Find the rat king

### **TRYING TO GET CURED**

Townspeople will refer the players to Mother Bronwyn in the church to tend to their curses. upon casting a cure wounds, a warm glow will emit from her hands, and the mark will start to sting, continually growing more painful until its unbearable. she will say that the curse is linked to the casters soul, so while they are alive only they can remove it. only powerful magic users can place these curses. She knows a method to keep these types of curses at bay but she requires the end of a globeroot , which is a rare ingredient which can be found deep underground where the end of globetree roots reach. alternatively the party can pay 200 gold and wait a few days.

Hunt for globeroot

upon receiving the root mother Bronwyn will lead the players to the downstairs basement of the church, and in the stone floor will be a large indent in about 4 foot deep. in a very large cauldron about 5 feet big water will boil, and the globeroot will be added, making it splutter and spit, and you can see it gradually thicken into a grey sludge. it will be slowly poured into the area in the floor.

"who would prefer to enter first"

you lie down in the liquid, at first keeping your face above the surface but you see Bronwyn beckoning to lower your head, so you submerge your face, and feel it seeping into your nostrils and mouth, causing a fiery sensation in their throat and nose, and the scarred area on the chest will begin to burn, like hot water being poured onto a fresh wound. its agony, but you feel the pain slowly numbing. for the other 2 its only a couple of minutes, but for you it feels like hours pass, but soon Bronwyn brings you up from the mixture, and you feel weak and tired, and when you try to breath your throat feels swelled and numb. (disadvantage on rolls, advantage on attacks against them and halved speed for half a day), but their max hit points will be restored, and the curse will not be as intense.

"what is your plan now" "some townspeople speak of seeing plagues of rats, maybe they can help you"

### **FINDING CLUES**

Clues
town
**shack out east got swarmed by rats, food and valuables taken**
**Future sayers speak of a debilitating plague upon murg, these**
rats are a sign of whats to come. before the fall always comes vanity
**and took food and supplies**
could be heard outside the
walls going north, scared the
 cousin had a pet rat who died of overeating
is being built on sacred ground.
could have gotten, no going
 sisters coming over to stay, talks about big commotion in tunstead
bunch of wierd looking people running out the rat circus but guards
been saying its nothing, then the same day there was a forest fire
warriors from lands far overseas
who mastered stealth, finally coming
to invade murg for their leader. heard
about them from friend who trades
overseas
go through the forest, its damn
impossible, nobody knows
where the fuck the forest
showed up from the land over
the river is supposed to be
 **town being built just sent for a large order of food and supplies,**
**while the townspeople were sleeping some heard a swarm of small**
**creatures go through the town and before they could do anything**
**their storage of food and supplies was taken or destroyed**
**trying to get it maybe ask the guards**
**at camp redstain**
bandits can be seen coming
down from the north, or going
 they say if you eat a dead rat in the morning youll have good luck
for the rest of the day because your bad lucks been used up
by a dog. i thought cats was the ones
who was eating all the rats
game of redrat? just got paid
 you mean bats? i saw a pretty big bat flying about a few days ago
the swarm of rats that sweeped
through our town. biggest group
of vermin ive ever seen, all travelling
together up north like they was mind
controlled or something.
the rat circus burnt down and
caused a forest fire. must be the
rats escaping.

guards at camp redstain can be seen slacking off, playing cards, drinking etc. somebody in similar but more highly decorated Armor will approach them and introduce himself as "Captain Derrick", commanding Captain of camp redstain

they say they often see bandits going up north towards redstain river, but they have no clue why. there's nothing up there but redstain river and overgrown impassable forest. "probably hoping for an easy way over the border, jokes on them, the stonewall pocket hasn't been accessible since the great cataclysm"

"if your so interested in what they want over the river weve been meaning to go clear out a bandit camp of a group who've been terrorizing nearby locals under the command of a 'captain Arubar' " captain Dereck will offer to bring his men to help "ration tickets to the good booze to whoever steps up"

the militia will insist on having the party and the captain confront the bandits in the open demanding them to give themselves up while the soldiers wait in the forest in case a fight breaks out. "We must not show fear or cowardice for common thieves, we will stand before them and demand justice, this is how we operate"

A large 2 storied tent sits surrounded by smaller ones, within which partying and song can be head. A large orc dressed in bright, flamboyant clothing steps out onto a balcony surrounded by goons and women.

"May the one they call Arubar reveal himself." he reveals

"Arubar, my name is Captain Dereck of camp redstain, under the service of the High King Penrod, and i demand you turn yourself over to be kept in captivity: your reign of villainy has come to an end." Arubar and his goons begin laughing, and Dereck insists the players say something.

Arubar: "captain, i will enjoy parading your severed head as a symbol of my merciless power"

2d10 to person who falls into spikes

"you aren't in uniform, are you soldiers? its you who is seeking what is over the river. how did you find out about it. you arent looking for trouble? if you get what you need from me could you arrange a deal with the captain to give me a good sentence like a few years jail."

"im not a snitch, if anybody found out i snitched to you it would be bad news for me, but i can say that maybe there's a hidden kingdom on the other side of that river, and maybe the appeal of said kingdom is that it doesn't follow the laws of Stoa Stye, and welcomes any criminals or rogues looking for refuge, but also maybe not, im not a snitch."

"i need you to understand that out of fear for my life, i cannot tell you what you need. but i could perhaps tell you some random information that i just feel like saying and if it helps you by chance it has nothing to do with me alright?. Sometimes i like to take strolls along redstain river, and whenever i come to a large rock engraved with the symbol of Banthos, sometimes i feel like just walking across the river, even if i dont see anything like a bridge, you know? even if i dont see a bridge? and ohhh nooo, my piece of paper i bring with me whenever i go is falling out of pocket, nobody steal it! (hands you paper). I also tell any unsavoury figures who ask that i am a bandit and i am looking for refuge in the city of harrowfen. i also dont bring any guards or soldiers with me because if i did it would end very badly for me, because i would be attacked on sight and wouldn't be able to get wherever im trying to get, you understand? if you manage to find Harrowfen with the random info i gave you its not my fault and i never ratted to anybody. and listen, a few adventurers sightseeing is fine, ill give you a gem they haven't been able to confiscate worth like 500 gp if you dont tell the soldiers about this. it would be trouble for all of us. and just tell the captain you didnt get what you needed and im just a good dude who deserves a light punishment"

militia will insist on returning the bandit hoard, Arubar will try and bribe players with black pearl worth 500 gp

When players come to the rock marked with the symbol of Banthos, if they attempt to walk over the water they will step on something solid but not able to be seen. when they reach the other side the trees will fold away into a clearing, when they walk inside it will close behind them and two voices will boom in turns "who are you" "what do you seek" an Ettin will reveal himself, stepping into the clearing from folding away trees "why do you seek" "how do you know about Harrowfen" "you may enter". the trees forward fold away into a path, leading into a second clearing.

#### Crave

when entering the forest the trees will form a hallway to a large opening. coded letters are burnt onto the wood. when the word Crave is said the trees will open up to another opening, but slowly begin to close. the second opening will have the code for CAUTION on the wall of trees behind the players when the hall closes up. the third will have the word CONCEALED on the floor and the fourth will have the word COMRADE on the front.

The Hidden Kingdom in the North