Tales from the Wet Bard

Welcome, welcome. Come closer. Let me tale you a tale. Your tale. This is how it happened, more or less. The story is an old one, as old as time itself. It is your time to enter it, though. Do not be afraid. Listen closely and choose wisely. Love, fame, and fortune can all be yours if you play your cards carefully.

The beginning is always the same. Though you come from a small town, your mother named you Hero in hopes of future glory. Your hair is brown, your build athletic. You turned eighteen the same day you lost your parents -- a mysterious disappearance that has left you curious and willing to risk adventure. You have to your name only the cabin you grew up in, a modest amount of gold, the clothes on your back, and a sword purchased for you by your parents, left on the table in your kitchen on your birthday, the day they vanished.

The name of your town is Humble, and true to its name there is not much extravagance to speak of:

There is a local tavern, at which there is a "Quest Board" where locals post their grievances for any traveling adventurers that might lend aid. The Barkeep, Jessa, has run the place since her parents died nearly a decade ago, growing from an inexperienced owner into a mature young woman, capable of drinking with the best of them. Your parents, and other, older members of the town, used to lament that she looked just as her mother had, with long blonde hair that touched her waist and brilliant blue eyes. That she wore her mother's old corsets did not help the comparison. The tavern's second floor serves as an inn where travelers might spend a night or two, and listed along with cleaning and cooking services is the choice for travelers to stay "with company," an option which you've heard is well used, though no townsfolk will admit to having partaken.

There is an armory, run by the smith Helix, a tall man with the most well-built chest you've ever seen. He tended to speak little, most commonly wearing leather overalls over a simple shirt. He kept to himself, but was always friendly to you and yours, and seemed well-willing to support you when you declared your intention as an adventurer.

There is the town hall, where the mayor, an older woman named Tabitha Rowe, runs all things smoothly. Though some wrinkles have begun to appear on her face, along with streaks of grey in her hair, she maintained still a vitality to her that kept her energetic enough to handle any problems that arose between townsfolk. It was not uncommon for two people in disagreement to meet privately with Mayor Rowe over night in the town hall, and come out in the morning at peace with one another, the matter at hand well resolved.

Aside from this, forest stretches to the North and South, a lake sits to the East, and Mountains in the distance to the west. Though brave and confident and well-trained by traveling adventurers, you have never explored beyond the town limits. You are not discouraged by this. In truth, you are excited.

The world lies before you. All you must do is enter it.