L
Laika
Guest
Original poster
The Hallows Inn
You find yourself sprinting, as fast as you can, pushing every muscle in your body to the limit. The dirt track in front of you, so bogged down by rain water has become nothing more than a sludge path of sodden muck. With every step you feel as if your boots are about to be pulled from your feet. Thin, black gnarled branches of long dead trees pinch and tear at your clothes and skin, but you ignore the pain other than a wince after each painful lash. The rain is pouring and your soaked clothing weighs you down, you feel as if at any minute, your fatigue will overcome you and you will succumb to being yet another victim of the Drakenwald, in common tongue, the Dragon's Wood. For the longest time now, your only light source has been that of the moon where it manages to penetrate through the crowded tree-tops, whose dead branches are like crippled arms clawing at the sky, begging for freedom.
Suddenly, thunder rumbles and now consistent flashes of lightning offer you glimpses of what lies ahead, allowing you to maneuver around thorns and branches as sharp as a good sword. However, with each flash of lightning paranoia grows on you, fingering at the deepest parts of your brain. What was at first a hunch that you were being watched is now visuals, whether or not they are hallucinations, deep red eyes watching you through the trees, waiting for you to fall, or make a mistake before the pounce. Thunk you hit the ground hard as you trip over something, struggling to turn onto your back you see it was a rope, tied between the bases of two trees. Your hunch proved to be right, someone or something is hunting and you are their prey. About to give in, you lie back and feel the muck molding to your shape, opening your eyes you see something that almost beings your heart to a stop. Hung from a thick branch, is a skeleton, a long dead victim of whatever it is that resides in this place. Strangely enough this gives you the power to keep going. Bringing yourself to your feet you turn on your heels and once again begin to make haste. You don't know where you are going but anywhere is better than this place. Seconds turn into minutes, which in turn feel like hours as you find you are hopelessly lost. But, something catches your eye, a light coming from between two trees, this is not like any light you have seen in a long time, this is natural daylight. You make one final dart for the light, you can feel your hunter is right behind you. You run and you run and you run.
Thunk. Once again you hit the ground, but this time the fall is not as bad, you open your eyes to see that you came crashing through a final line of trees and landed in a clearing of lush, green grass. Strangely enough, as you look up at the sky, you can see the sun hovering directly overhead, a small ball in the sky. You squint as it hurts your eyes, but you cannot look away knowing that only moments ago you'd seen the moon, it was as if, you'd stumbled into a different time. Bringing yourself around, you see that there is a building ahead of you, it appears to be some sort of resting place, an inn. Beside it lies the forge of a blacksmith. Coming to your feet, you walk towards the building and upon reaching the door, push it open and stumble inside, dragging in muck and dripping water all over the oak floor. Eyes from all over the large open room fall you, you catch a pretty maiden standing on the stairs. Time seems to freeze for a moment, only to be started again by a voice.
"Another wanderer? This is the third this week, at this rate, we're soon going to run out of rooms... Welcome to the Hallows Inn! Lazarus, at your service."
The Hallows Inn is situated in the middle of a clearing in a forest known as the Drakenwald. The Drakenwald has never been fully mapped but is known to be the largest woods in the chartered World. The exact location of the clearing in relation to the forest is also unknown as all who have come across The Hallows Inn have done so by accident, often after days, if not weeks of being lost in the vast expanse of the Drakenwald.
The owner of the inn is a man who goes by the name Lazarus. Nobody knows his exact age, only that he has been at the inn for centuries, some rumors say that he was born in the Drakenwald and has never been outside its borders, others say that Lazarus is an entity of the forest that cannot leave, a Dryad of sorts. What is definitely known is that all weary wanderers who come across the Hallows Inn are offered refuge until they decide it is time to move on, if at all.
The Grounds
When exactly the inn was engineered, within one of the more accommodating glades of the Drakenwald, is unknown. However, when Lazarus took the building under his care it had all but fallen to ruin. In the beginning, an old Elvish friend Sceolan (who later went on to become king of a distant land) erected magical wards in the form of stones, obelisks as tall as a man that seemingly glow with an almost invisible aura. A powerful presence can be felt by the more attuned to the arcane when close by. For centuries now they have kept the beasts, ghouls and other creatures of the woods at bay - all who arrive at the inn are safe within it's boundaries. While the Drakenwald itself is not as dangerous during the day and you are far less likely to run across unwarranted company, it is still heavily advised adventurer's don't stray too far from the inn as to get lost, or the dryads and nymphs will be the least of your problems.
The inn itself sits towards the southern end of the clearing with Toradh's (a former master Dwarven blacksmith) humble forge and hut close by. One of the most noted things about the inn by travelers and residents is the fine finish on any work they present the Dwarf with. Rumor has it his tools are enchanted relics from a far off land and guide his hand and mind in work. Others will tell you while the tools are certainly magical and aid him in some way - his skill has been proven in legend long before he arrived at the Hallows. Some men, foolish or brave, have ventured from the safety of home into the woods to get something crafted by Toradh, many more have died in place - their corpses once littering the undergrowth now reclaimed by nature.
A newer edition to the grounds is a hot springs behind the main building. Welcomed by nearly all patrons - a place to relax under the night sky surrounded by the trees, stars and good company can never go amiss.
A few miles north of the inn are a series of three clearings, forming as much a crescent shape as imaginable with the eye. Three ponds, that could nearly be called small lakes with near crystal clear water. Nymphs are said to inhabit the lake and surrounding area, remarkably these are not your typical creatures that have been noted to inhabit other parts of the Drakenwald and in fact have granted the wishes of men and sometimes women who have come to them from the inn and offered an appropriate tiding.
Adventurers, patrons and residents have all shared stories both wondrous and harrowing of spots in the woods and anyone who decides to explore will be sure to have their own stories to tell around a fire with good mead. Be wary however of the living forest and make sure to be able to always find your way back to the safety of the Hallows.
Characters
The role-play is following a traditional-fantasy style, at least for the time being, so it would be appreciated if we kept our characters in this genre in relation to race, class etc. Feel free to spruce up the appearance of your CS with coding if you wish, magic should be included in the weapons or other section depending on it's use.
Magic:
Low Magic - uses natural objects from the world around you, different to elemental although for the sake of the role-play we'll include elemental magic under low.
High Magic - encompasses a wide variety of complex rituals, spells or incantations to perform the desired action/conjuration etc.
Folk Magic - magical practices that is usually practiced by peasantry or those considered commoners, often influenced by superstition it has however proven it's worth in matters of healing, dispelling curses or casting them to curing blighted crops, among all other sorts of things. Sometimes folk magic incorporates religious practices and beliefs, where as other times it has its own set of traditions.
When writing about your characters magical abilities, remember to include where they acquired them in the history section- innate ability, enchanted relic, curse, study? Any other questions about what can or can't be included should be sent to me in PM or addressed in the ooc; I'll try to be accommodating to reasonable requests - note many will fit into the above categories and should be rationalized with common sense or fantasy logic. You don't have to write an essay.
Name:
Age:
Race:
Gender:
Sexuality:
Class:
Appearance: (Pictures are preferred)
Weapon(s):
Armor:
Trinkets: (If any)
Short History:
Other:
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