OFFICIAL GAME ADVENTURE

Curse ofthe Azure Bonds

TABLE OF CONTENTSCREDITSWriting: Jeff Grubb and George

MacDonaldWith the appreciated aid of:

Tracy Hickman (Chapter 11)Kate Novak (Appendices 1 and 2)Steve Perrin (Appendix 1)Jim Lowder (Appendix 1)

Editing: Kim MohanCover Art: Clyde CaldwellInterior Art: Dennis BeauvaisCartography: DieselTypography: Angelika LokotzKeylining: Cory Graham

Distributed to the book trade in the United States byRandom House Inc., and in Canada by RandomHouse of Canada, Ltd. Distributed to the toy and hobbytrade by regional distributors. Distributed in the UnitedKingdom by TSR UK Ltd. ADVANCED DUNGEONS &DRAGONS, AD&D, FORGOTTEN REALMS,PRODUCTS OF YOUR IMAGINATION, and the TSRlogo are trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.

These adventures are protected under the copyrightlaws of the United States of America. Any reproductionor unauthorized use of the material or artwork printedherein is prohibited without the express writtenpermission of TSR, Inc.

©1989 TSR Inc. All Rights Reserved.

TSR, Inc. TSR UK Ltd.POB 756 120 Church End, Cherry HintonLake Geneva Cambridge CB1 3LBWI 53147 U.S.A. United Kingdom

TSR, Inc.PRODUCTS OF YOUR IMAGINATION

Printed in the U.S.A.

ISBN 0-88038-606-1

9 2 3 9 X X X 1 5 0 1

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Chapter 1: The Awakening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Chapter 2: Tilverton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Chapter 3: The Thieves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Chapter 4: The Sewers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Chapter 5: The Fire Knives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Chapter 6: Into the Realms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Chapter 7: Yulash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Chapter 8: The Temple of Moander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Chapter 9: Zhentil Keep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Chapter 10: The Temple of Baneand the Tower of Fzoul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Chapter 11: The Village of Hap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Chapter 12: Haptooth Hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Chapter 13: Myth Drannor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Chapter 14: Tyranthraxus! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Appendix I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80Major NPCs, magic items,and new monsters

Appendix II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92Wilderness encounter tablesand players maps

Curse of the Azure Bonds has a strangerhistory than most adventures createdfor the ADVANCED DUNGEONS &DRAGONS® role-playing game. Theadventure book you hold in your handsis based on the novel Azure Bonds, byKate Novak and Jeff Grubb, and set inthe sprawling FORGOTTEN REALMS™campaign setting. This adventure is alsotied directly to the Curse of the AzureBonds Computer Game, produced byStrategic Simulations, Inc., underlicense with TSR, Inc.

The result is the first “triple-play” sto-ry in TSR’s history—a novel forming thebasis for a role-playing adventure(something we have gotten very good atover the years) and a computer adven-ture game. The computer game and therole-playing adventure are closely tiedbut do not mimic one another—eachhas been designed for maximum enjoy-ment in its element.

We have done the computer-RPG tie-in before, of course; many of you arefamiliar with the earlier FORGOTTEN

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REALMS module, Ruins of Adventure,as well as its companion product, Pool ofRadiance, the first AD&D® computergame from SSI. Some of the places andpersonalities from Ruins of Adventureand Pool of Radiance reappear in thisproduct, and in some senses Curse is acontinuation of Ruins— but it is not nec-essary to have played the earlier modulebefore beginning to enjoy this one.

Likewise, playing the Curse of theAzure Bonds computer game (or readingthe novel) is not necessary before play-ing this adventure, though your enjoy-ment may be enhanced by picking up thecomputer game and/or the novel. By thesame token, the computer game and thisadventure are not duplicate productsdesigned for different mediums. Whilethe gaming products follow the same plotfor the adventurers, they are very differ-ent in the nature of monsters andencounters, as well as portrayal of themaps. A player of the computer game willget the feeling of his computerizedadventure through playing this adven-

ture, but he should not expect that thesame tactics that saved his characters inone situation will prove equally effectivein the other. This is provided only as awarning: both games are branches fromthe same tree, similar but not exact.

BackgroundAzure Bonds (the novel) is the story ofAlias, a warrior woman who awoke onemorning with a strange set of mystic tat-toos branded on her arm and a largelapse in her memory. She quickly dis-covered that the tattoos were magical innature and very dangerous. Theycaused her to perform actions againsther will (for example, she attacked ayoung noble named Giogi Wyvernspur,who had the misfortune to be doing avery good imitation of King Azoun ofCormyr). Her tattoolike brand was madeup of a number of smaller symbols, andwhat those symbols stood for indicatedthat an evil alliance of some sort wasresponsible for her condition.

Ordinary magical methods proveduseless for removing the brands, so Ali-as set out to discover who was responsi-ble for her curse. She was joined in herquest by three allies: Dragonbait, amute creature similar to a lizard man;Akabar, a merchant from the South withmoderate magical abilities; and OliveRuskettle, a halfling who claimed to be abard but seemed to be much more alongthe lines of a thief.

The adventurers passed throughmany perils (as is the lot of adventurers),including a battle with a crystalline ele-mental, a confrontation with a beastcalled a kalmari, a duel of honor with adotty old red dragon, and the freeing ofan elder god, Moander. Moander wasone of the individuals responsible forAlias’s curse, and with his defeat, hissymbol faded from her arm.

Alias and her companions were cap-tured by the evil alliance, and thesecrets of the brand and of her own ori-gin were revealed. The alliance respon-sible for her condition consisted of thefollowers of Moander (now broken inpower following the defeat of their god’sphysical form on this plane), a thieves’guild called the Fire Knives (which holdsa grudge against the King of Cormyr), anevil female mage named Cassana, a lichnamed Zrie Prakis, and a powerful entityfrom the Lower Planes named Phalse.

A second attempt to slay Dragonbaitand bind Alias to her masters resulted inthe destruction of Zrie Prakis and Cas-sana and the breaking of the power ofthe Fire Knives. Alias and her compan-ions tracked Phalse down to his extradi-mensional lair and destroyed him withthe aid of Elminster the Sage and theNameless Bard. The adventurers, wornand bloody but triumphant, returned tothe Realms and their own lives.

Those events took place during Mirtuland Kythorn (May and June), fourmonths ago. At about the same time, agroup of adventurers in Phlan, far northin the Moonsea, discovered the Pool ofRadiance and its malefic protector, thedaemon Tyranthraxus. The daemonwas defeated but not destroyed, histhreat to the North averted but notentirely eliminated. Tyranthraxusretreated and began to spin his plotsanew.

There were few survivors of the alli-

ance that created Alias’s bonds. Thegreat magic-wielders of the group—Zrie, Cassana, and Phalse—wereapparently dead. A few followers ofMoander and a smattering of FireKnives fled Westgate for safer havens tothe north. These fleeing minions were oflow level, but carried the tales of theAzure Bonds and their use in controllingothers. These survivors encounteredagents of Tyranthraxus, and a new plotbegan to form in the daemon’s mind.Gathering new allies in the form of theZhentarim and a renegade Red Wizardof Thay, Tyranthraxus formulatedanother plan for gaining power in theRealms.

As with the original alliance, eachmember of the New Alliance of theBonds has its own agenda for the use ofcontrolled characters. The Fire Knivesare still seeking the death of the King ofCormyr. The followers of Moander (nowcalled the Survivors of Moander) areseeking a reinstatement of their god.Zhentil Keep is looking for a way to turngood characters to evil acts, and seesthis bonding as a test case for thatexperiment. The renegade Red Wizardof Thay wishes to enlist the aid he needsto create another Flight of Dragons, sim-ilar to the one that ravaged the North afew years ago.

And Tyranthraxus sees the new bond-ing process as a way that he can createmultiple, living Pools of Radiance, allow-ing him to possess several individuals atonce and control them for his own ends.His rise in power thereafter will be expo-nential as his influence spreads, creat-ing his own army of minions whosesouls belong to him.

But Tyranthraxus is also afraid. In theDalelands exist magical items whichwere forged long ago to bring about hisinitial defeat. He chose his allies with aneye toward the fact that they arerumored to have these items, and seeksto have his agents (the player charac-ters) bring these items to him in his lair inMyth Drannor, so that he may destroythem. Then nothing will stop him fromhis domination of the Realms.

It is now the month of Marpenoth, alsocalled Leafall, which corresponds withOctober in our calendar. The trees of theDalelands are just beginning to turn arainbow of colors. Like the wheat and

the pumpkins, Tyranthraxus’s plan hascome to full ripeness. The Curse of theAzure Bonds has returned.

Running ThisAdventureThis adventure is designed for a party of4-8 characters, each of 6th-9th level. It isassumed in this module that the heroeshave previously gone through theadventures detailed in Ruins of Adven-ture, but this is not necessary for enjoy-ment of play.

The adventure may start in one of twoways, at the DM’s discretion or as dic-tated by circumstances. The first meth-od is to move the characters directly toChapter 2. The heroes awaken in theirquarters in Tilverton with a lapse of amonth in their memories, and withstrange blue tattoos branded on theirforearms. The heroes must discoverwhat has happened to them during thelost time.

Alternately, the DM can run throughthe events of Chapter 1, ending with theambush encounter in which the heroesare captured. This method works bestwhen playing the adventure in connec-tion with a long-standing campaign. Ithas the disadvantage that player char-acters, being a wise and crafty group,may elude multiple attempts to defeatand subdue them. If the player charac-ters prove to be too effective at eludingthe ambushes, the DM should feel freeto simply place the heroes at Tilverton,and let them try to account for the miss-ing time.

The Azure BondsThe player characters will be brandedby the markings of those who seek tocontrol their actions. These brandsappear as bright blue tattoos, usuallyinscribed along the sword arm of theindividual being controlled. The magicalarts of creating a living vessel to control,and of hiding the brands, are lost to thisNew Alliance of the Bonds. Tyran-thraxus wants the player characters toknow who is responsible for their brand-ing, as that will lead them first to hisallies (and their hidden magic) and sub-sequently to him.

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The tattoos—each character wears allfive of the mysterious images—are thesymbols of the various factions involvedin the curse, all placed against a darkerblue background of lines that appears tobe a mixture of thorning plants andwaves. Each of the symbols seems to bemade up of smaller, identical symbols.That is, the symbol of the Zhentarim isactually made up of a collage of smallerZhentarim symbols, each of which hasbeen reduced to a speck the size of apencil point.

The brands reflect light in the sameway that stained glass does, and theygive off a dull blue illumination of theirown, though this is noticeable only intotal darkness. In normal daylight, abrand may be mistaken for a “normal”tattoo, though one of extreme size andcomplexity.

er.* The character who has been brand-

ed must make a saving throw ver-

The Azure Bonds are magical anddangerous. They represent a linkbetween the characters and the NewAlliance of the Bonds. If any divinationspells are cast upon a bond, it will radi-ate a strong blue illumination, shootingbright rays into the air (treat as a lightspell, in particular if anyone is lookingdirectly at it). In addition, it will functionas a symbol of pain to the individual thedivination-type spell is cast upon. This“light show” and resulting effect is aphysical repulsion of those spells by thebonds. Divination spells will reveal noth-ing about the bonds or the Alliance.

Attempts to remove the bondsthrough magical or clerical means willbe resisted by the magics in the bonds.The bonds are 100 percent resistant tospells directed against them specifically(as opposed to spells that are directedagainst the individual who has beenbranded). Further, the bonds have theirown protections against being removed:

* A windstorm will start up in the areaoccupied by the spell caster whenremoval of a brand is attempted,whether from the arm of the spellcaster or another character. Looseobjects will be cast about, andthere is a 60 percent chance anobject will hit the caster, certainlybreaking the spell and possibly(DM’s judgment) harming the cast-

sus spells, or be overtaken by aberserker rage and a desire to slaythe spell caster. This rage will per-mit the character to snap normalbonds, and will last for 2-8 rounds.This effect does not occur if thespell caster is the target of his orher own magic.

Dispel magic and remove curse willnever have any effect on the brands,except to bring about the results men-tioned above. A limited wish spell (if suc-cessfully cast without the death of themagic-user) will remove one of themarks from one individual. A full wishspell will remove up to three of themarks. Short of these actions, the AzureBonds will prove extremely difficult todelete. Attempting to cut off the arm andregenerating it through magic will resultin the brands merely reappearing on thenew limb.

The Azure Bonds have been createdby a group of individuals we refer to asthe New Alliance of the Bonds (theirpredecessors from the novel carried nosuch high names, and were more cha-otic in nature). Each group belonging tothis alliance has its own reason for andits own methods of branding the charac-ters. The Azure Bonds will force thecharacters, to perform actions theywould otherwise not perform. The gen-eral goals of the members of the NewAlliance are:

* The Fire Knives seek the death ofKing Azoun IV of Cormyr. Playercharacters, because they havebeen branded with the Fire Knivessymbol, must make a saving throwversus spells whenever they hearthe sound of Azoun’s voice. Failureto save means that they will attackthe source of the sound until it isdestroyed, the character is dis-abled or killed, or the encounter isended in some other fashion.

* The Survivors of Moander wish tobring their lord, also known as TheJawed God, back onto this plane,from where he has been banishedsince the death of his mortal form.They want the characters to reachMoander’s temple beneath Yulash,where they will be slain and theirdeaths used to open the “worm-hole” to Moander’s plane.

* The Zhentarim see the characters

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as a test project, part of an experi-ment to determine the success offorcing good and neutral heroes toperform evil acts. If this experimentworks, the Black Network may cap-ture others and similarly brandthem. The Zhentarim have placedin their branding the desire for thePCs to commit random, evil acts,and ultimately to make their way toZhentil Keep to report. These ran-dom acts become more frequentand more severely evil as the groupnears Zhentil Keep. Opportunitiesto perform chaotic actions willappear throughout the text. Theywill affect single individuals, andnot the entire party.Dracandros the Mad, also knownas the Red Wizard of Thay, is cur-rently in disfavor with the other RedWizards. He feels that if he createsa great enough disaster in the

Dragon Reach area, he will beredeemed in the eyes of his fellowsand allowed to return to Thay. A fewyears ago, a Flight of Dragons fromthe North ravaged the DragonReach and the Dalelands. As aresult of being branded with hismark, the characters will answer tothe sound of Dracandros’s voicewhenever they hear it, and will becompelled to perform whatevertask he requires of them.

* Tyranthraxus seeks to destroythose magic items that could ban-ish him forever from the Realms,and to convert the player charac-ters to living Pools of Radiance,allowing him to increase his powerin the Realms. His intent is to leadthe characters to the various magicitems held by the other members ofthe New Alliance, and have thembring these items to him.

The effects of the compulsionsimplanted by the various members ofthe New Alliance are similar to those of aquest or geas spell. Ignoring the long-term compulsions (to go to a particularplace, such as Yulash or Zhentil Keep)will result in the characters feeling ill,losing one hit point per day because of awasting sickness for every day spentresisting these compulsions. Such pen-alties do not apply while the charactersare actively seeking out the individualsresponsible for their brandings.

The more short-term orders (such asslaying the King of Cormyr when a char-acter hears his voice) can be resist-ed if a character makes a saving throw.The magic of the bonds starts out verystrong, but weakens over time. To reflectthis, the first saving throw against anyspecific short-term order (likely to occurin Tilverton, where the party will encoun-ter King Azoun) is made at -6 to the die

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roll. The second such saving throw(whether against the same or a differentshort-term order) is made at -5, thenext at -4, and so on, until the penaltyis removed and player characters aresaving against spells as normal versusthe effects of the bonds. Note on a sepa-rate sheet of paper the number of timesa character has had to save against theeffects of the bonds. Making the savingthrow indicates that the individual hasresisted the effects of that particularorder—if the order is given again inanother encounter (or if the situationcausing that order arises again), thenanother saving throw is required.

When the characters are operatingunder a long-term compulsion or ashort-term order, the DM may eitherchoose to play the characters as NPCsuntil the moment passes, or may chooseto let the players continue to run theircharacters under the effects of theorder. Such activity may be detrimentalto the character’s continued good health(and thus against the basic nature of theplayer running that character), so in rec-ognition of a sincere and successfulattempt to role-play a character under apotentially harmful compulsion, the DMshould consider awarding bonus experi-ence points (100 xp per encounter issuggested) to any character whose play-er demonstrates this sort of good role-playing ability.

The members of the New Alliance,Tyranthraxus in particular, are unawarethat the effects of the bonds diminishover time. He feels that, given the char-acters’ prowess (experience levels), thechance of them breaking free of his con-trol is very small.

About the DalelandsMost of the action of this adventuretakes place in the northern parts of theDalelands. The name “Dalelands” isproperly used to refer to various allieddales that hug the borders of the ElvenWoods, but the term is often used in themore “civilized” areas of Cormyr andSembia to refer to their entire northernborder, reaching as far north as the city-states that border the Moonsea. Whilethese city-states are neither as small noras rural as the dales, and in fact areopenly hostile in some cases, the name

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has stuck in popular usage in the South.The dales themselves are rolling

farmlands, dotted with individual hold-ings and small family farms. Usuallyeach dale has a center of trade and gov-ernment. For example, Shadowdale’scenter of trade is at the Tower of Ashaba,and the town that has grown up around itis referred to as Shadowdale as well.Daggerdale’s center of trade is at Dag-ger Falls, at the town of the same name.Battledale’s trade center, on the otherhand, is the town of Essembra, safelylocated far from warring armies.

The Dalelands themselves were set-tled by an agreement between theDalesmen’s ancestors and the ElvenCourt, a large elven nation that occu-pied the forest the dales now surround.The elves permitted the Dalesmen,migrating from the east across theDragon Reach, to settle the borders oftheir forest, on the condition that theDalesmen not make further inroads intothe Elven Woods. The elves had alreadylost much of their forests to “civilized”men from Cormyr and Sembia, andsought the Dalesmen as a counterbal-ance to this threat.

The Dalesmen agreed, and theStanding Stone was erected to com-memorate the pact between man andelf. The calendar of DaleReckoningdates from the erection of that stone,and in the time since then, old daleshave been abandoned or destroyed andnew dales founded. In the area we arediscussing, the major dales are Dagger-dale, Shadowdale, Mistledale, and Bat-tledale.

Recently, the Elven Court has aban-doned the Realms entirely, retreating tothe elvish island nation of Evermeet.While some elves remain, the elvishnation that once dominated the forestand kept adventurers away from suchdangerous locations as Myth Drannorhas vanished virtually overnight. Adven-turers are just now beginning to discov-er that there are new places to delve fortreasure as a result of this relocation ofpower.

To the south of the Dalelands are thenations of Cormyr and Sembia. Theselands have regularly pushed their bor-ders northward, expanding their powerin a fashion that often brings them intoconflict with local forces. Most recently,

the King of Cormyr has sent troops toTilverton, bringing that city under Cor-myrian control. The reason for this intru-sion involves the king’s daughter, andthe player characters will becomecaught up in this plot in the first adven-ture of this module.

To the North of the Dalelands properare the city-states of the Moonsea.While not as unified as the southernnations of Cormyr and Sembia, thesecity-states are very powerful both inarmed force and in the strength of magicand adventurers they can claim.

The major cities of the western Moon-sea are Zhentil Keep and Hillsfar. Theformer is a multiwalled city dominatedby the Zhentarim, also known as theBlack Network. It is an evil town, filledwith informers and dark plots. Hillsfar islittle better, but for different reasons. Itseems to be run by more uncaring, mer-cantile forces, and its new ruler’s inten-tions toward the Dalelands remain amystery.

The cities of Phlan, Teshwave, andYulash are decimated ruins, only nowbeginning to recover from the effects ofwar, pestilence, and a plague ofdragons. A Flight of Dragons, a migrato-ry wave of the great lizards, passed overthe Dalelands several years ago, leav-ing great destruction in its wake.

Phlan is only now rebuilding from thedevastation, its recovery hampered bythe plots of Tyranthraxus, who was sub-sequently foiled by a company of braveadventurers. Teshwave fell to constantraiding by Zhentil Keep, and is now littlemore than a ruined way station, domi-nated by a garrison of Zhentil Keep sol-diers. Yulash is a contested city, itswreckage fought over by forces fromboth Zhentil Keep and Hillsfar.

Lastly, the independent town ofVoonlar lies between the Moonsea landsand the Dalelands. Independent inname only, the town is under the influ-ence of agents of Zhentil Keep. Theserulers have a more lenient attitudetoward their people than do the Keepersto the north, but still will not cross theirmasters. Voonlar has been a stagingarea for Zhentil Keep raids to the southand west.

For more information on these loca-tions, see Chapter 6.

In this chapter the heroes areambushed, captured, branded, andbrought to Tilverton.

Encounter 1This encounter may occur anywhere inthe Realms at that time-honored adven-turers’ gathering spot, the tavern. (It canbe assumed for PCs who have com-pleted Ruins of Adventure that thisencounter occurs in the now-domesticated city of Phlan.) Read thefollowing passage to the players:

The commons room is crowded, as isnormal in prosperous times when thetownspeople have benefited from theactions of wise and sure adventurerssuch as yourself. Mugs slosh withheady ale, and the cheers from a dartgame in the corner and the rattle ofdice echo across the bar.

You and your adventuring compan-ions are seated at one of the largerand more prominent tables, nursingyour own flagons of mead and ale.The past month has been quiet, andyour adventurer’s spirit is on the rise.Soon it will be time to quit this oasis ofrelative peace for new adventures.

You notice a tall, solemn-lookingman weaving his way across the tav-ern toward your table. It is quite clearthat he has drunk too much and ismaking forward motion only throughsheer force of will. You point him outto your companions, and your tablewatches him stride unsteadily for-ward. From his dress he is undoubt-edly one of the gentry, and on hissleeve he bears a patch showing apurple dragon, the symbol of thenation of Cormyr.

At last he stands before you. Hegoggles at your group, as if trying todispel any multiple images. “Ess-cuse me,” he begins. “I wonner if youwould be so kine as to help an envoyof Good King Azooon of Comeer, er,Cormyr.” He wobbles and waits for areply.

The man is Rastafan Dimetar, a cour-tier in the court of King Azoun IV of Cor-myr. Rastafan has two problems. Thefirst is obvious—he cannot hold his liq-

uor and has gotten himself absolutelyblotto in an evening’s carousal. His oth-er problem is that, in said carousal, hehas lost his purse, and the tavernkeeperis demanding payment before hedeparts. Rastafan, as he explains thispart of the problem, will motion over tothe bar, where an incredibly burly andformidable woman stands, rolling pin inhand.

“I tol’ the dear lady,” Rastafan con-tinues, pulling up a chair so he doesnot topple over, “tha’ you dear gen-tlepeople, respectable adventurersall, were friends and tha’ you wouldcover the debt. I can get the moneyeasley, er, eas-i-ly, but it’s at anotherinn. I was wonnering if you could len’me the money, to be quickly repaid,of course, of course, and get me outof this jam.”

What Rastafan owes the barkeep isnot a princely amount. Set a figureaccording to the wealth of the PCs. Iftheir pickings have been good of late,then Rastafan’s bar tab could be as highas a hundred gold pieces. If the playercharacters are currently tapped outthemselves, the debt is only a few goldpieces, but no matter how small, it ismore than Rastafan has at his disposal.

If the players kick in to help Rastafan,he will be very friendly and will offer tobuy them a round (with their money, ofcourse, but he says he will pay themback). He will also offer to them some“important news” that they could use.

If the players rebuff Rastafan, he willsit down among them and, in a conspira-torial whisper, offer them some “choiceinformation” that would make anyadventurer happy. Even if the heroes donot then “buy” the information, Rasta-fan will blurt it out, hoping to cadge a fewcoins in any way possible.

The “important news” is this: Lastyear, King Azoun’s youngest daughter,Alusair Nacacia, ran off. Suspicion ranhigh that Gharri of Gond, a cleric fromTilverton, was involved, and indeed thiswas the main reason that the king sentforces to Tilverton and then stationedthem there semipermanently.

This news has been on the grapevine,passed along in bards’ tales and adven-

turers’ legends, for the past few months.Rastafan’s news is that the king’sdaughter was spotted again in the areanear Tilverton not so very long ago,apparently making her way back to thecity. Yet, still no one has seen her there.The king has been sending out envoysto recruit adventurers to locate his run-away daughter.

Rastafan is one such envoy, and hasbeen given the authority to recruit true-hearted adventurers wherever he mightfind them, sending them to Tilverton tohelp scare up the missing princess. Hehas only his modest savings at anotherlodging, but can issue a letter of mark,instructing the bearer to be paid 1000 gpwhen the letter is presented to a respon-sible member of the Cormyrianbureaucracy.

If the adventurers are interested, hewill gladly issue such a letter of mark ifthey will pay off his bar bill and help himback to his own quarters. There he will,in defiance of normal human nature, payoff the bad debt to the heroes. Then hewill collapse in a drunken sleep untilmorning.

The journey to Tilverton may startanywhere in the Realms. If the heroeshave completed Ruins of Adventure, therecommended route is south from Phlanacross the Moonsea to Hillsfar, alongthe Southern Road past the StandingStone and through Mistledale, andfinally through Tilver’s Gap to Tilverton.The alternate route, through ZhentilKeep, is patrolled by Zhentarim forcesand as such has an evil reputation.

Use the wilderness encounter tablesin Appendix II to determine encountersin the wild en route to Tilverton. Two defi-nite encounters should be the onesgiven below: the meeting with the bard(the Nameless Bard) and the Ambush.Set the first one to occur on any eveningwhen the PCs are camping out in thewild. Set the second for a night after thatwhen the characters pass throughTilver’s Gap, Shadow Gap, or the Stone-lands en route to Tilverton.

Encounter 2This encounter passes on further infor-mation to the players, and sets up theinterest of Elminster in the player char-acters.

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The fire, built of dry and fallen wood,crackles merrily as your party beginspreparation for dinner. The sky isovercast and the land turns gray anddark earlier than normal. You postwatches to ward against monsters.

Give the players a chance to detailwho is on the lookout for evil creatures,and where they are. Ask one individualon watch to roll for surprise. If the char-acter is not surprised, read the follow-ing:

You see him before he sees you, a talllone figure with a backpack and astaff. He carries a sword at his sideand a yarting (an eight-stringed gui-tar) across his back. As you watch, helooks toward your position, shieldinghis eyes in the dying light of the day.Finally he cups his hands to hismouth and shouts, “Hello, the camp!Be you interested in a guest for yourevening meal?”

If the player characters do not reply, orreply hostilely, he will move on. If invitedto join the camp, he will do so.

If the chosen character fails his sur-prise roll, read the following:

The sky darkens and the last rays ofthe sun disappear, leaving the land-scape a rippling set of grays andshadows. You strain your eyes to dis-cern movement near the camp. Anycreature could creep up on your partythrough these shadows.

All is quiet; then a deep, melodiousvoice to your right says, “Looking forsomething in particular, or are youjust browsing?”

The speaker is the bard mentionedfrom the previous description. He tookadvantage of the watcher being off hismark by closing and inviting himself in.He looks nonthreatening (his sword isstill in his sheath), but if attacked he willteleport away (using his ring). If threat-ened, he will shrug his shoulders andwander off.

The Nameless Bard (19th level bard):AC 4 (bracers of defense); MV 12”; HD

10; hp 59; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8 (long sword);ring of teleportation; AL CG; THAC0 4.

The bard will not give his name.(“What do names matter, when mentake the names that please them?” hewill say, or “My name is unimportant; itis my tales that matter.”) He brings salt-ed rabbit meat for the stewpot and infor-mation “from throughout the Realms.”

The information is the important part,since this provides more news on theRealms and provides a basis for furtheradventuring. Here, in summary form,are the tales the bard tells:

* The daughter of King Azoun IV ofCormyr is still missing. She hasbeen said to have been spotted inWestgate, sailing with a group ofbrigands from the Pirate Isles, andit is thought that she has returnedto Tilverton. Rumor states that sheran off with the High Cleric of GondWondermaker, a priest namedGharri. The princess, Alusair Naca-cia, is the youngest and moststrong-willed child of the king, andhas been missing for more than ayear. It is said that a great reward isoffered by the king.

* Speaking of his majesty, the PurpleDragon of Cormyr will be arriving inTilverton in the near future. Theofficial word is that he will be meet-ing with town leaders about theoccupation of the city by Cormyriantroops, and offering the town thechance to join the nation of Cormyrproper. Scuttlebutt in the courts ofCormyr says, though, that his maj-esty is more interested in recover-ing his errant daughter.

* Tilverton is ruled by a council ofburghers, but the real power washeld, until recently, by the Lord ofTilverton, the cleric Gharri of Gond.He has disappeared as well, andmay have run off with the princess,or gone into hiding after the arrivalof the Cormyrians.

* Dragons are becoming more activein the lands surrounding the InnerSea. A great wyrm threatened thecity of Suzail and was later shotdown over Westgate, destroyingmost of the town in the process.More dragons have been spottedaround the Vale of Lost Voices, in

Battledale, and near Haptooth Hill.* The Iron Throne, a merchant com-

pany that may have been suppliedby the Zhentarim, closed off theShadow Gap for a short time, level-ing the inn that was at the Gap’screst. A band of noble adventurersdefeated the creature who held theinn, a kalmari, and since then anew inn has been erected on thespot. The new inn is called “TheGulp & Swallow.”

* The kalmari? It’s an evil creaturecreated by a hell-witch fromWestgate, now dead, though hercreatures live on. It is a huge blackcloud with a gaping mouth, and isoften cloaked in stolen humanflesh, looking normal until itchooses to destroy others. The RedWizards of Thay, the Zhentarim,and the Iron Throne all were said tohave these hell-creatures at theirdisposal.

* There has been another shake-outamong the Red Wizards of Thay,following another unsucessfulattack on the Witches of Rasha-mon. A number of powerful refu-gees are setting up power basesoutside of Thay.

* The Zhentarim is gathering itsforces again. The Zhentarim is agroup of mages, clerics, thieves,and fighters who are based inZhentil Keep and a few other out-posts, but who seek to dominatethe northern lands from Waterdeepto Moonsea. Already Teshwave is aruined heap thanks to these arm-ies, and Yulash, nearly destroyedby a Flight of Dragons a few yearsago, is now the site of a warbetween Zhentil Keep forces andthose of Hillsfar, the latter led bytheir crack Red Plumes troops.

* Many strong peoples oppose theZhentarim. One is a rumored bandof rangers, druids, and others, whoare called the Harpers. They havebeen secretive until recently, whenthey have been more active in thepolitics of the Dalelands.

* A huge monster has erupted out ofthe ruins of Yulash, apparentlysome abomination that had beentrapped there since before the cityitself was erected. It is said that the

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monster, a huge heap of vegeta-tion, was an incarnation of the deadgod Moander. It headed south outof that city into the Elven Woods,leaving a huge swath of destructionbehind it. The beast is rumored tohave been destroyed, or gated toanother part of the Realms.

* North of Moonsea, the city of Phlanis regaining its lost power. A group ofpowerful adventurers, conqueringmany great monsters, discoveredthe legendary Pool of Radiance anddefeated its guardian, the creatureknown as Tyranthraxus.

The bard will gladly pass on any or allof this information, as well as anythingthe DM wishes to add for his own cam-paign. He will in turn listen to what theplayer characters have to say (if any-thing), and add that to his tales. If askedto stay the night, he will offer to stand awatch. No matter what, when dawnbreaks the next morning, he will be gone.

If the bard is threatened, he will try to

leave peaceably. If attacked, he will usehis ring of teleportation to transport him-self to safety (either far from the party, orto Shadowdale if need be). His gear isprotected by a magic mouth spell, whichwill give an alarm should anyone try tosteal from him.

All of the bard’s information isstrained through his particular sources,in addition to his own censoring. It is trueas far as he knows, and as far as he seesfit to reveal. The Harpers, for example,are indeed a group of rangers, druids,and others. The “others” he does notmention are bards, and this NamelessBard is one of them. He is wandering thecountryside gathering information,which he will turn over to his ally Elmin-ster. If the heroes are open about them-selves (as they ought to be), the sagewill know a great deal about them whenthey encounter him later.

Encounter 3This encounter takes place near Tilver-

ton, and is geared toward overwhelm-ingly capturing the player characters sothey awaken in Chapter 2 with thebrands placed on them.

The basic contingent of the ambush-ing force consists of these adversaries:

9 thieves of the Fire Knives guild,each 9th level.

12 dark elf mercenaries hired by Dra-candos.

2 clerics of Moander, each 4th level.2 magic-users of the Zhentarim,

each 1st level.

The DM may strengthen the opposi-tion if the player characters are particu-larly powerful or have abilities thatwould defy normal ambushing.

The Fire Knives have been providedwith invisibility by the Zhentarim magesand silence, 15’ radius by the Moanderclerics. They carry swords tipped withdrow paralysis poison (effects describedbelow). If they attack by surprise, theyhave a chance of immediately knockingout each member of the PC party on the

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first round, according to the level of thedefender:

Defender Level Chance of KO0-1 95%2-3 90%4-5 80%6-7 70%8-9 55%

10-11 40%12-13 30%14-15 20%16-17 5%18+ 0%

There is no saving throw against thisimmediate knockout. It is used here asan idealized “perfect case,” with theintention that the player characters willbe captured, not killed. The above ruleof thumb is not recommended for every-day adventuring.

If the thieves fail to knock out theheroes in their first attack, or are detect-ed, they will fight normally.

Fire Knives thieves (9th level, 9): AC7; MV 12”; HD 9; hp 36 each; #AT 1;Dmg 1-8 + paralysis poison; AL LE;THAC0 16.

Drow Elf mercenaries: These 6th levelfighters will remain in the background,choosing to use their hand-held cross-bows in a fight. The quarrels are tippedwith the paralysis venom developed bythe drow, the same venom used to coatthe blades of the assassins. In normalcombat the venom forces the target tosave versus poison at -3 or fall asleepfor 10-60 rounds (at least for the dura-tion of the battle).

Drow Elf mercenaries (6th level fight-ers, 12): AC 3; MV 12”; HD 6; hp 45each; #AT 3/2 or 2; Dmg 1-6 (shortsword) or 1-4 (crossbow) + poison ineither case; AL CE; THAC0 16.

Clerics of Moander: These two low-level clerics were brought along to helpwith the silence spells and healing (ifnecessary) after the event. In addition tosilence 15’ radius, they each have twohold person spells to be used if a groupof individuals tries to break out. One car-ries a scroll inscribed with an unholyword, to be used as a last emergencymeasure.

Clerics of Moander (4th level, 2): AC2; MV 6”; HD 4; hp 24 each; #AT 1; Dmg

1-6 (mace); AL CE; THAC0 18.

Zhentarim mages: The Black Networkapparently cheated its allies; it promisedmagic-users but delivered two puny nov-ices. Each one packs a scroll, however,that he can read from, with the followingpowerful spells, which each may use athis discretion: stinking cloud, light,detect invisible, haste, protection fromnormal missiles (to be cast before thebattle), polymorph other, and time stop(a last resort).

The chance of any of these spells fail-ing is as normal, with the following advi-sory: if it is necessary for the plot tocontinue, the spell should succeed (theplayer characters may still attempt sav-ing throws).

Zhentarim mages (1st level, 2): AC 10;MV 12”; HD 1; hp 4 each; #AT 1; Dmg 1-4 (dagger) + drow poison; AL LE;THAC0 20.

The ambushers’ plan is to attack theparty when camping, preferably in somedeserted area.

The thieves, rendered invisible andsilent, go in first, while the drow breakup into two contingents bracketing theparty. There will be a cleric and a magewith each side. The thieves will try totake out as many characters as possibleusing surprise, including any charactersstanding watch. The watch may roll forsurprise only to detect the drow andtheir clerics and magic-users. Unlessthey have magical abilities to detect theinvisible and silent thieves, they will notdetect them until the thieves attack.

Upon attacking, the thieves willbecome visible, but their silenced condi-tion 15’ around them will spoil spells thatrequire a verbal component if a PC triesto cast one within that area.

The thieves’ priority is the watch, andsleeping characters who look powerful(old mages, strong fighters, etc.). Thedrow mercenaries’ priority is mages,any members of the watch who haveavoided the initial assault, and any char-acters who are seeking to escape. TheZhentarim mages’ priorities are would-be escapees, and those who may beinvisible. The clerics of Moander are toround up escapees as well, and to bringon the heavy artillery if needed (if it lookslike even one PC is going to escape).

If the player characters somehow get

the better of the attacking force, theambushers will fight to the death (theyfear their own masters more than theydo the player characters). If apprehend-ed and questioned magically, they willonly confess to receiving orders fromtheir masters to meet with the others,ambush the characters, and deliverthem to Tilverton. This may set the char-acters on the road toward discoveringthese hidden masters without beingsaddled with the Curse of the AzureBonds—if, for some reason, the DMwould prefer playing through the eventsof the module without using the brandsand the compulsions.

If the player characters kill the attack-ing force or cause them to run off, theDM should try again with a strongerforce (adding giants with nets, perhapsa gorgon, or other powerful creatures,but not any of the named individualsfrom the other parts of this module).

The magic-users’ scrolls will not sur-vive the battle, either because they areused up or destroyed when their ownersdie. The drow venom will lose its effect24 hours after the battle.

Should one or two characters escapethe trap and seek to follow their friends,Tyranthraxus will discover their activi-ties and dispatch a small force (fourthieves, one cleric, one mage) to dealwith them. Heroes who join the adven-ture at a later point to locate their miss-ing comrades will find no trace of them(magically or otherwise) until they reap-pear in Tilverton, branded.

Finally, a word about what goes onbehind the scenes for two weeks after asuccessful ambush and capture. Thesurvivors among the ambushers deliverthe heroes to the depths of Tilverton, toa vault protected by the spells of Tyran-thraxus, where the Azure Bonds areplaced on them. The various survivingmembers of the ambushers are suppos-edly dispatched to far locations to avoidany connection with the incident. (Inreality, each faction of the New Alliancesends its survivors into combat againstthe others, in order to make sure thatthere are no leaks in their plans thistime. The result should be the eventualelimination of all the other parties in theambush.)

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By normal or DM-inspired means, theheroes have been captured and brand-ed with the Azure Bonds of the New Alli-ance. They awaken to discover theirplight and quickly become involved withthe Fire Knives, the King of Cormyr, andan unfortunate noble named GiogiWyvernspur.

Encounter 1Read the following passage to the play-ers:

You awaken to the sound of two dogsbarking and the evening hubbub ofwagons and carriages passing byyour window. You are resting on asimple straw tick covered with gray-ing sheets. You look around to findyour companions similarly laid out,and just now awakening. You remem-ber an attack, dark elves and figuresleaping out the shadows and appear-ing magically among your midsts.

Then nothing, a deep void of black-ness, until your awakening.

Your gear has been packed neatlybeside your bed. You reach for it,then stop—as you notice that yourentire right arm has been covered byan ornate, gleaming tattoo, markedwith strange and arcane symbols!

See the earlier section “The AzureBonds” (in the Introduction) for theappearances and effects of the sym-bols. All those who were successfullyambushed will awaken to find them-selves in this state—branded by theNew Alliance for mysterious purposes.

Some players may have read the nov-el Azure Bonds and/or played thecomputer-game version of this adven-ture. They should feel free to sharewhatever they know, considering it asknowledge gleaned from other sources(such as the Nameless Bard from Chap-

also be aware that not everything a play-er may have learned from the novel orthe computer game will be true in thecontext of this module.

All of the characters’ gear is present,with the following exceptions, if theyapply:

* Magical scrolls containing spells oflevel seven or higher have beenclaimed by Dracandros of Thay,and will be found with him at histower at Haptooth Hill. Dracandrosmay use these scrolls against theheroes at a later date.

* Devices or scrolls which raise thedead or wield esoteric healing abili-ties have been claimed by theMoanderites and/or the Zhentarim,and will be found at their locations.

* Rings and other devices whichallow wishes have been grabbed inthe name of Tyranathraxus, andwill be found among the treasure inhis lair in Myth Drannor, protected

ter 1). They (and you, the DM) should from magical detection.

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* All artifacts become the posses-sions of Tyranthraxus, by virtue ofhis being the most powerful mem-ber of the New Alliance. Alternately,the Mad Red Wizard Dracandrosmay have claimed these andalready shipped them to an agentin Thay, to use as a bargaining toolfor his return. The DM may use thisalternative if he wishes to continueadventures beyond the bounds ofthis module. The sourcebookDreams of the Red Wizards bySteve Perrin will be helpful for gain-ing further information on Thay.

* Scrolls which protect from posses-sion have been destroyed (perhapsthe player characters will find theirremains in a fireplace at theThieves’ Guild).

* Potions of human control and morepowerful magical rods, such as therods of rulership or beguiling, maybe in the hands of one of the morepowerful enemies or, at the DM’soption, may have been traded tosome other force in return forfavors, information, or supplies,putting the heroes on another mis-sion following this one to locate thelost items.

All other enchanted items remain withthe heroes, including magical weaponsand armor, “nonthreatening” rings,scrolls, and potions. The New Alliancewants the heroes to be as strong as pos-sible for the sake of completing theirmissions, and takes only those itemsthat it deems to be highly useful or dan-gerous.

The PCs’ room is the upper loft of TheWindlord’s Rest, an inn of good qualityin Tilverton. The Windlord’s Rest is athree-story inn near the heart of town,across from the Temple of Gond. Thetopmost floor was converted from anattic to one main room, with gabled win-dows providing light and an excellentview of the city.

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* Devices which contact or summoncreatures from other planes,including items of elemental sum-moning, efreet bottles, and djinnrings, have been claimed by theSurvivors of Moander, who intendto use them to pierce through theveil that separates the Realms fromMoander’s home.

Those looking out the windows to theeast will see the imposing edifice of theTemple of Gond Wondermaker to thenorth of the inn. It is appoaching midday,and the sounds of commerce, streettraffic, and general commotion reach upto the PCs’ ears. If the player charactersare familiar with Tilverton, they will rec-ognize where they are immediately.Also, any individual looking out the win-dow will catch sight of a splendid car-riage rounding the far corner,emblazoned with the Purple Dragon ofCormyr.

The stairs from the loft lead down tothe second floor, where there are indi-vidual suites, and finally to the commonroom of The Windlord’s Rest. It is herethat the characters will meet ThungorTriblane, the gnome who owns the inn. Ifthe characters make undue noise (likeshouts of pain from trying to remove thebonds), Triblane will come to them.

Thungor Triblane, gnome (former 3rdlevel illusionist): AC 10; MV 12”; HD 3;hp 10; #AT 1; Dmg 1-4 (100 gold piecesin a sock, wielded as a blackjack); SAspell use; SZ S; AL LN; THAC0 20.

Thungor is a bit daunted by peopletaller than he, but is basically honestand stalwart. He will react positively iftreated well by the characters, but like awise old dutch uncle if the charactersare upset or angry (as well they shouldbe, having been ambushed, kidnapped,robbed, and branded). Thungor will fleeif attacked, shouting for the guard, ashis many loyal patrons rush to hisdefense.

Here’s what Thungor knows:

* Three days ago a gentleman in ared cloak, his face hidden by adeep hood, came to Thungor’s inn,The Windlord’s Rest, to rent the loftroom for a week. He paid inadvance.

* Two days ago, a larger party of red-hooded men came in, carrying thebodies and equipment of the party.They carried them up to the loft andlaid things out as they were whenthe characters awoke.

* The bodies did not look particularlywell off, and Thungor asked thehooded men where the adventur-ers came from. “We are a quiet,holy order,” said the lead red-hood.

“We found these people left fordead alongside the road,ambushed by brigands. We healedthem as best we could, thenbrought them here.”

* Thungor was still unconvinced, buta bag of gold quieted him at thetime.

* Since then, the adventurers hadbeen out like a light.

* He’s never seen the red-hoodsbefore or since.

* The date is a month after the char-acters’ ambush by the New Alli-ance.

* The characters had the blue doo-dads (his word) on their arms whenthey arrived.

* Their packs have not been dis-turbed, and nothing has been tak-en from them while the charactershave been here at The Windlord’sRest. (This last is a half-truth;Thungar took nothing, but didcheck out their possessions and inparticular their gold).

* Thungor swears all of the above istrue, “Cross my heart and mayGond turn me blue.”

Thungor wants to know if the charac-ters are involved with the visit of the Kingof Cormyr. It seems that Azoun himselfhas arrived in town. Officially he is hereto work out a defense treaty with Tilver-ton, but wagging tongues say that hiswayward daughter, Alusair Nacacia,was spotted in the area a few monthsback, and he and his pet wizard Vanger-dahast are here looking for her. Rumorhas it that the princess and the priest ofthe biggest temple in town had mutualinterests (Thungor’s words) and ran offtogether. Neither has been seen for ayear. The king is staying at the mansionof the Gunderstone family not far away.

As for the character’s brands,Thungor breezily suggests that thecharacters get them cured at the Templeof Gond, as if they were no more than asimple cold or a case of lycanthropy. Ifthe heroes have already caught on tothe painful consequences of trying toremove the markings themselves,Thungor will recommend the services ofa friend of his—Filani of Tantras, whohas taken residence in the city as asage, after fleeing legal problems in herhome city. (Filani is a friend of

TILVERTON1 Windlord's Rest2 Gindarstone Mansion3 Filani the Sage4 Temple of Gond5 Tilver's Palace (Abandoned ruins)6 Cormyr Stairs7 Market Stairs8 Tilver Stairs9 Upper City Gate10 Market

Thungor—they used to adventuretogether—and Thungor has alreadypassed on to Filani drawings of the sym-bols on the PCs’ arms and a reckoningof the amount of gold the heroes are car-rying.)

Encounter 2Encounters 2, 3, and 4 may occur in

any order, and do not necessarily needto occur at all. How the adventure pro-ceeds at this point depends on whetherthe characters decide to approach theking immediately (Encounter 2), to seekout the sage (Encounter 3), or to go tothe Temple of Gond Wondermaker(Encounter 4).

If the characters try to meet the king,they will be directed to the mansion ofthe Gunderstone family. This relativelyprestigious burgher clan has vacated itshome temporarily so that the accommo-dations can be used by the king and hiscourt.

The mansion has three entrances: themain one, a back entrance, and a ser-vants’ entrance. The carriage markedwith trappings and pennants of the Kingof Cormyr is parked by the backentrance.

Each of the entrances is watched overby three Comryrian guardsmen, armedwith long swords and carrying dragon-headed whistles on thongs around theirnecks. They are to forbid all entry intothe mansion to those without officialbusiness with the king.

Unfortunately, the guards do not havetheir stories coordinated. The ones atthe front door say that the king is outsightseeing in the city. The ones at theservants’ door say he is within, butmeeting with church officials. The threeguards at the back door by the carriagestate that the king is within, but resting,and not to be disturbed. The guards areofficious, polite, and abrupt in theiranswers. They will gladly take any mes-sages or pleas for the king, which theywill direct through His Majesty’s person-al secretary.

If the characters make any trouble,attack the guards, or try to force theirway through, the guards will sound theirdragon-headed whistles. Ten reinforce-ments of the guard will appear in 2rounds, and twenty more in 2 rounds fol-

lowing that. Individuals will be given achoice of surrendering and retreating orbeing arrested for disturbing the peace.

Cormyrian Guards (3rd level fighters):AC 2; MV 6”; HD 3; hp 18 each; #AT 1;Dmg 1-8; AL LG; THAC0 18.

return to Filani any number of times, butshe will only provide the information shehas on hand, and only at the pricedemanded.

Filani’s information is as follows:

If the heroes do make an appoint-ment, one will be set up for two dayshence—but it will not be kept (seeEncounter 5).

If the heroes stake out the building,after about an hour two men leave by theback door and climb quickly into the cabof the royal carriage. One is a paunchywizard dressed in robes, the other athin, foppish dandy who is sweating pro-fusely even in the cool air. They areVangerdahast and Giogi Wyvernspur.The former is the court wizard, the latter agadabout from Cormyr whose only nota-ble talent (in the context of this adven-ture) is his ability to mimic the king’svoice. The carriage will go from heredirectly to the scene of Encounter 5.

Encounter 3The sage Filani, recommended by theinnkeeper Thungor, lives in a modestthree-story home across from the Tem-ple of Gond Wondermaker.

Filani of Tantras (9th level magic-user,sage specializing in Politics and Histo-ry): AC 9; MV 12”; HD 9; hp 36; #AT 1;Dmg 1-4 (dagger); SA & SD spell use;AL N; THAC0 19.

Filani is a beautiful woman with darkhair bound up in white ribbons. Thungorhas warned her already about the char-acters, so she is ready to receive themwithout any difficulty.

Filani is a businesswoman, and inexchange for information and aid, shewill set a price in advance. She knowsfrom Thungor how much money theplayer characters are carrying, and herprice is 90 percent of that amount. Shewill not settle for less.

Further, she will not cast spells(“Casting spells on unknown runes is assmart as shoving your face into adragon’s throat,” she says coyly), direct-ing the characters toward the Temple ofGond if they are seeking that sort of aid.

If endangered, Filani will dimensiondoor to her own loft and summon theguard from there. The heroes may

* The first symbol, closest to eachcharacter’s wrist, is a daggerwrapped in flame—the emblem ofthe Fire Knives, an old thieves’guild that was based in Cormyr. Itran afoul of the king and his sup-porters, and as such was for themost part destroyed. Survivorsescaped to Westgate and to Tilver-ton, where they set up “guilds inexile,” working with the localthieves. The Westgate branch issaid to have been recent lydestroyed as well in a battle withadventurers. The Tilverton branchhas been seeking to control thelocal criminal scene for years. TheFire Knives’ hatred of King Azounremains unabated, and this is onereason why everyone is so security-minded in the city these days.

* The second symbol is that of thecult of a dead god, Moander, alsocalled The Jawed God. True wor-ship of the deity died out over athousand years ago, when elvenmages broke its temples andimprisoned the god. Since then,various crackpot groups havesought to revive the worship,always in an evil fashion. A talerecently come from the North saysthat an ancient temple was foundbeneath Yulash, and that a greatmonster was found there. Thebeast escaped, wreaking greathavoc among both the Zhentil Keepand Hillsfar forces.

* Speaking of Zhentil Keep, the thirdsymbol is the secret sign of theZhentarim, a fell and powerful orga-nization that operates throughoutthe North but whose base of poweris in Zhentil Keep. A coalition ofpowerful mages and clerics ofBane, the god of tyranny, the Zhen-tarim is ruled by Lord Manshoon, agreat wizard, and his assistant, theevil high priest Fzoul Chembryl.

* The fourth symbol requires somefurther research, for its precise sig-nificance is unknown. Its style, withangular jags and a flaming motif,

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suggests the emblem of the RedWizards of Thay. Their empire liesat the far end of the Sea of FallenStars, though they have agentsroaming throughout the land. Theydream of eventual conquest, butare continually wracked by internalconflict. Because of this infighting,while the Red Wizards are poten-tially more powerful than the forcesof Zhentil Keep, they are presentlyless effective.

* The fifth and last symbol seems tohave something in common withthat of Moander. The Jawed Godhas been long dead, but recentlynews of him has surfaced. So it iswith the representative of this sym-bol, which depicts the elvish runefor a name surrounded by flames.The name is that of the evilTyranthraxus—a monster thoughtto have been defeated by adventur-ers. However, his name is beingwhispered in certain dark placesonce again.

Players whose characters have bat-tled Tyranthraxus previously should beturning ashen at about this point.Indeed, if these heroes did fight Tyran-thraxus, this is the true reason that theywere chosen for this noble experiment.(If the heroes and Tyranthraxus arestrangers, then it was mere chance—the PCs’ misfortune—that put them intheir present situation.)

Filani has no other information athand, but points out that there is arenowned sage to be found on the roadto Zhentil Keep and Yulash: Elminsterthe Wise, of Shadowdale. Elminsterrarely sees visitors, but she will providea letter of introduction if the PCs wantone.

If the heroes want to try to have theirbrands removed, she recommends theTemple of Gond across the street.

Encounter 4The Temple of Gond is an imposingstructure which dominates the UpperCity of Tilverton. It is five stories highand very broad, such that it sits like abrooding dragon overlooking the city.The bulk of the interior is devoted to themain chapel, but small corridors line theperimeter, leading to small meeting

rooms, libraries, and areas for spellresearch.

Gond is the god of blacksmiths, artifi-cers, crafts, and construction, and histemple shows it. The walls are litteredwith clocks and other devices, contin-ually in operation. The floor reverber-ates from the effect of somesubterranean activity, and the ring of asmithy’s hammer can be heard in thedistance. The clerics of this faith carryhammers instead of the typical maces.

The former high priest of the templewas Gharri of Gond, the man who disap-peared (along with the king’s daughter)over a year ago. His subaltern, Burlan ofGond, now runs the temple until a newhigh priest is appointed. While Burlan isfairly powerful (12th level), he lacks boththe diplomacy and temporal power thatmade Gharri the controlling force thathe once was.

There is much rush and bother aboutthe hall, for the King of Cormyr and hiscourt wizard will be visiting fairly shortly,and all must be put into readiness.Burlan sees this as a chance to offsetthe rumors that Gharri ran off with Prin-cess Alusair Nacacia, and has little timefor other problems.

The heroes will be greeted by a lesserpriest and asked their business. Thepriest, Castar, will see little problem intrying to remove the runes and will usherthe heroes into a small room adjoiningthe main temple.

Castar will measure the runes, mak-ing notes for the temple’s library. He willask the going rate for a casting of dispelmagic (500 gold—he reads it from ascroll). He will ask for one of the heroesto volunteer.

When the magic hits them, the brandswill force their owner to react asdescribed in the earlier section “TheAzure Bonds”: by attacking the personcasting the spell. The hero will seek toattack physically, throttling the clericwith his bare hands if need be, until thefit passes. The other player charactersshould try to restrain the hero who isattacking.

Castar of Gond (3rd level cleric): AC 5;MV 12”; HD 3; hp 24; #AT 1; Dmg 2-5(hammer); AL N; THAC0 20.

Castar will try to flee if attacked, andother clerics will gather to protect their

own if the other characters do notrestrain their friend. If Castar is slain, acry goes up for the watch, and the playercharacters are treated as if they hadattacked the king (see Encounter 5below). If the affected PC is restrained,the urge to slay Castar will pass in a fewrounds, and everyone involved will cor-rectly assume that the brands, and notthe character himself, caused the hos-tile action. If they make proper apolo-gies (and promise never to return) theheroes will be let out of the temple with-out further incident.

As they leave, they will see a largecrowd gathering on the front steps of thetemple. A white carpet is being rolledfrom the entrance to the curb; obviously,the clerics are making final preparationsfor the king’s visit.

Encounter 5This encounter takes place after theheroes have visited the temple, or havefollowed the coach from the mansion tothe temple, or have visited the sage’shouse and decided to merely leavetown. Read the following to the players:

A large throng has gathered aboutthe stairs to the Temple of Gond. Thetwenty-three priests of the temple,dressed in their finery, bracket thestairs up the temple. Burlan, the cur-rent acting high priest, is at the top. Awhite carpet runs from the curb to thetemple’s mouth. The loyal and thecurious have gathered to meet theKing of Cormyr.

The royal carriage approaches,pulled by four white stallions. Pen-nants bearing the symbol of the Pur-ple Dragon fly in the wind. A patrol often horsemen precede the carriage,and ten other guards follow it.

Let the player characters determinewhere they are in the area. With thethrong of people, it will be impossible tomove very far or very fast (3” per turn fornow—but this will change when all heckbreaks loose).

The carriage pulls up, its interior darkand its blinds pulled. The door opensand the court wizard Vangerdahastclimbs out. The door swings shut behindhim. A hand, bearing a ring with the pur-

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ple dragon on it, appears from behindthe curtain, resting on the bottom of thewindow of the carriage door.

“Greetings, people of Tilverton, andmost worthy clerics of Gond Wonderma-ker, Smithy, and Artificer,” says themage. “I am Vangerdahast, personalwizard to our Royal Majesty King Azoun,the Purple Dragon of Cormyr. My lord istired from his long journey, and mustdecline Priest Burlan’s invitation to tourthe temple today, but His Majesty doeswish to address the crowd briefly. YourMajesty . . .” Vangerdahast motions tothe carriage and steps back.

What is occuring here is a sham forthe masses. The true king is in Tilverton,but in disguise, while a young lordnamed Giogi Wyvernspur has been per-suaded to masquerade as the monarch,imitating the king’s voice. Vangerdahasthopes that any assassins from the FireKnives will attack the false king andreveal themselves in that fashion. He isunaware of the New Alliance and theAzure Bonds, though he does know thatGiogi was almost slain several monthsago by the woman Alias, who wasbranded in a similar fashion.

Giogi’s speech goes something likethis: “Dear, dear people of Tilverton,brave souls who dare to challenge theuncivilized wastes beyond the Stone-lands, who rise above adversity toaccept the aid and protection of yoursouthern neighbor, I bring you greetingsfrom myself and my family. I wish tothank in particular the kind and graciouspriests of Gond Wondermaker, whosegifts and salutations have been greatlyappreciated, and I hope to tour yourtemple in the very near future.”

Giogi (imitating the king in a slightlynasal voice) will continue on in this vein,saying practically nothing of substance,but saying it in very proper style, for aslong as he can.

The player characters, however, havebeen branded with the compulsion toattack the source of the sound whenthey hear the king’s voice. Each of thePCs must make an immediate savingthrow versus spells at -6. Failure tosave means that the characters willdraw their weapons and try to slay thesupposed King of Cormyr.

If all of the characters make their sav-ing throws against the effect of the Fire

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Knives brand, Giogi’s speech will pro-ceed normally. Vangerdahast will decideto cast detect magic on the crowd (in thevicinity of at least one of the PCs) to seeif he can discern a threat to the “king.”The brands on the character(s) in thearea of effect of the spell will react asdescribed in “The Azure Bonds” sec-tion, giving off bright blue light and caus-ing great pain to the affected PC(s). Atthe DM’s discretion, the casting mightalso trigger an attack against Vangerda-hast (assuming that he would be instant-ly identified as the caster of the spell).Regardless of exactly what happens,these events should throw the area intoturmoil and get the PCs into trouble, justas if they had mounted an immediateattack against the “king.”

If one or more of the PCs draws aweapon or tries to cast a spell, the actwill cause an immediate panic. Thecrowd will bolt as soon as it becomesclear there is danger afoot. This scram-bling turmoil will ruin any spell-castingbegun in the first round thereafter, bothfor the characters and for Vangerda-hast. The royal carriage is of solid con-struction, but the doors can be easilyripped from the hinges, allowing quickaccess. As the characters attack, theywill hear Giogi Wyvernspur withinshouting—in his natural voice—“Oh,no! Not again!”

Vangerdahast’s first duty is to saveGiogi/Azoun. He will fight his way toGiogi’s side, grab him, and then dimen-sion door to a spot 100 feet west and 200feet in the air. With Giogi hanging ontohim for dear life, Vangerdahast will fol-low that with feather fall to bring theimpostor down to safety. When Giogi issafe (for the moment, anyway), Vanger-dahast will return to the fray but stay inthe background, letting the Cormyrguards handle the brunt of the fight.

The 20 guardsmen accompanying the“king” will dismount and attack as soonas the characters make their moves(there is nothing subtle about a chargingfighter with an axe heading for the royalcarriage). They will sound the alert, sothat in 6 rounds, another 20 guards willarrive, along with Vangerdahast, if hegot Giogi away safely.

As soon as Giogi disappears from theimmediate vicinity, the compulsion willleave the affected characters—but they

will still be facing 20 armed guards whowill want to arrest them for attackingtheir ruler.

Cormyrian Guards (3rd level fighters):AC 2; MV 3” (due to crowds); HD 3; hp18 each; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8; AL LG; THAC018.

The guards will seek to bring the char-acters to zero hit points, but not to slaythem (so that they can be questioned lat-er). They will call for the assailants tosurrender. Thus, the heroes have threeoptions: fight, try to run, or give up.

If the heroes fight and defeat bothwaves of Cormyrian militia, they willhave a 1 in 6 chance of encountering 20more militiamen each turn until theyleave the city. After they defeat the firstgroup, a shady individual will beckon tothem from an alley. “Buddy,” he willhiss, “over here to escape the law.”

If the heroes fight and are defeated, orif they surrender, they will be taken tothe Burgher’s Court and thrown into thedungeon, in a common cell. Weaponswill be confiscated, and mages will beshackled. Toward evening, a stoneblock will move from the wall and ashady individual (the same one men-tioned above) will pop out, hissing,“This way to escape the law.”

If the heroes run (probably their wisestmove), they will succeed in escapingand will then encounter the same shadyindividual as they make their way out oftown. In this case (and the first case), theshady individual will beckon for them tofollow him down an open grating at theedge of a building. From there the grouppasses into the sewers.

Cutthroat McGill (5th level thief): AC6; MV 9”; HD 5; hp 17; #AT 1; Dmg 1-6;AL N; THAC0 19.

Once in the sewers (regardless of thesituation that got them there), the shadyindividual turns to them and says, “Par-don for the intrusion, but the name isCutthroat McGill. I wuz told to bring youto my boss’s place. We’re the Thieves’Guild around here. The real one, notthose scuzzy Fire Knives.” With that hepoints at the symbol on the character’sarms.

Cutthroat McGill leads the heroes downa short, straight stretch of sewer tunnel,having no branches to the left or right.Eventually they come to a large steeldoor blocking their path. McGill knockson the door three times, and the doorslowly rises.

This passage leads to the under-ground headquarters of the TilvertonThieves’ Guild, also known as theRogues of Tilverton. The door is raisedand lowered by two ogres from the quar-ters in room 1. The player characters areushered into the room marked G. Readthe following to the players:

Cutthroat McGill leads you into alarge, richly decorated room, thewalls dripping with expensive hang-ings and the floor awash in pillowsmade of exotic fabrics. Golden bowlsof oil dot the perimeter with wicks setin boats of silver, providing a dim lightto the room. Along the wall youentered are long benches on eitherside of the door, and seated on themare a group of scummy-lookingrogues who eye you suspiciously.The only other exit from the room is toyour left.

At the far end of the room is a lowdais upon which sits a grossly fatman in regal but tattered robes. Hemotions you to enter and be seated.

As the heroes make themselves com-fortable, the DM should make sure ofthe status of their weapons. Weaponsthat were lost as a result of their captureby the Cormyrians are returned at thistime, carried on pillows by beautifulwomen, and “peace-bonded”-tiedwith strings to prevent easy removal(untying a peace-bonded weapon takes1-4 rounds, or 3-6 if the characterattempting it is running at the time).Mages who have been shackled willhave their iron bonds removed, andtheir spell books and magic materialswill be returned to them. The weaponsand other items were “liberated” fromthe Cormyrians in the same fashion thatthe heroes were.

If any of the heroes are injured, serv-ing girls will bring potions of extra heal-ing (up to three) to aid the woundedindividuals.

After they have become settled, thehuge man on the far dais begins tospeak.

“Good evening, gentle adventurers,”says the large man on the dais. “Myname is Artur Grossman. My thievescall me Guildmaster to my face andthe Fat Man behind my back. I am theMaster of the Rogues of Tilverton. Ihave brought you here because wehave a matter of common interest.”

He points at one of you with apudgy, ring-laden hand. “You havebeen marked with the symbols of anevil alliance, one of which is veryunpleasant to our group. Many yearsback, the Fire Knives of Cormyr hadtheir power broken by His MajestyKing Azoun IV. They fled to the hinter-lands. Some came here, where theypetitioned my father, the former guild-master, for sanctuary. He granted it,and within the year he was dead fromtheir poisons.

“The Fire Knives are bullies, seek-ing only vengeance against the king.They hold the king’s missing daugh-ter, Alusair Nacacia, as bait to lurehim here and have their agents, youpeople, slay him. Normally, I wouldnot care one way or t’other, butshould the king die here today, all thethieves of Tilverton will suffer. Includ-ing my group.

“We suffer if the king dies. We alsosuffer if we oppose the Fire Knivesdirectly. They are small in number butpowerful in ability, and have many fellmagics at their beck and call. Theyhave allied themselves with a groupof misfit clerics from Yulash, who stillseek to bring their dead god, Moan-der, back to life. They talk with partsof the Black Network, the Zhentarim.They have struck a deal with a RedWizard named Dracandros, and theyhave contacted even worse powersthat we know little about.

“You have been brought to ourheadquarters for a purpose—to huntdown and destroy the Fire Knives,freeing the king’s daughter so he willtake her and go home, leaving ushonest thieves to perform our dailytasks. We will provide a map throughthe sewers to their hideout, which

used to be the home of my respectedfather.” He waves at another servinggirl carrying a scroll on yet anotherpillow.

“What say you, noble adventur-ers? True, I make no bones aboutbeing thieves, chiselers, and pettygrifters, but ours is a proud organiza-tion with small goals and strong civicpride. We do not wish to see Azoun orhis daughter or particularly Tilvertonhurt. Will you help us against agreater evil?”

The heroes may barter with Guild-master Grossman for what he has. Hecan offer up to 2000 gp as an addedinducement, plus all that the charactersfind within the Fire Knives’ hideout. Hewarns that the Fire Knives are of highlevel and use particularly formidablespell casters and monsters in their oper-ations. Further, though the map of thesewers is accurate, the map of the hide-out is probably not, since the Fire Kniveshave almost certainly moved some ofthe walls around since taking over.

Should the heroes refuse the offer,Grossman will sigh and say, “I am sorry.You realize that we cannot let you live,now, knowing what you know. I am verysorry.” He rings a small bell. There is aloud clamor as a general alarm soundsand the line of mercenaries behind thecharacters moves in to attack.

Should the heroes accept the offer,Grossman will provide the map, anddirect the woman bearing it, named Tha-lia, to lead the party to the exit from thekitchen storage area (room 16). As theyhead toward the exit on the southeastwall, there is a commotion from behindthe PCs. A group of Fire Knives, preced-ed by a tamed rust monster, breaks inthrough the iron door on the north wall.The mercenaries rush toward the door-way. “Run!” shouts Grossman to thecharacters, pulling himself to his feetand flinging a dagger into the midst ofcombat, skewering an enemy. “We canhold them off here!”

Guildmaster Artur Grossman (10thlevel thief): AC 4 (robes of defense, simi-lar to the bracers of the same name); MV6”; HD 10; hp 54; #AT 1; Dmg 1-6; SA &SD thieving abilities; AL N; THAC0 16.

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Mercenaries of Tilverton (4th levelfighters, 10): AC 4; MV 12”; HD 4; hp 24each; #AT 1; Dmg 1-10 (two-handedbroad swords) or 1-8 (long swords); ALNE; THAC0 17.

Servants (zero-level humans, 7-12 innumber): AC 10; MV 12”; hp 3 each; #AT1; Dmg 1-2 (will flee unless cornered);AL N; THAC0 20.

Thalia (4th level thief, appearsdressed as servant): AC 7 (includingdexterity bonus); MV 12”; HD 4; hp 23;Dmg 1-4 (concealed dagger) or by otherweapon; AL N; THAC0 20.

If the DM wishes, Thalia will accompa-ny the heroes into the sewers and out ofTilverton, especially if any of the charac-ters has a charisma of 17 or higher(she’s a sucker for paladins). Grossmanis a nice guy, but a touch too sexist forThalia’s tastes.

Rust Monster: AC 2; MV 18”; HD 5; hp25; #AT 2; Dmg nil; SA rusts; AL N;THAC0 15.

Fire Knives (6th level thieves, 8): AC7; MV 12”; Dmg 1-8 (long sword); SAdrow paralysis venom on the blades; ALLE; THAC0 19.

Tilverton RoguesHeadquartersG. The Guildmaster’s Audience Hall. Asdescribed above. Secret door behindthe Guildmaster’s chair opens into Bar-racks #1 (room 4); reinforcements fromBarracks #1 and Barracks #2 (room 6)will come through here either to join theattack against the Fire Knives or againstthe heroes, depending on whether thePCs decided to accept the Guildmas-ter’s proposal.

1. Ogre Quarters. This is where theguild maintains the ogres who operatethe main door and are also used as“enforcers” with particularly hard-to-deal-with clients. There are six ogres inall, who work as teams of two in 8-hourshifts on door duty. The four ogres not

on duty at any given time will be sleep-ing, playing cards (with a 51-card deck)or generally lazing about. If combatbreaks out in room G, they will come tothe scene immediately, seeking to enterthrough the north doorway.

Ogres (6): AC 5; MV 9”; HD 4+1; hp16, 17, 20, 24, 25, 30; #AT 1; Dmg 1-10;AL CE; THAC0 15.

The ogres have 27 gold pieces—theirwinnings from card games with theguards in room 2.

2. Checkpoint #1. All three doors tothis room are normally locked. Thedoors have small sliding panels at eyelevel for the guards to check anyoneseeking to enter the area.

Currently, the west door (into room G)is open, the north door is locked, and thesouth door is closed but unlocked. Theroom has a simple table and two chairs.

Guards (2nd level fighters, 2): AC 3;MV 6”; HD 2; hp 18 each; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8; AL N; THAC0 19.

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3. Treasure Room. This room, linedwith lead plates to deter treasurehunters and magical detection, has astone door that requires ogre power (or18 strength) to open. The room is linedwith shelves, upon which sit 100 smallgolden casks. The casks, collected byArtur Grossman’s late father, are worth1000 gp each—which makes them, atthis point in time, much more valuablethan their contents.

Fifty of the casks are empty, a sign ofhow low the fortunes of the nativethieves’ guild have sunk. Forty of theremaining ones contain 200 gp apiece,nine of them each contain 200 platinumpieces (called tricrowns in the Realms),and the last one holds an account bookwith a running summary of all the trea-sure the room has contained over theyears. The last few pages are coveredwith writing in red ink.

All the casks are similar in design,having been crafted by artisans of theTemple of Gond. Each one features apoisoned blade along the edge of therim, which will jut out and stab anyonewho lifts the lid (save versus poison ordie) unless a small stud on the left leg ofthe cask is pressed before the lid isopened.

4. Barracks #1. This simple room isfilled with ten bunk beds each with twolockers stuffed beneath. Twenty low-level thieves are housed here, ready toreinforce any battle in the Guildmaster’sAudience Room. There is a peepholealong the north wall into room G. Each ofthe lockers contain personal effects,and 1 in 6 will have something of worth(such as a gem of 100 gp value).

Thieves of Tilverton (2nd level, 20):AC 7; MV 12”; HD 2; hp 8 each; #AT 1;Dmg 1-6 (short sword) or 1-4 (throwndagger); SA thieving abilities; AL N;THAC0 20.

5. Sergeant’s Quarters. This room ismore ornate than a standard barracksroom. It has a few paintings on the wallthat until recently hung in GunderstoneMansion and other houses of the gentry.Four sergeants, Grossman’s right-handmen, have their quarters here. One willbe found in the training area (room 11),while the others will be on hand here.They will challenge any strangers and

attack anyone who tries to break into the 3+3; hp 21, 20; #AT 1; Dmg 2-8; AL Ntreasure room (room 3). THAC0 16.

Sergeants of The Guild (5th levelthieves, 3): AC 6; HD 5; hp 24, 26, 30;#AT 1; Dmg 1-8; SA thieving abilities; ALN; THAC0 19.

The north door is open, but the dooron the south wall is locked. Grossmancarries a key to the door, and there isalso one tucked behind the fish foun-tain.

6. Barracks #2. Similar in descriptionto barracks #1 (room 4), this area alsocontains 20 thieves who will rush intobarracks 4 and then into the Guildmas-ter’s hall to aid in any fight.

Thieves of Tilverton (2nd level, 20):AC 7; MV 12”; HD 2; hp 8 each; #AT 1;Dmg 1-6 (short sword) or 1-4 (throwndagger); SA thieving abilities; AL N;THAC0 20.

7. Checkpoint #2. Similar in appear-ance to checkpoint #1 (room 2), exceptthat both the west and north doors arelocked, and the guards will not openthem to anyone without authorization.

Guards (2nd level fighters, 2): AC 3;MV 6”; HD 2; hp 18 each; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8; AL N; THAC0 19.

11. Training Area. This area is for thetraining of thieves in combat and otherarts. It is basically a bare rock floorsprinkled with sand. One sergeant andfive thieves are within, involved in atraining session. They are unaware ofany combat in the other parts of thecomplex. If the heroes break in, they willbe challenged, and if their answer isunsatisfactory, they will be attacked. Ifthe thieves are told the truth aboutwhat’s going on (the PCs’ mission andthe invasion of the Fire Knives), they willbe helpful, telling the individuals how toescape from the complex through theback hallway (room 19).

Sergeant of The Guild (5th level thief):AC 6; MV 6”; HD 5; hp 30; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8; SA thieving abilities; AL N; THAC0 19.

8. Barracks #3. Similar in appearanceto the other barracks (rooms 4 and 6),this one has ten bunk beds as well. It isempty, its residents either out on variousmissions or in training in room 11.

Thieves of Tilverton (2nd level, 5): AC7; MV 12”; HD 2; hp 8 each; #AT 1; Dmg1-6 (short sword) or 1-4 (thrown dagger);SA thieving abilities; AL N; THAC0 20.

9. Baths. Steps lead down from thedoorway here into a wide, white-marbled pool. A fountain along the farwall shoots water in a spray across thepond. The area is empty.

12. Kitchen. This room contains longtables for preparing food for Grossmanand his men. A large fireplace domi-nates the southwest corner.

10. Guildmaster’s Quarters. This isGrossman’s home, and is even moresumptuous and tacky than his AudienceHall. A massive divan is tucked in the farnorth corner, and a fountain of a fishdominates the western wall.

Here also are Grossman’s pets, a pairof dire wolves he raised from pups. Theirnames are Fluffy and Bojangles, and hetreats them like puppies. (“Doespupple-wupples want din-din? Oh,pupple-wupples love din-din, don’tthey?”) If the heroes open either doorleading into this room, the wolves willgrowl, but will only attack if the heroesenter the room or attack them.

The kitchen is occupied by four cooks(zero-level humans). If the adventurersare accompanied by Thalia, the cookswill be properly deferential to theheroes. If not, the cooks will shout“Invaders!” and begin throwingthings—pots, pans, cabbage, hunks ofmeat, etc. These projectiles do no realdamage, but the cooks hope to drive theheroes out an exit—any exit. The DMshould play the cooks for laughs, and if itlooks like they will be slain, have themsurrender.

Dire wolves (2): AC 6; MV 18”; HD

13. Guildmaster’s Office. The office islit by a single large glass bowl of oil sus-pended above the doorway. The wallsare done in a mural showing a view ofTilverton similar to the one the playercharacters had from the window of theirloft back in the Windlord’s Rest.

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A massive desk and a massive chairdominate the room. The chair is mount-ed to the floor, and has three buttonsalong one arm. The first opens thesecret door behind the desk leading tothe library (room 17). The second dumpsthe bowl of oil down upon attackers inthe doorway, inflicting 1-6 points offlame damage per round. The thirdsends an alarm through the entire com-plex, telling all to gather in the office andthe library to deal with invaders.

The desk contains a copy of the mapshowing the route through the sewers tothe Fire Knives’ secret headquarters, aswell as a piece of paper with this writingon it:

Fire KnivesYulashBlack NetworkDracandos?

These words are in Grossman’shandwriting—the Guildmaster’s mus-ings on the sources of the heroes’brands.

Tucked in the lower right-hand drawerof the desk beneath some paperwork(mostly IOUs to the Temple of Gond), area dagger +3 and a pair of golden lionfigurines of wondrous power (see DMG,page 144). The command word for thefigurines, known only to Grossman, is“Leo.” The word is also carved into theunderside of the desk drawer, fromwhere it can be read if the drawer isremoved and turned upside down.

14. The Shrine. This simple room’sdoors are unlocked, and its furnishingsbare and sparse; a few benches acrossthe floor and an indentation on the farwall marked by the holy symbol of Mask,the god of thieves and intrigue. Thereare a few platinum coins scatteredbefore the shrine.

Those leaving an offering at theshrine will be +1 to hit against membersof the Fire Knives for the next day. Thosewho are foolish enough to take any ofthe donations already on the floor willsuffer a -1 to hit for the next day againstthe Fire Knives, and in addition will beunable to use thieving skills successful-ly during that time (a twig snaps, a pieceof loose plaster falls, or some other suit-able minor calamity occurs to automati-cally spoil any attempt).

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15. Servant Quarters. In this room areten bunk beds, used by the kitchencooks and the beautiful serving womenwho wait on Grossman hand and foot.There are four off-duty serving womenpresent, in various stages of dress. If theheroes break in, they will scream,shriek, and throw pillows. They are zero-level humans, nonhostile, and if threat-ened will surrender. They have notreasure.

16. Storage Room. This room con-tains barrels of flour, salted meat, andother groceries to keep the guild in stockduring a long siege. The south wall hasan open doorway leading to a staircasethat goes down into the sewers. How-ever, once the heroes