At a gathering in the Clifftop Adventurers Guild, a group of heroes are drawn to one another by recollections of a strange dream. They meet a goblin acolyte carrying a holy symbol from a distant land. After saving the goblin from his pursuers, the adventurers organize an auction to find out who is in pursuit of the holy symbol.
Player Characters: Balkris, Fie, Highly, R. Sativus, Reckoner
I.
In Sharn the City of Towers, the district of Clifftop in Upper Dura long served as a gathering place for adventurers. It was here that the Clifftop Adventurers Guild was established 150 years ago to offer aid and company to those seeking adventure. Among those who frequented the guild hall were Renaldo, a popular half-elf bard and celebrity in the Upper City; Serinna, a half-elf bounty hunter in Middle Dura specializing in extramarital affairs; and Bouncer, a lizardfolk mercenary with a reputation in Lower Dura. However, few people knew the truth about these individuals – they were all the same person. These three personas were created by Fie the changeling warlock. Long ago, Fie had discovered an ancient dagger with a connection to a legendary night hag known as Sora Kell. The dagger offered Fie mystical powers, and in exchange Fie vowed to fulfill Sora Kell’s unscrupulous designs. Fie kept these powers and personas a closely guarded secret while using them to carve out a reputation in the City of Towers, where nothing was as it seemed.
Through Renaldo’s connections, Fie befriended a nobleman named Balkris d’Vadalis, a member of the dragonmarked house famous for breeding magical animals. Balkris was not a trueborn heir of his noble house but an orphan left at his father’s doorsteps. What few people knew was that Balkris was one of the kalashtar, those strangers from a distant shore who commanded psionic abilities granted by spirits from the region of dreams. Balkris, being frustrated by the limitations he faced within his house, foresook the wealth and comfort of his family and struck out as an itinerant knight with his loyal retainers, the twins Jarvis and Marvis, and a young squire named Travis.
One day, Balkris called together a large gathering of adventurers from all across Sharn to join him at the Clifftop Adventurers Guild. He wanted to find a group of worthy companions for his upcoming adventures. After seeing Balkris’s open invitation in the newspapers, many adventurers and soldiers of fortune gathered at the guild hall for ale, wine, and rumors of quests.
Balkris, being the host of the gathering, struck up conversations with his guests. One of them was Reckoner, a warforged fighter. Reckoner had a unique head shaped like a dragonborn. He did not come from Cyre or Breland whose armies had fielded the largest numbers of warforged in the Last War. Instead, he had served in the Order of Rekkenmark in Karrnath, a militant nation that was infamous for its use of undead armies. Unlike the warforged veterans of Breland, Reckoner had not gained his freedom at the end of the war. He remained the property of the Karrnathi military until he had saved enough money from doing side jobs to purchase his own freedom. Ever since he became a free warforged, Reckoner felt a lack of direction. He came to this gathering to search for his former commanding officer, Raylan Givens, hoping to be reunited with his old commander to regain a sense of purpose in his life.
While Balkris and Reckoner conversed, a small gnome wizard in a hooded cloak listened discreetly to their conversation. Her name was R. Sativus, aka “The Rat.” She was a gnome from the Eldeen Reaches far to the west of Sharn. The Sativuses were a large family of gnomes that lived in the oldest part of their forest, inside a great oak tree whose hollow was their home. They lived a peaceful life in their crowded tree hollow, surrounded by verdant woodlands full of birdsong. But not all gnomes were made for such an idyllic existence. R. Sativus came to Sharn in search of knowledge and adventure. She learned early on that information can lead to power and profit, so she listened to every man’s word and every rat’s squeak in the hope of gleaning a piece of knowledge that might prove profitable. As the gnomes were known to say, “The birds hearken in the daylight, and the rats listen under moonlight.”
Not far from R. Sativus, there was a hobgoblin named Highly. He was born in the hidden halls of the Dhakaani, the last descendants of the ancient line of goblins whose empire had once stretched across the continent. He was a young hobgoblin of 15 winters, and he had lost his parents when he was only ten. Highly’s mother and father had secretly communicated with scholars from Morgrave University, breaking the ancient ban imposed by their people forbidding contact with the outside world. For their trouble, they were brutally executed by order of the Dhakaani leaders. Highly would have been slain as well if not for the intervention of the Morgrave sages who rescued him and raised him as one of their own. Now, the young hobgoblin had struck out to make a name for himself and perhaps one day seek justice for his parents.
II.
Highly surveyed the guild hall and noticed Renaldo, Balkris, Reckoner, and R. Sativus. It seemed to him that he had seen these four, among others, in a dream of another life. In the dream, he saw a party of adventurers including several half elves, a lizardman, a nobleman, a warforged, a gnome, a hobgoblin, and a shifter. They took on daring quests in the streets of Sharn, rescued an innocent victim from the clutches of vile cultists, and battled a strange monster from another plane. Highly noticed a glimmer of recognition in their eyes when they saw one another and wondered if the other four had shared the same dream.
Suddenly, he was shaken from his reverie by a shrill voice. It belonged to a young goblin who taunted Balkris and Reckoner.
“Look at that! A dragonmark and a dragonhead! Ha ha!”
All eyes turned to the upstart who dared to mock the host of the gathering. He wore the vest and cloak of an acolyte, but his backpack was laden with gear, trinkets, and animal feed. He had a large collection of holy symbols around his neck, one for each god from the Sovereign Host and the Dark Six as well as the Church of the Silver Flame.
“Now that I have your attention, may I interest anyone in a sermon dedicated to our one true faith? If you want to hear more, please join me for tea at our local temple.”
Not long after the goblin began to speak, a muscular lizardman appeared before him. It was Bouncer (Fie’s lizardfolk persona), and he had come to ask the goblin proselytizer to leave the guild hall.
On his way out, the goblin whispered to Highly in an accent suggesting he too was of Dhakaani descent.
“Know that I speak the truth, brother.”
Highly was startled and grabbed hold of the goblin. He began to question him when the front doors swung open and half a dozen members of the Sharn Watch entered the guild hall. They were armed with spears and shields, and their captain wore a longsword at his belt.
“We’re looking for a goblin charlatan,” bellowed the guard captain. “He has a large collection of holy symbols. Everyone who fits the description must be inspected.”
They soon spotted the goblin acolyte and would have seized him, but Balkris and Reckoner stepped in.
“How dare you barge into my gathering at the Clifftop Adventurers Guild! Don’t you know how I am?” Balkris said angrily, fuming with indignation.
“Greetings, law-enforcing officers. Can you explain what crime this goblin is accused of?” Reckoner asked reasonably.
The guard captain faltered when he saw the angry nobleman and the large, intimidating warforged beside him and offered some unconvincing reasons for the arrest.
“This goblin… Umm… He has too many faiths… Yeah, that’s right! You’re only supposed to have one religion in this country. I’m pretty sure that’s the law. It’s in the books somewhere.”
“That’s not true!” Balkris exclaimed. “Now, see here, if you cannot provide a good reason or a warrant for this goblin’s arrest, I must insist on taking him into my own custody. We will get to the bottom of this matter in due time. Isn’t that right, Jarvis?”
Jarvis nodded politely and looked at Marvis, who also nodded and looked at Travis, who merely shrugged.
The guard captain looked behind Balkris and saw the large number of adventurers in the guild hall. They did not take kindly to the Sharn Watch interrupting their party to arrest a fellow guest, even if he was a goblin. The guards soon left the guild hall without further argument.
They did not notice that a small rat, sent discreetly by R. Sativus, was following them. The gnome wizard suspected that these were not real city guards, and if someone went to the trouble of sending thugs disguised as officers of the law, they would not give up so easily.
When the city guards had left, the rest of the guests in the guild hall returned to their conversations. But the encounter had piqued the interest of Fie, Balkris, Reckoner, R. Sativus, and Highly. They gathered around the goblin and asked him to explain why the Sharn Watch was looking for him.
The goblin thanked Balkris for saving him but confessed that he was not sure what the guards wanted with him. Or rather, he had a great many items of contraband that they might wish to confiscate, but he didn’t know which one they were after. The goblin also confessed that his proselytizing was merely a ruse to find trustworthy adventurers. He was looking for assistance to gain entry into Morgrave University, an institutation of higher learning in Upper Menthis. The university did not invite lowly goblins such as himself into its hallowed halls unless they were well-known adventurers.
“Hey, I’m from Morgrave University! If you come with me, I can get you in there,” said Highly, showing the others his Morgrave University student ID.
The goblin thanked the Sovereigns and the Dark Six for his good fortune. The others were curious what the goblin could want from the university and decided to accompany him to find out. They left the Clifftop Adventurers Guild and prepared to go to Upper Menthis when the goblin suddenly exclaimed:
“Wait! I can’t leave without Rations!”
The others were perplexed by the outburst, since the goblin’s backpack was full of trail rations and animal feed. But R. Sativus understood what he meant and asked him plainly:
“Is Rations your animal companion?”
“Yes!” said the goblin. “He’s my donkey and my best friend. He’s waiting for me in the alley.”
“He is not the only one waiting for you,” R. Sativus replied.
The gnome had seen through the eyes of her rat familiar sent to follow the city guards. They had walked around the corner to the hitching posts in the alley where visiting adventurers had tied up their mounts. Now, they were standing around a donkey that was tied to a post.
III.
In the alley beside the Clifftop Adventurers Guild, five city guards and their captain were waiting to ambush the goblin acolyte when he came to collect his donkey. Yet the goblin insisted on retrieving his animal companion. Bouncer came up with a plan and left to “call” his friend Renaldo. A few moments later, Renaldo the half elf bard arrived, gasping for breath. He walked into the alley and approached the city guards.
“Good day, officers! How are you on this fine day? If you will excuse me, I must bring this donkey to my friend who is waiting for me.”
Much to Renaldo’s dismay, the city guards immediately surrounded him with their shields and spears at the ready.
“This donkey belongs to your friend, aye? Perhaps we can all go together to see your friend,” said the guard captain, resting his hand on his sword hilt.
Balkris was enraged by the sight of his friend Renaldo being accosted. He rushed into the alley and shouted angrily.
“You again! What do you think you’re doing? Don’t you know that this is Renaldo, one of the most famous bards in the Upper City?”
This time, the guards were not fazed by the nobleman’s outburst.
“We’re not inside the guild hall anymore, my lord,” said the captain as he drew his longsword from its sheath.
Highly, seeing that his newfound companions were in danger, grabbed the cloak off the goblin’s back and threw it over his head. He crouched low, trying to look like a small goblin, and ran into the alley.
“Hey you, tall humans! I’m the one you want!” Highly shouted.
The guards were startled by the sudden appearance of the “goblin”. The captain pointed at Highly and ordered the others to apprehend him. His men stepped forward, but Balkris drew his rapier and stood in their way. With a mighty roar, he skewered the nearest guard with his rapier and threw him aside like a rag doll. The other guards were taken aback by the sudden display of brute strength. They kept their spears pointed at Balkris, trying to keep the angry nobleman at bay.
The captain was not so easily cowed. He lunged at Highly with his longsword, but Reckoner raised his shield to protect the young hobgoblin. Behind the warforged, the goblin acolyte spoke a prayer and cast a spell of protection around Highly. He also let out a loud whistle, signaling to his donkey. “Rations” the donkey broke free from the hitching post and charged at the guard captain, nearly knocking him prone.
The captain was now surrounded by a warforged, two goblinoids, and a rampaging donkey. Magical bolts of fire began to rain down upon him. R. Sativus had climbed up to the roof of the guild building and was sniping at the guards with magic spells. In the midst of the mayhem, the changeling Fie hid in the alley and changed into the shape of a goblinoid, then reappeared to sow more confusion among the city guards.
The adventurers fought bravely, but the hardy captain and his men were not easily subdued. The guard captain found a gap in Reckoner’s defenses, allowing him to grab hold of Highly. He expected little resistance, but instead of a meek little goblin beneath the tattered cloak, he found a strong young hobgoblin whose strength was more than a match for his own.
“This is not the goblin we’re looking for! He doesn’t have it!” the captain exclaimed.
The other guards were preoccupied by Fie disguised as a goblinoid and Balkris who was beating them with the pommel of his rapier. But one of them took notice of the small goblin acolyte behind Highly and grappled with him. The guard found what he was looking for and tore one of the holy symbols from the goblin’s neck.
“I got it! Let’s get out of here!” he shouted. The guard began to run down the alley with the holy symbol in his hand. He had not gone far when he was blasted by a bolt of eldritch magic and fell dead.
The others looked at the source of the eldritch blast. It came from the smoking palm of a goblinoid whom they did not recognize. But they had little time to wonder who the strange goblinoid was. For Highly had turned around to help the goblin acolyte, and in that moment the guard captain took advantage of the distraction and thrust his longsword into Highly’s back. The hobgoblin screamed and dropped to the ground in a puddle of his own blood. He was swiftly avenged by Reckoner whose warhammer crushed the guard captain’s head like a melon.
The adventurers mopped up the remaining guards while the goblin acolyte knelt beside Highly and spoke a prayer of healing that brought him back from the brink of death. However, one of the guards managed to escape from the alley. After dodging a volley of spells, javelins, and arrows, he rounded the corner and vanished into the streets of Sharn.
The fight had been won. Balkris took stock of the situation and was not pleased. Five dead city guards would not look good in the next day’s newspaper. He began to think of a suitable alibi and commanded his retainers to clean up the bodies. Jarvis looked at Marvis who looked at Travis. The young squire donned a pair of leather gloves and took out several large sacks from his backpack. He began to clean up the bloody scene, just as Renaldo reappeared and asked what he had missed.
III.
They had little time to wonder where Renaldo had been before the grateful goblin acolyte, feeling that he could trust these adventurers, began to tell his tale. He introduced himself as Stab, a devout cleric whose faith combined the ancient traditions of the Dhakaani with modern religions like the Sovereign Host and the Silver Flame. He hoped to learn more about the holy symbol that the city guards were seeking. It was a holy symbol of the Traveler, one of the deities of the Dark Six. Stab had gotten it from another adventurer on the distant continent of Xen’Drik. He described at length how he had saved a group of adventurers from monstrous scorpions, and dark elf cannibals, and dark elves worshipping a scorpion. In any case, the adventurer who gave him the holy symbol instructed him to take it to Morgrave University in order to discover its secrets.
While listening to Stab’s long tale, R. Sativus studied the holy symbol closely. It appeared to be carved from a scorpion’s shell, but R. Sativus detected no aura of magic about it. However, he saw that it also resembled a symbol used by secret societies among the upper echelons of the nobility, particularly the larger dragonmarked houses and academic institutions.
Highly recalled a story he had heard about a cult of the Traveler that was uncovered at Morgrave University. Several years ago in the final days of the Last War, a long-standing member of the faculty named Professor Moonsong had led an ill-fated expedition on an airship that never returned. Moonsong briefly reappeared in Sharn, but he vanished again during a fierce shoot-out against members of the Boromar Clan in the docks of the Lower City. During the encounter, Moonsong was revealed to be a scion of a dragonmarked house and a member of a secret cult of the Traveler that had operated within Morgrave University. Following the startling revelation, the university took steps to reassure the public and root out the cult from its staff and faculty. Highly had heard the story from a goblin named Flash who claimed to have been on Moonsong’s airship and witnessed the shoot-out at the docks.
Highly again offered to take Stab to Morgrave University to unravel this mystery, but the others were uncertain. While Travis was cleaning up the dead bodies, they discovered that the city guards were not guards after all. Just as R. Sativus had suspected, they were bandits in disguise. But who had sent these men after Stab and his relic? Whoever it was, one of the bandits had gotten away, so Stab’s pursuers were sure to return sooner or later.
The adventurers came up with a creative solution. They would open an auction for the holy symbol to lure out those who wanted it. Balkris used his connections with his noble family to rent an auction space and put ads in the evening newspaper. He would be the host of the auction, Reckoner would be the bouncer at the door, Renaldo would “invite” other patrons to the bidding, and Highly and R. Sativus would keep an eye on the patrons.
IV.
On the following evening, an auction was held in the Stonebridge Auction House in Middle Dura, located on the far side of a long bridge from an orphanage called the Stonebridge Fosterage. Guests who had seen the ad in the newspaper began to gather at the door. There was a flamboyant dwarf noble with a lady of the evening in a red dress; a gnome who looked like a mad scientist followed by a tall, silent bodyguard smelling of rot and decay; a group of bald men in dark robes; and two professors from Morgrave University. One of the professors was infamous for stealing artifacts from adventurers returning from expeditions. The other was a middle-aged professor of two departments at Morgrave University, the Department of Law and the Department of Acquired Cultures.
When the guests had settled into their seats, Balkris greeted them and began the bidding.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the auction! Tonight, we have a wonderful piece of religious iconography, a holy symbol of the Traveler from the distant land of Xen’Drik! Let’s start the bidding at 5 gold galifars. Do I have 5 galifars? Yes, the professor from Morgrave University bids 5 galifars! Do I have 10 galifars? The mysterious gentleman in the back whom I have never met before bids 10 galifars! How about 15 galifars? Yes, the gnome gentleman in the back bids 15 galifars. Do I have 20 galifars? Um, okay, the gnome gentleman bids again. Do I have 25 galifars? 25 galifars, anyone…”
“One hundred galifars,” said the second professor from Morgrave University, causing some people in the audience to gasp.
“Two hundred galifars,” said a mysterious patron who joined the bidding.
“Three hundred galifars,” answered the professor.
“I have three hundred galifars!” cried Balkris. “Going once… Going twice… Sold!”
The professor of Law and Acquired Cultures from Morgrave University graciously accepted his prize and introduced himself as Professor Cinderveil. Being curious about the origins of the relic and the details of its discovery, Professor Cinderveil invited Balkris and his associates to his office at the university. The adventurers had found the individual willing to make the highest bid, but they had learned no more, and Stab was not happy to part with his relic without gaining any more information. Therefore, the adventurers accepted Professor Cinderveil’s invitation and visited him on the following day.
Inside Professor Cinderveil’s office at Morgrave University, the five adventurers and their goblin friend sat nervously, wondering what truths they might learn at this meeting. Stab began by retelling his long story while the professor poured each person a cup of tea. Soon, the adventurers began to feel drowsy, and even Stab yawned as he told his tale. Reckoner the warforged felt the crystals that served as his eyes grow dark as he was overtaken by a weariness he had never experienced before. One by one, the adventurers fell unconscious in their seats. Highly was the last to fall asleep, and he noticed too late that the room had filled with a faint gas, although Professor Cinderveil seemed strangely immune to it.
When the adventurers awoke, it was nighttime. They found themselves on a well-lit street. The air was thin, indicating that they were somewhere on the uppermost reaches of Sharn or perhaps the fabled Skyway floating above the city. One by one, they rose to their feet and saw that they were not alone. In their midst, a dead body laid on the ground. Shouts echoed through the streets lined with everbright lanterns. A bell rang loudly to summon the Sharn Watch to the scene of the crime.
“Murder! There’s been a murder in Skyway!”
To be continued…
Encounters in Sharn: Possession Is Nine-Tenths
Rewards
4 Achievement Points
4 Treasure Points
10 Downtime Days
1 Renown Point