Henrik Refsnes

Returned from your latest high adventure and back in the city of Byzantia, you decided to visit your old friend Kalan the Priest—only to find him dead, and yourselves implicated in his murder. The magistrate’s watchmen are wary of your martial prowess and have not dared to arrest you. Although that is a tenuous situation unlikely to hold. Before they arrived you took a peek at the last entry in Kalan’s journal:

“Ever since we intercepted the reliquary of Djehuty, nightmares plague my sleep. In my dreams I run down empty halls, beset by unspeakable horror, unable to escape. I thought the water of life would bring back prosperity to our temple, but such has not been the will of the gods. I have moved that cursed sarcophagus out of sight, down to the deepest tomb. My only wish is that I could also put it out of mind.”

NOTES

The Halberdiers and Crossbowmen on the map are the magistrate’s soldiers. They will not move or attack, unless provoked by the heroes. If the heroes search for treasure in their line of sight, they will attack—for the glory of Amn! (Sorry, got carried away.)

Halberdiers can attack diagonally and Crossbowmen wield the crossbow, as described by the matching equipment card.

X. Heroes begin in this room, where the body of Kalan the Priest lies on the floor. His bloody fingers clutch the journal, open to the last page.

A. This door exits the temple to the streets of Byzantia (because it would be weird for the temple not to have a door to the outside). The magistrate’s soldiers will stop the heroes from leaving the temple, by force if necessary. Consider it house arrest.

B. This is not the sarcophagus mentioned in the journal. This is the tomb of Hethert, a once popular heroine who stood for all that is good in life. It has seen better days.

C. This is the temple armory, such as it is. A hero that searches for treasure can find a usable Short sword and a Hand axe. With that said, the armory is kept under a watchful eye by the magistrate’s soldiers. The murder weapon could very well have come from here.

D. These are empty storage rooms. No really, empty.

E. These are Kalan’s quarters. The chest contains a flask of Holy Water, a Dagger, and 13 gold coins. It is also trapped with a poison dart. If a hero searches for treasure before the trap has been disarmed, she will lose 1 body point and 1 mind point. This damage persist through part 2 and can only be healed with Venom Antidote or the Anti-poison Quill.

F. This is the temple library. A bookshelf slides sideways to reveal a secret door.

G. Another wing of the temple library, where another bookshelf slides out of the way to reveal another secret door. Almost like it’s a thing.

H. This is Kalan’s secret laboratory, where he manufactures his signature feeble mind poison (Kalan, you sneaky priest). The alchemist’s bench is trapped, not so much on purpose, but by a precariously balanced experiment. Unless it is disarmed, a hero searching the bench will lose 1 body point and 1 mind point. This damage persist through part 2 and can only be healed with Venom Antidote or the Anti-poison Quill. Luckily, once the trap is sprung (or disarmed) an Anti-poison Quill can be found on the bench.

I. The chests in this room each contain 150 gold. Be aware, though, that stealing gold collected from the poor—and consecrated to the gods—can weigh heavy on one’s mind. Any hero who takes gold from these chest reduce their Mind by 1 for the duration of this quest (including part 2). But then it’s fine. It’s all fine.

J. When the heroes open this door a gargoyle will appear from the shadows in the hallway and immediately move to attack. If the gargoyle is defeated, at the end of its turn, it will rise again with all its body points restored. Maneuver the gargoyle to force the heroes down the stairs. Once the gargoyle appears, on their turn, all the magistrate’s soldiers move to the temple exit (B) and barricade the door.

Part 1 ends when all heroes have moved onto the stairwell tile, and part 2 begins immediately. The heroes cannot visit the armory or alchemist shop, body points are not healed, and used abilities or spells are not renewed.

Should the “heroes” instead fight their way past the magistrate’s soldiers and flee via the temple door, read them the following (and don’t continue to part 2):

You burst through the door and cowardly flee the scene of the crime down one of Byzantia’s many alleys. Screams echo between buildings as the demon you released slaughters innocent bystanders in the street. You have failed.

Wandering Monster in this Quest: Magistrate Soldier

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