Official Game Adventure

Dragons of Flameby Douglas Niles

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PROLOGUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Astinus the Lorekeeper returns, reflecting upon the past and uncertainfuture of Krynn.

THE STORY:The heroes endeavor to resist the growing might of the Dragonlords, playingtheir roles in the midst of war and destruction.

Chapter 5: Que Kiri and the Plains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .in which the fires of the Dragonlords spread over Abanasinia.

Chapter 6: Solace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Where the dragonmen hold sway over the first home and the Last Home.

Chapter 7: The Slave Caravan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The ox-drawn wagons move toward Pax Tharkas and its slave mines.

Chapter 8: Elvenhome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Where the party rests for a spell, hears song and legend, and learns of the Sia-Mori.

Chapter 9: To the Walls of Pax Tharkas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . .The perilous tunnels of the Sla-Mori—the secret entrance to the dragonmen’sfortress.

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1 1

1 9

2 2

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Chapter 10: The Tharkadan Towers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .The quest presents its greatest challenge, here in the heart of the fortress.

EPILOGUE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Thus is concluded another portion of the epic. The heroes again are journeying,through their road remains unclear.

APPENDICESHere are the tools of the story. That which is new is explained, as are encountersby fate alone.

Appendix 1: Random Encounter Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 0Appendix 2: Monsters, Creatures, & Men . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1Appendix 3: Treasures and Tomes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1Appendix 4: Canticle of the Dragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

PLAYER CHARACTER CARDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17These are the Innfellows, the heroes of DRAGONLANCE

Original Concept: Tracy HickmanEditors: Michael Williams and Michael DobsonThe DRAGONLANCE Design Team:

Tracy Hickman, Michael Dobson, Larry Elmore, JeffGrubb, Harold Johnson, Douglas Niles, Carl Smith,Margaret Weis, Michael Williams

Product Design: Bruce Lewis, Elizabeth RiedelArt: Jeff EasleyCartographer: Stephen D. SullivanCanticle by Michael WilliamsSong by Tracy Hickman and Michael Williams

Arranged by Frank Mentzer

Printed in USAISBN 0-88039-087-X9132

Distributed to the book trade in the United States by RandomHouse, Inc. and in Canada by Random House of Canada, Ltd.

Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distributors.

Distributed in the United Kingdom by TSR (UK) Ltd.

This module is protected under the copyright laws of the UnitedStates of America. Any reproduction or other unauthorized use of thematerial or artwork contained herein is prohibited without theexpress written permission of TSR, Inc.

DRAGONLANCE, ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONSAD&D, and PRODUCTS OF YOUR IMAGINATION are trade-marks of TSR, Inc.

© 1984 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Permission granted to photocopy orprint this product for personal use.

Let your mind float free, Dungeonmaster; castyour thoughts toward the troubled world ofKrynn—to the Age of Despair after the greatCataclysm that brought ancient civilization toan end. Now Krynn is threatened once again:this time by the domination of the Dragon-lords and their inhuman minions. Now, Dun-geonmaster, enter the mind of Astinus ofPalanthus, Lorekeeper of Krynn, who sighs ashe rises from the crystal globe of wisdom,weary from traveling the world in his spiritform, weary from following the trails of his-tory to their ends. Slowly he stands, and shuf-fles across the floor to a table piled high withparchment scrolls. He dips a quill pen into aninkpot, and begins once more to scribe. . .

. . . from the Iconochronos o Astinus of Palan-thus, Lorekeeper of Krynn, in the 351st yearafter the Cataclysm.

. . . Darkness has fallen over this world, poor,suffering Krynn. Thus it has been since thegreat Cataclysm, when the old world fell.Curse the High Priest of Istar, whose pridecaused him to give orders to the True Gods,rather than to ask humbly for their aid. Forthe Gods punished Krynn for this blasphemy,and much was forever lost. Lost were the greatcities, the accumulated wisdom and knowl-edge of many generations. Lost as well was allknowledge of the True Gods, and mankindsank into idolatry. Clerics lost their power, andmankind lost hope for its salvation.

But hope always springs from the mostmodest of causes, and so it was that the Innfel-lows began the salvation of Krynn. Originallythere were seven: Tanis, Kitiara, Flint, Tassle-hoff , Raist l in, Caramon, and Sturm. Fiveyears ago they set out from the Inn of the LastHome, seeking knowledge of the True Gods.In five years they found nothing, and so allreturned to the sleepy town of Solace, thetree-city built in a Vallenwood grove. Allreturned save one: Ki t iara the beaut i ful ,whose whereabouts are yet unknown.

Tanis was the leader, a half-elf born of anelf mother who was taken by a human turnedsavage in the terrible times that followed theCataclysm. The elves took him in, and he wasraised in Qualinesti, elf home. But he is evertorn between his human and elf halves, andhas found the wanderlust strong within him.He has roamed the world and seen much, yethis heart is split between the fiery Kitiara, ahuman woman, and the elf maid Laurana.

Caramon and Raist l in are twins—yetunlike as night and day. Caramon is bright,Raistlin is dark. Carmamon is a fighter of

great strength and courage; Raistlin is a sor-cerer gone cynical, a doubter. They have sur-vived great and terrible trials. The tests thatRaistlin underwent to become a sorcerer lefthim with skin the color of worthless gold andpupils the shape of hourglasses—he sees theconstant, terrible effects of time.

Sturm Brightblade was the son of aKnight of Solamnia raised in secrecy. Now tak-ing up the mantle of his father, his most puis-sant knightly aim is to die nobly in a battleagainst his enemies. His motto is Perunde occadaver— Obedience Unto Death. He is aman of military bearing, of great dignity, andof power—a true knight.

Flint Fireforge is a fighter of the HillDwarf race, distrustful of all—including otherdwarven races (especially the cursed Aghar,the Gully Dwarves). Now of grandfatherlyage , he i s bu t two dwarven genera t ionsremoved from the great Cataclysm itself! Hisfamily was killed through the neglect of theMountain Dwarves, and now he seeks toavenge his people.

Tasslenhoff Burrfoot is a Handler ( Iwould say thief) of the Kenderpeople, a half-ling in size but a giant in curiosity He is a trea-sure of odd information, of useful insights,and of clever solutions to knotty problems.

These were the original Innfellows, butthe puzzle was not yet complete. For, on theday of their return to Solace, they met Gold-moon, a princess of the Que-Shu tribe, andher love r R ive rw ind , a Ranger o f g rea tstrength and few words. Riverwind, a poorman’s son, had quested far to prove the worthof his love to Goldmoon’s father. After manytrials, he obtained the Blue Crystal Staff thatbelonged to the Goddess Mishakal. His tribenearly stoned him to death, not recognizingthe power of the staff, but when Goldmooncame to die with him, the staff transportedthem away.

Fate was at work. The True Gods, work-ing through subtlety, as is their wont, hadbegun the redemption of Krynn.

Yet good cannot triumph over evil beforeevil has had its day. From the north, the dra-gonarmies marched, laying waste to the landand enslaving the people. Solace, Gateway,and even the ancient elfhome of Qualinestilay in their path.

Was the meeting of the Innfellows andGoldmoon and Riverwind chance or fate? Noone knows but the Gods. But however it hap-pened, it proved to be the first key to the sal-vation of Krynn.

The Heroes, led by Tanis, first found theForestmaster of the Darken Wood, a unicorn

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of great wisdom. And so they learned of XakTsaroth, an ancient city fallen to evil. Nowoccupied by draconians, the mysterious, evilservants of the Dragonlords, Xak Tsarothproved to be the home of the darkest of evil:Onyx, a Black Dragon.

Ah, you say. A Dragon. A creature ofmyth. The great serpents are only tales withwhich to frighten young children, you think.Yet though dragons have not entered Krynn inover one thousand years, they have returned.How have the Dragonlords brought the ser-pents into Krynn? How have they gained suchpower? How can mere man stand against anarmy of dragons? These questions plague me,and I cannot sleep.

But the power of the True Gods shoneforth. The Crystal Staff was blessed by theGoddess Mishakal, whose great power is thatof Healing. The crystal staff destroyed thedragon onyx, and so were discovered theDisks of the Gods, which brought knowledgeof the True Gods back to Krynn.

And miracle of miracles. Goldmoonbecame the first true Cleric of Krynn aftermany dark centuries! Truly fate has shinedupon us.

But even now, as the weary adventurersjourney back toward the imagined safety ofSolace, the Dragonlords’ armies are on themarch. Solace has been laid waste. Evenmighty Pax Tharkas has fallen to the invaders.Imprisoned there are the families of manybrave northmen, hostages for fathers and hus-bands toiling in the iron mines surroundingthat fortress.

Where will the heroes, armed with scantknowledge, go from here? They must hurry,else Krynn is doomed.

Although weary, I must keep watching. Ishall return to my golden chair, once againgaze into the crystal globe, and let my spiritjoin the Innfellows on their quest. . .

Here ends this chapter of the Iconochronos.

“Dragons of Flame” is the second in the epicDRAGONLANCE™ series, and is designed asa sequel to DL1: “Dragons of Despair.”

DRAGONLANCE is a story. The mod-ules in the series should ideally be played as awhole, a continuing saga. Players may take onthe roles of characters in this epic quest; thecharacter information on pages 17-18 may begiven to the players. (Permission is herebygranted to copy pages 17-18 only for personaluse in playing this module) You may alsochoose to allow players to bring their ownexisting characters into the game. If so, you

will need to adjust certain characteristics tobring your characters in line with the world ofKrynn, which is different from many AD&D™adventure settings.

If you allow players to bring in their owncharacters, but sti l l want to play out theD R A G O N L A N C E e p i c , t h e f o l l o w i n gDRAGONLANCE characters must be either

player characters (PCs) or non-player charac-ters (NPCs) active in the story: Tanis, Gold-moon, Caramon, and Raistl in. (The playerp l a y i n g G o l d m o o n s h o u l d a l w a y s p l a yRiverwind as a Henchman NPC; Caramonand Raistlin may be played by the same per-son if necessary.) Tika Waylan and Gilthanasthe Elf are initially encountered as NPCs, but

may be taken by players thereafter and used asPCs for the rest of the epic.

You may also choose to adapt the settingsand encounters in this module to fit your owncampaign, and not play this as part of theDRAGONLANCE series. In doing so, youwill lose much of the richness of this world,but may use the material as you see fit.

the world of krynn

There are important differences between theworld of Krynn and standard AD&D cam-paigns. Characters who adventured in “Drag-ons of Despair” (DL1) will know most of thefollowing information. Those players andcharacters new to the world should be giventhe following background.

True clerics have been unknown in Krynnfor centuries. There are clerics, but they donot have spell powers since they worship falsegods. In DL1, the adventurers gained knowl-edge of the gods, and Goldmoon has becomethe first true cleric (with spell use) since theCataclysm. Goldmoon wears a Medallion ofFaith bearing the symbol of the GoddessMishakal. (Any PC cleric brought in from out-side the DRAGONLANCE mil ieu shouldserve the Goddess Mishakal, and wear aMedallion of Faith.) When a new true cleric

comes into being (as Elistan does in the nextmodule), the Medallion magically duplicatesitself, and the new Medallion bears the sign ofthe god that cleric worships (in Elistan’s case,the God Paladine).

A l l P C e l v e s i n t h i s a d v e n t u r e a r eQ u a l i n e s t i e l v e s . O t h e r e l v e s — t h eSylvanesti—will appear in later DRAGON-LANCE modules.

The equivalent of a halfling in this worldis called a Kender. Kender look like wizened14-year-olds and, unlike halflings, they wearshoes. These folk have two special abilities (inaddition to the usual halfling abilities):

1 . Taunt . Kender are master a t enrag ingother by verbal abuse. Any creature theKender taunts must save vs. Spells orattack wildly at once for 1-10 rounds at a -2penalty to hit and a +2 penalty to theirarmor class.

2. Fearlessness. Kender are immune to fear,either magical or non-magical. They are,however, curious about everything: a ten-dency that often gets them into trouble.

Of course, PC elves and halflings will be awareof the above information.

Gold is nearly valueless in the world ofKrynn. Steel (abbreviated “stl”) is the basictrade metal. One steel (stl) is the same weightas 1 gp. See DL1 for details. PCs that enterKrynn from other campaign environmentsmay find their personal wealth drasticallyaltered.

Finally, dragons have been absent fromKrynn for nearly 1,000 years. They are consid-ered merely legends by all who have not per-sonal ly beheld them. Characters may bethought foolish, or liars, if they talk aboutdragons to the wrong people.

dungeonmaster notes

DRAGONLANCE is a complex epic, filledwith detail, legend and history not found inmost modules. To run this module properly,you must think of it as a story, and try to moti-vate your players subtly to follow the rightpath. It is particularly important that you readthe module several times, visualize the story,and think about the different things yourplayers might do. No matter what, it will benecessary for you to improvise and ad lib fromtime to time. Successful improvisation is thesign of a good Dungeonmaster.

This module introduces several enemyNPCs, members of the Dragonarmies. Sincethese NPCs appear in later DRAGONLANCEmodules, try to make them have “obscuredeaths” if they are killed: if at all possible,their bodies should not be found. Then, whenthe NPCs appear in later modules, you have achance to explain their presence. Be creative;think up an explanation for their “miracu-lous” survival. The same rule applies to thePCs on pages 17-18. Most of them have rolesin future modules, and must be able to return

to life somehow. This does not apply to PCsother than those who are part of the story.

The text of the module refers to playercharacters in various shorthand forms: PCs,adventurers and/or heroes. Read boxed textsections aloud to your players.

If you are playing DL2 without havingplayed DLl, you must get your groupembarked on a journey to the tree-city of Sol-ace. They should hear tales of this elegantcommunity, and perhaps find that it liesdirectly in their path. In particular, a trustedNPC should tell them about the magnificenthospitality and good cheer offered by the Innof the Last Home. This NPC should also men-tion Tika Waylan as an old and trustworthyfriend.

Once this background is established, theadventure begins with encounter 1 below(Que Kiri).

The first 24 numbered encounters andevents in the module occur at various timesand in various sequences, depending on thedecisions the players make. Things are hap-

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pening rapidly in Krynn: the draconian armyis invading from almost all directions, and cer-tain things should happen to the characterswhatever path they take across the wilderness.

However, when the adventure “movesindoors” into Sla-Mori and Pax Tharkas, it isstructured more like a traditional dungeonadventure. This is to reflect the more stablenature of the ancient Sla-Mori and the well-organized draconian fortress.

At certain times in the adventure, charac-ters may have to make a Characteristic Check.If such a Check is necessary, the player rolls ad20. If the result is equal to or less than thePC’s ability score in the area called for in thecheck (Strength, Wisdom, Dexterity, etc.),the check succeeds.

The third panel of the module cover con-tains a color map of the area where theseadventures take place. Refer to this mapthroughout the adventure, and show it to theplayers when the heroes are talking to theelven speaker in Qualinesti.

Start the characters at the spot marked “X” onthe area map. They are moving westward on acloudy, chill afternoon.

Great pillars of smoke rise from beyondthe Sentinel Peaks—a grim sign that thereis trouble in Solace. How much of theonce-mighty forest of vallenwood trees hasfallen to fire? The grasslands that stretchtoward Que Kiri—a town at the gap in themountains—are hot and dry. The smokeadds an eerie touch of darkness to theautumn afternoon.

“Your journey is not complete; youmust leave here, must search for a trueLeader of the People.” This strange mes-sage, spoken through the statue of thegoddess Mishakal, suggests that your mis-sion is far from over. Where in the vastworld of Krynn will this search lead?

Here on the barren Plains of Abana-sinia, the late autumn wind bites sharply.The yellow-brown grass withers in therushing cold, but the feeling is much moredisturbing than that of a normal change ofseasons.

At many places, the plains are markedby the tracks of crude, two-wheeled cartsand many clawed footprints. Thousandsmust have passed this way. Nothing is alivehere—neither the wild animals that nor-mally inhabit these areas nor the occasionalsettler scratching a living from the harshland.

Most ominous of all these signs arethe great black scars stretching for hun-dreds of yards along the ground, oftenthrough the charred remains of farm-houses. Fire has gutted and collapsed thesedwellings. The thick smell of death anddecay fills the air, and even the wind issilent.

The PCs should have no random encoun-ters during this trek, since the Dragonlords’army has laid waste to the area. As the PCsapproach Solace, this army is sacking thesouthern cities of Gateway and Que-Teh andadvancing to the White-rage River. To theSouth, they have seized the fortress of PaxTharkas, aided by treachery from within thecitadel. Even now, their slaves are working theTharkadan mines.

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1. The Witness

Que Kiri is almost as barren as the sur-rounding plains. Most of the buildings areshattered and burned, and many black-ened bodies sprawl in the empty streets.The air is hot and thick, laced with theodor of ash and decay.

Spl in tered t imbers and scorchedstones litter the narrow streets, and smokedrifts through the abandoned town. Every-thing is dead and silent. Suddenly, a faintgroan rises from behind some collapsedbeams.

The groan comes from a badly burned oldman who lies at the verge of death. If the PCsinvestigate immediately, they find him beforehe dies. If they wait more than a round, how-ever, they are too late.

The old man lies under the wreckage ofan inn, the heavy crossbeam pinning his legsto the ground. In addition to his burns, he haslost much b lood. The man has just beenblinded, so the PCs must make noise to alerthim to their presence.

The old man is very confused and fright-ened. His pattern of speech is jerky and halt-ing, but he says this:

“Didn’t you see it? You must have seen it!From the nor th. . . they came f rom thenorth! From between the mountains. Firstthe terrors that rode the great wyrms...theycame into our town and fear f i l led ourbreasts . We fought , though. Yes! Wefought long and hard, but sti l l more ofthem came on leather wings...straight outof the old legends they came, fire splash-ing like waves over our homes.

Many fled...many died. Those whoran fell among the small demons—man-sized but looking like their larger masters.I don’t know where they took my peo-ple...I was too clever for them. I hid! Yes, Ihid!

When shall my people return? Whatshall become of my garden?”

These are the old man’s last words. Treat hishit points as -10 at this point; if a PC clericperforms a cure that brings him to at least 1hp, he revives. However, he will lose 1 hp/turn and have no further memory of his expe-rience. Eventually he dies.

2. The Draconians

Nine draconians still skulk in the wreckage ofQue Kiri, concealed in some rubble in thecenter of the town. They attack the PCs atsome point. If the characters seek out and lis-ten to the old man, this attack occurs as soonas he dies; if they do not find the man, havethe draconians attack at any time when theparty is in the ruined town.

9 Kapak Draconians. AL LE; MV 6”[15”]/18”; hp 14 each; HD 3; #AT 1(shortsword); Dmg 1-6 + poison; acid pool

The Kapaks are overconfident from theirrecent victories: they toy with the PCs beforeattacking. The monsters emerge into plainsight 180’ from the PCs and then pause around. They lick their swords with long, rep-tilian tongues. (This envenoms the blade for 3rounds.) The next round, using their wings toaccelerate the charge, the draconians attack.They fight to the death.

See the complete description of thesemonsters in Appendix 3: Monsters, Creaturesand Men.

3. Journeys Across the Land

If the PCs decide to continue to Solace, go toChapter 6: Solace. Read the opening encoun-ter as the party crests the pass in the SentinelPeaks between Que Kiri and Solace.

If the heroes decide to spend the nighthere, begin to make wander ing monsterchecks immediately. This reflects the growingtide of scavenging creatures following theDragonlords’ army from a distance. Treat QueKiri and areas just east of it as plains; the PCsreach mountains as soon as they leave thetown toward the west. The dragonmen haveconquered all of the areas off the north andeast map edges. If the PCs leave the map atthese edges, move immediately to event 5:“Captured!”

4. The Dragonlands

At the start of this adventure, the dragonar-mies have conquered all of the lands on themap except Qualinesti. Although folk sti l llive in these areas, the Dragonlords have abso-lute power. If the PCs wander through theseareas, let several days pass with the usual ran-dom encounters, then go to encounter 5:“Captured!”

A l l v i l l a g e s a n d t o w n s o u t s i d e o fQualinesti have been captured and damaged,but most have not been entirely destroyed.Que Kiri, New Ports, and Que Teh have beenrazed: no buildings stand and no originalinhabi tants remain. Treat these areas as“ruins” for random encounters.

All other communities are in similarshape to Solace: they have been conquered,losing some buildings and some people. Afew businesses and farms survive to provideservices for the dragonarmies. The conquerorsterrorize the people: for example, draconiansmay use a farmer’s family as hostages to forcehim to help feed the dragonarmies. Treatthese areas as “towns” for random encounterchecks.

5. Captured!

This encounter returns the PCs to their epicpath if they stray or dally. Run the encounterwhen the party is in open terrain (plains or lowmountains) and has no place to hide.

Two specks of crimson approach in the farnorthern sky. As they rush south they seemto g row , f o rm ing m igh t y eng ines o fdeath—red dragons. The monsters diveswiftly, and upon their backs sit creatureswho seem to be a miniature version of theterrible steeds. The riders’ faces bear a lookof serpentine evil: l izardlike faces andcold, gleaming eyes.

The dragons land less than 100’ away.From the one of the riders, a hollow,metallic voice rings:

“Drop your weapons, little mortals,or you shall feel the heat of my pet inanger.” He strokes his dragon’s broad neck.Both dragons bellow menacingly; theireyes glitter, and wisps of smoke curl fromtheir nostrils.

2 Old Red Dragons AL CE; MV 9”/124”;hp 60 each; AC -1; HD 10; #AT 3 orbreath; Dmg 1-8/1-8/3-30

2 Kapak Draconian Riders. AL LE; MV6”[15”]/18”; hp 13,16; AC4; HD 3; #AT1 (longsword); Dmg 1-6 + poison; acidpool

The dragonriders will try to capture the heroesif at all possible, but they are willing to fightto the death.

Within an hour of their capture, theheroes will be surrounded by several hundredKapak Draconians. Their weapons and otherpossessions are removed and they are loadedinto a huge wheeled cage and taken to Solace.There they will become part of the caravan tothe south. Go to Chapter 7: The Slave Cara-van.

At Solace, Tika Waylan, Theros Ironfeldand the elf Gilthanas are thrown into the cagewith the PCs.

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Begin this section when the heroes reach thepass in the mountains just east of Solace.

The scene bears no resemblance to thelofty forest that was here only a week ago.The beautiful and legendary vallenwoodtrees have been hacked, uprooted, andburned. Only a few of the mighty trees stillstand among a vast ruin of blackenedbranches and low, thick stumps.

The elegant tree-city of Solace is nowonly a few ramshackle huts on the groundamidst the wreckage. South of the city,strange creatures are building a tall polefence. Apparently they intend to fence inthe ravaged community.

In a central square cleared of scorchedb ranches and smashed homes , manyblackened stakes have been driven into theground, like a dark parody of some ancienttemple of the true gods.

Unlike Que-Kiri, however, Solace isnot a ghost town. A few lights twinkle inthe windows of some of the buildings, andhumans, dwarves, and elves can all be seenaiding in the construction of the fence.They seem to be taking orders from a num-ber of whip-wielding dragonmen. Manyother bands of dragonmen are visible pok-ing through the brush of the fallen trees.These bands are heavily armed, and seemto be organized into patrols.

As darkness falls, lights begin to flicker in anumber of buildings in town. If the PCs ask,tell them that the guard patrols seem to becasual and unorganized. It seems as thoughslipping by the patrol and into town would befairly easy.

In fact, the PCs can get to the Inn of theLast Home without incident, unless they aredownr ight be l l igerent toward draconianguards. In this case, use the Random Encoun-ter Table (nos. 4 or 21) for an encounter withKapak draconians.

Once the PCs are in the town, they cansee the remains of the Last Home Inn, oncelodged in the branches of a vallenwood tree,sitting somewhat awkwardly on the ground.Now only half remains, but makeshift wallsand kitchen allow it to be open for business.

Many other bu i ld ings sprawl on theground, most of them smashed beyond recog-nition. Fires smolder here and there amid thewreckage, and survivors scratch through therubble in search of a few former possessions.Moans of pain and the cries of babies carrythrough the town.

Very few healthy men remain in town;those who survived the invasion now work themines of Pax Tharkas. Most of the inhabitantsare too old to fight, or are the widows andchildren of soldiers killed in the war.

The only businesses other than the LastHome Inn that have survived are a large black-

smith shop which was always on the groundand a battered general store which apparentlylanded on its side and was righted. Dragon-men have taken over these two places.

Frequent patrols of dragonmen wanderthe streets of Solace, more concerned withbullying lone peasants or carousing with theircomrades than with guard duty. If the PCs donot start any trouble and do not display weap-ons, the draconians do not bother them. If,however, the PCs act bell igerent or showweapons, the guards attack them: consult theRandom Encounter Table for a battle withKapak Draconians (Nos. 4 or 21).

If the PCs do fight the draconians in thestreets, they will find themselves surroundedby over 100 Kapak reinforcements when thebattle is over. The Kapak will disarm themand load them into a cage of the slave caravan.Go to Chapter 7: The Slave Caravan.

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6. The Inn of the Last Home her aid, immediately after the melee in the

Use the map on page 15 to run this encounter.The map is scaled for use with miniatures; ifyou wish you may remove it from the bookand place the miniatures right on the page.

A smoky fire struggles in the blackenedstove, feebly challenging the gloom in thetown. In sharp contrast to the usual livelycrowd, the few patrons present are lost intheir own thoughts. No one smiles, nordoes anyone seem interested in the arrivalof a few more customers.

A thin, cloaked figure sits alone at atable near the door, an untouched glass ofale before him. Three old men crouchabove a table in the back of the inn, staringsilently at the dirty tabletop. The usuallybustling inn is otherwise empty.

One familiar note carries good cheerwith it, however: the aroma drifting fromthe kitchen—a mixture of onions, chives,garlic, and mysterious herbs-shows thatOtik Sandath still rules the realm of cook-ing. The cheery sizzling can only meanthat his famous spiced potatoes are heatingeven now over glowing coals.

Suddenly the door of the makeshiftkitchen bursts open, and the spill of torch-light outlines the figure of Tika the bar-maid. She holds a steaming pan in herright hand, a foaming pitcher in her left.“Sit down!” she orders, her loud voice outo f p l a c e i n t h e s o m b e r t o w n . “ G i tsomethin’ to eat—you look like a pack ofs tarved rats . ” Her vo ice fa l ls as sheapproaches: “and then we’ve got to talk.”

Tika guides the party to a table in the rear,away from the few customers. After servingthe PCs whatever they order, she pulls a chairto the table and sits in it. She sets a heavy ironpan full of steaming potatoes next to her, aftershe sees that everyone gets a portion.

NPC Capsule:Tika Waylan (Pan-Wielder). Human; F4(former T3); AL NG; S14, 19, Wl6, Dl2,C13, Chlo; MV 12”; hp 22; AC 8

Carries a heavy pan (Dmg 1-8) and a dagger.Has standard level 3 Thief Skills.

Curly auburn hair tumbles around Tika’slightly freckled face. Her striking greeneyes match her low-cut blouse, and thekulots tucked into her boots allow herg r e a t f r e e d o m o f m o v e m e n t . A f u rtrimmed leather vest actually doubles aseffective leather armor if she gets involvedin unexpected trouble. She wears a goldring on a chain around her neck.

Tika is a brash young barmaid wholooks older than her 19 years. Rough livinghas hardened her, and she presents a toughimage as insulation against her sense of

vulnerability. Indeed she has certain child-like qualities: a fascination with magic anda fear of heights. Formerly quite happy atthe Inn of the Last Home, she now nurses abitter hatred toward the dragonmen whohave invaded her home. She realizes that itis just a quest ion of t ime before herpatience with the brutal conquerors wearsout and she does something rash and fool-ish.

Tika is a former 3rd level thief.

Tika fidgets in her chair and looks over hershoulder at every sound. She whispers that shewants to leave Solace and accompany the PCson their journeys. She quietly leads the con-versation around to this topic, pretending tobe bored with life in town. This “boredom”disguises her very real fear of the dragonmen.As the PCs talk with Tika, move directly intoencounter #7 below.

7. Unwelcome Guests

Shortly after the conversation begins, 5 KapakDraconians burst into the Inn, sit down at atable near the PCs, and loudly demand serv-ice. Tika grimaces and rises to wait on them,doing her best to ignore their crude behavior.

While the barmaid spoons potatoes fromher large pan, the cloaked figure who wasseated near the door rises and approaches thePCs. The robe still covers his head and most ofhis face, but as he passes the draconians, oneof them pulls the garment off to reveal ahandsome elf. At once the invaders begin toshove the unfortunate character around, glee-fully bullying him.

No matter what the PCs do, Tika has hadenough of this bullying. With a scream ofrage, she slams the pan down on the head ofone draconian, automatically hitting him fordouble the normal damage (2-16).

5 Kapak Draconians. AL LE; MV 6”[15”]/18”; hp 14 each; AC 4; HD 3; #AT 1(shortsword); Dmg 1-6 + possible poison;acid pool

If the PCs join in, a melee obviously begins.Any dragonman who spends a round in whichPCs or friendly NPCs do not attack him willlick his blade to envenom the weapon for 3rounds.

If the PCs do not come to Tika’s aid, thedragonmen subdued her quickly and carry herout of the Inn. The PCs will next meet her inthe cage on the caravan to Pax Tharkas.

8. Prisoners of the Guard

Read this passage to the players after Tika hasbeen arrested, or, if the players have come to

Inn:

Heavy feet clatter outside, and eerie torch-light flickers through chinks in the door-way and wall. Suddenly the door splintersinward, and a crowd of draconians burstsinto the room.

Leading the band is a swaggering uglyhobgoblin, the stench of his unwashedbody preceeding him by several feet. Hesneers as he advances across the room,flanked by four solid draconians to eitherside. Beyond, dozens more of the creaturesstand in the sinister l ight of their owntorches.

NPC Capsule:Fewmaster Toede, Subcommander in Dra-gonlord’s Northern Army. Hobgoblin; F4;ALLE; Sl6,18, Wll Dlo, Cl6; Ch6; MV12”; hp 22; can leap up to 30’

Carries short sword, dagger,studded leather armor.

shield. Wears

Toede’s wispy white hair tops a very uglyface. His speckled gray skin, double chins,and pot belly all resemble those of a viciouslittle toad.

Toede is a bu l ly . He sn ive ls andwhines around superiors, but is full ofbluster and threats when he has the upperhand. Like all bullies, he is cowardly; buthe possesses a certain crude cunning whichhelps him to stay alive and prosper.

8 Kapak Draconian Escort. AL LE; MV6”[15”]/18”; hp 15 each; AC 4; HD 3;#AT 1 (shortsword); Dmg 1-6 + possiblepoison; acid pool

If the heroes helped Tika fight the draconians,Toede arrests them for brawling. Otherwise,he sneers as he recites charges of “trespass andmalicious destruction in the realm of XakTsaroth,” then places the party under arrest. Ifthe PCs resist, those draconians outside theinn swarm indoors to overcome them.

4 0 K a p a k D r a c o n i a n s . A L L E ; M V6”[15”]/18”; hp 15 each; AC 4; HD 3;#AT 1 (shortsword); Dmg 1-6 + possiblepoison; acid pool

The draconians disarm the party and seize allvisible possessions except for rings and armor.A character has a base 50% chance to hide asmall object on his person. Make this checkprivately, modifying for any factors that seemrelevant. Thieves’ tools and spell books can-not be hidden!

The dragonmen tie the heroes’ handsand lead them through the rubble of Solace toan open space that once functioned as a townsquare. Tika Waylan and the elf from the Innare brought with them. All PCs and the twoNPCs are herded into a caged wagon.

7

8

Here the dragonmen load the heroes onto aslave caravan and move them south. On theway, the PCs learn a few things and, if they arepatient, benefit from a timely rescue.

Gritty smoke drifts from a few lingeringfires through the clearing, adding a ghostlythickness to the air. Many hobgoblins anda few dragonmen scramble about, loadingthings onto several large wagons. Beyondthese wagons,the smoke- lifts brieflyaround three large cages. Each is mountedon a sturdy four-wheeled carriage

The hobgoblin commander screamshis orders above the bustle and chattering,and all of the monsters leap to obey “Few-master Toede.” Another group of pris-oners—mostly women and children—aredragged into the clearing and roughlyloaded into one of the cages. At the sametime, Fewmaster Toede unlocks the door ofthe heaviest cage. His escort prods the pris-oners forward at swordpoint and thruststhem behind the solid iron bars. The cagedoor shuts with a heavy clang, and Toedelocks both of its locks himself.

Toede is assembling a caravan to carry pris-oners to Pax Tharkas, where slaves are neededto work the iron mines. The huge cages willcarry the captives, while the other two wagonsare loaded with routine supplies. The heroes’possessions will be loaded on the first wagon,where Toede intends to examine them andclaim a few items for his own.

The heroes’ cage also holds Gilthanas(the elf from the tavern), two soldiers fromSolace who fought against the Dragonlords,and Elistan—a high priest of Haven whobelieves in the false gods. Elistan will give noclue to his identity. He is an intelligent andperceptive man, however, and if confrontedwith evidence of a true cleric, will question hisfaith.

At this point Tika may become a playercharacter.

All three of the heroes’ human compan-ions are silent and depressed, since they knowthat their families have been taken to PaxTharkas as hostages. If prodded, they revealthis information, as well as the fact that theyturned themselves in because of the hostages.

The bars of the cage are much too heavyfor even the strongest character to bend. Thecage has two separate locks, both of whichmust be unfastened to open the door.

9. The Elven Stranger

The heroes quickly recognize the elf thatapproached them at the Inn. His hood isthrown back, since he no longer needs a dis-guise, and he talks to the adventurers.

NPC Capsule:Gilthanas, Warrior/Mage of Qualinesti.Elf; FS/MU4; AL CG; Sl2, 114, WlO,D16, C12, Ch13; MV12”; hp 17; AC 4.Spells:

1st Level: sleep, detect magic, magicmissile

2nd Level: levitate, webWears chain mail. Carries shield, longbow and20 arrows, longsword +1.

Long golden hair flows freely aboutthe shoulders of this handsome elf. Hisslight features give him a very youthfulappearance, which is belied by a certainharshness in his eyes. He moves nimbly,with quiet skill, and he is capable of greatquickness when the situation demands.

Gilthanas was serving as a messengerfor the elven king when he was captured bythe dragonmen. A fee l ing that he hasfailed overwhelms him, but this does notshow to outsiders. He succeeds in appear-ing both calm and confident; indeed, he issure that the elves wil l make a rescueattempt as the caravan passes Qualinesti.

Although he provides no details, Gilthanassuggests that fate is not always as unkind as itappears to be. He is friendly to the PCs andmakes an effort to cheer them up.

The caravan does not move, and the cap-tives are left without food or water for anentire day and night. The temperature atnight drops alarmingly, causing some veryuncomfortable and sleepless hours. Manyhobgoblins and draconians walk beside thewagons. Some of them carry bows, and willshoot at characters who do anything suspi-cious.

If PCs hatch any rash plans of escape,Gilthanas counsels caution, saying that thechances may be much better later. If askedwhat this means, he only smiles

10. A Chilly Sunrise

As dawn colors the sky, the autumn chillmakes another onslaught. Heavy mistsobscure the nearby ruins of Solace, andghostly figures flit among the wagons. Sev-era l o f these f igures approach, and i tbecomes clear that they are draconians.They pour a foul-smelling slop into buck-ets in the nearby wagons.

A fierce clatter of swords disrupts themorning calm. Dry screams and yelps ofthe dragonmen rise above the crash ofmetal. Somewhere a deep human voicerings out in challenge, and the sounds offighting move toward the voice.

9

Gilthanas starts at the sound of thevoice. A look of alarm clouds his face.“That is Theros Ironfeld, elf-friend. Theevil ones must have learned of the aid hehas given my people. I fear that he will paywith his life.”

“The dragonmen would have takenme days ago, had it not been for the cour-age of that smith. He has smuggled elvesout of Solace since the city fell, with noregard for his own safety.”

The sounds of combat cease. A largeband of dragonmen hobble from the mist,carrying the bleeding figure of a hugeman. Under the watchfu l eyes of 30archers, the cage door is opened and theman is thrown inside.

Blood from the stump of his right armpools on the dirty floor. Moaning softly,but apparently unconscious, Theros Iron-feld slips toward death.

Any use of magical healing will save Ironfeld’slife, although he will be very weak (1 hp only).Without such aid, he will become still andlifeless 1 turn after he is thrown into thewagon. One of the soldiers from Solace willshout at the nearby draconians, “You’vekilled him!” Then the draconians open thecage (using the same procedure they did whenthey threw Ironfeld in), draw out the smith’sbody, and cast it into a nearby pile of rubble.

If any of the PCs use. magic to saveTheros, Gilthanas looks on with slightly raisedeyebrows. The three captive soldiersreactmore obviously, staring wide-eyed at thehealer and muttering about a “miracle.”

11. The Wagons Roll

A long day passes underneath a surpris-ingly warm sun. Draconian and hobgoblinguards remain on watch throughout theday, but no new prisoners are added to thecages. An air of waiting hangs over thewrecked town square.

As the sun drops behind the stumpsof the val lenwood forest , the wai t ingcomes to an end. The square suddenlyswarms with hobgoblins, goblins, and dra-conians, all following the orders of therepulsive Sergeant Toede. Huge elk arebrought forward from the vil lage pens,and four of the beasts are attached to eachwagon.

Darkness falls as the guards formranks before and after the column, whichconsists of three cage and two supply wag-ons. A driver and a guard climb into thefront of each and urge the elk forward. Thereddish glow of twilight provides one lastlook at the ruins of Solace as the caravanslips away to the south.

Sergent Toede rides a small, shaggy ponyalong the column, shouting orders to his sol-diers. He taunts the prisoners as he passes withtales of the dungeons of Pax Tharkas and ofthe Dragonlord waiting to meet them there.His servant, a young, unkempt gulley dwarfnamed Sestun, follows his master as best hecan. Sestun is constantly falling down or get-ting splashed by mud from the passing ofwagons, and finds it impossible to keep up.The PCs see him jog past their wagon often,his new metal helmet askew over a face domi-nated by a massive red nose. A battle axe ofdoubtful quality swings from the dwarfs side.

At the front of the column marches atroop of 45 Kapak Draconians, preceding thegoblins by about ¼ mile. One hundred gob-lins follow the draconians in a long line end-ing just before the first supply wagon. Thethree cages are next (the heroes are in the firstcage), and another supply wagon follows. Lastin line is a force of 100 hobgoblins.

Two hobgoblins man each wagon. Thefront supply wagon contains all of the PCs’equipment as well as a load of swords andshields. The last wagon is filled with grain.

12. Gilthanas’ Tale

Through the long night the wagons rollever southward. The towering summits ofthe Twin Peaks Pass soon fall to the rear.Winding out of the mountains, the cara-van passes through a dark and s i lenttown-the formerly bustling communityof Gateway. Obviously the Dragonlordshave been at work here.

South of Gateway, the p la ins ofAbanasinia spread to all sides. For severalhours, the caravan makes good time acrossthe dull flatlands, until the sound of flow-ing water whispers far to the south.Shortly, the caravan trundles over the onlybridge to cross the mighty White-rageRiver.

Now the land rises. More trees linethe ascending trail. The Elvenhome ofQualinesti lies somewhere to the west.

“Pax Tharkas,” Gilthanas says qui-etly. “That must be our destination. It isbitter indeed that a monument to peacehas been perverted to the evil purposes ofslavery.”

I f any PC quest ions h im, Gi l thanasbegins the following tale:

“Long ago, in the near forgotten Age ofDreams, Ki th-Kanan led the e lves toQualinesti. The Second Dragon War ofSilvanesti had brought these western elvesgreat fame back in their ancient home. ButSi lvanos, K ing of the Si lvanest i , fe l tu n e a s y a t t h e r i s e t o p o w e r o f t h eQualinesti elves.

“Yet when the Kinslayer war with thehuman kingdom of Ergoth erupted, theking did not hesitate to call upon theQualinesti. The war was long and bloody,leaving scars that no treaty could heal.Thus, when borders were agreed upon andthe bloodshed halted, the elves of the westfelt removed from their kin, and wantedno part of the ancient home of Silvanesti.

“With the scribing of the Sword-sheath scroll, many problems of the worldwere laid to rest. The King of Ergoth gavethe western elves a magical wooded placeof great beauty and natural harmony-thel a n d t h a t h a s c o m e t o b e k n o w n a sQualinesti.

“Sad was Silvanos the king, when hiseldest son Kith-Kanan chose to lead thewestern elves to their new home. Deep wasthe split between the two elven kingdoms.Silvanesti continued to follow the loftyancient ways, removed from the other peo-ples of Krynn, while Kith-Kanan and theQualinesti made peace, traded, and inter-married with their neighbors.

“Perhaps the greatest accomplish-ment of a great life was Kith-Kanan’s sign-i n g o f a p e r m a n e n t p e a c e w i t h t h eMountain Dwarves of Thorbardin. Sharingtheir knowledge and skills, the two peoplesbuilt the mighty fortress of Pax Tharkas atthe border of their two lands. For manycenturies Pax Tharkas was a bastion ofpeace and safety—a symbol of the coopera-tion among folk of different backgroundand race.

“Even now, as we hear that the for-tress is in the hands of the dragonmen, Icannot believe that it has fallen to storm.Only the darkest treachery from within thewalls could have led to this sorry outcome.”

13. Fight For Freedom

Suddenly a wavering call rolls from thewoods off to the west, like the cry of someelegant bird. Gilthanas stiffens,. brings afinger to his lips. Another call floats fromthe east, and now the elf responds with hisown call.

Immedia te ly , the caravan guardsbegin to shriek and whimper. The driver ofthe cage wagon slumps forward, an arrowbristling in his neck. Quickly, the guard atthe driver’s side draws his sword and leapsto the ground; a deadly arrow whistles intohis breast.

Sergeant Toede gallops from the rearof the column, screaming to his troops todraw arms and face the unseen foe. He bar-rels into his gulley dwarf servant, andberates the poor creature with a volley ofcurses.

10

“On your feet, you pitiful worm, andcover my glorious retreat. Above all, dog,these prisoners are not to escape!” Stagger-ing beneath his weight, Toede’s horse car-ries him to the front of the column, wherethe sounds of fighting are the faintest.

The little dwarf climbs to his feet,muttering under his breath. He adjusts hisoversized helmet and raises a fist in thedirection of his master. He still grumbles ashis eyes wander to the cage holding theheroes.

Hois t ing h is dented bat t leaxe, hemoves to the locks holding the cage shut,and shatters them with two solid blows. Asthe door swings open, the l itt le gulleydwarf disappears into the underbrush.

Although freedom lies just beyondthe swinging cage door, the battle outsideis becoming more violent. Several elvenwarriors glide from the darkened woods,but many of the goblin guards have rushedto the scene as well.

20 Goblins. AL LE; MV 6”; hp 4 each; AC6; HD 1-1; #AT 1 (shortsword); Dmg 1-6

Characters may leave the cage at the rate oftwo per round. They can pick up shortswordsin 1-3 rounds: many of the guards droppedtheir weapons when felled by arrows. The 20goblins arrive at the rate of 2 per round, andall concentrate on the prisoners from the PCscage.

The 3 warriors from Solace refuse toescape, because their families are imprisonedin Pax Tharkas. Gilthanas, however, joins thefray.

The elven rescuers free the prisoners,mostly women and children, from the othertwo cages, and escort them into the forest. Ifthe PCs follow after dispatching the goblins,they have no more combat here.

The heroes may try to regain their posses-s ions f rom the supply wagon, which hashalted immediately before them.

If they try to recover their supplies, theymust dispatch a detail of hobgoblins who haverushed back to the battle. Once they havedone this, they may recover everything andmake an escape into the forest following Gil-thanas. If they choose to go elsewhere, turn toevent 14; though he will urge going into theforest, Gilthanas accompanies the party.

16 hobgoblins. AL LE; MV 9”; hp 6 each;AC 5; HD 1+1; #AT 1 (longsword); Dmg1-8

Carefully laid elven traps tangle draconianpatrols who might want to pursue. Soon allsounds of pursuit grow faint and disappear.

11

The heroes are taken into the sacred realm ofQualinesti, and learn of a high task which mayfall to them. Of course, any elf PC is receivedquite hospitably—but half-elves are treatedwi th the same suspic ion as humans anddwarves.

Dawn lightens the woods as the last soundsof pursuit fade. The tall elf who seems tobe in command calls a halt. The escapedprisoners and their escort of two dozenelven warriors stand in a large clearingb r i g h t w i t h d e w a n d s t r i p e d b y t h eshadows of ghostly pines.

Gilthanas speaks earnestly with theleader of the war party, and introduces himas Porthios. Porthios then turns to thefreed prisoners and says: “People of Sola-ce...you are free from the cages of the Dra-gonlords. Where you can go I cannot say,for all the land is wracked by their evil.

“I suggest you try the south, for oncepast Pax Tharkas you might find safety inthe realms of the southlands. I am not surewhat you may find there; but the heavy fistof our foe has battered everywhere in thenorth country.”

He turns from the mass of prisoners tothe PCs. “I would ask that you please comewith me, through the sacred realms ofQualinesti to our capital of Qualinost Gil-thanas has told me something of yourstory; I know it would please my people tohear more.”

14. Away From the Elves

If the heroes accompany the elves, skip thissection. If not, here is detailed the state of theworld in which they may travel.

To the north, two dragonarmies movesouth for the invasion of Qualinesti. To thesouth, Pax Tharkas blocks the only path. Tothe west lies Qualinesti, still an elven strong-hold.

If the players go north, they have randomencounters (see Random Encounter Table) forthe next game day. Then they run into onesquad of Kapak draconians (use entry #4 onthe Random Encounter Table) per game hour.These dragonmen fight to the death, andthere are an infinite supply of squadrons. Ifthe party goes south, run the adventure thesame as you would were they going north oreast: one day from the rescue, the southerndragonarmy leaves Pax Tharkas to march onQualinesti. (See Encounters 19 and 21.) ThePCs will encounter an elven war party (west) ifthey attempt to enter Qualinesti unescorted:

40 Elf Warriors. AL CG; MV 12”; hp 7each; AC 5; HD 1+1; #AT 1 (sword orarrow); Dmg 2-9 or 1-6

In addition, the following higher rankingelves are present:

3 Elf Fighters. F3; AL CG; MV 12”; hp 20each; AC 4; #AT 1 (longsword or arrow);Dmg 3-10 or 2-7

1 Elf Magic-user. MU5; AL CG; MV 12”;hp 13; AC 8; #AT 1 (dagger); Dmg 1-4.Spells:1st level: charm person, sleep, magic mis-sile, shield2nd level: invisibility, web3rd level: slow

The magic-user is invisible, following the PCsclosely . I f combat breaks out , the e lvesattempt to subdue and capture the heroes.Gilthanas will try to stop the fight, but willnot join either side.

If the PCs move away from Qualinesti,Gilthanas goes with them, taking Theros Iron-feld with him. Have them meet Eben Shatter-stone as described in encounter 22: If theparty is captured and taken to Qualinesti, pickup the adventure as described in encounter16.

15. The Secret Ways

The tall elf called Porthios leads the waythrough the pine forest. As dawn creeps todaylight, a deep roaring sound thunders inthe far distance. After several hours, it isobvious that the source of the sound is ahuge water fa l l , p lummet ing f rom anunimagineable height.

The path westward is blocked by amassive gray cliff of dark granite. Thepines march right to the cliff base; fromthere smooth stone ascends for nearly amile. A fringe of green at the summit sug-gests that more forest lies beyond.

Por th ios leads the way through achuckling stream to the base of the falls,where a deep, clear pool collects the out-f low of the tower ing spume. Steppingnimbly from rock to rock, the elf crossesthe pool and enters a darkened hollow thatgapes behind the waterfall.

Here, a steep stairway, cut from theliving rock of the cliff-face, begins toascend. A curtain of silvery water shedsl ight on the secret way. The path isstrangely easy, turning beneath the water-fall until it finally emerges under a clearautumn sun, a top the h igh p la teau o fQualinesti.

Aspen forests shiver in the noonbrightness, the trunks reflecting an ivorywhiteness. The fresh, earthy scent of mossrides the air. A soft trail spread with ever-green needles seems to appear magicallybefore Porthios as he leads the way furtherinto the wood.

16. Qualinost

After several more hours of providing asmooth path through the woods, the nee-dle-strewn forest floor ends abruptly infront of a deep chasm. Rolling blankets ofmoss coat both sides of the 100’ wide gap;bil lowing mist far below suggests thatrapid waters cut along the chasm bottom.A narrow footbr idge, suspended f romsturdy aspens, spans the chasm.

Gilthanas speaks: “Qualinost is pro-tected on all sides by such barriers. Yet Ifear that even these will be of little aidagainst the dragonarmies.”

Across the bridge, a few slim towersappear through the aspens ahead. NowPorthios walks with a bouncing step, like atraveler who sees his home on the horizon.

The dense aspen forest thins out infront of the spires and arches of Qualinost.The city is small by human standards; bythe same token, no humans could everbuild a city like this. Four slender towerslined with silver mark the four corners ofthe roughly square city. Between each ofthese towers, strings of slender arches—also silver-stretch in an elegant chain.

A high tower of burnished gold domi-nates the city, throwing off sunlight in awhirling, sparkling pattern that gives theimpression of movement. Of course, thetower is quite still, but the illusion is veryrealistic indeed.

12

Beyond the arches, the wide, quartz-lined avenues of the city lie dappled in thestrange green forest light. Many of the citybuildings are made of quartz, too, andaspen beams inlaid with silver and gold.The buildings are tall and slender, blend-ing gracefully with the many aspens thatfill the city.

And everywhere, there is frantic activ-ity. Female elves and elf-children eitherrush about carrying large bundles towardthe cent ra l tower , or scamper towardhouses, empty-handed. The adult malesare all armed and alert, graceful bows andslim longswords ready to meet any foe.

Any elves in the party immediately realizethat this hustle and bustle is very much out ofplace. Because of the screen of warriors aroundthem, the PCs do not attract attention rightaway. Soon, however, an elf-child spots adwarf PC, if one is present (if not, a humanwill do) and, shrieking hysterically, flees to hismother. Soon all activity ceases as the citizensgawk at the procession of PCs and elf warriors.

Gilthanas and Porthios have been talkingquietly. Now Gilthanas turns: “I know youare all tired and need a well-deserved rest. Iask that f irst you accompany us to thetower of the Speaker, where you will meetthe Speaker of Suns, my father. As soon aspossible we will see you to comfortablequarters and refreshment.”

All of the elves are moving in the gen-eral direction of the lofty golden tower.Porthios and Gilthanas start off in thatdirection.

17. The Speaker of Suns

The following council occurs in the Tower ofthe Speaker. At first, the heroes will be specta-tors as the elves conduct business. At anytime, of course, a PC may have something tosay; and th is should be worked in to thedescription.

The Speaker will be aloof toward all butelves—especially cool toward the humans. Hewill not, however, be hostile or insulting. Asthe story grows clearer, and particularly if thecharacters fought beside Gilthanas at the Innof the Last Home, the Speaker’s attitude willwarm, but only slightly. If Tanis is with theheroes, the Speaker will recognize him, butwill be very cool toward him.

A pair of gilded doors swing silently open,into a chamber that looks much biggerthan the outside of the tower. The hugeroom has a white marble floor and walls.Many windows admit the sunlight andfresh air. Many elves stand here expect-antly.

The tallest elf here is dressed in aresplendent yellow robe, and his hair ist inged wi th s i lver . He steps forwardeagerly, opening his arms to embrace Gil-thanas and Porthios.

“My sons! I thought I would nevermeet you in th is wor ld again . ” For amoment, joy rises in his voice, and then hismanner becomes ser ious. “Gi l thanas,what of your raid?”

“Lord Speaker, my father,” says Gil-thanas solemnly, “I have failed. We trav-elled with all stealth southward as wasplanned; yet fate had us meet a north-bound army of the Dragonlord. I wasstruck upon my head and fell into a ravine,thinking that to be the end of my daysupon the face of Krynn.

“Some time later I awoke and foundtracks leading northward to Solace. Think-ing to free my warriors who may have beentaken prisoner, I followed. I found thatSolace has been taken and its vallenwoodforest razed.”

A gasp r ings through the counci lchamber at the thought of the mighty for-est levelled. Gilthanas lowers his eyes andspeaks his next words with difficulty. “Ifound my companions in the square, tiedto stakes made from the fallen trees. Alarge red dragon soared above them. Iwatched the people of Solace forced into alarge circle around the captives.

“A great and evil leader, hidden by abeastlike mask, rode the red dragon down-ward beside the stakes in the square. Hespoke as the serpent landed: ‘I am Vermi-naard, Dragonlord of this realm. I haveneed of all mortal beings in the great workof the Dragonlords. Those who obey shallserve me. Those who do not shall feel mywrath!’

“Then the dragon breathed f lameupon my fellows...” Gilthanas’ voice trailsoff, and he gestures toward Theros Iron-feld. “A kind of madness came over me,and had not this man restrained me I toowould have been burned into nothingness.He risked his life for me, and indeed, suf-fered the loss of his arm for the crime ofprotecting a frightened elf.”

Gilthanas then relates his acquaintance withthe heroes; he mentions any clerical spells thathe has seen used.

The Speaker becomes more polite towardthe PCs if they do nothing to deserve other-wise. If they mention clerical spells, he actsimpressed, saying that it has been more than acentury since such knowledge has been heldby the children of men. He does not volunteeranything about elven clerical magic; if the PCspersist in questioning him on the subject,however, he tells them that all the elven clericsdisappeared to the south at the time of theCataclysm.

it this time, the court poet steps forward andrecites the Canticle. Read the Canticle onpage 32 to your players or have your playersread it aloud. After the recital, the Speakermakes the following statement:

“It was the worst of times, the Great Sun-dering,” claims the Speaker. We keep whatwe know in memory and song. It was thenthat a great darkness fell, but now, as ourpoet will tell you, the darkest of the gloomis lifting.”

“Travellers, I shall have a place preparedfor you while you are among us. Follow mydaughter, and she shall see you comfort-ably tended. After you have had a chanceto wash, eat and sleep, I shall send for you.Time is indeed short.”

An except ional ly beaut i fu l e lvenmaiden moves forward from the onlook-ers . She cur ts ies s l ight ly toward theSpeaker before blessing the weary travelerswith a smile l ike a spring sunrise. Herbeauty seems greater as she moves closer;yet a childlike air about her belies the wis-dom in her eyes.

She glides toward the gilded doorsand they part for her, almost as if a gentlegust of wind persuaded them to open. Sheleads the way into the sun and leaf-speck-led streets of Qualinost.

18. Laurana of Qualinost

NPC Capsule:Laurana, Princess of Qualinesti. Elf; F3;AL CG; S13, I15, W12, D17, C14, Ch16;MV12”; hp 18; AC 0

Wears chain mai l +1. Carries shield andshortsword.

Long sandy hair surrounds Laurana’s child-like face. Her hazel eyes are very large, andat this point in her life, possess a certaininnocence. Her figure is slight, and herskin a rich woodland brown.

Laurana is a very spoiled little girlwhen first introduced to the adventurers.I n c h i l d h o o d , s h e a n d T a n i s w e r e“betrothed,” although it is uncertain howseriously the half-elf takes this childhoodvow. If Tanis is with the party, she will fawnon him, showing all of the signs of an ado-lescent crush. If he is not with the PCs, thisaffection should be directed at a male PCelf from Qualinesti, if at all possible. Shetends to sulk when she does not get herway, and also is skillful at using her goodlooks and charm to her advantage.

13

Destiny has an important role forLaurana in the Epic of the Dragonlance,and she will be called upon to grow up in ahurry. By highlighting her immaturity atthis point, you can increase the dramaticeffect of her growth upon your players.This little girl possesses an inner strengththat will one day lead armies!

Laurana takes the PCs to a pleasant, sun-dap-pled grove of aspens which flourishes in theheart of the city. Clear springs furnish freshwater, and many mossy beds seem to invitesleep. Pears, apples, and peaches all grow inprofusion, and Laurana urges the heroes to eattheir fill.

19. A High Council

As twilight descends over Qualinesti, Lauranarouses the heroes from their slumber and asksthem to attend a council in the Hall of the Sky.This “hall” turns out to be the central squareof Qualinost, where a cluster of stars are justappearing overhead. As the heroes arrive onthe scene, read the following. At the sametime, allow the players to look at the mosaicmap of Qualinesti found on the cover of themodule.

The entire population of Qualinesti seemsto be gathered around the wide square.The warriors are in the center ring, aroundthe Speaker and several of his chief lieu-tenants; the other men, women and chil-dren are more distant, but still observingthe proceedings.

A path opens through the crowd tothe center of the circle, and the Speakerlooks up with a cool stare as the heroes ofXak Tsaroth enter his sight. “Forgive oursomber air,” he says slowly. “These areheavy times, and we face the beginning ofa long and lonely road.

“Look, if you will, upon our situa-tion.” The Speaker gestures to a detailedmosaic on the ground. The colors andshapes seem to represent a map of somekind. As the circle of elves draws back, theland of Qualinesti and its surroundings aredisplayed entirely.

“Here and here,” the Speaker says,tapping the end of his staff against then o r t h e r n c o m m u n i t i e s o f S o l a c e a n dH a v e n . “ T w o h u g e a r m i e s o f t h eDragonlord Verminaard have gathered.Even now they prepare to invade theancient Elvenhome of Qualinesti. There isno way we can stand against the might ofsuch hordes.

“Our only choice is to flee Qualinesti tothe west, and hope to bring our peoplesafe ly to some land in that unknownregion.” The Speaker pauses to let hisremark sink in; for it is indeed stunning tothink of the elves of this fabled wood—elves who have lived here since the Age ofDreams-forced from their ancestral homeby the cruel might of the Dragonlords.

“St i l l a th i rd Dragonarmy po isesagainst us here.” Now the Speaker’s staffstrikes sharply on the narrow pass of PaxTharkas. “We have learned from captivesthat the Dragonlord would like to see therace of elves driven from Krynn; and theyhave nearly succeeded with respect to ourkin of Silvanesti.”

The heroes may wish to say something here, asthe Speaker pauses. Allow them to speak, andanswer questions if you feel they are appropri-ate. Eventually, work the conversation aroundto the speaker again, as he continues.

“Here, in the depths of Pax Tharkas, workthe warriors of Solace, Haven, and theother northern lands who were taken alive.Why would they slave in the mines, gain-ing iron for the forges of the Dragonlords?

“Because also here,” and the Speak-er’s staff strikes Pax Tharkas with a venge-ance, “are their women andchildren—hostages lest the warriors candisplay the rage and hatred that they mustfeel against their villainous masters. Thiswas the reason for Gilthanas’s mission onlya few short days ago. He and his band wereto enter Pax Tharkas by a hidden route-the Sla-Mori—known only to the elves.They would free the hostages and lead theslaves in a revolt, escaping to the south anddrawing the dragonarmy in pursuit.

“The humans can reach safety andelude the dragonmen, for the mountain-ous route contains many secluded valleyswhere they can hide. Yet they will neverhave a moment of freedom unless somemeans of rescue is offered.

“ I t is our be l ie f that you shouldaccept th is heavy task. Gi l thanas hasoffered to accompany your party and showyou the ways of the Sla-Mori, even theroom of the Great Chain—the quickestentrance to the fortress itself. If you acceptthis opportunity, you not only offer free-dom to those of your kin trapped withinthe walls of the fortress, but you offer ourbeleaguered fo lk a chance to escapeQualinesti alive, a chance to live that manyof ours were not given when your peoplecaused the Cataclysm, the turning away ofthe gods.”

Thus is presented the plight of the elves andthe suggestion for the heroes’ help. If the

heroes take on the quest , go d i rect ly toencounter 20 below. I f they dec l ine, godirectly to encounter 21.

20. Kidnap!

Speed is important, and Gilthanas feels thatthe party’s chances to enter Pax Tharkas aregreater if they enter the Sla-Mori at night;therefore the elf urges that the party leave thenext morning. This should bring them, after along day’s travel, to the mouth of Sla-Mori.Also, since draconians prefer not to travel byday, chances are less that the PCs will run intothem.

The council has adjourned. As they part,the people sing an ancient, haunting song ofthe elves. At this time, you may read or singthe song “Elvenhome” found on page 16.Immediately afterwards, read this passage.

Laurana leads the way back to the quiethilltop grove. “Sleep peacefully, for theroad tomorrow is long,” she whispers, andmoves silently down the hill.

Suddenly, the stillness of Qualinestishatters. A sharp female scream rises fromthe direction Laurana has gone. Even asthe echoes bounce from the hills, a darkshape b lacks out the moons, set t l ingamong the aspens of the city.

A wyvern, ridden by Fewmaster Toede, landsin Qualinost. Toede has decided to captureone of the party as a peace offering to Vermi-naard, who is surely going to be angry that thecaravan was raided and Gilthanas freed. Sixdraconians have also been carried to the elvencity, and even now move to attack the charac-ters. Whether the PCs move to investigate orsimply hold their ground, they are attacked bythe Kapaks as they see the huge serpent, nowbearing two riders, rise across the red moonand hear a voice shouting, “Your loyalty istouching, my little Kapaks! To give your livesis all that my grandness could ask of you!”

6 KapakDraconians. AL LE; MV 6”[15”]/18”; hp 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 19; HD 3; #AT1 (shortsword); Dmg 1-6 + poison; acidpool

The kapaks were sent by Toede to create adiversion, then abandoned. Left on their own,they fight to the death. The noise of the skir-mish will arouse the community, but no elvescan intervene unti l the battle between thekapaks and the heroes is over. By then, it willbe obvious that this was an isolated raid andnot a general attack.

If the PCs mention Laurana, the elveswill know of her absence at once. If not, it ismorning before they realize she is missing. Ineither event, nothing can be done about thekidnapping. The elves react to the kidnappingwith sad acceptance, and tell the heroes to

14

sleep while they have the chance, for the nextday’s mission must go ahead as planned.

While the heroes sleep, the elves loadtheir packs with two weeks’ worth of the nour-ishing elven quith-pa, a kind of dried fruit.Quith-pa functions in all respects as ironrations.

At this point, Gilthanas may become aplayer character. Theros elects to remain withthe elves.

21. If the Heroes Refuse the Elves

Of course, the Innfellows may reject the elves’appeal. In this case, the elves are considerablycolder to the PCs; they no longer extend theirhospitality, but ask the PCs to leave. The nextmorning, Gilthanas and a band of pickedelven warriors leave for Pax Tharkas, gravelyw e a k e n i n g t h e f i g h t i n g s t r e n g t h o f t h eQualinesti nation.

The elves do not bother the PCs if theyconsent to leave Qualinesti quietly. At the firstnightfall, cleric(s) in the party have a pro-phetic dream. Take your clerics aside and readthem this passage!

T h e l a n d s c a p e y o u l i e u p o n i sblurred, as is often the case in dreams.

The wind has died away, and the airseems far less chilly than it did before.Indeed, a glowing warmth spreads acrossyour back.

When you turn toward the source ofthe heat, you see that Qualinesti Forest isburning. The fire withers aspen, snapsevergreen, and the woodland erupts intored columns of flame.

Dark shapes lope toward you out ofthe fire. A rain of arrows and spears cannotstop the rushing draconians, their wingsflapping as they charge across the groundlike large wounded bats. Your comradesfall around you—first one, then another,as your weapon grows heavier in yourhands.

Finally, seven draconians turn towardyou-toward you alone. Three of them licktheir swords. Their lidless eyes stare hun-grily at your throat. They move coldly andfirmly in your direction, whispering in dry,rattling hisses. They surround you; one ofthem lunges at you with a spear, and awhite-hot pain explodes in your chest.

The dragonmen appear to double insize, and then suddenly shrink to the sizeof sparrows. Your weapon falls to your side.Your legs do not work. Everything is darknow.

If the PCs still do not take up the quest, thedream wil l come true almost to the letter.Qualinesti will be in the hands of the Dra-gonlords in 2-12 days; no matter which direc-tion the PCs go, after one game day theyencounter draconians as they did in encounter14. These skirmishes will continue, one everygame hour, until all the PCs are dead.

STRI N T

16 (Dmg +1; wgt +350; Doors 1-3; Bars 10%)12 (Lang: Q. Elf, Hill Dwarf, Plainsman)1 3 INT 1 2

16 (React +1; Def -2) WIS

12 (Sys. Shock 80%; Res. 85% DEX

15 (Loyalty +15%; Reaction +15%) C O NCHAAL

17 (hp Adjust +3; Sys shock 97% Res. 98%)15 (Loyalty +15%; Reaction +15%)LG

1 011

AC = 6HP = 44

AC = 4HP = 45

TANISCARAMON

6th Level Half Elf Fighter7th Level Human Fighter

STR 18/63(Hit +2: Dmg +3: wgt +1250: Doors 1-4. Bars 25%)

WISD E XC O NCHAA L N G

TASSLEHOFF BURRFOOT

5th Level Kender Thief

STRINTWISDEXCONCHAAL

AC = 6HP = 20

13 (wgt +100; Doors 1-2; Bars 4%)9 (Lang: Kenderspeak)1216 (Attack +1; Def -2; see below)14 (Sys. Shock 88%; Res. 92%)11N

RAISTLIN

4th Level Human Magic-user

STRINT

10 (Doors 1-2; Bars 2%)

WIS17 (Lang: 6; Q. Elf, Magius, see below)14

DEX 16 (Attack +l; Def -2)C O NCHA

10 (Sys shock 70%; Resur 75%)10

AL N

AC=5HP=11

Spell use: 3 1st level and 2 2nd level per dav.Pocts Locks Traps Quiet Hides Hears Climb Reads

55% 52% 4 5 % 50% 46% 25% 75% 2 0 %

STURM BRIGHTBLADE

7th Level Human Fighter

GOLDMOON

S T RI N T

17 (Hit +1; Dmg+1; wgt+500; Door 1-3; Bars 13%)14 (Lang: Q. Elf; Plains; Solamnic; S. Elf)

W I S 1 1D E X 1 2C O N 16 (hp Adjust +2; Sys Shock 95%; Res. 96%)C H A 1 2A L LG

6th Level Human Cleric

STRINT

12 (wgt +100; Doors 1-2; Bars 4%)

WIS12 (Lang: Plainsmen, Hill Dwarf, Q. Elven)

DEX16 (Magic Adjustment +2)14

CONCHA

12 (Sys. Shock 80%; Res. 85%)

AL17 (Loyalty +30%; Reaction +30%)LG

AC = 6HP = 24

Spell use: 3 1st Level, 3 2nd Level, 2 3rd Level

AC = 5HP = 40

FLINT FIREFORGE

5th Level Dwarf FighterRIVERWIND

SIX 16 (Dmg +1; wgt +350; Doors 1-3; Bars 10%)6th Level Human Ranger

INT 7 (Lang: Hill Dwarf) STR 18/35 (Hit +l; Dmg +3; wgt +1000; Doors 1-3; Bars 20%)WIS 12 INTDEX 10 WIS

13 (Lang: Plainsman, Q. Elf, Hill Dwarf)14

CONCHA

18 (Hp Adjust +4; Sys shock 99%; Res. 100%) DEX 16 (Attack +1; Def -2)

13 (Reaction +5%) CONCHA

13 (Sys. Shock 85%; Res. 90%)AL N G 13 (Reaction +5%)

AL LGAC = 6HP = 52 AC = 5

HP = 36

Equipment: ring mail armor, small shield, longsword (dmg 1-8/1-12), spear (dmg 1-6), dagger (dmg 1-4/1-3), pack (as selected by

player)

What of our friends in Solace? The smoke rising from the direction ofthat mighty Vallenwood Forest weighs heavily upon me. Do youthink that Tika Waylan, for example, could sit idly around and watchthat land be overrun? I have a feeling that she needs our help thisvery minute! Who knows if we will even find the Inn of the LastHome unharmed?

Spellbook:1st Level: burning hands, charm person, comprehend lan-guages, detect magic, hold portal, magic missile, push, sleep,Tenser’s Floating Disc.2nd Level: audible glamer, darkness 15’, detect invisible, ESP,invisibility, mirror image, web, wizard lock, knock.

Equipment: Staff of Magius (+3 protection, +2 to hit (dmg 1-8), con-tinual light (1 /day), feather fall (1 /day), pack (as selected by player)

I think we should take care not to lose sight of the real enemy. Thesedraconians are a threat to the whole world. Look what they did to thePlains of Abanasinia, and that was several days ago! What kind ofdestruction have they been able to wreak since then? Even gullydwarves and Seekers may look like long-lost friends before this isover!

Equipment: leather armor, a sling +1, Medallion of Faith, pack (asselected by player)

And what of the message from Mishakal—find the one who willlead the people”? How do you suppose we accomplish that? I havelooked at these disks, and they contain information on the true gods.Though I have lost the crystal staff, the information I hold here is farmore valuable, for it gives knowledge that allows me, or any faithfulcharacter, the ability to become a true cleric, such as our land has notknown for hundreds of years. Even this is not enough-we must seethat others have the opportunity to share in this information.

Equipment: leather armor, small shield, longsword +2, shortbow andquiver of arrows, hunting knife +1, pack (as selected by player)

The village that is my home, and Goldmoon’s, no longer exists.Although I fear that your Solace may have met the same fate, it isclear that we must see for ourselves. If, as you say, there are those whoneed our help, then our path is clear before us. At the same time, Iwould wage war against the destroyers of my homeland. It is clear thatwe few cannot stand against the armies of the dragonmen; yet thereinmay be our strength. For, as the armies have passed us by, perhaps wemay learn more of the nature of this menace. Surely, there is a weak-ness, a fault, that can be exploited.

Equipment: leather armor +2, longsword +2 (dmg 1-8/1-12), long-bow & 20 arrows, pack (as selected by player)

It’s hard to believe all of the things that have happened in the last fewdays. Five years we searched, travelling hundreds of miles to all fourcorners of the compass, and the answer was all the time only a day’smarch from Solace. And the dragon! All the scoffing we have doneover those legendary creatures comes back to haunt us now. Whowould have believed that there really is such a creature?

Equipment: leather armor, hoopak (treat as combination bullet sling(dmg 2-5/2-7) and +2 jo stick (dmg 1-6+2/1-4+2), dagger (dmg 1-41 1-3), pack (as selected by player)

Well, this should show those Seekers a thing or two. Imagine playingcleric without knowing who the true gods are!The only thing I regretis that we didn’t have a little more time to poke around in thatsunken city—Xak Tsaroth, they called it. I’ll bet that place couldhave told us a lot if we could have just looked for a few clues. Thatdragon’s treasure pile alone could have kept me busy for a month!

Equipment: chain mail armor, two handed sword +3 (dmg 1-10 /3-18), dagger (dmg 1-4/1-3), pack (as selected by player)

It seems that we have become involved in something larger than anyof us could have guessed. These “dragonlords” and their armies areeverywhere. No one seems to have the power to stand in their way.Perhaps the knowledge that we, or Goldmoon actually, have gainedwill be of help against this evil. I hope so, but I don’t see how oursmall band will be able to make much difference.

Equipment: studded leather armor, small shield, 2 hand axes +1 (dmg)1-6/1-4), dagger (dmg 1-41 1-3), pack (as selected by player)

I certainly wasn’t surprised to find gully dwarves working for thosedraconian scum! Like I’ve always said, where there’s garbage you’llfind the rats. It should be obvious to all of you now that the gullydwarves can’t possibly be related to Hill Dwarves-why, our entire...well, everything, is different. They are much more closely tied tothose scoundrels the mountain dwarves, as any fool can see. I onlyregret that my axe didn’t get the chance to educate a few more of’em!

The heroes will make a long day’s march, crossthe road, and are at the Sla-Mori at nightfall.Today, also, the dragon army marches out ofPax Tharkas toward Qualinesti

Dawn is just beginning to color the sky asGi l thanas leads the way through thea s p e n w o o d o f Q u a l i n e s t i . T h e t r a i ldescends gradually to the south. Soon thewhisper of a rushing stream rises fromnearby, as the path begins to follow a clearb r o o k . T h e r o u t e g r o w s s t e e p e r a n dsteeper, and the water deepens and roars asit tumbles toward the sea with increasingforce.

The aspens of Qualinesti blend withthe tall pines of the lowlands, and by thetime the sun is high there are no signs ofthe silvery trees of the plateau. Dark andlooming, the evergreens crowd the trail,making the brightly sunny day seem closedand dusky. The stream still roars, but thesound has become threatening, like someunspeakable thing in tireless pursuit.

Suddenly, the pines spread to reveal aclearing about 150’ across. The grass hasbeen churned into mud by a furious com-bat, and the bodies of both men and hob-goblins lie grotesquely in the places wheredeath has claimed them.

A groan sounds from the center ofthis carnage, and a battered human warriorrises from a pile of hobgoblins. His eyesappear glazed and unfocused as he turnshis head about, finally looking at the trailwhere it enters the clearing. He strugglesto stay on his feet, but gives up withanother groan.

Suddenly a look of surprise crosses hisface, and he points to the dense pine for-est . “Look out ! Dragon. . . ” the e f for tproves too much, and he topples onto hisback again.

22. Ambush

Immediately after this statement, 12 Baazdraconians rush from the pines to attack the

party from all sides. If the heroes heed thewounded warrior’s warning, they are not sur-prised by the ambush; otherwise, check nor-mally with a d6.

8 Baaz Draconians. AL LE; MV 6”[15”]/18”; hp 14 each; AC 4; HD 2; #AT 1(shortsword) or 2; Dmg 1-6 or 1-4/1-4;turn to stone and crumble apart on death

See a complete description of these monstersin Appendix 3.

The draconians attack savagely, fightingto the death. If the battle seems to be going inthe heroes’ favor, the wounded man climbs tohis feet, joins the melee, and strikes a Baazfrom behind after most of the draconians havebeen killed.

NPC Capsule:Eben Shatterstone, Soldier of Fortune.Human. F5; AL CN; S14; 115; W7; Dl3;CS; Chl5; MV 9”; hp 28; AC 4

Wears chain mail. Carries a shield, longsword,and dagger.

Eben wears clothes that once werevery fine, but a lot of rough wear has tat-tered them somewhat. He has straight, jet-black hair, cut fairly short, and his face isruggedly handsome. A faded red capehangs from his shoulders, and his finechain mail is rather tarnished. He alsowears a scarlet hat.

Eben is completely self-serving andwill do anything to win favor with thosewhom he sees as in power. Right now, thisis the Dragonlord Verminaard, who hassent Eben to infiltrate the party and try todirect them to Pax Tharkas, where he is tobetray them. Eben is not evil, nor will herisk his life for the Dragonlord, so if hedoes not have a chance to betray the partysafely, he will not do so. If at all possible,Eben’s mission should not be discovered.If it is, however, and the PCs turn on him,see to i t that Eben meets an obscuredeath—that the body is lost.

19

Eben has blood upon his legs and arms. Hegraciously denies that he needs any magicalhealing and suggests that the magic should besaved for a later t ime. In fact, he is notwounded at a l l : he has s taged the ent i reencounter so that he might join the group ofheroes. He will attempt to betray the party inDL3.

Eben thanks the PCs many times, andoffers his aid wherever they might be bound.Gilthanas urges haste in continuing to PaxTharkas, and if his opinion is sought, remarksthat an extra swordsman always comes inhandy.

Soon the pines give way to the openpla in , and in the southern d is tance, PaxTharkas sits wedged between mountains. Bymoving steadily, the party can see the Tharka-dan walls by late afternoon.

23. The Hidden Valley

The sun has almost disappeared in thewest; the imposing fortress of Pax Tharkasis nearer still. The tops of its two mightytowers rival the mountain peaks for controlof the sky. Between the towers, a massivewall closes off all passage through themountain gap. A single gate, 30’ tall and20’ wide, seems to be the only entrance.

Suddenly, the massive gate swingsopen. Even before it f inishes moving,co lumn af ter co lumn of armed t roopsmarch out. Rising clouds of dust soonobscure their exact numbers, but surelyseveral thousand pass from the fortressonto the plains. The road they follow leadsto Qualinesti.

“The Dragonlords’ power,” says Gil-thanas grimly. “The time has come.” Theelven warrior points to a narrow vale lead-ing into the mountains just east of PaxTharkas. “Here lies the approach of theSla-mori. We must move carefully: thisvalley is sometimes not a safe place.”

The elf refers to legends about a band of trollswho have come down from the high moun-tains into the valley. He tells the PCs about thelegends if they ask him. Urging haste, he thenleads the party into the valley, to the secretgate of the Sla-mori, or “hidden path.”

A narrow trail climbs steeply from theplains into the wooded valley. Splashingwith impartial cheer, a clear brook emergesfrom the cut in the mountains, as Gil-thanas leads the party ever higher. Soon,the elf leaves the path and begins to pickhis way through underbrush made espe-cially dense by the falling of night.

24. Trolls

The trolls in this valley always place a guard tocover the approach from the plains. This troll

alerts its partners, and the three monstersattack the rear of the party as it leaves the trailand begins to move toward the Sla-mori.Check normally to see if the PCs are surprised.

3 Trolls. AL CE; MV 12”; hp 36, 31, 27;AC 4; HD 6+6; #AT 3; Dmg 5-8/5-8/2-12;regenerate 3 hp per round

The trolls try to kill two PCs and carry thebodies to their lair-a small cave on the oppo-site side of the valley, about 1000 yards away.The cave is 30’ wide, 50’ deep, and 10’ high.It contains a collection of bones, worthlessscraps of armor and weapons, a rusty key amidthe rubbish at the back wall, a shield +1, and alocked strongbox. The key opens the strong-box, which contains 257 sp and 3 gems, worth150 stl, 100 stl, and 200 stl.

25. The Gate

Gilthanas leads the way along the base of atall granite cliff for several hundred feet,halting at a slight niche in the wall. Hetakes a small, glowing gem from beneathhis tunic and holds it forward with his righthand. Making a set of motions in the air,he chants an ancient series of incantations.Suddenly and silently, a tremendousblock moves to the side.

stone

Use Map C: “Sla-Mori” for the followingencounters. The numbers of these and all fur-ther encounters are keyed to areas on maps.

26. The Ways of the Sla-Mori

A whiff of musty dead air emerges as thehuge b lock moves as ide. The passageplunges d i rect ly in to the hear t o f themighty peak that guards the eastern flankof Pax Tharkas. A thick coat of dust layersthe floor, and cobwebs hang loosely fromthe ceiling nearly 15’ above. The tunnel is20’ wide and completely dark.

Despite the many birds and small ani-mals in the nearby woods-all chatteringnoisily but a few moments ago-the area isnow covered by a s tunned s i lence, asthough the mountain protests this break-in and the animals have paused in sympa-thy.

Gilthanas advances firmly into the tunnel. Ifthe PCs falter, he pauses and urges them for-ward with a whisper. He knows this area onlythrough lore-he has never travelled it—andthe grim passage makes him uneasy.

T h e t u n n e l i s o b v i o u s l y a n c i e n t .Whether it was carved by hand or created bythe flowing of water is impossible to deter-mine. Loose chunks of rock litter the floor,and the walls and ceilings are crumbling. Thedust on the floor looks like it has not been dis-turbed since the Cataclysm.

7. The Crossroads

A crossroads offers a choice of directions120 into the mountain. The corridor con-tinues straight ahead at 20’ wide; it alsobranches to the right in a corridor of aboutthe same width.

sures, for a complete description of this potentweapon.

27. The Closed Corridor

More significantly, the dust on the The corridor widens to 60’, still continuingfloor of the tunnels now shows the passage forward. The air in the room is stale andof many feet. The marks extend into both musty; loose boulders and stones litter theof the passages continuing into the moun- floor, but apparently a wide path runstain; only the corridor leading to the gate down the center of the corridor. This pathseems to have been untravelled before. is free of any speck of dust.

The tracks in the dust were made by a numberof different types of creatures. Most of thetracks seem to be humanoid, although it isimpossible to tell more. Most of the animaltracks are those of small, clawed creatures.

The corridor continuing straight aheadhas more tracks in it.

28. Hall of the Ancients

An eerie, gigantic hall has here fallen intodecay. Many tall columns rise to a lofty ceil-ing, others have fallen over and litter thecenter of the room like the felled vallen-wood trees of Solace. From behind therubble comes a chittering and scratching.

A huge granite throne sits against theleft wail, flanked by two large statues. Thestone guardians are warriors three timesthe height of a man, each armed with abroad, granite sword.

D w a r f e d b y t h e s e i m a g e s , t h edecayed remains of a man sit atop thethrone. Gaunt, empty sockets and baredteeth stare from an ancient skull. A worn,o n c e - r e g a l c l o a k c o v e r s h i s b o d y ; asheathed sword lies across his lap.

Further examination of the chamber revealsthat the wall opposite the tunnel entrance hascollapsed, apparently triggering the fall of thecolumns. A huge pile of rubble here is riddledwith small tunnels and provides shelter forthousands of rats. The rodents are timid crea-tures, however, and represent no threat.

The double doors at the southwesternend of the room are closed, but swing openeasily. They are made of bronze, now well-tar-nished, and covered with a relief drawing ofPax Tharkas.

This is the bur ia l chamber of K i th-Kanan, founder o f Qual inest i . The e lvenprince and his dwarf comrades built the for-t ress of Pax Tharkas dur ing the Age ofDreams. His tomb has been sealed further bythe cataclysm, which has closed off access toPax Tharkas proper. Your adventurers, ofcourse, will have to find this out the hard way.

The sword across Kith-Kanan’s lap repre-sents one of the most potent weapons of hisage: it is Wyrmslayer, a two-handed sword +3.

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If drawn from its scabbard, it gleams brightlywith magical radiance. See Appendix 4: Trea-

The far end of the corridor has been caved inby the Cataclysm. Boulders the size of housesare wedged together to form an impenenetra-ble wall.

A g i a n t s l u g h a s c l e a n e d t h e p a t hthrough the chamber. It lives off the refusecreated by the rats in Kith-Kanan’s tomb.

1 Giant Slug. AL N; MV 6”; hp 58; AC 8;HD 12; #AT 1; Dmg 1-12; spits acid for 1-32 pts damage

The slug is wedged amid the boulders at thefar end of the room, and will not detect theheroes until they advance to within 60’. Thenthe monster slides forth and attacks, pursuingif necessary. The slug can turn around in a 20’wide corridor; in any area narrower than this itmust continue forward until it locates a widerspace.

30. Chamber of Doom

The winding of the narrow tunnel finallyends in a dark chamber. The air is heavyand cold here, and a nameless sense of evilthrobs somewhere within these slick, stonywalls. A thick layer of dust covers the floor,as if the frightened creatures living in thetunnels know better than to come here.

Lurking in the northwestern alcove of theroom is the source of this nameless evil: a chill-ing wraith. This potent spirit begins to moveforward as soon as it detects life in this room.Its attack is swift and merciless.

1 Wraith. AL LE; MV 12”/24”; hp 28; AC4; HD 5+3; #AT 1; Dmg 1-6 + energy drain;s i l v e r ( ½ d m g ) o r m a g i c a l w e a p o n sneeded to hit

This undead creature is the evil remnant of agraverobber who broke into the Sla-Mori try-ing to plunder the tomb of Kith-Kanan. Forc-ing ent rance through the magic gate, hebecame trapped inside. Nourished only by theforce of his own evil, his mortal body perishedand left only the sinister presence that nowdwells in this room.

The wraith will pursue trespassers. If theintended victims enter area 32, the zombies

emerge and aid the wraith; if the PCs flee intothe loop at #31, the wraith will follow thembefore the sliding wall closes.

31. The Sliding Wall

In the area marked on the map is a sliding sec-tion of wall, constructed centuries ago as atrap for tomb robbers. The wall cannot bedetected when open, as it is when the partyfirst passes by.

When they reach the southwestern sec-tion of the loop (marked with an X), the leadcharacters feel the floor sink slowly for 1’.There is no other perceptable effect unless acharacter is very near the sliding wall, whichcloses when the t r igger is sprung. Whenclosed, the sliding wall can be discovered as asecret door, and opened when pushed by acombined strength of 50 or greater. Up to 5characters may push at once. The door cannotbe opened from the outside.

32. Tomb of the Zombies

The tunnel breaks into the corner of an oldhall, obviously constructed with care insome distant age. A wide center aislestretches to the limits of sight, and a row ofstone doors lines each side.

Rats have passed over the dust on thefloor throughout the Sla-Mori, but muchless often in here than in most other areas.None of the tracks approach the doors,which are supported by huge iron hingesspiked right into the stone. Each door hasan iron handle, but apparently no lock.

This is the tomb of Kith-Kanan’s elite royalguard. Through a lifetime of valued service totheir lord, these honored elves, dwarves, andmen have earned the right to burial here.

In the centuries since, however, an evilperversion has corrupted the bodyguard, cre-at ing a band of mindless zombies com-manded to perform only one task: ki l l al lintruders!

40 Zombies. AL N; MV 6”; hp 10 each;AC 8; HD 2; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8; alwaysstrike last in melee; immune to sleep,charm, hold, and cold-based spells

The undead lie on stone biers, two behindeach door. They arise and attack when any ofthe following occur:

• One of the tomb doors is opened.• Any magical spell, rod, wand, etc. is used

in the room. (Does not count magicalweapons used to shed light.)

• The double doors in the south end of theroom are opened.

• The wraith (from area 30) enters the roomand commands the zombies to arise.

Coldly and silently, the zombies close in onthe party and try to destroy them. Any that areturned by a cleric escape by the most conven-ient route, even returning to their tombs ifthey can.

The double doors at the southwesternend of the room are made of solid bronze.Like the doors in Kith-Kanan’s tomb, theybear a raised outline of Pax Tharkas, done inconsiderable detail. This design adorns eachside of the doors. They are unlocked, andopen silently with a push.

33. Hall of Columns

This large chamber echoes softly with thesounds of any passage, quiet though it is.Puffs of dust rise with each footfall on thefloor - here again is an area that seems notto have known the passage of a living soulin decades.

The passage gradually widens fromthe doors, but the true dimensions of theroom are lost in darkness. A row of statelygranite columns lines each wall about 10’into the room. These are plain supportswith no ornate carvings or unusual shapes,but they seem to have been constructedwith great care. The fact that they have sur-vived the cataclysm intact indicates thattheir builders were accomplished engi-neers.

This chamber is the fruit of dwarven labors.Designed as a fitting entryway to the restingplace of Kith-Kanan’s elite, its plain construc-tion and simple design are elegant.

You should make careful note that thechambers from here to Pax Tharkas (33-37 onthe map) have not been travelled in over acentury. The rats and other small creaturesroaming the outer tunnels, as well as wander-ing monsters, never pass through the Hall ofZombies into this area. Therefore, thick dustcovers everything, and the adventurers haveno encounters in these areas.

34. Trap

A single bronze door swings open easily,into a short corridor that runs for 60’ toanother bronze door, identical to the first.Each door bears the inscription of a jew-eled crown.

The dust in this corridor is very thick,and undisturbed by any tracks.

Dwarven engineers rigged the last 20’ of thecorridor as a trap for unwary trespassers.When any pressure is applied to the falsedoor, either pushing or pulling, a 20’ sectionof the floor drops away. All characters stand-ing on it fall 20’ into a pit and suffer 3d6 ofdamage.

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15. Chain and Support

The long, dusty corridor f inally passesthrough a bronze door into a large, circularroom. Here, as in the corridors leadinginto the chamber, the dust on the floor isthick and unmarked. A curious feature ofthe room is the column in its center, whichslants to the side but but climbs far out ofsight above.

A little closer look makes it obviousthat the column is actually a massive chain,supported by a huge iron bracket sunk intothe center of the floor. Each link is as longas a man, and the iron bands forming thelinks are nearly a foot thick. The bracket inthe floor is 15 across and nearly 3’ thick.

This chain is the final support mechanism forthe heavy stone defenses that protect PaxTharkas against attack from the north. If it isre leased, massive b locks of grani te dropbehind the gate of the fortress, blocking anyattempts to batter down the portal with eventhe most massive of rams.

The chain rises through the ceiling of theroom, 100’ above, in a narrow channel, to thedefense mechanism chamber of Pax Tharkas.(See Area 61.) Although the chain nearly fillsthe chute, a small individual (a kender orhuman ch i ld) cou ld c l imb the chain andemerge into the defense mechanism chamber.Such an ascent would require Thieving abilityand a successful “Climb Sheer Surfaces” roll.

6. Tharkadan Treasure Vault

Having detected the secret door, locatingthe concealed latch is a simple matter. Itreleases with a soft click, and a section ofthe stone wall swings silently inward.

The room beyond is fairly large, andnearly filled with yellow, brick-like objectsthat glitter through a layer of dust.

Stacked 25 high, 25,000 gold ingots line thewalls around the room. Each contains theequivalent of 1,000 gp of the metal. Gold wasvalued highly by the dwarves of Pax Tharkasin the Age of Dreams, but it is of little use tothe current adventurers.

37. Gate to Pax Tharkas

Do not read this passage until the adventurershave discovered the secret door.

The wall that seems to block the corridor isa secret door, apparently activated by asmall catch near the ground. Beyond theportal is silence.

Finally your adventurers have reached thewalls of Pax Tharkas itself. If they decide toadvance, use the map of Pax Tharkas.

The heroes enter the mighty fortress, and findthe plainsmen held prisoner there. With luckand good planning, a rescue may succeed.

T h e c u t - a w a y m a p d i s p l a y i n g P a xTharkas should be used for the followingseries of encounters. Note that the map doesnot show the entire fortress, but only thoseareas the heroes are able to visit. This includesthe ground floors of each of the two towers, aswell as the underground level and secondfloor of the east tower. The wall connectingthe two towers, and the holding bin for manytons of rock which can be used to block thegate are also shown.

In area 63, immediately inside the doorsto both the east and west towers, are two ropesattached to an alarm mechanism. If any mem-bers of the Dragonlord’s army see the heroesand manage to pull one of these, the fortresswil l be “alerted”. In this case, double thenumber of random encounter checks, anddouble the number of creatures encounteredin the fortress. Surprise wil l thereafter beimpossible.

As the party enters the fortress, Gilthanasshould mention that there is a gate-blocking

mechanism within the walls. This can be usedto seal the gates for a long period, and—if theparty could activate it-would be useful indelaying the pursuit by the dragonarmy thatjust marched off to the north.

38. Cellar

Three tunnels lead from the secret doorthrough a maze of crushed stone and bro-k e n t i m b e r s . T h e t u n n e l s h a v e b e e ncleared from an area that was once totallycaved in. A thin, undisturbed coat of dust

The tunnels all lead to a large cellar room,with rough and rocky walls to the east, but afinely crafted, smooth stone wall to the west.A large wooden door stands near the center ofthe west wall.

To the heroes’ left as they enter is a pile ofwooden crates, nailed shut. These containclothing, pots and pans, curtains, heavy coats,boots, and blankets. A character passing a wis-dom check can identify the items as comingfrom Solace and Gateway.

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Also in the large room is a deep well,capable of providing fresh water in times ofsiege or if the streams flowing from the moun-tains outside of the fortress should dry up.

39. Lower Guardroom

Listening at the door to this room reveals therasping voices of dragonmen mingled with awoman’s voice. The woman sounds upset.The door is solid, but not locked or stuck.

If the heroes open the door slowly andcarefully, they can watch the following scenefor a few moments. Of course, if they smashdown the door, the dragonmen move to fightat once.

A savage- look ing dragonman hauls ayoung woman by the arm. He hurls hertoward a door on the far side of the room,growling: “My lord Verminaard requiresyour presence! Who are you to refuse hisnoble call ing?” The monster advancestoward the girl, menacingly, while threeother draconians watch, their faces twistedin hideous grins.

The prisoner tosses her hair over hershoulder, revealing her face. It is the elvenprincess Laurana!

The draconian takes the girl from the room,unless interrupted by the heroes. If combaterupts while she is in the room, the girl runs tothe southern end and crouches there until thefight is over.

8 Kapak Draconians. AL LE; MV 6”[15”]/18”; hp 15 each; AC 4; HD 3; #AT 1(shortsword); Dmg 1-6 + possible poison;turn to acid pool on death

If attacked suddenly, the kapaks have no timeto envenom their blades. If more than one ofthem is slain, survivors try to escape throughthe west door and alert the fortress.

Although Laurana is quite startled by thesudden events, she is spirited and courageous:she quickly recovers her wits. She has beenkept in area 42, but knows that 41 and 40 alsocontain some of the women from the north.The keys to all of these rooms are kept on thebelt of one of the draconian guards.

If the PCs do not enter the room beforeLaurana is dragged out, she is taken beforeVerminaard. If not rescued by the heroes, shedies an “obscure death” and will return in alater module.

40. Women’s Prison #1

This cell holds 34 women from Solace, Gate-way, and Haven. Rude straw mats line thewalls, and several low chairs are scatteredabout. No other furniture or other accomoda-tions are present.

Maritta the Seamstress is one of the pris-oners in this room. She is generally regardedby the women as their leader and spokesper-son. It is she who leads the group of 10 womeneach evening up to the chamber on theground floor (room #57) to feed and tend tothe children. The youngsters are imprisonedthere under the watchful eyes of the reddragon Flamestrike.

Also in this room is a battered Elistan,injured from a fall in the mines. Because of hisinfluential position, the Dragonlords allowthe women to tend him, when they would letmost prisoners die unaided. Even so, Elistan isnear death and needs magical healing.

If the PCs heal Elistan, he abandons hisdisbelief and embraces the true gods. Herenounces his past beliefs and begins to wor-ship Paladine. Goldmoon’s medall ion wil lmagically duplicate, and Elistan’s will containthe symbol of Paladine.

41. Women’s Prison #2

This chamber is the prison of more of themothers from the northlands. Sixty womenbetween the ages of 18 and 40 are locked uphere, in much the same conditions as thewomen next door.

42. Maidens

This room holds 45 young women, betweenthe ages of 12 and 20, who have not marriedand borne ch i ldren. As in the other tworooms, the conditions are squalid and dirty.

The women from all of these cells reactwith quiet joy to the thought of rescue; thisreaction, however, cools in the knowledge thatthe red dragon above still watches the chil-dren.

The women explain the situation to theheroes, including the procedure for tendingthe children every evening. The women alsoknow that many other women are held on thebottom floor of the western tower. The menare forced to work in the mines, and are keptin a rude cave south of the fortress duringthose brief periods when they are not work-ing.

The women also send a group of 12 up tothe mines to feed the men every night. Theywear heavy shawls and robes to protect againstthe autumn chill, and the guards pay littleattention to those in either feeding mission,Thus, any characters concealed as thesewomen would be able to move about the for-tress fairly safely, as long as their movementcould conceivably be one of these feeding mis-sions.

If the heroes do not think of this, Marittasuggests that armed men, disguised in wom-en’s robes, could enter the chamber where thechildren are kept and rescue them.

I f the PCs dec ide to make a rescueattempt in this way, Maritta has the followingadvice about Flamestrike:

“You must try to pass the dragon quietly,as she sleeps very deeply. I don’t think shewould normal ly harm the ch i ldren- infact, she seems very fond of them-but donot attack her, even if she should awaken.She is half mad, and there’s no tell ingwhat she might do if aroused.”

43. Chamber of the Aghar

A series of strange noises rise from behindthis door: first, a loud crash, followed sev-eral seconds later by a dull “thump”, andthen gales of raucous laughter. The laugh-ter dies down slowly, and after a minutethe pattern repeats.

The women have no idea what is in this room.The door is quite typical, and does not seem tobe locked. In fact, it is not even stuck andopens to reveal the following:

A long timber is balanced on a boulder inthe center of the room. At each end of thetimber is a wide, dish-shaped container.Set on the ground by these containers is apile of large stones and a tall wooden box.Huge mattresses of straw have been spreadon the floor beyond either end of the tim-ber . A dozen shor t , s tocky creaturesscurry f rant ica l ly around the t imber ,shouting and cursing each other. Theywear oversized tin helmets, and severalwear swords in their belts. Because theseswords are several inches longer then theirlegs, those creatures who wear them oftenget them tangled between thei r feet ,sprawling headlong onto the floor.

Shortly a pattern emerges. One ofthese creatures (who by now are recognit-able as Aghar gully dwarves) climbs intothe dish at one end of the timber, drop-ping that end to the ground like a largesee-saw. Three other Aghar climb onto thewooden box at the other end of the timber,where comrades have already raised threeof the large stones. The Aghar on the boxesdrop the stones together in to the d ishbelow them, dropping that end to theground and catapulting the dwarf at theother end through the air, over the headsof the three on the box, and into the mat-tress of straw.

After each of these stunts, all theA g h a r l a u g h u p r o a r i o u s l y , t h e n r u naround crazily for a while until the processis ready to start again.

These Aghar are servants of the draconians,a m u s i n g t h e m s e l v e s i n t h e i r o f f - d u t ymoments. If the PCs do not announce theirpresence, the dwarves do not notice them for2-8 rounds.

When and i f the Aghar d iscover theadventurers, they cease their game immedi-ately and dive for cover behind the timber andstones. A minute later, several of the tin hel-mets peek from behind this cover.

Finally, one of the sword-bearing gullydwarves swaggers forward. His face is hiddenbehind a bushy beard, and his tin helmetshadows his eyes. In fact, he can see very little;as he nears the party, he trips over his swordand falls headlong, his helmet rolling to thefeet of the forward PCs. The dwarf rushes tosnatch his helmet back, blustering about tres-passers and uninvited guests.

This is Highklahd Drooth, leader of theKlahd Clan of the Aghar. Angrily he demandsan explanation from the party; although whatthey are supposed to explain will be unclear.

12 Gully Dwarfs (Klahd Clan Aghar). ALCN; MV 12”; hp 7 each; AC 8; HD 2; #AT1 or 2; Dmg 1-6 or 1-4/1-4

These Aghar are no f r iends of the Dra-gonlords, and only remain here since PaxTharkas has been their clan home for centu-ries. Although suspicious and cranky, they willnot betray the party, and may offer aid ifapproached with “appropriate honor.”

The Aghar are quite familiar with thelayout of the fortress, and even understandhow the stonedrop mechanism to seal the gateoperates.Their services must be purchased,however: rope, weapons, armor, food, cloth-ing, or things that might work as “toys” canall be used for barter. Note that the Aghar areessentially cowardly, and do not voluntarilyget involved in risky business.

The Aghar are aware that Sestun is beingheld prisoner in area 50, for the crime of aid-ing the escape of a group of Fewmaster Toede’sprisoners. If the heroes aid in his rescue, theAghar will be much more willing to take risksfor the party.

44. Storage Room

The door to this room is locked.

Many rows of crates, boxes, and barrels linethe walls of this large room. Several boxescontaining iron nails are open nearby. Allother containers are closed.

Stored here are 72 barrels of oil, 20 barrels offresh water, 12 barrels of salt, 20 crates ofnails, 140 boxes of grain, 43 crates of woolwoven into 4’ by 8’ pieces (430 pieces total),12 crates of leather in the same dimensions (60pieces total), and 30 boxes of pots and pans.

If the oil is ignited, the contents of theroom burn up in 2 turns. One turn after such afire begins, the hallway outside fi l ls withsmoke. PCs in this area take 1-6 points ofdamage per round until they reach fresh air.

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The smoke continues to spread at thisrate, filling all adjacent areas each turn if nodoor blocks the way. Areas behind doors taketwo turns to fill with smoke. Those roomsadjacent to rooms filled with smoke fill on thefollowing turn (or two, if a door blocks theway), and so on for twenty turns, when the fireextinguishes from lack of air.

45. Upper Hallway

This hallway is furnished with great care,creating an atmosphere of comfort andluxury. A plush purple carpet blankets thefloor, and many tapestries of rich red andgolden colors decorate the walls. Each ofthe several doors is made of dark-grainedvallenwood and has golden rivets, hinges,and latches.

At closer examination, however, theluxury begins to wear thin. Great, darkstains blot the carpet in many places, and awide muddy trail mars the center of thefloor. Some of the tapestries, depictingpastora l woodland scenes, have beendefaced: charcoal has been used to add abeard and mustache to an elven princess,and long slashes ruin a scene of elves anddwarves in council.

This hallway connects most of the rooms onthe first floor of the tower, and thus receives alot of traffic. Double the usual number of ran-dom encounter checks while the party is inthis area.

Standing outside the throne room (area51) are two hobgoblin guards. They do notattack on sight but are very suspicious of anyarmed characters in the hallway and demandidentification. If alarmed, they rush to gettheir comrades from area 49.

Many chairs and benches of rude woodenconstruction are scattered about this room.Sitting or moving around the room are sev-eral dozen ugly guards, their grinningfaces displaying ugly tusks. Their skin is aruddy yellow color, and they are all armedwith swords and daggers.

2 Hobgoblins. AL LE; MV 9”; hp 6 each;AC 5; HD l+l; #AT 1 (longsword); Dmg1-8

46. Reception Room

Much like the outer hallway, this room hasthe appearance of former luxury now falleninto decay. The carpet is slashed and spot-ted; many fine pieces of furniture arestrewn across the dirty floor. Some fancychairs have been splintered, apparently sotheir legs can be used as firewood, since asmoky blaze struggles in a huge fireplace.

A strong smell of ale hangs in the air,and a large keg lies on its side in the centerof the room. Another keg sits in the far cor-ner, and around it crouch 5 draconians.

These draconians have been drinking. If theyare disturbed, they react aggressively. Theytake time to envenom their blades as theycharge across the room.

5 Kapak Draconians. AL LE; MV 6”[15”]/18”; hp 16 each; AC 4; HD 4; #AT 1(shortsword) Dmg 1-6 + poison; turn toacid pool on death

If 3 draconians are killed, the remaining tworealize that the PCs are tougher opponentsthan they thought , and bo l t for the dooropposite the one the party entered. Once inthe hallway, they raise a cry, alerting the for-tress.

47. Dining Room

For some reason, this elegant room escapedthe destruction throughout the rest of thefortress. A shiny table made of smooth val-lenwood occupies the center of the room.It is surrounded by a dozen finely craftedchairs. An undamaged carpet, of the samerich purple found in the hallway, covers thefloor.

Three golden chandeliers hang fromthe ceil ing, each ablaze with dozens ofcandles. Many more candles flicker fromsconces in the wall, bathing the room inbright and cheery light.

The table is set for four, with finechina and silver. A large platinum pitcheris placed in the center of the table; beads ofmoisture have collected on it. Four match-ing platinum goblets stand next to thepitcher.

The goblet contains ice water. If a player asksabout the length of the candles, inform themno wax has dripped from them, so they haveapparently been lighted very recently.

If the party remains in this room for tworounds, the gully dwarves from the kitchenenter, carrying trays of steaming food. If theencounter occurs in the dining room, play itthe same as described for the kitchen. Notethat these Aghar are encountered in one placeor the other. but not in both areas!

48. Kitchen

A long counter is covered with a wide vari-ety of foodstuffs, and several ovens spewsmoke into the air. Four Aghar run busilyaround the room, armed with pots, pans,and in one case, a large meat cleaver. Sev-eral inches of liquid—perhaps some kindof gravy—spread over the floor, and thegully dwarves are coated with all kinds offood.

As the door opens, two of the Agharturn their attention toward it and collideheadlong with each other, falling to thefloor amid great splashes and loud cursing.A third gully dwarf snarls: “Dinner ain’tgonna be ready for hours if we can’t getsome priwicy what to work in! Now gitlost!” He moves forward, a heavy fryingpan raised aggressively.

4 Gully Dwarves (Klahd Clan Aghar). ALCN; MV 12”; hp 7 each; AC 8; HD 2; #AT1 or 2; Dmg 1-6 or 1-4/1-4

These Aghar are the official cooks for Vermi-naard, present lord of Pax Tharkas. Whilethey are afraid of the Dragonlord, they arerude and unpleasant to everyone else.

I f the heroes at tack them, the gu l lydwarves will turn and run.

If the heroes identify themselves as ene-mies of the Dragonlord, the gully dwarvesbecome much friendlier, although they arestill suspicious. They explain that they are pre-paring Verminaard’s dinner, and that he isplanning to entertain one of the women fromdownstairs as his guest. The meal consists offresh bread, a fine haunch of venison, pota-toes, and apples. These Aghar are actually notbad cooks, so the meal will be a good one.

The Aghar cooperate very little if theheroes ask for any kind of aid. In no case dothe gully dwarves do anything (such as poisonthe meal) that might cost them their heads.They might provide secret aid, however, ifthey have very little chance of being caught.

These dwarves know that Sestun isimprisoned in area 50. If the heroes aid him,the gully dwarves will be much friendlier tothem.

49. Guardroom

If the heroes listen at the door here, they hearloud laughter and argument w i th in . Thevoices are not draconian.

This room is the duty quarters for the hobgob-lin guards. They have been playing variousgambling games, eating, or practicing withweapons. They rush to attack any intruders.

28 Hobgoblins. AL LE; MV 9”; hp 5; AC5; HD 1+1; #AT 1 (longsword); Dmg 1-8

If the heroes enter the room and fight with thedoor closed, the fortress will not be alerted.Otherwise, the alarms will certainly go off.The hobgoblins fight to the death.

Hanging on a nail in the wall is a key thatunlocks the cell next door (area 50). Scatteredabout the room, on tables and the floor as wellas carried by individual hobgoblins, are 54 stl,187 sp, and 327 bp.

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50. Prison Cell

The door is heavy and barred, and has asmall hatch near the bottom. A massivelock protects the latch to the door as well asthe hatch.

If the heroes pick the lock, or use the keyfound in area 49, read the following. Notethat this door cannot be smashed in.

surprised by the appearance of his visitors.

The large room contains only a single occu-pant: a dirty, unshaven, and very smellygully dwarf. He looks up angrily from astraw mat on the stone floor, then seems

This is Sestun, the gully dwarf who freed theheroes from their cage in the slave caravan.Although he slipped away from the caravan,he was captured by a party of draconians as hemoved southward. Now he is being held pris-oner while Verminaard attempts to come upwith a suitably vicious punishment.

As revealed by his actions in the caravan,Sestun is an Aghar of high courage and spirit.He despises the Dragonlords and hates theirdraconian and hobgoblin servants.

Sestun is willing to participate in any-thing that is likely to anger Verminaard: heknows that he has no future working for theDragonlord. I f he is o f fered a chance toescape, he will do so, causing as much troubleon the way out as possible. When the slavesmake their escape to the south, Sestun will betagging along in the background.

If any PCs are captured in Pax Tharkas,they are disarmed and placed in this room.Their possessions are taken to Verminaard andplaced behind his throne. In 2-12 hours, theDragonlord calls the captive(s) before him,asking them to betray their comrades andexplain their purpose in Pax Tharkas. Refusalresults in being fed to the red dragon Ember.

51. Verminaard’s Throne Room

The massive double doors that lead into thisroom are unlocked, and push open silently. Ifthe heroes open them only slightly, they mayhide and observe the discussion describedhere.

The PCs may also observe this discussionfrom the balcony (area 60) or through a crackin the wall of the chain room (area 61). Ofcourse, if the party visits several of theseplaces, they observe this scene only the firsttime they look into the throne room.

This huge, looming chamber was obvi-ously the throne room for the elven anddwarven races that built the great fortress.Tall columns brace the ceiling, and a hugestone throne occupies a central spot.

Tall silvery mirrors line the walls, cre-ating the impression that the room is evenlarger than it really is. In the middle of the

west wall, a pair of huge doors—easily 12’high by 20’ wide-lead from the throneroom.

A figure seated in the throne wearsthe hideous mask of a dragonlord. Hishoarse voice rasps from behind the gro-tesque covering, addressing a cringing fig-ure before him:

“Toede, you miserable rodent, youhave the gift of ruining the simplest plans!As if kidnapping the elf maiden wasn’tbad enough...now thanks to your idiocy,your incompetence, that cleric has beenallowed to l ive, bringing my oppositepower back among men! Find them andslay them a l l . . . br ing me the i r headsbefore the day is out!

“If that traitor that I planted amongthem does not do the job, then the task ison your shoulders. Hear me well, Toede:either your head or theirs will decorate mythrone room tonight!”

The f igure before the dragonlordcringes even more, and begins to speak in apathetic whine. “Your most worshipfullord, I offer my hopelessly inadequateapology. If I had known that the ones youseek were imprisoned in my caravan, Iwould have brought you their heads per-sonally as I brought you the elf maidLaurana. If not for the treachery of one ofthe loathsome Aghar, they would evennow be kneeling before you, prisoners toyour tender mercies...”

“Enough! ” roars the dragonlord .“You have my warning, now go!” Thevoice lowers, heavy with menace. “AndToede, do not fail me again...”

Toede turns and scuttles for the doors, whiletwo draconian guards pull them open to allowthe Fewmaster quick exit. Of course, anyintruders at the door are discovered at thistime.

As Toede races for the door, Verminaardleans back in his throne and slowly surveys theroom. If any heroes are watching from thedoor, the balcony, or the chain room, he seesthem in the mirrors. He calls: “Ember!” andthe red dragon immediately pushes throughthe double doors on the west wall. “Destroythem!” is Verminaard’s next command.

There are 6 kapak draconian guards inthe throne room, as well as Verminaard (an8th level cleric). The draconians enter thecombat only if, for some reason, the dragonseems to have trouble making the kill. Vermi-naard stays out of range and watches the fight;if Ember takes ½ damage, the dragon fleesthrough the double doors and up through thechimney, but not before he has stopped andlet Verminaard mount.

6 Kapak Draconians. AL LE; MV 6”[15”]/18”; hp 20 each; AC 4; HD 3; #AT 1(shortsword); 2; Dmg 1-6 + poison; turn toacid pool on death

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Ember (Pyros) , an anc ient , huge reddragon. AL CE; MV 9”/24”; hp 88; AC-1;HD 11; #AT 3; Dmg 1-8/1-8/3-30; firebreath. Spells:

First Level: sleep, detect magicSecond level: web, mirror imageThird level: haste, slowFourth 1evel: polymorph self wall of fire

NPC Capsule:Verminaard, Dragonlord of the Red Wing.C8; AL LE; S14, 112, W16, D10, C15,Ch18; MV 12”; hp 50; AC 1. Spells:

1st Level: curse, cure fight wounds (x2),detect good, cause fear2nd Level: hold person, chant, augury,snake charm, spiritual hammer3rd Level: animate dead, cause disease,prayer4th Level: cause serious wounds, cureserious wounds

Wears plate mail +2. Carries Nightbringermace +3 (see appendix 4).

Verminaard’s face is concealed behind theg r o t e s q u e m a s k o f a D r a g o n l o r d — avicious, almost machinelike visor that has apair of wicked horns curving from the fore-head. He wears shiny blue plate mail and abillowing blue cape. Standing well over 6’tall, Verminaard presents an imposingimage of evil.

Verminaard is dedicated to the ruth-less destruction of good in all its forms. Noshred of conscience disturbs him in hisquest for power. He controls all of thelands from the Seeker kingdoms south toPax Tharkas, and works busily to extendhis power.

52. Verminaard’s Quarters

Verminaard has taken over these three con-necting rooms as living quarters. The doorsare a l l po l ished va l lenwood, and lockedsecurely. Verminaard himself carries the onlykeys.

52a. Waiting Room

This room has kept its former splendor:the plush carpet on the floor is undam-aged, and the chairs and couches are allrichly upholstered. A small table sits in thecenter of the room, and a pair of crystalgoblets and a crystal decanter filled with agolden liquid sparkle from atop the table.

A large tapestry covers the far wall,and this is the only indication that the for-tress has recently changed hands: it dis-p lays a huge red dragon, jaws agape,spewing flame over a small village. Severallarge candelabra provide steady light forthe chamber.

52b. Private Dining Room

Half of this chamber is filled by a polishedtable of gleaming dark wood. A buffetwith glass doors displays a priceless collec-tion of china and silver. Light spills from apair of golden chandeliers, each support-ing many flickering candles.

A pair of tapestries have been addedto the east and south walls of this room.One shows a massive red dragon landingamid a troop of armored horsemen andwreaking gory havoc. The second shows aregion of black mountains, heavy withmist and shadows, where a looming for-tress rises up in the distance.

The large, open room has no furniture.Scattered about are small bits of wood andrags carved or sewn into dolls, wagons,balls, and other toys. A tall arch on the eastwall leads into darkness. Next to the arch isa normal wooden door. A pair of hugedoors in the southwest corner apparentlylead outside, since four windows in thatsame wall admit some cool fresh air.

A small locked drawer in the bottom of thehutch is trapped with a poison needle (save vs.poison or die). Within the drawer are foursmall bottles, containing 2 potions of extraheal ing, a pot ion of gaseous form, and apotion of in visibility.

On the right hand wall of this room, sev-eral shelves are piled high with goods. Tothe left, a large oven and a pot-coveredcounter run along the wall. The smallroom is cluttered with food and utensils.52c. Verminaard’s Bedroom

This chamber seems to be a combinationoffice and bedroom. A huge bed, lushlycanopied and qui l ted, near ly f i l l s thesouthern end. A large wooden closet sitsnext to it. Across the floor are spread rugsmade from the skins of many of the largec a r n i v o r e s f o u n d t h r o u g h o u t K r y n n :brown bears, jaguars, panthers, wolves,and a tiger.

The other end of the room is taken upby a large desk, plain wooden chair, smalltable, and washbasin. Three tapestries,p i c t u r i n g s c e n e s o f d r a g o n - w r o u g h tdestruction, add a dark touch to the walls.Several smoky torches flicker in sconces.Several candles and a lamp sit on the desk,but they are unlit.

Spread upon the desk are many maps of thisportion of Ansalon, showing the graduali n c r e a s e i n l a n d s c o n t r o l l e d b y t h eDragonlords. On top of the pile is a map ofQ u a l i n e s t i , s h o w i n g t h a t p e a c e f u l l a n dpierced by three great daggers: two movingf r o m n o r t h e a s t a n d n o r t h w e s t , a n d o n eadvancing straight from Pax Tharkas, just asthe elves had reported.

Another sheet of paper diagrams the per-manent defenses of Pax Tharkas, showing howthe chain and stone mechanism (room 62)operates to block the massive gates.

The desk has one drawer, firmly lockedand guarded with a dose of sleep gas. If thelock is picked without deactivating the trap,all in the room fall asleep for 2-12 turns, nosaving throw. This drawer contains two sheetsof rolled parchment, each a clerical scroll.They contain these spells:

Scroll #1: cure serious wounds, prayer, findtrapsScroll #2: light, augury, cure light wounds

The closet contains several robes, a black cape,a pair of boots, and a suit of black plate mail.

53. Children’s Playroom

This door is barred on the outside with a heavywooden beam.

The double doors are held by a very heavybeam, requi r ing a to ta l o f 25 po in ts o fstrength to remove. There is a similar beam onthe ground outside these doors that may beused to bar them shut. The door to room 54 isnot locked. If the fortress has been alerted,there wil l be 6 Kapaks here. Use RandomEncounter 4.

54. Storeroom

Many shelves line the walls of this smallroom. Stacked upon them are blankets,cloaks, tiny boots, and a number of toyssimilar to the ones strewn about the play-

The cloaks are all children’s sizes.

55. Chamber of the Nursemaid

The arched tunnel enters another room,even larger than the playroom. No win-dows shed light into this area, but a soft,wheezing noise gives evidence of anotherpresence here. Soon, the torchlight fallsacross a monstrous red tail, then massivecrimson flanks that rise and fall with aslow, rhythmic pattern.

Now the great head appears: eyesclosed, forked tongue extending f romwicked jaws, and nostrils flaring ever soslightly with the slow breaths. This cham-ber is occupied by an ancient red dragon!

NPC Capsule:F l a m e s t r i k e ( M a t a f l u r e ) . A n c i e n t R e dDragon; AL CE; MV 9 “/24”; hp 88; AC -1;#AT 3; Dmg 1-81 1-8/3-24

Flamestrike jooks every bit: as awesome as isusual for her kind, but a close look revealsthat this dragon suffers some of the il l

e f fects of age. Many of her teeth areblunted or broken (accounting for her less-ened bite damage), while one of her eyes iscloudy and apparently blind. Long scarsmark her weathered flanks, and she looksunusually slender, perhaps even scrawny.

Flamestrike lost her brood of young toan unknown enemy years ago, and thistragedy has deeply scarred her personality.She is a very careful guardian of the chil-dren, and would never harm one of themunder any circumstance. She deals harshlywith those she believes threaten “her”children. The only visitors she allows arethe 10 women who, once a day, arrive tofeed and care for the youngsters.

56. Food Storage and Preparation

In this room the women prepare the food forthe children. Barrels of salt pork, beans, salt,flour, lard, dried meat, and potatoes sit on theshelves.

57. Children’s Room

This large room bustles with several hun-dred children, ranging in age from infantsto about 12 years old. Their frightened,questioning faces stare at the doorway. Sev-eral of the older boys and girls stand pro-tectively before the younger children, as ifto spare them the sight of anything horri-ble.

A l though fear and hardship havestruck these youngsters unjustly, theirspirit has not been broken. Courage andresolve shine in the faces of the older chil-dren, and the younger ones look to theirolder brothers and sisters with respect andpride. Not even the smallest baby is cry-ing.

There are 180 children in this room. They willrecognize and instantly respond to Maritta, ifshe is with the heroes. Otherwise, a verymature boy and girl advance to talk privatelywi th the PCs, seek ing in format ion aboutthem. The children will never consent to leaveunless convinced that their parents will jointhem in freedom.

If the heroes begin to rescue the children,they file slowly and silently past the sleepingFlamestrike. The red dragon stirs in her sleep,but. does not awaken until all but a few dozenof the chi ldren have passed—unless, ofcourse, a PC attacks or arouses her.

When the dragon wakes up, read the fol-lowing:

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The great red dragon slowly raises herhead, muttering softly: “Maritta, you takeall of my children together... is it not easierwith a few at a time?” Blinking her onegood eye, Flamestrike slowly looks aroundand sniffs the chamber. Suddenly, shescreams with rage and springs to her feet!

“You cannot steal my children!”

Flamestrike will try to attack the heroes withteeth and claws. She will never use her breathweapon while the children are nearby!

If the heroes escape with the children tothe outside, Flamestrike cannot follow themthrough the double doors. She wi l l notemerge from the fortress until the momentdescribed in “Escape from Pax Tharkas.”

58. Upper Landing

The stairway emerges into a long, narrowroom. Two silver-coated doors, embossedwith an image of an elf and a dwarf hold-ing a lute between them, lead to the left.The lute is an ancient symbol of peace inKrynn, so the artwork dates these doors tothe period of elven and dwarven coopera-tion when Pax Tharkas was built.

The secret door operates by twisting a stonethat is set into the door itself.

59. Gallery

This huge room is chilly, exposed to theautumn drafts by a number of slit windowsalong the curving walls. To the left, it fol-lows the angle of the wall of the fortress outof sight.

The entire outer wall of the room iscovered wi th paint ings. The d i f ferentstyles and varying degree of aging indicatethat they were created over a long span ofKrynn’s history. The paintings show wood-land scenes, rugged mountains, severalviews of Pax Tharkas, and portraits of vari-ous elves and dwarves, dressed in fine cos-tume.

Nothing lives in this room, so the heroes maytake their time here without being bothered.If they wish to examine the pictures closely,they wil l see that the oldest paintings aredirectly before them. They seemed to be orga-nized chronologically, getting more recent as aviewer moves to the left.

Read the following if the party takes timeto look at the artwork.

The first paintings show a high mountainpass glittering in the l ight of the sun.snowfields flash among the peaks, andthick forests cover the lower slopes. Manystreams, swollen by ponds and waterfalls,wind into the lowlands.

A large band of sturdy dwarves laborsin the pass, building a low stone wall acrossthe opening. Now many e lves appear ,bearing huge logs on low wagons, and thewall takes on a familiar form. First themain wall of Pax Tharkas goes up, elvesand dwarves working side by side in themonumental task. Then, even as two cur-tain walls rise on the slopes below the mainwall, two mighty towers begin to inch theirway into the sky.

After a few pictures displaying thevarious stages of construction, duringwhich the seasons make the yearly cycleseveral times, the fortress assumes its cur-rent shape. Following this series are a num-ber of portraits displaying various elves anddwarves, usually dressed in shiny platemail and bearing gleaming weapons. Anumber of these paint ings have beencrudely defaced.

Then begins a series where mightydragons rage about the towers of PaxTharkas. Acid, lightning, fire and cold allrain down upon courageous defenders,driving them from the parapets to shelterwithin the solid walls. Soon, the mightydragons land all over the fortress, and itseems that mighty Pax Tharkas has fallen.

But then new weapons appear. Long,slender, and gleaming like polished silver,these lances are carried by fighters of high-est courage. Slowly, at a fearful cost, thedragons are driven from the towers andwalls. Great gashes burrow into their scalyhides, as they begin to bleed and die.Finally, although the parapets are red withthe defenders’ blood, the skies are free ofdragons, and it seems that peace has onceagain returned.

At this point, the course of history hascarried halfway around the room. Severalmore portraits follow, this time displayinghuman leaders in historic poses; then theseries ends.

Faded spots on the wall show thatmore paintings hung here at one time; apile of blackened ashes at the far end of theroom provides a clue to their fate.

60. Balcony

Many slender columns support a high ceil-ing. Twenty feet from the wall, the floordrops sharply into a deep pit-actually,two pits separated by a stone wall. Thelarger of these is well lit, and voices risefrom inside it. The second, smaller pit isdark.

If the heroes advance to look into the lightedpit, read them the scene described for area 51.If they look into the darkened pit, read thefollowing:

Enough light f i l ters over the wall, andthrough the huge connecting doors, to casta faint glow on the bottom of this pit.Curled up there, alert eyes blinking warilyhere and there, is the serpentine form of amonstrous red dragon!

Any untoward noise from the PCs, or othersigns of their presence, brings Ember flamingupward for the kill. Her statistics are listedunder area 51.

61. Chamber of the Chain

This cavernous room can be entered throughthe secret door in room 58, or (by a halfling)by climbing the chain that is anchored in theSla-Mori.

A thick layer of dust coats the floor of thisvast chamber. Much rubble, in the form ofboulders and small stones, l ies strewnabout. Running along the wall is a mightychain, made of foot- thick steel bars bentinto 6’ long links and held taut by someunimaginable force.

A thin trickle of light leaks through acrack in the wall, leading into a largeroom. Voices can be heard through thiscrack.

If a player looks through the crack into thethrone room, describe the situation there as inarea 51 (unless this incident has already takenplace, in which case area 51 will be empty).Remember that the mirrors will allow Vermi-naard to catch sight of the eavesdropper even-tually, at which time he will send Ember up tobreath fire into the crack.

Although a halfway intelligent hero willbe able to avoid the fire by moving to the side,the chain turns bright red, then white fromthe heat of the blast. Finally, it stretches,snaps, and releases the stone blocking mecha-nism, sealing the mighty gates for at least amonth.

The stairway in the northwest corner ofthe room climbs to the next level of the tower.Six more levels can be found this way, but allthe rooms are dusty and empty.

62. Gate-Blocking Mechanism

A narrow stone walkway, covered withdust , leads through the length of theTharkadan wall, high above the ground.To the right, 10’ below, are scattered pilesof massive granite. To the left, the mightychain stretches across the darkness. Manychains, only slightly smaller, lead from thismassive chain underneath the walkway,apparently connecting somehow with thestone blocks on the right.

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At the far end of the walkway (marked “A” onthe map), a large screw and winch mechanismcan be used to release the chain. This requiresa combined strength of 40 to operate, andtakes 3-18 rounds to activate.

When the rocks fall, the crashing shakesthe foundations of the entire fortress. Anyonein area 63 is killed outright by tons of stone.Area 62 fills with so much dust that move-ment and vision is impossible for 1-6 rounds.

63. The Great Wall

This area is basically a large corridor that runsthe length of the Tharkadan wall. Massivewinches operate the mighty gates, requiring astrength of 80 to move. Even then it takes 2turns to open or close a gate. The north gate isslightly open (a 6’ wide crack), while the southgate is shut.

A cavernous chamber stretches far off intod a r k n e s s , b u t t h e n u m b e r o f p e o p l ecrowded in to i t makes the room seemsmall. Sitt ing, standing, or lying down,several hundred women turn their atten-tion listlessly toward the door.

Those nearby leap to their feet in sur-p r i se ; a wave o f exc i t emen t sp readsthrough the room like a spring breeze. Allof the women rush toward the door. Athousand questions fill the air, but no onewaits for an answer.

64. Western Hallway

The double doors leading from 63 into thisarea stand open.

The walls of this hallway are dirty andbare, and the floor is covered with mud.Several broken chairs and a small table,only two of its four legs intact, are the onlyfurniture. A pair of double doors in thenorth wall and a single iron door in thewest wall are all closed. The double doorslook as if they have been hacked with ablade of some kind.

The iron door is locked; the double doors arenot. Listening at the iron door reveals lowsounds of conversation and occasional laugh-ter.

65. Western Guardroom

Several ugly guards sit at a table in the cen-ter of this long room, playing some kind ofgambling game. Two more of the guardsare grappling—apparently in practice—atthe far end of the room, while anothertwo, swords drawn, rush toward the door!

This room is dimly lit by a number of flick-ering fireplaces, and the air is yellow withsmoke. Many long tables and benches sitin the shadows, and a stench of foul foodand cheap ale fills the air.

Suddenly, scraping sounds of move-ment erupt from the darkness, followed bygruff challenges and the whisper of swordsbeing drawn. A bench falls over with acrash, and now shadowy figures lunge outof the darkness. B lades upra ised, thetroops of the Dragonlord charge!

The eight hobgoblins in this room are chargedwith guarding the women held in area 66.Seven attack any intruders, fighting to thedeath while one slips out the back door andtries to get help from the monsters in area 67.

8 Hobgoblins. AL LE; MV 9”; hp 5 each;AC 5; HD 1+1; #AT 1 (longsword) Dmg1-8

If the escaping hobgoblin is not intercepted, 5rounds after the heroes enter this room theyare be attacked from behind by the 7 Baazdraconians and 6 hobgoblins from room 67.

Scattered on the table are 23 stl, 15 sp,and 2 pp. One hobgoblin carries a ring of keysthat opens the doors to this room and room66, as well as a pouch containing a 300 gpvruby.

66. Large Prison

All of the doors to this room are made of iron,and are so l id ly locked. They cannot besmashed open

In this room are 287 captive plainswomen. Ifthey are rescued, PCs receive many franticquestions about the children, followed byqueries such as “Who are you?” and “Wheredid you come from?” Since it is likely thatsome alarms have sounded by this time, thePCs run risks by stopping to answer many ofthese questions.

Any attempts to smash open the doubledoors leading outside must be made at -2 onthe die roll.

67. Monster Mess Hall

paragraph of this description.

If the heroes have already battled the mon-sters from this room because the guards from65 have summoned them, read only the first

7 Baaz Draconians. AL LE; MV 6”[15”]/18”; hp 11 each; AC 4; HD 2; #AT 1(shortsword); Dmg 1-6; turn to stone andcrumble apart on death

6 Hobgoblins. AL LE; MV 9”; hp 4 each;AC 5; HD 1+1; #AT 1 (longsword); Dmgl-8

The monsters attack desperately, fighting tothe death if necessary. If any of them make itthrough the door, they try to sound an alarmand alert the fortress.

The stairway in the north of the roomclimbs to the second floor, which is a huge,empty room that the draconians once used as abarracks. The former residents were the troopsthat the party saw marching to the north asthey approached Pax Tharkas.

A stairway leads from the second to thethird, fourth, and fifth floors. Each of thesewas used as a barracks; each contains l-20kapak draconians that somehow got le f tbehind when the army moved out. Treat theseas random encounters (see Random Encounter#4 or #21). Nothing of value can be found onany of these upper floors.

68. Western Supply Room

This is obviously a well-stocked supplyroom. Many sturdy shelves line the walls,and a wide aisle runs down the center ofthe room. Four sets of doors give access tothe room, and the shelves cover the rest ofthe wall space.

Stacked on the shelves are hundredsof suits of leather armor, a similar numberof shields, rows of heavy boots, cloaks, andcapes, and a number of sealed woodencrates and barrels.

The sealed wooden crates contain a mysterioussmoked meat (wild dog). The barrels containoil. If a fire starts here, it spreads with thesame smoky effects described in area 44.

69. Kitchen

around, and pots and pans l ie overturned,spilling sticky garbage over the rest of themess.

T h i s r o o m l o o k s l i k e a l a r g e m i l i t a r yk i tchen that has been ravaged by a tor -n a d o . S t a l e f o o d c o v e r s t h e f l o o r a n dcounters, ashes from the ovens are spread

This kitchen served the draconian hordeswhile they were stationed in the fortress. Aftercooking the last meal before the army movedout, the hobgoblin servants simply left thingsas they were.

A d e e p w e l l , 4 ’ i n d i a m e t e r , s i n k sthrough the floor in the north end of theroom. The water is 20’ below, and it is quitedrinkable. This is the second of the wells thatcan be used to support the garrison in times ofsiege.

70. Armory

The double doors to this room are made ofthick timbers and are solidly locked. Anycharacter trying to smash them must have a -2on his “open doors” roll.

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Row after row of wooden racks cover thisroom. Although most of these racks areempty, a few chipped swords, brokenspears, and rusty daggers show that this isan armory. Many thousands of weaponscould easily be stored in here, if the rackswere filled.

If the players try to gather some weapons here,they find that most of those remaining areunuseable. They will, however, be able to pickup 23 shortswords, 8 longswords, 108 spearheads (no shafts), and 60 daggers. All of theseare somewhat rusty, but may be cleaned upand used.

The Tharkadan Mines

Areas 71-73 are not in the fortress proper, buthave been excavated from the mountainsidessouth of Pax Tharkas. They represent animportant part of the Dragonlords’ operationsin the region.

If the heroes leave Pax Tharkas to the south,read the following passage:

A narrow mountain valley winds steeplydown to the south. In the eastern wall ofthis valley are the mouths of two largecaves. From these caves, several narrow andtreacherous trails wind up the slope to agaping scar on the mountainside, two hun-dred feet above.

A band of dull red streaks the rockysurface of the scar, while hundreds ofhuman-like figures toil to scrape the rockaway and reveal more of the rusty redmaterial. This is the fabled Tharkadan ironmine.

If the heroes talk to the miners before they res-cue the children, either disguised as women orby sneaking up here at night, they discoverthat the the miners are slaves, and that theslaves are very lightly guarded: since the chil-dren are held under the watchful eyes of Fla-mestrike, the Dragonlord has very little fearthat they will escape.

Indeed, no prisoner is willing to join anyrisky undertakings without assurances that allthe women and children are safe.

71. Smelter and Mill

This deep cavern has a huge entrance,about 80’ wide and 20’ tall. Acrid, sulphu-rous smoke billows in the chamber anddrifts out to the valley. Gully dwarvesscramble to and fro in their usual hecticfashion, although there seems to be a bitmore organization than usual.

Many of the Aghar use huge hammersto smash red rock into gravel. Every fewminutes, another batch of rock fa l lsthrough a hole in the ceil ing, and theAghar attack it fiercely. Other Aghar carrythe pulverized rock across the cave, to hugevats that sit atop smoky fires.

Great bellows feed air to these fires,while gully dwarves pile on coal. The sul-phurous smoke belches from the vats ingreat, yellow clouds. Although the Agharwork furiously, there is no sign of draco-nian or other masters.

This is the processing plant for the iron orethat the slaves mine on the Tharkadan slopes.Although the gully dwarves are unsupervised,they will not stop working for anything shortof a cave-in: they have been threatened withdeath if they do not produce a high quota ofiron.

72. Slave Quarters

This huge cave is deserted now, but thefloor is virtually covered with dirty strawpallets. Several fire scars dot the interior,and some rotten wooden buckets leak dirtywater onto the floor. Any unfortunatesouls that live here put up with hardshipindeed.

This is home for all the male prisoners fromthe north. They are at the mine, as they are for16-18 hours a day. There is nothing of value inthis cave.

73. Mine

Hundreds of sweating, muscular men toilacross this great strip of mountainside,raising picks or pushing shovels to scrape arusty red ore from the earth. Several dozendraconians are scattered about the area,but they seem to be taking little interest intheir prisoners. After all, with their womenand children safely locked in mighty PaxTharkas, these men can i l l afford anythoughts of escape!

When they have collected a great pileof ore, the slaves drag it on pallets acrossthe mountainside to a hole directly abovethe smelting cavern. Other slaves shovelthe ore into the hole, where it lands amongthe gully dwarves below.

There are 310 men working here. If the slavess e e t h e i r l o v e d o n e s b r o u g h t f r o m P a xTharkas, they turn on their guards and slaythem easily. Running down the narrow trail tothe bottom, they soon rejoin their familiesand begin rejoicing. Despite the pleas of PCs,the people insist on locating those closest tothem, a process that takes 15 or 20 minutes.Elistan will take charge of organizing the exo-dus.

Escape from pax tharkasIf the heroes have rescued the women andchildren, Flamestrike will be battering againstthe barred doors, the men will have rusheddown from the mines, and the thousands oftroops that marched out of the fortress to thenorth wil l be rushing back to answer thealarms. The mass of people, around 800 ofthem, should be collected on the southernside of the great fortress.

At this time, read the following passage:

Suddenly, with a splintering crash, thedouble doors holding Flamestrike fly out-ward. The great beast slithers out of thetower toward the crowd of prisoners.

“My children! You shall not have mychildren!” Her voice is shrill and strained.“Leave me my children!” she demands,lumbering down the gradual slope.

Now another great cr imson shapeappears, flying. Bellowing a challenge, asecond huge red dragon lands on themighty Tharkadan wall. On its back is theimposing figure of the Dragonlord Vermi-naard, sti l l concealed by the fearsomemask. His voice booms through the valley.

“This is the final insult! I have toler-ated your impudence far too long.. .slavesare cheap and plentiful. Now you pay fory o u r f o o l i s h d a r i n g ! ” A s t h e p e o p l escream and turn to flee down the valley, hisevil voice picks up more power: “Now, Idestroy you! I destroy your wives! I destroyyour children!”

As Ember leaps from the wall, Fla-mestrike pauses in her advance. Confusionshakes her as she looks from the children tothe great engine of death above her. Sud-denly, her dim eyes take on clear focus asshe makes a decision.

Curling her long neck upwards, Fla-mestrike sends forth a horrifying spout offire, straight at the flying dragon and theDragonlord. With a scream, Verminaard isengulfed in the glowing cloud, and hisdragon-steed bellows in pain. Quickly, thetwo dragons lock in a fearsome melee,thrashing their mighty bodies across thevalley and bringing boulders tumblingfrom the mountainsides.

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If the heroes take advantage of this diversion,they can lead the band down the valley andout of sight of the fortress while the two drag-ons struggle. Verminaard will barely survivethe fight, and it will be 12 hours before hesends his army after the escapees. If the heroeshave succeeded in dropping the gate- blockingmechanism, it is 4 days before he is able tosend an army.

If the heroes make good their escape atthis time, read to them from the followingpassage.

The autumn sun d isappears beh ind amountain ridge, as 800 people huddleamong a cheery grove of tall pines. Tiredand hungry, they are nonetheless happy fortheir nearly miraculous escape.

This small side valley should provideshelter for the night from any draconiansthat have been sent on the hunt. No doubtfresh problems will arise tomorrow, but fornow the plainsmen are safe.

The biting chill of the wind bringswarnings of the winter that is soon tocome. The wilderness yields little food,but many mouths need to be fed. Thegreat silver moon rises and the stars blinkinto sight.

The heroes may easily locate skilled teachersamong the rescued prisoners. This will enableall fighters, magic-users, and thieves to gain alevel of experience automatically. Multi-classed characters must choose one class toadvance.

Clerics who have learned of Mishakalmay gain a level by meditating and praying tothat benevolent deity or another of the truegods of Krynn. These gods were revealed bythe disks of Mishakal. If the party has notplayed DL1, assume that the clerics serve Mis-hakal.

Appendix: 1: Random Encounters

Table 1: Encounter Frequency TableTABLE

AREA FREQ. DISTANCE 2 RANGE

Town 1/3 1-6”(30-180’) 1-4(1d4)

Ruins 1/3 1-6”(30-180’) 3-10(1d8+2)

Plains 4 / d a y 1-100” (30-3000’) 7-14(1d8+6)

Mountains 6 / d a y 1-20”(30-600’) 9-16(1d8+8)

Sla-Mori 1/3 1-6” (30-180’) 16-19(1d4+15)

Pax Tharkas 1/3 1-6” 20-25(1d6+19)

Encounters take place on a roll of 1 on 1d10.To determine the type of creature encoun-tered, consult Table 1, roll the appropriate dieand add the modifier listed on the Table 2Range. Compare the result to Table 2.

Table 2: Random Encounter Table

These monsters, creatures, or men fight to thedeath unless the text states otherwise.

1. 2-12 Townsmen. AL varies; MV 12”; AC 8;HD 1; #AT 1 (shortsword); Dmg 1-6

Not hostile, but do their best to be left alone.Will flee if attacked.

2. 2-8 Baaz Draconians. AL LE; MV 6”[15”]/18”; AC 4; HD 2; #AT 1 or 2; Dmg 1-8 or1-4/1-4; turn to stone and crumble ondeath

3. 1-4 Wild Dogs. AL N; MV 15”; AC 7; HD1+1; #AT 1; Dmg 1-4

These are weak and hungry, and they will befriendly if fed.

4 . 2-12 Kapak Dracon ians. AL LE; MV6 ” [ 1 5 ” ] / 1 8 ” ; A C 4 ; H D 3 ; # A T 1(shortsword); Dmg 1-6 + poison; turn toacid pool on death

5. 3-18 Goblins. AL LE; MV 6”; AC 6; HD1-1; #AT 1; Dmg 1-6

These creatures challenge and try to bully theparty. If half of them are wounded, however,they turn and run.

6. 2-24 Giant Centipedes. AL N; MV 15”;AC 9; HD 1/4; #AT 1; Dmg poison (save at

-4)

7 . 2 - 2 6 B a a z D r a c o n i a n s . A L L E ; M V6”[15”]/18”; AC 4; HD 3; #AT 1 or 2;Dmg 1-8 or 1-4/1-4; turn to stone andcrumble on death

8. 7-16 Hobgoblins. AL LE; MV 9”; AC 5;HD 1+1; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8

Will retreat when 1/2 or more have beenkilled.

9. 1 Wyvern. AL NE; MV 6”/24”; AC 3; HD7+7; #AT 2; Dmg 2-161 1-6 + poison

This creature will try to carry off 1 NPC (cho-sen at random); if no NPC is with the party,the wyvern goes after a PC (again at random).

10. 1-3 Trolls. AL CE; MV 12”; AC 4; HD6+6; #AT 3; Dmg 5-8/5-8/2-12; regener-ate 3 hp/round

11. 3-30 Elk. AL N; MV 18”; AC 8 HD 3;#AT 1; Dmg 1-4

Will run away from the party.

12. 1-6 Wights. AL LE; MV 12”; AC 5; HD4+3; #AT 1; Dmg 1-4 + energy drain

13. 2-8 Dire Wolves. AL NE; MV 18”; AC 6;HD 3+3; #AT 1; Dmg 2-8

Will retreat when half or more are killed.

14. 1-2 Griffons. AL N; MV 12”/30”; AC 3;HD 7; #AT 3; Dmg 1-4/1-4/2-16

Desperate for food, these creatures will try tokill a horse or a PC (at random), then carry offtheir prey.

30

15. 1-6 Giant Rams. AL N; MV 15”; AC 6:HD 4; #AT 1; Dmg 2-12

Only one of the group is actually a ram. Theothers are ewes. He will fight to the death,while the others flee.

16. 2-20 Zombies. AL NE; MV 6”; AC 8; HD2; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8

17. 2-8 Carrion Crawlers. AL N; MV 12; AC3/7; HD 3+1; #AT 8; Dmg paralysis

18. 1 Wraith. AL LE; MV 12”/24”; AC 4;HD 5+3; #AT 1; Dmg 1-6 + energy drain

19. 2-12 Giant Wasps. AL N; MV 6”/21”;AC 4; HD 4; #AT 2; Dmg 1-81 1-4 + poi-son

20. 2-12 Baaz Dracon ians. AL LE; MV6”[15”]/18”; AC 4; HD 3; #AT 1 or 2;Dmg 1-8 or 1-4/1-4

21. 3-10 Kapak Draconians. AL LE; MV6”[15”]/18”; AC 4; HD 3; #AT 1; Dmg1-6 + poison

22. 3-12 Hobgoblins. AL LE; MV 9”; AC 5:HD 1+1; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8

23. 2-16 Goblins. AL LE; MV 6”; AC 6; HD1-1; #AT 1; Dmg 1-6

24. 2-8 War Dogs. AL NE; MV 12”; AC 6;HD 2+2; #AT 1; Dmg 2-8

If PCs feed these animals, they take the foodand run away. Otherwise, they attack andfight to the death.

25. 1-4 Aghar. AL CN; MV 12”; AC 7; HD 2#AT 1; Dmg 1-6

Try to bully the party, but run upon receivingone wound.

Appendix: 2: Monsters, Creatures, andMen

BAA2FREQUENCY: Uncommon# APPEARING: 2-20ARMOR CLASS: 4MOVE: 6”/[15]/18”HIT DICE: 2IN LAIR: 5%TREASURE TYPE: J,K,L,UATTACKS: 1 or 2DAMAGE/ATTACKS: 1-4/1-4SPECIAL ATTACKS: NoneSPECIAL DEFENSES: NoneMAGIC RESISTANCE: 20%INTELLIGENCE: AverageALIGNMENT: Lawful Evil

KAPAKUncommon

2-204

6”/[15”]/18”3

15%K L M

11-4 + poison

Acid poolNone20%

AverageLawful Evil (some

Chaotic)SIZE: M (5- ½ ft.) M (6ft)PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil NilModes: Nil/Nil Nil/NilXP: 81 + 2/hp 105 +3/hp

Draconians, or dragonmen, are the bas ictroops of the dragonlords. Their origins areunknown to anyone in this section of Krynn.Of the four known types of draconians, twoappear to the party during this part of theadventure.

All draconians have wings, but neitherthe Baaz nor the Kapak can truly fly for morethan one round. All draconians have threemovement rates: walking; running on allfours while pushing through the air withwings; and gliding. To move at the second rateof speed, they must use all four limbs andhave their wings free to move. Draconiansprefer to charge this way, carrying their weap-ons in their teeth. They can glide from anyheight, and glide a distance 4 times greaterthan the height from which they launch.

Baaz. These draconians are generally thesmallest of the species, and thus the easiest topass off as humans. As the bottom of the dra-conian social order, they serve all other ranksof dragonmen. However, because of a quirk intheir origins, these draconians often tend tobe chaotic in nature and very self-servingwhen they can get away with it.

Baaz are often encountered in disguise.They can conceal their wings under robes and,wearing a large hood and mask, can passthrough civilized lands as spies. Dragonlordsoften use the Baaz in this manner just beforean invasion.

When a Baaz reaches 0 hit points, heturns at once into what appears to be a metal-lic statue. If a PC deals this a blow with amelee weapon,he must make a dexteritycheck at -3 or his weapon will be stuck in thenow-metall ic draconian. In any event, thestatue crumbles to dust within 1-4 meleerounds after the draconian’s death, freeingany weapon stuck in it. While a weapon isstuck in a dead Baaz, it cannot be used. Notethat only the body of the Baaz turns to metaland then crumbles: armor and weapons it car-ries are unaffected and may be used by othersafter the draconian turns to dust.

Kapak. Kapak draconians are distinguishedby their venomous saliva, which will paralyzeany creature failing a save vs. poison for 2-12turns. They often l ick the blades of theirweapons (commonly shor tswords) beforecombat, envenoming them for 3 rounds. AKapak takes 1 full round to poison the bladeagain after the first venom has worn off.

Kapaks are larger than Baaz, and conse-quently bully and abuse their smaller cousins.The Dragonlords try to keep different types ofdraconians separated in order to prevent thistrouble from arising.

When a Kapak draconian falls to 0 hitpoints, is body immediately turns to acid andspreads in to a 10 ’ d iameter pool on theground. Any character in the area where theKapak died will take 1-8 points of damage perround from this acid. The caustic liquid willdissolve wood and leather at the rate of 1” perround. Weapons, clothing, and other posses-sions of the Kapak will be ruined by the acid.

AGHAR (GULLY DWARVES)

FREQUENCY Rare#APPEARING: 1-4 (2-20)ARMOR CLASS: by armor typeMOVE: 12”HIT DICE: varies (1-4)% IN LAIR: 45%TREASURE TYPE: 25% J# ATTACKS: 1 or 2DAMAGE/ATTACK: weapon or 1-4/1-4

(fist/bite)SPECIAL ATTACKS: noneSPECIAL DEFENSES: Save at 2 levels higherMAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: LowALIGNMENT Chaotic NeutralSIZE: S (3’-5’)PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: Nil/NilX.P.: 14 + 1/hp; 28 +2/hp; 50 +3/hp; 85 +4/hp

Aghar are the lowest class in the Dwarvenc a s t e s y s t e m — i n d e e d , m o s t M o u n t a i nDwarves say that they aren’t even part of anycaste. These raggedly clothed dwarves vary inskin color from parchment to mottled to olive.Their hair is as unkempt as their clothing.Their health is generally bad and their bodiesbear sores, scars and callouses.

Though humans think they are comical,Aghar are a disgusting race whose motto is“do anything, no matter how mean, to sur-vive.” Occasionally, a decent, moral Aghar canbe found, but those are very rare. Agharbelieve that magic is a sham that deserves tobe exposed.

Gully dwarves generally tend towardweak constitution and low intell igence buthave above average dexterity. Despite theiralmost total inabil i ty to put two thoughtstogether, the Aghar have excellent memoriesof all that they see and hear. This makes thema great source of raw, untapped information.

Appendix: 3: Treasures and Tomes

WYRMSLAYER

Two handed sword, +3

This weapon does double normal damagewhen used against a dragon or draconian.(Determine damage as usual, and double thetotal.) It is immune to the imprisoning effectwhen a Baaz draconian turns to stone. Who-ever holds Wyrmslayer by the hilt gains a +3 onall saves vs. Breath weapons or against anyspells cast by dragons or draconians.

Wyrmslayer has the strange tendency togive off a loud buzzing noise when within 30’of a true dragon (not a draconian). This buzz-ing always wakes a sleeping dragon.

NIGHTBRINGER

Footman’s Mace, +3

Nightbringer is a potent tool of evil, and is thefavored weapon of the Dragonlord Vermi-naard. When the mace strikes a victim as itswie lder u t ters the command word “Mid-night,” the victim must save vs. Spells orbecome blind for 2-12 turns (-4 to all attacks;no dexterity or shield bonus to AC).

If a character of good alignment tries topick up Nightbringer by the hilt, that charac-ter must save vs. Spells with a -2 penalty. Fail-ure to save means the character is blindedpermanently, or until a cure blindness spell isused.

31

Out of the darkness of dragons,out of our cries for light

in the blank face of the black moon soaring,a banked light flared in Solamnia,

a knight of truth and of power,who called down the gods themselves

and forged the mighty Dragonlance, piercing the soulof dragonkind, driving the shade of their wings

from the brightening shores of Krynn.

Paladine, the Great God of Goodshone at the side of Huma,

strengthening the lance of his strong right arm,and Huma, ablaze in a thousand moons,

banished the Queen of Darkness,banished the swarm of her shrieking hosts

back to the senseless kingdom of death, where their cursesswooped upon nothing and nothing

deep below the brightening land.

Thus ended in thunder the Age of Dreamsand began the Age of Might,

When Istar, kingdom of light and truth, arose in the east,where minarets of white and gold

spired to the sun and to the sun’s glory,announcing the passing of evil,

and Istar, who mothered and cradled the long summers of good,shone like a meteor

in the white skies of the just.

Yet in the fullness of sunlightthe Kingpriest of Istar saw shadows:

At night he saw the trees as things with daggers, the streamsblackened and thickened under the silent moon.

He searched books for the paths of Humafor scrolls, signs, and spells

so that he, too, might summon the gods, might findtheir aid in his holy aims,

might purge the world of sin.

Then came the time of dark and deathas the gods turned from the world.

A mountain of fire crashed like a comet through Istar,the city split like a skull in the flames,

mountains burst from once-fertile valleys,seas poured into the graves of mountains,

the deserts sighed on abandoned floors of the seas,the highways of Krynn erupted

and became the paths of the dead.

Thus began the Age of Despair.The roads were tangled.

The winds and the sandstorms dwelt in the husks of cities,The plains and mountains became our home.

As the old gods lost their power,we called to the blank sky

into the cold, dividing gray to the ears of new gods.The sky is calm, silent, unmoving.We had yet to hear their answer.

Then to the east, to the Sunken Cityscarred in its loss of blue light,

came the Heroes, the Innfellows, heirs to the burdens,out of their tunnels and their arching forests,

out of the lowness of plains, the lownessof huts in the valleys,

the stunned farms under the warlords and darkness.They came serving the light,

the covered flames of healing and grace.

From there, pursued by the armies,the cold and glittering legions, they came

bearing the staff to the arms of the shattered city,where below the weeds and the birdcall,

below the vallenwood, below forever,below the riding darkness itself,

a hole in the darkness called to the source of the light,drawing all light to the core of light,

to the first fullness of its godly dazzle.

9132XXX1501

32

Official Game Adventure

Dragons of Flameby Douglas Niles

The dragonmen have taken Solace. Its beauti-ful tree houses lie black and battered amid thestumps of great vallenwood trees. Kapak Dra-con ians , a rmed w i th po isoned weapons ,enforce a brutal martial law on the survivors.

And Solace is only one outpost: the dra-gonarmies control the plains. Only the elvenkingdom of Qualinesti stands unconquered.The rest of the plainsmen suffer the most: along slave caravan hauls hundreds of them tothe fortress prison of Pax Tharkas.

“Dragons of Flame” is the second inTSR’s new series of DRACiONLANCE™ adven-tu res fo r use w i th the ADVANCED DUN-GEONS & DRAGONS ® game system. Yourplayers will adventure in the world of Krynnand visit strange places such as Qualinost orthe Sla-Mori, encountering bizarre draconiansand disgusting Aghar. They can play the mod-ules as a set of separate adventures or as agrea t ques t tha t spans the en t i re DRA-GONLANCE™ story.

An Adventure for Character Levels 5-7

© 1984 All Rights Reserved. Printed in U.S.A.