Princes of the Apocalypse Recap 3
This recap was originally posted on the 24th of November 2020. It has since been edited and republished here.
Arriving at the little town of Beliard after dark, the group head over to the Watchful Knight Inn. On the way, they spot signs for a tanner, a blacksmith, and some horse trainers. Bingo starts a discussion about how they ought to dress Cybin up in the future. His muddy stained cloak and loincloth not being suitably presentable for most situations. As there are no tailors here, nor in Womford, they begin to play around with other ideas. Soon enough, the discussion turns to the tanner's abilities to make ass-less chaps, gimp suits and the like.
After a moment, Gil spots the sign for the inn and takes off like a shot. His craving for alcohol kicking in, he leaves without more than a simple "Babushka" uttered. With a warning from the wise, in this case Forge, about Gil going off on his own, Bingo cocks his banjo and Roland cocks his shield. Forge built these mechanisms both for comedic affect and for them to feel more involved during combat situations. Despite Bingo getting a few kills in here and there, by and large he, and Roland, are not the type to be at the centre of the action. Up to now, this is as far as Forge has gotten in his endeavour to provide cocking mechanisms for the entire party. He has been trying to build a cocking mechanism into the hat of the wizard or a maybe his sleeve which produces the cocking sound when pages are turned in his book.
Once inside the Inn, Gil has already set up at a table in the corner. Instead of the standard flagon of ale, he has a sturdy bucket. Bingo steps up to the bar and starts a tab for the group. He then proceeds to ask for a mimosa. To which the barkeep happily obliges, providing the fruitiest sparkling beverage he has available. Namely, a beautiful apple cider with a slice of one of the freshest apples in the Sumber Hills slid neatly onto the rim. Roland on the other hand, requests port and gets some of a rather lovely one in a small goblet.
Once the others are sat, Forge moves up to the bar. Recognising the symbol of the Bounty Hunters Guild on the wall, he decides to use his stature as a member to squeeze a little more information out of him. Neshor Fleurdin, a retired mercenary, introduces himself then gives what he can out of respect for the guild. He points Forge in the direction of Eann, a local cattle herder. Eann was the last person from Beliard to have seen the delegation alive. Before departing, he orders a round for the bar, having been informed that Bingo started a tab.
Around this time, Roland sees a small plaque in the corner which reads Here Stands the Watchful Knight in bold print and then underneath in small print: (Do Not Touch. Helmed Horror may reawaken). He couldn't listen to the proprietors to ascertain any clues or pick out any rumours. So instead, he changed tactics and flagging down the girl handing out the drinks from Forge's round.
The girl, Senya, gives them their beers and takes Gil's bucket to refill. Roland tactfully engages in conversation attempting to build a little comradery before asking prying questions. This quiet calm approach is knocked on its head, when the delegation is mentioned, and Bingo declares loudly that they're searching for it. Immediately Forge’s sigh can be heard from across the room and Roland begins to tutt. They were both trying to be subtle. She goes to say something but is called away, purely by coincidence I might add. She apologises and leaves.
Gil demonstrates how perverted he can be as he tries to ascertain her age and debates with himself if she is jailbait or old enough. In the end, he settles with playing it safe. The group have more important things to be doing with their time. Cybin stays outside and is given bread sticks and a pint as part of the round that Forge ordered. After sniffing them he tucks into the bread and pours the beer away. In an almost practiced way, he sits and taps the side of the tankard with a stick, begging in the street. Whether out of fear or out of pity the few people who pass toss a coin into it. He ends up making a tidy 5 copper in the few minutes before the others make a hasty exit.
Forge, ignoring Bingo's outburst sits down with Eann and hands him his pint from the round. After a brief discussion, it is revealed that Eann saw a group of five people clothed in blue and white flying overhead on the backs of giant birds in the direction that the delegation went in. Throughout their chat, Eann keeps being distracted by a dancing figure pulling funny faces behind Forge. What is perhaps more distracting than the faces and the dancing is the face that the figure appears to be a three-foot-tall version of Forge himself. Bingo, having disguised himself as Forge in his drunken revelry, is as usual up to a little mischief. Forge catches him at it and ignores him.
"Father, Why do you forsake me so?" Bingo cries dramatically as Forge brushes past him moving towards the exit. Gil picks Bingo up and starts to spank him because: "you should not be in bar. bad child not in bar"
Upon seeing this, Forge and Roland finish their drinks and leave hastily. Gil leaves Bingo at the bar to pay the bill. By the time he recovers from the mild shock of what just happened everyone else is gone. He pays the one gold and four silver after he tries to leave and is stopped with an expectant ahem. A stern look from the barkeep and he sighs taking out his wallet.
They regroup outside and Bingo tries to claim back 2 gold from the party fund. For, "the bar tab was only meant to be for our group".
To which Gil responds: "do you have receipt?" He pulls out a small, immaculate ledger, much to the surprise of the group. Gil, despite being a drunkard always keeps track of every coin. Perhaps the one and only thing he learnt from his father that has served him well in his time adventuring. Bingo goes back in and gets a receipt from Neshor, at the cost of a 5-silver bribe. Bingo only accepts this bribe as necessary because he still makes a profit. Gil goes over the receipt closely, copying it into his ledger. Once this is done and the coin exchanged, they realise that they have left the only inn around and head back inside.
By this time, the inn has quietened down even more. The evening was coming to a close when they first arrived but the public spanking of the halfling appears to have signalled a mass exodus from the place. Roland goes to speak to the girl again to ask about that which she didn't get to say earlier. She looks nervous and stops working. "No no keep working" Roland insists, going so far as to assist in the stacking of tankards and plates in a large basket. While they work, she tells Roland about a creepy monk in brown robes and a twisted golden mask that had been watching the delegation and left a little before they did.
After purchasing the three remaining rooms, the group go up to bed. Gil requests to share with Roland not being subtle with his hints of an ulterior motive. Hints that Roland either chooses not to acknowledge or does not understand. With that pairing sealed, Čadas offers to share with Bingo, and so the shin high shenanigans pair take the second room. This leaves Forge on his own in a room, just how he likes it. Forge takes a moment to ensure that his tin can companion is set to radar mode to protect the wagon before heading up to sleep. Cybin, on the other hand, lays underneath the wagon. He enjoys the mud but is beginning to appreciate a dry sleeping spot over a wet one. A few of the locals note during the night a strange set of sounds emanating from the wagon. First an almost inaudible bong sound followed by a hefty snore, bong, snore, bong, snore....
Unbeknownst to both pairs of bunkers, their conversations were indeed audible to Forge who resided in the centre room of the three. The shin high shenanigans pairing (mostly Bingo with occasional agreement from Čadas) bitched about the tall people and the unfairness of being vertically challenged. Roland on the other hand, complains about the kids getting the group into trouble. To which, Gil defends Čadas and his big floppy hat and bubble pipe. After a short discussion, they come to an agreement: that bingo is a little shit. Forge, of course, writes all this down for later use in case he needs a favour from someone.
In the morning, Senya wafts fresh warm bread with cheese and mushrooms near Cybin to rouse him from his sleep. Somewhat like a bear he begins to follow the smell sniffing the air until he hits his head on the underside of the carriage. After the heavy thud of him hitting his head there is a pause before he emerges arms first, almost like a car trying to grab a toy.
"So, have you guys found your delegation yet?" Bingo asks cutting into his breakfast. He was the only member of the group, except for Cybin, who had not been hired by a third party to find the delegation. He was swept along by the prospect of a glorious story to be told. Cybin, on the other hand, keeps getting fed so he is happy.
Queue a lengthy discussion about how to proceed whether to pursue the air cultist at the tower or to "try and find the earth fuckers". They try and somewhat succeed at bringing together all of the information they have so far. Gil after a while concludes that they should go to the air cult place because they don't have the location of the earth ones yet. Which is true.
After breakfast the group go on a shopping trip. They split the party with Bingo and Cybin staying at the Wagon, Roland and Čadas going on a supply run, and Gil and Forge heading to the blacksmiths to upgrade some of their equipment. Roland gets plate armour, Bingo gets studded leather, and Forge gets a new breastplate. With the help of the portent skills of the wizard, they get a good deal saving themselves hundreds of gold.
Forge also stocks up buying nails and bits and bobs from the blacksmith. Gil takes the opportunity to rid themselves of a large portion of their coin by paying for a chunk of the stuff in 20,000 copper pieces. This opportunity comes only because Forge unwittingly is keeping the smith distracted. A discussion between two skilled workmen of the same type is a rare thing in these areas. Of course, Forge makes sure to check the smith's hammers for the one stolen from his father's shop, to no avail. He did not expect it to be here, but he still has hope that one day he will stumble across his ancestral hammer. In another part of the town, Roland and Čadas manage to procure 10 day worth of rations per person and then concede defeat in their search for magical items.