🗓 Session 0.5 – 🤸‍♂️🪶 The Lucky Leap & The Feather Deal

📅 Date of Session:

2025/02/09

Quill / Cal: Real name Cal. Out of armor he is thin and bookish, 5'8", covered in glowing runes that fuel his strength. His father was killed for performing illegal rune magic. He stays in his armor most of the time, messy-haired and secretive.
Dain Voss: Outwardly a bounty hunter for the Tower, secretly helps people escape their control. His mother, a high magistrate, feeds him insider information. He aims for “death by a thousand cuts” against the Tower.
Zane Umbralight: Half-orc, walks the line between the underworld and Tower officials. Pragmatic but resentful of his dealings with the Tower. Can summon a weapon from his arm and subtly alter his appearance. The name Lira has slipped from his lips, but he refuses to speak of it.
Nelvax: A hard-drinking, hard-living thief and party boy. Prominent in the thieves’ guild, spends coin as fast as it comes. His brother seeks justice for their monastery’s destruction, but Nelvax has not committed to the same path.
Xaniver & Nelvax: Known to be best friends, often inseparable.

The party gathers in their regular haunt, The Lucky Leap, run by Ricio Tane.
The tavern is famous for its “leap for a free drink” challenge.
Lord Signmonder, Protector of the Crown, is spotted speaking with a halfling offering a kodal feather — rare and historically significant. He refuses the high price and departs.
The halfling, Raffolk, explains his situation: he owes 200 gp to Golfa, and hoped the sale would cover it.

Golfa, a towering bugbear crime boss, storms into The Lucky Leap, seizes the feather, and burns it by knocking over a lantern.
He sneers at Nelvax: “I’ll see you soon, Nelvax.”
Raffolk, panicked, begs the party to retrieve another feather from his grandmother so he can pay Golfa back.
Xaniver is suspicious: “This feels like a scam.”

Rather than chase a grandmother’s feather, the party decides to confront Golfa directly at his den, The Triple Nine.
Outside they meet Ferdinand Gamblehorn, a massive minotaur bouncer who greets Nelvax like an old acquaintance.
Inside: a cacophony of sound, nobles and commoners alike gamble while magical lights shift colors with the prevailing emotions. Golfa surveys the floor from a balcony.

From a balcony, Golfa invites them to a backroom guarded by a warforged.
He offers 500 gp for Raffolk’s delivery.
A Suggestion spell fails to sway the party. They instead threaten to report Golfa for burning the heirloom.
Golfa remains unconcerned, and the meeting ends on neutral terms.
The party departs, planning to speak with Lord Signmonder next.

“This feels like a scam.” – Xaniver
“We could report you for destroying a family heirloom.” – Voss
"Do what you want." – Golfa

Ricio Tane – Owner of the Lucky Leap.
Raffolk – Halfling debtor, owes 200 gp to Golfa.
Golfa – Bugbear crime boss, owner of The Triple Nine.
Ferdinand Gamblehorn – Minotaur bouncer at The Triple Nine, old acquaintance of Nelvax.

The Tower – Source of tension for both Dain and Zane, watching them closely.
Golfa’s Organization – Local underworld group, controlling gambling and debts.