Kay’s Journal – 12/10 – Holiday Episode!
• 1000 XP
A winter storm has rolled in. People are heading inside and hunkering down to weather it out. The streets aren’t entirely empty, but anyone out there is heading to shelter as quick as they can.
We are in the Humble Hearth, as we were close to it when the storm hit. It is probably one of the warmest shelters around. There are a couple kids in here, an older woman sitting by the fire, a man behind the bar, a ship hand seated at a table, an older woman at another table, and a waitress.
The waitress greets us, says it’s free meals tonight, but we have to pay for drinks. CornCob and Gooseneck order warm cider and mulled wine for the house.
The kids are playing marbles. Gooseneck and Abran go talk to the ship’s hand. The rest of us sit at our table and enjoy our drinks.
Gooseneck and Abran offer to buy her a round, and ask if she’s stuck here because of the weather. She is, and further, it turns out she’s from the Silver Swan. They mention that’s where we’re meant to hire on as crew. She says they could used someone to help protect them on land – sometimes they run into dangerous animals and such. Abran says trouble seems to follow us. They invite her to join our table. She agrees and comes to sit with us.
Her name is Tanya. CornCob asks what serving on the ship is like. Tanya says it’s great, the captain is great, the crew has been safe and looked after. The ship only does exploratory and mapping missions. Lots of down time while getting from place to place, relying on the navigator, Barty the Gnome.
CornCob says he’s heard working on a ship kinda sucks – pirates and so on. Tanya says those stories are probably exaggerated, leaving out the weeks spent just crossing water. She says they have seen wonders, including an island of giant lizards.
The door opens with a burst of wind. It’s snowing a ton outside. A well-armed man in warm clothes carrying a large pack comes in. The pack looks like something inside it is moving.
Pujol casts Message and asks the inside of the sack if it’s OK. He gets an answer – there is something in there, and it is complaining about being cramped.
Pujol asks the proprietress of the tavern if she’s OK with him playing music; she says yes and he sets up and starts playing. Tonight, he’s playing wonderfully. Tanya says she’s looking forward to having him on the ship.
CornCob checks out the guy with the sack, trying to determine from his clothes and gear what kind of fellow he is. He’s wearing nice travelling clothes in good repair. He’s also wearing armor and carrying weapons. He looks kinda like he’s a member of nobility, but not quite. He looks like he’s about 45, and he has all his fingers. The sack is pretty big. So is he – 6’2”, 6’3”, and he looks like he works out.
I use my goggles to see if he’s got magic. Everything he has is magic, except his greaves. It looks like it all goes together as a set.
CornCob asks the waitress if she knows him. She says no. CornCob asks about the free mead, and she says something about a tradition from his home. Gooseneck sends him some mead. He is happy.
Abran and I notice the kids edging toward the bag, showing interest in it. The are very curious. It looks like the woman by the fire is their mom. CornCob heads over to the man’s table to distract him and give the kids an opportunity.
I see something pop out of the sack, like a horn. CornCob hears a large, sniffling inhalation, then a sound of disgust. He greets the man, who invites him to sit at the table. The man looks around and at the sack. He notes the kids, says he bets they’re looking for something, would they like a gift? Of course they do. He reaches into the bag, pulls out a top, and gives it to the kids.
CornCob introduces himself, gets the mans name: Kris. Pujol casts a spell to pull the bag open so CornCob can get a look inside. CornCob makes small talk. Kris is from the northern seas. Says he lost the goat that pulls his transport. CornCob offers to help find it. He knocks his drink on the floor to make an excuse to lean over and look in the bag. He sees…maybe a satyr…in there? It’s some kind of bag of holding. Unusual to have a living thing in there. The satyr looks grumpy and mean but not like he’s restrained.
CornCob decides to just as Kris outright about the bag. Kris says the creature in there is a partner. Kris carries his partner around in a bag because he’s not welcome in a lot of places. CornCob asks the partner’s name; Kris seems hesitant but answers quietly; the satyr’s name is Krampus. CornCob asks what Krampus does. Kris says he struggles against him most of the time. Kris says they are off duty right now.
CornCob asks him to join us, but he’d prefer to stay at his table. Offers for us to join him. CornCob mentions Kris seems to like children. The rest of us join Kris’s table. Abran asks about pulling the top out of the bag, and what he does when he’s on duty. Kris tells us he spends his time bringing joy and cheer to the well-behaved in the world. Abran asks if the goat has a name; it doesn’t. From the bag, a voice complains about not being free to do his thing.
Kris produces the goat’s collar; apparently it broke off. Kris’s sister Perchta played a trick that caused the goat to run off. She turned the goat into a dragon, and it ran off to a spot of green on a hill. We’d need to subdue the goat-dragon and put the collar back on it. Kris thinks the goat may not know he’s a dragon and just headbutt things. Abran asks where Perchta is, and Kris says she ran off.
We collect Pujol and head out to find the goat-dragon.
It’s cold. It’s snowing. We find Kris’s chariot/cart, and head up the mountain from there. We see a goat grazing in the distance.
A white dragon snout grabs a mouthful of grass. A rock and part of a tree go with it.
Gooseneck addresses the goat-dragon in Draconic, tells it Kris wants it back. The little goat runs away; the goat-dragon either doesn’t understand or is not impressed.
Pujol tries to Polymorph it back to a goat. It shakes it off and glares at us.
We start the fight. I make ready to run in and put the collar on it when it turns back into a goat.
CornCob shoots a bolt at it; Fathom shoots a fireball at it. Gooseneck puts up his shield and waits. Abran shoots it. Pujol shoots it with a hallucinogenic dart. It leaps into the air, then falls over on its side, completely stiff, like a fainting goat.
Gooseneck moves forward to attack. CornCob moves forward and throws a spell at it. Fathom fireballs it again. Gooseneck gets in close enough to attack, and Abran shoots it again. Pujol casts a wall of thorns on top of it.
The goat recovers from its paralysis, leaps up into the air, and breathes at CornCob, Pujol, and Abran. CornCob and Abran manage to doge, but Pujol goes down.
I run over to Pujol and dump a healing potion down his throat. CornCob shoot it with another spell. Fathom hits it with one more fireball. The goat-dragon kind of sinks down, and the wind from its wings kicks up a bunch of rubble that buffets Fathom and CornCob. Gooseneck turns to jump up and hit it, but misses.
Abran throws a fireball bead at it; that does it. It falls down and turns back into a goat. I run up and get the collar on it. It’s a big goat. It fights it, but once the collar is on it stops struggling. Seems sad about it, though.
Pujol recovers his dart, and we heal up and then head back to town.
CornCob takes the goat inside to Kris. I see a woman by the corner of the tavern give something to someone. I get Gooseneck’s attention and we go talk to her. We convince her to come inside with us. When we bring her in, Kris eyes her. Unsurprising.
Gooseneck ushers her over to Kris’s table. CornCob asks her name; of course, it’s Perchta. Gooseneck expresses surprise that Kris’s sister has shown up. Krampus gets out of the bag. Perchta gives the kids some silver.
Kris opens his bag, reaches in, pulls out a small bag of beans and gives it to me. He gives Fathom a scroll of ice storm. Abran gets a potion of gaseous form. CornCob gets a potion of clairvoyance. Gooseneck is given a throwing axe +2, and Pujol gets a potion of supreme healing.
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