Session 08: The Threat of Gnolls and Gourds

The party, low on resources from a lack of rest, continued along to follow the gnoll tracks through the woods, where it had seemed as if they had dragged off farmers--likely from the farmhouse they were just were. The pathway opened up into farmland and the party could see an old ransacked barn ahead. It looked like it had been ransacked a week to two weeks ago, implying that the gnolls had been at this location for a bit of time.   In front of the barn were two skeletal gnoll witherlings and from inside the barn, the party could hear the sobs and cries of their Human prisoners. The party started their assault and the witherlings drew alarm, drawing the hyenas and gnolls from inside the farmhouse out to engage them.   Among the gnolls who exited the barn was a gnoll Fang of Yeenoghu, who seemed to be the leader of the gnolls and was much stronger than the others they had faced earlier. The party was able to defeat the gnolls and rescue the farmers who were abducted from the farmhouse they had left earlier.   The prisoners were Lugh Walsh, a farmer in his fifties and the patriarch of the farm, Saraid Walsh, Lugh’s daughter, a woman in her mid-teens, and Bernard Kelly, one of Lugh’s farmhands, a man in his twenties, and a bit stouter and stronger than the others. Lugh was grateful for their rescue, but feared that he had nothing to offer the party for reward with his farmhouse and his livelihood being destroyed by the gnoll attack. The party asked for Lugh to write a letter to Duke Greyhall pointing out Tertius’ bravery and heroics in rescuing them and vanquishing the gnolls. This was ultimately decided as a better means of promoting Tertius than his own idea of writing his father to tell him that he “killed a dog”.   Tiarjead and Illevaere scouted the area for more signs of gnolls, but found none. They also found no signs of wildlife, assuming that they had all been scared off or eaten in the week and a half that the gnoll band was there. They took the farmers back to their ransacked house where they made camp from the night. No food was left in the pantry and all of the livestock was slaughtered and devoured, but Tiarjead and Illevaere were able to find some pheasant to bring back for dinner and the party made camp at the farmhouse.   After breakfast, Levi gave Lugh a few coins to help him to recoup from the losses. And, with the letter from Lugh in hand, the party left to return to the League Hall.   The journey back was uneventful and took the entire day as they reached the Hall in the evening. Upon arriving, they found a pumpkin left on the doorstep of the Hall with a knife stabbed through it and a letter with the word “YOU” scrawled in crude Draconic with the pumpkin.   Reggie was unaware that anyone left the pumpkin and the party vigorously debated whether the knife-stabbed pumpkin with an ominous Draconic letter saying “YOU” was a threat, or if it was merely a gourd and knife addressed to “YOU” as a present. While most of the party seemed to believe it was a threat, Illevaere was insistent that it was a gift. Those assuming that it was a threat had suspicion that it was possibly left by the kobolds that they had let free in the Scarlet Hills or possibly the faerie dragon from the Tiverminster Woods. A counter argument was that if it was left from the faerie dragon, then perhaps they were meant to make the pumpkin into a pie   Regardless of the pumpkin’s intent as a present or a threat, Illevaere carved the pumpkin and harvested the seeds to start a pumpkin patch, while Reggie took the pumpkin’s innards and made a nice pumpkin bread pudding.   The party was also able to identify some of the items that were obtained from the gnolls.