A Rat's Tale - Part 4: A Friend in Greed

A. FREE FIRE

In this part, the adventurers will seek out the bookshop owner, but find he's left town and must assist his neighbor the blacksmith in protecting his workshop.

When the party arrives at Sivon'sbookshop, The Bibliophile, the discover a note he's left. The note reads:

To those in service of Senator Woodrue,

My sincerest apologies, but an urgent matter has called me out of town. I have left the item and additional information regarding its recovery with my neighbor to the west, the blacksmith Saul Steelstriker. Please forgive his coarse exterior.

- Sivon Nekho

- Area Information

This area features:

Dimensions & Terrain. Saul's workshop is fairly large if simple, the majority of it is overtaken by his impressively large forge. Currently three massive chains hang from the second story ceiling, suspending a huge red glowing gem over the forge.

Lighting. Saul's workshop is dimly lit by forge. All of the windows are closed while he completes his ritual enchantment of his forge.

The Forge. Any smithy would be envious of Saul's forge. It is massive, constructed of wrought iron, adorned with symbols of the god Moradin, and built into the back wall of the shop. Currently the forge's hearth holds burning white hot coals just below the gem suspended from the ceiling.

Saul's shop is immediately to the west of the Bibliophile. As they arrive they find his shop over run with two fire snakes. When the characters arrive at his forge, he'll immediately grab one of them and use Blessing of the Forge on one of their weapons in reach to make it a +1 magical weapon. Saul requests help if they don't react immediately, but if the players fail to act quickly enough he responds:

"Useless... ay'rite, do it me'self then."

B. COAX THE COALS

Once defeated, Saul will quickly inform the characters that the elementals were released as he was attempting to enchant his forge. This enchantment uses a massive fire gem inherently linked to the elemental plane of fire, melts the gem and infuses it with the hearth of the forge, making it cable of reaching higher temperatures necessary for crafting certain magical items. He needs help heating the forge while keeping the gem steady over the heat to allow it to melt. This is a skill challenge, the ritual was partially completed by Saul and really only needs finished. The players must make 3 successes before 3 failures. Here are some of the characters options:

• Strength (Athletics) DC 10 to keep use the bellows.
• Charisma (Persuasion) DC 15 to grant advantage on next roll.
• Dexterity DC 10 to help steady the chains.
• Intelligence (Arcana) DC 15 understand the heat levels and timing to effectively melt the gem.
• Players can offer additional options for DC 15. Ability check with Indirect effects help the ability checks with direct effects. 3 successes before 3 failures.

Wrapping Up

If successful Saul is elated and offers to help the party, either helping craft of actually assisting on an adventure. If not successful, he blames himself for not taking the proper precautions and thanks the players for their help all the same. Once completed Saul is freed up and happily returns the books and recalls to them what Sivon told him about who sold to him and where it was found.

Audio

• Ambience

• Combat

Parent Plot

A Rat's Tale - Overview