Plumshroom Crater

The party crests the crater to the south of Rooz in search of a suspected Velpyrian camp.

Ridge

Peryton Nests

Peryton brood of eight, sleeping in pairs in four nests. One large egg is visible in the nearest nest.

Peryton egg shells are known to be as hard as metal.

Descent

The interior slope of the crater is slightly steeper than the exterior. Only small mushrooms sprout from the crater-side in the steepest parts.

Mushroom Swamp

Outcrops

Large mushrooms with wide caps densely cover the ground forming a sort of canopy about 4 feet above the earth below. There are faint paths through the mushrooms forged by whatever creatures come and go from the denser mushroom forest ahead.

Peryton Traps

Among the underbrush (of mushrooms) are large wooden devices that appear to be deliberately hidden. Even at a glance they are obviously some kind of traps.

• A simple but heavily reinforced frame holds a similarly sturdy-looking arm back in tension. At the end of the arm is an array of long curved blades splayed out like talons.
• Made primarily of many small branches tightly bound to form pseudo-logs or struts, held strong by layer upon layer of braided twine lashing, especially thick at the joints.
• Goblin construction.
• It appears weight applied to a lever concealed beneath loose foliage activates the trap, bringing the bladed arm down to trap and/or kill its victim.
• The trap seems about the right size for trapping Perytons.
• Livestock like sheep or goats are the typical preferred prey for a Peryton.
• Would require basic tools to reset a sprung trap.

Giant Mushroom Glade

Giant mushrooms tower up to 40 feet high with huge caps which almost completely block out the sun. The little light they do let through is tinged purple. The air beneath the canopy is still and cool. The ground underfoot is wet mud. Towards the centre of the crater the ground turns into a shallow swamp, mist swirling gently on the surface of stagnant water. Purple bioluminescent algae on the swamp creates an eerie atmosphere.

Swarm of Stirges

• Stirges: This horrid monster looks like a cross between a large bat and an oversized mosquito. Its legs end in sharp pincers, and its long, needle-like proboscis slashes the air as it seeks to feed on the blood of living creatures.
• A swarm of stirges sets upon the party after they detach a giant mushroom cap to use as a raft through the swamp. The party destroys the swarm, but not before the cleric Pipistrelle is drained of a considerable amount of blood.

Velpyrian Camp

Stone Ruins

In the middle of the mushroom swamp the mushrooms are so tall and their caps so wide that there are large clearings. Protruding from the swamp water are ancient stone retaining walls and foundations.
(History 12) Old style of dwarven masonry.
(History 16) Dwarves of the ancient world would seek meteor impact sites to seeking rare and precious ores. It's likely they found a good deal of material here if they constructed a permanent settlement.

Goblin Village

On some of the patches of dry land created by the old ruins, thatch huts have been built. Among them are also huts carved into and built around the trunks of four of the largest mushrooms. All these buildings roughly form a circle around a large open area where an old foundation has been extended by much more recent, goblinoid wattling (using the same materials as the peryton traps) to create a 50ft circle of dry ground.

In the central space are evidence of an abandoned military camp. Wagon tracks and hoof marks. Charcoal from burned-down fires.

Prisoner Cages

On a patch of stone foundation near the far side of the clearing are five large cages, three of them empty. All are secured with iron and bronze padlocks. The cages are crude wrought-iron, not quite tall enough for an average humanoid to stand up in, not wide or long enough for anyone but tiny humanoids or a small animal to recline in.

Trafalgar - Lesser Vampire

A tall, slender human with pale skin, dark hair. On finding Trafalgar in a cage, he is alive but paralyzed, just able to speak. He is impaled through the chest by a wooden stake which is jammed between the bars of the cage, forcing Trafalgar to awkwardly "hang" from it. While staked, Trafalgar's complexion is almost transparent and his eyes are clouded over black. Removing the stake, Trafalgar's eyes return to a more normal grey

Trafalgar identifies as a wanderer, constantly on the run from vampire hunters. In his retelling, Trafalgar was turned while working as a porter for a wealthy greater vampire in his inner-city manor in Ranna, the city just inland of Castle Ordonne and the oldest city in the Ordonne region. Initially he was subjugated as a spawn, but was released to his master's wife as part of a divorce settlement. His master's ex-wife was always "creeped out" by spawns, and so released all the servants from the spell, leaving Trafalgar as a lesser vampire.

Trafalgar claims he has never fed, as his ability to feel hunger completely disappeared while he was a spawn, so he retains only limited power compared to a "true" vampire, unable to perform such feats as turning into a bat or a cloud of vapor. Trafalgar says he remained a porter for his employer for about another century, until vampire hunters raided his employer's estate, which was admittedly already in decline.

Trafalgar offers to meet the party in Dorrenhall to lend assistance and attempt to repay his life-debt to the party. Despite being impervious to environmental conditions and having no need for food or sleep, Trafalgar says he still longs for the comfort of a proper city inn, despite the risk of being discovered.

Mergle - Goblin Jester

A short, scrawny goblin in a dirty but colourful patchwork tunic, contrasting tights, and sporting a clearly home-made cap-and-bells. Mergle is keen to return to his goblin party, who he claims may return if the party stays too long. Mergle reluctantly gives up his hat to fellow bard Juggles as payment for freeing him.

Orders

There is a Velpyrian soldier slumped next to a mushroom trunk just outside but not visible from the camp. The soldier appears basically drained of blood. Many small needle-like holes cover the soldier's body, indicating they were probably caught alone and overwhelmed by stirges.

The soldier sports a leather pouch containing a crude map of the surrounding area and what looks like a copy of orders sealed with a Velpyrian falcon.

Map

A rough outline of the Plumeria-Nottenbass region, with an area along the northern coast of Nottenbass circled with a question mark. The marked area is too large to derive an exact location from without more information.

Orders

On first inspection, the note simply reads:

Withdraw and return to regular patrols, report to Gorz Magna.

Trafalgar claims the visible script is illusory. Beneath the illusion is a different message:

Order the regulars to withdraw. Take only your most trusted legionnaires and head north-east toward Dorrenhall. You must learn exactly where the artifact is buried, but don't raise suspicions. The druids will not give its location up easily.