Session Narrative
The Lazy Current is a sleek river skiff — fast, expensive, and cramped in the way that all fast vessels are. Captain Orlenna Windreaver is a half-elf of middle years with grey-streaked hair, a voice that carries over any wind, and an absolute conviction that passengers exist to either help or stay out of the way. She makes this clear within the first five minutes of boarding.
The girl is introduced as a ward of the diplomatic party — a pale, watchful child of about thirteen who answers to ‘Sable’ and has the particular stillness of someone who has learned to be invisible. She is polite. She is guarded. She watches everything.
Corster Fre takes Carra aside before departure with an additional incentive: if Sable arrives safely at the Germonian court, he will restore Carra’s ailing mother to health. The price of failure is implicit.
Sable, for her part, finds her way to Bambi within the first day and confides with the quiet urgency of someone who has been holding things in for too long: she suspects her mother’s intentions toward her. She does not want to go to Germonia. She does not want to be whoever they are sending her to be.
The Soggy Bottom Gang attacks on day three — river pirates operating under the baffling legal theory that the party’s river skiff has an outstanding warranty dispute that entitles them to board and search the vessel. The battle is chaotic and somewhat farcical, fought across the deck of a moving boat with the Gang’s claims growing increasingly elaborate throughout.
A more welcome encounter follows: Tick Tock the crocodile of Neverland legend, apparently far upstream from home, surfaces alongside the skiff to eye the party with ancient, luminous patience before submerging again. Nobody mentions the ticking.
A bard competition — provoked by a bard aboard a passing vessel who made comments about the party’s singing — results in Elora’s decisive victory and a purse of 20 gp.
And then Dame Aelbright, one of the Germonian diplomatic party, comes running: Sable is gone.
Key NPCs
- Captain Orlenna Windreaver — Half-elf river captain. Gruff, professional, absolutely reliable in a crisis. Has navigated the Dragonspire for twenty years and has opinions about every sandbar.
- Princess Sable — Thirteen. Clever. Afraid. Pretending not to be afraid. The ‘daughter’ referenced since Session 2 is, in fact, the heir to Germonia’s throne, and she wants nothing to do with it. Her trust, once given, is absolute.
- Dame Aelbright — Germonian diplomatic envoy. Rigid in protocol, genuinely concerned about Sable, and appalled by the party at all times.
Encounters & Mechanics
Soggy Bottom Gang
8 river pirates. CR 1/2 each. Fight on a moving boat (DC 10 Acrobatics to move at full speed; failure = half speed). Their ‘leader,’ Boggins, has a scroll of legal-sounding nonsense he reads aloud during combat.
Bard-Off
Performance contest vs. rival bard. DC 14 Performance; failure loses 10 gp, success wins 20 gp. Tie requires sudden-death round.
Loot & Rewards
| Item | Notes / Value |
| Soggy Bottom Loot | 22 gp, a damp spyglass, and a ‘warranty document’ that is functionally nonsense but might amuse a lawyer. |
| Bard-Off Prize (Elora) | 20 gp and a ribbon reading ‘Superior Bardic Excellence.’ |
DM Notes
Sable’s disappearance is the session cliffhanger. Plant the emotional attachment early — Bambi and Sable’s conversation should feel genuine. The more the party cares about Sable, the more the later sessions involving her complicate everything. Tick Tock is pure atmosphere — no encounter, just weight.