Swaying Hearts and Minds¶

2022-Jun-12

In the town center, the party makes a point to listen for gossip, specifically in regards to the Lozenge Azure member they humiliated earlier
The townsfolk seem to be of split opinion between the two “pill” factions
Kleb is immediately distracted by a pie seller and buys a double-stuf, deep-dish, meatlovers’ pie
Rulkorf overhears two bluepill acolytes attempting to convert a merchant and decides that this cannot stand
He Wild Shapes into a skunk and heads towards them, which rouses the attention of most people in the square, but neither Kleb nor Rowan notice.
Backing away, one Lozenge Azure member outruns Skunkorf, but the other trips and suffers the effects of a point-blank spray
Two Mintarn mercenaries rush to aid the man, but the skunk rushes around a corner and drops his transformation. Rulkorf steps out nonchalantly, the confused Mintarn hurry off, and the rest of the acolytes keep the victim at a distance because of his foul smell
Celebrating their victory, Kleb chokes on a bit of pie. He swats away any attempts by the others to help, but manages to avoid an untimely death after making a fool of himself
As an escalatory step against the Lozenge Azure, Kleb hands his friends each large stacks of Lozenge Gules pamphlets, and they split up to plaster Phandalin with them
The grassroots propaganda campaign proves very successful, and takes up the rest of the afternoon
Later that evening, the party heads to the Stonehill Inn, and as they leave to check the Sleeping Giant for bluepills, a commotion can be heard coming from the town green
The Nothic has arrived! He’s hopping from rooftop to rooftop, and Rowan and Rulkorf see bugbears approaching from the south as well.
Initially they assume that the bugbears are Redbrands as well, but telepathically the pair hear a warning from the Nothic – those aren’t allies!