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Primeheart and Kali woke up in the massive hammock at the Skyroot camp. After morning prayers, they made their way into Cinderhaven, encountering a portly gentleman with a small herd of strange horses. His name was Seamus and he was planning on selling these creatures at the auction in Graywall. The horses had thin necks that were tied back to not move and, as per Seamus, were prized for their meat, which made the duo uneasy. They decided then that they wanted to save these creatures. They worked at the Temple of the Prime Gods and Primeheart eventually split off to devote some time to the Nature Temple.
Nathan woke up at his estate before Mari and made breakfast for the two of them, serving it in bed. After eating, he applied the sunflower oil to his scar and made his way to Owen for training. If he worked at this for 250 hours, he assuredly would gain the necessary skills. Mari spent her morning working at her shop and then at the Nature Temple. Oisin simply enjoyed a quiet, calm morning with Pinból, making him breakfast.
The Beer Forge was slammed that day. Primeheart offered to get Kali and Oisin food, making his way toward the bar. He and Ivy discussed how busy it was and Ivy intuited that the hiatus due to Yoth’s prank might have triggered this, so her desire to kill him was lessened. Primeheart agreed, but expressed that Yoth shouldn’t know this and be inspired to reenact the prank. He got two irons and a large platter of vegetable skewers for the table.
Binxie appeared and displayed distaste that there was no meat offered. Nathan and Mari followed directly after and Nathan offered to buy Binxie a platter of meat skewers. Primeheart expressed that if Binxie wanted good meat, then the camp could host a barbecue. The party discussed the horses and all agreed to look into it, sharing concern.
Two beefy, well-dressed half-orcs entered the tavern, followed by Anica. The drow Councilor asked to talk to Nathan and expressed her opinion that Nyx was a trustworthy individual of many talents. She felt that he and the group should give them a chance. It devolved quickly into a lesson on how everyone has a price to backstab loved ones. Anica then asked about Kali’s temple and expressed that she would like to visit soon to discuss it. Kali gave Primeheart a gift of a wooden holy symbol of Uhn, something he cherished dearly. The party decided that Pinbol might be a good addition to auction-going.
At Pinból’s, they discovered that his “front” door was not only a swirling portal of death, but also growled now. When asked, Oisin explained that locks can be picked, so there’s no reason to lock the door. Within, Pinból was in the kitchen making sandwiches. He knew of the auction and the person, Breedmaster Seamus who was known for his animal husbandry. When Lash, Primeheart’s three-toed sloth companion, was brought up as a potential friend for Binxie, he expressed interest. Everyone warned him that she was slow, but holding back incredible power. This pleased Primeheart. Pinból went to change for the auction, returning with a brown glitter beard to blend in.
The auction at Graywall had many stages that were separated by the types of auctions offered, including one for monstrosities. The party saw the horse auction was packed and were able to get seats in the back, with Pinból getting a paddle with the number 16969. Sixteen was the number of the stage and 969 was the number of the paddle.
As they discussed where the horses might actually be sold, Binxie left to retrieve a listing for the monstrosities. At the same time, Kali asked an attendant about Seamus and was informed that he just arrived and was a late addition. The auction began with the work horses, moving on to the food horses, and finally the mounts. During the food portion, 16 of the strange horses were walked across the stage and the bidding started at 500gp for 6 of them. Nathan offered 600gp, but was eventually overtaken and the final price ended up being 3000gp.
Nathan approached the buyer, a snobby individual named Lord Ollard who planned on taking them to Highwater, and asked if he could sketch the creatures, seeming to be interested. The man agreed, seeing no problem with it, and left to set up a viewing. Back with the group, Nathan was approached by a female attendant with auburn hair and glasses named Bright, who informed him that the horse was prepared for viewing and to follow her. She agreed to allow Primeheart, Mari, and Oisin to attend as well,
Kali chose to go and purchase chickens with Binxie and Pinból instead. Binxie expressed that Nathan promised to buy him anything he wanted and Pinból offered to purchase it and have Nathan reimburse him. Binxie chose an animal and 120 gp was spent on a small bird with a muzzle and blindfold.
At the stable, one of the horses was tied in profile. The group was able to notice that the horse never opened its mouth and its front legs moved significantly more than the rear. Nathan began to sketch and asked questions about it, most being rebuffed. Oisin tried talking to it and then stealthily detected magic on it, noting illusion magic. This was noticed and Bright, feeling it was suspicious, asked them to leave.
The group joined up with Kali and Pinból, who had a small wagon holding chickens and a strange bird-like creature. It turned out to be a cockatrice that Binxie named Waffles. Nathan paid Pinból back without issue. Kali named her chickens: Hen Solo, Princess Layia, and Amelia Egghart. Nathan made his way to the bird auction and came back with a barn owl that he named Caoilfhoinn (Kee-linn).
Kali expressed that she wanted to take the chickens to her temple immediately. Binxie wanted to go to Tip to Tail to get a bit and saddle made for the cockatrice as a mount. As the party also discussed how they could potentially free the illusioned horses, Pinból offered to run the errands so that the group could focus on their goal.
Primeheart approached a guard and inquired about Lord Ollard, who had just left 5 minutes prior. Unless they got proof of their accusation, nothing could be done to Lord Ollard by the guard. The majority of the party made their way to intercept the caravans, with Mari beast shaping into a horse for Nathan. Primeheart lagged behind as he was not able to keep up with the speed necessary.
Kali was able to get ahead of the carts and attempted to slow them down with a Gust of Wind, ducking away as they got closer. Primeheart cast Plant Growth from behind the carts, creating a 200ft wide area of thick vines and grasses, and slowed the carts down to a crawl. The guards around the carts yelled about an ambush and Primeheart, brandishing his holy symbol, said that he was a priest of the Nature Temple and would figure out the growth. He channeled divinity to charm the horses to stop them and crouched down to pretend to dispel the effect.
Oisin disguised himself and invisibly approached the backmost cart, picking the lock before reappearing. Noting that the horses were beginning to lose their charmed effect, Primeheart slogged his way through the growth and cast Animal Friendship on them, charming them for 24 hours. Oisin began to be threatened by a guard o
n the roof of the wagon and took a weighted crossbow bolt to the shoulder as he unlatched the door and opened it. Immediately the creatures within broke free and trampled Oisin with apparent claws. Mari channeled her druidic magic to heal Oisin and dispelled the magic on one of the horses, revealing a hippogriff, with a turkey-like front half and a horse back half.
The city guard was called as the wagon guard began to shackle Oisin. Mari beast shaped into a dog and went to retrieve Pinból. Ezra was brought out to talk to the wagon guard, the horses, and the hippogriffs. He noticed Primeheart, who began to leave as the druid walked away. The goliath seemed to be embarrassed by what he’d done.
Kali ran after him and convinced him to come back as Ezra discussed what had happened with Oisin. There were better ways to go about this than actively accosting wagons, but Ezra admitted that if there had been something serious at hand, the group would have been lauded as heroes. Pinból appeared with the cart, being led by Mari in dog-form.
Oisin spoke with Ezra about his goddess, which was well-received. Pinbó’ informed them that Binxie’s saddle would take a few days to complete.
Back at home, Pinból told Oisin that he wanted to retire in 100 years. He and Oisin discussed getting a cat and casting Awaken on it. The idea seemed promising to them.
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