Keep the Spring Open for Both Farms
Keep the Spring Open for Both Farms
Read Aloud
The spring gurgles weakly between two fields, its clear water divided by a crude stone dam. On one side, Phelander’s young crops sag beneath the summer heat. On the other, a rival farm’s furrows lie cracked and dusty. Farmers crowd the banks with tools in hand, shouting over one another while the village watches from the road. One broken stone could decide who harvests, who starves, and whether these neighbors ever stand together again.
The Scene
NEUTRALMediation under time pressureBase DC 14Stakes Phelander’s next harvest, the village’s only spring, and whether the farmers become allies or blood enemies.
30 to 45 minutes
Nollie wants enough water to keep her late-sown barley alive and wants Kesh to admit he sabotaged her ditch.
The spring is the only reliable water source for both fields, and the party can prove who tampered with the ditch.
- Inspect the old boundary stones beneath the nettles.
- Offer a shared work crew to clear the culvert.
- Promise the party will witness a new water schedule.
- Ask the village reeve to hold the grain stores until the dispute ends.
- Separate the farmers and get each version without interruption.
- Make each farmer name one thing the other has done right.
- Put the missing boundary stake on the table.
- Trade a smaller field share for guaranteed spring access.
- Force a choice between public shame and a written compromise.
- Nollie speaks softly until Kesh mentions her dead husband, then cuts him off with precise accusations.
- Kesh jokes when cornered, offers practical deals when respected, and becomes loud when called a thief.
- Both farmers calm down when the party focuses on the spring rather than blame.
- A successful inspection makes Nollie concede the boundary is wrong; a fair bargain makes Kesh offer labor first.
