It was Airmonth the 2nd about 1:30 when Eoghan found the rest of the party who had been wandering the mercantile district and filled them in on his experiences with the rest of the Bowman family. He did tell them that up in the Passian Hills, just past the last homestead, a group of monster hunters led by a halfling woman named Jessie Underfoot had established an outpost in a former Randari keep called Falcon’s Nest.
So the group made the hour plus long trip through the small roads and byways, passing between the hedgerows and back roads to the ever smaller and poorer farms as the land rose until we arrived at Eoghan’s former home. A low stone wall poorly made surrounded the few acres of winter scrub and rough tilled fields. A single 1 story home partially sunk in the ground covered in the turf and a newish 2 story bard took up the main part of the frontage of the property.
We entered through the gate and a young man and his pregnant wife came up to talk to the group. Bjagnar and Gretta Farmer were their names and they lived here now. They were surprised to learn who Eoghan was, talk around town was that he might have killed his family and maybe spent some time in a work camp to pay off his crime, its’ why he hadn’t been around. Gretta was untrusting of the group and wanted them gone by Bjagnar took pity on the morose ranger and guided his wife back to the house.
He then took them to the small plot where Duncan and Saoirse were buried and let the ranger pay his respects alone. Once done we left and made our way up the low incline to the visible keep a good mile or so away. Two figures were outside, both warrior types, both humans. Micah (one of them) was willing to talk and once we identified who we were, went in to let Jessie know we had arrived. The other, Darrien, did not talk, seemed he had taken a vow of silence for some time.
Eventually we came in and made our way through the keep to the 2nd floor where we met with Jessie, a half orc female Cleric named Artax, and a gnomish expert tradesman named Terkin. Some talk followed and we got a bit of Jessie’s story about how they had arrived at Eoghan’s family farm right after the attack and whatever beasts (yes, beasts, 2 of them) had taken out his family also took out her creche of friends as well. She seemed…traumatized.
After healing up she redoubled her efforts and worked with the local lord to give her the rights to work up here. Gathering a stable of trappers, traders, and hunters, she also had a command team of her and the 4 friends, and they had been seeking out the beasts ever since.
Through the discussions we suspected they might be Grues. Which was nuts as they are ONLY found in the Terror Dungeon. That’s when the crates had been reported as found here and some one was shipping the live grues north to Thak when they had gotten loose here over a year ago and shit happened. They had teeth, hairs, talons, clay pressings of foot prints and slash marks, a chest of artefacts concerning their quest to find the animals after all this time.
There were funeral barrows throughout the land, established from the original randari orcs who lived here. Seems that local goblins had burrowed up from below and came upon these barrows. And the Grues, hating the sunlight, retreat to the barrows and tunnels each night. So they have made raids throughout the environs and homesteads about Stivil, stealing chickens, dogs, and stray animals or meat stores to eat. And they’ve been hiding out in the caves below the area, facing off against goblins now and again. Denuding the greenskin numbers in the process.
And to add insult to injury, there is thought that the female Grue could conceivably be pregnant OR had already given birth. Fuck.
Jessie wanted us to help out and join up and Eoghan was all for it, the rest of the party less inclined, with Connal pulling up the rear. He pretty much derailed the thrust of Jessie’s want by instructing her to find out where the Grues were for sure, take as many weeks as need be, and then contact us in Erylond and then we’ll come out and join up and help. Terkin the gnome did mumble that it was pretty useless at that point since the Grues would most likely have moved on by the time the party could return but Artax countered that if babies were involved, then the Grues were not going to move from where ever they set up their nesting site.
We left and headed back to town, Dizzy commenting that on Arena Day (2 days?) we should make the attempt to break into the cemetery and get the earring from the matron’s sarcophagus. We were at the Third Breech eating and drinking when Grendel noticed the same dwarf with the 2 guards was once again in the corner and was writing things down. Deciding after a short while to take the bull by the horns, the young noble scion took his drink across the Common room and braced the dwarf writing in his book.
Turns out his name was Hogni Rockhome, related to Lord Dunthar Rockhome. He waved off the guards on learning Grendel’s family name and the two of them talked. Grendel was an open book as usual, and Hogni wrote furiously as the elven fighter shared what they had learned from Jessie Underfoot.
It seems the beasts are a larger problem and the Council of Lords (the 6 main families here) have discussed it before. Hogni was going to share with his brother what Grendel had told him and would try to set up a meeting between the dwarven lord and the party if at all possible.
Grendel eventually came back to the party and shared with them his conversation (as best as he could remember it) and that we might have an audience tomorrow with “Lord Rocksomething or other. Don’t worry, he’s a good guy!”
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