Welcome to the Keep!

It is a full two day journey from the city of Fallcrest to Restwell Keep, that is if the weather is fine.  The roads that link the two together is rough and rarely travelled, beset with bandits and highwaymen along most of the route.  Most merchants who choose to the journey along those roads wisely employ guards or mercenaries to accompany them, not only keeping their goods safe but themselves as well.  Gwendyn Silverstrand, an elven merchant who travels throughout the Nentir Vale and much of the broken Nerathi Empire, was travelling to Restwell Keep from Fallcrest and hired five guards to journey with him to the Keep.

Two days along the road is an opportunity for anyone unaquainted to get to know each other.  Those five guards; Helja the Dwarven Cleric, Taeja the Tiefling Fighter, Sweet Pea the Pixie Psion, Ravenfeeder the Shade Assassin, and Soveliss the Eladrin Swordmage, quickly became something more than mere aquaintances but not quite friends.  Each shared their story, or what parts they were willing to concede or possibly make up on the spot.  Within each story though was the desire for adventure, glory, and potential wealth which rumor had spread could be found in the Chaos Scar. 

Restwell Keep, the Keep on the Chaos Scar, gleamed in the early morning light as the merchant's small caravan made its way up the small rock plateau that the Keep was built upon.  It was required that Gwendyn account for all goods that he was bringing into the Keep and quickly thanked his short-term employees, paying them the agreed upon price.  At the gate proper of the Keep those five guards were required to turn over any weapons and arms larger than a dagger to Fallek, Corporal of the Guard.  The Keep buzzed with the energy of the morning; farmers trying to sell their crops off before they had to return to the their farms for the evening's workload, adventurer's gearing up to make the fateful journey into the Scar-most never to return again, and the loud sound of a heated argument coming from a makeshift store a little ways into the Keep than the main entrance.

The Five Guards, interested in the argument, made their way to the store.  The makeshift store was nothing more than a large lean-to with shelves and a counter space, it was divided in two halves by a large, canvas stained brown from the many hands that had touched it since it was put in place.  Those engaged in the heated bantering seemed to be the two proprietors of each half of the store, a man and a woman.  The customers of the two seemed not to notice, acting as if it was an everyday occurence.

Ravenfeeder quickly stepped between the two and confronted the man about his actions, encouraging him to take a breath and calm himself before anything unfortunate happened.  Realizing that the Shade was not alone the two proprietors went back to the business of their respective shops.  Still upset at the man's actions and the way that he conducted himself, Ravenfeeder prodded the man; desiring to find out why he was acting the way he was, not only in front of his own customers but to a woman as well.

Bosco Heldam introduced himself as the local trader in the Keep, trading adventuring goods with anyone brave enough to venture into the Chaos Scar.  He has been running his shop for almost a year now and Grelda Haersy, the other store's owner and local provisioner for the Keep's residents, has been nothing but antagonistic towards his business, going so far as to begin selling the same goods at a lower price than his.  And now his contact and merchant from Sarthel in the south has not arrived making it more difficult to make a profit.  Realizing an opportunity, Ravenfeeder and the Guards offered their services in finding the missing merchant and returning whatever goods might be missing.

Before heading out of the Keep the five decided to do a little investigating; Helja and Soveliss found The Stumbling Giant and lost themselves in one too many mugs of fine ale, Ravenfeeder and Taeja gained some extra knowledge about the merchant, and Sweet Pea flew overhead silently observing and listening to the myriad of information and stories that were swapped throughout the Keep.  It was discovered that the merchant travelled up from the South and subsequently had to travel along the King's Wall that was built as a division between civilization and the dangers of the Chaos Scar.  The merchant was quite punctual and always arrived when he had intended, securing enough guards as deemed appropriate for the journey.  Sweet Pea overheard farmers discussing the strange occurence of farms and farmlands being destroyed by vermin, not as a swarm of unthinking or unprovoked opportunity but as if guided and calculated.