Brown New Deal & the Parable of Yochin

The Party arrived one by one to the great dining hall in Lady Canaglym's keep, where she and Dala'gse-Darrak were already deep into the dwarven firewine. The EF's tailor had had their way with each of them, and their countenance was much improved. Except for Falka. Falks still managed to look...bloodied. 

Sheena told the group that the price of admission was help with her economy.

She explained that it was 30 years ago they drove out the demons and Torm sealed the gate to Avernus shut. Since then they have been surviving on what was left of the treasure hoard of wealth the Canagylm's gathered. Rebuilding brought a lot of people to Dragonspear, and spending on construction has meant most people are employed, but now all that is coming to an end. Only a few tops of spires left to fix up, and they have spent every copper on infrastructure--only so many times once can reinforce the walls. She asked for help, now that they were kin, thinking of what to do next. Her treasure hoard has dwindled, everything she has is the vestiges of wealth, the trappings of it, but there is little left behind it.  

She added that they got in on the “Felix Rains Troll Mania," and while that lasted it was fairly lucrative, but now there are barely any trolls on the Moor. The EF has been working with her to sell Moor wares off Moor, and sent Whudry to the Mootscarp to see about membership. Some of the rarer tribal creations they pay a steep price for, and would be cheaper at the Mootscarp. But even then she doesn't like the idea of just being a middleman. 

She asked the party for ideas -- how to keep the people occupied and gainfully employed. 

They came up with a five step plan, a new image for Dragonspear. Deals would be struck. It involved dirt and a road. They called it the Brown New Deal. 

Step 1: Connect with the reincarnated Jooschaggi and help them rebuild their old dynamism.

Step 2: Leverage the Jooschaggi relationship, the party's connection to Bhin and Ledo (if this is still a positve?) to ingratiate themselves with the tribes of the Moor. Become part of the Mootscarp. Build trust. 

Step 3: Get buy-in from Tribes to build a road bisecting the Moor, connecting Dragonspear and the Mootscarp. Tribes agree on more permanent boundaries, tribes help protect their sections, especially during construction. 

Step 4: Get financing from Waterdeep to have minimal "capital" outlay, and use Dragonspear labor and expertise (after years of building) to build the road. 

Step 5: Establish Dragonspear as THE entryway to the Moor, and as the hub for Moor goods and exchange. 

It was settled. They drank.

The next morning, a foggy Sheena insisted they visit the temple of Torm to pay their respects. There, they met Wesin, a halfling priest. Rya asked what he knew of Arumbelle. Wesin told them Arumbelle held a special place in the hearts of Torm's followers, for her role in an early parable. The Parable of Yochin.

---

Yochin was one of the first prominent priests of Torm when Torm had just ascended to divinity. He grew quickly in power and was eager to continue to amass it and showcase the awesome might of his new god. Yochin would show off his spells at every chance, and used his god-granted divine magic to cleanse desecrated areas in his region. Torm was torn, he didn’t want to discourage the man who was doing so much for his new religion, but he was worried the man’s ambition was going unchecked. He sought out the goddess Arumbelle for guidance, who told him she would help. 

The story goes that Yochin was back from some quest on one of his brief visits home. He hadn’t seen his family in months and had missed the birth of the newest child. His wife was excited for his return and said a cousin of his was in town and that they were going to take a picnic together with the family to one of their favorite meadows with a view of the mountain. Yochin said he had to spend time at the local parish and couldn’t attend, but the wife insisted on the cousin's behalf and the norms of hospitality won out. He joined them reluctantly. 

They spent the day in the countryside eating cherries from the neighbor’s orchard and cream from their cows. The children ran around laughing and Yochin played with them. He finally relaxed and enjoyed himself, and when he was chatting with the cousin, he excused himself to take a nap. 

He quickly fell into a pleasant sleep and he dreamt. In the dream, his was life happening exactly as he had planned, everything he had hoped for, all his dreams, were coming true. He was growing more and more powerful, a champion of Torm, traveling far and wide, building a reputation and steeped in accolades. And at the end of his dream he was in the great city overseeing the construction of a cathedral to Torm when a young man interrupted his work and asked if they could go eat together at the local pub. He dismissed the supplicant offhand, but the pesky urchin wouldn’t leave. 

"What do you want? I don't have time for dinner with laborers!" he told the underling.

The boy looked sad. 

“Father, don’t you recognize me?”

Yochin woke with a start in the meadow, tears in his eyes. The supposed cousin was staring at him while the others were off laughing at some game nearby. She said she was the goddess Arumbelle sent by Torm to show him the life he wanted, where he got everything he ever wanted but had nothing. 

“If that is your path to Torm’s heaven, you will forsake the face of your son.” [here Wesin interjected that is where the expression "forsake the face of your son" among Torm's followers comes from]

Yochin looked around the meadow at the children and his wife playing among the wildflowers in the shadow of the majestic mountain. His belly was full of cherries and cream, bees were buzzing about, someone had set up a fire by the pebbled stream and was smoking trout. He remembered his dream, and the heaven he thought he had wanted. 

“Maybe this is heaven." 

He cried and thanked Arumbelle who admonished him to consider the balance in his life and to take care not to be consumed by ambition, however “for the good” it may seem. 

Yochin remained a devoted champion of Torm and still answered the call to help cleanse evil in his area, but he traveled much less and spent more time with his local parish and his family. Through his presence in town, the faith he inspired in his following grew so strong that many flocked to him, and in the end he was still able to build a Cathedral: it was the famous House of the Hand in Procampur. 

His son was the lead carpenter.

---

The party thanked Wesin for his story, and left the temple. Outside, they met Ems Gallton who said the caravan of fellow travelers, gathered for safety in numbers on the road, was all ready to head south. Gallton told them there was one in the group who was particularly excited to meet them. 

She was from Old Weir.