[D20cember] V is for Veritas

Veritas: A Get Ready, Get Set, Go! Labyrinth Lord adventure set in the Ashford Valley.

Get Ready:
"In three things is a man revealed: in his wine goblet, in his purse, and in his wrath."

Get Set:
The PCs are in Clifton on business, trading news about their travels in the Ashford Valley to one or another of the information merchants around town or taking a well- deserved rest after a hard adventure.

An old and bitter man, filled with hate and willing to do anything to protect what he perceives as his, has made deals that he can't keep with powers he's not prepared to face. The PCs will be drawn into his sorry tale in order to protect the innocent.

Go!:
The PCs witness an argument between an old man named Leir and his daughter's paramour, Alban, which results in Alban being beaten by Leir. If the PCs intervene, they manage to stop the beating before Alban is hurt too badly.

Leir proclaims to the crowd that he will fight and kill any who try to take what is his from him and leaves, but not before giving the PCs a deathly glare, warning them to not interfere.

Later that night, Alban is attacked and disappears and all the evidence points to Leir being involved. Leir's land is a day's ride away, near the old standing stones along the Cliff edge, and Alban's family fear for him.

The PCs arrive at Leir's house as night falls, after riding hard all day. A large bonfire is lit in the middle of the standing stones. Leir is next to the altar stone, with Alban stretched upon it as Leir's daughter Liren watches helplessly on. As the PCs approach, a score of undead skeletons, armed with scythes, step from the
darkness around the stones, to block their path.

During the fighting, Leir cackles madly, waiting for the moon to reach the right point in the sky so he can sacrifice Alban to his Dark Master. He believes that if he sacrifices his daughter's love, then he will escape the doom he has brought upon himself meddling with foul evil and instead Alban will suffer the fate to which he sold his soul.

If the PCs manage to stop the ritual, destroy the undead and kill Leir before he can kill Alban, then, as Leir dies, a Darkness darker than anything the PCs have ever seen surrounds him and drags him, screaming, into the bonfire.

Notable NPCs:
Leir the Madman (1 Normal Man); Alignment: Chaotic; Armor Class: 4 (-3 Dex, leather armor); Hit Dice: 2d8, Hit Points: 15; Attacks: scythe (+3 to hit, 1d10+3), dagger (+3 to hit, 1d4+3); Save: F2; Special abilities: Strength 18, Dexterity 18 (granted by his Dark Master); Morale: 12.

Skeletons (20); Alignment: Chaotic; Armor Class: 7; Hit Dice: 1d8, Hit Points: 8, 7, 6, 6, 5, 5, 5, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1; Attacks: scythe (1d10); Save: F1; Morale: 12.