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The Doubley-Doos ex parte arrived at Biel to speak with the Hearing House about a possible plot to impersonate representatives and infiltrate the government. They managed to convince the Grand Chancellor of the Hearing House there was at least some validity to their claims, and after they revealed that some of them had previously fought Klaas, the Grand Chancellor decided to use this to the House’s benefit. She proposed the Doubley-Doos take on an assignment based on field operative intel that one of Klaas’s lieutenants was gathering forces for an assault on the half-orc settlement Gjohammer. Since they were a small band, they were to hurry down there, see if they could gather some facts about the army, and report back. The Doubley-Doos agreed, mostly because of the size of the payout.

Before setting off, they stumbled across some Hearing House guards dragging a goblin man out of his home in front of his wife and child, the guards claiming the man was in league the Shrillbeast clan. Shelby and Dormin, incensed at the rough treatment of the man, attempted to pry information about his arrest from the Grand Chancellor, but she claimed ignorance about any specifics. She did confirm that the guards were under orders to bring in anyone that was suspected of aligning with the Shillbeast clan. She added that it’s just a well known truth that the goblin population is unhappy in general and more likely to cause trouble. With Klaas out there, it’s better to err on the side of caution.

Frustrated, the group set out on horseback. On the second night, while on watch, Dormin spotted a family of goblins travelling by darkness. He called out to them, and they apprehensively approached the camp. They said they were heading north, fleeing southern Iounin, which had become a hotbed of armed clashes between goblin tribes and Hearing House troops. Shelby suggested they to head to Biel where they might be safer, gifting them gold and a note addressed to Trent Rockhammer at the Fisherman’s Inn requesting he keep them safe.

On the sixth day of travel, the party arrived at the outskirts of Gjohammer. To their shock, the city was already surrounded by a massive goblin army comprised of multiple goblin clans, all aligned under the Shrillbeast banner. Conflict seemed imminent. Dormin, because he could disguise himself, attempted to make his way to the city alone. Disguising himself as a hobgoblin and sneaking through the camp, he made his way to the entrance of the city. Throwing around Marianne Ravenswood’s name, he managed to convince the guards to let him inside and informed them that they were sent by the Hearing House to gather intel on Klaas and his lieutenants. 

The Gjohammer troops worked up a plan with Dormin to slip one of their own out with him using an old smuggling tunnel. Once out, he would ride for Biel to alert the Hearing House of the situation and request reinforcements. Once outside, however, Shelby suggested they use their emergency call for Yzzod to help give the young half-orc a faster ride to Biel. Once they were off, the Doubley-Doos prepared for battle. 

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Alternate title: The Gang Joins a War.

This session seemed to go really well for the most part. There were two issues I had, and they were with my planning and execution.

1) I had anticipated them trying to sneak through the camp, but I didn’t think about they’re other real magic user being out, so only Dormin could disguise himself. That, unfortunately, caused the other two to sit aside doing nothing while Dormin stealthed. This was fine, and I think the actual stealthing went pretty well — Jaz definitely seemed affected by the tension and danger of the situation, but I felt bad that Brandon and Steph had basically nothing to do.

2) Since I had been anticipating everyone being together, I felt the need to rush through Dormin’s arrival at Gjohammer. It should’ve been more difficult to convince them he was on the up and up, and moreover, if they had these smuggling tunnels…why hadn’t they used them already? I should have had both a better message for them to deliver to Gjohammer and a reason those tunnels hadn’t been used.

That said, things seem to be going well, and I’m excited for the combat that is about to happen. It’s been A WHILE since they’ve had a good combat, and I’m hoping to make this as fun and dynamic as possible.

Steph’s decision to use Yzzod’s gem was a great idea, and she definitely earned inspiration for that.

All on all, the session went fine, and everyone seemed to have fun, but I’d give myself a C – for actual planning and execution. I hope to think through things more going forward, especially after the spate of good news we’ve had recently.

Till next time!

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