A raven flies down to the notice board, a scrap of paper in its beak. It pecks once to affix the notice to the board

“Two great houses have been at war for 3 generations.  It has blighted their lands and has begun to affect mine as well.  Please bring peace to this conflict or put a permanent end to it.
Meet me here”

Intro

We’ve had a lot of theory, today I thought I would give you a practical example. A recent one shot started with the notice above.

The Set Up

I had the start of the story – the two great houses were actually two mouse tribes and they were fighting over a great big block of cheese buried under a village. And the raven, well there was a bit of a twist to the story, but let’s leave that to the end. The question in my mind was was how were they to resolve this – negotiation, fighting, destruction of the cheese, diplomacy.
Our brave adventurers are Squiggles, Quiet Midnight, Fenwick Crane, and Theris. What follows are my notes as the quest went along.

The Beginning

Corvinius the crow meets the group at the noticeboard.  Luckily Squiggles is able to cast speak with animals so he can make the introductions.  Corvinius leads them to his village. There they are greeted by the villagers.
One of the locals steps forward, a look of challenge on his face. “Didn’t tell you who the houses were did he! House Cheddarmore and House Rindclaw. Heard of ’em? No.  Didn’t think so. Just because they keep him awake at night”
“It’s more than that Jed. I swear old Miss Jeffries house has sunk an inch. Tunnels under the village.”
Jed waves the other man quiet, “maybe. still doesn’t change that it’s two mousefolk clans fighting over a big block of cheese. Just happens the cheese is buried under where he roosts at night ain’t it.”
Another voice pipes up “my garden has been ruined. The fence fell on my prize begonias.”
“And that cheese is beginning to reek.”
“Yeah, Corvinius is right, it has to end.”
“Oh settle down the lot of you. “
There follows a lot of muttering.
More voices join in the mix now, many talking over Jed because they feel he is not taking this seriously enough.  The group learn that the cheese is enormous — possibly hundreds of pounds.  It seems to have arrived through a rift, being buried under the ground and too big for anyone to remove.  Over time, to the two mouse houses it has become an odd mixture of religious symbol, strategic resource, and a simple point of pride.
However, they also discover that the cheese is slowly rotting and spoiled, attracting pests. It will soon collapse into a foul mush that threatens both houses.
Quiet proposes talking to the houses.

Tunnels

The adventurers are pointed to the two ends of the village where they can find entrance holes into the tunnels.
House Cheddarmore has claimed the west, House Rindclaw the east.  And the great cheese lies almost slap bang in the middle below the market.
The group enter the tunnels leading to House Cheddarmore.  They come to a fork in the tunnel, one way smells of rank cheese and so they go the other.  Coming across a chunk of cheese on the tunnel floor, Squiggles picks it up, only to set off a trap.

The click snaps through the room, and a barrage of sharpened toothpicks suddenly fills the air. The majority bounce off clothing but where there is bare flesh they stick in. Soon the adventurers look like cheese and pineapple nibbles at a cocktail party.  Netting falls from the ceiling, tangling them up and trapping them.  Little feet skitter down the tunnel, and the mice spill forward, leaping onto the fallen bodies with an eerie, purposeful hunger. The various weapons the mice are carrying would be cute if it weren’t for the fact that they are pointing at sensitive parts of peoples bodies.
Captured, the group are taken to a cavern and left. 

Meeting the Big Cheese

Squiggles turns into a badger and digs their way out, finding the cheese from the smell.  The group spend some time considering what to do but then Squiggles casts reduce on it. However, in its smaller form it no longer supports the roof, and the tunnel system begins to collapse. In his badger form, Squiggles is able to shore up the tunnel so all escape the tunnels. As Quiet sets down the cheese there is a rumble and it begins to transform back into it’s original size.  Whether it is the size transformation, the lack of tunnel providing supporting pressure, or simply the fresh air, it is hard to say what triggers it but the cheese is not fairing well and begins to collapse, chunks of rotten cheese falling off and a slime creeping from underneath.  The foul stench is overpowering even on the outside.
Voice can be heard from around the village, getting closer. “What the hell is that smell?” “have you been at the beans again?” “gods the sewars have ruptured?” ” that cow has got to go!”.
The villagers beginning to arrive in the square do not look happy when they see the cheese and realise that this is where the smell is coming from.  Even less happy are first House Cheddarmore and then House Rindclaw, as both the mouse clans come charging out of their burrows, weapons in hand.  It looks as though there are only moments before everything is going to kick off royally.
Squiggles makes insects swarm around the cheese and Fenwick calls to set the cheese on fire.  This causes consternation.

Talking Cheese

“Fire, they are talking about burning the sacred cheese.”
“Someone get bread, cheese on toast it is.”
“That is just disgusting.”
“OURS OURS OURS!”
“Oh those bugs are horrible.”
“It’s him, it’s him” pointing at Squiggles, the insects are coming from his staff, he is contaminating our cheese.”
“They want to steal it.”
“No Rindclaw have put them up to it.”
“Cheddarmore are stealing it.”
“Is this ground beginning to sink.”
“I’m sure that wall used to be straighter.”
“WE WANT THE CHEESE!”
“Water, fetch water.”
Human and mouse shout, trying to be heard over each other. The square fills with clamouring, various factions and wishes vying for supremacy.

A Time to Fight

Knives and swords are suddenly drawn.  A mouse lunges at another with his blade.  Theris fires an arrow into the ground and yells at them to stop.  All this does is turn both clans against the adventurers.
The fight is bloody, on all sides, but finally Fenwick shouts for the few remaining mousefolk to stand down.  Rather than blindly fighting on, the remaining mousefolk hesitate at hearing Fenwicks words.  They look around and see a lot of blood.  They try to work out if the majority has come from their own side, or the adventurers.  Then one or two look slyly at the opposing clan. Trying to work out if the other side have taken the worst of the beating, and are therefore ripe to take down.  Overall they decide that they have been on the loosing side and there is nothing left from keeping on fighting.  The few standing lay down their weapons.
“Truce, we call for truce”, and they do. 
The cheese has taken the worst of the battle, even worse than the mousefolk clans. Trampled underfoot and hit by weapons. It has been pulverised beyond recognition.  The mousefolk stop and look at the remains.  Some start giving up prayers that their holy relic is a goo, oozing into the soil.
A number of mousefolk lie dead. Possibly the clans did see opportunity to put a knife in the back of rivals.
Quiet thinks the best thing is to leave, while Squiggles wants to hold a council for the mousefolk to find a peace.

A Final Twist in the Tail

They call the mice and townsfolk together, but the air is suddenly disturbed by a sound. Almost like a slow clap, but oddly muffled as though softened.  Looking up they see Corvinius the raven, clapping with his wings as he looks down on the assembled crowd. Further, as they watch, the raven begins to transform into a humanoid figure. Sitting on his haunches up on the gables of a nearby house looking over the town square, he speaks. “Oh that was good, most enjoyable.  I am a little disappointed in the ending. I was hoping to see a full slaughter, but none the less, all very rewarding.”  
“You found peace through chaos, the destruction of the cheese, exceedingly amusing to watch.  The turmoil has fed my needs for now” his feathers ripple with smoke as he speaks. “It was indeed a last hoozah for my cheese.  I thought it had almost run its course, but I hoped for one last twist from it. And you did deliver.  Most amusing seeing you trapped.  And your attempts with the mousefolk.  Well, a deal is a deal.  You have settled the war of the great houses.  Your reward lies before you.”  He claps his now human like hands once and before the group appears a pile of items. “My payment is fair, but for now I’ll go see where else I can stir up mischief..  Maybe I will see you again”
And with a final wry smile he turns back into a raven. As he takes to wing there is a flash of light. And then he is flying off into the night.

The Ending

Quiet is dumbstruck as Corvinius speaks. As soon as he disappears, Quiet mutters, “It was all… All this chaos… for his sick entertainment!” His face twists into a furious snarl, and despite his wounds he punches a wall. “People were hurt! Killed! And I played right into! How can I dare show my face at the guard again!”
Our adventurers realise a minor fey has tricked them, and they clutch only a strange music box and a pendant as the truth sinks in. What stories may they hold in store for the future.