Chapter 1: A Great Upheaval
This chapter is designed to advance a party of 1st-level characters to 5th level. The characters gain levels by accomplishing various goals.
Nightstone is a fortified settlement located a few miles south of the Ardeep Forest, in the untamed hills between Waterdeep and Daggerford. A lonely wooden signpost, standing where the trail to Nightstone meets the High Road, points the way to the settlement.
Nightstone’s closest neighbors are the elves of the Ardeep Forest. Hunters from Nightstone have incurred the elves’ wrath on multiple occasions. However, elves are the least of the settlement’s problems, as fledgling heroes who come to Nightstone in search of adventure quickly discover.
You all set out on the morning of the 21st day of Ches, 1490 DR. A lot of the people you spoke with the previous evening are eating a breakfast and slowly making their way out and on with their lives. Even those that said they were headed to Nightstone, for whatever reason either change their minds, or perhaps spend the a few days more in Daggerford, instead, before they head to your destination.
The six of you are all that is left of the huge group last night, and off you go, each heading to Nightstone for your own reasons.
It takes you three days, and anyone with any knowledge of the geography can surmise that you have just 15 more miles to go—but you just can’t. After twenty-four miles per day for three days, you’re all absolutely exhausted and simply must make camp for the night.
On the morning of the 24th day of Ches, you awaken from your camp and continue up the high road. Around 10 in the morning you spot a wooden signpost next to a trail that heads north into the hills. Nailed to the post are three arrow-shaped signs. The two marked “Waterdeep” and “Daggerford” follow the High Road but point in opposite directions. The third, marked “Nightstone,” beckons you to follow the trail. If memory serves, Nightstone is roughly 12 miles up the trail—another four hours . . . the final four hours.
After following the trail for 12 miles, you hear the ringing of a bell. The sound grows louder as Nightstone comes into view around 2 in the afternoon. A river flows around the settlement, forming a moat. The village itself is contained within a wooden palisade, beyond which you see a windmill, a tall steeple, and the high-pitched rooftops of several other buildings. Apart from the ringing of the bell, you detect no other activity in the village. The trail ends before a lowered drawbridge that spans the moat. Beyond the drawbridge, two stone watchtowers flank an open gap in the palisade.
South of the village and surrounded by the river moat is a cone-shaped, flat-topped hill on which stands a stone keep enclosed by a wooden wall. The keep, which overlooks the village, has partially collapsed. A wooden bridge that once connected the keep to the village has also partially collapsed.
DC 13 Intelligence (History) Check Nightstone got its name from a massive chunk of obsidian that once stood in the middle of the village square. The obsidian megalith had strange glyphs carved into it and radiated magic under the scrutiny of detect magic spells, but its properties and purpose couldn’t be ascertained. The villagers assumed it was a relic of some bygone age or kingdom and left it alone.
The following warning signs indicate that all is not well in Nightstone:
- The drawbridge (area 1) is lowered, and the perimeter watchtowers (area 2) are unguarded.
- The temple bell (area 5) won’t stop ringing.
- The keep (area 14) and the bridge that connects it to the village (area 11) have partially collapsed.
1. Drawbridge
The drawbridge is lowered when the party first arrives. It is 20 feet long, 10 feet wide, and made of sturdy oak planks. Iron chains bolted to the drawbridge connect to winch mechanisms in the nearby watchtowers (area 2a).
Footprints
Characters who search the area west of the drawbridge see several humanoid tracks in the grass and dirt.
A successful DC 15 Wisdom (Survival) check reveals . . .. . . that most of the tracks (made by several dozen fleeing villagers) lead north. A successful check also reveals smaller humanoid tracks (made by roughly a dozen goblins) heading from the north toward the drawbridge, as well as two sets of unusually large wolf tracks heading in the same direction.
2. Watchtowers
Seven stone watchtowers stand along the village perimeter. Each tower is 20 feet tall, with a roof enclosed by crenellated battlements. Inside each tower is a wooden ladder that leads to an unlocked trapdoor in the roof.
2a. West Towers
Two watchtowers flank the entrance to the village, forming a gatehouse of sorts. Each tower contains a winch, and both mechanisms must be turned to extend or retract the chains that raise and lower the drawbridge. If both winches are operated simultaneously, it takes 1 round to raise or lower the drawbridge by 30 degrees. In other words, the fully lowered drawbridge can be fully raised in 3 rounds.
3. Square
Two worgs slaughtered a dog and are feasting on its remains in the northeast corner of the village square (near the cart).
The square is a muddy open area with a 5-foot-deep hole in the middle of it. North of the hole is a covered well. Other features of the village square include an empty wooden cart and a couple of tethering posts planted firmly in the ground. From the square, characters can see signs identifying the Nightstone Inn (area 8) and the Lionshield Coster trading post (area 9).
