Chapter 1: The Lost Star
4707 AR
Keleri Deverin, an aristocrat and scholar living in Magnimar, has a problem. Just a week ago, she received an invitation from her cousin Kendra, mayor of the nearby town of Sandpoint, to attend that town’s upcoming Swallowtail Festival. With the festival’s focus on the consecration of Sandpoint’s new cathedral, Keleri hoped to bring a family heirloom, the Star of Desna, to receive a blessing, but as she prepared for her trip, an unexpected complication arose.
When Keleri entered the old vault beneath the family estate to retrieve the star from storage, she found the chamber in total disarray. Chests lay smashed about the room, shelves were knocked over, and worst of all, the steel lockbox containing the Star of Desna was missing. The source of the robbery was made evident by a gaping hole in the center of the floor, leading down into the sewers, and sewage stains in the shape of goblin footprints leading out of it.
Enraged, Keleri lashed out at the now-empty shelves and ruined containers, only to find that she was not alone. A quiet whimpering came from behind a partially collapsed armoire. Investigating, she found a lone goblin, wounded and wretched. Keleri demanded answers about her stolen heirlooms, but the goblin only began howling in greater terror and begged for mercy. Keleri’s rage subsided, and she asked the goblin what had frightened her so.
The goblin introduced herself as Talga and explained that her tribe, the Mudchewer tribe, had been enslaved by a brutish hobgoblin named Drakus the Taker, who was forcing members of her tribe to dig into vaults and basements all around town to rob longshanks of loot and treasure. Those who refused were taken away, only to have their blood-drained bodies put on display as a warning to the other goblins. Immediately after the robbery on the Deverin basement, Talga and a few other desperate goblins rebelled, but they were cut down and slaughtered. Only Talga survived by retreating up to the Deverin vault and hiding.
Now with no home and nearly paralyzed with fear over the fate of her fellow goblins under Drakus’s increasingly violent rule, Talga became desperate. She begged Keleri to send adventurers to her old lair, a complex called the Ashen Ossuary that was accessible via the Magnimar sewers. She promised to sketch a map of the lair and to lead Keleri and anyone who might help to the entrance, and vowed that in return she would work to spread the word among other goblin tribes in the sewers that longshanks are friendly.
While Keleri was sympathetic to the tale, she is a scholar, not an adventurer. However, she does have contacts, and knows of at least one eager new nominee for the task. Ever the forward thinker, she hopes that by calling upon her friends, she can not only recover her stolen heirloom, but perhaps even start a new diplomatic alliance between Magnimar and one of its most notorious antagonists.
Answering Keleri's call, you have followed Talga's directions through the sewers of Magnimar. The entrance to the Ashen Ossuary should be just ahead...
Milo moved cautiously through the sewers. This wasn't the first time he'd been down here; during his time with the Night Scales, he'd come here from time to time, since the tunnels offered a way to move about the city without being seen. But those days were behind him — the violence and taking advantage of others had worn on him, and he had left the organization a year ago, vowing to lead an honest life.
He'd been wary when he received the summons; old associates had asked him from time to time to come back (he'd always declined). He had agreed only after he learned the identity of the person making the request, and learned the nature of her problem. He knew Keleri Deverin casually, and had talked to her of his retirement from a life of crime.
Milo was a halfling of average height and build; he walked with practiced grace, seemingly relaxed, but ready for trouble at the same time. He wasn't exactly a young man anymore, but neither was he middle aged yet. The lines on his face, and a scar on his cheek, told of a halfling who hadn't lived a quiet life, although up to this morning, he had planned to pursue an uneventful life from now on.
He didn't really know the other people who walked with him in the subterranean gloom. Of course he knew of Guy de Barbaro; a halfling who stood 4 ft tall was bound to attract attention. The other three, a woman and two men, all human, were unfamiliar to him, beyond brief introductions.
Elya makes her way through the sewers. Trusting goblins. That's not a good idea. Even though they are supposed to be civilized these days. There's been a lot of bad blood in the past.
She carefully walks trying to keep her shoes dry, and studies her companions. Two haflings, and two men travel with her.
Her armor is neat and simple in design. Her hair is drawn back in a bun, and she has a very serene look on her face. "Irori's blessing on you all. May this mission be successful, and the bugbear be shown the error of his ways. I am Elya." She's wearing a silver holy symbol, and carries a simple mace.
In the middle of the group walks a bearded man, perhaps in his early to mid twenties, and outfitted in an outfit that was undeniably that of a wizard, but modified to be more appropriate to adventuring, holding aloft a lit staff, providing plenty of light to see in the gloomy sewer. While he's remaining calm, it's not hard to tell that he's enjoying himself, even in the squalor surroundings.
"Good to meet your acquaintance, Elya. I'm Colvet." he introduces himself, "Personally, I kind of hope the gob puts up a bit of a fight. It's been too long since I got to fully unload, but this sounds like it might do just the trick."
Despite only a rudimentary understanding of where they are headed, Guy leads the way. He stands tall, the two inch slope and lift of his boots raising him to a mighty height of 4 feet. Broad shouldered and leanly muscled, he strides forward easily, resting the leather-wrapped ricasso of a too-big sword on his shoulder.
He does not turn fully around to speak, deliberately hiding his expression. "You sound eager, Colvet. Have you killed before? Because that is what we are doing. Tell me, how long has it been since you tasted blood on your lips, or felt the heat of life leave a body? This battle is necessary, but I cannot imagine it enjoyable. I recommend that all of us face the responsibility and reality of what we are about to do."
There is the weight of gravity and anticipation in his voice, but a smile on his face. Guy has never killed before and is trying desperately to reign in his own wants and desires in favor of the discipline taught to him by his family: to respect life and offer all the choice of life before killing them.
But he was always a poor learner and always lacking in patience.
The damp sewer passages have led to a slimy cistern that stinks of decay. On the northern edge of this circular chamber lies a pile of burnt bones in front of a scorched tunnel. The floor is covered with numerous fetid pools and a layer of muck.
"Well I have killed before," the large man with the maul says, speaking up for the first time.
"It is a weighty affair, the taking of a life. Given a choice, I would prefer to resolve issues with discussion." He smiles in a jovial manner. "Unfortunately, not all are open to verbal persuasion and one must resort to cruder means."
As if for emphasis, he hefts his large maul.
With his dark skin, his bulk seems not so intimidating in the dim light of the sewers. The man's shoulders are broad and he stands over six feet tall causing him to unconsciously hunch his shoulders in the current close confines.
"Let us hope that this Drakus is the sort to prefer verbal banter to a more ... permanent resolution."
Elya studies the room carefully. "What a stinky place." She looks toward the bones. "Do you think it's some kind of trap? It could also be a religious circle. That would surprise me."
Milo nodded. "You speak wisely, Anasa." He had killed a man once — a boy really — during a turf war with The Gallowed. As the opposing gang member lay dying, Milo had tried to staunch the bleeding, but his own dagger thrust had been too well aimed. That had been one of the pivotal moments in his eventual decision to leave the Night Scales.
He held his hooded lantern with his left hand, his knife ready in the other, and advanced around the left side of the circular chamber.
Elya can't recall any religions that use burned bones in their ceremonies.
As Milo advances, his sharp eyes pick out faint movement in the pool near the northern tunnel. A quivering mass of protoplasm lurks in the shallow water--an ooze! The creature remains where it is for now.
Milo pointed to the pool and said in a low voice, "There's an ooze in the water! Either this entrance isn't used, or there's a way to get past it. I've never heard of a tame ooze, but I suppose it might not be aggressive."
He looked for a concealed passageway along the wall next to him; from Talga's sketch he remembered that there should be a hall in that direction.
There doesn't appear to be any hidden passages here. If you want to move forward, you'll have to deal with the ooze.
Milo looked for a secret passage, but couldn't find one. "Right — it looks like there's no way around it — time to fight! I'm not betting on a passive ooze."
He move up to the stairs and rapidly slashed down at the blob, hoping that his dagger would do something to the creature.
Milo's blade slices into the quivering ooze, carving furrows in its body. It shudders and rises up, preparing to retaliate!
Anasa hefts his maul and moves up near where Milo points out the ooze to be, keeping on guard for the creature to spring.
With almost a calculated effort Anasa swings his maul in an overhead swing down on the threatening beast.
He draws it back and like a man chopping wood swings it overhead again.
Eager and excited for any reason to swing his sword, Guy charges forward with chittering laughter, cutting into the ooze.
Guy rushes forward and tears into the ooze with his oversized sword. Anasa steps up and smashes it twice with his maul, splattering its pieces everywhere! The monster has been slain!
As the anxiety and excitement settles, Guy kneels down and cleans off his grandfather's sword on his tunic. Before rising, he reaches for a chunk of the destroyed creature and touches it to his tongue, examining its flavor.
Colvet is mildly disappointed at how quickly the ooze is dispatched, but allows the magic he was starting to gather dissipate harmlessly through his staff, raising his eyebrow at Guy, unsure of who wanted to try and eat an ooze, of all things.
"I don't know if that's wise," Anasa says with concern as he sees Guy taking a taste of the creature.
The ooze tastes like raw sewage. Ew!
Milo agreed with Anasa, "I'd be careful — you could get some serious indigestion from that, Guy!"
He looked around where the ooze was, to see if there was anything interesting there, before moving up the stairs into the passageway.
Guy makes a sour face and throws the chunk away from him, licking a clean spot of his shoulder to get the taste out of his mouth.
With everyone objecting, he makes to justify his actions. "All I did was lick it. You see, I was trying to see if it possessed some brilliant and as of yet undiscovered flavor. I'd have washed it first if it tasted like anything I wanted."
Milo leads the way into the next chamber. The walls of this long chamber are scorched dark, and the thick layers of soot crusting to the ceiling above attest to the tremendous fire that must have raged through this room in the past. Burial niches in the walls and the row of central pillars contain only fragments of burnt wood and charred bone.
You can hear excited howls coming from the shadows in the northern end of the chamber. In the dim light extending from Milo's lantern, you spy five goblins rushing towards you, brandishing dogslicers!
The goblins rush forward, two of them slashing at Milo. The others scuttle around the central pillars to get up to Anasa, one moving to take the long way around.
"Goblins frustrate me," Anasa says with a trace of regret in his voice. "They never wish to listen to reason."
His first swing of his maul lays the goblin in front of him low.
But the other manages to avoid his second swing.
So he swings a third time, but it lacks much of the power of his other attacks.
"I'm not convinced that I can heal ooze sickness. Is there such a thing as ooze sickness?" She looks a little frustrated she could get into the battle, but breathes deeply and calms herself.
"What did I do to you?", Milo cried in indignation (and some pain). Angered, he retaliated with three quick thrusts of his dagger.
Colvet looks around his allies, trying to find a clear shot, then extends his staff and tries to shoot a ray of pure freezing energy at the one goblin he can see, but it hits the cave wall.
Anasa smashes a goblin to pulp with his maul! Milo stabs the one who cut him, and as it falls, he whirls and impales another one, gravely wounding it!
Prepared now to see another's lifeblood pour out before him, Guy runs fiercely forward to the farthest goblin, swinging his sword around wildly.
He clenches his jaw as the edge penetrates skin, committing the moment to memory. His last moment as an innocent, before holding the weight of another's soul on his conscience.
The subtleties of his actions elude him, unable to concentrate on anything but the foe before him.
Elya moves into to melee range with the goblin, and smacks at the goblin with her morning start, and then she steps back.
The goblin's blood splatters on Guy's clothing as he cuts down the goblin. Elya misses her target.
Both remaining goblins step forward and attack, but Milo and Anasa manage to parry their strikes.
Milo shook his head at the foolishness of his new assailant. He wondered why these goblins were so intent on fighting to the death. "We're here to recover a stolen item, not to kill you!"
Colvet quickly casts a protective spell on himself, and advances to engage the goblin, attempting to give it a hefty *thwack* on the head, but failing to do any more than plant the staff in the ground.
"Do you not see the futility of what you do?" Anasa says in a calm voice as he swings at the remaining goblin in front of him.
He then turns and rests the head of his weapon on the ground and waits for the rest of the conflict to resolve itself.
"This doesn't feel right," he says quietly. "I thought one of the reasons we came here was to assist a goblin tribe. Killing goblins along the way seems ... "
His words trail off as he contemplates the situation.
Anasa's maul crushes the goblin, while Milo and Colvet fail to land a good hit on the last one. The fighter remembers the goblin Talga saying that those who rebelled against Dratus were all slain, except for her. The remaining Mudchewers are fiercely loyal to their chieftain, and thus killing them is an unfortunate necessity.
Elya moves around to get into melee range with the remaining goblin.
Guy swings uselessly, too caught up in the feeling of it all to perform adequately.
Defying all odds, the lone goblins dodges all of the attacks aimed at him. Surrounded, he commits to his crazed assault, managing to slice Milo in vital parts of his body and leaving the halfling barely standing!
Desperately wounded, Milo stabbed at the last goblin, before retreating.
"With the kind of odds you're facing, most thinking beings would consider surrender a viable option," Anasa says, stepping towards the goblin and preparing to swing his maul.
Elya takes a step back and sends a Cure Light Wounds toward Milo.
Milo finishes off the goblin with another strike if his dagger. As it falls, Elya cures some of his wounds.
Milo stopped and took a breather. "Thanks Elya, I needed that! I could use some more healing if you have it." That had been the most difficult fight of his life.
After a moment, he searched the goblins and looked around the room.
It looks like the goblins had been building a 10-foot-tall statue of Drakus out of garbage, mud, twine, and bits and pieces of wood in the northern end of the room. Based on its haphazard construction, it hadn't been going well.
Searching the burial niches, Milo uncovers a tarnished silver ring worth 5 gp and a minor healing potion.