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Peter Oliva Chris Labonville Mike Vandergrift Mike Lejeune Chris Warter Mike Unknown Hargrid Tenslayer Staff Details |
| Volume 1, Number 2 | June/July 1999 |
| Feature - The Beast of Malar - DM's Info |
The AdventureIntroduction to the PlayersRead to Players:You are at the end of a long and arduous journey. In your sight, on the near horizon, is the town of Ashabenford. It is the most comfortable sight that you have laid eyes on in weeks. Your heart warms as you dream of the comfort of a hot meal, a mug of ale and a cozy bed for the night. As you near the outskirts of the town you smell the fragrances of pine wood burning sweetly in the afternoon air. When you reach the edge of the town you look on to the Ashaba, the legendary river. You look across at the main town on the other side. Strolling through the west side of the town, you wonder at the peculiar lack of people on the streets. You figure that it may be a holy day for the town's patron deity, or possibly the anniversary of the town founder. The characters are nearing the Ashaba at this point, and as they look around to their right they see only one man in the whole street. He is an old man with white hair and old tattered clothes, and he is rocking away on an old wooden rocking chair next to a battered run down shack. Read to Players: As you walk by, an old man sitting on an ancient oak chair suddenly lets out a hearty laugh. He cackles on for a few minutes until he bursts in to a fit of coughing. Then he says to one of you in a superior tone, "Another set of brave fools to lighten the spirits of the town folk, eh". You ask him what on Toril he is rambling on about. He murmurs "Think old Ben's gone mad did ya? Or have you come here in blind stupidity to slay the Beast?". As you exchange odd glances in old Ben's direction, you say "What beast?". He replies "The Beast, the Beast of the moors its back I'll tell you!". At this a man walks out of the shack next to where the man is sitting and gives you all a serious glance before dragging the old man inside. At this point the characters see a figure covered from head to toe in black plate-mail armor, walk out from the concealment of a doorway to their left. Upon closer inspection he has an emblem on his helmet, that of a snorting horse head, the symbol of the Riders of Mistledale. As they look at the Knight, he studies them all once over. Then walks closer. As if to say something, but instead looks them all up and down again. He then opens his mouth and says the following to the PCs. Read to Players: "What is your business in our town? If it is not of an important nature then we would ask that you be on your way as quickly as possible!" The knight is obviously a Rider of Mistledale, and has a very stern strict attitude about him. The PCs should get the feeling that he does not like them. Make the players feel his intentions, as there should be some tension in the air. The man is Frederick Menzlor. A person of little importance to the Riders. He has been assigned to spot anyone coming into town and find out their intentions. Then he is to report back on what he has learned. Frederick is well built in size and is roughly 6ft tall. He has the look of a young man and is probably only in his early twenties, although he is trying to look like a hardened veteran. If the PCs ask him about his firm manner he says that he is sorry if he appeared rude but he has been on a long watch. Any questions directed towards the lack of people in the streets of the town will be met with this answer: Read to Players: I do not notice any lack of people on the streets, maybe you are to well accustomed to big cities but here in Ashabenford it is normal at this time of day. Even as this answer is given, the PCs can sense that this is a blatant lie and is not true. If the PCs ask Frederick where a good Inn can be found he will direct them to the door he came out of saying that it is the White Hart Inn, and is cozy and an affordable place. Scene One: The Inn (PCs)When the PCs look over at the Inn they will notice that it is very lavishly decorated, and there is an obvious feel of luxury about it. It is a pleasant sight to look at with its flower boxes in the windows and its clear white walls. The windows are Tudor/Victorian in style with, flower boxes on the ledges. The Inn is a two-story building, which extends out to the back to add extra rooms. The main door, the one the Rider was standing in, is reclined back a few feet and ends in a magnificent 8 foot high oaken door. When the characters approach the inn read them the following passage:Read to Players: As you approach the door to the inn, you hear the hum of chatter, and a ballad being played in the background. As you open the door and enter, you notice the sweet smell of food and see the beauty of a nice hot cozy place. It all brings back memories of an easy restful childhood. For those who had an easy childhood. When the proprietor of the inn sees the characters enter, he immediately sends a serving boy over to attend to them. When they go over to the bar to order an ale or beer, the bar man looks at them with a warming smile and says in a hearty voice. "Welcome to Ashabenford my friends! Greetings to yea all, I am Sverlor Shielden, the cousin of the owner of this establishment. He is away on business. What service might I provide for you? What brings you to our fine town?" If they ask for a room for the night, Sverlor will ask them where they are coming from and how long they plan to stay. If for some reason they say more than a day, he tells them that they should leave as soon as possible. He mentions it is not a good time to be in Ashabenford. When they ask Sverlor how much it will be for the night, he smiles at them and replies that it will cost them 1gp a night. He tells them this includes having their horses tended to and the use of hot or cold bathing tubs. With that the PCs can either go straight off to bed or stay up for a few more hours and sit around and drink. After the PCs have gone off to sleep they all have a mysterious dream. It is the same for all of them. The dream is as follows (You may read this out separately to each player or just read it to the whole group, but no matter which option you choose, they all have exactly the same dream): Read to players: After you go to sleep you hear a loud noise. You awaken and look up. You look around to see someone has broken into your room. But then, to your utter surprise, you find that you are lying in a grassy field with a woods nearby. You hear the same loud noise coming from the direction of the woods. But now you know what it is. It is not the noise of something falling as you previously thought. It was the howl of a wolf! But wait, that's not a wolf's howl. It's the howl of some foul creature you do not recognize. You break for the wood. You don't know why you're running towards the howl, but you can't stop yourself. All of a sudden you break into a clearing in the woods. Your heart skips a beat. You look up in total shock as you see a creature that looks something like a wolf. But this is no wolf. This is some sort of polluted wound on Chauntea's skin. The Beast in front of you is near 5ft tall with a shaggy mane and 2-inch long dripping fangs. Under the Beast you can see the mutilated body of a person. To your disgust the Beast is feeding upon the carcass of the body. No, you can see clearly now it is actually eating the poor soul's heart out. With that, the Beast suddenly looks up at you lets out a ferocious growl and breaks at you! Just as it reaches you, you jump up in bed covered in sweat and realize that it was only a nightmare. Scene Two: The OfferThis scene starts when the PCs wake up and go downstairs in the morning. It is up to them whether they want to meet upstairs or go straight downstairs to have breakfast. They might want to talk about the dream. This discussion and the effect it will have on the adventure, is totally at the discretion of the DM. At first they will probably feel stupid about taking any of it seriously and may not want to talk to others about it. When the PCs are all downstairs and sitting down to breakfast, a mid-aged man enters the inn and hurriedly walks up to the bar. He starts to talk to Sverlor. After a minute, the man raises his voice and starts to shout at Sverlor, saying something to the effect of "You promised me that you'd put up the sign, for Ao's sake my wife's life could depend on it!" At this Sverlor replies "Now if you don't quiet down Joustler I'll have to throw you out!". Joustler seems to get very worked up over this, and the PCs notice the other residents of the bar are all snickering at him, as if he was some sort of fool. He walks into the center of the room and shouts out "are there any in here that are man enough to do a job for me? Or are all you of you cowards? I'll pay 200gp per person for the work!". After this outburst Sverlor says in mock support "Yes is there anyone man enough to take up a fools quest?". Joustler then walks up to the PCs and hands them a poster, and says "What about it, will you do it?" The poster reads as follows:Read to Players: I, Joustler Kingdenner, am offering the sum of 200 gold pieces to any persons who are able to find out any information on the whereabouts of my beloved wife Mayberry Heggem. I will deliver the reward only after the information has been delivered to me on either her whereabouts or her fate. Upon the conclusion of the investigation, I will offer further reward for the persons who found the information if they would also bring to justice the perpetrators if there be any. If any are interested they may reach me at my cabin on the outskirts of town, as I live at Heggem house to the south east of town. Many thanks to those who apply. After he manages to give the PCs the note he is thrown out of the Inn, cursing and screaming, by Sverlor. Sverlor then comes over to the PCs and formally apologizes for the interruption to their breakfast and offers them a free round of drinks. If the PCs want to investigate the note they will see that it has the symbol of the Kingdenner family (Joustler Kingdenner) on the front. The note is a copy that was written up by the town scribe. If they look around the town they will see more of the posters. On the bottom of the poster is the residential address of the family. Not that it is needed since everyone in town could easily guide them to it. The PCs can pretty much do what they want for the for now. They can ask rumors from the town's folk, or do some other activity. But they must take up the offer and eventually go to the Kingdenner house for the adventure to continue. If they do choose to go around the town and ask for information, they will not find many people out all day. The few Riders of Mistledale that they will see state that they cannot talk about this while on duty, and ask to be left alone. The PC's best bet to get information would be to stay in the tavern and ask some the regular customers. The trek to the house of Kingdenner is not long from the town of Ashabenford. They can walk down the main road south. This will bring them in a parallel line within a half mile of the manor. If they chose to walk the whole way down the road until they are directly parallel to the house they will come across a path that leads to the main road to the house. On the other hand if the PCs chose to just walk in the straight direction of the house they will have to firstly cross farmers fields and then grassy plains. As they get near the house they will see that it quite large and worth a fortune. It is also obvious that the Kingdenner family is or was quite rich. The house is three stories high and probably around 600-800 years old. This is made clear by the outside of the house, because of the style design and the wall materials. It is made of big gray stone blocks with wooden supports between them. Its windows are ornately decorated and are newer than the rest of the house. Maybe about 200 years old. The door is made of oak and towers over the PCs at around 12 feet tall. It has a big brass knocker in the middle of it which is shaped like a wolf with a human's head in its wide open mouth. After they knock, the door does not open for a few minutes. Then Joustler opens the door with a disgruntled look on his face. Read to Players: Yes gentlemen what do you want? The day has just begun and I have much to do! So, if you'll pardon my rudeness I am busy. So unless this is a matter of importance then I will bid you good day. When the PCs tell him that they are interested in the job his face lights up, and he says in the most polite way: Read to Players: Come in, come in, I am so sorry for my arrogance but I didn't recognize you from the inn at first. I am in such a dire mood since my beloved vanished. I really didn't think that you would come, with all that Sverlor was probably telling you about me. People think I have gone mad. But I tell you I have not! I know Mayberry would never leave me. We are in love and I know someone or something has taken her. He then invites the PCs to come into his living room so he may answer any questions that they have for him. They can discuss the job he wants them to do for him. He also asks if they have eaten yet. If not he gets them some food and drink. When they start to talk about the job, he explains he will pay them 200 gp a man for completion of the job. If they find someone has taken her, a further 200 gp each for her return. He then offers to let them stay in his house from tomorrow onwards if they want. He says that he has no room for their comfortable stay at the moment, but his servants are leaving tomorrow morning. During the space of the day they can talk about any things that they want with him. But he only knows the information in the NPC section under Joustler Kingdenner. In addition, he also knows 2 items from the rumors section (2 dice rolls). However, if he rolls any of the rumors about the Beast, and the characters ask him if he thinks the Beast took her, he only laughs and says that its only a child's tale. At whatever point (although it should be before 10:00 PM) the PCs leave, he bids them good night and they return to the inn. Scene Three: Fairy TalesThis scene starts with the PCs returning to the inn. As the PCs are crossing the Fields or walking along the road back to the inn they hear a loud howl (Like a wolf), coming from the Southeast. The howl is clearly not that of a wolf. It is too loud, and sounds corrupt and evil.Read to Players: As you are crossing the land you can see the town in the distance. At that moment the air around you seems to get colder, and you hear the most heart wrenching, horrifying howl you have ever heard! It sounds like a wolf's howl. But surely no wolf has such a foul howl. This should speed up the Players movement. If they do not declare they are moving faster, tell them a strange sort of sickening fear comes over them. All they know is they must get back to the town as fast as possible. When they reach the town they again notice that there is no one out on the streets and there are very few lights on in house windows. One of the few structures that does have a light coming out the window is the inn. They enter it quickly. As they walk in the door the smell of Ale and food overtakes them, and then loud chatter returns to them. Upon entering, Sverlor walks up to them giving his usual greeting, and asks them do they need any food or drink. If they say no and want to go to bed he refuses to let them telling them to have at least one on the house and he sits them in the corner next to the window. Sverlor then sits down and asks what their day was like and says "Don't say I didn't tell you that Joustler was mad". If the PCs tell him they are going to work for him he says "What?!" seeming to get annoyed before walking off. While they are sitting down drinking or eating they notice a noise outside the inn. Then the door abruptly opens and a man in farming clothes walks in. The man is Thannor and he nearly bursts through the door. He then stumbles and falls onto the floor. (DM) While saying the following he constantly stops after every two words or so to take a breather, and he is panting throughout his talking as well. Read to Players: When you look down at the man you notice that he is covered in sweat and his clothes are dirty and torn. He goes to stand up but loses his footing and falls to his knees and gives up. Then Sverlor asks him "What's the matter Thannor, the wife chasing you?". This brings a great roar of laughter from the crowd. Thannor then says in between breathes "It's the Beas' [Panting] it's the Beast, [pants] the Beast of the moors I tell you. [pants] It's eaten [pants] Corblain whole. [pants] Ripped out his heart! [pants] I saw it for myself for Ao's sake!" At this you all see the stark look of sheer terror on his face, as if he had seen the gates to the Underworld itself! As well, the PCs will note that when he mentions the name of the Beast, a lot of people look at each other nervously. Sverlor shakes his head and looks at Thannor in a disappointed annoyed sort of look. Read to Players: After the initial chaos, a silence ensues, which Sverlor abruptly breaks by saying, "Sure lad, and did you see the talking dragon in the town square the other day?", again a barrage of laughter follows but this time not all in the establishment laugh. Some do seem to add a seriousness to it. Sverlor then says, "Okay, okay Thannor there'll be no more of those fairy tales from yah, if you want to stay here, you'll be scaring away my customers!" At this last comment from Sverlor a few villagers help Thannor over to the warm fire and buy him a sturdy drink. If the characters look over at him during the course of the next hour they will notice that he looks totally shaken and is constantly looking at the ground. After an hour Thannor goes to his room to rest. He will not be interested in any conversation or interviewing with the PCs at this time. After this the PCs can either stay up or go to bed. But Sverlor will only serve them until around one o'clock in the morning. Scene Four: Sweet Dreams and strange Nightmares (PCs)This scene pretty much starts straight from the last one. The characters are asleep when they again have a strange dream. Similar to the one they had about the Beast before. Start this scene by reading out the following paragraph:Read to Players: After you finish up your meal down in the inn, your legs are weary and you welcome the comforting embrace of sleep. You stagger up the stairs from exhaustion and fall onto your bed. You fall into a deep slumber the minute your head hits the pillow. As you sleep you have another dream but this time it is pleasant, and not like the last one you had. You are walking through a peaceful town with the warm sun beaming down on you. Then you realize this town is Ashabenford but it is not how you remember it. In front of you are children playing in the streets and crowds of people walking through the town with smiles on their faces. You stand for a minute observing the people and realize that they cannot see you. Even so you admire the perfect atmosphere of the town. But as suddenly as this perfect dream started, gray clouds swarm across the sky. As you look up to the heavens in question to this strange occurrence you notice that night has descended, and you are now standing on the outskirts of town. Your mind is swimming with weird thoughts when you are brought crashing down to earth by the sound of an unholy scream. You look up to see a beast, no the Beast. The Beast from your last dream but something is different!? Something has changed in its appearance. It seems more deadly, more sinister!? Then it hits you, it is bigger this time. It has grown at least another foot. To your astonishment and disgust it is feeding on something! My god, it's a man. The foul thing rips out the man's heart and starts to eat it. Then you notice it, as you look upon this revolting sight you see the Beast growing in size. Suddenly, it looks up at you and you make eye contact. For a split second you see into the Beast's soul and read the perverted mind of it's master...Malar. Then with the speed of thought the creature runs in the direction of the wilderness. You find, to your surprise, that you are following it! At full speed, no less! You try to stop yourself but cannot. As you look at your legs, it is as if they are possessed. When you finally look up, you see a grand house before you. It seems familiar though? Yes now you remember it. The house is that of Joustler Kingdenner! You make your way towards the house and see that the door is wide open. You see that there are animal tracks in fresh mud on the marble floor. They make their way across the hallway and up the stairs. As you hurriedly make your way across the landing and bolt up the stairs your hear a air breaking scream, a woman's scream. You reach the top of the stairs and search around the corridors for the source of the noise. Then you see it, at the end of the corridor is the remains of wooden door that has been shattered open. As you run up to it, you see a man with blood on his face and body trying to get up off the ground. The Beast then catches your vision as it leaps out the window with a young maiden thrown over its shoulder. A beautiful blond haired woman. But then it is gone. You go to help the man up to his feet. As you stare into his eyes you recognize him. It is Joustler. Just at that moment you awaken with a start, and realize where you are. You get out of your bed a see that morning has arisen. As you get dressed you ponder what this dream could mean and wonder what Joustler and his house could mean, then you remember that beautiful woman. The start of this scene, like the last scene in which they had a dream, will hold the same amount of impact on the adventure. Remember if the PCs talked about the dream the last time, then this time they will feel much more at ease to talk about it. For the majority of the day the PCs can do what they want. They can walk around the town gaining information or maybe have a long breakfast. Whatever they do, keep in mind that they have to go to Joustler's house at some stage of the day. They also must decide whether they are going to stay in his house or at the inn. When the PCs come down first thing in the morning, they will notice the strange lack of people in the inn. Probably only half the number usual for this time (Usually about 40 people). If they attempt to make conversation with anyone in the bar and ask why the lack of people, they will get one answer, "The plague is spreading". No one will publicly admit anything about any beast. In general, a lot of the people in the town think that Chauntea is to blame for the "plague" and it looks like a famine is coming. When the PCs leave for Joustler's house they will again see that there is no one out on the streets except a few townsfolk. They eventually make their way to his house and arrive just in time for dinner. When they get there he feeds them dinner and asks them if they would mind helping him find something in his attic. He leads them through the magnificent antique house and up the stairs into the attic. The scene that the Players witness there is unbelievable and brings a sense of awe and brilliance. Read to Players: As you walk up the ancient creaking steps, they groan with your weight. You are still marveling at the oldness of the steps when your head emerges into the attic room. The sight before your eyes is so beautiful that you wonder if have you walked into heaven and not Joustler's attic. The room is the most exotic, lavishly decorated you have ever laid eyes on. A voice in the back of your head tells you that the room could nearly marvel the brilliance of fabled Myth Drannor. No matter which direction you look you still see an item of utter glory. Silks from the Kara-tur, a hat from Calimshan, a stuffed doll from the Jungles of Chult or a sword from ancient Netheril. You let your imagination run away with you. You think of the markets of Waterdeep and know that it could not get much better than this. You are suddenly brought back to reality as Joustler shouts to you to stop staring and help him. He calls each of the Players over and has them to look through cupboards and drawers telling them to look for a big leather bound book. If they ask him what it is, he will simply tell them he does not know. But before she vanished Mayberry had been reading it. He will also tell them that he only remembered this last night when he was in bed. He has been searching all day for it. After a while of searching, one of the PCs finally finds it (1D6 hours). But when they open it they find, to their dismay, that it is written in some ancient language that none of the PCs are able to understand. If there is a Wizard or other character in the group that can speak ancient languages he will be able to pick out certain bits if he succeeds in his roll. All he will be able to make out is that the books name is "The History of the Kingdenner Family" and a few other things like a mentioning of a Beast and a beautiful maiden. This later part can only be achieved after at least 10 minutes of reading. Joustler looks at the characters with a broad smile on his face and says that he will have to get the book to Murklyn. He is the town's linguist and the only person in the Dale that can speak the ancient language. As quickly as he brought them up to the attic he leaves it, saying that he will be back in a minute. He asks the PCs to stay there. He takes the book and rushes down the stairs nearly tripping over himself in his excitement. Note that if any of the PCs try to follow him down the stairs, he will persist in making them stop and go back to the attic. He tells them that he may still have a magic item that will aid them in their quest and he doesn't want them to know where he hides things. So the PCs are wallowing around in the attic for a few minutes when a loud shout comes up from downstairs. If the PCs run straight downstairs they happen upon four men in robes. One of them is standing next to Joustler who is unconscious on the floor. With the other three blocking the PCs path into the room. When the characters make their approach the robed figure next to Joustler pulls back his hood to reveal a monstrous visage of horror. The fiend's head is that of a beast. Like a wolf or a wild dog. But he has the body of a man. He makes gestures to the other figures to attack the PCs and then immediately grabs the limp body of Joustler and dives through the widow. If any of the players can see out the widow they will see that he brakes into a sprint and runs with Joustler at an incredible speed. The three figures standing in the room are Beast Men of Malar and will fight to the death without care for their lives or mercy for the PCs. Scene Five: Rough JusticeBefore you start this scene you should first read the description of the barracks for the Riders of Mistledale and have the map of it near you.After the fight is over the characters should tell the town authorities that Joustler has been kidnapped. If they do not, have a member of town pass by and find out. Whatever happens, the Riders of Mistledale find out about Joustler's disappearance and take the PCs into custody. Either just for questioning or as a false arrest. This is left to the discretion of the DM. Remember, the Rider's have been infiltrated and will go to great lengths to delay the PCs. It is advised that the DM warn the characters in one way or another not to resist arrest. Because a hundred Riders are not something you want hot on your heels when you are trying to complete a quest. When the PCs reach the town with the authorities, they are questioned briefly, then let go for the time being. But are to stay in town because the High Councilor wants to get a rundown of what they saw at the house. They are told to be at the White Hart Inn in one hour, when a Rider will pick them up. At this point they have no option but to go to the inn, but encourage them to give the book to Murklyn in the meantime. They should go out now to the old scribe, and give him the book. When they arrive, they will observe that there is an even smaller array of people out on the streets than before. What few people are out and about give them suspicious looks. If they try to question anyone, people only answer reluctantly and seem nervous. If they do not know where Murklyn lives, they can get directions from a local. This will be difficult however, because local suspicions are running so high. When they finally get the to his house they laugh at the simpleness of the place. His house is a small rundown shack. As they walk up to the old house read the following paragraph to them. Read to Players: You walk by a small grove of trees to stare straight at a small old rundown shack. "Is it the wrong house.", you think to yourself. it really seems too simple a structure for a grand sage such as Murklyn! As you get closer to it, you notice the ancient design pattern of the windows and the centuries old oak door with a plane Brass knocker in the middle. One of you knocks on the door. This brings a resounding echo from the inside. An old withered voice answers "Just a minute". As the door creaks open a robed figure emerges. He reminds you of the ghost tales your parents once told you. The old man speaks, "Come in! come in! And what might I do for you fellows?" Continue the conversation between the PCs and Murklyn. Explaining what they are doing here and how they got the book. After they are through talking with him, they are to go back at the inn before the hour is up. After they make their way back (A five-minute walk), they see two Riders in Inn waiting by the bar. They notice the PCs approaching and start to walk towards them saying, "You must come now, the High Councilor wants to interview you now". They are taken to the Riders barracks. If the PCs think to escape, show them that they do not stand a chance. As they walk out of the Inn they will see another two Riders and ten-foot soldiers begin to follow them. They again get a whole host of dirty looks from any citizens in the streets. It is not hard to figure out that people think they killed Joustler. The PCs are lead into a clearing. The barracks are straight in front of them, and another building to the left of that and on their right is a line of stables. They are brought up to the building on the left hand side of the barracks and lead inside. The first room is a waiting room. The PCs will probably guess that this is the town jail from the look of the room. They are then lead through a door on the north side of the room and straight down some stairs. This brings them into the dungeon level where the main prison cells are. The Riders then lead the PCs around a corridor and into a closed off cell where a guard is standing. They are then put into a cell (forcibly if neccessary). They are told to wait and that someone will be there shortly to talk to them. They are left in the cell with the guard watching them for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes two robed figures arrive and wait outside the cell for a minute until a third one comes. This third one makes a gesture with his hand in the direction of the stairs. With that, that the guard gets up and moves as quickly as he can up the stairs. After he is gone the newly arrived figure pulls back his hood to reveal a long drawn out face with a scar running down his left cheek. He nods to his left and then his right and both of the robed men in turn draw back their hoods as well to reveal the Beast heads that the PCs saw when they fought the creatures in Joustler's mansion. The leader then looks at the PCs and smiles. Read to Players: Greetings my friends ha, ha, ha. Let me introduce myself, I am Darius Glendler and you are all in a lot of trouble. You see my comrades and I ( he extends his hand to the left and then the right), have a treat in store for Mistledale, and to be blunt, you're getting in the way. But don't worry about that. You shan't be causing me more problems unless you can walk through walls, Ah ha, ha, ha. (He breaks into a fit of mad laughter). He then walks off with the two Beast-men and leaves you to ponder what has just happened. About ten minutes later the guard comes back to retake his post watching over you. Soon after that a boy in his teens comes and slides food under the door for you to eat. He then looks up at you, winks and nods, then scuffles off down the corridor in a hurry. That night as you are trying to sleep, you hear a noise at the prison cell door. You look to see the same boy coming over to the door and inserting the key into the lock. He looks over to you and he puts his finger up to his lips to signal you to be quiet. Gently, he opens the door and lets you out. He shows you the way to your weapons and belongings, which are on the floor next to the guard. At this point the PCs must find a way to retrieve their items. Then the boy takes them round the corner to the north and then east. Here he tells them his name is Bihyar, and that he is the son of the town blacksmith. Since he was young he has helped out the Riders of Mistledale by serving the prisoners food. Recently his father has noticed that there is something wrong with the prisoners in jail and thus told Bihyar to investigate. When he found out what was going on he was powerless to stop the Cult that had taken over. So when his father heard of the PCs, he sent Bihyar to free them. He hopes that they can save Mistledale. They must not stop and talk for too long though, because time is not on the PCs side. All Bihyar can tell them is that the real Riders are being held to the Southwest of Ashabenford. He gives them a small map that he robbed from a town guard. He then tells them that when they go out of town, go north for a few miles, until they are out of sight of the town and then head west. Finally go to the South. The PCs will have to pass by at least one or two guards before they can get out of town. But they only have about five minutes before the next watch comes and discovers their escape. When they go upstairs from the dungeon they are standing in a wide corridor with a door straight ahead. Also there is a corridor to their right and to the right of the door another hallway. If they enter any of the doors on the corridor to their right they will see that these are the quarters of the guards of the prison. There is a 1 in 3 (1D6, 1-2) chance that a guard will be in one of the rooms, either asleep or relaxing while awake. The door directly in front of them leads out of the prison and there is a guard at all times at the table in the opposite corner from the door. When they get outside the prison complex there is a 1 in 4(1D4) chance every turn that a Rider will spot them and call out to his fellow Riders. Like the boy said their best chance of escape is to go to the north. Then turn west. If they go any other way the density of people will get greater. If any townsfolk spot them their first reaction would be to call out for help because everyone in town thinks that they killed Joustler. No matter what way they escape they will at some stage have to cross the Ashaba River and unless they walk right through town they will have to swim across it. Once they cross the river and are out of the outskirts of Ashabenford the rest of the way is just farm country, and not so difficult to navigate. After around 6-10 hours of traveling (Depending on how fast they travel), they reach the caves thanks to the map Bihyar gave them. Scene Six: Escape into the MistsBefore this section is played, read the paragraph on the caves in buildings section. You should also have the map of the caves handy. You will need it. It also gives you better clarity about the descriptions.This scene starts with the PCs heading to the caves near the edge of the Cormanthor forest. It is early morning and the PCs are tiring fast (unless a miracle allowed them to sleep in the prison). This would be a good time to rest. That way they can attack the caves at night. If they do rest, skip to the end of this scene. Where the PCs are again visited by a dream. If they want to go to the caves in search of the real Riders of Mistledale, then proceed with the next portion of this scene. There are no guards outside the caves as you can see on the map. This is because the Cult has grown over-confidant and feels they have absolute control over the Dale now. The PCs can come up to the cave in any way they like. But for obvious reasons the best route would be to go around to the side of the entrance so they will not be seen by anyone just inside it. When they do enter the cave they will find that there are no guards posted just inside the cave entrance. About 30 feet down the cave is a lone goblin guard sitting on a rock stump fast asleep. When the characters reach the goblin they find that an earthquake wouldn't wake him. After they have dealt with him they will have to decide which route to take. From this point onwards you will have to refer to the buildings section of the adventure and describe the rooms as the PCs decide to go into them. One point that should be kept in mind, is that the PCs aren't going to get any help from either the Riders that are imprisoned or the chef (area 8) in clearing the caves of the goblin and Malarites. After the caves are clear and the Riders have been freed from the prison cells the PCs may either want to investigate the caves more or go back to Ashabenford. The Riders don't mind if the PCs explore the caves a bit, but will ask them to come back to town after around an hour or so. The Riders and the characters eventually reach town after a long journey (3-4 hours). It is made longer because all of the Riders are ill or severely weak. When the PCs get to town they are immediately approached by the frail figure of Murklyn who looks quite distraught. Read to Players: By great Ao! Thank the fates that you have arrived while there is still time to spare, but what good is it anyway. I have deciphered the writings of the book that you gave me and things are not good. (He looks to the ground and covers his face with his hands). (He lets out a long sigh) Okay, can you see these lines here (he points to three lines on the cover of the book)? This is the prophecy of Ishrahar the wise. It says "The destroyer of the union shall rise in blood and shall rise into the realm of man where he will conquer all before him with his new power. Only those pure of heart with eternal youth can destroy him.". It foretells of the rise of a master of beasts into Faerun. Legend says he shall wage an unholy war that shall rock the very foundations of the Realms. Mayberry Kingdenner is the direct descendant of an ancient union of love between an elven princess and a noble human lord from a time long past. This union held together the people of Cormanthor and the Dalelands and stopped war between them when nerves were shaky. Their love was eternal and ever lasting. But an assassin's blade ended the princesses life just after she had given birth to an heir. This heir, a beautiful girl was the only child in either the elven or human court and promised to hold the two together for another generation. The death of her mother though brought about a hatred of each other that was to last centuries between the elves and humans. Each accusing the other of the murder. For this reason the human male, her father, took her away. He feared for her life and wanted to change his family name to Hlothbard. He moved in secret to Mistledale where nobody knew him and he could live in peace with his beautiful daughter. Hundreds of years later the first appearance of the Beast occurred and the Hlothbard daughter was kidnapped. This woman was the direct descendant of the beautiful princess and Malar knew that by destroying her and 4 virgin women he could gain Realms beyond his imagination. That attempt failed as it was foiled by a group of warriors from Myth Drannor. It now appears that the Beast has returned and you only have until tomorrow to stop Malar or his power shall grow beyond control. There is a small map at the back of the book and Murklyn gives this to the PCs, unless they already have the other one from the caves. At this point you should make the characters aware that they should be feeling very tired. They should get some rest first rather than just set straight out for the temple. If they don't get some rest before they go to the temple all hit rolls will be at -2 and stats like Con, Dex and Int will be between -3 or -4. If they do go to sleep, they will again have a dream sent to them from Ghendello. When they do leave for the temple, Joustler calls them over and makes them promise that they will rescue Mayberry. During their stay in the Inn read the following section to them. Read to Players The inn seems closed. You knock on the door to no reply. You find that it is unlocked so you decide to enter. There is a notice on the bar counter saying "closed for two days while I attend to family matters." You decide upon staying the night and leaving a tip for Sverlor on your way out in the morning. As you settle down in your beds after a very weary and tiring day, you drop off to sleep before your head hits the pillow. You are suddenly aware of another vision as you awake in a dreamlike state. You are in a dark room; the ground and walls around you are made of black stone. As you look into their foul blackness you sense the ancient evil of the structure and a shiver runs down your back. Hoping to get away from this evil you walk out of the corridor and into the nearest room. To your shock and surprise you are in a room full of black cloaked men that are shouting a hymn in a language you do not understand. If this wasn't enough to make you squeamish. The sight of a huge beast standing high up over a beautiful maiden with its fangs ready should be. You then realize that the maiden is Mayberry and it's the Beast of Malar, my god it comes to you as a shock as you realize they are sacrificing her. You are gripped at the disgusting sight before your eyes, as the Beast plummets his fangs into Mayberry's neck. Then you awaken with a start. You find yourself in your bed....it is morning. After the PCs have got over the shocking sights that they just saw in the vision they should be in a hurry to leave the town to save Mayberry. Before they go it would be wise to get some provisions from a retail store in the town and then depart. Scene Seven: For Love and GloryThis scene starts with the players making their way to the Temple of Blood. The terrain on the way to the temple is similar to other parts of Mistledale. But this changes drastically when they get closer to the forest. The temple is in the Vale of Lost Voices near the Dark Road. So it is a rarely traveled route. The PCs map shows that they have to first travel down the Dark Road and then they come to a small trail, which leads off to the temple. The Dark Road is full of unwanted creatures so the PCs will have to be alert as they start their journey down it. It is appromimately 5 miles from Ashabenford to the Dark Road. The further they progress down the Road the darker the landscape gets. With trees getting a darker shade of green and branches blowing around in the wind like arms flailing. There is also a good chance that they will bump into a wandering monster while going along the path. Every half-hour of the journey roll on the table below to see if they are attacked or warned off.Encounter D20 No Encounter 1-8 Elven Ghost 9-14 Banshee 15-16 Wild Elf Protector 17-20 The journey from the start of the Dark Road to the trail is roughly 6 miles. With the trail being a further 4 miles before it finally reaches the clearing where the temple lies. Their journey starts to get slightly troubled when they reach the trail. The overgrowth gets very thick and they have to cut through it. They will easily pick out the fact that the trail has not been used since that day so long ago when the Beast was last defeated. This adds time to their journey down the trail. So it takes twice as long to traverse it. On a side note if the PCs decide to be inventive and use fire to clear the trail, it is well advised they do not. The dry underbrush quickly catches fire, and spreads rapidly. As the arduous trek nears its end the PCs see the light of the sun shine through the trees and illuminate the end of the trail. Read to Players: The end of the trail lights up as if to bring you up to the heavens. But you know that your day is far from over. You approach the illuminated path with caution and see out into the clearing. A clump of trees that is right next to the trail however, blocks your view to the left. Straight ahead of you is a group of collapsed columns and another group of trees lies next to them. As you scan the area before your eyes a voice materializes in your head. You look at your companions and they give you the same look back confirming your suspicion that they are also hearing the voice. The voice tells you to go to your left and up to a structure with Columns around it. There you will find a sword, an ancient and powerful sword. With it you can slay the Beast. Only one that is either purely evil or purely good (CE or LG) can wield the blade. Then the voice fades. The PCs should next go to the location that the voice told them about and find Eternal. If they do not, the DM should motivate them to. From here on the players have a lot of freedom to go where they want in the ruins. But wherever they go, this scene's outcome will stay the same. After they go exploring around they will finally have to go to the sacrificial temple to rescue Mayberry and confront the Beast. When the PCs have done whatever they want to do in the ruins the following scene unfolds. As the players approach the sacrificial temple, they will hear a chant. This chant seems to get louder as they near the building. They will notice the odd shape of the building as they get closer (Read the description of it from the buildings section). Whatever entrance they use does not matter. They will see that there are not any guards at any of them. When they enter the temple the chant becomes unbearable, rising to an unbelievable level of noise. When they reach the inner part of the structure they will see a guard at each of the entrances to the inner circle where the chanting is coming from. The guards are not looking in their direction and seem to be mesmerized by the chant. As they approach the guard to take care of him they see the action unfolding in the middle of the building. (Describe to the PCs what is in front of them.) Read to Players: You look out into the masses of blacked cloaked men, priests of Malar and twitch as the chant reaches a thunderous high. Then it suddenly ends and the whole building turns quiet. You hear the chant echo away to become a distant memory and your mind wanders away. You are brought back to earth with a crash as a familiar voice booms towards you. "Well, well, well what have got here. I must give you some credit. You have been a thorn in my side ever since you arrived in town. Don't worry though, as you can see you are done for and your little friend is dead. When you had the chance you should have escaped. But instead you foolishly came to her rescue. Like the brave little idiots that you are. Ha, ha, haaaaa. What a delightful conclusion to our meeting this shall be. You see, very soon I will be the mighty ruler of Mistledale. Then all Faerun. But unfortunately you will miss my crowning achievement, as you will be dead. (At this he brakes into a fit of mad laughter). Nothing will stop me now so to put an end to this interruption, guards kill them. At this 4 guards and 4 priests of Malar attack the PCs. The guards are your standard third level warriors while the priests are also third level. While the fight goes on the other priest start to chant again. They seem to go into a trance while singing some unknown song to Malar's glory. As the song reaches its zenith four priests of Malar will stab their daggers into the young virgin women on the four outer stone slabs. Once the PCs have defeated the first eight Malarites, they are free to rip into remaining chanting priests, at which time chaos ensues and they start to scream. As the blood is about to come together at the middle sacrificial table the Beast looks up and spots the PCs. Just as his leg muscles tense and it is clear that he is going to jump at the PCs Darius shouts to it. "No, stop your going to ruin everything, Vascarout stop! I order you to kill the woman". The Beast does not listen as his thirst for souls cannot be quenched and so he attacks the characters. As this happens Darius will also attack them but only from a distance, and as soon as his life is in any danger he will flee the scene, using a Teleportation spell that Malar granted him. The Beast's stats are in the NPCs section, it will fight until it dies. If the PCs kill the Beast first, or Darius gets injured, he says these last words with his dying breath, "You may have won this day my friends but mark my words I will have my revenge against you, you haven't seen the last of me." With this he makes a gesture with his hand and is gone. After Darius leaves and the Beast lies dead at the PCs feet the rest of the Malarites quickly make for the exits and run. The PCs will find that Mayberry is in a deep sleep and she won't wake for at least two hours, by when they should be firmly on their way home to Ashabenford. The ConclusionWhen the PCs arrive back in town they find that there is a lot more people walking the streets and they are greeted with compliments and hailed as Heroes. The High Councilor Heresk greets them, asks them to dinner and says a genuine sorry for the trouble. The Riders also honor them as heroes and the town of Ashabenford rewards them for outstanding service by giving them 1000 gp each. In addition to this Joustler Kingdenner gives them the two rewards that he promised. |