Context
With the growing competition, Antonio, antiquarian in Thistle Hold, decided to create a merchant company.
He made all necessary arrangements and bought a building as the company headquarters, and a name was chosen « The Golden Scrofar Company ». But Antonio knows he must stand out from his competitors and he knows how : the treasure hunters, main customers in Thistle Hold, respect their peers.
Thus, the birth of the Golden Scrofar Company won’t be told by public announcers, but by the tale of an adventure they’ll live in a ruin, sung by a wisely selected bard. This will make a great origin story for their company.
Everything has been planned. They found a nearby and harmless ruin, and paid the bard, nobody else than Blackhawk, to follow the expedition and write down their glorious achievments. There’s only left to recruit mercenaries. It’s important that Blackhawk’s chant is based on truth, but a member of the company dying would be tragic. It’s already arranged with Blackhawk that there will be no mention of these mercenaries in his tale.
The Adventure
Antonio chose the characters based on their reputation or searching where such people usually are, whatever’s best for your group. In any case, they’ll get a letter telling them to come to the future headquarters of the company in the merchant district.
In the house the characters can see that the furniture’s more like everyday life furnishing than what would be at a merchant’s place. A character living for a while in Thistle Hold could, with a Cunning roll, remember a couple of elders from Alberetor living here. All Antonio will say about this is that he bought the house from the previous owners.
Antonio presents a contract and explains its conditions : they must escort the Company through Davokar and respect a confidentiality agreement, as they won’t be allowed to tell they were part of this expedition. Every trophy found will belong to the Company. In return, they’ll be well paid, 2 thaler per day for everyone, and a bonus for every trophy. However, he’ll cut the pay if members of the Company are wounded or worse.
The expedition starts the next day. In the group are the members of the company : Antonio, Farelios the blacksmith, Esteror the beast seller, with one of his dogs, and Amelia the bookseller.
What happens in the forest is let under the appreciation of the GM, but with the following: the travel’s short, and the merchants have all that needed to ensure their survival in the woods. At least one fight must happen during this travel (for the Farelios event below).
This adventure isn’t about the usual events through Davokar or what happens in the ruins, that‘s up to the GM, but some incidents happening to the members of the Company :
- Farelios will see his weapon, crafted by himself, break during the first fight. If no character helps him during the next turn, he’ll die. If he survives, he’ll claim his weapon had no such flaw, but someone with the Blacksmith ability can see on a Vigilant roll the weapon was sabotaged.
- Esteror frequently isolates to feed his dog, one of his rare pleasures, but the second evening, they become abominations and attack him. If nobody followed or watched him and comes to his help, he’ll die. The corruption source is in the dog’s food : a Cunning roll with Alchemy or Bushcraft will reveal Krusean berries (causing 1d4 upon eating).
- Amelia reads at night in her tent, everyone can see it. The third night, her candle stays lit longer than usual. If someone goes near the tent, they’ll hear faint groans. Entering, they’ll see Amelia fully paralyzed. They need to take her outside and away from her book to save her, less she dies from a paralyzing poison found on the pages of her book with Alchemy or Poisoner and a Cunning roll, or on her dead body with Medicus.
Only Antonio is spared by these incidents. This, for the others, makes him a perfect culprit. Such suspicions appear after the first death or the second incident.
But the characters can guess the following clues :
- The culprit has advanced knowledge about poison.
- The books, weapon and dog’s food were sabotaged before leaving Thistle Hold.
- The culprit knows their targets well and how to aim at them precisely.
To avoid a fistfight the characters need to share their discoveries, otherwise the Company will part prematurely and they’ll probably not be paid…
Unfortunately, there’s no more clues to be found, and the merchants, calmed down or not, will decide not to reach the ruins and go back. If the players or the GM wish to go to the ruins, it’s possible, but it’s not part of this adventure.
Antonio raised up Blackhawk’s pay to romanticize the murder attempts and, as the ruins were not reached, invent a credible story.
Back to Thistle Hold, Antonio will make the characters come to the headquarters to pay them accordingly to the success of the mission, or only blame them and refuse to pay if two or more of his partners are dead.
Any character wishing to watch the surroundings of the house will, with a -3 Vigilant roll, see a black trail coming out of a window and leading to an alley where they find a silhouette. The same trail can be found by the ceiling of the house. A Cunning roll with Alchemy or Siege Expert allows to identify it as a flammable substance, used to light up explosives.
If all characters are outside the house and Antonio inside, and nobody acted toward the silhouette, the black trail lights up and the house explodes and collapses, killing Antonio. The silhouette fades away but is easy to catch up.
If called out, before or after the explosion, the silhouette, an elderly man, won’t flee, and will answer, and even anticipate the characters’ questions :
- He’s Baestian, an old criminal of Alberetor, a murderer known as « the absent », famed for never being near the scene of his victims’ death when it happened.
- After the war he left for Ambria with the payment of his past contracts. He stopped « working » to live with his loved one, with enought to live until their old days, going to Thistle Hold to avoid being recognized by old partners.
- His wife got sick, and his riches weren’t enough to avoid their expulsion from their house by the Golden Scrofar Company with Antonio using his influence to do so.
- His wife, left outside, died from her illness, so he decided to practice one last time his craft against the members of the Company.
- He targeted each of them with their own tools, so that even if they survived their reputation would be ruined, except Antonio, the main culprit, who he wants killed by the house he stole from him.
- If each member of the Company is dead, he’ll let the characters do whatever they want with him, but if some merchants are alive, he’ll ask to finish his task, then he’ll bring himself to justice. If the characters refuse, he’ll defend himself, but won’t try to kill them.
When the characters are done with Baestian, there’s one more thing to deal with… What will be known of all that ? Blackhawk, currently writing in a tavern, was paid by Antonio, but if Antonio’s dead or if the story told to the bard is more interesting, he may change what will be know or forgotten. Will it be the tale of the glorious origin of a new merchant company ? Or one of the vengeance of a man who lost everything ?
Dead men may tell no tale, but bards do.
NPC
Antonio
Richest member of the Company, he brought most of the funding for its creation and has great ambition for his project. He’s ready to anything to fulfill his ambition. The little lie that Blackhawk will sing is a lesser wrong for the well being of the company.
Manner: Full of confidence, overly Joyful
Race: Human (Ambrian)
Resistance: Ordinary
Traits: Contact (Merchants)
Accurate 7 (+3), Cunning 13 (-3), Discreet 5 (+5), Persuasive 15 (-5), Quick 9 (+1), Resolute 10 (0), Strong 10 (0), Vigilant 11 (-1)
Abilities: Leader (Adept), Domination (Novice)
Boons/ Burdens: Manipulator (III)
Weapons : (Accurate) Sword (4)
Armor: Leather armor (2)
Defense: +3
Toughness: 10, Pain Threshold: 5
Equipment: Sword, Leather armor, 2d10 thalers worth of trinkets, the contracts with Blackhawk
Shadow: Copper with strike of silver, like a pile of Ortheg with few Shillings (corruption 0)
Tactics : Will stay behind and give order, only coming into the fray when there is an easy kill to claim
Amelia
Born in Ambrian bourgeoisie, she settled in Thistle Hold and used her family’s resources to open a bookshop, selling books and maps, liked by those unwilling to deal with the Ordo Magica.
Manner: Studious, often in her books
Race: Human (Ambrian)
Resistance: Ordinary
Traits: Contact (Merchants)
Accurate 10 (0), Cunning 15 (-5), Discreet 13 (-3), Persuasive 10 (0), Quick 9 (+1), Resolute 11 (-1), Strong 7 (+3), Vigilant 5 (-5)
Abilities: Loremaster (Adept), Tactician (Novice), Medicus (novice)
Boons/ Burdens: None
Weapons : (Accurate) Throwing daggers (3)
Armor: Leather armor (2)
Defense: +3
Toughness: 10, Pain Threshold: 4
Equipment: Five Throwing daggers, leather armor, Lore Book (+1 in cunning on roll with Loremaster), 5 plant remedies
Shadow: Pale orange, like the flickering flame of a candle (corruption 0)
Tactic : Stay behind, throwing daggers and staying out of danger.
Esteror
Raised in an Ambrian Family of beast sellers, he pretends being able to tame any animal. Despite the ones jockingly asking him to tame a Lindworm, he’s able to raise horses as well as Jakaars.
Manner: Surly, taciturn, and spend a lot of time with his dog.
Race: Human (Ambrian)
Resistance: Ordinary
Traits: Contact (Hunters)
Accurate 15 (-5), Cunning 9 (+1), Discreet 5 (+5), Persuasive 10 (0), Quick 10 (0), Resolute 7 (+3), Strong 13 (-3), Vigilant 11 (-1)
Abilities: Ensnare (Adept), Beast Knowledge (Novice), Wrestling (Novice)
Boons/ Burdens: Animal Companion (A dog)
Weapons; (Accurate) Whip (3),
Armor: Leather armor (2)
Defense: +2
Toughness: 13, Pain Threshold: 7
Equipment: Snare, Leather armor, a Bestiary (+1) on cunning roll with Beast Knowledge.
Shadow: matt brown, like tanned leather (corruption 0)
Tactic : Try to ensnare his ennemies with his whip and throw them on the ground to let his dogs finish the jobs.
Esteror ‘s Dog
Race : Dog (beast)
Resistance : Weak
Traits : None
Accurate 10 (0), Cunning 9 (+1), Discreet 13 (−3), Persuasive 5 (+5), Quick 10 (0), Resolute 7 (+3), Strong 11 (−1), Vigilant 15 (−5)
Abilities : None
Weapons : (Accurate) Bite (2)
Armor : None
Defense : 0
Toughness : 11 Pain Threshold 6
Shadow : Grainy light brown, like dry soil or road dust (corruption: 0)
Tactics: Will wait that an ennemy is throw to the ground to attack him with ferocity.
Abomination Dog
Race : Abomination
Resistance : Challenging
Traits : Natural Weapon (II), Robust (I)
Accurate 10 (0), Cunning 7 (+3), Discreet 9 (-1), Persuasive 5 (+5), Quick 13 (-3), Resolute 11 (-1), Strong 15 (−5), Vigilant 10 (0)
Abilities : Natural Warrior (Adept), Iron Fist (Adept)
Weapons : (Accurate) Bite (Stike twice, 9 on the first Strike, 7 on the second)
Armor : 2
Defense : -1
Toughness : 15 Pain Threshold 8
Shadow : Black and dark green, like rotten leather (Fully corrupted)
Tactics: Will wait that an ennemy is throw to the ground to attack him with ferocity.
Farelios
Barbarian blacksmith, this expedition is for him the time to prove his craft. Having lived some time in Davokar he knows how to handle himself and is the most willing of the Company to face danger.
Manner: Careful, but friendly
Race: Human (Ambrian)
Resistance: Ordinary
Traits: Bushcraft
Accurate 5 (+5), Cunning 11 (-1), Discreet 7 (+3), Persuasive 9 (+1), Quick 13 (-3), Resolute 10 (0), Strong 15 (-5), Vigilant 10 (0)
Abilities: Blacksmith (Master), Iron Fist (Novice), Axe master (novice)
Boons/ Burdens: None
Weapons : (Strength) Two Handed Great axe (Deep Impact) (6)
Armor: Mastercrafted Leather armor (2)
Defense: -3
Toughness: 15, Pain Threshold: 8
Equipment: Great axe, Mastercrafted Leather Armor.
Shadow: Red with strike of orange, like blood surrounded by fire (0)
Tactic : Go without hesitation in the heart of the fray.
Baestian
Baestian is tired… All that matters to him is vengeance. For him everyone concerned must die in a way fitting their fault. This includes himself, after having lived by murdering, he’s not afraid to be killed, especially if it brings him to his wife.
Manner: Careful, but friendly
Race: Human (Ambrian)
Resistance: Strong
Traits: Contact (Criminals)
Accurate 5 (+5), Cunning 15 (-5), Discreet 13 (-3), Persuasive 9 (+1), Quick 10 (0), Resolute 11 (-1), Strong 7 (+3), Vigilant 10 (0)
Abilities : Acrobatics (Master), Alchemy (Adept), Backstab (Adept), Feint (Novice), Poisoner (Master), Tactician (Adept), Trapper (Master)
Boons/ Burdens: None
Weapons : (Discreet) Mastercrafted stiletto (Deep Impact, concealed) (4, 8 with advantage, given by Feint, +2 bleeding damage)
Armor: Mastercrafted Leather armor (2)
Defense: -5
Toughness: 10, Pain Threshold: 4
Equipment: Mastercrafted Stiletto, Mastercrafted Leather Armor, Two Strong poisons and 7 thalers.
Shadow: Silvery like the reflection of a dagger in the shadow
Tactic : If he have to fight, he will do so without hesitation and strike first the mystics then the strongest opponent, using Acrobatics to do so. He will not try to kill the character (if they’re not the members of the company) and will, after each character falling offer to just let him go.