tsr09497 - AD&D - Ra.. - Property Is Theft!

execution site is deserted, except for a few young children playing among the vertical supports beneath the platform.
Although not in the geographic center of town, the Commons is the commercial and administrative nucleus of Karina. The
heroes can find just about any kind of foodstuffs or beverages at the open markets at the prices listed in the Player's
Handbook. The market square remains active until nightfall, when the center of Carnival activity moves to the Wine Garden
(Area 6). By day, the Commons is the heart of the Carnival, and any incidental encounters with the nonplayer characters of
this adventure can be staged here.
The town hall at the end of the plaza contains the offices of the town officials and the meeting halls for the guilds. The
residents of Karina currently acknowledge Mayor Zachary Beauchamps as their ruler, but like most important public
officials, the poor man is hopelessly enthralled by Gabrielle and secretly her fawning slave. For the duration of the holiday,
the town hall is closed. (Area 7).
The gallows in front of the town hall is reserved for the last day of the Carnival, in which the convicted criminals from the
Citadel will be executed. Most citizens look forward to the hangings as the culmination of the week's entertainment. The
Dungeon Master should take time to describe the ominous scaffolding in the midst of the celebration, if only to foreshadow
the death and darker elements underlying the festival's merry facade.
Rumors. There is anticipation for the upcoming executions on the Commons; some townspeople mention arriving early for
good seats. The prisoners come from the Citadel (Area 7), where they are said to be tortured hideously until their sanity
shatters. Persistent questioning can uncover a few rumors on the Commons relating to strange accidents (similar to the wine
cart upset described earlier), but the townspeople here are reluctant and frightened to discuss them. If asked about a "boy in
black," the locals immediately shut up, make signs against the evil eye, and hurry away.
Event: Matton's Grand Entrance
While wandering through the crowd, the heroes encounter Matton Blanchard and his retainers, returning from their hunt (see
Chapter Two):
The crowds around you part abruptly, disgorging a sleek black horse mounted by an extraordinarily handsome noble. In his
mid-thirties, he has a long drooping mustache and a scar down his right cheek. He is wearing a hunter's leathers and tail
black leather riding boots and a plumed wide-brimmed hat. It is the man you encountered while in the wilderness. He glares
down at you from the saddle, hand on the sheathed rapier at his knee, not a glimmer of recognition in his face or voice, only
haughty disdain: "Out of my way, you rabble!" Not a glimmer of recognition, only haughty disdain.
In the wake of the mounted nobleman, six exhausted retainers are jogging behind their master's horse, dragged along by a
pack of hounds held tightly in reign. The emaciated dogs struggle at their leashes frantically in the direction of the food
vendors by the street before one of the retainers lashes them brutally with a leather crop.
The heroes have two choices of action. The simplest (and safest) action is to back off, and allow Matton to pass. After their
nocturnal ambush in Chapter Two, the heroes may suspect Matton is a shapechanger and hence may be unwilling to
antagonize him openly on the streets, especially when he is supported by underlings. Assuming that they step aside, the
noble heads toward the Wine Garden where he takes up residence at the Laughing Maiden.