The Butterskull Farm Session (6/20/20)

General Summary

The intrepid adventurers continued on toward the village of Oak's Sweep, each for their own reason. The clanging of a bell broke the forest's quiet. Sneaking forward the goblin Grass spied a magnificent cow munching on some tall undergrowth. Grass saw a farmhouse in the distance. Worrying over the strong acrid smell of burning wood, Grass alerted the party and crept forward.
In a cornfield, Grass came upon the first sign of a battle-the badly beaten corpse of a farmhand. The rest of the party approached the farmhouse, passing by the burned out husk of the barn. Suddenly, a howling kobold came around the corner of the farmhouse. Over its shoulder, the creature heft a spear with a battered, bloody human head jabbed onto its end. Startled by the adventurer's appearance, the kobold dropped the spear and fled back into the farm house.
The party gathered and entered the house, beginning a pitched battle against the kobolds on both floors of the spacious house. Defeating all but two of the nasty creatures (the lucky little bastards were able to jump from some windows to escape certain death), the party made its way down to the cellar where they found the owner of Butterskull Farm. Tortured nearly to death by the kobolds, Big Al thanked the adventurers for rescuing him and saving his farm. The party also found a poorly written note nailed to a cellar post, warning against crossing the 'Howling Horrors'.
Mourning the loss of his wife Sophie but blessed by the survival of his prize dairy cow Petunia, Big Al offered the party some coin and a suit of armor from his days in the war. Sadly it appears the kobolds made off with the armor as loot. However, L72 did find the coin hidden in a desk of Big Al's bedroom. The old veteran also offered a place to rest up before moving onto the village. Alton Chestnut prepared a fine meal and the party rested.
Learned from the battle and Big Al:

• Kobolds have always been a problem in the area but were always just pesky scavengers attacking in haphazard fashion
• Somehow, not only have they become more organized in their attacks, they now use MAGIC and alchemic materials
• The kobolds tortured Big Al, a technique the creatures were never known to have patience for
• The creatures were interested in the timing of shipments in and out of the village as well as the defensive makeup of Oak's Sweep

Report Date

21 Jun 2020