Episode 9: Chats by the Riverbed

**Chats by the Riverbed** (C1E9) is the ninth episode of the first campaign of The Table is Yours: A Role-playing Adventure Show. The Faded Fates fall into The Wilds and escape from The Polished Wall into the unknown...

## Synopsis

### Sheep Can Swim

The guards of The Polished Wall fire arrows downwards as The Faded Fates make their escape to the floor of The Wilds. Upon landing, they notice a flowing river leading into a desert with no sign of civilization; despite this, they decide following the river is their safest option while things blow over in The Burg. Codex, still a sheep, struggles in and escapes Wash’s grasp after kicking him in the stomach. Codex runs away from the party as they chase after her. Wash, without thinking, orders v2 to “hunt” to the shock and horror of everyone present. v2 charges towards Codex who, understandably, freaks out and jumps into the river. v2 stands by the edge of the river, craning his neck as he watches his prey move further and further away. Isabella dives into the river to retrieve Codex and, to stop her thrashing, ties her up before making the trek back to land. At the same time, Wash decides to throw a rock at Codex’s sheep head. It’s an easy target, and Codex returns to her normal, half-harengon form, though she’s still tied and being dragged to the shore.

### Watches & Ghosts

Taking stock of their two drenched party members, The Faded Fates decide to make camp. With only their clothes and items from the gala, and no helpful tools, the group realizes their “camp” is more of a “place where they are choosing to rest”. Codex and Shae volunteer to take the first watch together and set up a small fire while everyone else attempts to rest. The two of them talk for a bit. Shae asks Codex about her magic because it seems… different. Codex explains that she learned some of it, but a lot of the magic she casts is still a mystery to her. Shea laughs and mentions Codex’s earlier transformation, but Codex is convinced she didn’t turn herself into a sheep. As their conversation continues, Codex asks Shae about her history with The Needles, a thieves guild Shae previously mentioned she was a part of. She explains that they are a group that completes jobs, mainly involving high-ticket items. The two continue to chat, but Shae suddenly excuses herself from the campsite. Codex assumes Shae needs air because she looked paler than usual.

In actuality, Shae leaves the campsite because she sees a ghost near the river. The ghost paces along the river in a long, white gown; she appears to be soaking wet and crying. Shae moves closer to the figure and asks for its name. The ghost looks to be muttering to herself, but Shae cannot hear her. The ghost is surprised Shae can see her and gets close to Shae, again attempting to speak, but there is still no sound. Luckily, Shae was trained to read lips and assures the spirit that she can understand her. Shae then notices a mark around the woman’s neck, as if she had been strangled. The woman mouths to Shae the name “Adelaide”, but quickly she returns muttering to herself, and Shae is able to decipher it:  “She’s bad. I think she was my mom. She made me lie. She killed me.” Adelaide repeats this over and over, getting more and more frustrated. She turns towards Shae and vanishes into her, causing Shae to double over. She stands there for a moment and gathers herself, takes a deep breath, and returns to the campsite. Before Codex is able to ask about Shae’s sudden shift in demeanor, Shae asks for magic lessons from Codex to change the subject. Codex agrees, and they decide to start with something simple. Shae wants to learn the Message spell. Until their shift is over, Codex works with Shae on the basics of messaging.

Terrance and Isabella decide to learn more about each other as they start their watch. Terrance apologizes for dragging her into this mess, but Isa says it is all part of the job and that something crazy was bound to happen given The Faded Fates’ track record. Isa shares that the Red Raven Adventuring Guild pays Holy Sun to keep her name on their enrollment list. Her parents think she is still in college and attending their alma mater, but she explains she dropped out of college to join the guild after being recruited by Shawm. Terrance says he wanted to go to college, but he had a very specific path he wanted to follow, and it wasn’t something Summit understood or accepted. He explains Vorano was the only person to put their faith in his experiments, and even though Vorano is a bad guy, Terrance didn’t care at the time. Obviously, he now felt immense guilt for what happened because of his serums, and he asks Isabella if she thinks he is a bad person because he created something that killed so many people. She pauses for a moment and fidgets with her necklace, which holds two identical rings and a Bynona symbol. She tells Terrance that he isn’t a bad person, and he is fighting against Vorano now, which makes him a good person. Terrance smiles, and the two continue to talk about his serums and Isa’s college experiences.

### Lucky Lazy-River Lads

The next morning, the party follows the river, hoping to find civilization. After walking for a while in the blistering sun, Wash lightens the mood by choosing to float lazy river style downstream. Isa and Codex immediately join, but Shae sits out and shadow-gates from tree to tree to avoid the harsh sunlight. Terrance is the last to get in, clearly uncomfortable. He reveals bandages across his chest, and the rest of him is pretty scrawny, but the party pays no mind. The Faded Fates float down the river until they come across a small town. They emerge and put their fancy, gala clothes back on (except Shae, who had brought street clothes to the event).

The group wanders into the town, called Silkfell, and enters The Riverbed Tavern. The party sticks out like a sore thumb and receives weird looks from locals. The owner of the tavern, Suum, approaches their table. She is a tall, red-skinned orcish woman, and she walks to the group with an air of caution reserved for outsiders. The group orders food, and Suum asks what they are doing there. They are honest; they tell her they are from The Burg and that they were accused of something they didn’t do. Suum is surprised by their honesty and gives them what the party interprets as a knowing look. She tells them she is going to get their food, but she will be back. The group realizes there isn’t much they can do but wait and hope she isn’t calling the guards to report them. As Suum returns with their food, she sets it down on the table and says, “tell me what kind of trouble you’re in, and I can help.”