Echoes of Desmodus

430SuEcDe

The party makes for the barracks to look for information, or provide what they have seen to claim the reward. As they wait for their turn they witness a determined guard Captain, Kat, as she walks out after questioning a familiar face, Jayce Stonecliff, who they have heard performing at the inn they were staying at, the Mullberry Inn. “Thanks for your information, we will consider looking for these short-folk or children when searching for these wretches. Don’t leave Desmodus so I can come find you… If I have further questions that is” Katiana blurted out. 

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Captain Katiana hires the party to help her find those responsible for the destruction of the ancient ruins. She gets them listening to people performing at Inns across the town to see if they recognise anyone and particularly looking out for gnomes, halfling or children who are performing. They search late into the night and are offered free lodgings in the Blue Juniper, a fancy inn which is known for its food and customer service. In the morning they hear the ear splitting crack as something hard, heavy and likely huge hits the ground nearby.

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As the party struck down another  husk zombie fell to the ground a vortex of magic appeared above where the inn would have been. A orb of magical energy formed as debris from the inn and the tower to Selune flew to form a shell around it. Within heartbeats a form started to take shape as both fallen bodies and the still moving forms of the undead that had been brought to life from the magic also joined the debris.The swelled until it was a glowing chaotic red-purple within the centre of the undead construct which began to lumber forward. Each step sent shockwaves out towards those standing against it and caused tiles from nearby roofs to fall down upon those still foolish enough to be standing on the streets.

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PDF adventure – Echoes of Desmodus

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The Lost Vault

429SuLoVa

Midfern keep was a sight to see as the wagon that the party rode on with the others crossed over the crest of a hill. The keep was surrounded by sundered mountains that rose like jagged teeth from the earth itself. Several rivers ran through the ravine that these pillars of rock created. The keep was bustling as they approached and it looked like one building had been repaired and housed most of the workers currently. 

The keep would have been majestic in its prime and even now they could only wonder why the elves had left it in the first place. Surely the stories of the great evil being locked within its walls were just that, stories.

The wagon stopped in front of the restored hall and a rough looking mercenary strode towards them. “Weclome, you can call me Carben and I work for Marcell and run this operation here.” he spoke with a commanding voice that spoke of years in the military. “For those who are new, if you’re here as a mercenary you work under me. You do what I say and we all walk away richer and with all our limbs intact. For those who are here with no experience with a sword, you also take orders for me but Marcell will direct you where to go. Listen to us, follow the rules and we all walk away richer. Any questions?”

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Marcell looked up from her book at the new recruits walking towards her. “Welcome to Midfern Keep. We have one job here, for those who can manage a blade you are in charge of ensuring the safety of every single person here. We have already encountered a few hostiles in the area who want to contest our claim and I have an inkling that there will be defences other than traps that guard the main vault.” She paused looking at the obvious non-warriors.

“Speaking of traps, for those who are proficient in locating and disarming traps you are up now. We have found the entrance to the next room and I suspect that like the last few rooms it is trapped.” she paused. “For everyone else, you move rubble and call out if you find anything. Work in teams with an assigned guard and expert. Work smart not hard ladies and gentlemen as beyond the gate to the final vault are riches that will make kings and queens blush. If you find something, send someone to get me, Marcell, and I will be there to decide the next step forward. Understood?” Carben saluted her which caused a ripple of salutes from several others amongst the party.

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PDF adventure – The Lost Vault

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The Chilled Well

428SuChWe

As the parties look for work in the village of Briss they stare at the nearly empty job board and try to avoid the one request for aid that is left on it. “Adventurers wanted to remove rat infestation in the general store’s basement. Ten gold pieces as payment.- See Abagail Piebald.”

It hadn’t been long since their last job so they could afford to be picky but the caravan out of here would cost them nearly ten gold pieces and there wasn’t much going on in this village. 

As they reached for the job a panting messenger ran to the board, muttering “pardon, ‘scuse me.” before he impaled a small square of paper upon a nail on the board.

“Wanted. Adventurers and warriors to explore a mysterious cave discovered at the Sylphare Quarry. Harry Sylphare, head to the Sylphare masons company, to provide a generous reward if the cave can be made safe enough for the quarry to resume business. Promptness awarded with a portion of payment in advance.- Harry Sylphare.”

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The party find themselves standing in a low ceilinged chamber where a constant drip could be heard. It was near freezing within the chamber and every breath they took created a cloud of steam. A faint blue light could be seen in the darkness of the cavern, a large throne glowed as dozens of runes and sigils of binding, warding and protection fizzled and winked as if the magic that sustained them was waning. In the faint blue light, and the light they carried with them, they could make out the scraps of miners’ uniforms on the ground near the throne along with dozens of other bones. 

The light caught on pools of water which flickered and moved as if they themselves were alive. As they waited a skull fell over near the altar-like throne and rolled slowly away from it before sinking beneath the surface of a dark and cold pool of water. However several bones started to shift, vibrate and move as they floated slowly to the air, the lights from the runes and sigils winked out of existence all at once and the bones started to form the rough shape of a creature. Cold mist wrapped around the bones revealing a creature half made of shadow-mist with the bones of its victims giving its form substance. A presence in their mind, beckoning them to join it by the altar touched their mind. A whisper, a promise of power and salvation from the cruelty of the world. 

Blue light from the altar’s carved runes and sigils burst forth and the energy caused the creature’s form to waver, the bone falling to the ground as it sank lower. The presence instantly disappears. But as the bones clattered to the cold stone the creature disappeared, sinking into shadow and only the rippled, rustled and clatter of moving bones and rocks indicated where the creature was as it stalked its new prey.

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PDF adventure – The Chilled Well

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Witches of Kilderken

427SuWiKi

The party moved alongside the Kilderken forest on the way to the port city of Palau. As they marvelled at how the sun was defying the darkness of the woods nearby they heard a woman crying nearby. Locating the distressed forager they quickly learnt that the woman’s daughters had been taken recently by a group of men who lived in the woods. Jaeden, the woman, had tried to find her daughters, Cassandra and Taylor but her searches had been unfruitful as the men had prevented her from reaching where they had kept her daughters chained.

She requests for the party to free her and offers not much in the way of a reward except for anything within her power to grant them if they are able to help her.

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The party finds that the woods are filled with signs of dark magic with runes carved into trees. Feathers, bones of forest creatures and even organs were tied together with twine in ghastly fetishes that caused the adventurers skin to crawl. 

Several times they felt as if they were being watched however, they could not see any cause for such a feeling except for a whisper of a voice in the breeze or the sound of a distant calling animal. The few animals they did see looked deranged and feral. Several of them attacked the party after a few moments of encountering them and with slavering jaws the bit ferociously at the party and only the release of death stopped their madness.

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The party could see lights ahead through the dimness of post-dusk and the forest here was more alive than the part they had trekked through. Birds roosting in trees and small creatures moved through the woods and fled from the party instead of attacking on sight like the animals they had encountered earlier that day.

The lights turned out to be a camp or sorts with some patchwork tents grouped together around a large campfire where a few small game animals were already roasting. A stream ran nearby which the party saw a few men and women patrolling near as they gathered buckets of water and refilled water skins. A tent stood apart from the others and it looked in worse repair with great rips, cuts and slashes upon the canvas surface. However, the party could see glinting in the light a post had been erected inside the tent with two figures chained to it with dark metals. Their hands bound together and their mouths gagged they watched as the armed men and woman moved around the camp.

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PDF adventure – Witches of Kilderken

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Garkthunks Amber

426SuGaAm

Borfook organised speedy transport to the ruins of a human village a few days out of the city. On the way he explains his plans, why he knows that the village is important and while gloating he managed to insult just about everyone including the driver of the wagon he had organised to carry them this far. The driver takes the comments on the chin well and discusses how there must be a lot of sight-seers heading towards the old ruins. “There’s at least a dozen sets of horse tracks heading up towards the ruins.”

“Bah, no one would come here. I’m surprised humans are the dominant species considering specimens like this exist” the gnome scholar laughed at his own malicious joke. However when the wagon stopped and the gnome was thrown out with his hirelings the outcome was clear. They would have to walk the rest of the way to the ruins.

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As they move from one rock to the next the party notices occasional ripples in the water as if large fish are breaching the surface. However as they get closer to the vault they begin to see that it’s not a school of fish but in fact a rather large singular creature. The closer they get to the vault the quicker it swims with Borfook calling out from dozens of feet behind them “That would be the Guardian. Once you defeat it we can claim our rewards and return home legends!”. 

The water is very deep with the lake floor unable to be seen through the water, but it could be twenty feet deep at points. As they near the vault the guardian emerges from the water, placing itself between the party and the vault door. A six legged lizard constructed in dark black, glistening stone and bright orange amber watches them with intelligent eyes. A construct, a golem that was likely created by Garthunk to ensure that his powerful artefact was never used again. It rushes towards them, bounding across the stone platforms before diving under the water to attack them in much as a beast that was constructed to guard a water-bound vault would.

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PDF adventure – Garthunks Amber

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Shemet Forest Ablaze

424SuShFoAb

The party had not exactly chosen the path through Shemet forest as their first path however the roads that they had intended to travel across had become inoperable with a bridge collapsing that linked the two parts of the road together.
The more direct path to their destination was over the mountains, and despite not being recommended for commoners and merchants for an adventuring party it was more than suitable.
By the end of the first day into their travel they had made good progress and had found a place to set up camp.

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The adventurers raced towards the mountain peak as their efforts to prevent the elementals in hindering their advancement to their dark master were rewarded with a clear path towards the peak. The thunderous dark voice resonated down the mountain. A roar of rage or excitement came down from the mountain peak which immediately caused several of the small elementals that had been harassing the party ceased feebly attacking them and starting to create more fires in the trees, bushes and fallen vegetation. As they scrambled up the rocky path a surge of air raced towards the peak as a maelstrom of fire gathered at the peak. A cry of pain and despair rang out as the heat got intense. After a few moments of hugging the cold stone of a rocky overhang the torrent of fire simply ceased.

A dark voice boomed out once more “It is no use hiding. I will find you and burn you to a crisp like the dogs you are!” It took a few moments for the party to realise that the elementals in the forest had disappeared, Fires still raged and the smoke that was billowing into the sky was causing gusts of hot wind and ash to rain upon the party. The sound of crashing timber came from above them as a tree thundered down the slope. They would have to make it to the top to stop the mage from burning the forest down around them and so the last dash up to the peak was all that was between them and the source of the elemental fire.

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PDF adventure – Shemet Forest Ablaze

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The Caverns of Lithia

423SuCaLi

After the final death throes of the monstrous spider the lights that shimmered at the end of the hallway caught the parties attention once more as the light sparkled on the wall. As they crept up the hallway and looked for the source of the light a magnificent cavern that glowed from crystals that burned with an inner light was before them. On the ground in small piles was mounds of gemstones, gold coins and other treasure that was heaped near rocky outcrops. However they also spied several creatures crawling across the walls, ceiling and walking along the floor as they dragged creatures wrapped in spider webs to a large central pillar; altar in which something was to feast upon. Several creatures looked up towards the hallway and started to move towards where the party was hidden amongst the rocky outlines of the wall.

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PDF adventure – The Caverns of Lithia

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A Royal Request

422SuRoRe

The party watches as the royals walk through the crowd of people as part of their birthday celebrations. The royal twins hand out a GP to each person they meet on the street until screams draw them away from their festivities. The shadow of a large creature crosses over the street as a set of dark green wings flash above them. A large wyvern with plates of armour lands on the side of a few buildings, the claws on its wings hooking onto the roof as its large clawed legs bite into the wooden wall. The wyvern whips its head around and snarls towards the royal twins and their processions, snapping at someone as they attempt to run away from the creature, gobbling them up whole as guard rush to get between the creature and the royals.

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PDF adventure – A Royal Request

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To Wellford’s Defence

421SuWeDe

The city has been unknowingly poisoned by an expensive imported wine. The wine’s fruit when interacting with the wood in the barrels causes a near-permanent zombie-like stupor which can be cured with the right herbs. The wine is too expensive for many to afford so many(most) children and the poor can not afford the wine – so they are not affected!

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PDF adventure – To Wellfords Defence

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The Haunting of Market Street

420SuHaMaSt

Apparitions bay for justice as they hunt down the criminals of the City of Traves, however now all ghasts, ghouls and ghosts are evil. Something foul has happened to the champion of the city and the party are here to find out who and right the wrongs that were done .

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PDF adventure – The Haunting of Market Street

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