The B Team

Records detailing the exploits of the "Drigbolton Four".

Session 1

Sunning, the 21st of Haggryme

Relentless wind.

Four adventurers looking to travel to Hendenbergh met in Drigbolton's inn. Herodotus and his bodyguard Krunk had heard of wise women experiencing dreams of an ancient lord leading bloody hounds on a campaign of conquest. Herodotus' friend died after experiencing the dreams, and her last words were "the Kryptwood bleeds". Eric sought to find a manor in the Kryptwood that he had heard from a captured bandit holds the treasures of a long-dead tyrant. Halt was in pursuit of 'Sly' George Tanner for the crimes of armed robbery, murder, adultery and the publication of lewd and bawdy songs. The reward on Sly George's head was 2,500 gold pieces, and he was known to be at large somewhere in the Kryptwood.

The party took the north-eastern path from Drigbolton, but the trail petered out long before reaching Hendenburgh. Halt guided the party through the Kryptwood, and they arrived in the ivy-entangled and near-deserted Hendenburgh. Saving the brambled manor for later, the party headed to the town's church only to find it boarded-up. The parochial house nearby was occupied by an inebriated man who wore the garments of a priest. He disowned the church, and started lamenting to the party about how he had been defrocked by the townsfolk. He claimed the world would end in the next 10 years unless the ecclesiastical hierarchy was overthrown and replaced with commoner priests. He hates the Pluritine Church, and was forced out by the townsfolk for his heretical views. He refused to give the party any information about the hounds unless they brought him high quality grain alcohol. He also mentioned that Hendenburgh had suffered economic issues recently and that there is a silver mine north of the river, disused for generations.

Just off the town square, the party found a small smithy, seemingly inactive. The blacksmith was staring across the road at the inn, but invited the adventurers inside as soon as he spotted them. He was keen to know why the landlady had taken against him recent days, as he had quite a crush on her. He offered a discount on his services in exchange.

On the way to the southern edge of the village, Halt spotted the villagers begging the pastor for help to end the plague of hounds. He was not receptive.

At a log cabin on the south edge of town, the party met Ulvar the poacher. He knew of Sly George, and confirmed the fugitive was in the area. Ulvar had previously led a band of townsfolk in pursuit of the hounds, but three of them were slain and he was forced to flee with the survivors. He offered to accompany the party if they pursued the hounds. Ulvar explained the recent history of the hounds: they started appearing in the forest 6 weeks ago; a month ago, 2 villagers were found dead; the hounds have been terrorising the village from the forest since then; an adventuring party came through town a week ago to tackle the hounds, but have not been seen since. Ulvar reckoned the Galloping Goat Inn landlady's 3 sons might be willing to go adventuring. He also noted a bounty hunter had been seen in the inn recently, and, if persuaded, the pastor could be of help. Ulvar warned us not to bring back the bodies of any of the other adventurers, just to bury them where they were found.

At the Galloping Goat Inn, the party found a warm reception from Widow Winstapple, the barlady. Her three sons were at the pub, as well as a weary-looking traveller and a gold-toothed lady drinking whiskey. The barlady was immediately frustrated at the mention of the blacksmith, and offered to pay for him being driven out of town. Her sons, the eldest of which seemed combat-ready, were willing to work as hirelings, and their mother was happy for them to go. Winstapple dismissed the pastor being an issue, but mentioned the coroner wasn't letting people bury the dead. At the mention of "Sly" George, Doug the Bounty Hunter approached the party and tried to hire them. He revealed Sly George was allegedly to the east - not a very narrow region. The gold-toothed woman turned out to be a prospector, and she was looking for guards to escort her to the disused silver mine. The company backing her was offering 5000gp for confirmation of gold or silver in the area. Eric agreed a 1:2 split (in the party's favour) with Kathianne for escorting her through the old silver mines to the north.

Thomas the farmer was off to see Morten the Miller, who was morose due to his missing wife and hence refusing to operate the watermill. The villagers were getting hungry from the lack of flour. Morten told the party that his wife was last seen on the outskirts of the village collecting wood. Morten also asked the party to check in on his brother, a fisherman who lived to the south-east. Thomas warned the party that the river is fast running and hard to cross, but there is a bridge at Morten's brother's place.

Halt caught the scent of decaying bodies at the locked barn on the east end of town. Lynabeth, the over-excited coroner, greeted the party, offered care if they needed it (double natural healing), and showed them the 5 bodies. They had clearly been savaged by sizeable dogs. Lynabeth thanked the party for visiting, and asked them to report any information on the hounds to her.

At the brambled manor, the party was invited in by the groundskeepers, and received by an octagenarian lord and his much younger wife. The lord was clearly senile, and his wife denied the supernatural aspects of the hound legend, instead blaming badgers and peasant superstition. She was much more interested in an ancient villa to the north-east, and offered to pay 10% over market price for any artifacts retrieved from it. She also offered to identify magic items for free over the course of 2 hours.

Back at the inn, the party heard again about Ulver's failed expedition from a tipsy local.

Session 2 - 29/10/2024

The party paid up for a night at the Galloping Goat Inn - 1 gold each for a bed and a solid meal.

Colly, the 22nd of Haggryme

Frigid, icy.

Hired Ulver as a guide. He makes it easier to search areas of the forest. Doug will only accompany us if we are going out to hunt Sly George. He grants a benefit to reactions if he is in the party due to his fast talking.

As we went to leave Hendenburgh, we spotted a cloaked woman taking a basket from the back door of the Galloping Goat Inn. She headed out of the village to the east. She was followed by a young man as she left. The party assembled at pace and tailed the duo. Erdard the vigilante was tailing Ivina the highwaywoman, and accused her of supplying Sly George with preserved goods. He had been monitoring her for a few weeks now, and was aghast that the party had interrupted his attempt to disrupt Sly George's supply chain. He revealed he was part of the other party, Berlinda's Bastards, who had apparently misplaced Berlinda. Ivina cracked easily and revealed the location of Sly George's hideout. She confessed to joining up with George out of boredom, and when Erdard threatened to march her before the lord and lady, she instead made a plea to join The Bastards.

After some deliberation, the 10 folk in the clearing agreed to head out to the Bastards' camp to the east of Hendenburgh. The area that they had camped in was the same region where Ulvar's band had been massacred by the hounds. At the old battle site, Halt found tracks of enormous hounds leading north-east. Ulvar described that they bled black blood, old bones pierced their matted fur, huge black dogs with red eyes and foaming mouths.

At the Bastards' camp, the party were presented with a dozen tents, a rickety palisade, and 4 skinny-looking mules. The lead camper, who seemed somewhat noble, informed the party that they had tracked the hounds to the Tyrant's Tomb 5 days ago, and Berlinda instructed these 3 men to erect a camp whilst she took the rest of the men to investigate the barrow. They were meant to return 2 days ago, but failed to do so. The Drigbolton four agreed to settle in

The ancient statue to the west is a gargantuan marble depiction of a pitless hunter commanding a pack of hounds. The top of it may grant a good view of the forest. Ulvar explained that local folk knew little of the statue, and treated it as an oddity of the forest. The dozen campers set up a double-upped watch.

Chime, the 23rd of Haggryme

Freezing rain.

Herodotus found out that Berlinda had taken a 19-strong party of her men with her to the barrow. Given a force of that size had not returned, the party resolved to not tackle the hounds head-on yet. They instead headed south to where Morten's Brother's cabin was. It looked over a fishing weir well-stocked with salmon, but the door was hanging off its hinges, and the corpses of a young couple lay half-devoured on the ground floor. Krunk broke open the floorboards and rescued Karrely, the late couple's 10-year-old daughter. Ulvar promised to return her to Morten in Hendenbrugh. There was little more in the cottage, and Halt verified that the tracks appeared to lead to the Tyrant's Tomb.

The party found an array of hot springs in the SE of that region. Ulvar told them that they may have healing properties. Near the springs, the party found the ruins of an ancient fortress. While picking through it, they found a boar-headed aquila-style standard. 3 hounds strolled through the clearing, and the party set upon them. All 3 were sent to sleep by Herodotus' magic. The party slew the hounds, but the corpses vanished as soon as the knives sank in.

Upon returning to the camp, found they had been beset by the hounds that the Drigbolton four had not dealt with. Erdard had been slain, but the other four survived. Sally was resolved to move on as soon as possible, but agreed to stay in camp for that night as it was the most defensible position around. A quiet night's rest was had.

Hayme, the 24th of Haggryme

Snowstorm.

Headed out into the blizzard with the whole camp packed up. Erdard was buried deep, and a small cache of supplies was buried in the abandoned palisade.

Back in Hendenbergh, Herodotus failed to persuade a family from packing up and heading out of town. On the news that the adventurers had slain some hounds, though, the father did promise to check back in after winter to see if things had improved.

The party sold the standard to the noblewoman for 300gp as it appeared not to be magical.

The party divvied up the gold.

Session 3 - 05/11/2024

The party took Karrely over to Morten's mill. He was distraught by the loss of his brother, but appeared to accept his niece, and took her in. He asked to be left alone, for him and his niece to grieve. On the way back to the Galloping Goat, Ivina revealed that Valeria, Morten's wife, was actually Sly George's lover - she had left town willingly, and was alive!

At the smithy, the smith confessed to buying a love potion from the crones to the south of Hendenbergh. He had finally connected the dots that the potion may have been inverted by the witches to do the exact opposite, asked the party to see if they could get the effects reversed. After a dressing down by Herodotus, the smith agreed that if they could reverse the effects of the hate potion, he would agree to not pursue Widow Winstapple anymore, the party would get a discount on his services.

At the Galloping Goat Inn, Krunk asked Ivina about who used to supply her with the food for Sly George and passed the name on to Widow Winstapple. The party turned in for the night after being treated to a round of drinks by Widow Winstapple and hiring the Bastards to stay in town for a month.

Moot, the 25th of Haggryme

Cold wind, gloomy.

That morning, under a grey sky, the party set off south to find the hags. They first found a set of gallows, where a highwayman lay hanging after being put on impromtu trial by Berlinda's Bastards. In spite of nature, the corpse began to speak to the party as they approached. He bargained to be buried in consecrated ground in exchange for him telling the party the location of his stash. Herodotus agreed to return for the corpse on their way back to town.

In a secluded grove, the party found a quaint cottage whose garden was tended by three naked women - Esme, Tabitha, and Julietta. The trees around the clearing edge were occupied by flying monkeys. The wise women agreed to give the party a potion of neutrality and a scroll of banishment in exchange for Sly George's Head and the cloak he stole as dowry for Esme's hand in marriage (before he pursued the miller's wife). The party agreed to try and succeed where the ladies' monkey servants had failed to retrieve the cloak.

The party collected the highwayman corpse on the way back to town, Ivina ignoring the corpse's morose attempts at conversation. In town, the three Bastards handed a jug of moonshine over to Herodotus, explaining that it was one of the late Erdard's posessions. After dismissing their hirelings, the party went to see Pastor Noonan, and after giving him the alcohol, he agreed to accompany the party to the Tyrant's Tomb, and perform a binding ritual whilst there that would resolve the threat posed by the hounds. He also gave flippant permission for them to bury the highwayman. Whilst being buried, the highwayman kept his word, and told the party his treasure was buried to the far east.

The party rested at the Galloping Goat Inn as usual.

Frisk, the 26th of Haggryme

Icy, steady snow.

In the poor weather, the party went on patrol around Hendenburgh. They found a cave with a wild-haired man outside. Herodotus clocked that he was only acting at being a hermit, and the thespian confessed to being employed by the lady of the Brambled Manor to add some spice to the area. He invited the party inside the obviously artificial cave and served them a pot of tea whilst they discussed the local area. The hermit was flippant about the risk posed by the hounds, but began to acknowledge the threat after Herodotus detailed the number of locals who had gone missing.

South of the cave, at a ruined hunting lodge, the party searched for tracks. They were interrupted by an incredibly drunk pixie swerving to avoid a tree. He was convinced a local fairy pub was nearby, but was so belligerent that the party refused to help him and told him to get lost. The party retrieved a mostly-ruined taxidermy of an owlboar, and a dozen bottles of fire whiskey from the lodge before returning to Hendenburgh.

The party took the taxidermy to the Brambled Manor to sell it to Lady []. Herodotus layed on thick the prospects of taxidermy as a new hobby for the noblewoman, and she purchased the taxidermied owlboar despite the damage to it. She also explained that the previous owner of the lodge had died, so if the party brought back some relics from the ancient villa, she would happily take the first one as collateral on the lodge before buying the rest. The party flogged the whiskey to Widow Winstapple.