A Rat's Tale - Part 5: Rat in a Trap

With all the clues they need to find the thief, the adventurers finally confront the Grey Rat! If they look for the alley the next day, a messenger will locate the party and provide a partial list of the missing books.

A. THE ALLEY

As you approach the alley, the sun in shining bright overhead. The alley is only ten feet wide and borders a carpenter's shop, an orphanage and two rundown houses. You can spot a sewer cover in the center of the alley. As you begin to enter the alley, you notice someone approach you from behind.

As the party enters the alley the Red Plume Captain, Gordol Thorne approaches them. He tells them he's heard they've been hired by Senator Tomas Woodrue to track down whoever stole his book collection. He isn't concerned about that, but asks the characters if they'd be willing to bring the thief to him. He can't do anything if the party kills the thief because his superiors have told him to back down, but he suspects Woodrue is involved in some illegal activity and that somehow this thief has gotten themselves wrapped up in it somehow. He offers the party a pair of manacles for the thief and three health potions if they agree to try to bring the thief to him.

B. THE WOODSHOP

As you enter the woodshop, it's brightly lit from wide open windows letting the sunlight in. The shop is simple and rectangular in shape, approximately 15 feet by 25 feet, with stairs leading up to the living quarters above. There is a pair of work benches against one wall with various woodworking tools laid across them, while in the middle of the shop is a large work table when a dwarf with a dark blonde hair and beard to match is working on a rocking chair.

Grong Goosebrother is the dwarf in the middle of his work and is slightly annoyed by any disturbances. If the party provides the description of the Grey Rat that Kaldur provided, he recognizes him as Garth Rey and will tell them the following before insisting to go back to his work:

"Oh yea, that's Garth. He came from the orphanage next door. Nice enough lad, but had his head up in the clouds, and talked too much. Terrible carpenter. He didn’t last long in the shop. He was interested in gimmicks and tricks instead of sturdy, simple construction."

C. THE ORPHANAGE

Between the large open windows and a handful of torches sitting in sconces high out of reach of children, the orphanage is well lit. As dozens of small children run about, shouting and playing, you notice walls adorned with layers of children's painted artwork. You spot a human woman with dark hair pull back in a bun, adorned in colorful garb with a beautifully designed textile serving as a head wrapping. On her wrists she wears a plethora of mismatched simple beaded necklaces, and a similar hodgepodge of simple charms hang about her neck. Her jewelry is clearly made by the children buzzing around you.

Echine Banolin introduces herself to the party. If given Garth's description from Kaldur Echine will name him. She'll tell the party the following;

"He was a child of the orphanage until a few years ago, when he aged out. I wish he could have stayed, as he was a huge help with the little ones, but I didn't have the money to provide for the older kids and the younger kids both. We run entirely on donations. Why are you looking for him?"

If the party explains why they're looking for Garth. She will respond accordingly:

"But, Garth is no thief! In fact, he has actually become a wizard's apprentice in the past year, to hear him tell it, working with a member of the Order of Arcanum, and has been donating himself recently. In fact, he’s here now! He just dropped off a donation and now he upstairs reading a story to some of the younger children."

D. PANIC IN THE ATTIC

Echine escorts the characters upstairs. Soon this is the scene they come upon:

As you crest the stairs into the attic of the orphanage, see a large open space with several beds lined up on either side of the attic. In the middle of the you nearly a dozen kids sitting around, laughing and clapping as they watch a male elf with bushy brown hair wave his hands through the air as he creates a series of sparkling light shapes in the air.

You notice as the elf looks up, spotting you behind Echine. In an instant you watch as he immediately grabs a patch off of his coat and run for the opposite end of the room.

Garth runs for the wall, slamming a door patch against the wall and runs into a seemingly identical room, but with not obvious exits. If the characters run into the room after him, the door behind them disappears and there seems to immediate way out. Garth immediately tears another two patches from his coat and tosses them on the floor creating two mastifs.

Rewards

If the party ops not to slay Garth, he tells the party that he keeps at room he's paying for at the Snapping Line Inn. He gives them the key. If they search his person, they'll also find a receipt of order for a Cloak of Protection. The cloak can be picked up in a week's time from a merchant named Wildak Mythkin.

Audio

Ambience

Combat

List of Missing Books

• The Marked Crystal
• The Last and Greatest King, the Complete History of King Alistar
• Shield of Thieves
• Tears of Rak
• The Fanged Bow
• The Masked City
• The Claws of Ka'Birahn, the Scourge to the South
• The Tangled Shore (Note: The author for this book is noted as Haran Banriel, the author believed to have written the Ballad of the Golden Mountain

Parent Plot

A Rat's Tale - Overview