"Greetin's, friend." Gert Mauer grins, yellow-toothed and gaping, as he grabs your hand and shakes vigorously. You don't much care for the slimy feel of his palm, nor his odor. It's worse than unwashed, the absolute definition of filthy.
"I gots your maps, as ye requested." He hefts aged parchments. "And as I requested?"
You pretty much throw the coin purse at him, anything to close his lips and spare yourself another second of his rotten breath. It's as if he's been eating out of dumpsters and, from the way he looks in his soiled leathers and bits of hide, perhaps sleeping in the woods.
Your faith begins to waver in the man before you and the maps he fondles, but like a fly that senses a hand before someone even swats at it, Gert perks up and pushes the maps into your chest. "Been through serious trouble for these, I'd have ye know. Serious trouble. Here be all the secrets of Othyr in a nice, tight lil' bundle. More than ye even asked for!"
He pulls back one of the scrolls he gave you, leaving the rest in a small heap in your arms. With a rogue's deft pull, he looses the complicated-looking tie and unravels the parchment. It rolls down to the ground and to your feet, revealing a myriad of maps, as well as written history, monster ecology, treaties on religion, politics, dungeoneering and more. Your eyes feast for several seconds at the plethora of information within, then with another dexterous yank, the scrolls retract off the ground and neatly back into Gert's hands.
Indeed this was more than you ever could have wished, a resource of all knowledge of Othyr and its many places, people and powers.
He returns the last scroll to you and steps backward, the shadows suddenly darkening about him. "Serious trouble," he echoes with a hint of amusement in his voice. The darkness consumes the grungy man until only the whites of his eyes and the mustard of his teeth show. "Welcome. And best o' luck to ye."
Then he vanishes, leaving you in the lands of mystery and menace.
Welcome to the new campaign blog! I'll be porting all the information on the forums here, as well as linking the forums, to provide better overall coverage of the campaign. This way I can publish maps right here and a bunch of other materials, making Winters all-around more cohesive and accessible. Look in the next few weeks as we make the transition.
