Document 4: The Invisible Bond (Adventure)

Details (Part 2)

The Bracelet Bearer

Whomever bears the bracelet will soon begin to feel the empathic nature of the item. Once it has an idea of the nature of its new bearer, it will bide its time and see what he/she does. If the new owner tries to sell it, the bracelet will make its empathic capabilities fully known.

It will take the bracelet a day to fully invest with the bearer, who doesn’t actually need to wear the item. At that time, the bracelet will be able to communicate by placing images into the mind of the bearer. At first, the bracelet will simply observe and see what the new bearer is going to do, but it is hoping that they will try to find out more about its original owner and eventually reunite them.

The bracelet’s last contact with Sertia was on the Galt border just before she was killed. The ensuing time when she has been transformed into an undead was a distorted blur of nightmare images and not much else. Sertia was unconscious when she was resurrected and awoke in the gardens near the old mage’s house in southern Taldor. The bracelet does not have any senses of its own and relies upon the senses of its bearer. So the bracelet will try to encourage the new bearer to follow the clues to its owner. If the bearer does not search closely, it will impart an image of a marking near the clasp which is the maker’s mark.

Image: Marking near clasp of silver bracelet (can’t find an image?)

During each section following, a note with possible images will be suggested (in blue).

Following the Clues

This next section was a mini-adventure within an adventure. I even thought of publishing this a a short module.

Mirewood

From the outside, the sleepy little settlement at the end of the canal is a small, quaint resting spot at the edge of the great Verduran Forest. In the past, the town was much larger and was mainly a lumbering town, receiving logs from the forest and arranging for them to be shipped to the ports of Taldor via the extensive canal system. Now though, with the decline in the shipwright businesses in Taldor and the usage of the River Sellen that has direct access to Cassomir, the few businesses and people remaining in Mirewood eke out a living off the hunters, rangers and the odd adventuring group.

For the past couple years, however, Mirewood has harbored a dark secret. One of the oldest residents, a widow known as Granny Fanny is well known to both locals and return visitors alike. For the past 50 years, she has used her small personal orchard to create some of the best preserves, pies and jams in the region. Clever merchants load up with her goods to sell at an outrageous markup in Cassomir.

About three years ago, Granny welcomed a lone, but toothy stranger who had heard of her famous goods. Unfortunately, after a night of hooch-induced loose talk, Granny had given up most of her secrets and the old woman became the first victim of an opportunistic, evil Winter Hag.

The Hag has been excavating a series of underground passages, one leading from the cavern under the garden to an old secret crypt below the Desna Shrine and more recently to the floor if one of the guest rooms at the Dire Wolf so she can pick off lone travelers without arousing too much suspicion. Depending on the time of day, the party may get involved a number of ways.

Entering the Town

Almost at the edge of the tall trees of the Verduran Forest, you see a small group of cottages and low buildings ahead. A weathered sign that looks like it was once painted, but now well faded says “Welcome to Mirewood”

It is near sunset and lights are beginning to appear in windows A few people can be spotted hurrying back to their homes or toward a large two-story building that seems to have a lot of activity.

The Dire Wolf – A two-story inn and tavern is one of the first buildings that visitors pass by on their way into town. Owned by a retired human ranger named Polly and her husband, a half-elf named Diandon, the old Inn has been the central gathering place for the residents as well as travelers for decades. The only other place of lodging in town is conveniently called The Lodge which is where the hunters and rangers prefer to stay. Diandon is quiet, but greets new faces with a smile and a handshake after wiping his hands on a stained apron. He will ask if they are looking for a room, or just a warm meal. Polly, who is more outgoing and flirty and her husband share the cooking and serving duties, so they will both be bustling around the main room. The tavern portion is fairly busy this evening, but there are several available rooms on the second floor. Single room = 8sp, Double room = 16sp, Common room = 1sp. Horses/animals will be tended/fed for 1sp/night.

Once the party settles in and finds a table, a lone merchant will smile and introduce himself as Logan Trook. He is very outgoing and generous and will insist on buying the group a round of drinks. He has just arrived today from Yanmass and has been visiting the Verduran border towns on his way to Cassomir. Although he does not try to sell the group anything (his inventory is low), but if asked, he tells them that he is a collector of rarities such as carved art objects, old maps, exotic musical instruments, anything that he can buy or trade on his travels. He is here to get a few jars of famous lemon preserves made by someone named Granny Fanny and wants to know if they have heard of her. He also likes to hear information about the places he’s heading so if the party tells him that they have come from Cassomir, he is very excited and talkative and wants to know all about it (places to stay, eat, entertainment, theater, crime, leaders, etc.)

After the party gets settled, they will be served supper, which is included in the cost of their room(s) and the night goes by pleasantly. Sometime past midnight, however, the Hag will use the new access tunnel in Logan’s room to abduct him. She is not able to subdue him completely without making a bit of noise, so the party will have a chance (DC20 Per) to hear a loud thump and a muffled/strangled voice from a room below them. If they search his room, they will find that his bed has been slept in and all of his gear is still there, but Logan is missing. With a DC20 Search check, the trapdoor and tunnel leading into the tunnels below can be found.

Granny Fanny’s – This little farmhouse is where Granny cooks, cans and jars her preserves. She has a traditional kitchen as well as a canning prep room and a small orchard with various fruits, berries and edible plants. She sells these products for anywhere between 50sp to 5gp depending on the season and rarity. The Hag learned the basics of Granny’s craft so makes a good show of creating her goods but has removed much of the garden’s fruits for the excuse of not having much inventory left.

The well in her orchard serves Granny as an access point to the underground caverns that she can fly down. If the party seeks her out during the day, she can be found here in the midst of making her preserves. Unless the party uses magic, she will not do anything to draw attention to her true nature. If someone visits her at night, she will be missing and the home appears empty. Coals in the stove are slightly warm from her daily cooking.

Garden Cavern – The well in Granny’s garden drops 40’ into a shallow (4’ deep) pool of water in the center of a larger grotto. The cave is damp and smells of earth and moss. There are two accessible tunnels leading away from this area, one is very old and ends at a blank, crafted stone wall. This is the back side of an old secret door that has been used very recently. A DC20 Per roll will reveal the mechanism for opening the door (two halves pivot 180 degrees). The other tunnels shows recent signs of excavation and leads to a dead end. A single shovel is all that can be seen at the end. If the ceiling is examined, a narrow (3’ wide) tunnel can be spotted leading up. This ends at a section of floorboards under the bed in one of the ground floor guest rooms at the Dire Wolf.

Desna’s Rest

This old shrine is a simple single-room structure with a large archway and several windows. Inside are furnishings to allow followers of Desna to rest during their journeys – simple cots, stone chairs, a place to bathe and refresh and a stone altar to leave offerings to the Goddess and anyone who takes up the duties of caretaking. The altar has a few candle stubs, a basket of wild berries, a branch stuck into a pot with a few butterfly chrysalises and several vaguely butterfly-shaped rocks.

One of the stone chairs covers a very old staircase leading to a crypt that was used when the shrine was dedicated to a different deity. It takes a DC24 Athletics roll to move it and a DC28 Per to find it.

Other Locations

Oslin’s Goods – Oslin Greenberry is a retired half-elf adventurer who has settled in Mirewood as the sole remaining mercantile and he likes it that way. He has contacts and scheduled shipments from southern cities that keep the small town well-provisioned. He also is a font of information since he is very friendly and talkative and anyone who comes to town will find something they need at his shop. Oslin carries many mundane items and even has a few odd livestock he has accepted in trade.

Horace Smithy – A dwarf only known by the name Horace came to Mirewood about 15 years ago, travelling through the town, but was talked into staying by Oslin for his badly needed smithing and crafting skills. The small town keeps him busy repairing carts, shoeing horses, fixing plows and the Dire Wolf keeps several casks of ale full for one of their best customers.

The Lodge – An A-framed building stands by itself on the west side of the town and is a well-know and well-used refuge for the rangers and foresters of the Verduran. The accommodations are self-serve and free. Several simple pallets and hammocks are set up haphazardly in a large common area and two side rooms can be used for more privacy. A prominent sign on the wall written in Common, Gnome, Elf and Halfling next to the main door says “Leave the Lodge as Welcoming to the next guest as you found it.”

Penhallow Estate – Sir Cadeus Penhallow keeps a quaint little 5-bedroom estate here when he is in the area or needs to impress another noble or fair lass. The young knight-errant is currently out of town and the people look after the property since the knight is generous, protective and generally well-liked when he is in town.

Hansen Farm – Farmer Hansen and his extraordinarily pretty daughter tend one of the more prosperous farms in the town, growing lettuce, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, turnips and a few other vegetables. The Dire Wolf is the primary customer but they are also agreeable to  providing these staples to people travelling through the town. The farmer’s daughter, Penelope is legend in the area for her beauty and her kindness. She is quite deft at deflecting unwanted attention, but rarely does anyone feel insulted by her words. The town is very protective of her even though she is very capable of taking care of herself. She is not a shrinking violet however, and if someone impresses her, she will make her feelings well known and is always up for a short-term dalliance.

Encountering the Hag

If the party finds their way down to the crypt that evening, they will find the Hag standing in front of an old platform where she is beginning to perform some evil ritual on a tightly bound merchant that they met earlier and who is missing from his room.

Once the party has defeated the Hag they will find the bodies of two more missing guests as well as the decomposing body of the real Granny Fanny. It appears that many of the victims’ organs have been removed. Telltale signs show that the Hag has probably been using or feasting on victims for months.

Also in the room is a small sack with the belongings of her victims containing 185gp, 76sp, a copper & turquoise necklace worth 10gp, a plain silver insignia ring with a falcon (Andoran Steel Falcons, DC15 Society), 6 pearls worth 15gp each, a Lifting Belt (Barnabus) (4) and a Skeleton Key (Rideyr) (5).

Winter Hag – 60 XP

Information Gathering

If the party asks around Mirewood, they have a good chance to gather some important information. Someone who asks around can roll to make a DC20 Diplomacy.

• The half-elf merchant Oslin recognizes the maker’s mark as belonging to an old Shoanti craftsman named Takoda Greyeagle
• The smith had a shop in Maheto. Oslin even has some of Takoda’s works that he can show them to compare the marks.
• Horace does not recognize the mark but refers the party to Oslin.