Woe wrote:OOC: Do they have evil intent? It might change my response but probably not. Go bold or go home.
No, you do not sense any evil intent.
Woe wrote:Sanzaru steps forward and in a bold voice, states "Hail and well met! I am Sanzaru Greyhelm, Paladin of (Moradin?). We have been obliged by the Lords of New Aenoch to rid you of the gnoll Gritznak. A traveler coming from Malforten suggested we speak with Eryl." He'll keep his hands away from his axe, but wary all the same.
Map of Malforten town
You see the man visibly relax as he steps forward to greet you.
"Well met, indeed, Sanzaru Greyhelm. I am Nefydd Goff the Airhder. I apologize for the harsh reception but we are at our wit's end here. Gritznak has everyone on edge." He motions for the men to stand down.
"Your information is correct. You will need to meet with Eryl the Hoskin. He's the leader of our militia, such as it is, and as luck would have it, he's currently at The Empty Flagon distributing the evening’s orders." He drops his voice down to a conspiratorial whisper and adds,
“You’ll have to excuse him though. He can be…confrontational…at times. He feels responsible for the town and the fact that we haven’t been able to defeat Gritznak has him wound tighter than a lute string.” He gestures for you to follow him and leads you into town.
You head east between the houses marked 2 and 5 on the map. As you walk the path, you start to smell aromas of food being prepared; it smells like potatoes and sausage. Unfortunately, this pleasant smell is interrupted quickly by the stench of wet dog and feces coming from the dog kennels that you see behind the house marked 2. You see and hear dogs barking loudly as the party passes, and then you hear a gruff
“SHADDAAAHHP” come from the house. The dogs stop barking instantly, and one of them lets out a whimper.
As you reach a point where you can see the front of the houses you are walking between, you notice that house 5 has barrels stacked on the front porch and both houses have crude signage. The sign on house 2 says “Mathonwy’s Kennels” and the one on house 5 says “Rope and Barrel”.
Past the buildings, the street opens into a circular area which is quite obviously the town 'square'. You see a well with a large bell hanging on the side of the wooden pulley system used for lowering the bucket. Nefydd leads you across the square and up to a large building located directly north (marked 1). It is a single-story structure with a thatched roof and has a sign that says “The Empty Flagon”. The smell of food is now overpowering and seems to have reminded your stomachs as you hear and feel them start to rumble.
As you enter the building you see a large common room with a dirt floor, stone fireplace, and a single bar. Nefydd signals you to wait just inside the door and hurries over to a table off to the side of the room where he has a short, whispered discussion with the man sitting there. After a few moments he motions you over.
"Eryl, this is the group that just arrived", he says and then excuses himself.
Eryl fixes you with an icy stare as he stands. You notice a slight limp as he comes around from behind the table. He is tall and thin and is wearing a chainmaille hauberk. He has a thick beard and shoulder-length hair with braids on either side.
"These are our mercenaries!?" He stops himself, realizing he is being rude. He tries to smile, but you can tell it’s forced, and as he talks you see his anger rise again.
"Welcome to Malforten. We are glad that you have come to our aid. As you are probably already aware, a gnoll named Gritznak has been terrorizing our village.
He has us held hostage! He demands tribute to leave our village intact! We have attempted to find his hideout to take him by surprise and capture him ourselves, but we have failed on every attempt. This has only made matters worse. Each time he brings his putrid lot into my town, he raises his requirements! Soon, we will merely be working to stay alive, with no profit or quality of life for the people of this town!”
He lowers his voice and gets closer to the group:
”What’s worse, is that he must have spies among us. Gritznak seems to know our every move, and the last time we were planning a search party to find his lair, the group was mysteriously ambushed along the way by Gritznak and his crew.
The Lords in New Aenoch seem to be too busy fighting their wars to the west and south. Those damned affairs have consumed most of Outremere’s veteran warriors, and they do not have any to spare! They have, however, offered a bounty to assist us. Should you bring Gritznak to us or kill him, the reward is 500 gold pieces. If you put an end to him, you must bring us his head. There is a catch - the Lords did not trust that the bounty would be safe here in our village. I have been given a token to give to the persons who put an end to Gritznak’s evil. This token must be presented to a Lord of New Enoch to collect the reward. You are, of course, entitled to any valuables that you collect from Gritznak’s lair, as well."
As he inspects the group, he says:
“I have to be honest, this journey will likely be the end of some or all of you. You do not look like the type of fellows that can finish this task. But, you are all we have, and I have no choice but to put what little faith I have in you.” He shakes his head in disappointment.
“The horses and wolves that his party rides are always wet when he arrives here. His forces must ford the Drunderry close to the village. In the past we have tracked his party, and they seem to always come from the north. It is getting late, and you are welcome to stay the night in our town, but I wouldn’t be offended if you did not keep us company. We are quickly approaching another due date for a tribute, and our stocks are low. The colder months will soon be upon us, and we cannot afford to lose more supplies.”