The Stormbringers Try to Capture Some Hippogriff Eggs
Spurned on by the rumors of hippogriffs in the hills north of Fort Westtop, Ove decided to hunt down the nests and try to recover the hippogriff offspring. Aearavir was paying high prices for these animals, and he intended to cash in.
After almost 2 weeks of scouting, the Stormbringers located a series of 100'+ tall hoodoos where the hippogriffs seemed to be flying to and from. The nests, they presumed, were on top.
The mercenaries soon realize that scaling the sides will be suicidal at best. They sought out a thief in Oriskavia and soon found Gundobad. Terms were settled, 400gp upfront plus 15% of the job's take. Ove declares the price steep but agreed anyways.
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| Gundobad, 2nd level halfling thief |
The next day the weather is dry and clear. The plan is to use Gundobad as a pathfinder, securing a climbing line with spikes. After securing the topmost line, heavier ropes and ladders would be pulled up for more capable men to follow. If he has an opportunity, the thief is told to try and steal any eggs, etc.
Gundobad climbs almost to the top of the 150' hoodoo before reaching the protruding lip. He falls once, but it arrested by the backup line. He goes back up, slips again, and this time the line pulls out the top spike, and he plummets to the bottom! Ove, however, organized his men around the base of the pillar with many nets. They catch the thief and save his life. He's badly bruised, possibly has several broken ribs and requires a couple of days of recovery.
During this time the hippogriffs don't seem to be concerned by the men below, and they Stormbringers are not bothered by monsters.
When Gundobad resumes his climb, he returns to the top without a problem and completes the last section. He disappears over the lip, but re-emerges a minute later, screaming for his life. Three adult hippogriffs are chasing him!
While Gundobad begins an emergency rappelling descent, the missile units below begin to fire upwards at the flying beasts. They kill 2 but the last one rends poor Gundobad slightly before it is driven off. Gundobad informs the troops that there is nest with 2 fledglings in it. He was spotted by the bests before he could get any closer.
Max the Minotaur takes a few men up the side using the existing climbing lines. At the top, the lone adult is trying to pull crossbow bolts from its body with its beak. It sees Max and shreiks. Max and the hippogriff charge each other, and Max decapitates it a mighty swipe of his massive 2-handed sword.
The fledglings are taken down and secured.
The following day the same procedure is used to get to top of another nearby hoodoo. This time, Gundobad has no mishaps, and repeats his attempt to sneak to any nests. When he reappears, he is again running as fast as he can, but bears 2 enormous bulges in his jacket. Three more adults give chase. They rend him badly as he descends, and 2 are killed by massed volleys of arrow and bolts. The last beast swoops low to retrieve whatever Gundobad is carrying, but halberd bearing men slay it.
Gunobad is unconscious, and by some miracle the bulges are unbroken eggs!
The whole group retreats to Oriskavia and allows the thief to rest before leaving for Aearavir to sell the eggs. They also sell the suit of armor taken off the Tyrant Celdro after the battle of Fort Runuck. The take is well over 8000gp!
Ove offers fulltime employment to Gundobad. The thief declines the offer for the moment, wishing to take some time off to enjoy his payout.
Aewdil Returns from Burmstone
The ranger finally arrives at the temple of Kementari. The situation is very grim: there has been an attempt by a vampire to penetrate the temple and turn the high priests. The city of Arkala is overrun by this vampiric cult, the Cult of the Lilly, and rumors are that the Arkalbalits have conquered 2 major towns to the south, near Aearavir, with undead troops! Aewdil expresses her desire to help, and the high priests will comb the archives for any wisdom in battling the vampire threat.
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