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Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Lost Dispatches of Feraso #13 - Griffon's Cove

Griffon's Cove, Viscounty of Verbobonc

To His Lordship, the Viscount Wilfrick of Verbobonc,

I must be honest with my Lord, I have been negligent with my correspondence, but enduring the rigors of being a wanted man and navigating back into Verbobonc have not afforded me sufficient time to pen a letter suitable for you to read it during your busy schedule.

We left Dolksford in haste, but with our equipment, our supplies, and the spoils we claimed from Old Illefarn.

While it may not favor me to claim such things if your taxmen are within sight of this letter, the "Order of Merit" and myself split well over two thousand gold coins between the five of us.  We were quick to discard of the miscellaneous gems and jewelry as a way to buy temporary safety or supplies, although I'm quite certain a qualified bounty hunter would work through most of these simple agreements with great ease.

We followed the Mer Nor Road south into the Barony of Valkurl.   I remember very little communication or commerce with our direct neighbor to the north and I can see why.  The Brinkerberg Mountains are cold, rocky, and windswept. Fearing Runholf and Melfarm each sending men against us, we passed at staying at the peculiarly named village of Buckkett in favor a small trail leading further into the mountains, and hopefully reaching the western boundary of Willip.

Overnight travel through the buffeting winds and sea mist led us to the the small mining town of Temton.  The five of us riding into this town must have been a peculiar site for this collection dwarves, gnomes, and humans, but the glitter of shiny gems to overpay for food and accommodations at least kept the talk away from our window.

It was at Temton that we managed to review our more precious spoils using Alwin's divination from our dearest Akana.

Morya's new battle axe from Old Illefarn was of fine dwarven craftsmanship and imbued with considerable arcane power.

Murag's suit of dwarf-size plate that he had smuggled out of crypts of Old Illefarn had similar qualities.

And my infernal stone?  Certifiably magical, creates or summons elemental beings of stone or earth, and the back portion which controls the creatures... is incomplete.  Like my time in Dolksford, I'll be using this item as a weapon of last resort, with well-marked escape routes.

We navigated through the mountains and finally reached the Barony of Willip.  A few troublesome encounters with wildlife pretending to be brigands (or hired men) made us stay out of Willip City, and actual brigand activity west towards Caltaran made me plead to my companions to take a side trek to reach home of Verbobonc.  The Old Gnarley Wood Road proved to have plenty of its own challenges.

After days of shortened rests making camp in the woods, we were delighted to see the small village of Griffon's Cove.  Consisting of little more than a few woodmen, trappers, and a provisioner, inn, and tavern crammed into something no bigger than a small barn, it was a welcome respite.
Some of the better-looking inhabitants of Griffon's Cove
It appears the guides and woodsman supplement their income by leading treasure seekers to some ruins of a Temple to Akana that may date back to the First Empire.

I'm not sure what to make of an enterprise to make a profit off of graverobbers, but if Alwin believes they aren't harming anything with their endeavors, I'll follow the priest's lead.

Of course, Alwin also may be suffering from the effects of our arduous journey.  He's slept most of the last day in the inn, only waking to devour a hearty dinner course with two ales, to sleep through the following morning.

Whit, the owner of the Griffon's Cove Inn, is a older man with crude spectacles, who provides a hearty meal and barely palatable grog for a cheap rate.  He also bestowed upon us with some healthy advice:  Turn around.

He has warned us that the next village west on the OId Gnarley Road is not to be trifled with.  I've never heard of it, but before this week, no one knew the Griffon's Cove existed either.  Whit says it's a river port, but full of vulgar boatsmen and scallywags.

I've been convinced by Whit to send this letter to My Honorable Lord, via a young man with a fast horse and a knack for evading trouble on the main River Road.

The rest of the group wishes to visit this village and continue our journey.  I'm unsure as to the outcome I wish, so I pray My Lordship receives this letter without delay.

Your Humble Servant

Elsderth Greyhawk
Sellsword and Sage of the Order of Merit

GM Notes:  A little more expansion of Ras-Prythax before heading back to Verbobonc with some campaign related stuff.  

Morya is wielding a Battle Axe +2, Morag smuggled out a dwarf-sized suit of Plate Mail +2, and Elsderth possesses a Stone of Earth Elemental Summoning with a small problem of controlling them.  

Next:  #14 - Nulb

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