SPQT -- A hunting we will go

It took me long enough to get around to this, but here's a summary of our last SPQT game. The previous one ended March 8, but I didn't make note of the time lapse, so Ben will have to fill in the dates. Presumably by the time we return to the village and Sofia begins the process of procuring the property it will be April.

Should Ben decide to continue SPQT, this property, though it will primarily serve as a source of amusement for me as I play at decorating, landscaping, and enchanting it, can also serve as an alternate headquarters for mini-adventures, may serve as a launchpad for another campaign arc if Ben decides he wants to hassle with our looking for the "source of monsters," and could even be the springboard for a new, low-level, retro-feel campaign if we decided we wanted to play low-level adventurers hired to keep the monster population down. But all that's as may be.

(Miscellaneous notes throughout March) The Tushara Highlands have been suffering from monster incursions this spring - enormous owlbears and such. Much talk among the men in town about hunting, the best ways to bring one down, etc... The ladies are all talking about a master pickpocket in town. I'm taking the precaution of having Gaius carry my cash when I go out. He's a less likely target than I am, and when put on his mettle in this way I think he's unlikely to let anyone put anything over on him in this way. What a strange education I'm giving that boy!...At the party last night I met a group of nobles boasting that they were going to the Highlands to "bag" the rogue owlbear. I wish them luck. Judging from the amount of wine they were discussing, I seem to have only heard the provisioning portion of their plans...Orcish armies are massing in the northeast. This fits in with that Xangese information we had earlier. Forewarned is forearmed...My agent reports a desirable-sounding property, but it's in the Tushara Highlands. Mater thinks it's out of the question, but I don't know. The neighbors could hardly object to my keeping Mandy in an area overrun by owlbears, and land prices are much lower up there...I hear it rumored that those poor idiots from the party have failed pretty spectacularly. Perhaps I should have remonstrated with them harder. The rumor has greatly increased Robyn and Alfredus's desire to go owlbear hunting, and the Sunshine Boys are also eager. I suppose if men weren't like this the wilderness would never have been cleared nor the Empire founded; still, I think I will go look at that property. If they're going to go looking for something to tear them apart, they should have someone in tow who will put them back together...

(A 3-day journey; Description of views, local economy, and similar prospective-buyer concerns snipped) Today we began encountering people who could tell us something about the owlbear and the missing nobles. The nobles were picnicking and drinking when the owlbear attacked them about a week ago. This is the last time anyone actually saw the creature, though a woodcutter disappeared 4 days ago, and the worst is suspected. We receive directions to the fatal picnic site, where Robyn detected evidence that the owlbear in question is about 20 feet tall! We located the property in which I am interested, where we learned that fresh owlbear sign had been spotted within the last two days. Robyn proceeded to talk to Lucius, a half-elf who is the local premier woodman, while I spoke to the overseer. (Overview of property snipped.) The villagers are putting us up overnight, and I am leaving the servants here - to Giulia's evident relief and Gaius's annoyance, only somewhat alleviated by my giving them instructions to discover certain things about the property for me, about which a buyer eager to sell my pardonably feel obliged to be more optimistic than reality warrants. I'm rather proud that no one has even hinted that I should remain behind. Though I will never contribute much to the actual hunt, the days of my being a liability in such a situation are over. We are hiring Lucius as native guide.

March 14 - Tracking is really very tedious, once you stop jumping every time a twig snaps. I'm trying to pay attention and understand what's going on, but except for the largest, clearest traces I can hardly ever tell what Lucius and Robyn are looking at, and it's generally much more pleasant and interesting to try to locate visually the quantity of birds singing in these woods, or to gather plants which I can take back to Decimus. (Two entry's worth of natural history notes snipped. )

March 15 - About the time we normally would have been making camp, Robyn declared that we were so close to the beast that we might as well press on. Not having the benefit of his low-light vision, I thought this a counterintuitive suggestion; but I was in the minority and Robyn's in charge for hunt matters, so on we pressed. When we saw it, we were perhaps 50 yards away from it, "upwind." Everyone but Alfredus and I peppered it with arrows. I cast a "dig" spell directly underneath it while Alfredus put spurs to his horse and charged it with his lance - he's been dying to charge something with it, and I suppose I should have expected it. In any case, he avoided falling into my hole, and the others shot at it as it attempted to climb out. Robyn pulled out his pipes of building and tried to mire it in dirt, but was unable to prevent its regaining our level. I was preparing to rush in to heal anyone who encountered those fearsome teeth or paws, the earth suddenly trembled and roared, knocking many of us off our feet or our horses, the owlbear not excluded. This startling manifestation was over in moments, but not before considerable damage was done to the forest. So far as I could tell, it was a natural earthquake. We all recovered as quickly as we could, and Robyn continued his efforts with the panpipes, so that the monster was in time buried up to its neck and Alfredus was able to finish it off. I thought we were done, then, but the men all assumed that it was now necessary to uncover the carcass and butcher it for trophies and material components - a messy, nasty business which makes pigsticking look orderly. They say the entire operation will take about three days. The smell is putting me quite off my food.

March 16 - No one wanted my help with the butchering (praise Orus!), so I communicated with Gaius by spell and went exploring on my own. I think I have convinced the Sunshine Boys that this was no dereliction of duty on their part. I was exploring the woods with an eye toward ownership, and reflecting that the country has many attractions, when my horse planted her feet and snorted. I then felt a trembling in the ground and crouched low on her neck, expecting another quake and mentally reducing the price per acre for seismic activity, when a large and improbable creature erupted from the ground and attacked both of us simultaneously! The bullette (as Lucius names the thing) actually seized me in its mouth, and I felt I had no option but to cast "slay living" and commend my soul to Orus. I did not succeed in slaying it, but did hurt it sufficiently that it spat me out. I would gladly have re-mounted and departed, but my horse was visibly and rapidly bleeding to death, and it seemed more practical to summon a celestial bear to cover my retreat on foot. As the bullette ate my horse and the bear covered my back, I made my way back toward the camp as expeditiously as possible. On the way, I met the men charging to my rescue. When I described the monster, Lucius said it was odd to find such a creature this far south. Since the creature is a grave danger to the local population and livestock , we retraced by steps and attacked it with all we had, and it shortly fell dead without having injured anyone but myself and my poor horse. Though the men have been discussing the possibilities of bullette hide in leatherworking, I have made it clear to them that I am not waiting around another three days while they butcher this thing as well!

March 19 - It has taken a little doing, due to loyalty to the present landowner, but Lucius admits that monster incursions, disappearances, and so on are on the rise. I think I can get an excellent price on this property, possibly with some adjoining acreage; and I almost feel it's my duty to take up residence here and arrange the protection of the locals!