Adventure 5 - Dunmarket's Sewers

The party ended up trawling through a sewer. They severely broke this one; the gelatinous cube that was going to be a major threat for them ended up being their pet that killed a load of my kobolds. Still, I learned a bit from this, as every. Future adventures will prove to be harder to beat.

Adventure 5: Dunmarket’s Sewers

History check about Dunmarket reveals that Dunmarket was initially called Marketon a centre of human population explosion for a long time. Positioned as the gateway to the west of the country, it found itself a valuable trading route and a waypoint for many travellers. However, Marketon quickly found itself sinking under a tide of human excrement, leading to the colloquial name of Dunmarket. Disease and bad smells began to scour the town clean of humanity. However, an enterprising family quickly deduced that only a sewer system of immense scope could save the town from becoming plague-ridden and generally disliked by all. Thus the idea of sewers was invented in Lyria and the family prospered, held in high regard by the townsfolk. They spread their ideas far and wide and revolutionised waste management in Lyria.

A better History check (15) reveals that the name of the family was Lowell, and that the way the sewer system is kept clear of waste is a closely-guarded secret of success. Whatever their method, Dunmarket is the cleanest large town in all of Lyria.

Almost immediately the group is approached by a small boy, about 12 years old. He asks if they’re adventurers, then breaks down in tears.

He reveals he is Tommy Lowell. His father is the current Dunnyman in charge of keeping the sewers clean. However, he went down into the sewers a few days ago and disappeared. Tommy can’t get anyone to believe there’s anything wrong, but he knows in his heart something is wrong.

Please would the adventurers go down there and find his daddy? He promises them that they will be rewarded if they find his father. Tommy also tells them that he told the Captain of the Guard, but he doesn’t think anything will happen on that front.

Access can be granted from any manhole cover.

Dunmarket has a number of amenities:

A large market: Every day many traders from all the four countries of the Grand Concord gather in the covered market area. Almost anything has a price there and an expert can be found on pretty much anything.

A specified armour shop is there, selling all tier-1 and -2 armour. There is also a suit of magical armour which is not for sale until the end of the questline here in Dunmarket.

A basics store selling everything in the PHB.

A Magical Emporium stall which sells a small range of magical necklaces out of price range and rings which are not magical; an insight check reveals them to be lies by the storekeeper.

A fine clothing store

A boots store.

A potion shop selling mostly poisons, one or two healing potions.

A hairdresser.

A food stall. Any character eating there has to make a CON check against food poisoning.

A mulled cider stall.

A captain of the Guard’s office; the captain of the guard is in charge of missing persons. He is a tall man with prematurely white hair, green eyes and a small goatee which is neatly trimmed. He wears armour which is more practical than ceremonial; a medium perception check reveals that he is also wearing a sword, the pommel of which is decorated with some sort of bird, its wings spread and going down the hilt. He has no interest in launching a search for the missing Dunnyman, however, and won’t say why. An insight check reveals that he is angry at something, and another person in the guard takes them aside and explains that three months ago the Captain’s son disappeared down in the sewers and, despite the Dunnyman saying he’d searched, nothing was found. The Captain blamed the Dunnyman, but couldn’t take any action.

There is a town hall, but the mayor is far too busy to see the adventurers.

There is a library. It is closed on Wednesdays due to cutbacks. Today is Wednesday.

Eventually the adventurers end up in the sewer. There is a complex of tunnels which have become infested with kobolds. Eventually they find a gelatinous ooze, by chance or design. As they attack it, a voice calls them to stop.

It is the Dunnyman, Richard Lowell. He explains that the gelatinous ooze is the secret of how clean Dunmarket’s sewers are kept. The Ooze fits perfectly into the tunnels and melts down any waste, keeping things clean. However, it has become stranded in an offshoot tunnel (which the adventurers have gotten to through a kobold-tunnel too small for the ooze) and it needs to be lead back to the main tunnels. The Dunnyman hasn’t been able to do this because he’s been stuck down here, penned in by kobolds. Now that the adventurers are here they can help him lead it back to the main tunnels, keep the kobolds off of him and generally help him out. He also tells them, if they haven’t found it already, that the kobolds seem to be responsible for a series of thefts in the city now that they have free reign of the sewers and that they are storing all the treasure in a room disguised behind a false stone.

Inside that room is a pile of gold and gems, a scroll, a magical bow and the corpse of a teenager; he has a dagger with the same design as was on the Captain’s sword. The kobolds killed the son, not the Ooze. Taking this back to the Captain allows him to mourn his son properly and he rewards the PCs with experience and the dagger they have bought back to him. It is a Wyrmtooth Dagger +2; the Captain tells that he and his son went for his coming-of-age to the caves north of John’s Retreat to find the great dragon from which this tooth came; they brought it a sacrifice and listened to its knowledge, accepting its tooth gratefully. He tells of the skill and wisdom of the Dragonflight Union, stating that none would willingly harm sentient life. They are the keepers of knowledge in Lyria and, indeed, Ehrian.

On hearing that one has attacked the PCs, he is greatly worried; this is not normal. He tells them that he will send out an expeditionary force to John’s Retreat and into the mountains; they are welcome to join it.

There is a windmill on the way out of town. If asked, people mention that an engineer bought it a few months ago and he is occasionally seen in town. People tend not to go near it, citing an uneasy feeling. Closer inspection reveals that it turns whether there is wind or not. This is because the motile force for it is provided by an enslaved goliath; the windmill is powering a rogue SIC engineer’s attempts to create life, which will eventually replace the goliath. On releasing the goliath, it’s one of Kali’s family, Ron Noc. The golem comes to life and, with the goliath’s help, they fight it and the engineer.

The goliath tells Kali that the entire family was dominated by some of the strongest charm magic that they have ever experienced; they never got to see their captors and were forced to endure a sea voyage, then to walk for many leagues while hooded and chained together. Their captors were men and women who rarely spoke; it was enough to hear that their accents were foreign, from somewhere on this continent. One of them clinked every time he took a step with one foot, almost like it was metal or there were spurs on his shoes.

Finally this particular goliath was singled out as being the ‘weakest blood’ of the family and as he was the ‘spare’, she was sold to this engineer as a slave.