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

*It has been a long and tiring ride, both for the horses and for yourselves, and you're looking forward to resting for the night. A slight breeze from the north seems to put the horses on edge, however, and they become quite nervous and hard to control.
Suddenly, a piercing cry rents the air, and a huge, feathered, leonine form suddenly descends from the sky, speeding toward you at great speed!*

Stormbringer has sent this griffon to kill as many of the PCs' horses as possible. It will do so happily, as it is quite hungry, although an PCs attacking it will be met with equal force!

Griffon: AC 3; Mv 12, Fl 30(C); HD 7; HP 50; Th 13; #AT 3; Dmg 1d4/1d4/2d8; Size L (9' long); Morale 12; XP 650.

THE FALCON REST

The PCs should be able to reach the Falcon Rest, a small travelers' inn about midway between Valen and Avalar by the end of their first day's travel. The Falcon Rest is a standard inn, with bland, if nourishing food and drink. If the PCs choose to eat or drink something here,
the serving wench (actually a spy for Stormbringer) will poison it. This poison will cause the affected person (if a saving throw versus poison is failed) to fall into a deep sleep, unable to be awakened for a full 24 hours.
Any PC eating or drinking a poisoned substance has a slight chance to detect the poison before enough is ingested to affect them. When the first bite or drink is ingested, secretly roll a 1d20 for the victim against their Wisdom score. If the roll is lower than the victim's Wisdom, they note an odd, almost bitter flavoring, almost chemical-like in nature. If the roll is higher than the victim's Wisdom, they will not notice the poison, and be affected accordingly, unless they are warned by someone who does notice, of course.

AVALAR

The PCs should reach the village of Avalar by the middle of the second day. They will probably get a room at the village's inn, the Raving Dragon, to use as a base of operations. The following event will occur about one hour after the PCs arrive in Avalar.

*As you sit down to enjoy your midday meal, you notice through a window that a large group of people, all armed with various weapons and farm implements, are approaching the inn, angry looks upon their faces. A large man in chain mail separates himself from the mob and gestures at three other similarly armored men to come with him as he enters the inn. He walks straight to your table, sword drawn, and says:
"By the authority granted me by Lord Gaelin Stormbringer, I am hereby placing you under arrest for the crime of highway robbery."
The other three men spread out around the table, encircling you, and the mob flows into the inn, muttering angrily and waving weapons threateningly.*

If the PCs question about the nature of the charge against them, the sheriff, Owen Stoutshield, will inform them that a few moments ago, one of the farmers outside of town staggered into the gaol, beaten within an inch of his life. He claimed that people resembling the PCs (rather closely, in fact) waylaid and robbed him as he headed into town about two hours ago. Of course, these are all lies and the sheriff and farmer are both in on it, following the orders of Stormbringer.

The PCs have essentially three choices at this point:

1. Fight: This is not a very good choice, as the mob numbers at least 40 well-armed farmers, soldiers, and other townfolk.
2. Flee: If the PCs attempt to flee, perhaps diving through a window into the street, allow them to do so, although the mob will certainly give chase, and several of them wield bows of various sorts.
3. Surrender: This is probably the best choice, simply because it will more than likely save the PCs' lives. If they surrender, they will be stripped of their armor and weapons, their wrists and ankles shackled, and then led to the town gaol, where they will be locked in the only cell and left to await judgement. If they still wish to save the child, they will have to escape from the gaol somehow. If they simply wait for something to happen, then two days later Baroness Trieste will appear to laugh at them, showing them her and her child's true forms, and thank them for their excellent help. She will then have her minions attack and attempt to kill the unarmed PCs.

Mob (37 0-level); AC 10; HD 1d6hp each; HP 4 each; Th 20; #AT 1; Dmg varies by weapon; Morale 10; XP 5 each.

Deputies (2 F1s); AC 4 (chain mail, shield); HP 9 each; Th 20; #AT 1; Dmg 1d8 (long sword); XP 35 each.

Sheriff Owen Stoutshield (F3); AC 3 (chain mail, shield +1); HP 32; Th 18 (17 with long sword); #AT 3/2; Dmg 1d8+3; SA Specialized with longsword, Str 17; XP 120.

THE WIZARD'S KEEP

When the PCs reach the keep, they will note that it is very heavily guarded by a large encampment of soldiers outside its walls. The PCs will need to sneak into the keep somehow to find the wizard and the baby.
When they do enter the keep and locate the ritual chamber, which shouldn't too difficult to do, as it is the largest building in the keep and a growing patch of thunderclouds is forming directly above it, occasionally sending lightning bolts slamming down into the lightning rods upon the roof, read the following:

*As you enter this chamber, you are stopped short by a sense of foreboding and pure, unadulterated evil. There is an odd electrical crackle in the air, and the hairs on your arms stand on end. Standing atop a raised dias about 40 feet away is a man in plain brown robes. Directly in front of him is a huge granite altar. The man, presumably Stormbringer, is chanting in a low droning tone, a wicked-looking black dagger in one hand which he waves about above the altar's surface. You do not see the baby, though an occasional piercing cry comes from atop the altar, though you cannot see its surface to be sure that the baby is there.*

It is assumed that the PCs will immediately attack Stormbring, or at least attempt to rescue the infant. Stormbringer is deep within the depths of spellcasting, and he will not notice the PCs until they directly attack him. When this happens, read the following:

*"No! You cannot stop this, foul minions of the Dark One! I cannot let his evil plague this land! It will mean the end of all things!"
Stormbringer raises the dagger desperately, chanting off a slurry of sibilant words. Suddenly, he is blow backwards off the dias by a blast of lightning, hurling him to the floor far below. He lays crumpled and unmoving. As you blink your eyes to clear away the after-image, you are amazed to see the Baroness, flanked on either side by two Heimgaarden warriors! She is smiling malevolently, her hands held out and forward, fingers pointed at the spot where Stormbringer stood.
"Thank you, friends, for making certain my appearance here. Without your help, it would have been impossible."
She laughs cruelly and points to (the PC carrying the silver scroll tube).
"That case was ensorcelled to break the ward about this place that kept me and my kind from entering! And now my son, the Soul Harvester, shall become rightful ruler of this pitiful planet!"
As you watch, Trieste and her two guards seem to melt and shift, becoming hideous monstrosities covered in spiny, chitinous black armor. Their fingers become huge, razor-sharp talons that drip a sizzling green liquid. Trieste along, however, has a pair of great bat-like wings, which she spreads ominously.