Narrative Recap
The session opened with a rare quiet moment as the crew settled into the Thornwall Inn's shared washroom for a much-needed bath and a campfire-style conversation about how each of them relaxes. Skrit, having never had the concept of downtime, sat in awe of a clawfoot tub full of suds while the others shared small personal details — Gorlog rereads his Nona's recipe book, Wicket whittles (he's started carving the plesiosaur), and Sanji practices calligraphy on steamed-up mirrors; Sanji was so taken with Wicket's answer she awarded him inspiration. The warmth was short-lived: Skrit took first watch, Wicket never came to relieve him, Vaela's shift came and went, and rather than wake anyone Skrit simply kept watch until Sanji relieved him six hours in — leaving him with only a short rest, a failed Constitution save, and a level of exhaustion going into the crisis.
With the barest hint of pre-dawn light, Sanji spotted an orange glow and smelled smoke from the direction of the market square. Ledger's distressed bellow and the wailing of a large marine animal brought the crew flying out of bed and out the window. Racing toward the Greasy Spoon, Sanji rounded the corner to find two darkly-dressed figures torching the market stalls with small Molotov-like fire jugs, working from the far end of the row — deliberately avoiding Ledger's end, as the DM later confirmed. Ledger, half-free of his yoke, was calmed by Sanji's animal handling (advantage, 21), re-yoked, and the wagon moved clear of the fire undamaged. The alarm bell at the River Toll House had gone silent; when Sanji reached the guard shack she found it empty, the strongbox holding the party's evidence against the Vance network standing open, and — on a 16 investigation — signs of a struggle: heavy-booted men had come up from the shoreline and dragged something back to the river. Not a chest. A person. The guard is missing.
At the river, Skrit and Vaela sprinted through the tall dry grass toward the plesiosaur — whom the whole table now simply calls Pickles — wailing in apparent terror. Vaela's hair, blazing with emotion, ignited the grass behind them; Faith rolled a natural 20 on the spread die, and the fire consumed the grassland between the town and the river along with the section of stockade wall the party had snuck through (the party later agreed to let the blaze be blamed on the arsonists). On the far bank sat a raft with two dark-cloaked figures; Vaela illuminated it with dancing lights, used her homebrew pickle feature to hurl pickles upriver and draw Pickles away from them, then grew gills and webs in an aquatic draconic transformation and slipped underwater. A small red light flashed briefly over the raft and went dark. Later, after a second raft carrying three more figures pulled up alongside the first, a strange distorted sound — explicitly not the whistle the party remembered — rang out, and Pickles immediately stopped wailing.
The battle on the river turned quickly. Wicket commandeered one of Stout's guard boats and Sanji pole-vaulted in and shoved them 90 feet downriver in a single push. Vaela fought from underwater: a Chromatic Orb that leapt between the two rafts on matching d8s and singed both, a failed Hold Person, and Firebolts — one of which set the two-man raft ablaze. Gorlog, meanwhile, grabbed his biggest bucket, rallied the townspeople into a fire brigade with a rousing series of Obama-style speeches, and personally led the effort that put the market fire out. The decisive blow came from Pickles herself: on her own initiative she rose from the deep and chomped one of the newly-arrived raft's occupants — the DM named him Toby — who was wearing the stolen whistle on a lanyard. Wicket retrieved the whistle from the man's mouth mid-chomp with a sleight of hand check, took a boarding hook to the ribs for his trouble, and in a later action rifled Toby's pockets and recovered every piece of stolen evidence. Toby briefly wrenched free of the maw before Pickles re-chomped him nearly headless, and Vaela's Firebolt between the eyes finished him. Wicket brandished the whistle at the two survivors on the boarded raft — 'Do you think the Vances care if you die?' — called Skrit off, and let them run straight into Captain Stout's ambush: she and three guards rose from the bushes and cuffed them before the tree line. The burning raft's two crew fled to the far bank; Sanji sprinted across the burning raft after them, missed a grapple, punched one out cold with non-lethal blows, then appeared in front of the second with a simple 'hi' — he froze, surrendered, and fireman-carried his unconscious companion back to Stout. One attacker dead, four in custody, none escaped. Skrit fetched a jar of pickles from Vaela's bag of holding at her request and she fed the now-calm plesiosaur, while Gorlog led the grateful fire brigade back toward the Greasy Spoon for breakfast, angling for their votes come election day.
Player Decisions
Kept the watch alone for six hours rather than wake anyone.
Skrit had first watch; Wicket never came to relieve him, and Vaela's shift came and went too. Rather than wake anyone, Skrit kept watch until Sanji relieved him six hours in, earning only a short rest.
Skrit failed his Constitution save and gained one level of exhaustion (disadvantage on all ability checks) going into the pre-dawn crisis.
Ran through dry riverside grass while her fire-hair blazed with emotion, igniting the field.
Vaela was following Skrit at a sprint in the dark toward the plesiosaur's cry; she was still half-asleep and not thinking about her fire aura.
Faith rolled a natural 20 on the spread die the DM called for — the fire consumed the grassland between the town and the river and the stockade section the party had snuck through. The party agreed afterward to let the blaze be blamed on the arsonists.
Used her bonus action to hurl Pickles (the food item) upriver to draw the plesiosaur away from the attackers, then transformed into an aquatic draconic form and swam toward the enemy rafts.
Two rafts of attackers were across the river menacing the distressed plesiosaur. Vaela wanted to get the animal away from danger while also attacking the threat directly.
Pickles moved upriver, away from the rafts — but later surfaced on her own initiative to attack the newly arrived raft herself.
Retrieved the stolen whistle from inside the plesiosaur's mouth while it chomped the attacker wearing it, and in a separate later action pickpocketed all remaining stolen evidence from the man's pockets.
The attacker on the raft was wearing a lanyard holding the whistle and had been bitten by Pickles. Wicket recognized the lanyard and reasoned the whistle was still in the man's mouth.
All stolen evidence was recovered (taking a boarding hook hit for 9 slashing in between). After Captain Stout emerged from the bushes, Wicket stealthily re-pocketed the whistle — keeping it out of official hands, possibly unseen.
Brandished the whistle threateningly at the two surviving raft attackers and told them Vance doesn't care if they die, then called for Skrit to stand down and let them run.
Two raft attackers were attempting to flee; Skrit had an arrow drawn. Wicket wanted to use the moment psychologically rather than kill them.
The two attackers fled — straight into Captain Stout and her guards, who had been waiting hidden in the bushes and cuffed them before the tree line.
Sprinted across the burning raft to the far bank chasing a fleeing attacker, and after a failed grapple knocked him unconscious with non-lethal blows, then forced his companion to carry him back toward Stout.
Two attackers fled the burning raft into the woods on the far bank. Skrit asked Sanji to pursue and wanted at least one left alive.
One attacker captured unconscious. The second, cowed by Sanji appearing directly in front of him with a simple 'hi,' froze and surrendered — and after a fireman's-carry demonstration from Sanji, hauled his unconscious companion back to Stout's custody.
Instead of following the rest of the crew to the river, organized and led a fire brigade to put out the burning market stalls, then directed the grateful townsfolk to the Greasy Spoon for breakfast.
Gorlog woke with the first group but was slow getting moving; he smelled smoke near his kitchen (nat-20 perception — he recognized his own ingredients burning) and assessed the fire as the more immediate practical threat while the rest of the crew headed for the river.
Five stalls were saved from further spread and the fire was fully extinguished. A crowd of grateful townspeople followed Gorlog back to the Greasy Spoon, creating an unexpected breakfast rush.
Calmed Ledger down using Wicket's animal-handling approach and got him back into his yoke to move the wagon away from the spreading fire.
Sanji arrived at the market square to find two stalls already burning and the fire spreading toward the Greasy Spoon; Ledger was half-free and distressed.
The Greasy Spoon wagon was moved clear of the fire. Ledger appeared unharmed. The wagon sustained no observed damage.
Pre-built an alibi for the plesiosaur: if anyone asks, 'the plesiosaur attack was in self-defense of the animal.'
Pickles had killed a man mid-combat, and the party had also accidentally burned the riverbank. The table agreed the grass fire would be blamed on the arsonists.
The DM confirmed the party's story going forward: the plesiosaur was defending itself. Combined with Wicket's pocketed whistle, the party now controls the official narrative of the night.
NPCs Encountered
Locations
Memorable Quotes
Ledger (narration): 'A lantern is how honest folks say, here I am. No lantern, well that, that makes a whole different statement.'
Wicket (to surviving raft attackers): 'Do you think the Vances care if you die?'
Sanji (appearing in front of the fleeing attacker): 'Hi.'
Cliffhangers
- The two dark-clothed arsonists from the market square were never found — they lit the fires and vanished before anyone could confront them.
- The Toll House guard is missing — Sanji's investigation showed a struggle and a person dragged back to the river. No one has followed up yet.
- Ledger's narration promised THREE rafts coming down quiet; only two attacked. The third is unaccounted for.
- After Stout emerged from the bushes, Wicket stealthily re-pocketed the recovered whistle ('so hopefully they don't see'); it is unclear whether Stout knows the evidence has been recovered or where it is now.
- Captain Stout has four prisoners to question — their identities, their affiliations, and what the brief red light from the raft was signaling are all unknown.
- Pickles stopped wailing the instant a strange distorted sound — explicitly not the whistle the party remembered — rang out. What made it, and what it did, remain unknown.
- The Mirethanes, Callum and Petra, and Skrit's kobold warren invitation remain unaddressed.
- Gorlog has a crowd of townsfolk following him to the Greasy Spoon for breakfast — the crew's first significant public moment in Thornwall Fords.
Plot Threads This Session
Rafts attacked pre-dawn as Ledger's narration had warned — though it promised three rafts and only two appeared. Arsonists set fire to market stalls while a raft team broke into the Toll House strongbox, stole all the evidence against the Vance network, and apparently abducted the posted guard. The attackers stayed silent throughout, but shouted 'of course not' when Wicket asked if they thought the Vances cared whether they died. Outcome: one attacker (Toby) dead, four in Stout's custody, none escaped; Wicket recovered the whistle and all stolen evidence from Toby's pockets mid-combat. The market arsonists were never found.
All evidence Stout had collected — whistle, threat note, and other items — was stolen from the strongbox during the raid, and the guard posted on it was dragged away. Wicket retrieved everything from Toby's person during combat, but after Stout emerged from the bushes he stealthily re-pocketed the whistle ('so hopefully they don't see'); no roll was called, and it is unclear whether Stout knows the evidence has been recovered or where it is now.
Pickles — as the whole table now calls her — was wailing in distress at the raft party across the river. A strange distorted sound (explicitly not the whistle the party remembered) rang out and she instantly went quiet; what made it was never confirmed. She joined the fight on her own initiative, chomping the whistle-carrier. The party defended her, fed her pickles afterward, and Wicket secured the recovered whistle — in his own pocket.
The raft attack is consistent with Elder Vance's network acting on knowledge of the party's location — the attackers implicitly confirmed the affiliation when they answered Wicket's question about the Vances. Arsonists targeted the market stalls while a second team hit the evidence strongbox simultaneously. Four attackers are in Stout's custody for questioning.
Skrit took first watch and kept it alone for six hours rather than wake anyone, revealing that relaxation and downtime are foreign concepts to him. Sanji gently corrected him. From the bathhouse conversation he began a list of things he wants to learn: making pickles, whittling, blowing things up, and swimming.
No direct development. Gorlog did not mention or deploy the truffle oil this session.
No direct development this session.
No direct development this session.
No direct development this session.
No direct development this session.
Gorlog rallied the townspeople to fight the market fire with a series of inspirational speeches. After putting the fire out he directed the grateful crowd back toward the Greasy Spoon for breakfast, generating unexpected goodwill and foot traffic.
The guard Stout posted on the strongbox vanished during the raid. Sanji's investigation of the shack found a struggle and drag marks: heavy-booted men hauled a person — not a chest — from the shack back to the river. Never resolved this session.