The Raven Silver

Background

Some twenty years ago, group of young men consisting of yeomen and knights, left Kaldor and Hârn to fight as mercenaries on the Lythian continent. After a few years in Shorkyne, working from town to town, they found a place in the Shorka army. In the cohort of Regona their skills were tested in a way that no town could match, border skirmishing and spear-rattling. They were very successful as soldiers that they soon earned the commander's respect and the nickname The Bringers.

One day they were sent into the land of Trierzon to destroy a smaller food transport. The operation went as planned. The guards and teamsters on the transport were killed to the last man and the wagons destroyed. However, when one of the knights named Caleth opened the mysterious locked chests that were hidden in one of the wagons, he and his men were in for a big suprise. In the chests lay three months pay of silver for the equivalent cohort on the Trierzi side of the border. They had robbed a secret salary transport without knowing.

The survivors of the company made a pact to keep the discovery a secret and buried the silver, in case this would start a war. No one would tell and when the time to return to Kaldor came, they would dig up the treasure and take it back with them. The years went by and many of the soldiers who came from Hârn to the Karetan plains died. Four years ago the surviving men decided to leave the cohort and return to the land in which they were born, the misty islands. They returned once more to the plains and dug up the treasure.

They were only five left; Caleth, Bordach, Parkal, Tibir and Sentor, when they arrived at the coast of northern Melderyn. The captain had warned (and exaggerated) them about the heavy tolls and the strict laws of Thay. He knew they protected the chests like hawks, but he never knew what they contained. This got the small party nervous. What if they would loose all the silver to greedy harbour masters and curious officers? Transporting a fortune in silver coins would also alert the Lia-Kavair and their back stabbing assassins, even if authority bought their false story. No, something had to be done. Caleth being the leader bribed the captain into putting them in a small boat and transport them to one of the ruins where the ravens were circling, north of Thay. There they buried most the treasure a second time before wandering by foot, to a ferry that would take them over to the city.

The four years has passed and the men of The Bringers has found their lot in life and settled down. They bought land, houses and were very successful in everyday living. And even if they had taken much of the silver treasure with them most of them couldn't leave the chests, and the rest of the coins, behind. Especially not the knight Bordach who hungered after power and the wealth to get it. He made up an evil plan that would make him the sole survivor and the treasure's only owner. His largest trouble was Caleth, who was the leader and who had the largest part of the buried silver. Bordach arranged a secret gathering with the three men Parkal, Tibir and Sentor. He was able to pursuade Parkal and Sentor that they and him, and not Caleth, were the ones who should divide the treasure. Tibir protested and threatened Bordach and the other two that he was going to inform Caleth of their plot. Tibir never left Bordach's manor alive.

Bordach never told the other two that he intends to kill them as soon as they have collected the treasure. Instead he sing false songs and illuminate the reality before it comes to them in the form of death.

The Beginning

To insert the players the best way in this adventure it's best if they know Caleth the knight in one way or another. They may be his friends or relatives or even his enemies, who has found a clue about the raven silver (for those evil scheming GMs out there...).

The PCs will arrive in Tashal at dusk after being sent for by Caleth himself. He has informed them that he has a secret to tell (if this is about the silver is up to the GM) and there will be wine and boar on his tables. The knight lives in a very fine house on the Chelebin street.

What the PCs know about Caleth is important. They know he was a mercenary knight in his younger life and that he left Kaldor to fight abroad some twenty years ago, mostly in a land named Shorkyne. They also know that he still has contact with the soldiers who served under his banner. Further, Caleth never had any manor or rural acres, nor the need for it. Caleth was a noble who loved real estate and he bought several houses in Tashal and Kiban. He had about a dozen houses to be a landlord of, and he always had a lot of cash at hand. Caleth never married but had a lot of mistresses at hand all of the time. He was known as a ladies man and he was hated by many for his ignorance towards the husbands of some of the women he took to bed. Caleth didn't have any surviving relatives in Kaldor.

When the players arrive at the house of the knight it's almost dark. Not many people can be seen walking the dark streets and some even hurry past with fear in their eyes. After a few knocks on the door, the players (the one with the highest hearing attribute) will hear moaning from the inside of the door and the word help as well. Well inside the unlocked door, they will find one of Caleth's guard crawling in his own blood mumbling and hallucinating. His breath is unregular and he will faint shortly after with the words "Traitors... His own... They killed... 'elp... urgh.....". It seems that he has been stabbed in the back several times with a large dagger or a sword. Upstairs on the second floor the PCs will find Caleth and his other guard, two female servants and a unknown beautiful woman, slain by stabs and cuts. The lord's throat has been slit. The tables in the room are filled with food and drink...

Searching for clues will reveal that the guards and Caleth were lightly armed and that they most certainly weren't expecting an assault. The only survivor is the passed out guard, no one else has been able (or even attempted) to escape as far as any clues might tell.

The only other one who has seen anything is a beggar sitting a few yards away on the opposing side of the street. When questioned (by threat or money) he will reveal that he saw four cloaked men knocking on the door when it still was daylight in the sky. Someone opened and the four were let in with laughter and joyous welcoming. A few moments later the four left the building, one of them limping, with two sacks and a chest carried by two of them. They closed the door and split two and two both north and south.

Searching inside the house will reveal the following objects:

When the guard awakens (if the players stopped his blodflow) he will mumble "They... Sentor... Cut his... Sentor... A swine...". No matter what the players do the guard will fall into coma and later die that night.

If the PCs decide to call for the guards they will be taken to the castle for questioning all through the night. It's good if the players has the coins and the lock box for the adventure to continue.

The Clues

Taking the strange coins to a mercantyler might help, but best is if they took them to T-H-E mercantyler, Tommas of Cuke in Qualdris. He will be able to identify the coins as Trierzi pennies, but other mercantylers will have to have 1d6 days to identify them. The coins lay under one of the opened chests that was turned over. Tommas, or another mercantyler, will tell the players that these coins almost never leave Melderyn because of their reduction in value if changed to Tashal Coins. Further, if the PCs have talked to Tommas, he will remember that two years ago there was a knight who melted a large sum of Trierzon coins into silver bars in Kiban

The lock box was made in Tashal two years ago. It has a very study lock (-40) and is made of very hard wood. Carved with knights and dragons it could be considered valuable. If the PCs decide to seek the wood crafters in the city they will turn up with nothing (their memory is short). They might tell about the sturdy locks if the players aren't making any progress. If the players seek the locksmiths, Jere (map key 42) will have a vague memory of that particular box. He made the lock for a wealthy yeoman from a village near Querina. The name of the village is either Sordel (the right) or Tardel.

The players should by now have a very good lead were to start looking for the murderers. If they go to Kiban and search for any clues of who melted the foreign coins they will be told, by a jewel crafter, that it was two aged lords and three older soldiers. They never gave their names. If the PCs describe Caleth to the jewel crafter he will remember that the leader of the group reminds him of the description the players give him. Although he is not one hundred percent sure.

When the players decide to search for a village named either Sordel or Tardel in the Querina area, they will be told that there is a village close to the settlement named Sordel but not Tardel.

Sordel Village

When arriving in the Sordel village they will be able to see a very large farm on one of the small hills next to the manor. If questioning a villager about the farm, they will be told that it belongs to one of the yeomen, namely Parkal (the other yeoman is young and is currently doing his feudal levy in Querina). The players can go directly to the farm or wait and spy on the houses there. If the latter option is chosen they will not be able to get much unusual information. The place consists of three houses, one barn and two living quarters. There seems to be about a half dozen people living there.

At the farm they will notice that the place seems worned down and not as lustrous as it might have been. The reason for this is simple. Parkal's wife died last winter in a severe cold and the yeoman hasn't been the same since. His farm has lost it's luster and he himself looks like someone from a graveyard. Old and sorrowed he walks the fields thinking about his wife, wishing she return. The farm (130 acres) has seven residents, Parkal, his two sons (also yeomen and farmers), his younger sister, one of his sons wife and their two children. If the players approach the place friendly they will be met with the request of any member to move along and let the inhabitants mourn in peace. Should the players act hostile Parkal will with his sons defend the place as needed. None of them however, is willing to die and if downed or inferior in any way, they will yield. Parkal will act nervous and get angry if asked about Caleth's murder. He will try to get rid of the PCs as quick as possible and tell them that he knows nothing. He will not however leave the place to warn the others, fearing that he might get caught by the players or worse...

If the players succeed in capturing Parkal alive and convince him, with help of violence or other methods, to tell the truth about the murder on Caleth, he will tell them that Sentor is the one responsible. He feels that is safer to betray Sentor than Bordach. Sentor lives in Dushat village near Heru keep. Parkal will not tell why they did it or anything about the treasure unless put through extreme torture. What will happen to the players if there is sounds of violence near Parkal's farm is up to the GM. The bailiff will come to aid his yeoman, and if the players do not have a noble in the party, or some stronger evidence of his yeoman's deed, they will probably be in trouble.

If and when the PCs search the house they will find what can be found in a yeoman's home plus fifty silver bars weighing one ounce each. They are some of the Trierzon silver that was melted down. If the players ask about the silver Parkal will tell them he got them as a gift from Sentor during their mercenary days. What the PCs does with Parkal is up to them. They can either let him be or take him to the authority, and if taking the latter road they will need strong evidence.

Sentor's Farm

This place lies in Dushat village held by lord Rechyn Houlcath and it contains over two thousand acres. Sentor's farm is located at the far side of the settlement and is the biggest besides the lord's manor. If the PCs decide to spy on the settlement they will find that there is three yeomen here. The lord lives with his wife, his eldest son, two daughters & one man at arms.

When they asks where Sentor lives they will be told that he lives on the large farm near the end of the village. Should the players approach the place in full daylight, Sentor and his son will emerge to greet them. The elder of the two is limping slightly. He will be kind and polite to them even if they try to insult him. Both men will be armed to the teeth however, no matter what, and if asked about their arms they will only say that these are troubled times and one must protect himself. Sentor is a very good liar and will deny any accusations against him, saying that he knows nothing of Parkal's deed (and he will only mention this name if the players tell him). Should the players attack Sentor he will defend himself with the aid of his son. They are very good fighters. If the players attack Sentor, his lord Sir Rechyn, will come to his aid. As with Parkal it's all up to the GM.

If the players decide to wait (after snooping around and asking questions) they will see both Sentor and his son ride from the village towards Tashal. If pursued they will take the route towards Sirendel and ride into the manor of Hitralin. Should the players wait further they will see both men and two others riding the same road whence they came. Both newcomers are nobles and most likely the manor lord and his squire (Bordach and his soon to be knighted squire more precisely). They will travel towards Tashal and later in one of the the nights ahead, kill Parkal and his family. After that they will try to locate the players and eliminate them as well.

Sentor will however sing like a bird if put through torture or caged pain of any kind. He hates being trapped and acts like a little boy squealing for his life. He will tell about the murder and the treasure. Sentor will even tell about Bordach's plans and his place of living, the village of Hitralin. Should the players search the yeoman's house they will find that it's standard are way beyond the normal stile of living for a yeoman. They will also find 85 silver bars like the ones Parkal has.

Hitralin Manor

Lord Bordach Cambar is an evil and corrupt man who seeks nothing less than power and position. He intends to lay hands on all of the treasure himself and kill the rest of his former mercenary friends. The reason for this is simple, Bordach craves the Sheriff post at Hutop and is seriously putting the final touch in getting it with the money and bribing way. The silver near Thay can make this dream come true.

When the players approach the village they will notice that the manor is very luxurious for this type of acreage (over two thousand), and that it's heavily fortified. Bordach trusts no one and is seeing enemies all around him. His only friends are his wife who is equally corrupt and his squire plus his two loyal yeomen. Bordach has two children, one lad stationed as a squire at Eliten manor and one who is educating herself to become a herald in Tashal (if the players decide to kidnap them...). Bordach's arms is Azure, Lion's head couped gold.

It's all about how they PCs will react when encountering Bordach and friends. Should they have a noble in the company they might be able to seek a trial by combat if any proof can be found (Caleth's personal treasure in the manor's basement is a good one, Sentor's testimony another). Bordach will, if accused by the players, deny the charges and should the party be inferior (lesser than his), he will try to kill them at his own manor. Otherwise he will try to get rid of them and then later destroy them in a fashion that seems fit at that time. Spying on the manor will reveal nothing. Every day to day life flows smoothly in the settlement and nothing seems out of the ordinary. If the PCs defeat Bordach they might be in trouble. Killing a lord is a serious offense, even if he's murdered before. The Sheriff might not take to kindly the knight's deed but will not let any murderers go. If there is a knight in the party then it's all together a different matter (GM discretion). Anyway the knight will not yield and will fight to the death with his wife.

Searching the manor will reveal Caleth's belongings (250 silver bars, a few hundred Trierzi coins, a couple of thousand pence, a few ounces gold, some jewelry etc.) in a unlocked chest with Caleth's name. They will further find Bordach's belongings that include armour, weapons, two thousand pence, jewelry, 180 silver bars, a list of candidates to bribe (in the royal household) to get the sheriffpost (this is written on various paper) etc. Most of the equipment described above can be found in the cellar in a locked room (Bordach has the keys as has his wife). The lord of the manor will never tell anything about the raven silver, even under severe torture. He will deny it all and say it's nothing more than a lie.

Epilogue

Should the players be successful in this adventure (catch the killers etc.) they might try to seek out the treasure. If it's still there is up to the GM. Remember that the returning mercenaries only took a third of it with them, leaving almost 90,000 pence behind (an illusionary sum...). The character stats of this adventure can be decided using my NPC Values add-on for HârnMaster with Parkal (MF), Sentor and son (LB +10 +1), Bordach (HH Knight), Bordach's squire (MH), Bordach's yeomen (MF + SB). Many of the ideas I copied when writing this adventure, came from the RPG of Viking and the particular module Norden (The North). Hope you enjoyed it.

Patrick Nilsson 1998