ATG Mission 5 Tellenor Winter's Faire

As the team shoots back through time have them get caught in a Time authority office as the guy behind the desk questions them on what they are doing. As security is called they port out again. Clocks around the room with clocks and god symbols on them. If they perceive and get their religion check they can see that Eigeralon clock is stopped! and moves as they port out.
Mew - Abyssal Knife contact Olmed Hashan happens to be in town for Winter's Faire. or is he? He invites mew to seek further membership and accompany him on a quick heist in the Duke's castle. On the fifth floor above the library there is a small bauble he is after. He and mew must do a quick sneak mission to retrieve it. As mew makes her way to the small stone Olmed will dissappear and will assassinate someone in the castle. Roll to see if Mew finds this out and make sure to make mew roll to see if she attacks Olmed due to her increasing vampirism.

Karnak - His Druid moss sales guy from Corralon Township will show up during the faire. Plus the meeting with the Pandaren Man Sun Paw Kong. Also with the arrival of the Bryce Dallas Five Karnak will have to deal with his cousin Karnvior.
Mothman problem - The Bryce Dallas Five will make a great show of heading out to deal with the creature in the woods. If the party accompanies them they will have to travel with the abrasive Trevor Bryce and his arrogant compatriots. The BD5 will "solve" the problem by accosting a costumed individual wearing a mothman suit in the woods. This man, Holber Zambrowski, will claim that it was for the Faire as part of the entertainment. The BD5 arrest him and claim victory. If the party lets the BD5 go out on their own they bring back Holber to Tellenor and make a great show of their quarry and claim the problem is solved. Either way the party will have to find and destroy the creature known as the mothman. They can track it to the it's lair in the Forlorn Tower or it can attack Tellenor in the middle of the night.
Bryce Dallas Five arrive in town - The Bryce Dallas Five are incredibly famous heroes in Tellenheim, the town will be abuzz with their arrival. "Have you heard ? The Bryce Dallas Five are coming here for the Faire!"
Create a meeting in Castle Kelleborne so that mew meets some of the people that Olmed Hashan will assassinate later. Maybe a meeting about the new business ventures and dealing with the Mothman problem.
two opportunities have shown up in your region. A strange golem has been detected with magical properties. Also the Arcanist's Circlet has been rumored to have been found. Which would you like to take on next?" She explains that in the Aerodon Steppe an ancient tomb was uncovered. A small group of raiders entered to pillage and only one came out. He was found three days later wandering without arms and telling a story of a golem that tore apart his group. Our research team has a theory that this may be the fabled Hydellical Mechanoid that once guarded the arch mage Polemicus. The second job is a tip from one of our informants about a powerful artifact known as the Arcanist's Circlet. Rumor is that Helle's adventuring and trading company has found the piece and is taking it to Lamborginus to sell it for a large profit. Why the Archos Divinus would want it is a mystery but can only be bad news for the peace of Penthaheim. Your standard fee applies for both missions, PACT is offering 1500 gold each for successful acquisition. Take a day or two to decide and let me know."

Plot points/Scenes

As you feel the now familiar feeling of the time stream pulling you back to your home timeline you close your eyes and focus on the shifting feeling in you gut. As you open your eyes, expecting to see the cozy lights of Winter's Faire in old Tellenor, a strange scene fills your vision instead. A short squat man in grey and green finery sits at a desk in front of you in a warm cozy room. The room has walls lined with dark polished wood which has ornate edging and fillagree, several frames on the wall show shifting scenes of unfamiliar landscapes and scenes. The scenes shift and flicker to different places every few seconds. Dozens of clocks line the walls each displaying different read outs. [ DM Note: Perception check 16 to see sigils on the clocks / Religion check 16 to notice the sigils are of different gods in the pantheon.]
The short man stares at hundreds of reams of paper on his desk as well as scrolls and small square stones stacked to the sides. He has on three different pairs of glasses with two perched on his nose and the third up on his scalp. He notices your arrival and in a dull monotone says "Welcome back TU 707 drop off your equipment and file your report over there." [DM Note: the man looks like Patton Oswalt, a human man in his 50's with salt and pepper short cropped hair. The TU refers to Tactical Unit 707 of the Time Authority Maintenance and Surveillance of the Multiverse. ] Looking up slowly you see the shock on his face as he sees the five of you "By the two faces of Vellenox who in blazes are you?!" As the team figures out what to do they will probably ask where they are and who he is. His name is Oswald Pallotox and he immediately starts to answer "Why the Time authority maint- oh I can't just tell you things like that. You are clearly Variants artefacting through the time stream I'm going to have to keep you here for questioning." [DM Note: Roll perception DC 18 to notice him slowly reaching a finger underneath the desk to push a button. The players may make a move to stop him if they perceive it. On a fail a few seconds later a large metal golem turns from another room and begins to approach.] The back of the room has several round pads built into the wooden floor, the look to be a greenish blue glass and have a brass ring around them. They are each about 3' in diameter there are seven in total.
[DM Note: Last checks, Karnak do a perception check DC 18, One of the pictures now displays a Gnome woman and stats underneath which are too small to read] As the golem approaches the tug in your stomach pulls again and you fade from the room, the next sight you see is the Winter's Faire lights bobbing slowly amidst snowflakes. The smell of pastries and fried meat surrounds you and hundreds of street revelers whirl around you.
[DM Note: Ryan's sister the Gnome Bard is a Time Authority agent immediately sent to spy on them. She claims to be from the Fletching in the west but most of her answers are stumbling and never seem to match up just right. Interesting...]

Blizzard Hops - 

Dizzy with the temperature change of going from the future to the snow and ice of Tellenor's Winter Faire your head swims for bit.  You steady yourself and reach out for a mug of ale a serving woman is carrying around on a tray. For a moment you look ahead puzzled on why the ale is not on your lips.  Then it hits you, Oh yeah you are not dizzy from the cold you lost your arm in battle! Roll a Constitution Saving Throw DC 15 to see if you pass out or not.  A woman looks at you in horror as the crowd begins to comprehend your current physical state.  Blood soaks your tunic and the inside of your armor as it flows from your arm, the guantlet and bracer of the Verisar plate hangs lifeless next to your side.  What would you like to do?

Karnac -

As you wander the Faire sampling some of the treats available, and sharing some Druid Moss with those that are willing, you spend some of your time flirting with some of the attractive ladies visiting town. As you head to an large square of ice sculptures and an outdoor bar carved out of ice a woman walks up to you "Mister Karnak, did you hear the Bryce Dallas Five are coming? How exciting!" As you head to an outdoor Ice bar to purchase some spiced whiskey drinks for an attractive Firbolg woman you come upon a strange sight. A black and white furred Pandaren man sits in front of several children putting on a show with live chipmunks. The tiny creatures are acting out the children's play "In a Dragon's Hat". The final scene requires a big monster to threaten the hero and to your shock and surprise the Pandaren man changes into a green and blue glowing owlbear. The children all scream in mock terror and the man changes back into his furry self and bows. As the children are pulled away by their parents the man rounds up his tiny troupe of actors and tries to get them to enter a wooden box. [DM Note: The Pandaren is Sun Paw Kong, he is a Pandaren man from Ventenheim. He is an animal master and can act as a mentor for Karnac. He can add new wild shapes but that requires finding one of these creatures in the wild and interacting with it non-violently. He can also offer instruction on curing Mew's Vampirism.] Also note the strange Gnome woman in the crowd looking at you. You don't know why but she looks out of place amongst the townsfolk. [DM Note: Possible dialogue for Sun Paw "You are friends with the tabaxi in town? Maybe with the two of us we can fix her little problem before it's too late." "Have you ever spoken to an owl bear before? Their speech is quite melodical!"]

Tyll Bebo -

You stand in the middle of Tellenor Winter’s Faire, a common winter solstice gathering for the townsfolk and local farmers and merchants. Small magical blobs of yellow and blue magical lights slowly hover around you. The smells of the Faire swirl around your, pan seared chicken and beef, the buttery smell of fried dough, and a little bit of local farm animals and horses. The overall effect is dazzling and inviting but you clear your head and observe the area around you. In front of you is a Pandaren Man giving a puppet show to children walking towards it is a Dwarven Druid. Of in the distance you see man made of metal and wood in a blue cloak walking with a kobold and a cleric. What would you like to do?

A meeting with the Duke-

Vom Fass and Blizzard Hops and Cog walk towards the Blizzard Hops Tavern with snowflakes lazily falling around them. The Yellow and blue blobs of lights hover nearby strung up throughout the town. A man who is clearly tipsy see you and says loudly "Master Hops, the Bryce Dallas Five are in town! Quite an auspicious day!" He burps and moves on. A human man and an elf walk up next and bump the man out of their path. They wear the sigil of House Kerrigan on their tunics. The human introduces himself as Derek Jundunlass a member of the Kerra Guard stationed at Castle Kelleborne. "Master Cog, Master Hops good day. You and and your team are invited to speak with the Duke come the morning. He has urgent matters to discuss. Mayhap you have time to stop by the castle?" [Duke Karbald Kerrigan has asked for a meeting with Adventure Team Grimm. He leads with disturbing news from Vellen Falls. They have sworn allegiance to Lamborginus in an unprecedented move. Have the characters meet several people in the castle so that they recognize them later. He also wants to set them to the Mothman problem.]

Mew -

As you wander through the Faire you a red skinned man sidles up to you with incredible skill and holds out a small cup of warm spiced Rum. “Lady Mew, you certainly are expert at hiding your whereabouts. I had heard that you were in Stoneport for awhile and then you completely disappeared. No small feat to hide from the Abyssal Knife. You either go to great lengths to prove your abilities or you are having second thoughts about our operation.” He allows you to respond. “As always I am just your guide and Messenger, I harbor no ill will towards you decisions regarding our guild. Though I don’t speak for the upper echelon, just be aware they don’t take rejection lightly.” He makes sure to put you at ease as far as his own intentions. “To move up to level three only takes five grams of shard rock maybe you could procure that in the next couple of days? I’ll be here until Corsunday.” “Maybe you would have some free time tomorrow night before I leave. I’m doing a small job in the castle after midnight perhaps you would accompany me? Just a quick in and out as well as finding a tome in the library. What do you think?”

Cog -

Captain Eltera Ro approaches with drink in her hand. "Commander, I heard we may be sailing for Lamborginus soon is this true?" She waits for your response even though you spent the least amount of time aboard the Wet Dream she still considers you a member of the crew. "I'll have Hicks put together the navigation data, and give us a couple days to get the boat restocked and the crew back together." She hands you a ceramic mug of spiced ale and positions hers for clinking motion. Just then Mr. Hooper from the general store walks by with a glint in his eye "Mr. Cog! The Bryce Dallas Five are coming to town!" Captain Ro responds under her breath, "Arrogant pricks"

Vom Fass -

You wander about the faire that afternoon after having a nice breakfast with Yorus, Belba, and Bert.  To you nothing has changed, you had a bit much to drink last night but that is nothing new.  Your compatriots though, look a little haggard like they've been through the wringer.  Plus Blizzard Hops is missing an arm after a bar fight or something.  As you puzzle over all of the little emotional and physical changes that your friends seem to go through every other week or so notice someone staring at you. What would you like to do?  As you scope out this person roll a perception check.  You notice that he is wearing a symbol of the Assembly of the Weave. [DM Note: This is an assembly watcher named Culdregar Bupkiss. He is an elven man around 60 years old, young for an elf, and a third level wizard.  He has been sent to find and report back on the two rogue magic users Cog and Vom Fass.]

Arrival of the Bryce Dallas Five

As the team rejoins the festival now in full swing and twilight upon them. The famed adventurers known as the Bryce Dallas Five make their way into town amongst cheers and yells. From the Northern gate past the church of Hellenox you see five figures on Horseback make their way through the cheering crowd. Large banners bearing the BD5 symbol stream around them in Royal blue and gold. On a white charger in the lead sits a man in plate armor which is polished and clean. His prominent chin and dark hair marks him as the one and only Trevor Bryce. A powerful paladin and leader of the Five. Behind him is an enormous barbarian woman on a chestnut stallion. Next is a dwarven man with black armor and following him is a thin pale man wrapped in dark blue robes riding a black gelding. His bright luminous yellow eyes peer out into the crowd from beneath his hood. Last is a halfling man in dark studded leather armor riding a dark brown pony. They preen before the crowd, showing off a little then they dismount and mingle. The large paladin grabs a stein of ale offered by an adoring vendor and says "Hello Tellenor! we were just passing by and thought we would sample some of your famous festival! We have also heard of your little monster problem. Maybe we can solve that little dilemma as well!" More yells from the crowd. Karnac you feel a small drop in your stomach as you see who the dwarf is. Karnior Maximal your first cousin and general tormentor when you were kids. He was the first to notice your sensitivity to nature and would mercilessly tease you about it. He also would also hint that your mother was a little touched in the head due to her druidic leanings and would often cut you with jokes about being a mama's boy. His eyes lock with yours and you immediately see recognition. He rounds on you and grabs a cup of spiced wine out of halfling man's hands "Cousin! What a surprise to see you within the confines of civilization! I thought you to be sleeping in a tree for the rest of your days!" [He is happy to see Karnac if only to talk about the Mountain Hold and maybe to harass him with bad humor most of the night. He will also make fun of Adventure Team Grimm and their ranks, especially the kobold and the new Gnome who he considers to be part of the team.] "Quite a group you have surrounded yourself with, I hear you are even working with a kobold, fierce fighters." "Oh, let's see, that drunken elf, a stuffy automaton, a cat, and a kobold ya sure are scaping the barrel for friends aren't ya?" "Oh don't get sore Karnak, I'm sure ya can get a Squirrel to tuck you in tonight!"
Nosferus the wizard with a horned owl on his shoulders gets off of his horse and glares at Mew. "You are a creature of the night. I can complete your transformation if you wish, though that doesn't bode well for you weak willed crew." His head shifts from side to side as he studies you. The halfling man flashes you some thieves cant "Don't mind him, he's always weird."
The Barbarian woman approaches hops and brusquely says "You, you may buy me a drink. I'll be back from the stable in ten minutes." Trevor Bryce swings down from his horse with a flourish and sets his eyes on Cog. "A nimblewright! interesting coloring perhaps you could make yourself useful and take my horse down to the stables. That's a good lad."

Themes

The Mothman -

Alfred Willowhorn and his partner approach and knock on the door in the morning. "C'mon I'll take you up to the Castle to meet with the Duke. As the team walk into the huge wooden doors of the Great Hall the air warms and you can see two guards on the inside. Suits of ancient armor stand on pedestals every 20 feet and banners hang from the ceiling. Arfred takes you further into the castle through another set of doors on your left. He ushers you into large parlor with a wide long table surrounded by chairs. He bids you to take a seat. After a few minutes the Duke himself arrives with his retinue. He has a fine shirt and jacket on and black pants, his black hair sits back on his scalp due to his receding hairline. He is a human an in his 50's, with him is Anton Yellis and Derek Jondunlass. You remember Anton Yellis from your foray into the library via the teleportation circle in the back of the room.
“I take it you’ve heard the rumors. Some creature with red eyes wandering the woods and killing livestock. Well the truth is three farmers have gone missing in the last three weeks. We kept it quiet but we found the remains of Ulik Carrodon. He was mauled and the blood was drained from his body.” He looks at you and waits for a response. “Your team was effective in investigating the scarecrow mystery and I was wondering if you would look into this.” Payment : "I can offer you 500 gold in payment. But I would like to count on your sense of citizenship and loyalty to the town of Tellenor who have taken you all in and made you feel welcome."
Willowhorne explains that on the road to Onsalm their is a small farm and a cemetery. The creature was last seen in that area. They found the body only a half mile away from there.
As residents of our fair town I thought you should know that Vellen Falls has sworn fealty to Lamborginus. I realize these lofty foreign affairs are a bit above your paygrade but i heard that you have recently visited the city. May you have any information or thoughts about the doings of the Archos Divinus or his aggression towards the rest of Penthaheim? [DM Note: the players have uncovered information about a minister of Stoneport shipping weapons and material covertly to Lamborginus.]
After the exchange of information the Duke stands up abruptly and bids the team adieu “Well this has been very productive citizens, you are free to go about your day.”

Structure

Exposition

IF the party doesn’t accompany BD5 -
The Bryce Dallas Five trot with their horses back into town through the North Gate. “Behold the creature is under our power! We have solved your problem fair Townsfolk, This man has been playing an elaborate game.” Trevor Bryce lifts a man in an elaborate costume who looks terrified. “Once more your town is saved and you have only to thank the Bryce Dallas Five, now who has a drink?” The man in the black clothing is tied to a large fence post with his hands tied behind his back.
If the party sets out with the BD5 -
As you set out on the road to Onsalm the air is cold, an icy breeze stings your cheeks but the sun shines brightly low on the horizon. A deep blue cloudless sky can be seen overhead and the trees that line the road are bare and skeletal. You walk or ride down the road towards the vineyards and farms of Onsalm. you travel for a couple hours into the late afternoon, the wind dies down and sun gets lower in the winter sky. Trevor Bryce will constantly remark about how traveling is better with horses and maybe the Adventure team should plan ahead more. [DM Note: Make the players roll their first Freezing weather / Exhaustion check here.  DC 12 with no cold weather gear DC 7 if they do.]  Ahead you hear a small cart pulled by a mule moving towards your direction. A human man sits in the seat holding the reins “Greetings to you travelers, I don’t want no trouble.” He glances at Cog, Vom Fass, and the weapons you all carry. [DM Note: He is a local farmer heading in to Tellenor for the Faire. He plans on staying at the Owl bear’s Egg inn and tavern. He has heard of the creature and he knew of Ulik Carrodon but not of his death. He mentions a strange humming sound he has been hearing in the middle of the night. He also mentions that some of his metal tools have had some strange warping and even breaking. In the back of the cart he has several that he is bringing in to town to be smithed/repaired.]. He points them in a direction where he has heard the humming deep in the forest. Towards the Forlorn Tower. The Forlorn Tower is the remnants of a once mighty castle from several centuries ago. It’s proximity to swampy lands and subsequent battles fought their eventually destroyed the main structure. All that remains is a single tower that still stands deep in the woods by Onsalm.
As you travel towards the forest on the hardened dirt that makes up the road, Bryce and Stonethrush ride on ahead. As you all catch up to them you see them struggling with a black figure. Standing before them Bryce holds his hands up triumphantly. “We have caught the monster! The town’s troubles are over no thanks to you tag alongs.” He makes a dramatic move of pulling off a large insectoid monster head,clearly made of paper mache, off of a young human man. He looks to be in his early 20’s and is shocked and terrified to be in this position. “Help! This big warrior ain’t right! I was just heading to the Faire to take part in a show. I’m not the monster!”. Bryce cuts in quickly “Nonsense, I’ve seen it a hundred times, these little towns always over dramatizing their problems and calling every bump in the night a monster. More times than not there is a simple solution, like our bumpkin friend here playing a prank. Once more the Bryce Dallas Five have been victorious.” [DM Note- Have Cog make a perception check due to his metal body. On a 14 or higher he feels a weird prickle on his metal coming from the forlorn tower.]. The young man’s name is Holber Zambrowski and he is indeed a local farmer from Onsalm. The Bryce Dallas Five declare victory and truss up the young man in manacles attached to a large wooden beam. Tears form on his face as he realizes the position he’s in. [DM Note: Allow the players to take any action they wish here. If they free Holber and continue on the BD5 may demand to come with them. If they don’t free Holber and continue on the BD5 ride back to town triumphant. Note that Karnak may wild shape or fly around which will make the Holber scene easier.]

Conflict

The Forlorn Tower
The air gets cold as the sun begins to set in late afternoon. The snow falls harder this night and begins to pile up under your feet. All except Karnak notice the trail gets tougher with hidden branches and roots under the snow always ready to tangle your feet. The trees themselves get closer together as you travel deeper into the woods even though most of them are skeletal several furs and pines still have a wide base of deep green needles now covered in snow. [DM Note- Perception check for a flash of red eyes in the distance. Cog will notice his metal body shivering in this area which will be a new experience for him. Note he will also take an extra d6 of damage from the Mothman’s non physical attacks. Make the players roll an Freezing/Exhaustion check here.]
In the distance you can see a lone tower the top of which has a covering of snow.  Karnac do a nature check [DM Note:  on a DC 13 success Karnac knows that the ground they are standing on is usually a swamp.  Currently with the frigid weather the water is frozen which means the ground they are treading on is almost 2 feet of solid ice strewn about with branches and tips of swamp weeds which can be seen above the snow]  Testing your footing reveals the problem, several inches of snow covering slick ice which may make combat difficult.  Suddenly through the trees a creature swoops down, Large red bulbous eyes glare at you. [DM Note:  This is attack number one.  After he takes some hits he will retreat to the forlorn tower map.]
As you approach the clearing where the tower stands the sun sits low in the sky casting an orange glow on the snow atop the tower.  The open area warns of an ever thicker slab of ice underneath your feet hidden by the snow. [DM Note: Footing is an issue here anyone attacking physically will suffer a -2 penalty to hit.  Also the players should make another freezing conditions check. See Conditions/Exhaustion table in the DM guide.]

Rising Action

[DM Note: The Mothman has entered this plane through a rip in the dimensional plane from a hell dimension. The rip is still open but is hidden well in a two dimensional space. Cog or Vom Fass can sense it and need to find a way to close it. During the battle have Vom Fass do an arcana check. [DM Note:  DC 15 and he senses the dimensional tear. Cog may also sense this due to his experience with the Maycroft tears in the future.]
Dispel Magic is the most relevant spell. The level you're working against is the pressing part. A permanent teleporation circle spell counts as a 5th level spell effect (Spellcaster ability check of DC 15 or automatic success if Dispel Magic is cast with a 5th level slot or higher)
A gate spell is a 9th level spell effect (DC 19 or 9th level spell slot)
You might rule your demonic portal has a DC in between those if you want. Also remember that even if no one can cast Dispel Magic on their own, anyone can attempt an Arcana check to cast it from a scroll (Thieves with the Use magic Device feature or anyone with the correct class levels to have access to the spell can cast correctly from the scroll without making a check).
[DM Note :  If the BD5 have taken Holber back to town he will be put in the stocks and accused of murder.  The players will  have to bring back proof of their Mothman and work to exonerate the poor man.]