Where the hell are we?

    Enthusiastic with the establishment of your newfound
adventuring party, the five of you waste no time in organizing
yourselves. After returning to your rooms and a quick inventory,
you settle down together for your evening meal. The cuisine served
at the Mouldering Cheese Inn is by far not the best you've tasted -
in fact, it's dwnright awful. You quickly shovel the last
remaining morsels of burnt pork into your mouths and wash them down
with what is left in your tankards. Reluctantly paying the
innkeeper and thanking him for his service, you leave the building
and sit down on a bench outside.

     Carideth and Malcolm make a quick trip to recover their
animals from the inn stable. The ranger has a finely bred warhorse,
and Malcolm a silvery-grey mule, onto which is strapped numerous
sacks, labelled in an elven tongue. Malcolm eplains that they
contain several weeks worth of rations that he obtained from an
elven trader in Baronsbane at a discount price. He makes it quite
clear to you that anyone and everyone is welcome to share the food.

     When everyone is settled, you decide to plot the course of
your travels. From combining what the five of you know of
geography, which is very, very little, you are able to acquaint
yourself with the surrounding countryside. To the north, there lies
a lake and a long range of low, rocky montains. The trade road
that runs through Baronsbane continues northward, around the lake
and eventually twists a narrow path between the mountains.

     On the other hand, the trade road turns east just south of
Baronsbane, making its way towards Malcolm's home village and
eventually winding its way to the Eastern Sea, where it ends at the
port city of Htron, notorious as it is a haven for pirates. On the
other hand, transport by ship is rather cheap these days, and by
the time you would reach Htron, youwould probably accumulate
enough wealth to sail across the Sea to the land only known to you
as Myrtone.

     South of your current position lies a vast, bushy plain. There
is no road, and none of you knows the land very well. Due to the
fact that the narest city due south is hundreds of miles away,
this route does not look very promising.

     And finally, a seldom-used path leads the western route. From
what you've learned from talking to the locals, the path continues
on on the open, bushy plain fo several miles before it abruptly
ends in a thick forest. No one is able to tell you exactly what the
path was used for, as it has never had a logical use to anyone in
the town for as long as anyone can remember.

     Malcolm suggests that we proceed to the east. The road is safe
and well-used, with numerous towns and castles along the way, and
plenty of opportunity for adventure and acquiring knowledge. He
says that he has a friend in Htron that may also be able to help
book passage on a merchant ship aross the Sea.

     On the other hand, he's welcome to any other suggestions.
Anyone else care to plan an alternate course, or shall we head east
for Htron? 

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|/ungeon |  |aster

Sage's Desk AD&D