Session 6 Downtime: Pikes Make Right

The bros successfully return to Tallow Watch, luckily not encountering any nastiness on the way back. The city guards are surprised to see no casualties among the pikemen and word quickly spreads of the bros' success in dealing with the hobgoblin horde and wiping out the hydra and hellhounds. 

Blastikus spends some time with Identify and quickly susses out the nature of the interesting items that the party liberated from the hobgoblin shrine. Blastikus claims the wand of frost (since he's the only one who can use it, anyway), Kleptikos gets the leather armor +1 and oil of etherealness while Redneck scores the +3 arrows. Everyone gets equal shares of the coins and gems so much happiness abounds. Blastikus and Kleptikos both have enough XP to level up, but insufficient funds for training means they're stuck for the time being.

While the group ponders the latest developments over copious amounts of alcohol, Mighty Redneck is atypically morose and sullen. Noticing his friend's mood, Brother Fitzy approaches him while out of earshot of the rest of the group. Nudging the man-mountain with a half-filled tankard of passably good ale, he asks "Hey pally - what's bothering you? You're never quiet when we've got good eats and better booze." 

Redneck stares at Fitzy with bloodshot eyes for an uncomfortably long time before responding "We are dishonorable cowards, Fitzy."

"What? Where is this coming from, pally? We just expelled a horde of primitives and killed a terrifying abomination with barely a scratch! We're heroes for saving this place!"

His face twisting in a grimace of disgust he lunges across the table, grabs Brother Fitzy's shirt and growls "What about Blasty, little Shifty and Sir Stabbington?! Those filthy orcs killed them, nearly did us in and we've let the savages live! This is a stain on our honor! A shameful blight on our manhood! We send the mercs on a scouting expedition, they find ogres and we do nothing! How can you sleep with our comrades unavenged?!" He releases Fitzy before heavily sitting back down and dropping his head into his hands, dejected and forlorn.

Taken aback by this unexpected outburst, Fitzy is speechless for a few minutes. He takes a long draw from his tankard before quietly saying "You're right, of course."

Still holding his head between his hands, Redneck looks up and says "You know what we need to do."

"Hmmm...seems like Bro-jira isn't the only one with a vendetta..."

Next morning, Brother Fitzy summons the others and informs them of his conversation with Redneck. Brogallo and Bro-jira, energized from their most recent debauchery, enthusiastically support copious bloodshed in the name of vengeance. "Especially against oni!" as Bro-jira emphasizes.

Blastikus, in a somewhat more sanguine mood, is more than happy to impose his will on the uncouth primitive orcs while noting "The oni, as Bro-jira calls them, are well known to have choice bits of loot that would be much safer in our pockets, after all."

Kleptikos, with his eyes closed and head leaning against the wall behind him, and nursing a hangover that would torment the gods themselves, quietly says "I need gold and ogres always have loot. Let's balance the scales, eh? After I get some eggs in me, please..."

Sully and O'malley, clearly seeing the inevitable tide of avarice, acquiesce. Sully says "It would probably be a good idea to see this godsforsaken village of Gunnolfsfell for ourselves and see if the mercs were over reacting or not. If nothing else, it gives us an excuse to return to Valthrun and get some decent food."