Mattiverse Next - Session 21

Prep Work

• The Boys head to Father Parth to ask about some holy water.
• They ask for an amount that raises some eyebrows. He tells them he can make four vials on the morrow, and upon reflection (and addition) they figure out that that's about as much as they can afford anyway.
• They also try to buy some dogs. Wayne won't sell them any of his prize animals (doesn't want em risked in combat)
  • He does offer them some mead, though. Cue montage, and the group wakes up the next morning on straw bales after another hard-partying night with the Ag Hicks.
• The Ghostwise, on the other hand, are more pragmatic.
  • Redhand catches the whiff of evasiveness when he asks what they're for, but doesn't probe further.
• While they're eating breakfast, they're approached by a guy who asks if they like books, then suggests enigmatically that sometimes things left well enough alone should be.
  • He says he knows a guy who might be profitable to meet with, and that they should stop by whenever they're back in town.
    • He's kind of a... "Community Organizer".
    • Gives the name Brenbarrow.
  • Bobwhite fishes a bit with Thieves' Cant and the guy bites. He makes a mental note.
  • Everybody who isn't Bobwhite mostly just wonders what the hell this guy is blabbing on about.
• They set off.

The Road(??) to Yalmrinth

• It's a quick trip to the ruins of Onrarch Landing from Wydmoor. It never recovered as a real habitation, but boat halflings use it as a waystation, so they party with them.
• Using a bit of caution, they exit South, then use pass without trace to dogleg back Northwest once they're fully out of site of Onrach.
• The trip is fast and hard. They reach the mountains without fanfare, but run into several snags on their climb.

The Lonely Goat-Man

• They make their way up a pass, and run into a herd of horse-sized goats that set their dogs to barking madly. They're unimpressed by a bunch of humans sized like children, and display aggressively.

• There isn't another way up the pass, so the Boys step up intimidation by firing at the apparent alpha. The goats respond with violence.
  • They hit hard, but go down fast. A few seconds after battle is joined, a man-sized two-legged goat-shaped creature pops out of a cave, also bleating angrily. Beldon rushes up to intimidate him and he responds with more violence.

• The goats put up a good fight, but the result was never in doubt: All but one is swiftly killed, the last saved by Four's mercy. The goat-man, heavily wounded himself, retreats to lick his wounds and glare while the party hacks off a few giant goat legs and carries on their journey, leaving him to rebuild his broken family.

The Solitary Dragonkin

• A few hours later, they spot a wyvern, too late to hide: It is coming in fast. Incredibly so.

• They unleash the artillery while it engages Four. It misses its first attack but lands an amazing shot with its tail, gushing poison from the tip. If it weren't for an incredibly lucky loose plate from Four's armor, it very well might have killed him, but instead the majority of the poison is left to splatter against his clothing and skin rather than course through his veins [ED: The classic 1-to-20 convert on a double-fail from advantage. Better lucky than good!]
• Another round later, and the Wyvern notes its loss of the advantage of surprise, and high-tails it out. It is finished off by a final volley and tumbles down the face, sadly well out-of-reach of the group if they were to attempt to harvest any of its rare components.

The Hippo-Grift

• They continue their march, hoping that this will be their last obstacle before Yalmrinth. Alexandria has another idea in mind, however, and they rush into... A flock (herd??) of hippogriffs!

• Session ends here.

The Stinger

• A sobbing goat-man lovingly tends the wounds of his one remaining family member. Having just removed the last of the arrowheads and patched the last of her wounds. She's out of the woods, but will be recovering for some while. She looks into his face with a weak bleat, and he rushes to grab some water for her. Waterskin in hand, he emerges, and they share a brief, happy look together, before a falling wyvern smashes into her and carries her off the cliff.