Hunters of the Golden Fox

GM: Andrew Szilvasy
Players: Nicholas Vlamis, Tim Jones
Characters: Cassius, Siobhan, Erkan, Aurelian, Poldmere, Nobbins Quickthumb (named this session); with Naganin

Summary

The session opened with the party (and GM) working out exactly how the Rope of Unburdening works — it only makes an object weightless while someone is actively pulling or lifting it by the rope itself, and it loses its magic if cut. Perfect, they decided, for dragging an incapacitated dragon.

King Hogboon’s directions put the Tomb of Sir Brandon due east across the river — not north as they’d assumed. Since they were already curious about the mountains and the missing dwarves (and Warwick the smith had offered his Mithril chainmail in exchange for dwarven ore and news of his friends), the party chose to head north into the mountains first, planning to return for the sword later. Along the way they spotted a lonely cave at the base of the mountains, ringed by trees that looked acid-scarred rather than burned — almost certainly the barrow holding the sword (and possibly dragon territory) — but decided to leave it alone for now.

They were then trailed by a shimmering, golden-haired fox, clearly a magical fey creature. Siobhan entangled it with a spell, calmed and fed it, and the party fashioned a rope harness (around its chest, not its neck) to keep it — a decision that would matter a great deal later that night.

Reaching the mountains, they found the burned-out remains of a log cabin and, behind it, an old mine shaft entrance sealed by a cave-in. Clearing debris in the cabin, they found a burned dwarf corpse, a mining pick engraved with the name “Brenni” (not a name they recognized), and a magical silver beard comb worth about 300 GP that instantly cleans and beautifies a beard — which the bearded fighter tried out to his own embarrassment.

That night, hunting hounds and a group of six fae elven hunters — pale-skinned, pointed-eared, richly furred — tracked the golden fox to the party’s camp. Aurelian the alchemist laid down a magical Command Ward at the cabin’s doorway; when the hunters crossed it, five of six fell under its “sleep” command. A tense standoff followed, with the remaining hunter trying to negotiate the fox’s return, but the party (rightly suspecting the fae wouldn’t let it go) decided to fight. Naganin flew the elves high into the air and dropped them to their deaths one by one, and the party made short work of the hunting dogs and hunters, taking no real injuries in the process. They looted silver short swords, silver daggers, silver arrows, a silver-tipped spear, and valuable fae furs from the bodies.

Before ending for the night, they began digging into the sealed mine shaft. About 30 minutes in, they uncovered another dead dwarf — killed in the cave-in — wearing a pristine ring. Nobbins the thief put the ring on, and immediately saw the ghost of a dwarf named Grimney (a name they’d heard before, from the witch). Grimney asked Nobbins to carry the ring to his twin brother, Broll, to the west, and to tell him how he died — revealing that Broll had stolen a hoard of treasure and is now holed up in a cave to the west. The session ended here, with Nobbins set to question Grimney’s ghost further next time.

Important Details Discovered

• Tomb of Sir Brandon is due east across the river from Hogboon’s territory, not north.
• A likely dragon lair / the sword’s barrow: a cave at the base of the mountains surrounded by acid-scarred (not fire-burned) trees — noted, not yet explored.
• Warwick the smith will trade his Mithril chainmail for metal from the dwarven mine plus information about his missing dwarf friends.
• Rope of Unburdening mechanics clarified: makes a tied object weightless only while being pulled/lifted via the rope; loses its magic if cut; can be wrapped around a limb, neck, etc.
• Faun wine (from the wine grove) has 3 doses left. Established rule: 1/3 of a wineskin dose can incapacitate a dragon, 1/3 a giant, and 1/3 will knock out a number of goblins equal to a D20 roll.
• Grimney’s brother is named Broll — he stole a hoard of treasure and is hiding in a cave to the west; Grimney’s ghost (bound to a ring) wants Nobbins to deliver the ring and news of his death to him.
• Alchemist wards: Aurelian can maintain one of each ward type at a time (versus swords, versus insanity/magical influence, and a Command ward that forces obedience to a one-word command on anyone crossing its boundary) — will be able to sustain more as he levels up.
• The golden fox is confirmed to be a valuable fae creature — enough that a pack of elven hunters treated its loss as worth fighting and dying over.

Treasure Found

• Silver beard comb — magical, ~300 GP, instantly grooms a beard
• A magical golden fox — captured alive, clearly valuable (exact worth unknown)
• Silver weapons looted from the slain fae hunters: 6 quivers of silver arrows, 2 silver daggers, 6 silver short swords, and a silver-tipped spear
• Fae furs — 6 total, elaborately made, worth roughly 50 GP each to the right buyer (~300 GP)
• A mining pick engraved with the name “Brenni”
• A pristine dwarven ring — currently worn by Nobbins the thief, ghost-linked to the spirit of Grimney

Next Session Plans

• Continue questioning Grimney’s ghost via the ring
• Decide whether to pursue Broll (Grimney’s treasure-thieving twin brother) to the west
• Eventually head east across the river to the Tomb of Sir Brandon for the legendary sword
• Investigate the acid-scarred cave near the mountains (likely dragon-related) when ready