Test Play Episode 1: Roll for Bento

## The Story

Brox, Misha, Mirabella, and Valen - four friends - start the test play at The Rotten Goose, where they are eating bento that Mirabella made for everyone. Someone else in the bar starts a fight, which draws the attention of a couple of members of the city guard who are trying to stay out of it. The fight concerns Mirabella, who starts trying to gather up the bento so they aren't damaged, and is actively trying to feed her friends as they protect their food. Valen and Misha assist in stacking the bento boxes, while Brox stands guard over the table.

During that time, Misha notices an unattended satchel at the bar which has fallen off a knocked over chair during the fight. She encourages Valen to steal it, offering to serve as a distraction. Misha lets out a loud scream, falling backward, and Mirabella tosses the stack of bento intentionally to assist. Using the shadows, Valen is able to duck into the shadows in the bar. One of the bento smacks one of the people fighting in the face, covering their face with food. Mirabella points to Misha, drawing the fighter's ire. Misha accuses him of touching her inappropriately to dissuade him from hitting her for the time being.

Valen is able to take the satchel, but one of the members of the group who owned it spots them picking it up.

Brox, also decorated with the strewn bento, strikes the man facing off with Misha, forcibly knocking him across the top of a nearby table. Mirabella stands on top of their table, holding an empty bento box, and starts having a crying breakdown to try to manipulate the people in the room to draw their attention. Misha tries but fails to assist in the distraction, but just winds up slipping on the bento and looking foolish. This makes Mirabella start crying harder. The people in the bar realize what their actions have caused and their hearts break.

Using the distraction to their advantage, Valen ducks back into the shadows in the commotion and out the side door to the disgusting, narrow alley outside, taking the satchel with them. The owners of the satchel, members of a group of swords for hire, realize that Valen and their satchel are gone. They start searching the area near the gang's table and the bar, trying to look for Valen. Valen, meanwhile, takes off away from the street, going an alleyway over.

Brox finishes her drink as the others try to figure out the best way to gracefully escape The Rotten Goose. The city guard starts rounding up the people who were involved in the fight. Mirabella requests candy on the way home and they stop and watch a puppet show on the street, waiting for nightfall before returning home to The Half-Baked Tart which they own, using as a front for The Halfling Mafia which doesn't technically exist (yet, though Mirabella is really keen on it). The four live on the second floor.

Valen goes through the satchel in a random alley in the city, taking the contents and ditching the satchel itself. Though most of the items are of little use, there is a draconian scroll inside, written in an ancient language about dragons. Valen is able to identify that this is specifically about dragons based on past interactions with draconic items, but has no idea of its use or value. Alongside the scroll is a journal (which is apparently useless), a shopping list, some money, and some rations. Valen chooses to give the rations to street urchins in need of food on the way home.

Valen returns home first, reading through the journal just out of sheer enjoyment. Brox, Misha, and Mirabella return soon after and catch Valen up on their snacks and puppet show. Brox asks about if there was anything worth stealing in the bag. Valen displays the scroll and offers it to the others, stating that they can't read it because it's written in draconic script and that they don't think it's worth anything. Misha passes around a bottle of wine. Mirabella suggests bringing cookies to The Rotten Goose and The City Guard to try to learn something about the stolen scroll. Valen doesn't even question it, and puts on an apron to start making cookies and starts telling Mirabella about the stupid contents of the diary as they start using pages to stoke the oven fire. Valen is not as thrilled as Mirabella about giving The City Guard cookies but helps make them regardless.

Misha and Brox study the scroll. Brox realizes that the real value of the scroll are the scroll rods, which are of dwarven make, and not the actual paper of the scroll. Misha tries to detect any magical properties of the scrolls and is able to identify that the scroll rods are a part of a series of magical items that work together to summon a dragon. (The scroll itself is the set of instructions for use of the scroll rods, but do not indicate how the other items in the set would be used, but the party does not have that knowledge.) Unfortunately, Misha's spell backfires slightly, giving them a negative modifier to future magic spells. After the cookies are in the oven, Valen dedicates some time to making a copy of the scroll itself to get it translated.

## Notable Characters

* Mirabella Rosehip Heartblossom
* Brox
* Misha van Dyne
* Valen Aloro

## Notable Locations

* The Rotten Goose
* The Half-Baked Tart

## Listen Here

* Patreon
* Natural Geekery Official Site
* Spotify
* Apple Podcasts