“The Sky is Falling”
Difficulty: This adventure is for 4 to 6 level 6 players.
Run Time: 3 to 5 hours.
Summary
A burning airship is seen wobbling unsteadily through the air on a collision course with the ground. Shortly after it disappears over a nearby hill, a crashing noise is heard and a cloud of smoke can be seen off in the distance.
Setup: The Crash
Enemy: Troll(MM291 1800xp, Manes MM60 25xp)
While traveling, the party is attacked by a troll that has strange tumors bulging from it's skin. The troll attacks the party and can not be reasoned with. Each time the troll takes damage a blob of putrid skin falls onto the ground next to it and begins to lurch towards the party. Use the Manes stat block for these blobs. Once the troll and manes are defeated, or if the party flees, they see an airship smoking and flaming in the sky crashing in the distance. It's easy enough for the party to follow the smoke to the crash site.
Investigation: The crash site.
Upon arriving at the crash site the party finds two seperate crews have been fighting with each other. William Stoutfish(Archer VgtM 210) and Malark Hayward(Swashbuckler VgtM217) are the only survivors of the battle left.
William claims that the airship is property of the crown, and that he is commissioned on a mission for the king. His mission was to transport a valuable unidentified relic to the wizard's tower that is 3 days journey away on horseback. He claims that Malark is a pirate who's crew attacked his ship mid-flight. Somehow an explosion damage the vessel and caused the crash. The crew fought against the pirates and now only the two remain. The artifact is somewhere in the wreckage.
Malark claims that the airship is his own personal invention, and that he and his crew were traveling home after aquiring the artifact from a dungeon adventure when William and his crew attacked them from the backs of wyverns. He claims that William threw alchemists fire onto the airship, crashed it, and then attacked his crew on the ground while they were trying to escape the blaze.
A dead wyvern is laying on the ground, and the ship is a burning unreparable wreck. Over a dozen bodies are scattered around, many with burn wounds. Most of them have wounds from arrows and blades as well. Both NPCs attempt to persuade the party to help them against the other.
A successful insight check DC 20 against either NPC will reveal that He is lying.
The truth is that William is acting on his own, not an agent of the crown, and stole the artifact from a shipping caravan. The Wyvern is actualy Malark's pet, and they used it to attack the Airship to get the artifact. He did throw alchemists fire on the ship, but neither Malark or William know that Evaine Greycastle(Transmuter VgtM218) caused the explosion inside the ship and has already escaped with the artifact.
Whichever NPC the party chooses to aid will join them to search for the artifact, and the other will attempt to flee, or will surrender if the party attempts to capture them.
Investigation 2: The Search
Their new Ally will help them search for the Artifact in the wreckage. Have the party roll 5 investigation checks DC 20 and they find the following depending on the number of successes:
5: Roll Once on Treasure Hoard: Challenge 5-10 DMG137
4: A partially burnt letter addressed to Evaine Greycastle that fell out of his robes while he was stealing the artifact. It indicates that he resides at Bloodroot Keep.
3: Evaine Greycastle's Transmuter Stone that he dropped in the crash.
2: An insignia of the guards of Bloodroot on a piece of cloth clutched in the hands of one of the corpses.
1: The case in which the artifact was kept. It is unburnt, but has been forced open and is empty. Next to a corpse of a guard who is not part of either group. (It's a guard of Bloodroot Keep who was assigned at Evain's personal bodyguard.)
0: The party finds no trace of the artifact and their ally insists that someone has stolen it.
Counter Attack: Count Zavan (optional)
If the party does not discover that they need to go to Bloodrood Keep, then Count Zavan(Nobel MM348) approaches them in a town or arrives at their camp after they wake up in the morning. He is friendly, but he has 10 Veterans (MM350) with him as his personal retinue. He informs the party that he knows they were working for Evain Greycastle, and he demands that they return the artifact. A DC 15 persuasion check can convince him of the truth that the party didn't steal it, and he will them hire them to recover the artifact in exchange for 3000 gold. Otherwise, he gives them 24 hours to return the artifact or pay with their lives.
Climax: Bloodroot Keep
Enemies: Evaine Greycastle the Transmuter(VGtM218), Darklings(VGtM134)
Construct Bloodroot Keep using the Random Dungeons Appendix starting on page 290 of the DMG, or build the keep yourself. The castle is completely dark and Darklings are patrolling around the halls and in the rooms. They will retreat and call for reinforcements if attacked by the party unless they outnumber the party. The darklings know where traps are and can avoid them and lead the party into traps. Evaine Greycastle will be in a central chamber attempting to identify the artifact. In the room with him will be 7 Darklings. When the party arrives to confront him, he uses the artifact and grows in size and gains 100 temporary hitpoints. After using the artifact Evaine is mad with power and will fight to the death. The Darklings will not retreat while Evaine is alive, but will scatter once he dies.
Wrap-Up: Recovering the Artifact
The artifact's power is expended, but Evaine has many other treasures that he has aquired. The party can return the artifact to Count Zavan for the 3000 gold reward and can loot Bloodroot Keep.
Treasure: 3,000 gold and roll once each on Treasure Hoard: Challenge 0-4 and 5-10 tables on DMG p.137
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