September Short Adventure 29: A Sour Note

Preamble

A September of Short Adventuresis an OSR Challenge initiated by Matt over at the Asshat Paladinsblog. You can click on the Moustache Dragon over on the right-handside-bar (just above Features) to learn more about all of this stufffrom Matt directly. All of our 30 entries areformatted along the lines of what Matt calls the Get Ready, GetSet, Go! format. In a nut-shell, this approach breaks eachadventure into a Title, Three escalating sections of adventuredetails (the Ready section is limited to an elevator pitch only 2sentences...), and a final catch-all section for any NPC notes/stats.The idea is to keep it short, simple, easy to read without any maps,drawings, diagrams or 8X10 glossies. Keep description to a minimum,avoid lengthy exposition, and no casts of thousands -- unless it's aninvading horde of three-eyed orcs or goblins riding purple wombats.

We're also going to aim to keep thingsgeneric, setting agnostic and thus portable or adaptable to anycampaign/setting using the particular rules-set we'll be using in anygiven September Short Adventure such as Mutant Future,Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry (White Box), etc.

FreeRules

Labyrinth Lord:http://www.goblinoidgames.com/labyrinthlord.html

Mutant Future:http://www.goblinoidgames.com/mutantfuture.html

Swords and Wizardry (White Box):http://www.swordsandwizardry.com/whitebox.htm

SeptemberShort Adventure Number 29

Title: A Sour Note

Rules: Swords and Wizardry (WhiteBox)

Ready

Young Willy comes stumbling into thevillage. Miraculously the young boy has made it through the woods tocollapse at the feet of the local guards.

Set

Covered in scratches and dried blood,the boy is weak, starved and extremely frightened. He is taken toMamam Grenka's hovel where the aged crone ministers to the boy'sfragile health. But for all her poultices, potions and powders, theold woman can do nothing for the child's nightmares.

He raves in his feverish state of alost valley, dark tunnels, and prisoners. In his tightly clenchedleft hand is a crumpled scrap of parchment (but it's not goat-hide)on which has been scrawled a note and a simple set of directions(sorry—no map!) leading to what appears to be the lost valley thatWilly claims to have escaped from...and it is signed by Herr DoktorMorbius. (see Short Adventure 21: A Pound of Flesh)

However, Mamam Grenka is a gossipy oldwife and she tells several of her usual hangers-on and visitors allabout the note. Within an hour of his arrival, someone has snuck intoMamam Grenkas' hovel and stolen the note from Morbius.

Go!

The 'Lost Valley'mentioned in the note is the same one mentioned in Short Adventure28: Skin Trade.

Isthe Note Genuine?

• Or is this all somesort of elaborate scheme that Morbius is using to double-cross hishosts?
• Was it actuallypenned by the ghouls as a gambit calculated to draw-out their rivalsand implicate them as it leads to a secret pasture maintained by theUrdrangibar Family for centuries...
• Who else could havewritten this note?
• Does it lead to theactual Lost Valley of the ghouls, or is it a trap that leads insteadto someplace far, far worse?

If the note islegitimate, then what is going on between Morbius and the ghouls?Perhaps Morbius is growing fearful and distrustful of his 'allies,'and desperately wants to escape from their Lost Valley before theydecide to eliminate him. It is possible that Morbius has finallydiscovered a way to strike back at his former pupil and this is justthe start of some overly convoluted and devious schemes aimed atdiscrediting Manfred. This could be the onset of a nasty and brutalpersonal vendetta or even all-out war between two mad scientists...

WhoStole the Note?

• Was it the worgs?If so, then will they see to it that the Player Characters receive itso that they can potentially mount an expedition to rescue the Doktorfrom the clutches of the ghouls? Or are they more inclined to keepthe note from the PCs so that they don't get side-tracked from beingsteered into a conflict with the Nobles of the Urdrangibar Family andtheir ancient brooding Keep overlooking the winding gorges of theVillustichanna River? It is well-known that there is something goingon over there. People are beginning to mutter and whisper rumorsbased on the offhand comments of certain informants who are allied tothe worgs...
• Was it the LoyalRetainers of the Urdrangibar Family? They are long-time rivals of theghouls from the Lost Valley and perhaps they have their own plans forattending to Herr Doktor Morbius and his duplicitous undead allies.
• Was it one of LordRupprecht's agents seeking some clue as to who robbed him of hisfavorite artworks? (see Short Adventure 22: Art Thieves).
• Was it the ghoulsof the Lost Valley? They don't like drawing attention to themselvesand they could very well have sent someone to recover young Willy, orat least eliminate any evidence or trail that could lead back tothem. If so, why did they not kill Willy? Perhaps they wereinterrupted by all the activity at Mamam Grenka's place and are stillthere, biding their time and waiting to strike later...which meansthat the young boy is in peril. Does Mamam Grenka sense the danger?Whom will she ask for help if she does?
• Perhaps the localbandits have someone working with them in the village who snatchedthe note thinking that it could be useful to them. Will they then take it to the Loyal Retainers or someone else?
• It could have beenone of the Therioclast Troops from Somber Jill's growing army ofmonster-killing fanatics...(see Short Adventure 23: A Snowy Evening.)

EveryoneKnows...

Seemingly everyonein the village knows about the feud between Morbius and his formerpupil Manfred Urdrangibar. Rumors that the note was stolen atManfred's command in order to foil any plans to rescue Herr DoktorMorbius has people asking 'Why?' and making some wonder just what isgoing on and why the Urdrangibar family is involved anyhow...

What only Morbiussuspects (so far) is that Manfred has continued his own experimentsinto the secrets of death and life and all things in-between at theexpress behest of his elders and family members. But what are these experiments? What sinister things have been going on out at the Urdrangibar Keep? 

Wouldn't you like to know?

Notes / NPCs

Willy(1) [HD 2; HP 4 (heals to 10); AC 9[10]; ATK 1 fist; Move 9; Save 17;CL/XP 2/30; Special: should he survive, Willy will grow up to betainted by his time among the ghouls and will find himselfincreasingly drawn to their hidden tunnels where they will welcomehim as an agent working on their behalf amongst the humans...]

MamamGrenkais a 6^thlevel spell-caster with a lot of experience with potions, powders andherbal lore. She focuses on healing, restoratives, mid-wifery andsuch things but certainly knows how to shrivel-up portions of theanatomy of those who incur her wrath...no one asks her about herbackground. People overlook that she might have ties to the mountainnomads because she has been a fixture in the village for generations.And she knows more gossip and dirty secrets than anyone else.

GhoulAgent(1) [HD 2; HP 12; AC 6[13]; ATK 1 claw; Move 9; Save 17; CL/XP: 3/60;Special: Immune to Sleepand Charm,Save or be paralyzed for 3d6 turns.] Note: wears a bone ring thatallows it to move about in daylight under the guise of its mostrecent victim.

WorgProwlers (1d4)[HD 4; HP 20,20,18,18,16,15,14,12; AC 6[13]; ATK 1 Bite; Move 18;Save 15; CL/XP: 4/120] Note: These creatures are supernatural andhave some measure of human in their ancestry due to unspeakable ritesperformed by demented cultists long, long ago...they are consideringjust how far they can manipulate the Player Characters into doingtheir dirty work and will leave them clues as to the terrible thingsgoing on at the Keep.

LoyalRetainers (1d4) [HD 6; HP 36 on average; AC 4[13]; ATK 1 weapon;Move 10 (30 when mounted); Save 13; CL/XP: 4/80; Special: +2 on Savesvs magic, regenerate 1 HP per turn unless burned, freely cast Charmin place of an attack.] Tall and emaciated-looking, the LoyalRetainers are elegant in their traditional finery and carry +2 curvedlong swords and an array of secondary weapons includingcuriously-crafted composite short bows dating back to thesemi-mythical hordes of an ancient conqueror who once dominated thisarea as part of a vast, now vanished empire that is credited withhaving driven-out the serpent people. They are old, very old andsmell like catacombs even in the brightest daylight. Most suspectthat they are not really human...

LocalBandits (1d6) [HD 3; HP 14 on average; AC 6[13]; ATK 1 weapon;Move 10; Save 15; CL/XP: 4/80; Special: +1 to hit worgs, move withouttrace through the woods, move silently as a thief.] Cunning andclever, the bandits in these parts have an understanding with certainof the local Nobles and they are in cahoots with anyone who will paythem gold. They fear the Loyal Retainers and serve them faithfully asthose who do not have a tendency to disappear under troublingcircumstances. Banditry is a way of life for them, something thatthey have done for generations. It's in their blood.

TherioclastTroopers(1d4) [HD 3+1; HP 12 on average.; AC 6[13]; ATK 1 weapon; Move 12;Save 16; CL/XP: 4/80; Special: +2 on Saves vs lycanthropy] Grim anddour warriors who might be either Humans, Dwarves, Elves orHalflings. Studded-leather armor, crossbow (with a mix of silver andiron headed bolts), silver-headed hand-axe or blessed scythe,rune-engraved short-sword and skinning-dagger. These are hard-bittenprofessionals who exterminate shapeshifters and each one has a 10%chance to spot one outright.