------------- Ironwood Tales – Streets of Gryphonmyr

In a town famous for its venture companies and the beginnings of great stories, it was perhaps fated that The Ironwood Company would come together. Many had come for the two thousandth Founders’ Day celebration. The Duchess Atreides had promised a most magnificent event, and bards, circus companies, traders and every petty thief in three kingdoms had flooded the town in the week before to be a part of the action. There was money to be made, thrills to be had, strange sights to see. No doubt, the good folk of Gryphonmyr would soon regret it and wish them all to just go away.

Xandrocles had been transferred several weeks ago from his post in Dient to aid the old High Priest of Zeus. He’d spent his days fixing fences and tending the Gryphonmyr graveyard, and trying to keep an eye on the schemes of the newly consecrated Temple of Aphrodite to the east. Lyneth had come across an old friend of hers, the Warpriestess who’d saved her life a few years back, Myribeth, and she’d bummed a ride into town. While wandering the shops and tents of the carnival that had been set up on the south side of the river, she’d run across an old friend from the Short Help syndicate out of Nice Little Place, the Houlifar rogue, Billy Breeze. He still hadn’t made it into the ranks of the Arcane Rogues yet, but he was getting close. Singing and playing her lute for a little coin, she’d secured enough for a night on the town and offered to buy a few drinks at the Riverfront, a sleazy enough bar she might be able to afford. Leaving Myribeth to talk with the Priestess of the Church of the Seldarine, she ran into an old lover, more like her big brother now, Charius, a Ranger who’d grown up right here in Gryphonmyr. And no sooner had Charius started back to his camp in the eastern woods than Xandrocles caught sight of him and two had a fond reunion.

Thus it was that five old companions, not all knowing each other, met that night in the Riverfront over mugs of ale and loud music and laughter. Bemoaning the sad state of his wallet, Billy struck upon the idea that they should get together and start a venture company. Unfortunately, all together, they barely had enough coin to pay for their drinks that evening. That was perhaps when fate intervened. A day or so earlier, another odd couple had arrived in town, a raven haired woman in a black cloak and her guard, a towering half-orc clad in leather and steel. She too was in need of coin, but her magic always managed to provide for her. Her associations also had given her the knowledge of a path ahead. When she strolled into the Riverfront that night, the half-orc by her side, two things were obvious. First, a lady such as her did not belong in a filthy dive such as that. Second, there was going to be trouble.

As it turned out, Charius and the half-orc, KoBaH, had crossed blades before over the matter of some stolen horses, but which one had stolen them and which was rescuing them was still undecided. Before the bar turned into a bloodbath, the woman, Maedera, had saved them all from the sheriff’s attention by Calming the room just when tempers had reached a boiling point. The next day, on the streets of Gryphonmyr, they met and headed down to the FreeRanger’s Guildhall to sign the contract. Lyneth came up with the name, Ironwood, and more than half thought it was a grand idea. Maedera plopped down the money and even had enough left over to supply horses for those without. Now all they had to figure out was what to do first.

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