Chapter 2/3 - Blacktalon Keep

After the group finishes the Hollow's Last Hope mini-module, the adventure continues. I have fleshed out a few of the local inns and NPCs as well as a few encounters for their amusement.

Part 5: After Darkmoon Vale

Once the party has freed the town of Falcon’s Hollow of its affliction, they must continue along the road northwest to the city of Ridonport. From Falcon’s Hollow, travelling along the road will take the party about 3 days to reach Ridonport. Since this road is frequented by travelers and caravans, there are a number of way-Inns along the way that will make the nights comfortable. Each inn will charge about 5s per person per night, but will include breakfast. Dinner will run about 1-5sp depending on quality.

Inn: Greenhook Landing, run by Laren Greenhook, H/M/Com2, a suspicious fat human who is very nosy and can be rude if he doesn’t like someone, but is willing to smile insincerely to make a little coin.

Inn: Star of Cyn(osure), run by Imdri, ½ E/M/C3, a welcoming elder half-elf follower of Desna who has higher quality food and drink for a fair price. He also hires a singer/lute-player named Hephates (M/H/Bd4, perform +15) who entertains nightly and will encourage anyone in the audience to duet with him. He’s very good at judging the mood of the place and fulfilling their musical tastes.

Along the way, during the second day of travel, the party will reach an old canal lock. The lock looks like a small, very regular 20’ waterfall, but upon closer inspection, the mechanism is clearer. It looks like the lock is in questionable repair, but it is manned by a group of enterprising brigands who require a toll to use their lock, or the road surrounding it.

3 Wererats (human form) – HP 18 each, AC 16(17), studded leather, shortsword, light crossbow, total of 56gp, 3 gems x 15gp, and one of the wererats is wearing a Ring of Protection +1

Near the end of their second day, in the late afternoon, the group may spot with a DC 13 Per check, smoke rising in the east, looking about 2 miles away. If they investigate, they will find a lone Dwarf who has just died and his cart which has been ransacked. With a DC 12 Per or Surv check they will discover that the dwarf had a companion in the cart, and if the roll is beat by 5 or more, they will know that the companion was a human female. They will also discover that the cart had a pack animal (mule) that is also missing. There are numerous tracks leading away (gnoll, 6-8).
If the group tracks the gnolls, after travelling about an hour, they will eventually find a stone hillock with a cave below it (opposite from where they are approaching). 2 gnolls stand guard outside and will raise an alarm if they spot enemies.

Chapter 2: Blacktalon Keep

I found a cool little cross-section underground lair map that I adapted to become a gnoll lair. The underground lair also happened to be underneath an aging local stronghold I called Blacktalon Keep.

Blacktalon Keep

Situated in the hills east of Ridonport, the small stronghold of the Blacktalon family has stood for 325 years. Lord Davis Blacktalon and his extended family have lived quietly off of the adventuring profits of a distant knight and currently run a small, but profitable vineyard in the hills near the keep. About 3 weeks ago, a group of wandering gnolls, led by a brutal thug bugbear called Ursaak discovered an old cave complex under a hill near the keep that connected to an old tunnel leading to the lowest basements of Blacktalon Keep. Ursaak led his marauders into the keep and systematically began kidnaping the family, using the women and children as leverage to capture the stronger men. Now, the family has been locked in chains in an underground grotto and Ursaak plans to use them as slaves as he fortifies his new power base of operations.

Blacktalon Keep:
The keep is a small single-storied fortification with 20’ tall, 5’ thick walls and 25’ tall towers at the corners. When fully manned, the keep garrisons 10 men-at-arms, a watch captain, smith, cook, steward and 3 washerwomen who handle everything else, including asst. cooking, first aid, mending, etc. In addition, Lord Davis Blacktalon, his wife Liann, sons Archie (14) and Kyle (7) and the family dog Threet live in the keep. Lord Blacktalon enjoys entertaining and he usually has a visitor or two staying in his guest quarters. Currently, he has young Lord Rastling, a local textile merchant who was waiting to meet one of the other visitors, a dwarf named Bop who was waylaid on the way here from the city of Ridonport. Travelling with Bop was Lady Rastling, the Lord’s new bride, coming home from a shopping trip.

Ursaak and his band have taken all of the household staff, except for 6 men-at-arms and the captain who were killed defending the family. The captives have been dragged into the cavern complex and placed within a set of large cages in area #15. If they can be freed, they will help retake the keep in force.

This is my crude map of Blacktalon Keep's main level. I will try to find the 'underground grotto' where most of this adventure takes place. Found it - credit as "Bandit Roost" one of Wizards' map-a week series. See it below -

Chapter 3: Rescuing the Caskmaster

After their victory at Blacktalon Keep, the group completed the first task assigned to them by Abel. It is also at this point where Khemet's careful scheming is starting to take place. This chapter is a transition from the group's premiere to the next major undertaking.

Disaster in Triela

After the group is dropped off along the Jagged Saw, the Rising Sun continues to the port of Triela at the mouth of the Sellen River in Star Bay. The other group of adventurers has been assigned to travel north along the western bank of the Sellen until they reach the town of Agerton, one of the many waypoints that the loggers use to bring their hauls south along the river and eventually to the port. In Agerton, the group is to find a flotilla of casks with the brand of one of the minor houses of the Verudan, House Denodir, near Wispil. That particular cask does not have wine in it, but rather, the person of Rory Denodir, a half-elf outcast who has been working with the fey and druids of the Verduran to slow down the lumbering business in the ancient forest. The group has been tasked to recover the young lord and bring him to Triela, by way of the high road and bypassing the local towns and traffic. It is rumored that there is a price on his head, offered by the lumber barons and their consortium, so Rory has decided it is his time to leave the area and do some exploring.

Unfortunately, the group did not get very far in their adventure at all. On the first night in town, the group’s volatile barbarian, Jacor decided to get in the way of a group of four drunk sailors who, after lobbing a few well-placed insults his way decided to end this half-orc’s miserable existence. In the battle that ensued, Jacor, Ylaren (who fought fairly well), Elmast (who was responsible for getting the party drunk on their first night in town) and Trent (who valiantly defended the half-orc) were killed. Livini is the only survivor and she is currently unconscious at the edge of town, under a stand of brush as the drunk humans are pilfering through her friends’ belongings.

The party now heads to the Port of Triela to discover the fate of the other adventuring group.

Part 6: Back to the Ship

At the end of their trip along the River Foam, they will see the small, but outwardly sprawling port city of Ridonport (pop. 6307). From a distance, the great obelisk of Arnisant, a 200 foot tall carved monument to the famous general of the Shining Crusade who sacrificed himself to imprison the lich known as the Whispering Tyrant inside the structure. A large number of ships are docked here, including a small part of the Taldor fleet (22 military vessels).

Once the group arrives in Ridonport, they will need to find the hedge wizard Flint (S2). Asking around, (DC10 Diplomacy), they will discover that the minor wizard is a regular at the Swinging Kettle, a sleepy little cantina on the outskirts of town, near the road. He has a small residence in town as well, but it is no more than a room he rents above a spice shop and not many people know about it. Flint likes to do his business on contract, out of the Kettle in his favorite table in the back. The owner, Barlo (R2) and he are old friends from the logging days and used to work as mercs for the consortium before it became such an unpopular organization.

(Shining Maiden tangent – if the group looks for the Shining Maiden for a reward, they will find that the ship has not been seen in port for several months. Someone may know (DC16 Diplomacy) that the ship is “secretly” a pirate ship captained by a minotaur named Khor, but he is now wanted by the Taldor navy so he will most likely stay away from here. They could check in Riddleport?)

When the group shows Flint the Soul Speaker, he becomes greatly concerned and covers it with an empty bowl to conceal it from prying eyes.

“Hmm, I was told to look for your group, but I never expected you’d actually show up. Well, I guess I get paid after all. I’ll bring the Lady here tomorrow night at midnight and you can do your business in Barlo’s back room.” He has little more info about the Lady other than she is a stranger who has hired Flint to keep an eye out for the Speaker and bring her to it when he finds it. He will be paid 200gp for the info and his silence.

The following evening, a disguised Eutropia (DC25 sense motive to recognize the disguise and a DC25 local knowledge or diplomacy to recognize her specifically) will come into the cantina via a back door and meet with the group and take possession of the Speaker.

“Greetings, brave companions, you may call me Theodora. This is a strange item,” she says turning the shrunken head in her hands. “But it is exactly as it was described to me and I am very grateful for your efforts. Your benefactor has asked me to reward you for your efforts, so I have the following for you. You may utilize them as you wish –“ A large human, easily 7 feet tall with light blonde hair and prominent muscles enters the room carrying a large chest and sets it down at the woman’s feet. She opens the chest with a key and pulls out some items which she distributes to the group:
These bracers will offer some protection if you wear no armor (bracers of armor +2)
This belt will increase your strength (belt of giant strength +2)
This scabbard will effectively conceal your weapon (sheath of bladestealth)
This amulet will offer detection and protection from elemental creatures (amulet of elemental strife)
This bag is a lot larger than it seems (type 2 bag of holding)
And this oil, when applied to a favorite weapon will add an especially keen edge to it, permanently (Permanent Keen Oil)

She looks at Ramos and says, “And I have something for you, druid, that I would like you to carry personally, if you would.” She hands Ramos what appears to be a thick ring of woven wood and fiber, with embedded emerald holly leaves and ruby holly berries. She reaches out and pulls the ring in two directions, splitting in into two thinner rings; one containing only the leaves and one containing only the berries. Together, it is hard to tell that there are two objects, it is crafted so well.
“Please keep this on your person and if you meet a druid named Harwyn, please give him the one with the leaves, and if you meet a druid called Lyana, please give her the one with the berries. To answer your question, these devices will allow the wearers to communicate over great distances. These two druids only know of each other by reputation, but I believe that they will find these items of great benefit. I can say no more at this time, but please do this favor for me and I will not forget your kindness. I thank you all again for your great efforts.”

At this point, the group is welcome to drink, hang out or find the Rising Sun at their leisure.

The last part of that exchange is actually the hook into the next adventure. The Ruby Price has done a great favor for the future ruler of Taldor and now he will help Taldor and Andoran form a political bond to their mutual benefit.

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