Session 14: The Road to Belham

General Summary

Awaking at dawn, the QQQ continued their journey towards the town of Belham where they were to meet up with Apieros Elsys. They walked over to the bridged they had seen and debated sleeping under the day before. As they approached, Trinky felt her Dagger of Warning giving her a signal of impending danger. At that moment a goat appeared on the bridge. The animal spoke to them and told them that this bridge belonged to him and his brothers. They had killed the troll living there and were now forcing anyone willing to cross to pay them a toll of 50gp per person. Not wanting to end up in a fight with the older brothers of the goat, the party sought another solution.   Thus, Trinky made up a story of them being traveling entertainers and offered the goat a show instead of payment. The goat reluctantly agreed to discuss the matter with his brothers and would only agree fully if the show was good enough. The goat called upon his brothers. First appeared the middle brother, a goat the size of Bork, with a golden medallion around its neck and runes carved into its horns. Then came the biggest brother, who was about the size of a stone giant, with several sets of large horns and mouth that gaped open like a dog. The party then discussed how they were to entertain the goats.   The first to step up was Ravojhan whom Trinky presented as the best flutist in all the land. As he was playing his flute of the fey, the nerves got to him a bit but the magics did seem to snare the two big brothers. But the little brother was unimpressed. This was to be remedied by Quinny, whom Trinky presented as the elf who couldn't feel pain. She then invited the little brother to ram Quinny in the groin, which he gladly accepted. As he ran towards the elf, Quinny gripped the hilt of his sword and made himself blurry. This made the goat miss, fall, and land with his face in the dirt. This only angered him and he yelled out how they would now not be allowed to cross. Trinky pleaded with him that this had to be done so that he wouldn't faint at the sight of their next act, Aurora the ugliest woman in the world. Meanwhile, Ravojhan tried to calm the situation by casting a sleep spell on the little goat.   As the goat fell into a slumber, he realized that the charming effect of his flute had now disappeared and the middle brother was furious. So furious in fact that he racked up the toll price by 10%. When the party tried to cross without their consent, the middle goat created a wall of fire that blocked their path. They asked if there was anything they could do to pass without having to pay. The goat told them that there was one errand they could run for him. They could kill the clan of river trolls up the river, whom he feared would try to take the bridge from the brothers. The party agreed.   However, when they reached the river trolls they realized that it was a family with children. Instead, egged on by Julian who was certain that Goblins and trolls were best of friends, Trinky took her hat off and approached the trolls. The large creatures seemed furious with this intrusion and Trinky ran back. Instead, they tried to approach all at once and be diplomatic about it. In order to decipher if it would work, Ravojhan cast a spell that allowed him to comprehend their language. At first the trolls thought they were food, but when Ravojhan proved to be a magician, they stood back in fear. Apparently, they feared magic after having witnessed the terror of the goat's fire magic. Not willing to risk their children they tried to make them leave. After some charades, the party got the idea to make the trolls let them pass over their riverbank, which was much shallower than the rest of the river. This worked and the party successfully made it to the other side.   After heading north some more and approaching Belham, the party found a dead elf wizard who had been killed by the Silvestra Numina. He was a messenger who had carried a message to Apieros. The message told about some research a friend of his was conducting and how he now had to beware the "little child-killer". The party assumed this to be Gragrim Sneekaround, the gnome wizard that escaped the Folkenfort with them. Felling a bit guilty they took the message with them. When they reached Belham they camped just outside to not bring Bork into town. During the night Apieros, who had heard of the groups arrival at the inn, joined them. He was then given the message and was terrified and perplexed as to how Sneekaround had escaped. The party stayed quiet about their involvement, but Aurora eventually broke down and told her brother everything. He didn't seem angry but was worried about what this could entail for them.   He then made an illusion spell for Bork so that he could look like a purple horse, Trinkys favorite colour. This bought him some favour with the goblin. The next morning the group finally headed into the town to prepare their trip into the Dragonfen.