Death Gift: A Labyrinth Lord Adventure

Get Ready

At the top of the rise along the road, a battle ensues. A pitched battle. A small group is slaughtered by an overwhelming force of similarly clad individuals. One, a horseman, dismounts and rips a necklace off a dwarf.

Get Set

The PCs are on their way to an already established goal as the battle begins. The party is too far away to assist. The attackers wear armor of varying types. All of them use shields with identical markings. The exact mark is indiscernible from a distance.

Go!

If the PCs rush to assist, they will arrive as dwarf is near death. With a dying gasp, the dwarf utters “His god..”. He gurgles and continues unintelligibly, “..needs… “. With a last effort, he trusts forward a thin, short wooden box with no obvious seams.

If they do not press forward to assist, the box will be found on the corpse. In either case, a written scroll is found. The scroll is soaked with blood but a few words of the missive can be read. It reads, “…. ..So..ak must … not … …. gain…. .. necklace.”.

The box is adorned with numerous symbols and wards, obviously magical in nature to anyone capable of using magic. A Ward of Protection from Chaos/Evil is the primary defense on the box. If handled by any person of Chaotic or Evil Alignment, the box will burst into magical flame causing 1d8 damage per round (save vs. spell for half damage). If the box is handled for more than 3 rounds by Chaotic or Evil individuals, a Symbol of Fear will be triggered. Prying or carving on the box will invoke a Symbol of Insanity. The final defense of the box, if broken open will release a Symbol of Death.

Within the box is simple silver necklace set with a small ruby. The ruby is finely cut and appears to trap any light hitting the exposed facets. The necklace is capable of opening a portal as the Gate spell directly to a specific plane once per day. If opened by a cleric or follower of the evil god, Zhaikrin (choose your own evil god), the twelve legendary knights of the order will ride into the prime material plane bent upon destruction of all other religious orders. Activation of the gate by any non-believer will open a gate to a random plane, allowing any nearby denizen to travel to plane of the caster. If the activator is not a religious follower of Zhaikrin, they must save vs. spell for be confused for 1d6 days.

The necklace is being sought by the Knights of Zhaikrin. The knights can be played as the evil equivalent of the Paladin class. The closest knight to the area is Sorlak Kinslayer. The knights cannot directly track the necklace while entrapped in the box. They are drawn to the general direction but only within a large area (50 miles). If the necklace is removed from the box, the Knights will be able to track the necklace directly and pinpoint the location within a mile.

Notable NPCs

Sorlak Kinslayer

Knight of Zhaikrin (#30)

Massively scarred; Wearing black plate and shield with a black phoenix rising engraved on both; +3 Longsword; Girdle of Giant Strength; Treat as 10th Level Paladin, Evil; Accompanied by a raven, Blackheart, with a similar ruby embedded in his chest.

Tags: Labyrinth Lord, OSR Challenge, September of Short Adventures