Introduction
I had the fortune to play in what became my favorite one-shot session, taking on the role of Gara, a weathered hobgoblin fighter. This is a recounting of the adventure through the perspective of my character Gara.
Gara, The Lost Soul
“Gara wandered through the world’s wastes, his life a haze of alcohol and forgotten memories. In the small town where he now languished, rumors swirled about his past: was he a revered military captain or a legendary outlaw? Even Gara himself could no longer distinguish truth from fiction.“
A Bar Tale
The faint sound of cattle passing by was the only sound that could be heard from inside the small quaint village inn. A little past noon, there were only two sitting at the cold damp bar.
He spoke with a slow southern drawl.
“I told ya’Once, I ain’t got any more stories.”
“Now we both know that ain’t true Gara, come on now. You want another drink or not?” His sole drinking companion said.
Gara scratched underneath his hat at a dry and flaky scalp. Gara wasn’t lying, he had scraped everything he could from his shallow memory.
“Didn’t you say you were coming from Villot City?” The potbelly man asked Gara.
“You didn’t hear or see nothing about that huge castle falling from the sky?!” His voice picked up.
Gara stretched out his empty tankard in a snap.
“PRISON! It was a prison!” Gara seemed almost shocked at himself from a brief moment of clarity.
A Simple Job
It had been three months since Gara left Villot City. His memory fading in and out, he had completely forgotten about the job. Although, the reward of another few ales was enough to jumpstart his memory.
His bottle ran empty, and the pressure began crushing his head, He needed coin, and Gara still knew the best way to get it. His sword. A job posted on a local commission board near his current preferred drinking spot.
“Searching for experience mercenaries, specifically guard or escort experience required. Ten gold for one day’s work. Applicants meet in the commercial district, at the mercenary guild.”
“The gold was too much to pass on, for that much gold I often would have to work a week’s long job. So naturally, there were a lot of sell-swords and commoners trying to pad their resumes for the job.” Gara recounted.
“I probably took out three or four on my way there. They couldn’t keep their mouths shut about the job while we walked so naturally, I, as the business minded individual, I am, gave those sorry boys a quick knock to their saddlebags and threw ’em in the nearest rat hole.” Gara continued his story as his tankard slowly filled.
The smell of the ale sent an electric shock down his spine, a sensation he had grown accustomed to. The dopamine rushing threw him with a simple sniff.
“Wasn’t hard to get the job once I got there. I do believe I was the exact type they were looking for.”
“A drunk old hob?” The bartender added in through his unkempt mustache.
“Exactly that my friend! An old drunk who knows how to keep his mouth shut when he needs to, Gara retorted.
“Anyways, I’ll skip the boring details. Me and some other boys arrived at the guild and were hand-picked for the job. Think there were a little dwarf fella and one of them human types.” Gara completed the statement by downing his whole ale.
“The way they explained, it was just a simple– “. Gara looked over to his drinking mate, “never trust that word.”
“-simple escort job. Would only take half a day’s work with the promise of good pay.”
“Well clearly that wasn’t the case.”
The Illustrious Architect
The ominous shadow of the prison loomed over Villot City, where Gara and his unlikely companions gathered for their escort mission.
“Once we arrived at the pickup location, we met a few more pencil pushers and our actual contact. Couldn’t tell ya’what his name was but you could tell he was the guy in charge.” Gara described the warden, but he couldn’t recall his actual position.
“We arrived at the pickup, where a massive purple portal awaited,” Gara slurred. “We were transported straight to the top, just like that.”
“And there he was,” Gara continued, “that cocky bastard in chains.”
His greasy black hair is about all I remember about his looks, oh and a grin that made me want to smack him right in that mouth of his.” Gara slurred his words now just a bit more.
“Welcome illustrious adventurers!” The Warden greeted them.
Before the warden stood a reskinned hungover hobgoblin, a stout dwarf with a battleaxe at the ready, and a lanky human ranger.
Before him stood Gara, a dwarf with a battleaxe, and a lanky human ranger — hardly illustrious adventurers, though the warden seemed unaware.
“Now, the part I never got was he was already being escorted by probably a dozen prison guards.” A large gulp followed with Gara’s freshly filled tankard.
“As we started the escort, bam! I sliced the warden’s arm off,” Gara grinned, remembering the chaos that followed.
“Wait wait wait, I feel like you left a few beats in there out mate. And if you want the drink to keep coming, we want the full story.” The tender said.
“Alright-alright, uh let me think…
AH! That’s right, we betrayed the Warden or something! Don’t really remember but something felt off from the start of the job, and loyalty and honor were never my strong suit.”
Everything RPGs 
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