Larderfest

By The Roadside
''The road evens out, meandering through gently rolling grassland and eventually the open earth of furrowed fields. While your path rounds the corners of staked-out plots and runs along wood rail fences, you notice the fields are freshly plowed, but despite being in the heart of planting season, not a soul is to be seen. No farmer stands beneath the sun tossing handfuls of seed, or bending his back to rip weeds out by the root.''

''Finally, as you come over the next rise, you spy a handful of men and women at the foot of the other slope, clustered by the roadside around a decrepit cart with an obvious lean. A mule hitched at its front stands idle, tail swatting at flies. The cart's back is overloaded with barrels and stuffed sacks. You just start to hear the pounding rhythm of a hammer when it stops short, and one man next to the cart breaks away from the crowd, waving his hand and cursing sharply as the others sigh in disappointment.''

The players should stop to offer their help. If so, they find the cart's wheel has come loose, and must be set back into place. Before this can happen, however, it will need to be lifted. PCs can make a combined Difficult Strength check to lift it, or help unload the cart, taking half an hour. After this succeeds, the wheel can be replaced and secured with an easy Crafting check.

While the strength check is going on, ask the rest of the party what they do. If any of them ask about the empty fields, the farmers reply, "We're on our way to the Larderfest. Y'see, come every spring, our Lord Bankston--that is, Sir Bankston, being only a landed knight--clears out his larders of the winter stockpile by hosting a festival and feast for those of us what tend his fields. He ask each village to bring what they can, and together we all eat well for one day a year. And he always makes sure drink flows in good supply. Why once, few winters back, he even hired musicians to play for us. We'd never danced like that a'fore. Made a complete fool of meself."

At this point, any bard in the party should immediately perk up, letting it be known they can play. The villagers will immediately implore the bard play for them, and are impressed with almost any performance. "I've not heard music that weren't beaten out with a wood spoon in years." They further beg the party to bring their bard with them to the festival, insisting he play for the feast that night. If the party agrees, they set out as soon as the cart is repaired.

Castle
''Within the hour, the ramparts of a lone, square tower peek over the next hill, and stone walls soon appear below it. Your road meets another near one wall, where wooden gates are propped open to your arrival. A rusted shield is mounted above its frame, bearing a bundle of wheat over quadrants of alternating blue and red. Your companions wave in greeting to the man-at-arms ''

Practice Makes Perfect
While/if the rest of the party goes off in search of the huntsman, the bard may be left behind to find a quiet spot around the castle and practice for their performance. If so, they may be awarded one use of Bardic Inspiration (or a reroll, or another bonus) for each hour they practice, but only if uninterrupted. The feast begins in 5 hours, and you can cut back and forth between scenes from the Hunting Trip as appropriate. For each hour after the first, there's a 66% chance (1-4 on a d6) chance they'll be interrupted. If they are, consult the table below based on where they choose to practice. If two interruptions in the same area are failed, it becomes clear to the bard they'll find no peace here and should relocate. If they successfully disarm two interruptions in the same area, it can be considered cleared for practicing the rest of the allotted time.
 * Inside Keep
 * The bard ends up in a room adjoining the kitchens, and an old woman brandishing a rolling pin takes note of their presence, thinking they're there to steal morsels early, and attempts to shoo them out. CHARISMA or other social check to convince them otherwise.
 * Finding a seat in the emptied great hall, the bard starts practicing when the lord ushers his Servants in and instructs them to begin hauling the tables and chairs outside for use. When the lord's table won't fit through the door, a shouting match breaks out about how to get it out of the building, disturbing their practice.
 * Grounds/Walltops
 * While practicing, the bard notices they're being watched by a pair of giggling maidservants or dreamy-eyed workmen, whispering to each other. RESIST COERCION or COURAGE check to practice despite their peeping.
 * Every time the bard tries to rehearse a particular ballad, loud neighs bellow out from under roof of the lord's nearby stable. ENDURANCE to ignore the interruptions, or RIDING to charm the animal into quiet.
 * Shed/Cellar/Outside Walls
 * Every time the bard gets halfway through a stanza, a cricket's chirp blares loud enough to startle them. AWARENESS check to find it, or ENDURANCE to ignore it.
 * Every time the bard gets halfway through a stanza, a cricket's chirp blares loud enough to startle them. AWARENESS check to find it, or ENDURANCE to ignore it.


 * A single Pseudorat is disturbed and attacks the bard.