Session 8 - Griffins and Duels, Oh My!
We revisit our adventurers on the morning of the 2nd of Haelhold. It is a drizzly morning. First thing, a young crier comes from the court, to formalize the terms of Sherbert's duel to first blood vs. a noble named Shagdore Snidebleat... Mowianne signs as Sherbert's second, learning Shagdore's second is somebody named Gripe Hwodlow.
Meowianne and Sherbert plan on visiting Commander Abelwright to get more of Meowianne's HP healed, and then carousing again in the evening.
Glad enlists Ddane to prepare for a Griffin hunt, that the two hope to conduct on their own, to try and catch-up XP with their mightier partier members.
Glad and Ddane purchased a wagon, more mules, random items of the hunt (nets, rope, sheep and goats for bait, etc...), and hired two woodcutters and a few porters to help carry the tied-up griffins. Glad also enquired about potions, but discovered that only cities have dependable alchemists, and the only city is Castle Brackenwold. Provisions acquired, they only needed wait until the morrow.
Meowianne, and Sherbert headed out in the evening to carouse, deciding to try Coldlanks Tavern this time. Ddane accompanied them for a more civil meal, ordered, and took a seat on one of the towering balconies. What she saw was this: Meowianne striking up a conversation with Borbry, the same noble breggle who won the duel the day before, and Sherbert getting swept away by the unwashed human tides.
In the morning, Sherbert awoke, perfectly hale and healthy, in her rooms at the Chantry, having only a memory of spending 500gp, 200 more than she brought with her, and as such indebting herself to the tavenr's strange woodgrue proprietess, Blinghop. In order to pay her debt, she agreed to pay the other 200 the next day, as well as deliver a package to someone named 'Bagsley', the next evening, deep in the Escalade, at something called "The Ancient Gate." She was provided a map.
Worse, however, Sherbert had NO recollection of how the diamond-and-gold wedding band got on her finger, or the meaning of the strange inscription inside it: "From Y to S, 9-2 of Common Year 576, Forever."
Whomever she's married, he was nowhere to be seen now.
Meowianne also spent 500gp on drink, but had a more productive evening. She learned of the rivalry between houses Murkin, Ramius, and Malbleat from Borbry, and that Borbry suspects Shagdore Snidebleat of being a Malbleat spy in Hogwarsh's court. Hogwarsh, the group learned, facilitated the peace terms between Malbeat and Ramius some twenty years earlier, when papers of a dubious veracity turned up 'proving' Malbleat and Ramius' common parentage. The result was Ramius' lands were split, half going to the famously cruel Malbleat...
The morning broke bright and early, a hot and baking fading-summer day.
Glad and Ddane left with their Griffin-Hunting equipment before first light, and found Monk's Hill, where the Griffins were seen to be flying as the sun was breaking the horizon.
The woodcutters duly cut a containment pen of un-snedded trees, and then ran and hid under the wagon with the porters. Holding their nets, Glad then rang his brass bell... and watched as ALL THREE griffins spiraled down towards them.
The first griffin landed in the pen beside Glad, peering at him with a friendly air. The second alighted on the side of the enclosure, clawing at the goats. The third hovered above Ddane and Glad, menacingly. Both failed their initial net throws, but the griffins were sluggish to respond, giving them a second shot---which successfully snared each of the creatures near the pens.
At which the third, huge, griffin above them plunged upon Ddane. Claws popped through her armor, and the clamping jaws cut her helmet like tin snips, scouring across her bald head.
Her comatose body, draining blood, was hurled against the wall beside Glad.
The monstrous griffin then took back to the sky, and circled above.
Using his wits and intelligence, Glad was able to staunch the bleeding and bring Ddane into a stable, yet comatose state. He then quickly tied the griffins up with the ropes, soundly incapacitating them. The porters, however, wouldn't let him move the wagon until the third griffin was out of sight, and so... he waited.
A few hours later, after a very disapproving healing session (to regain her HP) with Meowianne at Commander Ablewright's, Sherbert fulfilled her appointment at noon with Snidebleat... However, when the crier called for Snidebleat, the crowd parted and a gargantuan knight stepped into the ring. Snidebleat, he said, had a cold, and as such Gripe Hwodlow, Snidebleat's second, would fight the duel.
Sherbert hurled her sword (on loan from Meowianne) at Hwodlow, who deflected it, and slashed back, his own blow falling harmlessly across Sherbert's armor. Not letting her regain herself, however Hwodlow stepped into Sherbert, and tripped her backwards, falling on top of her. In vain, Sherbert struggled to free herself, as Hwodlow struck a blow clearly intended to maim at her exposed throat, miraculously only scratching her neck and speckling the dry dirt of the courtyard with a splash of blood...
Knowing he'd won, Hwodlow 'finished her off' with a rude smash of the pommel of his sword to the crown of her helm, before standing and gloating in his victory.
Back a few hours before, the griffin dove again for Sir Glad, moving faster than he was able to react to. He dove for cover, but not until the creature had broken his leg in three places, rendering him unconscious.
After an hour of circling, the creature disappeared, and the horrified porters and woodcuttters crept from beneath the wagon. In an unlikely stroke of luck (for our adventurers), they decided to load the trussed up griffins on the wagons, and then beat it back to town with the comatose/unconscious forms of Glad and Ddane.
The porters and woodcutters were paid by the other party members at The Chantry, themselves beaten and a bit dispirited after the disastrous duel, although no real harm came of it.
Glad and Ddane awoke to the severely disapproving face of Joan Ablewright peering down at them. She made it clear in no uncertain terms, that if they didn't make marked headway towards the abbey, she would revoke the church's patronage, and they could expect no more free healing from her. Adding to her proclamation, she healed Glad's leg and broke Ddane's coma, but refused to heal their hit points, telling them to "hie thyselves back to your beds, and rest there until you are able to make the journey for the church."
The session ended with the party returning the wagon full of griffins to The Griffonry, a tall, solid keep built through the Escalade into Castle Perigonne, where they saw the other four griffins that had been tamed by Sir Hoarsent Waverly, The Orange.
The griffins were taken eagerly by the attendants, as Sir Waverly led the party into an off-courtyard office, and paid them handsomely for their troubles---1,500GP each!
Adding the XP for subduing the griffins, Sir Glad gained 1980XP, while Ddane gained 2178XP, leveling up!
The next session will start at Sir Waverly's office, moving towards Meowianne and Sherbert's mysterious scroll delivery in the depths of the Escalade...
GM Note---Goblin Punch's Death and Dismemberment table was rolled on twice tonight, and both very likely would have ended in fatal disaster if it weren't for extremely favorable reaction/morale rolls by the third griffin, as well as the clearly overuses and abused patronage of Commander Ablewright! Intrigue in the court of Baron Hogwarsh, clandestine meetings near the Ancient Gate to Castle Perigonne, Health and Healing, the Eggfast Horse Market, and a long, long road-trip to Harrowmoor Keep with a possible side-quest at The Duke's Tourney all loom on our intrepid adventurer's horizons...
Now, I've done my typing. This broken wrist is done. Sorry for any typos... I'm not going back to fix them tonight!
Fare thee well.
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