the lower levels;

3. The dungeons are haunted by the undead soul of an ancient, malevolent wizard.

RUMOR/INFORMATION: Northstar Inn, 5 July 1280: Information on Blackwell. "If you travel in daylight and stick to the road, no harm should come to you."

RUMOR: Willis Farm, 5 July 1280: According to Ned Willis, "My brother, Al, said he'd heard a tale at the Northstar about some great blue gem. The Frost Giant's Eye he called it. But of course there's other things in ruins, too. It's not all treasure and gems."

QUEST: Willis Farm, 5 July 1280. According to Ned Willis: "Of course, if you do go in [to the Blackwell ruins] someday... My brother wore a ring – a family heirloom. I know it's been twenty years, and you almost certainly wouldn't find him or it. But if you did, and could return it to me, I... well, I'd be grateful." Then he adds "It's just a simple silver ring, with a 'W' carved on it. It doesn't have much value, except it belonged to my father, and my grandfather before him. I always thought I'd pass it on to Tom. It's probably not worth more than 10 gold, but I'd gladly pay ten times that for it's return."

QUEST. Northstar Inn, 5 July 1280. Hazel tells how she and Filbert were attacked on the road by the "grey men" from the inn earlier that day. "Filbert bravely tried to resist them," says Hazel, "but they were too strong. One of them struck Filbert with the pommel of a sword. That's how he got that gash. They pushed me to the ground and told me I'd hand over our gems if I knew what was good for me." Hazel looks down at the floor. "I knew we couldn't overcome those men, so I gave up our gems." Gaven responds to Filbert and Hazel, "I am sorry. We should have questioned those men further. I will do all in my power to get your gems back once we have dealt with the goblins."Thank you," says Filbert. "I heard them say something about making their way back to the keep, just before I lost consciousness." "Yes," says Hazel, "then they rode away north up the road toward Woodfield." "If you go after them," adds Filbert weakly, "I should like to accompany you. I would dearly love to give them some payback."

RUMOR/INFORMATION: North of the Northstar, 5 July 1280. Eric wipes the cold sweat from his brow. "Long ago, before I was even born, there was a tiny hamlet north of the ruins of Blackwell Keep. A merchant went there one day and found everyone dead – horribly mangled and torn, some half-eaten, as if slaughtered by some horde of savage beasts. When the locals examined the remains, everyone was accounted for except for one young woman – an elf-woman named Maggie." "At first they thought she was a victim, abducted, carried off. So they sent out search parties. One party did not come back. Eventually the search party was found, just as mangled and torn as the folk of the hamlet. But there was no sign of Maggie."
   "Everyone assumed she was dead, and that the beasts were still out there. From time to time, dead bodies showed up, in the same state as the others. Eventually people noticed that the appearance of the bodies coincided with the full moon."
   "After some years, the killings became less frequent. Folks found the courage to travel at night once again. And that's when some came back saying they had seen Maggie. Some had lived near the destroyed hamlet and knew her. Others had been members of the search parties and recognized her by her description. All of them said she filled them with an uncontrollable fear. As if death itself hung about her like a cloak."
   The locals – many of our fathers and uncles – decided that Maggie must be a witch, or possessed by a demon. They tried to exorcise the hamlet where it all occurred, burning it to the ground. But I doubt if that accomplished anything. Those who traveled at night still saw her on occasion, staring at the moon. That's why we call her the "moon-witch."
   "There hasn't been a body discovered in years now, and Maggie is seen so infrequently that we sometimes almost forget she's out there. But when we do come across her, she fills us with terror, as you can see."

INFORMATION/RUMOR. Road to the Northstar Inn, 6 July 1280. "When Varros mentions the keep, Belloc [says]  that there are a tribe of kobolds and a clan of morlocks living in there.

INFORMATION: Road to Fairbrook, 6 July 1280. Gaven asks the halflings to show the spot they were waylaid so that they can look for clues [...] Examining the area, you find a small, torn strip of cloth from a cloak, boot prints in the dirt, and two runes carved into the bark of a tree. (later discovered to be "G" and "F", in Fairbrook): Varros thanks Cosmo and asks about the symbols the party found carved into the tree. Cosmo looks at the symbols and says: "Hmm...simply a pair of runes...G and F. I really couldn't say what they mean. Perhaps G is in love with F. Or perhaps someone with the initials G.F. was marking his property. Who knows?"

RUMOR/INFORMATION: Fairbrook, 6 July 1280. Gaven's mind clears and he sees the image of a hilltop, in the far distance. The hilltop moves closer in dreamlike fashion, as if Gaven is being carried toward it. Ever closer, he can soon recognize the ruins of the keep that Belloc pointed out. But instead of the dirty, gray, mildewed stone he saw on the march, Gaven sees in his mind's eye stone that appears white and pristine, and the brilliant blue and white banner of the Light fluttering in a gentle breeze above it on a sunlit morning. [...] Cuthbert leads Gaven into a small chamber off the main chapel of the temple and showed Gaven a painting on the wall. Amazingly, although Gaven had never seen the painting before, the image on the canvas matched the scene from his meditation exactly. The abbot explained to Gaven that the painting was entitled "Dagmar's Dream." According to the abbot, Dagmar was a cleric of the militant branch of the faith, much like Gaven himself. Some fifty years ago, Dagmar had had a dream, in which she claimed to have seen the very image that had come to Gaven. She decided that it was her calling in life to reconquer the ancient keep from the shadow which enveloped it. She gathered and armed a small band of fellow clerics, and led them into the keep. But she was never seen again, and the local church has since considered her a revered martyr.

INFORMATION: Fairbrook, 6 July 1280. The only current werewolf activity abbot Cuthbert knows of is down south in the Blackleaf forest, near Ham's fork. There is a brother of the Light there, Brother Abraham. He has made somewhat of a study on werewolves, and is in the practice of hunting and trapping them in the forest – with some success. If anyone can give you more detailed information on werewolves he can.

INFORMATION: Red Serpent Bandit Lair (Blackleaf Forest), 12 July 1280. Rumor from Swede (now-deceased Hobgoblin Bounty Hunter), corroborated by documents found in Mackey's (Red Serpent Bandit Leader) possession suggest that Alanna has been in league with the Red Serpent Bandits, and had a falling out with them. Discovered correspondence between Alanna and Mackey confirms this.

INFORMATION: Red Serpent Bandit Lair (Blackleaf Forest), 12 July 1280. Grey clad thugs arrive at the Red Serpent lair and attack the Free Company. One of the grey men is recognized by the party as the grey man who (rather rudely) spoke to them at the North Star Inn. Several of the grey clad thugs bore a tatoo of G.F. runes. The party killed all the grey men except for one, who escaped into Blackleaf forest.

INFORMATION/QUEST(?): Fairbrook, Belloc's Office, 13 July 1280. Belloc informs the party that Alanna is now a wanted criminal, but that she has disappeared and remains at large (he did not ask the party to go after her, but that certainly would be an option). Belloc has received a report that Alanna was spotted heading Southwest; though if she is allied with the Grey Fox bandits, she may be in Blackwell Keep with them.

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ARCHIVED ENTRIES

QUEST: Fairbrook, 3 July 1280: A woman burst into the Mayor's office, screaming hysterically that her teenage daughter had disappeared the evening before, and that none of the King's men had been able to do anything about it. It's said there might be a reward for the daughter's safe return. (Quest Accepted and Completed)

QUEST: Fairbrook, 4 July 1280: Captain Belloc asks the party to scout north of town for the goblin horde. "Let us then say 100 gold up front – that's sum total for the company, mind you, not per man. And I can raise the spotting bounty to 300, if you find the goblins – again, that's 300 for the company as a whole – with the same 50 for the party just for your trouble if the search is unsuccessful." (Quest Accepted and Completed)

QUEST. Northstar Inn, 5 July 1280. Belloc arrives and asks the party to stay on as his scouts a bit longer: "I should very much like you to remain as my scouting party until this affair is finished, though if some of you would prefer to join in the main body of my troops until this is over, that would be equally acceptable. I've no doubt you can hold your own in a fight. Either way, I would be willing to add a small bonus to our agreed upon fee. What say you?" (Quest Accepted and Completed)

QUEST: Fairbrook, 10 July 1280. There is a 500 gp bounty on the head of the leader of the bandits on the Ham's Fork road. (Quest accepted and completed).  

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