Stop on your journey at this cozy inn by the road!
The Golden Horseshoe is a charming inn located on the road from Old Wolde to Brightstream. Many merchants and caravans travel between these two main trading hubs; a strategic fact which the owners of this inn kept in mind when they chose this location for their business. Now the inn is where everyone stops while traveling between Old Wolde and Brightstream. Aware that most of their customers travel by wagons pulled by horses, the owners decided to also construct a barn next to the main building. Full care for a guest’s hard-working animals is included in the price of a night at the Golden Horseshoe.
You enter the main building to see a long table where a bunch of drunk adventurers sit and tell each other stories of their greatest victories. You walk towards the bar. Behind the counter is a smiling, plump, red-headed woman who serves a tankard of beer to a customer seated on a stool opposite her.
“Hello, adventurers!” The woman’s smile grows wide and bright at your approach. “I’m Nina Peddleton, and I’m one of the owners of the Golden Horseshoe. The other owner is my husband, Perry, who’s our cook. How can we help you today?”
You order a serving of today’s special – roasted boar with potatoes – and a pint of beer for each of you. Your party sits at a table in front of a small podium from which a bard sings a cheerful tune about a party that got rid of the bandits who used to attack caravans along the road. You glance at each other. You’re always happy to hear the achievements of fellow adventurers being praised.
After you’ve eaten, you make your way upstairs to the common room you purchased for the night from the kind lady. It’s the cheapest space available – all five of you will have to sleep next to each other. But it sure beats camping out in the woods. Finally you’ll have a comfy bed in which you can get a good night’s rest! You wonder how many rooms this inn has. The building is large but business seems to be booming – most of the beds appear booked for the night. With such good service including a tasty meal and a soft bed in a clean and private room, you wish the owners of the inn all the best. With luck, their business will prosper for many years to come.
However, in the middle of the night you are woken by the sound of someone screaming.
“We’re being attacked by orcs!” A man calls out.
How fortunate that you decided to stay at the inn for the night. You hope your skills will make getting rid of the attackers easy and that Nina and Perry Peddleton will remain in business despite the events of this night.
You quickly run down to the ground floor and draw your weapons. There are already some orcs inside – but not for long!
Adventure Hooks
- You’re traveling from Old Wolde to Brightstream in search of more adventuring work, when you decide to stop at the Golden Horseshoe for a night of rest on comfy beds. However, in the middle of the night, a band of orcs attacks the building. Get ready for a fight because someone has to protect all the guests from these vile enemies!
- You’re escorting a merchant caravan from Brightstream to Old Wolde when your employer decides to stop at the Golden Horseshoe. You’re glad you’ll be able to rest in a clean and warm place tonight. However, the bard who is supposed to perform is sick, and the merchants who expected to hear some good music while dining and drinking are complaining. Is anyone from your party a musician? And if so, would they dare to come up to the podium and entertain the restless crowd?
- While you’re staying for the night at The Golden Horseshoe, another band of adventurers approaches you. At first they just seem to want to exchange stories of everyone’s victories, but soon the conversation turns into a quarrel about who is the most accomplished adventurer. It doesn’t take long for a fight to break out. Now the main hall of the inn is your battleground. After all, you can’t let the disrespectful slights they’ve dared to hurl at you go unanswered!
A heist at Lord Wilburn’s mansion?!
A long driveway leads to the beautiful mansion of Lord Wilburn, a rich noble. The fountain in front of the steps to the entrance flows gently. When you reach the front door, an elegantly-dressed butler opens it wide.
He looks you up and down, not hiding the disgust on his face. “Such dirty people as yourselves, daring to step on the lord’s expensive rugs…” He mumbles under his breath, but you hear his words clearly enough.
You shrug, looking at each other. You’re adventurers, not the usual visitors of the lord’s mansion. But Wilburn has granted you an audience, so why does the butler find it necessary to point out how out of place you are in such a high-class setting? You step over the threshold into the main hall which houses a large staircase leading to the upper story. Your footsteps echo on the marble floor… Yes, in truth, you don’t feel like you don’t belong here. Still, you have a quest to accomplish.
The butler guides you to a door on the right that leads to a cozy living room in which the master of the mansion is seated. He’s a black-haired human in his late 40s dressed in a deep red tunic and black trousers. Lord Wilburn. The man sips red wine and looks at you over the rim of the glass.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?” He asks in a deep, gravelly voice.
You explain that your employer asked you to retrieve an item she lent Lord Wilburn two years ago – a golden necklace with emerald embedded with gems embedded.
The man sneers. “You and your client will get nothing from me. Begone.”
Before you can protest, you’re ushered out of the mansion. Standing in the driveway, you wonder how you’re supposed to accomplish your task. After exchanging a few deep looks, all of you share a smile. The people of this house haven’t been accommodating to you, so you won’t feel bad about returning at a more opportune time and taking what’s rightfully yours.
When night falls, you sneak back onto the mansion grounds. You enter from the rear this time, sneaking through the picturesque garden lit by moonlight. You climb the small stairs to the terrace and open the back door to the mansion.
The first room you check is to your left – a study. Here might be a good place to hide an emerald necklace. However, once you check all the shelves and the desk, you’re certain this isn’t where Lord Wilburn has stored the item. Next is the living room. You search thoroughly, but again you don’t find anything. Across the mansion is the dining hall. The room has two tall decorative sculptures flanking a long table with eight chairs in the middle of the room. Another door leads to the kitchen, pantry, and servant’s quarters from where you can hear the staff’s loud snores. You don’t think you will find the item there.
Careful to avoid any noise, you make your way up the stairs to the upper floor. The first room, facing the front of the mansion, is a play room for Lord Wilburn’s son. The next room is his wife’s bedroom, where she sleeps quietly. The next one is the child’s bedroom, also asleep. Only two doors remain. You open one, fully expecting the lord’s bedroom, but you see a storage room instead. That makes sense; since there’s no cellar or attic in this mansion, the family has to use a spare room to store unneeded belongings. The item may be here if the lord has not moved it to his room. A search is worth trying.
You enter and carefully check the dusty room, eyes peeled for the jeweled necklace. But it’s nowhere to be found. You sigh in annoyance. One of you leans against the wall as you frantically gesture to each other, trying to figure out what to do. Suddenly the surface moves slightly. There’s a hidden door here!
You open the door to look inside. In the middle of the room sits a box. Inside… is the necklace! You take it and exit the mansion as quietly as possible.
Hopefully Lord Wilburn will take a while to realize you’ve secured the item. By then, the necklace will be back in your client’s possession and you will be long gone, off on another adventure. Here’s to a successful heist!
Adventure Hooks
- Miranda Malten, a lady of noble birth, hires you to recover an emerald-encrusted golden necklace she gave to Lord Wilburn two years ago. The man refused to return it when their affair ended. The necklace has no magical properties – however, it’s valuable to Lady Miranda. When you ask the lord to give it back, he refuses, so it’s time for a heist! You need to sneak into the mansion in the middle of the night and find the precious item.
- You come to Lord Wilburn’s mansion dressed as nobles to steal a precious signet ring from him during a ball he’s throwing for his son’s 8th birthday. You need to find out where he keeps the precious item before anybody questions why you’re snooping around the mansion.
- Lady Wilburn is throwing a tea party on the terrace of her town mansion. The garden is particularly beautiful this time of the year. However, you’re not here to have fun, but rather to ask her what she knows about the recent murders in town. Is it possible that this distinguished lady is somehow connected to the killer?
Board the magnificent ship and explore the vast seas!
The ship rocks from side to side, floating upon the boundless interplanetary sea. Beyond the broadside, you see the pink and purple cosmic swirls of space that connect worlds. The side-wings of the Last Cry sway slightly as if catching wind, but there’s no wind blowing. The air smells of a fresh pine forest, the sea rolls with gentle waves; everything here is designed to create a sense of calm and relaxation.
It’s boring. You thirst for an adventure, but you first need to get to a place where you can find one.
Suddenly you hear a cry from the deck below. Your party members give each other a glance before you all run down the stairs as one. Where did the cry come from? Your quarters? The kitchen or dining room? Or the captain’s cabin? Just as you finish checking all the rooms, confused, you hear a growl from the lowest deck.
You remember that you’ve taken on the quest to transport some cargo. You were heading to its intended destination anyway, so why not use the opportunity to earn some extra money? But included in the cargo, alongside the numerous packages, barrels, and bales of textiles, were two strange-looking monsters locked in metal cages.
“Stay away!” You hear someone’s voice from downstairs. It sounds like Dowty, the young deckhand who barely knows anything about life on a ship. You run down and see him on the ground, one of the monsters on top of him. Foam from the creature’s mouth falls onto the boy’s face. It looks enraged, growling menacingly. How did the monster escape the cage?
No matter, the important thing is to get the creature locked up once more. After all, you’re getting paid to deliver the monster alive. However, no one said anything about making sure it remains unhurt. Some sense must be knocked into the creature’s overgrown head.
You throw yourselves into battle.
Adventure Hooks
- It is a boring day on The Last Cry, but only until you learn you have to deal with the monster you’re transporting escaping from its cage. You have to put the dangerous cargo back behind bars, but don’t kill it! You’re getting paid to bring it to Perlin alive.
- You’re traveling the vast interplanetary sea when another ship approaches you at top speed. You quickly realize you’re being attacked by pirates. They throw hooks onto the deck of your ship and board you. Can you repel their attack?
- On your way to Perlin you pass by a group of purple whales, leisurely floating in the interplanetary sea. When you pass between the mighty creatures, you notice there’s an asteroid that was previously hidden from your sight. On the surface, a small temple stands. What secrets could it hide?
Investigate the cultist base built around a skeleton of a strange monster!
Somewhere deep in the interplanetary sea is an asteroid which is known for its graveyard of monster skeletons. Many creatures come to this place to die. No one understands the cause of this habit, but it has gone on for centuries now.
You’re surprised when you receive a quest to investigate strange excursions to and from this asteroid. Apparently some people have taken up residence there, and they’re not a very friendly group.
When you dock by the edge of the asteroid, you stare at the sight before you in wonder. Around the skeleton of a giant monster, a building has been erected. You hear the sound of weird chants coming from within, and the air smells foul. By the entrance there are bloody marks.
Weapons and magic at the ready, you go inside to see a large room with a magic circle on the floor. The symbol is glowing faintly; definitely active. Soon the inhabitants of the building come pouring inside from the adjacent rooms. They are wearing black robes, and they’re not happy to see you at all. You recognize the symbol tattooed on the sides of their heads – they are cultists of an evil god you thought was almost forgotten and no longer worshiped. It seems you were wrong though.
A fight breaks out, and the cultists throw foul magic at you. When you are finally victorious, you step over their dead bodies and explore the other rooms of their dwelling. There’s a library, a kitchen with a dining room, bedrooms, and a storage space. One room has been used as a prison. You free the people who have been held captive there, and they cry tears of relief. Once again you are saviors.
Adventure Hooks
- You’ve been tasked with investigating a monster graveyard. Apparently the cultists there have turned one of the skeletons into their base. You fight the cultists and clear the place of their evil presence.
- The parents of a young boy who went missing task you with finding their son. The investigation leads you to the monster graveyard. After fighting the cultists who live in the makeshift building around one of the giant skeletons, you find the boy trapped in their prison. Luckily he’s alive and unharmed.
- You infiltrate the cult of an evil god whose worshipers reside in a monster skeleton to find out more about their nefarious activities. The cultists kidnap people and sacrifice them to their deity. Once you gather enough evidence of their evil deeds, it’s time to strike!
Walk from the docks of Perlin to the town’s beautiful square!
You dock at Perlin’s port, glad to finally step off the deck of your ship onto the stable ground of the asteroid on which the large and impressive town of Perlin has been built. The docks are busy with people moving cargo around. You follow their lead and bring the barrels and crates from your ship to the magistrate’s office. The man to whom the shipment is supposed to be delivered is waiting there. You get paid a handsome amount of money, and with the heavy pouch in hand you venture back to the main throughway, big smiles on your faces.
But suddenly someone grabs the pouch and yanks it out of your hands. Before you can react, the burly man runs away towards the center of town.
“Thief!” You scream as your party starts running after him. The people you pass look at you curiously, but no one bothers to help you.
You arrive at the main square of Perlin where a small marketplace with colorful tents is being held. Where did the man go? You look around and see him disappear down one of the alleyways. You run after him – you manage to catch up. There’s more of you, so your party surrounds the man. He hangs his head low and gives up the stolen money, begging you to spare him. He looks pitiful, sporting ragged clothes and a beard that hasn’t been shaved in days, so you let him go and give him a few coins. He thanks you, tears falling down his cheeks, and heads deeper into town as he walks away.
You go back to the beautiful marketplace, but now you see Perlin in a different light. This port town might be rich, yet there are still problems here – thievery, homelessness, and sickness. But what can a small party of adventurers like you do against such issues? Maybe a visit to the mayor is in order to see how you might help the town?
Adventure Hooks
- A thief steals your hard-earned money, and you run after him to the main square of the town. You catch him, but you’re now aware of Perlin’s poverty problem. You go to the mayor to find out how you can help the townsfolk, and he directs you to the local orphanage. You spend a day patching the building’s leaking roof. It’s a different kind of adventure than you’re used to, but not a bad way to spend your time. After all, being an adventurer is about helping people, right?
- In the marketplace of Perlin there’s a festival going on; colorful dancers and dexterous jugglers entertain the crowd. You join in on the fun. Once in a while, a break from adventuring is in order.
- The marketplace of Perlin is known to have perla fruit for sale. A merchant from Omary has tasked you with purchasing and transporting back to him a large amount of the fruit. But the salesperson at the stall doesn’t have nearly enough of the delicacy to satisfy the order the merchant gave you. You will need to walk around Perlin’s
Find interesting loot in the remains of a battlefield!
Your voyage on the Interplanetary Sea takes you to an area where an enormous battle between ships took place not long ago. You’re not that interested in politics, but even you have heard about how the Realm of Yorstan went up against the Confederacy of Perten here. Not that it really matters who fought whom of course. The true value of this place lies in the loot that remains on the shipwreck.
You fly your ship between several of the destroyed vessels, deciding which one to approach first. Just then you see a shadowy figure beneath you. As the figure nears, you realize that it’s a dragon and that it doesn’t appear to be friendly! Will you hide between the wrecked ships and the asteroids or will you run away? Fighting such a giant, dangerous creature is not an option. You must decide your next move quickly!
Adventure Hooks
- You hear that the Realm of Yostan and the Confederacy of Perten fought against each other long ago, leaving behind a large ship graveyard. You fly to the battlefield to loot the shipwreck when a dragon appears. You have to maneuver your ship between asteroids and destroyed vessels to hide. Hopefully the dragon will pass by!
- The King of the Realm of Yostan lost his scepter, a piece of regalia symbolizing his power, in the battle against the Confederacy of Perten. He hires you to go to the ship graveyard that remains at the former battlefield and find the artifact. Any loot you gather in the process is yours to keep.
- The Confederacy of Perten has hired you to find the scepter of the King of Yostan, which rumor says he lost during the battle a few days ago. You will have to fly through the whole graveyard to find the monarch’s vessel. Beware, however, of the dragon that resides amongst the wreckage.
