Solving the Murder

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Outline

To identify who killed Lieutenant Artemis Nahanna, the characters must figure out which guest has the strongest motive and how the murder was carried out, all while avoiding getting sidetracked by red herrings.

interviewing witnesses

Talking to the guests will give the characters a general idea of what is going on at the inn and might reveal people’s motives for killing Artemis.

However, not everyone will share all their thoughts and feelings – especially if it might get

them in trouble. Therefore, the characters may have to persuade, trick, or intimidate some NPCs into parting with certain information.

looking for evidence

The innkeeper, Inga Broadhammer, permits the characters to search all the common rooms. However, the characters must be stealthy or create a distraction to covertly go through the NPCs’ private rooms.

red herrings and misdirection

There are plenty of red herrings that can lead the characters astray. For example, Inga believes that she unwittingly killed Artemis by adding frog leaves to his food.

Another red herring is the local smuggling activities near the inn. As Inga stores contraband in the basement and William Fastfinger used to be part of a band of smugglers, their involvement can make them look particularly suspicious.

developments

When the characters arrive at the Old Wolf Inn, all the NPCs except William Fastfinger are gathered in the common room. However, the guests might not stay there at all times. As the evening progresses, the guests withdraw to their rooms and go to bed. Eventually, the only sounds heard at the inn are the howling wind and the rattling of the chains of the inn’s sign, which has been torn away by the storm.

destination unknown

At some point during the night, Kara Tanner decides to leave the inn during the night and ride hard for Oxgate despite the storm. She worries that the murderer will remain unidentified and wants to call in reinforcements before it is too late. If the characters see her slip off to the stables and confront her, she will tell them about her plan.

murder is easy

Jon Callion has poisoned Hugo von Silverton’s wine with an inconspicuous ingestion poison, which Hugo will drink in his room around midnight to soothe his frazzled nerves. Hugo will die one hour after consuming the wine unless the poison is neutralised by magic or an antidote. Characters who are awake at this time and succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) check will hear heavy breathing from Hugo’s room as he crawls for a vial of antitoxin in his luggage.

the key to unveiling the murderer

Two pieces of information are central to solving the mystery.

One is the empty vial in Artemis’ room. If the characters find the set of potions in Hugo von Silverton’s room, they might realise that while the writing and the labels are similar, the bottles are different. This indicates that someone has changed the label on the empty potion.

Another is that several pages of Artemis’ reports are missing. These pages were stolen by Jon, who tried to burn them, and the scorched remains can be found in his fireplace.

Furthermore, Cael Thraelive saw Jon knock on Artemis’ door and give him a potion. Cael is delighted by the nefarious murder and won’t readily share what he knows – but he may be compelled or tricked into doing so.

time is running out

At dawn when the storm is moving on, the NPCs will gather in the common room, and the characters must present their findings.

At this point, there are several alternative endings to the adventure depending on the characters’ actions. (See chapter 8 for more information.)

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table-of-contents

Introduction

    - 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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