Meeting Baron Silverkin

Encounter 2:  Meeting Baron Silverkin

Skill Challenge Level 1 Easy

Complexity 1:  4 successes before 3 failures

Level:  Moderate

Xp:  100 xp per character

 Setup

 You enter the great hall of Baron Silverkin’s keep, escorted by two of Baron Silverkin’s guard.  The great hall is not large, as great halls go, perhaps 30 feet by 30 feet, and the ceiling rises to about 20 feet.  The walls and floor are stone interrupted by slotted windows, not wide enough to slip through, but wide enough to shoot arrows through.  The walls are hung with tapestries, mostly depicting hunting scenes, but one depicts women at their sewing and another depicts a ball with men and women dressed in fine attire.  The ceiling is wood, held up by thick beams of heavy oak.  To one side there is a fireplace where the remains of a fire burn listlessly.  There is no throne, as one would normally think of a throne.  Instead, there is a long wooden table, stout but not especially elegant, surrounded by heavy wooden chairs.

Seated in two of the chairs are Baron Silverkin and his wife, the Baroness.  They are watching you as you enter.  Both the Baron and his lady are aged, easily 60 years old or more, but the Baron looks stout and solid.  His hair and beard are gray, but, while the years have worked their will on his face, they seem to have left his body strong.  He looks like a man to be reckoned with.  The Baron is wearing livery identical to that worn by the soldiers.  The Baroness is wearing a dark green dress, simple, but elegant.

There are three people standing to either side of the Baron and his wife, also looking at you as you enter:  an older man, perhaps as old as the Baron, dressed in olive green robes and half leaning on a staff with a single small jewel at the top; a young, very pretty, black-haired half-elf woman, perhaps 20, dressed in a crimson dress with a scooped neck that reveals a bit of her ample cleavage, with a dagger at her waist; and a dark, scowling, stout dwarven man of indeterminate age, wearing the livery of Baron Silverkin, armed and armored.

Also in the room are several members of the Baron’s guard who don’t look much different from the guards escorting you, and several people who are obviously servants.

As you enter, the Baron speaks without rising.  “So, these are the ones.  What brings you to Linden Keep?”  His voice is carefully neutral, revealing neither ire nor pleasure.

Tactics and Development

Primary Skills

Diplomacy:  DC 10.  You tell the Baron something that is true and which makes him more likely to trust you.

Bluff:  DC 12.  You tell the Baron something that is not quite true, but which makes him think that it would be wiser to be friendly with you than antagonistic.

Intimidate:  DC 14.  This cannot be used after a failure with this skill.  You issue a veiled threat to the Baron or his interests.  He is less likely to trust you, but he is more likely to act as if he does.  (+2 to Diplomacy DC)

Secondary Skills

Insight:  DC 10.  First use:  You can tell whether Diplomacy, Bluff, or Intimidate are more likely to work on the Baron.

History:  DC 12.  You recall a piece of the history of the Barony of Woodlea Forest which helps you decide how to approach the Baron.  (+2 to the next Primary Skill check)

Perception:  DC 14.  First success:  You notice a glance exchanged between the Baron and the young half-elf woman.  There is nothing remotely sexual in the look but clearly the Baron trusts the woman.  (+2 to the next Diplomacy Check if it is directed toward the woman; she then advocates on your behalf with the Baron)  Second Success:  You notice the Baron eying the dwarf and realize that he is looking to see what the dwarf thinks of you.  (+2 on the next Intimidate check if it is directed toward the dwarf, who then suggests to the Baron that you seem like formidable warriors and he would be wise to enlist your services)

Success

The Baron seems to warm up to you, and you are invited to stay in the keep tonight and have dinner with the Baron and Baroness, but he pointedly asks Xanros Tarmikos, the dwarf captain of his guard, to make sure that your needs are met.  There is no doubt from his tone that Captain Tarmikos will not let you leave the keep.  You are escorted to a bed room in the keep where you are given fresh water to bathe and clean clothing to wear, but when the servants leave, you hear a bolt dropped on the door from the outside.  Checking the door reveals that you are locked in, well-treated prisoner-guests of Baron Silverkin.  You are escorted down for dinner, then returned to your room for the night.  A hearty breakfast is served to you in your room, before you are brought to Baron Silverkin’s solar in the morning.  Only the Baron is there, though Captain Tarmikos remains, silently watching and listening.

The Baron thanks you for your service in bringing the map and your report of what happened to his soldiers, and he gives you a bag of gold (180 gp) as a reward for your service.

Then he tells you the story of how his son, Lord Horkas Silverkin, went off to war many years ago with his family's sword, shield, and amulet, things which had been in House Silverkin for generations, and was never heard from again.  According to Earl Petendithas Shieldheart, the Earl of Aldbridge and Baron Silverkin’s liege lord, he never arrived at the battle front, and for years they had heard nothing of his fate.  The sword, shield, and amulet were apparently lost.

Then, a week ago, they had heard a rumor that there was a half-orc in Highbush who claimed to have a map that showed the location of the lost sword.  Baron Silverkin sent a detachment of soldiers to find the half-orc and get the map, either by purchase of by force.  It was these soldiers, headed back to Linden with the map, which you found dead in the road, apparently ambushed by goblins.

He then asks you to undertake the quest of finding the sword and returning it to Linden Keep.  He tells you that he could, of course, set his own guards to the task, but he has a feeling that you will succeed, where no one else would.  He offers you another 100 gold coins each if you succeed in finding and returning the sword.

If you accept the quest, he will provide you with a packhorse and a servant with his own horse to tend to your needs.

Failure

Baron Silverkin has clearly decided that you are not to be trusted and he orders Xanros Tarmikos, the dwarf captain of his guard, to “keep” you safe for the night while he decides what to do with you.  The guards immediately circle around you and Captain Tarmikos “escorts” you down into the dungeon of the keep, where you are locked in one of the cells and given gruel for dinner and breakfast, before being brought once again before Baron Silverkin and his court in the great hall in the morning.

Baron Silverkin gruffly informs you that he does not trust you and he does not believe your story.  He is prepared to sentence you to death for the ambush murder of his soldiers.  However, after discussing it over the night, there are those on his court who believe you should be given a chance to prove your innocence.

He then tells you that he believes the map shows the location of a sword.  He informs you that you are to follow the map, find the sword, and return it to Linden Keep.  If you succeed, you will be spared.  If you do not, you will be executed for the murder of his soldiers and the theft of the map.  Then he turns to Captain Tarmikos and says, “See to it that they do not escape.”  With that, he gets up from his chair and leaves the great hall and Captain Tarmikos and his guards surround you.  “Shall we be on our way?"

On the Road

The True and Rightful King

Encounter 1:  On the Road

Level 1 Easy

4 Starved Dogs, 1, Minions (25 xp ea.) (D) (1 player)

1 Goblin Warrior, 1, Skirmisher, Standard (100 xp) (W) (2 players)

1 Goblin Acolyte of Maglubiyet, 1, Controller, Standard (100 xp) (A) (3 players)

1 Goblin Blackblade, 1, Lurker, Standard (100 xp) (B) (4 players)

1 Goblin Archer, 1, Skirmisher, Standard (100 xp) (R) (5 players)

4 Goblin Grunts, 1, Minions (25 xp ea.) (G) (6 players)

600 xp total

Setup

Keira, the young, stout, troubled paladin woman, Sjolander, the carefree bard, and Tyrion, the drow, are riding down a track that winds through the forest like a snake, rutted with the passing of many wagon wheels, but grassy in the middle and on the edges.  To either side tall pines rise, mixed here and there with oaks and elms, thick enough to obscure the sun, but not so thick that a man or a horse cannot pass between the trunks.  They have been riding since morning, and it is almost noon.

It is early spring.  The weather is mild and the sky is clear, save for a few wisps of high, thin clouds.

They left the village of Highbush shortly after sunrise.  About an hour later, they passed an oxcart with a load of flour headed to Highbush, driven by a wizened old man.  He told them that the village of Linden, seat of the Barony of Woodlea Forest, lay about a day’s journey by walking horse to the west, the direction they are headed.

About an hour ago, a troop of six mounted soldiers passed them heading west, in the direction of Linden.  They wore livery of olive green crossed with light blue with a tiger at the center of the cross, and they had the same symbol on their shields.  (History check DC 10:  The livery and crest is that of Baron Grayward Silverkin, Baron of Woodlea Forest.  History check DC 15:  olive green means generosity; light blue means strength; the cross means religious; and the tiger means valor or fierceness.)  They were riding almost at a gallop and nearly forced the three adventurers off the track into the forest.  They passed without so much as a word of greeting.

About thirty feet ahead, the track curves off to the left.

If the adventurers are actively perceiving, have them roll Perception checks.  If not, use their passive perception.  If they pass (DC 12), they hear guttural conversation ahead.  Any who can speak Goblin recognize that the voices are arguing over whether to keep searching or to give up and leave, but they don’t mention for what they are searching.

If the adventurers attempt to stealth forward, the dogs’ passive perception is 16.  If the dogs hear them, they start barking.  If they don’t, the adventurers manage to get to the curve and look beyond without being noticed.  If they don’t attempt to stealth, then when they reach the curve and look beyond, the goblins are all focused on them, ready for action.

About twenty feet ahead, scattered along the track, lie the bodies of the six mounted soldiers, pin-cushioned with arrows.  Moving around and among the bodies are eight ragged-looking goblins.  Some of the goblins are poking and prodding the bodies, occasionally turning a body as if looking underneath it.  Others are standing, talking to each other, apparently arguing.  Mixed in with the bodies of the soldiers are several goblin bodies, but the living goblins don’t seem to pay any attention to the dead goblins.  There are also four dogs, each of them tearing ravenously at one of the soldier’s bodies.

Tactics

The dogs attack only if an adventurer tries to drive them from a body.

Upon seeing the adventurers, enough goblins flee into the forest to reduce the number down to fit the party size.

However many goblins remain to fight, they are not brave or determined.  They wanted something that the soldiers had, but not enough to fight off these adventurers to keep looking for it.  Any who become bloodied attempt to flee, and as soon as one of them falls, the rest attempt to flee.

Features of the Area

Illumination:  Bright light.

Treasure

On one of the soldier’s bodies there is a cylindrical leather case.  Inside the case is an aged parchment scroll on which is drawn what looks like a crude map.  On the map two locations are marked.  One near the middle reads “Deklu.”  On one corner is another location marked “chat’oor.”  Beneath the word “chat’oor” is another scrawled word:  “tohiish.”

Any member of the party who can read Goblin will be able to recognize the word “chat’oor” as a goblin term for any species not native to their lands, especially humans, but with the exception of elves.  It is often loosely translated as "defiler." The word “tohiish” means “dangerous.”  The word “Deklu” is apparently a place name.  A History check (DC 20) identifies “Deklu” as the word for the ancient goblin settlement located in the general vicinity of Linden when the goblin empire extended over Woodlea Forest.

Perception (DC 10)

1 healing potion

Perception (DC 15)

130 gp