A CROWN RETURNED GAMEPLAY THREAD

Ergin says to Rhaemy, "That's the one! Um ... can I get you another drink?"

In response to that, Fira rolled her eyes briefly before catching herself; that wasn't quite the impression she wanted to give off just yet. Instead, she jabbed her finger subtly at Ergin, giving her a snide smile. "You know what that sounds like? Sounds like you're giving me a sales pitch. How much do they pay you to talk like that to visitors? Can't be enough."

As Rhaemy acknowledged her intent to visit the temple, Fira slouched alongside the bar a bit. "Heading up to that dusty place? Think I'll come along too, see it with my own eyes. That cool with you?" She waved her hand a little, chuckling. "Nah...it's cool. You'll barely notice me!"

Ergin doesn't see Fira's eyes roll briefly however, she does hear the verbal jab. She smiles at Fira and says, "If there is anything else I can help you with, just let me know. Farewell!"

Ergin responds to Trenton with one hand on her hip, "I am not sure what she is after this time. In the past she has sort all sorts of help for all sorts of reasons, some only known to her. But I wish you well in your endavours and thank you for your business. Come back any time!"

You exit The Sitting Duck, turn left down a main pathway and then turn right into the intersecting pathway. You pass by some buildings, some more lookedd after than others. It is not long before you come to a t-crossing. You take the left path and continue on to a four way crossroads. You turn right and find The Temple of Iomeade.

Fira notices, yes, but she doesn't care. Not just yet. Resting her hands on the back of her head, she remains nonchalant as she leads in front of Rhaemy, looking nonchalant as she heads towards the temple in order to nose around before checking out the cutyard.

It is not long before you reach the Temple of Iomeade.

You come across the Lady Cirthana Gensar, a female human cleric and only occupant of the Temple of Iomeade at Falcon's Hollow. As you reach the steps that lead inside the Temple, you see her sweeping the steps with an old broom. She looks up smiling warmly at you as you approach,

Greetings travellers. Its a fine day for sweeping the steps to our fine temple. she says with a nod towards you all.

You see that she is dressed in the robes of a cleric who has decided its a good day to get the place looking nice again. On both sides leading in are small, freshly tended gardens of colourful flowers that despite the drab look of Falcon's Hollow, bring a small sense of vibrancy to an otherwise ramshackle town.

"Thats great to hear. Thank you! she says and gives Jayne a broom and picks up another. "Many hands and many skills make light work."

After another five minutes of sweeping, the job is done. She invites you in for a refreshment. You head in to the Temple and sit down at a table off to the side as the cleric pours you all a glass of cool water.

She looks at you all and says, "You know I have a larger problem that maybe you could help me with. Its no secret that Falcon’s Hollow is a rough and-tumble town, and it isn’t unusual for locals to simply vanish. Many of these disappearances are simply citizens who left town to seek their fortunes elsewhere maybe much like yourselves, but some, unfortunately, are victims of criminals or dangerous creatures from the nearby woods.

Since these disappearances aren’t noteworthy, no one took much of an interest when a local hunter named Barlus Chortun went missing—except me. The real reason is that Barlus, a worshipper of Erastil, came to this Temple to seek blessings from me for his upcoming hunt. I think that at the time, I may have been the closest he had in town to a like-minded soul. He then left and just vanished into Darkmoon Vale. I now feel a bit guilty about perhaps giving him false comfort in a pursuit that isn’t a core part of our faith.

I have approached Lumber Consortium agents in the lumber camp at the edge of the woods for aid in tracking poor Barlus down, but they’ve been very unhelpful. I don’t suspect they’re responsible for Barlus vanishing, only that they don’t really see it as their problem. Barlus told me that he was going to use one of the lumber camps as a staging ground for his hunt, so I think it would put my mind at ease if you could search for him by starting there.

As you can imagine, this has weighed heavily on me and I have been thinking a lot about it and just maybe the workers will be more open to speaking to someone they don’t recognise as I am a bit critical of their employer. I don't think they care about this town, nor the people in it who work so hard for them and care about this community.

All I have to offer is a silver longsword as a reward if you can provide closure on the mystery or, even better, find him and bring him back home alive. It would put my mind at ease as I have been atoning and praying daily. Are you able to help?" she says as she opens her hands.

"No, he never let me know what he was hunting. I just thought that he was trying to provide for his family or something." says the cleric.

"Well, whatever it was, maybe it turned the tables on him." Fira seems a little deflated at the notion. The longsword does not necessarily appeal to her, nor the notion of needing to play detective. Still, the mystery has her piqued. "But we'll go look. I don't want to get jumped out of nowhere any more than anyone else does..."

With the story provided by Lady Gensar still running through your mind, you all head out towards the Cutyard first figuring that there may be some further clues there.

The Cutyard is a building situated beside the river with a wharf for docking, loading and unloading attached.

Spewing sawdust into the foam around the clock, the Cutyard is the ever-pumping heart of Falcon’s Hollow. Lumber crews work the yard under horrific conditions. Night shifts operate waterwheel-powered saws and grinding lathes with only a single dim lantern to light their dangerous toil. Maiming and accidental deaths frequently occur.

Far more insidious than the threat of physical injury is the crushing effect of unending labor and monotony on the workers’ psyches. Most of the lumber crew live in cramped shacks surrounding the Cutyard, plagued by the sounds of saws and axes even when they aren’t working.

As you arrive at the Cutyard you see a pug-faced, mash-nosed man, "Payday" Teedum as he is known around the place seemed to have earned his nickname from the way he doles out violent "dues" to anyone who fails to follow his commands fast enough.

Listening in on various hushed conversations as you walked to the Cutyard and making some observations yourselves, the loggers of Falcon’s Hollow are no strangers to forest beasts and monsters, and their tall tales of dangerous woodland denizens are a popular form of entertainment after work around campfires or at bars.

Lately though, a new rumor about a particularly large, vicious, and cunning gray wolf has been making the rounds, with loggers claiming the wolf has been laying traps for them. Several claim to have been wounded in these traps, and a few imply that several (or perhaps all) of the loggers who have supposedly left the job and moved south were in fact captured and eaten by this wolf.

Normally, the Boss Teedum ignores these rumors, but this latest one seems to be gathering steam quickly, and everyone suspects there’s truth behind the tales. Maybe a chat with this greatly 'respected' Boss may yield some further information.