Arriving at the Inn
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shadow: offRead Aloud
The wind howls, and lightning bolts spar with each other across the darkening sky. The heavy rain blurs your vision, but further ahead you see the welcoming sight of a warm, roadside inn.
Built three centuries ago to withstand the cold weather and harsh wind of the mountains, the Old Wolf Inn is a two-storey building in stone with tarred exposed oak beams and white chalk cladding. The stables are located in an adjacent stone building, and there is a small outhouse around the corner of the inn.
As the characters venture closer, they see a carved wooden inn sign that swings madly on its chains. The sign features a ragged wolf with bared fangs and the carved text “Old Wolf Inn”. Rain gushes down from the inn’s thick thatched roof. The ferocious winds howl and threaten to rip off the outhouse’s roof at any moment.
a warm but worrying welcome
When the characters enter, they find themselves in a warm and cosy common room. They are met by the scents of newly baked bread, strong ale, and spiced tea. The whitewashed walls are decorated with old woodworking tools and mounted stag antlers. To the left is a bar, and a massive wolf pelt hangs over the large open fireplace to the right.
the innkeeper
A dwarven woman with braided hair stands behind the bar. She flinches when the door to the inn opens, and looks wide-eyed at the characters.
Read Aloud
“Greetings,” the dwarf says in an unsteady tone and rubs her palms against her apron. “I am Inga Broadhammer, the innkeeper.”
There is a long pause before Inga clears her voice and continues: “You are, of course, welcome to stay for the night. But I’m afraid that there has been an accident…”
She trails off and takes a deep breath. “You see, a dead body has just been found here at the inn.”
Inga offers the characters and the other guests a round of free drinks. She asks the characters if they wish to order food and lodgings for the night, before she disappears into the kitchen.
a murder is announced
Two of the guests are a pair of soldiers in the armour and cornflower-blue cloaks of the Winterhold Guards. They are discussing something in between them in low but agitated voices. After a moment, they leave their place in front of the fireplace and approach the characters.
Read Aloud
“My name is Kara Tanner,” one of them says, “and this is Jon Callion. We’re soldiers from the Winterhold Guards. Our commander, Lieutenant Artemis Nahanna, has just been found dead in his room upstairs.”
“Foul play may have been involved,” Jon adds quietly, “but we don’t yet know for sure.”
“Nevertheless,” Kara continues bluntly, “it is possible that a murder has been committed. Would you be willing to look into the matter?”
the guest who came in from the cold
Before the characters can reply, the heavy door to the inn is pulled open. In the doorway stands a towering, broad-shouldered woman dressed in rugged hide armour and backlit by stabs of crackling lightning. What is visible of her skin is covered with blue tattoos, and a dead deer is slung over her shoulders. She steps over the threshold, pauses to shake the rain from her clothes, and wordlessly strides into the kitchen.
The woman is Vittra Northdaughter, a regular visitor at the inn. On nights such as this one when the weather is exceptionally bad, she stays at the inn and pays for her lodgings by delivering fresh meat to Inga.
promised rewards
Kara Tanner offers the characters a reward of 50 gp to investigate if Lieutenant Artemis Nahanna was murdered and, if that is the case, provide evidence of who committed the crime.
Kara emphasises that because the characters weren’t present when the lieutenant died, they are above suspicion – but anyone else at the inn might have been involved.
the guests at the inn
The following NPCs are present at the inn. (See chapter 5 for complete descriptions of all NPCs.)
Inga Broadhammer , a female dwarven innkeeper who walks with a slight limp around the tables as she serves drinks to her guests.
Enoch the Birdwhisperer , an elderly man with wild white hair and matching eyebrows who stands in a corner. He is dressed in a tattered dark green robe and worn sturdy leather boots, and his expression is distant and absent-minded. At present, he is engrossed in a mumbled conversation with a large black bird that sits on his shoulder. The black bird is a tame raven named Crow.
Kara Tanner and Jon Callion , a female and a male human in their thirties. They are dressed in military uniforms and cornflower-blue cloaks embroidered with the emblem of the Winterhold Guards. Kara has short black hair and a small scar that runs across her eyebrows, while Jon is handsome and has brown side-swept hair. They both look concerned and watchful.
Cael Thraelive , a male half-elf who sits at one of the round tables with an aloof expression while he sips tea from a wooden mug. He keeps his long auburn hair tied back, and he wears a fine sky-blue robe with silver moon crescents and an elegant pointy velvet hat.
Hugo von Silverton , a constantly smiling and fidgeting male human merchant. He is short and chubby with thinning black hair and a ruddy face, and he wears golden rings on all his fingers. He sits in a private booth near the fireplace and nervously dabs his forehead with a monogrammed handkerchief.
Vittra Northdaughter , a tall female half-orc. She has long, braided hair and a stony face that is difficult to read. Her body is covered with intricate tattoos, which suggest that she originates from the Hinterlands region. She is currently in the kitchen, where she is swiftly and skilfully butchering the dead deer.
William Fastfinger , a male gnome who poses as a travelling bard. He has a radiantly charming smile and wears a black-and-red chequered cloak. He is currently hiding in the stables since he saw the Winterhold Guards through a window when he arrived and instantly decided against entering the common room.
first impressions
—> On a closer look, DC 15 Wisdom (Insight): You look around and inconspicuously study the innkeeper and the other guests. Judging by Inga’s tendency to wipe her hands and offer free drinks, and the merchant’s considerable perspiration, they appear to be nervous. In contrast, the half-elven mage looks remarkably calm, although his eyes are alert. The two guards seem tense and worried, but it is harder to gauge the mood of the elderly man with the bushy hair – either he is actually talking to his tame bird, or he is an extraordinary actor. The brawny woman who carried the slain deer into the kitchen was impossible to read.
the clue is in the menu
If the characters order the house’s finest wine, they notice that the wine is from the Outer Islands. These types of wines are rare and expensive and quite uncommon to find at a rustic dwarven inn.
Inga received the wine as part of her payment for hiding smuggling goods in the Hidden room (Area 19) in the basement.
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table-of-contents
Introduction
Link to original
- Mysterious Clues
- Arriving at the Inn
- Solving the Murder
- Interviewing the Suspects
- The Crime Scene
- Rooms at the Old Wolf Inn
- Unfolding the Mystery
- Rewards and Aftermath
- Appendix
NPC’s
- Artemis Nahanna
- Cael Thraelive
- Enoch the Birdwhisperer
- Hugo von Silverton
- Inga Broadhammer
- Jon Callion
- Kara Tanner
- Vittra Northdaughter
- William Fastfinger
Monsters
- Stenbumling Troll
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