Rumors of the Northern Sword Coast

[Hakken2]

A dwarf is seen entering Misty forest. He ends up at the gates of En Dharasha Everae and delivers a letter then departs back to Kraak Helzak.

[DaloLorn]

An unusual bounty is quietly circulated in the seedier regions of the Sword Coast. Messengers could be seen in Roaringshore, Soubar, Corm Orp, Darkhold, and the shadier parts of the Gate's Lower City (such as the Blushing Mermaid inn), offering a sizable payment to anyone able and willing to assist them. No name is offered for either the target or the messengers' master, but the more disreputable sorts would likely not have much trouble determining several (if not all) of these things:

• The target is a petite, young human woman from Waterdeep, with a headful of auburn hair. The messengers say she typically lets her hair down to her neck, but they caution against taking this for granted: She won't be wearing her usual wardrobe on an adventure anyway, so her hairstyle may likewise differ.
• She is not to be permanently harmed. The messengers strongly emphasize that their master's agents are watching her closely, whether in person or by scrying: If she does not return to Waterdeep alive and untarnished, new bounties will be issued on those responsible. (Notably, there is no prohibition on hurting her, specifically - only failing to undo the damage.)
• She is seeking to amass a large fortune over the coming months. Whether through banditry, kidnapping, or other more subtle means, she is to be prevented from completing this task until the master has indicated it is too late for her to achieve her goal. Anyone who contributes to the completion of this task will be allowed to claim up to 250,000 gold pieces shortly after her final return to Waterdeep. (This is to be divided between the contributors, as assessed by the master's observers, and is in addition to any other profits obtained in the process of impeding her work.)
  
  OOC Note: If you are attempting to complete the above task, you are not required to offer my character an RP out from any PvP that might ensue. Please do still RP the encounter before attacking, though! Also, if you decide to go with the kidnapping route, bear in mind that per the PvP rules, a PC may only be held prisoner for 72 hours before being either killed or released. (I checked; I'm not allowed to modify that, ever.)
  
  Rewards will be allocated a week after the bounty is complete (if it is successfully completed). I'll ask all the participants to PM me when the plot's over, to identify their contributions and properly split the prize. After allocation, I'll start catching up to people to hand the money over.

Whoever is behind this, two things are obvious: They are very wealthy, and very keenly interested in swinging the outcome of this girl's quest...

[DaloLorn]

An auburn-haired young woman in a burgundy coat could be seen stumbling into the Winding Water village, a small dart sticking out of her shoulder. Soaked all over and deathly pale, one could have been forgiven for thinking her at death's door... but on closer inspection, she seemed stable - albeit weakened - and unlikely to succumb completely to the kuo-toa poison.

Identifying herself as Caili Wender, she matches the description of an adventuring merchant that had recently returned from Waterdeep. Those interested in the matter may also note her similarities to the Waterdhavian girl who'd recently had an unusual bounty posted on her... though if she has any knowledge of the bounty, she makes no mention of it...

[GaretAthran]

The Northern Sunset Vale

Following the conflict between the Zhentarim and the Lords' Alliance, the lands between Darkhold and the River Reaching to the West and the northern edges of the lands of Hluthvar to the South were declared an independent and sovereign power. Forbidden from allying themselves with either faction responsible for its creation by the signing of the treaty; these lands and the settlements therein have been declared a buffer between the two factions, and any Zhentarim or Lords Alliance military might that crosses the borders of this fledgling "nation" would once more enkindle hostilities between the two powers.

A pebble wedged between two boulders, can the peace last long as this newly formed nation, birthed and thrust into the world by its creators, struggles to stand on its own like a foal left alone in the midst of the woods? Who will rise within the vacuum left by the bloody conflict? And what, if anything, will rise from the ashes of the devastation?

[GaretAthran]

A lone figure can be seen of late haunting the roads of the newly declared neutral territory between the Lords' Alliance and the Zhentarim, traversing the furrowed wagon treads that often ran between once lush fields and fruitful vineyards. Now there is only barren earth, the remnants of the conflict that still scar the farmlands of the hamlet of Corm Orp. But regardless of the waste that stretches out around the halfling settlement, the one-eyed, red-haired warrior trudges on, patrolling the roads to ensure safe passage—either for those coming to settle this newly freed land... or those fleeing the hopeless ravaging of their homes.

If questioned, the paladin holding sentinel over the roads will respond merely with two words: "Someone must."

[Titania_1]

A silver-haired woman in red and gold was seen walking with a fire genasi to the shrine of Eldath. The woman seemed in awe of the area. She approached the shrine and knelt before it, thanking Eldath for saving her friend. The two then made the short walk over to a grand tree speckles with fungi, a rainbow reflecting in the background. The two were later joined by a halfling. The group decided to sit before the tree and converse among themselves, enjoying the peace and quiet of this part of the Reaching Woods.

[GaretAthran]

In the village of Corm Orp two knights, a pixie, and a pig stood in the middle of the tiny Hamlet and discussed the plight of the fledgling independent territory. Promises and plans were made, and only time will tell how the events will turn out, and what Fate has in store.

[DaloLorn]

A fancily-dressed, petite drow woman could recently be seen entering Soubar in the company of a colossal air genasi male. She seemed fairly unconcerned with concealing her identity as she put up flyers throughout the village; perhaps precisely because the flyers revealed her true nature anyway.

Upon completing her tour of Soubar, she would take a caravan to Roaringshore, putting up more flyers, purchasing a few items, and staying briefly at the Broken Goblet before teleporting back to Soubar to take a second caravan to Darkhold. In both cases, she would have spent the days covered up in a makeshift tent to shield her from the worst of the sunlight (and reduce the risk of ambush by any roaming elves).

After being turned away at the gates of Darkhold, she once again teleported to Soubar, and now remains at Mag's inn, apparently stranded for the time being.

[DaloLorn]

As suddenly as she arrived, so too did the strange drow leave Soubar. An elven mage, of all things, teleported her out to parts unknown...

[GaretAthran]

The rain beat a heavy tattoo against the stones of the long-forgotten ruin situated among the looming trees of the Reaching Wood where the Squire had made her camp in these last few days. Not far off were the sounds of gnolls, their snarling voices and jubilant yipping at the sound of another creature brought down from the hunt carrying among the trees. Her blade had already been made slick for their blood that day, the bits of frozen crimson cracking off the sword and falling to the earth to melt again. The smell of their corruption was palpable to the paladin as she knelt down beside her fire, hidden from sight and the elements by one of the few walls that remain standing against the onslaught of nature and time.

She knew that there was little she might do alone against the onslaught of Yeenoghu's rabid band of worshippers—beasts driven only by the unending hunger in their bellies that no flesh could ever sate. But her allies were growing, slowly but surely. There were those sympathetic to her cause and those who had made pledges to do what they could to aid in the restoration of the lands around Corm Orp; pledges she hoped would blossom into oaths.

But as she knelt among the worn stones that still held the base shape of what had been either some manner of Keep or Temple, she couldn't help feeling that somehow she was not alone. All around her stood the shapes of proud warriors, their blades held aloft in defiance of the dark forces that held sway in those woods. Here she felt a sense of kinship, as though she were walking in the same places as defenders of the defenseless, a bulwark against a tide of darkness—especially with the Squire's newest charge of protection so close at hand: the newly sanctified shrine of Eldath.

She cast her gaze toward the North and East where she knew the trail lay hidden beyond wards and clever tricks to discourage the taint of Yeenoghu, but her own oaths and the teachings of the Red Knight and her Master, Tempus, compelled her to take the protection of the Shrine as yet another mission, on mandated by divine obligation and duty. She would guard peace to her dying breath but knew that such a thing was beyond her reach even past the veil of death when her time would eventually come. She knew the truth all too well: peace held no place for champions of war; there was only battle, only struggle against an enemy whose shape and face were many and ever-changing.

In times of peace, a champion of the gods of war knew only one task: Vigilance.

[DaloLorn]

Early on a late-winter eve, the Eldathyn grove in the Reaching Woods bore witness to an unusual visit indeed: A pair of soaking wet drow, garbed only in whatever magic protected them from the winter's chill, materialized as if by teleportation in a moonlit clearing by the pond in the northern part of the grove.

One of the two women had been there before, upon the end of the Godswar: Though she did not bear even the distinctive sapphire ring that made her so identifiable on her last visit, and she exuded a certain determination not present before, her face and voice would surely be recognizable to the shrine's guardians. Upon arrival, she would have immediately dried both of them off with a few quick cantrips, all the while trying to calm and cajole her companion into embracing her new circumstances.

Her companion... Built like a warrior and acting as such, one did not need to see her scars to recognize her troubled past, nor did they need to know about drow to understand her deep discomfort. Were it not for some of the words she spoke, the Eilistraeen fighter's mannerisms could have been mistaken for those of a Lolthite, kidnapped from a festhall deep in the Underdark. Yet her poorly-veiled anxiety did not seem to stem from the sorceress herself, and her blatant outrage at whatever trick brought her there did not seem tainted by malice.

Upon convincing her companion to, if not accept, then at least resign herself to the situation she'd been dragged into, the sorceress would slowly start to sing: A wordless tune, with but a few notes, yet those who listened closer could at first have felt a sense of uncertainty and melancholy woven into the very fabric of her ethereal melody. Though she was no trained singer, she seemed to pour her soul into the song, and it was not by words alone that she invited the fighter to share her voice.

Circling around her, dancing likewise not through training but only her feelings and natural grace, she occasionally tugged at her hands, spinning her in kind; though the other woman remained hesitant at first, she eventually surrendered to this impromptu ritual, grudgingly contributing a harsher, darker feeling to the melody as the night dragged on. Yet the sorceress, already having overcome her own worries and sorrows by that point, only took this as an added incentive to release her hopes and joys into their shared song: Whatever fears or sufferings she had endured in the past seemed gone, drowned out by a growing certainty, a distillation of all that she is and shall ever be.

As they tired and their limbs grew sluggish, the two dancers eventually left the same way they arrived, teleporting out whence they came. Although she did not seem to have had as powerful an impact on her companion as she'd hoped, the sorceress' scheme seemed to have had an unexpected side effect, and her newfound self-certainty did not leave the grove any quicker than she did...

[Jepop]

Harjo stands upon the broken remains of the Boareskyr Bridge gazing into the Winding Water. It was here that his Lord and Master was struck down by the usurper Cyric and it is here that destiny has brought Harjo. Reaching to his belt, Harjo draws a ceremonial dagger from it's sheath. This revered blade has taken countless lives in the name of Bhaal and now the time has come for it to take its last. Harjo's gaze falls upon the blade and as he gently caresses its steel he recalls his fond memories with his brothers, Bryn and Thom Sunder, and all the murder they wrought in the Masters name, his joyous moments in Roaringshore, the family and home they had built there. His gaze moves back to the Winding Water, as a smile spreads across his face and with a sudden and powerful motion he slashes the blade across his throat opening a deep and fatal wound, he closes his eyes content with his fate as his body falls forward into the Winding Water.

[DaloLorn]

The bounty on the Waterdhavian merchant girl seems to have been quietly withdrawn. This information is circulated slowly, more lazily than the original posting - almost as an afterthought - but whether her quest was successfully hindered or not, it does seem to have come to a close, rendering the bounty redundant. Indeed, it has been nearly two tendays since she was last seen on the Coast, so her work must have been concluded one way or another...

[sweetlikesplenda]

The few Radiant Heart soldiers once camped among Fort Prominence have departed and returned to the fortification at Radiant Crossing or to the Keep outside of Baldur's Gate. Their task of aiding in the court ordered changes, after Amos' trial, came to a close. The now named, Golden Hand Trading Company, continues to function and the Radiant Heart are now less hands-on. Confident now that Amos is making changes for the better.

[DaloLorn]

A fancily-dressed, petite drow woman could recently be seen entering Soubar in the company of a colossal air genasi male. She seemed fairly unconcerned with concealing her identity as she put up flyers throughout the village; perhaps precisely because the flyers revealed her true nature anyway.

Upon completing her tour of Soubar, she would take a caravan to Roaringshore, putting up more flyers, purchasing a few items, and staying briefly at the Broken Goblet before teleporting back to Soubar to take a second caravan to Darkhold. In both cases, she would have spent the days covered up in a makeshift tent to shield her from the worst of the sunlight (and reduce the risk of ambush by any roaming elves).

After being turned away at the gates of Darkhold, she once again teleported to Soubar, and now remains at Mag's inn, apparently stranded for the time being.

The same drow could once again be seen entering Soubar, alone this time, and putting up a new set of flyers. This time, however, she did not waste time with caravans, nor did she bother visiting Darkhold: Once she was done with Soubar, she immediately teleported to Roaringshore to post more flyers there, and then teleported again to Soubar.

As she did last time, however, she seems either unable or unwilling to return to the Underdark under her own power...