Session 9

Side-questing in Rowen: A Cure for Baby Mugwump
The adventurers made the journey from Lilloet back to Rowen, where some of the residents were waiting to talk to them. They first met with Mr. Mugwump, who had some terrible news - Baby Mugwump was sick with Stinkfever (and no, it wasn't just that Mrs. Mugwump forgot to change her diaper). Mr. Mugwump presented them with a list of ingredients Tomas had requested to concoct a cure for the infant, and they went off in search of the creatures that contained each ingredient. Outside of Rowen, they split up, walking on either side of the Azure River, searching out various monsters. Taargus and Cora teamed up to wrestle a visejaw crocodile, from which they had to slice off a scale. Lady Caraga found herself unexpectedly in the web of a deathjump spider, who was none too pleased at her presence. After many great jumps by the spider, looking for revenge after being disturbed, Fausto was able to slay the beast and remove a fang, while Caraga took down a spitting drake and collected a vial of its saliva. Twitch, meanwhile, had stumbled upon a ruined hut where he encountered an ochre jelly, and Fausto attempted to tame a fire bat, which in turn attempted to set the ranger on fire. Eventually the fiend was extinguished and its wing crudely removed, which left only the vial of ochre jelly ooze to be obtained. Not wanted to touch the gelatinous, acidic creature, Twitch and Fausto concocted a plan: Fausto attached a vial to an arrow and shot at the creature from across the river. After passing through the ochre jelly, Twitch caught the arrow and the vial, now full of jelly ooze. Taargus, unsatisfied, sought to destroy the jelly anyway, and soon cleaved it in half. By this time, Twitch had grown fond of the jelly, and he tamed one of the halves, naming it Twitch Jr. (TJ Max for short). TJ Max rode along with the group on Twitch's floating disk, and they all returned to the city to present the ingredients to Mr. Mugwump. Relieved, the Mugwumps gave each member 100gp, and Tomas set to work on brewing up a Stinkfever antidote.

Side-questing in Rowen: The Red Stripes Robberies
Two shop-owners in Rowen also requested the assistance of the group: Bree Linden of the Pot-Bellied Pig, and Gregg Rindle of Rindle's Tavern. They both had recently been robbed, and were hoping the adventurers would help them recover their stolen items. Some members of the group having recently taken a liking to halflings, they visited Bree's diner first. She explained that her book of old secret family recipes had been stolen, and worried that if they got out to the public, she'd have to close her restaurant. She said that she thought it was possible the Red Stripes Gang was responsible, though usually the gang didn't spend time in the market districts. They next went to speak to Gregg at his bar, where he was happy to have such "exotic ladies" as his guests. Several casks of expensive wine had been stolen from him, and he hoped that their loss wouldn't sent him into debt. He too thought the Red Stripes Gang might have been the culprits, though he did not know why they would target him or Bree. He suggested that the group either talk to the head of Rowen's Guard, Brayden Drover, or do some investigating on their own.

Taking matters into their own hands, the group did a thorough search of the Pot-Bellied Pig and Rindle's Tavern. At Rindle's Tavern, the group noticed footprints on the ground outside, and inside they found an encrypted note. (Everyone except Taargus discovered 250gp each.) Caraga began decrypting the note immediately, while the rest of the group searched the Pot-Belled Pig. There, they found a discarded red-striped bandana and a scrap of paper with a code on it, and eagle-eyed Cora found a ring. Caraga was able to read the note without even needing the code: "Take the stolen items to the abandoned warehouse in the small market district." Having completed their investigation, the group headed to the warehouse.

Fausto decided to infiltrate the warehouse, and entered it wearing the bandana found earlier. Inside were four Red Stripes gang members, who hesitantly accepted Fausto's explanation that he was from a faction of the Red Stripes Gang from another town. He saw that wine casks and the recipe book were being held at the back of the building, and he tried to convince the gang members that their leader had ordered him to take the stolen goods to another location. The gang members refused to disobey their own orders, and insisted that they wait for their leader to arrive. Knowing that he was running out of time, Fausto was able to communicate with the rest of the group, who were waiting on the roof of the warehouse, and they began to dig a tiger pit outside the front door of the warehouse. When Fausto went to lure the gang members out into the hole, they saw the rest of the group outside and immediately became suspicious. In the ensuing chaos, Fausto stole the wine and the recipe book and made his escape.

The group returned the stolen items to their very grateful owners. Bree gave each member a piece of Bree's Cheese, and Gregg handed out bottles of Burdalane Brandy as a reward. Fausto refused the gifts, and opted for a kiss from both Bree and Gregg instead.

Riversedge (Part I)


Their work in Rowen finished, the group then decided to head to the Bactrian Forest, and learned that the fastest way there was through the halfling town of Riversedge. They encountered one territorial group of halflings along the way, and Fausto and Caraga took them out without much trouble. When the travelers entered the small community, the first thing they noticed was the eerie silence. The streets were empty of residents, most of the houses had their windows boarded up, and all of the shops were closed. Searching for an explanation, the group searched until they reached a small shrine to Avandra located on the outskirts of town. There, a number of villagers had gathered and were having a heated discussion. The villagers looked up when they saw the strangers approach, and although surprised, they welcomed the newcomers into their circle. A halfling woman, presumably the leader of the band of halflings, introduced herself as Shana Kimball, and explained the current situation: every night for the past week, as soon as the sun sets, the village has been overrun by monsters. The halflings had no idea what the reason was for the attacks, but there had been many casualties already, and they were ready to gather together and fight to protect Riversedge. Shana said that the town does not usually get many visitors, and considering the circumstances she did not have much to offer, but said that she would really appreciate any help the strangers were able to give.

The group agreed to help, and continued to talk with the villagers about the situation. Shana admitted she was worried about the state of the village - not many of the residents knew how to fight, and she had been attempting to recruit a ranger named Garret Peregrin to teach the others to shoot arrows, but to no avail. Garret had lost his wife Willa in the attacks a few nights prior, and had locked himself inside his house since, refusing to speak to anyone. She asked the group to try to talk some sense into him. The group also spoke to the halfling tending to the shrine, Andrey. She was busy getting her good-luck charms in place, but she suggested they talk to shop-owner Finnian, who might be able to supply some helpful goods.

They arrived at Garret's small house, and sure enough, he would not open the door to speak to them. They initiated a conversation with him through his door, and though he did not know the strangers, he did feel compelled to listen to their arguments. They convinced him to protect the village for his wife's memory, and to help prevent his neighbors from having to lose loved ones too. Humbled and feeling a new sense of purpose in his life, he agreed to put aside his grief and train the other halflings to fight.

The group then met with Finnian Merrick, a local shop keeper. He said that he did not have much in stock, as the attacks had prevented him from getting new shipments, but said that the group was welcome to take what they needed from his storeroom. Looking around the nearly empty room, they decided to take a large animal capture net, a barrel of cave slime, and a torch with a piece of flint. Finnian took them to a cliff nearby, where there was an overhang with large boulders at the top. He came up with a plan to have the group lure the monsters under the overhang, where he would drop the boulders onto them and crush them. Feeling as prepared as they could be, the adventurers decided to rest up so they would be at full strength for that night...

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