Narrative Recap
The Greasy Spoon rolled into Waymoot at around 8:30 in the morning to find the entire logging camp idle — sawmills silent, men hungry, and one enormous logger named Thud openly weeping over a muddy potato. Gorlog had prepped 50 meatball subs on the road, and Sanji drummed up business by wandering the square and telling every logger she saw about the 'not-potatoes' on offer. The service went quickly, though Gorlog's rushed prep work resulted in some notable gastric distress among the loggers. While serving, Wickett overheard rumors that a man named Silas had been deliberately dumping slaughterhouse waste in the logging trench to sabotage Foreman Kaelin's operation — apparently so Silas could buy the logging rights cheap when Kaelin failed.
Foreman Kaelin approached the wagon after the breakfast rush and explained the town's crisis: a nest of ankhegs — large, acid-spitting burrowing creatures — had taken up residence in the main logging trench, killing 14 men and eating two draft horses, grinding all lumber operations to a halt. He offered the party a Waymoot Writ of Provisioning — official papers that would give them legitimacy as town contractors and shield them from Splinter's Bend law — in exchange for clearing the ankhegs. The party accepted. Before heading out, they also learned that Silas, the proprietor of the Cupped Axe tavern, is the cousin of Constable Barnaby Plum and the son of the man who runs Splinter's Bend — making him a direct extension of the enemies already pursuing the crew.
Sanji and Skrit had paid a visit to the Cupped Axe, where Skrit won a dice game against Silas and secured four double portions of turnip mash for one gold — though Silas, recognizing them as the fugitives from Splinter's Bend, made his hostility clear and eventually had his bouncers remove them. Skrit used his Channel Divinity and a 27 persuasion roll to get Sanji put down gently rather than thrown through the door. The two returned to the wagon, turnip mash in hand and Silas's thugs watching from the tavern entrance.
The party headed out through the industrial gate and down the logging trench. Before long, three ankhegs burst up from beneath the wagon, sending it lurching into the air. Combat was chaotic: Skrit landed a massive thunderous smite on the first ankheg for 38 points of damage, sending it flying but drawing its singular fury. Both Skrit and Wickett attempted to leap onto an ankheg's back and failed, landing face-first in the trench mud. Gorlog successfully lured one creature away with a thrown handful of rancid food, causing it to bolt 30 feet — and then get attacked by its own sibling when it found no food there. Sanji, after three opening misses, returned in a later round and dropped one ankheg dead with a staff strike and a kick from Flurry of Blows. Gorlog knocked the injured first ankheg unconscious with a non-lethal critical hit. The third ankheg, having witnessed the death of its sibling and the felling of its companion, burrowed back underground and fled. Skrit removed the acid sac from the unconscious ankheg (a one-time grenade), and Wickett removed the sac from the dead one, preserving the meat. The session closed with Ledger's voiceover framing the scene: the party headed back to Waymoot with a wagon-load of bug meat, one good ankheg and one compromised one, and a recipe that was, by Ledger's own assessment, 'half-genius, half-disaster.'
Player Decisions
Wandered the town square to advertise the food wagon, then led Skrit to the Cupped Axe
After the breakfast rush, with no assigned task, Sanji simply began wandering
Generated significant sales traffic; also walked directly into Silas, who identified the party as fugitives
Challenged Silas to a dice game rather than simply paying for the turnip mash
Silas quoted one gold for a bowl of turnip mash and was hostile to the party's presence
Won four double portions of turnip mash for one gold; further antagonized Silas, leading to physical removal from the tavern
Used Channel Divinity to power a persuasion attempt to stop the bouncers from throwing Sanji out
Four large patrons stood up and were carrying Sanji toward the door after Silas raised his voice
Rolled a 27; Sanji was set down rather than thrown through the door. Expended Skrit's only daily Channel Divinity use.
Accepted Foreman Kaelin's offer to hunt ankhegs in exchange for the Writ of Provisioning
Kaelin explained the ankheg crisis and offered legitimacy papers as reward
Party committed to the ankheg hunt; successfully partially cleared the trench this session
Threw rancid food 30 feet behind the wagon to lure an ankheg away
Sanji had missed three attacks on the same ankheg; the creature needed to be neutralized
Successfully lured the ankheg away; it then got attacked by its own sibling who found no food; the siblings' infighting did not injure either critically but occupied them
Used Thunder Smite and Divine Smite on a crit against the first ankheg
The ankheg emerged from beneath the wagon directly in front of Skrit; instinctive reactive strike
Dealt 38 points of damage, nearly killing the creature in one hit; drew its singular aggression for the remainder of the encounter; expended two spell slots
Removed the acid sac from the unconscious ankheg rather than killing it
Post-combat cleanup; Kaelin had mentioned the sac functions as a one-time grenade if carefully removed
Successfully obtained one acid sac grenade; unconscious ankheg preserved alive
Removed the acid sac from the dead ankheg
Post-combat; one ankheg was killed by Sanji, leaving a six-second window to retrieve the sac
Successfully obtained a second acid sac grenade; dead ankheg's meat preserved for cooking
NPCs Encountered
Locations
Memorable Quotes
Thud (on seeing the food wagon): 'Oh, today. They just serving food?'
Silas (to Sanji and Skrit in the Cupped Axe): 'You lot, you lot look like you've been dragged through a briar patch backwards. This here's a working town, not a circus. Take that oversized badger of yours and your fancy spices back to the high road before I have the town guard check your papers, which I suspect are thin as your gravy.'
Ledger (closing voiceover): 'You ever try to peel a grape while a ten-foot lobster is tryin' to turn you into a snack? Well, that's what we call a Tuesday for this lot.'
Cliffhangers
- One ankheg escaped by burrowing underground — its location and whether it will return is unknown
- The Writ of Provisioning has been promised but not yet delivered — the ankheg nest may not be fully cleared
- Silas knows exactly who the party is, has a 500-gold bounty in mind, and has thugs available; he has not yet acted beyond evicting Sanji and Skrit
- The missing aged tuna has not been accounted for; Ledger's reaction when it was mentioned suggests he may know more
- The unconscious ankheg is still alive — the party discussed keeping it, killing it, or waiting a day for the meat to recover after the acid spray
Plot Threads This Session
Silas recognized the party as the fugitives from Splinter's Bend within minutes of their arrival, confirmed their identity to Sanji's face, and noted there is a 500-gold bounty on them. It was also revealed that Silas is Constable Barnaby Plum's cousin and the son of Vance, who runs Splinter's Bend — meaning the family network pursuing the party has a presence in Waymoot. Foreman Kaelin noted that Splinter's Bend law does not extend to Waymoot, and that a Writ of Provisioning from Waymoot would provide the party a degree of legal cover.
Foreman Kaelin hired the party to clear the ankhegs from the logging trench in exchange for a Writ of Provisioning. The party killed one ankheg, knocked one unconscious, and drove a third off. Both acid sacs from the first two were successfully removed. The infestation is not yet fully resolved — at least one ankheg escaped underground.
The party learned that Silas has a monopoly on food in Waymoot, having driven out three competing taverns by cutting their supply lines. A rumor among the loggers suggests he has been deliberately dumping slaughterhouse waste in the logging trench to attract the ankhegs and cause Foreman Kaelin to fail, after which Silas intends to buy the logging rights cheaply. Skrit expressed intent to investigate further how Silas is maintaining his own supply lines while blocking others.
Skrit continued to step into a leadership role — giving the kobold battle cry to grant party-wide advantage, using Channel Divinity to protect Sanji from being forcibly ejected from the tavern, and attempting (twice, unsuccessfully) to mount an ankheg. He also removed the acid sac from the unconscious ankheg and is actively thinking about how to help the people of Waymoot beyond just completing the job.
Sanji proved her value in sales, rolling a 20 persuasion to spread word of the not-potatoes through the square. In combat she overcame three consecutive misses to land the killing blow on the first ankheg with a Flurry of Blows. She also wandered the town independently with Skrit, and ate turnip mash while staring Silas down — establishing herself as fearless if occasionally oblivious to danger.
The second half of Skrit's aged tuna — reserved as potential monster bait — went missing from the wagon during the breakfast service. Ledger reacted noticeably when Gorlog suggested the loggers may have stolen it. The theft has not been resolved or the culprit identified.