Last time I created our four intrepid adventureres, the fighters Kashi, Pypui and Cuauhtéloc and the paladin Ignomini.They all have reasons to be in Greenest. The module starts just outside town, describing how the party has been traveling towards Greenest. That might be true for Kashi,and Ignomini, who hail from different parts of Waterdeep. However, Cuauthéloc has been living in Greenest for the last two years. He is a hunter, so he might have joined up with the party just outside of town.
And Pypui has stayed in Greenest for some time now, waiting for events to unfold.
Let's start with the two travelers:
Kashi and Ignomini both are friends with Leosin Erlanthar who has called them to come to Greenest. Kashi just finished a sentence of hard labor after killing the satyr servant of Dralmorrer Borngray. Ignomini in turn is searching for a way to bring his bloodline-prophecy to fruition. I would imagine that Leosin would have set them up to travel together, knowing that the just released killer and the paladin of the morninglord might have a balancing effect on each other.
"So, how did you meet master Erlanthar.", asked the tiefling, sitting on a stump next to the road, carefully placing another broken branch on the campfire. Both he and his travel companion had doffed their armor for the night and were enjoying the freedom of movement without it.
"It's a long story", answered the human male with the long, dark hair. He was plucking the already slightly scorched prairie hen he killed that day. Ignomini had been more than a little surprised when the strong fighter suddenly conjured up flames in the palm of his hand and threw them at the sitting bird, killing it instantly. Apparently there was more than met the eye with this traveler. So far they had not yet had the necessity to prove themselves in combat, but Ignomini now knew that Kashi had a few tricks up his sleeve that the tiefling had not expected of him.
"I enjoy long stories", he said, pulling the stopper out of his waterskin and taking a long sip. They had found a brook nearby and the water was cool and tasted earthy and clean.
Kashi shook his head, seemingly taken up by the activity of preparing their dinner. "Another time perhaps.", he rebuffed the invitation to speak about himself. "Suffice to say that I owe him a lot, my life perhaps and I trust that if he called us to Greenest, it's for a very good reason indeed."
Ignomini had to agree with that, but he doubted very much the reason was the same for both of them. "We'll have to ask him ourselves then.", he concluded the subject and started to whittle a green branch into a spit to roast the hens on.
"May I ask an impertinent question?", asked Kashi a bit later, when the bird was slowly turning above the flames. "How did you find your way into the priesthood of Lathander?"
"I would call that curiosity, not impertinence", replied Ignomini. "But you are mistaken. I am no priest. "I serve the lord of dawn as well as I can, but I have taken no vows. But I came to him as all do: From darkness, in search of light."
For a moment the tiefling seemed to consider his next words, studying the face of the other man."It is easy to fall into unsavory ways in the big city. Easier still, if many consider you already part of chaos. The easiest if you think so yourself. But I found solace and purpose in the temple. There is salvation in the surrender to a bigger power, if that power is a force for good. I trust that there is a plan for me, even if I am not yet fully aware of it. And I try to follow the right path. Today that path leads me to Greenest, I believe."
It was quiet for a long while after that. The two men ate in silence. It was not their turn to keep watch so when their bellies were full, they lay down on their bedrolls - the soft nights had so far not given reason for Ignomini to set up his tent - and stared into the fire. As sleep approached like a welcome guest, Kashi broke the silence.
"I wish I had faith. There were no gods where I was born. Or at least, no concept of them ever reached me. They seem far and distant to me. I envy you."There was no reply and the two men drifted away to dream about gods or men, about destiny and darkness.
In the meantime, in Greenest it is easy for the storytelling if Pypui and Cuauhtéloc already have a connection. She has been staying in Greenest for some times, I'd say perhaps a couple of tendays and Cuau would have taken an interest to the stranger with the whips.
"That was close than I'd like to admit", said Pypui, looking at the stack of carcasses as it slowly caught flame. They had stacked them on dry grass and poured some oil over it, erecting the pyre on a flat bit of rock where it could burn safely. "Why do we burn them again?"
"It's an offering to the Gods, to Silvanus and Chauntea,", explained her guide, a scrawny lad of maybe twelve or thirteen years. Despite his young age he had proven himself very capable with a crossbow and had surprised her by shooting one of the creatures with a bolt of fire from his hand.
"The hyena's are a danger to the sheep, but they are creatures of nature as well. By burning them we implore the gods to create a better suited habitat for them, farther away from the town."
The boy was not the talkative kind, but whenever explanation was needed, he was rather eloquent, even if his speech was accented with harsh consonants that betrayed his far origin.
"Are you a servant of those gods?", Pypui asked, inspecting the weave of her whips for damages.
Cuauhtéloc hesitated before answering: "Not actively. But I respect the local customs. They are not my gods, but I'll bring them the reverence they are due."
Pypui was astonished. The boy's thought patterns were much more mature than his smooth, beardless face would make one assume. When she had asked around for jobs, the watch captain had assigned her as an assistant hunter to him. Apparently he was well respected and seen as an equal to the adults.
She did not know how to respond and they stayed quiet while the fire burned. When there were only embers left, Cuauhtéloc shoveled dirt onto them to suffocate the heat and they left for the road. The sun was nearing the horizon when the boy spoke up, phrasing a question that had bothered him for a while.
"Why do you have two whips? Isn't that very impractical? It seems to me that they must hinder your movement."
Pypui grinned, her ego rejoicing once again at the attention her curious talent demanded.
"It did at first, but once you practice for a long time, you realize that if you treat the whips as an extension of your arms, they do not hinder you in the least bit. Just like a sword or axe, they have a predictable way of moving and once you completely have made yourself accustomed with it they do not hinder you in the least."
"I saw you practice behind the inn a few days back.", Cuauhtéloc admitted. "It looked more like a dance than a fighting training."
The acrobat nodded at this assessment. "You're closer than you think. I began cracking whips as a way of performing, to earn money on the street. Only later did I realize that if you can hit a candleflame to snuff it from a distance you can use the same motion to take out an eye."
Her own eyes glanced quickly at the face of the adolescent. Did she go to far with that description? But Cuauhtéloc did not appear squeamish and did not flinch at the mention of gore. He was indeed peculiar, Pypui decided.
Now, let's bring the two parties together so that the adventure can begin.
It had been a long day on the road for the caravan and its guards. Kashi and Ignomini, who after their shared watch had not discussed faith any more but had taken up staying close to one another were taking their turn scouting ahead of the slowly moving oxen. It had been a short time since they'd taken the second rest of the day and the two men were anxious to move on. From a farmer on his wagon whom they met an hour ago they had heard that the town of Greenest wasn't far anymore. If they kept pace and didn't encounter any surprises they might have a night in an actual bed ahead of them, a most pleasant idea for the road-weary travelers.
It was to prevent those surprises from creeping up on them that they had scouted ahead and they kept a sharp eye out for anything out of the ordinary...such as the column of black smoke in the middle of the Greenfields.
"This is more than the ordinary campfire", Ignomini said, stating the obvious. Kashi rolled his eyes.
"Indeed, but what is burning and why?", he replied. "Lets try to get a little closer."
The tiefling sniffed the air. "I smell burned meat and something else, sharper, like singed horn.", his yellow eyes narrowed. "Do you think we should alert the caravan?"
Kashi did take a moment to consider the suggestion, but then he shook his head and pointed. "People are coming this way. Two of them. They have already seen us. If they meant ill, they'd have had an easy time sneaking up on us."
Indeed there was a duo of humans approaching, armed for hunt or combat though somewhat eccentric in their garb. The young boy, not yet fully a man but armed with a crossbow and a scimitar in his belt, wore armor that resembled a sailor's garb and the woman whose dark face bore tattoos above the nose carried two rolled up whips on her belt. The boy raised his hand in greeting and the two men returned the peaceful sign. They four people met under a solitary acacia tree.
"Be greeted,", the woman with the whips took the initiative to start conversations. "Two people armed like you are out here with a purpose, that is sure. If you are seeking game, you will need to hunt elsewhere."
Her gloved hand pointed over her shoulder at the rising smoke. "My young friend here and I have made quite a lot of noise while killing these hyena's. But even if we didn't, the pack has made this area unsafe for weeks, there's probably little prey to be had around their burrow."
"We did not come seeking game, we just came to investigate the smoke.", the tiefling replied. "So you are burning the hyena-burrows?"
The woman shook her head. "We are burning the bodies themselves. As an offering.", her eyes glance towards the adolescent who nods and takes over the explanation. "It's a local ritual, to implore the gods to keep other predators away from this area, at least for a while. You don't look like you're from around here?"
"Neither do you,", was the thought that Kashi swallowed. The boy's skincolor was closer to that of Kashi himself, but the hairdo and jewels he wore in his ears and nose were foreign and clearly not from around this part of Faerûn. But instead of trying to satisfy his curiosity, Kashi answered:
"We are not. We are with a caravan that is headed for the town of Greenest, which should be nearby here somewhere?"
Both the woman and the boy nodded but it was the boy who replied: "Greenest is a bit more to the North-East. The caravan is taking the road I presume?"
After receiving confirmation he continued: "It should be only a few more hours, if your animals are rested. You can make it before sundown."
"You appear to know your way around here.", stated the tiefling. "Would you care to join up with us and guide us safely to Greenest? With a local guide showing the way, I'm sure the caravan master will be glad to make haste for town."
The boy threw an inquisitive glance at the woman who just shrugged, then he agreed with the offer. "Travel is slower that way, but there are a few spots where the wagon can easily break an axle if you're not careful enough. We'll accompany you to town. I am Cuauhtémoc and this is Pypui.", he introduced themselves.
"It is a pleasure to meet both of you and fortunate to boot.", replied the human fighter. "I am Kashi, and this here is Ignomini, a servant of the Morninglord." The tiefling indicated a slight bow, his finger tapping the sun-circle amulet he wore around the neck. "Let's head back to our caravan then and make for Greenest. After all, it is our common destination and company makes the journey more pleasant."
It proved easy enough to convince the caravan master to up the pace. All the travelers cheered up when they were faced with people from the very town they were heading to telling them that it wasn't far anymore. Most people even got of the carts to lighten the load for the horses and oxen. These last few miles were the longest but as dusk was falling Cuauhtémoc informed them all that any moment now they would see the lights of Greenest, just on the other side of the hill.
However it was Kashi who raised up a hand to make the wagons halt. "What's that sound,", he said in a hushed whisper. With all the carts stopped and the travelers holding their breath the sound of voices calling out, crying and shouting was audible for everyone. Something was amiss, something was gravely amiss.
A call escaped Cuauhtéloc's throat, uttered in a language that masked whether it was a prayer, warning or a curse. But the young man's intentions were clear when he started to run forward, his right hand tying the leather bands of a small buckler around his wrist.
"Wait", calls Ignomini. "Where are you going?!"
The young man doesn't look back, he just calls over his shoulder: "I help!", before running further. The tiefling and Kashi exchange a swift glance.
"Rats! Rats! Skeletal Rats!", curses Pypui, undoing the clasp that holds her whips in place. "Can't let him go alone, can we?"
As she runs off, that's enough for the two men to come into action as well. A fleeting glance at the panicking caravan master tells them enough: There is no help to be had here.
"Drive the animals off the rode, hide the wagons, hide yourself. We'll come get you when it's safe!", calls Kashi over his shoulder as he draws his weapon and storms after the tiefling that is already halfway up the remainder of the hill.
Quickly making speed to catch up with him, Kashi almost bangs into Ignomini, as the three who had run ahead have no all stopped at the hilltop, looking out over the town.
Greenest is in flames. Many of the reed-decked huts and houses have caught fire and black, chocking smoke arises from the chaos. People are in the street, running, shouting, trying to orientate themselves. And a moment later lightning shoots down, setting three more cottages ablaze. But the beam of blue light does not come from the clouds above, but instead from the wide open maw of an enormous, blue scaled dragon that circles over Greenest.
"This is insane.", is the first though in Pypui's head, "This can't be one, not against...that!"
But next to her, Cuauhtémoc already begins to move again, his face white as a sheet.
"What are you doing, fool?", the entertainer asks as he starts to walk down the path right towards the inferno.
Thick beads of sweat trickle down the boy's face when he turns, the dead stare in his eyes indicating that he knows how hopeless this undertaking is. "I must help them! Somehow."
These words seem to shake him awake and he starts to run again. And, after a moment's hesitating, accepting the eminent lethal danger they are running straight towards and internally condemning themselves for their own foolishness, the three others follow.
 |
| A blue dragon descends on Greenest, the adventure has begun |
In his mind Cuauhtéloc tries to go back in time, to remember the white sand beaches of his home, the faces of his parents, his friends, his tribe. It feels like saying goodbye again but he does not want to risk to loose his adoptive family as well. This time he will fight. He has some skills and even if he does not doubt that he is running towards his doom if the dragon decides to swoop down at him, he needs to do this. This time he is no longer a little boy, afraid of the great confusing danger that has come to wreck his village, he is a grown man in mind and body, and he will protect his home with all he has.
He is following the Uldoon Trail that runs through the town. One of the first buildings here is the Golden Goat, where he has spend some nights, secretly meeting with some of the local farm boys to plot against a local bully or a corrupt guard. The tables outside the tiny tavern are still intact, half-eaten mills spilling off the plates, but the sheds across from it are burning like torches. The dried grass and hay that is stored here easily went up in flames and the fire has already started taking over the roof of the next building. The home of Vall, the weaver is spewing out black smoke but no one seems to remain inside.
Just for a Moment Cuauhtéloc is overtaken by horror at the destruction. He hears rush footfalls behind him but before he can turn around to check who is pursuing him he sees a small group of humans rush out from behind the Golden Goat. He recognizes Linan Swift and her family. Linan and her husband Cuth, commonly seen making belts, pouches and other items from leather are clutching their two children and are fleeing from a chittering band of kobolds that are in hot pursuit. Cuauhtéloc does not hesitate. With a hoarse cry he runs forward to attack.
In horror Cuauhtéloc sees one of the kobolds loose a small pebble from a slingshot that hits the already injured Cuth in the back of his head. The man collapses to the ground, his daughter Jayde screeching in horror as the kobold rushes after them and tries to grab the child. A second projectile hits Linan on the cheek as she turn and scream for her husband.
A javelin flies overhead, missing the kobolds but drawing their attention as next to Cuauhtéloc the heaving form of Ignomini in his heavy armor stops, his eyes focused on the chaos ahead. "Oh Lathander, deliver us.", he wheezes as he draws the next throwing spear from his quiver.
One of the kobolds, his eyes following the trajectory of the weapon notices the advancing adventurers. With a shrill yipping he shouts something at the others, alerting them of the incoming danger. He then starts twirling the sling in his hands but does not yet release the pebble.
Angelus, the young son of the Swifts, only eight or nine years of age picks up a stick, crying and shouting at the same time and accosts the kobold that is now grabbing at his sister but the small draconian creature just hisses at him until an arrow, shot from Pypui's bow hits him in the side. The acrobat has caught up to the others. "My, my...this is something.", she says, a strange calmness in her voice.
Hit by another projectile, Linan collapses, letting go of the broken spear she was clutching in her hands to defend her children with. Both of them are now howling with a deathly fear as two more kobolds are quickly darting in, nimble fingers grabbing at belt pouches and pulling at their mother's earrings.
Kashi, lacking any ranged weapons runs past the others, his axe held high and prepared to strike. The kobold that was earlier giving commands now throws his pebble at him but the bit of rock just bounces off the warrior's armor. But quickly another kobold joins his comrade and this one hits Kashi right in the temple with critical precision. Blood begins to pour down his temple and despite the projectile being minute this injury appears rather severe.
Cuauhtéloc realizes the precarity of the situation. Rushing forward he shoots his crossbow and the bolt takes out the kobold that attacked his travel companion. At the same time with a high-pitched wail the little Jayde picks up her mother's fallen spear and runs forward. Putting all her minute weight behind the attack she throws herself at the creature that had tried to pry off her little shell wristband. The spear goes deep into the kobolds abdomen and the little monster dies with a gurgle, slain by a six year old human girl.
Angelus, gaining courage in his desperation from the bravery of his little sister now grabs his stick with two hands and batters another kobold time and time again until the small creature does no longer move. A moment later Pypui's arrow ends the life of the last assailant that still clings to the little girl. A black kobold flees into the night, realizing there is nothing to gain here anymore and Pypui stands still next to Kashi's body. "No time for a nap, man. Better get up and...shit!", she cusses as she see's the man's state. The last bullet has left a terrible bruise on the front of his throat and his face is rapidly turning purple as he struggles to breath. "I need a little help here!", she calls as she kneels down next to her suffocating compatriot.
Cuauhtéloc is not listening to her. He quickly places himself between the children and the kobolds, firing a bolt into the smoke-filled night without hitting anything as the flitting opponents run for safety.
With no visible threat in the nearby vicinity, Jayde now throws herself onto her mother's body, grabbing at her neckerchief and shaking her, making Linan's head roll from one side to the other. The child begins to wail in a horrible cry of injustice.
With the combat won for now, the remaining kobolds quickly run for their lives. Ignomini steps to Kashi and, gently placing a hand behind his neck he whispers: "From night glows new dawn", restoring a tiny bit of strength to the fallen man's body, just enough to open his throat and bring him to his feet.
"You can't just abandon us at the first sign of danger,", the tiefling says as he turns away from him to look after the children. It is unclear if he is joking or not.
Kashi is crawling to his feet, breathing heavily, his hand grasping his throat. His eyes are shooting daggers, but then he sees Cuauhtéloc kneeling down next to the sobbing children and his expression softens. Instead of giving the young lad piece of his mind he closes his eyes in the midst of all the fire and ruin and breathes steadily and deeply a few times to focus his bodies energy as only an experienced fighter can. As he does so, the wounds he has sustained stop bleeding.
"This is all very touching", Pypui says, stepping forward briskly and disrupting the moment of grief. "But we need to get out of here or we'll be toast."
Cuauhtéloc looks up and opens his mouth as if to spew and indignant respons at her but Ignomini sides with her in both a literal and a metaphorical way. "It's terrible, but Pypui is right. We need to bring these children..."
"And ourselves.", interjects Pypui.
"...to safety.", the tiefling finishes, a frown on his forehead. "Where would one go?"
Cuauhtéloc brushes aside his annoyance and indignation in the realization that the older adventurers are right. "The keep.", he answer's. "The Queen's keep, in the middle of town. The governor will be rallying the guards to defend it."
"Then let's make for the keep.", says Kashi, joining up with the other. He bends down, picking up the struggling boy. "Come, lad. Your mother wouldn't want you to die out here on the street. Come along."
Angelus tear-streaked face burried in Kashi's long, black hair the four adventurers see themselves faced with having to navigate the burning village to get to the keep.
Three encounters with raiders until the party reaches the keep.
The sound of breaking wood and laughing voices reaches the group. Just ahead the road forks. Now laughter erupts and a single cheer from a hoarse man's throat erupts. There are people ahead. Pypui raises a hand to draw the attention. She deviates from the road into the shade of some shrubs, keeping a careful eye out. Her training of balance and grace enables her to move without a single sound and even blend in a bit with the flickering light of the fire. A few barns to the right of the crossing are on fire and illuminate group of ruffians breaking their way through the splintered door of a house. No sound of anyone inside escapes and Pypui signals her peers to follow her in an attempt to avoid more bloodshed.
Travel cloaks bundled around the children the adventurers attempt to sneak away from the group. One or two of the raiders turn as they pass by, throwing glancing looks at the crying children and apparently decide that their current target is more profitable or more easily won. No one pursues for now.
Cuauhtéloc orientates himself. They are moving away from the keep now and will need to find another way. Perhaps they could just scale the hill while ignoring the road. It's not a steep climb, even with the children in tow.
But his thoughts are cut short when a group of five villagers comes running around the corner from the direction of caravan square. They are being pursued by another group of raiders with the flitting shapes of kobolds twirling their deceptively simple slings.
Kashi, thinking quickly, picks up both children in his arms and rushes across the road towards a few bushes. Dropping brother and sister here he warns them: "Stay here, hide, we'll defend you. As one of the nearing villagers falls, hit by one of the flung pebbles, Jayde pulls her brother under the branches of a young sickle bush to hide him from sight, the pale pink blossoming catkins offering them a tiny moment of beauty despite the horror they are living through.
Cuauhtéloc has his crossbow out. The bolt whistles over the heads of the fleeing townies and hits one of the pursuers in the eye, not outright killing the woman but grievously injuring her none the less. She stumbles back, dropping her weapon and clawing at the bit of wood sticking out of her eye socket. The young warrior advances, drawing his scimitar as he pushes through the fleeing people and faces the raiders head on, his face a grimace of hatred. He is met by one of the pursuers who slashes at him, managing to bring his sword through the leather armor and injure the young lad's leg.
Now Cuauhtéloc has the entire force of the pursuers to deal with. He narrowly avoids a few blows but another blade pierces in between his lower ribs and the air escapes his lungs with a gurgling cry of pain. But his attacker is hit across the face with a length of sturdy leather and recoils as now Pypui has joined her comrade. Her whips are out, spinning fast and with deadly precision. She cracks the second whip just inches in front of another attacker's nose, her eyes narrowed in focused concentration.
"Don't go that way!", calls Ignomini to the fleeing commoners. "There's more foes there. Join us, defend your town!" He jugs a javelin towards the raiders that sadly misses and sticks into the ground, taking away some of the impression he is making. The warning however is clearly heard and two of them, a dwarf and a man carrying a shovel turn to join the adventurers in rebuffing the raiders. However, the kobold he so narrowly missed turns an angry eye at the paladin and a moment later a flung pebble hits the tiefling's temple, drawing blood and bruising the flesh.
