Cairn! Here's last time!
The characters had originally talked about hunting down Ashfeather, the Dire daggerbeak, but as they talk about it, they're not really sure that's a great idea. Snootabur and Rumdiggle aren't crazy about the notion of hunting something down with violence in mind. Russelet, of course, is totally good with it and starts making arrows. Rummy notes that Russelet isn't really himself, and leads the group in a rousing rendition of "Yeet the Noodle." This helps to get Russelet back on his feet, Harmony-wise, and the Knights decide that maybe they need to figure out why Ashfeather went Dire. Rummy notes that when creatures go Dire, it tends to be because one impulse just gets out of control. So what was Ashfeather's?
Snootabur asks Russelet for a game of checkers (again, to help with Harmony), and Rumdiggle and Ratatosk go searching for evidence (Ratatosk is in a "state of grace", which lets him sense the Dire). They don't find Ashfeather, but they hear pained squealing. They find a young daggertusk (boar) pinned against some trees, being tormented by goblins.
This, clearly, will not stand. Rumdiggle charges, drawing on the power of the ripper and growing larger. She scares away the goblins (who retreat into the tree). Ratatosk casts a spell to talk to the daggertusk, and learns that the goblins like to lure daggertusks, torment them, and then use them as mounts. Ratatosk warns the boar not to trust sudden fruit, and vows that the Knights will take care of this goblin problem.
The other characters show up about now, and consider whether the goblins might be responsible for helping Ashfeather go Dire. One of the goblins bounces a pinecone off Rumdiggle's head, and she snarls at the tree and scatters them. Russelet fires an arrow and drops a goblin out of the tree, and Rumdiggle advances on him and sings her Daunting Song to scare him. Ratatosk scampers up a tree and chitters angrily at a goblin, while Snootabur fires an arrow and drops a pinecone on said goblin's head. Ratatosk bops him with his staff and the goblin falls, but catches himself with his dagger in the trunk. This, of course, leaves him exposed. Russelet flutters up to interrogate him.
After some questioning, the goblin reveals that Ashfeather loves to dive down at his prey and see creatures run from him. Snootabur asks if Ashfeather has killed any goblins, and the goblin says he has. He agrees to show the Knights where, if they let the goblins go unimpeded.
He leads them to a clearing with three goblin corpses (goblins loot their dead, not bury them). One of them has been dead since last year, the other two are more recent. Having fulfilled his end of the bargain, he scampers off, and the Knights examine the bodies. Snoot notices that all of them have brutal talon wound on their bodies, and the most recent one has had some of the skin from his face torn away. Ashfeather's attacks are getting more brutal.
The Knights decide that they should find Ashfeather and attempt to subdue him. Maybe he's wounded or something, and is perpetually angry. Russelet finds a method of tracking him (claw notches on the branches), but Ratatosk notes that he's about out of sleeping draught. The Knights decide to head home and rest, and pick up this hunt tomorrow night.
Next time, we shall see how that works out.
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