Ravengro was founded in 4594 ar to support Harrowstone, a prison built to answer the growing need for a centralized repository for criminals in the county of Tamrivena (now known as Canterwall). Count Eigen Lorres, one of the last counts to rule Tamrivena before the county switched to its current government, was not a well-liked ruler. In an attempt both to bolster his failing reputation and bring money into Tamrivena’s coffers, he announced the construction of Harrowstone, a prison that would not only house all of the county’s prisoners (thus removing them from being incarcerated locally), but that for a price, would house dangerous prisoners from all over Ustalav. Count Lorres’s plan worked perfectly—not only was the transfer of criminals out of local jails seen as a boon throughout the county, but other counties also responded well to the invitation, sending caravans of payments to Tamrivena and caravans of prisoners to Ravengro. The town of Ravengro itself was always intended to be little more than support for the prison. Not only would Ravengro provide a place for the prison’s employees to live, but it would also provide all of the supplies needed by the prison—food, water, tools, weapons for the guards, and anything else necessary.
Historians often point to Harrowstone’s unfortunate destruction in the fire of 4661 as one of the trigger events that eventually led to the entire region’s bloodless uprising in 4670—the prison’s loss, combined with the government’s inability to rebuild the site (or, more likely, its lack of interest in doing so), certainly disenfranchised the citizens of Ravengro, who by the time the region was ready to abandon hereditary rule were all too eager to accept the new democracy. Since that time, while Harrowstone has remained a constant reminder of darker times, the town of Ravengro has recovered remarkably. Today, the town is a quite healthy farming community blessed with fertile fields and orchards. The town’s chief products are wheat, barley, and corn. Because the town is close to the shore of Lake Lias (“The Great Blue Dot”), Ravengrians can supplement their food stores with fish, but fishing is not sustainable as a commercial enterprise.
Despite their success, Ravengro’s citizens are the town’s greatest hindrances to expansion. Insular, they take some time to warm to strangers and often damage new opportunities for trade with their standoffish attitudes. Yet as hesitant as the townsfolk are to talk to strangers, they are all too eager to talk about them. Rumormongering and gossiping are traditional pastimes among the townsfolk, especially when it comes to strangers. Without a steady supply of unusual visitors to town, they’d be limited to whispers about illicit affairs, unwanted pregnancies, and speculations upon their neighbors’ prosperity—the arrival of strangers in town puts folk in an awkward state, in which their desire to avoid contact with possible troublemakers comes into direct conflict with their curiosity about new faces. As a result, visitors who make plain their intention to stay in town for more than a day typically receive the bulk of Ravengro’s hesitant curiosity.
Leaving Jominda Fallenbridge after securing a few supplies at her Apothecary, our heroes impose upon Kendra to advise them of possible resources in the quiet village where they might uncover more about the black Ruin of Harrowstone, where the good professor so recently met with foul play. Or where they can further investigate the professor's dark quarry, the necromantic cult of The Whispering Way. Kendra takes only a moment to settle on the choices of The Unfurling Scroll and it's collected library of tomes belonging ot its Wizard proprietor, and the Town Hall. The group, interested in the opportunity to meet with a Wizard, opt to accompany her to the peculiar lodge of the old mage.
This building is a combination schoolhouse and magic item shop run by one Alendru Ghoroven; a wizened, creaking old character shrunken and bent with age but sharp and bright with acument, insight and a keen mind. When their parents can afford to spare them from the farms, a few “lucky” children are sent to study under Alendru Ghoroven, a retired wizard-turned-teacher. Alendru teaches reading, history, and math, as well as beginning magical theory. He seeks to elevate “the commoners,” though few of his pupils enjoy the strictness of his classes.
Alendru
In addition to teaching, Alendru supplements his income by buying and selling minor magic items (primarily scrolls) that he’s purchased or created. He offers many 1st- through 3rd-level scrolls for sale, along with a fair number of low-priced magic items. A wand of cat’s grace (13 charges) and a wand of slow (6 charges) are two of his current highest-priced offerings. Along with:
3rd Clairaudience/Clairvoyance CL: 6; cost 450gp
0th Haunted Fey Aspect CL: 1; cost 10gp (ultcom)
1st Grease CL: 2; cost 50gp (core)
1st Corrosive Touch CL: 1; cost 25gp (ultmag)
2nd Protection from Evil, Communal CL: 4; cost 200gp (ultcom) Scroll value: 275gp
1st Liberating Command CL: 1; cost 25gp (ultcom)
He also recently came into the possession of a flesh golem manual as well; this book is the property of one Montagnie Crowl of Lepidstadt — Alendru purchased it from one of his shadier contacts, and while he doesn’t know for sure, he suspects that the book was stolen.
Alendru normally asks for a 10 gp payment for each day that he allows anyone to use his school’s resources, but since today, they are accompanied by the beautiful and charming and respectable Miss Lorrimor, he waives the fee and allows PCs to use the library free of charge.
The studious Breagan and clever Svetlana dig into the library, discovering a number of details about Harrowstone in so doing. Harrowstone is a ruined prison— partially destroyed by a fire in 4661, the building has stood vacant ever since. The locals suspect that it’s haunted, and don’t enjoy speaking of the place.
Harrowstone was built in 4594. Ravengro was founded at the same time as a place where guards and their families could live and that would produce food and other supplies used by the prison. The fire that killed all of the prisoners and most of the guards destroyed a large portion of the prison’s underground eastern wing, but left most of the stone structure above relatively intact. The prison’s warden perished in the fire, along with his wife, although no one knows why she was in the prison when the fire occurred. A statue commemorating the warden and the guards who lost their lives was built in the months after the tragedy—that statue still stands on the riverbank just outside of town.
Most of the hardened criminals sent to Harrowstone spent only a few months imprisoned, for it was here that most of Ustalav’s executions during that era were carried out. The fire that caused the tragedy was, in fact, a blessing in disguise, for the prisoners had rioted and gained control of the prison’s dungeons immediately prior to the conflagration. It was only through the self sacrifice of Warden Hawkran and 23 of his guards that the prisoners were prevented from escaping—the guards gave their lives to save the town of Ravengro.
At the time Harrowstone burned, five particularly notorious criminals had recently arrived at the prison. While the commonly held belief is that the tragic fire began accidentally after the riot began, in fact the prisoners had already seized control of the dungeon and had been in command of the lower level for several hours before the fire. Warden Hawkran triggered a deadfall to seal the rioting prisoners in the lower level, but in so doing trapped himself and nearly two dozen guards. The prisoners were in the process of escaping when the panicked guards accidentally started the fire in a desperate attempt to end the riot.
Having learned all they can from the old wizard's library, our heroes venture out into the afternoon, the palid disc of the sun showing bright as it spins near its apex, a diffused blinding disk amid the thin cloud covering. It's gray-white light shining down on children at play, chickens wandering the streets and occasional tradesmen going about their work at a rural pace. Hungry after a long morning spend reading, they ask of Kendra about the town's taverns and dining. She advises them of the dubious but interesting Laughing Demon where Zokar Elkarid, who they met at the funeral previously, holds the philosophy that the best way to meet the horrors of the world is with a jest, for if one can laugh at the worst life has to offer, there remains little to fear. She assures that that his warm and friendly tavern does its best to live up to this admirable philosophy, down to the menu. Kendra explains that Zokar takes pains to come up with humorous names for his drinks and meals, with offerings like vampire steaks (cuts of beef skewered on thick wooden spikes), wolf balls, corpse chowder, and liquid ghosts. She warns them that there are many tales about what’s really in the food served here.
And she directs them to The Outward Inn, where the board and breakfast are provided by Sarianna Vai and come highly recommended. Kendra enjoys the local attraction because musicians and storytellers often visit the main floor and basement tavern in the evenings, performing for coppers at the smaller, more intimate gatherings. Although now retired, Sarianna was once a singer of some repute in Caliphas, and her voice remains strong and beautiful to hear. Though only if the place is really jumping can Sarianna be cajoled into performing herself.
This sounds like the most welcoming option to our heroes and the promenade down the country lane to the Inn, right in the town square.
Inside they find a few locals dining and two musicians sit listening to a Bard spinning a story, their Varisian Guitar and Pan Drum set aside for the moment. Father Kotsni surveys the room, looking for anything unusual in the afternoon crowd ( of five patrons ).
Sarianna appears quickly and invites then to sit anywhere and asks what she may provide for them n a thick, Caliphas accent. Her rich tones and old-country manner of speaking lend a character to her and the whole Inn. Father Kotsni and Ornifex decide on the Paprikosh. ( A Hungarian dish resembling goulash (a paprika-based potato stew), but without potatoes and using meat instead, often chicken and sometimes veal. Chicken paprikas (Hungarian: paprikás csirke or paprikáscsirke) or paprika chicken is a dish of Hungarian origin and one of the most famous Hungarian stews. Cooked bell peppers (aka paprika, as in the spice) are common in Hungarian cuisine, and dishes cooked in a creamy, red paprika stew have been referred to as a Hungarian staple. The meat is cooked with a paprika roux. The édes nemes (sweet paprika) is the preferred kind of paprika; it adds a rosy color as well as flavor. Sometimes olive oil and sweet red or yellow peppers and a small amount of tomato paste are used. The dish bears a "family resemblance" to goulash, another paprika dish. The dish is traditionally served with "dumpling-like boiled egg noodles" (nokedli), a broad noodle similar to the German spätzle. )
Sarianna recommends the expensive but tender roast lamb which entices the sophisticated palate of Breagan and to great reward. ( The whole tender lamb is sliced-into all about and cuts of thick (1/4-inch) bacon are inserted along with sliced whole garlic cloves into the incisions. The whole is then marinated for hours. Repeatedly spread over with a broth of wine, salt, pepper, basil and marjoram. Then roasted over coals that give a long time constant heat under a bell-lid to cover it and keep it moist. At every half an hour the lamb is basted with more of the wine and marjoram mixture and turned over. It is finally served with spinach puree and garlic sauce. ) It is, by far, the finest dish of the meal.
Svetlana, long a traveler of Ustalavi roads, has the Ghiveci, a stew of eggplant, zuchini and rice with whatever meat is left over from the previous night. As with all Ustalavi stews there's a generous amount of cabbage and beets and carrots and the stock is flavored with Thyme, Dill, Parsley and Paprika. It is highly filling and nutritious, but the flavor is mediocre. The three copper piece price however, is just right! And the Outward Inn offers a remarkable Irrisen Ice Mead, a strong, bold, cold-weather mead crafted by Svirfneblin in the land of the witch queens. It is remarkable and she enjoys a massive, Numerian stein full. The barbarian tankard is massive, holding three pints! Svetlana feels the warmth of the bolstering drink flow through her.
Finding no untoward activity among the patrons. Our heroes turn to the tale told by the skald entertaining the locals. His tale is one of street savvy and Varisian wiles, spoken from the point of view of a rake or scoundrel in the city. ( for the complete tale as told in the Inn, CLICK HERE ) But they pay no mind to this common-folk's entertainment. Deciding that the pressing matter of the professor's death and their investigation into it is more important for now. Paying the proprietress with a generous tip they improve their image in the town and make their way to the next possible source of information.
Knowing from what they learned at The Unfurling Scroll, that there were interesting goings-on at the old prison when it collapsed, they plan on either visiting the Ravengro Town Hall to look into the records that the Alderman of the village saved at the time of the fire or to speak with the oldest living townsperson who might remember the events and possess vital forgotten facts. That being the long-lived Iron Mountains Dwarven smith, Jorfa. Jorfa is one of Ravengro’s most jealously guarded assets, for her skill at the forge is out of keeping with what one would expect to find in such a small town. Jorfa never speaks to her neighbors about her past—she’s lived in Ravengro for so long that locals see her as more of an institution than a neighbor. Long ago, she heard a call for skilled crafters to aid in the foundation of a new town— Ravengro. Jorfa arrived only a month after Harrowstone was finished, and has lived in Ravengro ever since. Now approaching old age, she’s taken on a few promising apprentices.
Jorfa isn’t the oldest person in town, but she’s certainly lived in Ravengro longer than anyone else. She’s kept to herself for the past century or so. While the majority of her work for Ravengro consists of tools for farmers and fisherfolk, she often forges weapons and armor as well. Most of these works she sells to visiting collectors, but she keeps a good selection of weapons and armor on hand (including several masterwork weapons and suits of armor).
Father Kotsni opens up their line of inquiry and is, at first not inclined to be forthcoming with information. She wont just tell them useful things for free. A true craftswoman of the guilding system. So she haggles a free lunch for her and all three of her apprentices for the bargain. But when the cleric challenges her to a dice game of chance to win double or nothing, then she perks up and eyeing the Varisian holy man warily, rises to his challenge to a duel of luck. They roll dice, Father Kotsni rolls two dice and Jorfa's challenge is a roll a number in between the two rolls on her dice. The father rolls a 2 and a 17 on his twenty-faced dice, As Jorfa snickers and as she shakes her die in hand the wily priest calls upon his Luck Domain granted power, the Bit of Luck and re-rolls the die that rolled a two, this time rolling a 15! Starling grins as Desna's power helps him to cheat the old Dwarf and with a squint and grinding of teeth, cursing the luck of this sneaky Varisian, she rolls a 17!!! Immediately breaking into a gleefull little jig & reel and the crestfallen Kotsni fishes in his pouch for the 30 coins.
Ribbing and mocking the gypsy priest, Jorfa , proving to be a good sport takes a shine to them and reveals that she has a small collection of magical arms and armor for sale, including a +1 light steel shield and a +1 rapier. And that she will tell them all that she can remember about Harrowstone over lunch.
The studious Breagan and clever Svetlana dig into the library, discovering a number of details about Harrowstone in so doing. Harrowstone is a ruined prison— partially destroyed by a fire in 4661, the building has stood vacant ever since. The locals suspect that it’s haunted, and don’t enjoy speaking of the place.
Harrowstone was built in 4594. Ravengro was founded at the same time as a place where guards and their families could live and that would produce food and other supplies used by the prison. The fire that killed all of the prisoners and most of the guards destroyed a large portion of the prison’s underground eastern wing, but left most of the stone structure above relatively intact. The prison’s warden perished in the fire, along with his wife, although no one knows why she was in the prison when the fire occurred. A statue commemorating the warden and the guards who lost their lives was built in the months after the tragedy—that statue still stands on the riverbank just outside of town.
Most of the hardened criminals sent to Harrowstone spent only a few months imprisoned, for it was here that most of Ustalav’s executions during that era were carried out. The fire that caused the tragedy was, in fact, a blessing in disguise, for the prisoners had rioted and gained control of the prison’s dungeons immediately prior to the conflagration. It was only through the self sacrifice of Warden Hawkran and 23 of his guards that the prisoners were prevented from escaping—the guards gave their lives to save the town of Ravengro.
At the time Harrowstone burned, five particularly notorious criminals had recently arrived at the prison. While the commonly held belief is that the tragic fire began accidentally after the riot began, in fact the prisoners had already seized control of the dungeon and had been in command of the lower level for several hours before the fire. Warden Hawkran triggered a deadfall to seal the rioting prisoners in the lower level, but in so doing trapped himself and nearly two dozen guards. The prisoners were in the process of escaping when the panicked guards accidentally started the fire in a desperate attempt to end the riot.
Having learned all they can from the old wizard's library, our heroes venture out into the afternoon, the palid disc of the sun showing bright as it spins near its apex, a diffused blinding disk amid the thin cloud covering. It's gray-white light shining down on children at play, chickens wandering the streets and occasional tradesmen going about their work at a rural pace. Hungry after a long morning spend reading, they ask of Kendra about the town's taverns and dining. She advises them of the dubious but interesting Laughing Demon where Zokar Elkarid, who they met at the funeral previously, holds the philosophy that the best way to meet the horrors of the world is with a jest, for if one can laugh at the worst life has to offer, there remains little to fear. She assures that that his warm and friendly tavern does its best to live up to this admirable philosophy, down to the menu. Kendra explains that Zokar takes pains to come up with humorous names for his drinks and meals, with offerings like vampire steaks (cuts of beef skewered on thick wooden spikes), wolf balls, corpse chowder, and liquid ghosts. She warns them that there are many tales about what’s really in the food served here.
And she directs them to The Outward Inn, where the board and breakfast are provided by Sarianna Vai and come highly recommended. Kendra enjoys the local attraction because musicians and storytellers often visit the main floor and basement tavern in the evenings, performing for coppers at the smaller, more intimate gatherings. Although now retired, Sarianna was once a singer of some repute in Caliphas, and her voice remains strong and beautiful to hear. Though only if the place is really jumping can Sarianna be cajoled into performing herself.
This sounds like the most welcoming option to our heroes and the promenade down the country lane to the Inn, right in the town square.
Inside they find a few locals dining and two musicians sit listening to a Bard spinning a story, their Varisian Guitar and Pan Drum set aside for the moment. Father Kotsni surveys the room, looking for anything unusual in the afternoon crowd ( of five patrons ).
Sarianna appears quickly and invites then to sit anywhere and asks what she may provide for them n a thick, Caliphas accent. Her rich tones and old-country manner of speaking lend a character to her and the whole Inn. Father Kotsni and Ornifex decide on the Paprikosh. ( A Hungarian dish resembling goulash (a paprika-based potato stew), but without potatoes and using meat instead, often chicken and sometimes veal. Chicken paprikas (Hungarian: paprikás csirke or paprikáscsirke) or paprika chicken is a dish of Hungarian origin and one of the most famous Hungarian stews. Cooked bell peppers (aka paprika, as in the spice) are common in Hungarian cuisine, and dishes cooked in a creamy, red paprika stew have been referred to as a Hungarian staple. The meat is cooked with a paprika roux. The édes nemes (sweet paprika) is the preferred kind of paprika; it adds a rosy color as well as flavor. Sometimes olive oil and sweet red or yellow peppers and a small amount of tomato paste are used. The dish bears a "family resemblance" to goulash, another paprika dish. The dish is traditionally served with "dumpling-like boiled egg noodles" (nokedli), a broad noodle similar to the German spätzle. )
Sarianna recommends the expensive but tender roast lamb which entices the sophisticated palate of Breagan and to great reward. ( The whole tender lamb is sliced-into all about and cuts of thick (1/4-inch) bacon are inserted along with sliced whole garlic cloves into the incisions. The whole is then marinated for hours. Repeatedly spread over with a broth of wine, salt, pepper, basil and marjoram. Then roasted over coals that give a long time constant heat under a bell-lid to cover it and keep it moist. At every half an hour the lamb is basted with more of the wine and marjoram mixture and turned over. It is finally served with spinach puree and garlic sauce. ) It is, by far, the finest dish of the meal.
Svetlana, long a traveler of Ustalavi roads, has the Ghiveci, a stew of eggplant, zuchini and rice with whatever meat is left over from the previous night. As with all Ustalavi stews there's a generous amount of cabbage and beets and carrots and the stock is flavored with Thyme, Dill, Parsley and Paprika. It is highly filling and nutritious, but the flavor is mediocre. The three copper piece price however, is just right! And the Outward Inn offers a remarkable Irrisen Ice Mead, a strong, bold, cold-weather mead crafted by Svirfneblin in the land of the witch queens. It is remarkable and she enjoys a massive, Numerian stein full. The barbarian tankard is massive, holding three pints! Svetlana feels the warmth of the bolstering drink flow through her.
Finding no untoward activity among the patrons. Our heroes turn to the tale told by the skald entertaining the locals. His tale is one of street savvy and Varisian wiles, spoken from the point of view of a rake or scoundrel in the city. ( for the complete tale as told in the Inn, CLICK HERE ) But they pay no mind to this common-folk's entertainment. Deciding that the pressing matter of the professor's death and their investigation into it is more important for now. Paying the proprietress with a generous tip they improve their image in the town and make their way to the next possible source of information.
Knowing from what they learned at The Unfurling Scroll, that there were interesting goings-on at the old prison when it collapsed, they plan on either visiting the Ravengro Town Hall to look into the records that the Alderman of the village saved at the time of the fire or to speak with the oldest living townsperson who might remember the events and possess vital forgotten facts. That being the long-lived Iron Mountains Dwarven smith, Jorfa. Jorfa is one of Ravengro’s most jealously guarded assets, for her skill at the forge is out of keeping with what one would expect to find in such a small town. Jorfa never speaks to her neighbors about her past—she’s lived in Ravengro for so long that locals see her as more of an institution than a neighbor. Long ago, she heard a call for skilled crafters to aid in the foundation of a new town— Ravengro. Jorfa arrived only a month after Harrowstone was finished, and has lived in Ravengro ever since. Now approaching old age, she’s taken on a few promising apprentices.
Jorfa
Jorfa isn’t the oldest person in town, but she’s certainly lived in Ravengro longer than anyone else. She’s kept to herself for the past century or so. While the majority of her work for Ravengro consists of tools for farmers and fisherfolk, she often forges weapons and armor as well. Most of these works she sells to visiting collectors, but she keeps a good selection of weapons and armor on hand (including several masterwork weapons and suits of armor).
Father Kotsni opens up their line of inquiry and is, at first not inclined to be forthcoming with information. She wont just tell them useful things for free. A true craftswoman of the guilding system. So she haggles a free lunch for her and all three of her apprentices for the bargain. But when the cleric challenges her to a dice game of chance to win double or nothing, then she perks up and eyeing the Varisian holy man warily, rises to his challenge to a duel of luck. They roll dice, Father Kotsni rolls two dice and Jorfa's challenge is a roll a number in between the two rolls on her dice. The father rolls a 2 and a 17 on his twenty-faced dice, As Jorfa snickers and as she shakes her die in hand the wily priest calls upon his Luck Domain granted power, the Bit of Luck and re-rolls the die that rolled a two, this time rolling a 15! Starling grins as Desna's power helps him to cheat the old Dwarf and with a squint and grinding of teeth, cursing the luck of this sneaky Varisian, she rolls a 17!!! Immediately breaking into a gleefull little jig & reel and the crestfallen Kotsni fishes in his pouch for the 30 coins.
Ribbing and mocking the gypsy priest, Jorfa , proving to be a good sport takes a shine to them and reveals that she has a small collection of magical arms and armor for sale, including a +1 light steel shield and a +1 rapier. And that she will tell them all that she can remember about Harrowstone over lunch.