Session 54 - Serpents at Boareskyr Bridge (2026-08-30)

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Session 54 - Serpents at Boareskyr Bridge (2026-08-30)

Summary

The downtime at Nuts Deep closed with every member of Deez Nuts commanding a faction retinue and carrying a new rank-3 faction boon, and the company marched north up the Trade Way — through Triel and Soubar — to Boareskyr Bridge, Varram the White's last known location. They found the bridge festooned with dead Yuan-ti staked ten feet high: Varram had been there weeks before, had knifed a hooded serpent-spy through the eye in the inn, and had ridden off toward the Serpent Hills with her entourage — the locals now toast "Varram, the hero of Boareskyr Bridge."

The party flushed out the spies the "hero" had missed: two hooded infiltrators were unmasked and killed in the street, and then a Yuan-ti Anathema — a many-headed serpent horror the bridge-keeper had never seen the like of in twenty years — surged out of the Winding Water and was dismantled before it landed a single blow. The carcass was harvested on the spot (see Harvested Materials).

In between, Gootcha recruited the innkeeper Othavir ("Otho") as a standing Harper source, and Shade signed the trader Bolo — smuggler's hidey-hole and all — as a Zhentarim asset, completing both of their faction charges in one visit. Four "travelers" in the inn proved to be Cult of the Dragon agents carrying an Orb of Dragon's Breath; they demanded the party's orbs back, got nothing but a shoulder-check from a raging Xanphina, and were later ambushed, killed, and left by the roadside by the Elturgard paladins the party had tipped off — who handed over the dead leader's orb (cold, one charge).

Xanphina posted The Anvil to hold Boareskyr Bridge, Karma sent The Hearthwardens to rebuild the razed village north of Neverwinter, and Carl stayed behind to keep the peace. The company then followed Varram's trail northeast along the Winding Water — past a cold camp, bootprints striding hard, clawed tracks that are not human, and a murdered yuan-ti tracker with a portrait of Varram sewn into its own flesh. The yuan-ti are hunting the Wyrmspeaker too, and nobody knows why.

Detailed Chronology

Downtime wrapped: retinues, boons, and charges

The one-to-two-week downtime at Nuts Deep resolved off-screen: every character spoke with their faction's people at the fort, and each received a retinue — a small crew of faction professionals with a leader stationed at Nuts Deep who relays orders to members in the field. (The DM: they never appear on battle maps; their work is handled off-screen, and what each character tells their retinue — or the rest of the party — is that player's call.) Baelgrum is the exception: having only just joined the Dawnbringers, he has not yet reached the rank that grants The Dawnwatch, and keeps his old Athena boons until the DM converts them to light-domain equivalents.

Rank-3 faction boons were also conferred (everyone's proficiency bonus is now +4 at level 9, which most of these key off):

  • Karma (Scales of Eldath) — Turn the Flood, a 4th-level reaction spell (delivered as a homebrew Tabaxi species variant on the sheet): when a creature within 60 feet creates an area of effect, it must succeed on a Constitution save or Karma chooses where the effect goes; even on a success the effect is blunted (one fewer damage die, save DC −2). Upcast at 5th+, the save is at disadvantage.
  • Keyleth (Talons of Veylan) — rank name Scaled Bane, ability Predator's Focus: a reaction when a creature uses a legendary action — it takes disadvantage on its next saving throw unless it burns its reaction on a DC 17 Wisdom save; on a failure it is also marked, giving advantage on the next attack against it. Built to strip legendary resistances.
  • Gootcha (Harpers) — Cipher Master: a bonus-action Sleight of Hand within 5 feet, usable in combat — pickpocket a spell focus or magic item, or disarm on a hit.
  • Shade (Zhentarim, rank 3 already) — her poisoner's boon updated: Whisper Fang is now a bonus action that envenoms her next spell (extra poison damage equal to proficiency, and a Con save or poisoned until the end of the target's next turn — works on multi-target spells; once per long rest). Mute's Kiss (reaction-silence a spellcaster) unchanged.
  • Xanphina (Order of the Gauntlet) — Hammer of Light, an amulet: as a reaction when a creature within 30 feet attacks, it must succeed on a Con save or be blinded, as she flares amulet or weapon into its eyes; sheds bright light 20 ft / dim 20 ft until the end of her next turn (does not dispel magical darkness). Four uses per long rest.

Faction charges went out during the downtime. One arrived in writing and stands as written: Gootcha's Harper Dispatch: A Source at the Bridge (leave a standing Harper source at Boareskyr Bridge). Two were re-issued verbally at the table, replacing their drafted texts: Baelgrum's actual charge is Dawnbringer Charge: The Foreseen Artifact — the order's diviners have foreseen he will come near an artifact important to the Temple of Lathander; keep his senses peeled and bring it back — and Shade's is Zhentarim Instruction: An Asset at the Bridge — recruit a trader at Boareskyr Bridge who can move goods, and people, for the Black Network.

The standing Harper intelligence was restated: Varram the White has somehow lost the White Dragon Mask and is searching for it; she was last seen at Boareskyr Bridge, where the Harpers have no agent — the report came in through four separate sources.

The march north

The company took the road west and then north up the Trade Way — safe roads, no encounters. Three days to the village of Triel (small, quiet), seven more to Soubar, then on to Boareskyr Bridge. (Table note: this was the debut of the DM's new hex-crawl VTT — 16-mile hexes for a day's walk, 6-mile hexes near points of interest, with per-character senses and passive-check clues; D&D Beyond remains the tactical map.)

Boareskyr Bridge — serpents on stakes

Boareskyr Bridge: a black granite bridge over the Winding Water bearing sculpted images of the gods Cyric and Bhaal — legend says Cyric slew Bhaal here. The town is barely a town: a tent city that swells and shrinks around the crossing, where Trade Way caravan traffic meets river traffic east and west. A couple of true buildings — an inn and a stables — and a detachment of Elturgard paladins keeping the peace over a population that includes, as the innkeeper put it, "a fair number of people coming through that are probably not on the up-and-up."

At the southern entrance: stakes driven ten feet high, hung with dead yuan-ti. Gootcha recognized them first — serpent-folk from north of here, out of the Serpent Hills; rare this far south, excellent fighters with magic of their own, generally held to be evil ("they don't think they're evil, they just think all other humanoids should die"). Staking them up was somebody sending a message.

Otho's tale — the hero of Boareskyr Bridge

In the inn (swingy Old-West doors, by table acclamation), the innkeeper Othavir — "Otho" — poured sarsaparillas and told the story. A few weeks back, a dwarf in purple robes was sitting at one of these very tables when a tall hooded fellow walked in — and the dwarf pulled a dagger and stabbed him straight through the eye. The dead man was a yuan-ti spy out of the Serpent Hills. A scuffle outside accounted for the rest of the staked dead — the spy's whole group. Nobody else had ever managed to spot a yuan-ti under a hood; the dwarf knew without looking. "Man's a goddamn hero. — Sorry. The woman's a goddamn hero. The dwarf's a woman." The party raised a toast on Otho's lead: "Cheers to Varram! Varram, the hero of Boareskyr Bridge!" She and her entourage left straight away, up toward the Serpent Hills, "probably looking to clear out more of them bastards."

Four travelers sat huddled at a table, watching the party too closely — and per Otho, looking a lot like Varram's entourage had. A round of drinks for the whole tavern (Keyleth's coin, ~16 sarsaparillas/ales/whiskeys) loosened them slightly: one let slip they were headed "up into them Serpent Hills tomorrow… orders are orders." They declined all offers of help — "we're meeting up with some friends" — but volunteered that the stretch of Trade Way between the bridge and Dragonspear Castle has seen many yuan-ti attacks on travelers, if the party wanted to go cull a clutch. Asked their name, the party answered "Maybe you've heard of Deez Nuts?" — and the lead traveler exchanged a look with his fellows: "Ah, yeah. Deez Nuts. We've… we've heard of you."

Otho also mapped the town's fixtures: Ostrand mans the bridge station and has tracked every crossing for twenty years; a smith and a halfling (Bolo) are the only other long-term residents.

The spies flushed out

Familiars went up — Karma's owl Owly, Gootcha's raven Beek-a-boo (posted to eavesdrop on Ostrand's station), and Shade's giant octopus Big Puss slipped into the river by the bridge. The sweep found two hooded "pilgrims" moving through town — and Big Puss came face to face with a clump of serpents swimming in the Winding Water (the octopus stayed hidden). A religion check filled in the lore: the yuan-ti worship the serpent god and remake their own bodies toward its image, progressing over years into different serpent forms — "they're snake-maxing,'" the table concluded, and the DM ratified it.

Keyleth got a look under one pilgrim's hood — green skin, thin lips, scale-rash up the neck — and Shade's invisible mage hand pulled the hood back in the middle of the street. Yuan-ti. Initiative. Keyleth put two arrows and her Hellfire Pixies into the first infiltrator and burned it down from the inside; the second bolted, Shade's firebolt seared its cloak off mid-stride, and Gootcha dropped it with a crossbow bolt through the back of the head (21 sneak-attack). The street erupted — guards bellowing "They're still at Boareskyr Bridge! Look for anyone with a covered face!" — and every hood in town came down voluntarily. No more spies on land. The two dead ones carried only shells and road-stones; Shade's investigation (27) concluded these two were, bluntly, idiots who didn't know what was worth stealing. (Table lore: "Judah Screech" — the name for Karma's eagle wild shape that three players simultaneously hallucinated hearing; the DM awarded inspiration to Richard, Sarah, and Shanna for the collective groupthink.)

The Anathema

Then the thing in the river came ashore: a Yuan-ti Anathema — a great serpent body with arms and many snake heads, the pinnacle of yuan-ti transformation. Ostrand, twenty years on the bridge: nothing this bad has ever shown up here. The fight was a shutout — the anathema never completed an attack:

  • It opened with Entangle. Karma burned her brand-new Turn the Flood (4th level) — the anathema made the Con save, but the blunting rider dropped the DC by 2, which is exactly what let Shade pass her save. Keyleth was caught, then freed herself (Conjure Animals wolves for advantage, plus Baelgrum's Bless).
  • Its defenses were mapped the hard way: resistant to fire (Shade's 5th-level Hellish Rebuke, halved — "I'm pissed") and lightning (Xanphina's Javelin of Lightning, halved), immune to poison damage and thunder, and advantage on saves against spells and magical effects. Cold, force, and piercing all landed full.
  • Baelgrum blessed the line; Shade machine-gunned it with a 4th-level Magic Missile (six missiles, 24 force) carrying Whisper Fang — the poison damage bounced off, but the poisoned condition stuck.
  • Judah Screech (Karma) flew the length of the street, dropped wild shape, and cast Wrath of Nature — the tree beside the anathema flogged it for 28 slashing (the DM ruled the animated tree is not itself a magical effect, denying its save advantage), and the roots restrained it.
  • Gootcha cast Silence on it — and the DM, reading the stat block: "He has none. All of his spells have a verbal component." One 2nd-level spell deleted its entire casting suite.
  • One of the four travelers stepped up and hit it twice with an Orb of Dragon's Breath — cold damage, from the same kind of artifact the party has taken off wyrmspeaker types. Noted.
  • Baelgrum landed Command: "Approach" (2nd level), spending his Tempered Soul Aspect d6 (rolled 6 → DC 24, unbeatable): "Not only am I trying to protect my friends, I'm also trying to rid this town of this sneaky-headed asshole." The anathema was dragged toward him through Keyleth's wolf pack (10 slashing).
  • Silenced, restrained, poisoned, entangled in its own element, and commanded to walk into the party's arms, it was finished by Keyleth's longbow before it ever reached melee range.

The party fell on the carcass in front of the whole town ("everyone else is just sort of watching on, like, holy shit, these guys are madmen"). Everyone used Tempered Soul on the harvest — the DM ruled that with a long rest coming in town, all six could spend, and that Guidance may be used once per group harvest (Baelgrum and Keyleth each took it on themselves). Totals after bonuses: Shade 30 (Poisoner's), Gootcha 27 (Thieves'), Xanphina 21 (Alchemist's), Baelgrum 20 (Smith's), Keyleth 20 (Navigator's), Karma 17 (Herbalism) — against a Very Rare carcass. Full record: Harvested Materials.

"Orb off!" — the travelers show their hand

The lead traveler, watching the butchery, paid his compliments — "I don't think I've ever seen anyone dispatch a yuan-ti anathema like that" — and then Baelgrum brandished his own Orb of Dragon's Breath: "I notice you have one too." The traveler's eyes narrowed: "I've heard that maybe you've acquired one or more of those orbs. I would appreciate if you returned them to us." Who's us? was never answered. His compatriots crowded up behind him; his intimidation (15) moved nobody. Baelgrum: "There's no chance I give you this orb. In fact — I'm gonna request yours." / "You're not getting this orb unless you tear it from my cold, dead hands." (Shade: "Orb off!")

Ostrand and the Elturgard paladins broke it up before steel came out. The traveler, to Baelgrum: "Maybe I'll see you on the road." — "We look forward to it." The four tried to shove through the party's line on the way out: he moved Baelgrum, moved Keyleth, and then hit raging Xanphina (22 Strength) "like hitting a brick wall" and sat down in the mud. Gootcha's Cipher Master pickpocket attempt was slapped away; Shade's mage hand delivered a wedgie as they hustled off north.

Baelgrum then took the paladins aside, introduced himself as a Dawnbringer, and laid out the Dragon Cult connection. The paladins — who watch for cult traffic through the crossing anyway — sent most of their number after the travelers, left one behind for the town, and promised to report to headquarters in Elturel.

Two agents signed

Gootcha recruited Otho for the Harpers. Over the on-the-house round that followed the anathema kill, she pitched the innkeeper on joining "our information-sharing squad" (persuasion with advantage — the whole town's goodwill — plus Baelgrum's Guidance). Otho connected his own dots — "Oh, the Harpers! Is that how y'all knew the yuan-ti were gonna be here?" — and signed on happily: he will track what comes through Boareskyr Bridge and feed it back to the network, which has never had eyes this far up the Trade Way. Harper Dispatch: A Source at the Bridge fulfilled — a standing source at the bridge, by goodwill rather than coin or leverage.

Shade recruited Bolo for the Zhentarim. The halfling trader Bolo has run the bridge's midway trade for eight years out of a decommissioned circus tent — she buys from caravans on one side of the border, handles the customs herself, and sells to caravans on the other, taking her cut and running the market besides. Karma and Xanphina spotted her concealed smuggler's cache under a patch of grass on the walk over; when Baelgrum asked sweetly about "buried secrets," Bolo's glance at the hiding spot gave the game away. Shade dropped the pretense — "Ah, fuck it. Yeah, actually, I work with the Zhentarim" — and Bolo relaxed at once: "The Zhentarim, they're always good in my book. What do you need?" Terms were settled off-screen; Bolo is now the Network's path through Boareskyr Bridge, and word went back through The Broken Latch to Shade's Zhentarim contact. Zhentarim Instruction: An Asset at the Bridge fulfilled, with renown to follow. Bolo keeps two guards, Shem and Blam, by her fire.

Retinues deployed, and the watch arranged

Ostrand asked outright whether the party would stay to protect the crossing — the yuan-ti trouble is far beyond anything in his books. Instead:

  • Xanphina ordered The Anvil to Boareskyr Bridge — their Hold order. Riding from Nuts Deep, they arrive in about three days.
  • Karma sent The Hearthwardens to the razed village the party found north of Neverwinter on the road back from Luskan (S52) — rebuilding and steadying the survivors the cult burned out. Using Harper teleportation-network connections through the cities, they arrive in about a week.
  • Carl stays at Boareskyr Bridge to help keep the peace until the Anvil arrives.
  • With help promised inside days, Ostrand judged he could talk the crossing's privacy-loving traffic into keeping hoods down that long.

Northeast, on Varram's trail

After a long rest at the bridge, the party picked up Varram's trail: a decent-sized group moving fast, leaving the road northeast to follow the Winding Water. Gootcha's instinct sharpened the picture: a spy doesn't just happen to be at Boareskyr Bridge — the yuan-ti were watching for the dwarf, and word of Varram's coming may already be slithering toward the Serpent Hills.

Following the river northeast (6-mile hexes now):

  • A cold camp — trampled grass and the ashes of a large, hastily struck camp; among the bootprints, one set, dwarf-sized, striding hard northeast (Keyleth). And, per Xanphina: several prints press far too deep and end in claws — not all of the dwarf's mercenaries are human.
  • The Elturgard paladins, walking back the other way: they had caught the four travelers trying to set an inexperienced ambush and killed them all, leaving the bodies by the road "as a message if more of the Dragon Cult comes through." No papers, no orders on them, a little gold (kept, per Guard custom). They handed the party the leader's Orb of Dragon's Breath — cold, one charge remaining — "hope it helps," a salute, and "happy huntin'!"
  • Further on: a yuan-ti corpse, throat slit, dumped beside the trail. Keyleth's search (29) found secret pockets sewn into its own flesh — holding a crude drawing of Varram: round dwarf face, purple robes. The yuan-ti are hunting Varram by name and face, and the party has no idea why. (The best theory on offer, from Shade: "Dragons are just shitty lizards and snakes. It's reptile-on-reptile violence.")
  • Language note for the road ahead: the yuan-ti speak a mix of Abyssal and Draconic. Shade knows Abyssal, Karma knows Draconic, and Baelgrum can cast Tongues — but nobody at the table natively holds both.

The session ended on the trail northeast of Boareskyr Bridge, a few hexes along the Winding Water. Next session: 2026-09-12.

Notable Characters

  • PCs (all present): Xanphina (Amber), Keyleth (Patty), Gootcha (Ashley), Karma (Shanna), Baelgrum (Richard), Shade (Sarah).
  • Allies: Carl (posted to Boareskyr Bridge), the Elturgard paladin detachment (unnamed; killed the four cult travelers).
  • New NPCs: Othavir ("Otho") — innkeeper at Boareskyr Bridge, now a Harper source · Ostrand — bridge-keeper, twenty years tallying the crossing · Bolo — halfling trader and market-runner, now a Zhentarim asset, with her guards Shem and Blam.
  • Enemies (all destroyed): two yuan-ti infiltrators, one Yuan-ti Anathema, and — off-screen, by the paladins — the four Cult of the Dragon "travelers" and their orb-bearing leader.
  • Offstage: Varram the White — weeks ahead, northeast, hunted by serpents.

Locations

Boareskyr Bridge — most of the session; extensive new canon (see that page). • Triel and Soubar — waypoints on the march. • Serpent Hills — the yuan-ti homeland, and where Varram was said to be headed. • Winding Water — the party is following it northeast. • Trade Way — yuan-ti attacks reported between the bridge and Dragonspear Castle.

Factions

Quests

  • ADVANCED: Find Varram the White — Varram confirmed at Boareskyr Bridge weeks ago (a woman, purple robes, entourage in tow — locally a hero for killing yuan-ti spies); trail runs northeast along the Winding Water; a cold camp, clawed inhuman tracks in her party, and a yuan-ti hunter carrying her portrait.
  • COMPLETED: Harper Dispatch: A Source at the Bridge — Otho recruited. (The 1450 guest-ledger copy for the Archives was not addressed on-screen.)
  • COMPLETED: Zhentarim Instruction: An Asset at the Bridge — Bolo recruited.
  • NEW: Dawnbringer Charge: The Foreseen Artifact — issued verbally during the downtime, replacing the earlier drafted charge.
  • NEW LEADS: why are the yuan-ti hunting Varram, portrait in hand? • who is the "us" that wants the Orbs of Dragon's Breath returned? • yuan-ti attacks on the Trade Way between the bridge and Dragonspear Castle (the travelers' tip).

Quotes

  • "Maybe you've heard of Deez Nuts?" — Xanphina / "Ah, yeah. Deez Nuts. We've… we've heard of you." — the traveler
  • "The woman's a goddamn hero. The dwarf's a woman." — Otho, on Varram
  • "Cheers to Varram! Varram, the hero of Boareskyr Bridge!" — Otho, raising a glass at the party's expense
  • "They're snake-maxing." — Xanphina / "Yuan-ti are absolutely 100% snake-maxing, and they do it different ways." — the DM
  • "Danger noodles, sort of in a clump." — the DM, narrating Big Puss's reconnaissance
  • "He has none. All of his spells have a verbal component." — the DM, as Gootcha's Silence deleted the anathema's spell list
  • "You're not getting this orb unless you tear it from my cold, dead hands." — the traveler / "Orb off!" — Shade
  • "Maybe I'll see you on the road." — the traveler, leaving / "We look forward to it." — Baelgrum
  • "I attack first and ask questions later." — Shade, explaining herself to Ostrand, badly
  • "Ah, fuck it. Yeah, actually, I work with the Zhentarim." — Shade, closing the deal with Bolo
  • "Happy huntin'!" — the paladin captain, handing over the orb

Session End

Boareskyr Bridge is safer than it has been in years — its spies dead, its anathema butchered for parts, a Harper behind the bar, a Zhentarim in the market, the Anvil three days out, and Carl on the wall. The company is northeast along the Winding Water on a fresh trail: a dwarf striding hard for the Serpent Hills, mercenaries whose footprints end in claws, and serpent-folk hunting her with her own face in their flesh. Next session: 2026-09-12.

See also

Attribution & Uncertainties

  • All six players present. Zoom labels: "Amber Vaske" (Xanphina), "Patty Kehoe" (Keyleth), "Shanna Harper" (Karma), "Sarah Rees" (Shade), "Ashley Conrad" (Gootcha), "Baelgrum" (Richard), "Wes Vaske" (DM).
  • Two written faction charges were replaced verbally at the table: Baelgrum was told to disregard the texted burying-ground charge ("that's not what yours is supposed to be") in favor of the foreseen-artifact charge, and Shade's instruction was delivered verbally as the smuggling-asset recruitment. The superseded drafts are retired; the standing quest pages reflect what was issued at the table.
  • The recording renders the town as "Borske/Borskere/Borskir Bridge" and the serpent-folk as "Wanti/Wantee/one-T"; standardized here as Boareskyr Bridge and yuan-ti.
  • The innkeeper's name is given as "Othavir," "call me Otho"; the trader as "Bolo"; the bridge-keeper as "Ostrand/Austrin/Austrian" — standardized to Ostrand.
  • Otho describes Varram in purple robes, as does the portrait found on the dead yuan-ti; recorded as spoken.
  • Harvest component assignments were drafted in post-session processing from the recorded totals (the DM: "That's for future me to figure out") — see Harvested Materials; corrections welcome.
  • New table rulings this session: Guidance may be used once per group monster-harvest (on the caster's own check if desired); with a long rest imminent in town, everyone could spend Tempered Soul on the harvest; Keyleth's Aspect d6 explicitly covers "harvesting the deserving dead."
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