Welcome to Daggerford!

[Spanningtree]

OCC: Sounds good to me, keep some cash in pocket! 5sp added back to sheet.

OOC: Spanningtree, if you and the DM are willing and agreeable, our characters could have split the price of a room.

[badams30]

Assuming everyone is acceptable to the militia terms and conditions, Sgt Schultz smiles and says "Welcome aboard! The town is lucky to have such fine men joining its ranks. As I said, you are free to move your belongings into the barracks at your convenience." And to Han he says "I'm sure the cooks would appreciate the help. They don't get much thanks for their work." Now if you have a moment, come with me, the Commander would like to meet you all. With that, he leads you toward the barracks.

The barracks is about what you'd pictured it to be - a solid yet simple structure framed by huge timbers. It is roughly 100 feet long, and the bunks are double, and each bunk area has a large vertical locker next to the bed, keyed to allow for some secure storage. While it is lacking in some privacy, it appears to be very clean and efficient, and best of all - Free. Schultz points out the small kitchen on the first floor, and a trio of cooks work steadily on a meal as you walk by. He leads you to a small office on the bottom floor, and in this room behind a small desk sits a woman with shoulder length brown hair and attired in simple yet sturdy clothing. Sgt Schultz knocks on the doorframe and says, "Excuse me, here is the group you wanted to see." He smiles at you, and leaves you alone.

The woman stares at you all for about 30 seconds, and stands up, saying without a hint of emotion, happiness or otherwise: "Good morning. I am Sherlen Spearslayer. I am the commander of the militia here, you'll be reporting to me. Thank you for coming by, I do appreciate it. As you have probably deduced, this militia is predominately a force of farmers, herdsmen and tradesmen, not a force of professional soldiers. We don't see much action here, and that's fine by me. But I have often wondered what it would be like to employ a group of militia with special talents to handle tasks more than mundane." She looks you over, allowing her words to sink in. "I won't require any more of you than the regular members of this militia, and rather than split you into the two troops that we have currently, you will remain together as part of Troop Alpha." "Judging by what I've heard, and by your attire, you are adventurers." When she says the word adventurer, you see her smile very slightly, almost with a gleam in her eye, before she regains her composure and continues... "You are free to go about your business as you see fit, if that takes you away from the town, just let me know. Otherwise, I'll assume I will see you at normal drill times?" "Good. If something comes up, I'll call you. Again - I thank you. We may be a small town militia, but the Duke and the surrounding holds depend upon us to defend them and help them with problems as they crop up. We do that job well, and I know you'll be a big help." "Well then, if you don't have any questions, then I'll see you all on Saturday (tomorrow) for muster and guard duty? Great. Welcome to Daggerford. We are happy to have you among our ranks." She pauses and then says to Marcus - "Oh, Llewellyn is in Waterdeep at the moment, I will inform him that you are here. I'm sure he'll want to speak with you. We are always grateful to your order for your help. Please let us know if you need anything." "Thank you all. Carry on." She then sits back down and resumes her work.

Okay, as I mentioned, if you have business to attend to, let me know. We are going to address your business and personal errands here in town, and then we'll fast forward a couple of weeks. Assuming that's okay with all. Feel free to request any personal stuff now, and by tomorrow evening, we'll have an "official" moving forward post. Welcome to the Duke's Militia...

[greyarea]

Marcus, paladin

Marcus thanks Sherlen and gives her a salute. He works out with militia members daily, assisting with training, practicing with weapons as are available and discussing ways to defend Daggerford should the need arise.

He goes to the shrine of Tempus for an hour daily to assist in anything, from odd jobs to heavy lifting, and makes himself available to Baergon Bluesword as needed. He also gives regularly at the shrine, tithing a silver piece every two days.

He is eager to meet Sir Llewellyn but tries not to nag anyone. He is as friendly as possible with his fellow adventurers.

[Spanningtree]

Nahin - Elf

With a nod and "Right then!" to Sherlen Nahin will make himself at home in the barracks. With no real personal business to take of he will offer to train others in archery skills (and maybe make some extra ale silver?). He will practice each day. He would be open to some friendly archery competition to get a free tankard here and there.

He will take the time to get to know Daggerford like the back of his hand as well as the members of "ALPHA troop" (IE: The "Rat Patrol").

[Atomic Ray]

Han Overfist, augur

"Sherlen Spearslayer Es ist meine Ehre, zum der Gemeinschaft zu dienen"

(bows and leaves)

(I will roll in to lend a hand in the kitchen, swap recipes, perhaps make some sausage...if there is a local butcher then I will make myself available for piece work breaking down a large animal or again making sausage...visit the local cheese maker for more food talk and such (pick up some rennet)...and balance my time with support of the Tymora shrine...of course meet my required duty and drill requests)

[kjc]

Jayce - Fighter

Commander Jayce said crisply then turned and walked out of her office. Jayce then spent the rest of the day touring the town and interacting with his fellow militia men and townsfolk. The evening was spent at the Lucky Lady, and after two ales, he returned to the barracks and hit the rack early.

OCC: Deducted 5sp for room and 6sp for ales.

[tumblingdice]

Rory nods at Sherlen. When she has left, he muses to nobody in particular. "Troop Alpha. I like the sound of that."

The half-elf will spend his days practicing and training in archery and swordsmanship, assisting as needed. He'll try to build as much rapport with the rest of Troop Alpha as possible, and with the rest of the militia.

He'll also spend some of his off-duty time seeking out a contact that our esteemed DM told his guiding spirit about via PM.

[badams30]

Summary Post of Individual Actions:

Han: As you get acquainted with the area, you make many trips to the Shrine of Tymora. It is not a natural diety for this area of farmers, rivermen and teamsters, but with the influx in adventurers and soldiers in the area as of the last couple of years, the shrine has moved a few times, and is currently in a neat wooden building close to the drill field and barracks. You note that a fair number of militia and some Waterdhavian soldiers are regulars there. You get to know a few people from both groups, no one of significant note, but it helps you to make some nice acquaintences. The current priest, Bando the Lame is a middle aged halfling who walks with a slow gait and only with the assistance of a crutch. He is a friendly priest, and isn't often found in the shrine, as he is usually out and about, helping all who need it. Although Tymora is a distant second in popularity here, Bando is quite a local celebrity, albeit a humble one.

You occasionally play some dice games with Bando, although he usually prefers to play just for the fun of it. You have noticed that some travellers who are down on their luck will sometimes play him for silver pieces, and he'll usually mysteriously lose to them. It's just his way. He thanks you for your help, and you occasionally venture with him to cast healing magics on the sick and injured, or to just visit around town. Public relations, Tymora-style. As you get to know him better, he shares with you that he considers him lameness a gift. When you ask him why, he tells you (apart from others) that in his younger days, he was a... ahem... rogue, who was venturing with his companions in the High Moor in search of Orcish treasure, and his band came across dozens of trolls. He was the only one who survived, and was wounded gravely, thus his limp. He saw it as a sign, and gave up thiefly ways and became a priest. He loves what he does, but he has no desire to adventure, and he isn't shy about telling you so. He is very friendly to you, and you'd probably say he generally likes you, but he does make a couple comments that perhaps you'd feel more comfortable in some cleaner robes or less "earthy" attire. He doesn't berate you, or try to make you feel bad, he just makes offhanded suggestions. He dresses the part of a rural town priest, with colorful robes, and you note that while it's mostly covered, you catch glances of some leather armor he does wear when going outside the gates, and it radiates a aura of magic that is unmistakable. He thanks you for your help each day, and says you needn't feel obligated to come here each day, but if he needs you, he knows where to call on you. You feel that you've forged a nice friendship with him over the past couple of weeks.

You also spend time with the Waterdhavian cooks, although at the current time, there is a month long garrison change over going on, so the garrison is very small and usually out riding on scouting missions most of the time. The Waterdhavian troops are polite to you, but to many other militia and non-warriors, they can sometimes be aloof and occasionally slightly rude. The cooks are kind and hard working, and you make fast friends with a man knicknamed "Cookie." He is a rotund man who obviously is fond of food and ale, and focuses more on cooking and innhopping than hygeine and fitness. He is clean around the food, but on a personal level, he is a bit "musty." He is genuinely kind and honest, although he has a propensity for loud, boisterious laughter and off-color jokes. You've taken it upon yourself to help him improve himself. He counts you as a close friend.

Being a priest, you aren't expected to drill in weapons to the same extent as your warrior colleagues, so you spend some time drilling with weapons, but more time attending to the spiritual needs of the militia. You've just started to make friends with some troops, and some locals, many of whom are fascinated by your dress and foreign ways (compared to Daggerford). All in all, you've been settling in nicely. Clerics don't get paid for training others, but since helping at the shrine, Bando has given you 5 GP for your hard work. Between that, and the happily well-fed troops, you have started to make your mark here in Daggerford.

[badams30]

Summary of Individual actions pt2

Marcus: Due to a slow time in the garrison and short-strength of troop levels, more actual guard work than training is going on, so you haven't had a chance to train any troops yet, but you have found a calling - using your bearing and professional demeanor to help mentor some of the younger troops, and as a result, you are a popular person within the ranks, even with the Waterdhavian guards. Although many are your same age, younger troops come to you with issues, and you help them. Sherlen comments occasionally (Favorably...) when you help out. In fact, your assistance is about the only thing that you've seen that causes her to crack her serious facade. One of the sayings you hear about the troop is "Rare as a smile on Sherlen's face" and you can see why that is. You overhear gossip that she and her husband moved here a while back, and he went out adventuring a couple of years back while she stayed home to have her child. He hasn't returned nor been seen since he left. She seems to immerse herself in the job at hand, and doesn't seem to take kindly to advice. She is fair, but taciturn, and you respect her efficiency, but sometimes wish she would be more approachable. During the first couple of weeks, Lord Llellywn is rumored to be in Waterdeep, or the Misty Wood, but he usually isn't gone for this long. He should be back any time.

You visit the shrine of Tempus, and make acquaintence with Priest Baergon Bluesword. He is a half-elf, and you learn that he is a Fighter/Cleric. He has come here recently with the Waterdhavian garrison, and found this place to be a good place for true worshipers of Tempus (although they don't realize it yet...) due to his zealous ways, he isn't particularly well-liked in the area, and he follows Tempus very strictly, trying to recruit young militamen whose parents prefer their sons stick with the soil and worshipped Chauntea or at least Tymora, a known commodity here. While he is stern and not very outgoing, he is truly a model priest of the god of battle, and he doesn't make it a secret that his desire is to die in glorious combat. Due to this outlook, he is not very approachable. He is polite with you, and while he respects Torm, you can tell his politeness is more an act of your station and role than subservience to Torm. He welcomes you when you come to pray though, and he does express appreciation for your alms. He does tell you that if you need healing or find yourself in a bind, he will be at your service. While you can understand his zeal, his manner tends to rub everyone in a bit of the wrong way.

Nahin: You do get plenty of time to practice with your bow, and your prowess with it impresses some of the locals enough to earn you some free drinks at the Lady Luck. You can't spur any competition, mainly because no one is confident enough to go against you, but your easy-going attitude wins you some goodwill, and you find yourself on good acquaintance with innkeep Owneden, and he tends to overlook your bar tab to the tune of 2-3 drinks a night, so long as you are alone. If with a party, you must pay like the rest. Owenden feels free enough to speak to you candidly, and while nothing of note has come up, you have learned a great deal about gossip and tidbits of Daggerford info that might be helpful later. Just two nights back, Owenden pulls you aside and says, "I know you and your friends are getting settled, and I sure don't want to see you running out and getting into something too deep, I just figured I'd tell you - some passing merchant last night was drinking freely of the ale, and was mentioning that there has been a call going out for adventurers needed to clear the newly reclaimed city of Phlan from the forces of evil. I'd be wary of that offer though, that's a stone's throw from Zhentil keep (a very big, very bad citidel that is home to the Zhentarim, an evil lot who subjugate the Central North and the Dalelands occasionally. But rumor has it that the rewards are plenty, and no one has yet managed to make a dent in the evil foothold in the unclaimed areas. (ADDED TO RUMOR PAGE)
So for the most part, your time is spent hanging out at the inn, practicing, or roaming the city, taking in the sights. Not a lot to see, but you are learning alot about the city, and the group has come to recognize you as the unofficial "Cyclopedia of Daggerford." (if you hear of something or someone, you have a % chance to know some tidbit about them. Such is the benefit of being in the know in the inn)

[badams30]

Summary of Individual actions, pt3

Jayce: You spend your time training and learing the fellow members of Troop Alpha. Troop Alpha has recently been ravaged by a large number of men reaching an age too old to serve, so the troop is in a state of Stand down and Refit, and you are the fresh blood that has helped to bring the unit up to speed, as much as possible in two weeks. The majority of the troop members are young farmers, yokels and simple types, but all hard working and honest. You find the militia to be filled with eager, loyal people, who may not be the most capable fighters, but with a spirit lacking in some of the most hardended warriors you've met. Despite their shortcomings, you've developed a respect for their hardworking nature and can-do disposition. You haven't seen many of the Waterdhavian guard due to the earlier mentioned garrison change, but when you see many of them, you breathe a sigh of relief as you note that the type of guard here is not the typical in-city guard which you have experience with, these tend to be the new recruits and seasoned, close to retirement officers. You realize you stand a good chance of not meeting anyone you know in this outpost.
You spend much time at the Lady Luck as well, and you get to know some of the local militia members a bit better, and since you are an approachable, friendly person, they tend to gravitate toward you. They like to hear you talk of the many fantastic things that go on in Waterdeep - the City of Splendors. They can sit for hours as you tell of the huge temples, magic guilds, and ships from far away lands that frequent the city. You get your fair share of free drinks from those whom you share your stories with.

Rory: Much like Jayce and Nahin, your find easy company with the militia members, and the populace. Being non-human, you get curious (but respectful) glances from people, and children often ask you about where you come from, how old you are, and if you've ever killed any dragons. For some reason, children around here seem to equate elves with dragon slayers. True or false, it makes you smile when they approach you begging for stories of your heroic, dragon slaying exploits. As for your other acquaintence, I'll PM you by tomorrow.