After the battle with the bloodroot, the party checks on Ember and Trussnot they seem to be stable and are going to recover. After a few minutes, both wake up and begin to shake the cobwebs out of their heads. Then suddenly out of the ground near where Maleth encountered the giant ants, the ground erupts, Tens then hundreds of giant ants rush out of the underground, tunnels heading out of the grove and south into Westwood. The party was at the north cut north. The ants are going away from the direction the party is traveling.
Everyone notices the queen ant when she emerges being almost twice the size of the soldier ants. This continues for about two more minutes, and finally the last one leaves the grove.
The grim darkness of the grove breaks away. As a few small rays of sunshine peak through the clouds. The grove has begun to change the trees and the bushes have begun begun to turn from a black and green. To a vibrant greens and yellows. The grasses have started to rise to vertical stance rather than laying against the ground. The feeling of contentness and safety takes hold. You spend the rest of the day in the grove, relaxing and recovering.
Everyone senses a powerful magic effect begin to emanate from all around you. Your exhaustion starts to subside, and you feel relaxed. Richard in particular, seems to have a bit of a glow about him. Perhaps your axis has witnessed the battle in his blessing you for what is to come.
Taco attempts to use the Pilots wings clasp to fly. He shouts “I can fly”. Leaps forward into the air and then immediately lands face first into the dirt. He then groans “I can’t fly”.
The party packs the horses and pack animals and war donkeys, and everything. After traveling north for about three hours it is noticed that the the fog is kind of starting to kind of melt away and the trees are thinning out and the party comes out of the north of the Wistwood forest.
It’s really bright outside the forest. There’s a lot of sun out. After everyone’s vision kind of corrects itself, looking out and in the distance across a large lake, a small village. There are multiple smoke fires coming up out of the village as if some of the buildings are on fire.
Maleth pulls out his spy glass to take a closer look into the distance. Most of the village is in pretty good shape.
The houses are kind of close together. Sort of ramshackle random. There’s not like a street with, you know, houses of facing. It’s not like, in order. It’s like they were building all kinds of random directions and there’s little paths running through the houses.
A little group of soldiers or something moving and they’re carrying something and then they jump. Maleth really only sees it for like a split second because they they’re just out in the view and then they’re behind another building
Up in the sky there doesn’t seem to be any birds.
Off in the distance there is a something that appears to be a large tree branch on the ground, but it’s shape is peculiar. Maleth takes a look at the object using his spy glass. It’s a feather. A massive feather.
Richard leads the party to the village traveling around the lake. Ember, Maleth, and Brahi realize that they have been to this village before. In their experience with the gnome village at Christmas.
The party finds the dragon tank. Upon closer inspection it seems to have taken significant fall damage. A strange fluid seems to be leaking from the tank and there is a large claw mark on the side of the metal tank. Taco empties his oil flasks to gather up the strange orange fluid.
Making it to the edge of the village the party enters by stepping over the village walls as they were built to be tall only by gnome standards. There is no activity seen in the village.
In the distance a huge griffen is seen swooping toward the party in the village. It appears to be many thousand feet away. The party all have time to get into position. Maleth and Jarvis take cover behind some of the buildings. Richard equips his Raven headed mace and his shield. Taco takes cover in an alley between buildings.
Brahi laments that he no longer has the special bolt he used against Necroffa. He loads a bolt into his crossbow and fires as the griffin approaches. The bolt hits it’s target. Brahi observes that some feathers fall off, but that the creature doesn’t appear to take any damage.
Maleth fires his bow at the griffin. The creature seems to cry out in pain.
Ember takes position on the top of one of the buildings with Trussnot at her side.
A group of 3 gnomes soldiers led by another creature are spotted running through the village. The soldiers are transporting three large speckled eggs using a tarp. The eggs are almost as big as they are.
Richard uses the ability granted by his mace and deploys his wings. He ascends 120 feet strait up as much as he is able.
The griffin lands in the village crushing a building.
Taco leaves his cover to take a shot at the griffin. He hits and grounds the already grounded creature.
No one’s really close enough to hear anything over the Griffin’s noise and the buildings crackling and collapsing. The black kobold accompanying the gnome soldiers casts a spell creating a wall of fire between them and the griffin. Maleth is able to see what happened from his vantage point behind cover.
The soldiers and the kobold dash in the direction toward Maleth.
Brahi and Maleth see the kobold in red robes and realize for the first time that it is not the same race as the gnome soldiers.
The griffin continues to make it’s way toward the middle of the village. The griffin lunges in to take a massive bite and Brahi blocks the griffin using his hammer.
Ember tries to use the power of the babble relic to understand and communicate with the griffin, but it seems to be of no use.
Taco takes a shot with his gun. The loud blast gets the griffins attention and before it can turn it’s head to see what caused the loud noise it feels the impact of the musket ball hit it in the beak. The impact is in the same point where it had previously been hit with the hammer and a piece of it’s beak is busted off making it’s bite attack less of a threat. Taco ducks back to cover before the griffin can swing it’s head to see where the sound of the blast came from.
Maleth quietly pulls back on his bow string and after lining up his shot releases. The arrow flies true and hits the griffin.
Ember breaks into a sprint and leaps off of the rooftop of the building she had been. She yells out mid air, “Beautiful mother, stop attacking this town. I will get your eggs back”. She lands one of the gnome soldiers knocking him prone and then activates the lightning damage from her dragon bone rapier toward the kobold wizard. The stream of electricity blows back the hood of the the black scaled kobold, revealing it’s face to the party for the first time. Ember sees that despite the massive blow the kobold is not yet staggered.
A strange madness effect takes hold of all creatures within 60 feet of ember.
Brahi hears the words running through his head “Now have no fear my friend, I’m the greatest warrior that ever lived. There’s no foe that we can’t on overcome.”
Ember hears, “I keep my dear friend’s ear with me. Always, as long as i have it. I know he can still hear me.”
Taco hears, “I grow weary of being exploited and taken advantage of all the time. From now on, I give the orders around here.”
Maleth hears, “I must close every door. I walk through it. Keeps the old one at bay.”
Trussnot hears, “Ever since my tribe was invaded, there’s been something wrong with you.” (Richard)
Brahi charges the griffin and hits it with his hammer. The griffin is shaken from the blow and massive feathers are knocked loose and begin falling to the ground.
The griffin swipes at Brahi with it’s massive talons.
Tussnot moves to the edge of the rooftop and with his whip attacks the soldier that ember had previously landed upon.
Richard flies in and lands lands next to the kobold. He swings with the mace and smites the kobold. The kobold is staggered from the blow.
Richard swings his mace again and smites the kobold again. The kobold’s skull is busted from the blow and he falls to the ground dead. The soldiers seem to have a change in composure, as if they may have previously been compelled somehow. They fall on one knee and begin to hold their heads.
The griffin moves to attack one of the soldiers that had her eggs. She swipes her talons at the soldier and he falls to the ground from the attack.
Brahi moves up to the griffin again and hits with his hammer. The griffin lets out a terrible screech.
The griffin swipes it’s talons at trussnot he is flung off of the rooftop and is knocked unconscious. He stops breathing.
In a rage Ember stabs a gnome soldier in the face repeatedly until it dies. She mutters, “I’m gonna kill every person in this town and i might kill that griffin.” She then moves to Trussnot’s fallen body.
Taco ducks out from his cover and shoots the griffin grounding it once again.
Maleth shouts out that if we let the griffin take her eggs she might leave and spare the village. He readys an action to shoot the griffin if it engages with any of his allies.
Taco shoots the griffin and then hides. The griffin is hurt but still standing.
Brahi swings his hammer and hits. Feathers rain from above from the blow. He swings and hits again. The griffin screeches out in pain.
Richard gathers up the eggs in the tarp and takes flight. The eggs are quite large, but Richard is able to manage the weight. He flies right up to the griffins head and hovers. The griffin focuses all her attention on Richard.
The griffin stares down Richard and gets down on all four with it’s wings tucked back.
Ember cries out, “We have given you back your eggs. Please leave this village. We do not wish to fight anymore.” She readies an action to attack with her lightning should it attack any of her party?
Ember moves to the body of her slain comrade Trussnot.
Taco holds an action to shoot the griffin if it attacks.
Richard holds out the eggs and slowly lands at the griffins feet gently putting down the eggs and laying out the the eggs. He then backs up so that the griffin can take the eggs.
Brahi attacks the griffin from behind. The griffin turns and attacks Brahi with her talons. Taco and Maleth in turn fire from their held actions.
The griffin takes another attack on Brahi. It turns and bites Brahi. The damage is bad, but not as bad as it could have been before when the griffin’s beak was undamaged.
Richard flies over to Trussnot and casts Lay on hands. The life returns to Trussnots body. Ember looks up from Trussnot’s body to Richards face. This man has saved her and the goblin over and over risking himself selflessly.
The griffin gathers up it’s eggs in one talon and with the other talon attacks Brahi. Brahi stumbles from the attack his life growing week but his resolve to kill the creature remains strong.
Taco fires his gun at the griffin keeping it grounded.
Maleth fires a flaming arrow at the griffin. It lets out another thundering screech.
Richard gathers up his shield that he had laid down to pick up the eggs and unable to take an action due the screech bends a knee to the griffin. He hopes that the griffin would take it’s eggs and leave in peace.
Brahi continues to attack the griffin with his hammer.
The griffin extends it’s wings and gets just off the ground.
Maleth shoots his arrow. The arrow hits the griffin in the neck and it loses flight. The griffin slumps over and falls on the gnomes great hall and killing all the gnome soldiers inside. The griffin protects it’s eggs right to the end and after falling down it rolls the eggs to safety and takes it’s last breath.
The villagers start to come out of hiding. They see the fallen griffin that had been attacking the village and the heros that stopped the griffin. The party brokers peace between the gnome village and Northgate.
The townsfolk over time cut up the griffin meat and serve it as food before it spoils.
Taco builds a stronghold for his research and to retire. A house of gears.
Brahi’s network of informants is expanded far and wide.
Maleth builds an outpost outside of town to guard the lake and the wilderness.
Richard returns to Northgate with Ember and Trussnot. He hangs up his mace and shield and returns to the forge and the anvil. He and ember live in peace within the walls of Northgate with Trussnot.