Part 3 The Plague Party

Overview: The day of the Queen Violante’s birthday is when River’s plan will go into action. He plans on causing a panic among the royals by having the spiked wine turn random guest’s tongues red and flame-spitting. The goal is to make everyone think the fake plague the Blood Tongue has erupted at the party. The players will need to help spread the chaos. They will also need to free Thaylia and distract the guards while River sneaks Thaylia, Clef, and the treasure out of the castle in Witdale’s carriage. The adventure ends in a wild carriage chase out of the city.

Step 7. This Party is a Blast

The day of the party begins with food, performers, and much pomp and celebration. The whole town is celebrating but all of the nobles have congregated in the castle. The main party takes place in the gardens (see map). River advises that the players not to drink any of the wine to avoid possibly drinking some of the poison. If they ignore his warning roll a 1d4. On a 4, the player is poisoned for the next 24 hours. It’s generally harmless but any spellcaster who drinks the wine will find it impossible to cast spells with somatic components as their tongue will swell, turn bright red, and they will spit sparks of fire. The guests are dressed to impress at the party. One table will be filled to the brim with gifts for the Queen. A player that tries to steal some may make a Sleight of Hand check (DC 14) or they will be observed by a guest who will notify the guards. Each present has jewelry or artwork worth 1d2x100 gold. If the player attempts to steal more than one present add +2 to each subsequent Sleight of Hand check. After a few hours of celebration, King Namore will drag Thaylia to the stage and force her to play.

The King and Queen want to make sure that Thaylia doesn’t cause a stink today. As such, they will have placed a new chain and collar on Thaylia with a magic lock. The key is hanging around Queen Violante’s neck. She can use it to cause an electric shock to run through Thaylia if the bard upsets her. Clef (or Larry) sits at a small table located behind the King and Queen’s table with two guards standing over him. Thaylia will tell River and the party to escape with Clef as she intends to cast Meteor Storm as a 20th level sorcerer on the party destroying the castle and everyone in it. River persuades Thaylia to wait until they try to steal the key and rescue her before she does something so drastic. The players need to help River come up with a way to steal the key from around Queen Violante’s neck without her noticing. Upon success, move to step 8. If the player’s fail or get caught, move to step 8.

Step 8 – This Man is on Fire

River’s plan involves one of the team exploding. They will need to drink a concentrated form of the poison and then cause a scene before dying in an explosion. Brick is currently finishing up stealing from the vault and potentially keeping Clef safe. If none of the player’s wish to explode, River can do it but one of the player’s will need to cast the Major Image spell from a scroll in River’s possession. The exploding victim must first drink the concentrated poison. This will cause their tongue to swell and turn bright red and sparks will erupt when they speak. They will be unable to cast spells with somatic components for 24 hours.

The “victim” must then make a Performance check. The DC will be different depending on how well they did spreading rumors in part 1 of the plan. If the rumors didn’t take, the DC is 18. If the the rumors are firmly placed, the DC is 16. If the rumors caused mild panic, the DC is 14. If the rumors caused people to faint, the DC is 12. If the players did extra work to spread panic about the Blood Plague then reduce the DC by 2. The other player’s may help in the performance, which would give the “victim” advantage on their role. On a successful performance, the player makes it look like they are screaming in agony. River or one of the players will next cast the Major Image spell from a pre-set scroll that will make it look like the victim’s head explodes in a fiery inferno. At this point, the spiked wine will begin to take effect and other guests will notice their tongues turn bright red. If the “victim” fails to convincingly die, the crowd will be spooked but not panicked. This will make it harder to free Thaylia and escape. Otherwise, people begin screaming and running in every direction as all hell breaks loose.

Step 9. Time to Run

If the player’s successfully caused a panic, they will gain advantage on all subsequent rolls as they try to free Thaylia and escape.

Keldor, the chief of the guards, holds the chain attached to the lock on Thaylia’s neck. The players will need to subdue him or cause him to drop the chain before they can free Thaylia. Treat Keldor as a guard captain for his stats (see Monster Manual). Freeing Thaylia is easy if the players managed to steal the key from Queen Violante. The key easily opens the lock on the collar. A Knock spell can open the magical lock. A Sleight of Hand check DC 22 can pick the lock. Thaylia will refuse to leave if the player’s failed to save Clef in part 2.

With or without Thaylia, the players must hurry to the stables to escape in Witdale’s carriage. Have all players roll a collective Stealth Check. If the average beats 14 then the players get the carriage house without incident. If not, they must defeat five guards (see Monster Manual) on the way.

Step 10. A Dramatic Escape

Upon reaching the carriage, the players pile on top of it. Thaylia, if present, will hop inside with her son and a big pile of treasure. The carriage and several others join a chaotic and a hectic line forms to get out of the castle gates. Larry, now disguised as Lord Witdale, climbs into the carriage. The guards at the gates are trying unsuccessfully to stop people from leaving but the nobles are pushing their way out. As you reach the gateway, you hear a shout. Looking back you see Lord Witdale running towards you. The guards at the gate look at Lord Witdale in the carriage then back at the running noble before they draw their weapons. Brick whips the horses and they team leaps forth.

As the carriage races down the city streets, fifteen guards on horseback chase it. Unless one of the players wants to drive, Brick will take the horses and the players will need to help take care of the guards. Since the carriage is rattling wildly, this chase will involve three stages:

Stage 1 – Knock them off their horses.

Each player may attempt to knock a rider of its horse before they reach the carriage. If the player makes a successful ranged or thrown attack and does 5 or more damage they knock down one of the guards. If the player casts an non-damaging area of effect spell like Fog Cloud or Grease they can knock out 1d3 guards. If the player wants to cast an area of effect spell that causes damage like fireball, advise them that the streets are filled with people and they would hit civilians. If the player doesn’t care then they take out 2d4 guards and 1d8 civilians. After one round of this, move to stage two as the guards on horseback catch up and surround the carriage.

Stage 2 – It’s a Melee Battle

The remaining guards draw their blades. Roll for initiative. The guards will fight from horseback striking at the players. The players have three rounds to defeat the guards or one of the guards manages to cause the carriage to flip. If the carriage flips, any player on the roof takes 3d6 falling damage and is thrown prone. Any player inside the carriage takes 4d6 bludgeoning damage and are restrained as they are buried under a pile of gold. Any guard that takes 10 or more damage is knocked off their horse and is out of the battle. Once all of the guards are removed from combat or if the carriage flips, move to stage three.

Stage 3 – A Golden Parade

The carriage skids to a halt as a parade blocks the road. If the carriage flipped, it will land near the parade and the players will be able to escape but not with the treasure. Brick looks desperately for a way through. You can hear horns blowing from the castle and the shouts of armored men. River turns to the players, “I have a plan but I need your help.” He hands each of the players a chest full of jewels. I need you to pull the crowds away so we can make a path.” He needs at least two players to agree to help. The players can either abandon the group now or they can toss the gold and treasure which will cause people to congregate around them. The carriage or the rest of the group is able to slip past the crowd. You can see an even larger group of guards riding towards you. River grabs a big chest of gold and dumps it into the street. The commoners rush forth and quickly block the guards on horseback. River waves to the players to join him. All players who helped distract the crowd will now find their way blocked too. They can make an Athletics check DC 15 or an Acrobatics check DC 14 to push and jump their way through or the player must figure out some other way to escape the crowd.

Resolution – If Thaylia is free with Clef she will thank the players and grant one of them her famous lyre as a reward. It will not be the cursed lyre but rather just a magic lyre that grants +2 to all Performance checks with it. If Thaylia was not freed, a meteor storm will strike the castle and destroy most of the town. A cursed Thaylia’s Lyre will be found in the rubble. If the players fail to escape the parade crowd, they might get caught by the guards and have to be saved. If the players escaped successfully with the carriage, each player will receive 20,000 gp worth of treasure.