Rules are (open to discussion):
DM rolls all dice. Results are not reported openly. Results of actions and skill checks are given via text only.
After a request for action, players have 3 days to post. If they haven't, their character stands in the background doing nothing and the game continues.
Players keep track of only 3 things: Their XP, their inventory, and their encumbrance.
Players are under no obligation to reveal anything about their characters that is not immedietly apparent to the others. Secrets are yours to keep, if you like. On the other hand, you might find it useful to be as open as possible.
Good in-character role-playing and actions might gain extra xp.
When an entire party choice must be made (i.e., do we go through the left door or the right door) only three players need to agree (and nobody else disagree). That way we don't have to wait for all 6 people to post before goin' through each door. Example:
DM: You see a door on your left and a door on your right.
Player1: Let's go left.
Player2: Yeah, left.
Player3: Left.
DM: Ok, you go left.

In the morning, the common room of the Galloping Gryphin is bare except for Trevor Idlespear, the noble you all met the day/evening before, and five other assorted people.

As the last of you arrives, Idlespear closes the front door and turns to face you. He is a sharply dressed man with a noble bearing and an aristocratic face. He is thin and of average height, but carries an expression as though he has been assigned a task he considers to be beneith him. Though disguised, it is clear he considers himself superior to all of you.

"Thank you all for coming," he begins politely, "I feared some of you might not make it, or would choose not to. Most of you are wondering exactly why I have asked you to be here this morning. I shall be as up front as I can."

He pauses to draw breath.

"My name is Baron Trevor Idlespear. I am in the direct service of His Majesty, King of Silleria. Recently, as you are I am sure well aware, a peace treaty has been signed between Silleria and Gossland. Finally, after all these years, the kingdoms can heal. The roads are safe - well, safer - to travel.

But the spirit of the populace has been broken by the long war. Few have not been touched in one way or another by its horrors. The people are fearful, and have little real hope for the future or for this peace to last.

That is where you come in. His Majesty has tasked me with finding several small, competant groups of people to perform various tasks in the name of the crown. People who can accomplish unusual tasks, who can serve as an example in these dark times and bring back the spark of hope in the hearts of the people."

He looks you each in the eye, one by one.

"I have seen most of you in action. I believe you have the skills it would take to be such a group. If you disagree, I will not hold it against you if you were to get up and leave right now."

He stands, waiting for anybody to leave.

"Well then, it seems we have, if nothing else, a consensus to listen to what I have to say.

Before we go on, however, why don't you introduce yourselves to each other? I know it is odd sitting at a table with people you haven't met, especially with a Baron telling you that you will all be working together soon."

He waits patiently for somebody to begin the round of introductions.

(Please include a brief physical description in addition to what your character actually says).

A stout dwarf (is there any other kind?) stood and surveyed the gathering with iron grey eyes. Clad in studded leather armor, with a shield and an axe that ought to be too big to wield while using the shield both strapped to his back, the dwarf had his long, dark brown beard braided and intricately woven through a silver ring.

"I am Grimbard Flameheart of Clanhold Dagkeln," announced the dwarf in a gruff voice. "I seek challenges to overcome so that I may honor my clanfathers through triumph in battle."

With an absent-minded stroke of his axe's blade, Grimbard sat back down and continued overcoming the challenge his mug of ale presented.

A slight young lass (Is there any other kind) Stood and surveyed the gathering with light hazel Eyes. Her dark black hair flowed down her back, across her dark tunic and nearly down to her brown skirt. she clears her throat and speaks in a smooth voice. "Hi, I'm Michelle Cho. I'm just trying to learn more about myself, and the world. Don't think I'm helpless just because of how I look, though. Just last night I chased off some looser who tried to attack me in an alley." Michelle looks around cautiously at the rest of the group, then sits down gracefully, glancing about for the next person.

Intelligence is the capacity to understand old Ideas.
Imagination is the ability to come up with New Ideas.

A small but handsome gnome stands up. A set of pan pipes are strapped to his back, and anyone with a bit of musical knowledge can see they're masterfully crafted. A simple sickle hangs at his waste. "Hello, everyone. My name is Foran, traveling bard. I beleive I have some skills that could be useful to this party."

"You should pay attention to my grammer lesson. It could come in useful one day." -A friend of mine

The youth seemd uneasy, being so close to so many strangers. Nearing 6 foot, with a medium, if well-muscled form,Norynth peered about suspiciously ath the assembled Folk. Unkempt brown hair was tied back with a functional bit of leather, and he sported a few days growth. A massive Bastard Sword, plain and functional, matched by a smaller Short Sword layed against the table, as well as a Crossbow and travelling pack. A Whine near his boots, brought the Man to attention, laughing he sat up.'Greetings, I am Norynth Abercrombie, a Warrior of the Northlands, Woodsman and trainer of Hounds and Dogs of War for the Crown.I seek..adventure, and exploration, as well as to serve my Liege.' Norynth looked a bit distraught, as if by some bad memory, which Quickly dissipated when a small (OoC:Boston Bull Terrier)Black and White dog jumped into his lap and licked his face.A booming Bark sounded from the far side of the Galloping Gryphin, where a man near the fire had just jumped out of his seat, startled by the massive Mastiff lying by the Hearth. 'Aye, where be my Manners...this is Titus in my lap, an a better Sniffer and Scouter ye'll not find in the Northlands. That lovely Lady near the fire is Gertrude,though she prefers 'Gert,the Best of the Line of Maladec, whose Progeny have served in the Army since afore any of us was born, raised by my Da' rest his Soul...'

A young man clad in fashionable but casual attire -- billowy-loose white satin shirt held in place by a soft blue-grey vest, grey slacks tucked under knee-high black boots, with a few silver rings, necklaces and the like arranged somewhat carelessly about -- surveys the situation, watching each speaker with a firm but somewhat whimsical intent, a wry grin barely gracing his lips. Between the large green eyes, brown-spattered-blond hair and short, willowed frame he could be mistaken on first glance for an elf: On second glance, however, he is clearly human.

When it comes his turn to introduce himself, he stands, resting one hand on the well-polished, seemingly ornamental dagger strapped sportingly to his waist, and motions carelessly with the other as he speaks, casting his gaze from eye to eye around the table.

"It is nice to meet you all, and I look forward to the privilege of your company. I am Oren L'Zar, son of Tevin L'Zar, here in service of my house and of my kingdom."

He looks toward the Baron -- "I suppose my role here is as emissary and diplomat" -- and glances past Norynth and Grimbard -- "although I have some skill in the art of combat, should the need arise."

He sits, and turns immediately toward the next speaker, his expression unchanging.

By the way, this next post is probably the longest continuous block of text you'll have to read for some time. I want to focus the game on your characters, not my NPCs. I did need to set the stage, though. Read on!

“Well, now that you know a bit about each other, let’s get down to business. As I said, I am in the business of assembling small, elite groups to do the King’s bidding. Finding a group that already has an established reputation is no good, because people would think of them as little more than hired mercenaries. What we need are young folk, just starting in the world, with no reputation to speak of thus far. Since, in the minds of the people, you have never not been in the service of the King, you will be seen only as agents of Silleria. They will look at your great deeds and think of the greatness this Kingdom can achieve if everybody models themselves off of you.”

He levels his gaze.

“For this reason, if you choose to accept the mission I'm presenting to you, you are to consider yourselves to be setting an example for all the people you meet. You represent Silleria, and your actions reflect on the King.”

He shrugs, “Or put another way, if you insist on doing things that don’t... quite... fit with that image, do them under a different name or something. I recognize that some of you might not personally fit the ideal we want to portray very well. That’s all right. It’s all about appearances and accomplishments. If you do your jobs well, I assure you that your benevolent deeds will be remembered far better than any, um, indiscretions. But don’t take this to mean you have legal immunity.”

He pauses to make sure you all are understanding.

“Benevolent deeds... that brings us to the issue at hand.

As you, I am sure, know, Myrtolo Keep has stood vacant for over a decade. The garrison rode out to engage an invading Goss army and was soundly defeated. The women, children and retainers, upon hearing news of the defeat, fled the Keep lest they be destroyed. It seems, though, that the Goss army was too badly damaged to take the Keep for themselves. They drew back into Gossland.

Since then, the two sides have both been eager to keep the other from gaining the Keep. No civilized force has occupied it for all this time.

No civilized force.

A few years after it was abandoned, the locals started complaining about a resurgence of Kobold raiders, stealing all kinds of things in the night. That continued until just a few months ago, when the Kobolds suddenly vanished.

Instead, Goblins have been seen in the past weeks, more bold than Kobolds, even making direct assaults against small towns. We were unable to spare any troops to the area because of the war. But now, the war is over.

Of course, we could just march the army in and clean out the Keep in days, but you’ll recall the King wants some heroes. That’s you.

I need you to travel together to Myrtolo Keep and clean it out. The reward for this task is ten thousand gold pieces for you to split among you, as well as the titles of Heroes of Silleria. If successful, you will be called upon to perform more tasks. We have an extensive list.”

He waits to see if any of you are showing signs of distress or wanting to leave. Apparently satisfied, he continues.

“Myrtolo Keep is located at the Northwest corner of Silleria, atop a tall cliff overlooking the sea. The majority of the Keep is underground, a gift of construction from the Dwarves, a hundred and fifty years ago.” He nods to Grimbard, “The surface fortifications are token defenses against a siege, but there are no structures of real significance up there. A scout recently reported that the walls and towers of the surface have more or less fallen into ruin. They were not of Dwarven make, you see. The real problems you’ll face are underground.

Myrtolo Keep is constructed with many levels. They extend from the surface, all the way down to sea level at the base of the cliffs. There is a secret entrance there, accessible only by sea, which hopefully has remained undiscovered these long years by the inhabiting monsters. That is how I recommend you enter, though if you like, you can try to enter through either of the surface ways.

On the surface, there is a main entry leading to the first level, where the Prince Protector had his court. There is also a wide stairwell leading down to the barracks on the sixth level. This is the siege stairway, allowing the defenders to quickly man the defenses should an enemy present themselves. These ways are likely to be known and well guarded.

I recommend you travel west, through the village of Mertonian, to the port city of Ambroi. This journey will take ten days on foot. Then go north, by road or sea, depending on how you want to enter the Keep. There are no significant settlements between Ambroi and Myrtolo Keep, so if you want the sea level entrance, you have to find a ship before you start north. Generally, it is five days to Myrtolo from Ambroi by land, or three by sea.”

He stops to make sure all the information is sinking in.

“As I said, the reward for a complete job is ten thousand gold pieces. I will subtract one hundred gold from this amount for every monster that you miss and the army has to clean out themselves. You can remove them by any method you can think of, as long as they’re gone when the army arrives. This should present you with enough to worry about, but there is something else if you feel up to it.”

He pauses, suddenly appearing uncomfortable.

“It is somewhat... embarrassing to the King, I might mention. I hope you can clear it up. You see, on the fourth level, there are two secret passages. One leads to an arcane library, and the other to a vault of artifacts. These “artifacts” are magical items intended for use in war if the Keep is ever assaulted. Both passages are blocked by a powerful energy field that will slay any being that attempts to cross. The only exception to this is a member of the royal family, and only if he is wearing the Signet Ring of the Prince Protector. This ring was... lost. Eyewitnesses have reported that the Prince Protector did not have it on his finger when he rode forth to battle, and to his death, ten years ago. Some speculate that its loss was a bad omen, and caused the defeat. All our divinational magic has been unable to locate it, but perhaps it is still in the Keep, undiscovered by monsters, and perhaps you can find it. If you do, it is worth another five thousand gold.

I have a team ready to reconstruct and reinhabit the Keep. They are based in an encampment three days from Myrtolo. On my signal, they will move in and relieve you. I expect you to keep the Keep clean from monstrous infection until they arrive.

When you are ready for them to come, contact me via this amulet.”

He tosses a silver amulet onto the table.

“It is useable only once a month so don’t waste it. It allows you to send a twenty-five word message, heard only by the wearer of the twin amulet, which I, of course, wear. Be careful with it. We don’t have many of these, these days.”

He looks over the group again.

“We haven’t had a high success rate with groups without clerics, so I have arranged for each of you to have three potions of healing.” He opens a small chest and pulls out nearly twenty small vials. “Not as good as a priest, but better than nothing. I hope you don’t disappoint me, or the King. Do any of you have any questions?”