The Moza Reeling

Survival has many costs

This is a non-canon one-shot adventure set in the world of Orbido and involving some of its characters. The original articles may have different backstories than what the plot may suggest.

Introduction

On the road to the prosperous city of Taladrid, the caravan transporting the party is ambushed by a small group of feral beasts. While easily dispatched by both the guards and the party, their behaviour is strikingly odd, bordering on suicidal yet also manic for obtaining as much flesh as their fangs can carry. Upon arriving at the scheduled stop at the village of Moza it becomes obvious that something has gone terribly wrong. As night falls over the plains, everyone's fates become darker.

Plot points/Scenes

Day 1: The ongoing journey

The scene starts from the inside of a Caravan Mega-Wagon large enough to fit eight people and their baggage while providing great protection with its thick bronze and wooden armor. The party can introduce each other to pass the time. If nobody talks, the Merchant may try to awkwardly break the silence.
Wagon stops brutally. Animal screams from outside. Party can ask what's going on. The conductor can inform them that a few "beasties" are hurting the horses but that they should stay put while the guards do their job.
Party is free to get out anyway to the horror of the Merchant.
If fighting, they see 3 wolf-like lizards scratching at the side of the wagon. If big party, can add reinforcements coming from the south. See the Lykosor enemy sheet. If the enemy manages to kill a party member or critically wound them, the culpable Lykosor may escape with a chunk of meat from the victim. Arm, legs, tails. Apply this to all encounters with Beasts in this one shot.
If nobody died or suffered grievous injuries and the encounter ends, you can spot a Lykosor running into the grass with a horse leg in the mouth. The leader of the Caravan Guards, Merlìn, ponders on the situation and explains: "The sun is setting. We gotta get to Moza, treat the horses, and think on it there. Don't wanna be ambushed at night."
Arrival at the village in twilight. It's a village set on the only hill for miles. Looks like a sideways cut of cake, or cheese. Has a few protections at the front and natural remparts at the sides. There is a faint scent of iron, but no corpses within or without the meagre fortifications. If asked, the villagers mourn the fact they couldn't bury their dead as they were all taken. The leader of the village is Elder Nichola. He is starting to get desperate and since the party looks strong he may ask for help directly or over dinner at the main house up the small Hill.

Day 2: The adventurers awake

The innkeeper welcomes the party from behind the counter. "Good morning. You will take breakfast, yes? Something tells me you'll need it." His daughter distributes the food after the party pick. "Salted South Soup with a side of hard bread" she says "Enjoy.". The paladin is hungover "Just the bread please." she says. Visiting the village in daylight. The militia, who had already suffered many smaller raids in the days prior, is tired and would have been instantly overrun if not for the strange fact the Beasts retreat when they have enough meat to carry away. The poor state of the fortifications, the rising number of wounded and dead, and the isolated station of the village cemented that fact. There was a plan formed in the night prior to gather all of the survivors on carts and send them on their way to Taladrid , who had promised an escort two day ago and should arrive tomorrow at the earliest. The hope of the populace was that they would either meet them en route or that they could hold the village long enough for their arrival. The sight of the swarm dissuaded such hopes. An evacuation seems the only way but the last group that escaped on its own was ambushed and there was only one survivor.
"We've prepared some wagons." There are six wagons in all. The second to last seems to be the repaired Mega-Wagon. The last one seems to be built for speed, but looks oddly... fragile. "This one is for the last defenders. When they've done all they can they just have to get on as fast as possible and ride just as fast." The party, if they're not interested in questing for answers outside the village can dedicate their time to preparing the walls, preparing weapons, building the wagons or offer other usefull strategies to survive the following days.
An important quest would be the search for the village's magician, Fra Tyr. Gone missing a week ago. Although the villagers don't give much details about where exactly he was. No-one from the village will ask the party to look for him, mostly they will assume he's responsible but that looking for him is meaningless. The Fields are wide enough to hide anyone. The party can try to intimidate or persuade villagers for information to learn about an outpost and a mine located there.

Day 3: Time runs out

If the party is still in the mines by the time the third day starts they can hear noises indicating that monsters are all rushing out of the caves. If Fra Tyr is alive and "rescued" he will guess that they're headed for the village and they should hurry out to save them. He can cast a spell that will last until the party reaches the town. Feel free to make up whatever makes the most sense.
On the horizon, very far, you see a dark stain on the red plains, followed by what appear to be moving rocks. Despair creeps along the low walls.
"Alright, screw this." immediately announces Merlin "We're taking our horses, the wagon and getting out of here with or without the others. Nichola protests walks after him. "Please. We just need your men to hold the line a few moments so the wagons can evacuate ahead of us.
The party can still escape on their own at this point but the village is starting to enter the wagons to leave.Problem is that if they leave too soon the swarm will head directly for the convoy instead of the fortified village.
A big evil monster at the heart of the swarm servess as the final boss of theone-shot. It is a giant land octopus whose tendrils can stop the wagons. Dealing damage releases the tentacles around the town doors so the wagons can escape by rushing at full speed towards the road using the slope of the hill as accelerant.

Themes

Survival requires many efforts. One's early action may be the difference between life and death. Lazyness is a long yet certain road to perdition. One has to explore, ask questions, but when the chips are down one has to wonder if it is at all worth it. Will you trust in your efforts? Or will you accept that sometimes things just don't work out?

Structure

Exposition

The Narrator explains the setting; the party is currently located within the Ardent Fields, on a dirt road inside a big and sturdy wagon. The vehicle is headed to a large city with a pit stop at a small village on the way.

Conflict

At short intervals the party is ambushed by small packs of Beasts.

Components

Goals

Given how the party has been stuck in a dire situation, their overarching goal is survival, be it of them alone or that of the villagers and their fellow travelers and guards. They may study ways to allow the maximum amount of people to escape or learn ways to solve the situation.

Hooks

Any druid in the party will sense that the aggressive beasts are driven by an unnatural hunger. And yet whenever a beast succeeds in getting a hold of any meat, they immediately retreat with it, far away from the action towards an unknown destination. It doesn't stop the village from getting more casualties as time passes by.
At the village the party can be informed that the local magician went missing a few days back when investigating attacks upon a southern outpost. The magician was always a weird fellow, obsessed with beasts and finding a connection between druidic powers and the scholarly magic he studied at the academy. The outpost is set in the middle of the plains with seemingly no reason to exist. If pressed, the villagers will admit having found a cave with a few ores of gold which they kept secret from the authorities to make a profit when merchants pass by.
A merchant who arrived at the village alongside the adventurers possesses a big chest
There are not enough carts to evacuate all the villagers in case of trouble. But there are spare parts and the buildings are recent, made of sturdy thick wood.

Stakes

The attacks become more frequent and more intense with more Beasts, bears and tigers included and everyone will be overwhelmed if nothign is done.

Moral Quandaries

Should the party abandon the village to its fate when the attacks get too dire?
Will the suspicious individual's death help resolve the problems?

Cruel Tricks

No matter how hard the party tries, a final confrontation is inevitable and not everyone will survive. Furthermore, some of the spare wheels foudn in the village are actually very fragile and one of the carts will break as soon as they try to escape, dooming whoever rode on it to death at the claws of the swarming Beasts.

Red Herrings

The magician is supposed to be the obvious perpetrator of the attacks. People didn't like him and he was a weirdo. However he was actually a lid keeping the real mastermind manipulating the Beasts from controlling too many at once, which the village couldn't possibly resist.

Relations

Allies

Caravan Guards:

Sworn (and paid) to protect the roads, the wagons, and anyone and anything on them. The village counts too.

1. Merlìn "No-Nose" Ramirez

Moza village:

1. Elder Nicholas. Source of intel, and potential gifter of rewards.
2. The innkeeper. Doesn't have a lot of room, has a lot of tasteless beer, and offers the best cheese in all the land.
3. The village guards. Protecting one's home allows them to bear the brunt of ceaseless attacks, but for how long?
:

Neutrals/Bystanders

Travelers:

1. The Merchant. Cowardly Dwarf who just wants to get to the city ASAP, with his coffer preferably.

Backdrops

Locations

The Ardent Fields are notorious for their tall red grass which stretches as far as the eye can see. The flat terrain makes it easy to get lost if one fails to take into account the position of the sun or fails to spot the rare landmarks. Sticking to the stone roads is more than advised.
@Moza is a small village with straightforward structure. All the infrastructure is concentrated on the hill. The hill looks like a 30° side of cheese. The front has small mottes of dirt with wooden pikes forming a wall while the sides and the back are relatively protected with straight cliffs that get higher as you move further into the village. Most houses are made of wood with a bigger one at the top houses the Elder's quarter and a big room for feasts and councils.

Plot type

Adventure

Related Characters

• Elder Nicholas
• Merlìn "No-Nose" Ramirez

Related Organizations

• Rossan-Valid Dukedom

Related Locations

• Ardent Fields
• Moza