Session 9: Bard-ecue, or, how do you like your ribs? (5/15/22)

Pulyana 23, 1423.

The PCs spend the last few hours of the day preparing for Bjork's showdown with Snowcock the Sonorous. After the minotaur changes into his gig suit, they scope out the Zolovny Fairgrounds a little better, seeing if there are any possible obstacles present. Bjork warms up for some of the patrons of the market, earning some coin, especially from Bekked who is trying to find some more drink. After a few more hours, the sun sets, and they begin to hear the sound of low percussion approaching through the village...the challenge is about to begin! Snowcock shows up with his trio of 'Cock-ettes', timpani pounding bodyguards who park themselves menacingly to the west of the stage. After an opening volley of insults and introductions, the bards square off on the creaking wooden gazebo which can barely support their bulk...

The battle is back and forth, with Bjork scoring victories in the first few rounds where his sharp barbs can outclass Snowcock's pathetic 'cow' jokes. But the increasingly impressive performance of the Sonoronous on his lute comes close to evening out the match, so somehow Mockleg's fuckery breaks one of Snowcock's strings! Furious, the bard hurls his stringed instrument out of the arena, and switches purely to his deep, smooth tenor, which booms further insults musically across the Fairgrounds. Nebol'shoy also teases some fuckery, but one of the Cock-ettes gives the gnome a death stare! Bjork abandons the cowbell, draws his frostwine lyre and cools off the audience's drinks while plucking a few melodies, and the battle is pressed once more. Just when it seems like Snowcock's inescapable tenor is going to seal the duel, Bjork distracts him with the pie he purchased previously, which, paraded about with a mage hand spell, distracts Snowcock just long enough to doom him..

In disgrace, the bird-themed bard trounces off the stage and (presumably) out of Zolovny, joined by his most loyal Cock-ette. The other two quit on the spot, embarrassed by their employer's failure. The small but enthusiastic crowd, now sipping their cold beverages, showers silver and copper onto the victorious minotaur, as well as a fresh cooked chicken leg and a pair of undergarments, that it turns out belong to Bekked. Bjork, newly inspired, rejoins his companions, returning the undergarments to Bekked's head, and the group retires to the same wharfside tents they were using the previous. Apart from some gaunt hounds seeking scraps, the rest of the night goes buy peacefully.

Pulyana 24, 1423.

The PCs wake up, make sure their supplies are packed, and say their farewells to Pavli, who is to be escorted by a now (presumably) sober Bekked back to Svodnikha. They discuss their next move, and decide to follow up on Old Shard's sightings in the Deepwood Barrows. After a few hours of Aldren guiding the party to the Northwest, and a near mishap with a slumbering giant bird in the Tzarswald, they arrive at the fell, hilly region, and decide to press a bit further to higher ground. Once they can get a good look about them, they decide to move further west and examine an old structure with an intact but toppled wall. En route, they are assailed by a pair of roving, angry owlbears, which they make quick work of, but not before fatal claw swipes nearly take down Rucia, Nebel'shoy and Mockleg! After the beasts are slain, Aldren collects one of their claws and a bunch of their feathers to use on arrows.



They arrive at last by the toppled wall, and find that this used to be a sepulcher to some lost hero of the Tricentennial War named Helya Gargovich. Soon after, Aldren notices suspicious tracks, which look to be a mob of creatures, perhaps undead, that the fisher-girl had told them attacked her family by the Skorbi River. They press further west in the direction of the tracks, and find a hill where they seem to have multiplied. The hill, it turns out is hollow, and as night falls they decide to proceed inside, finding a pair of old boots that look as if they were meant for stealth. As they press a little further, they find a larger cavern full of massive black fungi with gray stalks, and are attacked by some strange mushroom creatures hidden among the huge fungus...which look to have been dwarves or some similar creature before sprouting the blooms. Aldren notices that they operate almost reactively, like antibodies or puppets that fight in unison to protect the passage. As each is destroyed, it releases a puff of black spores into the air...which cause coughing and sneezing, but nothing else...yet.

PCs: Aldren, Bjork, Nebel'shoy, Rucia

NPCs

The Cock-ettes (human females): A trio of women wearing white masks, feathers, and white leather harnesses, they accompany Snowcock the Sonorous around as his fanfare, each performing a timpani but also armed should any trouble go down.