Of canaries, coal mines, and lakes of booze
As we enter the mine, we find an old, rotten sign, written with a crude warning on it, but seemingly ignored. We see that no metal remains are to be found in this area and guess that this must have been the work of Granny's gremlins. Sp we take an elevator down, and pick up a pretty sneaky Gremlin on the way. We do not wish to kill the crazy creature, so we tie him up and leave him near the bottom of the elevator shaft. On the lower level, we stumble across four more Gremlins, two of whom (according to the Hook) were naughty children once. We negotiate with them, explaining that we are only looking for Granny, and they agree to show us the way. But it appears that “the way” is actually full of traps. When they try to drop a huge metal ball on Gabriel, he is finally fed up with the buggers and he orders them to let us go the rest of the way alone. This doesn't seem to work, however. It takes some rather harsh intimidation from Auryn to make them flee the area for good.
(well, now Gabriel understands why some Eladrin use "gremlin" as an insult).
When we are well on our way to Granny's lair, we are unexpectedly attacked by a purple worm moving in the sandy underground of the mine. Fortunately, the creature is just pretty hungry and less smart, so it does not pose too much of a threat. We follow the tracks in the mine until we reach a large hall with a huge pile of gold, inhabited by countless gremlins. And then there is Granny, the Titan of Caves and Mountains, lurking in the back of the hall. Granny herself seems to be stuck in a wall, and as we get closer, we see that the Gremlins are cooking a disgusting stew on one side, and holding a bunch of children captive in a cage on the other. What's worse than the locked up children is the fact that there appear to be explosives stored near the children's cages and Gabriel's nose confirms that these are no mere decoys.
Granny welcomes us into her “home”, explaining that she is worried about the children of Risur in these dark times and has brought them here for safety. She also offers us a deal: We are to agree with her that we will send her children on a regular basis in exchange for them working for us in the mines. When the children are old enough, they will be released with all their belongings. She also wants all the children hidden in Favela and those on the Bole dam to be brought to her.
We tell her that we will definitely not give her what she asks for, especially since there are no children in Favela or on the dam in Bole. Instead, we explain that this is just a ploy by Voice of Rot supporters to get old Granny interested in the nearby cities and their infrastructure, so she can be used as a “weapon” by her rival Titan's servants. We tell her about the two snake-tongued siblings, and Granny actually seems interested in learning more. She demands to see our surviving witness, Kathlyn, in person. A wish we are happy to grant her.
So we leave the mine, and return with Kathlyn. Granny just looks at the woman and instantly sneers, smelling the essence of Rot on her. She then turns her wrath on the Voice of Rot.
“Spoken true, King of Risur”, she says.
“Alright, let Granny offer you another deal: You shall have the children, and your miners may resume their work. Two conditions: First, bring me the tongue of the Voice of Rot within a year. I am sure Kathlyn here will find this satisfying as well. Second, I want the miners to sing while they are working in my mountains. So bring your best canaries, alright?”
King Gabriel reminds her that the mountains she are actually "Risur's mountains", but generally agrees to her demands. He asks Auryn to join the children in singing a farewell lullaby for Granny, and apologizes to the three Earth Elementals who had to collect gold for Queen Ziri when she imprisoned Granny the last time. Finally, we decide that the job of "mine singer" might not be a bad idea for penniless artists, so that the workers don't have to sing and swing hoes at the same time. And of course we take all the explosives that were left behind the children with us.
(Mine singer is again way funnier when you speak German. “Minensänger” sounds very close to “Minnesänger” - a minstrel)
When we return to Favela, we learn that most of the children we returned are orphans thanks to their Granny, who made them eat their parents. Now we know what this disgusting stew actually contained... So we propose to build an orphanage for the children in Bole.
(I guess Gabriel must have somehow known due to his keen nose and all. But he didn't flinch at all. Also, the confrontation with Granny went surprisingly smooth)
Now that our first Titan is appeased, we think it would be a good idea to report the King's first success to Slate so that it can be made public. We also ask to tell the people that we want to address the food supply problem caused by the missing herds next, and we are told that Brandyhome is one of the stations in the Weftlands where a major thunderstorm was seen. Which in turn is a decent indicator of the presence of the Father of Thunder. We conclude that this location plays much into our cards, as we have learned that the Titan of the Grasslands likes to feast on booze.
So off to Brandyhome we go! One we arrive, we already see impressive bolts of lightning in the distance with rumbling thunder following not much later. We talk to the locals about the Father of Thunder, but most of them tell us that they have been cautious due to the thunderstorms and did not dare approach its supposed source. But all of them do complain that there has been nothing buck chicken on the menu for days since the herds have all but disappeared. Oh, and also a group of riders has just arrived, so we may want to talk to them, too.
When we start looking for said group, we are very much surprised to find out that said “riders” are none else but Riffian and his Wild Hunt, who are looking for new mounts. Aruyn is at first somewhat incensed that she had not received word from Riffian and his men about Elfaivar, though this soon turns out to be a message transmission problem, as Riffian had left his report in Flint and we've been in Slate and Bole for most of the time.
The riders of the Wild Hunt explain to us that they regularly use offspring of the Father of Thunder as mounts, and demonstrates their taming skills on two beautiful foals. In turn, we explain to the Fey Knights that we urgently need to disperse the Father of Thunder's huge herd so that there will be enough food in southern Risur again, and that in order to do this we will probably have to make the Titan go to sleep again. In addition, Auryn dismisses Riffian and the rest of the group from their search for "the Fox", as there would be more important missions in the meantime, and it seems that the Fey are not entirely unhappy about this development.
Before we inquire further on how to best approach the Titan, we buy all the cheapest kegs and barrels of booze that we can find from the local farmers and place them in the Absurdist Web. Just in case.
We then discuss how to approach the Father of Thunder without getting trampled, and Riffian and his men provide us with bison hides to fool the titan. They also lend us mounts in case of this whole endeavor ending in a wild hunt (ha, ha). They also warn Auryn that the Titan is usually very lecherous, which probably explains why only men take part in the Wild Hunt.
So we sneak up on the Father of Thunder alongside with the Hunt, and take our new mounts with us as well. Then we have the King dig a hole with his connection to the Land of Risur and fill it to the brim with alcohol in front of the Titan. Just as we planned, the Father of Thunder recognizes the tasty pool and approaches it. When he empties the liquor hole in one fell swoop, Gabriel calls out to the Titan:
“Father of Thunder, see that we have brought you tribute! I do hope this it was up to your taste?!”
The Father of Thunder takes one second to notice Gabriel and the rest, belches loudly and raises his head up high, as he seems to take the whole declaration as a challenge. He then rears and gallops off.
We quickly mount our steeds and ride after him.
“Well, wild hunt it is...” Auryn says as she spurs her mount to keep up with the Titan.
“Let me confront him directly and you take his flanks.” Gabriel shouts to the others, being confident that the powers of his office make him quite able to take on the Father of Thunder full front.
He then quickens his mount with his connection to time, which is just enough acceleration to bring him to the Father's front left leg. He then confronts the Titan from the back of his horse, while the Wild Hunt takes the rear flanks. This draws enough attention from the Father of Thunder that King Gabriel is getting the front-ended attacks. And while he is getting major scratches in the process, the Titan seems unable to push or trample the King of Risur.
Meanwhile, Auryn is not that comfortable fighting on horseback, so she follows a different apporach: She carefully approaches one of the Titan's shaggy legs, then jumps on it to climb onto his back. Seeing so much unexpected opposition, the Father of Thunder becomes quite vengeful and tries to lift the King from his saddle, but fails yet again as Gabriel appears to be as much a Titan as he is. Gabriel uses the moment when the Father of Thunder finally stops for a series of teleport attacks to the Titan's forehead, which seems to slash open quite deep wounds. He then speeds up Auryn, who completes her climb, jumps onto the Father of Thunder's back and rams her rapier right between the surprised Titan's vertebrae with a precise strike.
The Father of Thunder collapses and roars loudly, admitting defeat. He then becomes much more willing to talk. The King tells him that there has been enough celebration and party for a while and that it is time to rest. He also tells him about the Voice of Rot and his schemes, but the Father of Thunder appears to knows nothing about his fellow Titan. Nor would he care about “that dumb, boring morass-dweller”.
Once his wounds start closing, The Father of Thunder recognizes Auryn, who is now standing next to Gabriel. And to both our surprise, he suddenly appears to be more interested in her instead.
“Humm, who do we have here? A female, strong and beautiful?”
He then sniffs at her with a quick inhalation.
“Smells yummy, too. Little one, why don't you join me and my herd? Be my mate and I'll promise you powerful offspring.”
Needless to say that both Gabriel and Auryn are speechless at this sudden proposal. And it seems very obvious that the Titan is really pretty horny and interested in her. But it doesn't take Auryn too long to come up with a friendly decline:
“Father of Thunder, your offer is generous and I do not doubt the potency of our offspring. But this is not why we came here, as there are more important matters to us right now. Both the Obscurati and the Danorans are knocking at Risur's doors, and they are no friend of all Risuri in both the Waking and the Dreaming. And while you don't have to mind him, we do have to inquire on the Voice of Rot and his machinations. So you see, I am really busy...”
When the Father of Thunder repeats his unequivocal offer and seems to ignore the king's very obvious indignation, Auryn looks straight at the Titan and tells him that she has chosen to be the consort of the King, the "Titan of Civilization," to whom she has promised not to have another Titan beside him. They could agree, however, to give the Titan regular feasts and liquor in return for securing the grasslands of the west.
The Titan laughs at this bold statement, and this time his mood seems to have changed from lecherous intents to heartfelt respect.
“Well spoken, lovely girl. But powerful offspring you will have nonetheless. Hear me, earth, hear me life! May the union of these two be blessed with fertility, just like the soil we all are connected to!”
Both Auryn and Gabriel are surprised by this generosity, and we get that the Father of Thunder is the Titan of fertility on top of everything else. Before he goes to sleep again, he only asks for one last feast on the same evening, which we readily grant him. He then mumbles that it was kind of refreshing to actually have a conversation with a King or Queen instead of having only the usual brawl.
King Gabriel is astonished after this negotiation that apparently no king before him has ever really talked to the Titan. And both he and Auryn seem to be more than happy about the Titan's blessing, as they both embrace each other in what must have been the best day in weeks, if not months.
(Wow, so much to say here. First, is there any connection between Rock Rackus and the Father of Thunder or is it merely a coincidence that their personalities match so well? As you probably guessed, this was quite the test for Gabriel's nerves and I am sure that he had to fight too keep his composure at the straight up request for a hook-up with Auryn. But he knew that she'd handle the situation with grace and diplomacy. Blessing them with fertility was a cute little twist.
And yeah, we both came to the conclusion that the Monarch would be the sixth Titan of Risur, and calling him "Titan of Civilization" was just fitting when it came to their domain. Not sure if this is canon though.
We also discussed whether the Father of Thunder could have been the original “creator” of the Minotaur race of Ber, as Tiz revealed that the “offspring” would have probably had the physiognomy of a Minotaur.
The Granny episode wasn't that eventful, as we feared the gremlins pretty early on and Granny didn't have that much of a connection to the PCs. She also wasn't our favorite Titan, but it went quite smoothly. Well, besides the 1 year ultimatum for the tongue of a missing Titan. That task was giving both of them quite the headache.
Regarding Auryn and her inner workings: She is on the path of healing and acceptance for what has happened during and after Starfall, and she is utterly grateful that she had Gabriel to rely on. But... there have already been tiny stabs at her ego. She's fine with it for now, as she connects this gradually “losing importance” to her own choice of giving the finger to fate and not minding that the Obs get rid of Reida. The blessing of the Father of Thunder conviced her of her choices and it was overall a very empowering moment for her and her relationship with Gabriel. I'll add in another round of her thoughts in the next interlude between sessions 58 and 59, else the post is getting overly long 
)
