- Steve awakens and declares “pancakes” - There are scorch marks on Kyo’s door. They appear to be burning through. - None of us recall seeing scorch marks on the door the previous night - Erin is talking relentlessly at Ellette, badgering her about her garden. Ellette remains stone faced while listening - Cedric ventures outside to climb the tree into Kyo’s room - finding Karrut the cow standing in front of the vine. - He waves at the cow, Karrut moos in response. - Cedric approaches Karrut, rubbing her and mooing back. Karrut bucks him with her hooves. - Cedric attempts to shoo Karrut, but she does not move - Cedric notices small popping noises - Astryx steps forward, and casts Speak to Animals - Karrut is unimpressed by Astryx’s request to climb the vine and initially refuses to move - Astryx scratches the cow’s back in response to Karrut mentioning that Kyo had previously done the same - Karrut appears to appreciate this, with strawberries popping out of her udders. She steps aside, clearing the way to the vine - Cedric begins to climb the vine. He climbs one storey up without issue. - Astryx Wildshapes into a Vulture and flies past Cedric. - Kyo is not present in the room, Astryx finds the magic chest. - Steve approaches from outside the room, attempting to kick open the door. She smashes it wide open - Steve reprimands Cedric, who is complaining about having carried the chest the night before. She replies that she never complained about all the times she had to carry his corpse - Cedric hits the chest with his axe - The chest sparks in retaliation, electrocuting him - Ellette and Graxen are approached by a Goblin who speaks in-comprehensively - This is Hrlak - Wen is deeply upset with Graxen - for using his Illrigger chains to restrain her the night before - Ellette asks Wen to bring Hrlak to Steve - Wen complies, bringing the goblin to Steve in Kyo’s room - Hrlak speaks with Steve about taking a job and living in the Keep - Steve laughs racistly as her and Hrlak mock Cedric for being human - Steve puzzles over the best job to assign to Hrlak - Hrlak asks if his two roommates can live with him in a house in the Goblin district. - Two Goblins burst out from under Ellette and Graxen’s table. - Steve finds a spare house for the three Goblins, tasking them with decorating it after moving in - Hrlib and Whalb are the two Goblin roommates - Graxen is punched below the table by Wen, in retaliation for the chains. He keels over in pain - Wen accuses Graxen of attempting to kill her, claiming Cedric was in on it - She punches Cedric below the belt - Bob - still a disfigured human - bursts into the keep. He is still greatly distressed by his new form - Ellette leaves to speak with Dagna, in search of diamond dust - to cure Bob. Astryx requires five pouches of the dust as an ingredient for Greater Restoration. Bob is restored to his Beholder form - There is a knock at the door - Quintin arrives in the keep - He brings word from the town - of a cryptid terrorising Alexandria. While nobody has died, the creature has caused mayhem in the town. - Wen is upset, believing she has been mistreated by the family she thought she had found in Sordia Vignti. Graxen tries to console her, but is extremely bad at it - Wen asks that Graxen tear off Cedric’s penis with his chains. Graxen agrees - urging Cedric to play along. Though Cedric is wary, he goes along with the suggestion - which seems to greatly please Wen. - Ellette casts Mending on Kyo’s door, fixing it - but it remains unlocked. - Steve punches the chest with her magical gloves - The chest electrocutes her - Cedric suggests using a healing spell on the chest. Astryx tries using Cure Wounds. She is also electrocuted by the chest - We seek out Zoltan to ask his opinion on the chest - Zoltan agrees to examine the chest for us. He recognises it as being made from a rare material that can only be found in the Underdark. It is known as Hizagkuur and is often utilised by the Drow. It is also commonly known as Mirrorsteel. - Zoltan suggests that the creature we encountered in the Corpse Hole likely has the key - this being the only way to open the chest. - Zoltan believes he can melt down the chest and use its metal to make something else, but it will need to be opened first - We depart, heading for Alexandria to investigate the rumours of the cryptid. - A number of people hurry about, making preparations to hunt something. One of them claims they are hunting some manner of Goblin - The man says the creature was last seen around the fountain area - the water in the fountain is putrid and full of discarded waste - Graxen finds small footprints spread out all around the fountain, they head northwest - away from the fountain. - Following the footprints, we find a massive pile of rubbish - Steve is struck with a rotten apple core, thrown from a nearby roof - Astryx wildshapes into a giant vulture, flying upwards towards the roof - She spots more footprints on the rooftop, but no sign of the creature itself - As she flies back to rejoin the party, she is stuck by an old tin of beans - Ellette and Astryx notice something dart quickly across one of the roofs overhead. Both fly up to investigate - finding an odd pattern of footprints but again, no creature - Steve suggests using a crate and stick to capture the creature in a trap. - She finds a broken crate, which Ellette uses Mending to fix. Steve next finds a stick and five feet of string. - Graxen and Ellette convince Cedric that he has been turned invisible, asking that he stand by the trap and trigger it if the creature arrives - One of the townsfolk approaches, wishing to take the south of the town while we comb the north for the creature - Ellette pays the man to drink in a tavern rather than attempt to kill the creature - There are six further townsfolk, who Ellette continues to pay off - with 10 GP. Grendel, who approaches first - takes the 10, handing out five apiece to the others and keeping 5 GP for herself - After the townsfolk depart, Ellette is stuck with a banana peel. - The creature charges in, biting Cedric on the ankle before dashing away - The creature next bites Steve on the back of the ankle - dashing away again. There is a fresh set of footprints left behind, leading to the east - As Steve makes to pursue, she is hit with a half eaten cabbage from overhead - Steve uses Mould Earth to bury herself with the string attached to the box above ground. As Graxen attempts to place something under the box to lure the creature, Steve overzealously pulls on the string - causing the crate to crash down onto his head - Bob is hovering above the town, searching for the creature. He approaches and explains that there is a reward of 20 GP for killing it - Bob agrees to give us an hour to find the creature before returning and seeking it out to kill it - Ellette takes a bar of soap from the keep and places it by the fountain, to see if its presence will lure out the creature - After about an hour, a small creature emerges from one of the alleyways. Cedric casts Telekinesis to attempt to grab the cryptid - Cedric is instead captivated by the creature’s appearance, releasing the creature and allowing it to scurry away - The cryptid runs towards the alleyway housing Steve’s trap - her tremor sense alerts her to something’s presence. - Steve triggers the trap, Graxen investigates - finding a number of rats under the crate - Meanwhile, Ellette and Astryx notice the creature at the fountain - it seizes the bar of soap and begins to eat it. - Ellette approaches it slowly, pausing any time the cryptid glances in her direction - Ellette casts Charm Monster, before fully approaching the small creature. - Ellette attempts to speak with the creature, but it does not respond. It does, however, appear to understand her - Ellette requests that the creature stop wreaking havoc in Alexandria, instead suggesting that he take up residence in Erin’s garden within the keep. The creature seems to wish for more soap. - The mention of plenty of food sways the creature, it appears to agree to living in the keep. - Ellette names the creature Jimothy. - Ellette asks that Jimothy prank Steve - who is still buried underground. Jimothy fills up Steve’s air hole with soap. - Ellette carries Jimothy back towards the keep as Steve and Graxen bicker - Jimothy runs around the keep, exploring his new home and playing with the children - Erin approaches Cedric - who still believes himself to be invisible. Graxen convinces Cedric that she has Truesight - which is why she can see him. Erin comments on Cedric’s stench, owing to camouflaging himself in rubbish to try to catch Jimothy. - Cedric agrees to wash himself with Jimothy’s half eaten soap - Another child approaches Cedric - asking if he’s using Minor Abushions - She offers to cast the spell for Cedric. He asks her to cast it in the kitchen, creating a replica of Jimothy. She creates a rough, almost pencil-like version of the creature. - Jess and Moggie are in the kitchen, preparing dinner. Jess emerges with a frying pan - having been told about Cedric being unhygenic in the main dining area. - Cedric is incredulous, believing she also has Truesight - Jess threatens to leave for Neverwinter with Derek, growing impatient with the shenanigans of the group - The three new Goblins have built a mud hut outside the keep and are settling into their new residence - A debate rages among the group over the moralities of best friends - Nissa sits at the table with us, still upset over the actions of “Graxen” - Nissa uses the Gem of Truth, gleaning the truth about last night’s actions. Graxen’s protestations of innocence all glow green - She next passes the gem to Cedric. - Nissa asks Cedric about the chaining of Wen. Cedric attempts to avoid the question - Nissa then asks Ellette about the torn linens, using the gem on her. - The gems reveals that Ellette was responsible for the chaos in Graxen and Nissa’s house - The new Goblins steal a turkey from Big Guy. Steve sprints after them, attempting to deescalate the situation. - Nissa gives Steve the gem, asking about the linens. - She immediately admits that Ellette was responsible - Ellette reads Quintin’s letter - finding it to be notes from Berethor regarding the Netherese Empire and the Aunoroch Desert - There is mention of magic-eating monsters -