“Freely, when he bows, it’s so much better than anyone else, because he is already so very low to the ground.”

—Avren

Watch Silver and Steel | Episode 1: A Shortcut to Radishes

The cast of Silver and Steel:

• Jasmine "ThatBronzeGirl" Bhullar as the Dungeon Master
• Avren - Human Armorer Artificer played by Todd Kenreck
• Sofieus - Elf Alchemist Artificer played by Meagan Kenreck
• Freely - Halfling Lore Bard/Oath of Heroism Paladin/Warlock played by B. Dave Walters
• Cally Zaffrab - Warforged Soulknife Rogue played by Lauren Urban

Full Summary

A young dwarf in a fashionable straw hat drives a cart down the road on a gorgeous day, her two beasts of burden sporting the same headgear. She pulls to the side of the road to stop in front of a lanky metal figure meticulously brushing dirt off from her joints and gears. Cally is a construct, wary but friendly, and talks about just having arrived from deep underground searching for spare parts and information. The dwarf offers her a ride into town on the back of her cart and says she can introduce her to Avren and the rest of the Council, which Cally is happy to accept. The dwarf introduces herself as Milly and says she needs to make a stop along the way to take care of a creature that has fallen out of the sky. That creature is a person—a halfling named Freely, who is arguing with the farmer about the radishes he destroyed when he appeared. Freely is lost and trying to find his way back to a place called Hupperdook, but no one is familiar with that city. After a round of introductions, Milly convinces Freely to come along with Cally into town to talk to the Council as she’s the part time law enforcement. The halfling is bothered that he seems to be missing some of his powers, but agrees to join them and curls up in the back of the cart to fall asleep.

After a short trip they arrive at the muddy, loud port city of Argent. The cart comes to a stop at one of the larger buildings, where Milly informs them that they’ll want to head inside and speak to the Council. There is a moment as Freely and Cally compare weapons; Freely produces a short sword from his metal arm while Cally manifests a shimmering blue knife of psychic energy. Milly warns them not to be pulling weapons out in the middle of the Council chambers as they walk inside. This prompts Freely to quietly ask the construct if they want to watch each other’s backs, since they are both outsiders in this town. While Cally does not wish to attack anyone in the first inhabited location she’s come across since reaching the surface, she agrees to help out if the halfling needs, and the two enter the main part of the building.

The center of the building contains a large, circular room with an impressive wooden table in the middle. Seven figures are seated at the table, most are strangers but Freely immediately recognizes the human as his long time acquaintance and Patron for his warlock powers, Avren. Approaching quickly the halfling balls his fist and punches the human that is his patron, causing Cally to produce her knives and move into flanking. Avren attempts to calm them all down, though his own armor does manifest as his gauntlets begin to glow, and he says he is calling in the debt that Freely owes. The halfling is annoyed and frustrated, and as the two begin to argue an elf approaches to get between them. She gently chides Avren for interfering in the lives of others and introduces herself as Sofieus. Freely and Sofieus recognize each other from stories they have heard and share a friendly hug, and when asked how he is doing, Freely is distraught and upset, admitting he feels weak and has lost much of his power. 

Avren explains that this town is under threat from a possible dragon, and he called in his mark on Freely as they need heroes to take on this challenge. As Cally is introduced she explains that she is interested in bartering for her services as necessary. The rest of the Council breaks into an argument, some believing the dragon is real, others putting forth a variety of theories and prophecies as to what is actually happening, and some even accusing each other of a conspiracy. The group agrees that for the moment the dragon is not the issue, they have convened because of the loss of a caravan that should have returned about twenty hours ago. It was on its way to the nearby port with silver to trade but never arrived. They are unsure if the caravan was simply delayed or encountered difficulties like a destroyed bridge or bandits, though it will take half a day to make it to the bridge to find out for sure.

When pressed about payment one of the Council, a finely dressed goblin named Sal, says he’s in charge of the purse strings and offers 25 silver as well as room and board at his tavern The Night Cap for the newcomers. The construct has been carefully observing everyone in the room, and she reads that Sal might be lowballing but that bargaining may be difficult, so she agrees to take the job. Freely is happy to be a hero and go on an adventure, though is surprised at the idea of being paid for his services, and the married couple decide that it’s worth joining their new friends. As Cally collects half the payment upfront, Sofieus takes a few moments to work on a few potions for the journey. Chuksana, the half orc council member, thanks the group for taking on this task, and hands Sofieus a healing potion she hopes will help. She will ask the guards at the east gate to give them directions, and wishes them good luck.

As the group head out, Cally asks Freely about details about his history with Avren. The halfling admits that he was surprised to see his Patron looking so frail and shaky, and worries about what has happened to both of them that they have lost so much of their power. However he’s willing to concentrate on helping the people of the town, and admonishes the construct for being so interested in payment instead of doing the right thing. Cally replies that she will only take worthy jobs from good people, but believes it’s important to be fairly compensated for her services so she can afford to buy the items that she needs as well as have other options to help people. Freely asks what a being who doesn’t need to eat, wear clothing, or sleep needs with money, and the construct explains that she has her own needs as well as is searching for items and information for her Dad.

Freely thanks Cally for backing him up, especially with Avren, and warns that the human will eventually do something to tempt Cally into punching him. As Avren walks by he claps the halfling on his back, indicating that Freely might have a nasty surprise if he tries to use the mechanical arm to attack. Both in surprised reaction and anger, Freely sets off his hellish rebuke to burn Avren, though it is nowhere near as powerful as he expects.

At the gates of the town the group have a short conversation with the two guards, a drunk dwarf named Rodney and his rules obsessed half-elf companion named Erica. They offer some directions and advice, and then Rodney warns of a weredial that might appear at night. He can’t offer specifics about what he saw, just an emphatic warning to not be out when darkness falls. With that vague warning our heroes set off on the path to find the missing caravan. As they travel, Freely pulls Avren aside and demands some details about what is going on. The human explains that he used to be a trickster God, pulling pranks and offering pacts with warlocks, but the demands were draining and he really just wanted to settle down in this quiet world with his wife. He has no interest in being a hero, and the halfling is happy to be a hero enough for both of them to repay his debt. When Freely remarks that Sofieus is a wonderful person, Avren agrees and hopes she never finds out that he is not equally as great. Hearing this the elf turns with a smile, remarking that she already knows but she loves him unconditionally anyway.

Along the side of the road they come across Milly, covered in mud and standing next to her overturned cart. She explains that some creature came out of the woods, scaring off one of her cows and toppling her cart into the muck. As they examine the area, Freely points out the tracks of Bessie 2 that lead into a nearby field, while Milly complains about her terrible luck. Reluctantly Avren offers to help, realizing that’s what good people do, and he and Freely right the cart and fix the wheel. Meanwhile Cally has followed the tracks into a nearby field searching for the missing cow, and hearing the labored breathing of an injured animal she ducks down into the tall grass to sneak towards the sound. She finds Bessie 2 nursing an injured leg and looking spooked, and noticing her three companions have finished with the cart and are heading into the field to look for her; she activates her telepathic abilities. The three are surprised by the sudden sound of Cally’s voice speaking directly into their minds, but once everyone realizes what is happening the construct relays what she has discovered.

As they all get close, Freely uses animal friendship to approach and calm the cow as they examine the wounded leg. The injury is from an attack, and Sofieus uses healing word to fix the wound so it can stand again. As it rises, Freely jumps on it’s back to scan the area he can see a giant, shaggy, wolf-like creature with a bloody muzzle snacking on the bits of the cow leg. As Bessie 2 heads back for the cart, Freely moves towards the creature hoping to make friends with a second creature, however this fearsome beast rebuffs his spell and moves to attack! There is more rustling from the grass around them indicating that there are more approaching, so Freely casts faerie fire to light up one of the hidden wolves as he puts his hexblade curse on the main creature. With a well-thrown blade, Cally kills the one that was lit up, her blue shimmering blade vanishing almost as quickly as it lands. Pulling out a stick of butter to shove it into the head of her staff, Sofieus casts grease though the wolf keeps its balance. 

Out of the golden wheat two more wolves dash towards the group, one leaping at Freely and the other at Avren, but none of the creatures land a bite. A third leaps out of the grass and manages to bite down on Cally’s leg, but is knocked loose by an eldritch blast from Freely and finished off by a knife thrown by Sofieus. The construct dodge rolls away, moving to the halfling’s side and sinking her psychic knife into the skull of the wolf to finish it off. As the matron wolf fixes on Avren, the other wolf watches the pack being cut down and disengages to flee into the forest. Activating his thunder gauntlets, Avren hits the matron wolf with lightning damage, but the wolf retaliates with a vicious bite. He hits it with a magic missile, causing it to jerk back just as Milly arrives with both cows hauling the cart into the wheat. This convinces the final wolf to turn and flee.

Milly is effusive in her gratitude and offers the group a ride on her cart as far as the bridge in thanks. Sofieus produces some apple turnovers to give to the cows, thanking them for arriving just in time to scare away the wolves, while Cally watches in fascination. Noticing the construct's interest, Sofieus offers her a turnover, which Cally is more than happy to accept. While she doesn’t need to eat, she is intrigued by the food and announces she will dissect it later.

With the immediate threat gone, the group climb into the back of the cart and continue towards the bridge...

A new adventure with some old friends! Find out what trouble they get into next time, on Tuesday at 6pm PT on twitch.tv/dndbeyond!

Lauren "Oboe" Urban is the Community Manager for D&D Beyond, as well as a professional classical musician on oboe and English Horn. When she's not playing a Bard in real life she's a prolific Dungeon Master and player on a variety of livestreams and podcasts. She lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband Luke where they spend their free time playing video games and drinking tea. The best way to keep up with Lauren's busy schedule is to follow her on Twitter @OboeLauren!