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PLACINC THE ADVENTURE summary of those events. She then goes on to say that
This adventure presents the Styes as an old district in a she believesJarme Loveage was innocent, and that the
port city or large port town. Making the Styes part of a real killer is still out there. She recommends that they
larger, thriving settlement gives the characters plenty of meet with Master Refrum, who has much more infor-
potential reasons to visit the area, with the overall settle- mation about Loveage and the murders, and offers the
ment ideally located in a nation that's fallen on hard times. characters a reward of 500 pp if they can find the real
Alternatively, the district could be part of a free city that murderer and bring the culprit to justice_
has fallen into despair and decay. In the world of Grey- The mysterious contact is one of the councillors of the
hawk, the city of Prymp in Ahlissa is an excellent choice. Styes, named Thornwell (LE female human mage). She
In the Forgotten Realms, the Styes fits nicely into the city
of Marsember. In Eberron, the Styes could be a district in has discovered hints of Mr. Dory's association with the
Rekkenmark or any of the other coastal settlements that cult of Tharizdun. which she suspects is also involved
haven't fully recovered from the ravages of the Last War. in the murders. Thornwell has wanted to be rid of Dory
Alternatively, you could set the Styes up as a small, ever since she came to believe that her fellow council-
stand-alone port town. This approach has the advantage lor was responsible for the death of one of her allies.
of limiting characters to the Styes' squalid confines. They But she doesn't want to jeopardize her standing on the
can't retreat to a nicer part of the city when they want a council by taking direct action against Dory, so she has
clean inn, a healthy place to eat, or a wholesome temple decided to try using the characters as her tool.
for healing or other aid. As a stand-alone town, the Styes Thornwell suspects that Dory is the actual murderer
can be added to your campaign world at the mouth of any (though she hasn't an inkling of Mr. Dory's true nature),
river. You might have a hard time attracting the characters and she secretly hopes the characters end up killing
to such a dismal location, however, without drawing on the
Styes' reputation for its alchemists and potion factories. him. She never mentions her fellow councillor by name,
though, instead making cryptic statements such as: "You
must follow the facts wherever they lead, even if that in-
If the characters step in. the children run away and cludes the halls of power."
the onlookers rapidly lose interest. Master Refrum (LG
male human priest) introduces himself, thanks the PART 1: A DYING DISTRICT
characters for saving him from a humiliating fate, and
asks them to escort him back to his home. He provides Even before they spend a lot of time in the Styes, the
the basic facts about the recent murders if the charac- characters are quick to note its visible squalor. The haze
ters haven't learned them from a passerby before now. of smoke hanging over the district is visible for miles.
If the characters don't intervene, Master Refrum and its stench travels far downwind. Water flowing out
protects himself by casting sanctuary_ then using thau- the river mouth carries reeking sewage, streaks of dye,
maturgy to frighten away the children and any onlook- and islands of floating garbage far out to sea.
ers with terrifying roars and ground tremors_ He still As the characters enter the district, the view only
speaks to the characters afterward, recognizing them as gets worse. All of the Styes appears to have one foot in
adventurers as he asks for help clearingjarme's name. the grave.
He pleads for the characters to accompany him to his
workshop to get the details of the situation.
r This is the Styes, the decaying remains of a once-nota-
ELEANOR'S Loss ble port district. Under bent gables, the carcasses of its
houses lean against each other-languid, broken, and
It might be that something one of the characters did in
the past impressed a local female human by the name awaiting the peace of collapse. Door frames sag, dislo-
of Eleanor Loveage (N female human commoner). She cated from sod walls heavy with mildew, while splintering
could be the relative of someone a party member saved timbers support rotting boardwalks like broken limbs,
in a previous adventure, or she might have heard of the
disappearing into the thick, rancid water of the harbor
characters' prior good deeds. She is also Jarme's sister,
below. In numerous places, sections of the boardwalks
and she can't believe that her brother could have done
have fallen away completely, leaving broad holes that ex-
the terrible deeds for which he was executed.
ln her desperation, she approaches the characters for pose polluted water.
help (explaining the situation if need be) and asks them
to meet her at Master Refrum's workshop in the Alche-
mists' Quarter of the Styes, where she promises they
HISTORY AND D ECAY
will learn more.
Once. the Styes was a marvelous port district. Its mag-
THORNWELL'S OFFER nificent buildings crowned an artificial island that was
the centerpiece of a broad bay. held aloft on great oak
If the characters are less likely to get involved in the
pilings. Those huge beams supported great facades
adventure out of altruism. they can be approached by
of marble grandeur, connected by boardwalks that
a mysterious, handsome, well-groomed human female
thronged with richly clothed merchants, exotic travelers,
dressed in black-and-red leather armor. She declines to
give the characters her name, but asks whether they're and the passing palanquins of nobility. Known as the Is-
interested in a well-paying job. If the characters haven't land of Pleasures, the site was a destination for rich and
learned about the murders yet. she provides them a decadent folk up and down the coast.
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