TEXT: Based on the original DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® rules created by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and the new 
  DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game designed by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker, and Peter 
  Adkison. 
   
  This game product contains no Open Game Content. No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form without 
  permission of Wizards of the Coast. To learn more about the Open Gaming License and the d20 SYSTEM license, 
  please visit www.wizards.com/d20 
   
  This is an official RPGA® play document. To find out more about the RPGA and to learn more on how you can 
  sanction and run DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game events of all sizes, visit our website at www.rpga.com. 
   
  DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, GREYHAWK, LIVING GREYHAWK, D&D REWARDS, RPGA, Player’s Handbook, 
  Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc, in the US and other 
  countries. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or 
  unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of 
  Wizards of the Coast, Inc. This product is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places, or 
  events is purely coincidental. © 2004 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. 
  Visit the LIVING GREYHAWK website at www.rpga.com 
  For rules questions specific to this document and the LIVING GREYHAWK campaign email rpgahq@wizards.com 
   
  COR4-18 
   
  IT NEVER RAINS IN 
  NYROND 
   
  A One-Round D&D® LIVING GREYHAWK™  
  Core Scenario 
  Version 1.0 
  By Chris Chesher 
  Circle Reviewers: Craig Hier, Creighton Broadhurst and Stephpen Radney-MacFarland 
  Additional Greyhawk Source Material: Carl Sargent 
   
  With the constant pressure and sorrow that Eastfair extrudes, even the most stout hearted can get the blues from time 
  to time. But missions must be completed and duties upheld with little time left over for lamenting on greener grass. 
  Now an old friend needs you to carry on where others have failed. A package needs to go from point A to point B, and 
  even with a severe storm brewing; this side trip should not take you far out of the way of your own destination. That 
  said destination is that of the instigator of all this. An adventure for APL 2-8. Part four of the Running with the Baatezu 
  series. 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 2 
  RPGA SANCTIONED PLAY 
  Most likely you ordered this adventure as part of an 
  RPGA even from the RPGA website, or you received it 
  from your senior gamemaster. To play this adventure as 
  part of the LIVING GREYHAWK campaign—a worldwide, 
  ongoing D&D campaign set in the GREYHAWK setting—
  you must sanction it as part of an RPGA event. This event 
  could be as elaborate as a big convention, or as simple as a 
  group of friends meeting at the DM’s house.  
   
  To sanction an RPGA event, you must be at least a 
  HERALD-LEVEL gamemaster. The person who sanctions 
  the event is called the senior gamemaster, and is in 
  charge of making sure the event is sanctioned before 
  play, runs smoothly on the date sanctioned, and then 
  reported back to the RPGA in a timely manner. The 
  person who runs the game is called the table DM (or 
  usually just DM). Sometimes (and almost all the time in 
  the cases of home events) the senior gamemaster is also 
  the table DM. You don’t have to be a HERALD-LEVEL GM 
  to run this adventure if you are not the senior GM.  
   
  By sanctioning and reporting this adventure you 
  accomplish a couple of things. First it is an official game, 
  and you can use the AR to advance your LIVING 
  GREYHAWK character. Second player and DMs gain 
  rewards for sanctioned RPGA play if they are members of 
  the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS REWARDS program. Playing 
  this adventure is worth two (2) points.  
   
  This adventure retires from RPGA-sanctioned play 
  on December 31, 2005.  
   
  To learn more about the LIVING GREYHAWK 
  character creation and development, RPGA event 
  sanctioning, and DUNGEONS & DRAGONS REWARDS, visit 
  the RPGA website at www.rpga.com.  
   
  PLAYERS READ NO FARTHER 
  If you are planning on playing this adventure, stop 
  reading now. The rest of the information in this 
  adventure is for the DM only. If you read farther than 
  this section, you’ll know too much about its challenges, 
  which kills the fun. Also, if you’re playing this adventure 
  as part of an RPGA-sanctioned event, reading beyond this 
  point makes you ineligible to do so.  
  PREPARING FOR PLAY 
  To get the most out of this adventure, you need copies of 
  the following D&D books: Player’s Handbook, Dungeon 
  Master’s Guide, and the  Monster Manual.  
  Throughout this adventure, text in bold italics 
  provides player information for you to paraphrase or read 
  aloud when appropriate. Sidebars contain important 
  information for you, including special instruction on 
  running the adventure. Information on nonplayer 
  characters (NPCs) and monsters appear in abbreviated 
  form in the adventure text. Full information on NPCs 
  and monsters are given in Appendix 1.  
  Along with this adventure you’ll find a RPGA 
  Table Tracking sheet. If you’re playing this adventure as 
  part of an RPGA-sanctioned event, complete and turn in 
  this sheet to your senior GM directly after play. You’ll 
  also find a LIVING GREYHAWK Adventure Record (AR).  
   
  LIVING GREYHAWK LEVELS 
  OF PLAY 
  Because players bring their own characters to LIVING 
  GREYHAWK games, this adventure’s challenges are 
  proportionate to the modified average character level of 
  the PCs participating in the adventure. To determine this 
  modified Average Party Level (APL) follow the steps 
  below: 
  1. 
  Determine the character level for each of the PCs 
  participating in the adventure. 
  2. 
  If PCs bring animals that have been trained for 
  combat (most likely dogs trained for war), other than 
  those brought by virtue of a class ability (such as 
  animal companions, familiars paladin’s mounts) or 
  the warhorse of a character with the Mounted 
  Combat feat, use the sidebar chart to determine the 
  number of levels you add to the sum of step one. 
  Add each character’s animals separately. A single PC 
  may only bring four or fewer animals of this type, 
  and animals with different CRs are added separately.  
  3. 
  Sum the results of step 1 and 2, and divide by the 
  number of characters playing in the adventure. 
  Round up to the nearest whole number. 
  4. 
  If you are running a table of six PCs, add one to that 
  average. 
  Throughout this adventure, APLs categorize the level of 
  challenge the PCs face. APLS are given in even-
  numbered increments. If the APL of your group falls on 
  an odd number, ask them before the adventure begins 
  whether they would like to play a harder or easier 
  adventure. Based on their choice, use either the higher or 
  the lower adjacent APL. 
   
  APL also affects the amount of experience and gold a 
  PC can gain at the end of the adventure. If a player 
  character is three character levels or more either higher 
  or lower than the APL at which this adventure is being 
  played, that character receives only one-half of the 
  experience points and gold for the adventure. This 
  simulates the fact that either the PC was not challenged 
  as much as normal or relied on help by higher-level 
  characters to reach the objectives. 
   
  Furthermore, a PC who is four or more levels higher 
  than the highest APL supported by the adventure may 
  not play the adventure. 
   
  LIVING GREYHAWK adventures are designed for APL 
  2 and higher. Four or five 1st-level characters may find 
  the challenge of an APL 2 adventure difficult. Suggest the 
  following to these groups to help increase their chances 
  of success:  
  1. 
  Enlist a sixth player. 
  2. 
  Advise characters to buy riding dogs to help 
  protect them, and fight for them. 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 3 
  # of Animals 
  Mundane 
  Animals Effect 
  on APL 
  1 
  2 
  3 
  4 
  1/4 & 1/6 
  0 
  0 
  0 
  1 
  1/3 & 1/2 
  0 
  0 
  1 
  1 
  1 
  1 
  1 
  2 
  3 
  2 
  2 
  3 
  4 
  5 
  3 
  3 
  4 
  5 
  6 
  4 
  4 
  6 
  7 
  8 
  5 
  5 
  7 
  8 
  9 
  6 
  6 
  8 
  9 
  10 
  CR of Animal 
  7 
  7 
  9 
  10 
  11 
   
   
  Time Units and Upkeep    
  This is a standard one-round Core adventure, set in The 
  Great Kingdom of Northern Aerdy. All characters pay 
  two Time Units per round. Adventurer’s Standard 
  Upkeep costs 12 gp per Time Unit. Rich Upkeep costs 50 
  gp per Time Unit. Luxury Upkeep costs 100 gp per Time 
  Unit. 
   
  Adventurer’s Standard Upkeep costs 12 gp per Time 
  Unit. Rich Upkeep costs 50 gp per Time Unit. Luxury 
  Upkeep costs 100 gp per Time Unit. Characters that fail 
  to pay at least Standard Upkeep will retain temporary 
  ability damage until the next adventure, must buy new 
  spell component pouches and healer’s kits, and may 
  suffer other in-game penalties (or possibly gain in-game 
  benefits) as may be detailed in this scenario. 
   
  A character who does not pay for at least Standard 
  Upkeep may also avoid the above-described penalties by 
  living off the wild. If the character possesses four or more 
  ranks in the Survival skill and succeeds at a DC 20 
  Survival check, the character will heal temporary ability 
  damage as if he or she paid for Standard Upkeep, may 
  refill spell component pouches and healer’s kits, and may 
  restock up to 20 arrows or bolts if the character has at 
  least four ranks in Craft (bowmaking). The player is 
  allowed to Take 10 on this roll. 
   
  More information about Lifestyle and Upkeep can 
  be found in the “Lifestyle and Upkeep”section of Chapter 
  3 of the LIVING GREYHAWK Campaign Sourcebook. 
   
  SOURCE 
  ACKNOWLEDGEMENT  
  In the text of this adventure, sentences, paragraphs and 
  ideas have been borrowed (and expanded on) from the 
  sourcebook ‘Ivid the Undying’ by Carl Sargent.  
   
   
   
  ADVENTURE BACKGROUND 
  The North Kingdom    
  The Great Kingdom of Northern Aerdy is ruled by His 
  Righteous and Transcendent Majesty, the Overking of 
  Northern Aerdy, Herzog Grenell the First, Prince of 
  House Naelax (LE male human [flan-oeridian] Clr19 - 
  Hextor). 
   
  This is a nation of tyranny and oppression. Outside 
  of the large cities, feudal lords hold god-like power over 
  their small fiefdoms, only paying heed to the more 
  powerful liege above them in the social order. 
   
  Inside the city, nobles and the others who are lucky 
  enough to be above the salt practice a lifestyle of 
  hedonistic indulgences and cruelty at the cost of those 
  poor souls who fall below the salt. 
   
  The vast majority of the warlike noble families 
  pledge their spiritual faith into the many hands of the 
  Scourge of Battle, Hextor. Cavaliers of the darkest hearts, 
  shiniest armor and most bloodthirsty mounts are a 
  somewhat common sight in these lands-- be they the 
  clerics of Hextor or the knightly lord of the local manor 
  and village. 
   
  Though there are a number of small and rather 
  ineffectual ‘cults’ of good (usually in a chaotic form) that 
  preach and practice rebellion against the oppression of 
  the government and society in whole, finding them is 
  rarely easy, but when they are, an iron fist is used to crush 
  them. 
   
  That is not to say there are no forces of good left 
  within the North Kingdom. Once, not too long ago, this 
  nation was a part of the truly Great Kingdom and the 
  bastion of Oeridian culture.  
   
  Thus as Hextor is a part of that culture, so are gods of 
  good and neutrality. Those who would rebel against the 
  tyranny of the Lawful Evil society (such as Trithereon) 
  have long since been purged to all but the remotest 
  pockets. Followers of gods who would infer its 
  worshipers to a more direct opposition (such as the Arch-
  Paladin, Heironeous) have been equally purged.  
   
  This leaves the followers of good (and neutral) gods 
  who have found a way to work their dogma within the 
  oppressive bounds of the state religion of Hextor. An 
  example of this are followers of the Gentle Hand, Zodal, 
  running orphanages or churches of the Shining One, 
  Pelor, taking care of the poor and sick within the ever-
  swelling slums of the cities.    
   
  The Lawful Evil nature of the society allows these 
  small churches of good who do not practice rebellion as 
  dogma, to operate and take care of those (poor and sick) 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 4 
  that the government do not want to waste time on. The 
  thinking is, “if they want to waste their resources on 
  those types, and as long as they obey our laws, then let 
  them. Besides, it’s fun to bully them too, from time to 
  time.” 
   
  There are some religions that are accepted because 
  they play an important niche roll. Examples of this are 
  the churches of the Money Counter, Zilchus and the 
  Dweller on the Horizon, Fharlanghn, but the political 
  influence of these sects are kept to a minimum. The only 
  power they can express is that bought by coin and even 
  that is limited. 
   
  Amongst the common people (with their heavily 
  mixed Flan heritage) the Oerth Mother, Beory is 
  worshiped for nature related issues and to a lesser extent, 
  so are the Oeridian agricultural gods. Even the different 
  evil gods such as the Reaper, Nerull and the Black Rider, 
  Incabulos are given small prayers and appeasement to 
  ward off their callings and hopefully push them on to the 
  their neighbor, but not them. 
   
  Language 
  The peasants and serfs of the land all speak the Common 
  tongue, with a heavy Oeridian accent and usually mixing 
  in many words and expressions of Old Oeridian, though 
  this by no means guarantees that the serf speaker can 
  actually communicate fluently in Old Oeridian. 
   
  The nobility, clerics, sages, elite servants and anyone 
  with education speak Old Oeridian as their primary 
  language, but the Common tongue is known to all. 
  Religious and legal issues are dealt with in Old Oeridian, 
  as well as anything that is the domain of those above the 
  salt.  
   
  Keeping a Low Profile 
  When the characters visit Eastfair in this adventure, they 
  should not have too much of a problem with the 
  authorities or the general population (most of which are 
  LE, NE and N) as long as they keep their heads down and 
  don’t make a scene.  
   
  Those who worship Chaotic (of any morality) or 
  Lawful Good gods and do not pass a DC 12 Disguise 
  check (made once for the whole adventure) or whom 
  reveal themselves, suffer a –2 circumstance penalty to all 
  Charisma based skill checks. This is negated if they are 
  dealing with someone of their same ethos (a good 
  worshiper meeting a good worshiper has no problems, 
  etc), but this is left up to the Dungeon Masters to 
  determine. 
   
  A special case is in store for worshipers of 
  Heironeous, the archrival of Hextor. Since it is assumed 
  that a proud worshiper of such a god would adorn 
  himself with the marks and symbols of his divine patron, 
  the Disguise check is DC15. This includes not slipping 
  up and using sayings or dogma in speech. The price for 
  being recognized is a –6 circumstance penalty to all 
  Charisma based skill checks. Even if the character fails 
  his skill check, this does not mean that every city guard 
  and cleric of Hextor automatically spot him in the streets. 
  It’s only for when he is up close and interacting with 
  these Heironeous-Haters and those who play along out of 
  fear. 
   
  Even then though, he only becomes the target of 
  harsh ridicule. As long as the character keeps his cool and 
  dignity, he can get out safe and alive.  
   
  If he ever forces the hand of the Hextorians, 
  however “justice” will be swift. 
   
  The Hexotrians feel no need to grant a foreigner any 
  sort of honor duel, not in their own capital. 
   
  Pets, Familiars and Animal Companions 
  Large and/or wild animals are not allowed to be brought 
  into the city unrestrained and without a permit. Wolves, 
  bears, any dire animal and other dangerous creatures 
  must be leashed and muzzled or caged. Dire animals must 
  be caged. A one week permit costs 10 gp per size category 
  of each animal (starting at Small). 
   
  Horses, trained dogs, birds and other common 
  domesticated animals cost a copper each to enter the city, 
  but do not require any special restraints, but the master is 
  responsible for any damage the animals cause.  
   
  Crime and Punishment 
  The laws of the land are typically the same as one would 
  find in another lawful kingdom, only much, much 
  harsher. The people are copper’ed and silvered to death 
  with special taxes and tariffs. Most commoners are 
  considered property, either to their liege or to the 
  government as a whole should they be a Freeman (an 
  ironic term here).  
   
  Minor crimes and public disturbances bring about 
  rough treatment from the town guards or from one’s 
  social superiors (with little chance for recourse). 
  Thankfully, gold is an accepted solution to get the 
  characters out of all but the most unforgivable crimes 
  (usually those perpetrated against someone with rank 
  and power). The laws have been somewhat softened (or 
  just corrupted) from ten years ago. An influential man 
  about town succeeded in plying the right people to lower 
  the execution range on items from its original 500 gp to 
  the new 1000 gp limit. Rumors have it he is the main 
  backer of a new fledgling Thieves’ Guild. Thus these 
  Guilders can pay the bribes required for getting caught 
  for minor theft, instead of executed as in the past. 
   
  To give an example: If the characters cause the death 
  of a commoner, they can discreetly pay their way out of 
  punishment (the authorities make this clear with a wink 
  and nudge) for the sum of 1,000 gp per dead commoner 
  (or 100 gp for an orc).  
   
  Failure to pay this fee sentences the characters 
  involved to 2d6 TU’s worth of imprisonment (the 
  sentence would normally be much longer, life even, but 
  its assumed the crafty adventurers can eventually get 
  themselves out of the situation one way or another, along 
  with all their gear but not gold. All coin is removed from 
  the Adventure Record). 
   
  Killing a tradesmen or other such ‘middle’ class 
  member of society is 2,000 gp per offence. It doesn’t 
  matter how the death was caused. Accidentally or 
  premeditated, death is death. Failure to pay costs the 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 5 
  characters 2d8 TUs. Otherwise, this is treated the same as 
  the above entry. 
   
  Killing a Noblemen or other authority figure 
  requires a DC 15+APL Diplomacy check, just to be 
  allowed to make reparations or else be executed 
  permanently. If the characters succeed in the apology, 
  then they at minimum must pay the full cost to bring the 
  person back from the dead (raise dead or resurrection) 
  and then another 2,000-4,000 gp (DUNGEON MASTERS 
  discretion on severity) on top of that (this secondary 
  amount can be reduced as stated below).  
   
  Theft Over 1000 gp is a death sentence. Those 
  caught for this crime are almost always publicly executed 
  as an example to the rest of the population. To even 
  attempt to get out of this requires a DC 25+APL 
  Diplomacy check, then confiscation of the item, then a 
  5,000 gp bribe. Sad to say, few people have those sorts of 
  resources, so permanent death becomes quite the 
  deterrent. Philosophers have pointed out that the crime 
  of theft is more harshly dealt with than the crime of 
  murder and that speaks volumes on the mentality of the 
  government and its people. 
   
  For lesser crimes, like;  
   
  Insulting a Noble or a cleric of Hextor (Diplomacy 
  check DC10+APL to be allowed to pay 200 gp, otherwise 
  1d6 TUs of imprisonment).  
   
  Interfering with a Guardsmen (50 gp or 1d4 TUs of 
  imprisonment). 
   
  Public 
  Disorder 
  (50-200 
  gp, 
  or 
  1 
  TU 
  of 
  imprisonment). 
   
  Theft, Minor (Half the value of the items and 
  confiscation of the items or 1d3 TUs of imprisonment 
  and confiscation of the items).  
   
  Breaking and Entering (50-200 gp or 2TU of 
  imprisonment). 
   
  Vagrancy (a sound beating, then, 50 gp or 1TU of 
  imprisonment and another sound beating).  
   
  Dungeon Masters should use these as a guideline should 
  they find their players getting into trouble not listed 
  here. When in doubt though, err on the side of caution 
  and leniency.  
   
  These minor crimes can usually be paid on the spot 
  to guards or other authority figures. The more severe 
  charges (like murder) usually take some time to process 
  in the courts. Typically, paying 100 gp can speed it up to 
  2d6 hours, from 2d8 days (all included in the initial TU’s 
  paid for the adventure). This is nothing compared to the 
  poor wretches who spend years in tiny cells awaiting a 
  trail that may never come. 
   
  If the characters profess their innocence (whether 
  they are innocent or not, it doesn’t matter much) a 
  representative for them all may make a single opposed 
  DC 1d20+3+APL Diplomacy check (per charge). The 
  character may use Knowledge (Core) instead for this 
  check. 
   
  If this is successful, then the cost in gold or TUs is 
  reduced by 50% (round down). But if the check fails, the 
  penalties are increased by 50% (round up).  
   
  Some exceptions to this are when the authorities 
  hate the victims more than the characters. For example, 
  killing a cleric of Tharizdun or Vecna doesn’t bring about 
  much reprisal (unless the characters committed a lot of 
  other crimes in the process). 
   
  Also, the adventure text may list specific instructions 
  on how to handle a crime or a trial. Always use the 
  specific instructions in the adventure text over those 
  listed above.  
   
  As stated previously, a typical commoner would 
  expect a life sentence for very minor crimes, but the 
  adventurers (with a few exceptions) are only penalized 
  TU’s, for it is assumed that they are able to get themselves 
  out of the imprisonment much before the end of the 
  expected sentence. A death sentence is the exception to 
  this. Without specific instructions in the scenario, death 
  becomes difficult to be paroled from but after most petty 
  executions, the body can be recovered by resourceful 
  adventurers. 
   
  Guard patrols and even their interest depends on 
  what part of the city or (in the case of in rural area) whose 
  land one is on.  
   
  In Eastfair, The New City is closely watched by both 
  mundane and even magical means. Those committing 
  crimes have a much higher chance of getting caught. In 
  the Old City, guard patrols are fewer and petty crime is 
  rampant, but the patrol sizes tend to be much larger with 
  a higher chance of special support units (such as mages or 
  brute squads), ready to tear a neighborhood apart till they 
  get the people their after.  
   
  Rural lands are under the jurisdiction of whichever 
  noble owns that patch of land, which can have several 
  layers of authority. These rural nobles have less firepower 
  to back up an arrest then do the city guards against 
  powerful adventurers, so they tend to be more lenient 
  and willing to deal when they feel they lack the upper 
  hand. 
   
  Law Enforcement in Eastfair 
  The every day city watch duties are held by the Rakers, 
  companies of elite soldiers from the northern border of 
  the North Kingdom. They are much feared and rightly 
  so. Should the need arise; the city has garrisons of church 
  solders, squadrons of calvary, mage detachments, and orc 
  brute squads (though the orcs are generally kept in the 
  Old City). 
   
  Ever the inventive and progressive city, Eastfair has 
  established a system where citizens can pay to have a 
  large bell (and additional smaller hand held ones) that 
  can be rung to call forth a city guard patrol. These bells 
  are specially marked by the Rakers and the authorities. 
  Possession of non-sponsored bells without a permit is 
  illegal. Due to the large fee, these signaling bells are 
  mostly found in the hands of the rich. 
   
  Normal folk can still summon the guards per the 
  traditional method of yelling or running up and tugging 
  on sleeves, but the bells provides extra convenience 
  when seconds count. 
   
  Patrols (both foot and mounted) of Rakers can be 
  found all over the New City, both day and night. There 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 6 
  response time is usually 2+1d4 minutes for a single 
  patrol, with more patrols arriving within another 1+2d4 
  minutes. For problem cases, magical assistance, both 
  clerical and arcane can be called in, but due to the 
  monitory cost, this is not used for insignificant cases.  
   
  Typical patrol in the New City 
  Sgt Ftr3; 2d4 Troopers War2 
   
  Elite Patrol 
  Lt Ftr3/Rog2; Sgt Ftr3; 2d8 Troopers War2; 50% of 
  Evk3; 50% of Clr5 of Hextor 
   
  Typical patrol in the Old City 
  Orc Squad 
  Orc Sgt Bar2 or Ftr 2; 4d4 orcs war1; 1d2 ogres 
   
  Raker patrol 
  Vet Sgt Ftr4; 2d8 Troopers War2 
   
   It should be noted that, unlike a typical city in the west, 
  the city guard here are typically evil and uncaring. Good 
  characters trying to turn in bad guys are just as likely to 
  get trouble turned around onto themselves as well with 
  money changing hands being the only way out. The 
  Rakers of Eastfair can’t be relied upon to solve all of the 
  character’s troubles. 
   
  Eastfair, The Granite City   
  Within the high and heavily fortified outer granite walls 
  of the city, are streets so clean and tidy that they put 
  some high altars of Heironeous to shame. 
   
  Heavily worked maintenance crews keep the hard, 
  stark and stern streets sanitary, as much as the elite units 
  of Rakersmen (elite troops of North Province) keep the 
  streets orderly as the town guard.  
   
  While it has a reputation for urbanity, ordinary folk 
  in the city work hard and need to in order to compensate 
  for the heavy taxation and cruel red tape. One must pass 
  through the second ring of city walls and into the Old 
  City, in order to get to the interior of the city and to see 
  its true seedy underbelly. Here, the poor and the 
  wretched eek out an existence shut away from the 
  outside, only allowed to exit via special permits or by 
  wearing badges sewn to their vests. 
   
   In the last decade or so, this poor interior has turned 
  from poor-man’s quarters, though kept almost as orderly 
  as the New City, into a true slum (much to the chagrin of 
  the authorities). This has been caused by the ever-
  increasing migration of refugees into the city. If you can 
  pay the entrance fee, you can enter Eastfair, but if your 
  not a skilled tradesmen or rich, your shunted to the Old 
  City.  
   
  Once there, you can’t legally leave without a permit 
  of some sort. This has been causing quite a bit of 
  increased 
  hardship 
  and 
  chaos. 
  The 
  uncaring 
  government’s answer is to send in brute squads of orcs 
  and ogres to thin out the population of troublemakers, 
  but never so much that they’ll cause a general revolt. 
  Cycles of famine and diseases keep the population levels 
  of the Old City down as well.   
   
  Behind its orderly mask, the population of the city is 
  as prone to hedonistic pleasures. Eastfair has always 
  attracted the most debauched and degenerate nobility 
  and merchants of North Province. If you have the money 
  to pay for it, the Nine Hells itself can be yours to 
  experience. 
   
  Eastfair attracts wealth. Those riches are either 
  inherited, or else obtained by the best merchants, that is, 
  the most unscrupulous, swindling, money grabbing ones. 
  Given this, it is not surprising that Eastfair's rich like to 
  spend their money on depraved and immoral activities. 
   
  Eastfair has a considerable number of truly 
  exceptional craftsmen and artisans within its city walls. 
  These numbers have swollen by the people seeking 
  refuge in the Granite City from more troubled lands and 
  cities. Now, truly, Eastfair is a city where one can buy 
  almost anything -- if one has almost limitless supplies of 
  gold. 
   
  When the sun sets and the streets fill with flickering 
  shadows, it’s the poor and common men that pay for the 
  vileness of the riches’ entertainment, not to mention all 
  the other hidden evils in the city. 
   
  In a nutshell, the common people have very few 
  rights and the government enforces itself on the lower 
  class brutally, but usually overlook the vileness that 
  befalls the common man, as long as its done quietly and 
  doesn’t disturb the order of the city. 
   
  Something one does not see walking the streets of 
  the city are fiends. Baatezu and especially Tanar’ri are not 
  generally accepted by the church of Hextor. Part of this 
  has to do with their god residing on Archeron, and not 
  the Nine Hells. Though fiends are used for specific 
  purposes (and present within the city), as a policy, the 
  authorities don’t want them to wander around within the 
  general populace. 
   
  The same goes for undead, for they tend to cause a 
  lot of disorder and public disturbance. Of course, there 
  are always exceptions to those with power and the fact 
  that there are several animus nobles in the city makes it a 
  complicated issue. Having undead wandering the streets 
  is an extravagance reserved for the most powerful and 
  connected. Anyone else will find their minions destroyed 
  and themselves held accountable. 
   
  It should be noted that, though mostly just rumors, 
  good outsiders have made temporary homes in this large 
  city. They have been called to do good and help the 
  crusading good minority fight the powers of evil. When 
  these beings are discovered they are routed out with 
  extreme prejudice and any mortals found to be 
  supporting them (and even those not) are punished 
  brutally, usually by having an ogre pay them a social visit 
  to discuss the implications of the transgression. 
   
  Rise of the Thieves’ Guild 
  For generations, Eastfair has not had a Thieves’ Guild. 
  The authorities of the time would crush without mercy 
  any attempt to organize. Visible crime and disorder to 
  society would not be tolerated.  
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 7 
   
  Around ten years ago, there started a large and steady 
  influx of refuges to the city of Eastfair. Some displaced by 
  the Greyhawk Wars, others by the civil infractions with 
  Ahlissa, and still others driven out by orcs from the Bone 
  March.  
   
  Those with talents or money found sustenance 
  within the New City. Those of the poor unwashed and 
  huddling masses that were not so well off, were marched 
  directly into the Old City—a district surrounded by walls 
  and streets that end at them. 
   
  As the inhuman conditions worsened within the 
  Old City (and more people arrived), violence and 
  thievery became commonplace. Where in the New City, 
  the city watch could quickly crush such disorder, the 
  slums and crowded streets of the Old City proved 
  difficult to police. Many units of Rakers just gave up even 
  trying, sticking to their barracks rather than bring evil 
  tyrannical order to those who desperately needed it to 
  survive (since freedom and mercy where not on the 
  menu). 
   
  Then one day, a rich former adventurer came to 
  Eastfair and he made some deals with those with the 
  power to make small changes to the laws. With bribes in 
  the right place and slight amendments to the laws, 
  organized Guilders started to rise up from the multitude 
  of street gangs. 
   
  Those in the government are split on the issue. Some 
  feel it’s a good thing to allow the Guilders to operate for it 
  provides bribes and some modicum of control on the 
  population of the Old City. Others see it as an affront to 
  the authority of the Herzog and want every single street 
  criminal wiped out. But as long as the crime stays off the 
  streets of the New City, those factions within the 
  government will continue to debate it. Should the Guild 
  ever become a public embarrassment, then heads will 
  roll. In the meantime, orcs and their kin are used as brute 
  squads to keep the poor in line and the Guild 
  underpowered.  
   
   Besides, with the influx of refugees and decrease in 
  the amount of resources of control the government 
  has, the criminal/unrulely element of the population is 
  going to increase; its just human nature or at least say the 
  clerics of Hextor. 
   
  Now, the government and society hates disorderly 
  crime, but seems to look the other way to stuff that 
  doesn't make it self seen. That is to say, beggars on the 
  streets are a big no-no, but shadows and wraiths haunting 
  a poor neighborhood is not much of a concern. Peasants 
  protesting an injustice are quickly brutalized, but a 
  vampire cultist going out at night and kidnapping a 
  person without money or connections would not interest 
  the authorities much.  
   
  It’s this apathy that allows the Guild to recruit new 
  members to replace the many it looses to risky ventures. 
  Some street gangs are known to be recruiting fronts for 
  the guild; while some rumors claim that all of the street 
  gangs are controlled pyramid fashion by the Guild, as 
  their own fiefs.  
   
  What is known for sure is that the street gangs are 
  often hard hit. They authorities wipe them out as brutally 
  as they wipe each other out. The gangs of the Old City are 
  as chaotic as they are cruel. 
   
  While petty street crime gets handled by junior 
  members, the more senior members seem to easily gain 
  contracts for lucrative jobs within the New City and 
  beyond. It gives the junior members something to aim 
  for. 
   
  Others have wilder theories, things like devils 
  control the guilders, or that the city Nobles control the 
  street gangs, or that the Herzog himself is the head 
  Guildmaster.  
   
  Whatever the true story, the Thieves’ Guild of 
  Eastfair is far more complicated than it lets on. 
   
  Locations in Eastfair 
  The following is a quick explanation for places within the 
  city that either are discussed with the characters (but not 
  expect to be visited) or are locations that the characters 
  need to visit as listed in the encounters. A more detailed 
  description can be found within the Encounter dealing 
  with that location. 
   
  Eastfair is divided into Old City and New City. The 
  Old City was built circa 80 CY, and the city greatly 
  expanded in size during the third century when New 
  City began to grow outside the original walls.  
   
  The Old City is now mostly the province of the 
  poorer people, save for the complex of buildings known 
  as "The Cyst,”while New City contains the homes and 
  workplaces of the well off.  
   
  For characters approaching Eastfair, their first sight 
  of the city should give them an impression of grandeur. 
  Huge granite walls confer an air of invulnerability, and 
  the stone spires and slate roofs of the buildings inside 
  crowd together like a phalanx of powerful defenders. 
  Great Gate, bearing its mighty shields of Hextor and 
  North Province, is a forbidding entrance to this majestic 
  city. 
   
  The Great Gate 
  This gate is powerfully defended, with ballista platforms 
  flanking the 30 ft. high granite walls and a pair of huge 
  (22 ft. high) stone statues of Aerdi warriors standing one 
  each side of them. These statues can be animated as 
  massive stone golems (271 hp each) by a cleric of Hextor 
  who stands special watch as part of the gate detail, to 
  fight in defense of the city. 
   
  �Greater Stone Golem: 271 hp; see Monster 
  Manual page 136. 
   
  An entrance toll is charged of 1 sp a person (1 gp a 
  merchant or freesword, with extra charges of 1 sp to 1 gp 
  for each horse, wagon, etc.). The main gates are opened 
  for wagons and horse, with men on foot using smaller 
  side doors at the base of the ballista towers.  
   
  Within Great Gate, the broad boulevard known as 
  The Full Path stretches into the heart of the city and on 
  to Newgate and Spider's Gate. Just beyond Great Gate, 
  the extraordinary sight simply named "Waterfall” greets 
  the visitor; 20 ft. high, 10 ft. long standing waves of water 
  lie either side of The Full Path, a permanent magical 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 8 
  reminder that Eastfair lies just north of the headwaters of 
  the Flanmi.  
   
  The Fisherman's Gate 
  The north gate of the city is much smaller than the Great 
  Gate, and receives only visitors on foot or on horse in 
  small numbers.  
   
  Originally, this was the gate used by humbler 
  tradesmen, hence its name, but in a reversal of history 
  this gate now opens into the richer areas of the city and 
  merchants are sent to Great Gate if they seek entry. 
   
  Though this gate has not the powerful defenses of 
  Great Gate, the gatehouse here contains a minor magical 
  artifact which, if the right command word is activated, 
  can shield the gate in a wall of stone which is 90% 
  resistant to any attempts to dispel it, save by use of the 
  same artifact used to create it. 
   
  Once the trouble starts in the countryside, this gate 
  is magically sealed (as above) and only opened for use by 
  the most powerful of the city. The characters have no 
  chance in getting it open. 
   
  The Cyst 
  The Cyst comprises three sets of buildings located 
  behind iron railings protected by priests of Hextor and 
  squads of Rakersmen all in the Old City. None can enter 
  without an invitation, granted pass, or the summons of 
  the Herzog himself.  
   
  The central building here, the Herzog's Palace, 
  houses Grace Grenell and the hierarchy of the priesthood 
  of Hextor, together with the most senior city officials 
  (Chancellor, city architect, Commander-General of the 
  Watch, etc.). To the right of the Palace are the barracks of 
  the Rakersmen, with some 600 troops and a dozen of 
  their most senior commanding officers. 
   
  Unless the characters really act up, they should 
  never need to go here. If the situation warrants them 
  going here and getting inside they are not coming back. 
   
  The Whirling Dervish  
  Nested in the Streets of Delight, the Whirling Dervish is 
  a hostelry offering entertainments marginally less 
  depraved, and more varied, than most establishments 
  around it.  
   
  The proprietor, Clinorus Kradner, dresses in 
  Baklunish robes and a turban, even though he's never 
  been west of Edge Field in his life. To someone who is 
  from the Baklunish West or has visited them, it is 
  obvious that Clinorus has dressed to the descriptions of 
  embellished stories, not to mention the man is not 
  Baklunish, more of a dark flan-oeridian mix.  
   
  Clinorus is, in fact, a cleric of Olidammara as well 
  (Clr4), with a strong tendency to good alignment. This is 
  a closely kept secret. 
   
  This location is visited in the Introduction 
  Encounter. 
   
  The Merchant Quarter  
  The Merchant Quarter contains the better markets of 
  Eastfair and the homes of many ordinary merchants. At 
  the center of the entire quarter is the main Temple of 
  Zilchus for the city.  
   
  This quarter is also home to an enclave (subsection) 
  of merchants who specialize in exotic goods: silks, spices, 
  peppers, rare herbs, alchemical goods, tropical hardwood 
  furnishings, Ketite rugs and carpets, and all manner of 
  unusual items. This square is sometimes referred to as 
  ‘Little Bakluni Town’. 
   
   Nearby to these shops of Exotic section is the walled 
  compound of the Zilchus Western Company. This is the 
  major supplier to these particular shops of western goods, 
  though they by no means hold any monopolies on 
  Baklunish trade. This just happens to be the sister 
  headquarters of an order of Zilchus clerics that operate 
  this company. 
   
  A small part of this quarter is visited in Encounter 1. 
   
  The Old City 
  The houses here are those of laborers, serfs (including 
  church serfs), and unskilled workers. This is the new 
  slum district for Eastfair, though it has only formed in 
  the last ten years.  
   
  The houses here are dilapidated, and people live in 
  very overcrowded homes, with a fair amount of violence 
  and drunkenness. However, this is the best place for 
  anyone wishing to lie low in Eastfair.  
   
  Racketeer landlords rent a bare room for a copper or 
  two a day per person, and the town guard (Rakersmen) 
  patrol the streets rarely unless there has been a recent 
  bout of worse than usual street fighting. 
   
  To keep the newly forming slum-like conditions in 
  check, orc and ogre brute squads smash any shanty towns 
  or tent districts that occasionally form out of desperation. 
  The more vocal troublemakers also get the occasional 
  courtesy call from the brute squads-- Nothing like an ogre 
  to change your opinion in a philosophical debate.  
   
  Good churches and clerics tend to the unwashed 
  masses as best as they can with the limited resources they 
  are allowed, though they are often victims of the brute 
  squads themselves. Some of the more charismatic clerics 
  have made contacts within the guardsmen and/or 
  authorities (gold is usually involved) and get some special 
  consideration from that. 
   
  The Orc Quarter 
  Part of the reason for the overcrowding in the rest of Old 
  City is this district, which is walled off from the rest of 
  the Old City (but still inside the Old City). The 3,000 
  troops of the Euroz Angry Army have settled into 
  barracks here and have made it their own.  
   
  At the present, the town guard tries only to patrol 
  the outskirts of this zone, but the orcs have taken to 
  kidnapping ordinary people in Old City (the orcs have 
  secret ways out of the district) and taking them back to 
  their barracks for supper (as it were) or just to torture and 
  kill them out of boredom. 
   
   The orcs also act as jailers in the city prison directly 
  opposite Spider's Gate, which allows them some 
  opportunity for indulging their sadism and brutishness. 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 9 
   
  The orc warlord, Snaggrip Grekk, swaggers about 
  Eastfair as if he owned the place, and there are many 
  humans in Eastfair who would like to have the general 
  population rise up and slaughter him and his men -- no 
  matter how many casualties might be suffered.  
   
  The situation is very tense, and Grenell knows that 
  while the orc leaders want to be in Eastfair to have a very 
  definite presence in Grenell's capital city, their soldiers 
  often grow rebellious and irritable, needing the fresh 
  stimulus of battle. Brawls and drunken rebellions when 
  out in the countryside are happening with more and 
  more frequency. Usually once the rampaging orcs run 
  out of beer and/or troops are sent out to rein them in, 
  everything settles down again.  
   
  A few orc ringleaders (and often their human 
  officers) are severely punished, but the orc regiment is 
  put right back to what ever it was doing before, as if 
  nothing happened. 
   
  Though the city has a standard garrison of 3,000 orcs, 
  usually about 1,000 of those orcs are farmed out to nearby 
  garrisons or for special projects (usually as hard laborers).  
   
  In this adventure, such a regiment of 600 orcs work 
  and garrison the Holim ruins east of Eastfair.  
   
  THE PREVIOUS PLOT 
  COR3-17 When Orcs Attack   
  In the beginning of this series, the characters were 
  recruited by Afronindius the Holy Clerk of the Zilchus 
  Western Company- Eastfair branch. This recruitment was 
  facilitated by Clinorus Kradner proprietor of the 
  Whirling Dervish and friend of the family. The 
  characters were needed to discreetly investigate the 
  ritual-like murder of Afronindius’s son, Dantoni. This 
  investigation was quickly interrupted by an incident 
  involving orcs rioting throughout the countryside.  
   
  Finding themselves sidetracked with a mission to 
  rescue an endangered orphanage, the characters come to 
  realize that a twist of fate has brought them into contact 
  with the perpetrators of the murder. Information soon 
  comes to light that these two thugs are really just dupes 
  and the real mastermind is still at large and even more of 
  a mystery.  
   
  COR4-09 A Tiger? In Ahlissa?!   
  The characters have returned to Eastfair to continue the 
  investigation into the forces behind the murder of 
  Dantoni, son of the Holy Clerk.  
   
  As this adventure reveals, the dreaded Opaquer is 
  actually a Fish Monger named Darrien ‘The Knife’. He 
  arrived in the city two years ago and purchased a 
  fishmongery. He then fought quite hard and expensively 
  to gain the contract rights to supply and deliver fish to 
  feed the orc workers at the just started Holim ruins dig 
  site. He then used his access to the site to journey there 
  alone without his usual laborers. There is something 
  there that interests him greatly.  
   
  Over the two years, Darrien has been collecting the 
  hearts of various people, many of them minor clerics of 
  different churches, to use in a undisclosed ritual. Dantoni 
  was his last victim. The victim clerics were of Atroa, 
  Cyndor, Fharlanghn, Lendor, Lirr, Sotillion, Wenta, 
  Zilchus.  
   
  Dantoni was working as an Honest Deal Mediator, 
  and Darien, being paranoid about his secrets suspected 
  Dantoni might know too much. So using his two witless 
  thugs, Darien had the young cleric killed and his heart 
  removed, after which Darien skipped town with most of 
  his gear. He left his wererat cohort in charge of his fish 
  mongery and the shrine to Vecna below it. Yes, Vecna. 
  Darrien and his cohort are part of a cult of Vecna up to no 
  good.  
   
  It’s up to the characters in this adventure to track 
  down the last days of Dantoni’s life and find out what 
  prompted someone to murder him and then follow that 
  lead.  
   
  To add to the character’s troubles, Darrien has hired 
  a southern assassin called the Dawn Tiger to hunt them 
  down. Luckily for the characters, a representative from 
  the local Guild has reasons of her own to tip the 
  characters off to the impending assassination.  
   
  What’s Happening in COR4-14 Sympathy for 
  the Baatezu 
  Now that the characters have stirred up the nest, the 
  buzzing plot lines are starting to appear like a swarm.  
   
  Eastfair is always a complicated web of intrigue and 
  nefarious plots. The air around this scenario series is no 
  different. The characters are starting to understand that 
  what they’ve gotten themselves involved in goes far 
  beyond 
  the 
  simple 
  murder 
  of 
  a 
  young 
  and 
  inconsequential cleric of Zilchus. In addition to that, 
  they are starting to cross paths with other intrigues that 
  have their own destinations and travelers. 
   
  Octreth the young Honest Deal Mediator cleric of 
  Zilchus fell in love with a girl who sells flowers, as is the 
  thing to do in spring. Perhaps that makes all of this 
  Atroa’s fault, so blame it on the Atroa.  
   
  Octreth needed to change his assigned nightshift for 
  a day shift in order to court his new love before another 
  moved in. His roommate, Dantoni, had such a day shift to 
  trade, but the trade had to be kept secret to avoid the 
  displeasure of their strict superiors. 
   
  Thus Dantoni met up with Darien the Knife, a 
  fishmonger by day, but a cleric of Vecna by night. Vecna 
  clerics tend to be paranoid, and so poor Dantoni soon 
  found himself a target for murder. While his roommate 
  was giving his heart away, Dantoni was having his cut 
  from his torso. 
   
  Captain Falentia the Rakersmen investigated the 
  murder of Dantoni. This was a half-hearted investigation 
  to begin with, but then those superior to Falentia started 
  to scheme now that an opportunity had fallen into their 
  laps. 
   
   Dantoni’s father is Holy Clerk Afrondious of the 
  Zilchus Western Company. The Holy Clerk managed to 
  pay for the required resurrection, but he feared for his 
  son’s continued life. The reason for his murder was still a 
  mystery—so Dantoni was sent to the Baklunish West. 
  Meanwhile, despite direct orders from his superior, 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 10 
  Afrondious started to put out feelers for adventures to do 
  what the city guard seemed to be botching.  
   
  Many adventurers started to arrive in the city, all 
  taking up the Holy Clerk’s under-the-table charge. While 
  they all did it for different reasons, none of them had any 
  solid clues to start with. That is until, some miles away 
  outside the city, an orc finished downing his twentieth 
  brew and took a sudden disliking to the nose of his 
  human officer. 
   
  The resulting wave of orcs rampaging across the 
  countryside brought those adventures into contact with a 
  cleric of Pelor who required their immediate help in 
  saving an orphanage stranded in the midst of the orcs. 
   
  At that orphanage was the one witness to the murder 
  of Dantoni, as well as the two culprits trying to silence 
  that witness. But as it turns out, the two thugs with 
  bloody hands were just dupes for a mastermind—one 
  who still needed to be identify and caught. 
   
  Word got around that the adventurers were on the 
  trail of mastermind, one Darien the Knife. So he called in 
  some favors and had an allied assassin come into Eastfair 
  from down south to quickly silence the adventurers or at 
  least cover Darien’s escape from Eastfair. 
   
  The involvement of an assassin foreign to the city 
  brought about the attention of the Eastfair Thieves’ 
  Guild, and in particular a faction called the Smiling Ones. 
  But the Smiling Ones are not what they appear to be. 
  Behind their snarling facades are hearts of gold (or silver 
  at least).  
   
  The Smiling ones have their own mission within 
  Eastfair, but the plight and quest of the adventurers 
  peeked their interest, so they intervened to test the true 
  intent of the adventurers. They were pleased, but have no 
  intention of revealing their own mission or nature to the 
  adventurers. 
   
  The Smiling Ones have their own nemeses within 
  the Eastfair ruling class, one who has his own cravings 
  for dark power and goes about trying to gain it with cloak 
  and dagger operations. This person is Prince Poxquand 
  the Undying of House Naelax. For a price, such an item 
  was obtained by a Zilchan agent from within the Holim 
  ruins. It would have been handed over as agreed, but the 
  Smiling Ones decided to interfere. But in the end, no one 
  came out with the item as it was mysteriously carried 
  away.  
   
  The Zilchian agent served the Zilchus Western 
  Company, and thus their order is blamed by the nemesis 
  of the Smiling Ones. In rage, Prince Poxquand swore a 
  blood vendetta, if his desired item was not returned.  
   
  As this adventure opens, a certain powerful figure 
  within the Eastfair ruling class is using the below-board 
  actions of Holy Clerk Afrondious to strike a blow against 
  the Zilchus Western Company. Certain members of the 
  ruling class of Eastfair have formed an agreement with 
  Prince Poxquand to crush the Zilchian Order for fun and 
  profit. As long as they have a motivated Prince Poxquand 
  leading them, they cannot fail. If they loose his interest 
  however they will be hard pressed to make a victory 
  profitable and easy. 
   
  The front man for this cadre of corruption is Captain 
  Falentia of the Rakermen. He is preparing to arrest the 
  Holy Clerk on the grounds of interference in an official 
  investigation, in order to stir up the Order. But, Falentia 
  has been given strict orders not to harm or hinder the 
  adventurers involved. It seems someone on the evil side 
  has also taken to keeping watch on the advancements of 
  the adventurers and is interested in what they are 
  uncovering. This might have something to do with that 
  the adventurers have revealed a connection between 
  Darien the Knife and the Holim ruins.  
   
  At the same time, the Smiling ones are battling in 
  their own secret war with Prince Poxquand and his 
  minions. But they’ve lost one of their top agents to the 
  ranks of the creatures of the nights. The Smiling ones 
  have urgent business to complete as their grand mission 
  is so near to completion, but they need the help of the 
  adventurers to settle the hash of their turned agent and 
  retrieve a valuable item need for the mission. More will 
  be revealed on this in the next installment. 
   
  Thus the adventurers have gotten themselves into 
  more than they realize and the Holim Ruins hold not 
  only the answers to some of those secrets, but it also 
  holds the key to pacifying the rage of Prince Poxquand 
  and saving the Zilchian Order. Once all this easy stuff is 
  completed, the destinies of the adventurers start to get 
  complicated. 
   
  What’s Happening Now in COR4-18 It Never 
  Rains in Nyrond? 
  The characters return to Eastfair to see Clinorus at the 
  Dervish. It’s been lightly raining for several days now, as 
  it does every year at this time (rumor has it it’s because of 
  supernatural reasons, but that’s another story).  
   
  Clinorus has been spending his time trying to follow 
  up on clues and leads that the adventurers gave him the 
  last time they were in town. Excitingly he has come up 
  with something that could be a breakthrough. 
   
  A cleric of Fharlanghn got drunk and into debt at 
  the gambling tables of the Dervish. After a little plying, 
  this cleric revealed to Clinorus that he knew of a 
  mysterious crossroads where cryptic answers concerning 
  geography and history could be revealed. It just takes a 
  special lantern and some liquor. What could be easier 
  than that? 
   
   Meanwhile, the night the adventurers return to 
  Eastfair turns out to be an active one for others in the 
  city. The Smiling Ones have gone out to meet their 
  destiny. They’ve found that destiny is not all it’s cracked 
  up to be. 
   
  The Smiling Ones launched a raid to rescue an 
  important child and her attendant hound archons, from 
  the bowels of Prince Poxquand the Undying’s dungeon. 
  The operation turned into a trap, as it became clear that 
  someone had betrayed them. Fighting for their lives, and 
  after being hit with a Mordenkainen’s disjunction and a 
  strange mind-rotting poison, few made it out alive. 
   
  The remaining Smiling Ones were in bad shape and 
  their minds were rotting away. They tried to escape back 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 11 
  to their own safe houses, but found the forces of Prince 
  Poxquand waiting for them—more proof to a traitor.  
   
  As luck would have it, they ran into Sister Tillie on 
  the streets of the Old City and she helped turn away 
  some vampire minions of Poxquand. Though she didn’t 
  know them, she could tell by the hound archons and the 
  child that these people needed help. So she called in a 
  favor, and hid the lot of them at a kennel in the Old City.  
   
  The effects of the poison was beyond Tillies’ power 
  to help, and the Smiling Ones asked her to go into the 
  New City (and this is in the middle of the night) to find 
  some adventurers that might be able to help. Sister Tillie 
  was happily surprised when recognized some of the 
  names of those she was to seek. 
   
  On the streets of the New City, Sister Tillie ran into 
  more of Poxquand’s vampires. She had been made in 
  connection with the Smiling Ones, so they gave chase 
  and she was mauled badly by a barghest. The sound of 
  battle attracted a Rakersmen patrol, whose arrival 
  temporarily spooked the barghest long enough for Tillie 
  to get away. 
   
  She does eventually get to the Whirling Dervish to 
  meet the adventurers, but the dark naga Slithers, the left 
  hand of darkness to Prince Poxqaund, is right on her 
  heels.  
   
  Meanwhile, 200 miles to the southeast, Darien the 
  Knife is being thrown into a torture chamber known as 
  the Hall of Whispered Enervation. He has been betrayed 
  by his fellow Footmen of the Spider Throne. These Vecna 
  cultists fear the influence Darien could exert or what 
  secrets he might know, because of his connection with 
  the baatezu of Holim ruins.  
   
  Once the adventures travel those 200 miles, they’ll 
  find that the base the torture chamber is in is self-
  destructing, and a badly level drained Darien is emerging 
  with his few remaining followers.  
   
  During all that, the rest of the Footmen of the Spider 
  Throne have gone into the magical bad lands of Rauxes to 
  retrieve components to follow through with their 
  dastardly plans.  
   
  ADVENTURE SUMMARY 
  Introduction 
  Once again, the characters arrive at the Whirling 
  Dervish. This time, they’re wet and tired. Clinorus has 
  some important information to pass on by the fire, but 
  after that it’s right to bed.  
   
  Encounter 1: Snakes and Ladders 
  At 4 a.m., Sister Tillie comes banging on the characters’ 
  door. Seems she has mutual friends that the characters 
  need to help, because she’s too wounded to help herself. 
  Oh, and there’s a dark naga leading a pack of barghest and 
  vampires only a few minutes behind her. The characters 
  need to hear what she has to say, and then escape out the 
  back door.  
   
  Encounter 2: To the Old City! 
  It’s the middle of the night and there’s commotion going 
  on in the streets of the New City. This means it’s going to 
  be more difficult than usual to get into the Old City in a 
  timely manner. But there are several methods to do it—
  the characters just need to choose the one best suited for 
  them. Time is a factor. 
   
  Encounter 3: Dogs of Society 
  Arriving at the kennel in the Old City, the characters 
  find a combat patrol loyal to Prince Poxqaund has beat 
  them there by a minute or so.  
   
  As well, the characters find all of the Smiling Ones 
  dead (or insane), and the hound archons explain their 
  problem to the characters. Because they are cursed and 
  magically tracked, the characters must pick one of them 
  to make it out alive with the girl, while the others 
  willingly act as decoy sacrifices.  
   
  Encounter 4: Far and Away 
  This encounter is more for the Dungeon Master than the 
  players. The characters are being tracked and chased by 
  invisible stalkers. Use this encounter to see if they get 
  away or not. 
   
  Encounter 5: Crossroads 
  With the help of the lantern of lament and some really 
  fine grappa, the characters can summon the spirit of a 
  Walker of Fharlanghn. This ex-cleric fought the Footmen 
  in his own time and can pass on the whereabouts of the 
  meeting place of the cult. 
   
  Encounter 6: Portals of Last Resort 
  This is where the hound archon and the child must get to 
  be safe. The characters must escort them here in order to 
  gain their prize at the end. Depending on the pursuit 
  results of Encounter 4, the enemy might show up before 
  or after the portal is used.  
   
  Encounter 7: Darien’s Back in Town 
  Some 200 miles from Eastfair and the rain has stopped. 
  Now the only thing left to do is dispense some justice to 
  Darien the Knife.  
   
  Conclusion 
  In the end, the characters learn that their next stop is 
  somewhere within the magical bad lands of Rauxes. They 
  also have a chance to turn a live Darien over to just about 
  any faction of their choice and get a small reward for it. It 
  seems that no one likes Vecna cultists.  
   
  REMINDER TO THE DM 
  In this adventure, the box text represents the in-game 
  word usage of the NPCs when referring to the names of 
  gods. Due to the reverence (and sometimes fear) of these 
  most divine and powerful beings in the North Kingdom, 
  the NPCs do not use the true names of the gods in vain 
  during idle conversation. Only when the god’s power is 
  truly being invoked (though not necessarily by a spell) is 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
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  the true name used. It’s a firm belief that to use the gods’ 
  true name invokes that being’s attention.  
   
  For instance, when the NPCs in this scenario wish to 
  refer to Nurell, they say, “The Reaper,”in an attempt to 
  avoid his attention. The same is true for all gods, both 
  good and evil. 
   
  For reference refer to Zilchus as “The Money 
  Counter”; Hextor as ‘The Herald of Hell’ or ‘The Scourge 
  of Battle’; Fharlanghn as “The Dweller (on the horizon)’; 
  Pelor as ‘The Shining One’; Zodal as ‘The Gentle Hand’; 
  Vecna as the ‘The Whispered One’; Atroa as ‘The Sad 
  Maiden’; Delleb as ‘The Scholar’; Heironeous as ‘The 
  Archpaladin’; Kurell as ‘The Bitter Hand’; Lirr as ‘The 
  Lore Keeper’; Olidammara as the ‘Laughing Rogue’; 
  Pholtus as ‘He of the Blinding Light’; Wenta as ‘The 
  Alewife’; Kelanen as ‘The Lord of Swords’. Though these 
  gods have other names, these are what they are most 
  commonly known as in and around Eastfair. 
   
  To give some examples of blessings and curses, to 
  say, “Fharlanghn Rules the Roads”is a blessing, invoking 
  the god’s attention. To say “Zilchus be poor”is profanity. 
   
  QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 
  The text of this adventure in many of the encounters lists 
  example questions that trigger certain responses from the 
  NPCs. These are by no means meant to be what the 
  players must ask verbatim. As the Dungeon Master, you 
  will need to judge the intent of the question and decide if 
  it’s reasonable to trigger the listed response. The intent of 
  this method is to stop NPCs from blurting out all they 
  know, regardless of the context, in an adventure that is 
  designed to be a mystery investigation (of sorts).  
   
  In addition, there is much information that can be 
  passed on to inquisitive characters. Not all of this 
  information is vital to the successful completion of this 
  adventure, but much of it gives insight into the Series as a 
  whole. For players that like to cut to the chase, they can 
  do so, provided they ask the right line of questions. For 
  players that like to absorb the whole experience, that has 
  been provided as well. You should not read all the 
  material if the characters are not asking for it or seem 
  stuck. In addition, different parties getting different 
  topics of non-crucial background information makes for 
  varied adventure play. 
   
  INTRODUCTION 
  Note: For characters (and especially entire parties) that 
  did not participate in the previous adventures in this 
  series (COR3-17 When Orcs Attack and/or COR4-09 A 
  Tiger? In Ahlissa?! and/or COR4-14 Sympathy for the 
  Baatezu), there is a small alternative/supplementary 
  introduction after this encounter, but it still loops back to 
  this primary one requiring some adlibbing on the DM’s 
  part depending on the situation.  
   
  Welcome back to Eastfair, The Granite City.  
   
  Clinorus Kradner, the proprietor of the Whirling 
  Dervish has set aside his best suite for you to stay in.  
   
  Located on the Streets of Delight in the New City, 
  you arrive back once again to the Whirling Dervish and 
  it’s exotic western décor.  
   
  You arrived late into the evening and Clinorus is 
  prepared to sit up and chat and pass on some important 
  information, but suggests you eventually rest for an 
  early start. Mysteries don’t solve themselves. Besides, it’s 
  raining outside and has been like that all day. Talk is that 
  the weather is only going to get worse. 
   
  Of all the inns to stay at in the city, this one is the most 
  friendly and least evil. Nested in the Streets of Delight, 
  this inn has the least number of evil auras per capita. 
  Characters asking around would eventually be directed 
  here as being ‘more suited’ to them. 
   
  Location Information: The Whirling Dervish  
  Nested in the Streets of Delight, the Whirling Dervish is 
  a hostelry offering entertainments marginally less 
  depraved, and more varied, than most establishments 
  around it.  
   
  The proprietor, Clinorus Kradner, dresses in 
  Baklunish robes and a turban, even though he's never 
  been west of Edge Field in his life. To someone who is 
  from the Baklunish West or has visited there, it is 
  obvious that Clinorus has dressed to the descriptions of 
  embellished stories, not to mention the man is not 
  Baklunish, more of a dark Flan-Oeridian mix.  
   
  But he plays the foolish part well, and has a range of 
  "mystical conjuring tricks of the exotic west” aided by the 
  small time magic his talent as a Brd4 gives him (animate 
  rope, mage hand, prestidigitation, summon instrument, 
  hypnotism, monster summoning, etc.).  
   
  His dancing girls are the best trained in Eastfair- 
  though most are working their way into much loftier 
  careers such as scribes and sages, and his other attractions 
  include "Kumbli, the strongest man living outside 
  Ekbir”(a shaven headed tanned Pontylver exile with 
  Strength 20). As well, he has boas from Hep.m.onaland 
  trained to curl lazily out of their wicker baskets when 
  Clinorus plays his purposely out of tune conch pipe. To 
  round this all off, vividly colored liqueurs of brain 
  numbing potency, dice game tables, and far more besides 
  are all present to entertain. 
   
  Clinorus is, in fact, a cleric of Olidammara, The 
  Laughing Rogue (Clr4), with a strong tendency to good 
  alignment. He is always interested in new visitors among 
  his clientele, and if he spots good aligned people he often 
  goes out of his way to give them some tips on who, what, 
  and where to avoid within Eastfair. 
   
   He overhears indiscretions mumbled by drunken 
  nobles and others at his gaming tables, and might pass on 
  something of what he has heard—for the right price—if 
  he trusts the individual he is dealing with.  
   
  In this series, Clinorus has dealings with the Zilchus 
  Western Company who supplies him with perishables 
  from the Baklunish West. He is also good friends with 
  Dantoni and would often regale him with wild stories of 
  the west (though these are often rehashed stories 
  Clinorus hears from more senior Zilchus Western 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 13 
  Company members). As a friend of the family, the Holy 
  Clerk has agreed to use Clinorus as a middleman in 
  dealings with the adventurers on the case. Another 
  relevant association that Clinorus has is with a certain 
  element of the troubled thieves’ guild. This is a 
  relationship he tends to keep quiet for obvious reasons. 
  To reward the characters’ good deeds and friendship, he 
  has made available to them his best suite and a table in 
  the bar just for them.  
   
  Other than that, he doesn’t reveal his true self or go 
  out of his way to aid the characters (but won’t hinder 
  them) besides friendly hints on the city. 
   
  �Clinorus Kradner: Human Male (Flan-Oeridian) 
  Brd4/Clr4 of Olidammara; CG; +11 Will Save; 46 hp; 
  Undetectable alignment always cast; speaks Ancient 
  Baklunish (but very poorly). 
   
  Time: It is approximately 10 p.m. when the 
  characters arrive at the Dervish. 
   
  Entering the Dervish    
  The Whirling Dervish is known for its friendly manner 
  and exotic entertainment. The host, Clinorus Kradner 
  and all of his staff (and the entire inn) are dressed up like 
  a storybook version of the Baklunish west. The selection 
  of food and entertainment is likewise.  
   
  Clinorus is dressed in Baklunish robes and a turban, 
  though his style of wearing them is hardly authentic. He 
  plays the fool to better guile those who would threaten 
  his true nature. He is also willing to use his array of 
  bardic spells to amuse the clients (animate rope, mage 
  hand, prestidigitation, summon instrument, hypnotism, 
  monster summoning, and so forth).  
   
  The characters are free to enjoy any of the 
  entertainments listed: 
  1. 
  Baklunish styled dancing girls. 
  2. 
  Kumbli the strongest man living outside of 
  Ekbir. 
  3. 
  Trained boas from Hep.m.onaland. 
  4. 
  Dice games. 
  5. 
  Food and drink from the far west. 
   
  It’s been raining all day. Not a heavy rain, but the 
  population of Eastfair expects a storm to follow up this 
  drizzle. Because of this, Clinorus (like most of the Eastfair 
  residents) have been passing the time indoors.  
   
  As the characters arrive (or perhaps they are still 
  there from the previous adventure) they are probably wet 
  and the hour is late. Clinorus suggests that they make use 
  of the suite (now renamed The Hero’s Suite). He is 
  willing to stay up and chat with them for a bit longer, as 
  he does have an import clue to pass on. 
   
  Below is information that can be obtained from 
  Clinorus. Most of it is just a rehash of plot information 
  from the previous adventures (to help Dungeon Masters 
  and characters whom are new to the series). But also 
  present is information on where the characters can go 
  next to pick up a lead on the location of Darien the Knife. 
   
   Otherwise, the characters can go straight to bed and 
  unknowingly await a very early wake-up call.  
   
  The one important lead that Clinorus has to offer can 
  wait till morning if the PCs insist but it’s better that the 
  characters hear it tonight so they can get an early start in 
  the morning.  
   
  Clinorus moves to a private table set near a roaring fire 
  where the damp air looses its grip to the fire’s inviting 
  embrace.  
   
  “Other than this one piece of information, I haven’t 
  heard much of anything new, which worries me some. 
  But I’ll pass on to you what ever it is that piques your 
  interests” says the turban wearing man. 
   
  What’s this clue?: “It was either you, or one of the other 
  adventuring parties dealing with the Holy Clerk, I can’t 
  recall which—but one of you told me of blue turrets and 
  shifting sands as a cryptic clue to the whereabouts of 
  Darien the Knife” 
   
  What about these turrets and sand?: “I’ve been 
  carefully plying those who strike me as being 
  knowledgeable in such areas. I had little luck, until a 
  passing cleric of the Dweller on the Horizon stayed here 
  for a night. He was a horrible drinker, and an even worse 
  gambler. He got deeper into his debts than his cups. 
  Luckily we found a way for him to pay it off…” 
   
  How’d he pay it off?: “I got him talking, and in his 
  drunken state, he mentioned that while he didn’t know 
  as much as he wanted, he once sought out another of his 
  kind who was very knowledgeable on what I seemed to 
  be asking about. He told me of a certain set of very special 
  crossroads, about fifty miles or so east of here. I have 
  rough map of the area for you. He gave me a rune-
  covered lantern and said it had enough oil for one more 
  short session, but we would need to find our own spirits 
  (liquor).” 
   
  How does this work?: “He was too drunk to go into 
  details—but what I understand is, this here lantern is 
  magical. He didn’t say where he got it, but did seem to 
  have a little bit of internal crisis about handing it over. 
  There’s oil inside, but I suspect it’s magical oil, and 
  mundane oil would not work. He said there is a hook at 
  the crossroads, and you need to hang the lantern there 
  and then light it. You’ll also need a bottle of high quality 
  spirits. Take this bottle of grappa. It means a lot to me, 
  and it is high quality. I don’t know what you do with it 
  though, for his speech was too slurred. All of this will 
  supposedly answer questions concerning this area of the 
  Flanaess. He seemed quite certain of it, and also saddened 
  by it, though I don’t know why. He said once there, talk 
  to Walker Govanti.” 
   
  What about Darien the Knife?: “I’ve heard he’s left 
  the city a month or two ago (maybe longer) and left a 
  subordinate in charge (who I think was slain by 
  adventurers, perhaps even you?). Seems he’s part of a very 
  minor noble family from the northern Ahlissa lands. But 
  his family is so obscure; it’s hard to get any details. I think 
  the family branches split their reverences between The 
  Money Counter and The Herald of Hell, but that’s a 
  common story for many of those insignificant noble lines 
  in that area.” 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 14 
   
  What’s with the Grappa?: “This is a 530 CY vintage, 
  pressed at the Malkchin winery on Leastilse in the Sea 
  Baronies. I have a friendship with the Malkchin line, 
  though it has been many years since any of us have met 
  up. So don’t go breaking it open, looking for hidden 
  messages. It’s symbolic and very hard to come by, 
  especially quality wise. Notice the extra strong bottle?” 
   
  What news of Afronidious?: “I’m a.m. very sadden 
  to say, there is little news. Last I heard Holy Clerk 
  Afronidious has been moved to a special part of the 
  Eastfair prison. I do not even know if he is alive or dead. 
  It may take me some time, but I vow, should he still live, 
  I shall find the resources to set him free. When I have the 
  means, I may call for you.” 
   
  What news of the Zilchus Western Company?: 
  “The Zilchus Western Company went through some 
  rough times recently. A cadre of powerful nobles within 
  the city tried to manipulate events to provoke another of 
  their ilk into allowing the compound to be besieged and 
  destroyed. It came very near to that. Luckily, some 
  unknown help arrived at the last minute and the 
  Exchequer was able to disarm the situation with words 
  and gifts. “ 
   
  Do you know what this cookbook is?: “Sorry, but I 
  do not. “ 
   
  What news of the street gangs?: “They’ve been 
  rather quiet. Perhaps they’ve finally reached a peaceful 
  equilibrium.“ 
   
  What news of the Guilders?: “I have not heard from 
  the Smiling Ones since our last contact with them. I 
  suspect they are getting ready for something, though I 
  a.m. in the dark about what it is.” 
   
  So, how about this weather?: “Rain like this 
  happens this time of year. It usually drizzles for a day or 
  two, and then a thunderstorm moves in. Usually it rains 
  itself out, but sometimes the storm can stick around for a 
  few days. It’s nothing to worry about, just keeps most 
  people inside where it’s warm and dry. It’s also the reason 
  why we have no customers here. No one wants to travel 
  here in the rain.” 
   
  What effects will this weather have on our travels?: 
  “It’s been a rather light rain these past few days, a drizzle 
  really. That means the most actual roads should still be 
  well enough for travel. Some smaller bridges and lesser 
  fords may be harder to use, but this kingdom is based on 
  mobility. You will notice that it’s safer to travel the roads 
  and trails, for most brigands and even the soldiers of 
  nobles, are more incline to stay inside. Just be careful 
  about trespassing across the lands of nobles. Most are a 
  fiercely protective of their territories.” 
   
  Who is Prince Poxquand?: “Prince Poxquand the 
  Undying. He is one of several animus abominations that 
  inhabit this city as well as the former Great Kingdom as a 
  whole. He keeps to himself mostly, though I have heard 
  of him doing a lot of damage once in the Old City, blew 
  apart almost an entire block. But he pretty much got away 
  with it. His chief henchman is a powerful naga named 
  Slithers.“ 
   
  Who is Slithers?: ”I don’t know how Slithers came 
  into the service of Poxquand, but I can’t think of any 
  reference without Slithers being at his master’s side. He 
  is powerful mage and a cruel schemer. Of course, Slithers 
  is not his true name. It’s just what he has come to be 
  known as in our human tongues. To say his true name 
  would require the removal of your tongue. But nick name 
  or not, he’s dangerous.” 
  \ 
  If Clinorus is asked to recount what he imparted to 
  the characters the last time (during COR4-14 Sympathy 
  of the Baatezu), he tells them: 
   
  The first topic concerns clandestine meetings 
  between the characters and the Smiling Ones faction of 
  the Thieves’ Guild. 
  � The people Clinorus is referring to are a certain 
  faction of the local Thieves’ Guild that he has 
  had friendly dealings with in the past. This 
  faction is lead by Malaya (the same female 
  guilder 
  that 
  the 
  characters 
  may 
  have 
  encountered in their previous outing in 
  Eastfair).  
  � Clinorus makes it clear that while he would not 
  trust most members of the guild as far as he can 
  throw them, these particular associates he can 
  vouch for as meaning no harm to the characters. 
  � Due to the sensitive nature dealing with the 
  guild and the heavy handedness of the 
  authorities, Clinorus is reluctant to reveal 
  details, such as names, pasts or organizational 
  structure (except where noted). 
  � Malaya approached Clinorus and informed him 
  of the need for a confidential meeting with the 
  characters. She was impressed with their 
  handling of themselves and she had need for 
  some help from those outside of the goings on 
  in this city, something that should be right up 
  their ally. 
  � The meeting took place at number five 
  Cobblestone Lane in the heart of the Old City. 
  Clinorus can give directions starting at the 
  Spider’s Gate. This is a small private residence. 
  When the characters arrived, they were to say 
  they were there to inspect the kittens for sale 
  and are interested in smiling ones in particular. 
  � Clinorus recommended that the characters 
  participate in this meeting.  
   
  The second topic here is concerning the badges the 
  characters received as gifts. 
  � Each bundle (one for each character present) 
  was a collection of outer garments tailored to fit 
  the approximate size and build of the character. 
  This included non-humans. The clothing was 
  designed to make the wearer look like a local to 
  the Old City, yet be functional enough that it 
  can be discarded (as a free action) to avoid 
  hampering physical actions (such as combat). 
  On the vest and sleeves of these garments are 
  the required badges signifying that the wearer is 
  allowed to enter and exit via the Spider’s Gate 
  during the day.  
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 15 
  � In addition, the garments held the badge that 
  allowed for the wearer to carry weapons (and 
  armor) for personal protection within the Old 
  City.  
  � These badges did not allow the wearer to enter 
  or exit the Old City during the night. Nor does 
  it guarantee them the right to pass. A city guard 
  can still deny them passage if he so wishes (but 
  rarely do they bother to involve themselves 
  unless provoked, seeing the badge is usually 
  enough). 
   
  The third topic is concerning the state of Afronidious the 
  Holy Clerk. 
  � Afronidious has been reasonably patient with 
  the progress on his son’s murder investigation. 
  He has managed to make few waves within the 
  city bureaucracy and feels that the powers of the 
  city may leave him be, as well as the Zilchus 
  Western Company. It wasn’t easy working 
  outside the ‘law’ of the land, but it seems to have 
  been all worth it (you adventurers are proof of 
  that). That is until recently when the heat was 
  suddenly turned up on him. That Rakersmen 
  Falentia is back with a vengeance. 
  � Small groups of adventurers still filter in from 
  time to time, all of whom have heard of the 
  Holy Clerk’s request for discreet help (mostly 
  from other Holy Clerks, or from fellow 
  adventurers). Some agree to help despite a lack 
  of reward (as it has already been paid out to 
  you), other say they may try to seek out others 
  who are already on the mission, and most others 
  just quietly leave. All those who wish to help my 
  friend Afronidious are welcome at the Whirling 
  Dervish. 
   
  If Clinorus is asked to recount what he imparted to the 
  characters the second time they met (During COR4-09 A 
  Tiger? In Ahlissa?!), he tells them: 
  � The Holy Clerk of the Zilchus Western 
  Company wishes to meet the characters at the 
  Spice of Life tavern at noon. If the characters 
  can’t make this meeting, he can also meet at 
  7p.m. if needed.  
  � Due to the sensitive nature of the politics 
  behind the church of Zilchus and the 
  government, and the less than above board 
  nature of this investigation, Afronidious cannot 
  afford to meet or discuss this business within 
  the Zilchus Western Company compound. His 
  lunch and dinner times are far more suited for 
  clandestine meetings. 
  � Afronidious had some documents to hand over, 
  but Clinorus does not know the details of their 
  contents, other than that they relate to records 
  of Dantoni’s last few days before being 
  murdered.  
  � As a small blessing, there does not appear to 
  have been any more ritual killings of this 
  manner since Dantoni and the character’s 
  apprehension of the two thug minions.  
   
  If Clinorus is asked to recount what he imparted to the 
  characters the first time they investigated (During COR3-
  17 When Orcs Attack), he tells them: 
  � Five days before he first talked to the characters, 
  a young friend Dantoni, a cleric of the Money 
  Counter and acolyte of the Zilchus Western 
  Company, was murdered. 
  � The murder happened after Dantoni was on his 
  way back home (the Zilchus Western Company 
  compound) in the streets of the Merchant 
  Quarter. He was somewhat drunk. His heart 
  was cut out in a ritualistic fashion and the heart 
  is still missing. 
  � Dantoni visited him often to be regaled of 
  stories of the far west.  
  � The Zilchus Western Company is a trading 
  organization run by an order of Zilchus Clerics. 
  � Thankfully, Dantoni was resurrected, but it took 
  all the sums of money that his father and his 
  friends (including a gift from Clinorus himself) 
  could put together. It’s a misconception that all 
  clerics of the Money Counter are filthy rich, and 
  5,000 gp is a lot of money on short notice. 
  � The authorities and the Church of Zilchus are at 
  a loss to figure out the culprits or even a motive. 
  Dantoni only remembers being hit on the head 
  and being carried into an alleyway by two men 
  before he completely blacked out. The 
  authorities have declared it a random murder 
  and the Church of Zilchus is complaining 
  through formal channels to little results.  
  � Dantoni’s father, Afronidious the Holy Clerk for 
  the Zilchus Western Company compound here 
  in the city, suspects it maybe more than just a 
  random murder. He suspects cult activity 
  (which there is a fair amount of) and fears that 
  they may strike again.  
  � Dantoni has been sent off west to recuperate 
  and to stay protected if whoever killed him 
  wants to take a second shot. 
   
  �Lantern of Lament : This hooded lantern is of excellent 
  quality, and has runes marked on it. The runes for travel, 
  luck and protection can be found evenly spaced out on its 
  base. On the bottom are the runes for death, rebirth, 
  regret and peace. Despite the lantern’s magic nature and 
  high quality, it has been through a lot and is marred and 
  worn. The runes are not in pristine reading condition. 
  Some careful inspection and a DC 15 Decipher Script 
  check is needed to make out each rune. This DC can be 
  lowered to DC 10 if the characters come up with ways to 
  make the runes clearer or easier to read (such as 
  prestidigitation to clean, or mending, or acid, or 
  comprehend languages, or anything else the Dungeon 
  Master feels appropriate. A Knowledge (arcana) DC 10 
  check can be used instead if the characters have used 
  such a cleaning method. The oil supply is low, and a good 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 16 
  estimate would be 10 minutes or less of burn time. 
  Adding mundane oil does not increase this. This is 
  special oil made for this type of lantern. 
   
  A DC 20 bardic knowledge check reveals it to be a 
  lantern of lament, but no other information is attached to 
  the name. Nor does it conjure a connection between the 
  need for quality alcohol and the lantern. 
   
  What the characters don’t know is, once this lantern 
  has used itself up, it disintegrates and splits into the four 
  elements it was made from. 
   
  Treasure: Items given to the characters by Clinorus. 
  If these items are sold (i.e., money used by the characters 
  before the items are needed), then they do not have the 
  items when it comes time to use them later in this 
  adventure. 
  APL 2: L: 0; C: 0; M: Lantern of lament (100 gp each), 
  High Quality Grappa (3 gp each). 
  APL 4: L: 0; C: 0; M: Lantern of lament (100 gp each), 
  High Quality Grappa (3 gp each). 
  APL 6: L: 0; C: 0; M: Lantern of lament (100 gp each), 
  High Quality Grappa (3 gp each). 
  APL 8: L: 0; C: 0; M: Lantern of lament (100 gp each), 
  High Quality Grappa (3 gp each). 
   
  Develop.m.ent: After the sit-down with Clinorus, there is 
  not much for the characters to do but go to bed. The suite 
  is the same room on the top floor they’ve always had (the 
  Hero’s Suite). What the characters don’t know is that at 
  around 4am, an old friend pays them a visit, followed by 
  some unwelcome visitors down stairs.  
   
  Keep track of any characters that decide to stay up 
  past midnight (which is the time that Clinorus begs off to 
  go to sleep) as these characters might be in a different 
  spot then what is assumed for Encounter 1.  
   
  Assume dawn comes at 6am. This will be important 
  for clerics that need to pray at that time. As well, resting 
  characters are only going to get between 4-6 hours of 
  sleep before being awoken. 
   
  INTRODUCTION: 
  SUPPLEMENTAL  
  This small supplemental introduction is for characters 
  that have not been hooked into the story line of the series 
  from the previous adventures. Hopefully, most of the 
  characters in the party have played the previous parts and 
  those new among them can have tagged along and have 
  been filled in on the required questing. But some players 
  may require more motivation and connection for their 
  characters to justify being present and involved.  
   
  Throughout the Flanaess, word has been spreading 
  amongst the faithful of Zilchus. These Holy Clerks, 
  devout defenders of the bottom line, wardens of the coin 
  and keepers of ledgers, have one of their own in distress. 
  Unofficially, they have been giving hints that 
  foreigners, people from the outside, are needed to help 
  right a wrong in a place where wrongs are right. New 
  adventurers are needed where others have stalled. Pull 
  your cloak up tightly and head off to Eastfair, capital of 
  the North Kingdom. All hints suggest seeking out a man 
  by the name of Clinorus Kradner at the Whirling 
  Dervish, though the clerics of Zilchus are unsettlingly 
  quiet on details.  
   
  Thus individual characters or entire adventuring parties 
  can arrive fresh and still succeed in this adventure and be 
  hooked into the series.  
   
  The Dungeon Master needs to paraphrase the 
  primary introduction to suit characters arriving by word 
  of mouth and not because of previous involvement. 
  Clinorus is aware that some of the previous adventurers 
  working on the mission either died or became side 
  tracked elsewhere and thus replacements are needed. He 
  goes out of his way to make these new arrivals feel 
  welcome and does his best to merge loners up with any of 
  those who are veterans from the previous parts of the 
  mission.  
  ENCOUNTER 1:  
  SNAKES AND LADDERS  
  Part A: The cold Ready’reat rain  
  The gentle rain kept up its pitter-patter throughout the 
  night. That is, what length of the night you slept, till 
  awoken by a loud knock on the door. A female voice, 
  hushed but urgent, filters through the door, “Friends, It 
  is I, Sister Tillie of the Old City, servant of the Sun 
  Father. You helped out an orphanage at my bequest 
  once, and now others need you as well”.  
   
  The woman at the door is indeed Sister Tillie of the Old 
  City, cleric of Pelor. Those characters who played in 
  COR3-17 When Orcs Attack should remember her as the 
  strong of spirit cleric who ushered them on to save an 
  orphanage amidst an orc revolt. If none of the characters 
  have played the adventure, then omit the last line, and 
  replace it, “I’ve been sent to fetch you, your foreign 
  presence was noted when you entered the city, and that 
  is what is needed now.’ 
   
  What’s different now (other than it being 4am), is 
  that Tillie is badly wounded. The only thing keeping her 
  standing is her Diehard feat. She is currently at –7 
  hitpoints and has no spells left with which to heal her 
  self. Her most prominent wound is a large gash over the 
  upper left part of her face, which has punctured her 
  eyeball.  
   
  She gained these wounds while fighting off a small 
  band of evil minions of Prince Poxquand. She had been 
  spotted earlier helping the Smiling Ones escape pursuit 
  within the Old City. Then she was spotted within the 
  New City and Slithers and his henchmen are pursuing 
  her.  
   
  Tillie desires entry (which she waits for the 
  characters to give her) and to explain her plight to the 
  characters. Her main goal is to convince the characters to 
  come to the Old City with her to help out another group 
  (The Smiling Ones) finish a mission, a very important 
  one. 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 17 
   
  She does not have the details of the mission 
  (escorting the child and the hound archons) but because 
  of the presence of the ‘celestial dogs’, the death bed 
  request of Malaya, and the fact that Prince Poxquand is 
  tearing the city apart to find her, she believes the mission 
  must be of utmost important to the cause of good. 
   
  Tillie has the following to impart to interested 
  characters. She tries to get as much of this out (or as 
  much as the characters are interested in hearing) before 
  her pursuers catch up to her. 
   
  Wants 
  wrong 
  Tillie?: 
  “Important 
  mission…Poxquand 
  hunts 
  them… 
  now 
  me 
  for 
  helping… little time, barely got away.. used all my 
  magic…Old City, we must make it to the Old City, 
  Benzeden’s Kennel.” 
   
  Are you hurt?: “Yes, but use your magic sparingly 
  on me, others are hurt and you may need all your power 
  to complete this mission”. 
   
  How did you get hurt?: “I was pursued here by 
  minions of Prince Poxquand, several vampires and a 
  barghest. By the blessings of the Sun Father, I was able to 
  turn away the night feeders, but the barghest did this to 
  me (pointing at critical wound to face) before I was able 
  to escape. Luckily a Rakersmen patrol came by and scared 
  off the barghest long enough for me to escape down a 
  back alley and make it here. That was not long ago.” 
   
  How’d you get out of the Old City?: “With Spider’s 
  Gate generally closed at night and not easy to get 
  through, I used a smuggler that I’m forced to deal with 
  time to time. I have no idea what method the Smiling 
  Ones used to enter or exit the Old City.” 
   
  What is this mission?: “There is little time to loose. 
  My pursuers may find my trail again. In a nutshell—the 
  Smiling Ones (of the Eastfair thieves’ guild) conducted 
  some sort of rescue mission to free a child and a group of 
  celestial beings from the dungeons of Prince Poxquand. 
  The escape went very badly though, and by chance they 
  ran into me and I have hidden them at Benzeden’s 
  Kennel. They claim their own hideouts are compromised. 
  They are badly hurt and suspect a traitor in their ranks 
  but have no idea as to his/her identity. Their leader 
  Malaya, asked me to fetch you. “ 
   
  How do we get there?: “The kennel is in the Old 
  City. There are several ways back in, all with their own 
  costs and dangers. For example, Spider’s Gate, I suspect it 
  has been completely closed due to the commotion in the 
  city. We could still try. Or we could try paying for 
  passage with the Hole in the Wall gang. Or you may 
  know of some other route or method of entry.” 
   
  At about this time, a loud commotion can be heard from 
  downstairs consisting of furniture being turned over and 
  loud angry shouting. A moment or two after that, a 
  second female form appears at the door (if it was not 
  relocked). This is one of the inn’s serving girls. 
   
  Another woman appears at the door, one of the serving 
  girls. She sounds frantic. “You have to leave now! Grab 
  your things. Many monsters are downstairs looking for a 
  woman and yourselves. Clinorus is slowing them down 
  with words, but it won’t last. There’s a secret ladder-case 
  this way. Hurry!” 
   
  The secret ladder-case is in the hallway and is already 
  open. The ladder-case is narrow and the walls not very 
  thick, but it does come out in the stables of the inn. This 
  gives characters with mounts a chance to collect them up. 
   
  There is a dumb-waiter type contraption within the 
  side of the ladder-case that can be used for medium (or 
  smaller) animals, such as dogs and wolves. This works for 
  cargo as well. 
   
  All APLs 
   
  �Sister Tillie: Female human (Flan-Oeridian); hp 
  24; Clr3 - Pelor; see Appendix 1. 
   
   
  Development: For those characters that either never 
  went to their rooms, or are curious and wish to 
  investigate the raid instead of fleeing, they can 
  experience it through Encounter 1B. 
   
  If the characters need to leave anything behind, the 
  staff of the Whirling Dervish takes care of it on behalf of 
  the characters and takes steps to reunite the items with 
  the character some time after the adventure.  
   
  Part B: A Criminal Mind    
  While the characters are (presumably) up in their rooms, 
  and the main hall of the Whirling Dervish empty, 
  sinister forces lurk just outside the building. They’ve 
  pursued the wounded Sister Tillie here, and have 
  connected the name of the building with reports that 
  those irritating adventurers frequent a room here. 
   
  While Tillie snuck in through an open window, this 
  gang of bad guys merely smashed the front door open. 
  This loud smash and yelling has awoken Clinorus and his 
  staff. He quickly figured out the gist of what was going 
  on and used his bardic magic (message spell) to have one 
  of his servants alert the adventurers on the top floor and 
  get them to safety.  
   
  The intruding group is made up of lackeys of Prince 
  Poxquand. They have no formal authority within the city, 
  so while brash about kicking in doors and attacking 
  people in the streets, they are careful about whom they 
  mess with.  
   
  Other possible foes within the city tend to be 
  minions of more powerful figures, be it openly or 
  concealed. The lawful nature of Prince Poxquand’s 
  faction tends to respect that aspect of life within Eastfair; 
  of course, woe unto those who have no political 
  protectors.  
   
  This hunting party is being led by a dark naga named 
  Slithers. He is the left-hand being of Prince Poxquand 
  the Undying. He knows he has a lot of influence to 
  throw about in proxy of his master, but also fears pushing 
  events 
  too 
  far 
  incase 
  the 
  backlash 
  ends 
  up 
  inconveniencing his master too much (and thus 
  backlashing Slithers physically). 
   
  Slithers and his hunters are not quite sure of the 
  connection between the female cleric of Pelor and the 
  Smiling Ones they are hunting, but for the moment, she 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 18 
  is their best lead. Her scent trails into this building, but 
  it’s a complete mystery as to what she is doing here. It is 
  possible this is where she is hiding the Smiling Ones, or 
  coming here to gain something she needs for them. Or, it 
  could be that this is just another attempt to misdirect and 
  escape. Slithers is not yet aware that the characters are 
  involved, nor does he know what they look like besides 
  some general descriptions. He also will not automatically 
  make the connection between the Dervish and the lair of 
  the pesky adventurers right away. Nor does he ask 
  Clinorus about the adventurers, but Clinorus does jump 
  to that conclusion when he warns the party to escape. 
   
  Slithers is unsure at the moment just what kind of 
  sway the patron of the Whirling Dervish has. He’s 
  certainly heard of Clinorus before, and its known some 
  intermediate powers of the city occasional partake in the 
  delights of the Whirling Dervish, but to the extent of 
  connection and protection needs to be determined 
  before a full-scale scuffle and search can be waged. 
   
  To facilitate this, Slithers plans to use his detect 
  thoughts ability to spy out the place and then make a 
  decision.  This is a typical mode of operation for him, and 
  he’s a naga of habit. 
   
  It comes as quite some frustration when he is unable 
  to penetrate the mind of Clinorus (and get past the 
  mental protection spells). It leaves him to argue, 
  question, threaten and slap his tail around.  
   
  Eventually though, it is just a matter of time before 
  he orders his vampire minions to have a quick look 
  through the public halls of the three floors of the 
  building. The vampires will move about the inn listening 
  at doors until they think they have found the correct 
  room(s). 
   
  Note: the vampires should not start patrolling until 
  the characters have been given ample opportunity to 
  escape. The characters should only encounter these 
  vampires if they simply refused to abandon their position 
  in the face of superior enemy forces. 
   
  The main staircase of the Dervish gives any spying 
  characters coming down from the third floor to observe 
  the interaction between the stalling Clinorus and the 
  frustrated Slithers, a route to do so. As well, if any 
  character for some reason (such as refusing to go sleep in 
  the suite) is still downstairs, the can witness all of this. 
  That is, assuming they did not wake up when Tillie 
  entered, spotted them and asked them to go up to the 
  suite with the others.  
   
  Hopefully, the characters know enough to keep a 
  low profile. If they refuse to go with Tillie and stay, and 
  are discovered, they become the target of Slithers detect 
  thoughts, and if successfully scanned, may reveal 
  compromising information about recent events (within 
  the adventure series). This may give the characters a 
  penalty when trying to escape with the hounds and 
  toddler overland (this incurs a –2 hour penalty, see 
  Encounter 4 for details), as it reveals what they learned 
  from Clinorus and the route. Slithers lets the character 
  slip out as a useless innocent but, when it becomes clear 
  that the adventurers are involved, he can recall the map 
  info and it will penalize the characters.  
   
  The point of this encounter is to allow curious 
  characters some knowledge that they are indeed being 
  pursued, and the magnitude of enemy they may have to 
  contend with later. As well, it’s meant to scare the 
  characters into escaping. While the powerful enemy is 
  certainly capable of destroying the characters several 
  times over, that’s not what they are meant for. Only if the 
  characters push their luck do they meet with opposition. 
   
  To further the point, Slithers has strict orders to not 
  interfere or greatly harm the characters (once he figures 
  out who they are). His master has instructed him that 
  these adventurers will lead him to something greater; 
  they just need a chance to blossom. To that effect, they 
  can be threatened, and scared, but they must be allowed 
  to continue on (for now). 
   
  Conversations- Clinorus and Slithers 
  The exact wording between Clinorus and Slithers is not 
  important. It is merely Clinorus playing the part of the 
  know-nothing buffoon of an innkeeper while he stalls 
  and misleads the inquisitive naga. 
   
  Clinorus keeps it civil and friendly, referring to the 
  naga as Lord Slithers, and that as a humble innkeeper, he 
  would be remiss to break the confidentiality of ‘certain’ 
  guests. He’s implying there may be important people 
  (such as nobles) within his rooms doing things they’d 
  prefer not be disturbed doing. 
   
  After five or so minutes Slithers becomes frustrated 
  that his detect thoughts ability is not working. Even 
  more frustrating is that Clinorus is not giving him a good 
  reason to attack and tear the place apart. If Clinorus 
  provoked him, with insult or threat, then it would be 
  open season on innkeeper and his property.  
   
  It does get to the point where Slithers just decides to 
  risk it and bypass Clinorus. At that point they start 
  rummaging around the place and the vampires start to 
  walk all the halls, trying to enter what rooms they can, 
  and listening at the doors of others.  
   
  Warnings from Clinorus 
  The innkeeper has an active message spell between 
  himself and the serving girl who came to warn the 
  characters. He cast it moments after being awoken and 
  popping his head out to see the naga enter.  
   
  Whenever he can, he sneaks a message to his serving 
  girl. He’s instructing her to hurry and get the adventurers 
  out via the secret ladder-case. 
   
  He’s not able to carry on a conversation (as replying 
  is too difficult), but when possible he gives suggestions 
  such as, “RUN!!! RUN!!!”, and “There is a Naga named 
  Slithers here, with vampires and barghests, RUN! RUN!”, 
  or “Take those three extra riding horses so that you can 
  RUN! RUN! Faster”. 
  The serving girl relays these messages to the party, and 
  points out the three light riding horses that Clinorus is 
  loaning to them to make their escape faster. 
   
  All APLs 
   
  �Clinorus Kradner: Human Male (Flan-Oeridian) 
  Brd4/Clr4 of Olidammara; CG; +11 Will Save; 46 hp; 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 19 
  Undetectable alignment always cast, Nondetection cast; 
  Speaks Ancient Baklunish (but very poorly). 
   
  �Slithers: Dark Naga Sor4; LE; 78 hp; see page 191 
  in the Monster Manual. 
   
  �Vampires (4): Vampire Ftr5; LE; 32 hp; see page 
  250 of the Monster Manual. 
   
  �Barghests (3): 32 hp (each); see page 23 of the 
  Monster Manual. 
   
  Treasure: Accept the horse gifts from Clinorus. To aid in 
  their escape, Clinorus relays through the serving girl that 
  the characters should help themselves to his three light 
  riding horses. He’ll insist it’s just a loan, but he won’t bat 
  an eye should the characters never return the horses or 
  reimburse him for them.  
  APL 2: L: 19; C: 0; M: 0 
  APL 4: L: 19; C: 0; M: 0 
  APL 6: L: 19; C: 0; M: 0 
  APL 8: L: 19; C: 0; M: 0 
   
  Develop.m.ent: It should be about 4:15am by the time the 
  characters flee the Dervish.  
   
  An imp is left to watch over the Dervish should the 
  characters come back at any time. While the imp can’t 
  (and won’t) stop them, the characters can access the 
  Dervish to get items or what have you. Doing so however 
  incurs a time penalty. 
   
  (This penalty ranges from –1 to –3, depending on 
  how severely the characters tipped their hand. Just 
  coming back to the Dervish, even if completely unseen, 
  still incurs a –1 penalty, due to later divinations by the 
  enemy. The Dungeon Master determines the exact 
  penalty from –1 to –3. See Encounter 4 for details.) 
   
  ENCOUNTER 2:  
  TO THE OLD CITY!  
  Part A: The Streets of the New City 
   The streets of the New City are dark, with few revelers 
  still enjoying the Streets of Delights. Main streets and 
  side paths branch out to every part of the New City. 
  Sister Tillie is insistent that you all make haste to the 
  Old City, and that reaching your goal is just a matter of 
  breeching the walls; the method of course is up to you. 
   
  Presented in this encounter are four different ways for 
  the characters to successfully penetrate the walls of the 
  Old City.  
   
  Two ways require the use of favors gained in 
  previous adventurers, while the other two rely more on 
  different skill sets of the characters. This does not mean 
  these are the only ways to bypass the walls. Resourceful 
  characters (especially at higher levels) will find easy ways 
  to overcome these obstacles with the use of magic and 
  magical items. 
   
  Keep track of the time. Each attempt to bypass the 
  walls takes approximately one hour of game time, 
  regardless of success or failure. Thus if the characters fail 
  at one route and try another, they’ll need to use up a 
  second hour.  
   
  At 7 a.m., the kennel is raided and the hound 
  archons (still waiting for the promised help to arrive) are 
  recaptured along with the child. This gives the characters 
  only two chances to enter the Old City and make it inside 
  in time to save those who need it. Failure here means 
  they have no need to travel to the portal and the stalkers 
  will not be sent out after the characters. (See Encounter 6 
  for more details). 
   
  Dawn breaks at 6:00 a.m. The daylight hour tends to 
  make things harder for the characters, as well as moves 
  things along for those pursuing the characters. As well, 
  keep in mind those clerics who need to pray for their 
  spell at dawn. Those who choose to forgo their appointed 
  time of prayers must also forgo choosing new spells for 
  the day (though they’ll still have those left from the 
  previous day).  
   
  Each method of entry has it strengths and 
  weaknesses. Some parties can get across the walls very 
  easily on one method, while another party may have a 
  very hard time at any other given method. Either way, 
  the party is awarded experience points for successfully 
  getting into the Old City.  
   
  Part B: Cost of a Favor    
  If the characters decide to go to Little Bakluni Town and 
  the Zilchus Western Company, they can wake up 
  Octreth and with either showing him they possess a 
  Money Counter Note, or by using diplomacy, Octreth 
  can be spurred into quick enough action to be useful.  
   
  It should be noted that in the last adventure in this 
  series, it was a plot point to decide if the Zilchus Western 
  Company was destroyed or not. By overwhelming 
  majority, it was determined that the actions of the 
  different groups of adventurers had indeed saved the 
  Zilchus Western Company from destruction. For those 
  who played at a table were it was destroyed, the damage 
  must have been greatly exaggerated by rumormongering.  
   
  Location Information: Zilchus Western 
  Company      
  The Merchant Quarter contains the better markets of 
  Eastfair and the homes of many ordinary merchants. This 
  is also home to an enclave (subsection) of merchants who 
  specialize in exotic goods: silks, spices, peppers, yarpick 
  nuts, galda fruit, rare herbs, alchemical goods, tropical 
  hardwood furnishings, Ketite rugs and carpets, and all 
  manner of unusual items.  
   
  Zilchus Western Company  
  This small compound sits on the far side of the square in 
  little Bakluni town.  
   
  The main gates are closed and the walls are heavily 
  patrolled by the feather plumed and richly dressed 
  pikeman common to the orthodox Zilchus customs 
  originating in the old North Province 
   
  A sign in both old Oeridian and Common 
  proclaims, “The Zilchus Western Company.” 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 20 
   
  As long as the characters are polite, civil and can come up 
  with any sort of reasonable cause for entering the 
  compound (in this case, because they seek to speak with 
  the Holy Clerk Octreth), then they may do so and 
  though the elite guards do not search the characters, they 
  do eye them very carefully. 
   
  It’s important that the characters ask for Octreth or 
  the Holy Clerk, otherwise they will be turned away until 
  7am.  
   
  At this point, Holy Clerk Octreth is summoned out 
  to the main gate. Once he sees who the characters are, he 
  lets them in. There is a small gatehouse near the main 
  gate that Ocreth ushers the characters into for privacy. 
   
  Because the interaction between the characters and 
  the Zilchus Western Company is still being frowned 
  upon by the Exchequer, Octreth wants to keep a low 
  profile to avoid interference. If his superiors suddenly 
  found out about this early morning meeting, internal 
  politics would stop any help he could give to the 
  characters for some time. 
   
  Thus, the characters need to spend most of the time 
  within this private gatehouse. They are told not to 
  approach the main temple or any of the other buildings. 
   
  The following is what Octreth has to pass along to 
  inquiring characters. 
   
  Can you help us Octreth? : “I think I might be able 
  to. Its tricky, but I think I can get just the documents and 
  pretense you’ll need. But I’ll have to come with you to 
  pull it off. All we need now is a Money Counter Note 
  issued by someone other than myself. “ 
   
  Do you have such note?: “Alas, I don’t. Nor do I 
  think I could get a hold of one for many hours. It would 
  be too risky”. 
   
  We have a Money Counter Note: “You do? That’s 
  perfect. If you loan it to me, I’ll be sure to get you a new 
  one issued to you within a few days. I’m positive I could 
  manipulate that. I need it to bribe someone here, and 
  unfortunately, my own issuing of Money Counter Notes 
  doesn’t have the same impact as yet. Temple politics and 
  all. Don’t worry about those details, just let me go handle 
  it and wait here.” 
   
  We don’t have any Money Counter Notes: “Oh,  
  that’s a shame. I think I could get one, but it would take 
  many hours. I’d have to wake a senior cleric, and 
  convince him it was part of my duties. I just don’t 
  know…There are so many intricacies that Holy Clerk 
  Afronidious did not have time to teach me. It can be so 
  complicated.” 
   
  We do this a lot, it will be alright?!: Octreth is very 
  new at his position as the Holy Clerk for the temple. His 
  confidence is wavering because while his job gives him 
  the authority to do many things, the senior (and older) 
  clerics are not giving him much leeway. In practice, the 
  old Holy Clerk would have used grit and gumption to 
  keep his own superiors in line and not dare interfere with 
  whatever he tells them are his duties. The characters 
  need to inspire Octreth to do something along those 
  lines. Get him to tip his hat over his brow and go into 
  that temple and lay down the law. A successful DC 15 
  Diplomacy check does this. Only one attempt per party, 
  but all may assist.  
   
  So, you can’t help us out?: “I can, but I need to wait 
  till the right cleric has awoken, then I can approach him 
  during the regular meeting, and try and angle him into 
  issuing me a Money Counter Note, then I can give that 
  note to a certain person I know who is interested in 
  gaining one. And then I can take his assignment and 
  documents and get you into the old city. But by that time, 
  it will be well into morning, and you can probably just 
  walk in through the gates on your own. I’m sorry it can’t 
  be faster”. 
   
  Any word on Afronidous?: “Some, but none of it 
  good. It seems that Prince Poxquand did not care enough 
  to include the safe return of Holy Clerk Afronidious as 
  part of his side of the bargain. He did withdraw his 
  support of the assault on our Order, but has left the 
  regaining of Afronidious up to the Exchequer. Some 
  other faction within the city judicial council is using this 
  as a power point. The negotiations could take some time I 
  fear.” 
   
  If the characters have either given Octreth a Money 
  Counter Note, or used Diplomacy to fluff up his 
  confidence, he puts his plan into immediate action. 
   
  If he doesn’t have a Money Counter Note, but has 
  the courage to go get one, he tells the characters to stay in 
  the gatehouse, and goes into the temple. Ten minutes 
  later, he has the required Money Counter Note in his 
  hand and is leaving the chambers of a very sheepish-
  looking superior cleric.  
   
  The Octreth takes this Money Counter Note and 
  brings it to the chambers of a fellow cleric. This fellow 
  has asked Octreth to do a favor or two for him on the side 
  and made it clear that he could do a few things for 
  Octreth as well, if he cooperated. 
   
  Octreth has gone along with him a few times, as they 
  seemed like nice shortcuts and kept things running 
  smoothly. He never much liked returning the favor, but 
  it was only fair. This cleric has made it clear to Octreth 
  not to reveal who he is to anyone. Doing so would void 
  any future dealings and bring down his ire onto the 
  young cleric.  
   
  As it happens, Octreth is aware that this cleric 
  requires a Money Counter Note with a little more 
  leverage than Octerth’s signature can provide. Octreth is 
  also aware that this cleric has several early morning 
  meetings scheduled within the Cyst of the Old City.  
   
  It is Octreth’s plan to take the pass, the wagon, and 
  whatever else is needed, and then brow beat/trick the 
  Spider’s Gate guards into allowing him entrance. And it 
  will work. 
   
  Assuming the characters go along with it, they are 
  loaded up into a wagon, or used as ‘guards’ if mounted, 
  and Octreth passes on to the Cyst after informing the 
  guards he’s wanted for an early meeting with a certain 
  high-ranking tax agent.  
   
  �Octreth: Male human (Suel-Oeridian) Clr4 of 
  Zilchus; hp 27. 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 21 
   
  Development: Once in the city, Octreth brings the 
  characters near (but not to) the location they need to go, 
  and carries on his way. He says he can’t risk too much 
  direct involvement or connection to this kennel if the 
  bad guys come along. But Octreth is willing to meet the 
  characters at this location (about a block away from the 
  kennel) in about thirty minutes. That’s about the time it 
  will take him to carry on to the Cyst, then head back to 
  this point. He’ll wait another fifteen minutes after that, 
  but he can’t risk more.  
   
  If the characters come back during that time, he can 
  escort them out, even if its before 8am (when the Spider’s 
  Gate and New Gate open up). 
   
  Part C: The Webs We Weave   
  The old but sturdy stopgap known as The Spider’s Gate 
  controls commoner traffic between the outer-ring of the 
  city called the New City, and the interior core called the 
  Old City. Where the New City ranges from rich noble 
  town houses to simple commoner city cottages, the Old 
  City leaves no doubt that slums await. A large number of 
  guards verify that those who use the gate are those with 
  permission. 
   
  Note that for this encounter, day is considered to start at 
  8am (6am dawn). That is when the gate opens to regular 
  traffic and the guard level is dropped. 
   
  The New Gate is at the opposite end of the Old City 
  and is restricted to military, city authorities, nobility and 
  all others with some weight to throw around. All others 
  must use Spider’s Gate. 
   
  Day 
  For those who simply don the disguises provided (In 
  COR4-14 Sympathy for the Baatezu) and use a little 
  discretion, crossing this gate into the Old City is easy 
  (during the day).  
   
  When not on alert, there are no magical protections 
  or detections in use. During an alert, the gates are closed 
  and anyone wishing to pass through faces scrutiny, 
  including the risk of magical scrutiny from three clerics 
  of Hextor and a mid level diviner (but these four do not 
  report in until the alarm is sounded). 
   
  Getting in or out (during the day) without the 
  proper badges can still be accomplished, but requires a 
  successful DC 15 Diplomacy check in order for the 
  opportunity to bribe the guard 10 gp for a one way 
  passage. Failure means the character cannot try again for 
  24 hours (an exception to this is if he can successfully 
  disguise himself manually or magically and try again as a 
  “new” person). 
   
  With the gates open, characters using magic (such as 
  invisibility) and some caution can easily bypass any 
  scrutiny from the guards (there’s some debate among the 
  city authority about installing a permanent invisibility 
  purge trap here, but the main issue is who would foot the 
  bill for it). 
   
  Unless the characters have done something to 
  change this fact, the gates cease to be on alert by 8am 
  (which also happens to be when the guard is changed and 
  the gate opens up for the day). Of course, characters 
  waiting that long may find themselves at a loss during 
  later events. 
   
  Night 
  Without the proper documents (which the characters 
  themselves do not have) getting past the gates at night 
  can be very difficult. The gates are normally closed, and 
  the guard presence is increased from the regular day 
  watch. 
   
  In addition, these guards are on alert because of the 
  goings on within the New City. They are concerned with 
  thieves trying to use a distraction in one part of the city 
  to allow something else to pass by in another—such as 
  this gate. 
   
  Without the alert, these guards could still be bribed, 
  but because they know their superiors will be checking 
  on them, they are scared of being caught doing so. So 
  they won’t. 
   
  At the same time, the guards realize that powerful 
  factions within the city fight and struggle against one 
  another. They also know it’s counter productive to get on 
  the bad side of one of these secretive factions. So it’s a 
  careful game of balance, keeping out the riffraff, but still 
  knowing when to let things slide for the privileged. 
   
  Some of the guards will recognize Tillie and tell her 
  they want nothing to do with her while the alert is on. 
  Getting mixed up with her right now would mean 
  nothing but trouble. Nor does Tillie have any passes or 
  favors that can get her (or the adventurers) through this 
  gate at night. 
   
  The characters have one option here. They can try to 
  bluff their way through. If they can come up with some 
  angle that uses the guards’ fear of retribution from 
  dangerous factions, and succeed in their Bluff check, 
  then they can gain access.  
   
  An example scheme would include the characters 
  suggesting that they are on a mission tasked out by some 
  dark master (maybe even Poxquand) from within the city 
  and that they need to enter the Old City right away or 
  else their master will be very unhappy. Disguising 
  themselves as clerics of Hextor or other authority figures 
  helps greatly. The important part is that the gate guards 
  want to believe that powerful forces will involve them in 
  their dark conspiracies. These are fantasy elements that 
  the entire guard shift share on their lonely nights of vigil.  
   
  The characters only get one chance at a Bluff check 
  per party, but others may assist the primary roller. This is 
  an opposed Sense Motive check for the guards (one roll 
  for the lot of them). Their skill is as follows: APL2—4; 
  APL 4—6; APL 6—8; APL 8—10. This does not take into 
  account the –5 skill modifier for the guards wanting to 
  believe the characters. As well, the guards only want to 
  believe the characters if the bluff contains some element 
  of dark conspiracy and them being needed to aid in it. 
   
  All APLs 
   
  �Sergeant Gronnend: Male human Ftr4/Rog2; LE. 
   
  �Scourge Brother Calathor: Male human Clr4/Ftr1 
  of Hextor; LE. 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 22 
   
  �Rakersmen Trooper (8): Male human; LE; War2. 
   
  Nearby in Guard House 
   
  �Haliand: Male human Div5; LE. 
   
  �Scourge 
  Chaplin 
  Balleth: 
  Female 
  human 
  Clr6/Ftr4 of Hextor; LE. 
   
  �Scourge Brother Immons: Male human Clr4/Ftr1 
  of Hextor; LE. 
   
   
  Development: If the characters are unsuccessful in 
  the attempt, they are rebuffed and ordered to leave. The 
  characters will have to try another route or wait till the 
  guard changes at 8am. 
   
  If the characters fail in their attempt but are insistent 
  or act in a hostile manner, the alarm is easily sounded, 
  and the gate goes on alert. Magical back-up arrives within 
  two rounds (from a nearby building) and Rakersmen 
  patrols divert towards the gate from both sides (new and 
  old city).  
   
  Should the characters vanquish the guards by sword 
  or spell, they still must spend a few rounds either 
  unlocking the small man-sized bolt hole, or many rounds 
  getting a full-sized gate open to all allow mounts to pass 
  through.  
   
  Part D: The Hole in the Wall Gang  
  Sister Tillie knows a man who lives on the New City side 
  of the Old City wall. He’s in fact a guilder (but not of the 
  same faction as the Smiling Ones) and he and his small 
  gang of smugglers spend their time opening up passages 
  through and under the wall. They are occasionally found 
  out, and have to move setups, but that’s their gig.  
   
  Tillie can find the right house (a basement actually, 
  accessed from an alley). This is a new set-up and Tillie 
  does not know where the actual tunnel is. In fact, she’s 
  certain that it won’t be within their hideout. They always 
  set up shop away from the actual tunnel entrance. Tillie 
  came through with a blindfold, and it was not taken off 
  until she was in the hideout. Luckily, in this instance, the 
  blindfold will be skipped for the party. 
   
  Making your way into a housing block adjacent to the 
  north wall of the Old City, Tillie points out an alley and 
  a flight of stairs leading to a subbasement. “In there, 
  that’s their latest hangout. Be careful, they’re dangerous 
  and I still need to do business with them from time to 
  time.” 
   
  Inside is the leader of this small guilder crew, a short and 
  scrawny man by the name of Dalland the Digger. He’s 
  bitter and sneaky, but hates confrontation. He would 
  prefer to give in now and get revenge later than risk 
  never getting the chance for revenge. He has a few lads 
  for muscle and cargo transport, but the rest of his crew 
  consists of diggers and other forms of trappers/sappers 
  rogues like him. This gang worships the god Kurelll (the 
  Bitter Hand).  
   
  The hideout itself is a 40 ft. by 30 ft. subbasement, 
  with a staircase leading up to the main floor of a private 
  residence (they rent the basement). The door at the top of 
  the stairs is locked and barred separately from both sides.  
   
  Tillie is sure she can get the party the ‘preferred 
  customer’ (sans blindfolds) rate of 25 gp per person. 
  Normally it could be as much as 50 gp per person for a 
  one-way trip, but alas that is the price of freedom from 
  the slums.  
   
  If the characters are not interested in paying the fee, 
  they can have one of their members ‘pay with a point of 
  influence with the Thieves’ Guild (as gained in COR4-09 
  ‘A Tiger? In Ahlissa?!’) One point of influence is enough 
  for one-way passage for the entire party. 
   
  If the characters are not interested in doing any kind 
  payment, they could try picking up the lead guilder by 
  the jerkin and threatening him. Of course, this is not the 
  best thing for Tillie, for she has to live and do business 
  with these folks, but it could work with a high enough 
  check. A DC 15 Intimidate check can persuade the 
  scrawny guilder into helping, but secretly, he’ll plot his 
  revenge. He’ll add Tillie and all of the characters to his 
  list (but it’s a long list so it may take time to get to them).  
   
  As well, threats to report this operation to the 
  authorities or to kill everyone won’t go over well. As part 
  of the Eastfair Thieves’ Guild, there is a certain amount of 
  protection they receive, regardless of faction politics, 
  from their brother guilders. Messing with Dalland the 
  Digger in such an extreme way would require the Guild 
  to come down hard on who ever it was that messed with 
  them. Sister Tillie would be guilty by association.  
   
  Mount Storage 
  The tunnel (and its exit) can only be accessed by medium 
  (or smaller) sized creatures. Unless the party can 
  magically reduce the size of Large-sized mounts, animal 
  companions etc., they must leave them here (or just not 
  go, or take the time to place the mounts elsewhere).  
   
  For a small fee of 10 gp per mount, Dalland the 
  Digger offers to safely store the mount for 24 hours. But 
  he says that if not claimed within that time, he shall keep 
  the animal as collateral against the cost of extra storage. 
  It’s an outrageous and risky deal, but then again, so is the 
  adventuring life style. Dalland refuses to allow characters 
  to pay for more than one day at a time. 
   
  If taken up on this, Dalland is good enough to his 
  word. The animals are safe and readily accessible for 
  those 24 hours for claiming. Anything past 24 hours and 
  the mounts are long gone.  
   
  All APLs 
   
  �Dalland the Digger: Male human (Oeridian) Rog6; 
  NE. 
   
  �Sappers (4): Male human (Oeridian); N; hp 13; 
  Rog2. 
   
  �Muscles (2): Male human (Flan-Oeridian); NE; 
  War2/Rog1. 
   
  Develop.m.ent: Once a form of payment has been 
  worked out, Dalland and some of his lads take the 
  characters to another basement about three houses over. 
  Inside, is a hidden tunnel entrance that opens into a 5-
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 23 
  foot by 5-foot passageway. It’s not scenic, but it does go 
  under the walls. It leads to another ‘safe’ building in the 
  Old City, which a few more Guilders from this outfit 
  guard.  
   
  The passage is low at the Old City end, requiring the 
  characters to comfortably crawl the last 10 feet. Upon 
  exiting, they see the following: 
   
  This is another basement, but this one is filled with 
  smoke from a poorly ventilated fireplace. Two men are 
  playing cards at a table, while another sleeps on a cot. On 
  the far side of the room, is a large wooden altar shaped 
  like a hand squeezing something round, but the haze of 
  the smoke makes it impossible to identify what the 
  round object is.  
   
  Present here is Wren, the gang’s resident cleric of Kurell, 
  and two more muscle thugs. This basement is doubling as 
  the group’s temple. They move their wooden altar around 
  as needed. 
   
  Wren 
  automatically 
  assumes 
  anyone 
  coming 
  through the tunnel does so because they have been 
  approved to do so. He does ask them to not loiter and to 
  move on. 
   
  The altar is 30 feet away from the tunnel exit. 
  Getting to within 10 ft. of the altar and giving it a good 
  look over identifies the ‘round’ object, as a broken coin 
  (also made out of wood, as its part of the altar). This is a 
  large sized representation of the holy symbol of Kurell. A 
  DC 12 Knowledge (religion) check identifies it as such.  
   
  If any characters start attacking the altar with spells 
  or weapons, Wren demands that they stop desecrating 
  their temporal connection to their god. Ignoring this 
  order will lead to combat. 
   
  �Wren: Male human (Oeridian) Rog1/Clr5 of 
  Kurell; CN. 
   
  �Muscles (2): Male human (Flan-Oeridian); NE; 
  War2/Rog1. 
   
  Part E: Manual Entrance    
  The inner city walls that separate the New City from the 
  Old City tower some 50 ft. above your heads. While the 
  guard towers and occasional lone foot patrol along the 
  ramparts do not convey much of the cities attitude, the 
  ghastly gargoyle statues with fiendishly large smiles that 
  haphazardly decorate the walls do.  
   
  This is the catchall encounter. If the characters decide 
  they want to climb the 50 feet up and over the wall and 
  ramparts, then this is where they go.  
   
  If the characters want to fly or teleport or otherwise 
  bypass with walls while breaking the laws of physics, this 
  is where they go. 
   
  The inner walls have evenly spaced guard towers 
  with a rampart going all along the wall. This means that 
  there are Rakersmen in those towers and foot patrols 
  along the ramparts. These lone foot patrols are easy 
  enough to bypass with the resources present to most 
  adventurers.  
   
  PCs wishing to scale these walls require the requisite 
  number of DC 25 Climb checks. 
   
  Silence or a simple sleep spells will also be useful 
  here. Invisibility or any other stealth inducing spells 
  could also render the lone patrolman moot (or at least till 
  another one of his fellow patrollers caught up to him). 
  The guard towers don’t see very far in the dark, thus 
  relying on the foot patrols. Come daylight, the 
  inhabitants of the towers can see all along the wall with 
  ease. 
   
  What a climber does have to worry about is all those 
  gargoyles. There is a statue roughly every 3 ft. but not in 
  any pattern (so spotting one out of place is not possible) 
  and that’s a lot of gargoyles. Luckily, they’re almost all 
  just plain statues. I said ‘almost all’.  
   
  When the characters attempt to scale a section of 
  wall, roll a 1d6. On a 1, 2, 3 or 4 there is nothing more 
  than the normal risk of a patrolman (one comes by every 
  ten minutes or so). On a roll of 5, the characters are below 
  a real gargoyle (see below). On a roll of 6, the characters 
  are below a section of wall with an alarm spell tied to it 
  (see below). 
   
  Gargoyle (roll of 5)     
  A clan of ten or so lawful evil gargoyles live on the walls 
  of the city. The authorities know they’re there, and in 
  exchange for protecting the walls, the gargoyles are 
  allowed to take a victim or two from the slums when the 
  need comes upon them as long as they keep it discrete.  
   
  If a character rolls a 5, then a single Lawful Evil 
  gargoyle awaits the first climber (or flyer) that it can 
  detects passing by. Then it attacks. It has a set territory, 
  and it’s not interested at the moment with sharing its 
  prey. It is highly possible however that guards in a watch 
  towers or a foot patrol will see the combat and rush to it 
  within 1d8+1 rounds.  
   
  The gargoyle retreats to gather its brethren if it drops 
  below 15 hp. They’ll reform to watch the walls, but won’t 
  go looking for the characters amongst the Old City (but 
  the characters don’t know that). 
   
  �Gargoyle: 37 hp; LE otherwise, see Monster 
  Manual. 
   
  Alarm spell (roll of 6)    
  Centered on the wall itself, 20 feet below the actual 
  rampart, is an alarm spell (one of many) that were worked 
  into the defenses long ago. The passing patrols are above 
  the range of the spell and thus do not trigger it. As well, 
  those passing the foot of the wall are too far below it to 
  trigger it. Those passing by the middle 20 ft. or so of the 
  wall do risk triggering it however 
   
  In the silence of the night, the watchtowers on 
  either side of the wall section being climb can clearly 
  hear it and respond promptly. Once heard, a five-man 
  patrol consisting of Rakersmen will arrive from each of 
  the two nearby watchtowers in 1d6 rounds. Once they 
  arrive, they will stay watchful of the entire section of wall 
  (in fact, the entire wall) for at least a full hour, and 
  possibly longer depending on what kind of contact they 
  made with the characters. 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 24 
   
  Alert guards on top of the wall have a good vantage 
  point to see down to base of it. The guards won’t hesitate 
  to take pot shots with their light crossbows at anyone 
  ‘suspicious,’ just standing around the wall after the alarm.  
   
  �Rakersmen 
  Troopers 
  (10): 
  Male 
  human 
  (Oeridian); LE; hp 16; War2. 
   
  Development: Assuming the characters did not give 
  away their position to the guards on the walls, they 
  should be free to move about throughout the Old City. If 
  the characters did give away their position, they may 
  have to try another approach, for once the troops have 
  been alerted, it’s only a matter of time before they get 
  reinforcements. The first to back them up will be the full 
  clan of ten Lawful Evil gargoyles, so it is not in the 
  characters interest to force the issue.  
   
  For those characters desiring the quickest route of 
  entry into the Old City, there is an unmanned heavy 
  catapult in a nearby courtyard in the New City. It’s even 
  facing the right way. It just needs someone to cock it… 
   
  Encounter 3:  
  The Dogs of Society 
  The encounter has two parts. The first is the characters 
  arriving at the kennel and encountering a squad of 
  Poxsquand House Troopers. These troopers have just 
  arrived and entered the courtyard when the characters 
  come up to the wide open doors of the kennel 
  compound. 
   
  Then second part of the encounter is the finding of 
  the dead Smiling Ones and the interaction with the 
  cursed hound archons. 
   
  We were too late! (7 a.m.+)    
  It needs to be noted that if the characters do not arrive 
  here before 7 a.m. (they start at 4 a.m., and each attempt 
  to enter the city takes one hour, plus anything extra they 
  do along the way), then they are too late. 
   
  When they finally do arrive, the House Troopers in 
  the first part are not a newly arrived squad, but instead, 
  are a rearguard, waiting for a clean up crew to arrive. In 
  this case, describe the scene as even more bloody.  
   
  The second encounter leaves only the bloody note 
  and a lot of bodies to be found. In addition to all the 
  Smiling One bodies, Kilern is now dead, as well as the 
  kennel owner and all five of the cursed hound archons. 
  The little girl is gone (teleported away by a barghest).  
   
  This means there is nothing left for the characters to 
  follow up on in this plot thread. They do not receive any 
  XP for delivering the girl safely to the portal, nor do the 
  invisible stalkers chase them. They are free to carry on to 
  the crossroads at their leisure.  
   
  Part A: First to Respond/Rearguard  
  The doors to the kennel compound are wide open and a 
  squad of five troopers [and a/three wolf-like creature(s)] 
  are within the compound’s courtyard. They are heavily 
  armored and their tower shields show a noble’s 
  household crest. Tillie points at them, “That’s them! 
  Those are Poxquand’s House Troopers! Get’em!” 
   
  The troopers know a fight when one walks up to them. 
  While they may not know who exactly the characters are, 
  they do know that this compound is theirs to protect and 
  their going to protect it! 
   
  The troopers (and barghests if among them) have 
  just arrived and have yet to check the place out. They are 
  not interested in conversation and have been warned 
  about possible resistance from outside forces.  
   
  Without any spells, Tillie stays far back, behind 
  cover in the street. If given a wand or scrolls, she’ll use 
  them to aid the characters and even make brave dashes to 
  save downed characters. Otherwise, she stays out of both 
  harm’s way and the characters’ way. Of course, 
  teleporting barghests might find her a tasty treat (though 
  she is not a primary target for them).  
   
  Rakersmen and Poxquand Troopers 
  These soldiers are not Rakersmen (the city guards). These 
  are the personal troops (house guards) of Prince 
  Poxquand the Undying, a member of the House Naelax 
  (as many princes are).  
   
  Because these troops are themselves technically 
  breaking the law (though they’d never really be punished 
  for it due to the influence of their master), there is no 
  severe backlash against the characters (no man hunts, 
  etc) as a consequence of any fighting here, though the 
  Rakersmen would still interrupt the combat if they came 
  across it.  
   
  As for the Rakersmen patrols—it’s raining in the 
  Old City. What was once far and few, are now almost 
  non-existent as the Rakersmen curl up by the barrack’s 
  fires. It’ll take an awful lot to get a patrol to go investigate 
  something (like a superior threatening them with death). 
  They figure they will clear up problems once the rain 
  lifts. They figure they can’t protect the city streets if 
  they’re shivering with pneumonia (or so they tell 
  themselves).  
   
  Creatures: The following creatures are encountered 
  here: 
   
  APL2 (EL 3) 
   
  �Sergeant: Male human Ftr1; 12 hp; see Appendix 
  1. 
   
  �Trooper (4): Male human War1; 9 hp (each); see 
  Appendix 1. 
   
  APL4 (EL 5) 
   
  �Sergeant: Male human Ftr4; 36 hp; see Appendix 
  1. 
   
  �Trooper (4): Male human War1; 9 hp (each); see 
  Appendix 1. 
   
  APL6 (EL 7) 
   
  �Sergeant: Male human Ftr5; 43 hp; see Appendix 
  1. 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 25 
   
  �Trooper (4): Male human War1; 9 hp each; see 
  Appendix 1. 
   
  �Barghest: 33 hp; see Monster Manual. 
   
  APL8 (EL9) 
   
  �Sergeant: Male human Ftr6; 47 hp; see Appendix 
  1. 
   
  �Trooper (6): Male human War2; 15 hp each; see 
  Appendix 1. 
   
  �Barghest (3): 33 hp (each); see Monster Manual. 
   
   
  Tactics: The troopers are wearing half-plate and 
  carrying tower shields but only wield short swords and 
  javelins. These troopers are used to slaughters and 
  driving back light and meager foes; rabble mostly. They 
  keep themselves safe, and poke at the enemy. 
  Unfortunately, what works against rabble rarely works 
  against adventurers. 
   
  At APL 2 and 4, the troopers hurl a volley of javelins 
  if the characters have yet to close with them. Otherwise 
  they either fight defensively against lightly armored foes, 
  or use total defense against enemy heavy infantry. They 
  do this keeping a line, zigzag or a burst formation, 
  centered on their sergeant. The sergeant is whom the 
  squad relies on to deal out offensive power. By covering 
  his flanks, this allows him to be the butting head of the 
  turtle. Or at least, that’s what they found when fighting 
  off uprising peasants and poorly equipped renegade 
  soldiers. 
   
  At APL 6 and 8, barghest(s) join the squad of house 
  troopers acting as skirmishers and trackers. During this 
  combat, given the chance, the barghest(s) hide 
  behind/within the ranks of the troopers and cast their 
  spells such as blink and rage. The barghests then try to 
  stay close to the shield wall/circle. They’ll sally forth 
  from it if the opportunity presents itself, or if the 
  characters are not coming to them.  
   
  At APL8, if the characters have rushed forward to 
  engage the shield wall, one or two (or three!) of the 
  barghest can dimension door and gang up on any casters 
  or archers that stayed back. Though they can’t attack in 
  the same round as the spell, they can set themselves up 
  for a brutal onslaught on their next round, and at the 
  same time, hopefully draw back some of those fighting 
  the shield wall. If it works to their advantage, the 
  barghest and the shield wall can sandwich the attacking 
  characters. 
   
  A barghest will attempt to ‘feed’ on a dead character 
  only if it can do so without drawing an attack of 
  opportunity AND if that barghest is not already in melee 
  with another foe. The barghest make no attempt to feed 
  on the downed troopers because experience has taught 
  them that the soul’s of the troopers are weak and give 
  them no nourishment or advancement. 
   
  Treasure: Loot the troopers and the barghests. 
   
  In addition to the arms and armor on the troopers 
  and coins in their pouches, the barghests each have an 
  ornamental collar that has semi-precious gemstones.  
   
  Sister Tillie volunteers her experienced services of 
  fencing dubiously obtained goods (such as arms and 
  armor). This means the characters do not have to carry 
  the gear around. For a small percentage (for the poor), 
  Tillie will get the most she can for the gear and deliver it 
  back to the characters. The gear has the house markings 
  of Prince Poxquand on it, which makes it harder to sell 
  (thus lowers the value), but it’s still worth a pretty copper.  
   
  If Tillie is killed by this point, then she cannot fence 
  the goods and the characters must handle it themselves 
  (i.e. lug all that armor around). 
  APL 2: L: 312 gp; C: 10; M: 0 gp. 
  APL 4: L: 312 gp; C: 10; M: 0 gp. 
  APL 6: L: 312 gp; C: 20; M: 0 gp. 
  APL 8: L: 312 gp; C: 40; M: 0 gp. 
   
  Development: As long as the barghests are alive, the 
  troopers keep on fighting, no matter the odds. Should all 
  the barghest be killed (or if none are presented due to 
  low APL), the house troopers will consider surrender 
  should they start to loose badly or it becomes clear to 
  them that they are out-classed. It’s an honest and 
  cooperative surrender (they will disarm and surrender 
  their gear). The troopers do this because they are 
  confident that more squads (and more powerful ones) are 
  rushing to the kennel.  
   
  The troopers just beg for their lives, but insist they 
  either don’t really know anything or that if they did say 
  anything, Prince Poxquand would do horrible things to 
  them, then kill them and then do even more horrible 
  things to them. If the troopers are charmed or have their 
  minds read (etc), it reveals that the kennel has indeed 
  been identified and that reinforcements are on the way. 
  The characters don’t have much time, thirty minutes at 
  the most. 
   
  From this point, the characters don’t have a lot of 
  time. The troopers think its thirty minutes at the most, 
  but it could be more (or less). The reinforcements arrive 
  at 7am. That’s how long the characters have to get out of 
  town.  
   
  Being caught here when Slithers and his mortal 
  troops arrive (all undead troops returned to base before 
  dawn) is not a good idea.  
   
  Assuming Tillie is still alive, she points to the door 
  that leads to the dog run area and explains that that is 
  where the wounded and dying Smiling Ones have 
  hidden. 
   
  Part B: In the Dog House 
  The interior door opens to reveal a scene of blood and 
  carnage. The area outside the dog run is covered in 
  blood and internal organs. Human bodies litter the 
  ground, with their entrails and hearts torn asunder. The 
  bodies of three dead and battle-torn barghests lay 
  amongst the bodies. The dogs in the kennel are 
  remarkably silent, and the only sound is human 
  whimpering coming from behind some straw bundles. 
   
  What the characters are witnessing is the aftermath of a 
  pack of four barghests that successfully tracked the 
  Smiling Ones to the kennel and investigated. They broke 
  open the main doors, then this interior door (which was 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
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  later closed again by the hounds) and upon seeing the 
  dead and dying Smiling Ones, they feasted.  
   
  The hounds were hidden away within the shack, 
  ready to defend their ward, but upon hearing the 
  slaughter outside; they could not stand by and let it 
  happen. They rushed out and engaged three bargest, but 
  the fourth stayed back, feasting on all it could reach.  
   
  The hounds were able to save Kilern (the one 
  whimpering in shock), but because they are not suitable 
  to fighting in their animal form (especially with the curse 
  on them) they were slow in defeating the barghest. 
  Eventually though, they managed to defeat the three 
  aggressive barghest, but the fourth decided to report back 
  instead of risking its luck with the four fighting hounds. 
  Thus, the barghest teleported away and directed more 
  troops toward the kennel to deal with these defenders 
   
  It was during this combat that the owner of the 
  kennel fled in terror. He’s probably half way to Kalstrand 
  by now. 
   
  Bodies and the Letter  
   
   
   
  Characters looking closely at the human bodies (and who 
  have played either COR4-09“A Tiger? In Ahlissa?! or 
  COR4-14 Sympathy for the Baatezu) will recognize 
  Malaya, Jirwelt and their half-elf bard companion 
  Ghalarq. About half the bodies (the youngest ones) are 
  wearing shredded red tabards (as denotes a junior 
  Smiling One).  
   
  Near the body of Malaya is a spilled bottle of ink, a 
  quill and a blood-covered parchment. This is Player 
  Handout and is the note she was writing to try and help 
  keep her sanity from the effects of the exotic poison she 
  (and the other Smiling Ones) was exposed to within the 
  dungeon of Prince Poxquand.  
   
  The bodies do have equipment on them, but most of 
  it was recently magical, and designed for stealth and 
  quickness of foot. Unfortunately, during the raid the 
  Smiling Ones had their items neutralized. Now they 
  possess mostly useless trinkets and some masterwork 
  quality arms and armor (as represented in the treasure 
  block). 
   
  The Whimpering One    
  Behind some bundles of straw is Kilern the newly 
  promoted inner circle Smiling One (he was briefly 
  encountered with his kittens in COR4-14 Sympathy for 
  the Baatezu). When the characters find him, he’s cradling 
  his dead cat familiar in his arms and rocking slowly in an 
  upright fetal position. His mind has snapped.  
   
  When he signed up, he did so mostly because he 
  figured these were the right kind of people to help him 
  reach his dream of being an arcane trickster. Now he’s 
  lost a level, a soul mate and his sanity. The moral of the 
  story is to just say no to magically induced humor at 
  another’s expense.  
   
  There have been suggestions made that there is a 
  traitor somewhere within the ranks of the Smiling Ones. 
  Someone tipped off Prince Poxquand regarding their 
  plans and thus doomed the entire operation.  
   
  Kilern has little to say (his deranged mumblings are 
  listed below) and anyone using magic or special abilities 
  to read his thoughts only get his shock-induced 
  psychosis. His mind keeps repeating images of desperate 
  fighting within the bowels of a dungeon, frantic running 
  through streets and tunnels, a magical burst going off and 
  everyone within it having their magic items completely 
  fail, brave Fluffy scratching at the face of a black skinned 
  female elf only to be stabbed and thrown back at Kilern.  
   
  When asked questions (any kind of questions), he 
  mumbles; 
   
  “..she was a good cat, a brave cat. Fluffy saved my 
  life..I killed her..” 
   
  “I just wanted to be an arcane trickster. But not like 
  this, never like this.” 
   
   “They were everywhere, waiting for us inside. The 
  poison, the air, why was I so lucky to escape it? What 
  worse fate awaits me because of it?” 
   
  “…our game is at an end. Do you not see this? 
  Failure. It would be better if our ward was put in 
  command, for I have failed. “ 
   
  “I keep trying to disbelieve, for these events do not 
  seem like reality.” 
   
  �Kilern: Male human (Flan-Oeridian) Wiz); CN; hp 
  9. 
   
  An Indoctrination in Dogma   
  Once it comes time for the characters to start looking 
  around for, or discussing amongst themselves the 
  presence of the hound archons, it becomes time for them 
  to introduce themselves. 
   
  Hidden amongst the many dogs in the run and 
  cages, are four of the five cursed hound archons (forced 
  into various canine forms, unable to change back or use 
  the majority of their abilities). From the shadowy 
  darkness of the night, they’ve been observing the 
  adventurers just to make sure they are who the hounds 
  hope they are. The presence of Sister Tillie confirms their 
  hopes. 
   
  When it comes time to introduce them, they do so 
  one at a time. They emerge from amongst the dogs and 
  take turns stepping forward and saying a few words. 
  When they do this read or paraphrase their lines and 
  descriptions for the players. 
   
  The lead hound is of Medium size. Strong and muscular, 
  it is a war dog for sure. On his fur is the pattern of a 
  lightning bolt.  
   
  The next one is Medium-sized too. A female ‘great 
  dane’, she is skinny and has a runner’s build. She has a 
  heart-shaped mark with some blotch in the middle of 
  the heart on her fur. 
   
  The other two are Small-sized. The first of these is a 
  basset hound, with folds over its eyes, stoic, unmoving, 
  unflinching. A pattern of a white book adorns his fur.  
   
  The second Small-sized dog is a terrier, watchful 
  and alert with penetrating eyes. This hound has the 
  unmistakable mark of a full moon eclipsing a crescent 
  moon. 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 27 
   
  Something all these canines have in common is that 
  they have horribly stitched wounds and scars where 
  their fur has not re-grown. As well, all have a cruel-
  looking collar about their necks. 
   
  The characters are free to ask questions, but the hounds 
  have their own agenda and as well, they feel time is 
  against them. When it comes time to move the players 
  along, the hounds can press this issue. Move on now, 
  before the enemy returns in too great of number. 
   
  If referred to as “dogs”, the archons quickly correct 
  the characters with ‘hounds’. To them, it’s a very picky 
  subject. They want to be referred to as hounds, never as 
  dogs.  
   
  The Pack: The Hound of Heironeous tends to speak 
  for the pack, but everything in this section is known by 
  all of the hounds and could be said by anyone of them. 
  Remarks for specific hounds are found in their own 
  sections. 
   
  Who are all of you?: “We are those hand-picked by 
  our patrons to serve in this special task. We are Chosen 
  Hounds. We are tutors and guardians, those set aside to 
  reemerge when we are called. We guard one of the three. 
  We can say little more.” 
   
  Do you need our help: “We require your aid. We 
  had relied on these mortals here, but our vile captor has 
  slain them despite our efforts. Now we need you to take 
  their place. We have formulated a plan. It is the only 
  option left that we feel has a worthwhile chance for 
  success, but you must be a part of it. As well, time is 
  quickly running out.” 
   
  What is this plan?: “These collars have cursed us. 
  They cannot be removed at the moment without causing 
  our destruction. They block almost all of our abilities and 
  keep us in these forms. They also act as a signaling device, 
  giving away our location to an arcane device possessed by 
  Poxquand. There is a secret place we must escape to. It is 
  located in the south east of the realm called Nyrond. 
  There we can be put back to what should be, and these 
  collars can be removed.” 
   
  Why aren’t you being tracked right now?: “During 
  our escape, we stole some special salve which when 
  applied to the collars, blocks them from scrying for a 
  short time. We have only one dose of this salve left, and 
  we can tell that our current protection is wearing off.” 
   
  What do you need us for?: “Our enemies know 
  roughly where we need to go. We plan to use this to our 
  advantage. Four of us plan to run full out to the 
  southwest, towards Nyrond. When the salve fails 
  (shortly), our enemies will send all they have after us. 
  What they do not know, is that there is a portal some 
  sixty miles to the north east of here, a portal that can 
  transport our ward and one remaining protector to a 
  place near enough in Nyrond to be safe. The remaining 
  dose of salve is for the one hound to go with you. By the 
  time the salve fails and that hound is noticed, it should be 
  too late for the pursuit forces to catch up. “ 
   
  Don’t you fear death?: “Though it is true that 
  normally our kind is destroyed when we meet death-- we 
  few have been offered a special reward. Our patrons have 
  told us that they will guarantee that for us, all hound 
  archons go to Mount Celestia. There, although we may 
  never leave it again, we shall live on.” 
   
  What does this have to do with The Walker, or the 
  standing stones of Medigia?: Wardog--“We are aware that 
  some are trying to corrupt these stones. But that is always 
  the case. Unfortunately, it is not our task to defend it. We 
  have our charge and our ward. We are one cell of three. 
  We, and others like us, guard and tutor, till the time 
  comes for the children to be brought forth.” Terrier—
  “Three children are set aside, babies when they were put 
  in. A fading land for each. The people of their blood have 
  lost their way. They have a chance at redemption. But 
  only when it is time.”   Basset—“Time can not be 
  changed. But it can slowed, with relevance to the prime 
  plane. The child stayed a babe, till the time that will grow 
  near. This has been interrupted, and must be set right 
  again.”   Grey Dane—“She is our ward, like the other cells 
  have theirs. She is of most royal blood. Others of our kind 
  have been destroyed in this service, but we would be 
  honored and heartfelt to do so ourselves, but one must 
  remain to accompany our ward.”   Wardog again-- “And 
  now we must complete the patching of this task. We 
  must deliver the child. It must be done. " 
   
  Where is the fifth hound?: “The runt is back in the 
  shack with our ward. He is back there if you wish to 
  speak with him, if you really desired to do so. (the 
  hounds do not have too much respect for the runt, but 
  tolerate him because he is part of the pack). 
   
  Who is your ward?: “The identity of our ward is a 
  secret. We may not tell you who she is, nor what her 
  name is. You may address her as Her Royal Highness.” 
   
  What was it we must decide?: “You mortals must 
  pick which one of us is to stay with our Ward and be 
  escorted to the portal to the north east. While you do 
  that, the rest of us shall run south west towards Nyrond, 
  drawing away pursuit.” 
  How long does this salve last?: “Not long, we 
  suspect it is measured in hours. Our salves were applied 
  at midnight, and we suspect they will fail some time after 
  dawn.” 
   
  Would normal magic work to stop the scrying?: “It 
  is a possibility, but we do not know for sure. It is a risk we 
  dare not take. It will not hurt to try it on the lone hound 
  to accompany you, but for us, it is decided that four shall 
  run, and one shall be escorted.” 
   
  What’s in it for us?: “Once our Ward and one 
  Hound successfully makes it to the place of safety in 
  Nyrond, I’m sure you shall be smiled upon by our 
  patrons. “ 
   
  We have a map, where is the portal?: “The portal is 
  right ….there… on your map. It’s 60 miles northeast 
  from here. If we hurry, we could make it in a days travel.  
   
  Hound of Heironeous: This hound is a fighter and a 
  leader, but one who is not afraid to delegate. His magical 
  fangs allowed him to fight off the barghests (with the 
  assistance of the pack).  
   
  Who do you serve?: “I serve the Archpaladin.” 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 28 
   
  Why should we pick you?: “I a.m. strong and brave. 
  My teeth shall send to Baator those who try to stop us." 
   
  Hound of Atroa: 
   
  Who do you serve?: “I serve the Sad Maiden.” 
   
  Why should we pick you?: “I a.m. fast and sleek, a 
  scout with few matches. I offer heart and compassion, as 
  well, companionship for a time." 
   
  Hound of Delleb: This hound rarely moves, and when he 
  does, it’s slow and with purpose. Since his eyes can’t be 
  seen, it’s hard to tell if he’s even living when standing 
  still. But, when he wants to move fast, he certainly can.  
   
  Who do you serve?: “I serve the Scholar.” 
   
  Why should we pick you?: “I a.m. knowledgeable 
  and patient, and fun to rub the ears of..." 
   
  Hound of Pholtus: This hound means well, and does 
  respect the existence of the pack, but often finds things 
  being done the wrong way. He’ll point these ‘wrongs’ out 
  to his fellow pack members, but in the end, he’ll agree to 
  follow the group, because that is what the covenant 
  requires. Though he still doesn’t like that darn Hound of 
  Atroa. Darn wind god servants.  
   
  Who do you serve?: “I serve He of the Blinding 
  Light” 
   
  Why should we pick you?: “I a.m. stalwart and 
  vigilant. I shall keep us on the correct path should your 
  spirits falter." 
   
  Runt Hound of Kelanen: This hound is of Tiny size and 
  looks like a cute puppy with a circle of swords as its mark. 
  This is enhanced by the little girl cradling the runt in her 
  arms, as if holding the puppy meant life itself. But as soon 
  as the runt starts to speak, its cuteness is overshadowed 
  by its abrasiveness.  
   
  Who do you serve?: “I serve the Lord of 
  Swords…want to fight about it?” 
   
  Why should we pick you?: “I shall do battle with 
  any foe that threatens Her Highness. I shall never leave 
  her side, thus be her constant guardian… want to make 
  something of it?” 
   
  Why is the girl holding you?: “I’m her bodyguard, 
  yeah, that’s right, little me is her personal defender. Got a 
  problem with that?” 
   
  Why are you so different?: “ While my kind are 
  forged from the elements of Law and Good, I a.m. 
  considered flawed by them. Energy less pure crept into 
  my making. If was not for my patron picking me up with 
  his own hands, I would surely have been reforged by the 
  powers of the plane.” 
   
  The Little Girl: This two-year old human female looks to 
  be of very pure Oeridian decent. She is holding the Runt 
  Hound very tightly. She’s dressed in a very simple 
  sleeping gown and is rather dirty and messy (from the 
  poor treatment during captivity and the escape). She is 
  very, very silent. She doesn’t say a word, but goes along 
  with what she is told to do. The hounds treat her with 
  kindness and reverence. Her thoughts only reflect what 
  is going on around her, nothing deeper.   
   
  Once it comes time to decide which hound is to go 
  with her, should it not be the runt, the other hounds will 
  act as a team to separate her from the puppy. She’s not 
  happy to see him go, but she gets over it. Personal 
  sacrifices need to be made—that’s a lesson she’ll have to 
  learn. 
   
  All APLs 
   
  �Hound of Heironeous: male hound archon, 
  (chosen); hp 39; LG; see Appendix 4. 
   
  �Hound of Atroa: female hound archon, (chosen); 
  hp 33; LG; see Appendix 4. 
   
  �Hound of Delleb: male hound archon, (chosen); 
  hp 27; LG; see Appendix 4. 
   
  �Hound of Pholtus: male hound archon, (chosen); 
  hp 27; LG; see Appendix 4. 
   
  �Runt Hound of Kelanen: male hound archon 
  (runt), (chosen); hp 27; N; see Appendix 4. 
   
  �Her Royal Highness: female human (Oeridian); 
  N; hp 2; Com1. 
   
  Treasure: Loot the dead barghest and the dead 
  guilders. 
   
  The three barghests each have jeweled collars, while 
  the Smiling Ones have some masterwork weapons and 
  armor (though even that, they lost most of during there 
  escape).  
  APL 2: L: 240 gp; C: 30 gp; M: 0 gp 
  APL 4: L: 240 gp; C: 30 gp; M: 0 gp 
  APL 6: L: 240 gp; C: 30 gp; M: 0 gp 
  APL 8: L: 240 gp; C: 30 gp; M: 0 gp 
   
  Development: During the character’s interaction 
  with the hounds, Tillie is busy getting all the treasure 
  ready for storage. If asked to come with them, she tells 
  the characters it is her place to stay in Eastfair.  
   
  Tillie also swears she shall take care of the final 
  arrangements for all the Smiling Ones, since she fears 
  they have no more chance of ever coming back. 
   
  Once the characters have decided on which hound 
  to take, the other four speed off out of the kennel and 
  make their way into the distance. It’s not till later than 
  their fellow archon with the characters feels it in his gut 
  the four runners have been caught and slain.  
   
  Spider’s Gate opens at 8am for ‘regular’ traffic so 
  characters wanting to wait that long can escape that way. 
  Those in a hurry can use another means, be it Octreth 
  waiting for them in the wagon, or using the Hole in the 
  Wall gang’s services.  
   
  ENCOUNTER 4:  
  FAR AND AWAY 
  With the walls of Eastfair disappearing in the distance 
  and the light rain keeping the ground beneath you 
  saturated, it could be an uncomfortable trip across the 
  countryside of the North Kingdom. 
   
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 29 
  This is a special type of encounter. It is here that the 
  Dungeon Master must keep track of how far the 
  characters have traveled and how much time it has taken 
  them. 
   
  This is important because the party is being pursued 
  by invisible stalkers (or imps at APL 2). The stalkers are 
  tracking at a steady but constant rate. A fast party can 
  keep ahead of them, but should they stop to rest, the 
  stalkers gain ground.  
   
  Note: The imps are done differently, for they are 
  using their commune spells and fast flying speeds to try 
  and get ahead of the party to ambush them.  
   
  The party starts out with a head start on the stalkers 
  but time penalties listed in previous encounters may 
  close this time gap. As well, the characters have a chance 
  to increase the gap through the use of spells or clever 
  actions.  
   
  If the stalkers (or imps) catch up to the characters 
  before the party reaches the portal, then the stalkers 
  attack trying to retrieve the child. If the party outruns the 
  stalkers to the portal, the stalkers attack the party 
  afterwards, but only for four rounds (the stalkers only 
  want the child, thus leave the combat after not finding 
  her).  
   
  Below are two charts, one for each day.  
   
  The first chart starts at 6 a.m. (dawn) for it’s generally 
  considered this is when the party will start its grand 
  adventure with the hounds. This is not an absolute value 
  though. Different parties may leave earlier or later 
  depending on how differently they do things. 
   
  The chart is broken down into hours. For each hour 
  of the day, the weather condition is given (rain-light, 
  storm, or clear) as well as the relevant light conditions for 
  that time of day (light or dark). When it is dark, a party 
  may suffer vision penalties for travel and combat. Next is 
  the entry for how far the stalker has traveled at the end of 
  that hour. The stalker flies and needs no rest— its 
  progress is slow and steady. It is also ‘taking 10’ on its 
  Spot checks to track (see below for changing DCs and 
  when the stalker can keep taking 10s).  
   
  The last entry is a blank space for the Dungeon 
  Master to record how far the party has traveled at the end 
  of that hour. The margin can also be used for recording 
  notes such as if the party hustled or forced marched (or 
  both) for that hour.  
   
  The following are points of interest the Dungeon 
  Master needs to keep track of for the stalkers. 
   
  Distance 
  The crossroads are 50 miles east of Eastfair. The portal is 
  60 miles northeast from Eastfair. The portal is 40 miles 
  north by northwest of the crossroads. 
   
  This is assuming the characters travel fairly directly 
  (and there are roads that allow them to do so). Parties that 
  attempt erratic maneuvers or somehow get lost may find 
  themselves going farther than they expected. This is why 
  the two charts list nearly double the needed distance. The 
  stalkers keep following for they don’t know where the 
  party is headed. 
   
  Speed 
  Due to all the rain, the normally excellent road and trail 
  network is very muddy and sloppy. Because of this, land 
  movement is at a ¾ penalty. Both the stalkers and the 
  imps fly, so they have no penalty. 
   
  Pages 163-164 in the Player’s Handbook has the 
  relevant overland and hourly speeds of mounts and 
  characters on foot. It is important that the Dungeon 
  Master find the correct listing (such as choosing the 
  mount with a load, over one without).  
   
  Parties wishing to hide their tracks to make it more 
  difficult to be tracked must move at half their rate (page 
  101 Player’s Handbook).  
   
  Parties traveling at night may be hampered in 
  certain situations as well. The stalker has darkvision and 
  so suffers no difficulties. Plenty of lanterns or magical 
  light sources are needed to negative any hardship 
  darkness brings to distance travel on overcast nights. 
   
  Head Start 
  The decoy hounds do a good job of luring away the many 
  fast and deadly hunters serving Prince Poxquand. By the 
  time he realizes the ruse, he can only resort to 
  summoning invisible stalkers (a cost he did not care to 
  expend) to pick up where his regular forces had failed.  
   
  Under normal circumstances, this means the 
  stalkers start their hunt during the 10am hour and travel 
  3 miles. This gives the characters four hours of head start 
  (and +4 to the tracking DC due to rain, from the +1 for 
  each hour). But, in some of the encounters, it lists time 
  penalties listed in hours (accumulative). These penalties 
  reduce the head start the characters have. This represents 
  them tipping their hand to Poxquand sooner rather than 
  later. 
   
  The use of the pass without trace spell can give a 
  bonus to this head start time, or increase the 
  time/mileage gap during the chase. The Dungeon Master 
  will need to make a judgment call case by case, but a rule 
  of thumb would be if all the those leaving tracks (foot or 
  horse) are warded, then for every hour, the gap is 
  increased by that much as the stalker waste time trying to 
  find the trail (and makes no progress). Each hour also 
  increased the DC of the tracking check (see below). 
   
  Clever scouting maneuvers by the party can also 
  potentially increase the gap if the party intentionally tries 
  to use tracking tricks and survival skills to do more than 
  just hide their tracks. If such a unique situation comes 
  up, use opposed Survival skill checks between the stalker 
  and the character. Failure means this has backfired by an 
  hour for the party. 
   
  Weather 
  The rainfall is light but persistent, ranging from a drizzle 
  to a light precipitation. While it is raining, the gap time is 
  hours equals to the penalty to the tracking DC. 
   
  When it starts to storm, this is a full-blown 
  thunderstorm (page 94 of the Dungeon Master’s 
  Handbook). The stalker is reduced to one mile of 
  tracking per hour and smart adventurers will take shelter 
  (and rest) during this time.  
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 30 
   
  Eventually the sky becomes clear as the odd (but 
  reoccurring) weather pattern lifts for yet another year. 
   
  Shelter 
  All along the route are cottages, shabby inns, wayside 
  shrines of Fharlanghn, remote abandoned mills etc.  and 
  many other sorts of roof can be found to get out of the 
  rain.  
   
  When the characters decide they want some shelter, 
  there’s always something suitable just around the next 
  bend.  
   
  Forced March/Hustle/Fatigue 
  These mechanics are found on pg 164 of the Player’s 
  Handbook. It is important for parties wishing to outrun 
  the stalkers to read them. It would also benefit the DM to 
  review these rules before play begins.  
   
  Parties tend to do a lot of lethal damage to their 
  mounts, but this can be healed with magic at the end of 
  each hour. It’s just a question of keeping their mounts 
  alive and going. 
   
  Fatigue and exhaustion can also become factors that 
  need to be kept track of should combat break out.  
   
  Track DC Breakdown 
  The mileage advancement on the chart for the stalker 
  assumes it is able to Take 10. At APL 4-6, this is DC 23. At 
  APL 8, this is DC 29. 
   
  If the DC ever becomes higher than that, the stalkers 
  must stop for an hour (because they failed on the Taking 
  10, then must have each check rolled manually by the 
  DM for every mile. 
   
  Page 101 in the Player’s Handbook. 
   
  Very soft ground +5 DC base 
   
  For every three creatures in the group a -1 penalty is 
  added. For this, it is assumed all the characters are on 
  horse back and fit on top of 1 to 5 horses. If more or less, 
  change this value. 
   
  Size of largest creature tracked: -1 for large horse 
   
  Every hour of rain since: This is equal to the time 
  gap, and this starts at +4 
   
  The stalker is traveling at its normal speed: +4 
   
  Poor Visibility: precipitation, +3. Since the stalker 
  has darkvision, overcast does not hamper, so it’s just the 
  precipitation penalty. 
   
  Calculation: 5 – 1 – 1 + 4 + 4 + 3 = DC 15 
   
  The characters need to change this DC in their favor 
  or increase their speed (and keep pushing on) if they 
  want to avoid the full might of the stalkers and save the 
  child. 
   
  Variable: Every 24 hours- unlikely since the stalker is 
  hot on the heels of the party. Tracked party hides track, 
  +5 if the fleeing party decides to move at half speed to 
  increase the DC. Unless this brings the DC up over 23 
  (29), it won’t matter. 
   
  Day One      
  Hour 
  of 
  the day 
  Weather 
  conditions 
  Dark 
  or 
  Light 
  Stalker 
  distance  
  Party 
  Miles 
  6am 
  Rain 
  Dark 
  N/a 
   
  7am 
  Rain 
  Light 
  N/a 
   
  8am 
  Rain 
  Light 
  N/a 
   
  9am 
  Rain 
  Light 
  N/a 
   
  10am 
  Rain 
  Light 
  3 miles 
   
  11am 
  Rain 
  Light 
  6 miles 
   
  12p.m. 
  Rain 
  Light 
  12 miles 
   
  13p.m. 
  Storm 
  Light 
  13 miles 
   
  14p.m. 
  Storm 
  Light 
  14 miles 
   
  15p.m. 
  Storm 
  Light 
  15 miles 
   
  16p.m. 
  Storm 
  Light 
  16 miles 
   
  17p.m. 
  Rain 
  Light 
  19 miles 
   
  18p.m. 
  Rain 
  Light 
  22 miles 
   
  19p.m. 
  Rain 
  Dark 
  25 miles 
   
  20p.m. 
  Rain 
  Dark 
  28 miles 
   
  21p.m. 
  Rain 
  Dark 
  31 miles 
   
  22p.m. 
  Rain 
  Dark 
  34 miles 
   
  23p.m. 
  Rain 
  Dark 
  37 miles 
   
  24am 
  Rain 
  Dark 
  40 miles 
   
   
  Day Two      
  Hour 
  of 
  the day 
  Weather 
  conditions 
  Dark 
  or 
  Light 
  Stalker 
  distance  
  Party 
  Miles 
  1am 
  Rain 
  Dark 
  43 miles 
   
  2am 
  Rain 
  Dark 
  46 miles 
   
  3am 
  Rain 
  Dark 
  49 miles 
   
  4am 
  Rain 
  Dark 
  51 miles 
   
  5am 
  Rain 
  Dark 
  54 miles 
   
  6am 
  Rain 
  Dark 
  57 miles 
   
  7am 
  Clear 
  Light 
  60 miles 
   
  8am 
  Clear 
  Light 
  63 miles 
   
  9am 
  Clear 
  Light 
  66 miles 
   
  10am 
  Clear 
  Light 
  69 miles 
   
  11am 
  Clear 
  Light 
  72 miles 
   
  12p.m. 
  Clear 
  Light 
  75 miles 
   
  13p.m. 
  Clear 
  Light 
  78 miles 
   
  14p.m. 
  Clear 
  Light 
  81 miles 
   
  15p.m. 
  Clear 
  Light 
  84 miles 
   
  16p.m. 
  Clear 
  Light 
  87 miles 
   
  17p.m. 
  Clear 
  Light 
  90 miles 
   
  18p.m. 
  Clear 
  Light 
  93 miles 
   
  19p.m. 
  Clear 
  Dark 
  96 miles 
   
  20p.m. 
  Clear 
  Dark 
  99 miles 
   
  21p.m. 
  Clear 
  Dark 
  102 miles 
   
  22p.m. 
  Clear 
  Dark 
  105 miles 
   
  23p.m. 
  Clear 
  Dark 
  108 miles 
   
  24am 
  Clear 
  Dark 
  111 miles 
   
   
  The Stalker Combats 
  If the total miles for the stalkers ever becomes more than 
  those traveled by the party, then the stalker has caught 
  up to them and attacks. If the stalker catches up before 
  the party arrives at the portal, then it attacks trying to 
  steal the child away and then escapes (killing those who 
  get in its way).  
   
  If the stalkers do not catch up to the party before it 
  arrives at the portal, then the stalker attacks afterwards, 
  but only for 4 rounds.  
   
  See Encounter 6 for details. 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 31 
   
  Those Darn Imps 
  The imps are done differently. They are not tracking the 
  party so much as combining their commune spells to 
  guess where the party is headed. Then they try and 
  ambush there.  
   
  The imps figure out roughly where the portal area is 
  and fly there. This takes them at least 15 hours of 
  travel/investigation and 4 hours of sitting out the 
  thunderstorm. Their total is 19 +1d4 hours in which they 
  arrive at the portal area and await the arrival of the 
  characters.  
   
  A hard and fast moving party can make this trek to 
  the portal from Eastfair in time. It’s not easy, but it can be 
  done. Luckily, it’s not the lives of the characters the imp’s 
  are after, only the child’s. 
   
  See Encounter 6 for details. 
   
  ENCOUNTER 5:  
  CROSSROADS 
  Ahead is a crossroad. It seems rather unremarkable. It 
  has a small wayside shrine to Fharlanghn—a stone 
  shack with bunk beds for six squeezed into it. A small 
  wooden lean-to offers reasonable protection for mounts. 
  A lone hooked pole stands near the junction of the 
  roads.  
   
  The wayside shrine is composed of the stone bunkhouse, 
  a stone altar, a wooden lean-to and a small graveyard that 
  starts about 40 feet from the crossroads.  
   
  The Stone Altar 
  This stone block is decorated with carvings of 
  Fharlanghn’s symbol and other runes and depictions 
  found on similar altars to the Dweller on the Horizon. 
   
  What is unique about this altar is that on the side of 
  the altar facing the crossroads are some specific words 
  written in Old Oeridian.  
   
  “Gather faithful. Leave one to escort and one to learn. 
  Within the twilight, the lament shall reveal, but a gift 
  shall make it real.” 
   
  The Bunkhouse 
  The bunkhouse is remarkably clean. It has bunk beds 
  suitable for Medium-sized or smaller humanoids. It has a 
  hearth for heating and cooking. A single door and two 
  shuttered windows mark the entrances to this 40-foot by 
  40-foot stone structure. 
   
  Wooden Lean-To  
   
   
   
  This simple roof/wall structure provide enough cover to 
  stable six Large-sized mounts if put close together. This is 
  not meant for long term housing, merely to keep off the 
  rain and some wind.  
   
  The Graveyard  
   
   
   
  Those who die on the road and worship Fharlanghn (and 
  some of those who don’t) are taken to these roadside 
  graveyards for convenient burial. Many are travelers 
  whose companions had no idea where the deceased 
  family might be.  
   
  Many of the graves date back many generations, 
  some even to the birth of the Great Kingdom. None of 
  the graves are fresh; the last noticeable date is from over 
  six months ago. 
   
  For those looking around the graveyard, they might 
  notice the name Walker Govanti on a grave marker dated 
  584CY. Written in Old Oeridian is the epitaph, “Mentor, 
  explorer, protector, enemy of the eight legged. All roads 
  are now his to travel.” 
   
  The Crossroads  
   
   
   
  In the bright sunny daylight, this one crossroad is rather 
  unremarkable. It doesn’t even have distance or direction 
  markers.  
   
  But when the sun sets, or is blocked by overcast 
  skies, a subtle kind of magic fills the air. During these 
  conditions, if the lantern of lament is placed upon the 
  hook of the pole, then lit, a happening is revealed. Once 
  the lantern is lit and on the pole, it cannot be put out. It 
  just keeps burning until it’s empty. 
   
  Unlike a normal hooded lantern, this one only sheds 
  15 feet of light, but 75 feet of shadowy illumination. 
  When the lantern is lit and on the pole, the following is 
  revealed to the characters. 
   
  After lighting the lantern, the darkness of the night is 
  chased from the center of the crossroads as the special 
  light of the lantern shines. What it reveals are shadows – 
  faint silhouettes of people. Their features are hard to 
  make out, but they all have sticks with bundles on the 
  end, slung over their shoulders and some seem to be 
  waiting around while others walk off along the road, 
  disappearing when they leave the light of the lantern. 
  Others seem to be congregating near your horses in the 
  lean-to, just hanging around them. The rest just pass you 
  by, seeming to paying you no mind. 
   
  These are spirits faithful to Fharlanghn. For now, they are 
  only silhouettes of there former lives, having little 
  connection left with their mortal involvements. Now 
  they gather at these crossroads and exchange stories, 
  breaking their journey before traveling on to their next 
  destination. In death, they have achieved the greatest 
  reward they could have desired in life, the ability to travel 
  freely, constantly and observe all.  
   
  The spirits can only be seen while within the 
  shadowy illumination range of the lantern of lament and 
  then only when it is night or overcast. The spirits are 
  technically aware of the characters presence, but make no 
  acknowledgement of it, nor do they attempt any 
  interaction with the characters. They are benign. The 
  only interest that the spirits have with these newcomers 
  is that they have mounts. 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 32 
   
  All during this encounter, spirits will come into the 
  shadowy light and start to congregate around the 
  mounts; a few at first, then more and more as time goes 
  by. By the end, they’ll be defying gravity as they attach 
  themselves to all surfaces of the mounts and any angle 
  they can fit. This has no effect on the mortal realm, nor 
  can these spirits be turned or controlled. 
   
  Summoning Walker Govanti   
  Caught between two worlds is Walker Govanti (and his 
  young companion Daris Longfeet, the most recent to be 
  put to rest here, but he shall be moving on soon enough) 
  as he has been selected to escort and prepare the spirits 
  for their renewed travels. This is an equivalent to being a 
  petitioner.  
   
  Govanti replaced the fading spirit of the last escort, 
  just as his spirit become like the shadows around him. 
  Eventually, those shadows (not the undead kind) will 
  become one with the roads of Oerth. For now though, 
  Walker Govanti can be summoned forth to this 
  designated crossroads, but not for free.  
   
  The grappa (or an equivalent high quality alcohol) is 
  needed to draw him forth. It must be offered in some 
  way. Be it pouring a measure onto the ground, or holding 
  it forth and calling out their intent, or some other 
  semantic of offering, it needs to be done. This brings 
  forth the spirit of Walker Govanti (and his current pupil 
  Daris). 
   
  Once that is done, read the following: 
   
  From the far edge of the lantern light comes a pair of 
  spirits walking along the road towards you. These two 
  seem much more distinct that the other shadowy ones. 
  One is of an older man with a wise look to his face, and 
  the other is a young man, with a fresh and bewildered 
  look. The young man stops half way to you but the older 
  man comes right up to you. “Ah, grappa. It’s been a 
  while,” says the older spirit. You notice that he bears a 
  holy symbol of Fharlanghn. 
   
  Due to the rules of the Crossroads and the power of the 
  lantern of lament, only Govanti speaks with the 
  characters. His companion Daris stays well back. Even if 
  the characters try to interact with him, he ignores them. 
   
  Govanti is also limited in what he can talk about and 
  what he actually remembers. The longer he remains a 
  slow crossing spirit, the more of his mortal life he begins 
  to loose hold of. Only some of his strongest and recent 
  (before death) memories remain intact.  
   
  He’ll keep talking as long as the lantern oil lasts. It 
  only has ten minutes of fuel. Once that is gone, the 
  lantern of lament disintegrates and returns back to the 
  four elements it was forged from. 
   
  During that time, each character may only ask one 
  question of Walker Govanti in regards to their mission. 
  Questions marked with an asterisk are freebies. If the 
  question proposed reasonably coverers more than one of 
  the below responses, then give the applicable answers. 
  But if the question is too broad (such as, ‘Tell me all you 
  know) then the characters may receive an equally broad 
  answer (and unhelpful).  
   
  Who are you?: “I was Walker Govanti. I am the escort of 
  faithful souls who pass through these crossroads on 
  towards the horizon. “ 
   
  What can you tell us?: “The rules of the Crossroads 
  prevent me from sharing too much with those still 
  traveling on their mortal coils. As well, my own mortal 
  memories are fading as I prepare for my own long 
  journey into eternity. One question on the topic you seek 
  per person. That is all.” 
   
  What do you know of the Footmen of the Spider 
  Throne?: “I knew them. I battled them. While I still 
  lived, I slew many as they sought to steal the very secrets 
  of the roads, and I foiled their plans. Into forced 
  obscurity others and I sent them into. I often wondered 
  if they had been broken for good, or if a new scheme 
  with some different secret was being hatched. Then a 
  minion of them came for me during my dawn prayers. A 
  kukri into my back was all it took. The footmen wait long 
  for their vengeance.” 
   
  Where is Darien the Knife?: “I do not know who 
  that is. Perhaps too much time as passed by in the mortal 
  world.” 
   
  Where are the Footmen of the Spider Throne?: 
  “While I can not tell you their current location, for it 
  would mean violating the rules of the Crossroads, I can 
  tell you where I last knew them to be. During my 
  lifetime, I crossed paths with the Footmen as I helped in 
  foiling a scheme of theirs to manipulate the roads. The 
  footmen all have their own secret lairs hidden amongst 
  the environs of Rauxes, but they have a shared meeting 
  place. Blue turrets among shifting sands.” 
   
  Uhm, OK, and where are these turrets and sands?: 
  “The blue turrets and shifting sands. There is only one 
  such place that I know of. The lair and meeting hall of 
  the Footmen of the Spider Throne. Go south. On the 
  northern side of the old Rauxes city-state border, you will 
  find a small barony. Within the Barony of Stel, there is a 
  run-down estate. It is crafted of sandstone, some with a 
  blue hue and sits upon land that is foul with sand. That is 
  what you seek. The entrance is within the courtyard. “ 
   
  How can we stop the current plot of the Footmen 
  of the Spider Throne?: “I’m afraid I do not know. I do not 
  know of their current plot, it is not within my realm. I do 
  know that before, we of the Fharlanghi infiltrated the 
  lairs of the leaders and that caused much chaos within 
  their ranks. Take away their secrets, and you take away 
  their confidence and their power.” 
   
  What can you tell me of the Fharlanghi? “Not as 
  much as I would like. I was a Fharlanghi and several of 
  these passing spirits were Fharlanghni—a sect within a 
  sect. While most hold the roads sacred to travel on, a few 
  go farther to make sure the roads remain safe from 
  threats. Of those, most foil the mundane threats, but a 
  still smaller few, they protect against far grander 
  machinations. That is who the Fharlanghi are. Or were. 
  There were few left when I died. Not enough worthy 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 33 
  candidates to take up the reigns. But it’s not my concern 
  anymore, though I wish them the Dweller’s passing.” 
   
  What of the Walker or the Stones of Medegia?: 
  “That is something I may not speak of. I will not speak of 
  The Walker, may his journey eventually end.” 
   
  What’s with these hounds and this little girl?: “I do 
  not know. It is not within my realm.” 
   
  What’s the backstory behind the Footmen?: “The 
  cultists that make up the Footmen of the Spider Throne 
  all come from families from the area that is now the 
  wasteland of Rauxes. While their families venerated the 
  Scourge of Battle, or the Money Counter, these few paid 
  only lip service. They crept into their private sanctuaries 
  and paid heed to the Master of the Spider Throne. Many 
  such personal lairs exist, but all the cultists gathered 
  below the blue turrets. Further more, they have hidden 
  treasures within the walls of Rauxes. Their true numbers 
  are limited, seek them out, and cut them down. They 
  cannot regroup. Just beware the lands of Rauxes.” 
   
  What’s up with the lands around Rauxes?: “It is a 
  wasteland, a crossing of the planes. Men scream as they 
  are cut down, only to scream again. Do not tread there 
  lightly. You might never escape.  
   
  Development: Once the lantern oil runs out (ten 
  minutes) the view changes back to that of a normal 
  crossroads. At that point the questioning must stop 
  (because the characters are alone) and they are free to 
  either move on, or spend some time resting. Of course, if 
  the stalker is still after them and they sleep here, it might 
  catch them here. 
   
  ENCOUNTER 6:  
  PORTALS OF LAST RESORT 
  This encounter contains the entering of the portal, as 
  well as the combat with the stalkers/imps.  
   
  Go to the listed section as needed. Of course, you 
  will only need to deal with one stalker combat or the 
  other, not both. The rewards for winning the combat are 
  the same either way.  
   
  The imps are a similar matter. Either the imps beat 
  the party to the portal ruins, or they did not. The 
  difference here is that if the party does manage to beat 
  the imps, then the imps do not attack. They scout and 
  watch from a distance and confirm that they are too late, 
  and then flee. But the experience is award for getting the 
  child safely to the portal, not for defeating the imps. Like 
  the stalkers and the weather, that was the risk and 
  challenge.  
   
  First Arriving     
  Up ahead is a small scattering of trees and undergrowth. 
  Keeping the trees spread out are crumbling ruins, 
  covered in moss and partial stolen for materials over 
  time.  
   
  The ruins offer no threat of their own. They are very old, 
  dating back to before the birth of the Great Kingdom. It’s 
  obvious that over the generations, the stone of the ruins 
  has been chipped and carted away.  
   
  All of the Hounds know where to go within the 
  ruins, and characters spending time searching will also 
  eventually find the secret door that leads to the portal 
  chamber. 
   
  The Stalkers      
  Ambush: If the invisible stalkers have managed to 
  overtake the party, then they attack wherever that is. 
  They keep attacking till they have the child and have 
  killed anyone who gets in their way. They do not harm 
  the child though.  
   
  If the invisible stalkers catch up to the party after the 
  child has been delivered to the portal, then the stalkers 
  attack the party as normal, but only for four rounds. After 
  those four rounds, the stalkers convince themselves that 
  the child is no longer present and simply flee. 
   
  Creatures: 
  The 
  following 
  creatures 
  will 
  be 
  encountered here: 
   
  APL4 (EL7) 
   
  �Invisible Stalker: 52 hp; see Monster Manual. 
   
  APL6 (EL9) 
   
  �Invisible Stalker (2): 52 hp (each); see Monster 
  Manual. 
   
  APL8 (EL11) 
   
  �Advanced Invisible Stalker Ranger (2): 52 hp 
  (each); see Appendix 1. 
   
   
  Tactics: The stalker(s) attempt to use their Move 
  Silently skills to sneak up (from 10 ft. off the ground if 
  the terrain permits) on the party. They are looking for the 
  girl.  
   
  If the girl is being ‘carried’ (therefore consider her 
  grappled or held by the carrier), then the stalker must 
  either wrestle the girl from them, or beat the holder 
  senseless and then take the girl.  
   
  If attacking someone within the same square as the 
  girl, the stalker will use non-lethal damage in order not to 
  harm the girl.  
   
  If someone holds the girl up trying to avoid blows 
  on himself, then that character receivers an additional +4 
  dodge bonus to AC as the stalker tries his best not to hit 
  the girl.  
   
  Once they have the girl in their possession, they 
  attempt to flee with her. They will first double move up 
  into the air (to about 60 ft.), then they use there run speed 
  (120 ft.) to head directly for Eastfair. Since the stalkers 
  travel as the crow flies, and ground based pursuit must 
  weave in and out of terrain, the stalker has the advantage 
  after 5 rounds of pursuit (and thus can be considered 
  escaped). This is not the case for air pursuit. As long as a 
  flying character(s) can keep up, then they can keep 
  attacking.  
   
  No matter what, the hound archon does not give up 
  pursuit. But once the girl is back over the walls of 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 34 
  Eastfair, she is considered lost and the hound archon (if 
  still alive) disbands from the characters to go it alone. It 
  would be suicide for the characters to attempt a rescue 
  like the Smiling Ones did. Make this clear to them. 
   
  Failed Pursuit: If the stalkers are too late and the girl 
  is gone, they stalkers still attack the party as above, but 
  they only do so for four rounds. During these deadly 
  rounds, the stalkers are looking for any signs of the girl 
  or the hound. They do so by ripping the party apart. 
   
   After four rounds, the Stalkers are convinced 
  enough that the girl has escaped and go off elsewhere to 
  search for her. 
   
  Imps       
  This combat encounter only takes place if the Imps arrive 
  at the portal before the characters do.  
   
  Creatures: 
  The 
  following 
  creatures 
  will 
  be 
  encountered here: 
   
  APL2 (EL5) 
   
  �Imps (3): 13 hp (each); see Monster Manual. 
   
  Tactics: The imps wait in ambush for the party to arrive at 
  the ruins. They sit invisible up in the trees. Their tactic is 
  to have two imps fly invisibly to the holder of the child. 
  Then the third imp makes itself known on the opposite 
  side, but in the form of a boar. This is an attempt to draw 
  fighters away from the main party to fight the boar some 
  40 ft. away.  
   
  Once the party is split (or if it looks like it won’t 
  happen), the two imps try to use their poison to put the 
  one holding the child asleep. The child herself is their 
  next victim. They will try to put her to sleep too. 
   
  The Imps then systematically use their invisibility to 
  skirmish with the party until they are all either dead or 
  asleep. At that point, they will all transform into boar 
  shape (or use the existing one) to carry her back to 
  Eastfair. The imps are worried about pursuit so they 
  won’t try to take the girl until they have incapacitated 
  everyone (including the hound archon).  
   
  The Portal      
  Within this underground chamber, is a 4-foot high 
  miniature standing stone. It has only one marking on 
  each of its four sides. Each side shows the same word, but 
  each in a different language. The word is ‘birthright’, and 
  the four languages are Old Oeridian, Celestial, Draconic 
  and Sylvan. 
   
  The hound will simply thank the characters for the 
  escort and assure them that the gods will look kindly on 
  them. The hound also says that only someone of this girl’s 
  bloodline can activate the portal. She need only prick her 
  finger on one of the sharp nubs of the standing stone. 
   
  It is going to be a one-way trip; the portal will not be 
  opened up again from the other side. It will be destroyed 
  to prevent any kind of tampering. The characters are 
  asked not to go through, for it would mean risking the 
  secret location. Any character that somehow sneaks or 
  forces their way through the portal would be 
  apprehended on the other side and held for 2d6 TU’s 
  while he was debriefed. Painfully. 
   
  So without much adieu, the hound instructs the girl 
  to prick her finger to activate the portal. 
   
  As the little girl pricks her finger on a nub of stone, an 
  emerald green portal 6 ft. in diameter appears a few feet 
  away from the girl. The hound instructs the girl to enter 
  the portal and she does.  
   
  Before entering itself, the hound turns to you, “The 
  patrons shall smile upon you in your journeys. You 
  mortals may not live to see the results that you’ve 
  started, but your children and their children shall feel 
  the blessings of it.” With that, the hound steps through 
  the portal and is gone. The portal closes quickly behind 
  them.  
    
  Development: Once the characters are done with the 
  portal, they can either move on to the crossroads (if they 
  haven’t been there already) or go several days south 
  towards the border of the Rauxes badlands and the blue 
  turreted estate. 
   
  Encounter 7:  
  Darien’s Back in Town 
  It is several days’ travel (200 miles from Eastfair to 
  northern Rauxes environ border) to the region of Rauxes 
  But by now, the rain has stopped and all pursuit has given 
  up. This means the characters can use the dirawein 
  (magical highways) to make a safe trip south. 
   
  Barony of Stel in Brief 
  The old Great Kingdom was made up of princedoms. 
  Within those princedoms, tracks of land were divided up 
  to numerous petty Barons, Counts and Dukes. Those 
  nobles in turn divided out their even smaller parcels of 
  land, estates, to minor nobles. Each paid the price of 
  loyalty to his liege above him.  
   
  The Barony of Stel is one such petty collection of 
  estates. At one time it was somewhat prosperous with 
  trade, strategic locale and rare resources. After the 
  collapse of Rauxes and the Great Kingdom, the barony 
  (like so many others) fell into a state of apathy.  
   
  Noble bloodlines were thinned and estates and 
  holdings reduced to ruin. Bandits, orcs from the north 
  and fiends from the Rauxes badlands to the south stalked 
  the lands. These curse-like events and more have reduced 
  the few villages and thorps into mud-hobbled decay.  
   
  The characters find little organized resistance 
  traveling through this barony. For a few gold pieces, they 
  can find all the local information and directions they 
  need to track down the blue sandstone estate. The local 
  inn is happy to have the patrons.  
   
  Arriving at the Estate 
  Once the characters arrive, it’s easy to find the barony 
  and the run-down estate that has been mentioned to 
  them. 
   
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 35 
  Asking around within the run-down and neglected 
  barony, directions to the old estate with blue sandstone 
  walls are easy to come by.  
   
  The ground is covered in very odd sandy patches. 
  Not everywhere, just spread out. 
   
   Then you feel a rumbling of the ground, and you 
  are nearly knocked off your feet. 
   
  You can see smoke start to rise from within the 
  courtyard of the run down/ruined estate with the blue 
  turrets.  
   
  The above happens when the characters are still 200 ft. 
  away from the estate. 
   
  Once the characters get closer, they can see that the 
  gates (or what’s left of them) are wide open. Within the 
  empty courtyard, smoke is rising up from ground in 
  several places. In some spots, the ground looks caved in 
  by a 2 to 3 feet. 
   
  Some of the stonework has fallen into the edges of 
  the courtyard. As the characters look about the courtyard, 
  read the following: 
   
  On the far side of the courtyard a large section of wall 
  falls and crumbles. It looks like it was a secret door that 
  could no longer take the strain of the wall above. Behind 
  this opening is a 15-foot by 15-foot (10-foot. high) 
  chamber with stairs leading down from it. Smoke and 
  fumes drift out into the air from the stairs. The room is 
  occupied by a human and [insert APL specific minions]. 
  They just stare at you for a second before reaching for 
  their weapons. 
   
  This is Darien the Knife and his loyal minions. He’s been 
  through a lot the last few days and he really needs to vent 
  his frustrations and anger.  
   
  The Backstory 
  Darien the Knife has been here at the Footman meeting 
  hall/temple for a while now. He and his fellow cultists 
  have been making plans to further their scheme to 
  defraud the Standing Stones of Medegia of magical 
  energy. To do this, they need to go back into Rauxes and 
  retrieve vital components and supplies stored there. But 
  there is still the little matter of what is going to be done 
  with the magical energy once it is stolen. There are 
  several different opinions and desires within the ranks of 
  the Footmen. This comes more to the fact that different 
  Footmen want to be the one in charge of the project.  
   
  This has led to infighting and political backstabbing. 
  But this is nothing new. So far, the leader of the Footmen 
  fear’s Darien’s connection to the baatezu of Holim Ruins 
  and so Darien had to be dealt with. And he was. 
   
  A few days ago, the leader of the cult put the Rauxes 
  recovery operation into full swing. The meeting 
  hall/temple was packed up and sent off to the base camp 
  near to the Rauxes. But a special fate awaited Darien. 
   
  He was taken by surprise and thrown into a special 
  torture chamber called the Hall of Whispered 
  Enervation, filled with wraiths. It’s actually several 
  chambers linked up with tunnels. The walls are warded 
  so that wraiths may not leave the chambers. A long story 
  short—the victims run around the chambers, trying to 
  avoid the wraiths. Few last long. All the while, the cultists 
  can view the progress and even stop it if they wish 
  (should the victim finally crack and give up what is 
  wanted).  
   
  But for poor Darien, there was no reprieve planned. 
  When he was thrown in, he was left for dead and the 
  acidic pools and explosive gasses that the lair was built 
  around, were set to self-destruct the base. There is an 
  important reason why the Footmen did not just kill 
  Darien. Though his being in the Hall of Whispered 
  Enervation is entertaining, there is a practical reason. 
  When Darien signed on with Gryinanquil (of the Holim 
  ruins), he signed away his soul to the service within 
  Gryinanquil’s extra-planar keep.  
   
  Thus if Darien dies, his spirits goes to the parlor 
  where the characters encountered Gryinanquil in COR4-
  14 Sympathy for the Baatezu. The baatezu would then 
  have all the secrets of the Footmen and have an edge at 
  thwarting them (for the purposes of revenge). 
   
  Luckily Darien still had a few loyal servants left. Just 
  in the nick of time, they broke him out of the Hall of 
  Whispered Enervation and out of the lair before it fully 
  collapsed. They brought him a small selection of items 
  that he had stored away for emergencies. Unfortunately, 
  the wraiths hit Darien pretty badly and as the night past, 
  he lost some levels (how many levels depends on what 
  APL the characters are playing at).  
   
  The lair is completely collapsed; even the stairs 
  Darien just came up, now only go down about 30 ft. 
  before ending in a cave-in.  
   
  It’s a fight now, but if the characters capture Darien 
  (or if he surrenders after a hard fight) he’ll have some 
  talking to do with them. 
   
  Map Key 
  1. 
  Fallen rubble acting as a 4 ft. high wall 
  2. 
  Sunken ground, act as trenches 
  3. 
  6 ft. high bundles of hay. Flammable. 
  4. 
  Ruined entrance (and player starting point) 
  5. 
  Revealed chamber (and NPC starting point) 
  6. 
  15 ft. high stone towers with stairs and wall 
  access. Windows face in and out of courtyard. 
  7. 
  Close portcullis. Not locked 
   
  Creatures: The following creature are encountered 
  here: 
   
  APL2 (EL 4) 
   
  �Darien the Knife: Male human Wiz3; 13 hp; see 
  Appendix 1. 
   
  �Orcs (2): 5 hp (each); see page 203 of the Monster 
  Manual. 
   
  APL4 (EL 6) 
   
  �Darien the Knife: Male human Wiz5; 21 hp; see 
  Appendix 1. 
   
  �Orcs (6): 5 hp (each); see page 203 of the Monster 
  Manual. 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 36 
   
  APL6 (EL 8) 
   
  �Darien the Knife: Male human Wiz7; 29 hp; see 
  Appendix 1. 
   
  �Orc Shock Troopers (6): Male orc Bar1; 14 hp 
  (each); see Appendix 1. 
   
  APL8 (EL 10) 
   
  �Darien the Knife: Male human Wiz7; 29 hp; see 
  Appendix 1. 
   
  �Hill Giants (2): 102 hp (each); see page 123 of the 
  Monster Manual. 
   
  Tactics: A lot depends on initiative. Darien and his 
  minions start off in a partially enclosed 15 ft. by 15 ft. 
  space (NPC’s that don’t fit, start just coming up the 
  stairs). Darien wants to get out of there and get behind 
  the cover of the rubble of the fallen wall. His minions try 
  to both screen their mage master and attack the 
  characters. Depending on APL, the orcs/giants wait for 
  their buffs.  
   
  APL 2: The cover of the rubble is Darien’s best 
  friend. His sleep spell is his main offensive spell, with 
  which he will try to target fighter-types, so that his orcs 
  can get some easy shots in. After trying that he will cast 
  flaming sphere on enemy mages and clerics.  
   
  APL 4: While it might be tempting to open up with a 
  fireball, in the long run it would be better to get up 
  invisibility, and make for the cover of the rubble. From 
  there, allies (and himself) can be buffed up with haste 
  and shield. After that, let loose with the offensive spells 
  as in the APL 2 tactics. 
   
  APL 6: As with the APL 4 tactics, he uses invisibility 
  to get to the cover of the rubble, then buffs up allies and 
  himself; lesser globe of invulnerability is a must. But 
  since it doesn’t move, this needs to be the last stand 
  position. Once Darien becomes visible again, he should 
  have his shield, displacement and haste active. Hasting 
  the troops is a priority.  
   
  APL 8: Just like the APL 6 tactics, but this time, 
  Darien has a wand of magic missile at CL 9th. Once in 
  position and the bigger spells are gone, he starts sniping 
  with it.  
   
   Treasure: Loot the minions and Darien (dead or 
  alive). 
   
  APL 2: L: 63; C: 0; M: arcane scroll of disguise self (2 
  gp each), arcane scroll of charm person (2 gp each), 
  potion of cure light wounds (4 gp each), bracers of armor 
  +1 (83 gp each). 
   
  APL 4: L: 63; C: 0; M: arcane scroll of disguise self (2 
  gp each), arcane scroll of charm person (2 gp each), 
  potion of cure light wounds (4 gp each), bracers of armor 
  +1 (83 gp each), cloak of resistance +2 (333 gp each). 
   
  APL 6: L: 63; C: 0; M: arcane scroll of disguise self (2 
  gp each), arcane scroll of charm person (2 gp each), 
  potion of cure light wounds (4 gp each), bracers of armor 
  +3 (750 gp each), cloak of resistance +2 (333 gp each), 
  dagger of venom (691 gp each). 
   
  APL 8: L: 40; C: 0; M: arcane scroll of disguise self (2 
  gp each), arcane scroll of charm person (2 gp each), 
  potion of cure light wounds (4 gp each), bracers of armor 
  +3 (750 gp each), cloak of resistance +2 (333 gp each), 
  dagger of venom (691 gp each), wand of magic missiles 
  (CL 9th, 50 charges) (562 each). 
   
  Development: If Darien is killed, he still has some rough 
  notes on him that can be looted to give a few clues as to 
  where the Footmen are hiding out within the Rauxes 
  area. (See AR). 
   
  If Darien is killed, see the Conclusion for a special 
  reward from the friendly neighborhood baatezu. 
   
  If Darien escapes, then the characters gain the ‘What 
  was I thinking!?’ entry on their AR. 
   
  If Darien is taken alive, he’ll tell the characters 
  everything they want to know (within the limits of the 
  knowledge of this encounter). He’ll tell them why he was 
  betrayed, why he was put in the Hall of Whispered 
  Enervation instead of being killed out right.  
   
  Darien also goes into detail about Gryinanquil being 
  very dangerous. He explains that the characters only saw 
  a parlor, a small section of his realm. It’s all illusion. 
  Within the rest of his manor, he has a horde of devils, 
  and many petitioners he is developing. Worse still, those 
  who have made deals with him, their spirits go to serve in 
  his manor when they die; thus he has all of their 
  knowledge and secrets.  
   
  Darien will beg for mercy if he has to. The ending of 
  his life means eternity in servitude to Gryinanquil. The 
  baatezu is up to something; something about collect more 
  souls, more powerful souls. Darien suspects it’s another 
  route to freedom for the trapped baatezu.  
   
  If he is allowed to go free, Darien vows to make it his 
  life work to defeating Gryinanquil (and getting his soul 
  contract nullified). Thus the characters gain the ‘What 
  was I Thinking!?’ entry on the AR. 
   
  Darien gives directions to the location of the 
  Footman base he knows about in the Rauxes area.  
   
  CONCLUSION 
  What a ride. 
   
  From when the characters were first asked to 
  investigate the murder of an insignificant cleric of 
  Zilchus, right up to the final capture/death of the 
  mastermind behind that murder they have endured 
  much. 
   
  While this leg of the journey is over, the characters 
  still have the Footmen of the Spider Throne to deal with 
  and the magical badlands of Rauxes to brave.  
   
  For some, they may wish to quit now, for they were 
  only in it to find the murderer of Dantoni. Others 
  however will stick with it to destroy whatever evil plot 
  these cultists of Vecna are concocting.  
   
  “You have come far and faced many dangers from the 
  seemingly coincidental intrigue around the murder of 
  Dantoni, to the discovery of a far deeper machination. 
  Perhaps fate has picked you out of a crowd to face this 
  life encounters. Perhaps you’ll choose for your journey 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 37 
  to end here. But for those who prefer to press on, the 
  badlands of Rauxes await.” 
   
  Collecting Rewards 
  �Darien’s Bounty: Alive, Darien is worth a reward from 
  a lot of people. Many want vengeance on him. Others 
  want to harm him because of what he is.  
   
  All the characters have to due is turn him over to any 
  one of these groups. It doesn’t matter which one. It could 
  be Clinorus, or Octreth, or Poxquand, or the Rakersmen. 
  It could be some group of good/lawful types back in their 
  home region. It really doesn’t matter. They all give a 
  reward, as long as he is returned alive. 
   
  The reward is access to the following; 
  Amulet of health +4 (Any, Dungeon Master’s Guide) 
  Belt of giant strength +4 (Any, Dungeon Master’s Guide) 
  Cloak of Charisma +4 (Any, Dungeon Master’s Guide) 
  Gloves of Dexterity +4 (Any, Dungeon Master’s Guide) 
  Headband of intellect +4 (Any, Dungeon Master’s Guide) 
  Periapt of Wisdom +4 (Any, Dungeon Master’s Guide) 
   
  �The Baatezu that you Know: If Darien is killed at the 
  hands of the characters; they have started the first part of 
  a bargain with Gryinanquil. The characters have resorted 
  to the method they are most familiar with in defeating a 
  cultist of Vecna. Regardless of their motives, their acts 
  have consequences. 
   
  The characters gain the following AR entry: ‘For 
  killing Darien, your soul has taken a first step towards a 
  deal with the baatezu. Completion is up to you.  Once per 
  adventure, this character may cast spell resistance (CL 11) 
  on themselves as a spell-like ability. But in doing so, the 
  character is unaffected by raise dead, reincarnation or 
  resurrection for the rest of the adventure.”  
   
  �Secret Location and Documents: This character has 
  been told the secret location of a Footmen base within 
  the Rauxes area and has a small amount of written 
  information to examine in context to the Footmen and 
  the Rauxes area. 
   
  �Divine Rewards: The following reward is ONLY for 
  those parties that successfully escort the little girl into 
  the portal safely. The hound does not have to have 
  survived. 
   
  The reward is based on which hound was chosen. 
  Only one hound can be chosen, and thus only one 
  reward can be given from the list. All others are crossed 
  out. All characters get the same reward.  
   
  This character has made peaceful contact with an 
  agent of [Heironeous] [Atroa] [Delleb] [Pholtus] 
  [Kelanen] (only one can be selected) 
   
  In addition, this character has been granted a divine 
  gift based on the god circled above. Cross off the non-
  relevant entries. Caster level equals character level. 
   
  Heironeous: Once ever, this character may use a 
  spell-like ability to summon (as per the summon monster 
  V spell) a hound archon. [] 
   
  Atroa: Three times ever, this character may use good 
  hope as a spell-like ability. [] [] [] 
   
  Delleb: Three times ever, as a free action, this 
  character may add a +20 insight bonus to any 
  Intelligence-based skill or ability check. This bonus must 
  be applied before the check is made. [] [] [] 
   
  Pholtus: Once ever, this character may use mind fog 
  as a spell-like ability. [] 
   
  Kelanen: This character may use the following spells 
  as spell-like abilities: shield, mage armor, magic weapon 
  and divine favor a total of five times. [] [] [] [] [] 
   
  The End 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 38 
  EXPERIENCE POINT 
  SUMMARY 
  To award experience for this adventure, add up the values 
  for the objectives accomplished. Then assign experience 
  award. Award the total value (objectives plus roleplaying) 
  to each character.  
   
  Encounter 3: Dogs of society 
  Defeat the troopers/barghests 
  APL 2 
   
   
  90 XP 
  APL 4 
   
   
  150 XP 
  APL 6 
   
   
  210 XP 
  APL 8 
   
   
  290 XP 
   
  Encounter 6: Portals of Last Resort 
  Get the girl safely through the portal or kill the stalkers 
  for ½ xp. 
  APL 2 
   
   
  150 XP 
  APL 4 
   
   
  210 XP 
  APL 6 
   
   
  270 XP 
  APL 8 
   
   
  350 XP 
   
  Encounter 7: Darien’s Back in Town 
  Defeat Darien and his minions 
  APL 2 
   
   
  120 XP 
  APL 4 
   
   
  180 XP 
  APL 6 
   
   
  240 XP 
  APL 8 
   
   
  320 XP 
   
  Story Award 
  Getting into the Old City in time 
  APL 2 
   
   
   20 XP 
  APL 4 
   
   
   30 XP 
  APL 6 
   
   
   45 XP 
  APL 8            60 XP 
   
  Good roleplaying: 
  APL 2 
   
   
   70 XP 
  APL 4 
   
   
   100 XP 
  APL 6 
   
   
   135 XP 
  APL 8 
   
   
   165 XP 
   
  Total Possible Experience 
  APL 2 
   
   
  450 XP 
  APL 4 
   
   
  675 XP 
  APL 6 
   
      900 XP 
  APL 8 
   
      1250 XP 
   
  TREASURE SUMMARY 
  During an adventure, characters encounter treasure, 
  usually finding it in the possession of their foes. Every 
  encounter that features treasure has a “treasure” section 
  within the encounter description, giving information 
  about the loot, coins, and magic items that make up the 
  encounter’s treasure. 
   
  The loot total is the number of gold pieces each 
  character gains if the foes are plundered of all their 
  earthly possessions. Looting the bodies takes at least 10 
  minutes per every 5 enemies, and if the characters cannot 
  take the time to loot the bodies, they do not gain this 
  gold. If you feel it is reasonable that characters can go 
  back to loot the bodies, and those bodies are there (i.e., 
  not carted off by dungeon scavengers, removed from the 
  scene by the local watch, and so on), characters may 
  return to retrieve loot. If the characters do not loot the 
  body, the gold piece value for the loot is subtracted from 
  the encounter totals given below. 
   
  The coin total is the number of gold pieces each 
  character gains if they take the coin available. A normal 
  adventuring party can usually gather this wealth in a 
  round or so. If for some reason, they pass up this treasure, 
  the coin total is subtracted from the encounter totals 
  given below. 
   
  Next, the magic items are listed. Magic item treasure 
  is the hardest to adjudicate, because they are varied and 
  because characters may want to use them during the 
  adventure. Many times characters must cast identify, 
  analyze dweomer or similar spells to determine what the 
  item does and how to activate it. Other times they may 
  attempt to use the item blindly. If the magic item is 
  consumable (a potion, scroll, magic bolts, etc.) and the 
  item is used before the end of the adventure, its total is 
  subtracted from the adventure totals below. 
   
  Once you have subtracted the value for unclaimed 
  treasure from each encounter add it up and that is the 
  number of gold pieces a characters total and coin value 
  increase at the end of the adventure. Write the total in 
  the GP Gained field of the adventure certificate. 
   
  L = Looted gear from enemy 
   
  C = Coin, Gems, Jewelry, and other valuables 
   
  M = Magic Items (sell value) 
   
  Encounter 1: Snakes and ladders 
  Treasure: Loot the poor innocent light riding horses from 
  the nice warm stables. 
   
  APL 2: L: 19; C: 0; M: 0 
   
  APL 4: L: 19; C: 0; M: 0 
   
  APL 6: L: 19; C: 0; M: 0 
      APL 8: L: 19; C: 0; M: 0 
   
  Encounter 3: Dogs of Society part A 
  Treasure: Loot the troopers 
   
  APL 2: L: 312; C: 10; M: 0 
   
  APL 4: L: 312; C: 10; M: 0 
   
  APL 6: L: 312; C: 30; M: 0 
   
  APL 8: L: 312; C: 40; M: 0 
   
  Encounter 3: Dogs of Society part B 
  Treasure: Loot the Smiling Ones and barghests 
   
  APL 2: L: 240; C: 30; M: 0 
   
  APL 4: L: 240; C: 30; M: 0 
   
  APL 6: L: 240; C: 30; M: 0 
   
  APL 8: L: 240; C: 30; M: 0 
   
  Encounter 7: Darien’s back in town 
  Treasure: Loot the minions and Darien (dead or alive). 
   
    
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 39 
   
  APL 2: L: 63; C: 0; M: arcane scroll of disguise self (2 
  gp each), arcane scroll of charm person (2 gp each), 
  potion of cure light wounds (4 gp each), bracers of armor 
  +1 (83 gp each). 
   
  APL 4: L: 63; C: 0; M: arcane scroll of disguise self (2 
  gp each), arcane scroll of charm person (2 gp each), 
  potion of cure light wounds (4 gp each), bracers of armor 
  +1 (83 gp each), cloak of resistance +2 (333 gp each). 
   
  APL 6: L: 63; C: 0; M: arcane scroll of disguise self (2 
  gp each), arcane scroll of charm person (2 gp each), 
  potion of cure light wounds (4 gp each), bracers of armor 
  +3 (750 gp each), cloak of resistance +2 (333 gp each), 
  dagger of venom (691 gp each). 
   
  APL 8: L: 40; C: 0; M: arcane scroll of disguise self (2 
  gp each), arcane scroll of charm person (2 gp each), 
  potion of cure light wounds (4 gp each), bracers of armor 
  +3 (750 gp each), cloak of resistance +2 (333 gp each), 
  dagger of venom (691 gp each), wand of magic missiles 
  (CL 9th, 50 charges) (562 each). 
   
  Conclusion: 
  Treasure:  
   
   
  APL 2: L: 0; C: 0; M: potion of heroism (no loot) 
   
  APL 4: L: 0; C: 0; M: potion of heroism (no loot) 
   
  APL 6: L: 0; C: 0; M: potion of heroism (no loot) 
   
  APL 8: L: 0; C: 0; M: potion of heroism (no loot) 
   
  Maximum Possible Treasure 
   
  APL 2: 400 gp 
   
  APL 4: 600 gp 
   
  APL 6: 800 gp 
   
  APL8: 1250 gp 
   
  Adventure Record Text 
  Cross out the following if it does not apply: 
   
  ALL APLs (if awarded) 
   
  �Map to Secret Base: This character has been told the 
  secret location of a Footmen base within the Rauxes area. 
  As well, this character has some scraps of documents to 
  sort out pertaining to the Rauxes area and the Vecna 
  cultists. 
   
  �Darien’s Bounty: For turning Darien over alive to 
  interested parties, this character gains access to the 
  various magical adornments listed under APL 2 in the 
  Item’s Found During the Adventure section. 
   
  �What was I thinking?: This character agreed to let a 
  known cultist of Vecna go free. This will have 
  repercussions. 
   
  �The Baatezu that you know: For killing Darien, your 
  soul has taken a first step towards a deal with the baatezu. 
  Completion is up to you.  Once per adventure, this 
  character may cast spell resistance (CL 11) on themselves 
  as a spell-like ability. But in doing so, the character is 
  unaffected by raise dead, reincarnation or resurrection 
  for the rest of the adventure. 
   
  �All Hound Archons go to Mount Celestia: This 
  character has made peaceful contact with an agent of 
  [Heironeous] [Atroa] [Delleb] [Pholtus] [Kelanen] (only 
  one can be selected based on play) 
   
  In addition, this character has been granted a divine 
  gift based on the god circled above. Cross off the non-
  relevant entries. Caster level equals character level. 
   
  Heironeous: Once ever, this character may use a 
  spell-like ability to summon (as per the summon monster 
  V spell) a hound archon. [] 
   
  Atroa: Three times ever, this character may use good 
  hope as a spell-like ability. [] [] [] 
   
  Delleb: Three times ever, as a free action, this 
  character may add a +20 insight bonus to any 
  Intelligence-based skill or ability check. [] [] [] 
   
  Pholtus: Once ever, this character may use mind fog 
  as a spell-like ability. [] 
   
  Kelanen: This character may use the following spells 
  as spell-like abilities: shield, mage armor, magic weapon 
  and divine favor a total of five times. [] [] [] [] [] 
   
  Items Found During the Adventure 
  Cross off all items not found 
   
  APL 2 
  Amulet of Health +4 (Any, Dungeon Master’s Guide) 
  Belt of Giant Strength +4 (Any, Dungeon Master’s Guide) 
  Cloak of Charisma +4 (Any, Dungeon Master’s Guide) 
  Gloves of Dexterity +4 (Any, Dungeon Master’s Guide) 
  Headband of Intellect +4 (Any, Dungeon Master’s Guide) 
  Periapt of Wisdom +4 (Any, Dungeon Master’s Guide) 
   
  APL 4 (all of APL 2 plus the following) 
  Cloak of resistance +2 (Adventure, Dungeon Master’s 
  Guide) 
   
  APL 6 (all of APL 2-4 plus the following) 
  Bracers of armor +3 (Adventure, Dungeon Master’s 
  Guide) 
  Dagger of venom (Adventure, Dungeon Master’s Guide) 
   
  APL 8 (all of APL 2-6 plus the following) 
  Wand of magic missiles (CL 9th) (Adventure, Dungeon 
  Master’s Guide) 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 40 
  APPENDIX 1:  
  NPCS AND MONSTERS 
  �Sister Tillie: Female Human Clr3 – Pelor: CR 3; 
  Medium humanoid (human); HD 3d8+6; hp 24; Init +1; 
  Spd 30 ft.; AC 12, touch 11, flat-footed 11; Base Atk +2; 
  Grp +3; Atk +3 melee (1d6+1, light mace); Full Atk +3 
  melee (1d6+1, light mace); SA Turn undead 4/day; AL 
  NG; SV Fort +5, Ref +2, Will +6; Str 12, Dex 12, Con 14, 
  Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 12. 
   
  Skills and Feats: Concentration +6, Diplomacy +5, 
  Healing +7 Knowledge (religion) +4, Knowledge (arcana) 
  +1, Spellcraft +1; Diehard, Endurance, Negotiator. 
   
  Cleric Spells Prepared (4/ 3+1/ 2+1; save DC 13 + 
  spell level): 0- detect poison, mending (2), purify food and 
  drink; 1st- protection from evil*, bless, command, remove 
  fear; 2nd- cure moderate wound*, restoration-lesser, hold 
  person.  
   
  *Domain Spell. Domains: Healing and Good. 
   
  Domain Powers: Good (+1 CL for spells with the 
  good descriptor); Healing (+1 CL for spells with the 
  healing descriptor).  
   
  Possessions: Layers of clothing and cloaks, light 
  mace, wooden holy symbol of the Pelor, 50 gp. 
   
  Encounter 3: Dogs of society   
  APL2 
  �Sergeant: Male human Ftr1; CR 1; medium humanoid 
  (human); HD 1d10+2; hp 12; Init +1; Spd 20 ft ; AC 21, 
  touch 10, flat-footed 21; [half-plate +7, shield, tower +4]; 
  Base Atk +1 ; Grp +3 ; Atk +0 ranged (1d6+2 x2, javelin) or 
  +2 melee (1d6+2 19-20x2, masterwork short sword) ; Full 
  Atk +2 melee (1d6+2 19-20x2, masterwork short sword); 
  SA --; SQ -- ; AL LE; SV Fort +4, Ref +1, Will -1; Str 15, 
  Dex 12, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 13. 
   
  Skills and Feats: Climb -11, Intimidate +5, Ride +5; 
  Combat Reflexes, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (short 
  sword). 
   
  Possessions: dagger (x3) javelin (x2), masterwork 
  short sword, half-plate, tower shield.  
   
  �Trooper (4): Male human War1; CR 1/2; medium 
  humanoid (human); HD 1d8+1; hp 9; Init +0; Spd 20 ft ; 
  AC 21, touch 10, flat-footed 21; [half-plate +7, shield, 
  tower +4]; Base Atk +1 ; Grp +2 ; Atk -1 ranged (1d6+1 x2, 
  javelin) or +0 melee (1d6+1 19-20x2, short sword) ; Full 
  Atk +0 melee (1d6+1 19-20x2, short sword) ; SA --; SQ -- ; 
  AL LE ; SV Fort +3, Ref +0, Will -1 ; Str 13, Dex 11, Con 
  12, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 9. 
   
  Skills and Feats: Climb -12, Intimidate +4, Ride +4; 
  Combat reflexes, Weapon Focus (short sword). 
   
  Possessions: dagger (x3) javelin (x2), short sword, 
  half-plate, tower shield 
   
  APL4 
  �Sergeant: Male human Ftr4; CR 4; medium humanoid 
  (human); HD 4d10+4; hp 36; Init +1; Spd 20 ft; AC 21, 
  touch 10, flat-footed 21; [half-plate +7, shield, tower +4]; 
  Base Atk +4; Grp +7; Atk +3 ranged (1d6+3 x2, javelin) or 
  +6 melee (1d6+5 19-20x2, masterwork short sword); Full 
  Atk +6 melee (1d6+5 19-20x2, masterwork short sword); 
  SA --; SQ --; AL LE; SV Fort +6, Ref +2, Will +0; Str 16, 
  Dex 12, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 13. 
   
  Skills and Feats: Climb -8, Intimidate +8, Ride +8; 
  Blind-Fight, Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Power Attack, 
  Weapon Focus (short sword), Weapon specialization 
  (short sword). 
   
  Possessions: dagger (x3) javelin (x2), masterwork 
  short sword, half-plate, tower shield.  
   
  �Trooper (4): Male human War1; CR 1/2; medium 
  humanoid (human); HD 1d8+1; hp 9; Init +0; Spd 20 ft ; 
  AC 21, touch 10, flat-footed 21; [half-plate +7, shield, 
  tower +4]; Base Atk +1; Grp +2; Atk -1 ranged (1d6+1 x2, 
  javelin) or +0 melee (1d6+1 19-20x2, short sword); Full 
  Atk +0 melee (1d6+1 19-20x2, short sword); SA --; SQ -- ; 
  AL LE; SV Fort +3, Ref +0, Will -1; Str 13, Dex 11, Con 12, 
  Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 9. 
   
  Skills and Feats: Climb -12, Intimidate +4, Ride +4; 
  Combat reflexes, Weapon Focus (short sword). 
   
  Possessions: dagger (x3) javelin (x2), short sword, 
  half-plate, tower shield. 
   
  APL6 
  �Sergeant: Male human Ftr5; CR 5; medium humanoid 
  (human); HD 5d10+10; hp 43; Init +1; Spd 20 ft; AC 21, 
  touch 10, flat-footed 21; [half-plate +7, shield, tower +4]; 
  Base Atk +5; Grp +8; Atk +4 ranged (1d6+3 x2, javelin) or 
  +7 melee (1d6+5 19-20x2, masterwork short sword); Full 
  Atk +7 melee (1d6+5 19-20x2, masterwork short sword); 
  SA --; SQ --; AL LE; SV Fort +6, Ref +2, Will +0; Str 16, 
  Dex 12, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 13. 
   
  Skills and Feats: Climb -7, Intimidate +9, Ride +9; 
  Blind-Fight, Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Power Attack, 
  Weapon Focus (short sword), Weapon Specialization 
  (short sword). 
   
  Possessions: dagger (x3) javelin (x2), masterwork 
  short sword, half-plate, tower shield.  
   
  �Trooper (4): Male human War1; CR 1/2; medium 
  humanoid (human); HD 1d8+1; hp 9; Init +0; Spd 20 ft ; 
  AC 21, touch 10, flat-footed 21; [half-plate +7, shield, 
  tower +4]; Base Atk +1; Grp +2; Atk -1 ranged (1d6+1 x2, 
  javelin) or +0 melee (1d6+1 19-20x2, short sword); Full 
  Atk +0 melee (1d6+1 19-20x2, short sword); SA --; SQ --; 
  AL LE; SV Fort +3, Ref +0, Will -1; Str 13, Dex 11, Con 12, 
  Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 9. 
   
  Skills and Feats: Climb -12, Intimidate +4, Ride +4; 
  Combat Reflexes, Weapon Focus (short sword). 
   
  Possessions: dagger (x3) javelin (x2), short sword, 
  half-plate, tower shield. 
   
  APL8  
   
   
   
   
   
  �Sergeant: Male human Ftr6; CR 6; medium humanoid 
  (human); HD 6d10+12; hp 47; Init +1; Spd 20 ft; AC 21, 
  
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  touch 10, flat-footed 21; [half-plate +7, shield, tower +4]; 
  Base Atk +6; Grp +9; Atk +5 ranged (1d6+3 x2, javelin) or 
  +8 melee (1d6+5 19-20x2, masterwork short sword); Full 
  Atk +8/+3 melee (1d6+5 19-20x2, masterwork short 
  sword); SA --; SQ --; AL LE; SV Fort +7, Ref +3, Will +3; Str 
  16, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 13. 
   
  Skills and Feats: Climb -6, Intimidate +10, Ride +10; 
  Blind-Fight, Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Iron Will, Power 
  Attack, Quick Draw Weapon Focus (short sword), 
  Weapon Specialization (short sword). 
   
  Possessions: dagger (x3) javelin (x2), masterwork 
  short sword, half-plate, tower shield. 
   
  �Trooper (6): Male human War2; CR 1; medium 
  humanoid (human); HD 2d8+2; hp 15; Init +0; Spd 20 ft ; 
  AC 21, touch 10, flat-footed 21; [half-plate +7, shield-
  tower +4]; Base Atk +2 ; Grp +3 ; Atk +0 ranged (1d6+1 x2, 
  javelin) or +1 melee (1d6+1 19-20x2, short sword); Full 
  Atk +1 melee (1d6+1 19-20x2, short sword); SA --; SQ -- ; 
  AL LE ; SV Fort +4, Ref +0, Will -1; Str 13, Dex 11, Con 12, 
  Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 9. 
   
  Skills and Feats: Climb -11, Intimidate +5, Ride +5; 
  Combat Reflexes, Weapon Focus (short sword). 
   
  Possessions: dagger (x3) javelin (x2), short sword, 
  half-plate, tower shield. 
   
  Encounter 6: Portals of Last Resort  
  APL8 
  �Ranger Invisible Stalker, advanced (13HD) (x2): CR 9; 
  large elemental (air, extraplanar); HD 13d8+39; hp 98; 
  Init +11; Spd 30 ft., fly 30 ft.(perfect); AC 20, touch 16, 
  flat-footed 13); [-1 size, +7 dex, +4 natural]; Base Atk +10; 
  Grp +20; Atk +16 melee (2d6+6, slam); Full Atk 2 slams 
  +16 melee (2d6+6); SA Favored Enemy (dwarves) +2; SQ 
  Darkvision 60 ft., elemental traits, natural invisibility, 
  improved tracking; AL N; SV Fort +9, Ref +17, Will +9; 
  Str 22, Dex 24, Con 16,Int 14, Wis 17, Cha 9. 
      Skills and Feats: Knowledge: Nature +2, Listen +19, 
  Move Silently +21, Search +18, Spot +19, Survival +5 (+7 
  following tracks); Combat Reflexes, Flyby Attack, 
  Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Track, Weapon Focus 
  (slam). 
   
  Natural Invisibility (Su): This ability is constant, 
  allowing a stalker to remain invisible even when 
  attacking. This ability is inherent and not subject to the 
  invisibility purge spell. 
   
  Improved Tracking (Ex): An invisible stalker is a 
  consummate tracker and makes spot checks instead of 
  the usual Survival checks to trace a creature’s passage. 
   
  Encounter 7: Darien’s Back in Town 
  APL2 
  �Darien the Knife: Male human Wiz3; CR 3; medium 
  humanoid (human); HD 3d4+3; hp 13; Init +1; Spd 30 ft.; 
  AC 12; touch 11; flat-footed 11; Base Atk +1; Grp 
  +1;Atk/Full Atk +2 melee (1d4 dagger); Space/Reach 5 
  ft./5 ft.; SA n/a; SQ spells, summon familiar; AL NE; SV 
  Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +7; Str 10, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 16, 
  Wis 14, Cha 10. 
   
  Skills and Feats: Concentration +7, Craft butcher +7, 
  Decipher script +9, Knowledge (religion) +7, Knowledge 
  (arcane) +9, Knowledge (planes) +7, Spellcraft +9; Blind-
  fight, Iron Will, Scribe Scroll, Weapon Focus (dagger). 
   
  Wizard Spells Prepared (4/ 3/ 2; save DC 13 + spell 
  level): 0- ray of frost, touch of fatigue, daze; 1st- magic 
  missile, reduce person, sleep 2nd- glitterdust, flaming 
  sphere.  
   
  Possessions: masterwork dagger, darts (x3), arcane 
  scroll of disguise self, arcane scroll of charm person, 
  potion of cure light wounds, bracers of armor +1. 
   
  APL4 
  �Darien the Knife: Male human Wiz5; CR 5; medium 
  humanoid (human); HD 5d4+5; hp 21; Init +1; Spd 30 ft.; 
  AC 12; touch 11; flat-footed 11; Base Atk +2; Grp +2; 
  Atk/Full Atk +3 melee (1d4 dagger); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 
  ft.; SA n/a; SQ spells, summon familiar; AL NE; SV Fort 
  +4, Ref +4, Will +10; Str 10, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 17, Wis 
  14, Cha 10. 
   
  Skills and Feats: Concentration +9, Craft butcher +9, 
  Decipher 
  script 
  +11, 
  Knowledge 
  (religion) 
  +9, 
  Knowledge (arcane) +11, Knowledge (planes) +9, 
  Spellcraft +11; Blind-fight, Iron Will, Scribe Scroll, Silent 
  Spell, Weapon Focus (dagger). 
   
  Wizard Spells Prepared (4/ 4/ 3/ 2; save DC 13 + 
  spell level): 0- ray of frost, touch of fatigue, daze; 1st- 
  magic missile (2), reduce person, shield 2nd- glitterdust, 
  flaming sphere, invisibility; 3rd- fireball, haste. 
   
  Possessions: masterwork dagger, darts (x3), arcane 
  scroll of disguise self, arcane scroll of charm person, 
  potion of cure light wounds, bracers of armor +, cloak of 
  resistance +2. 
   
  APL6 
  �Darien the Knife: Male human Wiz7; CR 7; medium 
  humanoid (human); HD 7d4+7; hp 29; Init +1; Spd 30 ft.; 
  AC 14; touch 11; flat-footed 13; Base Atk +3; Grp +3; 
  Atk/Full Atk +5 melee (1d4+1 + poison, dagger of 
  venom); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; SA n/a; SQ spells, 
  summon familiar; AL NE; SV Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +11; 
  ABL Str 10, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 17, Wis 14, Cha 10. 
   
  Skills and Feats: Concentration +11, Craft butcher 
  +11, Decipher script +13, Knowledge (religion) +11, 
  Knowledge (arcane) +13, Knowledge (planes) +11, 
  Spellcraft +13; Blind-fight, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, 
  Scribe Scroll, Silent Spell, Weapon Focus (dagger). 
   
  Wizard Spells Prepared (4/ 5/ 4/ 3/ 1; save DC 13 + 
  spell level): 0- ray of frost, touch of fatigue , daze; 1st- 
  magic missile(2), reduce person, shield, ray of 
  enfeeblement; 2nd- glitterdust, flaming sphere, summon 
  monster II, invisibility; 3rd- fireball, haste, displacement; 
  4th– globe of invulnerability-lesser. 
   
  Possessions: darts (x3), arcane scroll of disguise self, 
  arcane scroll of charm person, potion of cure light 
  wounds, bracers of armor +3, cloak of resistance +2, 
  dagger of venom. 
   
   
  �Orc Shock Trooper (6): Male Orc Bar1; CR 1; Medium 
  humanoid (orc); HD 1d12+2; hp 14; Init +2; Spd 40 ft.; AC 
  
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  15, touch 12, flat-footed 13; +3 studded leather, +2 Dex] 
  Base Atk +1; Grp +3; Atk +5 melee (1d12+6 greataxe); Full 
  Atk +5 melee (1d12+6 greataxe); SA Rage x1; SQ Fast 
  movement, uncanny dodge, darkvision 60 ft., light 
  sensitivity; AL CE; SV Fort +4, Ref +2, Will +1; Str 19, 
  Dex 14, Con 14, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 6. 
   
  Skills and Feats: Climb +7, Jump +7, Intimidate +1, 
  Listen +4, Survival +3; Power Attack.  
   
  Possessions: Leather armor, greataxe, javelin(x6). 
   
  APL8 
  �Darien the Knife: Male human Wiz7; CR 7; medium 
  humanoid (human); HD 7d4+7; hp 29; Init +1; Spd 30 ft.; 
  AC 14; touch 11; flat-footed 13; Base Atk +3; Grp +3; 
  Atk/Full Atk +5 melee (1d4+1 + poison, dagger of 
  venom); Space/Reach 5 ft./5 ft.; SA n/a; SQ spells, 
  summon familiar; AL NE; SV Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +11; 
  ABL Str 10, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 17, Wis 14, Cha 10. 
   
  Skills and Feats: Concentration +11, Craft butcher 
  +11, Decipher script +13, Knowledge (religion) +11, 
  Knowledge (arcane) +13, Knowledge (planes) +11, 
  Spellcraft +13; Blind-fight, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, 
  Scribe Scroll, Silent Spell, Weapon Focus(dagger). 
   
  Wizard Spells Prepared (4/ 5/ 4/ 3/ 1; save DC 13 + 
  spell level): 0- ray of frost, touch of fatigue , daze; 1st- 
  magic missile(2), reduce person, shield, ray of 
  enfeeblement; 2nd- glitterdust, flaming sphere, summon 
  monster II, invisibility; 3rd- fireball, haste, displacement; 
  4th– globe of invulnerability-lesser. 
   
  Possessions: darts (x3), arcane scroll of disguise self, 
  arcane scroll of charm person, potion of cure light 
  wounds, bracers of armor +3, cloak of resistance +2, 
  dagger of venom, wand of magic missiles (CL 9th)(50 
  charges). 
   
   
  
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  APPENDIX 2: PLAYER HANDOUTS 
  Player Handout 1 The Map from Clinorus 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
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  PLAYER HANDOUT 2: 
  A BLOOD COVERED PARCHMENT 
   
  Adventurers; 
   
  My wounds are great, and I a.m. still unsure of the nature of this poison that courses through my veins. It is like an acid, 
  eating away at my insides. The others, those of us who survived, are in as rough shape or worse. All except Kilern that is, 
  but I fear it may be some time before his mind heals.  
  I have so much to tell you here, incase I can not do so in person. The pain is so intense, that I can not think straight. I 
  try to focus on what I need to tell you, but find my mind wandering off to fantastical landscape or childhood memories. 
  I can’t even tell what images or thoughts are real. I see them, and believe them, then moments later shake my head and 
  realize them all to be false. It’s confusing. 
   
  I thank you for Jirwelt…that was you who saved him, right? I’m not confusing you with all the other adventurers that 
  have traipsed through the city, a.m. I? I was so sure it was you, I see the memory so clearly that it must be true. You 
  saved Jirwelt from his undeath and you brought us back the prison key. Once we brought Jirwelt back to life, he told us 
  that there is a traitor somewhere within our ranks, someone who knows of our plans and is feeding it to Prince 
  Poxquand and others. After hearing that, we changed our plans again, and even moved up the operation date. Take them 
  by surprise. It seems the gamble didn’t pay off this time. Now Jirwelt shares my fate. 
   
  Can’t concentrate. Must tell you… must think clearly, calmly. Unless I write the words down, each word, I can’t tell if it 
  even happened. Each sentence I reread is like a history book on my life, but a lifetime stretched over mere moments. 
   
  Lirr, goddess of thought, of knowledge, of lore. Hear my chant, read my verse. Let this final epilogue leave my words 
  unearthed. 
   
  We used the golden half circle, a dungeon key, to free them. We went in, all twelve of us. Silent, skilled and prepared. 
  We thought we had them, and for a while, I think we did. Then they became aware of us. We had the child and all 
  hounds that were left in one piece. The horror of it, the torture chamber, the tables for vivisections, the pure evil and 
  methodical cruelty. What could this monster hope to learn? We expect to find so many, but there were only six left, and 
  the child. Then the enemy starting coming for us. We planned for the hounds to simply teleport away when we had 
  freed them, but those damn collars, and we couldn’t get them off without killing the hound. We all had to fight our way 
  out, but it was too much. Too many ambushes and traps. The magic, the magic, Poxquand came personally. He had that 
  damn object, the disjunction, it doomed us all. The hound of the Money Counter was caught within the blast. His collar 
  dissolved, but within seconds, the hound dissolved into a puddle of goo, screaming all throughout. That left five, if you 
  count the runt. 
   
  Thank you for saving Jirwelt,,,, no, I told you that already. Why we did this. Orders, a mission, a quest, a holy quest to 
  liberate she who was not meant to be among us yet. Came here ten years ago to do good, to bring the system down from 
  the inside, he recruited us to help him, our guildmaster. The years went by, now new mission came down the line two 
  years back. Save the girl and her protectors. She can restore things. 
  So much more I need to say… If you get here in time or if you have a cure, I can tell you it all myself, without these 
  images overpowering my mind, my sight.  
   
  I loved the rain as a child, it felt so free, so all encompassing. All the drops were different, yet still part of a whole when 
  they wanted to be. Individual drops that came together to wash away the grime and go on to form a clear puddle. Yet, 
  even if you couldn’t see it, each raindrop kept its individual form, waiting to be scooped out and dripped down my 
  hands. Each drop, its own tiny puddle, with a shape of its own. Is it really raining now? Or is it all in my head? 
  I sent Sister Tillie for you. I thought she might know who you were. The Lore Keeper smiled upon us today, our one 
  stroke of divine grace. We had to abandon are planned safe house and escape routes, even our back-up ones. Poxquand’s 
  minions were hot on our heels. If not for our chance meeting with Tillie, we would all be dead. She helped us carry the 
  wounded, and brought us here. She has done so much for people she knows not. I fear I my recklessness may have 
  finally caught up with me.  
   
  I know if I stop writing I will loose all that is left of me. Each word is a lifeline, each sentence a glimpse of the nearing 
  shore. I can’t allow my mind to be swept out to into a stormy sea to drown. 
   
  
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  We were supposed to take her to Nyrond. Somewhere near the old Almor border. Our back-up plan was, that if the 
  hounds could not teleport, we would make a mad dash south west, skirt the forest, and on into Almor then Nyrond. But 
  the hounds say they are tagged. They say it’s only a matter of time before Poxquand can sense them again. They 
  destroyed his device, damaged it at least. The hounds carried out something with them, some salve, but most of it got 
  destroyed with the hound of the Money Keeper. They only have one use left, and I can hear them discussing it. They 
  think we are goners. They feel for us, I know they do, but they are resigned to what needs to be done. One usage left. I 
  heard their decision, and I understand why they need a mortal to make it final for them. I never had a dog before, never 
  had time for one. But I think I would have enjoyed one as a child. Maybe made me a little softer and not hard like a 
  gemstone. And now I’m dying with mutts all around me, but not one within my reach to pet. 
   
  The dogs are uneasy, barking, growling from within their kennels. The hounds sense it too, and despite their ghastly 
  condition, they’re readying to fight, my swo… [the ink trails off sharply] 
   
    
   
   
   
  
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  APPENDIX 3:  
  DM’S MAPS 
   
  The immediate countryside of Eastfair (DM Map 1) 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
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  ROUGH MAP OF EASTFAIR  
  (DM’S MAP 2) 
  1 Great Gate; 2 Greater Stone Golems; 3 ‘Waterfall’ magical water display; 4 Newgate; 5 Spider’s Gate; 6 Fishermen’s 
  Gate; 7 Eastfair Courts (walled compound); 8 Blue Lake and wealthy city-estates; 9 The Whirling Dervish ;10 Side street 
  location of Dantoni’s murder and vivisection; 11 The Spice of Life tavern (Little Bakluni Town); 12 The ZWC 
  compound (Little Bakluni Town); 13 Eastfair Prison; 14 The Park; 15 The Cyst; 16 Old City Arena (nearly ruins, Multi 
  faith, Kelanen occupied); 17 Smiling Ones Safehouse (Kitten Ranch); 18 Orc Warlord HQ (Orc District really only half 
  the size shown); 19 Hughnard’s Fishmongery Compound (one of many, small); 20 Darin The Knife (and Cohorts) Fish 
  Mongery Compound (one of many, small); 21 Temple of Zilchus (primary) (Church of Zilchus); 22 New City Arena 
  (nearing completion, Hextor dedicated); 23 The Kennel; 24 Tillies small temple of Pelor; 25 Prince Poxquand the 
  Undying’s Tower and compound. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
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  THE KENNEL 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
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  ENCOUNTER 5:  
  THE CROSSROADS 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
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  ENCOUNTER 6:  
  PORTALS OF LAST RESORT 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
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  ENCOUNTER 7:  
  DARIEN’S BACK IN TOWN 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
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  APPENDIX 4:  
  NEW RULES ITEMS
   
  Chosen Hound Archon of Heironeous (cursed) 
  Medium Outsider 
  Hit Dice: 6d8+12 (39 hp) 
  Initiative: +4 
  Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares) 
  AC: 19 (+9 natural), touch 10 flat-footed 19 
  Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+8 
  Attack: Bite +9 melee (1d6+4 magic) + Trip 
  Full Attack: Bite +9 melee (1d6+4 magic) + Trip 
  Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. 
  Special Attacks: Trip 
  Special Qualities: Archon Traits (cursed), Chosen Traits, 
  Scent 
  Saves: Fort +7, Ref +5, Will +6 
  Abilities: Str 15, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 12 
  Skills: Concentration +10, Diplomacy +3, Hide +9, Jump 
  +15, Listen +10, Move Silently +9, Sense Motive +10, Spot 
  +10, Survival +10 
  Feats: Improved Initiative Power Attack, True Believer 
  Climate/Terrain: Seven Mounting Heavens of Celestia 
  Organization: Solitary, Pair or Pack (3-6) 
  Challenge Rating: 6 
  Treasure: None while cursed 
  Alignment: Lawful Good 
  Advancement: By character class 
   
  Archon Traits-Cursed (Su): This archon has been cursed 
  and has limited access to its normal abilities. Unless it is 
  listed here, the archon does not have its normally granted 
  abilities. 
  -Darkvison 60 ft. 
  - Immunity to electricity and petrifaction 
  +4 saves vs poison 
  Attacks considered Good and Lawful 
   
  Chosen Traits-Cursed (Su): This archon has been 
  cursed and has limited access to its normal abilities. 
  Unless it is listed here, the archon does not have its 
  normally granted abilities. 
  Magic Maw, the teeth are considered a +1 magic 
  weapon. 
   
  Change Shape-Cursed (Su): This hound archon is 
  trapped in a specific canine form. The stats given reflect 
  the archon in this form.  
   
  Trip (Ex): A hound that hits with a bite attack can 
  attempt to trip the opponent as a free action without 
  making a touch attack or provoking an attack of 
  opportunity. If the attempt fails, the opponent cannot 
  react to trip the hound. 
   
  Temperament: This hound protects the party as a 
  whole. Unless there is immediate danger to his ward, he 
  charges towards the enemy and meets it head on, only 
  breaking off to defend his ward from direct attack. 
   
  Scenario Specific Ability: This hound offers the 
  party muscles. 
   
  Chosen Hound Archon of Atroa (cursed) 
  Medium Outsider 
  Hit Dice: 6d8+6 (33 hp) 
  Initiative: +4 
  Speed: 45 ft. (9 squares) 
  AC: 19 (+9 natural), touch 10 flat-footed 19 
  Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+8 
  Attack: Bite +8 melee (1d6+3) + Trip 
  Full Attack: Bite +8 melee (1d6+3) + Trip 
  Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. 
  Special Attacks: Trip 
  Special Qualities: Archon Traits (cursed), Chosen Traits, 
  Scent 
  Saves: Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +6 
  Abilities: Str 15, Dex 10, Con 13, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 12 
  Skills: Concentration +10, Diplomacy +3, Hide +9, Jump 
  +15, Listen +10, Move Silently +9, Sense Motive +10, Spot 
  +10, Survival +10 
  Feats: Improved Initiative, True Believer, Track 
  Climate/Terrain: Seven Mounting Heavens of Celestia 
  Organization: Solitary, Pair or Pack (3-6) 
  Challenge Rating: 6 
  Treasure: None while cursed 
  Alignment: Lawful Good 
  Advancement: By character class 
   
  Archon Traits-Cursed (Su): This archon has been cursed 
  and has limited access to its normal abilities. Unless it is 
  listed here, the archon does not have its normally granted 
  abilities. 
  -Darkvison 60 ft. 
  - Immunity to electricity and petrifaction 
  +4 saves vs poison 
  Attacks considered Good and Lawful 
   
  Chosen Traits-Cursed (Su): This archon has been 
  cursed and has limited access to its normal abilities. 
  Unless it is listed here, the archon does not have its 
  normally granted abilities. 
  Improved Tracking 
   
  Change Shape-Cursed (Su): This hound archon is 
  trapped in a specific canine form. The stats given reflect 
  the archon in this form.  
   
  Trip (Ex): A hound that hits with a bite attack can 
  attempt to trip the opponent as a free action without 
  making a touch attack or provoking an attack of 
  opportunity. If the attempt fails, the opponent cannot 
  react to trip the hound. 
   
  Temperament: This hound seeks to nurture and take 
  care of the emotional needs of the party and her ward. 
  She’s a scout and spends time at a distance ahead or 
  behind the party. In combat, she can will either defend or 
  attack based on what is being asked of her by others.  
   
  Scenario Specific Ability: This hound allows the 
  party to move at full speed and still receive the benefit of 
  covering their tracks (+4 to tracking DC for Stalkers).  
   
  Chosen Hound Archon of Delleb (cursed) 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 53 
  Small Outsider 
  Hit Dice: 6d8+6 (33 hp) 
  Initiative: +5 
  Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares) 
  AC: 21 (+9 natural, +1 size, +1 dex), touch 12 flat-footed 
  20 
  Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+5 
  Attack: Bite +7 melee (1d4+1) 
  Full Attack: Bite +7 melee (1d4+1) 
  Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. 
  Special Attacks:  
  Special Qualities: Archon Traits (cursed), Chosen Traits, 
  Scent 
  Saves: Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +6 
  Abilities: Str 11, Dex 12, Con 11, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 12 
  Skills: Concentration +13, Diplomacy +3, Hide +3, Jump 
  +3, Listen +10, Knowledge (All) +10, Move Silently +3, 
  Sense Motive +3, Spot +10, Survival +5 
  Feats: Improved Initiative, True Believer, Skill Focus 
  Concentration  
  Climate/Terrain: Seven Mounting Heavens of Celestia 
  Organization: Solitary, Pair or Pack (3-6) 
  Challenge Rating: 6 
  Treasure: None while cursed 
  Alignment: Lawful Good 
  Advancement: By character class 
   
  Archon Traits-Cursed (Su): This archon has been cursed 
  and has limited access to its normal abilities. Unless it is 
  listed here, the archon does not have its normally granted 
  abilities. 
  -Darkvison 60 ft. 
  - Immunity to electricity and petrifaction 
  +4 saves vs poison 
  Attacks considered Good and Lawful 
   
  Chosen Traits-Cursed (Su): This archon has been 
  cursed and has limited access to its normal abilities. 
  Unless it is listed here, the archon does not have its 
  normally granted abilities. 
  Knowledge (all)  
   
  Change Shape-Cursed (Su): This hound archon is 
  trapped in a specific canine form. The stats given reflect 
  the archon in this form.  
   
  Temperament: This hound sticks to the party and 
  tutors his ward (and the rest of the adventurers) on points 
  of fact (mostly trivial to the context of the adventure). In 
  combat, he sticks by his ward and attacks those that 
  threaten her.  
   
  Scenario Specific Ability: With this hound in the 
  party, the characters are allowed to ask two question each 
  from the spirit in Encounter 5: Crossroads. This is 
  represented by the hound filling in the answers himself 
  as he pieces together the clues and scraps of knowledge.  
   
  In addition, any character within 50 ft. and able to 
  hear the Hound, gain a +3 Sacred bonus to all 
  Intelligence based skills and ability checks. This is 
  represented by the Hound constantly giving out ‘helpful’ 
  factoids.  
   
  Chosen Hound Archon of Pholtus (cursed) 
  Small Outsider 
  Hit Dice: 6d8 (27 hp) 
  Initiative: +5 
  Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares) 
  AC: 21 (+9 natural, +1 size, +1 dex), touch 12 flat-footed 
  20 
  Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+5 
  Attack: Bite +7 melee (1d4+1) 
  Full Attack: Bite +7 melee (1d4+1) 
  Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft. 
  Special Attacks:  
  Special Qualities: Archon Traits (cursed), Chosen Traits, 
  Scent 
  Saves: Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +7 
  Abilities: Str 11, Dex 12, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 12 
  Skills: Concentration +10, Diplomacy +3, Hide +9, Jump 
  +10, Listen +11, Move Silently +9, Sense Motive +10, Spot 
  +10, Survival +11 
  Feats: Power Attack, True Believer, Track 
  Climate/Terrain: Seven Mounting Heavens of Celestia 
  Organization: Solitary, Pair or Pack (3-6) 
  Challenge Rating: 6 
  Treasure: None while cursed 
  Alignment: Lawful Good 
  Advancement: By character class 
   
  Archon Traits-Cursed (Su): This archon has been cursed 
  and has limited access to its normal abilities. Unless it is 
  listed here, the archon does not have its normally granted 
  abilities. 
  -Darkvison 60 ft. 
  - Immunity to electricity and petrifaction 
  +4 saves vs poison 
  Attacks considered Good and Lawful 
   
  Chosen Traits-Cursed (Su): This archon has been 
  cursed and has limited access to its normal abilities. 
  Unless it is listed here, the archon does not have its 
  normally granted abilities. 
  Immune to Blindness spells  
   
  Change Shape-Cursed (Su): This hound archon is 
  trapped in a specific canine form. The stats given reflect 
  the archon in this form.  
   
  Temperament: This hound stays close to his ward. 
  He attacks all those that threaten her and tries to position 
  himself between her and that threat.  
   
  When not in combat, he lectures and lectures. The 
  party can do nothing right, and all their flaws are pointed 
  out, but only because he feels they can improve. There’s 
  the wrong way to do things, the Pholtan way to do things.  
   
  Scenario Specific Ability: With this hound in the 
  party, the characters are informed of all the possible 
  questions (but not the answers) that can be asked during 
  the interaction with the spirit in Encounter 5: 
  Crossroads. This is represented by the hound explaining 
  to the characters what they could/should ask if it was up 
  to him. He doesn’t know the answers though.  
   
    
  Chosen Hound Archon of Kelanen (cursed) 
  Tiny Outsider 
  Hit Dice: 6d8 (27 hp) 
  
  COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond 
   
  Page 54 
  Initiative: +5 
  Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares) 
  AC: 23 (+9 natural, +2 size, +2 dex), touch 12 flat-footed 
  20 
  Base Attack/Grapple: +6/+5 
  Attack: Bite +8 melee (1d3-1 19/20 x3) 
  Full Attack: Bite +8 melee (1d3-1 19/20 x3) 
  Space/Reach: 2.5 ft./0 ft. 
  Special Attacks:  
  Special Qualities: Archon Traits (cursed), Chosen Traits, 
  Scent, Runt 
  Saves: Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +6 
  Abilities: Str 7, Dex 14, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 12 
  Skills: Concentration +10, Diplomacy +3, Hide +9, Jump 
  +15, Listen +10, Move Silently +9, Sense Motive +10, Spot 
  +10, Survival +10 
  Feats: Improved Initiative, True Believer, Combat 
  Expertise 
  Climate/Terrain: Seven Mounting Heavens of Celestia 
  Organization: Solitary, Pair or Pack (3-6) 
  Challenge Rating: 6 
  Treasure: None while cursed 
  Alignment: Lawful Good 
  Advancement: By character class 
   
  Archon Traits-Cursed (Su): This archon has been cursed 
  and has limited access to its normal abilities. Unless it is 
  listed here, the archon does not have its normally granted 
  abilities. 
  -Darkvison 60 ft. 
  - Immunity to electricity and petrifaction 
  +4 saves vs poison 
  Attacks considered Good and Lawful 
   
  Chosen Traits-Cursed (Su): This archon has been 
  cursed and has limited access to its normal abilities. 
  Unless it is listed here, the archon does not have its 
  normally granted abilities. 
  Improved Critical  
  Improved Multiplier 
   
  Change Shape-Cursed (Su): This hound archon is 
  trapped in a specific canine form. The stats given reflect 
  the archon in this form.  
   
  Runt (Ex): This hound archon is a pariah of his 
  society. For what ever cosmic reason, he was born into 
  the universe not only smaller and weaker, but lacking the 
  inborn Lawful Good alignment. Though as an archon he 
  is considered a Lawful Good creature, his actual 
  alignment is Neutral. Only because of his patronage by 
  Kelanen has this runt not been thrown back into the 
  cosmic forge.  
   
  Temperament: This hound stays as close to his ward 
  as possible. Usually this means being carried around by 
  her. He means well, but he has some issues about his size 
  and his ability to prove himself.   
   
  Scenario Specific Ability: When ever this hound is 
  in the same square as his ward (even if being carried), 
  instead of attacking an opponent, the hound can use his 
  current AC as that of his wards. This includes combining 
  full defense and/or Combat Expertise into his AC (as the 
  situation permits). Any blows that hit the ward during 
  this, hit the hound instead, but automatically becomes a 
  critical hit.  
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Living Greyhawk/Modules/Core/594/COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond (APL 2-8)/COR4-18 It Never Rains in Nyrond.pdf