[Tiebreaker: Heads. Return home for the day.]
You draw your cloak over your shoulders, patting off its accumulated alleyway dirt, and raise its hood to conceal your face. At first you intend to push ahead and seek out the secret green door Stolas spoke of. But under the heavy weight of your cotton cloak, a yearning to retire for the day pulls you back home.
There are times when the city of Rowangrave astounds you, even in these darker days. The bustle of people, so different in demeanor and disposition, carried upon a thousand different waves of routine like notes set to a thousand different scores—it makes you wonder if you too are simply a note being carried along the musical staff of some unknown composer’s will. The city is hazy yellow, the afternoon sun diffused in hanging fog. So often, you feel weighed down by accumulated burdens you try not to acknowledge. It was good to commune with Stolas. Though a strange being, He at least understands you, He who bore witness to your death and gave you a second lease on life. A vermin king, wont to take pity on vermin like you.
Your body, without thought on your part, ascends the staircase to your flat. You open the door and you are home.
———
Damien Fischer has gone for the day. The stench of the Stinking Cloud from early in the morning does not linger overmuch in the sparse living room. You kick off your boots, set them at the base of where your coat hangs by the entrance. Then you are quick to change out of your barmaid’s costume and into something simpler, a dark tunic with a bit of loose lace at the throat and a pair of soft trousers.
The day grows into late afternoon, and your home is quiet. The living room is nothing special—a lounge chair for reclining, a table to eat at, and a bit of floor space reserved for Damien’s drum set. On the dining table, a chess board sits with its pieces mid-game, your latest match with Damien still unfinished.
The kitchen is a narrow strip of counter space with many drawers. With a serrated knife, you slice off the end of a day-old baguette you bought from the nearby bakery. This you eat, buttered, with some dried fish, and from a dented metal cup you drink water that you have chilled with your touch.
Outside the living room window, the stone wall of the building next door grows dimly gold from the sun’s steady decline. You withdraw into your bedroom, where your window offers the same sight. Lying in bed, you draw close to your chest the old owlbear cub plush that has somehow survived all these years. Though you really should go to sleep, you can’t help but pull something off your nightstand table—your commonplace book, bound in leather, which you keep always within reach. You open to a marked page and stare at it behind bleary eyes, soaking it in almost thoughtlessly.
It is the map, which you have rendered to the best of your knowledge, of the lay of the land of Rowangrave-by-the-Sea. An agrarian, peninsular land dense with forest, marsh, and rolling hill, with the Tor ridge lining its western coast. The North and Eastern Shrouds mark the uncertain boundaries of where the Mists are densest, obscuring passage to foreign lands without the aid of a canny travel guide.
On the page next to the map are notes you have scrawled during your time in the city.
Rumors
Seekers in Moonlight
A trio of knights in white overcoats known as the “Seekers in Moonlight” have been seen traveling the countryside. It’s only wishful thinking, but I still remember that mysterious woman from the festival telling me “You have potential.” Would she still say so today?
Tomb of the Heroes
It is said that at the southernmost point of of the countryside, there is a tomb where the heroes Aldric, Threnna, and Bjornmir were laid to rest. Legend says that Aldric was buried there with his magical sword, and that in time it would be bequeathed to a worthy hero. But since the arrival of the Child of Light, the tombs have been beset by ghouls.
The Haunted Library
I’ve heard that the Central Library has a rare book on exhibit, a magic tome that hails from the Spire Archive far to the north. The scholars of the Spire Archive are said to be keepers of eldritch knowledge. I’ve also heard that many floors of the Central Library are haunted, and that the city of Rowangrave has all but given up hope on exorcising the spirits.
Firefall Wyvern Riders
Freeblades in the tavern were talking about dragon eggs being found at the foot of the Tor mountain range near the town of Firefall. The Rowanwald forest at the base of the Tor is said to be home to dangerous beasts, but these freeblades said the eggs were worth a fortune to the wyvern riders of Firefall.
Stolas informed me that some of these eggs have successfully hatched into wyrmlings.
The Green Door
Stolas told me of a mysterious green door only three blocks down from the Redcap Tavern. Our conversation was interrupted before He could speak more on the matter. I wonder what secret dwells there?
Your eyes grow heavy. As sleep overtakes you, your sluggish mind clings to one fading thought.
What path will you walk tomorrow?
A. Find the Seekers in Moonlight. [UNLOCKS MONK]
B. Travel to the Tomb of the Heroes. [UNLOCKS ROGUE OR WARLOCK]
C. Get your hands on the magic tome. [UNLOCKS WIZARD]
D. Search for a dragon’s egg at the foot of the Tor mountains. [UNLOCKS RANGER]
E. Enter the green door Stolas spoke of. [???]