Blossom Fall, Episode 0

Colonial Caerdia: Blossom Fall is a story being told through a 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign I'm running at a local hobby shop called the Devil's Bench. This was the first session, which mostly involved creating characters, the players learning about the world, and finally a bit of play where the characters set out on their journey and got to know each other.


5th of Waning Fall, 2158 AE

For twenty years, the Somvidian Empire has been waging an aggressive war, meticulously conquering the entire continent. The war is nearly over, and everyone knows defeat is inevitable. Emperor Somived - a human whose tiefling children are proof of his dealings with devils - will have dominion over the whole continent within the next few tendays.

All hope seems to be lost, and it is a time for desperate actions. There have long been rumors of an ancient land, far across the Endless Ocean, known as Caerdia. No one has been able to find it, and many expeditions seeking to do so have never returned - but it shows up in fairytales and mythology enough to make people wonder, what if it exists?

To the thousands of refugees that have fled to the eastern coast and found there is nowhere else to run, the possibility of Caerdia is a spark of hope. Every vessel, from the largest ship to the smallest rowboat - even home-made rafts - has begun taking on crew and passengers for this potentially suicidal journey. Yet, to many, the chance of a free life is better than the certain death or slavery offered by the Somvidian Empire.

Port cities, like the mercantile city-state New Drovinaar, have so many refugees that tent-cities are forming outside the walls. All sorts of interesting people have arrived here, all with the goal of escaping the oncoming horde. For example, on the 5th of Waning Fall, out on the docks by the Spring Blossom - a weathered, retired merchant vessel that is easily the largest ship in port, an odd pair sneak their way in amongst the barrels and crates being loaded onto the ship. One of them - a pale human man in orange robes, a vest, and baggy pants - hands the last of his gold to the black-haired halfling woman in a hooded cloak. They then proceed to seal the human inside a barrel or wine before the halfling makes her way to the long line leading up the gangplank - pocketing the coins and pulling out her ticket.

At the top of the gangplank, a half-elf woman introduces herself as Captain Opal groups the halfling together with a rich-looking, red-haired and bearded half-elf, and a pair of leather-clad tribal-looking fellows - one a human, the other a half-elf with a tattoo on his face and his brown hair in a ponytail. The group is handed off to a blue dragonborn sailor, who leads them down into the lower levels of the ship. They ask him a bit about this journey to Caerdia, and he expresses that he shares their concern about the success of their voyage, but that it will be better than the Somvidian Empire. The half-elf tribesman is particularly shocked when he hears that people have sailed into the Endless Ocean for months and never found Caerdia.

The dragonborn takes them to a room that already contains Lord Krandig, a human noble with his medium-length red hair in a ponytail and a handlebar goatee. He protests about how he's supposed to have the room to himself, but the halfling just squeezes past his legs while the tribal half-elf rather rudely insists that they need a place to stay as well, and the wealthy-looking half-elf tries to convince Krandig that he is a noble down on his luck and would really enjoy his company for the journey. Lord Krandig isn't entirely convinced, but he grudgingly allows his new roommates in and consolidates his possessions.

The group settles in, and when the ship gets under way the halfling heads off to check on the monk she'd smuggled aboard in a wine barrel. The correct barrel is a bit difficult to find, but she is resourceful and finds that the monk is in surprisingly fine condition, in spite of steadily drinking the wine. She feeds some food into the barrel before heading back to her room.

Lord Krandig warms up to his new roommates, and he begins telling him that - while he's glad to have acquired passage on the Spring Blossom - he wishes he was on his own ship, but unfortunately it is in a far-away port. He then goes on to tell them about the Noble's Lark - a floating zoo he had commissioned that travels up and down the coast. Upon hearing that this boat held animals, the tribal half-elf speaks up, expressing his distaste at animals being held in captivity. He also demands to know if the animals are at least well taken care of, to which Lord Krandig says, of course! They're a business investment, after all.

The half-elf is a bit confused by this statement, which prompts the halfling to explain that civilization runs on money - and to call the half-elf a savage. Tensions rise as an argument starts, which Lord Krandig fails to mediate. However, the wealthier-looking half-elf has a unique solution to the situation - he casts a spell on the cabin that puts everyone - including himself - but the halfling to sleep.

The halfling takes this opportunity to go off and check on the monk again. She finds him drunk and singing, and realizes that the time has come to get him out of the barrel before someone notices. With over 2000 people on the ship, the monk's presence could surely go unnoticed.

After a minute, the people back in the cabin begin waking up. With half the arguers missing, there is no reason for the fight to begin. The first day of the journey continues, with members of the group wandering in and out on various errands and familiarizing themselves with the ship. While out fetching some of the monk-wine to sell to Lord Krandig, the halfling collects the monk and brings him back to their cabin - figuring that there's enough room to squeeze one more person in. She explains away the wine smell by saying that the monk is a vintner who enjoys partaking in his creations.

With everything settling down, the group that has been thrown together to be Lord Krandig's roommates, decide to introduce themselves to each other, since it looks like they'll be living in close quarters for quite some time. The tribal half-elf introduces himself as John Ark, and his human companion as Will Ark, the last survivors of their tribe - which was destroyed by the Somvidian Empire. The other half-elf calls himself Jojen the Wanderer, and the halfling is Vala Underhill. Lastly, the not-so-well-feeling monk hesitantly tells them his name is I'Un.



And that brings an end to this week's game session. You can learn more about this haphazard gang and their journey aboard the Spring Blossom next week in Episode 1.