You are a young man from a small, quiet village along the western coast of Strykholm. You live a peaceful life working as a farmer alongside your father. Farming has been a tradition in your family for years, and your father dreams of the day when you will follow in his footsteps.
You, however, have other aspirations. You dream of faraway lands and daring adventures. When you talk of these things to your father he only laughs.
"Such things are for fools," he says, and urges you on with your chores. Discouraged, you work on, the passion for adventure still burning deep within you.
Then, one day, your village receives disturbing news. Orcs have raided several villages along the coast and burned them to the ground. There are rumors of skeletons and demons stalking the land. It is said the DemonLord, an ancient evil from the nether world, has managed to cross over into our dimension and has brought unspeakable horrors with him. Many of the local townspeople panic, and leave for HarborTown, a large, fortressed city to the north. Your father is defiant though. Grouping together with several of the other farmers, they vow to stay and defend their land. Defenses are hastily built and each man is armed. Then life slowly creeps by. Weeks pass and the bad news continues. Tales of horror and death spread everywhere. Is your village safe? Have the orcs seen your determination and abandoned any notions of attacking your settlement? With nothing left to do, your village waits nervously.
Then, one moonless night your family is awakened by screams and the thundering roar of attacking orcs. You grab your dagger and rush to fight alongside your father. As you run out of your house, you stare unbelievably at the battle before you. Half the village is on fire. Orcs roar past you on horseback, their torches blazing in the night. Hearing a loud growl, you turn only in time to see an orc's club come crashing down on you. The world turns dark as you fall heavily to the ground.
The next day you awake groggily to the sight of one of your neighbors. Around you, you hear the moans and sobs of other townspeople. The sickening smell of smoke and death is everwhere.
"He's awake!" they exclaim. "Someone, fetch his parents!"
You stand shakily, your head ringing from the blow you received. "My parents," you ask, "where are they?"
"They are aiding the others. We lost many last night, " an old farmer says. "We were fools to think we could fight these monsters with our clubs and pitchforks."
You look over the destruction around you. Fighting back the rage, you vow to make these creatures pay for what they've done.
Your mother runs up and embraces you, followed by your father. "I cannot run from this," you say to them. "I must avenge our village."
The townspeople look at you with concern.
Your father steps forward and places a hand on your shoulder. "I know this is what you must do," he says understandingly. Handing you a small pouch, he adds, "Take this, it contains 150 gold pieces. You will need it to outfit yourself properly. Remember, it will take skill and wisdom to accomplish your goal. But first, we must ensure the rest of the village makes it safely to HarborTown"
Nodding, you take the pouch.
You assemble the survivors and collect as much provisions as you can carry before heading for HarborTown. The journey is a strenuous two-day trek, filled with constant fears of orc marauders. Finally you arrive at the gates of HarborTown and its citizens rush out to aid you. With the villagers safe, you now consider your own destiny. You hold only a dagger, a small pouch of healing herbs, and 150 gold pieces.
