Surf & Turf

The adventurers had faced dragons, dungeons, and worse things that didn’t even have names—but none of that prepared them for the glorious, chaotic peace of a day at the beach.

They arrived just after dawn, the tide low and the world painted in soft gold. The paladin immediately shed her armour, stacking it neatly beside a driftwood log.
“Today,” she declared,
“no swords, no duty.”
Her voice was firm but warm, and for once no one argued.

The gnome rogue darted straight for the water, splashing like a child, his hat flying off as a wave caught him mid-jump. The bard laughed so hard he nearly dropped his lute—then began strumming a tune that tangled with the crash of waves and gull cries.

The sorcerer stretched out under a parasol conjured from thin air, eyes closed, enjoying the rare chance to feel sunlight without fear of fireballs or frostbite. The warlock, ever sceptical, sat nearby with her tail half-buried in the sand, pretending to read but secretly watching the others with the faintest smile curling at her lips.

The Tortle monk moved slowly along the shoreline, collecting smooth stones and shells, arranging them in neat spirals that the tide would soon erase.
“All things return,” he said quietly when the Half-Orc Paladin wandered over.
“Even the waves learn to let go.”
By midday, they were all sun-drowsy and salt-skinned. The bard convinced everyone to join in building an enormous sandcastle—complete with miniature battlements and a stick flag bearing their crest. When the tide finally reached it, washing it away piece by piece, they watched in silence.

As the sun began to set, they gathered around a small fire of driftwood and seaweed, the smoke curling sweet and strange. The sea glowed with the last light of day, and the warlock finally admitted, “I think this might be the best quest we’ve ever taken.”

The bard raised a shell like a goblet.
“To peace between adventures.”

And as the waves whispered against the shore, their laughter mingled with the sound—brief, bright, and beautifully humanoid against the endless, eternal sea.