"Price, Richard L - The Harvest of Souls" - читать интересную книгу автора (Price Richard L)

The Harvest of Souls
by
Richard L. Price
An AD&D Adventure for characters level 4-8

ADVENTURE OUTLINE

In their travels the PCs arrive in the mid-sized town of Valen, where they will be attacked at some time shortly afterward by a gang of well-trained warriors. If the PCs manage to defeat the attackers, they are approached shortly thereafter by the local ruler, Baroness Trieste D'Avarde, by secret means. She will beg them to rescue her infant son, who has been kidnaped a day ago by the minions of a powerful and evil sorceror who intends to use the child as leverage on her to extend his political control. The minions will probably be taking the child back along the road which goes straight to the sorceror's territory. If the PCs accept the mission, they must ride fast and hard in order to catch up to the kidnapers, as they have at least a day's head
start. The wizard, Gaelin Stormbringer, will send several groups of attackers to harry and slow down the PCs, and will even arrange their arrest and capture in the town of Swamp's Edge, not too far from his keep. Once the PCs have gotten past his delay tactics, they must find and infiltrate his keep, defeat the wizard and his minions, and of course, rescue the son of the Baroness. Or so they think...
Unknown to the PCs, Trieste is really a Ryliak, a vile and evil creature from the Void. Her son is a monster whose birth was prophesied a thousand years ago, the Soul Harvester. He will grow up to be a creature of powerful evil who can steal the soul of a man with a touch; the wizard Stormbringer, who is not actually evil, but good, knows of the prophesy and Baroness' true identity, and has designed a ritual to purge the infant of his ties to the Dark Plane, leaving him a normal healthy human child. The PCs presumably will not discover this little mix-up until they confront Stormbringer himself, whereupon Triest and a few of her fellows from the Void will appear and attack both the PCs and Stormbringer.

INTRODUCTION

Read the following text aloud to the players:

*Finally, after several harrowing, storm-tossed days about the Spiteful Vengeance, you have reached land and civilization, in the form of the town of Valen. Valen is a typical seaside town, walled with tall, stout wooden palisade on most sides to keep out the various monstrous invaders from the Fetid Marsh to the east.
As you take your leave of the ship, you note that there is a group of several armed men, all dressed in matching blue chain mail and red cloaks, watching your party with more than a little interest. One of the men, whose armor is differentiated from the others by a crimson eagle embroidered upon a tabard, nods to himself, then turns to address his companions for a few seconds. The rest of the men listen quietly, watching you over his shoulder. He finishes speaking, the men all nod grimly, and then they all draw their steel and begin moving in your direction! By the looks upon their faces, their intent is clear...battle!*

These men are under the command of Baroness Trieste, and have been ordered by her to seek out adventuring groups and attack them, testing their mettle in battle. They will attack the PCs with intent to kill, ignoring all attempts by the party to stop the fight. A soldier will attempt to flee should he be reduced to below half his Hit Points.
The Baroness has a servant watching the fight from afar who will report back to her the results. If the PCs are the clear victors, she will approach them shortly afterward, once they have gotten rooms in an inn.

Trieste's Lackeys (6): F2s; AL CE; AC 4 (chain mail); Mv 12; HP 18 each; Th 19 (18 with longsword); #AT 3/2; Dmg 1d8+3; SA specialization in the longsword; Size M (6' tall); Morale 14; XP 65 each.
Equipment: each man has a long sword, a suit of chain mail, and a belt pouch containing 1d6 gp and 1d8 ep.

THE APPROACH

Run this event once the PCS have found a room at one of the few inns in Valen. If they coose not to stay in an inn, perhaps wishing to sleep about the Spiteful Vengeance, the Baroness and her minions will approach the PCs there. If this is the case, you will have to adjust the following text accordingly:

*As you are sitting down for your meal, a young man of about 15 summers, dressed in the plain, simple clothing of a servant, approaches your table. He doesn't say a word, but simply hands over a silver tube, capped on one end, to (largest PC name here). He bows quickly and retreats at a fast clip out the door.*

This boy is a servant of Trieste and is simply delivering a message from the Baroness to the PCs.
The tube contains a letter written on a sheaf of parchment and a key. The letter beseeches the PCs to go to the Silver Sword Inn and use the key to gain entry to a suite there, where they will be offered an employment opportunity. It is signed "A Potential Benefactor". If the PCs decide to go to the Silver Sword, continue on with the next encounter. If they choose to ignore the message, Trieste herself will show up two hours later, begging for their help. If they still refuse to help her, she will become very angry and will have some of her Ryliak minions attack the PCs later that night, one for each character, as they sleep in bed.

Tyliak, Least (one per PC): AL CE; AC 4; Mv 12; HD 2+1; Th 19; #AT 2 (claws); Dmg 1d6 (x2); SA Poison (upon successful claw hit, the victim is injected with a fast-acting paralytic poison. If the saving throw succeeds, the victim is unaffected. If the save fails, the victim will fall into a catatonic coma with 1d4 rounds and remain in that state for 1d3 days; SD nil; MR 15%; Size M (6' tall); Morale 12; XP 420 each.

THE MEETING

The following text assumes that the PCs have accepted Trieste's invitation and have gone to meet her at the Silver Sword.

*The Silver Sword is a beautiful old in, a meeting-place of nobility and rich merchants stopping over in Valen before heading overland to Cyrmorl to the east. The suite that this mysterious "benefactor" has provided you is opulent, a sitting room filled with soft, velvet-lined couches, a small library, and four bedrooms with walk-in closets and huge, feather-stuffed beds. Even a manservant has been provided for you, a man by the name of Smythe, who caters to your every need.
You have barely had a chance to take in your surroundings and get settled when a knock at the door is heard.
Upon answering the door, you see a small, petite woman wearing a beautiful gown of blue silk and rather heavy cloak for this time of year draped over her shoulders, the hood up to mask her face. She quickly steps into the room, accompanied by two huge Heimgaarden warriors wearing silver chain mail.
When she drops the hood, you can see that she is probably about 30 years old and rather attractive, although it is very obvious that she has been crying recently, as her eyes are red and swollen, still brimming with yet-to-be-shed tears. She nods to the two guards, who leave the room, and then begins to pace nervously about the sitting room, wringing her hands. Finally, she speaks.
"I am the Baroness Trieste Darksilver, High Lady of Valen, and I come to you this night to beg of your help. We have little time, so I'll get straight to the point. My baby son, my boy...has been taken by a foul sorceror who calls himself Stormbringer. He has taken him for purely evil reasons, and I am begging you to return my son me, please!" At this point,
she breaks into tears, and weeps softly for a few moments.
After she regains some of her composure, she says, "He plans to use my son as leverage against me, allowing him to rule over Valen in my stead, with me as his power puppet. Please, brave ones, find my son and bring him back to me! I'll give you anything you ask within my power! Please!"*

Presumably the PCs will have questions for Trieste. Several common questions are listed and answered below.

-Why do you want us to do it? Why not your soldiers?