Overview
The town of Greenest was founded by the
halfling Dharva Scatterheart, a rogue who fancied herself the queen of the
Green Fields. Scatterheart passed away without ever achieving that level of eminence, but her town grew into a thriving community. Its success isn’t surprising, since Greenest is the only town of any size astride the Uldoon Trail, the most direct road between the eastern cities of the
Dragon Coast,
Cormyr, and
Sembia with the Coast Way running south to the great cities of
Amn and
Tethyr. The trade caravans that pass through Greenest bring gold to the town’s merchants and craftsfolk, and Governor Nighthill runs the town at the behest of the inhabitants.
The Approach
As characters approach Greenest, they see that a
blue dragon and its Cult of the Dragon allies are attacking the town. The cultists seek to collect treasure that they hope to present to
Tiamat upon her arrival in the world. The cult has assembled a powerful force for this raid by gathering bandits,
kobolds, sellswords, and other mercenary types into a small army. A monk named Leosin Erlanthar was also in town. Through diligent research and interviews conducted during his travels between
Berdusk and
Candlekeep, Leosin became convinced that the cult is engaged in a big operation, but he doesn’t yet know what it is. Leosin uses the raid as an opportunity to infiltrate the cult so that he can learn more about the cult’s plans. He is discovered and captured, however, and needs the characters’ help to escape from captivity.
Characters can engage in several encounters while cultists and kobolds rampage through Greenest.
| For the past several days, you have been traveling a road that winds lazily across the rolling grasslands of the Green Fields. Sundown is approaching when you top a rise and see the town of Greenest just a few short miles away. But instead of the pleasant, welcoming town you expected, you see columns of black smoke rising from burning buildings, running figures that are little more than dots at this distance, and a dark, winged shape wheeling low over the keep that rises above the center of the town. Greenest is being attacked by a dragon! |
The sequence of events that follow is up to you and the characters. You can present them with as many of the encounters as you want, in any order. The only exception is “Seek the Keep,” which should be the first encounter after characters enter Greenest.
General Features
The sun has set by the time characters reach the edge of town.
Light
Burning buildings and a half moon provide dim light throughout the town. The inside of the keep is brightly illuminated.
Fire
The cultists have set many buildings ablaze as they moved through town. When characters arrive, several buildings are already burnt down, with most others aflame - and the fires keep spreading.
The Stream
The stream that flows past Greenest is shallow (seldom more than 3 feet deep) with a gravel bottom, so characters can move along it without difficulty. Where the banks are clear, the stream is easy to get into or out of. Brush by the stream is dense, and the banks are steep where brush grows. Characters can move only 5 feet per turn through the brush.
Important Characters
Governor Nighthill
The man who runs Greenest is Tarbaw Nighthill (LG male
Chondathan human noble), a human male of sixty years. If characters ask who’s in charge, they are directed to Nighthill. He is pacing atop the parapet of the keep when the sky is clear, or inside the keep if the
dragon is attacking. If the characters don’t seek out the governor when they reach the keep, he finds them. Either way, Nighthill welcomes them and takes them to the parapet. From there, they have the best view of Greenest.
The right side of Nighthill’s face and head are bandaged, his right arm hangs in a sling, and his light blue tunic is stained with his own blood. He received these wounds during the early stages of the attack and hasn’t spared the time for more than cursory first aid.
Castellan Escobert the Red
Escobert (NG male
shield dwarf veteran) is a
shield dwarf with knotted, tangled, bright red hair. As master of the keep, Escobert is in charge of its defense and is the best source of information on the tunnel and the sally port. He carries an enormous ring of iron and brass keys to the many locks in the keep.
Wandering Encounters
The streets of Greenest are overrun by forces consisting of cultists and acolytes accompanied by monstrous allies:
kobolds with
ambush drakes and
giant lizards. These raiders move through town without fear, pillaging and burning as they go. As characters travel through the embattled village, they can run into raiders and townsfolk.
The cultists and their kobold lackeys are in the midst of looting Greenest and collecting the spoils for transport back to their camp. Any marauding group that the party encounters has a 50% chance of having 1d6 x 10 gp in stolen treasure in its possession.
If characters use cover and stealth to avoid encounters, have each character attempt a DC 10 Dexterity (Stealth) check. For every two individual checks that fail, the characters have one encounter on the way to their destination. Roll a d8 on the table below to determine each encounter. If characters use the stream bed for cover for most of the trip, these characters have advantage on their Dexterity checks.
If characters don’t use cover and stealth to avoid encounters, roll a d8 for every 100 feet they move in town. If the roll is 4 or lower, they didn’t attract attention with that move. If the roll is 5 or higher, they run into something; roll a d8 again and check the table below to see what the characters meet.
Seek the Keep
Characters have random encounters with raiders when they enter Greenest, but this one should be their first mission of the episode. It begins when a terrified
human family (father, mother, and three young children) dash across their path, hounded by eight
kobolds.
| Without warning, five humans dash out from between two buildings on your left. A limping man and three young children race across the street into more shadows, and a woman carrying a broken spear turns and faces back in the direction from which they came. Eight kobolds stream out of the alley on the family’s heels and fan out around the woman, who looks determined to delay the creatures for as long as possible. |
The woman is Linan Swift (CN female
Shou human commoner), and her husband is Cuth Swift (CN male
Tethyrian human commoner). Cuth is down to 2 hit points from an earlier fight. The children move at speed 20. They can be carried, but a character carrying a child has disadvantage on attack rolls and cannot wield a two-handed weapon.
Unless characters interfere, the
kobolds assume the characters are cultists and ignore them to concentrate on killing the woman first, her family second. Assuming characters intervene and save the family, Linan explains that they must make their way to the keep (at area 1 it’s the only safe place in Greenest. The raiders haven’t set up an effective cordon around the keep, so it’s still possible to move through the front gate - but not for long.
To reach the keep, the characters must make it past three groups of raiders. A group consists of 1d6
kobolds and 1d4
cultists.
Characters can fight these enemies, sneak past them, retreat to avoid them entirely, or try something clever such as bluffing. If they fight, run the combat normally. When enemies must make a check to notice sneaking or bluffing, make a check with advantage for the group.
Each time the characters retreat from an enemy group to avoid it, they run into 1d6 more
commoners who are trying to reach the keep. For every four additional townsfolk in tow, the group must move past one more enemy group to reach the keep.
At the keep, the characters are the last group through the gate before it is closed and barred. After characters enter the keep, raiders encircle it in increasing numbers.
Missions
Events in Greenest are divided into missions. Missions don’t need to involve combat, but most do.
The characters reach the town at sundown, or about 9 p.m. The sun comes up again at 6 a.m. the next morning, but the last of the raiders are gone by 4 a.m.
For time-keeping purposes, assume that each mission takes an hour. Time during the hour that isn’t spent fighting or slipping through town is spent tending gear, bandaging minor wounds, patrolling the keep’s walls, briefing Nighthill on the situation, and other mundane tasks. If characters take a short rest, they can’t undertake any other mission that hour.
A few
acolytes of
Chauntea who managed to make it into the keep can help heal characters as they complete missions.
If players need guidance, Governor Nighthill can give the characters a quick briefing on the tactical situation. The raiders have isolated the keep from the town with encircling groups of guards, but they haven’t organized an attack. Nighthill thinks the raiders don’t intend to attack the keep; they seem interested only in loot and burning the rest of the town. The real danger is to the town and to those people who didn’t make it into the keep before it was cut off. Nighthill wants the characters to slip back into the town and help people who are cut off or harass the raiders. A stealthy group can make it out of the keep and back in again without drawing the raiders’ attention.
The Old Tunnel
A narrow tunnel runs from the cellar beneath the keep to the bank of the stream (area 2). The tunnel is wide enough to allow warriors to pass through it in single file. In the keep, the tunnel is sealed with a locked ironbound door, and the stream exit is covered with a locked iron grate made to look like a sewer outlet. The tunnel’s main function was as a secret means of collecting water from the stream during a siege, but it can double as a sally port. Since the keep has never been besieged, the old tunnel has never been used. Barrels and crates are piled in front of the door. The keys for the
locks are on the ring that Escobert carries with him everywhere.
At some point, Escobert recommends the tunnel as a means of sneaking townsfolk into the keep without running the gauntlet of attackers watching the gates.
Characters can clear the cellar door with a few minutes’ work. The lock is stiff but opens with the key; without the key, the character can open the lock with a successful DC 10 Dexterity (
Thieves' Tools) check. The disused tunnel is choked with webs but is otherwise clear. A few yards inside the stream end is a nest of two
swarms of rats. The rats attack when disturbed, and the surviving rats flee when half their number die.
Years of exposure and neglect have corroded the lock on the exit grate. Even with the key, a successful DC 10 Dexterity (Thieves' Tools) check is needed to open the lock. Without the key, the DC increases to 20. If the roll misses by 5 or more, the key or thieves’ tools break off in the lock so that unlocking it becomes impossible. Then only a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check can force the grate open.
A group of cultists is searching the stream banks for hiding townsfolk when the characters emerge from the tunnel. If characters open the lock with the key or with thieves’ tools, the first one to exit notices the raiders approaching without being spotted in return; the characters can keep out of sight in the tunnel or try to ambush the raiders after they pass. If the check fails, the raiders spot the character; roll initiative and proceed with combat. If the grate had to be broken open with a Strength (Athletics) check, the raiders hear the noise and find cover; they wait for the characters to exit the tunnel, then gain a surprise round. The raiders’ group consists of two
cultists and six
kobolds. If any cultists are still alive at the beginning of the fourth round of the fight, one of them runs to fetch help. Ten minutes later, two
cultists, ten
kobolds, and one
ambush drake arrive to guard the tunnel.
As long as the tunnel remains secret, characters can use it to enter and exit the keep safely. Each time they use the tunnel exit, roll a d6. On a roll of 1, raiders see and attack the characters (use the table above). On a roll of 2, they are seen but not attacked. Instead, the raiders set an ambush and attack the next time the characters return to the tunnel exit.
The Sally Port
The keep has a sally port along the west wall for counterattacking foes who bring a battering ram against the gates. During the night while characters are in the keep, raiders approach the old gate, force it open, and rush through. Escobert discovers them and races into the courtyard to sound the alarm ahead of the infiltrators.
Enough defenders are available to deal with the immediate threat from raiders loose in the keep, since it’s more a probe that got out of hand rather than a full-scale assault. Escobert is most concerned about resealing the sally port, and he seeks out the characters for that job.
To secure the sally port, characters must battle through two groups of foes. The first fight occurs against one
acolyte, four
kobolds, and one
ambush drake, which are guarding the sally port’s 10-foot-by-20-foot ready room against exactly this type of counterattack. After characters seize the room, they discover that the door is heavily damaged. The fastest repair is with five castings of
mending (taking five minutes). If none of the characters can do this, the door can be barricaded with three successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) checks (one check per minute).
Before the door can be repaired, a second group of raiders consisting of one
guard, three
cultists, and four
kobolds attacks. These foes can come from outside the keep, or they might be a group of infiltrators trying to fight its way back outside. If characters barricade the door with
barrels or other heavy objects while awaiting repairs, they might hold off attackers until the repairs are finished and avoid this fight entirely.
Dragon Attack
The
adult blue dragon Lennithon accompanied this raid but is not an enthusiastic participant. Its chief contribution has been its Frightful Presence, but that becomes less effective as the night wears on and defenders overcome their fear. Shortly before midnight, the dragon launches a final assault against the citadel. Frulam Mondath orders the attack, knowing that the adventurers are in the keep at the time. Lennithon doesn’t consider this to be its fight, and it isn’t keen on
tangling with adventurers for another’s benefit.
During this attack, Lennithon flies over the keep and uses his breath weapon without moving closer than 25 feet from the parapet. The defenders on the walls have mastered their fear of the dragon’s Frightful Presence from earlier attacks. There are twenty defenders on the walls at the beginning of the mission, and more can arrive between attacks to take the place of those who fall. The dragon doesn’t target the adventures at first, and every breath attack not directed at them kills 1d4 defenders and injures 1d6 more. Adventurers who happen to get caught in the area make normal saving throws and take standard damage. The defenders’ attacks are ineffective against Lennithon. There is a
ballista on the top of the keep that characters may be able to utilize with help from defenders.
After each attack, Lennithon swoops away until his breath weapon recharges, then swings in for another attack. He repeats this pattern until it has taken 24 damage or more, or a single critical hit. After that happens, Lennithon leaves for good.
Prisoners
Governor Nighthill would like to interrogate some of the raiders.
| “I’d give anything to know what we’re up against, and why. For that, we need prisoners. A commander, even a low-ranking one, is best.” |
If the characters haven’t run into any cult leaders yet, Nighthill takes them onto the parapet and points out what he means. This is an ideal time for everyone to catch a glimpse of Frulam Mondath (LE female
Tethyrian human priest) in her purple robes, accompanied by a dozen guards. Even the governor cautions characters against attacking such a formidable force, especially when any lower-level officer can answer his questions.
Leaving the keep through the front gate is out of the question. By now, too many raiders are watching it, and they would jump the characters as soon as they moved away from the keep. Other options are waiting for a cloud to cover the moon before climbing down ropes tossed over the back wall of the keep, or using the old tunnel that exits into the stream bed.
This mission can be combined with another mission. All characters need to do is bring a live cultist or Cult of the Dragon initiate back to the
keep. Or characters can go into the town hunting for one specifically.
Prisoners brought back to the keep are interrogated by Governor Nighthill and a few of his picked guards. Characters can participate if they want to.
- Captured kobolds are terrified; they say whatever they think the questioner wants to hear. They know that they’re working for the Cult of the Dragon and for the “dragon lady” (Rezmir), and that they’re after loot.
- Captured mercenaries or bandits talk freely; they have no special loyalty to the Cult of the Dragon. They reveal that they’ve been raiding communities around the Green Fields for loot, and they’ve heard rumors in the camp about dragon eggs.
- Cultists and initiates are the most tight-lipped. A successful DC 10 Charisma (Intimidation) or DC 12 Charisma (Persuasion) check is needed to cause cultists to reveal that they are members of the Cult of the Dragon and that they are collecting loot “for the great hoard that will usher in the reign of the Queen of Dragons.” They know that the cult has a clutch of dragon eggs under heavy guard in a cave at the camp.
Sanctuary
Dozens of townsfolk have barricaded themselves inside the temple to
Chauntea, but raiders have it surrounded. The attackers tried setting fire to the stout structure but had little success. Now they’ve deployed an improvised battering ram. It’s only a matter of time, possibly minutes, before the temple’s main doors crumple under the assault, leaving the villagers inside helpless.
The temple is a large building, made of fieldstone with a peaked slate roof, and square in shape. It is taller than most other buildings in town. Inside, the altar occupies the middle of the temple, with other worship areas arranged around it.
The force outside the temple is split into two groups. Group A is battering at the front doors, while Group B is heaping burning straw against a rear door. Both of these groups together would overwhelm 1st-level characters, but characters can devise a plan that gets them inside the temple by dealing with one group.
Group A consists of a
dragonclaw, two
cultists, and six
kobolds. The cultists are handling the ram while the kobolds stand guard in case the town militia mounts a counterattack.
Group B consists of two
guards and four
kobolds clustered tightly around the temple’s back door. Their meager fire produces little flame, instead creating prodigious clouds of thick smoke that engulf the back of the temple and blanket the surrounding 30 feet of ground. Everything in the smoke is lightly obscured, and objects or creatures that are seen through more than 15 feet of smoke are heavily obscured. Characters can sneak up on these raiders and gain a surprise round against them.
The heroes’ best shot at rescuing the townsfolk is to overpower Group B and take control of the back door. In the temple, they can arrange
a distraction to keep Groups A occupied at the front while the citizens of Greenest slip out the back and race for the keep or for the old tunnel.
The townsfolk in the temple are near panic, however, and they won’t take orders from strangers unless someone makes a successful DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check. Otherwise, characters need to locate the head priest of Chauntea, Eadyan Falconmoon (NG male
half-elf priest), a level-headed
half-elf. He’s easy to spot, being the only calm person they can find in the temple, and he is elated to see them. He looks to the characters for a plan.
Time is pressing. The doors have 30 hit points, and each thud of the battering ram deal 1d6 bludgeoning damage to them every 15 seconds. When the doors reach 20 hit points, they have cracks large enough to see through. At 10 hit points, the doors are sagging in their hinges. At 5, they could collapse at the next impact.
If the doors burst open before the temple is evacuated, this scene turns into an ugly melee against Group A. The kobolds in that group prefer to attack the
commoners instead of lethal adventurers. If townsfolk have already evacuated the temple through the back door, or that process is well along before the front doors split apart under the ram, then characters can conduct a fighting withdrawal through the temple. After everyone gets into the smoke outside, they can close and brace the back door, then sprint for the keep or the tunnel in the stream bank with enough of a head start to get away safely.
Dragonborn Champion
Before all the raiders depart, their champion challenges the town’s best warrior.
| From the darkness, a creature strides into the dim light of the dying fires around the keep. Although it is shaped roughly like a human, it is at least seven feet tall, its skin is covered in blue scales, its fingers bear wicked claws, and its face has the muzzle and reptilian eyes of a dragon. The creature stops about eighty yards from the main gate of the keep and scans the walls. A line of kobolds fans out behind it. With their spears, they prod four human prisoners into the dim light. You can make out a woman, a teenage boy in a blood-soaked tunic, and two children. Then the creature hails the keep.
“Defenders of Greenest! This has been a successful night, and I am feeling generous. Do you see these four pitiful, useless prisoners? We have no need for them, so I will trade them back to you. Send out your best warrior to fight me, and you can have these four in exchange.” |
The speaker is Langdedrosa Cyanwrath (LE male
blue dragonborn veteran), a
blue dragonborn who serves the Cult of the Dragon. Cyanwrath has a personal troop of ten
kobolds.
One of the defenders in the keep, Sergeant Markguth (NG male
Tethyrian human guard), recognizes the prisoners as his sister and her children, and he is ready to rush out into battle with the
dragonborn. Escobert the Red and a few other defenders restrain him while Nighthill approaches the characters.
| "My friends, you’ve demonstrated your prowess all through this frightful night. I realize this is an awful burden to ask you to bear, but any of you has a better chance to defeat that horror than my militia have." |
If no one steps forward, Nighthill is disappointed but says he understands, and their refusal in no way diminishes what they’ve done so far. In that case, the woman’s brother goes out to face the
dragonborn.
Cyanwrath is pleased to see a champion step forward. He agrees to these terms for the combat: The three children will be set loose immediately, but his
kobolds will continue to stand guard over the woman, and they will kill her if anyone interferes in the fight - for example, if archers in the keep let fly at him. Regardless of who wins, the woman will be released when the fight is over; and the victor will be the last one standing.
Governor Nighthill holds his troops in the keep during the combat. Adventurers can go out if they want, but the dragonborn insists that they keep their distance and stay between him and the fortress. If characters try to surround him or to edge into position for an ambush, he warns them that his kobolds won’t hesitate to kill the hostages if they see signs of treachery. The dragonborn is evil, but he has a deep sense of honor about one-on-one combat. He doesn’t intend any shenanigans, and he won’t allow any from his kobolds.
Cyanwrath is the likely winner of this match, whether he’s fighting Sergeant Markguth or a character. When his foe drops, he strikes one more time; the last blow kills Markguth or inflicts one death roll failure on a character. If Cyanwrath loses the fight, the kobolds immediately jump in to protect his body and carry it away (Cyanwrath will recover from his wounds and be encountered again later).
With the fight over, the last of the raiders retreat en masse from the town into the darkness, marching away toward the southeast.
If a character steps up to the challenge and fights Cyanwrath, an
acolyte from the keep will come out to revive the character, and Governor Nighthill gratefully offers two
potions of healing to the wounded character. If characters do something that costs the life of a hostage, Governor Nighthill is furious with them and offers no more help.
Developments
It’s assumed that when characters first see the fighting in Greenest, they will rush to its defense. If they don’t, they see about half of the attackers leave around midnight, with the rest retiring in small groups over the next few hours. Regardless of whether of not the characters intervene, when the sun comes up, even a quick inspection shows that almost all of the buildings are heavily damaged and most of the town’s
wealth was carried away. Dozens of injured people are crowded into the keep or are found hiding in cellars, but enough people have been killed and enough buildings destroyed that Greenest has essentially been razed to the ground. Governor Nighthill will eventually lead the survivors to
Berdusk.
The characters reach 2nd level at the end of this episode.
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