Citizens of Ashbourne, Part 3

7. Pounter & Herod (miners)
Pounter is a tall, hunched man.  Herod, his son, is nearly an exact copy of his father, except there is no gray in his brown hair and no hunch.  Both men work in the mine.  Pounter is an experienced miner, he walks hunched over because of all the days in the mine where his height was a disadvantage.  Pounter likes working in Ashbourne, the mine is small in scope, but larger in height.  He has a constant cough from his years in the coal mine.  He recently started coughing up blood, but has hidden that fact from everyone, especially his boy.  Pounter lost his wife and second child ten years ago.  An outlaw knight rode into the village to take some for slaves and kill the others.  His wife and child were among the latter.  Pounter carries this grief with him, but it only surfaces when he's drank too much.

Valuables:  Between the two of them, they have 32sp scattered around the house.  Herod has a small stash of gemstone he believes are valuable and something he can use when he gets married.  He's collected about 100sp worth.  He even does some gold panning in the creek sometimes.

Plot Hooks: Pounter is too sick to go to work, his cough has gotten worse.  Herod discovers his father is coughing up blood, but doesn't want to say anything.  He sought out Ingrid's help, but she is gone.  He asks the party if they can do anything.  He offers his stash of gemstone as payment.  Pounter's sickness required magic, even Ingrid's concoctions wouldn't work.  If his disease is not cured, Pounter's health worsens and within two weeks he will die.

Pounter staggers out of the mine, his face white with fear.  He stammers his words making it difficult to understand.  Then another miner runs out of the mine with a huge smile on his face.  "A gem, as big as my fist," he shouts.  Pounter shakes his head, "It's a grim stone (see Local Legends)."  Those around him become quiet.  Maximus orders everyone out of the mine.  Without the mine, Ashbourne cannot continue to exist.  Maximus needs help, he needs experienced help to extract the grim gem.  If the party agrees to this he will make them citizens of Ashbourne and they are permitted to build a home and Maximus awards them 20 acres to do with as they please. 

8. Guttar's Store
Outside this building is a lot of stuff.  Wheelbarrows, pick-axes, shovels, buckets, piles of wood, and a big cloth flag with the miner's guild symbol of a pick-axe and a shovel crossed.  The metal items are in various stages of rust.  Half the building is dedicated to mining equipment. along with digging instruments there are lanterns, flasks of oil, heavy clothing, gloves and boots.  Guttar run's the store with Helima, a awkward looking girl who covers he face with her dark hair.  Guttar is friendly, too friendly.  He follows around anyone who enters his shop and tried to get them to buy stuff.  He's polite, but he pesters people to buy more than what they came in for.  If he is rebuffed he'll return to his stool and pout.  Helima has a dark side to her.  She takes pleasure when others get hurt.

The other side of the building is where Guttar and his family live.  He is married to Ulma, a large woman with a bad temper.  While she is pleasant to others, she insults and belittles Guttar constantly.  Ulma is one of the few citizens of Ashbourne that can read and write.  She takes jobs on the side when writing is involved.

Valuables: There is 250sp worth of equipment in the store at one time.  He keep a small metal lockbox out in the open on a shelf.  It contains 45sp.  In their home the money is kept under the bed, on Ulma's side.  It is a simple lock box containing 145sp.  There isn't much of value in the house.  It is unkempt and cluttered with more mining equipment.

Plot Hooks: One of Pavlo's (12.) young children was found dead near the mine.  He was hit in the head with a stone.  A few of the other miners remember Guttar being near the mine.  Because of this people are pointing the finger at Guttar.  Ulma is keeping quiet.  With Guttar out of the way she can take over the shop and and marry a real man.  That's why she killed Pavlo's brat.  Ulma wants to be with Guran (15.).  Guran is popular among the miners and is swaying their opinion against Guttar.

Local Legends

Grim Stones
Grim Stones are physical manifestations of bad luck.  They are red/black in color and it takes years to manifest.  Some say they grow in areas where malicious acts of violence and depravity are prevalent, but Grim Stones have been discovered in the wilderness and in isolated areas of the world.  Despite how they are formed are where they are found, those individuals or communities that was exposed to the Grim Stone is possessed by misfortune and tragedy.  Grim Stones once exposed do decay and with each misfortune it gets smaller.  Some mages collect Grim Stones, they keep them in the magically contained display cases.  They often want to harness the powerful magics for their own purposes.