Introducing Alden Mourningstar
Posted on Thu Jun 29th, 2023 @ 10:25pm by Priest (Level 2) Alden Mourningstar
Mission:
We're Forming A Party
Location: Fairfell Outskirts
Hail the hero Alden
Who brought the villain down
Who saved the farmers and the food
And the people of the town!
Hail the hero Alden
Who stopped the villain Scar
We will always sing his name
To people near and far!
He had to admit it, but he liked the song.
Alden Mourningstar. Hero of Plumblossom.
It had only been two months since he had been taken in by the kind Halflings in the potato farm on the outskirts of the town of Plumblossom. They had been worried that he was an agent of Scar, a crime lord whose people had demanded outrageous tribute from the townsfolk.
Alden had been raised by the Druids of the Circle of Blossoms. They taught him right from wrong and gave him the tools for protecting the world from evildoers, be they criminal scumbags, demons, or the great polluters of the realm. A criminal who preyed upon these gentle people could not be left to their own devices.
For two days, Alden stayed with the potato farmers, helping out as instructed. It turned out he was a natural! Rows eight and nine had been ready for harvest, and they finished much earlier than had been planned! That permitted them to visit the local tavern that evening. They ate well, drank, and made merry…only to be interrupted by gangsters loyal to Scar, reminding everyone that tribute was due in one week, and with a punch to the gut of the bar man, reminded them what happened when they were late.
It would end that night. Alden Mourningstar followed the criminals back to their camp, a cottage that it appeared they had taken over.
Idea one was to set fire to the house, but that didn’t work at all. No amount of Control Flame would help him if he couldn’t light the bloody match.
There was a fire inside though. Maybe he could sneak in? The people inside were loud and obnoxious, drinking and carousing in the kitchen. He got into the empty living room.
Alden Mourningstar closed his eyes, clutched his Druidic Focus, and mentally moved the fire from the hearth toward the kitchen.
The criminals panicked. They ran for the exits, but on one side were blocked by flame, and the other, blocked by thorny vines, courtesy of a subtle cast of Entangle.
One criminal locked eyes with Alden, the prominent scar across his left cheek seemingly glowing with hate, knowing what fate was coming for him.
The fire burned hotter, and it was time to leave. But he was too late, and a ceiling beam collapsed, whacking his shoulder quite hard. He lost concentration and the vines withered and burned away. Maybe a few criminals might get away. But not enough of them, and not Scar.
Alden got out of the cottage and slowly, a light burn on his left shoulder, walked back to the farm.
The next morning, the Halfling villagers saw the wounded Alden Mourningstar walking into town, happy, if injured and exhausted.
No longer on the hook for unreasonable tribute, the villagers praised Alden as a local hero. Vanquisher of Scar, saviour of Plumblossom. Of course, all he’d done is burn down a house — badly, at that — but the townsfolk would not hear of it. For two months, they ate well, drank better, and lived in freedom and joy. They even taught him to cook!
But it was time to move on. The bar man had heard of some commotion in nearby Fairfell, and urged Alden to go. If he could help Plumblossom, surely he could help Fairfell! They even gave him a prized possession, boots which could keep him warm even in the most extreme cold.
And so he began his journey. Alden Mourningstar, hero of Plumblossom, ready to try to do some good in the world.
END
OOC (for fun!):
Intelligence/Nature check: Nat 20
Dexterity/Stealth check: 13
Wisdom/Survival check: 8
Dexterity/Stealth check: Nat 20
Dexterity Saving Throw: 7
Damage from fire: 1
