Session 14: Sen and the Sleepover

Village of Sen

TONE: Warm and low-stakes. A rest between
storms. Let the party breathe.

Sen

Sen is a fishing village on the river — smaller than Silverbend,
friendlier, with a shrine to a local river goddess and a bakery that
smells of cardamom. The party splits up naturally here, which is good —
it lets you give everyone a personal scene.

Split Party Scenes

At the Shrine

Brother Ansel is a middle-aged priest who takes the curse seriously
and knows what to do. While Ansel works, one or two party members can
mind the shrine. River sprites (Pixies — MM p.253) attempt to steal
offerings from the shrine. They are mischievous, not malicious. DC 13
Dexterity to catch one; the others scatter and laugh. If a sprite is
gently scolded rather than threatened, it leads its catcher to a cache
of offerings previously stolen — good stuff.

Around Town — The Sleepover

One or more characters befriend Helga, a local woman who runs the
village gossip network with the efficiency of a professional
intelligence service. Helga knows: the shrine has been losing offerings
for months (the sprites), a merchant from Queensport passed through two
weeks ago asking about young girls traveling north, and Brother Ansel
once lifted a curse off a man who insulted a merrow — the man grew gills
and never fully recovered.

A sleepover scene (with any combination of party members and Helga)
involves staying up too late, Helga’s inexplicably strong elderflower
wine, and a genuine emotional conversation about where each character is
headed and why. Give the players space for this — it’s the warm heart of
the session.

Sable Wrangling

Sable escapes into town within an hour of the party’s arrival. She is
not running away — she is exploring. She has never been in a town this
small and finds it fascinating. She is found at the Baby Dragon Bakery.
(‘They sell actual baby dragons,’ she says to whoever catches her. ‘I
needed to see that.’)

DM NOTE: Sable and whichever character retrieves her will have a
small scene worth playing. She asks what the character is good at.
Whatever they answer, she thinks about it and says: ‘So am I.’ She means
it. She has more in common with most of the party than anyone is
comfortable admitting.

• Chasing away or befriending the sprites: 150 XP

• Getting Helga’s gossip: 100 XP (story)

• Recovering Sable without incident: 200 XP