Session One, A Scene at The Crossroads

THE CAST SO FAR- 

Viserial - Viserial was the chosen of a deity, or so he thought, or perhaps it just wasn't the deity he had thought it was, wished perhaps. He'd spent a lifetime in that darkness, but he had lifetimes to spare. He had found ways to harness the darkness that pressed in around him, it gave him a cloak to hide beneath, and the means to find his way back to the surface, but Viserial could feel the pull of destiny still upon him, and it's touch was chilling. He fled from anything that had the smallest whiff of fate upon it, like Jonah in the whale, hiding from... well their name didn't really matter.

Ramunth the Drifter - A weathered sack of leather, this old hermit spent most of the last 40 years marooned, more or less alone on an island. He's now the fervent last worshiper of the ancient storm god Baarl. A generally ornery piece of shit who tends to get himself into trouble. 

Sköll - Not long ago something happened. He wasn't sure what, or why, or why he knew, but Sköll knew, like one knows when their arm is numb. A profound sense of emptiness, of loss. Something was missing, his brother, he couldn't remember though, everything before a few weeks ago was a blur. He needed answers, and he knew he would have to search long to find them, and maybe, his brother. 

Side Characters Encountered -

Kim Longflower - An elven herbalist who dabbles in potion magics. She was travelling north east, towards the elven forests of her homeland. A refugee after the township she watched over turned on her in the night. She had cured 3 generations of families of all manner of illness, but when the mage war started it wasn't long until the local farm folk began to look at her with fear and anger. She had fled with the help of a young man who payed for his kindness with his life. She has been on the run now for weeks and has long since run out of food. In a fit of hunger she tried to sell an herbal infusion which would cure most diseases (think semi-magic EmergenC powder) in a village to a man whose wife had a severe fever. She had only been trying to help, but the man ran to fetch a nearby soldier who had arrested her as a witch, and charged her with bewitching and cursing the mans wife, and trying to sell him a cure. She proclaimed her innocence, but the man asked her if the potion was magic, to which she replied earnestly that it was a very simple magical enhancement, that it wasn't in anyway dangerous.
She was sentenced to death as a mob began to form, no one wanted to look like they weren't defending the community from this traveling hex witch. She was dragged to the cross roads, where the bodies of a number of other mages, each of them executed in similar fashions, were hanging from thick posts by their necks.

It was here that our brave band intervened. Through the crude negotiations of Ramunth and the posturing of Skoll, the party managed to get the herbalist released to them, on the pretext that her tongue be cut out by Viserial if she were to live. Viserial had other plans, weaving a cloak of darkness that blocked the sun for a hundred feet in every direction. With the mob thrown into fear and confusion the group made their break for it. 

The group followed the road when it became clear no one was following, but their travelling party includded a child and an elderly couple, so shelter was needed overnight. Viserial searched the nearby hills in vain for a suitable cave to shelter in together. The group trudged on, a light in the distance beckoning them northward along the road. After several hours of trudging along the muddied track they found a small, almost fort like, abbey, dedicated to a fiery Sun god. There was a great bonfire atop the stone roof and torches and lamps in many windows.

Garkn Thinbeard - Despite the many torches and bright fires, the dwarf who answered the door at this abbey did so in his night gown, after some preliminary questions, and realizing that bandits seldom send 3 elderly folk and a young woman to the door the Garkn let the band in. Viserial, visibly uncomfortable as he stepped over the threshold seemed to fly beneath the sun clerics radar, but Viserial noted silently that this cleric, dressed in his night gown true, had no holy symbol on him.

Their host offered two beds upstairs to the elderly couple and Kim the elven herbalist, then explained he had much to do in the morning and would need to retire soon. Perhaps if you are in no great hurry he can get your assistance with a troublesome task on the morrow. 

From here 

The party has options 

• Pursue the Quest that Garkn needs help with
• Travel Northeast with Kim toward the Ruins of Trystero, or perhaps convince her to pursue a safer path which skirts around the ruins. 
• Travel Due East, to Salendar, the last city of Quaya, stopping for supplies at villages along the way. 
• Continue North, eventually you'll pass into the warm hills, the dwarves are less mage phobic than these humans.