The Storm is Gathering

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Outline

The characters are currently on the road near the market town Oxgate, which is located on the border between Buckwild and the North Star region. It is early autumn, the air is crisp, and the sky is clear and azure blue.

a change in the weather

Have all characters roll a DC 10 Wisdom (Survival) check. Characters who succeed notice the following: Although the autumnal skies are clear, you notice that blackbirds and sparrows are flying low, and there is a stillness to the air that is uncommon at this time of day. It is quite possible that the weather soon will take a turn for the worse.

Rangers and druids have advantage on this check.

musicians on the move

Read Aloud

You are following the old trade road towards Oxgate. On the way, you have met several merchants who are travelling to Buckbridge village for its yearly Hunter’s Full Moon Festival, a three-day-long fair.

You pass a hilly area where the summer’s wildfires have scorched the ground. Among the blackened tree stumps, fire lilies in bright orange and burning yellow bloom in the ash.

Suddenly, you hear the sound of singing from farther ahead.

The choral voices belong to a group of musicians who call themselves the Travelling Band of Bards. Their leader is Gerda “Starstruck” Timberman, a female gnome with braided hair who wears colourful clothes in green, purple, and saffron yellow.

The musicians have just lit a fire and sat down for an afternoon meal at a resting place next to the road, where three large logs have been dragged near a campfire.

If the characters approach them, Gerda merrily invites them to join them and share their food.

gossip and cautions

If the characters join the musicians, Gerda and her friends ask them who they are and where they are going. She explains that her band are bound for Buckbridge, but they plan to stay in Redbridge for the winter.

Gerda adds in a hushed voice that the characters may want to be careful on their travels. She has spied gnolls, drow and other shady individuals in the forests at night, and she recommends that the characters keep their eyes open for trouble.

light-fingered companions

When the characters have left the musicians, one random character realises that something among their belongings is missing. Roll 1d6 to determine what is gone:

• On a result of 1–2: A practical item, such as a bedroll, a travel ration, or a mess kit.
• On a result of 3–4: 1d20 + 5 silver pieces (or the nearest amount).
• On a result of 5–6: A small item such as a trinket, an inkwell, or a bar of soap.

The missing item was stolen by one of the bards who doubles as an opportunistic thief. No weapons, armour, spell foci, or more valuable items have been stolen.

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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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