Session 5 - Arrival in Thurmaster

General Summary

10th -11th of May, 1542
Weather During the day, temperatures remained in the low 60s, while falling to the upper 40s at night. Around midnight, a medium rain began to fall, lasting for about 8 hours.

Scene 1 - The Redwood

After the drake attack, the party discussed Baba Yaga some, with trepidation. The party has some concern for a future confrontation with the Mother of Witches. The rest of the journey continued without incident until arriving at The Redwood. The party was able to pluck several redfruit from the low hanging trees near the river.
The journey continued until near the end of the wood the party encountered a pack of wild canines, snarling at them from the shore. Theo identified them as "Goblin Dogs", a preferred mount of goblins, although this pack seemed wild. He concluded they'd probably wandered south from The Hardlow Woods or Howler's Moor in search of better hunting grounds.

Scene 2 - Arrival in Thurmaster

The party arrived in Thurmaster to find a dismal hamlet. There was very little color, and the entire town seemed sullen and grumpy. There were several abandoned buildings outside the rickety wooden palisade that surrounded the town, and nothing looked promising or optimistic. After asking for directions at the dock from a halfling docksmaster, they headed first to Barranas' Store.

Scene 3 - Barranas

The shop, like most of the Hamlet seemed shabby and in general disrepair. Stocks were low and only the bare minimum variety. Prices were also higher than expected. After some haggling, Quinneon Burrfoot agreed to sell the parts harvested from the crocodiles for 8 gold. With little else to do in the shop, they headed to the inn to secure lodging and eat.

Scene 4 - The Hound and Tails

Continuing the theme, The Hound and Tails was as dismal as the rest of Thurmaster. As the party arrived, the tavern was only manned by the owner, Weismar. The Inn only had shared rooms, at 5 sp per night, and the beds were already home to fleas and lice looking for a new home. The mutton stew was mediocre, and Maura Le Brevil found later that it didn't sit well with her.
After visiting Tauster and eventually Marlen, the party returned to the inn to find the three waitresses Anth, Cynders, and Gloris flirting with the few woodsmen and fishermen that had come in for dinner. There was also an old storyteller by the fire, who told the story of The Banshee's Sorrow.

Scene 5 - Tauster

Tauster, at least, was in good spirits, if not overly sane. He happily accepted the party as visitors and took the letter from Gordrenn. He explained that the letter asked him to take on Katrin as an apprentice. He also stated that he'd already agreed to take on Jelenneth as an apprentice and was concerned about taking on two Carman girls for the role. He'd need to think on it, and asked the party to stay in Thurmaster for a few days while he sorted out the situation. He suggested checking with Marlen for any odd jobs around town, and gave the party a letter of credit to take to the Squire for cash. He also warned that if they're staying at the inn, to stay away from the "mutton", which caused Maura to visibly pale.

Scene 6 - Marlen

Squire Marlen seemed annoyed and short tempered at the visit. He gave the party the sack of coins in payment for Tauster's Letter of Credit, and when the party asked if there were any jobs that needed doing, he went on a multi-minute rant about all the troubles that had seemingly been heaped upon him. Dogs in the Redwood were keeping harvesters from the fruit of the wood, there was a crypt nearby in the Halfcut Hills that Marlen believed would start pouring out undead any moment now, and there were rumors stirring of giants attacking people in the The Shrieken Mire. He offered the party coin in exchange for handling any of these problems, but was generally vague about how much he was willing to pay, and didn't seem confident any of it would be done.
Asking around town, the party learned that 4 villagers had been found near the mire. They had been there fishing and harvesting herbs, and were bludgeoned to death by something large and humanoid according to the tracks found nearby. The group wasn't robbed, so nobody thinks it was the Lizardmen in the mire, but nobody was aware of any giants ever in the area. One child did mention the dragon that he saw flying to the mire, however.
Marlen also suggested that Duke Edmund Parlfray may have some work, since he's busy planning a party for Lyntern Parlfray's 18th birthday. Marlen doesn't know the details, but he does know that Edmund has ordered a Griffon to be brought in, as well as another "surprise", but he doesn't know the details.

New Quests

Echos of the Ancients - Marlen has hear a crypt has been found in the Halfcut Hills and is now afraid undead will start appearing in either Thurmaster or Parlfray's Keep. He'd like the party to go check out the crypt and make sure it's safe.
Trail of the Giant Bodies have been found bludgeoned by a large humanoid near The Shrieken Mire Marlen wants someone to investigate the mire and handle any danger.
Fangs of the Redwood - Wild Dogs are attacking anyone near The Redwood, and people can't harvest the fruit there. This has led to some people complaining to Marlen and expects him to handle it.

Rewards Granted

150 silver pieces - paid for delivery of letter
8 gold for the croc parts
15 gold for the drake parts

Experience Points

100 xp - General Thurmaster exploration
100 xp - Completion of Gordrenn's Delivery Service

Missions/Quests Completed

Gordrenn's Delivery Service - Letter was delivered to Tauster, and he gave the characters a writ of payment to turn in to Squire Marlen. This paid out 150 silver pieces.

Character(s) interacted with

Tauster
Marlen

Created Content

Updated Marlen's page.
Updated Squire Marlen's House
Updated Tauster's page.
Updated Barranas' Store

Added Weismar
Updated The Hound and Tails
Updated Temple of Chohar
Added Haranfruit to the Flora and Fauna section.

Related Reports

The stones Quinneon Burrfoot found in Session 1 Report: The Panther's Pursuit were identified and appraised.


2 Moonstones worth gp
1 Lapis Lazuli pendant worth gp and suitable for enchanting.

Campaign

Shadows of the Underdark

Protagonists

Theo

Quinneon Burrfoot

Quinn's Sheet

Level 2 Summoner.

Health

30 / 30

Chi Natsu

ChiNatsu's Sheet

Level 3 Gunslinger (Spellshot).

Health

28 / 28

Maura Le Brevil

Sharos

Report Date

13 Jul 2023

Primary Location

Thurmaster

Secondary Location

The Hound and Tails

Related Characters

• Marlen
• Tauster