WARNING: spoilers for Keep on the Shadowfell abound in this post. Stop reading now if you plan to play this module.
King Mark Winland II, interested in expanding the influence of his kingdom, hired a hardy band of adventurers to seek out information in and around the village of Ford many leagues to the north. He had previously sent an envoy, Douven Staul, to see what he could learn. Douven should have returned long ago. Now brave heroes make their way to Ford to learn of Douven's fate and to continue his mission.
The Heroes
The heroes include:
- Stadir: half-elf cleric of Bahamut (Jon)
- Rik: halfling rogue (Jeff)
- Mizz: tiefling warlord (Zach)
- Moob: human wizard (Michael)
- Kahlashtar: dragonborn paladin (Matt)
- Berro: dwarf fighter (Rozanne)
On the Road: Kobold Brigands
The party has been on the road for weeks traveling to the village of Ford. They have a general idea of its location and expect to reach it late in the afternoon. About mid-afternoon Rik calls a halt to the band as he spots some rusty-skinned lizard-like creatures skulking about in the rocks and trees near the road. Seeing that their ambush has been foiled the kobolds leap into action.
The dragonmen march forward toward their foes. Two slingers hang back a bit as the warriors charge forward. Moob fires off a spell and fells one of the weaker warriors and Kahlashtar charges forward. A bloody mess ensues. The kobolds hammer at the dragonborn as his comrades pick their way forward to his aid. Berro and Mizz crash into the kobolds as Rik manuevers into an advantageous position.
The mass of kobolds surrounding the paladin bring him down, but a prayer to Bahumut from Stadir and an encouraging word from Mizz get him back on his feet. A bloody minute later and kobold corpses litter the roadside.
The heroes take a brief break to tend to wounds, loot the bodies of their fallen enemies and then continue their journey.
Ford: Questions Answered
The heroes arrive at the tiny walled village near dusk. Dozens of farmhouses dot the country side near Ford. The town proper sits on a prominent hill overlooking the road running east and west and a river that flows north to south. A spur off the road at the bridge leads up the hill to the open gates of the village where two guards greet the travelers amiably and advise them to seek Wrafton's Inn where they can find food, shelter and information.
At Wrafton's Inn the heroes quickly arrange a meal and bed for the night and set to finding what they can about Douven. The innkeeper, Salvana Wrafton, a heavyset middle-aged woman, tells them that Douven stayed in her inn, but just up and disappeared a few weeks ago. She hasn't seen or heard from him since. She's unsure of his interests, but seems to remember he spent a lot of time talking to Eilian. She also tells them that Valthrun might be able to help them out as well.
A handful of locals lounge about in the common room of the inn, taking in a bit of conversation, games of chance and a lot of ale. The heroes notice an elf woman watching them while trying to hide the fact. Rik and Stadir wander over to talk to her. She has no interest in speaking to them, and leaves abruptly when Rik tries to buy her a drink.
Later in the evening as more locals trickle in to the place, Salvana points out Eilian to the party. Eilian is a strange bird indeed. He speaks in sharp, staccato phrases and seems lost in his thoughts and those of others. His mind quickly wanders from topic to topic and his mouth quickly follows. He is most excited when he learns that the heroes seek Douven. "You knew Douven?" he exclaims. "Knew?" responds Stadir. "Well, know . . . I guess. You know Douven?"
After a great deal of wandering about in the strange world that is Eilian's thought process the heroes make an appointment to meet with him in the morning; but not too early! He is fascinated by Kahlashtar's prayer book and begs to take it with him to read, agreeing to return it on the morrow.
The heroes call it a night.
In the morning Moob, Berro and Rik make a run of the town and check things out. They discover there is not much to see. A stable, smithy, general store, some modest houses, a large tenement and a church take up about three fourths of the walled part of the village. An inner wall separates the rest of the village from Lord Paidrig's manor house, the guard barracks and warehouse.
The heroes speak briefly with Valthrun. Valthrun calls himself a political advisor to Lord Paidrig, the local ruler. Valthrun suggests that he can arrange a meeting with the lord, and the party agrees. Valthrun knows of Douven as well and tells much the same story as the innkeep.
After first waking Eilian around 11:00 AM the heroes finally meet with him around noon. He invites them to his modest home. They learn that he has a bit of a library of some thirty books and that he spends most of his time reading and advising Lord Paidrig on history, astrology, astronomy and other subjects. He stayed up the entire evening before reading Kahlashtar's prayer book and bores the party to tears recounting a parable from the book.
The adventurers finally manage to get some information of use out of Eilian. He tells them of a dragon burial ground nearby that Douven went to investigate several weeks ago. He draws them a map detailing the location of both the burial ground and the ruined keep which he claims is a pile of rubble and likely haunted.
Later in the evening the party makes a meeting with Lord Paidrig. This stately middle-aged fellow invites them to his manor where they are treated to fine drink and after dinner snacks. He seems interested in their exact relationship with Douven Staul and King Mark Winland II. When it becomes apparent that they do not have the power to negotiate on behalf of the king he seems to lose interest and redirects the conversation to helping them to find Douven.
He also offers to pay them to rid the village of the kobold menace. It seems the kobold activity in the region has picked up in recent months, and the ambushers have started to impact the well-being of the village. Merchants have gone missing and one of the scheduled Traveling Carnivals has not arrived as expected. If the heroes will track the kobolds to their lair and dispatch them he will pay them 50 gold crowns from the old Oshland Empire.
Kobold Ambush
The party agrees to take the job and will seek out Douven. It seems likely that he had a run in with the kobolds since both the burial ground and most of the kobold activity mostly are to the west. Using the map given by Eilian they set out west. On the road another band of kobolds attacks them. A fierce battle ensues, but the heroes manage the day with little trouble. Two of the kobolds flee the battle.
In looting the bodies they find an obsidian dragon necklace. Moob looks it over and discovers a crude ram-headed skull etched on the bottom of it. He recognizes this as the symbol of Orcus, the demon prince of the undead. The thought of kobolds worshiping Orcus unsettles them and they are even more determined now to wipe out the potential threat.
Scoping out the Lair
Moob manages to track the fleeing kobolds into the woods. An hour or so later they find themselves at a small clearing where a stream tumbles over a steep cliff face in the forest. Over a dozen kobolds mill about near the waterfall, obviously alert for trouble. After looking over the situation for a bit they decide to look for the dragon burial ground instead of facing this large band of kobolds. They will come back when better rested.
Burial Site
Using Eilian's map the party makes its way to the burial site. Once there Rik sneaks ahead for a look. He sees several men digging about in the place, a halfling skulking about nearby and another creature that he doesn't immediately recognize. The slender, gray-skinned creature is a gnome, as Stadir tells everyone once he sees it.
The heroes make their way down into the pit that is the burial site and the gnome calls out to them to come look at what he's found. As they gather around him he hefts a large curved bone and tries to slam it into Stadir's gut. Quickly his human diggers move to attack and two dog-like dragon creatures join the fray. The halfling, having vanished from sight repears and lets loose a hail of stones from his sling. Kahlashtar breathes lightning on the assembled enemies. The gnome disappears in a flash of electricity, but reappears a moment later waving a great pick at Khalashtar's back.
Rik and Mizz make short work of the halfling while Berro, Stadir, Moob and Khalashtar take care of the others. The fight is over relatively quickly and the heroes are none the worse for wear.
On checking out the burial site they find not only the gold and silver that the people carried, but a magical +1 Amulet of Health, a wooden crate with a mirror in it, and Douven Staul who is bound, gagged and covered with a blanket nearby.
They release Douven and question him about the goings on here. He tells them that he has had no trouble with kobolds, but that these miscreants attacked him before he ever reached the burial site. He had come out here to see what he could aobut the place. He will return soon to report to King Mark about his findings and asks the heroes to check out the keep in his stead.
Mizz recognizes the scroll work on the mirror and advises everyone that it is an item of value to worhipers of Orcus. It is not magical and is certainly of great value. They decide to take it with them along with the amulet, which Douven identifies as his own, but he gives to them as reward for rescuing him, but not before he takes the picture of his wife from it.
The party makes its way back to town escorting Douven. They now have an idea of where to proceed and maybe a bit of news for Lord Paidrig. Certainly they have uncovered some wealth. Douven agrees to wait in town to travel back to Roth with them unless a merchant caravan comes through that he can ride with.
The heroes decide to rest again for the night at the inn and will get an early start on the morrow.
Rewards
XP Earned: 600 each
Loot: 40 gold each; +1 Amulet of Health which Kahlashtar has.
Items of Interest: mirror with gold trim of undetermined value that Mizz claims has some connection to Orcus; obsidian dragon figure with symbol of Orcus etched on the bottom