Laura Bennett

Start-class article · First seen: s20 · Last seen: s20
Laura Bennett
Laura · Laura the caravaner
Laura Bennett — portrait.
Character
StatusAlive
First seens20
Last seens20

Laura Bennett is the human travelling merchant the party hired as caravan guards at the Eldwythe bridge checkpoint in session 20, for the run to Umbrafall. She runs three covered freight wagons and is explicitly not from Aurelia [3]. For fifty gold total (twenty-five up front, twenty-five on arrival, split among the whole party, with food and wagon passage thrown in), she put the party’s names on her manifest and vouched them through the Aurelian border checkpoint [4], L487). Businesslike but fair, she docked five gold from their pay when a thief raided a wagon on Terry’s watch [9], and she survived the road ambush toward Umbrafall as a protected non-combatant, dodging a ghoul’s lunge [12].

Overview

Laura Bennett is an independent travelling merchant who runs three covered freight wagons and hires armed escorts for the dangerous overland leg between Eldwythe and Umbrafall. The party first meets her in the freight lane at the Eldwythe bridge checkpoint, where a board on her lead wagon advertises “guards wanted, Eldwythe to Umbrafall, meals and wagon space included, ask for Laura Bennett” [1]. She is a civilian, not a fighter, and she is explicitly not from Aurelia: when Caelumn asks her directly, she answers “No” [3]. Her manner is businesslike but fair, warming over the journey as she teaches Caelumn her trade.

She hires guards because the road is robbery-prone. As she puts it, travellers toward Umbrafall “have a tendency of getting robbed,” so she needs people who can handle themselves [2], and she is candid that she lost an entire shipment on this same road last time she ran it [6]. That earlier loss is why she will not cross without protection.

“Yes, I am looking for guards. As you may know, if you travel towards Umbrefall, you have a tendency of getting robbed. So I need someone that can handle themselves with a sword…” — Laura Bennett (Nick, DM), [2]

The escort contract

Caelumn closed the deal on a Persuasion check at advantage, and Laura agreed to terms: twenty-five gold up front and twenty-five more on arrival at Umbrafall, fifty in total for the whole party to split as they liked, with food and wagon passage included [5]. Crucially, she also agreed to put the party’s names on her manifest and vouch for them, which is how a band of visibly armed casters (and a conspicuously Aurelian cleric in Father Thomas) got through the border checkpoint at all. She was blunt about the limits of that cover: it would explain the weapons and get them into her lane, but “it will not save you if you give them any reasons to start opening packs” [4]. The manifest held; the caravan was waved through [13].

“I will agree to pay you 25 gold. in total amongst all of you… and I will pay you another 25 gold once we reach Emperor Fall.” — Laura Bennett (Nick, DM), [5]

Cargo, horses and ledger

Laura’s three wagons carry preserved food, lamp oil, farming tools and empty containers, all of them premium goods in poisoned Umbrafall where the environment cannot grow food and even empty vessels are scarce [7]. Her draught team is a pair of horses named Fritz and Ritz [10], and over the first travel-day she teaches Caelumn to handle the reins, how to steer and how to bring the horses back on track when they wander [11].

She keeps a careful written ledger of exactly what each wagon carries [8]. That bookkeeping is what caught the theft: on Terry’s watch a small humanoid raided a wagon and fled into the trees, and because Laura’s manifest recorded the missing stock, she was able to dock roughly five gold of stolen inventory from the party’s pay, charged to Terry for letting it happen on his watch [9]. She was fair rather than punitive about it, and became genuinely confused when Terry theatrically overpaid her ten gold to “buy out” his share [14].

“The last time I went through Eldwife to Ombrefall, I lost my entire shipment. As you can see, what I’m bringing is quite valuable.” — Laura Bennett (Nick, DM), [6]

The road ambush

On the second travel-night, the caravan was ambushed by five ghouls and two ogre zombies driven by an unnamed lone necromancer at the tree line. Laura was present as a protected non-combatant: Terry moved to bodyguard her behind Blade Song and Mirror Image, and when a ghoul broke off to lunge at her she managed to dodge the first bite before the creature ran past toward Terry instead [12]. She took no damage in the fight.

Afterward Caelumn suspected the attack had been aimed at her specifically and pressed her on who might be hunting her cargo. Laura offered no lead, framing the ambush as the ordinary road robbery she had hired guards against in the first place [15]. Whether the strike was targeted or opportunistic is left unresolved.

Status as of session 20

Alive and continuing the run to Umbrafall with the party still under contract; twenty-five gold remains owed on arrival, less the five docked for the theft. As the session closed, the caravan was a day short of Umbrafall at an unnamed mill-pond settlement where a storehouse had been forced open [16].

See also

References

  1. ^ Session 20, line 417 — First appearance at the Eldwythe bridge freight lane; three covered wagons and a "guards wanted" board on the lead wagon, "Ask for Laura Bennett".
  2. ^ Session 20, line 468 — Hires guards because the Umbrafall road is robbery-prone.
  3. ^ Session 20, line 470 — Confirms she is not from Aurelia.
  4. ^ Session 20, line 478 — Puts the party's names on the manifest to vouch them through the checkpoint; the protection ends if the guards decide to open packs.
  5. ^ Session 20, line 487 — Terms of the escort deal, 25 up front and 25 on arrival, split party-wide.
  6. ^ Session 20, line 514 — Lost her entire shipment on this same road last run.
  7. ^ Session 20, line 516 — Cargo, preserved food, lamp oil, farming tools and empty containers, all premium in Umbrafall.
  8. ^ Session 20, line 901 — Keeps a written ledger of wagon contents, which is how the theft was caught.
  9. ^ Session 20, line 1069 — Docks five gold from the party's pay after the wagon theft, charged to Terry.
  10. ^ Session 20, line 1105 — Her draught horses, Fritz and Ritz.
  11. ^ Session 20, line 1120 — Teaches Caelumn to drive and steer the team.
  12. ^ Session 20, line 1509 — Dodges a ghoul's lunge in the road ambush.
  13. ^ Session 20, line 539-551 — Inline citation.
  14. ^ Session 20, line 1083 — Inline citation.
  15. ^ Session 20, line 1737 — Inline citation.
  16. ^ Session 20, line 1757 — Inline citation.