The B Team
Records detailing the exploits of the "Drigbolton Four".
Session 1 - 08/10/2024
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 stayed at the Galloping Goat Inn that night, paying 1 gold each for a bed and a hot meal.
Colly, the 22nd of Haggryme
Frigid, icy.
Halt hired Ulvar to be the party's guide whilst they are in the area. Doug the bounty hunter refused to work with the party unless they were actively hunting Sly George.
As the party prepared head out on expedition, Herodotus 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, and a young man followed her 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 Berlinda's Bastards, the other adventuring group that locals had mentioned. Ivina cracked under questioning 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 Lady Hendenburgh, she instead made a plea to join The Bastards.
After some deliberation, the party agreed to accompany Erdard and Ivina to the east of Hendenburgh where the Bastards were camped. Ulvar recognised the area to be the place where his expedition had been massacred by the hounds. At the old battle site, Halt found tracks of enormous hounds leading north-east. Ulvar described that the beasts appeared as huge black dogs with red eyes and foaming mouths. They bled bled black blood, and old bones pierced their matted fur.
At the Bastards' camp, the party found a dozen tents, a rickety palisade, and 4 skinny-looking mules. The camp leader, Sally, informed the party that the Bastards had tracked the hounds to the Tyrant's Tomb 5 days ago, and Sally's squad were charged with erecting camp whilst Berlinda took the rest of the men to investigate the barrow. The expedition was meant to return 2 days ago, but had failed to do so. The Drigbolton Four agreed to stay the night at the encampment to help keep watch.
As dark settled over the forest, the ancient statue to the west was highlighted by the last dregs of the pale winter sun. The gargantuan marble edifice depicted a pitiless hunter commanding a pack of hounds, his gaze piercing the whole forest from on high. Ulvar explained that locals knew little of the statue, and treated it as an oddity of the forest. The dozen campers settled in for a cold night, and kept watch in pairs.
Chime, the 23rd of Haggryme
Freezing rain.
Needs Editing Pass
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.
Needs Editing Pass
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 hung 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 Hendenburgh. 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.
Session 4 - 19/11/2024
Widow Winstapple thought Valeria and Morten's relationship was pretty normal - the odd time that Valeria was in the inn she didn't have much to say about her husband. Ivina reckoned that Valeria was just bored of her husband, and even remarked that she was beginning to look a bit bored of Sly George when Ivina last saw her. The party rested at the Galloping Goat.
Eggfast, the 27th of Haggryme
Snowstorm.
The party stayed in town to wait out the weather. Just before lunch, Herodotus spotted two villagers taking a corpse to the barn-morgue. Tomlin the gong farmer had been slain by the hounds, and his friends begged Herodotus to keep pressing for a solution to the hounds. Only a few hours later, the party heard a blood-curdling scream and spotted a Kryptwood hound carrying off a child. They gave pursuit, and Halt made best efforts to wing the hound after Herodotus' spell failed. The shot went wild, but the whole party, now rallied, chased the hound into the woods near Ulvar's house. The direction of pursuit turned out to be fortuitous, as the poacher felled the beast with two arrows. He returned the child to her parents, buoyed by his success to protect his neighbours.
At Lynabeth's morgue, Herodotus established that the hounds were solely out to cause carnage and terror, not to feed. She was fascinated by the reports of the beasts disappearing when they died.
Whilst dining at the Galloping Goat, the party were disturbed by a near-naked and hypothermic merchant. He had taken the Creek Path north from Fort Vulgar to Drigbolton, and then on from there to Hendenburgh, intending to swing by on his way to the neighbouring duchy of Manor Hampton. Sly George's gang had robbed him as he passed by the gallows to the south. Herodotus paid the man enough money for new clothes and a cloak, and also paid for the man's stay at the Galloping Goat Inn for a night.
Sunning, the 28th of Haggryme
Relentless wind.
The party set out south-east, and after an unpleasantly windy walk, arrived at a simple log cabin. The door swung in the wind, scratched deeply by claw marks, the roof festooned with ravens. Inside, the lumberjack lay crumpled in the corner, throat ripped out. He appeared to have died in the last four days, and was attacked at night judging by the soiled bed and his state of undress. His cabin held few secrets, and he was buried in the ground next to his house with Halt's folklore in place of a blessing.
The rest of the area was simply forested, so the party headed back to Hendenburgh. On the way, they were accosted by a quintet of owlboars. Herodotus' magic felled four of the beasts, and combined melee and missile attacks from the martials of the party slew the last. Ulvar harvested 98gp worth of feathers from the owlboars before the party returned to town safely. Back in town, Herodotus reported to Lynabeth that her theory about the hounds not hunting for food appeared to be unbroken. Upon seeing a notice in town about badger safety precautions, Herodotus informed Lady Hendenburgh of the loss of the woodcutter. He also paid for Erlan, the merchant, to stay another night at the inn. The party slept at the Galloping Goat.
Yarl's Day
Cold, clear.
Eric asked around the village to find out if there were any carpenters who could turn a hand to boatmaking, but was warned off from taking small vessels onto the waterways because of the rapids. The party failed to find an appropriate place to cross the river, and resorted to commissioning a large raft from the local carpenter, which would only take a day to make.
To make use of the day, the party went on patrol around the Hendenburgh environs. Little occurred. The party slept at the Galloping Goat.
The Day of Virgins
Relentless wind.
The party took their new raft north across the river, and found their path blocked by a great weeping willow. Numerous bloody nooses hung from its branches. Ulvar didn't know anything. Voices emanated from the tree, and when Herodotus refused to "free" the voices, they grew violent. As the group ran from the tree, the nooses began to fly towards them, but they made it away safely.
In a clearing to the north, the group found a murky pond surrounded by gold coins. As Eric edged closer to inspect the coins, he was ambushed by a stunted scaly-skinned beast rising from the pond. It lurched forward at Eric and gutted him. Herodotus slept the beast and Halt slew it in retribution for Eric's death. The group pieced together some pieces of jewellery and the gold pieces from the pond, and buried Eric in a deep grave.
Further north, the group found a stone dolmen surrounded by a mix of native and non-native flowers. It had no carvings, so the party left it alone and returned to Hendenburgh safely.
Session 5 - 17/12/2024
Needs Editing Pass
Herodotus went to speak to Martin Cobbe, the destitute merchant. He revealed himself to be an enchanter, and agreed to sign on as Herodotus' retainer. The party stayed as ever at the Galloping Goat Inn.
Colly, the 1st of Symswald
Pouring rain.
Feast of Saint Gwigh.
In the awful weather, the party set out for the ancient villa. With the reduced visibility, even Halt and Ulvar's navigational skills were not enough to stop the party going astray in the forest. They ran into an 8-foot tall humanoid guarding a bridge. He was refusing to let any people cross the bridge until the drunk pixie who frequented the Thirsty Sprite Inn to the far north-east came back to the bridge-keeper to pay his 5cp dues. Ulvar identified the bridge troll as Pok, a hard worker and local character. Pok warmed to the party when they disclosed they had plans to re-open the silver mines, and agreed to let them pass if they were on mining business. He warned that the mines had originally closed due to an infestation of some sort.
The party returned to the southern bridge near the ancient statue, and headed on to the ancient villa from there. They found it as expected, a crumbling marble building half-eaten by the encroaching forest. The courtyard was abandoned, and only dimly lit by the sunlight filtering through the forest canopy. Herodotus dredged a golden torc from the villa's fountain after burning a slime to death. Found Elora, a member of Sly George's gang bleeding from an infected wound. She confessed her desire to have George overthrown, and bargained her information about the villa with the party in exchange for getting her back to Sly George's camp.
En route, the party was ambushed from the skies by a cantankerous wyvern. After it failed to carry off Elora, it took a severe beating from the adventurers, but that didn't dissuade it from crunching Elora's spine to pieces and taking to the skies. The party tracked the wounded wyvern south before stopping for the night at the abandoned palisade.
Chime, the 2nd of Symswald
Brisk, clear.
The Feast of Cats.
In the drier morning, the party followed the blood trail left by the wyvern south-east to its cliff-face roost. There, they failed to ambush the creature, but slew it quickly in a straight fight. It's nest contained 4 mottled pink eggs, which the adventurers made off with after reconning their commanding view.
The party descended the cliff face and went to investigate a remarkable karst rock formation they had seen from above. It was carved with ancient runes which were of spell-like quality, and called out to Herodotus. Whilst in the area, the adventurers went to find the treasure that the hanged highwayman had told them of. It was revealed that he had been no liar in death, and the treasure turned out to be a mass of silver coin, an uncut gem, and a beautiful knife. The adventurers returned to the abandoned palisade to camp, with half the party going hungry.
Overnight, Ulvar heard a disturbance from outside the palisade, but nothing appeared to be borne of it.
Hayme, the 3rd of Symswald
Windy, cloudy.
Feast of Saint Medigor.
The party set off in the fair weather, and made for Hendenburgh. They ran into a moss-bearded and bark-skinned giant en-route, but naught came of the passing encounter. The party made it back to Hendenburgh with no further disturbances.
In town, they spotted a pair of Kryptwood hounds laying siege to an outlying town. Ulvar recognised the house as belonging to an old couple, Mertha and Lilon. Between the efforts of the Bastards garrison and the returning adventurers, Mertha and Lilon were saved. They were good enough to feed the garrison for their hard work. The party liquidated the grand treasure they had, selling the torc and the hunting knife to Lady Hendenburgh, who took the Torc in exhcange for the deed to the nearby hunting lodge.
