Game Recaps

[Rabbit]

BURNT OFFERINGS: Session 1

The Swallowtail Festival:
The Swallowtail Festival begins promptly, as scheduled, on the first day of autumn. The square before the church quickly becomes crowded as locals and travelers arrive, and several merchant tents featuring food, clothes, local crafts, and souvenirs are there to meet them.

Welcoming Speeches:
The turnout for the opening speeches is quite respectable, and the four keynote speakers each deliver short but well-received welcomes to the festival. Mayor Deverin’s friendly attitude and excitement prove contagious as she welcomes visitors to town. Sheriff Hemlock brings the crowd down a bit with his dour mood, his reminder to be safe around the evening’s bonfire, and his request for a moment of silence to remember those who lost their lives in the fire that claimed the town’s previous church five years ago. Fortunately, Cyrdak Drokkus is more than up to the challenge of bringing the crowd’s mood back up with his rousing anecdotes as he delivers a not-completely-irreverent recap of the long process the town went through to finance and construct the new cathedral. He throws in a bit of self-promotion at the end, as is his wont, inviting everyone to stop by the Sandpoint Theater the following evening to check out his new production of “The Harpy’s Curse,” revealing that the lead role of Avisera the harpy queen will be played by none other than the famous Magnimarian diva Allishanda! Finally, Father Zantus steps up give a short speech thanking everyone for coming before declaring the Swallowtail Festival underway.

Lunch:
Lunch is provided free, at the expense of Sandpoint’s taverns. Each brings its best dishes—this event is a marketing push by the taverns as much to win new customers as it is to feed a hungry crowd. It soon becomes apparent that the darling of the lunch is, once again, Ameiko Kaijitsu, whose remarkable curry-spiced salmon and early winterdrop mead easily overshadow the other offerings, such as the Hagfish’s lobster chowder or the White Deer’s peppercorn venison.

During lunch Cyrdak Drokkus recruits Gai to take the stage to replace one of his drunk actors. Gai entertains the crowd with wit and humor while performing to one of his largest audiences yet.

Rhyse is approached by an aged but spry Gnome who recognizes him as a travelling cleric of Desna. The gnome introduces himself as Veznutt Parooh, owner of the The Way North. The two briefly discuss map making while the gnome shows off his tremendous collection of maps and sea charts. The gnome offers to pay Rhyse for any charts he can draft during his journeys into the Varisian hinterlands.

Posting up near the free kegs of ale Kaddok finds himself the focus of Katrine Vindor and Katrine’s younger sister, Shayliss. Both have eyes for the warrior but Kaddok sensing Katrine the easier woman gives her his attention.

Consecration and Swallowtail Release:
Finally, as the sun begins to set, Father Zantus and Gundren wheel a large covered wagon into the square, and after recounting the short parable of how Desna first fell to earth and was nursed back to health by a blind child who she transformed into an immortal butterfly as a reward for her aid, they pull aside the wagon’s
cover, releasing the thousand children of Desna—a furious storm of a thousand swallowtail butterflies that swarm into the air in a spiraling riot of color to a great cheer from the crowd.

We be Goblins!
Unfortunately, this is also the moment that goblins launched their assault on the town of Sandpoint. Some goblins wave torches and light tents on fire, while others chase children and pets with ill intent. The goblins tear through merchant stalls, menace locals with their ‘dogslicers’, throw rocks through windows, and otherwise make terrors of themselves. But the heroes quickly rally and fend off three different groups of goblins in the northern sections of the city.

Among their heroic acts the heroes save a dying dog in the town square, have a rap battle with a goblin warchanter, remove the heads from the bodies of a dozen goblins, and save the life of a visiting noble, Aldern Foxglove. When the heroes followed his cries for help the heroes found Aldern surrounded by goblins. The young man fought back the best his meager skills would allow but he was clearly outmatched by the goblin hordes.

Once the goblins are dealt with, Aldern thanked the heroes profusely. He informs them that he’ll be in town for a few more days; he’s staying at the Rusty Dragon and when they get a chance, he’d love to talk with them more and perhaps reward them properly for saving his life.

By this time, the battle has been decided. Surviving goblins flee north in droves, in some cases preferring to leap to their certain death off cliffs rather than be captured. Several of the little menaces are in fact caught alive, but they prove useless when interrogated; none of these goblins know much more than that they were given orders to kill everyone in town and burn down the place. None of the captured goblins can even remember their leader’s name, apart from the fact that he was an “ugly longshanks.”

[Mr Deeds]

Can't make it tonight, but Rhyse might say:

"I'm no clever detective type, you guys will be better than me in tracking down the real story here. I'm Going to check on the hurt dog and then pray to Desna (aka chill and stare at the stars), but you guys kick ass, let me know if you want to have some beers and honor Desna with some games of dice at the pub later, (in priestly Jedi voice) may the stars guide you."

Anyways I'll be open for the next few weeks, see yall then.

[Rabbit]

BURNT OFFERINGS: Session 2

As Sandpoint recovers from the attack and buries its (thankfully few) dead, the citizens do their best to get on with their lives. The cathedral is consecrated the next day during a much more subdued and indoor ceremony, but by the end of the week, the goblin attack is remembered mostly with chuckles. Now that the terror of the raid is over, memories of goblins accidentally lighting themselves on fire, getting stepped on by horses, or drowning in rain barrels that were only half full in the first place render memories of the raid in an almost comical light. But one thing the locals haven’t forgotten is their new heroes.

The Hunt:
In the following days Kaddock, Gundren, and Gai decided to take Aldern Foxglove up on his offer and went to visit him at The Rusty Dragon Inn. They find the young noble already dinning with a local Varisian named Garrin. Garrin had apparently also gained some heroic renowned during the goblin attack. During the next several rounds of drink Aldern makes good on his reward and gifts each player 50 gold for their heroic deeds.

Before he returns to his townhouse in Magnimar in a few more days, he was hoping to go on a boar hunt in nearby Tickwood, and invites his new friends to come along. Because they accept he also buys each hero a horse from the Goblin Squash Stables. While at the stables the party meets the owner and retired ranger, Daviren. Inside the stable Daviren has an extensive and macabre collection goblin ears and a large glass bottle filled with brine in which he’s preserved the head of Chief Whartus, last ruler of the now extinct Bonegrinder Tribe.

The boars of Tickwood aren’t all that fierce and the hunt runs smoothly without incident. Aldern invites them back to the Rusty Dragon that evening, where he hands the boar over to Ameiko to cook for a big dinner.

The Shopkeeper’s Daughter:
A day after the hunt Shayliss Vinder approached Kaddock in need of his heroic aid. Shayliss had met Kaddock during the Swallowtail Festival but the encounter was interrupted by those damned goblins. Now Shayliss explains that giant rats had infested her family’s store (The Sandpoint General Store) and her father could do nothing about them. Though suspicious Kaddock followed Shayliss into the store's basement. She young woman reveals her true intentions as soon as they are alone in the basement of her father’s store; her bodice comes off and she slides herself into Kaddock’s embrace as she guides him over to a convenient cot someone’s set up in the back of the room..

Unfortunately for both of them Shayliss’ father Vin Vinder came into the basement and discovered the two shortly after their romp. Infuriated Vin demanded an explanation to which Kaddock tossed several gold coins onto the floor and hastily left the basement. Vin was too dumbstruck to say another word, but Shayliss was clearly offended by the coin’s implications.

Garrin later paid a visit to the store to ensure at least one of the party had good relations with the store owner. When Garrin approached, Vin was having an argument with his younger daughter Katrine about her boyfriend, “that no-good Harker from the lumber mill.” Garrin was able to establish some comradery feigning his understanding of lady troubles.

Tending to the Wounded:
Meanwhile Rhyse had been spending much of his days tending a wounded dog back to health and helping Father Zantus with those more seriously wounded or traumatized by the goblin raid. In thanks for his assistance Father Zantus paid Rhyse 50 gold from the town coffers (donated by the Mayor and Town Council.) Additionally the dog he saved has taken a liking to him and follows him around town.

Grim News from Mosswood:
About a week after the goblin attack the Kaddock, Gundren, Gai, and Garrin are summoned to the town hall late in the evening. When they arrive they find that Sheriff Hemlock, Mayor Deverin, and a well traveled female elf are there to greet them. The meeting takes place in a comfortable office on the second floor of the town hall. The Mayor introduces herself as Kendra Deverin (dispensing of formalities) and gratefully thanks each of them for the help they provided Sandpoint during the raid. Hemlock introduces the elf as Shalelu Andosana, an “unofficial member of Sandpoint’s town guard” (an introduction that causes the elven woman to smirk) and in turn he refers to the party as to Shalelu as “Sandpoint’s newest crop of heroes.” Hemlock explains that Shalelu has been a thorn in the side of the local goblin tribes for years, and that few in the region know more about them than her. He goes on to recap her report that Sandpoint hasn’t been the only place in the region that’s had goblin troubles. In short, there’s been an increase in goblin-related raids along the Lost Coast Road, particularly in the dale between Nettlewood and Mosswood. Only a day ago, a farm south of Mosswood was burnt to the ground by a group of goblins. Shalelu was thankfully nearby, and while the farm couldn’t be saved, she did rescue the family and drive off the goblins; the family is staying at a nearby farm for now, but the goblin problem is obviously not going away. At this point, Hemlock cedes the floor to Shalelu, asking her to tell the PCs what she told him.

Sheriff Hemlock announces that he’s taking a few of his men south to Magnimar to see about securing additional soldiers to station at Sandpoint for a few weeks, at least until the extent of the goblin threat can be determined. While he’s out of town, he’s asked Shalelu to sniff around Shank’s Wood, Devil’s Platter, and other places where goblins live to see if she can discover anything else about what’s going on. He would also like the PCs to maintain a public presence in Sandpoint over the next few days, if they don’t mind. “The locals seem to have taken to you,” he says, “And seeing you around town will do a lot for keeping worries down over the next few days.”

Once the meeting is over, Shalelu asks to join the heroes for dinner at the Rusty Dragon; she’d like to hear more from them about the Sandpoint raid, and in return she’s got a fair amount of goblin lore she can impart. See Goblin Tribes in People and Places thread for detail.

The Missing Bartender:
The next morning the party is approached by a timid elderly halfling woman named Bethana Corwin. They recognize her as, a maid who works for Ameiko Kaijitsu at the Rusty Dragon. She’s obviously upset and explains that with Sheriff Hemlock has left town to request more soldiers from Magnimar, and Shalelu had already returned to the wilderness she didn’t have anyone else to turn to.

In short, her employer has gone missing. Bethana woke earlier this morning to find that Ameiko hadn’t started breakfast for the first time Bethana could remember. Worried, she knocked on Ameiko’s door but didn’t get a response. Against her better judgment, Bethana entered Ameiko’s room to find it empty and the bed un-slept in. Worse, she found a crumpled piece of parchment near the bed—a note from Ameiko’s older brother Tsuto.

Bethana explains that Tsuto was something of a scandal when he was born 21 years ago, since he’s a half-elf. Bethana sagely notes, with big eyes, that neither of Ameiko’s parents are elves. It was obvious that old Lonjiku wasn’t the boy’s father, and his rage at the discovery of his wife’s indiscretion was the talk of the town for months. Lonjiku’s wife Atsuii never revealed who the father was, and it’s a testament to Lonjiku’s stubbornness that they remained married. Tsuto was handed over to the Turandarok Academy to be raised outside of the Kaijitsu family, ignored by his father and forbidden visits from his mother. His older sister Ameiko visited him in secret a few times a month to keep him company, bring him some food, and promise him that someday things would get all sorted out. That all changed six years ago, when they had a terrible argument in which Tsuto struck Ameiko. Bethana doesn’t know what the argument was about, but whatever it was is what sent Ameiko away from Sandpoint for a year, during which time she made a living as an adventurer. She returned to Sandpoint five years ago to attend her mother’s funeral. Tsuto was quite public in his opinions that his father had pushed Atsuii off the cliff to her death, and during the funeral there was a confrontation. Lonjiku nearly broke Tsuto’s jaw with his cane, after which Tsuto cursed him and left Sandpoint. Ameiko’s tried to reestablish contact with him ever since, but was never able to track him down. Bethana’s worried that Tsuto’s up to no good. Since Sheriff Hemlock’s out of town, the party are the only ones she can turn to. She begs them to head over to the Glassworks and find out what happened to Ameiko as soon as possible.


THE NOTE

Hello, sis!

I hope this letter finds you well, and with some free time on your hands, because we’ve got something of a problem. It’s to do with father. Seems that he might have had something to do with Sandpoint’s recent troubles with the goblins, and I didn’t want to bring the matter to the authorities because we both know he’d just weasel his way out of it. You’ve got some pull here in town, though. If you can meet me at the Glassworks at midnight tonight, maybe we can figure out how to make sure he faces the punishment he deserves. Knock twice and then three times more and then once more at the delivery entrance and I’ll let you in.

In any case, I don’t have to impress upon you the delicate nature of this request. If news got out, you know these local rubes would assume that you and I were in on the whole thing too, don’t you? They’ve got no honor at all around these parts. I still don’t understand how you can stand to stay here.

Anyway, don’t tell anyone about this. There are other complications as well, ones I’d rather talk to you in person about tonight.

Don’t be late.
Tsuto