For anyone reading the above & not familiar with some of what he was referring to – the “Babe in the woods” is a giant (cabbage sized) magic / demonic spider which was placed in the inn-room of some of the players, with the goal of assassinating them. Though one of them was bitten and partly poisoned, the PCs in Jacks’ group managed to trap the spider in a sheet and bash it to death with a mace.
The session with the duke was dinner meeting arranged by their patron Lothar Geich, the temporary vogt of the town of Ratibor. Apparently the PCs got into an argument with the Dominican Abbott of Ratibor, but it was settled down with some successful diplomacy. The next session should involve a large organized hunt.