Quest Notes

Chapter 2 : The Fall of Tarnstead

Introduction (For DM):

Tarnstead was once a peaceful town comprised of an amalgam of various farming villages spread out across the Rialta Valley. But recently, there’s been trouble. The party comes upon the town after traveling for several days from Karsthag, only to find many portions of Tarnstead in flames.

Rumours abound in neighbouring villages about raiders setting fire to the town, other claim that it’s not raiders, but rather monsters with torches and snarling animals.

The truth behind the rumours is that the village has been attacked by goblins and worgs, who have been encroaching on the town. Normally, the local goblin population lives in the caves to the south, but something has driven them to attack the town, stealing food and blankets, and setting buildings on fire as if to distract or drive off the humans.

Deep in the caves, there is a greater threat than the goblins, a pair of ankhegs, giant earwig-like creatures, have made the goblin lair their nest, and have driven the goblins out to pillage and raid the nearest town, Tarnstead.

Introduction (For Players):

Karsthag is several days travel from most other dwellings of note. Situated at the north-eastern end of the Lantis Valley, if one travels for several days to the south-west and turns around its bend, they will find themselves passing by the villages of Greenbrook, Cragwallow, and finally Norfton, before coming to the deepest and greenest part of the valley, Tarnstead. And from the town’s direction, a thin plume of black smoke is visible above the trees that crown the base of Ben Istira.

Your travels have taken you in the direction of Tarnstead, a small town to the west of Karsthag. Though not a merchant hub, this town is one of many located in the verdant valleys that form Danterin’s core. The small town has a mixed human and halfling population, with a significant gnomish community. Though gnomes and humans are commonplace, the town is originally a halfling town, and this is reflected in the council of elders, which is a group of five elderly halflings who govern the town and ensure that justice is carried out and that decisions are made fairly.

Locales:

Burned-Out Farmstead: Teanna’s home, now reduced to flaming rubble. The once-beautiful farmhouse sits as a burnt-out husk of painted wood and smashed possessions. The bodies of Teanna’s father and several farmhands lay scattered about the grounds. If the farmhouse is investigated, Teanna’s eight year-old brother, Liam can be found huddled in the pantry, suffering from mild smoke inhalation that worsens as he is left unattended.

Tarnstead Village Center: A dirt road winds around a circular garden with flagstone paths, delicate bridges over a bubbling stream, and clusters of wildflowers around three weeping willows. The stream passes from north to south through town, breaking in half around the central garden before coming together again and running south towards the caves.

Main Quest NPCs:

Elder Goric Thistlebrook – An elderly halfling who looks after the scattered halfling population in the valley. His people often come to him so that he might aid them in settling minor disputes with the humans that live alongside them. If spoken to, he will inform the party that in addition to food and valuables, three of his people have gone missing over the last few days, and he fears the worst. He knows of the goblins in the southern hills, and though they have experienced some raiding in the past, it has never escalated past petty thievery and a few broken doors and loosed cattle. The measures that the goblins are taking are new, and they seem desperate, as despicable as they are.

Teanna – The daughter of a local farmer. Players may meet her on the road as she flees the site of her family’s burning farm. There, a pack of six goblins have set fire to the barn and begun carrying off fruits and vegetables in large sacks.

Quest Overview:

The local goblin population, though until recently content to remain in the caves south of the town, have begun attacking farms and conducting raids of Tarnstead.

When spoken to, the halfling elder shows the party the town, where it is obvious that many houses have been looted and burned in raids carried out by the local goblins. He tells the players that though the region has had goblins skirting their borders for generations, in no living memory have they grown so bold as this. They steal, yes, but they never resorted to kidnapping and murder before.

Combat Plans:

The first encounter will consist of rescuing Teanna from a group of goblins who are carrying her off to be sacrificed. The four goblins have her slung over the back of a worg, leaving behind a burning farmstead and her dead father laying on the ground.

The second encounter consists of fending off a raid on the town, where goblins ride in on worgs, three goblins to a worg, intent on carrying off a fresh sacrifice after their first attempt was interrupted.

After learning of the goblins’ plans, the party must venture out to the caves where the goblins live, only to encounter the boss goblin, his lackeys, and his faithful armoured worg. They stand before the entrance of the cave, intent on acquiring the adventurers as sacrifices to the demons within.

The final encounter takes place deep in the caves, where the party investigates the lair of the demons that the goblins have been trying to appease. Deep within the caves, past all of the abandoned goblin encampments, they find the nest of two ankheg, as well as the bodies of several goblins and a number of human and halfling sacrifices.

Layout of Dungeon:

The caves are a fairly simple system, there’s only one main tunnel, with a few slight branches where the remains of small goblin camps can be found. The main tunnel dips deeper into the earth than the others, and smells of putrid filth and rotting flesh, along with a strange scent that doesn’t seem quite natural.

If the party ventures deeper into the caves, they will find a nest of bones and carcasses, some goblin, and some worg. Amidst the detritus, there are a pair of Ankheg, curled up. If disturbed, the pair attack, determined to consume the intruders in their new lair.

Loot Table:

843 silver pieces, 96 gold pieces, and 3 platinum pieces looted from various villagers and scattered throughout the caves.

Location Descriptions – Chapter 2

Quest Notes

Chapter 3 : The Haunting of Kinallen

Introduction (For DM):

The city of Kinallen, and the surrounding plains, have been haunted by long-faded memories of the battles that happened in the last years before the Great Collapse. Great battles were once waged here, and whole battlefields yet lay strewn with the ashes and bones of the dead. Though many have tried to lay the spirits to rest, recent years have seen the spirits stirred up again, and none seem willing to venture out of the city to discover why.

Introduction (For Players):

With the unrest in Tarnstead quelled and the goblins once more separated from the human and halfling population of the village, the three of you made your way back to Karsthag, now your unofficial base of operations.

Whilst home, the three of you engaged in various forms of training. For after battles with goblins, ankheg, and trolls, you felt it an opportune time to improve upon your skills before the allure of the open road calls you on another modest adventure.

Dusk, in the month since returning, you have focused a great deal of time into improving your strength, having previously felt unsatisfied with the lack of brute force behind your blows. Through relentless dedication to your training, you have begun to see the shape of your body begin to change. Though you retain the slender form of your elven heritage, the muscles upon your frame have thickened, proof of your growing strength. Your hands have likewise grown stronger and more talented, as you further dedicate yourself to the mastery of the pan and ladle. You have learned through careful practice how to sear and roast and apply just the right amount of oil and spice to bring out richer flavours from your meals.

Artus, you have spent your time making connections and accumulating a small fortune, with which you have purchased many supplies for travel, intending to accompany your new friends on further lucrative adventures. With your newest alchemical tools in hand, you have made business connections not only with your teacher, alchemist Silvina Blademore, but with a local temple dedicated to the Great Mother, a pair of local breweries, and the court of Lord Vinius Araton. Though not yet well-known, your efforts have earned you a signed letter from Lord Araton’s steward, sealed with the lord’s crest, affirming that your wares are of quality, and that their carrier is of integrity.

Maeka, upon your return to Karsthag, you took up once more with your teacher, Davion Ranier, as you sought out further lessons to improve your skill in polearm combat. After three weeks, Davion rather gruffly sent you home, claiming that you had reached an acceptable level of skill with your glaive, and that there was nothing more you could learn from squatting at the lord’s keep and pestering him all day. After leaving the castle, you turned your efforts back to the learning of elvish, which you had been studying with Dusk since your first return to Karsthag two and a half months ago. The words in your ancient tome have begun to make sense, and you have achieved a basic understanding of elvish, though the greater mysteries and subtle nuances of the ancient tongue still elude you.

Summer has now turned to autumn, and as with the turning of the seasons, life goes on.

take Maeka’splayer to a private voice chat

Maeka, this morning you awoke to one of the household servants placing a letter upon the desk in your bedroom. It’s a simple letter, folded into a square and tied with twine. There is no wax seal, no embroidered edges.

if Maeka chooses to open the letter

Within the letter, you discover a neat, if hurried scrawl. It is quite legible, and written in Common.

Maeka,

By the time you get this letter, I will long since be on the road. I’m not one for goodbyes, but I felt you deserved an explanation for my absence.

As I said to you on your last day of training, there is nothing left for me to teach you. In truth, I never thought a mage would make a good student of the martial arts, but here we are, you proved me wrong every day you came waddling into the castle to work until you dropped.

Most wouldn’t find my absence troubling, but you’re a strange one, I’ll give you that. So, I will tell you this. Two nights before your final day under my wing, I received word from an old adventuring comrade of mine. Yes, I was once an adventurer too, until I retired to the easy life of protecting a lord’s keep and training his soldiers after Ethros and I buried our friends. I know well that you’re on the same path I was many years ago. For your sake, I hope you have better luck than we did.

I leave now for the west. There are troubles brewing, and Ethros has sought out my help. They have need of strong fighters, and while I may be retired from the adventuring life, my strength is whole and my mind is sound. I wish you and your friends luck on your travels. Perhaps our paths will cross again.

Keep your wits sharp, and your blade sharper.

Davion Ranier

Locales:

City of Kinallen – A robust city, far larger than Karsthag, Kinallen stands as a connection point between Haleon, the capitol of Danterin, and Nol Turum, a dwarven stronghold in the northern mountains, as well as to Tarnstead, Karsthag, and the Greenwood in the northeast. It is a city with a population of nearing sixty thousand, and boasts a great variety of shops and services. Though in the past few weeks, the city has seen increasing troubles as the dead begin to rise from the ancient battle sit north of the city, cutting off trade from Nol Turum and Karsthag.

Battlefield – A flattened plain sits to the north of the city, littered with ashes and bones now mostly reclaimed by nature. However, if one were to dig shallowly into the ground, they would find the remains of thousands of soldiers who perished during a battle that took place during the moment of the Great Collapse. The armies were wiped out in an instant, and few enough survived to tell of the events that transpired that elven historians now disagree on how exactly the battle fared all those centuries ago.

Ancient Ruined City – Once, these ruins were the magnificent, shining city of Gavenor, an elven bastion of learning and knowledge. Little remains but the foundations of the city, as it was at the epicenter of the Great Collapse. None are quite sure today what happened in Gavenor to cause the Great Collapse, or whether it originated in the city at all, but there are dark rumours about the place, about mages who practiced dark magic and made pacts with evil entities. Whether these mages were elven, human, or of some other race, none can say. But someone or something seems to be intent on awakening this power once again, and the dead have begun to stir. Echoes of the past can be seen walking the city, appearing for an instant, only to disappear soon after.

Ancient Ritual Tower – Though destroyed long ago, this ancient elven tower has recently been rebuilt, though hastily and without proper reinforcement. Now, the fragile tower plays host to a dark cult intent on equally dark purposes.

Main Quest NPCs:

Davion Rainier – The polearm master formerly with Lord Araton’s castle guard. He was recruited shortly after the party left Karsthag to serve in the king’s army. As a captain, he has been tasked with investigating the reposts of strange activity in Kinallen. An infestation of spirits.

Ethros Arani – A half-elven mage in service to the king of Danterin. He’s an old friend of Davion’s, and came calling in Karsthag when the situation in Kinallen became too much for him to handle alone. He’s an experienced sorcerer of little renown, preferring to work from the shadows, rather than bask in the limelight. He is upbeat and charming, and knows well how to spin his words to convince others to rally to him. He has a strategic and tactical mind, which serves him well in his post-adventuring career as a commander.

Quest Overview:

In the fields beyond the northern gates of the city, the dead have become restless, and the spirits of men and elves alike arise, intent on fighting not only one another, but any trespassers who dare set foot on the soil of their final battle.

Crossing the battlefield seems impossible, but Davion’s partner, a mage by the name of Ethros, has an idea. He may be able to enchant an object that will force the tide of spirits to part and allow a group of warriors to pass through unharmed and confront the source of the problem.

Thus, Ethros sends the party into the ruins of an ancient city to fetch a list of ingredients for him. Luminescent mushrooms that grow in the caves beneath the city, the ectoplasmic residue from several ghosts, and fresh dirt from the battlefield. With these ingredients, he plans to create a spell that will mask the presence of the living and make them all but invisible to the fighting spirits.

When the party returns with the ingredients, he spells a talisman with the spirit repulsion in order to allow a group of up to 5 people to cross the battlefield and investigate what lays on the other side. But the spell will only hold for seventy-two hours, so they must use their time wisely.

First Quest Complete!

An optional side-quest involves diving back into the ruins of the city to investigate the cause of its destruction during the Great Collapse. It is still unknown what exactly caused the cataclysm that rocked the continent six hundred years ago, but that has not stopped scholars of all stripes from trying to puzzle out the greatest mystery of the age.

Should the party bring Ethros with them, they can use his magic to summon the spirits of the dead to them and question them about their final days in Gavenor. They can also observe the memories of the place, shown to them by the risen spirits of the city who seem to pay them as little mind as if the party were ghosts themselves.

Investigating further may reveal that there were six elven mages who served King Erethor who visited the city not long before the Great Collapse. The common people only know that their mission involved stemming the tide of the dark creatures that had begun pouring forth from the mountains, and a dark dragon that accompanied them. However, something went wrong, and the six mages disappeared suddenly before the city and the surrounding region were destroyed.

The second quest in the chain sends the party out into the sparsely forested plains north of Kinallen, past the ruins of the ancient city and through the battlefield towards the ruins of yet another castle. And yet, this one looks rebuilt, unlike Castle Derevor.

Should the party choose to try taking either Davion or Ethros with them to the ruins of Gavenor, with Davion pointing out that Ethros’s magic would be more useful against ghosts than his spear, then Ethros will conduct a ritual to speak with one of the ghosts. He summons the spirit of a long-dead elven warrior and questions him about the events that precipitated the battle.

The warrior will claim that the battle happened as a result of an incursion by dark creatures, the likes of which they hadn’t seen in centuries. King Erethor mustered his troops with the intent of putting an end to the incursions by these dark creatures, particularly after discovering that they might spread the taint of their dark magic into his city like a plague. Many travelers coming south from Nol Turum had been afflicted with the plague and turned into these creatures themselves. Thus, the king sought to stop them in their tracks, before they could bring this blight into his city.

The king had expected an army of dwarves to come in pursuit of the creatures, yet no dwarves appeared. Thus, the king’s men took up arms, and the king appealed to the local human lords with whom they coexisted peacefully for help. The help came, and the armies of men took up arms against these dark foes.

However, something happened in the midst of battle, and the elves believed that the humans had betrayed them, for a number of dark-robed humans accompanied the traitorous mages, the Brotherhood of the Seven Stars, casting spells and using dark magics that none of the elven knights had seen before. Shortly thereafter, the city was destroyed, and the elven armies along with it.

Before leaving the city, the party may have a chance brush at a distance with an elven paladin who appears to be in the city, cleansing it of corruption and laying the dead to rest.

Combat Plans:

Three possible encounters lay before the party. First, a battle with giant spiders pas the outskirts of the city on their way to the ruins. Second, a number of elven wraiths within the city that may attack if provoked. However, if a player character speaks elvish (bonus points if they happen to be a cleric or paladin), it is possible to speak to the wraiths and convince them to relinquish their ties to the mortal plane and move on. The third encounter takes place in the ritual tower, where the players must take on the cultists who are hard at work trying to revive an ancient lich from the days of the Great Collapse.

Layout of Dungeon:

The ritual tower is three stories tall, with a large ritual room at the very top. Inside the ritual room, there are a number of cracked pillars holding up the ceiling, and a group of cultists surrounding an ancient sarcophagus.

Loot Table and Rewards:

• Permanent rooms at The Black Mountain Inn, courtesy of Gremrus Moltenfist, the dwarven proprietor, as compensation for the party’s service.
• 1 set of Mithril +1 half plate armour
• permission to do business in Kinallen

Conclusion:

The final stage of the chapter will see the party coming into conflict with a circle of cultists, emerging triumphant from the fray, only for a lich to rise from the midst of their ritual and kill Ethros (the most dangerous threat in the room) with a single well-placed spell.

When Ethros falls, Davion will place himself between the lich and the party, intending to shield them long enough to get away and report this back to Arl Garen Iorleth.

If the party chooses to flee and return to Kinallen, they may be pursued by another squad of darkspawn (depends on how taxed their resources are). This encounter and end to the chapter is meant to make them feel small in the world, knowing that there are things that are so far beyond them that they are still insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Though this does not have to be the case forever.

Upon their return to Kinallen, the party has the option of going to Arl Garen Iorleth immediately to report the events that just transpired. Ethros would have left their descriptions with the guard, who would allow them in on the behest of the fallen mage. Some hours, or perhaps a couple of days later, depending on how long the party is being cared for by Arl Garen’s healers, Davion will reappear, carrying Ethros’s body. Haggard and haunted, the seasoned warrior will retreat to Ethros’s command tent to mourn his loss privately.

If the party chooses to stay and fight with Davion, the lich will floor the four of them, dropping all of them into unconsciousness before disappearing. The party will be mysteriously transported back to the encampment outside the city walls. They discover later that Davion carried the three of them back, before returning to the site of the battle to attend to Ethros’s remains.

The party discovers that Davion has informed Arl Garen Iorleth of the existence of the lich and of the nature of the blight encroaching on his lands. Davion later returns with Ethros’s armour and weapons, intending to either return them or pass them on. With the death of the last of his companions, Davion’s adventuring days are done.

If the party decides to collapse the top of the tower to cover an escape for themselves, Ethros, and Davion, the lich will still intend to kill Ethros. If he is killed, his body falls down the stairs and the way upstairs is blocked. Davion will push the adventurers down the stairs, and the party must make dexterity saving throws to see if they sustain damage on the way down.

Should the party find themselves stuck in the tower, a cleric may quickly cast revivify to save Ethros. Otherwise, if a character (preferably a cleric or paladin) makes sincere prayers to Balor and rolls (either a Persuasion check or a d100 to the DM’s satisfaction), the paladin from the city will appear, using the power of his holy sword to revive the fallen sorcerer.

If the party manages to save Ethros, he will return to Kinallen with the party, vouching for the bravery of their deeds. And, in the event Ethros survives, he and Davion will play a political role in the events of future chapters, surrounding the ascension of the next king.

Location Descriptions – Chapter 3

Quest Notes

Chapter 4 : Beneath Nol Turum

Introduction (For DM):

After the events in Kinallen, it is now known that a lich threatens the land. And it is not alone. In five other locations throughout Eriathra, cultists from the Brotherhood of the Seven Stars are working to raise the ancient liches from their resting places and return them to their mortal appearances.

The now risen lich has, according to vague reports, headed north towards the mountains, in the same direction as the origin of the darkspawn. To the north lays Nol Turum, a mountain fortress city belonging to the dwarves, and the home of Clan Moltenfist and Clan Longforge.

This gives the party incentive to head north, as Artus may be worried about his family, or Dusk and Maeka may be determined to chase down the lich that nearly cost Ethros his life.

Signs point north, and so, the party journeys towards the mountains and towards the lands held by the dwarves, where they will face a darkness rising from deep beneath the earth, where the haunted ruins of ancient dwarven cities still stir.

Introduction (For Players):

When last we left off, your party had undergone a harsh nearly six weeks of training under the tutelage of Davion and Ethros. You developed and trained many of your skills, spurred on by the recent brush of death you experienced at the hands of a freshly revived lich.

The lich, after killing Ethros, disappeared, leaving your party to pray for a miracle. Prayers were answered in the form of Kai, a half-elven paladin in service to the Lord of Light, whom you had seen from a distance previously in the ruined city of Gavenor as you watched his progress through the city as he sought to send on the spirits of the thousands of inhabitants who remained trapped in this realm.

Given this last brush with death and a notable fading of his overall health, Davion convinced Ethros to retire from both adventuring and active combat, on the condition that Davion also retire from the front lines to serve as a military consultant and weapons master for the king’s forces.

News on the whereabouts of the lich has been scarce, as the dark entity disappeared soon after rising, staying only long enough to strike Ethros down with a deadly spell. But what information has been recovered suggests that the lich disappeared towards the north, towards the mountains held sovereign by the dwarves.

Ethros also deduced, based on descriptions given to him by Davion regarding the dark creatures your party encountered, that the two monstrous spellcasters that attended the ritual share a common source, and that he personally knows little of the creatures, only that they have been in conflict with the dwarves for thousands of years.

Locales and Features:

The Deep Roads – Ancient highways used by the dwarves for transporting both people and goods. Now, much of the underground network is abandoned, infested by dark creatures and tainted magic. Passages between the major dwarven cities still exist, but they are always traveled with caution.

Duraghan Thaig – The ancient stronghold of Clan Duraghan, where their kings sat on their stone and bronze thrones and ruled from the north-eastern mountains to the southern hills. Their kingdom spanned from what is now Nol Turum to the northern tip of the Indorian Wilds. Eighteen thaigs once lay under their control, now reduced to a mere handful that have grown into independent city-states under the control of various clan leaders. But it is said that the blood of Clan Duraghan still runs in the veins of many families in Nol Turum.

Karthagan Thaig – The ancient stronghold of Clan Karthagan, a thaig that burrows into the depths, connecting to many gold, silver, iron, and platinum mines. The thaig, though no longer properly inhabited, has long been a mining outpost, a base from which dwarven mining enterprises send out teams in search of new ore veins to tap.

Nol Turum – One of the largest dwarven cities on the fringes of Danterin, rivaled by the city of Stormhold. Nol Turum is a large city with a grand populace of artisans, merchants, and warriors. It is a den of politics and alliances, and a place where information and money changes hands frequently. Clans Moltenfist and Longforge hold prominent places in the city’s hierarchy, but the city itself is ruled by Clan Greymaul, a family of politicians and lawmakers that goes back twenty generations.

The Sunglass – A large lens made of crystal that sits high above the city, beneath the opening in the mountain that allows sunlight to filter inside. Though dwarves are prone to preferring the inside of mountains, the introduction of a glass and mirror system some eight hundred years ago allows for plants to be grown within the city, helping to support the populace and make the city somewhat more self-sufficient. Dwarves that tend towards darkness and traditionalism are frequently appeased with the argument that it is a testament to dwarven ingenuity and craftsmanship, and that within their mountain home, anything is possible.

Major NPCs:

Galron Greymaul – Nephew of the head of Clan Greymaul and a young military politician whose attention is often occupied by reports of darkspawn crawling from the depths in greater numbers and with more frequency than they have in centuries. He is one of the party’s primary information sources and liaisons to the heart of the city. He is encountered while speaking to Valdren, if the party go looking for the staunch warrior again. Valdren is his eyes and ears on the front line, and the one to whom Valdren makes his reports.

Hjalnur Longforge – Artus’s father and a member of Nol Turum’s merchant consortium. Though not the head of the clan, the older dwarf represents the clan in matters of finance and business. He is a businessman by trade, partnered with his brother, a bookkeeper, and two cousins in Clan Moltenfist who churn out some of the finest smith work in the city. His large-scale project involve providing arms and armour to the king, who rules over all of dwarvenkind from the city of Stormhold.

Valdren – A dwarven warrior with the Black Legion, a protector of the dwarven people from the monsters that lurk in the depths. As a newborn, he was named for Valdren the Smith an ancestor-paragon whom his parents hoped he would take after. However, he surprised them by turning out not as a smith, but as a warrior, and one of the fiercest of his generation. Following the path of the warrior, he trained with the warriors of the Black Legion, intending on joining them someday. He saw in his dreams as a child that the darkspawn would rise up and threaten his people, and so he took the initiative to prepare himself by mastering his fighting skills and honing the raw, natural talent he had for battle.

Minor NPCs:

Koric Longforge – Artus’s stoic and easily annoyed older brother, a merchant in his own right. Artus has a history of scrapping with this brother, and the two get on a bit uneasily, even if their loyalty to family is unshakable.

Emmet Longforge – Artus’s younger brother.

Brendic – A human ranger traveling with a merchant caravan making its way through the underground roads to Nol Turum.

Quest Overview:

This chapter is going to be heavy with darkspawn as the adventurers try to discover the link between the darkspawn and the lich revived in Kinallen. They are going to be traveling through a commonly frequented part of the Deep Roads as they journey to Nol Turum in search of answers.

Their first encounter with the darkspawn will take place within the tunnels, along the main highway leading to Nol Turum. The corridor itself is three hundred feet wide and the tunnel is two hundred feet tall. It is a tunnel of epic proportions, meant for transporting not only goods like steel and stone, but also armies and machines of war.

There are many side passages that lead from the main road, connecting to smaller settlements that dot the lands under the hills and mountains outside of the great cities. It is from one of these passages that the darkspawn come.

They are not obvious at first, and all seems quiet along the road. There are dwarven merchants traveling along the road, taking it from Nol Turum to Stormhold, or to Haleon, where there is an entrance to the Deep Roads just outside of the city. Along the road, there are many small settlements, built to house small populations of dwarves that serve as rest stops between the cities on journeys that take days or weeks.

At one of these settlements, a place called Berthiad, there is a disturbance that hangs in the air, something that does not feel quite right. By then, the party is relatively alone on the road, merely traveling alongside a small merchant caravan returning to Nol Turum after selling their wares in Haleon, the capital of Danterin.

Our party stops to rest in Berthiad, or at least, that is the plan. But when they stray from the main road to approach the settlement, they find the tunnels leading there to be empty, save for the magical crystals that provide light in the deep.

Combat Encounters:

A third wave of combat will follow, more townsfolk now turned into ghouls, only to be cut down by three dwarven warriors (Valdren, Leovic, and Dughan) who were alerted to the commotion after being sent out to investigate why no one had heard from this settlement in days.

Upon discovering that the human and half-elf are traveling with a dwarven native of Nol Turum, the party is offered an escort to the city with the dwarven warriors who plan to head back to make their report. Chief among them is Valdren, a powerful dwarven warrior and defender of the city.

In Nol Turum, the party encounters Galron Greymaul, Valdren’s superior, and a tactician of no small merit. Valdren makes his report to Galron that darkspawn destroyed the settlement of Berthiad, and that the three adventurers were the only life he found within the ruins.

This interests Galron, who questions why the adventurers are there, until he takes note of Artus, whom he recognizes as one of the merchants lost in a goblin raid about a year previously. The report from the scouts regarding the attack had indicated that no one from the caravan had survived, and a great many goblins and orcs had died as well.

Either he, A) expresses surprise that Artus survived, as it was thought that he had died when there was no word sent, or B) says that he is glad to see Artus return to the city, that his letters were received and passed on to his family some time ago.

As a result of Artus’s connections to the city, the party will be offered shelter by the Longforge clan, who welcome Artus back with a rather raucous and booze-soaked celebration.

However, knowing this city as he does, Artus will soon notice that something isn’t quite right. There’s a tension in the air that is unusual for the city. There’s always a tension, after all competition can be fierce between the dwarven merchant clans, but this tension seems…different. As if there’s more at stake than merely a few sacks of gold.

If the party chooses to investigate, Artus’s father, Hjalnur, will tell them that the last six months have seen a surge in the activities of the carta operating out of the old thaigs. Though exiled from the city on account of their crimes, the dwarven crime bosses have been increasing their reach and bringing goods into Nol Turum through third parties. The carta are making a huge profit because, lately, it’s been hard for the merchant clans to get shipments of goods in from the surface. The roads have become treacherous, and more than one merchant caravan has been lost in the Deep Roads on their way to the city.

Hjalnur’s own business has taken quite a hit, and as much as half of his goods haven’t arrived from Stormhold, costing him quite a bit of coin. The family’s fortunes are by no means in dire straits, but there has been an increase of wariness in their business partners, some of whom have begun turning their attentions elsewhere. But there’s little place for them to turn apart from the carta, for many of the merchants in the city have been having trouble bringing in goods. Some caravans are attacked, some simply disappear, and some refuse to brave the dangers, no matter the price they’re offered.

Combat Plans:

The first battle takes place in the ruins of Berthiad, a settlement along the primary highway in the Deep Roads between Nol Turum, Stormhold, and Haleon. In the seemingly abandoned and destroyed settlement, the party finds themselves beset by genlocks and ghouls, as the former inhabitants have been beset by darkspawn, and some have risen again as ghoulish imitations of their former selves.

First Wave:

• 5 Ghouls
• 2 Genlocks
• 1 Genlock Alpha

Should the first battle go well, and the party escape relatively unscathed, a second wave of darkspawn will pour from between the smoking buildings set alight by the darkspawn.

Second Wave:

• 2 Genlock Alphas
• 3 Genlocks
• 7 Ghouls

When the second wave is defeated, the party will see themselves rescued by a trio of dwarves, two level 5 (Dughan and Leovic, Champion Fighters), and one level 8 (Valdren, Rune Knight). The strongest of the three is a warrior of the Black Legion known as Valdren (89 years old). He is a childhood friend of Artus’s eldest brother, Korik (93 years old), and now a captain in the Black Legion.

Third Wave:

• 12 Ghouls
• 6 Genlocks
• 1 Genlock Emissary

Layout of Dungeon:

Berthiad:

Berthiad is a complex array of buildings crafted in the dwarven style, made of stone and metal and build into the natural rock that serves as their foundation. There is a main path or road through the settlement, and from there, paths wind from the main street towards the various family holdings.

If the party pokes around to begin with, an investigation check of 16 will allow them to find scraps of dwarven clothing stained with blood. It will prompt them to follow a trail of blood spatters that leads around the corner of a large building towards where the first three ghouls are encountered, prompting the first wave of combat. The party has a split second to make their perception/insight checks (DC 18) to discover that these ghouls look…dwarven.

Roll for initiative!

Carta Hideout:

• First Room: There are two carta dwarves in the first room, poring over the tools and Dusk’s shield and old set of Glamoured Studded Leather armour. Artus’s shield and crossbow are also there, along with his alchemy jug and all of his gear. Their mithril armour, magical tome, and enchanted weapons are nowhere to be seen.
• Second Room:
• Third Room:
• Final Room: In the final room, what was once a throne room, but is now used as a large storage room where the boss goes over all of their acquisitions, is the carta boss (at least of this particular group). In his hands is Dusk’s sword, and on a crate next to him are Maeka’s glaive and spellbook.

Loot Table and Rewards:

Duraghan Thaig

• Axe of the Stormfist (has three slots along the decorative plating at the base of the double bearded axe head, one holds an enchanted citrine gem)
• Spellbreaker Shield
• Dwarven Plate Armour

Conclusion:

Location Descriptions – Chapter 4

Quest Notes

Chapter 5 : Darkness of the Feywild

Introduction (For DM):

Having brought the creatures troubling Nol Turum to heel, and retrieving the arms and armour of King Karridan Duraghan and one of his loyal knights, the party has returned to the city of Nol Turum. There, they rest, relax, and take time to regroup before leaving the city.

Progression:

Dusk wakes her companions, and the three of them decide on a plan of action, a direction to travel.

Their final destination lies to the north, past the verdant forests and past the open plains, on the emerald isles that dot the rocky northern coast.

There is no one path through the feywild, and as such if they travel in other directions, they may find a number of interesting adventures.

However, should they find themselves unable to choose, they will find themselves paid a visit by Rheydis, the mischievous fae that first cast them into this realm.

If confronted, he will say that he is merely doing his mistress’s bidding.

To the west, there is a colony of pixies suffering from troubles. Should the party investigate, they will discover that these particular pixies possess a very special treasure. The heart of the Greenwood. It is a mystical light held in the trunk of an ancient hawthorn tree, one that pulses like a beating heart.

Introduction (For Players):

Dusk. You feel a warmth surround you, along with a damp coolness. A breeze wafts across your face, carrying with it the scent of fresh water, flowers, and the moist soil of a forest floor.

The last thing you remember is looking into the swirling eyes of a small fey as it clapped its hands. After that, there is nothing but darkness. Until now.

Dappled sunlight streams through your eyelids, coaxing you awake. Your elven senses reach out, your ears twitching as you open your eyes and blink the sleep from them. It’s funny, you’ve never known magic to put you to sleep before, and yet…you awaken feeling well-rested, laying on the forest floor only feet from your companions.

As you look around, you see Artus to your left, laying on his front, his shield strapped to his back, and his axe in hand as he snores loudly. Maeka lays curled up to your right, his body curled around the shaft of his sword-staff, snuffling in his sleep.

Around you, as you turn your eyes to the sky, you see a canopy of leaves overhead, painted in greens and blues, purples and red, oranges and golds. The ancient trunks grow dozens, hundreds of feet into the sky, their silver-white and golden-brown branches reaching, embracing, twining together. Vines curl around the branches, falling down the trunks and from the limbs like delicate verdant ropes.

The forest floor is damp and smells of earth and flowers and mushrooms. It’s an enchanting scent, far purer than anything you’ve experienced in all your travels. Smaller plants live in the half-shade of the ancient trees, dwarfing you by far. Ferns reach out with their curling leaves, and bottlecap mushrooms cluster around the bases of the trees, their caps shimmering with vibrant hues of scarlet, coral, cobalt, and violet.

Gnarled roots rise from the soil, tall enough for a giant to walk beneath. Moss creeps along the roots, draping over them like soft, spongy sheets from which flowers bloom, their colours shifting hue with the slightest tilt of the head.

Between the trees, swarms of golden lights, like fireflies, float through the air, illuminating the hidden crevices of the clearing before flitting back out of sight.

Locales and Features:

Enchanted Lake:

The air fills with a gleaming mist as you push your way through the trees, following the stream and the sound of water. A sweetness hangs in the air, filling you with a sense of nostalgia. But you cannot recall what you are nostalgic for, exactly.

Emerald grass ripples across the ground from the trees to the banks of a sparkling blue lake. And at the water’s edge, perched upon smooth rocky outcrop, is an elderly woman. White, wiry hair lays braided over her shoulder, a stark contrast to the dark cloak she wears.

If approached respectfully, she will ask Maeka or Artus for a kiss. If the recipient refuses politely (and passes a charisma check of 18), she will go on her way. If she feels slighted (the check is failed, she will turn into an old hag and attack the party. If the kiss is given, she turn into a beautiful young woman with golden hair and a pearl-white gown, and will grant the man a boon.

Major NPCs:

Balor – The Lord of Light and King of the Feywild.

Morrigan – The Queen of Twilight.

Rheydis – A tricky young fey, who the players first glimpse when they attempt to find a way out of the Feywild.

Rhiannon, Lady of the Unicorns – A unicorn goddess who lives within Rhiannon’s Grove, a forest temple named in for the fey goddess who dwells there.

Dayth – An elven ranger native to the Isles of Avalon, servant and protector of the goddess Rhiannon. He serves as the primary quest-giver at Rhiannon’s Grove.

Story Overview:

The party leaves Nol Turum, the dwarven city of Artus’s birth, in search of more information about the first lich they encountered months ago in Kinallen. To do so, Dusk turns them east, towards the mysterious elven lands that lay beyond the mountains claimed by the dwarves.

Journeying into the Greenwood, the party finds themselves encountering a mischievous faerie leaping through the treetops. The fey, Rheydis, approaches the party, recognizing them. And with a clap of his hands, the party is knocked unconscious, and the three are transported into the Feywild.

Now caught in a strange and unfamiliar place, our heroes must make their journey through the Feywild to find the castle of an Archfey so that they might be sent home to the Material Plane.

But not all is well in the Feywild. Darkness creeps around its edges, corrupting the flora, fauna, and even the fey themselves, twisting them into monstrous aberrations, twisted shadows of their former selves.

At the heart of the troubles in the realm are a pair of dark mages, both very familiar. Aien Elrieth and Ilyrana Noryra. The warlock Dusk and Maeka once met on the road through the Indorian Wilds…and the lich sorceress from the tower who killed Ethros.

Combat Plans:

There are a great many dangers that haunt the Feywild. Creatures of all shapes and sizes with ill intentions, twisted instinct, and malice in their hearts.

Here are some of the creatures adventurers might encounter during their travels.

The Selkie – A plant-based water spirit who lures in unwary travelers, only to drown them.

The Annis/Bheur Hag – A tall female creature with blue skin and bulbous eyes, who appears to travelers as a beautiful young woman, before revealing her face as a ghastly old hag.

Redcaps – Nasty, evil little fae at odds with a pixie hive. Players might come across them whilst traveling, and can choose to aid the pixies by defeating the Redcaps.

Tree Blights – A darkness spreads throughout the Feywild, corrupting fey and their surroundings alike. A blight has set into the trees, and the ancient branches begin to move…

Layout of Dungeon:

Half a day’s travel north of Rhiannon’s Grove, the party will come upon a village of redcaps. Nasty, cruel little faeries who will attack on sight with boots of iron and the disposition of an angry honey badger. The party can choose to sneak around the village if they desire, or fight their way through it on their way to the cave behind the huts where traces of Rhiannon’s power still linger.

Within the cave, there is a central firepit with three redcaps around it, two tunnels leading off the central chamber to the left and right, and a back chamber behind the firepit. Rhiannon’s horn is being used as a stirring stick by the redcap leader at the back of the cavern (because it apparently makes the stew taste better). The three redcaps around the fire attack first, with the commotion drawing the other faeries into the fray within three turns based on perception checks from the redcaps.

Loot Table and Rewards:

The Horn of Rhiannon – A Magical artefact capable of expending its three charges to cast varying levels of revival spells.

Conclusion:

Location Descriptions – Chapter 5

Quest Notes

Chapter 6 : The Shadow Dancer

Introduction (For DM):

The situation in Nol Turum has changed in the three months since Dusk and Artus last visited the city. There is a tension in the air and a darkness in the streets. But it isn’t the Carta that’s the problem this time. No, in fact, the Carta has vanished entirely, leaving the streets of the slums much quieter than usual.

No, the tension comes from above, for the Assembly has been hearing of unsettling rumours coming out of Stormhold. A number of nobles have been found dead in the streets, brutally murdered. The killer still hasn’t been caught, and the Assembly fears that another killer might appear in Nol Turum, similarly up to no good.

Introduction (For Players):

From Karsthag:

A new day dawns, and with it, the knowledge that you have escaped the encroaching darkness of the Indorian Wilds. For now. You have traveled across much of Danterin by foot, finding yourselfs restocked and replenished in the city of Karsthag, where you have awoken in the Stoh’min home, having rested there for the night after delivering the news of Maeka’s death to his parents. The home is quiet, shuttered. There is a silence that hangs in the air, thick and echoing like a death knell.

Dusk, you are the first to awaken. Though, in truth, you slept little last night. Nightmares came to you, replaying the moment of your friend’s death over and over…the flashes of green light that surrounded him before his body went limp and ceased to move. Seeing the grief on his mother’s face did you no favours, and despite being allowed to stay the night, the welcoming atmosphere that once existed here has vanished and you feel uneasy remaining in this place.

Tranquility. You see a face before you, one like and yet…unlike your own. You remember the face of your youth, the face of Vair, which so looked like an elf, save for the colour of your skin and the horns that curled out of your hair. Like you, the elven man is dressed in robes tied here and there with the trinkets of his travels, a crystal-topped staff held tight in his hand. But, unlike your own, this face is freckled and tanned, the features young and the smile wild…intense, and yet the eyes…are old, arrogant, calculating. And as bitterly cold as the last winter frost.

Atreya, you find your meditations disturbed by an unsolicited vision. You see a beautiful crystal spire reaching high into the sky, the Tower of Song in the great elven city of Bellanore, the place of your birth and childhood, and yet…so far from the place you spent centuries growing from from girl to woman. The sun shines through the crystal atop the spire, casting a myriad rainbows across the city in a stunning display of colour. Then…the colour fades, and the crystal grows dark as the sun’s light is extinguished. A dark crimson liquid drips from the crystal spire as it flickers with a reddish light, if it can called such. It more closely resembles a living shadow, writhing in pain, trapped within the crystal.

Arriving at Nol Turum:

Dusk, Artus. When last you set eyes on Nol Turum, winter was coming to an end, though snow still capped the mighty peaks roamed by hill giants. Now, as bells ring in the start of the summer months, you find yourselves feeling…uneasy. For you remember what you encountered in the Deep Roads, the things that live what feels like a hair’s breadth away from the city. The dark creatures that could destroy the city’s peace at any moment, held back only by the Black Legion, the elite military forces of Nol Turum.

Locales and Features:

Varaghan Thaig – Home to Clan Varaghan and the seat of their power. Though the king rules from Stormhold, the thaig outside of the city is still of utmost importance as a defensive structure, trading outpost, mining headquarters, and a base from which to send out scouting parties into the Deep Roads. It is a wealthy thaig, one built half above ground and half below. It also serves as a choke point for the darkspawn, ho can be trapped in the lower levels and picked off by the thaig’s defensive lines and stout warriors.

Stormhold – The city of Stormhold is the de-facto capital of the dwarven empire, such that it is. Though the cities are largely independent from one another, this is the current seat of the king’s power, and a center of trade that bridges the gap between Nol Turum and the human capitol of Danterin, Haleon.

Major NPCs:

Adrik – A handsome dwarven bard, so beautiful as to make those who gaze upon him wonder if he is the product of a taboo union of dwarf and elf, performing in the King’s court.

Entilan Varaghan – Reigning king of the dwarves, King of Stormhold. A portly older warrior with more grey than red in his hair, well past his days of glory, though will irritably deny such a thing if an observer points it out. If Artus makes a history check: “You’ve heard tales of King Entilan and seen portraits painted of a powerful dwarven king in full armour, with flaming red hair and free-flowing beard, a warhammer in hand as he slays a dragon terrorizing his people, claiming the spines from its head as adornments for his armour. But that story is over a hundred years old, and the dwarf king before you reminds you little of the portraits and stories.”

Minor NPCs:

Bhegor Goddens – The lowborn dwarf accused of being a member of the Carta, and of murdering Lady Tagna in the Sunstone Gardens. He is one of many who maintain the greenery of the Sunstone Gardens. His specialty is pruning topiaries.

Tagna Ferrana – A noblewoman of some repute in the city of Stormhold. Her family (of minor nobility) oversees the maintenance of the city’s infrastructure. Her reputation for appreciating the finer things precedes her, though the truth of the matter is that she has been trying to land herself a much richer husband in order to furnish her expensive lifestyle tastes. She is found dead in the streets of the Sunstone Gardens, a moderately wealthy part of the city where she often takes midday walks to spy on noblemen in want of a pretty wife. Her throat is cut open.

Story Overview:

Quest Line: The Shadow Dancer

Overview – In the dwarven city of Stormhold, nobles are dropping like flies. A mysterious killer prowls the streets, selecting their victims with care. Though the smallfolk are left to their own devices, the nobles live in terror, wondering which of them will be the next to meet their end at the end of the shadow dancer’s blade.

Quests:

• Death in the King’s Court
• A Murder in the Gardens
• The Face of Deception
• The Shadow Dances

Combat Plans:

The combat in this chapter revolves around a final battle with Eravan Thunderstep, an undead elven bard newly risen from his grave by Aien Elrieth. His lair will turn out to be the throne room of the castle of Stormhold, where he has successfully murdered the dwarven king (and possibly his son as well). It will be heavily trapped by Glyphs of Warding, which will include spells such as Forcecage and Prismatic Wall, to be activated if the party fulfils certain conditions upon entry of the throne room and progression through it.

Layout of Dungeon:

The throne room is a long stone hall, rectangular in shape, with long tables set to both sides and an aisle between them, leading up to the throne, where the king sits when he holds court.

Loot Table and Rewards:

Unlockable Chests/Doors:

• A mithril shirt set with 8 amethysts
• A bag of 30 pearls of varying size, weighing about 2 pounds
• A box of 13 rubies, 24 sapphires, and 8 emeralds
• A wine cellar containing 3 untouched barrels of ancient dwarven wine
• A set of gold-etched playing cards
• 5 gold rings and 4 platinum bracelets

If they use Detect Magic:

• They are led into the ruins of an old house, where a wardrobe is cracked open, but an enchanted box inscribed with protection runes remains inside, containing a magical longbow.
• They follow another trace of magic into an old tannery, where they find amidst the rubble a pair of leather vambraces (bracers of archery)
• They find a silver necklace inlaid with green stone buried under a pile of rubble (Necklace of Far Sight, increases the distance at which ranged weapons can be fired)

Materials in the rubble:

• Buried in the corner of a ruined smithy, there is a hunk of raw silver weighing about 15 pounds. (Worth 75 gp)
• A chunk of malachite the size of a man’s head
• A chunk of raw platinum the size of Artus’s fist
• 3 gold ingots, 4 steel ingots, 5 iron ingots
• 5 chunks of raw moonstone, about 2-3 inches long each

Loot from the darkspawn:

• Cloak of the Revenant (looted from the revenant after its defeat)
• Enough darkspawn blood to fill 3 vials (requires a 16 investigation)
• 875 silver and 262 gold coins scattered across the bodies (requires 14 investigation and the searching of 50 bodies or 1 hour spent)
• An ancient emblem of dwarven make (requires 18 investigation)

Conclusion:

Location Descriptions – Chapter 6