The Aftermath
EC 1A:
The invitation
This encounter occurs if the characters return to Podunk Village after clearing the temple.
Who would have thought that after all that effort, you would find yourselves right back where you started: Ye Olde Tavern. At least you have some money in your pocket. Perhaps another stranger will come in and start you off on another adventure. At least the children are safe – for now anyway. As you buy yet another round of ale to the cheers of the tavern’s patron, a young man in the livery of the Lord Mayor of Redkeep enters the tavern, walks briskly up to the barkeep, and deposits an envelope on the table. Even before the barkeep picks it up, the stranger quickly leaves the building – as if it were beneath him to be in there. The barkeep picks up the envelope. “It is addressed to [character name]. It has the seal of the Lord Mayor of Redkeep.”
If the character takes the letter and reads it, give them the paper entitled Exhibit A.
Once the character has read the letter, present them with five copies of the Dinner Invite.
EC 1B:
The invitation
This encounter occurs if the characters go on to Redkeep after clearing the temple.
As you approach Redkeep, still a mile out, a crowd of commoners greet you and align themselves to either side of the path as children are reunited with their parents. Great cheers and huzzahs go up from the crowd as this boisterous group escorts you into the town proper. Word of your victory has already gone before you...or foretold.
The crowd practically forces you toward the best tavern off the main square, the Copper Dragon as those around you look to be regaled by the story of your adventure. You are bought round after round of fine drink as the peasants bask in your glory.
Suddenly the crowd parts as a young man and young woman in fine livery make a path to your table for the one that enters between them. He is an older man, forty, dressed in the best clothes of the time and appearing foppish. He doffs his feathered tricorn and bends low before your table in a grand bow. This can be none other than the Lord High Mayor of Redkeep.
Standing up to his full five-foot six-inch height, be speaks.
“Greetings Adventurers, We, Lord Mayor His Most Honorable Reginald Portnoi, hope to find that you are well and rested, not to mention enjoying the spoils of your success. We of Redkeep and the surrounding country cannot thank you enough for rescuing our children and putting an end to the horrific new cult that had been plaguing our citizens.
We would like to formally invite you to dine with us in Redkeep proper two days hence with your companions in arms so that we might honor you as true Heroes of Redkeep. Please, present these invitations at the keep at dusk so that you may be properly presented with full honors.”
Finishing his speech, he flares out the invitations like a hand of cards and places them on the table before you. Without another word, he spins on his heel and quickly leaves the tavern, the two guards right behind him. As the crowd fills back in the gaps, you contemplate the invitations before you.
Present the characters with five copies of the Dinner Invite.
The current date is Moon Day, High Summer 27, 1320. The characters have until dusk two days hence to rest, heal, and resupply. If the characters are in Podunk Village, they will have access to basic supplies from the Player’s Handbook. If the characters are in Redkeep, they will be able to get any supplies from the Players Handbook as well as limited magic. It is either a 1 ½ day walk or a ¾ day ride from Podunk Village to Redkeep.
EC 2:
The Feast
Allow the characters to reach the keep on the hill at the center of Redkeep without issue. If they are on horseback, a stable girl will greet them at the gate and take their horses.
You arrive at the keep on the hill, just after sunset and hand your invitations over to the gate guard. You are escorted past the gate, across the courtyard and down a long hall. Just outside a large set of double doors, you are asked to wait briefly. Just beyond you hear a herald speak with his quite theatrical voice. “Presenting...The heroes of Redkeep!” The doors swing open inward, and you are directed into a large, dining chamber to the sound of thundering applause. The large tables are arranged in a large, inverted U shape. The chairs are filled with various nobles and high-level merchants in their finery. The Lord Mayor sets at the head table surrounded by [# in party] empty chairs. He stands, beckoning you forward. “Welcome, welcome my friends! Please join us in a feast for your honor!” There is more applause as you are escorted to the empty seats that eventually dies away as the attendees begin being served their meals.
If the cult fanatic escaped the temple, he attends the feast. He knows about the upcoming attack (See EC3) and is hoping to work a deal with the Lagartos. He is one of Redkeep’s wealthiest merchants and runs the bank in the financial district. He is looking forward to the demise of Lord Portnoi so he can reestablish his cult.
If any of the characters saw the cult fanatic with his mask off, they can make a (Perception DC10) to notice him amongst the partygoers.
If the cult fanatic never escaped the temple, his role would be taken by his twin brother here in Redkeep.
Feel free to roll play this dinner as much or as little as desired. The mayor does not know much useful information although if the cult fanatic is pointed out to him, he will know the man as the wealthy banker, Edgar De’ Monet. The next encounter will occur one hour into the feast.
EC 3:
The Assassination
You have been enjoying the feast, eating, and drinking better than you have in your entire life. The five members of the wait staff have been doing their job efficiently, despite their strange costumes of motley and domino masks that fit oddly beneath their grey hoods. No one else has taken notice of anything odd about them, so it must be the normal staff. As you watch their oddly mincing steps as they move about the room, refilling drinks and providing dish after dish of fine foods, you begin to suspect that something is off about this crew. Before you can voice your concerns, one of the servers, standing just behind the Lord Mayor, reveals a wicked short sword and plunges it into the unsuspecting man’s side. The room reacts with panic as the other four servers throw off their masks to reveal reptilian visages.
Roll for Initiative
1 Lizard Folk Assassin HP: 78 (MM 343)
XP: 1600 ea.
Treasure:
22 cp ea. - Lizard Folk
200 sp, 80 gp, contract, green dragon scale - Assassin
This should be the party’s introduction to clan Sruxl, the lizard folk that live beneath the rudimentary sewers put in place by the current Lord Mayor to introduce indoor plumbing to Redkeep. This raiding party is made up of four warriors led by the assassin, Qrix Sruxl, brother to the chieftain. The warriors will fight to the death, but if Qrix becomes bloodied, he will attempt to flee through the privy located to the rear of the large keep kitchen.
These lizard folk are quite crocodilian with short arms and legs, but longish bodies, long tails and flat jaws filled with sharp, jagged teeth. They stand an average of 6′-7′ tall. They lived in relative peace until the runoff from the new sewer began to poison their breeding pools far below. They have been working up to this raid for months and are using the distraction of the party to attack.
Assuming the party survives the encounter, whether they can follow Qrix, the trail will eventually lead through the kitchen to the privy.
The contract is a short crude note, written in draconian stating the target: Lord Mayor and the pay: 1000 pp. The green dragon scale is non-magical but is a badge of Sruxl royalty.
EC 4:
The Privy and Beyond
The kitchen is a mess. There are foodstuffs everywhere. There is meat burning in the enormous hearth. There are pots, boiling over. But what catches your eye is the five stripped and partially butchered human forms laying on one of the large prep tables. They are freshly dead. There is a door on the back wall that has been torn from its hinges and beyond lies a dim corridor.
This is the remains of the chef and the cook staff. Keep it ambiguous as to whether human flesh found its way into the evening meal. The crowd will have followed the party to the kitchen, but at the site of the bodies, they will turn, retch, and flee. If the Lord Mayor has survived, he will remain, grim and taciturn, with the party. If asked where the corridor leads, the Lord Mayor will explain the privy. When he talks of the privy, he will wax eloquently at the benefits of indoor plumbing and how it will revolutionize the world. Feel free to go into as much or as little detail here as you wish. A check (Survival DC15) will locate the lizard folk’s trail leading down the hall and to the privy.
The door to the privy is torn from its hinges as well. At first it seems empty, but you see a single, large, thuggish man cowering in the corner. The privy is a notch above the average out house you have been used to. There is a long, ornate bench down the middle of the room. In the bench are five holes covered with brass seats and lids. It would look nice except the center hole has been exploded outward and there is sewage spattered all over the rich décor. In the near distance you can hear running water, which is splashing far below.
The privy was once quite nice, the finest in the land until the assassin and his crew burst through from below, startling the poor bodyguard (thug) who was using the facilities at the time. If he is treated kindly, he will offer to join the adventurers in their hunt for the assassin. He did see the lizardman disappear down the center hole.
1 Thug HP: 28 (MM 204)
XP: 100
Treasure: N/A
The hole that was once part of the privy drainage system is 3′ in diameter and goes down into darkness 100′ below. It reeks of the expected smells, but a source of fresh water is coming from both sides and pouring into the hole. This water is from a natural spring and cannot be effectively blocked off. The lizard men have left behind a makeshift ladder of rough hand holds carved into the rock of the side of the vertical tunnel. Anyone climbing down the hole will have a 5% cumulative chance of falling for every 10′ they descend. Check every 10′. Anyone that falls will suffer 1d6 dmg per 10′ fallen. The bottom of the ladder ends 10′ above S1.
For those who succeed without falling:
You climb down in the dark, a torch and even a lantern is impossible to keep lit with the water pouring down on top of you. The hand holds are ample, but rough and made from hands with a far different bone structure than your own. Even dark vision is a confusion of pouring water and the bodies of your comrades above and below. You manage to persevere, and eventually reach the end of the handholds. Your feet dangle over empty air.
For those who fall:
The water sweeps you off the handholds banging you against the walls before you briefly free fall and then splash into running water below. Before you regain your feet, you drift with the easy current (2d6) feet away from the drop zone. Makes a (DC 10) acrobatics check in order to regain your footing. All around you is darkness.
For each failed check, the character drifts an additional 2d6 to the east.
