I woke up this morning and I got myself a beer

Well, yesterday morning Robern Tefalls got himself a beer after a night at Morrison's Roadhouse on the way from Carse to Jonril. This morning he ate himself the day-old loaf and wedge of cheese he had wrapped in oiled cloth and drank creek water mixed half and half with wine after he slept the night on the donkey blanket.

He spent yesterday traveling the section of the well-worn track between Carse and Jonril just east of Morrison's Roadhouse. Robern understood it was a full, two-day walk to Jonril from there, with no other inns on the way, but a watch station at the crossing of the Wyndemeer West Branch. The small river is about half a day from Jonril, so presumably half a day from where he is now.

I will distinguish for the reader three voices appearing in this chronicle as:

• The Referee's Voice
• The Player's Voice
•        The Inner Voice 

Robern breaks camp after eating breakfast. He still has a quarter of the bottle of wine left, but that was all the food he had left. He'll refill his skin at the creek before heading out. Today he'll adopt a brisk pace. If he catches up to a caravan heading east before reaching the river crossing he'll match pace with them.

The Jonril source book provides no climate or weather information, but The Sunken Lands does. Described as generally hot and wet, and not including any seasonal variation, it seems clear this area is close to, or within, the world's tropics. The "High Meadows" is the region closest to Jonril within the sunken lands so this region's climate will be my basis for today's weather. To wit, "The typical day in the upper elevations of the Sunken Lands (Midridge, Upper Jungle and High Meadows) begins with a heavy, muggy ground mist which burns off by mid-day into a bright sunny day...Occasionally the mist and even the rain don't appear in the High Meadows."

The day began with a heavy ground mist that the bright sun burned off quite quickly.  

Reading "occasionally" as a 1 in 6, my roll of 5 indicates typical weather. The area is forested and sparsely settled/patrolled making encounter checks due 6 times a day, 3 in daylight hours, with a 1 in 12 chance of occurring. Right out of the gate I roll a 1 for the morning period.

Neither of the source books provides setting-specific encounter tables for Robern's current location, so in the interest of "by-the-book" play, I will use the DMG Appendix C tables. This indicates an airborne roc (rolling 10 on d20 means not a patrol, 83 on d100 indicates roc, and 28 on d100 indicates it is airborne). This is a creature of animal intelligence; a raptor with a 60' wingspan. Seems odd to me that it would appear on the tropical/subtropical forest table where it would have difficulty reaching any prey it found. The track does present a bit of a gap in the canopy, however, and this animal may have learned success in picking off mounts and beasts of burden along it.

With 3 encounter periods during the daylight hours, which I will designate as 0600 to 1800 hours, the morning period is 0600 to 1000 hours. I live on a foggy coast and an early burn-off for fog is 0830, with 1000 to 1230 being typical. As such, I'm going to reckon clear enough visibility for visual contact between the roc and Robern occurs after 0830. There are 8 30-minute periods in the morning period, with 5 of them occurring before 0830 and 3 after. The encounter period roll is 5 on a d8, indicating that it happens during the period ending at 0830 and that visibility is unlikely.

With the mist gone, the sun beats harder and the muggy heat becomes rather searing in the gaps in shade the forest around the track provides. Robern is going to finish the two quarts or so of water in his skin well before noon.

Robern pauses to remove his armor and pack it on the donkey before continuing at a more moderate pace. If there's any opportunity for him to refill from running water he'll take it.

The next period, 1000 to 1400, calls for another encounter check. Robern will be reaching the watch tower at the river crossing at 1100. The roll is 8 so he will get there without running into anyone, or anything, else. 

Robern arrives at the watchtower by the river crossing not long after emptying his wineskin. He hasn't had an opportunity to refill it, but of course the river here is an opportunity. As he approaches, Robern is hailed by someone at the tower and asked his name and business.

Robern calls back in a friendly voice his full name, that he is from [name of a village outside Carse] near Carse and bound for Jonril.

The roll is 44 on d100 plus 25 for Robern's charisma, which results in an uncertain, but leaning toward positive reaction.

"Robern Tefalls, what is your business in Jonril."

"I am seeking my fortune there, my friend," he responds in as friendly a voice as he can at this distance.

If I wasn't both player and referee, it might be clear enough that the watchman would be satisfied hearing that answer in the voice and accent which delivered it, however, there may be other factors at play in the watchman's mind so I will follow the reaction table guidance that the NPC is only 55% inclined toward the positive and roll to see how the response plays. Well, 6 on d100 is an easy pass.

The guard calls back a welcome and when Robern closes the distance the aged guard claps his back, "I hope you find that fortune, lad," before turning back to the tower.

Robern drinks heavily from the river, fills his skin, and washes the sweat off himself with the cold, mountain water. He'll don his armor again, but dunk his head after and leave it soaking wet when he continues east at a moderate pace.

Having wet hair and moving more slowly makes life more comfortable for Robern, certainly, at least for a little while, despite being back in the armor. The water in his skin goes longer and though he's certainly sweaty and uncomfortable after a while, it's less intense a discomfort than he felt this morning. Probably the knowledge that Jonril is close eases him a bit as well.

I've calculated Robern's arrival time in Jonril as 1830 without any delays after the river crossing. Having rolled an 8, there is no encounter indicated for the 1400 to 1800 period, but there's a slight chance (1 in 8 after 1 in 12) for an encounter just outside of town. A roll of 3 says no. 

It's probably just past sunset when Robern reaches Jonril, though the sky clouded over late in the afternoon and it's now raining heavily, so it's hard to be sure. The city proper lies across the River Wyndemeer. The river may be crossed by a bridge the far end of which is guarded by a gatehouse. On this side of the river, to the right, is a caravanserai, a clearing some 50 yards to a side and a cluster of maybe a dozen buildings at the far side along the river.

Robern checks out the caravanserai for a place to stay the night and have his donkey seen after.

It's a little disappointing that Jonril doesn't provide any direct guidance for the level of activity in the caravanserai. There are 19 buildings, of which 4 are in use as businesses and offices, 4 are used as warehouses, and 11 are available for rent. This makes it sound like support services are outstripping demand; like maybe the sunken lands aren't so profitable to exploit so much as the people trying to exploit them.

The "adventure key" concept is helpful to the referee, however, and my initial opinion of it is favorable. That might not last, though.

There is a building with sign depicting a flying horse which you would presume to be an inn by the looks.

Robern will check it out.

The Pegasus, as it's called, provides cheap food and barracks-type lodging.

Good enough for tonight!