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Summary:

The PCs are duped by soulknife assassins to enter a forest ruin. As they emerge, the soulknives attack them.

Assumptions:

The PCs are in the town of Leaf Port in the land of Relum on the Isle of Onlor.

Location:

Leaf Port, Onlor

Historical Date:

N.S. 30, Month of Bloom

DM's Introduction:

Note: This is the first scenario in the Creation Cyst Campaign, an epic campaign taking place in the World of Therra. The scenario assumes certain backgrounds and allegiences by the PCs at the start of the scenario. DMs adopting this scenario for their own campaigns or using their own PCs must modify the motivations of the PCs and NPCs to fit the circumstances. Some guidance to accomplish this is presented below.

During the War of the Gem, Canaris, the heroic bard who accompanied and was one of the Heroes of the Gem, imbibed the sacred and exotic draught of the myconids- mysterious mushroom creatures of the underdark. The draught affected him strangely, as the communal properties of the myconid spores therein interacted with other spores affecting his own brain chemistry to open portions of his mind that were heretofore dormant. In this fashion, Canaris became the first psionic practitioner on the surface of Jerranq. Canaris began to research his newfound powers and eventually was able to duplicate the myconid draught and refine it a bit further into what is now called the elixir of expansion. As such, he was able to awaken others by giving them the draught. However, most who took the draught did not gain psionic powers. Instead, the majority experienced a brief period of hallucinations and expanded awareness and then returned to normal. For an unlucky few, the opening of their minds and the interaction with their brain chemistry drove them insane or simply turned their brains to mush, killing them. Only a very few who braved the draught actually developed mental powers. In this way, psions, wilders, and psychic warriors were born. Canaris formed a school of mental powers to train psionic wielders, and kept the means of the brewing of the elixir of expansion a secret. He hoped that by training cadres of psionic practicioners he could develop a form of magic that would better enable the Kingdom of Slumber to protect against threats to the Free Folk of Jerranq.

One graduate of Canaris' mental school, Varytur the Crystaline, left the school after mastering its arts and determined to sell his talents as a hired assassin. As he worked, he honed his mental skills until they became an adjunct to the various blades he used to ply his craft, and so he became the first soulknife. Determined to form his own guild of mental assassins, Varytur stole the secret of the elixir of expansion from Canaris' school and began to brew his own to give to those who would join him.

Now, the discipline has begun to spread to other organizations that train soulknives, including elven coteries that use these powers to fight in the Blanthil. Such elves are usually known as soulbows. Nevertheless, when the word soulknife is spoken, it usually refers to the dark assassins trained by and serving Varytur.

Varytur has performed his services for many entities since the first decade after the end of the War of the Gem. One of these includes the demonlord (and ex-Maug) Fraz-Urb'Luu who survived the scourge of the Gods of Slumber at the end of the War of the Gem and is currently consolidating power as the hidden ruler of the Lost Kingdoms. In the service of the demonlord, Varytur conducted a series of assassinations against the Barony of Inscariot in the Untamed Coast. The Soulknife has also taken more mundane service, such as the recent assassination of a ship captain who had double crossed a crimelord in Antoria on a smuggling operation. Despite these ongoing jobs, Varytur now seems content to leave most of his jobs to his servants, and appearances by the Crystaline himself are rare and the stuff of growing legend.

Recently, Varytur's attention has turned to the PCs. This is no small feat considering the relative youth and inexperience of the PCs.

In the historical campaign, one of the PCs was on the ship that was captained by the recent victim of Varytur. During this encounter, Varytur fed his elixir of expansion to three passengers. One of these went insane from the elixir and was slain. Another, a young countessa, gained psionic powers and joined Varytur to learn the way of the soulknife. The third, one of the PCs named Varr, also gained psionic powers, but he kept his secret and so was not claimed by Varytur. Varr eventually escaped from the pirates, partly by using his newfound psionic powers (mainly the bite of the wolf power) to help retake the ship from a pirate skeleton crew and made his way to Leaf Port where he works on the docks raising money to further his life's goals.

In the meantime, Varytur found out that Varr had indeed pained psionic powers when pirate survivors of the retaking of the ship finally made their way back to the Lonely Cove in northeastern Onlor. However, although Varytur was both intrigued and angered that Varr had deceived him by hiding his newfound powers, he had no easy way to find out where Varr had gone in the wide world, and it certainly wasn't worth the time or effort to locate him. However, as Varr settled in Leaf Port and began to tell and retell his encounter with Varytur, word eventually reached the Crystaline that Varr was in Leaf Port. The Crystaline ordered the countessa from the ship, whose name was Branesta but who had since changed it to Garinia when she joined Varytur, to return to Leaf Port with some of his servants to learn if it was true that Varr had psionic powers.

While Garinia and the other soul knives were watching Varr, they learned that an elven paladin of Ularinn named Velicleas seemed to take a keen interest in Varr and in the tale of the encounter with Varytur. Garinia, clever and suspicious, immediately reported this to Varytur by way of magic, as the Crystaline was on another job in Jerranq. Varytur did a little research and determined that Velicleas was an adopted scion of the barony that Fraz-Urb'luu opposed. Varytur contacted the demonlord and offered to slay the paladin in exchange for a moderate fee. The demonlord readily agreed, and so the order went out to Garinia to use her new powers and her companions to slay the elf paladin and to capture Varr and bring him to meet Varytur. In a way, as this was Garinia's first job, the Crystaline was testing her mettle, to see if she was worthy of his favour.

Now it has come to Garinia to arrange her first assassination. She has considered attempting the assassination and abduction in Leaf Port, but she is worried about the authorities there and the fact that Velicleas has taken residence in a Mordant chapel with a priest and the cleric's female assistant. Instead, she has determined that local legends about a forest ruin could be used to lure Velicleas and Varr into the wilderness where the elf could be killed and the Morakki taken and no one would suspect soulknife involvement. Performing the assassination and adbuction and not having anyone realize it even took place would reflect very favourably upon Garinia in Varytur's eyes.

So it is that Garinia has set her plan in motion. Not trusting her own Disguise skill and fearing to be recognized by Varr, she has remained with her small pirate ship docked to the east of Leaf Port. Instead, she has formed her plan and has given leadership to Valester and his group of soulknives. They have made their way to Leaf Port and now intend to set in motion the events to bring Velicleas and Varr to the forest ruin. Having scouted the ruin beforehand, they have determined that a dire boar dwells within the ruin and have incorporated the beast into their plans. If they are lucky, their victims might even perish at the tusks of the great beast. Unfortunately for Garinia, Velicleas and Varr will not go alone into the forest, for the tale made up to lure the paladin into the wilderness is enough to bring others sympathetic to his morals with him. In this way, the entire group of PCs will enter the ruin, a force that could be capable of thwarting the soulknives if they can first survive what actually does lurk within.

This then, is the sequence of events. Valester and his group choose two of their number to pose as woodsmen who tell the PCs of the forest ruin and some evil that seems to dwell there. The PCs head into the forest and reach the ruin. Within the ruin are several dangerous creatures including a dire boar. The soulknives allow the PCs to enter the ruins hoping that perhaps they will not return. They set up an ambush outside the ruins, waiting for the PCs to emerge, perhaps wounded, and then attack, attempting to slay Velicleas and capture Varr. Should the PCs prevail, they can gain information leading them to track Garinia to her ship and confront her in the next scenario Two if by Sea.

If the DM is not running a historical campaign with historical PCs, then it should still be relatively easy to have the soulknives have a vendetta against one of the PCs. Perhaps the DM could even run, as a previous scenario, one or both of Varytur's attacks upon the Barony or on the captain's ship. Even without such an introduction, the DM can still simply have the soulknives be robbers and highwaymen and pirates who choose to lure the PCs simply to rob them. The remainder of this scenario assumes the historical circumstances.

Part One - Distress by Deception

Two of the PCs are simultaneously approached by soulknives disguised as woodsmen in distress. The two soulknives will give their names as Arvasht and Bareth and the first will approach Velicleas while the latter approaches Varr. Their story, paraphrased below, will be essentially the same. Arvasht will likely find Velicleas in repose at the Mordant chapel run by Father Joshua. Also staying with the priest is the mysterious waif Vivane. Bareth will approach Varr on the docks, and Varr will be accompanied by Guo-charavong the monk. Farby the druid will be close by also at work on the docks.

Each soulknife will be dressed as a woodsman, in a leather jerkin and trews with a forest green and grey cloak over the shoulders. A large woodcutting axe rests in the hand and a long knife sits in a sheath in the belt. Each wears a wooden holy symbol to Galasiria, the goddess of the forests. Each is also dirty, haggard, and somewhat out of breath. Clothing is striped green with the stains of bushes and grass and ripped in places where brambles and branches have torn at them. Each will stagger towards his intended target and call him by name. Each will introduce himself and then, if allowed, tell his tale:

I am sorry to trouble you sir, but I am in desperate straits and know not where else to turn. I was told that you are a warrior and unafraid to face danger, and it is danger that haunts me now. You see, I am a woodsman and my two companions and I were just last evening cutting in a grove of old growth to the northwest of here. Mind you sir, this grove is one allowed for cutting by the elves. We would never think of violating the rules of the forest and anger the wise folk! Well it was getting towards sundown, and we were finishing up our cutting for the day and making ready to head back to our camp when...well...you know how sometimes you can just tell someone is staring at you, even if you can't see who's doing it? Especially if the starer means you ill? Well that's what we felt. It was as if we were being watched...patiently marked and stalked, for it was an ill will we felt upon us. Still, we hurried our work and headed back towards camp, our axes at the ready and whistling and chatting to keep our nerves up. All of a sudden, something leaped out of the brush and snatched at poor Halmi, who was walking a step behind us. We didn't get a good look at what it was. All I saw was a large black shape and the flash of fangs. This shape had already grabbed Halmi in its mouth and was bounding off into the deep forest with him. He was struggling and we could hear his muffled cries, and though we ain't warriors, we ain't cowards either, and so we took after him.

As we tracked the beast and Halmi, we could tell it weren't no normal beast of the land that we followed. We could smell the stench it left in its wake, and I tell you I am an experienced woodsman. I know all the creatures of the forest, and the thing that left this stench in its wake weren't born of the natural world. It was a stench of brimstone and death. In any event, it made it easy to track the creature, and we did right up the Tumbledown Stream until we reach the headwaters. There, as you probably know, is a forest ruin, and the stench told us that the beast had its lair there. We talked it over, and though we felt poor Halmi was likely already dead and eaten, we couldn't abandon our friend. So we made to go in and try to save him or to get our licks on the thing. But as we approached the entrance, we not only caught the stench of it, but some sort of strange fear entered us, and we couldn't bring ourselves to take even a step closer.

We tried...I swear to you we tried to go in there, but our hearts were not strong enough and eventually our wills broke and all we could do was run. And run we did, through the night and morning and all the way to Leaf Port. Here we asked around for a brave warrior who might be willing to help us, and your name and the name of another were given to us. Even now my companion speaks to the other. We are poor woodsmen, but we would give you what we can if you would brave what we could not and try to save our friend. I won't lie to you...we have no way to know if he still lives. Perhaps only his gnawed bones are left. But we have to try. We have to see...for he was our friend. And even if he is dead, that thing in the ruins needs to be killed or run off, or it will get others for a certain.

Will you help us? Will you go to the ruins and deal with this thing?

The PCs may have questions for the "woodsmen". Some of the likely questions are detailed below:

Q: To whom did you other friend go to find help?

A: [Varr the Morakki warrior or Velicleas the elven knight as appropriate]

Q: What do you know of these ruins?

A: Not much sir. The ruins are well known. They are a landmark of the forest to the northwest of here and most in town have likely heard of it. We have never heard of any sort of malign stories associated with it, so it must be that this thing has just recently taken up lair in the ruins.

Q: Where do you three live?

A: In a stead about two leagues to the northeast of Leaf Port. There are six families there, all of us woodsmen.

Q: Can you guide me to the ruins?

A: If I must I will. I fear the ill magic that crept into my soul and forced me to flee. I don't know if I will be able to approach the place again. The ruins are well known and easy to find and I can give you infallible directions, but if you feel I should come then I will try to get you as close as I am able.

Q: Can we take some time to prepare or gather more help?

A: Ah....I cannot force haste upon you sir, but I fear for my friend. I know you think probably he is already dead and there is time to spare, but I shudder to think if perhaps he is still alive and held captive and he should be killed while we tarry. I can only pray you will make all haste.

Q: How far is the ruin?

A: About 15 miles or so.

In all answers, both woodsmen will be as humble, and sincere as possible. Both are good actors and were chosen by Garinia for their ability to act and bluff. They have augmented this with a psionic tattoo. The only chink in their armour would be if either PC made it known that he plans to bring other people along to aid him (i.e. the rest of the PCs). The soulknives' plan was for Velicleas and Varr to come as a pair. Should the PCs make it clear they intend to bring another 2, 3, or 4 companions, then it might be possible for a PC who specifically states he is watching the woodsman's reaction to the proposal to bring more people to make a Sense Motive check against the soulknife's Bluff check to get a sense that something briefly seemed to worry or bother or irritate him. If asked about it, the soulknife will quickly recover his composure and state that he fears gathering such allies will take precious time.

"ARVASHT" and "BARETH" CR 2 Male human Rogue 1/Soulknife 1 LE Medium humanoid (human) Init +2; Senses trapfinding; Listen +5, Spot +5 Languages Common, Elf AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 12; Combat Expertise hp 12 (2 HD) Fort +1, Ref +6, Will +3 Spd 30 ft (6 squares) Melee mind blade +2 (1D6+1) Ranged sling +2 (1D4+1) Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft Base Atk +0; Grp +1 Atk Options Combat Expertise, sneak attack +1D6 Special Actions mind blade Combat Gear woodsman's axe (treat as a battleaxe), dagger, sling, bullets (10), psionic tattoo of conceal thoughts (ML 1), potion of misdirection (CL 3) Power Points 2 Abilities Str 12, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 14 Feats Combat Expertise, Skill Focus (bluff), Weapon Focus (mind blade), Wild Talent Skills Bluff +9 (+19 with psionic tattoo), Diplomacy +4, Disguise +6 (+8 with disguise kit), Escape Artist +6, Gather Information +6, Hide +4, Intimidate +6, Knowledge (psionics) +2, Listen +5, Move Silently +4, Search +3, Sense Motive +5, Spot +5, Tumble +7 Possessions combat gear plus leather armour, belt pouch, disguise kit (10 uses), wooden holy symbol to Galasiria Mind Blade (Su) As a move action, a soulknife can create a semisolid blade composed of psychic energy distilled from his own mind. The blade is identical in all ways to a short sword. The blade can be broken (it has hardness 10 and 10 hp); however, a soulknife can simply create another on his next move action. The moment he relinquishes his grip on the blade, it dissipates. A mind blade is considered a magic weapon for the purpose of overcoming DR.

Before reaching his target, each "woodsman" will tap his psionic tattoo, granting him a +10 bonus to Bluff checks and a +4 bonus to saves against mind reading powers or spells. He will also imbibe his potion, choosing as his object a nearby tree. This will make him detect as not evil, neutral in alignment, not lying, etc. The Will save against the potion is DC 13.

Should someone successfully detect evil on the "woodsmen", they will readily admit that they have done things in their past, claiming they served as bandits in their youth before becoming woodsmen and taking on families. As their evil auras are faint, that may suffice. If not, they will claim that they are indeed still bandits, but that this evil thing has indeed taken their companion and he had some of their booty on his person and they want it back. They will still ask for help and offer the PCs a share of that treasure. If all else fails, they will simply flee towards the ruins.

If, ultimately, the PCs refuse to go to the ruins, then it is up to the DM to have Valester and his group attack them in town. The DM has their statistics presented below and can still fashion a good fight in town that will still lead the PCs to the next adventure Two if by Sea.

Part Two - Into the Woods

Whether following Arvasht and Bareth or heading on their own, the PCs will travel north along the banks of the Relarth River, heading upriver against its swiftly flowing current. Occasionally, river craft pass by heading down river towards Leaf Port. These include humans on flat log rafts using poles and a large rudder to navigate, as well as round halfling river cogs made of pitch and strips of wood and guided by drag lines and oars deftly handled by the little folk.

A path meanders by the river, clearly well used by woodsmen and travellers from the river valley to the north. The PCs pass by steads and farms outlying the town and pass by the occasional human or halfling, some of whom perhaps even recognize and wave to the PCs.

The clear terrain persist for about 10 miles, which is a journey of about 7 hours if the PCs travel at a speed of 30 ft and a journey of about 10 hours if they travel at a speed of 20 ft. The weather is clear and mild, typical of an Onlor late spring.

Ahead,beyond the clear terrain, is an expanse of woodland, that spans the river for a couple of miles to the north of its westward bend and for at least 5 miles to the south. The ruins lie in the midst of the portion to the north of the river. Following directions or the "woodsmen", the PCs enter the woods and begin to follow a stream that flows into the Relarth from the north by northeast (this is the Tumbledown Stream). The woods appear to be tall, old growths; possibly an outlier of the Great Forest of Relum when that forest covered more of the Isle. Birds and normal animal life are in abundance, and the spring air is full of the chirps of baby birds and the buzzing of insects.

Encounter #1 (EL 4):

Approximately a half an hour into the woods, the PCs will hear a commotion in the woods ahead of them. Quickly into view will stumble a deer, with a large dire weasel attached to its neck. The deer looks to be in serious trouble, and as the PCs watch its forelegs buckle. The weasel continues to suck the deer's blood.

In the meantime, the dire weasel's companion has finally caught up with its mate, and was expecting to feast on the deer. Instead, from the opposite direction on the side of the PCs away from the deer, it suddenly caught scent of the PCs and is now sneaking up on them (presumably from behind if they are watching the deer and the other dire weasel). The second weasel will croodle up to the PCs from behind and then attempt to leap upon and take one of the PCs as its prey.

The Tumbledown Stream is approximately 15 ft wide at this point and about 5 ft deep, and is somewhat fast flowing (20 ft per round to the south and rough water [Swim DC 15]). The remainder of the terrain should be medium forest, with mostly typical trees (and a few massive trees scattered in) and entirely covered with light undergrowth (shown in green) except for a narrow 10 ft wide band that follows the river. Each square is 5 ft and north is towards the top of the map.

When the second weasel attacks, the first weasel will finish off the deer before turning to the PCs. If reduced to 25% of its total hit points, each weasel will flee, though one or both may try to drag the deer off with it.

DIRE WEASELS (2) CR 2 N Medium animal Init +4; Senses low-light vision, scent; Listen +3, Spot +5 AC 16, touch 14, flat-footed 12 hp 13 (3 HD) Fort +3, Ref +7, Will +4 Spd 40 ft (8 squares) Melee bite +6 (1D6+3) Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft Base Atk +2; Grp +4 Atk Options attach Special Actions blood drain Abilities Str 14, Dex 19, Con 10, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 11 Feats Alertness, Stealthy, Weapon Finesse Skills Hide +8, Listen +3, Move Silently +8, Spot +5 Attach (Ex) A dire weasel that hits with its bite attack latches onto the opponent’s body with its powerful jaws. An attached dire weasel loses its Dexterity bonus to AC and thus has an AC of 12. An attached dire weasel can be struck with a weapon or grappled itself. To remove an attached dire weasel through grappling, the opponent must achieve a pin against the creature. Blood Drain (Ex) A dire weasel drains blood for 1D4 points of Con damage each round it remains attached.

DEER CR 1/4 N Medium animal Init +2; Senses low-light vision, scent; Listen +8, Spot +3 AC 13, touch 12, flat-footed 11; Dodge, Mobility hp 11 [9 due to Con damage] (2 HD) [wounded: has suffered 4 hp of damage] Fort +1, Ref +5, Will +2 Spd 40 ft (8 squares); Run Melee hoof +2 (1D4+1) Melee gore +2 (1D6+1) Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft Base Atk +1; Grp +2 Abilities Str 12, Dex 15, Con 12 [2 points of Con damage], Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 6 Feats Dodge, Mobility, Run Skills Hide +7*, Listen +8, Move Silently +8, Spot +3, Swim +5 * Deer have an additional +4 racial bonus on Hide checks in forested areas

After dealing with the dire weasels, the PCs will make their way to the ruin site after another hour or so. At this point, if the PCs travelled at speed 20 ft, it may be approaching sundown and the PCs might wish to make a camp and wait until morning. If so, they will encounter nothing during the night.

The Ruin:

The ruin is actually a small stone structure that is overgrown with vines and brush, so that it appears almost to be a cave. The structure is located just past the headwaters of the Tumbledown Stream, which bubbles forth from a spring some 150 ft south of the ruin.

Refer to the map below. Each square is 5 ft and north is towards the top of the map. Light green shading represents areas of light undergrowth, while darker green shading represents areas of heavy undergrowth. Trees with small trunks are considered to be standard trees while trees with larger trunks are massive trees.

Despite the lack of green on the map where the ruins are shown, the ruins are entirely overgrown with ivy, creepers, vines, and other foiliage. Dirt climbs up its sides and grass and bushes grow on the dirt. As such, the ruins only poke through the greenery now and then, mainly at the fron entrance (area 1). The other breaks in the outer walls of the ruins are difficult to notice, due to shadows and hanging ivy and vines. As such, it requires a DC 10 Spot check to notice them from any distance greater than 10 ft.

The ruins are of a white stone, and the little bits that are exposed to view bear ancient carvings, mostly in the shape of whorls and geometric figures as well as what might be stylized trees and plants if given a closer look. When the outer walls have been breached, moss covered stone blacks and chunks of masonry can be found on the ground. If any PC wants to study and try to identify the design, a Dc 15 Knowledge (history) check can determine that the design is very ancient and is definitely neither elven or halfling.

The outer walls of the place are treated as masonry walls some 2 ft thick (hardness 8, 180 hp, break DC 35 [per 1 ft], climb DC 20). There are enough plants and vines on the walls to grant a +5 circumstance bonus to Climb checks. Interior walls are 1 ft thick masonry (hardness 8, 90 hp, break DC 35, climb DC 20). Interior walls have some moss and creeper groowths upon them, but much less so than outside and as such there is no circumstance bonus to climb the interior walls. All interiors are 10 ft high except for area 6, where the floor dips 5 ft, making the ceiling 15 ft overhead.

There is no light inside the structure. The vines and ivy and outside tree cover keeps much of the outside ambient light from penetrating very far into the interior, and while there are gaps in the roof masonry, these are entirely covered by vines and plant life. The interior is damp, as rain can get through the roof cracks and gaps, and pools of water and slime are present all over the floors. There is not enough of this to cause any risk of slipping, but the PCs will find their boots damp and if a rain has recently occurred, the sound of water dripping to the floor will be omnipresent.

The numbers shown on the map correspond to the descriptions below. The letters on the map represent the ambush locations of the soulknives as detailed in Part Three of the adventure.

1. Entrance

2. Rat Nest (EL 3 or varies)

Creatures: 8 dire rats dwell here, going out into the forest to forage at night and resting here in the day. If at night, only 1D8 of the rats will be present. During daylight hours, all of the rats will be present, each hidden inside of its nest. These rats have learned to stay hidden when the beast in area 6 rouses from its lair and heads for the forest. They will generally not leave their area to investigate noises in other parts of the ruin, but if their area is entered for distrubed they will attack until intruders are driven from their lair.

DIRE RATS (8) CR 1/3 N Small animal Init +3; Senses low-light vision, scent; Listen +4, Spot +4 AC 15, touch 14, flat-footed 12 hp 5 (1 HD) Fort +3, Ref +5, Will +3 Spd 40 ft (8 squares), climb 20 ft (4 squares) Melee bite +4 (1D4 plus disease) Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft Base Atk +0; Grp -4 Atk Options disease Abilities Str 10, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 4 Feats Alertness, Weapon Finesse Skills Climb +11, Hide +8, Listen +4, Move Silently +4, Spot +4, Swim +11 Disease (Ex) Filth fever - bite, Fort DC 11, incubation period 1D3 days, damage 1D3 Dex and 1D3 Con.

Treasure: A search of the nests will turn up 10 sp, 6 gp, and an ivory comb decorated with nymphs in a pool (25 gp) on a DC 15 Search check.

Developments: The sounds of the rats battling will rouse the beast in area 6 (see below).

3. Bat Nest (EL 2 or 0)

Creatures: A swarm of bats dwells here. During the day, the bats will be present in great numbers, hanging from the ceiling by clinging onto vines and cracks in the stone. At night the place is empty, as the bats leave through the breaches in the walls to hunt for insects and larger warm blooded prey. Except at twilight, when they rouse to leave, and dawn, when they return in a swarm, the bats here will be quiescent unless distrurbed. Disturbing the bats involves bringing any light source of torch size or greater into the chamber or making any sort of loud noise within the place. The bats will rouse in a swirling cloud and attack intruders, seeking to drive them off. They will continue to attack intruders until they flee more than 80 ft from the ruin.

BAT SWARM CR 2 N Diminutive animal (swarm) Init +2; Senses blindsense 20 ft, low-light vision; Listen +11*, Spot +11* AC 16, touch 14, flat-footed 12 hp 13 (3 HD) Immune weapon damage Fort +3, Ref +7, Will +3 Spd 5 ft (1 square), fly 40 ft (8 squares) (good) Melee swarm (1D6) Space 10 ft; Reach 0 ft Base Atk +2; Grp - Atk Options distraction, wounding Abilities Str 3, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 2, Wis 14, Cha 4 SQ swarm traits Feats Alertness, Lightning Reflexes Skills Listen +11*, Spot +11* Distraction (Ex) Any living creature that begins its turn with a swarm in its space must succeed on a DC 11 Fortitude save or be nauseated for 1 round. The save DC is Con-based. Wounding (Ex) Any living creature damaged by a bat swarm continues to bleed, losing 1 hp per round thereafter. Multiple wounds do not result in cumulative bleeding loss. The bleeding can be stopped by a DC 10 Heal check or the application of a cure spell or some other healing magic. Blindsense (Ex) A bat swarm notices and locates creatures within 20 ft. Opponents still have total concealment against the bat swarm (but swarm attacks ignore concealment). * A bat swarm has a +4 racial bonus on Listen and Spot checks. These bonuses are lost if its blindsense is negated.

Developments: The sounds of the bats rousing will not alert the beast in area 6, as the bats sometimes spook for little or no reason and eventually calm down again.

4. Pillar Room

The cobwebs are normal, and are home to various normal sized spiders.

5. Broken Room

6. Lair of the Beast (EL 4)

The earthen floor is a result of run off from rains over countless centuries which have collected here. The mud and earth is damp, but hard packed, and so is treated like a normal floor, providing no obstacle to movement. If probed, the dirt and mud reaches a depth of 3 or 4 inches before encountering the stone floor of the place.

Creatures: A dire boar lairs here. This boar is king of the local forest, and has only recently moved into the area, finding the ruin a very nice place to lair in. Like most of his kind, he hates intrusion, and will attack anything or anyone who shows himself in his vicinity. Most of the time here the boar spends sleeping, and as such the PCs can possibly sneak up on him. However, he sleeps lightly, and only suffers a -5 circumstance penalty to his Listen checks. If roused, he will not emerge from his lair, but will be standing and watching the entryway to the south, ready to charge.

DIRE BOAR CR 4 N Large animal Init +0; Senses low-light vision, scent; Listen +8, Spot +8 AC 15, touch 9, flat-footed 15 hp 52 (7 HD) Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +8 Spd 40 ft (8 squares) Melee gore +12 (1D8+12) Space 10 ft; Reach 5 ft Base Atk +5; Grp +17 Abilities Str 27, Dex 10, Con 17, Int 2, Wis 13, Cha 8 SQ ferocity Feats Alertness, Endurance, Iron Will Skills Listen +8, Spot +8 Ferocity (Ex) A dire boar is such a tenacious combatant that it continues to fight without penalty even while disabled or dying.

Developments: The dire boar will always be present when the PCs first enter the ruin, no matter what time of day. Thereafter, there the DM should allow a 50% chance that on any given day the boar leaves for several hours to forage. However, even a cursory glance of his lair should be enough to show that this boar does not have anyone's body in his lair. Furthermore, should a PC wish to ponder it, a DC 10 Knowledge (nature) will reveal that dire boars are not known to eat man-sized creatures or to bring them back to their lairs.

The dire boar will pursue anyone it sees, including outside the ruin. Until its prey remains out of sight for a decent period of time, the boar will pursue.

Part Three - Treachery (EL 6)

Valester and his group have been camped out a bit away from the ruin (about 50 yards away), and have kept a watch on the place awaiting the PCs' arrival. Whether alerted by Arvasht or Bareth (who, after the PCs head off will sneak out of town on the other side of the Relarth River and, out of sight of the river, hasten to warn Valester that the PCs are coming) or simply spotting the PCs approach (for example, if Arvasht and Bareth are guiding the PCs), they will watch the PCs approach from a safe distance. The DM should simply assume that the soulknife scouts have taken 20 to hide themselves and the PCs, unless they are specifically searching the area surrounding the ruin, have no chance to spot them.

When the PCs enter the area covered by the ruin map, the scout will alert Valester, who will bring his men to the ruin site and, if the PCs look to have entered the tuins, will array his men in an ambush as shown on the forest ruin map above. There they will await the emergence of the PCs, whereupon they will attack. It will take the soulknives 10 rounds to assemble (5 rounds for the scout to travel 150 ft to the camp and another 5 rounds for the soulknives to return to the ruin). If the PCs enter the map area and enter the ruins and somehow finish the exploration and leave the area before a mere 10 rounds are up, then they will have evaded the ambush and the soulknives will have to try to attack them in town.

If Arvasht and Bareth have guided the PCs to the ruin, they will absolutely refuse to enter, using their Bluff skills (unaugmented by any magic this time) to act as if the magical fear is still forcing them to keep away from the ruins. If the PCs insist on using magic to remove their fear and then try to get them to come, they will still complain that they are not warriors and are terribly afraid and would rather not enter. If still pressed, they will enter the ruin, trying to stay out of any and all combats and only defending themselves. When the PCs emerge from the ruin and tyhe ambush is sprung, they will suddenly turn on the PCs.

The letters on the map correspond to each soulknife as follows:

A = Arvasht
B = Thengir
C = Valester
D = Bareth
E = Invistry

The soulknives have arrayed themselves to cover every exit from the structure. When the PCs emerge, the soulknife nearest will give a whistle that sounds like a bird call (each soulknife has a different call, so all will know which one of their number spotted the PCs). A DC 10 Listen check is needed to pick out the call from the normal forest sounds. If heard, then a DC 10 Knowledge (nature) check is needed to realize the call is not quite precisely bird-originated.

In the meantime, the soulknives will converge on the PCs and then attack.

Note that the statistics for Arvasht and Bareth below assume they have used up their psionic tattoo and potion earlier in the adventure.

ARVASHT and BARETH CR 2 Male human Rogue 1/Soulknife 1 LE Medium humanoid (human) Init +2; Senses trapfinding; Listen +5, Spot +5 Languages Common, Elf AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 12; Combat Expertise hp 12 (2 HD) Fort +1, Ref +6, Will +3 Spd 30 ft (6 squares) Melee mind blade +2 (1D6+1) Ranged sling +2 (1D4+1) Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft Base Atk +0; Grp +1 Atk Options Combat Expertise, sneak attack +1D6 Special Actions mind blade Combat Gear woodsman's axe (treat as a battleaxe), dagger, sling, bullets (10) Power Points 2 Abilities Str 12, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 14 Feats Combat Expertise, Skill Focus (bluff), Weapon Focus (mind blade), Wild Talent Skills Bluff +9 (+19 with psionic tattoo), Diplomacy +4, Disguise +6 (+8 with disguise kit), Escape Artist +6, Gather Information +6, Hide +4, Intimidate +6, Knowledge (psionics) +2, Listen +5, Move Silently +4, Search +3, Sense Motive +5, Spot +5, Tumble +7 Possessions combat gear plus leather armour, belt pouch, disguise kit (10 uses), wooden holy symbol to Galasiria Mind Blade (Su) As a move action, a soulknife can create a semisolid blade composed of psychic energy distilled from his own mind. The blade is identical in all ways to a short sword. The blade can be broken (it has hardness 10 and 10 hp); however, a soulknife can simply create another on his next move action. The moment he relinquishes his grip on the blade, it dissipates. A mind blade is considered a magic weapon for the purpose of overcoming DR.

THENGIR and INVISTRY CR 1 Male human Soulknife 1 LE Medium humanoid (human) Init +2; Senses trapfinding; Listen +5, Spot +5 Languages Common, Elf AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 12; Combat Expertise hp 7 (1 HD) Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +3 Spd 30 ft (6 squares) Melee mind blade +2 (1D6+1) Ranged light crossbow +2 (1D8) Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft Base Atk +0; Grp +1 Atk Options Combat Expertise Special Actions mind blade Combat Gear light crossbow, crossbow bolts (20) Power Points 2 Abilities Str 12, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 10 Feats Combat Expertise, Skill Focus (hide), Weapon Focus (mind blade), Wild Talent Skills Climb +3, Hide +9, Jump +3, Listen +5, Move Silently +6, Spot +5, Tumble +6 Possessions leather armour, belt pouch Mind Blade (Su) As a move action, a soulknife can create a semisolid blade composed of psychic energy distilled from his own mind. The blade is identical in all ways to a short sword. The blade can be broken (it has hardness 10 and 10 hp); however, a soulknife can simply create another on his next move action. The moment he relinquishes his grip on the blade, it dissipates. A mind blade is considered a magic weapon for the purpose of overcoming DR.

VALESTER CR 3 Male human Rogue 1/Soulknife 2 LE Medium humanoid (human) Init +2; Senses trapfinding; Listen +6, Spot +6 Languages Common, Elf AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 12; Combat Expertise, Dodge hp 19 (3 HD) Fort +1, Ref +7, Will +4 Spd 30 ft (6 squares) Melee mind blade +4 (1D6+1) Ranged mindblade +3 (1D6+1) Space 5 ft; Reach 5 ft Base Atk +1; Grp +2 Atk Options Combat Expertise, sneak attack +1D6 Special Actions mind blade, throw mind blade Combat Gear potion of cure light wounds (CL 1) Power Points 2 Abilities Str 12, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 14 Feats Combat Expertise, Dodge, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (mind blade), Wild Talent Skills Balance +4, Bluff +6, Diplomacy +6, Escape Artist +6, Gather Information +6, Hide +5, Intimidate +6, Knowledge (psionics) +3, Listen +6, Move Silently +5, Search +3, Sense Motive +5, Spot +6, Tumble +8 Possessions combat gear plus leather armour, belt pouch, scroll case, map to the Coral of Bone Mind Blade (Su) As a move action, a soulknife can create a semisolid blade composed of psychic energy distilled from his own mind. The blade is identical in all ways to a short sword. The blade can be broken (it has hardness 10 and 10 hp); however, a soulknife can simply create another on his next move action. The moment he relinquishes his grip on the blade, it dissipates. A mind blade is considered a magic weapon for the purpose of overcoming DR. Throw Mind Blade (Ex) A mind blade may be thrown, with a range increment of 30 ft. The mind blade dissipates after having been thrown.

Developments: While Valester and his men are loyal to Varytur, they are not fanatics, and if things go badly for them they will attempt to escape, as Varytur is not known to punish failure as long as a good effort was made and intelligent tactics were used. If escape is not possible, they will surrender, as long as they deem they have a reasonable chance of surviving. If sufficiently threatened once captured, they will reveal their mission and their plan. They do not know much of the backstory of the PCs and their relationship to Varytur. They merely know that they serve under Garinia, a rising lieutenant of the Crystaline, and that she awaits them on a pirate ship docked off the coast to the east of Leaf Port. Their orders, given by Varytur, were to slay the elf knight Velicleas and to capture the Morakki named Varr and return with him to the ship.

If the PCs demand a head count of those aboard the ship, the DM should refer to the next scenario Two if by Sea for details.

Should any of the soulknives escape the PCs, he will head as quickly as possible (even hustling to the point of taking damage) to reach the ship and warn Garinia. In this case, the DM should refer to Two if by Sea for an explanation of the actions Garinia will take.

Should the soulknives somehow miss the PCs (perhaps the PCs finish with the ruin and leave before 10 rounds have elapsed) or if they somehow manage to sneak out of the ruins (e.g. invisible), then the soulknives will eventually realize they have left and will pursue the PCs back to Leaf Port, hoping to catch them en route. If worse comes to worse, they will attack them in town, though only as a last resort.

Finally, should the PCs gain the map to the Coral of Bone, they can follow it to an eventual confrontation with Garinia. That map is detailed in Two if by Sea.

Note: In the final combat, chaos can ensue if the PCs encounter the dire boar (or even the bat swarm) and flee the ruin, right into the waiting clutches of the soulknives. Imagine the fun if the PCs run out of the ruin, the soulknives attack, and then the dire boar launches himself through the entryway and begins to attack anyone and everyone!

Experience Points:

In addition to normal experience (which in Therra is half of that recommended in the DMG), each party member should be rewarded as follows:

• There are no extra experience awards for this scenario

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