The Staff of Cybele

It is the night before midwinters feast in the town of Ekren and the preparations are in full swing. During the night the Staff of Cybele, a traditional symbol of power and crucial part in the ceremonies of the day is stolen. Without the staff the pact that the town has with the Goddess Cybele cannot be upheld and the town risks the anger of the goddess and the loss of next years harvest. The characters are brought in to recover the staff in time for the ceremony and to bring the culprit to justice.
This is a 3-4 hour adventure for three third level characters.

Adventure Summary

The adventure begins when the characters are summoned by the Baron to his study to help solve the mystery of the dissapearance of the Staff of Cybele, an ancient holy artefact.
The staff has marked a pact between the townspeople and the minor goddess Cybele for nearly 150 years and has become a symbol of the wellbeing of the town and the authority of the Baron. The staff is the centerpiece of a yearly ritual where the townspeople pledge their faith to the goddess who in turn grants them healthy crops and cattle. Every year at midsummer the goddess grants the town the staff to use to bless the crops, and every year at midwinter the townspeople return the staff to demonstrate their faith in the goddess. Tomorrow the staff is due to be returned in the ritual of Returning. And now it is missing.
The Baron does not want to admit that he, within months of taking on the responsibility has lost the staff, and therefore asks the characters to solve the mystery as quickly and quietly as possible.
In order to do this the characters will have to both search for physical clues as well as navigate the surprisingly complex politics of this small town to figure out who has motive and opportunity

DM notes

This adventure is primarily designed as a "murder mystery" type adventure but without the murder. The characters are asked to solve a theft of artefact with both spiritual and real value. There are 4 different possible culprits outlined in the adventure - each with motive and opportunity. It is possible for the DM to decide which of these has actually taken the staff and the adventure will conclude differently depending on which choice is made.
The text here is written assuming that the Circle of Seven -- a group of illegal unregistered magic users have stolen the staff to try to extract it's power since this is the option that most simply leads to a combat encounter as the adventure conclusion. Some details in the adventure are also using some worldbuilding from this world -- specifically the strict control that the academy has on magic users and certain magical materials.

Notable NPCs

Baron Enryn Merdaye

25 year old Lawful good human male noble.
Enryn became the baron 4 months ago, after his father, the last baron - Edmund Merdaye, tragically passed away in a hunting accident. As the eldest son Enryn inherited the position despite both his own youth and the protestations of his older sister. He now desperately wants to do a good job but is very insecure in his position. His main interests however is hunting.

Aldith Merdaye

Neutral Evil human female noble.
Aldith is the oldest child of the late Edmund Merdaye, and the sister of the current Baron. She is almost five years older than him and considers herself far more capable of running the town. She resents her father and brother for not assigning her to be the heir to the barony.
Possible culprit
Motive: She wants to discredit her brother and take over the barony. She is also secretly having a relationship with Tomas and want to help him achieve his goals.
Evidence pointing to her:

Lord Tomas Phelry

Lawful neutral human male noble.
Phelry is a low ranking landed gentleman and as such he is technically part of the nobility and can carry the title of lord - a right that he takes most seriously. However, his title does not come with any major priviliges and the vast majority of the family fortune has been squandered by his father and siblings. He is now the owner of the large quarry northwest of town. The quarry officially only extracts marble which is sent to the coast for selling but the majority of the income comes from an undercover Kavanite mining operation. Kavanite is a magical mineral prized for its protective qualities but extracting and trading it is heavily regulated by the Academy. Recently the kavanite vein has run low and they want to expand the operation further into the woods. For this reason he has sought the permission of the baron to expand the quarry but thus far without luck.
Possible culprit.
Motive: Wants to expand the quarry but has been rejected by the current Baron. Believes that the sister would be more amenable to his point of view
Evidence pointing to him: There is white clay in the Barons study where the staff was kept which can be traced to the quarry. Additionally he has similar white clay on his boots from his last visit in the quarry which the characters can spot with a successful perception chech (DC10)
Entered the manor for a meeting with the baron the night before but the doorman does not recall him leaving.
Did in fact spend the night with Aldith but does not want to admit it.

Erin Helmund

Lawful evil halfling merchant/thief.
Erin is a small somewhat rotund halfling with bright red hair who wears clothing in bright gold and yellow colors that at first glance appears to be of fine make but that at closer inspection seems to have seen better days. She arrived at the manor only a couple of days ago under the pretext of being a travelling cloth merchant.
Erin is in fact a theif that has been hired by the Circle of Seven to recover the staff and the gem known as the Heart of Cybele.
Motive: Hired to steal the staff and the gem and return them to the messenger of the circle of seven
Evidence against her: Was seen leaving the manor at 3 in the morning by Veejes.
Does not appear to know very much about how being a cloth merchant actually works leaving some doubts about her identity. Accidentally left a small strand of hair on the statue when she stole the heart.
The Innkeep heard her having a heated conversation with one of her guests early in the morning. The guest left without paying that same morning heading north.

Veejes Bowme

Chaotic Good Tabaxi butler.
Knows most of what happens in the household and does their job with care and alacrity. Has the unfortunate compulsion to knock things off shelves if they are too close to the edge. Tries to be of assistance to the adventurers.

Birooc Rudburt

Lawful Good Gnome druid.
Dressed in grey robes with a bright red cap resting on his head and a long white beard Birooc does not at first glance appear to be an individual meriting any attention. However, his knowledge of the wild nature and its spirits is unrivaled and while he is not easily angered he also does not easily forgive.
Potential culprit
Motive: Wants to dicredit the baron and punish the people of the town for encroaching upon his home. He also wants to use the power of the staff to regrow his woods.
Evidence against him: He was in fact in the study during the night attempting to steal the staff only to find that it had already been taken. He is the real reason that the window was open and for the clay on the carpet since he had to cross the quarry to get to the manor.
If the characters search below the study window they can find his tracks and possibly follow them to the into the Pogrove Woods.

Major Secrets and Clues

• The staff and heart of Cybele are artefacts symbolizing the towns connection with their divine patron. The staff is a symbol of the power of the Godess and the gem is a symbol of her spiritual connection to the town. Without the staff the symbolic sacrifice of power cannot be made but if the gem goes missing the spiritual connection with the deity is lost and cannot be recovered


• The heart of Cybele is stored in the Statue of the goddess that stands in the great hall of the manor. This is however not the true artefact. The actual stone is stored in a lockbox in the Barons study and the stone in the statue is replaced in secret before the ritual of Returning.


• The Ritual of Returning is the process that the town goes through every year Every year at midsummer the goddess grants the town the staff to use to bless the crops, and every year at midwinter the townspeople return the staff to demonstrate their faith in the goddess and that they are prepared to relinquish the power of the staff using the faith that the godess will return it.


• The Quarry is one of the main incomes of the city and has been expanded during the reign of the last baron. It is now heavily encroaching upon the Pogrove Woods and the owner Lord Thomas Phelry has recently petitioned the Baron to allow yet further expansion into the woods.


• Lord Tomas Phelry is using the quarrying business as a cover for illegal Kavanite extraction and trading. He is being paid handsomely by a criminal network in the province capitol of Hirion for his products. They have recently requested larger shipments and Tomas is desperately trying to expand his operations without arousing suspicion.

• The heart of Cybele that is located in the statue has been stolen during the night.


• The Barons sister resents her brother and wants to discredit him in order to assume the role herself.


• The circle of sorcerers that is using the old tower ruin as a base wish to break apart the staff and the heart of Cybele to infuse themselves with their magic and amplify their own power.


• In the woods lives a tribe of forest gnomes lead by their alderman Birooc. They have watched as the townspeople have become more and more complacent, forgetting even the existence of the gnomes and the old woodland spirits, while under the protection of the goddess Cybele.


• The new baron has been hesitant to aquiesce to Phelrys expansion request on the grounds that this would reduce his hunting grounds.


• There has been some activity observed by the old wizarding tower north of the city of late. The ranger sent to examine it has not returned.


• The traveling merchant Erin is in fact an agent for the circle of sorcerers that have taken up residence in the old wizarding tower.


• One of the circle met Erin in the inn to take delivery of the gem and the staff and noted that the gem was fake. They had an argument and the sorceror told Erin to return to the manor and retrieve the true gem.

Starting the adventure

Locations

The Manor

The Barons Study

The study is wall to wall with the Barons sleeping quarters and it where the staff is normally kept. The room is dominated by a large desk and on one wall is a glass display case where the staff is stored. Normally the displaycase is kept locked but now it stands open
Clues:

• The candle on the desk is replaced each night and is currently burning with a straight flame. Despite this significant amounts of wax have pooled down the side of the candle opposite to the window, indicating that it has been open during the night.


• On the carpet is a number of small stains of whiteish clay, quite unlike the mud from the fields around town. A dwarf with stonecunning or a successful intelligence check (DC 13) can ascertain that this is what you get when mixing marble dust and water.
• The lock on the display case has not been broken open with force but seems to have been either unlocked or picked

The Great Hall

As you enter the great hall you are met with the smell of pine needles. As you look around you see a large room with dark wood panelled walls decorated for the festivities with wreaths of pine and red and green bunting. Two large tables span almost the length of the room and from the high ceiling hangs two chandeliers, spreading a flickering light. Among the first things you notice is a grand white marble statue of a beautiful woman standing with hands outstretched on a small plotform at the far end of this large room.

The great hall is the center for the midwinter celebrations tomorrow and the preparations are already almost done. The decorations are in place and the tables have been set for the guests. Most of the upper levels of society in town are invited and it is expected to be a grand party. Everyone expects this year to be especially lavish since the new baron needs to establish his name among the importand townsfolk.
The main point of interest in this room is the statue standing 7 feet tall made from clear white marble. It depicts the goddess Cybele with hands outstretched -- ready to recieve the staff.
Clues:

• In the chest of the statue is a silver holder designed to hold a large gem. The gem is currently missing.
• The silver has been scratched, as if someone used a knife to extract the gem from the holder
• In one of the corners of the holder is a small fraction of a red hair (Search DC 13)

The Quarry

As you approach the quarry you notice the ground getting muddier and the color of the mud seems to be shifting from the dark almost black of the wheat fields to a light grey. As you look down into the open quarry pit it seems to be deserted at the moment. Tools and carts are scattered around in no particular pattern. In the far wall you note an entrance to some sort of mining shaft.

The quarry is quite large and it seems like they have already started to prepare to expand it to the north. A character can note that mining shafts is not the usual way to quarry marbe if they make a successful DC 12 intelligence check. A dwarf with stonecunning does not need to make this check and simply knows.

The mining shaft

As you enter the mining tunnel at first it appears completely dark. As your eyes adjust however you note that there seems to be a tunnel leading down and an opening into a room on your left filled with crates.

Clues

• If the crates are opened they note that they appear to contain ore of some sort. If the players do not have a light source the can see that the ore glows faintly. A knowledge arcana check (DC 13) tells them that this is Kavanite ore -- a strongly magical substance that is banned by the Academy.

Encounter

If the characters enter the mining tunnel and open the crates three Bruisers will appear from the lower tunnel and will try to prevent the characters from leaving with the knowledge of the illegal Kavanite mining.

The Pogrove Woods

As you enter the forest the sounds of the city quickly disappear and a quiet calm enters. Around you are tall fir trees and the forest floor is covered in thick moss. As you step in under the shade of the trees a small path appears before you leading further in amongst the trees.

If the characters follow the path they will very shortly be surrounded by a group of gnomes armed with bows and slingshots. They will escort the characters to their village were they can talk to Birooc. If the characters attack them they will try to knock them out and bring them to the village.

The Gnome village

The Ruined Tower

As you travel the worn down overgrown road you see a decrepit tower standing on a hilltop approaching over the horizon. Approaching the flat roofed tower you see that it is build from black granite blocks but large chunks of the walls have collapsed leaving the rooms open to the elements. From the top of the tower you notice a green corpuscular flickering light.

First Floor

Inside the small round room are is a rotting table and chairs in front of a sootblackened fireplace. Along the wall is a stone staircase leading upward that is flanked by two monstrous looking statues

Encounter
The statues are in fact two gargoyles that will come alive and attack if the characters try to ascend the stairs. After two rounds of combat a bodygard of one of the sorcerors, will be alerted and come down from the second floor to join in the fray.

Second Floor

The second floor appears to have been where the Circle has set up their base. The floor is covered in bedrolls and in the fireplace is a large pot with some sort of pot. There are a few bags strewn about the room.

The bags contain clothes and roughly 50 gold pieces all in all. There is also a set of two healing potions.

Top Floor

This appears to have been the original wizards study. There is a decrepit desk that has been shoved in a corner. The stone floor is covered in old chalk marks and scuffed up magical symbols. The room is lit with a green light flashing occasionally with gold from a hatch with a ladder leading up to it close to the east wall. In the far end of the room stands a gilded chest, and on the floor in front of it is a large char mark.

The Roof

On the roof the circle of Seven is performing the extraction ritual and attempting to pull and focus the magic from the staff The magic is divine in nature rather than arcane however so they are struggling which is why the ritual has taken so long.

As you ascend to the roof a strange scene lies before you. A glowing green heptagram is drawn on the dark granite roof, at each pinnacle stands a hooded figure with their arms raised. In the center of the symbol the Staff of Cybele is floating two feet of the ground and wisps of golden energy are arcing from the staff to the heptagram.

None of the sorcerors will react when the characters come up on the roof. If the characters interrupt the ritual the magic stored in the heptagram will discharge throwing the sorcerors to the ground instantly killing four of them before returning into the staff. Two of the remaining three fall together and as they stand up you can see that the magic has fused them into a horrid monster. They roar and attack you.
The remaining sorceror will also attack the players accusing them of ruining everything but he will give up once the flesh golem has been defeated.