TSR 9291 - DLC1 - Dr.. - Free

killed. Verminaard.” The corpses are
those of hobgoblins.
37. Sageway Broken
The broken stones of an ancient
roadway cut through brown
plains. The stones lead north and
south.
A close look at the road uncovers
many footprints. It seems that a great
number of people and heavy creatures
moved south along this route a
few days ago.
38. Refugees
A single figure, scantly clad, scurries
over the rise. He is a man—by
his looks an exhausted one. Behind
him, three figures lope steadily,
tirelessly in pursuit. They are
laughing, taunting their prey, waiting
before closing for the kill.
The man is 500 feet away when the
encounter starts. The grasses of the
plains are three to four feet tall and
can easily hide the heroes. The man
can run 550 feet farther before he
collapses. The Baaz draconians, intent
on their prey, do not notice the
PCs until they are within 50 feet—
not at all if the PCs take cover.
Since the PCs pose a real threat to
them, the draconians give up their
pursuit of the man and attack the heroes
once they notice them.
If they rescue the fugitive, the PCs
may speak with him. He gasps from
exhaustion as he tells his story: “I am
Nightshade from the village of Que-
Teh. The dragonmen are taking all of
us south as slaves. This morning the
men of my tribe held secret council,
chained though we were in the caravan.
I was chosen to escape, to go to
Que-Shu for aid, while the rest of my
comrades rose against the dragonmen
and drew their attention. A tremendous
army of evil lies to the south. 1
have overheard them speak of a second
army that waits to crush the
Seeker Lands from the north. They
hold back their armies only for fear
that a crystal staff will return to Xak
Tsaroth while they are not watchful.
Why, I do not know.” His voice becomes
desperate. “Do not go south,
for only slavery and death lie there.
Find the crystal staff, and take it to
Xak Tsaroth. It is our only hope.”
If the PCs cure his wounds, this
man will go with them. He has no
equipment at all.
39. Oldroad Bridge
Read the following when the heroes
enter the area:
In the distance, an ancient bridge
spans the torrents of the Whiterate
River. Several dark shapes
crouch on the northern side of the
bridge, many others on its southern
side.
When the PCs get within 300 feet of
the bridge, they discover that the
forms are Baaz draconian guards; 4
watch the north and 10-20 the south.
Orders have come from their
Dragon Highlord not to take any
more prisoners. They will kill anyone
who approaches. This is all they
know about the position and situation
of the Dragonarmies.
If the heroes approach on a raft,
the draconians leap onto them from
the bridge, capsizing the raft and
spilling both heroes and dragonmen
into the river. Use the swimming
rules from area 18.
The guards on the northern side of
the river are the only ones who are allowed
to pursue north of the river.
The reserves may pursue anything
south of the river.
40. Southway
The tall grasses of the southern
bank bend oddly against the wind.
Occasionally, the gleaming point
of a spear or the flash of a helm
flickers through the grasses to the
south. The cold, fall sky is overcast,
and thunder rumbles to the
south.
If the PCs move south, they encounter
the southern draconian army, one
unit of 1d10 + 10 Baaz per game
hour. The number of units they can
encounter is limitless.
These guards have orders not to
pursue anything north of the river
but to attack and kill anything crossing
south of the river. They have no
further information.
41. Sageway East
Here in the canyons of the Foresaken
Mountains, an ancient road
lies broken and abandoned. Yet
the grasses and weeds growing between
the broken stones of the
road are trampled flat. A cold wind
dives out of the east.
A ranger has a 50% chance to note
tracks of human plainsmen mixed
with other, heavier tracks. If the
ranger has met draconians before, he
has a 30% chance to identify their
tracks here as well.
42. Cursed Lands of Newsea
A forest of ironclaw trees
stretches eastward to the Newsea.
Beneath an umbrella of branches,
the streams of the Forsaken
Mountains crawl through a
spongy swamp. Still waters encircle
islands of soggy ground. The
landscape extends into the swamp
and is darkness.
Each turn there is a 15% chance that
the soggy ground the heroes are
walking on will dead-end and the
party must cross 1d4 + 5 feet of water
to get to the next section of
ground. See the Random Encounter
table for details.
43. Dragonlands
The flames from a thousand
campfires glitter in the distance
on the burned plains. Nearby, several
creatures stoop about their
own campfire.
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