# 10 Seconds on the Road

Use these ten-second resources, to breathe life into the characters’ overland trip.

## NPCs
1. Auni Kallas
2. Brute
3. Knut Auto
4. Perttu Kainu
5. Pieti Tuuli
6. Serafia Miela

**Auni Kallas** (N female half-elf) worships Behron, god of travel. She’s just starting out, but wants to visit every nearby village and town. She’s friendly and happy to travel with like-minded groups. Auni's also a survival expert. 

**Brute** (N male dog) bleeds from several deep slashes on his flank. This tall and lanky downcast mongrel lopes toward the party. Brute is skittish, and must be calmed. He bears a leather collar with his name, and the name of his owner: Eeva Kari. 

**Knut Auvo** (CE male human) staggers along, under the weight of a bulging pack. Knut wears peasant garb, but carries an inordinate (perhaps suspicious) amount of adventuring gear. This blackhearted swine has looted a nearby abandoned campsite. 

**Perttu Kainu** (N middle-aged male human) wonders about so many things. Many aspects of life baffle the inquisitive Perttu. Balding, with a bad squint and a “colourful” dress sense he stands out from the crowd. For all that, Perttu is a kind, patient man. 

**Pieti Tuuli** (NE male human) fears the characters are after him, and is skittish and guarded. Sweat soaks Pieti's tunic, as he hugs his bulging, damp pack close. He runs screaming from the group for the slightest reason. Pieti is a coward…and a murderer. 

**Serafia Miela** (LG female human) stalks the road looking for the brigands who robbed and killed her man. She wears battered leathers and carries a spear. Vengeance burns bright in her breast; how she deals with it will make or break her. Darkness approaches. 

## Landmarks
1. Aymer's Gorge
2. Cold Brook Hollow
3. Long Pool
4. The Oratory
5. St. Cuthbert's Crossing
6. Tumblestone Quarry

**Aymer’s Gorge** cuts through a range of steep hills. Ancient oak forest alive with birdsong fills the gorge. Amid the trees, a river wends its way through three deep pools and over four waterfalls. It is a good place to camp. 

**Cold Brook Hollow** lies under a rocky overhang, at the head of a shadowed ravine. The stream’s chill waters flow from a deep cave and through a vine-strangled ring of curious monoliths. Low rumblings and a hideous fetor periodically emerge from the cave.

**Long Pool** fills a natural fold in the land, which the road skirts. Swaths of rushes surround the lake. During the spring, the frenzied croaking of mating frogs fills the air. After heavy rain, the road turns into a boggy morass. 

**The Oratory** juts from a hill overlooking the road. Prophets, madmen and hucksters regale traveller from this craggy, flat-topped outcrop. Most travellers pass by as fast as they can. Shouting matches here are common.

**St. Cuthbert’s Crossing** straddles the river where it flows over a narrow rock shelf. Wagon traffic across the ford is one-way at a time; arguments often ensue. St. Cuthbert is said to have raised the rock shelf to keep his feet dry during a pilgrimage. 

**Tumblestone Quarry** cuts deep into Sentinel Hill. Overlooked by a crumbling watchtower, the quarry is a popular sheltered camping spot. A deep pool fills much of the quarry, and a path winds up from its chilled waters to the ruined tower.

## Locales
1. Dunstan's Hall
2. Hierophant’s Path
3. The Mason's Arms
4. The Wishing Tree
5. Warren Lodge
6. Wiomet’s Tower

**Dunstan’s Hall** offers a warm fire and cheery welcome amid the ruin of an old church.  Dunstan uses the church’s crypts for storage, and a crumbling wall and graveyard surround the inn. Rumours (inevitably) tell of hauntings, lost treasure and more.

**Hierophant’s Path** winds along a steep, wooded ridge overlooking the road. Local legend has it the adherents of an elder nature cult wore the path which ends on a craggy bluff. A singular monolith of rough hewn stone stands atop the bluff. 

**The Mason’s Arms** stands near Tumblestone Quarry. Walled apple orchards surround this popular traveller’s inn, which is famed for its rough, dry cider. Vast murmurations of starlings swoop and wheel over the inn, at sunset during the winter.

**The Wishing Tree** throws its vast crown over a busy crossroads. This elder oak is a shrine to Behron, god of travel, and many weary folk rest in its shade. A hoard of coins—offerings for a safe journey—stud the tree’s glimmering trunk.

**Warren Lodge**—devastated by fire long ago—stands stark atop a grassy bank a half-mile from the road. Only crumbling walls and a fast-filling cellar remain of the grand house. Many rabbits dwell in the surrounds; here, hunting is good.   

**Wiomet’s Tower** juts skyward from atop a bluebell-cloaked hill. Dense stands of hawthorn surround and fill the decaying tower’s sunken ha ha. Built for an exiled widow, the ruin is a gloomy place despite its idyllic surrounds.