A Death in the Family
Adarrial Smythe, Man of Renown, arrived in Great Rock on October 31st—All Hallow’s Eve. It had been several years since this handsome, well-spoken, and seemingly ageless individual had last visited the village, but none had forgotten him. While no one doubted his claim to be a wandering cleric dedicated to Metron, son of Altius and protector of travelers and merchants, many whispered that there was far more to the Man of Renown than met the eye.
Some claimed that Smythe had sorcerous powers. Others believed him to have the blood of elves running in his veins. And a few simply stated outright that while they couldn’t put their finger on it, there was just something . . . different about the young man. As time would later show, all of these stories had a grain of truth.
But today, Adarrial Smythe—man of mystery, inspirer of souls, and most of all spinner of tales—had a goal. He was heading south, he said, to finally lay claim to his ancestral home of Greatwall Keep. What’s more, he needed a few brave souls to accompany him, for the keep lay beyond the border between civilized lands and the wild frontier.
He had little trouble finding a suitable escort: Aethelred, Druga, Duran, and Seth quickly volunteered. None of these young men had ever ventured that far away from Great Rock, and they saw this as a chance to seek yet more adventure. Loading some supplies aboard Adarrial’s wagon, and mounting their newly purchased horses, the characters set off into the wilderness.
Two days out, they arrived in Fort Kavanaugh, a walled village that stood watch over the road that led from the civilized area of the Western Province into the wild. After a raucous night at the Flying Fish Inn, our heroes set off in the morning, confident in their abilities to meet any challenge head-on.
Turning from the main road about a day south of the fort, the characters road along a rough trail leading toward the coast. Soon the keep came into view, its tall but crumbling walls still relatively intact. The great double doors hung ajar, inviting the characters to investigate. Druga—by this time an accomplished rider and mounted warrior—spurred his steed forward.
Alas, Druga’s bravery was to prove his undoing, for as he approached, the doors were flung open by an enormous two-headed giant wielding a pair of greatclubs. Most of the horses, unused to battle, panicked and fled, leaving some of the characters behind. For his part, Adarrial Smythe tried in vain to control the horse that pulled his wagon through the forest, but succeeded only in reining it back from unwittingly throwing itself from a high cliff overlooking the sea.
Faced with a dire choice—follow the fleeing Man of Renown to rescue him from an unknown fate, or stay behind and protect his vulnerable comrades—Druga did what any bold adventurer would do: he faced the ettin head-on, trading blows with it as best he could.
But victory was not in the cards this day. Despite his valor, Druga simply could not stand up to the ettin’s punishing strikes. Druga Entier-dahl, stableboy-turned-huntsman, bold slayer of goblins and worgs, died that day, but his death allowed his friends to escape their own almost-certain doom at the ettin’s hands.
Their horses long-gone, the three remaining friends walked quietly back down the road toward Fort Kavanaugh. By the time Adarrial had rejoined the others, a heavy rain had begun, turning the trail into thick mud. Along the way, the characters heard wolves howling behind them, which hastened their steps. By the time the bedraggled party finally reached safety behind the walls of the village, their despair was deeper than at any time of their short adventuring careers. Their boyhood friend was gone, and they couldn’t imagine any scenario in which they could avenge his death.
Would this spell the end for the protectors of Great Rock?
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