The Last Receipt
The Last Receipt
Read aloud
The order that emptied Ravenshollow Keep is filed as a routine withdrawal, but the date and missing attachments do not fit. The records clerk has found one surviving receipt that points beyond the western road, to a disused military wayhouse. Whatever happened there may explain why the garrison left, and whether anyone was left behind.
Run the session
Cheat sheet
Objectives
- 1Find the order trail immediately before the Ravenshollow withdrawal and identify its next surviving record.
- 2Recover the western-road dispatch ledger intact.
- 3Establish why the garrison withdrew and report a verifiable account to Mara and Tomas.
- 4Prevent Harl's crew from causing further damage to the old crossing.Optional
The clock
Harl's crew plans to remove the wayhouse's remaining iron braces by dusk. Their work will not destroy the hidden ledger immediately, but may destabilize the crossing and make the route more dangerous.
Scenes
- 0:00The Missing Attachment
- 0:30A Family's Version
- 0:55The Wayhouse
- 1:45The Route in the Margin
- 2:30A Reason, at Last
Cast
- Mara VennRecords clerk and cautious ally
- Tomas ReedWitness
- Harl VossAntagonist
The hook
Set the scene
Mara Venn spreads three brittle documents across a records-office table: a garrison muster summary, a road-maintenance note, and a narrow receipt with a torn lower edge. The papers place the receipt two days before the withdrawal order. Its surviving text reads: "One sealed route packet received from West Survey. Duplicate deposited at Bellwether Wayhouse, dispatch niche, under the bridge-failure file." Mara explains that this is a direct lead, but it does not say what the survey found.
How Mara Venn asks
Mara Venn requests a private meeting after noticing the party's continued interest in Ravenshollow Keep.
She shows them the receipt and offers access to a careful copy of the order in exchange for recovering the wayhouse ledger without destroying it.
Rumours
Scenes
about 3 hours0:00
30 min
skillThe table is here
1. The Missing Attachment
Ravenshollow records office, among bound muster rolls, road surveys, and brittle correspondence.
Mara shows the party the receipt. A successful Investigation check with a target of 20 locates it among road and muster records dated immediately before the withdrawal. The receipt names Bellwether Wayhouse and a specific dispatch niche; it is a lead, not an explanation of the order.
NextMara supplies a copied map to Bellwether Wayhouse and warns that the old crossing may be unsafe.
0:30
25 min
social
2. A Family's Version
A roadside alehouse or market near the western road, where Tomas is waiting for news of the investigation.
Tomas identifies the old road and shares his family's account of soldiers guiding people away from the river. He does not know whether the story is true, but can point out the quarry track and the safest approach to the wayhouse.
NextTomas's directions take the party to the wayhouse before the salvage crew has stripped its remaining fittings.
0:55
50 min
combat
3. The Wayhouse
Bellwether Wayhouse, a roofless roadside building overlooking the damaged crossing.
The party finds Harl and his workers removing iron from the wayhouse and bridge approach. The party can negotiate, expose the danger of their work, or fight. Search the wayhouse's stonework to find the dispatch niche.
The Wayhouse SalvagersNextThe niche contains a waxed packet and a route ledger, but the party must cross or inspect the ruined bridge to understand the survey's notes.
1:45
45 min
exploration
4. The Route in the Margin
The ruined bridge, its washed-out approach, and the mouth of an overgrown quarry track.
The crossing is passable only by a narrow, cautious route. The party can assess the damage, find the stable approach, and follow the ledger's references to the old quarry track. The record states that the west abutment was unsafe for a loaded column and lists families escorted away before the final withdrawal.
The Broken CrossingNextWith the ledger secured, the party returns to Ravenshollow with an account they can compare against the original order.
2:30
30 min
social
5. A Reason, at Last
The records office, with the old order and recovered ledger laid side by side.
Mara checks the ledger against the military order while Tomas listens. The documents confirm a hurried withdrawal after the bridge was judged unsafe, and record a civilian escort by the quarry track. The party can decide how widely to share the details and whether to help identify the families named in the ledger.
NextThe episode ends with the western-road question answered and the route to the old depot left as an optional future lead.
Behind it
What people believe
An old military order records the abandonment of the western road and Ravenshollow garrison, but the reason was never preserved in the official summary.
A records clerk has uncovered a receipt directing researchers to Bellwether Wayhouse, where a duplicate dispatch ledger may still explain the withdrawal. The party must reach the wayhouse, recover the record, and determine what became of the road and the people living along it.
Background
The western road once connected Ravenshollow Keep to the river market towns.
Its garrison was withdrawn decades ago, and the official account gives no reason beyond a brief reference to a change in military necessity. In the completed Ravenshollow Keep episode, Damianos Razortooth and Corven found enough reason to question that explanation. This follow-up sends them from the records office to a disused military wayhouse and the damaged crossing beyond it.
The stakes
If the party fails, the original question remains partly unanswered and the crossing may be further damaged by salvage.
If they succeed, they establish that the withdrawal was a response to a failing bridge and that soldiers escorted nearby families away, correcting a long-standing gap in the record without turning the episode into a larger conspiracy.
Encounters
2The Wayhouse Salvagers
Combat or confrontation
A roofless stone wayhouse beside a narrow road cut, with broken carts, waist-high walls, and a steep, unstable verge. The salvagers use cover but avoid the crumbling edge.
Foes
Harl Voss
Two road salvagers
ComplicationA worker may be trapped or injured if the party uses force near the weakened crossing. Harl's crew would rather flee with their salvage than fight to the death.
ScalingFor a smaller or depleted party, Harl has only one worker with him. For a stronger party, add one more salvager who joins after the first round. The crew retreats if Harl is captured or half the group is disabled.
The Broken Crossing
Exploration
A damaged stone bridge over a shallow, fast stream. One parapet has collapsed, and the approach road has slumped toward the water.
Foes
No required foes
ComplicationThe old crossing is unsafe. A failed attempt to cross carelessly costs time and may separate a character from the other, but need not cause severe injury. The party can find a safer route by inspecting the terrain or following Tomas's directions.
ScalingFor a brisk session, the party finds the safe route after one focused check or a sensible plan. For a more challenging session, require them to secure a rope line or clear a narrow footpath while the weather worsens.
Cast
3Mara Venn
QuestgiverRecords clerk and cautious ally
WantsHelp the party interpret the surviving military records without making claims the documents cannot support.
“The order is there, but the reason is not. If you want the truth, follow the receipt, not the summary.”
Tomas Reed
Witness, descendant of a western-road family
WantsLearn whether the old garrison knowingly left local families behind, and secure proof for the surviving descendants.
“They called it a withdrawal. We called it waiting for help that never came.”
Harl Voss
Antagonist, opportunistic salvage boss
WantsKeep trespassers away from his salvage camp and the unstable crossing he has been stripping for usable iron.
“That crossing is not worth your lives. Take the road back while there is still daylight.”
How it ends
Rewards
Items
A sealed copy of the route ledger, preserved as evidence.
A plain iron wayhouse key, useful only for old service doors along the western road.
On a win
The party recovers the route ledger and confirms that the garrison left because the bridge was failing, while a rear guard escorted nearby families away by the quarry track.
This gives Mara a documented explanation for the withdrawal and gives Tomas evidence that his family's account has a factual basis. Harl's crew can be driven off, persuaded to stop, or allowed to leave after the party secures the records; the adventure closes with the reason for the abandonment established.
What it leaves open
If it fails
- If the party fails to keep Harl's crew from stripping the wayhouse.
- The party loses time and Harl removes some loose iron and fittings, but the receipt ledger remains in a stone document niche. The episode can continue without a dead end.
- If the party cannot safely cross to the far bank or locate the dispatch niche.
- The party can still establish that the garrison withdrew to protect a civilian evacuation, but cannot confirm the exact number of people who reached safety. Tomas remains uncertain about his family's account.
- If the party damages, removes, or publicly misrepresents the records-office documents.
- Mara's trust is damaged and the records office restricts access to related materials. The party may still use the copy they already made, but future research requires an ally or a formal request.
Complications (d6)
- 1A sudden shower drives runoff through the wayhouse yard. Anyone carrying loose papers must spend a moment securing them or risk losing one useful document.
- 2A frightened mule breaks its tether near the approach to the crossing. Its cart blocks the narrow track until the party calms the animal or moves the cart.
- 3A salvage worker mistakes the party for hired guards and offers to sell them a copied page from the wayhouse ledger, but demands payment before admitting the copy is incomplete.
- 4A rotten floorboard gives way in the wayhouse store room. A character who crosses without checking the floor drops into a shallow cellar and makes enough noise to alert anyone nearby.
- 5A local shepherd arrives looking for a missing lamb near the old road. The shepherd can point out a safe route around the collapsed verge, but will not leave until the animal is found.
- 6Harl's workers start dismantling a timber brace while the party is at the crossing. The party must stop them or deal with a fresh rockfall that blocks the direct return route.
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