Chapter Text
It’s a slow, warm mid afternoon in the city of Yogen. We find ourselves in the interior of the tavern “El Blanco”, one of the many located in the centre of town. Even though usually this lowly tavern doesn’t see many customers, today it seems business is going well. Several patrons sit scattered across the entire establishment, while a bard plays a lazy tune in the haphazard stage in one corner of the tavern. Each of you is enjoying a drink, or having light conversation with whomever you’re sharing the table. If you’d like to introduce yourselves one by one…
"Uhh…. who should start?"
"I don’t want to be the first one…"
"Oh, I’m so nervous!"
"Alright then, I’ll start. I think I’m sitting alone in one of the tables, facing the tavern’s door. I’m a pretty tall woman, with long, light hair tied in an undone bun on the back of my head. I’m wearing some baggy clothes and my fists are all bandaged. My name’s Adriael."
Please, tell the others what races you are.
"Oh, I’m an aasimar."
"Wha’s dat?"
"A half angel basically, yes?"
Correct. Next one!
"Ok… I’m a girl too, and I think I would be sitting at the counter… drinking a smoothie or something sweet like that. My hair is really short and curly, coloured like honey, and I’m wearing some simple but very nice purple robes. I’m a half-elf and my name’s Persephone. And there’s some annoying guy sitting right next to me…"
"Hey!! …. Guess it’s my turn. Yeah, so I’m a super buff, super cool looking earth genasi, I’m like made out of rock or something and I have a badass looking axe with me. Not wearing any fancy clothes in particular. My name’s Tauros."
"I’m next then! I’m sitting alone on a table too, because I’m too shy to talk to anybody… I’m a half-orc, and I’m wearing clothes with green and earthy tones. My hair is all tied up and decorated entirely with little flowers. I’m also carrying a staff. My name’s Margarita, but almost everyone calls me Marga."
"I would sit with you on your table and talk to you!! I’m a very dashing black tabaxi, with regal looks and sharp, deep blue eyes. I’m wearing some light coloured robes and carry a small staff as well. I have a shield on my right arm too. You may refer to me as Félix. Oh, and probably my companion is with me as well."
"Sure… I’m human. Black hair, black clothes. Nothing special about me, just a simple dude. Name’s Pego."
That’s it…?
"What else is there to say?" he shrugs.
"I’ll follow, then. I’m Eran, an eladrin. I’m the bard playing on the tavern’s stage. I’m currently playing a harp, though I also have a flute and some other instruments on my person. As for my clothes, they have a colourful and fashionable tone, though they don’t stand up too much."
Ok! Now, for the last one…
"Of course. I believe I would also be sitting facing the door. I have a sword with me and I’m wearing comfortable travel clothes. I’m a grey tiefling, and my name’s Robin."
"So lame you named yourself after your persona…"
"Ryuji, shush!"
Only character names at the table please!!!
"Sorry…"
Alright, so… You’re all the customers currently at the tavern, besides the owner, Jiso, who’s attending the people sitting at the counter. You’re all enjoying yourselves, not being very mindful of the other patrons, when suddenly, you hear some ruckus from outside. Once you look towards the door and windows, you notice that the sound is getting louder, and louder, and some cries of help begin appearing as well. In mere seconds, the sound gets uncomfortably close, and in a moment, with a loud explosion, two mandrakes take down the tavern’s door and come storming in!! What do you do?
"I get up and punch them!!" Tauros slams the table as he says so.
"WAIT!! You can’t just go and beat them, brute!" Persephone yells at him, lightly slapping him on the shoulder.
"Why, they’re monsters!! I PUNCH THEM!!"
Ok, before that you all need to roll for initiative.
"Roll for what now?" Tauros says confused, trying to figure out which one of the dice is the d20.
"Oh, our first roll! So exciting!" Margarita says happily while throwing her dice with a flare.
Ok, so the one with the higher roll goes first, and then the next follows, until everyone is done. So, you can start Adriael.
"I get to them and punch them," she comments with a flat tone.
"See? It’s the thing to do," Tauros scoffs at Persephone.
"Shut up…"
Right, so roll for hit and then damage!
"6 damage."
Awesome, next person...!
***
And so, you defeated the two mandrakes, who lay dead in front of you now.
"I want to step up and examine the bodies, see if I can tell anything about them," Adriael says.
Ok, roll an investigation check. Roll a d20 and add your investigation.
[19]
Wow, good roll! So, you start examining the bodies, and you find that they’re covered in soil, and pretty malnutritioned. By how dirty they are, you gather that they probably come from the forest surrounding the town. It’s unusual that they would come into the city. It looks like they came directly from their habitat to assault whatever place was their objective.
"Is it related to what I’ve heard?"
It is.
"I see…" she turns to speak to the whole group. "Hello everyone, my name is Adriael, and I work for the Yogen government. You’ve probably heard about this, but various monster attacks, much like this one, have been happening around town. I’ve been sent to investigate, but I lack some sort of backup or reinforcement. Since you’ve proved yourselves quite capable during battle, I’d like to ask for your aid. You’ll be rewarded, of course," Adriael says all of that as if reading a memorized script, she seems quiet nervous. "F-futaba was that all right?"
Amazing, keep going!
"You want us as mercenaries?" Persephone asks her.
"Well… I don’t particularly like that word, but it would be an accurate description."
"I’m interested," Robin says, getting closer to the group.
"Me too!" Persephone does a little jump and joins the group.
"Uuhh… if there’s money… count me.. in…?" Tauros says, somewhat hesitant.
Your roleplay sucks.
"HEY."
"This seems like a good opportunity to go see the world, and besides, if there’s a reward, the deal just sweetens. Count me in as well," Eran smiles at the group and nods.
"Me too! I want to know more about these monsters!" Marga comments, happily.
Pego, can you roll a perception check for me?
"....? Sure…"
[3]
…. Ok. So, while the whole group is talking, Jiso starts coughing to catch your attention. However, you seem distracted, so it alerts the whole group.
"Right… I’ll look at him."
He hands you a note. Here, read it, but don’t show it to anyone.
Go with them. This lady seems rather suspicious and I want to know what’s up. Also, I’d prefer to avoid any further damage to my establishment, so figure out what’s going on and try to stop my place from being destroyed. Take Félix with you.
"WAIT WAIT WHAT’S THAT?" Tauros starts shouting.
YOU DON’T KNOW, YOU DON’T SEE IT.
"BULLSHIT."
"I want to give the note to Félix."
Ok, roll a sleight of hand check for me.
[12]
"COME ON WE TOTALLY SEE THAT."
Uuugggh…. ok, roll a perception check to see if you catch him slipping the note to Félix.
[7]
"Seven…?" Tauros says, somewhat sheepish.
You don’t see it. Félix, you get the note.
"Ok, I’ll read it. Stealthily…?"
Roll stealth then!
[12]
"DO I SEE THAT NOW?" Tauros says, throwing the d20 on the table.
[1]
"....."
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA what a loser. No, you don’t see anything.
"Isn’t that like, the WORST you can do?" Persephone turns at him laughing loudly.
"SHUT UP ANN, stupid game…"
"How fitting to the narrative," Eran comments while chuckling. Marga can’t help but laugh as well.
"Anyway… My associate and I will join as well!! Be grateful that we’ll accompany you!" Félix says with a smug face, talking to the group. Pego just nods next to him.
"... I think now we should go report to my superiors… and then they’ll give us some orders…?"
Yes, so you exit El Blanco and head to the government building. Once you get there, the whole party is officially registered as the investigators of the case and you’re given further information about the attacks. It seems that the anonymous informer that keeps warning the authorities about the monsters said that in 2 days, there’s an attack planned on a farming vila in the outskirts of Yogen. You’re tasked to go there, stop the attack, and try to gather more information about the case.
"We’ll head there then."
It’s like a 4-hour walk there, and it’s already night time.
"So… we’ll start heading there tomorrow morning?" Persephone asks, looking at the group. Everyone nods in agreement.
Got it. The next morning, you get all your supplies ready and travel to said location. The trip goes uneventful, and you arrive at the farm.
"The attack is supposed to happen tomorrow, right? Maybe we should scout the place and think of a strategy before it happens," Robin suggest with a small smile.
"I think it’s a good idea," agrees Adriael.
"Are there people living on the farm?"
There are.
"Shouldn’t we tell them to leave? So that they don’t get hurt," Pego suggests to the whole group.
"I think that would be rather wise. There’s no need to risk innocent lives," Eran seems fond of the idea.
"I would suggest otherwise. Maybe if the usual state of the farm is altered, the monsters will call off the attack and we won’t be able to proceed with our mission. I would not tell them," Robin counters with a stern face.
"And let the people die? No way dude."
"Actually… Ake..ROBIN makes a great point. Maybe we shouldn't tell them," Adriael sides with Robin’s proposal.
Ok, let’s have both Robin and Pego roll and see what you’ll do then. Robin, you go first.
[11]
Pego?
[8]
"I win," Robin smiles at Pego. "Let’s look at the surrounding areas without altering the farmers and think of a plan."
Yes, so you check all around the farm and find out that there’s an open area leading to the big forest in the outskirts of town, so you assume that the monsters will come from there. Besides that, there’s nothing else of interest, and the farmers don’t seem to notice you. Do you want to camp out and wait for the next day?
"Yes, let’s do that."
Next day comes, and as expected, once the sun starts to go down, the monsters appear. This time, a bunch of mandrakes and jack o’lanterns, accompanied by a scary looking Berith appear. Roll for initiative…!
***
So, after much struggle, you manage to defeat all the monsters. The people from the farm… [12] mmhh… some of them suffer some major injuries, and most of the farming land and buildings are destroyed, but none of them die.
"This sucks… we should’ve told them," Tauros grumbles, doing a little kick.
That’s the way the dice roll… But yes, you’re now on the after-battle field. What do you do?
"Can we investigate around a bit to see if we find more information about what the monsters were trying to accomplish?" Félix asks, already taking the dice with his mouth and throwing it to the table.
[11]
After carefully looking at the destruction the monsters left behind, you do notice that some of it is cantered at specific areas, but you can’t quite figure out what it could mean. What I can tell you for sure is that they weren’t particularly interested in harming the people. They just attacked them because they were on the way.
"So, the beasts are not particularly blood thirsty… they’re after something else…" Eran musses aloud. The rest of the party seems to agree with him.
"Our job is done… I think we should go back to Yogen and report what happened. We can’t do much else here…" Adriael suggests.
"I want to try and help the farmers as much as I can. Maybe I can help heal their crops? Or treat their wounds?" Marga asks, a worried frown on her face.
"I can help healing them as well!" Félix joins her.
Ok, you two try to help the farmers as much as you can before you leave. Since they didn’t know you knew about the attack in advance, they are very grateful that you took out the monsters and are helping them now.
"Ugh… I feel so guilty…" Persephone says, with a disgusted look on her face.
"Same…" Tauros whispers.
So, once your business is finished, you go back to Yogen to report and see what new leads you have to try and figure out the mystery of the monsters’ attacks…