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. If you aren't already familiar with this series, you can find the beginning over here.
You can find the previous episode here.
29th-33rd of Waxing Spring, 0 AL
Having recently fought some giant crabs, and some water, out group of heroes takes a break to recuperate and harvest some crab meat. As they are preparing to head on their way, they discuss that they should probably stick closer to the treeline to keep Jojen away from the water - as he appears to be prone to drowning. Jojen insists that he has no problem with the water, while wandering over to aggressively stab the ocean with his rapier. I'Un and John try to manhandle him away from the ocean, which makes Jojen decide to go for a swim to prove that there's nothing to fear.
Jojen wades out into the ocean... and suddenly gets caught in an undertow and pulled under. It takes Vala and I'Un to drag him out again. This time Jojen doesn't resist being carried away from the water.
The group continues following the coast for the rest of the day. By evening, the beach has slowly faded away, to be replaced by a steady incline and cliffs dropping down to the ocean. They make camp well away from the cliffs and John cooks the crab - very badly as it turns out, which is quickly apparent to Vala who is very angry about John trying to poison her, though her attempts to stomp on his foot fail.
During the watches in the night, I'Un discusses goals with Jojen. Then, on Vala's watch, to get revenge on John she steals a pouch of money from him while he's sleeping. John doesn't notice until halfway through the next day, when he spots Vala carrying the pouch, however she refuses to give it back and snatches it away when John tries to grab it. When John tries to push Vala off the cliff, to the ocean hundreds of feet below, I'Un and Jojen intervene - with I'Un sneakily stealing the pouch. The argument calms a little, and ends when I'Un shows that he now has the pouch, and says that he will be holding onto it for now. It is, after all, the pouch of strange coins they found in this land that they had agreed to keep separate for now, to divide up later.
They continue on for the rest of the day and camp that night. When they continue in the morning, they find the coastline curving in to the east, and the cliffs getting lower until - a little ways into the afternoon - they find themselves on the edge of a swampy marsh. They begin discussing their next direction. Vala is adamant about not going into the marsh, reminding the group of the dragon they heard about that lives in a swamp inland to the north. Jojen wants to make sure they return home for the Spring Festival and the political forum intending to be held then.
They are suddenly interrupted by three giant toads leaping out of the swamp and landing amidst them. I'Un quickly throws Vala on top of one of them, just in time to be grabbed in the toad's mouth - which he takes advantage of by attacking the softer inner-tissue. Jojen works to support his friends, while John goes after one of the toads, and Leshanna hacks away at the third toad as it grabs Luna in its mouth.
The battle doesn't seem to be going too badly until I'Un is swallowed by the toad holding him. Between Vala stabbing at the toad's head, and I'Un pummeling its insides, the toad is killed. I'Un crawls out just in time to see Luna get swallowed. The group converges on the two remaining toads, managing to kill them, but Luna is still inside one of them - and she hasn't been showing signs of fighting for some time. Leshanna slashes a cut into the toad's stomach as I'Un crawls inside - then drags Luna out through the hole Leshanna made. Luna is on the edge of death, but John is able to stabilize her.
This fight confirms for them that they don't want to go into the marsh. They decide to set a course straight north, through the woods, before heading back west to their camp. On their second night, they camp near a small hot geyser they came across - though far enough not to be sprayed. During a shared watch shift, I'Un approaches Vala, asking her to keep a secret as a friend. Vala has trouble with this concept, but eventually agrees, in exchange for being given the pouch of coins to hold onto. I'Un then reveals his back, showing a remarkable tattoo that appears to be at least somewhat magical. I'Un explains that protecting this tattoo is why he has to stay alive - why he hid in the barrel on the ship rather than helping to save it - and that it's the greatest secret of his order. He doesn't fully understand what it is, but he knows he has to keep it safe from those who would abuse its power.
And with that, this week's game session comes to an end. Check back in two weeks to find out what happens in Episode 13.
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