Tiny Fables Session 1: A Magic Broom and Roasted Mushrooms
Players
Claire Witter (Greenie), Cherry Summerholme (Greenie), Bill Pipp (ChaosKnight), Cornelius Dunhall (hireling)
Summary
The Month of Star. The Sixth Fair of the Fourth Week.
The Warden Tree Festival is in three days.
The winter wind blows across the creaking trees. The summer harvest failed. The village of Thimblewood struggles to sustain itself. The Squeaky-Stein has fallen on hard times, as a âdonations welcomeâ sign hangs outside of it.
Thin potato and leek soup is being served. The floor is filthy. The proprietors, Horace and Mabel, struggle as they serve their neighbors, the trap thief Claire Witter and the merchant Bill Pipp.
Another mouse, Ivan, sits in the corner sulking. Having had to sell his farm, the process driving him a bit mad. Folks have been finding him wandering the woods. Dangerous considering the weather.
Claire tries to make the thin gruel taste better with her cheese. Unfortunately, she is lactose intolerant. Bill moves away as her flatulence cannot be abated. The proprietor, Horace, comes over and asks how the food is and how things are going, given the harsh winter. The two respond as best as they can, as Horace tells the story of why the place is so dirty. Mabel usually runs a âtight shipâ.
Horace recounts the broom he bought from his neighbor, Percival. One day, it started moving on its own, eventually leaving the village and being taken by the Toll Bridge Mole, Boris, who asked for 22p in return for attempting to cross the bridge. With money being tight and trade at a standstill, Horace couldnât pay the toll, and thus, the Squeaky-Stein has fallen into disrepair.
Horace asks Claire and Bill that, in return for returning the broom, he will allow them free room and board. The two agree, and as they make preparations, Claire awakens her trusty, yet perpetual drunk assistant, Cornelius, who is passed out on the side of the Inn. His morning breath smelling of hard cider.
The three brave the droning winds and creaking trees as they leave the village. Near nightfall, a rat bearing a red shirt with heart patterns stops them upon the road and demands a tax in the name of Queen Madeline.
The group, exhausted from the day's travel and caught flat-footed are extorted 5 acorns and 4p. A heavy tax in these skint times, but are allowed to pass onward. The group, miserable and cold, finds shelter in a tree hollow and snacks on the cheese Claire brought, enduring her awful farts over the night.
Upon the morrow, The Month of Star. The First Fair of the Fifth Week, the group finally arrives at the bridge of Boris, who braves the winter wind and demands 20p to cross. The group attempts to explain their situation, and after careful deliberation and an argument in favor of free trade by Bill, Boris tells them to come to his lair and engage in trade and barter.
The three descend across the icy rocks, only for Claire to slip into the ice water and be carried away. Bill and Cornelius watch in horror as Claire drowns downstream. Soldiering on, the two decide to become business partners as another mouse, the worm wrangler Cherry Summerholme, finds them descending into Borisâs tunnel system. After some introductions and getting nearly lost in the labyrinthine tunnels, the group finds Borisâs room.
Roasted mushrooms, piles of trash, amongst a straw bed, is the home Boris makes. Bill proffers 3p and an acorn âgrown from the Warden Tree herselfâ, in exchange for the now-chewed broom. Bill says that Boris would have gotten more if he hadnât chewed the broom. Bill advises that Boris should want more business; it would be wise not to chew on merchandise. Boris agrees to this and trades the chewed broom for the food and pip.
Bill touches the broom, which stands erect as Cherry investigates it, unsure of its properties. The group arrives back in Thimblewood Village as evening closes. The three seeing and feeling the broom attempt to pull away from Billâs backpack during the sojourn.
The group arrives back as news of Claireâs passing hits deeply with both Horace and Mabel, who mourn their neighbor. Vowing to set up a memorial wall in the Inn. Bill says that Claire would be proud and knew the risks she would take.
Bill also proposes a business deal to invest in the inn with mushrooms sourced from Boris to improve the thin potato and leek soup. Horace and Mabel agree to talk business after the Warden Tree Festival tomorrow.
Treasure Found:
Percivalâs magic broom
Foes Encountered:
1 Red Rat toll enforcer (paid off), Boris the Mole Rat (engaged in barter & trade)
Rumors:
Boris the Mole has delicious mushrooms that could be bought and sold at the Squeaky-Stein Tavern and Inn
Deaths:
Claire Witter drowned in the ice-cold river
XP Awarded:
100xp divided three ways, 34xp each
Notes
- With a smaller group, the dynamic lent itself toward non-violent resolution. This way is a nice change of pace.
- I had Greenie roll 3 DEX saves with DISADV to attempt to stop drowning. This felt appropriate as the river swept her away, and given the frigid temperature in the game, this was a fitting death, as the other PC and NPCs had no item or gear to assist in rescuing her character.
- Percivalâs magic broom isnât given a value in the module. I felt this wasnât satisfactory as the group did acquire a magic item and gave it a value of a shovel (10p) and multiplied it by 10 for 100xp.
- Percivalâs magic broom will be found missing next session again, finding its way to Chulipâs Castle.