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You arrived back on Saturday the 24th of May, in the evening. At least a 2 day break is in order. You could head out again on Tuesday May 27th, if you want.

Milly's approach yields an immediate reaction - the men from tribe A are very keen to get the giant owl back. They offer a reward of 500 gold (equivalent), which is twice what tribe A were offering!

They also ask you if the creature still has its saddlebags on it. The reward includes the safe return of them. You'd have to talk to Gurr about that.

In terms of her other questions, they are a bit cagey, especially the leader Milenaz, who says: "I don't know how you could claim to share the senses of an animal. That is beyond our ken. We are simple hunters. The owl was trained as a chick, there is no mystery to it."

Clearly there is more about magic that he isn't saying, probably for fear of Church scrutiny. Milly hasn't fully got their confidence yet.

**

The injured retainers will be fine. In a week or so...

**
Gurr:

"Well done, my boy, and sweaty young master Darkledger too. These have been dishonorable times and your actions bring honor to our clan, and to our citadel. News of this dead shall reach far throughout the kingdoms. Yet still I fear that the beast was not bluffing when it said there are larger creatures of this kind further to the north, and it may not be too long before one of its relative comes down here and finds its kin slain. But we must meet that challenge when it arises."

Gurr continues that he thinks going to Uppers is necessary at some point, but maybe not right now - and he will not offer you troops just yet. He thinks getting inside Lower Awen might be good, as it contains high quality weapons that belong to various clans, inside the guard vault. This would be handy for equipping future parties. While you were doing this you could also scout out Mt Awen to see who is there and what sort of condition the old mountain temples look to be in...

The Guard Vault of Lower Awen is underground, beneath the main hall. He can give you an old map, if you would like to go there. He says you will have to get rid of the main door, as the keys were all lost. Some explosives can be provided for this purpose. (These are very expensive in this game).

Of course, you could scout Uppers, or cross the river and explore battlefields and get to Bennan or Ring Mountain, or go straight to Mt Awen, if you prefer. Don't let Gurr steer you too much. He's not the one who actually has to go and do this stuff, is he?

Let me know if there is anything else you want to try and wrangle out of old Gurr...he is your Dad, but he is still a clan leader and a businessman...

Putting up a new version of the map for episode 3. Hope the additions are readable.
dwarf heads - places you have been and explored.
red text - encounters or sites of note explored so far
Black Line = old main road.
Orange and Black dotted line - side road
Pink dotted line - footpath
Each hex - 3 miles across.

Your terrain move will depend on your encumbrance. If your move is 30 you will get 6 Exploration Points. But if anyone wears chain mail, you will have a move of 20 and therefore only get 4 Exploration Points.

When you move through a hex it costs Exploration Points:
.5 - walking on a road straight through the hex (includes path)
1 - walking straight through another kind of terrain
2 - looking around in the terrain, exploring a bit
3-5 - exploring a hex thoroughly, finding anything hidden there
+1 - crossing the main river
+.5 - crossing a small river
+1 or 2 - going up any of the major mountain peaks

By the way, you can use either elk or reindeer as pack animals to carry gear - that still will move you at 40' (8EP), but only any use on the roads or foot-paths. If you want to take them through the woods you'd have to get off and walk (30'). I wouldn't recommend this as goblinoids love eating animals and would be attracted to your party.

Here is a key to the map, posted above:

• The ancient Fortress of Greyforge has stood in dwarven hands for the last 5 years. It is a large citadel, partly underground. To the west lies the kingdom of Aarn and safety, and some roads leading down to the human Kingdom of Yoll. To the north lies the Kingdom of Anders, which can be reached quickly by a dangerous road that is now in no man’s land, or by a safe road on the west side of the mountains that takes many days longer.
• To the east and south of the fortress lies the Vale of Langallen, which is the initial adventure setting for this campaign.
• The towns in the Vale of Langallen were in dwarvish hands only 100 years ago and so they are still quite well known and remembered. The map should be accurate, although the party may still find surprises in each hex they explore.
• The dwarves had lived in the Vale for millennia and it was pretty well laid out before the goblins came. The black line is the major road, which is 30 feet wide and very solid. The dotted lines are smaller roads for animal sleighs and vehicles, and the pink dotted lines are walking paths.
• The terrain is mostly pine forest, including on most of the mountainsides, except the really large ones.
• The town of Upper has been scouted in the daytime is known to be occupied by goblins – at least 40 hold the town. It should be avoided to start with.
• The town of Ring Mountain was a hunting camp with many ancient carvings on the mountainsides nearby. It may have goblins in it, maybe not. No one has been there in a long time.
• There are some large marshes in upland areas called simply the Fens, which the dwarves used to avoid because of all the midges, and also because of the creatures called Scrags (trolls) that dwelled there. These creatures seemed to grow out of the marshes and the woods themselves, rather than being born to another Scrag. Thus, the dwarves could never completely eradicate them. It is feared they have probably now grown large in number without anyone to control them.
• Along the Fein River lies the Murragh, some grasslands / scrublands along a riverbank where the soil is very chalky and the dwarves used to herd a lot of elk. That terrain may have overgrown, now.
• Loch Fein was a major elk herding town and the scene of terrible fights with the goblins who wanted to eat the beasts along the Murragh. Large amounts of carved elk-horn was lost and this is considered very valuable if it can be reclaimed.
• The ‘Bridge’ towns along the main road in the valley were ruined in the invasion 100 years ago. They may or may not contain goblins - no one knows what is there any more.
• The town of Third Bridge (Lower Awen) was a military base and three major battle took place here. It is known that an important stash of weapons and armor belonging to the Awen Guard did not make it out of Awen and is probably still in the Guard Vault, unless the goblins have found a way in. These will be of exceptional (+1 quality), rather than magical.
• Mt Awen, almost exactly half-way between Greyforge and Langallen, was a religious site, a series of rock temples halfway up a high mountain. Before the goblins came, it stood as a shrine to the Church of the Very True God, the human religion which has been adopted by the dwarves of Aarn many years ago. In ancient times, it would have been a shrine to much older dwarvish deities, the Rockfather chief among them. The town used to have much wealth, but no one knows what has become of it. There were catacombs beneath the shrines. It is in these catacombs that Milly’s dreams are focused.
• The Cave Inn and the town below it were a major stop off on the trade route between Aarn and the northern Kingdom of Scarba, as well as the native human tries of the Aleut. It is widely believed that a stash of magical sleighs belonging to the Aleut people still remain there behind locked doors.
• The town of Langallen was almost entirely above ground. It was a fortress built on a hilltop by the river. There was a massacre of dwarves here when goblins overran the place with the aid of a clan of ogres. There was another battle further north as well as the dwarves retreated. No one has been here in over 100 years. It is very likely to contain humanoids and should be approached with great care.
• Beyond Langallen is definitely goblin land and it has been an extremely long time since dwarves have set foot in there.

The Kingdom of Aarn – the southernmost of the Dwarven states – used to extend all the way through the Vale of Langallen, over the Nine Bridges and onto the fortress that also bears the valley’s name. But 100 years ago – still very much in living memory – the Vale was overrun by a resurgent goblin tribe, the Black Spears. And 20 years ago, the same goblin tribe even managed to take the ancient fortress of Greyforge, and the north end of the valley.

This was a huge blow the Dwarvish pride, as well as blocking several key trade routes to the north, but the King, Archie ‘Redhands’ Cullen, was too old and senile to do anything about it, and the nation’s clans were in disarray. It was not until his son, Cody ‘Silverhand’ Cullen, took the throne 8 years ago that steps were taken to reclaim the fortress of Greyforge.

The campaign to take Greyforge was, in many ways, a defeat. The fortress was reclaimed, but at a great cost. Many fine dwarf soldiers and clansmen were killed during the final days of the siege, due mostly to poor leadership and lack of co-ordination. What should have been the start of a major campaign to take back the whole Vale of Langallen, instead ended in a Pyrrhic victory at Greyforge. Beyond that, to the south and east, the goblins still hold sway, and may fine Dwarven towns and citadels still lie in ruins.

That day, many proud soldiers quit the Army of Aarn in disgust, never to return.

The GREYFORGE campaign begins with a small band of dwarves from the Onyxbreaker clan, led by a human seer called Milly, who has been having visions of a great treasure lying in some catacombs beneath the shrines of Mt. Awen. If her dreams are true, this treasure has lain there for many hundreds of years, undisturbed by goblins or dwarves alike.

It contains one item, in particular, that seems to be drawing Milly's attention - - a crown, certainly human in size and workmanship, made of silver. Compared to many of the other items in the hoard, it does not stand out as looking particularly valuable. But in Milly's dreams, it is the the center of the hoard, and she knows, instinctively, that much magical power will be unlocked if she can get her hands on it.

Fortunately for her, the dwarves of the Onyxbreaker clan are ready for a journey into the Vale - - word from the scouts has it that goblin numbers have seriously decreased over the last few years. Perhaps the journey to Awen will not be as dangerous as everyone previously feared...

see several other posts above...and this is the end of background...

Milly's visions have been happening with creasing frequency sine Milly turned 21, or, some other event in her life triggered her seer ability (whatever you want it to be).

Vision 1 - the hoard:


The human-looking statue is present in the dream and everything else is as you see it here. The statue is wearing a silver crown, which Milly knows instinctively is extremely powerful and will unlock many of the secrets of seer magic. Much of the rest of the treasure is evidently Dwarvish.

Vision 2 - The Temple: Milly has repeatedly seen this place, as though flying towards it and over it. After some research she concluded it is the old temples of Mt Awen in the Vale of Langallen. She believes that the treasure hoard is somewhere beneath the temples. So far she has not seen any goblins or other creatures near the temples.

Vision 3: The Scrag

Milly has seen these creatures eating elk and other animals. She is told by the dwarves they are called Scrags. Each one stands about 8-9' tall. She has seen them in a river near a bridge, which the animals use to get across the river. She thinks she would recognise the place if she saw it.

She has recently seen a fight between one of these creatures and some people who look like this:



The creature won and several of the men died, others fled. The dwarves tell Milly these are the Aleut people from further north.



The Ranger:
Milly has also had occasional visions of a tall, dark-haired man with a longbow, moving through deciduous forest. He looks very familiar. He is accompanied by others, but the visions never show them clearly. He looks like this:

Sorry for the delayed response.

--

Milly will try to find out about the saddlebags, and reunite Owlie with its rightful tribe. Assuming she has no reason to doubt that Tribe A isn't in fact the correct tribe, she'll help them as much as she can.

--

"Well Father, perhaps a resumption of our quest to the vaults beneath Lower Awen is in order. We'll find those weapons. We'll take that map, and I'm sure Thann here would love to play with some explosives!"

Thann is startled by Chevo's excited pat on his back, but he quickly recovers, nodding vigorously at the idea of blowing up a vault door.

"How would you suggest we bring all these weapons back? Our Elk is strong, but that might be a bit much with all the provisions for the journey there. It'll take us at least a week to get there if we do nothing but hurry along the trail."

--

In general the plan will be to head East, bypassing Uppers. Possibly dipping south to give it a quick scout, but most likely saving the group's resources for Mt. Awen and Lower Awen.

There is a blanket in there, some jerky, some leather cord, a fur hood, a pipe, some tobacco, some reindeer fur, some tinder, flint, and a pouch containing 17 bone tokens about the size of a coin. These are all inscribed with the simple runes of the Aleuti people. Milly does not know what they are for. She has not heard about the Aleut ever using currency.

There is also a bone knife, and an old dwarvish-made green glass bottle with some liquid inside.

Gurr has been keeping hold of all of this for you, and has had it looked over by a well-known appraiser, Vast McAlish, who had knowledge of the Aleut tribes back in the day. He says the runes are versions of regular Aleut runes and are used in divination in a similar way to tarot. He sees no harm in giving any of the stuff back to tribe A - the Unagax tribe.

If you do this, the traders seem most keen to get their hand son the saddlebags first and foremost. The leader, Milenaz, seems about to ask something about the saddlebags and then decides better of it and simply takes the items. The 500gp is guaranteed as the traders have at least 1500 worth of rare furs, including some arctic fox.

Milly is present when the traders are taken up onto the mountainside above Greyforge to reunite with Owly. She notices at once hat the bird doesn't actually seem very pleased to see the men. The bird-handler Mannish (another Ironshield relative) also notices this and says:

"Bird's been mistreated, lass. T'aint fit. T'aint proper. T'aint right. Bird like that, should be the pride of heroes, not some beast of burden. You sure you want to give it up?"
He's been riding the bird and is very find of it. He also tells you the bird is probably worth about 4000gp. Giving it back to the traders will maintain a good trade relationship with them but seems like the bird will suffer.

What does Milly do? Take the 500 and run? Or try to renegotiate? Sh still has a strong but inexplicable image of Thann riding the bird in her mind.
___

I will get the map and some details about the explosives to you soon. In the meantime, Gurr nods sagely at your question about the weight of all the weapons you hope to find, and agrees to lend you another elk, an animal handler (a 1st level NPC expert) as well as a hand cart, which may or may not make it on the paths.

"With Redfellow here, and the cart, you should be able to bring back enough to arm the whole clan!" he says with relish.

Milly will pale slightly at the thought of Owlie being mistreated. She will then walk up to the beast and try to concentrate, on case she happens to be granted a vision. Either way, she will remove her hand from the beast, and start as if she had been granted some vision. She'll then turn to Mannish and nod at him, then turn to the Aleut, "It would seem the terms of our arrangement have changed and must be renegotiated. The Owl stays with us." Milly will then cross her arms and give the hardest stare she can muster.

--

Chevo will nod excitedly. "Very well father, we'll leave in the morning! Thann, find that fool girl and make sure we've got enough rations for this next expedition, and make sure you replenish your arrows. And someone tell Cholum!"

With that the group will scatter, with Thann running off to find Milly...

"Why?" demands the leader. She's ours. The reward is a good one. What has changed?"

In the end he is prepared to offer you 750 - or a straight 375 for the saddlebags alone. He doesn't seem to want to renegotiate with Gurr - he'd rather talk to you.

Make your call on that, and then we can move on to the next chapter. The bottom line is, if you do not at least give them the saddlebags back, it will affect the trade partnership. If you don't give them the owl back, it will also harm the relationship, but not as badly.

The old barracks of Kuln stood mostly below ground in the Ridge of Kuln at Lower Awen, next to a small stream that ran down to the nearby river. Two large towers stood out from an outcrop, both 3 stories high. The rest of the construction was inside the outcrop.

The occupants of Kuln fled when the goblins invaded through passages in the north side of the outcrop, leading to the town. The small number of dwarves inside collapsed these passages using explosives, but had no means to carry all of the weapons inside, and elected to leave some behind. There are thought to be about 40 high quality weapons remaining in the armory rooms (near the towers).

The main door was very secure, and it is hoped that the goblins have never penetrated into the ridge. They did however destroy the town of Lower Awen, which was to the north, behind the outcrop.