Ranch Sweet Ranch

Ranch Sweet Ranch is a mixed-level oneshot DMed by Amelia that aired live on Twitch on November 28, 2022, the week after the Arc 10 finale, at 8 pm CT, and was uploaded on Youtube afterwards. It is the spin-off oneshot to Arc 10.

## Characters and Players

**DM** Amelia (Any/None)

**Count Dion Alexander Grimmawk** (He/They) (played by Barnaby - They/Them), level 7, a Warlock / Rogue multiclass gentleman, dhampir, fanfiction author, and tea connoisseur who not only wants to fix the ranch, but also the relationship between Bishop and Marigold. They are accompanied by their Quasit familiar named Montenegro.

**Marigold Westberry** (She/Her) (played by Maddison - She/Her), level 8, a Forest Gnome Druid / Gunslinger / Warlock multiclass cowboy who the ranch belongs to. Together with her ex-husband and the friends she met at the party she was not invited to, she wants to finally fix her home and bring it back to life.

**Theodrink Davies** (He/Him) (played by Gus - He/Him), level 3, a Forest Gnome Ranger / Warlock that has recently found a new job and is now on a mission to help his new friends and maybe also enjoy the first holidays with his spouse in a very long time.

**Bishop Batters-Westberry** (He/Him) (played by Haley - She/Any), level 8, a Shifter Rogue / Druid / Warlock multiclass who used to be a cowboy until his divorce 8 years ago, but is now finally willing to help his ex-wife fix the ranch, defeat the darkness, and maybe find love again.

**Queen Luminessa** (She/Her) (played by Sedona - She/Her), level 18, a Merfolk Warlock, queen of the sea, murderer of a wizard, and fanfiction author, accompanied by an eldritch seacat named Tippy. She hopes to find new material for her and Dion's fanfiction while helping Bishop and Marigold fix their ranch.

All characters had a level up after Arc 10. Dion took an additional Warlock level. Marigold took a level in Warlock as well, with the Raven Queen as her patron. Theo took a level in Ranger and a level in Warlock, with his new employer Chance as his patron. Bishop took a level in Warlock as well, with Shar as his patron. Lumi took four additional levels in Warlock after strengthening her bond with Tippy. Thus, all the characters are now at least partially Warlocks.

## Plot (Full Spoilers)

About a week after leaving Tiffany's mansion, the party is on Ki Lon's boat on their way to the Westberry Ranch. They are accompanied by Ki Lon himself, Theo's spouse Nona, and Thorgash. Theo and Nona's children are being watched by Thorgash's moms. They have some conversation, and Nona learns again what exactly happened during the party, until they finally reach the land the ranch is on. Immediately, Marigold realises that something has changed. The black rifts have started to dissipate at the edges already, and while the land has not healed yet, there is hope in the air.

Leaving the boat, Theo and Nona splash around in the water a bit while Dion goes back again, seeing a flash of grey-ish brown wool around a corner. He follows and finds Maximum, who snuck onto the boat, and makes a deal with him: if he stays hidden on the boat in safety with the pirates, and informs Dion about what is happening on there, he will become a few detective levels, a medal, and Dion will tell his siblings about what he did. Then, Dion goes back to the others, and together, they all head towards the ranch.

It mostly looks like Marigold left it, a bit overgrown and chaotic from the disaster around it, but in the centre of the house that she and Bishop built together, there is a willow tree that wasn't there when she left just a few weeks ago. Before she worries about that, however, she sees her owlbears, and wildshapes into one as well to run towards them and greet them. As she is running, though, she falls into a sinkhole that was not there before. Underneath the earth, the roots of the trees around seem to be growing into one of these rifts. It is not just a black rift anymore, though, but looks like a portal into a grey land. Bishop comes to help her, and sees some firecrawls around, whose light seems very dim. Marigold and Bishop try their best to get out of the sinkhole again, but the roots of the trees seem to grow over them, as if to keep them in. Bishop finally just throws her upwards, and she manages to catch herself in the roots. Theo runs towards the house to get a rope and some whisky.

On the way to the house, Theo runs against something invisible, which then shimmers and reveals itself to be another rift, through which he can look into a cloudy sky. He decides to ignore it and walks past. As he opens the door to the house, he can see the giant tree trunk of the willow tree, and hear a voice say "Who are you?". Peeling themselves out of the tree is a humanoid figure, asking what he is doing in their house. Theodrink does not want to be the middle man in a property dispute, but gets caught in an argument with them anyways trying to explain the situation. In a huff, he just leaves to get to Marigold's bedroom, where he finds that her priced whisky is nearly empty. While he leaves the house, he asks the figure for a name, and they just say "Nunya", which is a rude joke ("Nunya business"). He gets to the barn, gets some rope, and goes back to the sinkhole. On the way back, he notices two almond shaped rifts close to the forest, which seem to lead to a different forest. As they help Bishop out of the hole, he informs the others about what he saw.

Unsure what to do about the rifts, Marigold and Bishop finally follow the others' advice, and just hold hands. As they have eye contact for a brief moment, the light of the firecrawls seems to glow up for a bit, and then dims again. Bishop starts to suspect that this is just an elaborate scheme they set up for their fanfiction, and Marigold tells the others that healing and fixing things takes time, but she then goes in for a kiss with him nonetheless. Even before their lips touch, the firecrawls light up, and the tree roots seem to no longer be connected to whatever is on the other side: even the action of trying was enough. They go in for the kiss nonetheless, and Bishop even gets a second one.

He admits that he is terrified, and Marigold tells him that this is still his ranch as well, and that she knows he was lying when he told her he didn't love her. He apologises for ever saying it, and for leaving, and she takes his arm to calm him down. She tells him that she was mad for eight years, but that he deserves to have his home back as well. Then, Thorgash calls them for help with a puzzle, and they all go to him. Unlike the other tears, the one he is standing in front of is not one rift, but many small ones in geometric shapes, and there are other pieces around that Thorgash is currently trying to place. However, the crescent piece does not fit into the crescent shaped hole. They do all fit into the square hole, and as one piece goes in, the corresponding rift closes, until all are closed off. (This is a reference to the square hole meme, find more information here.)

As they realise that there are too many rifts around for them to get finished in a short amount of time, they decide to look into the situation with the tree person instead. They come back to the house, and as Marigold knocks on the tree, the person emerges again, and Marigold immediately pushes Dion forward to talk. Dion asks whether they could move the tree somewhere else, and the tree person just conters by asking whether Marigold can't just build a new house. Lumi tries to work on the tree persons' mind with Tippy's help, but Tippy has no effect on them, which surprises Lumi. Dion tries to find a compromise, and the tree person finally introduces themselves as Draen'd. However, they cannot really come to a compromise, because Draen'd does not know how to move the tree. Apparently, they just fell out of the Feywild two weeks prior, when the rifts connected this plane to the others.

While Marigold and Bishop start to try and get used to the idea of having Draen'd live on their land, and having to build a new house, Luminessa thinks about the fact that the only person that could resist Tippy was Nea Veia. When she points it out, Dion asks Draen'd whether they existed two weeks ago, and they answer that while they are older than two weeks, they cannot really say whether that counts on this plane, since time works differently in the Feywild. Marigold and Bishop then agree that Draen'd can stay living on the ranch, under the condition that they help out as well, then, the party leaves to close some portals, while Theo, who is still angry about Draen'd's rudeness, takes a walk. Marigold catches up to him, and as he tells her that he is just sick of people being entitled and talking down to him, she gives him a hug and asks him to stop bottleing up his feelings about that, and that the time of that being just a regular thing is now over. Theo relaxes a bit and goes back to Nona, who takes him aside so that they can have a break and a little picknick at a pond.

Dion checks in on Lumi and asks her to actually take the time to grieve for her friend. They then have a quick telepathic conversation with their husband Chance, while Marigold and Bishop plan their new house. Draen'd walks out with Tippy, who they were playing with, and approaches them all, telling them that there were some adventurers who managed to close some of the rifts in the forest, and that maybe they can just get some of them to continue the work. While Marigold gets food for everyone, Draen'd then takes Lumi aside for a bit, telling her they think they know her. The two of them realise that Draen'd really was Nea Veia at some point, but is a very different person now, and decide to start new, and form a new friendship.

As it becomes night and they all end the day eating and drinking, Dion steps out for a bit, calling Chance again, and they can feel big arms hugging them, and a chin resting in the nape of their neck. Dion brings Chance into the house to introduce him to the others.

## Items

* A hefty box with a gold lid and a crank on the side. When the crank is woun, the box plays a little melody, and then the lid springs open. Everything within a ten foot cube is slightly dusted in glitter that will stay for 2d4 hours. (Submitted for Arc 10 by Kat Waterflame)