KINGMAKER
Entry 1.
Recruited
Upon returning to their respective lodgings one evening, five young adventurous individuals found that they had been invited to the Mayor's palace the following day.
The next day in the ante-chamber at the Mayor's palace they met for the first time. One or two of them realised that they had seen other members of the party in their own neighbourhood and it transpired that they all had lodgings in the same street in Restov. At that moment a young page entered and bid them follow him into the Mayor's office. The Mayor in all his finery was supported by three other men, one of whom wore ceremonial armour and weapons, and they assumed him to be the the city's Steward-at-Arms.
The Mayor offered them an opportunity to explore the lands to the south of Rostland on behave of the Swordlords, the Lord of Restov & the Regent of Brevoy. They were each presented with a charter enpowering them to do so upon accepting the mission.
The Steward took them aside and gave more detail to their task. He wanted them to explore, survey the land and rid the area of a growing threat from bandits preying on the area and the road running west along the Brevoy border. After a few questions from the party and subsequent clarifications, the party suggested that they might need some assistance and equipment prior to setting out. They were each promised a horse with bridle and saddle. They were also given a list of suppliers who were authorised to give preferential rates for any goods the party might require. They were then ordered to set off for Oleg's Trading Post within the week.
As they left the meeting the page approached them with an invitation to meet Lady Yelena Lebeda at her residence that afternoon. Those of the party who grew up in Brevoy knew the Lebeda family to be one of Brevoy's most powerful aristocratic families.
Upon arriving at the Lebeda residence they were greeted by the same youthful page. He introduced himself as Peter Lebeda, Lady Yelena's youngest brother, he is in his mid-teens. He took the party through to her lady's room where they had a short audience with Yelena. She is an attractive young woman in her early twenties, dressed very fashionably. She constantly moved around the room as she spoke and enthused about meeting the adventurers before they left to make their fortunes and explore the unknown. She hoped that they would keep her updated on their adventures and call on her whenever they returned to Restov. She presented each of the party with 5gp that she hoped would help equip them for their travels. They were then dismissed.
Outside the room Peter Lebeda apologised for his sisters frugality and was pleased that they had said nothing to her about that. He explained that she has very little knowledge of monetary matters and gave them a purse which he hoped would be more appropriate. He stressed that she was genuinely interested in their progress. After you leave you discover that the purse contains 150 gp.
The characters then had a few days to prepare for the adventures ahead before taking the road west to Oleg's Trading Post. The trading post was found to be an abandoned, stockaded border fort. Oleg was pleased to see them as he had often been promised help but little had arrived. Oleg Leveton and his wife Svetlana make a living supplying and trading with the people of the Greenbelt, the area the party is to explore. They are fed and given lodgings. Whilst speaking to the Leveton's the party discover that a gang of bandits are extorting payment from them under threat of violence. Oleg is not prepared to cross them as he could not take them on alone and feared what retribution they would take upon his wife. However the adventurers agree to help rid him of the bandit threat. Oleg told them that the banditry seems organised by one calling himself the Staglord but knows very little else about him. The bandits were due to visit anytime soon, in fact they were slightly overdue. There were only four of them last time and they seemed over confident, as by now they expected no resistance from the Levetons.
Whilst settling in to the trading post the party find a number of wanted posters pinned to the walls of the dining hall:
There is a reward offered by the Swordlords of Restov of 400 gp for the defeat of 6 bandits – dead or alive.
They also offer 800 gp for bringing the escapades of the Sootscale Kobolds to an end. They are known to operate somewhere to the south of here.
Oleg himself is willing to pay for a Tatzlwyrm's head, in good condition, to be mounted on the wall of his trading post.
Vekel Benzen, a local ex-hunter, has offered a reward of his special longbow and some extra special arrows for whoever kills the boar known as Tuskgutter. It was this boar that robbed Vekel of one of his legs last year and he wants revenge.
Oleg also asked the adventurers to keep an eye out for a ring taken from his wife by one of the bandits. Svetlana does not want anyone killed trying to recover it, especially not Oleg. It is of little monetary value but means a lot to Oleg and to Svetlana, although she does not admit it.
The adventurers retired to make their plans to take on the bandits.
