Scars of Risenholm

This is a thread for hearsay, rumours and rumblings. Current events are always the talk of small communities.

32 AR. New Risen begin to rise in unheard of numbers even prior to the traitor's attempt to occupy the Well. Some theorize the previous Captain actually succeeded in his attempt, while others worry that the Well is entering an uncontrollable state.

This period would come to be known as the "surge". Doctor Tarsus scrambles to accommodate new Risen only to find more keep crawling out. The Reeves and Millers begin to patrol the town and conduct interviews among the residents to narrow down possible causes while Markus Grillsson and his Dredgers bide their time, possibly waiting for his moment to seize influence.

All the while, an unseen figure watches the village from afar in the high branches of the Suthwood. Still and patient as stone as they await /something/...

To the south, the earth rumbles. A great beast of stone and steel groans, sending ripples through the lakelands. "Trespassers".

Towards the swamps there have been an increased number of troll sightings. Whispers of small camps of trolls and even patrols can be heard amongst the villagers.

Rumors begin buzzing out of the Mill, Reeve's Barracks, and the Dredger's Caverns of a unique anomaly with far reaching implications. It seems someone has discovered a Scar near Risenholm filled with non-aggressive inhabitants and mind-boggling to all Scar-Hunters it is reported to have no hint of the pervasive trauma or violence which has characterized Scars as they've been known until now. As interesting as the uncharacteristic behavior might be to researchers in the Mill the gossip on the street is that the Scar's inhabitants are diplomatic humans and their land is rich with abundant food and possibly many other resources desperately lacking in Risenholm. Surely every prominent faction in Risenholm will send a man or two with the investigatory party if they have the men to spare, and a troupe of Scar-Hunter volunteers (hopefully small enough to remain non-threatening) are expected to be selected to assist by the authorities in this diplomatic foray into the first friendly Scar.

The gossips at Rotheld's Refuge guess the exploratory force will be sent in at a very strange hour for reasons known only to the Elder and her Council but hopes are high that soon there will be more than fish on the menu at the community's only inn.

Rough estimate of time.

//Event will have a limited attendance (8ish?) with preference placed on members of the various factions in Risenholm and the characters those PCs trust. Don't stress if you can't make it you'll be disappointed if you arrange your schedule around the small fun little event just wanted to give a heads up to try to get a faction PC or two online. If the server crashes between now and then an updated time later in the week will be posted eventually, but a reset will force a rescheduling.

32 AR. Risenholm's population continues to swell as the Well which sustains the village produces new residents at its concerning rate. Murmured worries about the ever thinning space and limited food resources of Risenholm can be heard from many of the older villagers as they pass the stream of new mouths departing from the Well Infirmary each day. Yet new faces enter the land with a determined optimism that seems to offset the dour climate, with some quickly making names for themselves within the community:

A troupe of the newest wave of Risen to enter as Apprentices of Fordren's Mill are said to have led an coalition of Scar Hunters into an unusual Scar out in the plains. The Scar is said to have caught the attention of the eccentric researcher Fitz Bazalgate, it is unclear if the expedition accomplished the Researcher's goals, but it is common knowledge to all of Risenholm that the Millers did return with a hefty wagon overflowing with barrels of grain to add much needed padding to the village's supplies. They say presently the grain is undergoing careful examination by the Mill but villagers seem optimistic with some Reeves being overheard to remark "they had better bake that bread quick, if I eat another fish I'll grow gills".

A regularly produced pamphlet detailing the happenings in town and throughout the Risenholm adjacent region called "True & Neutral News" has spread through the village like a wild fire. The proprietor of the short publications is said to be Penny Aller or Rystel Winters, both newly Arisen citizens, and has fast become the premier source of entertainment among village gossips and homebodies. A Scar Hunter can often see a copy or two of the latest edition in the hands of the regular patrons when passing through Rotheld's Refuge, and its rumored that the town Clerks always slip away with a copy of the newest paper for Elder Agnes herself who enjoys read them during breakfast.

A freshly Risen orc named Nerguȋ has begun to earn his name as the premier scholar of the newest generation of Risen to enter town, a reputation grown through his hosting of weekly public forum discussions in the town square. What began as a gathering of lost newly Arisen attempting to understand their situation has since evolved into a much anticipated weekly discussion of knowledge gathered and theories formed by the community's most adventurous explorers and Scar Hunters. With topics ranging from the nature of divinity, to scar theory, the history and purpose of the Well, the open forum grows in attendance with each gathering. The faces in the crowd slowly have begun to include a large contingent of long-time residents as it seems even the simplest of laborers shares in the common yearning to understand the enigmatic world the the people of Risenholm have inherited, and for his public attempts to provide answers Nerguȋ has become something of a recognizable figure in the community.

Amid the buzz of changes and spectacles these new locals have brought to the village it goes unnoticed by most that Clerks, and Dredgers, have sent a series of envoys out to meet with Flint Caulderbranch, the self-proclaimed Last Lumberer of the Suthwood, in his camp just beyond the gates. Those who do make note of the interesting occurrence remark that the sour look on the faces of Clerks returning to town are unsurprising given Caulderbranch's feud with the Elder, and some wonder what might have prompted so much sudden interest in the estranged little woodsman...

People are talking about an increase in sightings of diseased animals. Word is that they are far more aggressive than their healthy counterparts and are often bloody.

While Scar Hunters and the Reeves may dare the inhospitable surroundings and return with tales of terrifying adventures and deadly monsters, life within Risenholm for the average settler has been fairly idyllic. Although the fields are untillable there's always some small work that needs doing around town, and so long as they do not stray beyond its borders the average villager leads a peaceful if somewhat bland life. That long accustomed tranquility was broken in the midst of the oppressively heatwave of the past few days when the rarely seen Reeve Captain Vollan returned from the his ranging with news that the Lake, gone unremarked for so many years, had suddenly erupted to life as an army of frog-like monsters rose from its depths and seemed to be preparing to march on Risenholm.

Elder Agnes and her Council gathered in a public session in the dark hours of pre-dawn. The Reeve Captain Vollan and a mob of rowdy Scar Hunters, Dredgers, and Millers formed together as a response to meet the creatures on their march, assess the situation, and together elected local orcan scholar Nergüi to speak on behalf of their town. Most seem to agree with some excitement that these discussions with the toadmen represents Risenholm's first official contact with a living civilization since the Well first produced the village's first citizenry, but excitement sours quickly with the news that negotiations seem to have turned violent.

It is said that the ambassador of the bullywugs, at the head of a large warband owing loyalty to some frog Duchess or Queen, demanded Risenholm forbid its citizens access to the shores of the Grey Lake, and the remains of the Ceaseless City and Empire. Further the creatures seemed unbending on the requirement that Risenholm end the Well's magic which prevents bullywugs from eating residents its residents. The bullywug ambassadors departed back into the Lake paying little heed to the explanations and excuses of Risenholm's Nergüi and his companions, ominous declaring that Risenholm would be given time to assess the value of peace with the Bullywugs. The ambassadorial toads had departed but their army remained, and immediately upon the dignitaries' return to the Lake the encamped toadmen blew their horns of war and descended upon the town's delegation.

The battle was fierce and exhausting in the heat but when the dust settled it was not the superior numbers of the bullywugs that won the day, but the determined immortal defenders of Risenholm who tended the wounded and revived their fallen while the surviving invaders retreated back into the cool murky waters of the Lake. The stench of rotting toad carcasses wilting in the heat remains a reminder for Risenholm's explorers passing by the greywater shore that we are no longer alone, and many wonder what further conflicts or concessions await as the Council meets in light of these monstrous new neighbors suddenly turning their attentions toward Risenholm.

Wary eyes occasionally spot the glint of amphibian eyes lurking in the woods outside Risenholm in the nights since, and some have begun to worry that this attack was only the beginning of something larger. Pessimists and the paranoid begin seeing toads in every shadow. Some conservative villagers, typically far from the caves of the Dredgers, even point blame toward a certainly ship from the Ceaseless City. The bawdy tales of Grillson's boys outracing the City's defenses while automatons rained down around their vessel into the grey depths of the Lake below growing more hushed of late.