Once the dust had cleared from Glug’s: How To Open a Mine in Four Easy Sticks tutorial (get it… instead of steps, I said sticks… ‘cause it took four sticks of dynamite to blow open the mine... you’re welcome) the group is confronted by a none-to-impressed knight of the darker variety. After quickly and openly voicing his disdain and perceived lack of potential of the party the knight rides off into the sunset on his shadowy steed.
The crew head back to town with up-to-date mine news for Dirt, but not before asking Gruddy about the who, what, when, and where of their newest acquaintance -- of which she had little knowledge. Entering into Dirt’s GSFSWHBB&DA the crew proceeds to enlighten the small business owner of his family’s demise. He responded with disbelief… mostly. After a couple mugs of Pickle Stout, it was time for some Pillory exploration as they waited for a local merchant to get back to work. Realizing there was not much to see in the run-down town other than some rags, a net, some fishhooks, and by Mokon’s EXTREMELY engaging storytelling to local fisherchildren a cheap spear. (Oh, and during that time Glug evaporated or some such nonsense… the party didn’t seem very concerned so why should I?)
Back to the bar. Nom and Fey take some time training their newest canine pal with limited success and the conundrum of why it always runs in a circle (oh, that’s ‘cause of his mangled tail… it’s like a fish with a catawampus fin that swims all spastic-like). Mokon’s boredom got the best of him so he started an arm-wrestling revolution beating a majority of the tougher bar patrons… and causing one, in particular, to get a little overzealous on his clearly lucky win. Fey the booky helped bring them in… as Mokon the strong-armed let em’ fall. Mokon did his best to avoid a fight that ultimately ended in a self-inflicted punch to the face and a clearly confused half-orc. (Yes my dim-witted friend, you just kicked your own ass.) Alora, let loose her vocals borrowing the late S.A.W.’s very impressive lute with a very impressive and somewhat lucrative musical number that left only a few dry eyes in the house.
Oh yeah, Glug. He’s still not here. Thinking Glug was one of the manacled creatures he asked the crew to catch, Saviir quickly explained that a turkey-sighted wizard would be of little use in the arena -- proving his point with a quick dagger-execution of the familial pet. Still not realizing Glug was here before (and Glug not really mentioning he had been), Saviir had a great plan albeit a plan with a significant amount of pain. With the help of Glen (the Kobold Surgeon with a very special scalpel), Glug now has a new koboldian eye -- complete with yellow iris and elongated pupil. Apparently, the new eye was all the Saviir needed to recognize the once imprisoned Glug. Insincerely apologizing to the dwarf, Saviir sends him back to the general area of his party… ah… close enough.
Fey, remembering her misplaced party member heads back to the scene of the crime to see if Glug is back… he isn’t, but after a few cat-calls and a Glug-induced invisibility prank, the group is reunited.
Occasionally, our heroes get a little distracted, this is one of those times. They realize the merchant was never actually pursued… they waited, explored, fought, sang, disappeared, and stole, but they never did look for the merchant who was sleeping semi-soundly in a tent by Dirt’s bar. Alora decided that sleeping is not a thing merchants should do and wakes up the poor schmuck to do some merchanting -- which he does not love. The sleepy merchant makes his way to his cart showing his general wares and also (due to Gruddy’s loose lips… in this case non-sexually) a little secret stash. Glug and Fey drive a hard bargain (maybe) and get an “ornate” dagger with a liquid-filled hilt and a “fine golden” seamless locket for a mere… all of their gold. Nice job guys. Mokon is eager for some new armor and is extremely willing to trade it for his emerald gem, but Alora sees gold and wants it all, talking Mokon out of his deal.
A short side conversation later, a few attempts at combining the four green gems, and a little too much Glug pressure cause one of the gems to break with a result of -- no success. Alora fires up her new create object ability and builds a perfect fused replica of what she believes the items would look like if they did indeed connect together. Unfortunately, the still groggy merchant did not take the bait, although he did appreciate the attempt letting Alora know with a bump-respect call out on his way past.
Having slept only 6 hours prior, the group decided to head to Gruddy’s ole stomping ground to retrieve her locket. Due to the luck of the dice, the group has little opposition in their travels save a goblin-infested tower and bugbear-ridden lands. First instincts: Glug - go invisible, Fey - shoot the big guy in the face with fire, Alora - chat em’ up, Mokon - check me out on this big rock, Nom - NAMELESS CROOKED-TAILED PUPPY IS SO CUTE!!! After a few short conversations, the team heard enough, and Alora blasts two of the three hulking figures with a thunderous wave (later wondering why she was lying unconscious on the ground). After a perfectly estimated battle for their current skill level and a well-placed although incorrectly used goblin-flung healing potion, the group is victorious (other than the two bugbears that have run off beating one another (one of whom is wearing a thorny crown with madness in his eyes) and Nom who is vengefully pursuing).