Act 2 / Episode 2 -- Hunclay's Cave, Part 3 -- Shepherd's Bounty, Shalora's Report, and Hunter's Humour (October 5, 2014)

Having slain the dire wolf that had been preying on the sheep at the Abrassus Ranch and having discovered Hunclay’s secret cave and its hidden treasures, the companions decided that they would perform the grisly and unpleasant task of severing the wolf’s head and then bring it to ol’ Prake Abrassus to claim the bounty, before returning to the cave with their ponies, Speckles and Sparkles, in order to haul back the heavy chests.

As the companions turned on Wolf Hill Road an hour or so later heading toward Abrassus Ranch, Shalora saw the awed and then sad looks on the faces of some of Eudomas Biton’s children, whose hunting lodge was at the junction of Devy and Wolf Hill Roads. Eudomas had a large family to support with very limited means, but the children now knew that their father would not claim the bounty on the wolf -- as a matter of fact, he was still out in the woods searching for the beast. 

Ol’ Prake, usually a dour pessimist, was overjoyed when the heroes turned up an hour or so later at his ranch with the bloody and singed wolf head pierced by a wooden stake carried by Jiri and Iacobus (?). The old man said he would waste no time mounting it in a prominent location overlooking his lands as a warning to other lupine thieves, and as a trophy for the whole community to see. He was endlessly thankful for the companions, and paid them the advertised sum of 800 gold coins -- an astonishingly generous bounty, given that it was paid by a shepherd! -- which constituted most of the savings Prake and his family had accumulated over generations (he explained that the ranch had been in this location for centuries, and that the name of the road leading to it, and hill behind it, had changed as a result of wolf packs migrating into the area in recent years; relocating would be both impractical and likely would not have changed the situation much, anyway). But the bounty was worth every copper he paid out, he said, for his livelihood was now more secure. Shalora immediately provided her full share of the bounty to the Biton children, whose spirits immediately lifted... her gift could support the whole family for a long time to come! Jiri and Akiro both donated 50 gold coins each back to Ol’ Prake, feeling that he needed the money more than they did. Tears welled in his eyes at the companions’ generosity, and he promised to give Akiro a lamb for a pet, wool blankets for the entire party, and meat with which Talia Orem could make a meal, once they returned to the inn in the evening. Iacobus was satisfied that he had fulfilled his end of the agreement and had done a great service to the shepherd, and therefore felt no need to return or redistribute his share of the reward.

The 18th of Gozran was a Fireday -- market day in Belhaim. Like the previous weeks, vendors had set up stalls on the green across from the inn. The most prominent goods for sale included fish and beautiful pottery (Belhaim’s primary industries and exports), but also included, among other things, game meat, seasonal vegetables, wool garments, leather goods, knives and tools, fresh and dried herbs, liquor, cheese, and bread and flour. Quite a few folks -- mostly humans and rainbow-haired gnomes -- had apparently come out of the woods or on river barges to attend the market, but Kroc was not around on this day. The companions had a nice leisurely lunch at the inn before heading back to Hunclay’s Cave.

Once the companions loaded the chests onto the ponies and prepared to make the return journey to Belhaim, Eudomas Biton emerged from the forest and saw the wolf carcasses on the side of the road. The man was crushed -- he felt that as the local hunter, he had the best shot at finding and slaying the dire wolf -- but the pack had eluded him by traveling over rocky highlands where their spoor had been harder to follow. He eventually found it again... but too late... He, too, was astonished by the size of the pack leader -- he had never seen so big a wolf in these parts before. Clearly, the companions’ hunting skills were better than he had expected. The companions pointed out that had Eudomas been alone, the pack probably would have killed him. The man reluctantly admitted to Shalora that the income from the bounty would have made it significantly easier to support his family. His wife had passed away some years earlier, and he had many mouths to feed. When Shalora informed him that she had given her share of the bounty to his children, he showed a mix of gratitude and wounded pride... The father would have wanted to be the one to provide for his family rather than having to rely on the charity of strangers, and the hunter wanted to be the talk of the town. Still, he acknowledged that the heroes had been kind to his family -- Iacobus had payed some of his older children to help him haul out treasure from the ruins of the Witch Tower, and now the party had made their lives significantly easier with this latest, very generous gift. Eudomas told the party he would buy them drinks at the inn that night... in the meantime, he salvaged what he could of the wolf hides (the dire wolf hide was of no value, singed as it was) while the companions traveled back to town.

Iacobus returned to the inn alone to take stock of the magical items that the party had recovered from both Hunclay’s estate and cave, while Shalora, Akiro and Jiri brought the chests filled with coin and non-magical tomes to Lady Devy. Shalora took the opportunity to provide the baroness with a flighty, rambling update regarding progress on the group’s latest assignment: “Investigations are ongoing... Iacobus is assessing some dangerous books... The mansion is mostly ready but we need to do one more sweep... There were demons and devils inside (still are)... And this huge, ugly scary monster in the cave -- oh my god you should have seen it! -- but Akiro chop-chopped it dead!... But we’ll have the manor sorted out soon...” Jiri could not help but add: “We probably did a lot better than your men would have done.”

Lady Devy and Arnholde seemed worried upon getting confirmation that there were demons and devils in Hunclay Manor, and another horror that defied description in a nearby cave. Arnholde was quick to acknowledge that the constabulary certainly would have been outmatched by such a task, and that Shalora (“and the others, of course”) had once again her exceptional skill and bravery... he reaffirmed his awe and admiration for her. The unsettled baroness thanked the companions for their report, and for their honesty in returning the chest and money from the cave, which would be sent to Hunclay’s cousin in Yanmass... and she hoped that the demons and devils in the manor would be destroyed soon.

A carefree Shalora left Devy Manor with an absent-minded Akiro and thirsty Jiri, leaving behind an alarmed baroness and her son. The trio returned to the inn, sat down for a satisfying supper of mutton stews with Iacobus, and were soon joined by Ol’ Prake and some of his family and neighbours, and also by Eudomas Biton, who ordered the companions drinks throughout the evening. Ol’ Prake brought the companions heavy, warm, good quality sheep’s wool blankets as promised, and he also brought Akiro his promised lamb. The paladin was in heaven. Isadorer and Bophre Malak also came to the inn that evening, bringing two jugs of milk for the companions (but placing them in front of Akiro), Bophre smiling shyly at the confused Tian warrior with star-crossed eyes.

Shalora improvised a song about the party’s battle with the wolf, accompanied by Akiro on the flute. The performance was... uneven... but the audience clapped and cheered politely, glad to be supporting the heroes that had slain the beast. Ol’ Prake interrupted the performance at one point to publicly acknowledge the party’s good deeds, and to invite townsfolk to drop by his ranch to see the unbelievably huge wolf head: “He won’t be bothering my flock no more!” he said to wide applause. “I hope he doesn’t have a big brother who’ll take his place,” he then muttered.

Eudomas looked a little down throughout the evening, but at one point asked Iacobus whether the magus was “together” with Shalora. When the magus denied any romantic involvement with the elf, Eudomas made some crude remarks to the effect that she must be hot in the sack and that he would love to bed her... after all, an elf that followed Shelyn... she must be into free love and all that, right? Would Iacobus mind if he gave it a shot? Iacobus gave Eudomas a cold stare and bluntly stated that he would listen to not another word on the subject... and promptly left the table, annoyed with the noise, crowd, and crass and inane conversations he was having with the local bumpkins.  

Eudomas still managed to share some of his fine humour with Jiri while Akiro and Shalora kept entertaining the locals with their fine music:

“A father has three daughters that are all getting married on the same day. He asks his oldest daughter, ‘Who do you wish to marry?’ She says, “Father, I wish to marry the man with three dragons on his chest.’ He walks over to his second daughter and asks her the same question. She replies, ‘Father, I wish to marry the man with two dragons on his chest.’ He then goes to his youngest daughter and asks her the same thing: ‘Who do you wish to marry?’ She replies, ‘I wish to marry the man with one draggin’ on the floor!”

The hunter slapped the table, and laughed and laughed at his own joke. Jiri rolled his eyes and responded in kind:

"What do you call nuts on the wall?" asked the dwarf. The drunken hunter thought about it for a few moments, but came up blank.

"Walnuts! What do you call nuts on your chest?"

"I got it, I got it -- chestnuts!"

"What do you call nuts on your chin?"

"Uh… ummm… uh…" stammered Eudomas.

"A mouth full of cock!"

The hunter burst out laughing… but was left wondering whether he was deemed to be the one with the mouth full of cock? That would not be so funny.

In the meantime, Iacobus packed up all the magical tomes and items that he had stored in his room, left the stupidity and noise (including the awful musical performances of his companions) of the packed inn, went and fetched Mathezic, and decided that he would get some true rest by having the servant pour him a hot bath before sleeping in the comfort of a powerful (if dead) wizard’s bed, close to all his books, magical items and astronomical instruments. When refreshed in the morning, the magus would memorize the spells he required to review the contents of Hunclay’s spellbooks and start the task of identifying all the arcane items they had come across in the quiet of the manor. 

But darker powers had other things in mind for the magus...