Jeremy
Explorer
5/21/22
The party and the naga continue their negotiations with Rho suggesting barter rather than direct sale as both sides enjoy showing off the amazing and sometimes weird objects of power they have collected. Gribitz spots another dragonborn in Snake and strikes up a conversation that quickly turns to the Sand Whisperers they've heard of. Ock’v is a jovial foreigner however who knows nothing about the desert clans but is chatty and enjoys meeting the rest of the party. He warns them that if they are going into the desert that the knee-biters have been very agitated lately.N’xay the naga returns from his vault with three items. A bagpipe, an hourglass, and a golden sphere. The pipe sings in the wind and summons birds to command. The hourglass can occasionally stop time for a few seconds. The sphere allows someone to fly for a few minutes. Gribitz snatches it up with excitement and starts floating up when he shakes it. He laughs and tosses it to Rho, inviting him to try, but immediately tumbles from the air.
Grath flips the hourglass. For one mile in every direction time stops for 12 seconds. Grath uses the time to flick Gribitz’s nose. It takes a few days to recharge. They trade the broom and bucket for the hourglass and an urn of air elemental summoning for the golden sphere of flight. Rho buys rooms and meals for the party.
Gribitz continues to gremlin goblin until N’xay’s eyes glow white and whispers fill the air and silence everything in the room. All the cups and plates begin to lift up into the air but then magically fill with food and drink. Gribitz is up to the challenge and attacks every plate he can with his mouth. Meanwhile, outside Grath is people watching. He see’s Ock’v has a group of his own and is speaking to a guard. Ock’v is now in heavy armor and a pair of swords. He has a tall robed companion with long hair. There is also an elven archer of fair appearance as well as a priest of some kind. After the guard points out something for them on a map they part ways. Grath approaches the guard curiously after they depart and asks about where they were headed, maybe dreaming of the adventures of a less chaotic party.
Grath also asks the guard about the "knee biters". The guard describes them as bold lately, harder to scare off, maybe even stronger. The lord of Bleeding Stone is offering bounties on their heads, only 5 copper each though. Some kind of desert goblin apparently. Their tribe and encampment is rumored to be to the southwest in the desert.
Rho approaches Grath and they discuss what he knows of desert goblins. They talk about the desert and if Rho misses it at all. Grath wants to wander around and try some shopping and local dishes before he returns. Grath samples local incenses, but when the vendor wants to try to pitch him some mind altering varieties Grath shuts him down hard.
Later on after taking their ease for a while, Rho and Grath discuss some of the watering holes in the area that they might check to see if the Sand Whisperers are there. Grath issues a few Sendings before turning in, checking in with the church, the estate, and the like.
That night Gribitz dreams of a beautiful meadow, later in the dream he hears a song that he follows to a dense thicket. He speaks to the voice of the Green and bids it continue its song but it asks a favor of him. It requests 3 items be fetched for it, a golden comb is the first. He pulls it out of a nearby bee hive and returns it. Next is a silver spool. Gribitz finds some webspinners and has it wrap some of its thread around his finger. The final task is to catch the setting sun in a cup and bring it to the spirit of the Green.
In return the Green presents Gribitz with some fruit and advice beware the things that travel in the sun and the things that travel in the moon and listen to the wisdom on the whispers of the wind. In the morning Gribitz bestows the blessing of the Green on everyone in the common room by calling upon the bear spirit to bless them with vitality.
The party sets out into the desert. After a few hours they hear a goblin marching song. The knee biters are in numbers enough to be kicking up some dust as they march in an oddly organized column west. Gribitz breaks off and runs up to them impulsively. They are yellowish sand goblins, they wear leather coverings, they have slits instead of noses, bulging eyes, and are quite a bit taller than most goblins, though still not human height. Gribitz summons up eight huge bats to ride and make an entrance with. He swoops along on top of the marching column demanding to know what they are up to and who their leader is.
They serve the desert witch and want to know if Gribitz does too. Gribitz lies and says HE serves the FOREST witch of the north. After some discussion, the knee biters ask if the forest goblins want to join forces. They offer to take Gribitz to their desert witch, and he pauses to pretend to consider before grandiosly declaring he must go round up his slaves. Gribitz and his giant bat squadron fly back to the party to fill them in on what he found out. Grath wants to nothing to do with more goblins and wants to continue searching for the desert clans of dragonborn. Rho and Veldra however outvote him and want to take the opportunity to find out what has the desert goblins so active and organized.
With what remains of the duration of the summoned bats, the party flies back to the goblin column riding the horrifyingly large bats and making quite the impression on the knee-biters.
