DM Notes – C01.S01.05
Almost there… to the destination of the first adventure. Only took me 5 scenes to do it… but I had to introduce the characters, bring Joloobo into the party, give the PCs some magic stuff, set up some things… etc
In this scene, Joloobo catches up with Yisi and Valea and rewards them with superior healing potions made from the blood of the trolls they had fought the day prior. Joloobo makes some excuse about wanted the blood of the green dragon he had told them about previously, but then admits that his Sprite girlfriend Rayni (well, at least he likes to think she will one day be his girlfriend) told him to go make friends. I would have preferred to wait out her return in his forest of solitude, but the wishes of Rayni are the only law his heart knows.
Introduce a roadside shrine. There are probably many of these in the area, but as a minor encounter and possible boon, drop one here, a few hours west of Treyvigg Monastery. The shrine is teeming with gold and gems. Gifts made over the years just sit here – evidence that the shrine is legit perhaps. Otherwise the wealth would surely be stolen.
I wonder… if Cyrics Cudgel kidnapped someone to steal the wealth… obviously the victim would suffer the negative boon… but would the hand that forced the theft also pay a price? Dice say no.
Well, our party may want a blessing. For now, let that be the extent of the shrine. Later, perhaps, they find a body, or rather maybe, a suffering someone, who was kidnapped by Cyrics Cudgel to rob the shrine and suffer the curse.
Then on to Treyvigg’s.
One question I have is about combat encounters… Do I really need combat in each and every scene? Won’t it begin to feel stale and forced if I always have some combat in every scene? I think as long as I have 2 out of the 3 pillars, it qualifies. So far, we have Joloobo joining as a social encounter and the shrine as a discovery/exploration encounter (are these two really the same?)
Fast forward from the shrine a few hours to where they start to see fields of grape vines lining the foothills of the Umar Hills. There is a small sign with an arrow pointing North and marking the Treyvigg Monastery Trail. The monastery is still an hour away – further up into the mountain, though they will see several storehouses and press buildings along the way. The operation is fairly grand with nearly a hundred acres of grapes spread out across many hundreds more acres of land. There are large swaths of red grass, much like Ghallar Knoll to the west but small, and not quite so spectacular a red.
Ghallar Knoll:
An interesting spot in the western Small Teeth, Ghallar Knoll is a low, perfectly round hillock covered by grass of a brilliant scarlet hue. Legends say that eating two blades of the grass makes one 10 years younger and removes all poisons in one’s body. Legends also hint that the hill is the home of its protector, the Ghallar, about which no one knows anything at all since no one has returned to describe it in many years
What is not commonly known is that the red grass is a sign that somewhere underneath is a pocket of Red Tear gemstones. If this were known… the area would be crawling overnight with miners trying to strike it rich. The Red Tear is a precious gem, typical specimens have a base value of 1,000 gp. Even the dust has values however.
These gem stones served as a substitute for all material components used in any healing spell that didn’t require specific construction. Powdered red tear was an ingredient for making the magic ink for creating scrolls of spells that mended broken objects.
Anyway…
As party is traveling the winding trail through the lands of Treyvigg Monastery, they see workers in the vineyards, tending the vines, carting things around, tilling soil etc. They see somewhere around a 100 workers, and might safely assume there are a hundred more. Before entering the actual monastery, they see a small village made 6 longhouses. The longhouses are stone with thatched roofs. Each are large enough to sleep ~40 workers. [This needs a name?]
But before they see the village… perhaps they need another opportunity to be heroes? Why not enter the monastery right on the heels of a brave encounter? So what will the danger be? Something flying makes sense… not yet the green dragon though.
The Peryton.. Seems a perfect monster to be giving the vineyards trouble. There is actually a pair of them nearby in the mountains. The female is nearing reproductive cycle and the male is hunting for fresh humanoid hearts to feed her.
As the party passes by one of the sections of grape vines, there are several workers packing crates of grapes onto a wagon. A peryton strikes from above, lands on top of one of the workers, pins him down and starts tearing at his chest with his antlers.
NPCs for the Treyvigg intro
Elder Arrodonn – the friend of Teacher Solomvar – who Yisi and Valea were sent to see. We don’t know much of Arrodonn yet. Only that Solomvar called him a “young friend”. That would seem to say Arrodonn is long lived, an elf perhaps.
Aide Camarie – a female human and assistant to Elder Arrodonn
Dawndra Norlandr – not an NPC exactly, well, not eventually.. But for this cycle, she is essentially an NPC. Valea will be inspired by her forms practice and just may “find her art” here. But maybe Dawndra need not enter until next scene… perhaps just mentioned here.
Song Moon Temple has Teachers and Stewards and students, Treyvigg has students and Elders and Aides. A Steward and an Aide are very similar, but anyone of any age can can apply for residence at Treyvigg. If they do not become a martial student, they become an Aide. Aides work in the winery and sometimes in the vineyard. Most of the vineyard workers are hired labor however. Aides and Elders recv a portion of the winerys profits but generally speaking they do not keep much of the profit for themselves.