Episode 1 - Strangers in Hnoje

Town of Hnoje

Tavern called Stracca's

## **Story**

Our story begins, as many of these kind do, in a tavern.

The cesspool it sits in—a charming little roadside community—has no real name, though passers through have taken to calling it Hnoje (**H-NOY-yay**)—dung heap. Barely more than the tavern and a few houses crammed together within a well-worn paling wall, the hamlet is a nowhere kind of place, a no one kind of place—unmarked on any map, and unintended as any destination. Even the road passing through it, both wide and empty, seems eager to leave, eager to invite travelers to straighten up, throw on their boots, and join it on its long, winding way to anywhere.

Or, at the very least, to Sepeş, (**SEH-pesh**) the one and only city within miles. And, come to think of it, likely the one and only reason a place like Hnoje hasn’t up and dissolved yet.

The largest building in this backwater hellhole is a windowless tavern called Stracca's, and it’s where we meet our first character.

On the porch outside the tavern, a country bumpkin in a rocking chair lights up his pipe and cautiously greets a half orc named Radovan, warning the stranger to keep out of trouble and expect a cold reception from most people in Hnoije.

As Radovan enters the tavern, he notes a smattering of patrons seated about the place: the teenaged human bard Žabin, who’s been plucking at his lute on the makeshift stage he’s assembled while he eyes the barmaid Zadeira; and the owner of the tavern—the pot-bellied Stracca—who apparently has a friendly streak, as he happily serves the half Orc some beet soup. As Radovan continues his small talk, we meet our other player characters: Alston, a dunnarfolk rogue, sitting in the tavern corner and drinking after a long day of being mistaken for a child by backwater idiots; Watch, a changeling sorcerer, who sits at a separate table, bemusedly defending himself from the verbal harassment of locals Teb and Barta, who insist he must pay some ‘newcomer tax; and Orion, and elven druid who, in pursuit of some coin to live another day, finds himself arguing with a local farmer named Kob about solutions for a pest problem.

As the argument continues, we discover that Kob recently found one of his pigs mauled beyond recognition, and is convinced a wolf snuck into the town and gorged itself on the sow. Orion, however, is not convinced; as a practiced expert in fauna, he believes a monster of some kind is to blame, and is likely to return if not dealt with. As Orion tries to convince Kob to hire his services to deal with the monster, Alston, Radovan, Žabin, and Kob notice the escalating argument happening between Watch, Teb, and Barta, and Watch casts Mirror Image as he senses the conversation going the way of violence. Teb and Barta strike at one of the the illusory Watches, and a fight breaks out. In a move some might call heroic (but most would call thirsty) Žabin rushes to Zadeira to ‘protect’ her. Alston deftly sneaks into the fray and relieves one of the bullies of his coin. Radovan (who, by this point, Žabin has lovingly dubbed “Orc Dad”) throws his boot up on a table, draws his bastard sword, and blows the loudest, meanest whistle Hnoije has ever heard in an effort to bring order back to the tavern. The room falls completely silent as Radovan commands the room, and Watch silently casts grease on the floor, knocking both Teb and Barta flat on their asses and giving Alston the opportunity to surreptitiously rob the other bully of some more cash. The two thugs rush out in disgrace, and the heroes revel in the restoration of the peace for a few brief moments.

Suddenly, after the thugs leave, the door slams open and a hunched, cloaked figure enters the tavern holding a torch. Beyond the figure, out in the dark of the night, the party can see the light of many torches, and the silhouette of a horned rider on a horse in plate armor. The hunched figure stoops into the tavern, grabs a chair, and ambles back out, closing the door quietly behind him. Radovan cautiously approaches the door and finds that it seems to be locked. The party then hears something land stop the roof.

Sensing something amiss, Žabin goes back to his room upstairs and grabs his things. Alston checks the lock of the door and finds that it’s not locked—but rather jammed shut. In his attic room, Žabin smells smoke, and realizes that the roof has been set on fire—the sound on the roof from earlier had been someone lobbing a torch onto the tavern. Orion wildeshapes into a beetle to squeeze under the door, and finds that the hunched figure from earlier blocked the door with the chair, intent on trapping everyone inside.

In an incredible feat of strength, Radovan kicks the door down, and the party sees all of Hnoije has been set to the torch. In the center of the road the party sees a cadre of skeletal riders, led by the horned rider from earlier—whose horns appear to just be a decorative element of their skeletal helmet. The horned rider and the hunched figure—which appears to be some ghastly undead creature with horrifically large incisors—ride off, leaving some skeletal warriors to deal with the party.

As his skin turns midnight blue and begins to glow, Orion changes to his starry form and begins hurling bolts of radiance at the skeletal warriors. Žabin escorts Stracca and his daughter Zadeira out of the burning tavern, then joins his new comrades in the fray as Alston, Watch, and Radovan press the assault, handily defeating the skeletons together.

After the group defeats the skeletons, Aston sees the burning buildings all around, and nearly collapses into a panic attack, haunted by memories of the past. Orion rushes to action and begins dousing the fires, only managing to save the tavern from filling burning. In the aftermath, Žabin enters the tavern, to search for anything of value that survived, and finds the remnants of Stracca’s savings. He returns the money to Stracca, and Orion approaches in the full radiance of his starry form, demanding payment in exchange for keeping the bar from completely burning down. Clearly unable to defend himself, Stracca reluctantly hands Orion all of the money. Upset that he did not also receive recompense, Žabin unleashes a small tantrum at the bereft Stracca, which clearly terrorizes the newly-homeless father and daughter. Defeated, the teenage bard goes to the front porch and sulks.

Radovan, sensing an opportunity for a teachable moment, approaches Žabin and attempts to guide him through his not-so-warranted emotional turmoil. Žabin cheers some and thanks his new companion, and all seems well for the moment—or at least until the surviving townsfolk begin to crowd around and jeer, believing the foreigners in their midst are to blame for their misfortunes…

## **Trivia**

* First Appearance of Orion!
* First Appearance of Watch!
* First Appearance of Radovan!
* First Appearance of The Great Žabin!
* First Appearance of Alston