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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Plane Sailing" data-source="post: 1574067" data-attributes="member: 114">Dancing with Griffons (or how big is it?)M’ir meets Trajan and Taran while Anne-Marie and Tania are still away. The party all receive invitations to the Barons Spring Ball which they gratefully accept. Although it is nowhere near as grand as the events they have experienced in Bridlerest it is still enjoyable fun. Both Trajan and Taran find the women flirting with them. M’ir spends his time observing everything and diplomatically avoiding all offers of dancing.The dances go well, and during the final dinner the Baron makes it known that he would pay very good money indeed for young griffons and eggs… he is of a mind to train an elite cadre of mounted troops, and desires eight of the creatures. Furthermore, Lysander, their old companion who is now mayor of the resettled Singharese refugees, has reported sight of a pride of griffons over the uneasy cliffs, and he is a little concerned for his cattle and horses.The company decide to take the commission, and load up with ropes, a huge cage on a wagon and assorted other tools. They trek out to the village and are welcomed by Lysander who is clearly enjoying looking after his “flock”. They are given a place to stay for the night and directions in the morning about where to go. They promise Lysander a griffon egg in thanks for services rendered and promised. Lysander gets a delegation from villagers who are concerned about the presence of an evil sword saint (Trajan) amongst them, but he is able to calm their fears with promises to remain on watch.Near the base of the uneasy cliffs a griffon spots them and comes in to land. It watches them prepare their bows then pounces causing brutal damage, but when Trajan gets into action it is swiftly dispatched. They mock up the corpse so it looks like it has been captured and tied down, and various party members hide (apart from Trajan). After several hours waiting, four griffons are spotted on the heights by M’ir, and one swoops down to recon.  This is followed by a power diving stoop of three other griffons down around Trajan. Their flashing sabre-like beaks and terrible claws are brutal, and he really misses his chain shirt of invulnerability. M’ir hides further up in a tree, gaining concealment from its leaves, and starts manifesting maximised recall pain to injure the griffons. One of the griffons goes down, but so does Trajan, with a fearful wound across his side. The two remaining griffons spring into the sky and M’ir launches a fearsome mass concussion from his dorje, sending them sprawling from the air. They quickly spring up and charge across to M’ir’s hiding place but the leaves spoil their attacks, and M’ir gets off lightly with only one wound. In desperation he launches another concussion almost at ground zero, stripping the leaves and breaking branches on the tree, and blasting the griffons once again. They are starting to sag under the punishment, and their wings are hanging broken, but they press the attack. Meanwhile Taran has crawled out from his ambush position under the fake captured griffon and over to Trajan’s body. He is shaking and concentrating on the little icon of Asura he uses to heal, and while he watches breath returns more strongly to Trajans body.Trajan and Taran prepare their bows, and M’ir tumbles away from the griffons and launches one final maximised recall pain to slay one, while the other succumbs to arrow fire.Phew, that was close!Rest several hours and move away. M’ir grants flying to everyone, and they fly up to the top of the cliffs, where amongst the rubble they see a nest. They move to attack the adults and they find eight young griffon (about the size of Alsatians)  which bit and nip at them.Trajan and Taran slay one griffon, while M’ir tackles the other one, fighting defensively and drawing its attention. Trajan then moves across to help M’ir and Taran attempts to knock out some of the young ones with his sap – more difficult than it looks. Then with a thunder of wings the pride leader arrives. A huge griffon, as big as an elephant swoops down just behind Trajan and tears into him with its massive bill. “I can’t take another one of those” Trajan thinks as he slashes it three times with his scimitar. The griffons blood runs redly. Then it hacks into him again and he goes down.  The other female facing M’ir is killed, but as Taran runs up behind the Griffon to gain a flank it lashes out with one of its hind paws and lays him out on the ground. M’ir tumbles away from it and is in a quandary – he can’t draw his wand and use it this turn, so instead he magically gives himself minor natural armour. The huge griffon closes and bites at him and misses. He draws the dorje and prepares to launch the mass concussion once more but Taran who was feigning injury leaps up and stabs the huge griffon in a nasty flanking manoeuvre, sneak attacking it. Taran is within the explosive area of the concussion, so M’ir acrobatically leaps sideways, drawing the griffons attention and doing everything he can to make himself hard to hit. His gamble pays off, the griffon pounces towards him and away from Taran – straight into a beak-jarring concussion, which weakens it enough for Taran to come in with another sneak attack and finish it off.After Taran has managed to heal Trajan back to consciousness with his little icon again, they manage to subdue all the baby griffons and collect up a number of griffon eggs. These are easily transported down the cliff and back to Knightsbridge, dropping off one egg with a grateful Lysander on the way.The Baron is delighted and pays the adventurers a huge bounty, making them wealthier than at any time in their past. Trajan makes a point of sending a couple of thousand marks worth of gems and jewellery by courier off to Anna the prophetess in Moradin’s Call.After another week Anne-Marie and Tania turn up (Tania only just surviving a nasty encounter with three ruffians on her route from Morannon. Refusing to waste a spell on them, she ended up being grappled and nearly subdued before she wriggled free and burned them with a fireball).Trajan is keen that they return to Bridlerest, so they get ready to travel Eastwards once more.</blockquote>

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