2010-05-29
*9142, Month 6, Day 16*; We make our way to Tadeus, There we make contact with the Darrow Brothers Crofters and Pekki’s agents. We tell them everything so far and get a night of rest. The next day we find quarters at the Goats Blood Inn, inside a section of the city called Rams Gate. The old city was never finished, and the dilapidated keep reflects this. We get another night of rest while learning the lay of the land. We then try and talk to the Oighnan family – the rulers of the fief of Belmain. We are told that without an appointment, it will be 2 days before Sir Stuart will see us. We bathe and heal, learning more about the city. Sir Stuart believes our story of searching for a relative married into nobility ages ago. He tells us of the sorrowful times the Riverdans have come on. He does indicate we are in luck though,as full genealogy records exist – but these are all from memory and copies. However, in the ancient family crypts of the old capital of Gnedfort City, the noble families would bury their people with stone tablets citing ancestry. The families often intermingled, so any family tomb could be a wealth of information – rubbings can verify some key points of the genealogy copies, so it should be enough to legally serve as evidence. However, Gendfort is a city of the dead and the locals, who have made peace with their dead ancestors, will not appreciate us stirring up trouble. Because Grumwell is of the ‘dans and noble, Sir Stuart says that he trusts him. As long as no desecration is done, a few rubbings of bloodline tablets is not something Sir Stuart would worry over. He mentions Rom’s Mount as the place to search for the ancient crypts.
9142, Month 7, Day 4; Deciding that wounded is no way to go into this, we decide to hire a healer and spend 2 weeks healing up. We live well, Beeddel trains with a local hunter to improve his survival and Ace learns more of the city while Belim gets us a crude map of the region. All together we discover a lot of information. We have to leave Vraxen Pax in the care of the Darrow Brothers for the time we are in the city – he seems to have gone into some sort of comma (so the healer says). What we find out is very interesting. Gnedfort was THE shinning gem of the Riverdans. It was the largest of the cities in all the ‘dans, supporting a population of 40,000. It had three hills, one of which was dug out at one end for the Temple of The Earth – A holy place to the followers of Darupet. On Rom’s Mount was a tin mine and a small quarry. Haldor’s Hall was a craggy mount, entered through a tunnel going beneath the hill, and held the houses of many rich and on top of which stood the Fire of Pexmuth – a small keep, built by Pexmuth Oihgnan as a watch tower with its ever-burning fire which was a symbol of protection to the people. The ancient city was devastated by the river course change. Some of the ancient buildings on the rises and hills survived, and for a time levies and dams channeled the river… but ultimately it was ruined. When the levies broke, many were drowned. It is now a city of spirits, and it is said the dead walk there. Few who venture into its environs come out again. Annually at the spring festival, the clergy of Ezrilus holds a vigil to keep that which is dead barred from the fields and homes of the living in the areas around it. The locals do not appreciate anyone disturbing the peace they have made with their dead ancestors.
Rom’s Mount was named after Erwilla Rom, the first priestess of Darupet and the family priest of the founders. The great Temple of The Earth had its foundation laid in her time, mostly due to her efforts. The mount is a rock hill which had its south side washed away – it was mostly earthen. The family burial crypts were all carved into the mount. It is said the under the mount was an entrance to The Deeping. For many years these crypts stood locked and watched, opened only at times for burial.
The mount was also a place where public processions were guided over – into its shadow for mourning or onto its plateau into the sun for celebrations. The tunnels flooded and crypts were ruined by the river, though damage was minimal compared to the rest of the city. A few crypts are visible from a distance – boulders of a different color marking their sealed entrances. It is said though that there are other crypts and pitfalls into the caverns that are merely covered by overgrowth. The is where most of the treasure-seekers go.
PLAY SCENARIO DETAILS > Adventures in Belmain along the quest for Ancient Blood…