The Village of Nulb, Viscounty of Verbobonc
To His Lordship, the Viscount Wilfrick of Verbobonc,
The kind gentleman Whit of Griffon's Cove was right.
The village of Nulb reeks of garbage and filth. I'm simply amazed with the debauchery, riotous attitudes, and lack of general upkeep, how any of these wooden buildings are still standing.
But even as we attempted to blend into this town... poorly I surmise, was that this bustling, corrupt village of outlaws and oathbreakers was operating differently.
Something is going on..
I've learned to secure my belongings on different parts of my body while traveling with Rolgrim Snakecloud, but these were his type of folk, and to watch him work the crowd was something near magical.
I was prepared to grab my sword and dash out to the horses when Rolgrim came up to a table of obvious river pirates and pointed at the rest of the Order of Merit. Apparently, claiming we were all bounty hunters didn't make any of the patrons blink an eye. Claiming we were hunting down the horrible fool elf Talanth Blackash made us brothers in arms.
That damn elf had been here too!
The steely visages of the locals finally broke with descriptions of the elf and his cohort. Morya accidentally instigating a bar fight may have stopped our flow of information, but it did win us over with the locals.
Over the next two days, we earned the trust of the remaining villagers, for what that was worth, and I'm not sure I wanted to know the goings on of the village, preferring to continue on the Gnarley Wood Road closer to Verbobonc City proper.
Something important is south of the village and whatever it is, the Blackash Gang (Thendara is still with them) wrecked havoc on the inhabitants and barely raised the alarm. Most of the residents to the South, and most of the locals, have taken up arms and pursued this criminal elemental further south.
On the fourth day in town, a big storm swept through the countryside around dinnertime. I've seen clouds that dark, and perhaps lightning that violent, but THE ACTUAL GROUND SHOOK beneath my feet, with not a clap of thunder to be found. An assessment of the village the following morning discovered a number of ramshackle shelters had simply blown away from the winds, while a few other buildings collapsed from what some of the folks are calling an earthquake.
By the evening, everyone watched the river rise, and Murag the dwarf and our cleric Brother Alwin convinced the rest of us, that perhaps it might be better to investigate the complex south of Nulb while remaining villagers were preoccupied by flash flooding from upriver.
We dropped our horses off at the local smithy for new shoes and stabling, as well as Murag asking the Smith to repair his old, non-magical chain mail.
The Smith seemed to be the most honest, if disinterested member of the community. I do remember him standing up as Morya's honor was tarnished by some drunken lout, not that Morya could not handle herself in a matter of seconds (and hence the brawl).
For twenty gold, I asked him to let his stable boy take one of the horses to Griffon's Cove, to pay Whit another ten to send the messenger back to your castle.
I know my Lordship is quite aware of the goings on in his own land better than some former scribe wandering about the woods, but I can assure you, something is amiss in this part of the Viscounty, and the Order of Merit is determined to seek it out and correct it.
Whether this member wants to or not.
Humbly yours,
Elsderth Greyhawk
Sellsword and Sage of the Order of Merit
GM Notes: We're back on track, although the Order of Merit isn't quite sure how far Talanth Blackash and company are. Nulb isn't the place to stay for any stretch of time, but this complex (did somebody call it a Temple?) south of the town is worth investigating, and Elsderth learns the worst problem with a group is when you're outvoted.
Next: #15 - The Temple of Elemental Evil
