The Mountain Bandits

Investigating disappearances around Heartharum, for any reason, leads the party to mountain bandits who have been kidnapping people and selling them to the Armalin Empire. The party must capture/interrogate one of the bandits (most likely to be near the road to the Evermere) and go to their hideout to figure out/stop their operation.

Structure

Exposition

The party departs Heartharum as an escort with the next shipment of diamonds to the Evermere. The journey to the river takes 2 days, with an inn at the halfway point for travelers and merchants at which the real escort will be ready to take over so the party can leave to do their real job.

Rising Action

The party goes into the forest at the foot of the Moonstone Mountains and starts heading towards where the bandits most likely are accoring to the Ignisgardian intel. In the morning before dawn there is a kaleidoscope of iridescent butterflies that flies up, circles a few times, and starts to fly off. 
If they don't follow they'll be able to find the camp with DC 15 INT or with the help of gnoll friend. 
Should the players follow they are led deep into the forest where the butterflies rest on a statue of a deity, not obscuring any of their features, with a clearing in front of it. A minute or two after the players arrive, so does dawn and with it (what you originially thought was grass) all the flowers of the glade open in unison revealing that iridescent petals were being hid; the whole glade covered in a blanket of iridescence. Catching their eye past the glade, midair, is a giant mushroom with limbs spinning through the air, laughing joyously. There is then another, then one going back the other way, and soon they can see a dozen or so 15ft mushroom guys frisbeeing themselves through the air. Then gnoll friend asks them for help with some stinky humans that have been taking all the game nearby and he's pretty sure they're directly hurting people too though he has no evidence.

Climax

Take out the bandit camp in the mountains and interrogate/investigate who is pulling the strings behind the kidnappings and the new fort.

Falling Action

Report back to Rurik and Vrosh that Victor Malin constructed the fort.

Components

Goals

Take out the bandit camp and learn who is behind the kidnappings and new fort.

Hooks

May also try to find friends/family of people in Heartharum if they heard about it from NPC's.

Related Locations

• Evermere
• Moonstone Mountains