Ambush at the Ebontree

"**Ambush at the Ebonree**" is a *Dungeons & Dragons* adventure played by Lilu, Anna, and Mya on 20 August 2022, and the first episode of the *Ventures Unlimited* campaign.

The game was DMed by Capwithoutacountry, and hosted in person.

## Party

* **Gray** (Lilu) – Changeling Rogue
* **Shadowtail** (Anna) – Tabaxi Ranger
* **Wintersky** (Mya) – Tabaxi Artificer

### NPCs

* Endral Starsgard – Samodiva Knowledge Domain Cleric
* Cole Ashe – Human Fighter

### Villains

* Ezequiel Longfellow – Bandit (CR 1/8)
* Wesley – Bandit (CR 1/8)
* Norwood – Bandit (CR 1/8)
* Emerson – Bandit (CR 1/8)
* Tony – Bandit (CR 1/8)

## Summary

Following the funeral of a local celebrity, several of the residents of town of Focksford hold a homegoing celebration at The Starry Knight tavern; the Tabaxis Shadowtail and Wintersky find themselves in attendance, as does the Changeling Gray, who spends the afternoon picking the pockets of the increasingly inebriated patrons. As the celebration proceeds, the doors suddenly burst open as an injured man stumbles into the room and collapses. They recognize him as Cole, a courier who delivers mail between cities; the tavernkeeper heals him, and he explains that he was ambushed by bandits at the split in the road marked by the Midnight Tree. He woke up alone on the road, the bandits having taken his satchel, which contained a package addressed to Endral, and his horse Friday. After Shadowtail persuades Gray, they set out with Wintersky; the tavernkeeper casts *Aid* on them, and as they leave the tavern, Shadowtail notices the tavernkeeper speaking to a man with a small clockwork hummingbird.

The party makes their way along the Dimgrey Road until they reach the fork at the Midnight Tree, a tall duskwood with black bark and leaves and acorns that appear silver in the light. On the side of the road, they discover a dead horse that that does not match Friday's description, and Wintersky determines that the bandits ambushed Cole in order to steal his horse after killing their previous horse because it had become weakened. Gray additionally notices a sparkle of sunlight in the dirt of the road, discovering a *Ring of the Ram* with all three charges remaining, as well as a pocket watch on a fine chain. Shadowtail and Gray climb the Midnight Tree to harvest some of the silvery acorns, with Gray collecting nineteen and Shadowtail collecting eight. Investigating the intersection further, the party determines that the bandits are traveling in a wagon that headed in the direction of the nearby town of Westfield, and that there are five of them.

Following the trail of the bandits, the party approaches a clearing, at which point a crossbow bolt narrowing misses Gray; Shadowtail, Wintersky, and Gray discover two bandits near a covered wagon off the side of the road, with Friday hitched to the front. Shadowtail notices that one of the men is wearing a polished metal ring, while the other wears a chain with a key around his neck. Gray immediately approaches the man wearing the ring and attempts to seduce him, greatly distracting him; someone hiding inside the wagon fires a crossbow bolt that misses, after which the hidden sniper hits Gray squarely in the back with another bolt. Unexpectedly enamored with this stranger, the leader raises his crossbow, but doesn't fire, at which point Shadowtail fires her longbow at the bandit wearing the key, striking him with an arrow.

The bandit wearing the key calls out for a scout to return and then retaliates by firing a crossbow bolt at Shadowtail, after which Wintersky advances on him and deals a devastating shortsword attack that severs his arm entirely; she then attempts to ignite the wagon with a *Fire Bolt* to smoke out the hidden bandit, but loses her balance and hits Friday instead, singeing his tail. The injury breaks the spell the horse had been under, however, and he responds by delivering a devastating kick to the wagon, destroying it and knocking the hidden bandit out onto the ground, unconscious. The fifth bandit then emerges from the woods in time to see Friday destroy the wagon and fires a crossbow bolt at Wintersky, hitting her.

Gray attempts to seduce the leader again, but this time he resists, and Gray fires her crossbow at the scout, striking him. The sniper fires at Friday but misses as well, after which the horse shakes off the last of the harness and charges at the leader, knocking him prone and attempting to stomp him with a hoof attack; the leader just barely rolls free and slashes at Gray with a scimitar, badly cutting her ankle. Shadowtail responds by shooting her longbow, striking the leader with an arrow, after which Wintersky kills the bandit who had been thrown from the wagon. Gray finally gives up on seducing the leader and stabs at him with her daggers, but he rolls out of the way again, standing just in time for Shadowtail to rush up behind him and stab him through the heart with her rapier.

As his leader falls, the scout fires a crossbow bolt at Shadowtail, missing; Gray stands and fires her crossbow toward the sniper but grazes Friday instead due to her injury, and Shadowtail shoots an arrow at the scout, missing him. Wintersky then casts a *Fire Bolt* that kills the scout, at which point Friday rushes toward the sniper and stomps the ground, casting *Shatter* to unleash an eruption of thunder that severely injures him. Wintersky fires her crossbow at the sniper but misses, after which Shadowtail fires an arrow at him that pierces his throat, killing him. With the battle finished, Shadowtail searches the leader to discover that he was wearing a *Ring of Animal Influence*, which he had used to control Friday.

Gray discovers a nicely carved wooden chest among the wreckage of the wagon, and finds it secured by an intricate lock with three keyholes; as Shadowtail collects the key she saw one of the bandits wearing, Gray unsuccessfully attempts to pick the lock, setting off a trap that releases a burst of poison. They then determine which keyhole the key fits, after which Wintersky finds another key on a chain worn by the sniper, and Gray finds a third key on a chain worn by the scout. Fitting the keys to the proper keyholes, they open the chest to discover a collection of items stolen by the bandits over the past week, including Cole's satchel and the unopened package he had been attempting to deliver.

As the party makes their way back to Focksford, they also discover that Friday is not merely a horse: he is an intelligent Nullicorn with limited magical and telepathic abilities.

*continued in session two...*
## Total Damage

Overall, damage was inflicted and suffered thusly:

 Wintersky
 Friday