A Meeting in Jenstead

"There is no such thing as an uneventful decade. But these last few years have given rise to a sense that great – and dangerous – times are approaching. The Oracles of Keir detect grave and mysterious portents.""The Legions of the Great Imperium are aborad – Hobgoblin armies from the deadlands, Civil insurrection in led by mad prophets, savage raiders from the cold south.""The Zachliche Commonwealth holds its breath, waiting for the death of the ancient Heirarch Emanuel. The Drow, unseen since the birth of The Agony, move and machinate once more.""Yet few beyond the great and powerful take note. For most, it is simply another decade, another year.""Our story begins in insignificant town of Jenstead, within the Kingdom of Zelira. It is Late Summer.""The trees of the Gildwoods are beginning to turn from bright green to the eponymous autumnal gold.""To the west, the forest stretches all the way to the foothills of the Godwall mountains.""The shore stretches north-to-south, and out across the calm coastal waters, the Sun begins to sink below horizon.""In the evening light, a few clouds are underlit with a gentle orange glow as the sun sets, and the Lunos rises early, waxing near full.""The air is pleasantly warm, a cool sea breeze bringing a welcome chill after the scorching heat of the day. The people of Jenstead are returning to their homesteads, or setting out to evening haunts.""Fishermen haul in their boats, merchants close up their wares, and the last trade cog of the day pulls away from the wharf.""Few remain beyond the city limits: this close to the boarder there is always the distant risk of raids.""Jenstead is a densely packed town on the coast of the Augal Sea, at the mouth of the river Solt.""The Solt is not a big river, nor is Jenstead a big town, but nonetheless boasts a minor river trade between the small trapper, hunter, and lumber communities upstream, within the Gildwoods themselves.""Jenstead’s tall, teetering buildings are squeezed in tight into the restrictive belt of stockades, and amongst the narrow streets there is a pleasant buzz of greetings, trade and chatter.""At the Centre of the town, by the Market Square there is an Inn: the Drunken Ox tavern.""It is a narrow building, nestled between a Cobblers shop and a Bakery, but deep, with low oak ceilings, and several floors of comfortable, if cosily small, rooms above.""Bertrun Cople, the proud owner of the establishment, is busy drawing draughts of Tannspride ale, doing a steady trade.""In the back, his wife and chef, Rika prepares meals – stews, fish, fresh bread from the neighbouring bakery – with the aid of two young assistants.""Meanwhile, Aliza, a pretty red headed barmaid, is returning to the bar when she notices a stranger enter the door…"