68. Grandmother Knows Best Report

General Summary

10th Nymm, 999 YK

They spend about an hour discussing the prophecy that the Oracle of War gave.
They have some theories about the prophecy, in particular Warden works out that there are 6 full moons in sequence during Long Shadows this year. Dax also theorises that the six moons could be referring to the Dark Six.
Lozaal investigates the Oracle after Zedd brings it back, deciding it's probably not going to explode. He's unable to deactivate the Third Protocol.
The party, who can all cast Cure Wounds, heal everyone as much as they can, with the exception of Warden, who uses his hit dice like a big boi.
Ready to proceed, Warden turns into a draft horse to pull the wagon.

12th Nymm, 999 YK

Mid-afternoon, the party encounters a lone traveller on the road: an old hobgoblin woman. She has a cart loaded up with trinkets, and she wanted stories.
Lozaal recognised this woman as Sora Esma, a figure that even the Dhakaani had records of. She is effectively the goblin equivalent of Santa Clause. They say she has a thousand friends in a thousand places, and holds a thousand secrets for each of them.
They each tell her their stories, and she gives each of them a trinket related to their story.
Lozaal gets a hermit crab living in a skull, named Kevin.
Warden gets a hollow black dragon egg, the exterior painted with scenes of Gatekeepers warring with aberrations.
Kalshana gets a handful of lettered teeth in a box that, when shaken and opened, always spells out your name.
Dax gets a lantern whose flame burns silver, but casts longer shadows than normal.
Jayne gets an animated rat skeleton in a bottle, supposedly a pet of the Lady of the Plague.
Grantha got some trendy new shoes from the Shadow Marches, called "crocs"
Mathilde got a 200lb potato. Neat.
Audrey got a broom that makes things dirtier, rather than cleaner.
Sora Esma then threw a bar of soap to Lozaal, labelled "Gnome Repellent"
Sora Esma also remembered that it's Llyr's birthday tomorrow, and has a gift for him! A full Cyran royal guard regalia including doublet, tabard, belt, boots and blade custom-tailored to be worn by an owl.
Upon hearing that Kalshana has been carrying cheese for almost 2 years, Sora Esma gives her a new cheese in exchange for her throwing away the old cheese. It's "Rust Munster", a cheese for warforged!
In exchange for one of Lozaal's trinkets, Sora Esma gives him a small wooden bird cage which contains a mote of dead-gray mist. The mote swirls and dances within the cage but never leaves its confines.
Sora Esma informed them that if they wish to see her again, when they use the Light at the Crossroads, they simply need to say "Grandmother knows best."
After Sora Esma leaves, the group have a pretty deep discussion about children and the issue of warforged reproduction.
"Old people are not to be underestimated"