Session 3: River by Barrel

General Summary

After thwarting a goblin ambush with minimal casualties, the caravan sets off through their last treck trough western Lövasfold. Following the maps drawn by goblins, they carefully follow routes as to not stray close to either Lövas patrols or the kobolds in the south. The area is described as plains according to the maps, but it seems volcanic activity to the south has turned it into blistering wetlands, which Thava warns the youth to avoid.   At the end of the fifth day, the party spots their last stop on the journey before they reach the coast: A traversable river. Settled neatly along it lies Roc-Terrazza, a small village that deals in agriculture and trade. The party is approach by the young ''guard'' Marco, who cheerfully shows them to a clearing for festivals where they can set up camp. They are then shown to Ioris the firbolg ferryman and carpenter, who explains that he only has one barge docked for the time being. Their second vessel is supposed to arrive a day later. They also meet ''Michael'' the gnome, representative of a traders-guild that ships goods along the river. While the gnome tries to get the party to pay for their more expensive services, Ioris overhears the party discuss and initates some compromises: Two barges for 200gp. However, these will only hold half of the travellers. It is in the locals' interest that the caravan leaves soon, as the Lövas regularly visits for patrol against enemies, as well as seeking tribute for said protection. If they were to find travellers have arrived without paying a protection fee, things could get expensive (or ugly).   The party spreads out to find money, goods and work to fund their journey. Jared manages to broker a deal with local rock gnomes to produce a crate of shrooms, which takes him all night. Thava decides to boast his ''deeds'' to the locals, and quickly finds that the local youth are drunk and impressionable enough to consider joining the voyage for work and adventure. Twig does a little gambler's game, and fairly earns 30gp from drunk gamblers, narrowly avoiding the piercing gaze of a local firbolg. Father is told to ''patrol'', and patrol he does. The locals finds during the next week that their cats, dogs and deer population has diminished. Nancy takes inventory on their caravan, and gets an idea when trying to calm travellers distraught about leaving their carriages and horses.    That night a deal is struck: Roc-Terrazza buys the caravan's six horses, covering half their expenses for the ships. Furthermore, the wagons and carriages are reused for a third new boat, which the Karstians and Ratkin will help Ioris to build quickly. The ratkin and two peasants from Karst also reveal their intent on staying in Roc-Terrazza, which makes the issue of passengers a little lighter. Jared is conflicted on leaving those in his care, but settles it with a contract on fulfilled responsibility. The following day is spent on boosting crop quality, packing supplies and building a boat. As the sun goes low, the gnome traders arrive with the final boat, having bought wares in Bilrão. The caravan embarks and sails downstream, with two extra passengers Thava convinced to join, and a guide. Population: 33.   The next two days goes smooth, as the river is lazy and calm. The third day proves a challenge; for several hours the party stays alert as the river bends frequently, and rocks jut out in their path. Jared shapes water to make their turns easier, before he and Twig notices the shape of a dragon far up in the sky. The sight spooks some of the crew, which tries to abandon ship, were it not for Nancy's waterwalk and Thava dragging them back. Jared is faced with four kobold marines boarding the front barge, whom attacks Hobbie the Zombie and their guide. Hobbie downs one kobold before Jared can drag the rest under the surface using the river's seagrass. As another pair of kobolds sends a huge tree trunk into their path, Father does some quick module changes and launches a ballistic sawblade. Nearly breaking the blockage with the saw, the barges slams through, a little worse for wear. Jared patches their holes with frozen water, and Thava sends carpenters forward. Their final challenge comes in the shape of a kobold mage, summoning firebolts upon Twig and Father's vessel. Twig steadies his aim, badly injuring the kobold before he can cast again, and Thava delivers the killing shot. Father focuses on mending their ship, and all three barges manages to flow out of the dangerous rapids. As minutes pass with no kobold attacks, the dragon flying high above seems to retreat southbound. Thava and Nancy makes a shared oath in hunting dragons sometime in the future.   The next two days flows gently; the travellers exit the Lövas ridge and enter the coastlands, with dry plains and deserts on both sides. They spot more settlements and traderoutes before they finally arrive at Bilrão; a thriving city on the coast, established in the shadow of ancient castle ruins atop dry cliffs. As they dock, the caravan brings their goods and belongings ashore, and starts looking for each their different goals in life. The party heads to the freshly renames Bell-Bear Bar, run by the bugbear barmaid Irina. There, Nancy finds her answer: Burt Bell was returned dead barely a week ago, together with a mysterious bugbear detective. Marcus, the kenku pawn broker that delivered the corpses, ended up hagling most of their stuff for himself, but left a small carved bear for the bar to remember Burt by.    Jared asks around for trade-contacts in the city, which Irina divulges in exchange for a fair bit of gold. Thava settles down with other adventurous travellers for a round of drinks and plans his future in bounties or monster hunting. Fallen Twig finds Crashing Waves, a rougish short-haired tabaaxi of impressive build, and gets to deliver his crate. Crashing Waves commends the delivery-boy for being quick, and hands over an insignia as she explains Twig surely will find good jobs and housing with their shared guild in town. Refusing a drink, she sends Twig off on new adventures. Father wanders around for a few days, asking about a certain gnome tinkerer Mrs. Keelsteeler, before he gets his answer in the dimly lit mess of Marcus' pawn store: Mrs. Keelsteeler was last seen in trouble with Sea-Elf pirates! However will Father manage to find her now!?   At some point in the following days, perhaps weeks even, Jared gets an annoyed sending from Mr. Brunel: ''You get your ass back here, our stock is running low, and I need more produce! Find someone to teleport you at your expense''. Emboldened by his newfound confidence and competence, Jared gives a brave ''no'', and demands a name change and more respect in the ''partnership''.  As Jared blissfully continues his networking in town, Brunel contacts the local thieves guild for a hit. Perhaps he even gets the best of the best: the local Lynxes, which just got a fresh and competent recruit named Fallen Twig?   Nancy finds Burt Bell's grave and mourns, surprised at the loss she is feeling. She promises to not let the elderly patient stay dead for long. As she prepares to give the acorn gifted from archdruid Yvonne as thanks for Burt's help in saving her Ratkin, Nancy finds the acorn crumble to reveal a diamond. A diamond which to the trained eye might be considered worth around five hundred gold pieces. She renews her promise, now with a plan. With Burt eventually at a local clerical masoleum, she will train her clerical powers until she can revive him.

Rewards Granted

Sold horses for lasagna, gained boats   A bountiful harvest for the newly settled Ratkin of Roc-Terrazza   A small possy of adventurous spirits   The satisfaction of reaching one's goal... even if it lies six feet under

Missions/Quests Completed

Found Burt Bell   Brought 31/45 travellers from Karst to Bilrão   Gained 2 bonus travellers   Fought 0 dragons   Learned of 3 new songs composed by Burt Bell in honor of the Swift One

Character(s) interacted with

Kurum the dwarven captain   Tim Uthy the earnest worker   Marco the ''guard''   Ioris the firbolg ferryman   ''Michael'' the gnome trader   Irina the bugbear barmaid   Crashing Waves the tabaaxi privateer

Created Content

Three shiny new storylines to follow