Mattiverse Next - Session 12

Porphyry House Aftermath

• The Boys, severely battered, settle in while the gas clouds disperse. A bunch of ticked-off students pile into the arena as soon as that happens.
• The scene doesn't exactly jive with their expectations. Beldon and Banner explain what they can while Four and Bobwhite interject.
• The fraternity decides to lock them up while they conduct an investigation.
  • The Boys itch to get moving, but have no choice but to acquiesce.
  • They spend a day or so in cells while the wizards get things ready. They relax best they can.
  • Some grim-looking nerds come down eventually with a blood-red candle. Within its light, telling a lie causes extreme psychic pain. This can be resisted, but with visible effort.
  • Four is the most pliable of the bunch, so he is the target for the investigation. The other three provide color commentary while he answers their questions to the best of his ability.
  • The truth is their best ally, in this case, and it soon becomes clear that Manderly's accusations were a smokescreen, and further that the Boys have done them a service.
  • They are released with apologies. The also part with the piece of the Lance that Manderly was carrying, considering it a liability to keep around.
    • They are even given some parting gifts for their trouble: 100 gp in loose coins and an alchemy jug.
  • Bobwhite also asks for access to the Island's libraries, and they have no trouble pulling those strings.
• After some discussion, they decide to join the Lance parts they have and to get Beldon to carry the combined item.
• The Boys spend a week of downtime. Bobwhite reads up a bunch on prehistoric Halflings, Beldon sells off the rest of their Gold Toby, and Banner and Four get into pit fighting.

  • Before the Ubrekti-Halfling war, the Halfling economy was fairly robust. Nomads are raiders and traders both by nature, and much halfling tribal wealth came from the position as intermediaries between the various human kingdoms of the Far West, the Elven lands of the Costal North, and the Dwarven and Gnomish lands of the far West. It is likely that the legendary halfling fortress (thought to be in the Crogbon) was based on one (or several) real locations where halflings would store their wealth and protect passages into their "Midland Empire." Halflings war was a skirmish and retreat model, as holding territory long term was not their jam.

  • The first halfling and Ubrekti warriors clashed during the Third Ponic War. As Ubrekt and the Dogriders warred in the wake of that conflict, halflings had an early advantage against the heavy infantry and light infantry based army of the time. Dogriders could easily harass the slow moving Ubrekti legions and retreat suffering minimal damage themselves. The early phase of the war was basically this stalemate: the halflings could not successfully assail the fortresses the Ubrekti built around the Stormchalice ("Our Lake") while the legions of the Ubrekti were hopeless against the dogriders, even as the dogriders themselves were outnumbered. Hadrian began to invest heavily in importing Petaran and Odessan horses and developing light and heavy cavalry wings to support the legions. The developing Ubrekti light cavalry wasn't terrific or anything, but it was enough to protect Legion flanks and supply lines and to give chase to the dogriders. Heavy Cavalry developed more slowly, but the overall trend of mixed unit tactics developed by Hadrian (The demigod or his descendants depending on the historian) over the course of his war with the Halflings not only - inevitably - carried the day, but also was the same basic model used by the successor Ubrekti Republic to expand across almost all of the mainland.

  • Banner finds pit fighting life isn't really for him, but Four takes to it and even makes some money.
  • They stock up for the road, and pick up dogs for traveling.
  • Wydmoor Free City is their next destination. Finally ready, they depart.

Going Fast

• With a change of dogs and no cart, they make very good time, channeling their steppe nomad ancestors. It takes them ten days, and they are mostly unmolested.
  • Near to Wydmoor, they are ambushed by a hydra! It very nearly gets Four, but ceases to become a real threat once they are able to spread out and divide its attention.
  • They spend some time resting up and recovering their scattered dogs afterward, and upon investigation find some treasure among the remains of the hydras previous victims: Some loose coins, and seven gems worth 100gp each.
• Shortly after, they arrive at Wydmoor. They make a big splash on arrival, immediately setting to party: Mayonnaise for everyone! They spend this time getting apprised of the local political situation.
• The next piece of the Lance is in the Wydmoor Cathedral, so that is their next goal.

Milestones

• Talking down the Porphyries
• Journey to Wydmoor (and the Hydra Interlude)