TEXT: Copyright © 2014 Michael Prescott -
  - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ - Find more adventure locations at http://patreon.com/adventures
  v1.01 p.1/2
  LAIR OF THE HERMIT
  Inside: a cook fire, latrine
  pit and a filthy bedroll, all
  unwisely close. Wrapped in
  the
  roll
  is
  a
  Vinteralf
  dagger
  of
  mithril
  silver.
  A subtle magic draws
  small
  forest
  creatures
  here; their bones litter
  the forest outside.
  CIRCLE OF WOLVES
  An adventure by Michael Prescott
  WATERFALL
  This is the source of the Mor, which gives
  Morton its name. It flows underground above
  the escarpment and emerges here.
  The mound-builders threw their sacrifices
  into it, and bone and skull fragments remain
  within the swirling pool at its base.
  Half
  buried
  in
  pebbles:
  a
  tiny
  silver
  gauntlet containing a gnome-sized skeletal
  hand, and two golden rings.
  DRY CAVE
  A
  crack
  in
  the
  escarpment,
  a
  packed earthen floor shows frequent
  use. It runs 25' into the escarpment;
  within it hang hundreds of sprigs of
  dried
  cyldwort,
  one
  fresh.
  If
  consumed, effects vary by person and
  last d4 hours. Roll d6 + doses
  taken and apply all effects up to
  the result:
  1. ringing in the ears
  2. shivers, chattering teeth
  3. painful cramps
  4. incapacitating dizziness
  5. life-threatening hypothermia
  6. cold insight from the stars (d2
  times only)
  GARDEN IN THE RUINS
  Renmants of a cottage create a sheltered space.
  Erected by a wizard now long dead, who came centuries
  before the Vinteralf to study the mound, circle and pool.
  The hermit grew cyldwort here until the Circle of
  Morton began using it as a regular campsite. The hermit
  fumes, but dares not confront them alone.
  POOL OF GEFEOHT
  A ceremonial pool predating the stone
  circle. Cracked, it will not hold water
  long, but any who fill it (even slightly)
  and bathe are blessed, and cannot be
  transformed by the Leádstæf until the
  next time they eat a meal.
  The hermit bathes here regularly, and
  his oft-repaired bucket sits in long grass
  nearby, as does his cyldwort-filled pipe.
  Perhaps he bathes now.
  ANCIENT ROAD
  Scattered cobbles run four
  leagues due east until finally
  being
  swallowed
  by
  the
  forest.
  Thrice
  blessed,
  one
  cannot meet enemies while
  walking upon it.
  THE BLAZING FISSURE
  A great crack splits the mound, pulsing with foul
  vapors and a ruddy glow. The fissure is 30' deep and
  4' wide, and the bottom runs with molten lava.
  Water from the quarry pool sloshes in over a
  blackened lip, spitting up angry gouts of steam.
  The first part of the fissure is open to the air, but
  it runs a further 50' into the mound, ending in a
  small, lava-floored chamber.
  Careful exploration will reveal sufficient hand-
  ENCOUNTERS IN THE WOODS
  Roll d10 every d4+2 hours
  spent in the area:
  1. A wolf-marked villager, lost,
  confused, and full of venison
  2. The spirit of the wolf
  3. The werewolf (at night only)
  4. The hermit Wyrtung
  5. A Morton search party (2d6)
  6. Members of the Circle (d4+3)
  7. Black bear
  8. The ghost of Troy Ulfssen
  9. A stripped animal carcass
  10. Deer (d4)
  MORTON WOOD
  The
  wood
  north
  of
  Morton
  stretches
  for
  many
  miles,
  and
  is
  dense with maple, ash and oak trees.
  It is busy with the sounds of
  wildlife. Animal tracks, fruiting trees
  and berry-laden bushes abound.
  and foot-holds to climb inside, along the fissure
  wall. It ends 50' inside the mound in a narrow
  lava-floored chamber, 20' x 7'.
  On a ledge is a Vinteralf warrior, dead and
  long reduced to a statue of ash that collapses at
  the slightest touch. She wears scale mail, a silver
  buckle and a mithril-silver bastard sword.
  Floating on the lava are the six Embrenu
  Sætung. Five gleam brightly in the red light.
  THE SITUATION
  Morton
  village
  has
  a
  werewolf
  problem,
  and
  neither prayer nor pitchfork
  has solved it.
  Tracks
  (booted,
  barefoot
  and paw) are easily followed,
  leading through the forest up
  the river Mor to an ancient
  mound,
  an
  old
  holy
  place
  nestled in the shadow of a
  rocky escarpment.
  The
  mound
  has
  a
  long
  history, which will soon claw
  its way into the present.
  THE OLD MOUND
  A cross-shaped mound, 30'
  high in the center, built from
  the rock of the escarpment,
  now
  covered
  in
  hardy
  grasses.
  On the mound, sounds fall
  dead, with only the loudest
  noises carrying further than
  60'.
  THE STONE CIRCLE
  The stones stand 15' tall,
  and are hewn from the native
  rock. Many are etched with
  thoughtless graffiti.
  For spellcasters who have
  been
  purified
  by
  the
  pool,
  peaceful magic has double its
  normal effect.
  QUARRY POOL
  Knee-deep
  and
  crystal
  clear,
  the
  quarry
  pool
  effervesces with tiny bubbles.
  Acrid vapors play across the
  surface, and the bottom is
  pale, bare rock. There are no
  fish.
  Metal objects immersed in
  the water will emerge bright
  and shining. It has a sour
  taste; those who drink it are
  doubly affected by magic cast
  from within the stone circle
  that day.
  
  Copyright © 2014 Michael Prescott -
  - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ - Find more adventure locations at http://patreon.com/adventures
  v1.01 p.2/2
  CIRCLE OF WOLVES
  THE WEREWOLF
  A
  restless
  spirit
  wanders
  the
  lands
  around the mound; it is the soul of anguish
  and hunger unfulfilled.
  It roams at night, looking for a victim: it
  can possess anyone that bears its mark,
  transforming them instantly into a snow-
  white wolf of fantastic size and ferocity.
  It will attack savagely, gorging itself on
  meat if it has the chance, fleeing into the
  woods if outmatched - ideally with a stolen
  limb to gnaw.
  The first touch of sunlight restores the
  victim to their natural form. Usually, they
  remember nothing. If pressed, some may
  recall being crushed into a tiny space while
  enduring intense heat.
  Unless treated by powerful magic, bites
  heal to a purplish scar: a wolfmark.
  DIE, TO RISE AGAIN
  If the wolf is killed, the spirit is expelled
  from the victim, who resumes their original
  form. Half the damage is passed onto the
  victim, which may prove fatal if they are not
  as hardy as the wolf.
  The spirit may not possess again for d6
  hours.
  If the killing blow is dealt by a silver
  weapon,
  however,
  the
  spirit
  is
  slain
  permanently.
  The
  victim
  resumes
  their
  natural form, but with the full damage the
  wolf suffered.
  Immersion
  in
  lava
  will
  also
  slay
  the
  inhabiting spirit.
  SPIRIT OF HUNGER
  The werewolf is no common lycanthrope,
  but Hyngran, scourge of the frozen starlands.
  Nine generations ago, Hyngran and five of
  his kin, the Leádstæf, were ensnared by
  Vinteralf starpriests and imprisoned in silver
  ingots.
  Brought here at great cost, they were
  entombed beneath the mound where the heat
  of the lava would render them powerless.
  Warm climes limit Hyngran's power, but
  in the far north he is practically a demigod.
  Only his kin keep him here, for he cannot
  move the Embrenu Sætung himself, and will
  not leave without the others.
  THE CIRCLE OF MORTON
  Three years ago, Troy Ulfssen, the miller
  of Morton, led three families in a revival of
  the old ways of worship. Leading them out to
  the stone circle in the forest, they joined in
  prayer each month under the full moon's
  light.
  Their questing prayers didn't find the old
  spirits
  of
  the
  earth,
  but
  Hyngran,
  ever
  restless. With a vision, Hyngran convinced
  Troy to enter the narrow cave.
  This he did, and died falling into the lava,
  but not before upsetting Hyngran's prison,
  one of the Embrenu Sætung. This was two
  years ago.
  Members of the circle, like everyone in
  Morton, bear the mark of Hyngran.
  The Circle believes that the coming of the
  wolf is a test of their faith. They return to the
  mound regularly.
  They are serious but good-natured, and
  seek converts.
  TROY ULFSSEN, WITLESS HERALD
  Unaware that he is a ghost, Troy wanders
  the Morton wood preaching devotion to the
  old ones. Hyngran has addled his mind with
  visions, and Troy unwittingly seeks to lure
  others into disturbing the Embrenu.
  THE EMBRENU SÆTUNG
  In
  the
  narrow
  chamber
  beneath
  the
  mound, floating on the surface of the lava, are
  five platinum bowls, engraved with mazes.
  Each contains an ingot of shimmering,
  molten silver, into which one of the great
  spirits of the Leádstæf has been bound.
  A sixth bowl - which once held Hyngran -
  floats off to one side. Disturbed by Troy,
  contact with the cavern wall has let it cool
  and its contents have solidified.
  If the silver in the other bowls is spilled or
  solidifies, the spirit trapped inside is freed.
  The bowls are incredibly hot and will burn
  the unprotected: this counts as a mark for the
  purposes of transformation.
  Finally, drinking the molten silver will
  cause the spirit to be permanently bound to
  the drinker's body. This will surely kill the
  drinker,
  destroying
  the
  spirit
  along
  with
  them. If the imbiber somehow survives, they
  are permanently possessed by the spirit.
  THE LEÁDSTÆF
  The kin of Hyngran are as follows, from
  least to greatest:
  * Brégnes, the spirit of terror
  * Angnes, the spirit of fear
  * Cwealm, the spirit of pain and torment
  * Egesa, the spirit of dread and horror
  * Inwitsorh, the spirit of sorrow brought on by
  malice
  Like Hyngran, the Leádstæf are intangible
  and invisible, detectable only by the most
  sensitive. Unable to withstand the heat of the
  narrow cave, they leave immediately.
  Each is the herald of the next: if the
  Leádstæf
  choose,
  they
  can
  leave
  a
  mark
  usable by the next.
  Those possessed by Brégnes and Angnes
  take
  on
  wolf
  form,
  like
  the
  victims
  of
  Hyngran. Cwealm manifests as an arctic fox,
  the flesh flayed from its skull.
  Egesa appears as a white-furred bat of
  fearsome visage and 12' wingspan.
  Inwitsorh manifests as a polar bear, white-
  furred and three-headed.
  THE WILL OF DEVILS
  The Leádstæf wish to depart for the north
  as soon as possible, but will not leave their
  kin behind if any remain imprisoned.
  Until all six are released, they will harass
  anyone
  in
  the
  area,
  attempting
  to
  draw
  attention to the fissure.
  THE HERMIT
  Wyrtung the mad has lived on the mound
  since he was a young boy. He is the latest
  inheritor of a secret tradition, for he is the
  guardian of the Embrenu Sætung.
  Chosen by the mound itself, he knows all
  its ways. He knows of Hyngran's hunger and
  the folly of the Circle of Morton.
  He rags are filthy and his hair plastered
  with animal fat, but his skin and hands are
  scrubbed clean from his daily baths in the
  pool.
  The old powers of mound speak to him,
  and he serves them faithfully. Though he has
  no idea why, he dutifully maintains the cache
  of cyldwort in the dry cave.
  Like everyone here, he bears the wolf-
  mark (a bite on his left forearm).
  THE FROST WOMEN
  The starpriests knew the day would come
  when
  the
  Leádstæf
  would
  escape,
  and
  prophecied its exact hour. A year ago, a party
  of their bravest warriors set forth on a quest.
  Their task: to prevent the spirits returning
  north by any means.
  On their way south, they have been beset
  by every imaginable calamity. Several are
  injured, and they grieve the loss of their leader, their
  starpriest, their doctor, their two archers, and their
  finest swordmaster.
  Used to arctic extremes, they are sick with the
  unbearable heat, which robs them of their vitality
  and causes frightening hallucinations.
  THE SURVIVORS
  Bregna bears a two-handed vorpal blade and
  wears starsteel plated chain.
  Zau wields dual maces of paralysis and is clad in
  white, hydra-skin armor.
  Syareen, the translator, fights with a scarab of
  extortion - a mithril, animate wasp.
  Piobaan, the scout and pathfinder, wears a cloak
  of invisibility and wields a sling staff.
  Nurmin, their confessor-acolyte, is starblind but
  sees three heartbeats into the future. She fights
  unarmed, and alarmingly well.
  They know all the ways to kill the Leádstæf.
  When they arrive, they will immediately seek out
  Wyrtung, the hermit, to obtain cyldwort, the only
  thing that will allow them to operate unhindered.
  Thereafter, they will do everything in their power
  to:
  * magically trap the fissure entrance
  * slay any escaped Leádstæf
  * kill anyone marked by the Leádstæf, even Wyrtung
  They have made unthinkable sacrifices on their
  journey, and are all five bound together by the
  memory of it. They expect to die here, and are
  determined to make their lives count.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Trilemma Adventures/Trilemma 10 Circle of Wolves.pdf