Black Skull Tavern

A strange group of individuals meet at a tavern on Highsword. What happens next may surprise you.

## Player Characters

Roachella 2023BorisS.A.LJamuel L. SacksonGutterz D Fider

## Plot

After seeing each other in a party-wide collective dream, S.A.L and Gutterz wake up in front of a statue of the poet with an unknown book. They are found by Boris, who is on his way to deliver a parcel to the Black Skull Tavern. However, he is not interested in them and moves on. Nearby, Roachella 2023 is accused and attacked by a farmer for stealing his turnips, Jamuel L. Sackson sees this but decides not to intervene. The rest of the group join them and S.A.L. saves her by scaring away the farmer. Having found a common goal of going to the Black Skull tavern, Roachella to perform there, Jamuel to gamble, Gutterz to take part in the ~~illegal bug-fighting~~ Trivia Night, they head down the road together. However, Boris rushes ahead, uninterested in the rest of the group, but is held up by a nameless thug who wants to buy his package and has to be protected by Gutterz to be able to continue down the path. Down the road they find a cart blocking the way. After investigating, they discover that the troll pulling the cart is simply playing dead, hoping to get out of work. They push him aside and promise to help the wagon owner, but first they check out a nearby cave where they find a hastily made ritual. After killing the spawns, they loot the cave and return to pull the cart.

They finally arrive at the Black Skull Tavern, but are held up by the bouncer, who asks everyone for a quirky fun fact about themselves to weed out the weirdos. Most get through without a problem, but S.A.L. is refused entry, and only after a disagreement with the manager is he allowed in on the condition that if their group loses, they will all be banned from the tavern for life. After that Boris finally delivers the package and it's revealed, that it's a black skull artefact and the prize for tonight's trivia night. After some mingling at the bar, the main event begins, led by Kaz, and 4 groups find themselves taking part: Grumpy, the tavern owner and undefeated Trivia Night champion and his group, Marb and his group, Wilma and her group "the gals" and of course the new player group "the Linked". S.A.L. cheats right away and casts Demoralise on Grumpy after accusing him of cheating the whole time. The group makes a valiant effort, but realises that Wilma may not be playing fair herself, so S.A.L casts "Fear of letting anyone but the linked answer "on Kaz. During the half-time break, Rochella finally gets to perform her hit single "Roach me maybe" and earns a staggering 2 wealth in tips. Meanwhile, S.A.L. investigates the filth magic he discovered earlier, only to find a cultist mutant called Paulet o' Sheany outside, who belonged to the Arbon family that used to live in the now Aegis order Caste. After an S.A.L emotional speech™️ from S.A.L, he returns. The group manages to bring the game to a draw between themselves and the gals with 3 points each. They are stumped for the answer to the final question until S.A.L. notices Paulet outside the window casting a filth ritual and runs out to investigate again. After messing around with the ritual and Paulet, S.A.L. stands in front of the ritual and gets the answer that was meant for Wilma beamed into his head. He runs back inside and answers the question just before someone else can, winning the Trivia night. Grumpy, the sore loser, comes over and tries to win the skull back in a "play 12". However, Jamuel only agrees to a money match that both Kaz and Gutterz also take part in. Jamuel wins the match after catching Grumpy cheating while dealing the cards. The group heads to the bar for a celebratory drink while S.A.L waits outside.

Suddenly a giant Meateor appears in the sky outside and and crashes down on the Aegis order Castle. Parts of it land near the Tavern, killing Paulet and the Barmaid instantly.