A Race for Retribution Part III

By Jeff Colledge A Race for Retribution Part III is an adventure designed for a party of 3rd to 4th level characters. It is the third of a four part series of adventures spanning character levels 1-5. The characters will be asked to escort a towns notable to a neighboring village. While routine enou gh, the party will be asked to uncover a spy and an assassin as well as the people using such foul characters.

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Table of Contents

Adventure Background . . . . . 3Adventure Summary . . . . . . 5Running the Adventure . . . . . 5Day 1 . . . . . . . . . 8Day 2 . . . . . . . . . 8Day 3 . . . . . . . . . 9Day 4 . . . . . . . . . 10Day 5 . . . . . . . . . 11Day 6 . . . . . . . . . 14Day 7 . . . . . . . . . 16Day 8 . . . . . . . . . 17Day 9 . . . . . . . . . 21Day 10 . . . . . . . . . 21Day 11 . . . . . . . . . 22Day 12 . . . . . . . . . 23Day 13 . . . . . . . . . 24Concluding the Adventure . . . . 25Spy Investigation. . . . . . . 26Murder Investigation . . . . . 29Wandering Monsters . . . . . 33Town Encounters . . . . . . 34Rumor Tables . . . . . . . 35Player Handout . . . . . . . 37Maps (color) . . . . . . . . 38Maps (Black and White) . . . . . 40Legal Stuff . . . . . . . . 42CreditsAuthor: Jeff ColledgeEditor: Laura OlshakCartography: Jeff ColledgeArtwork: Janice Knapp, Dan BaikPlaytesters: James "SPARKY" Sparling, Jimi Braun, Shannon Sparling, Michelle Braun, Jeremy Schrage,

and Teresa SeennaSpecial Thanks: Dungeon Crafter, Eric Noah, EN World

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Adventure BackgroundGods, has it been four years already?

I was serving Stahl as a guard under the tutelageof a half-elf named Alynian. He introduced me toLaender, who was working as his second incommand at the time. Impressed by my skill witha blade, Laender started courting me.Eventually we were wed and life was truly joyousfor me. Over the following year, I came torealize there was a darker side to my newhusband, one that could eventually destroy himand all that we have worked for. However, therewas no solid evidence of it, just odd looks,chance comments and the occasional act thatgave me a hint to what lay below the surface ofmy mate. So, I dismissed my misgivings as alack of total understanding of my husband andthought of them no further.

Laender started talking about organizing a raidto the south of Stahl to push the orcs back fromour farmlands. At first, it seemed like a goodidea and he had won support from Zeliik, whom Irespected a great deal. So I encouraged thisforay into orcish lands and helped Laenderorganize our party. We were able to recruit anelvish rogue named Ryn, perhaps youve methim? We also recruited a dear dwarf whodevoted his life and death to glory of the god ofthe sun. Horace was that kind souls name.

We set forth from Stahl with noble intentions andhigh hearts. Quickly we were able to make strikeafter strike upon various key orcish camps andbases. Catching them unaware, our party wasable to inflict heavy losses upon the orcs, muchto Laenders joy. We all felt pride at oursuccesses and continued south, seeking to pushthe orcs back. It seemed that the gods smiledupon our efforts and we felt invincible. Isuppose it is common for such feelings to beexperienced before a down fall.

Eventually we were able to locate an orcishvillage some three days travel from Stahl, whereLaendersburg now stands. It was here that thosedark tides that run in his blood started tomanifest themselves in open view. We took stockof the villages defenses and laid our plans forthe assault the next day. It was high noon whenwe struck out against the orcish settlement.

Their defenders fell quickly to our blades andmagics, while the orcish women and childrenfled screaming. In the midst of the battle, I sawmy husband delivering death to the orcs beforehim with a maniacal grin that gave me chills.He laid about him such waste as to make methink I had died and woke in one of the burninghells. I shiver even now recalling that look hewore upon his visage.

The orcish defense was shattered and we weredealing mercifully to the wounded when I heardRyn call out Laenders name. When I looked up,there was my husband, standing over the body ofan orcish matron and raising his blade to slay aterrified orcish child. Whether it was a motherlyinstinct that woke up within me, or the sheerhorror of the act that was about to occur, I dontrecall. But I called out my husbands name insuch a tone as Ive never used before. It was onethat spoke of highly unpleasant, bloody thingsthat would occur to Laender should he continuewith his strike. It was as if my voice was a bellthat awoke him from some dark dream, for heblinked a few times before lowering his swordand turning my direction. The child ran for itslife while my husband looked on me with asheepish expression as if he were just caughtstealing pies from the bakers window sill. I hadrealized at that point that some demon stirredwithin my mate and my love. The blood furybrought on by the battle had woke it from itsslumber.

That night we took stock of our accomplishmentsand the others voiced a desire to return to Stahlfor a well earned rest. Laender, with a distantlook about him, would grant their request noaudience, as he instead spoke of finishing off thetribes. He cajoled, commanded and coercedthem into accepting his plan to strike out to thewest at the orcish hall that was only a day away.I was troubled by this continued assualt upon theorcs but his plan made military sense. Break theback of the enemy so they may not be able toreturn at a later date. So I held my tongue andslept a restless slumber that eve.

The next morning we set out. I noticed thatHorace had a haunted look about him, but Ifigured that he also had a poor night. I supposeI should have asked the dwarf what gave him

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such a troubled soul that morning, yet I keptsilent. May that gentle dwarf forgive me for myhesitation, for when we arrived at the hall, Icaught a glimpse of fear upon that beardedpriests face that Ive never seen ere thatmoment. It was as if he had spied some darkbeing that would devour us all within thefoundation of that hall. The look quickly passedas we made our preparations and the dwarfsboisterous spirit returned once more.

We fell upon the hall likefiends loosened by amaelstrom of the gods.Orc after orc fell to ourblades and magics. Wedrove them back before uslike chaff in the wind.However, our fatigue fromthe continuous fighting upto this point started to takea toll. I made a noviceerror when dealing with anorc and paid dearly for it.That beasts battleaxealmost split me in twain. Ifit hadnt been for Horacestimely healing touch, Iwould have passed fromthis world quickly. Whilehis gods magic wasstrong, it wasnt enough toerase the woundcompletely. Horace knewthe pain I felt but he followed my lead and keptsilent about it in front of Laender. I wished notto risk the success of the mission, you see, and sowe continued.

Eventually we found a dark shrine deep withinthe bowels of that cursed place and it was herethat my concerns were given the substance thatno nightmare should ever have. This shrine waswhere the three tribes took a final stand againstus. And while we were in no condition to engagethe forces there, Laender screamed, foaming atthe mouth, and charged in with his blade raised.We could only follow my husband, knowing thatit would be the only chance for us to leave thatplace alive.

During the bloody battle, we were able to escorttwo of the tribal leaders into deaths realm, butour party also shared some of the losses. Mywound was hindering me and eventually anotherorc split open my side with a deft blow. Icollapsed to the floor, crying out in pain as Ryntook on a blood lust and dealt death all aroundhim as he tried to reach me. However, thenumbers were too great and he too fell to anorcish blade that sought to disembowel him. I

was able to make may wayover to the prone rogue andtried to stop the bleeding.

During this time, Laendercalled out for Horace to aidus while he and Zeliikattempted to hold back theadvancing orcs. I looked upto see Horace movingtowards us, but an orc hadmoved behind him andraised his battleaxe to strike.My voice wouldnt work,and I could only watch thatblade come down and crushthe skull of that gentledwarf. He was deadbefore he hit thefloor.

Laender was able to breakaway from the fighting,gathered Ryn up and helped

me to my feet. He called out for Zeliik to unleashwhatever mighty magics he had left and to quitthe place with all haste. That sorcerer deftly fellback and drew forth an ancient scroll, fromwhich he read. I know not what hell heunleashed upon those poor orcs as we fledwithout looking back, but the screams of terrorand the sound of stones grinding bones to dustfilled my ears driving me to new speeds.

When we finally made it back to the woods, welooked about. Zelii and Laender were covered inblood but still pretty much in one piece. Ryn layunconscious but writhing in pain and I was oflittle use to anyone. Horace, that gentle cleric ofPelor, was lost within the cloud of dust thatcovered the newly created ruins of the orcishhall. Zeliik stated that the earth decided to

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swallow the hall and all who were still within,and he suggested that we make our way back tothe village so we might rest in a safer area.

Well, the rest is history. The mayor of Stahl sentLaender his thanks, gold, and a few settlers tohelp start a new town at that village.Unfortunately, the hatred my husband has fororcs didnt subside and he chased away may agood soul, simply due to the fact they had ashred of orcish blood in their veins. I fear it isfor this very reason we are now under assault bythe orcs who have come for justice andretribution against those who did wrong to themso long ago.

Aislyn, Guard of Laendersburg

Adventure SummaryThis is the third installment to the series of fouradventures. The first was a raid into a small cavebeing used by a 2nd level half-orc cleric of thegod of destruction (Cabraah, an underling ofDegarn) as a base of operations. He wasinstructed to raid caravans running betweenLaendersburg and Stahl. Degarn hoped to disruptLaendersburgs only supply line. This wouldhave weakened the town somewhat, making iteasier for Degarn to invade it later on. However,Cabraah was defeated by the party, or anothergroup of adventures. Degarn, having learned ofhis followers fate, has stepped up his planswhich lead to Part II.

The second chapter of the series was the partys(or another groups) first-run in with Degarn.They were to find out what was occurring at theruins of the orcish hall. Here, they will havefound that Degarn had already started exploringthe ruins with a band of orcs. They eventuallymet up with Degarn, who had located andpossessed the inert amulet, the Heart of Grakis.After finding a ghostly ally and a hard three-wayfight, the party defeated the orcs but Degarnescaped with the amulet. This is what leads toPart III

The third adventure occurs in Stahl andLaendersburg and is more of a City adventure.Degarn, realizing the threat the party poses to hisplans, hires an assassin (Ryn) to eliminate them,

as well as Laender and Aislyn. The party will beasked by Laender to escort Aislyn to Stahl toseek an audience with the Mayor of Stahl forrequesting aid against the orcs. While there, theywill find out that the orcs have a spy in Stahl(Djamal) who is working closely with an ambushparty being lead by the chieftain of the ChosenOnes just outside of town. The party will learnof Laenders death and will head back toLaendersburg with Aislyn to investigate this aswell. At this point they will finally confront thetraitorous rogue, Ryn.

The final adventure occurs with the partyinfiltrating Degarns small outpost to the west ofLaendersburg and defeating him before theorcish tribes gather and Degarn activates thepower within the sleeping amulet. This isimportant, as the amulet will strengthen any orcsand half-orcs within a certain radius ifsuccessfully activated by Degarn.

Running the AdventureEach part in this series is designed to becompleted in roughly 4 hours of playtime. Theyall require minimal DM preparation thusallowing the DM to drop it into play on amoments notice. It is still recommended theDM read through all 4 parts in their entirety sohe will be familiar with the details of the storyline. If the DM is going to use the entire seriesthen some additional steps should be taken toprovide some continuity for the players.

1) Space the parts of the series out. These partswere not written to be run one right after theother. It is assumed the DM will run thePCs through other adventures in betweeneach part. This is important as the first partis written for 1st level characters but doesntprovide enough experience for them to reachthe necessary level for the second part,which doesnt provide enough experiencefor them to reach the third part and so on. Arecommend way to handle this is to havethis series run every other adventure orsession, for example:

Tonight A Race for RetributionPart I

Week 2 They explore the kobold cavesWeek 3 A Race for Retribution

Part II

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Week 4 PCs deal with restless dead intowns grave yard

Week 5 A Race for RetributionPart III

Etc.This will provide the PCs a chance to gainenough experience to handle each part andwill give the DM an overall idea as to wherethe PCs will be going next.

2) Use the provided rumor tables to establishcontinuity. Each part of this series hasrumor tables in the appendix. It is assumedthat while the PCs are completing thecurrent part, Degarn is working toward hisown ends. Information should filter intoStahl and Laendersburg reflecting thechanges within the surrounding countryside.This is important for the players, as eachpart is designed to push them to their limitsin tactics and role-playing. They shouldhave a chance to get information that mightprovide them an edge in the coming part ofthe series. This also will give the PCs afeeling of continuity of the story line, asthey normally wont be completing one partright after the other.

3) Finally, know your players. If they areinexperienced, help them along withsuggestions on how to use skills and tactics,as these adventures will prove extremelydifficult otherwise. Pay attention to thesuggestions given at certain critical areas onhow to adjust the monsters tactics if thePCs are struggling. These adventures werewritten to provide a strong challenge forexperienced players, and play testing hasshown, after each part, the PCs werevictorious but severely beat down.Fortunately, after completing each part theywill be able to rest and restock spells andsupplies.

Making It Stand AloneTo adjust Part III to be standalone, the DM canhave Aislyn as the focus of all of Degarnstactics. The party will just happen to be hired byLaender to act as her bodyguards and experiencethe events as they unfold. While it isntnecessary for the party to eventually confrontDegarn as detailed in Part IV, the DM could use

their foiling him as a potential hook for otheradventures where he might show up.

Scaling the AdventureWhile written for a mix of 3nd to 4rd levelcharacters, this adventure could easily provechallenging for a fully 5rd level party.

To use this adventure for 1st and 2nd levelcharacters, the DM should remove one ogre fromthe ambush and reduce Margrak down to a 2ndlevel cleric, adjusting his spells, HP, Attackmodifier and CR rating as appropriate. Rynshould also be reduced to 4th level, adjusting hisHP, Attack modifier and CR rating asappropriate.

To use this adventure for 6th and 7th levelcharacters, the DM should add a 3rd ogre to theambush, Margrak should become a 6th levelcleric with the DM choosing Magic Vestment ashis 3rd level domain spell and his other 3rd levelspells should consist of Bestow Curse,Invisibility Purge, Prayer, or Summon MonsterIII. Ryn should also become an 9th level rogue.The DM should adjust the HP, Attack modifierand CR ratings for these two NPCs asappropriate.

Adventure HooksThe rumor tables should help the DM providesome continuity of the story line if he is using ARace for Retribution Parts I and II. Otherwise,the following hooks could be used.

- The players over-hear someone stating thatthe mayor of Lanedersburg is looking for agroup to protect something very valuable.

- A cleric of the god of justice (PC or NPCcoming to the group) receives a dream fromhis god. The divine image reveals thatjustice will be delivered in Laendersburg,but someone must go there to insure thatonly the appropriate parties are punished.

- If the party is simply passing through atown, have Ryn approach them as detailedunder Day 1.

DM NotesThis series addresses complex issues of right andwrong. Laender is a just and likable fellow whohas an unhealthy hatred for orcs. Degarn, whose

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domains under the god of justice wereDestruction and Law, has received those samedomains under the god of destruction. Hestrongly believes in maintaining Law but wantsto destroy any he deems as in the wrong. Thus,you might find certain characters sympathetic toLaender (rangers whose favored enemies areorcs, any character with bad experience withorcs, etc) and others with Degarn (possiblyPaladins could understand his desire to punishthe unjust Laender, possibly clerics of the god ofjustice who feel retribution is in order against thetowns racist attitudes, etc). Finally, when thecharacters experience the Laendersburgs racismfirst hand (especially if there is a half-orc in theparty) they might have problems feeling like theyare doing the right thing in saving the town, or atleast protecting the wife of the person whocreated that racism.

As a DM you know that they will start a changein the towns attitudes if they follow through theentire series of adventures, or at the very leastkeep Aislyn alive to take over as Laendersburgsleader. However, until that point, you will needto be able to role-play the town and others insuch a manor to motivate the characters toultimately do the right thing. This could be achallenge and some suggestions will be providedto this end through out the adventure.

It should be stated that the author, in no waycondones discrimination by race, religion,gender, or any other measurement.

Handout 1A suggestion for handout 1, is to soak regularpaper in a pan of tea for 12-18 hours. Then let itdry. The paper will take on an old parchmentlook and feel. It should still be able to runthrough most printers allowing you to inscribeDjamals letter to Margrak on something a bitmore interesting than white printer paper.

Day 1Read the party the following as they enter intoLaendersburg:

The sun shines brightly as you pass through thewooden gates of Laendersburg. The smallhamlet seems to thrive with energy, yet there is a

nervous undertone. People seem to jump at theslightest sound, conversations are short andsmiles are few. Even the children playing in theroad seem subdued. In short, Laendersburgseems to be a town bracing for a storm that iscoming.

A soft voice disturbs you from your thoughts, asa male elf with dark flowing amber hair hailsyou. You seem to be just the folk that Laender islooking for. Get yourselves south to his houseand present yourselves to him.

The elf is Ryn (see the details under TownInformation Landersburg for moreinformation). If hes met the party before, or ifthey have done Parts I and II, hell give them allan appraising glance, as if he was judging theirskills for future reference, which could benoticed with a Sense Motive check (DC 18). Ifhe is asked why Laender wants to see the PCs,hell just shrug and say that Laender does whathe wants, with a bitter tone. Ryn will say littlemore on the matter and will indicate he has somebusiness in Stahl, at which point hell leave vianorth gate at a slow jog. If none of the PCs statethey are watching him go, have them make aSpot check (DC 25). If they are successful, theynotice Ryn jog north about 200 yards and thenstart to angle to the west, eventually leaving theroad entirely. Ryn is headed to Degarns base,responding to a message he received earlier inthe week.

When the party eventually reaches Laendershouse, read the following:

The wooden and stone house that stands beforeyou seems to be well kept. A small spirit of greysmoke escapes the chimney only to be disbursedby the warm wind. When you step up to knockon the door, a pretty woman opens it prior toyour rapping. Surprised to see you standingthere, she gives you a quick once over beforesaying, Welcome and come in. My husband isin need of your services.

The woman is Aislyn and if the party has met herbefore she will recognize them and greet each ofthem by name. Shell usher the party into asomewhat formal sitting area (see the map ofLaenders House for more details), where

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Laender is already present. There are enoughchairs for everyone but Aislyn who prefers tostand. When the party enters, Laender will riseand shake each of their hands, except any half-orc or orcish character. If they have met Laenderbefore hell inquire as to what grand adventurestheyve been on of late, before getting down to

business, at which point read the following:

As you probably have noticed, starts Laender,our town has a bit of an orc problem. It seemsthat my wife and I didnt eradicate that filthyrace from these parts well enough four yearsago. Now the three tribes, the Bloodfiends, theBone Crushers, and their shamans, the ChosenOnes are gathering once more somewhere to thewest. We fear that they will be launching anassault against Laendersburg within the nextmonth or two. It is for this reason I have askedyou to come here. Aislyn is going to be travelingnorth to Stahl to make Theonius, the mayor ofthat town, aware of the orcish threat and torequest aid for our town. I ask that youaccompany her to keep her safe as weve no menat arms to spare and I need to remain here to

prepare for the coming war. What say you, willyou accept this charge?

During his speech, Laender will almost spit theword orc each time he comes to it, regardlessof any PCs with orcish heritage. Aislyn willwince and noticeably show her discomfort at theopen hatred her husband has for the orcish raceduring his speech. She will quickly move toquell any tempers that may flare and work togain the cooperation of the party. Laender willpay each PC 25gp now and 25gp when theyreturn with his wife in one piece. Hell do thisfor a half-orc or orcish character only after hiswife berates him for perhaps risking her safetyby not paying the character. After the PCsaccept, Aislyn will give each PC their share ofgold, privately apologize to any half-orc ororcish character, and tell the party to meet her atthe north gate first thing in the morning. ThePCs will have the rest of the day free.

If the PCs mention that Ryn was seen goingwest, Laender will seem rather troubled by this,as he has begun to hold Ryns loyalty suspect,but he wont know why Ryn was going west.However, Laender will say nothing about hisconcerns in front of his wife, who still feels adebt to Ryn for his heroic effort to save her lifefour years ago.

Day 1 Action SummaryParty Arrive at Laendersburgh, contactLaender and accept his job to escort Aislyn toStahl. See Rumor Tables or Town Informationfor other potential interactions that may occurduring this day.Ryn Leaves Laendersburg and spends the daytraveling, finally reaching Degarns base to thewest this night.Margrak Is currently at Degarns baseawaiting orders from Degarn.Djamal It is business as usual for him (SeeTown Information for details on Djamal)

Day 2As the PCs make their way to the north gate,read the following:

The false dawn is yielding up its territory to theinvading rays of the sun, which is rising up out

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of its earthen bed. A few songbirds can be heardsharing their joy, as you moving along the mainthoroughfare to the north gate. As you reach theclosed wooden barrier, you see Aislyn garbed ina well-worn breastplate and a travelers cloak.Her large steel shield slung over her shoulderfits snuggly over her pack and her scimitar ather hip supports her calloused hand. Wellmet, Aislyn smiles. What say we take to theroad, afore old age takes to us.

Aislyn will make sure the party is ready and willopen the gate to let everyone out. Shell leavethe gate open as some of the farmers are alreadystarting to head in to town for a morningsbusiness. The DM should feel free to check forwandering monsters at midday, sunset, andmidnight. If an encounter occurs, Aislyn willfight and come to the aid of any who need it.However, she must live through any encounterso it might be necessary to adjust the tactics ofthe monsters, should she come close to dying. Iftime is an issue (i.e. trying to keep the modulewithin a single session) feel free to have Day 2pass without any encounters. However, if theparty seems to be a bit restless, dont hesitate toautomatically have a random encounter occur.See the Wandering Monster section for possibleencounters.

During this time of travel, the PCs may start upconversations with Aislyn. Feel free to read theAdventure Background to the characters or torole play the material in it. Also check Aislynsdetails in the Town Information Laendersburgsection for more ideas on how to role play her.In general shes very friendly and will talk aboutmost anything with most anyone.

Eventually, the party should reach a spot on theroad roughly east of Cabraahs base to setupcamp for the first night of travel. See Race forRetribution Part I for more details on Cabraahsbase, which should be uninhabited.

Day 2 SummaryParty Leaves Laendersburg and spends a daytraveling with Aislyn. Makes camp east ofCabraahs base.Ryn Spends the day talking with Degarn andMargrak. Degarn hires Ryn to assassinateLaender, Aislyn, and the party. Ryn doesnt

know, and therefore Degarn doesnt know, thatAislyn and the party are going to Stahl.Margrak Spends the day talking with Degarnand Ryn. Degarn instructs Margrak to go toStahl to contact Djamal to get a feeling for anypreparations Stahl may be making for war.Djamal It is business as usual for him (SeeTown Information for details on Djamal)

Day 3As the PCs continue to travel the road to Stahl,read the following:

The massive Lake Stahl dominates the easternside of the road you now travel upon. At timesyou see a fishing boat or two out on thewindswept lake and a flock of ducks along itsbanks. To the west is a great plain that theoccasional cow or horse is seen roaming on.The warmth of the sun on your backs lends analmost dream-like quality to the trip north, onethat youll not soon complain about.

The DM should feel free to check for wanderingmonsters at midday, sunset, and midnight. If anencounter occurs, Aislyn will fight and come tothe aid of any who need it. However, she mustlive through any encounter so it might benecessary to adjust the tactics of the monsters,should she come close to dying. If time is anissue (i.e. trying to keep the module within asingle session) feel free to have Day 3 passwithout any encounters. However, if the partyseems to be a bit restless, dont hesitate toautomatically have a random encounter occur.See the Wandering Monster section for possibleencounters.

During this time of travel, the PCs may start upconversations with Aislyn. Feel free to read theAdventure Background to the characters or torole-play the material in it. Also check Aislynsdetails in the Town Information Laendersburgsection for more ideas on how to role play her.In general shes very friendly and will talk aboutmost anything with most anyone.

Eventually, the party should reach a spot on theroad between Lake Stahl and Dallics Wood toset up camp for the second night of travel. This

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spot should be located where the road turns east,just south of Dallics Wood.

Day 3 SummaryParty Spends a day traveling with Aislyn.Makes camp just south of Dallics Wood.Ryn Leaves Degarns base and spends the daytraveling, finally reaching Laendersburg thisnight.Margrak Leaves Degarns base and spends theday traveling northeast with his party (See Day 8for more details on his party), finally reaching anarea around Cabraahs base.Djamal It is business as usual for him (SeeTown Information for details on Djamal)

Day 4Assuming the PCs reach Stahl at the end of the3rd day of travel, read the following:

The sun slowly drifts down to hide its headwithin the soft earth bed, and the sky clutches tothe last of its golden glow. Your eyes turn northto the walled city that lies before you, its musicof people at work and play reaching your ears.As you proceed and finally reach its welcomegate, two guards step out of the two towers thatlie on either side of the road.

Halt, and state your business within Stahl,demands a rather bored guardsman.

Aislyn will give the PCs a chance to act as herward, allowing them to deal with the guardsman.However, if things start to go poorly, shell stepin and identify herself and ask to be let in. Theguardsman will ask for a tax of 5 silver perperson, which Aislyn will pay for the entireparty. Once paid, the guardsman will inform theparty that due to a large number of merchantsfrom Kyer, a city to the north of Stahl, most ofthe inns will be full and wishes them luck infinding enough rooms for the entire party.

As the PCs proceed into the town, read thefollowing:

There is a constant motion that stirs about theopen air market just inside the gates. Farmersand fishermen pack up their wares for the nightand move their wagons either further into town

via the roads to the northeast and northwest, orout of the gates, their homes or lodging beingtheir ultimate destination. A warm song reachesyour ears from the building to the east of themarket and the scent of well prepared food fillsyour nose. As you look that direction you see asign with an off-white lamb adorning it hangingover the open doorway. Drawing closer, youhear the laughter of many folk coming fromwithin.

The Grey Sheep Inn is full, but Niirfel, who isperforming at the moment, will see that the PCswill receive a warm meal and tell them that theSleeping Griffin will probably have some openrooms. Niirfel, if shes had the party in her Innbefore, will recognize them and apologizeprofusely at not having a room available. Shewont recognize Aislyn, who isnt in any hurryto identify herself.

The DM should be familiar with the areas aroundStahl and the people that can be found at theareas. The shops and forges will be closed andthe inns will be open, assuming the PCs willreach Stahl at the end of the 3rd day of travel. Allof the inns will be full except for the SleepingGriffin, which will have 3 rooms left open. It isthe up to the DM to decide what to charge formeals at the various inns and how much roomswill cost. Feel free to adjust the prices based onthe details provided within Town Information Stahl.

The party should eventually make their way tothe Sleeping Griffin. When they do, read thefollowing:

With tired feet, you arrive at the door to theSleeping Griffin Inn. The smell of roasting gamedrifts out of an open window that is spilling fortha warm light. Encouraged by this, you open thedoor and walk in, looking for an empty table.The various merchants glance up at you for asecond, their appraising eyes measuring yourworth, only to return to their business at hand. Asmallish man moves over to you, his dark eyessmiling, and greets you, Hail, travelers, ImDjamal. Welcome to my inn.

If the party has met Djamal before, he willquickly apologize for not recognizing them

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sooner. Regardless, Djamal will escort the partyto a table and offer to get them food and drink.When he returns, hell recognize Aislyn and sayas much, offering to let the party stay for free athis inn. After all, she is a very important personin the town of Laendersburg and something of alegend in Stahl. Hes really doing this so he cankeep better tabs on Aislyn and the party, whichhell report back to his orcish contact. Djamalfeels that such wonderful information will beworth a pretty coin or two. If someone does aSense Motive check (DC 20) and is successful,they might get the impression that theresanother reason hes offering them free lodging(meals still cost), but the PC wont know whatthat reason is.

Djamal is also aware that a group of adventurershave been causing some problems for his orcishemployers. If hes yet to meet the party or theparty hasnt done A Race for Retribution Parts Iand II, hell assume that the group travelingwith Aislyn must be the same group ofadventurers causing problems. Djamal willprepare the 3 rooms for the party. Aislyn willask if she can have a single room to herself,leaving the other 2 rooms for the rest of theparty. If the party objects, Djamal will frownand state that such an important person deservessome privacy after spending time on the road.Djamal will instruct Brynnwynn leave Aislynand the PCs alone from her thieving activities.Whether Brynnwynn obeys or not, is up to theDM. This time in the Inn is also a good time forthe PCs to pick up rumors and other hearsay.

Day 4 SummaryParty Arrive in Stahl and get lodging at theSleeping Griffin.Ryn Kills Laender (See Murder Investigationfor more details on the assassination)Margrak Travels from Cabraahs Base to thesouthern area of Dallics Wood and sets upcamp.Djamal Meets and identifies Aislyn and theparty at his Inn

Day 5As the party starts the day, read the following:

As you stretch the sleep from your bones, youwonder which is harder, a dwarven skull or yourbed. Still, you managed to sleep soundly throughthe night and now start the daily ritual ofplacating your hunger. As you move downstairsto the dining room, you see Aislyn already seatedat table supporting the mornings repast. Shesmiles brightly at you and waves you over to joinher. Once seated, Djamal quickly enters with atray full of fruit and honey-sweetened breads.Compliments of Lady Aislyn, Djamal gushes.Aislyn quickly dismisses him and leans forwardto get down to business.

I am to see Theonius, the mayor of Stahl, thismorning and I ask that you join me, starts thelady warrior.

At this point, Aislyn will try to convince theentire party to join her. If the party hascompleted parts I or II of this series, then shellstate that their first-hand knowledge of theenemy will be important in winning the supportof Theonius. If they havent completed parts I orII then shell state that if she arrives with anentourage,it might impress the bardic lord ofStahl. It is rumoured that he does enjoy thepomp and circumstance that his office allowshim. The DM should encourage most if not allof the party to attend Aislyn.

If any of the party does not attend Aislyn, thenthey are free to roam the town. If they hang outat the Sleeping Griffin Inn, or spend any time atthe south gate, or farmers market, have themmake a Spot check (DC 20). If they aresuccessful, have a single PC notice Djamalleaving the Inn, or the south gate, depending onwhere the PC is currently at. The DM shouldarrange it so that only 1 PC can follow Djamal,by having the crowd of the market separate thegroup, if there is more than one. If the PCdecides to follow Djamal, the PC will need tomake a Hide check (DC 25) when he leave thegate, and a second one as he trails the innkeeperalong the road, and finally a third one about twohours after leaving town. If he fails any of thethree checks, Djamal will be made aware of hispresence and actions will be taken (see Meetingin the Woods for more information). Note only1 character should be allowed to follow Djamal.If this is not possible, have the group of PCs that

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are following Djamal lose him an hour outside oftown after he moved into the woodsunexpectedly. When they return to town, Djamalwill already be at the Sleeping Griffin and willdeny ever leaving the inn.

Mayoral AudienceAfter the party decides who will be attendingAislyn on her trip to see the mayor, read thefollowing to that group:

Approaching the grounds of the Mayor, you canclearly see there is much to be said for holding apolitical office. A well-trimmed hedge runssquare, standing eight feet high and 100 feetlong on each side. The road passes through a20-foot gap on the southern side, leading into acommon ground. Inside the hedge, immediatelyto the west is a large stable with a few well-groomed horses in their stalls. The east boasts asmall house no more than 20 feet square. In theblink of an eye, a very sturdy looking half-elfbearing a breastplate and a wicked lookingfalchion on his hip exits the small house andstrides over to you. Spotting Aislyn, he breaksinto a wide smile and embraces her warmly.

Well met, Little Thorn, the half-elf greets in analmost fatherly tone.And merry meet to you, Razor Wind, Aislynreturns with a hug of her own. We have comeseeking boons from Theonius. Will he see us,Alynian? Seeing Alynian cast a sidelongglance at the rest of you, Aislyn quickly adds,They are my guard, if you will. I vouch fortheir manners.

The half-elf nods and quickly leads you to alarge manor house in the northeastern part ofthe grounds and ushers you inside. He guidesyou to an antechamber and indicates you shouldwait there. Alynian exits through the door on theopposite side of the lavishly decorated room andcloses it behind him.

If questioned about the odd greeting, Aislyn willstate that she once held a post in Stahls guardand Alynian was the commander then as heapparently is now. He trained her in the art ofthe blade and gave her the nick-name LittleThorn, to reflect what she was in the half-elfsside. In return she picked up on the fact that his

elvish nickname translated to Razor Wind, incommon, and used that term ever since. Aftergiving the PCs a few mintues to wait, read thefollowing:

The door that Alynian withdrew through opensonce more to let in the commander of the guard.Trailing close behind him is a fairly tall man,with bright brown eyes and a well-groomedbeard that boasts the same hue. His clothesseem rather outlandish in both cut and color, yetbefore you dismiss the silly creature before youas fop, you discern a keen wit behind his eyes.

Hail, wife of the legendary Laender. I hope thesun smiles warmly upon you this day, states thebearded man with a grand flourish of a bow,which earns him a snort from Alynian.

Pelors radiance fills me with life but there isstill a dark cloud upon my soul, replies Aislynwithout missing a beat. It is this orcish tempestthat lies upon the horizon of my fair village,Laendersburg, that disturbs my view of the sun.And so I have come in search of boons that onlyyou may grant, to restore the pure vision of thatgolden radiance.

Do you two mind, Alynian bursts inexasperation. Im longer-lived than either ofyou humans and even Ill die of old age beforeyou two get down to business. Speak plainly orIll run you both through, starting with youTheonius.

The mayor grins as he delicately adjusts hisfinery and nods his surrender to the half-elf.Well, lets hear about these orcs and what youwish of Stahl.

At this point, Aislyn will turn to the party, iftheyve completed either parts I or II in theseries, and ask them for an accounting of whattheyve seen. Otherwise shell provide a briefsynopsis of the events leading up to her cominghere. Feel free to use the Adventure Summary todetail out those events if the DM isnt familiarwith Part I or II. Theonius is fairly sharp andwill listen closely to what is being said and takethings very seriously. Both Alynian andTheonius will question the PCs for any detailsthey may have missed, which is a good chance

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for the DM to encourage role playing. If any ofthe PCs give an attempt at flowery speech, awardthem 100 XP, as Theonius will love it and it willdrive Alynian nuts. Hell rely upon Alyniansevaluation of the situation, which will indicatethe threat to be fairly serious, especially ifLaendersburg were to fall.

Eventually, Theonius will state hell send 20 ofStahls militia members down to Laendersburgto aid in their defense, on one condition:

It seems that the orcs do indeed have their eyesupon Stahl as well, sighs Theonius. We havea spy within our midst. This cur must beremoved afore we make our plans of aid toLaendersburg openly known or both towns willbe at a strong disadvantage. So before we canput into action what we have put into words, Ineed you, Aislyn, and your party to locate andremove this spy. Is that acceptable?

Aislyn, considering the request, nods slowly.Aye, well accept, but can you give us someguidance as to whom you suspect of being thetraitor?

At this point, Alynian will step in and give thefollowing information. Astrin and Jaellyn areboth half-orcs and while they have alwaysseemed good for the community, its no tellinghow deep orc runs in their blood. Thisprejudiced suggestion will draw a frown fromAislyn but shell hold her tongue, and a surprisedlook from Theonius as it is know that Alynianand Jaellyn are good friends. Brynnwynn is lessthan a respectable character who seems to have aknack for having money that she cant accountfor; perhaps shes on the orcish payroll. This isactually due to her thieving activities butAlynian has yet to prove that. Her husbandDjamal runs a respectable inn, but merchantswho stay there seem to suffer more raids thanthose who stay at other inns. If the PCs persuethis line of questioning, Alynian will recall thatmost of the raids are made by humanoids, butwhether orcs or goblins or what else he cant sayfor sure. This is, in fact, a result of theinformation that Djamal passes on to the orcs fora fee. This will be all the information thatAlynian and Theonius can provide. If asked whythey havent laid a trap for the spy, Alynian will

reply that they dont have the manpoweravailable to watch all routes by whichinformation may pass. Theonius will suggestthat the party investigate these leads a bit more,as they might be a bit more successful thansomeone with the charm of Alynian.

Once the party concludes their business withTheonius, they will have the rest of the day freeto start their investigation (See SpyInvestigation) for more details.

Meeting in the WoodsThe whole purpose of this event is to separateany PC who follows Djamal from the rest of theparty. This will cause a bit of concern for therest of the party. None of what transpires in thisencounter should be information that the rest ofthe party learns. Make sure the playerunderstands this and that he is not to relate anydetails in or out of character to the rest of theparty. If the PC takes any unusual actions orbecomes invisible, make any adjustments butultimately the PC should be knockedunconscious and taken prisoner by Margrak.

Regardless of the success or failure of the PCsHide checks, read the following only to the PCwho followed Djamal:

After trailing Djamal for what seems like most ofthe morning, he suddenly moves off the road andinto the woods that have been skirting along theeastern and southern side. Moving quickly, youclose the distance so as to keep from losing himin the forest. Eventually, he reaches a smallclearing and sits down to wait. Within a fewminutes, a large orc dressed in scale mail entersthe clearing. He quickly moves over to Djamal,who rises back to his feet and starts talking withhim.

The PC should make a number of checks at thispoint. The first is a Knowledge Religion (DC15) to see if they notice and identify the religioussymbol of the god of destruction that is aroundMargraks neck. The next should be a Listencheck (DC 10) to see if they hear what is beingsaid between Djamal and Margrak. The final is aSpot check (DC 20) to see if they notice the 2ogres and 3 orcs that are moving quietly aroundthe clearing.

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If the character made the Listen check read thefollowing:

Margrak, Im telling you, those adventurers arestaying at my inn, along with Aislyn, Djamalsays to the orc, who merely grunts. Whatwould you like me to do?

Here, take this, Margrak hands Djamalsomething you cant see. Use this to deal withthem and you will be well rewarded.

If the character failed the Listen check, read thefollowing:

Djamal seems to be almost fawning upon the orcas if relaying some unexpected good news. Theorc simply nods and hands the innkeepersomething that you cant quite make out.

At this point, if the character made the Spotcheck, inform them that there are figures movingquickly through the trees towards the PCsposition. These are the rest of Margraks party,searching the woods to make sure that Djamalwasnt followed. Dont let the PC take anyactions in regards to him noticing the figures. Ifthe character failed any of the Hide checks whiletrailing Djamal, read the following withoutletting the character take any action in responseto the figures:

Djamal says something that you werent able tohear, but it draws a deep frown from the orc.The innkeeper says something once more andthen quickly spins and points in your direction.You realize your cover is blown, but before youcan react you feel a malevolent magic touch yourmind.

Have the character make a Will save (DC 15). Ifthe PC fails let him know that he is arecompletely immobile. If the PC was successfullet him know that he was able to shrug off themagic.

At this point this DM should read the followingto the player, making any adjustments to whatmay have occurred before:

Suddenly, a very large ogre steps in front of youand grins evilly. He quickly raises a massive fistand brings it down on your head. The secondogre and three orcs standing behind yourassailant makes you realize you are in someserious trouble, then blackness claims yourthoughts.

At this point dont tell the PC any more, even ifhe asks if he is dead or alive and make sure theplayer understands he is not to relate any of whatoccurred to the rest of the party. As the partyeventually returns to the Sleeping Griffin, informthem that the missing character has yet to be seenand Djamal thought the PC said he was going todo some shopping for a bit. Beyond that, theinkeeper will state hes not seen the PC since thismorning.

Day 5 SummaryParty Most of the party should have gone withAislyn to Theonius. Only one character shouldhave been taken prisoner by Margrak; otherwiseany who ended up following Djamal, lost him inthe woods.Ryn Ryn has left Laendersburg and is travelingto Stahl. He will reach an area on the road byCabraahs base by the end of the day.Margrak He has met with Djamal and mayhave taken prisoner one of the PCs. He hasgiven Djamal a poison along with instructions touse it on the PCs and Aislyn.Djamal He has met with Margrak and hasreceived a poison, and a Qualls Feather Token(Bird). The poison is to be used on the PCs andAislyn, and the Bird is to allow him to relay amessage when he has completed theassassination. However, he has some concernsabout having just the PCs and Aislyn die in histavern. These concerns will play out in Day 6.

Day 6The party should spend most of the dayinvestigating the spy (see Spy Investigation formore details). While they are doing this, Djamalhas decided not to use the poison on just theparty and Aislyn as it would look a bit toosuspicious. Instead, he will use it in the stew,which will be the only fare for the evening. Hefeels that if the entire Inn might expire, it willlook more like a case of food poisoning rather

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than an assassination. While his business willsuffer from the incident, he feels that the goldgained from the orcs will more than compensatefor any losses he may incur. However, by usingthe poison in the entire kettle of stew, Djamalhas diluted its effectiveness and so all the patronswill only get sick (see below for more details onthe poison).

When the party returns to the Sleeping Griffinfor the evening, read to them the following:

After spending the day scouting out bits ofinformation, you return to the inn hungry andtired. Most of the tables are filling up quicklyand Djamal is hurrying about serving his guests.The innkeeper sees you and quickly motions youto a table that hes wiping clean. Sitting down,your stomachs complain about the maltreatmentthey have received and insist on you correctingthe situation.

At this point, Djamal will ask the PCs what hecan get them, and will state that a large kettle ofstew has been simmering all day long and shouldbe excellent fare. Aislyn will order a bowl andwill insist the rest of the party join her, as hermotherly instincts are kicking in somewhat.Djamal will return with the poisoned food and aloaf of honey-sweetened bread along with anydrinks the PCs ordered. After the party has eatenand eventually retired to their rooms, read thefollowing:

You awake to a scream. A second horribleshriek cuts through the night and quickly drawsyou out of any haze your slumber may have leftbehind. Quickly, you realize theres more thanone cry of agony and you struggle to your feet.However, you find yourself joining the chorus ofagony as you double over, your innards on fireand pain rushing through your veins. The doorto your room opens and Djamal along withBrynnwynn enter with obvious concern on theirfaces.

Dear gods, not another one, the innkeeperexclaims at the sight of you. Quickly Brynn, getanother bucket of water and return here allspeed. We must attend to my patrons or Ill beruined!

The woman dashes out as Djamal helps you backto your bed all the while muttering to himself,Thats the last time I buy meat from adwarfthat bearded butcher has poisoned myentire inna pox upon all dwarven meatcutters.

The PCs, Aislyn and the rest of the Inn aresuffering the effects of the poison. Have all PCsthat ate any of the stew make a Fortitude save(DC 20). If they are successful they only suffer1 point of temporary Strength damage.Otherwise, they will suffer 1d6 points oftemporary Strength damage. One round later,have them make a second Fortitude save (DC20). If they are successful they only suffer 1point of temporary Constitution damage.Otherwise, they will suffer 1d6 points oftemporary Constitution damage. This shouldntkill any of the PCs but it should weaken them.During this time, Brynnwynn and Djamal willfuss over the PCs, Aislyn, and the rest of theinns patrons like mother hens. This is not dueto any real concern that they might die, butbecause they want to minimize the damage totheir inns reputation and to their coffers.Brynnwynn is not aware that Djamal poisonedthe inn, and Djamal will continue to blame thefood poisoning on some no-named dwarvenbutcher that came to market two days ago.

Day 6 SummaryParty They will investigate the spy and will bepoisoned by Djamal.Ryn Ryn will travel from an area aroundCabraahs base to the woods south of Stahl,where hell meet Margrak and inform him ofwhat has occurred in Laendersburg. If a PC wasa prisoner of Margrak he will still beunconscious from the ogres blow. As such, hewill not be aware that Ryn and Margrak willhave met.Margrak Will wait in the woods for themessage from Djamal, via the Feather Token.When Ryn arrives later in the evening, he willupdate Ryn on what is going on with the party inStahl.Djamal He will use the poison that Margrakgave him in the stew, which he will feed to theentire Inn. However, by diluting the poison, theentire inn gets sick but no one dies. He then

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spends the rest of the night cleaning up andtending the sick patrons.

Day 7The PCs will eventually fall back to sleep andthat will be when Djamal will use the QuallsFeather Token to send a message to Margrakearly in the morning. When the PCs finallywake, read the following:

A gentle tattoo of rain striking upon the roofwakes you, driving the nights events from yourmemory. However, the tremors that coursethrough your body as you move to sit up giveevidence that it was no nightmare that youexperienced. Struggling with every movement,you wonder if the rest of your party shares yourpain. Glancing around, you quickly realizeyoure not alone. Eventually you struggle downto the tap room and find Djamal apologizingprofusely as he makes the rounds with water andbread for any who will take it. Seeing youcollapse into a seat, the exhausted inkeepermoves over to your table.

Djamal will gush apologies almost every othersentence and will offer free food and lodging forany of the party for the next month. He does thisonly because he feels that hell be able to keepan eye on them for the orcs this way. He willoffer the PCs any food or drink they so desire,but the DM should state that their stomachsmight object to anything stronger than bread andwater at the moment.

During this time, Aislyn will also be sufferingfrom the effects of the poison, but will remindthe PCs that they have a job to do in locating thespy in Stahl. Djamal should over-hear this andwill become concerned that he may have beenfound out. While still being cautious, Djamalwill be even more aware of what the PCs aredoing and where they are going. The DM canplay this by having the innkeeper inquire as totheir plans and such. Outside of that, Aislyn willencourage the PCs to continue on theirinvestigation, as Laendersburg may not havemuch time left and it will take a few days forStahl to organize their militia to be sent down.See Spy Investigation for more details for thisday.

If a PC was taken prisoner by Margrak, take thatplayer aside and read to her the following:

As you blink your eyes a few times, most of theyellow and crimson spots in your vision clearaway. Glancing about, you find yourself in asmall camp where three orcs are cooking somesort of game over a fire. The sky is steel greyand the soft rain coming down from it doesntseem like it will end any time soon. One of theorcs, seeing you awake, hollers something thatcauses your head to ring. When the pain finallystops, you see the orc that met with Djamalstanding over you.

Im Margrak, the orc snarls in common, Andyou are my guest.

At this point, the DM should tell the PC that hishands and feet are securely bound and his mouthis gagged. Spell casting will be impossible, evenwith the Still Spell feat, due to the problem ofmaintaining mental focus (the ogres blow hasrattled the PCs wits something fierce). If the PCwishes to try to escape, have him make a EscapeArtist check. Regardless of his result, let himknow that he wasnt successful but with a bit oftime and luck, he might eventually be able towork his bonds free.

Margrak will start to interrogate the PC, wantingto know the capabilities, strengths andweaknesses of the party. It is up to the DM todecide how forceful Margrak will be. The PCshouldnt be permanently harmed in any way butit should be clear that hes not in control of thesituation and could easily be eliminated. Againthe idea is to make the PC realize his ownmortality. Eventually the interrogation sessionshould end with an ogre pounding the PCunconscious (use subdual damage, not physicaldamage, to indicate the PC is unconscious).

As the party concludes their day of investigationand return to the inn, read the following:

Returning to the Sleeping Griffin once more, youmake a mental note not to have any stew.

Moving to a table to nurse your fragile health,you see the elf that greeted you almost a week

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ago in Laendersburg enter the inn. He has aroad-weary look about him and his leathers aresoaked from the rain and muddy from the road.Quickly glancing about, he locates Aislyn anddashes up to her with a relieved and worriedlook about him.

Aislyn, he pants, Most dire news. Yourhusband has been murdered.

At this point, Aislyn will be stunned and unableto respond. The DM should encourage the PCsto question Ryn for the details of what hasoccurred (see Murder Investigation for moreinformation). Ryn will state that when helearned of the dire event he made all speed toStahl to find Aislyn and make sure she was stillsafe. By this point, Aislyn will start to weep andwill retire to her room. Ryn will suggest the PCsto stand guard over her through the night toinsure that no harm comes to her. Aislyn will letno one in to her room but she can be heardcrying through out the night. Ryn will retire toone of the rooms, that has been vacated due tothe food poisoning of the previous night, as hesexhausted from making the trip to Stahl.

Djamal will seem a bit troubled by Ryn showingup unexpectedly. The innkeeper is aware ofRyns affiliation with the orcs, but he keepsquiet, thinking that the rogue is there to deal withAislyn.

Djamal has hired Faenair to heal the PCs andAislyn, using her two 2nd level spells for LesserRestoration. She will come to the Inn, assumingthe PCs didnt encounter her during the day, andperform the two healings upon whichever PC theparty chooses. Shell only do this once, possiblyleaving the rest of the party still suffering fromthe effects of the poison.

Day 7 SummaryParty They should continue their spyinvestigation at the urging of Aislyn. When theyreturn to the inn they will meet Ryn who willinform them of the murder of Laender. Theyshould probably end up standing watch overAislyn.Ryn He was with Margrak when the messagefrom Djamal arrived. Margrak, being less thanpleased by the inkeepers inability to kill the PCs

and Aislyn, has paid Ryn to kill Djamal. He hasalso asked Ryn to encourage the party to leavewith Aislyn tomorrow morning so that Margrakcan ambush them on their way down toLaendersburg.Margrak He will have received the messagefrom Djamal and then sent Ryn off prior to anyPC that is his prisoner waking up. When the PCwakes up, hell interrogate him for informationconcerning the partys strengths and weaknesses.When the PC finally is knocked out by an ogre,he will go about making preparations for theambush using any knowledge that he gains fromthe prisoner.Djamal He will send the Qualls FeatherToken (Bird) with the message to Margrak thathes not been able to kill the party. He will thenspend the day trying to repair the damage done tohis reputation but most of the patrons will haveleft for other lodgings. He will also hire Faenairto come and heal the PCs if theyve notencountered her during the day, again to repairhis reputation.

Day 8When morning rolls around, read the following :

As you gather in the dining room, you realizethat none of you slept well. It may have been dueto Aislyns weeping all night long or perhaps thedistant thunder that now accompanies the rain,but you suspect it has more to do with the deathof Laender. The man who hired you to protecthis wife has fallen to an assassins blade.

Djamal stirs you from your musings, settingdown a tray of food but without his usualfawning greeting. As you break your fast, younotice Aislyn come down to the common room.Her eyes are red but her demeanor is calm andproud. Come, fortify yourselves with haste,adventurers, Aislyn starts. We must away erethe road to Laendersburg becomes the river toLaendersburg, thanks to this cursed rain. Mytown needs me now more than ever.

At this point the faade of calm cracks as Aislynlets a single tear flow from her once-bright eyes.Just before the PCs get ready to leave, Ryn willenter the dining area. If he is asked to join theparty on their return (have Aislyn ask if none of

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the PCs do), Ryn will beg off, stating that heneeds to rest for a day due to the toll the journeyup here took on him. At this point, some of thePCs may feel like they are shirking their dutiesto locate and eliminate the spy, so Ryn states thathell talk to Theonius and indicates he may be abit more successful than the PCs due to hisspecial skills. If the party doesnt feel goodabout this, remind them that their first duty is toprotect Aislyn as charged by the now-deadLaender and if she leaves Stahl, then so shouldthe party.

Once the party and Aislyn head out, read thefollowing:

A heavy silence weighs upon you as you makeyour way southward in the steady rain. It hasonly been four maybe five hours since you leftStahl but it feels as if the town was on the otherside of the world. Aislyn has withdrawn intoherself, barely mentioning a word since you haveleft. Her silence, while first contagious, hasbecome oppressive with the quiet only beingbroken by the distant thunder.

The ambush should occur where the road turnsfrom southwest to south somewhat to the southof Stahl. The orcs and ogres will be hidingbehind bushes, trees and rocks waiting for theparty to arrive. At this point have the PCs makeWilderness Lore checks (DC 10) to see if theyrealize that there are no animals or birds around.Give them a minute or two to digest this newinformation, then have them make Spot checks(DC 20). Any PC that made a successfulWilderness Lore check receives a circumstancebonus of +3 on their spot check. Any PC thatasks to make a Spot check prior to the entireparty making a Spot check receives acircumstance bonus of +1. These bonuses arestackable. If they make a successful Spot check,they will see the ogre at area A on the AmbushMap and that PC isnt surprised. When this is allfinally determined, read the following:

A great howl goes up on one side of the road asan ogre bursts from the brush. Swinging amassive club that could be confused with a smalltree, he charges you while bellowing forth abattle cry.

The ogre at location A on the Ambush Map actedprematurely and charged the PCs when theyreached location X. As such he will be aloneagainst the PCs for 1 full round as Margrak andthe other 3 orcs recover from their surprise, theyare at location B. After that Margrak and theorcs will start their plan of attack. Location C isthe hiding spot for the second ogre. This ogretoo will be surprised and hesitate for 1 full roundbefore charging the party.

Due to the two days of non-stop rain, the road ismuddy and any PCs or creatures fighting on itwill receive a 2 circumstance penalty to theirDexterity. If they move off the road to the grass,this penalty will no longer apply. The DM andplayers should be sure to adjust Initiative, AC,Dexterity based skill, and Reflex save modifiersappropriately due to this penalty.

If a PC was captured by Margrak inform himthat there is only one orc left standing guard. Theguard seems more interested in the sounds ofbattle that are reaching Margraks Base than inwhat the PC might be doing. If the PC wishes tomake an Escape Artist check (DC 10 due to himhaving all night to work the ropes a bit lose), lethim. Each time the PC makes a check, roll a d20as if making a Spot check for the orc but have itfail each time. The orc is truly more interested inthe fight than some puny PC tied up. When thePC finally succeeds in freeing himself, let himknow that the orc is straining to hear the soundsof the battle. Thus, he could make a free attackupon the orc, cast a spell without a materialcomponent (he doesnt have his spell componentpouch with him) or retrieve any shield andweapon he had when he was taken prisonerbefore the orc could react, because hisequipments in a pile 15 feet away. Then run thecombat between these two as normal. The PCcan easily follow the sounds of combat throughthe woods (movement normal rate) to find therest of the party.

The battle plan that follows is assuming no PCwas captured and so all three orcs will be presentfor the ambush. If there are only 2 present, withthe third guarding the PC, have Margrak castGuidance upon himself in round 4 and use thebonus as the DM sees fit. While Aislyn should

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be attacked, she needs to live through this battle,so the DM should adjust targets as necessary.

Ambush Battle Plan (See Ambush Map)Rd. 1 The ogre at Location A charges the

party, trying for surpris, but surpriseshis own group. This ogre will continueto fight melee until dead.

Rd. 2 The ogre at Location C launches hislongspear at the nearest target. Margrakcasts Guidance on one of the orcs withhim at Location B. The 3 orcs wait forMargraks command to attack.

Rd. 3 The ogre at Location C will move toLocation A and pick up the first ogreslongspear. Margrak casts Guidance onanother orc with him at Location B.The 3 orcs wait for Margrakscommand to attack.

Rd. 4 The ogre now at Location A will launchthe longspear and draw his greatclub.Margrak casts Guidance on the last orcand gives all of them the command toattack. The 3 orcs will move 30 feetand then launch their javelins at varioustargets using the +1 to their attacksgenerated by the Guidance spell.

Rd. 5 The ogre at Location A will charge theparty to lend support to his brother oravenge his death if the ogre has beenkilled by this point.Margrak will cast Endure Elements andmove 30 feet towards the party.The 3 orcs will draw their greataxes andmove to engage the party.Both ogres and orcs will continue withmelee until dead.

Rd. 6 Margrak will cast Sanctuary (lasts 4rounds) on himself and move to bewithin 50 feet of most of the party.

Rd. 7 Margrak will cast Bane affecting theparty but not ruining his Sanctuary.

Rd. 8 Margrak will cast Resistance on himself(lasts 10 rounds).

Rd. 9 Margrak will cast Virtue on himself(lasts 10 rounds).

Rd. 10 Margrak will cast Spiritual Weaponright next to a spell caster, whom willattack non-stop. The Sanctuary Ends.

At this point, Margrak will use Hold Person onthe fighters of the party and Cause Fear on anycleric in the party. If he is surrounded by mainlyenemies, hell use Sound Burst. If his troopsnumbers are dwindling, hell cast SummonMonster II to summon 1, 2 or 3 Dire Rats (usethe stats provided below), followed by using theBless from his Prayer Beads. If Margrak isengaged in melee with anyone, he will use hisSmite ability, especially if facing a spell caster.The DM is encouraged to choose how many direrats appear based on how the party if faringagainst the ambush: fewer if they need help, ormore if its been very easy for them. Margrakwill not hesitate to use his potions of CureModerate Wounds to keep himself alive, but hewill fight to the death fearing the penalty offailure.

Margrak, male orc Clr4: CR 4; Size M (5 ft.,10 in. tall); HD 4d8+4; hp 22; Init +0; Spd 30 ft.;AC 16 (+5 Masterwork Breastplate, +1Masterwork Small Steel Shield); Attack +9Masterwork Halfspear (20/x3) melee, or +3ranged; Damage 1d6+4 Masterwork Halfspear;SV Fort +6, Ref +2, Will +8; AL LE; Str 19,Dex 11, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 11.Languages Spoken: Orc, Common.Skills and feats: Concentration +4, Hide +0,Intuit direction +3, Knowledge (arcana) +5,Listen +3, Scry +5, Spot +3; Brew potion,Combat casting [Weapon Proficiency(Halfspear), Weapon Focus (Halfspear)].

Possessions: ; Masterwork Halfspear;Masterwork Small Steel Shield; MasterworkBreastplate; Cloak of Resistance +1 (alreadyreflected in stats); Necklace of Prayer Beads(Blessing); Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds(x3), Wand of Detect Magic (17 charges,Grikzok is cut into its haft), 15gp, 17sp, 7cp, 3Gems[50gp Carnelian; 16gp Eye Agate; 8gpMalachite; ]

Cleric Domains: Destruction, WarCleric Spells Per Day: 5/4+1/3+1.0 Guidance (x3),Resistance, Virtue1 Magic Weapon, Bane, Cause Fear, EndureElements, Sanctuary2 Spiritual Weapon, Hold Person, Sound Burst,Summon Monster II

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Smite (+4 attack bonus, +4 damage bonus for 1attack) 1 per day, Weapon Proficiency andWeapon Focus feats for the halfspear.

2 Ogres (Large Giant); CR 2; HD 4d8+8; hp 29;Init -1; (DEX); Spd 30; AC 16; (-1 size -1 dex+5 natural +3 hide) Att Huge greatclub +8 melee(20/x2); huge longspear +1 (30 20/x3)ranged;Dmg huge greatclub 2d6+7; hugelongspear 2d6+7; Face 5 x 5; Reach 10; Fort +6;Refl +0; Will +1; S-21 D-8 C-15 I-6 W-10 Ch-7;AL CESkills: Climb +5, Listen +3, Spot +3Feats: Weapon Focus (Greatclub)

3 Orcs (Medium-Size Humanoid (Orc)); CR1/2; HD 1d8; hp 4 ;Init +0; Spd 20 ft; AC 14;(+4 Scale mail) Att Greataxe +3 (20/x3) melee,Javelin +1 (30 20/x2) ranged;Dmg Greataxe1d12+3, javelin 1d6+2; Face 5 ft by 5 ft; Reach 5ft; SA (); SQ Darkvision 60 ft, light sensitivity(Light Sensitivity (Ex) Orcs suffer a -1 penalty toattack rolls in bright sunlight or within the radiusof a daylight spell.); Fort +2; Refl +0; Will -1; S-15 D-10 C-11 I-9 W-8 Ch-8; AL CESkills: Listen +2, Spot +2Feats: Alertness

Fiendish Dire Rat (Small Animal); CR 1/3; HD1d8+1; hp 5 ;Init +3; (+3 Dex); Spd 40 ft, climb20 ft; AC 15; (+1 size, +3 dex, +1 natural) AttBite +4 melee;Dmg Bite 1d4; Face 5 ft by 5 ft;Reach 5 ft; SA Disease, Smite Good (Disease(Ex): Filth fever - bite, Fortitude save (DC 12),incubation period 1d3 days; damage 1d3 tempDex, 1d3 temp Con. Smite Good (Su) Once perday the creature can make a normal attack to dealadditional 1 point of damage against a goodfoe.);SQ Scent, Darkvision 60 ft, SR 2, Fire and ColdResistance 5 (Scent (Ex): The creature can detectopponents within 30 ft by sense of smell.); Fort+3; Refl +5; Will +3; S-10 D-17 C-12 I-3 W-12Ch-4; AL NSkills: Climb +11, Hide +11, Move Silently +6Feats: Weapon Finess (Bite)

When the battle if finished, they will find thenote from Djamal in Margraks pouch (SearchDC 10). Give the players Handout 1 at thispoint. It is in orcish so when they get ittranslated, read them the following slowly two

times, informing them that they will need towrite the translation down in their own words:

Margrak,

Your poison was not strong enough. I willcontinue to watch Aislyn and those with her untilyou inform me otherwise.

The Sleeping Griffin

While this clearly proves Djamals guilt, Aislynwill not want to return to Stahl and will insist theparty continue on to Laendersburg. She doesvow to send the evidence to Theonius as soon asthey arrive at Laendersburg, but she doesnt wantto wait longer than she must to get to the body ofher husband.

The PCs can track the ambush party back to itscamp (Wilderness Lore DC 15 due to the rain).At the camp, the PCs will find scattered aroundthe campsite the following:

327 gold coins (327 gp) 1,190 silver coins (119 gp) strawberry quartz (strawberry red) (28.3 gp) violet topaz (273.7 gp) a rotted deer carcass some flea infested bedrolls a shoddy tinder box

These things will be amongst the orcs, ogres,and Margraks personal packs.

Once the party has finished with the encounter,Aislyn will help them bind their wounds andthen encourage them to move on to Stahl. It isrecommended that the DM doesnt not havethem deal with a random encounter this eveningto allow them to recuperate from the ambush.

Day 8 SummaryParty They should leave Stahl, at Aislynsurging, and head south along the road toLaendersburg. There they will be ambushed byMargraks group and more than likely willdiscover Djamals treachery. However, Aislynwill not let them return to Stahl and will pushthem to continue on to Laendersburg. Theyshould make camp somewhere between DellicsWood and Lake Stahl.

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Ryn He accidently starts a fire in theSleeping Griffins Inn and in the confusion hekills Djamal, leaving his body to burn in theblaze. He stays at Astrins Inn along with theother fire survivors.Margrak Sets up the ambush and waits for theparty to walk into it. He should have been killedby the party along with his followers.Djamal He is killed by Ryn who then leaveshis corpse to be destroyed by the fire that Rynalso accidently set in the Sleeping GriffinsInn.

Day 9As the PCs continue to travel the road toLaendersburg, read the following:

The rain has picked up and now a foul windseems to be in league with it, driving it to stingyour eyes. Thunder can be heard not long aftera flash of lightning rips the sky in the distance.It is becoming clear that the storm is ever-so-slowly moving towards Laendersburg and Stahl.Chance coincidence or a clashing of two gods?You continuously toss the recent events and thearrival of the storm in your head, hoping toconclude that its one or the other.

The DM should feel free to check for wanderingmonsters at midday, sunset, and midnight. If anencounter occurs, Aislyn will fight and come tothe aid of any who need it; however, she mustlive through any encounter so it might benecessary to adjust the tactics of the monsters,should she come close to dying. If time is anissue (i.e. trying to keep the module within asingle session) feel free to have Day 9 passwithout any encounters. However, if the partyseems to be a bit restless, dont hesitate toautomatically have a random encounter occur.See the Wandering Monster section for potentialencounters.

Due to the non-stop rain, the road is muddy andany PCs or creatures fighting on it will receive a2 circumstance penalty to their Dexterity. Ifthey move off the road to the grass this penaltywill no longer apply. The DM and playersshould be sure to adjust Initiative, AC, Dexteritybased skill, and Reflex save modifiersappropriately due to this penalty

During this time of travel, the PCs may start upconversations with Aislyn. Feel free to read theAdventure Background to the characters or torole play the material in it. Also check Aislynsdetails in the Town Information Laendersburgsection for more ideas on how to role play her.In general shes very friendly and will talk aboutmost anything with most anyone. However, thedeath of her husband is weighing heavily on herand her conversations will be short and to thepoint

Eventually, the party should reach a spot on theroad roughly east of Cabraahs base to set upcamp for the night. See A Race for RetributionPart I for more details on Cabraahs base, whichshould be uninhabited.

Day 9 SummaryParty Spends the day traveling with Aislyn.Makes camp east of Cabraahs base.Ryn Leaves Stahl heading to Laendersburgand spends the day traveling, finally reaching aplace between Dellics Wood and Lake Stahl.Here he will check Margraks base and learn thefate of the orcish clerics group. Realizing thatthe party and probably Aislyn are still alive, hellnot be surprised when he arrives atLaendersburg.Margrak, Djamal - Dead

Day 10As the PCs finally reach Laendersburg, read thefollowing:

A peal of thunder rolls menacingly across the skywhen you finally spy the gateway toLaendersburg. Soaked to the bone and tired ofbeing pelted by the wind-driven rain, you arealmost glad to see the small town.

Aislyn quickly moves to the gateway, which isclosed and bedecked with black bunting, a clearindication of the towns mourning. Banging herfist upon the gate, out of frustration and anger atbeing denied entrance to see her dead husband,Aislyn calls out with a harsh voice.

Aislyn, returns a tired and unsure womanlyvoice from the tower. Is that you?

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Aye, its me, you blind wench, get down hereand let me in before I rip your spleen out andfeed it to you, the fighter spits back, clearly notrecognizing the voice.

A minute passes when you finally hear the slowgrinding of a bar being slid back. The gateopens slightly allowing a single tired lookingfigure to step forth.

Oh thank the gods youhave returned, Aislyn.The figure almost seemsto throw herself uponthe fighter in a relievedembrace. Steppingback from Aislyn, thelight finally reveals theexhausted face of Asa.Ive closed up thetown since the deathand have taken watch inthe tower night and dayawaiting your arrival.Come let me take you toyour husband and thenwe can talk.

At this point Asa willescort Aislyn and theparty to her temple.Aislyn will apologizefor her burly manneroutside the gate and fornot recognizing Asasvoice. At the temple,Asa will leave Aislyn alone with her husbandwhile she tends to any wounds the party may stillhave. During this time the party may questionAsa as to the events (see Murder Investigationfor details). After a bit, she will suggest theparty stay at the temple, as it seems that Aislynisnt going to be leaving for the night. See theTown Information for Asas stats.

Day 10 SummaryParty Spends the day traveling with Aislynand reaches Laendersburg at sundown. Theywill receive the initial story on the murder from

Asa (see the Murder Investigation for moredetails)Ryn Continues traveling to Laendersburg andmakes camp somewhere west of Cabraahs base.

Day 11The party should spend most of the dayinvestigating the murder (see Murder

Investigation for moredetails). While they aredoing this, Asa willattempt to return to thetower to keep watch andkeep the gates closed.However, she will be tooexhausted and willcollapse in front of theparty before they headout for the day. The DMshould encourage anygood characters to offerto take her place in thetower and act as the townwatch. Aislyn willremain with herhusbands body for theday and will refuse to letanyone examine it.Finally, while all this isgoing on, the stormcontinues and thelightning and thunder aremuch closer. The DMshould make thecharacters aware thatstaying out doors for anylength of time is notenjoyable and with the

lightning coming, is potentially dangerous.

To any characters in the tower, read thefollowing at the end of the day:

A brilliant flash of lightning strikes a tree a miledown the road, but the illumination is enough foryou to make out a shadow of someone joggingtowards the gate. In no time you see a figurecome to stand at the gate and pull back the hoodof its cloak.

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Hail inside the gate, calls out the elf. MayRyn of Laendersburg enter?

At this point the PCs in the tower should beallowed to talk to Ryn and encouraged to let theelf in, as he has some dire news concerning theTown of Stahl. Once inside the gate, Ryn willrelate the accident that befell the SleepingGriffin and Djamal. This may alert some PCs tothe fact that the killer may be following them,which is fine and the DM should encourage thisas its true.

If there were no PCs in the tower, someone willlet Ryn in and hell go straight to Laendershouse to see Aislyn. Not finding her there, hellproceed to Asas temple where he will meet upwith the PCs. Ryn will ask where Aislyn is andif shes safe. When he discovers that shesremaining in the temple with her husband, hellseem to be fighting mixed emotions. Ryn willnot act against Aislyn as long as she remains inthe temple out of his feelings for Asa. However,he will be somewhat pleased that Aislyn hasntallowed anyone to examine the body yet. Hellplay off the former as concern of Aislyns safetyand wonder if the temple is truly a safe place; toexplain the latter hell state that Laendershouldnt be poked and prodded like some deadcow and should be allowed a proper burial.

Day 11 SummaryParty Spends the day investigating the murderby questioning the townsfolk. They will not beable to examine the body due to Aislyns desireto mourn in private. Asa will not be able to takethe watch within the guard tower and willencourage a PC or two to take it for her. Theyshould learn about Ryn returning and gain newsof Djamals fate.Ryn Will spend the day traveling down toLaendersburg, arriving near sundown. Oncethere, he will inquire about Aislyns location andif anything has been done with the body yet. Hewill not attack Aislyn or anyone else in Asastemple out of his feelings for her.

Day 12As morning breaks, read the following to theparty:

The thunder-clap that rips over head makes youwonder if the gods are truly warring over thissmall town. While the rain striking the roofhelped you drift off to sleep, the peals of thunderwoke you on a regular basis. Unfortunately, it isclearly morning, due to the lightening of thebrutally dark sky.

There is a gentle knock on your door and Asaenters your room with a red-eyed Aislyn in tow.The beautiful priestess gently takes Aislyns handand gives it an encouraging squeeze, indicatingshe should speak. The mourning widow takes adeep breath and turns to address you.

Ive said my farewells to Laender and now Iask you to find the beast that did this. You havemy permission to perform any magics or otherworks upon his body in order to find his killer.Aislyn starts to leave when Asa halts her andturns to you.

Aislyn will be needing an escort, the priestessstarts, until the killer is found and brought tojustice. I fear that her life may still bethreatened. I ask that at least one of youaccompany her as she returns to her house andkeep watch over her while your investigationproceeds.

At this point, any PC or PCs that step forwardwill be rewarded with Asas favor, which couldprove to be useful in later adventures. Shouldthe PCs fail to take on this task, the DM shouldremind the players that it was Laenders wish tokeep his wife safe and apparently it was his lastrequest. If the PCs still refuse to act, have thetowns folk inquire about Aislyn and when theylearn shes unguarded they will become irritatedand scolding, which will hamper the partysinvestigation.

See the Murder Investigation for moreinformation on what will be revealed by theexamination of the body and what the partyscontinued investigation may reveal.

Sometime in the afternoon, read the following toany PCs who are guarding Aislyn:

A gentle rapping of the door echos through thehouse. Aislyn moves to see who calls upon her

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and opens the door to reveal Ryn. The elf smilessoftly as the rain blows into the open doorway.

Well met, noble elf, what may I do for you?inquires the new town leader.

Ive come calling upon you solely to inquire asto your well-being, replies Ryn. May Ienter?

The DM will need to role play the following ifany PCs are present with Aislyn in her house:

Ryn will inquire as to who she is keepingcompany with and how they will be able to seeto her safety. Hes doing this to judge whatobstacles hell need to overcome when he makesthe assassination attempt tonight.

Ryn will question the characters as to theirexperiences with the blade and magic so he mayget a better feeling as to how much of achallenge they will present. A Sense Motivecheck (DC 18) will alert the PCs to a possibleother reason for Ryns line of questioning, butthey wont know what that reason is.

Finally, Ryn will state that there have beenrumors of orcs being seen around some of theoutlying farms. The rogue will suggest that theorcs may be getting ready to make an initialstrike against the town. He will recommend thatthe party organize a patrol for day and night sothe town wont be caught unaware. This is infact false, but he will use this to encourage PCsto have a night time patrol, for the sole purposeof reducing the number of protectors Aislyn mayhave. If the PCs wish to do a Gather Informationcheck to confirm this rumor, they must succeedwith a DC of 25, due to the lack of time anddifficulty of finding someone whos spent anytime out in the storm.

If there werent any PCs with Aislyn when Rynvisits, he will inquire as to where her protectorsare in a manner suggesting his concern for herwell-being. He wont attack her until tonight asthere would be too many witnesses for theassassination to work, especially if she were tocry out for help.

At this point, Ryn will ask for leave and retire tohis house to prepare for the nights events. If thePCs havent figured out that Ryn is the assassinthen they could have problems keeping Aislynalive, especially if part of the group is out onpatrol. If the party does suspect Ryn and has fairproof by this point, they may have gone toAislyn. She will agree that Ryn should bequestioned, but in the morning. If the PCs werearound during Ryns visit, allow them to takeany precautions they wish for the night. If noneof the PCs were present when Ryn stopped by,Aislyn will mention the fact that the elf paid hera visit inquiring on her well-being and as to theactions of the party. Allow the party to draw anyconclusions they wish from this information.

Laenders HouseThe house is a fairly simple affair. The walls,floor and ceiling are all made out of wood. Theceiling is 10 feet high, the roof is wooden andwill support up to 200 pounds in a single 5x5section. The exterior door leading to the road isa strong wooden door (2 thick, 5 HP hardness,20 HP, Break DC 25 when locked) and has a fairlock (Open Lock DC20). All interior doors aresimple wood doors (1 thick, 5 HP hardness, 10HP, Break DC 13 when stuck) with no locks.There are two windows in the master bedroom,one each on the northern and southern wall each.There is a third window in the guest bedroom onthe southern wall. None of the windows haveany locks on them and can be opened from theoutside with a successful Open Locks check (DC10). They are large enough for a Medium-sizedcreature to fit through easily. If open, amovement action, or if broken, a full action willbe required to enter or exit via the window.

Day 12 SummaryParty They will be able to examine the body,continue their investigation and shouldaccompany Aislyn to her house.Ryn Will visit Aislyn at her house to judgewhat sort of preparations hell need to make forthe coming assassination attempt.

Day 13At 2 AM Ryn will leave his house, moving alongthe southern party of the town wall. Unlesstheres a patrol organized by the party aroundthis part of town, Ryn will make it to the area of

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the wall south of Laenders house without beingspotted. Characters in the tower will not be ableto see Ryn.

Once there, Ryn will continue to move along thesouthern town wall, using the rain and extremelydark night as cover, until he passes by the house(see the map Ryns Attack). If the party isguarding the southern facing windows, 1 each inthe guest bedroom and the master bedroom, theyhave a chance of spotting Ryn (Spot DC 20 forthe guest bedroom window, Spot DC 25 for themaster bedroom). Unless they raise an alarm,Ryn will not be aware hes been spotted and willcontinue north into the copse of trees behind thehouse.

At this point Ryn will move to the back of thehouse and skirt along the wall moving north. Hewill check around the corner before he moves tothe northern window leading to the masterbedroom. Ryn will check in the window andopen it if he doesnt see any obvious threat. IfAislyn is not in bed (asleep or otherwise) Rynwill still enter but will be very caution. The DMshould have him make Listen and Spot rolls ifhes cautious against any characters who may bein the bedroom waiting for him. Otherwise, Rynwill enter believing that hes not been detected.

At this point, if Aislyn is alone and no specialprecautions have been made (such as herfeigning sleep or hiding in another room), thenRyn kills her in her sleep and slips back out theway he came in. Otherwise, he will move to thebed, assuming Aislyn or someone else is lyingthere, and stab it with his dagger.

If melee ensues, Ryn will quickly shove the deskon the north wall of the master bedroom againstthe door (movement equivalent action) toprevent reinforcements from gaining easy access.He will fight the obvious threat (probably thePCs) seeking to disable them or kill them beforehe moves to Aislyn. Ryns intelligent and willnot let the PCs flank him. If things start to gobadly for Ryn (he has 8 HP or less), hell try toescape back out the window and then try toclimb the 10 high town wall (Climb DC 20 dueto the rain on the stones) to the south. The PCscan give chase but if they try to take him one-on-

one or two-on-one, they will more than likelylose the fight and possibly their lives.

Ryn was not disguised and wasnt planning onstaying around after he finished his work. Hewas going to return to Degarn for payment, thenmove to Stahl to act as a spy for the orcs,replacing the dead Djamal. If he escapes hellflee to Stahl and then further north fearing thatDegarn will put a price on his head for failure.This can lead to later encounters with the party,at the DMs discretion.

Regardless of what happens, the storm ends andthe sun will be seen the following morning. Acleric of the god of justice could make aKnowledge (Religion) check (DC 10) and realizethat his god has completed some significant taskand the storm was caused by his god attentionsin the area.

Concluding the AdventureIf Ryn successfully escapes, the DM isencouraged to have him flee the area but showup out side of the RR series. Ryn will not wantto remain around these parts