Warlock! Three's Company

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Written by Eric Brimstin and Greg Saunders Cover art by Carlos Castilho, design Paul Bourne Internal art by Carlos Castilho and Daniel Comerci Cartography Dyson Logos, Eric Brimstin and Greg Saunders

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CONTENTS Three's Company 4 Ghosts of Hollyford 6 Introduction 7 Hollyford Inn and Village 8 Setup 9 Why have the player characters come to Hollyford? 10 Trouble on the Road? 11 11 Hollyford Inn Edell and Karl 13 Edwin the 'Black Cat' 15 Do they know or suspect he's the Black Cat? 15 If they don't know or don't 16 suspect... Orlias, Elf Astrologer 16 Simond, King's Warden 17 Ricolda, sister of Baron Rurk 17 18 Ancient Elf Shrine Ruins of Golethas Arzul 20 Getting Here 20 Temperate Forest 21 Hollyford Wood 22 26 The Beast The Door 29 Conclusion 32 Non-player characters 33 Edwin, the 'Black Cat' 33 Orlias the Wildfire Astrologer 33 Orlias' Guards 34 Ghosts of Hollyford 34 Ghost Druid 35 Chimera, The Beast of Golethas Arzul 35 Angry Mother Bear 35 Vice and Villainy in Verminham 36 Introduction 37 Setup 38 Why are the player characters in the Bloated Boar tonight? 38

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G Sir Rudibald's Pitch 40 Information 42 Time 44 Late Evening 44 44 Early Night 45 Late Night Countdown to Chaos 45 Chaos! 47 The Bloated Boar 48 The Basement 48 48 Cask Cellar Gambling Den 48 Lockbox 49 Ratbadger Fighting Pit 50 52 Underworks Entrance The Main Floor 52 Tavern 52 Kitchens 54 The Upper Floor 54 54 Frisk's Room Terdegard's Room 54 Guest Rooms 55 Bunkroom 56 Canalside Underworks 56 Whom do you meet in the dark, in the underworks? 56 Bloated Boar Sewer Grate Entrance 57 Conclusion 58 58 55 Mudcutter lane Meeting with Juff 'Ivorybones' at the Cantankerous Clam 60 Hooks and ideas for ongoing adventures 60 Non-player characters 61 Sir Rudibald Greythistle 61 Himris 'Shankear' 61 Nadia 62 Frisk 63 Chef Goldbloom 63 Bloated Boar Bouncers 64

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Terdegard De Broeker 64 Lucky the Ogre Bodyguard 64 Krilla, Hobgoblin task master 65 Krilla's Goblins 65 Pit-trained Ratbadger 66 Ugewld the Dwarf Bassist 66

A Red Night in Fair Marenesse 67 Introduction 68 Setup 69 Why are we meeting with Kohler? 69 Summer Sea Co. Market Office 70 72 Kohler's Pitch Do they not accept Kohler's offer? 74 What about the murder? 75 Investigation 75 75 About Pepper

About the Murder About Kohler Seastead Village Getting there Scrub Coast Journey Table Arid Hills Journey Table Salt Coast Waters Journey Table Smugglers Return to Fair Marenesse Castle Marenesse The Warehouse Conclusion What became of Count Tesse? Non-player characters Kohler, human form Kohler, fire monster form Paulo and the Smugglers Red Night Cultist

76 78 79 79 80 81 83 84 86 87 87 88 88 89 89 89 91 91

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Three's Company

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Three's Company is a set of adventures for Warlock!, the old-school roleplaying game inspired by the early days of British tabletop gaming. Each of the three adventures within provide suggestions for why the player characters have found themselves here and ideas for how the events of the scenario may naturally lead to further adventures. These adventures have not been written to be played one after the other but some thoughts about doing that will be provided below. All these adventures take place within the context of The Kingdom, the implied setting of Warlock! and given more detail in the Warlock! supplement, Kingdom. To get the most use of these adventures see them more as a framework and a set of tools more than a script. Their structure is meant to provide all the toys in the sandbox, but what the players and games masters do with them is not prescribed beyond suggestions, and thoughts about what might lead to what. The text of the adventures is always there as a backup for the games master to use as inspiration for what happens next. As an example, the skill tests suggested in any particular adventure are not meant to be either exhaustive or necessary. All the same, if one prefers to run them closer to a script, well that should work too! Furthermore, two of these adventures include more general journey encounter tables that are intended to be easily lifted from the adventure and used elsewhere. Perhaps the most straightforward way to run these three adventures together as a campaign would be to

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start with the assumption that the player characters are working a trade caravan making its way from Rebeck to Verminham by way of Westerlan. After two days of travel, the caravan arrives at Hollyford and pauses there for two days to rest the animals and get them sufficient hay before moving on. That pause gives the player characters the opportunity to get involved with 'Ghosts of Hollyford' before the caravan moves on. Sometime later, the caravan eventually arrives in Verminham and the caravan leader gives them a tip that another merchant, Master Agris of Fair Marenesse, will be looking for workers soon. Whilst waiting for the ship to take them to Fair Marenesse they end up getting involved in the 'Vice and Villainy in Verminham' adventure. Eventually they take the ship and find that Master Agris has been murdered, thus getting involved in the events of 'Red Night in Fair Marenesse'. Vice, villainy, and great stories await!

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Ghosts of Hollyford

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Introduction The Hollyford Inn and Village exists about halfway between Rebeck and Westerlan (roughly two days in either direction), a little spot of shelter and hay in the wilds between those cities, and an increasingly interesting prize for competing interests. The local leader is the innkeeper Edell, who with her brother Edwin, reclaimed the spot of a destroyed fort from the time of the war with the Traitor. They've built its ruins into an inn and a small new village has sprung up near the inn, profiting on the caravans that pass along the road. Edwin, however, is also the infamous highwayman known as the 'Black Cat' and his gang have long preyed upon the same travellers who might have only recently stayed at Hollyford. The Black Cat's gang is dead now, driven into the wilds to the west of Hollyford by pursuing King's Wardens, they took shelter in an ancient Golethan ruin. That ruin proved to be the lair of a chimera created by the sorceries of that ancient realm and it fell upon the Black Cat and his band. The Black Cat miraculously escaped, even he doesn't know how, and now he seeks revenge. Will the player characters help deliver it and in the process discover a mysterious and enigmatic site? What of the bounty on the Black Cat? And all the while the ghosts of Hollyford, wild and mad elves left over from a long-dead empire, look on.

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Hollyford Inn and Village

Hollyford takes its name from the natural ford across a lazy river that meanders its way from some coastal hills in the west toward Lake Gossenham. The ford makes up part of the road between Rebeck and Westerlan and is passable during most of the year, only becoming treacherous during times of unusual rain. Just to the west of the ford is a small ridge that creates some modest falls, imparting a bit of life to this otherwise placid river, and pushing the wheel of a single mill. Upon that ridge are the remains of Hollyford fort, once a motte and bailey, of which only the in-places-blackened stone skeleton of the keep survives. The fort has been converted by a group of freeholders, refugees from the war against the Traitor, into the Hollyford Inn and Village. The village spills down from the ridge onto the flat of land reaching toward the road and a small mill and some fields surround the modest cluster of homes. The Inn has been lightly re-fortified using the strategic position and surrounded by a palisade, ditch, and rampart with a single opening leading down to the village proper. These defensive precautions have been wise. Competing interests are all taking more of an interest in the site and would love to claim lordship over the freeholders here. One such claimant is the selfstyled 'Baron of Hollyford', a knight who with his small retinue mostly of extended family has begun constructing a log blockhouse on the eastern side of the road from the village. He claims the right to tax the ford but so far has mostly been ignored by the villagers and caravans both. The villagers of Hollyford are a rough and tumble sort that main-

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tain a casual militia and are not easily intimidated, but if the 'Baron' was to get actual backing from Rebeck or Westerlan he may actually be in the situation to enforce his claim. Additionally, there are more and more sights of the 'Woodghosts' that lurk in the forests that hug close to the river stretching west toward the hills. There are many theories about these creatures from primordial ape-creatures, to the walking dead of the fort, to proper vengeful spirits drawn by the conflict.

Setup The adventure begins with the player characters having only recently arrived to Hollyford on a dark and cool evening, as the day's light begins to falter. The wood to the west of the village and inn are dark and foreboding, their branches reaching up into the sky like claws. Just to the west beyond the village common and up on the ridge are the warm and inviting lights of the inn, built out of the remains of a ruined fort and surrounded by the shelter of a rampart and palisade. A small mill creaks gently as its water wheel turns in the river on the southern side of the village common. The village itself smells of freshly cut wood and has a lively and vigorous spirit. The people here are all refugees from the war, and are only looking to seek a place of independence where they can look to their own protection. They are welcoming, but on edge with so many sights of the 'ghosts' recently and the on-going tensions with

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the Baron's lackeys. Observant player characters (an appraise test may be appropriate here) may also notice that they are mourning some communal loss. The Black Cat's gang were a part of this community and they've recently learned that only the Black Cat, Edwin the innkeeper's brother, survived an attack by some horrible monster out in the wilderness. If this is a one-off game or the beginning of a campaign or you just want a quick answer for why the player characters are here, use the following table for an answer or inspiration.

WHY HAVE THE PLAYER CHARACTERS COME TO HOLLYFORD? Roll 1d6... 1. One of the player characters is a cousin to 'Baron' Rurk and heard that he's set himself up here and is looking for kin to help establish his claim. What do they make of the situation now? 2. Just passing through on their way to Rebeck or Westerlan and it's getting dark. 3. The player characters have heard rumor of the bounty on the Black Cat and have come looking to collect. 4. One of the player characters has family here among one of the village households, who have invited them out here for good honest work and a free life. 5. The player characters have been hired to deliver a letter to Edell of Hollybrook Inn on behalf of Larius Van Kleef. It's not the sort of thing they imagined when becoming adventurers but work

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is work. Did they peek? 6. The player characters have heard one can get hired on here as caravan guards due to rates of desertion along the road from Westerlan to Rebeck.

TROUBLE ON THE ROAD? If the Games Master thinks they might like to do more with the Hollyford site or it feels right for why the player characters are here, perhaps the player characters are approached by a small group of the men of 'Baron' Rurk of Hollyford who are looking for a toll for use of the ford. Almost immediately a couple villagers will respond and approach, shouting to the player characters they don't need to pay anything to that 'presumptuous fool'. The villagers rarely go anywhere without a good stout staff and they'll be holding them for effect but not menacingly. This encounter shouldn't end with any blood spilled unless things go disastrously wrong, a brief scuffle at most until one side backs down (likely the Baron's men), but can give the player character's an indication of this underlying tension and perhaps an opportunity to choose 'a side' or perform some diplomacy. If they want to learn more, or simply get a quieter place to stay, the inn is the place.

Hollyford Inn The inn is built in and around the remains of an old stone keep that still bears the scars and scorch marks of its ruin. The stone structure of

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the keep now acts as a sort of inner courtyard, open to the sky where long tables are set up and a great fire burns in the middle. Attached to it on all other sides are freshly built lodgings, a kitchen, and stabling for beasts. Quite a few dogs also run around the place always on the lookout for scraps and a scratch on the head. Edell lives in the remains of a stone guard house attached to the keep on its western end with her husband, Karl, another of the refugees that built this community. There is some disagreement between Edell and Karl what is best to do with Edell's brother Edwin who is the highwayman known as the 'Black Cat', recently come upon hard times and a burning desire for vengeance. Around the keep and its connected buildings are further out-buildings of the inn including hay storage, soil pits, and a few open stalls where groups may stay or peddlers set up shop. There is often some basic provisions for sale here by peddlers passing through and maybe occasionally the more interesting trinket. A number of the villagers are often around the grounds of the inn either carrying hefty quarterstaffs or long ash bows that are a local specialty for those on 'militia' duty. Even some of the Baron Rurk's men can be found here at night when they are able to sneak away for a drink and a bit of fraternizing beyond their official duties of 'enforcing noble claims'.

The open courtyard formed by the remains of the keep with its great bonfire and jovial attitude should be a fun and evocative place for the player characters to explore for some light roleplaying. The shadows of various guests bounce off the stone walls around them and the stars of the night shine

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high above through the top of the keep where a roof once would have been. A number of interested non-player characters will be here that are all significant to how this adventure will play out (their stats will be found at the end of the adventure). Appropriate social tests and interactions should do a lot to learn these characters, their motives, and what they might offer.

EDELL AND KARL Edell and Karl both make their way around the inner courtyard and the surrounding buildings, introducing themselves to guests, calming the rowdiest, looking for impending trouble, and offering up drinks and food. Each will have their own take on the player characters becoming involved in Edwin's quest. Edell will be non-committal about her brother and offer nothing firm about him until after he has sought out the player characters himself. After that she may only ask that the player characters do their best to see that he comes back breathing. She will warn Edwin if she suspects the player characters intend to turn him into the Wardens or try and collect a bounty on him and will be more negatively disposed to them, she'll be an outright enemy if they ultimately go through with it. Karl, Edell's husband, will actively try and match the player characters up with Edwin. He knows Edwin's desire for vengeance on the monster and secretly hopes that Edwin will die in the attempt. He doesn't dislike his brother in law but is increasingly seeing him as a liability and now one who is

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broken and unstable. Karl will not be interested in helping them collect a bounty on Edwin however and will be more negatively disposed to them if they do, but less so than his wife.

EDWIN THE 'BLACK CAT' Edwin perhaps should be the last of the major personalities at the inn that night that they meet but it's he who will offer to them the quest to destroy the monster which he'll describe as a great horrible cat with a vile sting for a tail and three twisted heads of hatred and foul sorcery. Edwin will either seek out the player characters toward the end of the scene on his own, or offer them the quest (and the reward of the treasure that he has collected from the road) if they approach him to apprehend him for the bounty. Edwin knows he is safe here in the inn as the locals are all positively disposed to him and will intervene if someone attempts to take him here.

DO THEY KNOW OR SUSPECT HE'S THE BLACK CAT? If so, he'll simply own up to it. He has the key to his own treasure and he can guide the player characters to it so long as they help him destroy the monster. It killed his gang, his closest friends and his lover, and he'll know no rest until it's vanquished. He'll make a show of giving the key to the treasure to his sister for safekeeping until they return at which point the treasure will be shared in equally. Together, they will leave in the morning with Edwin as a guide. Edwin as they leave will take a simple ash wood spear from the militia

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stores and can offer the player characters the use of a similar spear or quarterstaff as well.

IF THEY DON'T KNOW OR DON'T SUSPECT... In this case Edwin will continue to play coy with the idea of the Black Cat. He'll say that he and a group of friends went searching for the treasure of the Black Cat. One of the gang fled to the village some time ago with the key but died of his wounds not long after. The beast killed Edwin's friends however, and he only miraculously escaped in a manner even he doesn't know. He will show them the key but have his sister keep it until they return at which point the treasure will be shared equally. Together, they will leave in the morning with Edwin as a guide. Edwin as they leave will take a simple ash wood spear from the militia stores and can offer the player characters the use of a similar spear or quarterstaff as well.

ORLIAS, ELF ASTROLOGER In the inn Orlias and two Elfkin guards noticeably sit apart. These are all members of the Wildfire, a cult of Elves dedicated to the destruction of the Kingdom and the ways it has transgressed against nature. Orlias believes he's seen signs in the stars that suggest there's a doorway here that opens to a fragment of the Golethan Empire frozen in time, perhaps where he can find new power to wield for his ultimate purpose. He's also heard the stories of the monster that destroyed the Black Cat's gang and the 'ghosts' and is looking for Edwin whom he wants to follow into the wilds to discover the site of

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the attack. If approached and somehow made at ease, Orlias will offer the player characters magic as a reward if they can learn from Edwin the location of the site where he was attacked. The elf says he 'wishes to study to add to the ancient lore of our people.' It is possible the player characters may be able to learn a rough approximation of the site from Edwin and instead leave with Orlias and his Elfkin guards the next day to locate the site. If not, they will tail the player characters anyway.

SIMOND, KING'S WARDEN Simond is dressed in plain clothes like a traveller and that is his disguise. His group of wardens are camped some distance to the north along the road. They are waiting for their opportunity to capture Edwin, whom they know lives amongst the community. Simond is clever enough though not to try and take him among so many of his allies. Simond will offer to the player characters the bounty on Edwin if they don't already know about it and will be able to identify him as the 'Black Cat'. The player characters may be able to plot with Simond for the capture of Edwin on their return from the site and collect the 20 silver bounty, dead or alive.

RICOLDA, SISTER OF BARON RURK A clever young woman who is not above using pretty eyes and a smile to get her way. She wants to see that her family, through her brother, is able to claim ownership of this place. She is also aware of who Edwin is and the bounty out on him. She will suggest that the player characters turn Edwin over

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to her brother and his men at the blockhouse. Capturing a notorious outlaw would do a lot to demonstrate the Baron's ability to control this land and do well to further his legitimate claim. In return, they could even be rewarded rights and revenues of a small strip of land by the river, a young and partially trained warhorse, and the gratitude of an up and coming family in a new fief.

Ancient Elf Shrine On the way to the ruins where the monster attacked Edwin's party, the player characters will most likely come to a curious clearing in the woods (See 'Getting Here' in Ruins of Golethas Arzul, below). Edwin uses the spot as a waypoint on his way to the ruins so he will most certainly lead the others here if they are following him. If asked, Edwin knows nothing about it but tends to keep his distance from the ancient stone statue at its center. Delaying at all near to the clearing and the player characters will begin to notice more birdsong nearby and a fresh earthy scent, but also the distinct feeling that something is close. The statue has a very slight constant hum, which someone very close might notice and be able to feel against their hand or even vaguely hear if they press their ear to the statue. The tone is constant but doesn't suggest any clear meaning or significance in itself. The statue is something many in the Kingdom would regard as a strange interpretation of traditional depictions of the goddess Wild Wood. It has a simple stone base that seems to grow out of the very earth and indeed if one were to dig down, they would find

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roots of stone. The statue continues up from the base into a tear drop shape that tapers off at the top with a slight curve. The center of the statue is carved out with a negative space following the shape of the statue. The statue has some moss growing around it but otherwise seems remarkably unaged or marked. In the carved out center of the statue, on closer inspection, is a small recess where it looks like offerings have been left including some wild flowers, a couple rodent skulls, and a few (1d6) copper coins. If the player characters have come with Orlias then he will find the spot incredibly intriguing.

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He as well sees the statue as being of the Wild Wood, though surely a representative of an earlier aesthetic. He'll disapprove and try to prevent any non-elves from interacting directly with the statue, perhaps suggesting that it could be dangerous to them. In truth, he would just find it repulsive. If the player characters leave an offering of something valuable to them at the shrine, in the recess, they can make a luck test. With a success, they receive the statue's boon and may add 1d6 to any one roll (skill test or otherwise) they make for the rest of the adventure. Similarly, if they take anything from the offerings left at the shrine they will be cursed for the rest of the adventure. The games master should be inventive but not overly punitive with how this curse takes effect. Perhaps they have to test to do something they would normally just be able to do in a dramatic moment; perhaps they reach for something and realise it is not there, etc.

Ruins of Golethas Arzul GETTING HERE Travelling to the ruins takes the better part of half a day or so if the player characters don't run into any serious complications. The wood begins just at the western edge of Hollyford Inn and Village and continues through the wilderland to the west toward a range of hills in the distance. The further from the village, the more wild it's going to begin to feel, and the more likely the

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player characters will be to think they see shapes out amongst the trees, just out of sight. Watchful player characters (a spot test perhaps) might notice that Edwin (if he is leading) is following a trail of cleverly placed and sometimes disguised stones to find his way. About halfway into the journey they will come across the Ancient Elf Shrine (above). This wild wood isn't easy to traverse and pack animals or horses are going to struggle a bit to make their way through as it's all quite dense and everywhere are a tangle of roots. The games master may use the tables below if they'd like a challenge or complication along the way, roll 1d6 for each table and choose the result that seems the most interesting. One could also of course simply choose a result.

TEMPERATE FOREST 1. A light rain begins to fall. Bows should be unstrung or risk being ruined. If it's Spring or Fall, there's a chance of being chilled right down to the bone, might be time to seek shelter with Survival. If it's summer, it's probably quite nice. 2. Have the player character with the best spot make a test. If they succeed, they hear a couple bear cubs up ahead playing in time to veer well away. If they fail, the party stumbles upon the cubs and mother isn't far off - her priority will be chasing them off. (see non-player characters for stats) 3. Have the player character with the best survival make a test. If they succeed, they realize a patch of clover they were about to tread through looks oddly manicured. If they fail, they march

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right on through, much to the consternation of the treeman that has been tending this spot for generations. He will give them a good thrashing for this unless they can quickly make some sort of convincing appeal, he does not intend to kill them but sometimes accidents happen and maiming is likely. 4. These woods are starting to look, well, rather familiar. We have surely passed the rock before at least once... Test navigation with the price of failure being seeing that same rock at least a couple more times over the next couple hours. 5. Have the player character leading the way make a spot test. With a success, they notice an odd-looking patch of ground that turns out to be an old and forgotten pit trap. On a failure, they do not notice it and should test Luck. With a success they drop and manage to flail for a root to grab onto, wrenching their arm for 1d6 stamina lost. With a failure, they drop into the pit below for 2d6 stamina damage. 6. There is the sound of grunting ahead as a small group of wild pigs is nosing for truffles at the base of a large tree and they're uncomfortably close. It is only a matter of time before the player characters are noticed and have to face the charging old boar unless they can stealth away or somehow manage to startle or distract the beasts. HOLLYFORD WOOD 1. A heavy mist, perhaps it even seems magical, seems to rise from the dirt beneath the player characters and in a very quick time almost all visibility beyond the nose is lost. Do the

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player characters try to wait it out or navigate their way out? With a failure and without appropriate precautions they may end up both lost and separated. 2. A lone goblin, Gahbir, is up ahead dancing around a fire completely naked except a wreath of leaves about his brow. He lives in a hole beneath a nearby tree where he keeps his scant possessions. He is missing a few teeth and can claim if approached to be able to see the future, if he ingests enough of a local tuber. If the player characters indulge him and search it out (survival test to make it quick) he'll do as he says and warn them cryptically that the Orlias and the Elves are following them (if they don't already know, otherwise he'll just start to complain about being too sleepy). Player characters who try ingesting it will need to make an endurance test or similarly start to feel very drowsy. 3. The player characters stumble across a stone table with two stone benches in the middle of the woods. They look somewhat roughly hewn but bizarrely simple in their placement, with nothing around them that hints to their origin or purpose. Those who sit at the benches will see a platter of delicious food, different for whomever sits (the players should describe what they see), appear on the table in front of them and a goblet of some matching beverage. Nobody else sees what the others get in front of them; it appears merely as an empty table. If the player characters eat and drink they will feel full and refreshed as if they were actually eating and drinking, but this in fact does nothing to nourish them. Furthermore, those who partake should make a luck test or they'll just continue to

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gorge themselves until the point of vomiting and feeling painfully sick. 4. Have all the player characters roll a d6 - those that get an odd result suddenly vanish (this should happen to at least one player character). The ones with an even result are still in the woods but their companions are nowhere to be seen. The player characters who 'vanished' find themselves also in a wood, but one entirely different and alien. The trees seem to stretch up into the sky like the highest of the wizard's towers of Pomperburg, and their bark has a deeply golden hew. Scarlet leaves blanket the forest floor. Immediately ahead of the player characters, an Elven woman dressed in only a wispy golden mesh not at all up to the modesty standards of the Kingdom is sobbing and repeating the same phrase three times in an unknown language (the same language the Druid will speak later). Upon the third time, or if they approach, she suddenly turns to see them and her eyes seem to flash with a blinding light as her face contorts into a cruel and hate-filled mask. She screams and the sound is truly horrible (this would be a good time for a pluck test if using those optional rules) before the scene warps and the player characters find themselves back in the original wood with their comrades. But the screaming hasn't stopped. A shadowy wraith with blazing eyes springs upon them. Time to fight or flee! Running is the best option - the creature will fade if they run to a spot distant from where it materialized. Returning to the spot at a later time doesn't trigger the same effect. 5. The group come across a clearing in the woods rich with wildflowers. On the stump in the middle of the clearing is a wooden bowl and a

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well-polished grinding stone. Nobody appears to be around. Inside the bowl are a number of flowers partially pressed into a blue pigment, the powder of which rests upon the lip of the bowl. Have a player character that approaches the bowl make a Spot test, with a success they see a face of one of the 'ghosts' far away in the trees, half painted with this pigment. If they fail, they just see a rustling and movement in the distance. If a player character (there's only enough for one) paints their face with this pigment in such a way, the Chimera will be less likely to target them, and attack with a -5 penalty if it does. 6. The player characters come across a holly hedge with leaves alarmingly sharp and with nasty little barbs. It looks deliberately planted but what it marks is entirely unclear as the wood on one side looks just the same as the wood on the other. Getting through it will be uncomfortable and clothes-rending to say the least and getting around it will take time as it snakes its way through the forest. Any other ideas?

THE BEAST As the player characters go deeper into the woods beyond the shrine, they may begin to notice that the trees take on a different character. They seem younger in a way, a different growth of the wood, and here and there the especially observant may notice the hints of foundations of buildings long since gone. They are travelling through the outer districts of a Golethan city long since lost to time and some ancient calamity. The ghosts, the wild descendants of the inhabitants of this

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city, will be present but distant, watching and often seen just as they fade from view. If pursued they'll fade back into the woods only becoming hostile if cornered but if any are directly attacked, the rest will become hostile and there are far more of them than the player characters. In the middle of this complex of hints of buildings is an artificial mound of considerable size, rising out of the woods like a hill. Some trees cling to its base but the summit of the hill is crowned only with the beautiful but fallen remains of an ancient observatory. The walls have mostly collapsed around a rectangular base and main floor attached to what was once the observatory's tower, which has mostly crumbled, sending beautiful white stones in a cascade down the western side of the mound. Still

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the observatory tower is the tallest part of the structure and is the lair of the chimera that nests on what remains of an upper level.

The player characters will have time before the beast notices them unless they have been particularly careless. Edwin's goal will be to simply start the fight as soon as he can but he can be negotiated into a more cautious approach with a bit of persuasion, perhaps along the lines of a higher degree of success of actually killing the beast. The chimera is a tortured creature that rages at others because of its own creation in a way that only barely surpasses its desire to be destroyed. It will attack without abandon or restraint, and this can potentially be used by the player characters as an advantage. All the same, it is a very dangerous creature and the fight may be quite deadly. For his part, Edwin will largely match this aggression and try to draw its wrath. Edwin will engage it with his spear, stabbing and jabbing. Unless the player characters are very few or clearly disadvantaged it may be best to treat Edwin as an advantage (+2 or +5) to their own attacks, narrating Edwin as part of the fray responding to the creature and the player character's actions, rather than rolling for Edwin separately. In this way games masters will also have the opportunity to have Edwin's mortal peril be a lever of the drama of the fight if things are going too easily or are too difficult. This should help keep the action focused on the player characters. See non-player characters for stats and recommendations on the chimera, the Beast of Golethas Arzul. If the player characters are very near to defeat it

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is possible to bring in other interested parties like the ghosts or Orlias and the Elfkin guards to intervene. They will not destroy the monster but rather create an opening for escape. The ghosts especially have the mysterious ability to restrain the beast for a short amount of time. This and the druid (see later) using a Forget spell may have the player characters (those that survived anyway) awaken suddenly, bruised and battered but alive back at the Inn with only the foggiest idea how it happened, as Edwin did. If the player characters flee, the beast only seems to chase them away from the mound and then returns to its lair. Finally, if they manage to destroy the beast they will notice the strange amulet it wears under its lion's mane, shaped like a key made of jade.

THE DOOR Inside the main floor of the broken observatory, upon the broad white stone base ascended by carefully constructed and broad stairs, is an archway. While the rest of the observatory is made from this white and polished looking marble-like stone, the archway is made of the blackest basalt. The archway has collapsed however, with half of the left side crumbled to the floor as well as the keystone that would make the upper part. Set into the keystone is a carved recess that perfectly matches the jade key worn by the chimera. Broken like this, however, setting the key into the stone seems to have no effect other than sending a very slight tingle up the arm of the one who does it. It is at this point that Orlias and his Elf Kin guards will try to claim possession of the key.

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They will negotiate at first but will not hesitate to employ violence if they meet much resistance.

Also within this structure is the remains of Edwin's camp and the remains of his former comrades. Their bodies and equipment are broken, scattered about the place where they fell in the battle with the chimera when it ambushed them. If Edwin has survived, he will want to lay them to rest properly. Under some hastily moved stones in the corner is the strongbox containing the Black Cat's treasure. It is a hefty box containing several dozen coins, mostly coppers, some silver, a handful of gold coins and whatever other little trinket the games master may want to introduce into their game. Picking it may be possible and the key to open it Edwin left with Edell. Finally, as the player characters exit the observatory they will see some thirty of forty 'ghosts' below gathered at the base of the mound. At their head is what appears to be an Elf druid of some kind utterly covered in animal totems and curious blue tattoos. The elves will part for the player characters as they go to leave but they will be approached by the druid. She delivers to them a phrase indicating that 'the path can be restored' in a language related to the ancient Golethan language but not quite, he'll allow them to keep the jade key. This will be incomprehensible to the player characters but a language check can tell them that this language is similar in some ways to the ancient Golethan as it is known but will get them no closer to understanding its message. That would be the work of some significant special knowledge, a quest perhaps!

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Conclusion

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The return to Hollyford will largely be determined by the events that took place before they left and what occurred at the Ruins. The following can be prompts for wrapping up or the beginning of further adventures: 1. If they've sided with the Baron and turned Edwin over to him, just how good or even cleared is this little patch of land by the river? 2. If they've planned to hand Edwin over to the King's Warden, do they still attempt to get the key to the treasure from Edell? And what's the reception? 3. Does the Baron get additional support with Edwin to start turning Hollyford into a proper fief? What are the player characters roles in that transition? Can they help negotiate it? 4. How much is this jade key worth and to whom? Did they surrender it to Orlias? Can he weaponize it in a way to further his aims of bringing down the Kingdom? 5. How may 'the path' be restored? Is it a ritual or simply a matter of mending the archway? And if it is, where does it go? 6. If the player characters have sympathized with Edwin and helped him and not the King's Warden or the Baron, what complications might this mean for the player characters? What standing do they get in the refugee community? 7. Why are the 'ghosts' increasingly drawn to the community at Hollyford? What do the events at the ruins mean for their relationship to the village?

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Non-player characters EDWIN, THE 'BLACK CAT' Type Civilized Actions/round 1 Weapon/skill/damage Spear/6/2d6+1 Armour Chain shirt, 1d3 Skill Highwayman, 8 Stamina 18 Notes: A man of average height and build with somewhat long wavy black hair and a face of stubble. In mourning, angry, but not having totally lost his sense of humor.

ORLIAS THE WILDFIRE ASTROLOGER Type Civilized Actions/round 1 Weapon/skill/damage Broad bladed short sword/6/1d6+3 Armour None Skill Elf Astrologer, 9 Stamina 15 Spells Unseen (4) Notes: Keeps a small and ornate spyglass of beautiful green wood tucked into a wide golden belt at all times as well as a thickly bladed sword. Dresses finely and with sharp features, eyes that always seem to judge.

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GHOSTS OF HOLLYFORD Type Civilized Actions/round 1 Weapon/skill/damage Short stabbing spear/7/2d6 Armour Long oval wood and hide shields, 1d3 Skill Enigmatic wild elves, 8 Stamina 16 Notes: They tend to carry three of these spears, two of them in the hand passed through their shield. They throw them first before engaging. The points are of flint or bone, however, and are ineffective against armor. The armor of the victim counts as one step higher or +1d6 for heavy armor.

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GHOST DRUID Type Civilized Actions/round 1 Weapon/skill/damage Ritual Staff/5/1d6 Armour Enigmatic tattoos, 1d3 Skill Wild Elf Druid, 10 Stamina 18 Spells Sleep (5), Unseen (4), Fog (4), Forget (5) Notes: A spiritual leader and teacher among this mysreious community.

CHIMERA, THE BEAST OF GOLETHAS ARZUL Use stats for Chimeras from Warlock! (pg 116). Suggestions for enhancing the difficulty of the encounter: first increase actions/round to 3, if that's not enough increase weapon skill by 5, only last should its stamina be increased.

ANGRY MOTHER BEAR Type Beast Actions/round 2 Weapon/skill/damage A good mauling/6/2d6 Armour Fur and motherly rage, 1d3 Skill Momma Bear 6 Stamina 28 Notes: Is primarily just trying to chase off anything near her cubs or break them if need be or they're simply too slow. Playing dead might work, test luck to find out.

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Vice and Villainy in Verminham

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Introduction Verminham is a mucky little city described in a great inspiration table in Warlock! Compendium. This adventure imagines it existing near the coast, in the West Mudlands, somewhere northwest of of Westerlan. Juff 'Ivorybones' runs a gambling den, the Cantankerous Clam, in Verminham for the local Aldergrim clan. Recently, he has seen increasing competition from a De Broeker affiliated operation in the area out of the Bloated Boar. So, Juff has hired a small group of goblins under the hobgoblin Krilla to break into the Bloated Boar from the underworks over the course of the night, and do a smash and grab, the aim being to try and get at the client ledger kept in a lockbox down there. At the same time, one of the De Broeker family members and his ogre bodyguard Lucky is in the Boar to collect his 'affiliation fee' from the owner, Frisk, who would really rather be left out of the whole affair. Simultaneously, Sir Rudibald Greythistle, accompanied by the Elf Bravo Himris 'Shankear' is in the Bloated Boar looking for capable adventurers to get the ledger for himself. Greythistle is a member of the cult 'The Rose' and hopes to use the information not only to undermine the De Broeker's but also to use it to further fuel conflict between the gangs and to keep them weak and bickering, hopefully also to get some dirt on Wilfur Aldergrim who has been making noise on the Verminham city council. When the player characters are approached by Greythistle to grab the ledger, depending on what they do, events will kick off as a drenching rainstorm

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pours outside and multiple interests converge for what should be a chaotic night in the Bloated Boar.

Setup A heavy rain pours outside and occasionally the sky crackles and booms with thunder. We find the player characters in the Bloated Boar, a tavern and gambling den on the Muckcutter Canal in Verminham, not far from the river barge docks. It is late evening and with the rain, it is fully dark outside, the rain comes down in sheets and occasionally people glance toward the rickety door that threatens to blow in with gusts of wind. While probably thankful they aren't outside, perhaps the characters are wondering what brought them here in the first place? Use the following table if you want a quick answer...

WHY ARE THE PLAYER CHARACTERS IN THE BLOATED BOAR TONIGHT? Roll 1d6... 1. Hired by an agent of Lord Vlech to gather rumors about local families plotting against his rule. Needed a place to sleep. 2. Looking for work and someone suggested that the Bloated Boar is connected to outside money. 3. One of the player characters is related to Frisk, the owner, who has given them a room for the night as they pass through town or else he would never hear the end of it from cousin Eron. You are leaving first thing in the morning though! 4. Looking to lay low somewhere and avoid a bounty

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hunter that nearly caught them on the road from Westerlan. Who's he chasing and why, do you even know? 5. Got berths in two days aboard a ship headed to Fair Marenesse, a merchant there is looking for caravan guards, needed a place to stay. 6. The door was open, the stew smelled alright, and that other place was too rowdy and noisy. The player characters are on the main floor of the Bloated Boar, in the tavern open to all manner of rogues, raiders, and ruffians and hopefully a few people with honest coins to spend as well. Muckcutter guildspeople are maybe the most common customers, or at least the stink of their boots make them the most distinctive. The main floor smells a little earthy of wet, grime, and stale spilled ale as well as whatever Chef Goldbloom in the back is cooking up... Boiled mutton stew maybe? Best to assume it's mutton anyway. Entertainment is being provided by The Merigolds, a small entertainer troupe that works all but the most horrible places in Verminham and Westerlan. Ugewld (nah, not pronounced like that! Ew-gweld... ahh, close enough long legs, what do you want?) the Dwarf plays an upright bass, while the sisters Greta and Lydia harmonize, sing, tap and ring bells. They make a living anyway and are happy to take requests for a tip. Ugewld keeps a primed flintlock pistol strapped to his chest, easy to grab if the drunks decide to act on their bad ideas. After the player characters get settled or before they get too unsettled, they're approached by a middle-aged gentleman dressed exceptionally well for the establishment, and followed immediately by

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an Elf with a number of facial scars that weirdly just seem to make him more beautiful. This is Sir Rudibald Greythistle and his bodyguard the bravo and duellist Himris 'Shankear'. Sir Rudibald presents himself by his name and suggests he approached the player characters because they look both interesting and capable...

SIR RUDIBALD'S PITCH Sir Rudibald knows that in the gambling den below there's a business ledger, kept in a lockbox that details the clients of the Bloated Boar and also identifies their De Broeker contacts. Sir Rudibald is part of a group who want to bring some order back to the streets of Verminham and he believes that another dangerous crime family moving in is certainly not going to help. By helping him recover the ledger, the characters will be helping the city and he would be willing to reward them beyond whatever is also in the lockbox. They need only meet him at 55 Muckcutter Lane by dawn, not a far walk from the Bloated Boar, with the ledger and he will see them rewarded. To help them with this quest Greythistle will suggest that, if they cannot pass themselves off as serious gamblers to get into the den that way, the player characters may try and get in by other means, perhaps when it's later in the night and fewer people are about. There's a door directly into the gambling den that can be accessed through the underworks door down on the canal level. The guy who watches that door only stays at it until the gambling den closes, after which a lockpick might be able to get through. If they don't have a

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lockpick, they may try to access the cellar room through a grate via the sewer which can also be accessed through the underworks. It'll be dirtier and darker, but require less lockpicking acumen. Rudibald can't risk getting directly involved in the job as that would undermine his mission in the city but he's had it well-scouted. Rudibald will offer as rewards: 1d3 gold each or a single spell that he can acquire by 'means' or 1d6 silver each and a promise of future work.

If they turn him down he'll act disappointed but not push the point too much. Whether they turn him down or not, he has another agent at the bar, Nadia who will be watching and shadowing the player characters until the coming dawn, to see whether or not they try and double-cross Greythistle or make their own play. In either case, after this Sir Rudibald will go to 55 Muckcutter as he suggested: a small, dingy, and very sparsely furnished apartment.

Information The following are some 'bits' which can be learned by the player characters during the adventure by interacting with various other guests and non-player characters, or by other ways the games master feels appropriate: 1. The Bloated Boar only recently started recently affiliating themselves with the De Broekers to get a possible edge over their competition, the

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G Cantankerous Clam. 2. The Cantankerous Clam is run by Juff 'Ivorybones' and competes, sometimes violently with the Bloated Boar, and especially in the ratbadger fighting circles. The Clam is affiliated with the local Aldergrim family. 3. The Aldergrim family is commonly held to have extensive criminal connections locally but are also seen by many as the 'home team'. Wilfur Aldergrim is on the city council and presents the more 'above water' part of the family. Very little in Verminham is truly above water. 4. Terdegar de Broeker is currently staying in the suite upstairs. He's young and seems cold and haughty. Some say he resents being in charge of De Broeker presence in Verminham and sees it as a bad posting due to his junior status in the family. 5. Chef Goldbloom thought the arrangement with the De Broekers was a terrible idea from the start. 6. The Aldergrims are known to have some connections with goblin river pirates that make secret deals in the city at night. 7. The city's nobility has been trying to get the council cleared of any Muckcutter guild presence, to say nothing of the Woodbrick burners. 8. 'That rich-looking guy didn't even go into the gambling den, which is mighty weird, they only come in looking for ratbadger blood. 'E came in with two others but only left with one. The other is over there' (indicates with a dirty thumb over to Nadia at the bar).

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Time

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When the scenario starts it is late evening but it may be the case that the critical events may not start in earnest until quite a bit later. Here's a brief guide to the usual flow of things as the night goes on, which may obviously change depending on how events unfold...

LATE EVENING One bouncer watches the main entrance and throws out anyone who looks too poor for a drink. Another two bouncers watch the two doors (inside and outside) to the gambling den, only letting through people that look like they have sufficient money to lose. There are at least as many bouncers as there are player characters+1 at all times, with the others doing odd jobs or shirking their duties in other parts of the Bloated Boar. Frisk is awake and down in the den as are Terdegard de Broeker and Lucky. The Merigolds are playing and entertaining. There are quite a few guests, 3d6 in addition to the entertainers. Chef Goldbloom is cooking stew.

EARLY NIGHT Two bouncers are in the tavern room to watch the door and throw out any rowdy 'guests'. The others go to rest for their shift. The gambling den doors are locked but unwatched. Anyone staying in the common room has to pay 1d6 pennies for the lodging, or 1d6 silver if they want a room upstairs. Everyone else is tossed out into the rain. The Merigolds

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camp out in one of the corners of the common room near the 'stage'. People might still be up and drinking but it is... quieter. Far fewer guests, 1d6 in addition to the entertainers. Chef Goldbloom is having a drink and stuffing sausages. Frisk will either be talking with Chef Goldbloom or have retired to bed. Terdegard is upstairs in his private room having a bath.

LATE NIGHT Two bouncers switch shift to watch the front door, struggling to stay awake. The others have gone to rest. The gambling den doors are locked but unwatched. Most everyone is asleep. Same number ofguests as earlier, Chef Goldbloom is baking bread for the next day; he'll sleep when the sun comes up. Frisk is asleep. Terdegard is upstairs and asleep.

Countdown to Chaos Use these events when it feels narratively appropriate or when the action begins to stall, they need not be played in any particular order. The argument: Frisk and Chef Goldbloom can be heard arguing from the kitchen. The subtext is that Chef Goldbloom is chiding Frisk for taking on the De Broekers to win advantage over the Cantankerous Clam. This ends with the Chef shouting, 'You were so concerned if you could, you didn't stop to think if you should' as Frisk storms away. This will show listeners that everything is not sunshine and roses between the Bloated Boar and the De Broekers. But

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then, what is sunshine and roses in Verminham? Shots fired: The Dwarf bassist Ugewld shoots dead an obnoxious patron that was getting altogether too familiar with the Merigold sisters. There's a general commotion and some weapons get pulled. Terdegard and Lucky come from downstairs to see what the noise is all about. The Watch isn't coming, the body is most likely to end up in the canal, how does this get resolved without violence? Does it? The grab: Krilla's goblins make their move. Smashing and yelling can be heard downstairs, perhaps sounds of fighting. Was one of the bouncers down there when the goblins broke in? Perhaps even Terdegard and Lucky? The goblins will smash and grab what they can, including the ledger and let Sprinkles (and any other possible ratbadgers) free on their way out.

CHAOS! This is the result of one of the interested parties making their move on the ledger and will be the climactic scene of the adventure. If the player characters are making their move and have snuck into the den, perhaps that is when the goblins show up. If the goblins have been negotiated with, then perhaps it is Terdegard and Lucky that show up looking to take the De Broeker share from the lockbox from the night. It could also be that the player characters have decided to bring the ledger to Juff instead and Nadia moves to intercept them or maybe the goblins got hold of it and now the player characters have to chase them down?

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The Bloated Boar

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The following locations can all be found in the Bloated Boar, a rough pub make no mistake.

The Basement CASK CELLAR Where the Bloated Boar keeps its casks of middling to terrible ale as well as all the other bits and bobs associated with running a tavern and inn. A few tables, cots, some hay and the slagged remains of dice that weren't friendly to 'the house'. In the middle of the room on the floor is a manhole-sized grate that goes to the sewer below, it is quite heavy but unlatched. This is where the player characters can enter from if they go into the sewer; this is also where Krilla and the goblins will come in through. On the west wall are a few spare ratbadger cages, empty... Or are they? A games master who wants a bit more chaos might add a couple caged ratbadgers here. A double barn style door; unlocked, unbarred, and only slightly rotted; separates the Cask Cellar from the Gambling Den.

GAMBLING DEN The main room of the lower story of the Bloated Boar. Dice tables, cards, and a rough chalk board that keeps tracks of the odds of any number of things that people can bet on, from who will fill the next city council seat (current safe bet has Wilfur Al-

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Sewer grate

Cellar storage

Cages Bar

Holding pen

Stairs up

Fighting pit Door to underworks

dergrim keeping his seat) to how many drunks will drown in the main canal next Barley Festival (safe money at seven). Of course there are also the odds for the Ratbadger fights. There is also a small bar down here, usually run by Frisk himself. Beneath the bar, obscured only by a few dirty mugs is the lockbox with the client ledger. The Gambling Den has stairs up to the Main Floor, a locked doorway to the outside (Underworks Entrance), an open archway to the Ratbadger fighting pit.

LOCKBOX Rectangular and relatively flat with a sturdy but beaten construction, this lockbox has the client ledger that both Juff and Rudibald want. It also

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has 2d6+5 silver, 3d6+5 copper, and a small gold ring that has 'Wilhelm Yestre' carved on the inside. With a luck roll, it also has 1d6 gold. It's bolted down, but onto wood that could be broken or snapped with a prybar. This would allow somone to take the entire lockbox - it is heavy and awkward but certainly portable. It can also be lockpicked. With a successful luck test, Frisk has actually left the key to the lockbox in it but if he hasn't, then he has it on his person or at least in his clothes if he's gone upstairs to bed. There's one spare key that Chef Goldbloom keeps.

RATBADGER FIGHTING PIT The archway from the gambling den to the Ratbadger fighting pit has a few stairs up to an elevated platform from which the fights are viewed. On the east wall are a few steps down behind a gate, where a caged ratbadger could be placed, the gate shut and the animal let loose in the run before being unleashed into the fighting pit itself - which is also separated by a gate, pulled by a rope. This way the animals would be let into the pit one by one such that the carnage does not begin too quickly. The floor of the actual fighting pit is covered with grimy hay with some mixture of scat and blood that hasn't been entirely cleaned. One ratbadger, Sprinkles, prowls the pit by itself - fed scraps by gamblers in the adjoining room. Sprinkles is the house's own ratbadger and a veteran of quite a few fights, so named because of the grey splotches all across his coat. Sprinkles could be let out simply by lifting the containing gate but why would you want to?

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Muckcutter lane

ll Cl ou gh Underworks entrance

To the Spittle Muckcutter canal

Sewer access

To mud flats Chamber beneath Bloated Boar To NW cistern Slurry channel

To canal

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UNDERWORKS ENTRANCE

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The entrance from the canalside door is an antechamber with two doors. The outer door is pretty well-rotted and rickety but still kept locked with a key. The inner door is more sturdy and also keylocked. The outer door, after evening, is rigged with two trapping mechanisms. The first is a brass bell hanging from an iron hook in the ceiling which will ring if the door is opened more than a quarter-way (not enough to get comfortably inside). The second is an iron bar triggered by a tripwire that is primed by the door opening more than a quarter-way. The ironbar falls when the door is closed behind the intruder and is latched in place by the stonework, the release is a brass ring which must be turned on the interior of the gambling den itself by the door. The intention is very much to trap would-be intruders inside while presumably the bell has alerted the muscle. Finally, the inner door's tumblers are fitted with a mechanism that is designed to deadfall and snap lockpicks. If the lockpicking fails, the would-be intruder must either pass a luck test or see their lockpick snapped. The key to these doors is carried by one of the bouncers on-duty at any time.

The Main Floor TAVERN The main room of the of the Bloated Boar is strewn haphazardly with circular tables carved out of excess wood from old broken up ships, no two look ex-

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Kitchen and larder

Fuel box

Stairs up

To street

Fireplace

actly alike and a sea of chairs and stools, equally unique, are scattered between them such that there are never enough for any single table or altogether too many. In the southeastern corner is a large fireplace kept burning to keep the worst of the damp out and some stones upon which the entertainers play. Near to that on the east wall is a fuel box with logs of wood and rough bricks of charcoal (locally produced!). A large bar dominates the north wall. On and set into the western wall are the stairs up and down. The stairs down are separated by a thin rotted wall and a door that is watched in case anyone without enough money tries to sneak downstairs to the gambling den. There's also a door in the northeast corner leading to a tarpaulin-covered soil pit and small ugly garden hemmed in by surrounding shacks and rowhouses. Also on the north wall is the kitchen and larder area, run as Chef Goldbloom's personal fief.

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Chef Goldbloom runs his operations from here. Famous for his sausage sandwiches, most of the time there is just some grey over-boiled stew on offer (which he then boils down and uses to stuff the sausages). There is a fairly well kept larder back here, some containers containing not-too-rusty knives and a couple bunks for bouncers who are not on duty. There are exits into the garden, into the tavern, and another door opposite that which leads down to the gambling den forming a small corridor.

The Upper Floor FRISK'S ROOM Simple and cluttered with a bed and not much else of any interest. There is a trunk at the base of the bed where he keeps his clothes and a small table with an oily lantern. If Frisk has not left the lockbox key by the lockbox, there is a chance it is just stuffed under the rough straw pillow on the bed. Searching through the trunk might turn up some coins but likely not much, between the protection money and frequent bribes the Bloated Boar isn't exactly the most profitable enterprise.

TERDEGARD'S ROOM The only 'suite' in the Bloated Boar and the only room with a bathtub. Currently held by Terdegar de Broeker, free of charge obviously, and his man-serv-

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Guest room Bathroom

Terdegard's room

Stairs down

Bouncers bunks

Frisk's room

ant ogre Lucky. The suite has access to the chimney that gives off a little residual warmth and a couple actual glass windows, only one or two cracks. If you open them you can get a whiff of the ocean breeze mixed with rotting seaweed on the mud flats. The height of luxury for this part of Verminham.

GUEST ROOMS Much like Frisk's room, simple affairs with a single bed, trunk and wooden stool-turned table. Often cramped in on one side by the ceiling. A straw cot or mat can be brought up for a small additional fee. Succeed at a luck test if you want the door to actually latch.

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Part storage, part bunks for the bouncers, this cramped space sits at the top of the stairs. Uncomfortable, dark, and often pretty noisy but if you are tired enough, needs must.

CANALSIDE UNDERWORKS Treacherously narrow stairs on the canalside of the street lead down to the canalside underworks, platforms which give access to canalside residences and infrastructure. Always dark and grimy down here and somewhat slick. In the day, some street vendors set up shop here, by night it is clear of all but the most desperate and/or predatory. One such set of stairs is near the Bloated Boar and there are nearby underworks entrances both to the Gambling Den floor and the sewers which serve the street level above.

WHOM DO YOU MEET IN THE DARK, IN THE UNDERWORKS? Roll 1d6... 1. A stray black cat, looking miserable, hugging the stone wall. Its eyes catch the faintest glimmer of light and glow before it runs off into the night. 2. The one-armed beggar Timmy, spare a coin? Couple more and he can tell you how they rig that door over there at night. 3. Three watchmen and its past curfew, didn't you know? Would not want to go through all the hassle of tossing you in a dungeon when they can just toss you into the canal instead, unless you

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pay the fine (Use bouncer stats). 4. The Halfling gambler Marko of Iddlesby, He was cheated at the Boar, don't you know!? He's looking for a bit of revenge and he knows a thing or two about locks, maybe more than he knows about cards... 5. A small group of black gulls who will follow and screech at the player characters incessantly until they're either fed or the player characters escape inside. 6. Helda the old street vendor with a small pot of garlic steamed clams, smells surprisingly good, would you like some? She knows Chef Goldbloom pretty well, is there anything you want to know? After you have some clams, of course.

BLOATED BOAR SEWER GRATE ENTRANCE There is a door here, to the underworks, clearly at one time it was meant to be latched but now it just hangs rotting from its hinges. Some steep and narrow stone stairs lead down into the darkness with the sound of the sewer and of dripping water ahead. At the bottom of the stairs is an archway that leads into a tunnel with a rounded ceiling heading east and west. Narrow paths run along the north and south lengths of the tunnel, keeping people out of the worst of the slurry channel which emits all kinds of gasses and foul odors, clogged with mud and worse. The east tunnel leads to a canal drainage area and a separate side passage, even more cramped to the neighborhood cistern, excess water flows down here into the slurry channel. The west tunnel goes to a sharp bend to the north. After a short distance the tunnel opens up to a

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bigger reservoir, this is directly beneath the cask storage in the Bloated Boar. The tunnel continues beyond this reservoir chamber further to the north where it eventually exits in the Mud Flats between the city and the sea, surely there is a grate somewhere along the way but who knows? In the center of the reservoir, itself just an expanded part of the slurry channel in the middle, is a rickety ladder propped up to get access to the sewer grate into the Bloated Boar above. Here are Krilla the hobgoblin and an equal number of goblins to the player characters, waiting for nightfall to break in. If it is already night, they are just about to break in when the player characters find them here. Did they find the player characters as well?

Conclusion When the chaos hits it will be matter of who gets hold of the ledger or at least the aftermath of someone making a move on it and resolving this will be the climax of the scenario. If the player characters do get ahold of the ledger, they have to decide what to do with it, with the most obvious options perhaps being bringing it to either 55 Muckcutter Lane to meet with Greythistle or the Cantankerous Clam to deliver it to the competition. Perhaps they have some other idea altogether?

55 MUCKCUTTER LANE Not exactly easy to find among the hovels and small buildings of Muckcutter Lane without some amount of local street knowledge. Easier to find when goblins

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aren't chasing you through the streets in the rain, surely. Nadia will almost certainly be following the player characters here if they are coming with the ledger or other news, shadowing as always unless they've dissuaded her somehow. Sir Rudibald will most likely arrange the payment he promised unless he feels there is reason to believe that the player characters are not dealing in good faith or he has been offended in his position as part of the aristocracy, at which point he will not hesitate to order Nadia and Himris to kill them instead. Assuming all goes well; perhaps he'll try and involve them in other plots of The Rose in the future.

MEETING WITH JUFF 'IVORYBONES' AT THE CANTANKEROUS CLAM Juff would most certainly be surprised to receive the ledger by someone other than Krilla and her gang but would still be up for paying for its acquisition: to the victor the spoils and all this. Perhaps he will also be willing to provide future opportunities for these obviously useful individuals?

HOOKS AND IDEAS FOR ONGOING ADVENTURES 1. What becomes of Frisk and the Bloated Boar? 2. Have the player characters made enemies of the De Broeker clan? Or do they owe them a favor? 3. Where were the Merigolds going next? 4. How does The Rose handle the outcome of the night in their campaign against Councilman Aldergrim? 5. What was the ring of Wilhelm Yestre doing in the box?

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6. If he got it, how does Juff use the ledger against the De Broekers and the Bloated Boar?

Non-player characters Non-player character stats below use the conventions found in Warlock! Compendium 2 such that each has a career skill that serves as a benchmark for their other skills.

SIR RUDIBALD GREYTHISTLE A secret agent of an organization 'The Rose' which seeks to keep the poor, poor and the new money from getting any wild ideas about their place in the social order. Greythistle takes his role seriously and while open to working with the lowborn, that is what they're good for after all, he has no patience for insults toward the true rulers of the land. Actions/Round: 1 Weapon/Skill/Damage: Dagger/7/1d6+2 Noble Agent: 8 Armour: None Stamina: 18

HIMRIS 'SHANKEAR' An Elf from the streets of Westerlan who came to be known in that city for his skill in duels, aptly demonstrated by him still breathing. Seems utterly cold aside from his enjoyment of music.

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Actions/Round: 1 Weapon/Skill/Damage: Rapier/12/2d6(P) Bravo: 9 Armour: Quilted doublet, 1d3 Stamina: 20

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NADIA The daughter of a Westerlan merchant who just wanted to do something a little more exciting. She uses the social skills of her upbringing to blend in most anywhere and be, well, unremarkable. There is nothing unremarkable about her ability to skulk in the shadows and deliver a quick blade though. Actions/Round: 1 Weapon/Skill/Damage: Short sword/8/1d6+3 Throwing Knife/10/1d6+1 Discreet Agent: 7 Armour: None Stamina: 16 Notes: If she has time to prepare, Nadia will coat her throwing knife with the concentrated venom of a common Westerlan spider. If the blade draws blood, the venom begins to sap the strength of the victim. On their first round after the attack they must pass an endurance roll or suffer a -5 penalty to skills for 1d6 hours. On the second round they must pass an endurance roll or collapse helplessly in a daze to the floor for 1d6 hours. If they pass the second roll, they get a -5 penalty to skills for 1d6 hours but keep their wits about them.

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FRISK Constantly feeling he was in threat by one or another of the powerful crime families of Verminham, Frisk turned to the De Broekers of Westerlan for protection instead, hoping it would help maintain his independence. It has not been a happy marriage but the local families have backed off for now, so maybe it is worth it? All the same, Frisk's not 'loyal', but caught between a rock and a hard place. 1 Actions/Round: Weapon/Skill/Damage: Whatever's on hand Tavern Keeper: 5 Armour: None Stamina: 15

CHEF GOLDBLOOM Has been friends and partners with Frisk since they were both young. Cannot stand the De Broeker arrangement and looks to undermine it. The local families may be crooks and bullies but at least they are local. Actions/Round: 1 Weapon/Skill/Damage: Knife/9/1d6+1 Tavern cook: 8 Armour: None Stamina: 18

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Local toughs, no real skills, and there is always a nose that needs breaking. Actions/Round: 1 Weapon/Skill/Damage: Club/9/1d6-1 -or- Staff/9/1d6 Bit of Muscle: 6 Armour: None Stamina: 18 Notes: If used for town watch, might have small shields and a reinforced skull cap, 1d3 armor.

TERDEGARD DE BROEKER One of the younger sons of the clan looking to make his mark. He doesn't want to make it in Verminham but if this is what it takes, he'll be as ruthless as he needs to be to protect the family's interests, maybe finally get out of this mudhole. Actions/Round: 1 Weapon/Skill/Damage: Arming sword/8/2d6 Petty crimelord: 8 Armour: Quilted Doublet, 1d3 Stamina: 20

LUCKY THE OGRE BODYGUARD Introspective and generally ogreish ogre with a lucky streak and a casual outlook on life. Terdegar keeps him fed and with a roof over his head, and so long as he doesn't expect too much, that's enough.

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KRILLA, HOBGOBLIN TASK MASTER Clever and She tries intact and the scraps

always on the lookout for an 'easy' job. to keep her group alive if not always they follow her loyally for it, and for she can pass on.

Actions/Round: 1 Weapon/Skill/Damage: Battle axe/8/2d6+1 Hobgoblin task master: 5 Armour: Cheap ring shirt, 1d3 Stamina: 16

KRILLA'S GOBLINS Sometimes stevedores and pirates, sometimes gangers for Krilla, do what they need to do.

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Actions/Round: 1 Weapon/Skill/Damage: Club/6/1d6-1 -or- Knife/6/1d6+1 Goblin lackey: 5 Armour: None Stamina: 14

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PIT-TRAINED RATBADGER Type: Monster Actions/Round: 2 Weapon/Skill/Damage: Brutal claws and long teeth/8/1d6+3 Pit-rained ratbadger: 5 Armour: shaggy knotted fur, 1d3 Stamina: 20 Description: The name says it all.

UGEWLD THE DWARF BASSIST People who think Dwarves can't play stand-up bass are in for a surprise. People who are rude to the main act, the Merigold sisters, are in for a bigger surprise. Actions/Round: 1 Weapon/Skill/Damage: Dwarf Flintlock Pistol/8/2d6 Dwarf Busker: 8 Armour: None Stamina: 16

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Red Night in Fair Marenesse

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Introduction

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The adventurers meet with Journeyman Kohler of the Summer Sea Trading Company in an office carved into the chalky limestone walls of the Great Market in Fair Marenesse. Journeyman Kohler has recently taken over the local operation from Master Agris who was murdered (sadly, by Kohler). He claims that a group of 'associates' (that is to say, smugglers) have some of his inventory in Seastead Village to the southeast and are trying to unfairly renegotiate rates after the death of the master, and steal his rightful goods. He needs the adventurers to travel there and recover his inventory, and get it into Fair Marenesse discreetly. Kohler in actuality is a member of a local cult of Red Night, a group of extreme followers who see The Dragon as an aspect of the Red King and who seek renewal through the cleaning magic of fire. Kohler himself is a creature born of fire and destruction, a 'child of the Red Night' as the followers say, and is revered by the local adherents. The goods Kohler wants recovered are bags of pepper that have been mixed with Dragon's Breath (gunpowder). He has secured rights to store goods within the Count's warehouse within Castle Marenesse, one of the few parts of the city that did not burn after the sacking during the war with the Traitor. With the bags of gunpowder pepper unwittingly deposited thus by the adventurers he hopes to start a conflagration that will 'finish the job'. Along the way, the adventurers will have opportunities to learn what is truly going on and have

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a chance to intervene in the plot. If not, Kohler will reveal his plan in the end to the adventurers who will have a final chance to stop or mitigate the damage but will have to face off against Kohler who assumes the form of a being of fire and oily darkness, a creature created in the original burning of the city after the sack.

Setup Perhaps the adventurers are from Fair Marenesse, or have come here looking for work when they find a posting from Kohler looking for adventurous and capable individuals. Or perhaps they even had business with Master Agris - when they found he was murdered they were directed to his former associate, Kohler. For a quick answer (particularly if this is the beginning of a new campaign) how the player characters get involved, roll on the following table.

WHY ARE WE MEETING WITH KOHLER? Roll 1d6... 1. Rumor on the road to Fair Marenesse that a merchant named Kohler was looking for a capable group to reclaim stolen property. 2. The player characters were already on their way to Fair Marenesse to join onto a caravan of Master Agris when they discover he's been murdered and the caravan has been temporarily halted. 3. One of the player characters is related to Master Agris' manservant, Derrick, and heard from

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him about the murder and that one of his journeymen was looking for help recovering property. 4. The player characters have been hired by the Royal Imports Company, which answers to the King's treasury, to investigate any anti-crown activity by the Summer Sea Co. 5. One of the player characters is an apprentice at the Summer Sea Co. 6. Right place at the right time.

Summer Sea Co. Market Office The Great Market in Fair Marenesse is a wonder to behold. It is located within a great arena carved into the gently sloping hills upon which the city rests. The walls of the arena are decorated in fantastic white pillars, alcoves, and chambers that are used as offices by the great merchant companies. The smell of the warm sea air and the lavender fields of the surrounding hills mixes with the great abundance of goods on offer, which includes a dizzying array of foods from vendors cooking up morsels representative of not just The Kingdom but many surrounding lands. A soft white limestone powder which comes from the floor of the carved arena is everywhere, and people who leave at the end of a long day of trading or shopping are easily identified by the residue on their clothes and faces. To guard against the worst of the blazing sun, great fabric banners in bold colors of reds, purples, yellows, and greens are draped from giant poles over the bowl of the arena itself in the summer months. The market below is marked by the shadows of these hues, which combined with the soft white

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dust lends the arena an otherworldly effect appreciated by even the most jaded practitioners of the magical arts.

Much of the goods that are traded within the arena are actually stored in large warehouses closer to the docks, but 'samples' and of course refreshments are openly traded within the arena itself. For larger deals, one goes into the shaded offices in the chambers carved into the arena walls to meet with representatives of the significant merchant companies. One such office is that of the Summer Sea Company once run by former Master Agris but currently under the guiding hand of one of his Journeymen, Kohler. The office is noticeably cooler and quieter than the hustle and bustle of the market floor, almost peaceful. A couple scribes and attendants are also present. The floor is carpeted in designs from some foreign land, and the player characters will be offered rose water to refresh before being invited to meet Journeyman Kohler further inside at a small collection of couches and cushions. Kohler is dressed smartly but not ostentatiously aside from the bold orange and red that make up his general motif of loose clothing. His head is perfectly shaved or perfectly free of hair, it is difficult to ascertain and his eyes are an intense black.

KOHLER'S PITCH Kohler explains that his Master, Agris, was murdered only three days ago (the truth he fails to reveal is that he killed him), and Kohler has had to step in to manage the day to day affairs until arrangements are finalized within the guild to de-

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termine who will become the next local Master. To that end, there's one ongoing deal that has run into an issue, a group of scoundrels (he won't mention that they are smugglers) in Seastead village just down the coast are using Master Agris' death as a pretext to claim that all deals done with him are now null and void. The Company has already paid for goods in their possession, but they are now refusing to turn them over and word is they are even seeking other buyers. Kohler wants the player characters to go to Seastead and recover the goods, two-hundred fists of black pepper (see 'about pepper' below), and bring them back to Fair Marenesse. This all of course should be handled as a matter of discretion; Kohler can present documents to prove the Company's deal with the 'scoundels' signed by their leader, a man named Paulo. Once they have the goods the player characters will meet with Kohler and the bags of black pepper shall be delivered to Castle Marenesse, to be deposited in a warehouse there that he has rented for safe-keeping. Kohler will advance them two gold crowns to cover expenses and the cost of gate inspection (1 gold crown for the pepper), but what they spend will be deducted from their pay upon completion. But, if they were to avoid this 'unnecessary' inspection cost, the adventurers would be entitled to keep half the advance. Kohler is being entirely truthful about the smugglers who are indeed holding out for a better price after the death of Master Agris, and he claims legal rights to what they have. Indeed, this has been a thorn and unexpected complication in his plan after murdering his former Master that he genuinely wants solved. What the final reward is he is offering to the adventurers should be up to the games master

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and the campaign but 1d6+3 silver/head could serve as a useful benchmark. He could perhaps be negotiated up a +1 or with a failure it actually becomes 1d6+2. Kohler will expect the player characters back with the pepper on the third evening from their meeting, or else he will be forced to 'deduct costs from their reward' as rented warehouse space in the castle is quite expensive.

DO THEY NOT ACCEPT KOHLER'S OFFER? The player characters, of course, need not accept Kohler's offer - or even do so immediately. He will likely offer them a lower price if they come back later to accept and he will be looking for other agents to conduct the same job. Assume that after three days another group of rascals have been found and have returned to Far Marenesse with the pepper. That evening the castle will be rocked by an explosion and a new conflagration will begin in its courtyard that may well stretch down to the docks, as Kohler intends, to 'finish the job'. Use this series of events as a guideline for an adventurer group who ends up going down a different path the rest of the structure of this adventure should serve as a robust basis to refer to even if things go well 'off the rails'.

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WHAT ABOUT THE MURDER? If the player characters ask about the murder of Master Agris, Kohler will lie and tell the player characters he knows nothing of it, but he has heard rumors that it was agents of The Rose that did it. A secretive order of the aristocracy that tries and keep a lid on the power and influence of 'new money' in league with Count Tesse, the local ruler and cousin of The King. An Appraise check by one of the player characters (only one should roll as seems appropriate) may indicate that Kohler is being dishonest, though they will not know necessarily about which part.

INVESTIGATION If the player characters decide to spend some time in Far Marenesse investigating either the murder, who Kohler is, or just for general information about their quest, the following categorized 'bits' should be available depending on how they conduct their search, games master discretion, and successful tests. They can also be used by the games master to support an adventure focused on finding out who Journeyman Kohler actually is or who Master Agris' murderer actually was...

ABOUT PEPPER There is a statue of a smartly-dressed Halfling outside of the Summersea Company Offices in the market and player characters may become aware that a couple other merchant offices have similar statues. These depict Truco the Halfling, an uncom-

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monly popular figure among the spice and pepper traders in the city. The Merchant House has it that the price of pepper is set by the fistful and the 'fist'is determined by a mold of the hand of the current mayor of Fair Marenesse. Some rumors persist that the spice and pepper traders have an uncanny habit of voting for the mayoral candidates of the smallest stature. Famously, before the war with the traitor, they once elected a Halfling, Truco, to be the mayor of the city. This sudden spike in the price of pepper caused riots in the capital and led to the King intervening and passing a law that Halflings may no longer hold the office of mayor within Fair Marenesse. This is a situation long pointed to by merchants (and Halflings) as an example of tyranny and oppression. Nobody knows the fate of former mayor Truco except that during the darkest days of the siege of the city during the war, he was smuggled out of the city and is rumoured to have crossed the sea...

ABOUT THE MURDER 1. Journeyman Kohler and Master Agris were both members of the local Red King temple, not unusual among the local merchants who view new deals as new beginnings and new opportunities. 2. Master Agris was stabbed many times, and above his body his wall was scorched with the words, 'The job must be finished'. His body and clothes also had a number of scorch marks. 3. Master Agris will soon be cremated as overseen by the local high priest of the Red King, Novak. Agris' body is being kept in a preparatory vault beneath the temple. The priests realize that the wounds on his body correspond to the

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ritual daggers of the Red King and want to keep that knowledge quiet. They suspect that a local group of extremists were involved but will not speak of this lightly for fear of discrediting their temple. 4. Many of the merchants of the town attribute the killing to agents of The Rose, with which they associate the local Count Tesse. (While the Rose did not conduct this murder, are they right about Tesse?). 5. Agris' body was first found by one of his manservants who went in the morning to dress and

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bathe him. The manservant, Drerick, lives in Agris' townhome near the docks and heard nothing unusual the night of the murder. He is keeping the home until Agris' next of kin arrive to manage the property.

ABOUT KOHLER 1. Kohler has only been working with Agris since a short time after the sacking of the city during the war with the Traitor. Nobody seems to know anything about him before that. 2. Kohler keeps a small, modestly furnished and virtually undecorated apartment near to the Great Market. There is indeed a Red Priest's ceremonial knife inside kept on a wall. 3. Kohler has been dealing in the market, on the side, for a supply of dragon's breath (gunpowder). 4. Kohler and Agris are rumoured to have worked with a gang of smugglers out of Seastead Village. 5. Kohler made the deal to rent space in the Castle Marenesse warehouse the same day Master Agris was murdered. Asking too many questions? Cultists of the Red Night may try to intervene if the adventurers get too interested in the fate of Agris and Kohler's dealings. Perhaps the inn they are staying in mysteriously catches fire one night. Perhaps something more blunt occurs...

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Seastead Village A small fishing village, similarly plastered with white limestone like Fair Marenesse itself, is the better part of a day's hike to the south. There are no roads that connect the two settlements though some old and poorly maintained trails might be found. Most travel between the two takes place by boat. While Seastead village may be primarily a fishing port, it's a pretty well-known secret that a lot of smugglers use it to try and get goods to market without paying tariffs. The village sits in the shadow of Seastead Fort, a sea breeze worn keep that sits up on a hillside overlooking the coast and the village, known for its small and rather 'casual' garrison.

GETTING THERE Getting to Seastead village requires a hike of most of a day or somewhat shorter journey by small boat if the player characters can get access to one. Local fisherman might take them there for a small fee or even loan out a boat. The overland hike will take the adventurers through the rough and hilly seaside country in the shadow of the larger Marenesse range of small eroded peaks to the east. However they choose to go, the games master can use the following tables to add flavor or complication to the journey. Roll a d6 for each table that applies, so use the salt coast waters only if going by boat, and then choose which result feels most appropriate or interesting.

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SCRUB COAST JOURNEY TABLE

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Roll 1d6... 1. The sun beats down on the party relentlessly. Perhaps they look for shade to wait it out? Or maybe look for some water to cool down and replenish their waterskins (perhaps requiring a test of survival)? 2. Passing through some thick bush, one of the player characters has a scorpion drop into their boot. Spot test if they even notice it. If they do notice it, Luck test to see if they get the boot off before they are stung. If stung, Endurance test, on a success lose 1d6 stamina and mild numbness in one leg; on a failure lose 1d6 stamina and partial paralysis in that half of the body for the rest of the day. 3. Players are being tracked by 1d6+2 lean wolves or coyotes. They keep their distance but unless driven off or otherwise distracted, they may turn up as a nasty complication at the worst moment. Use stats for Dire Wolves from Warlock! but with 8 stamina and 1d6 damage. 4. Brambles. The group can try and push through but suffer 1d6 stamina damage and tearing at clothing and gear (test your luck), or test navigate to try and get around and not lose too much time. 5. Vultures circle overhead. Probably leads to some bad spirits at the very least. These birds watch for any opportunity to swoop down and take anything shiny or that resembles food. 6. Seagulls circle ahead. Easily distracted with scraps but very loud and certainly a hindrance to any attempt to be sneaky or eat.

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ARID HILLS JOURNEY TABLE Roll 1d6... 1. Lost, your path took you down one side of a hill into a narrow valley and the scrub forest within, and it is all beginning to look the same. What is the best way out? Test navigate to get out or you'll be wandering quite a while or doing some serious back tracking. 2. Rattlesnake, roll spot for whomever is leading the way. On a failure, the creature strikes in an instant. The struck can test luck to see if the fangs got caught on a boot or some armor, otherwise the character suffers 1d6 stamina damage for 1d3 rounds. Additionally, they'll be feeling weak and sick for the next 1d3 days or until they succeed in a daily endurance test. 3. Rocky cliff face, whether they have to make their way up or down, this is the quickest route

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SALT COAST WATERS JOURNEY TABLE Roll 1d6...

1. Squall. It seemed distant and not much of a worry until it wasn't. This sudden storm is going to test the player character's ability with the boat assuming they even have them. This could test a number of skills from navigation for keeping course, to repair to mend holes and keeping the rigging together with failure perhaps meaning the crashing of the boat on the shore or capsizing or just getting utterly lost in the poor visibility. 2. Overboard! An unexpected wave (was it even a wave?) hits the boat and threatens to send anyone who was not secured overboard. Test luck to determine who was at risk. Those who fail are in the drink and probably have to try and swim for their lives. 3. Sharks. You see them. Not the largest of these creatures you have heard stories of, but you'd prefer not to become their lunch all the same. They seem to be following your boat, just under the water, waiting. 4. Sprung a leak! Something came loose, maybe an old patch, maybe this Thrice-damned craft is just falling apart, but you find you are taking on water! Repair test to improvise a solution or everyone is looking at getting far wetter than they had planned. 5. Rats, every boat has them, and these ones have chewed right through your rations. There is some left, but do you trust it after those disease-ridden vermin have been nibbling away? 6. Goblin Wreckers, they were hidden in a small cove. Typically, they prefer to pick over wrecks

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from careless sailors or unfortunate victims of storms. These ones are impatient and looking to make a wreck themselves. Tattered black sail unfurled, will it be a race or a fight? Use default goblin stats from Warlock!, adjust as feels appropriate, add eyepatches.

Smugglers Paulo's gang is a group of sometimes fishermen, sometimes smugglers that operate out of one of the larger homes in the village. Paulo is seen as a local hero and has been generous sharing around his extra 'proceeds' to help the other villagers even if they compete for the honest catch from the sea. He is also known for offering 'gifts of thanks' to the garrison up at Seastead Fort so they turn a blind eye when the occasional donkey train makes its way into the nearby pass through the Marenesse Range. The home they operate out of is a rather pretty white limestone compound with a central garden compete with tiled pool and citrus trees. The pepper is kept in a cellar accessed from a trapdoor in the northeast section of the building. Paulo has no idea that the pepper he was holding for Master Agris was mixed with dragon's breath (Master Agris did not either, until right before he died) but sees an opportunity with Agris' death to make a new deal. Agents of a rival merchant outfit are on their way to purchase the pepper bags and if the player characters are much delayed in their journey to Seastead, perhaps they are in the middle of making the trade when the player characters arrive? Or maybe they've already gone? Or if the

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player characters have decided to simply steal the pepper for themselves, they may be pursued by this rival outfit.

There are a number of approaches the player characters can take to acquire the pepper. These range from the diplomatic to the sneaky to the smash and grab. Assume there are as many gang members as player characters at all times and maybe a couple more late in the evening after the day's fishing is done. A big conflict may lead to sympathetic villagers intervening on behalf of the smugglers or even the local garrison! See sample stats for the smugglers in the non-player characters section below.

Return to Fair Marenesse After retrieving the pepper/dragon's breath mix in one fashion or another (have they discovered somehow what is actually within?) the player characters will most likely want to return to Fair Marenesse. The games master should feel free to use the above travel tables as is appropriate, particularly if the adventure so far has been relatively straightforward, otherwise perhaps leave the journey to a simple narration. The player characters will also need to decide on their return whether they try or not to smuggle the bags into the city. After that has resolved they will meet with Journeyman Kohler by the drawbridge where he will be awaiting with the paperwork (properly stamped and approved) to get them access to the warehouse.

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CASTLE MARENESSE A sturdy fortification that sits at the mouth of Fair Marenesse's inner harbor. There is a small ship channel between it and a large chain tower where a chain can be used to prevent unfriendly ships from entering the harbor. On the other three sides, a moat has been built using the sea to create an island out of the fortress, only accessible by its main gate and drawbridge. Famously, Castle Marenesse never fell even as the city around it burned amid the sack during the war with the Traitor. The mighty keep that looks over the shining waves and the beautiful city below is the seat of Count Tesse, cousin to the King, and local ruler of the county of Fair Marenesse. The Castle also maintains a warehouse within which it rents out in lots to local merchants who want to keep some goods 'extra secure'.

THE WAREHOUSE Once inside the Warehouse, Kohler will show the player characters where to deposit the bags with the promise of soon arranging their payment. It is at this point that he will take his true form as a creature of burning, oily darkness and attempt to set the bags ablaze. His plan is setting off a conflagration that will engulf the warehouse and hopefully much of the Castle, such that it can burn as did the rest of the city - that horrible event having pulled him in from some other world at the behest of the Red Night. Can they destroy the creature, drive it away, will they prevent the conflagration?

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Conclusion

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This adventure could end in any number of ways from the player characters making off with the pepper down a smuggling trail to the death of the King's cousin in a raging inferno. The interests and causes of the various characters within this scenario should offer a number of hooks for ongoing adventures depending on the choices made by the player characters. Here are a number of prompts to that effect.

WHAT BECAME OF COUNT TESSE? 1. How do the Red Night Cultists within the city react to the destruction of Kohler? 2. Did the blaze begin but the player characters escape somehow? Do they hunt down Kohler? Or are they now the hunted? 3. Do the player characters still get paid by the Company if Kohler is destroyed? Does anyone believe them? Who takes over? 4. Does Truco the Halfling, former mayor, return from over the sea? 5. What became of the rival merchants who were coming to purchase the pepper from the smugglers?

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Non-player characters KOHLER, HUMAN FORM Type: Civilized Actions/round 1 Weapon/skill/damage Dagger/6/1d6+2 Armour None Skill Merchant 6 Stamina 14 Spells Blast, Burn Notes: Unless killed outright, Kohler will transform into his monster form if reduced to half his initial stamina. If killed outright, he will still transform into his monster form but will still be dead, burning quickly into ashes. Kohler does not need scrolls to cast his spells and each only costs him 1 stamina.

KOHLER, FIRE MONSTER FORM Type: Monster Actions/round 2 Weapon/skill/damage Grasping flames/9/1d6+1 Armour Oily black indeterminate form, 1d3 Skill Fire incarnate merchant 6 Stamina 20 Spells Blast, Burn Notes: Normal attacks against Kohler in his fire form should have damage rolled twice with the lowest result applied. Magical attacks deal their normal

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damage and attacks that involve water or extreme cold should be rolled twice with the highest result applied. Additionally, if Kohler deals damage with his grasping flames, the victim must pass a luck test or have their clothing or other appropriate gear catch fire.

PAULO AND THE SMUGGLERS Honest criminals. Everyone needs to earn a crust, after all. Type Civilized Actions/round 1 Weapon/skill/damage Knives, Clubs, Fishing Spears/6/1d6+1 Armour None Skill Enterprising fishermen 6 Stamina 15

RED NIGHT CULTIST Madness and fire, fire and madness. This has got something to do with gods, yes? We're in the right, aren't we? Type Civilized Actions/round 1 Weapon/skill/damage Dagger/9/1d6+2 Armour None Skill Pyromaniac cultist, 8 Stamina 15

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