Adventure designed for a part of level 10-12 Adventurers

Overview: The party arrives at the grand desert city of Khadij. They take up residence at an inn called the Dancing Djinn. During the night, Gabril Lightfoot is kidnapped. The players must find out who has taken him and why.

Setup: The caravan arrives at the city of Khadij around midnight. In the very center of the city is the enormous palace of the sultan. The city itself has an Arabian feel with hundreds of narrow alleys and roadways that spiderweb throughout the many thousands of colorful buildings. There are several small parks with fountains scattered across the city. Most of the shops and buildings are closed but the inns stand open with bright lights and an inviting aroma of cooked food. Gabril takes the caravan straight to a large inn with a sign out front that reads “The Dancing Djinn” with a painting of a red-skinned woman in a dancing pose. Fayne Dio is still a little groggy from his drink the other day and Captain Junn walks stiffly even though her injuries have been bandaged. Gabril pays for rooms for everyone and bids the group a good night. He advises that they will be in Khadij for several days while he conducts business and he would like the group to stay close to the inn in case he needs them.

The following day, Gabril awakes early and leaves the inn with Fayne Dio and Captain Junn. The party is free to explore the city and take in the sights. If the party opts to explore, roll a d20 three times on the random city encounter table to see what kind of things they see.

1. A mother begging with her young children. Anyone who gives her 1 gold or more may receive an inspiration point.
2. A shopkeeper sells ioun stones. The stones are fakes but the shopkeeper doesn’t know it. They’ve been enchanted to float around a person’s head. The stones go for 10 gp each.
3. A drunk stumbles down the street singing. He’s coming from a tavern.
4. A group of children are playing a game with a cat. They’ve got a piece of colored glass and are making the cat chase the reflection.
5. A painter sells quick and small portraits. You can have one made of yourself for 5 silver or you can buy a painting of a famous person for 1 silver.
6. Two men argue over the cost of a rug. They aren’t bothering anyone.
7. A woman sells small bird whistles for 10 copper each.
8. A priest leads a group of children around the city giving them a history lesson.
9.  A group of men sit in the shade while one gets his beard trimmed. They tell ridiculous stories of their adventures.
10. The party sees someone following them. If they give chase, the figure leads down an alley where they are attacked by 12 ghouls (see Monster Manual) dressed in rags to hide their undead nature.
11. A street performer eats fire and blows fireballs. He accepts any tips for his performance.
12. A woman waves the party over to show them her wares. She has all sorts of candles for sale ranging from 
13. A stone golem (see Monster Manual) stands on guard in front of a store stoically. It will not attack unless provoked.
14. One of the fountains has stopped running. A water elemental (see Monster Manual) has taken over it and attacks anyone who gets close.
15. A cat wanders over and rubs up against one of the player’s legs. It will attempt to lure the player to a small street shop that sells common magical objects. The shopkeeper is a sorcerer and the cat is her familiar.
16. A fenced garden with beautiful flowers. A small rain cloud hovers over it, watering the flowers with rain. It is owned by an elderly couple who are wealthy nobles.
17. A cloaked figure beckons the party over and offers them treasure if they are willing to work for him. He’s an oni (see Monster Manual) looking for mercenaries to help him rob a house.
18. A man sells maps of the city for one copper each. The maps are old but accurate.
19. A brawl has broken out in a tavern called “The Whirling Dervish.” If the players help subdue the fighters with two successful Strength checks (DC 15), the owner will thank them and give them a free meal.
20. The party witnesses two old men arguing. They are wizards. In a rage, one of them summons forth a remorhaz (see Monster Manual). The creature knocks the warlocks aside and then begins to rampage through the town. If stopped by the players, the town guards will lock both wizards up for disturbing the peace and give the players 30 gold for their trouble.

The Kidnapping: Gabril Lightfeather, Fayne Dio and Captain Junn return after a long day of trading. Gabril is in a foul mood. None of the merchants he talked to were willing to trade with him at all. He had been corresponding with them and things seemed fine but now none of them were willing to trade with him. He intends to meet with the sultan tomorrow and hopes at least that he still wants the chandelier he ordered. Several pretty young ladies do belly dancing while another one plays a lute. These women are actually thieves called “Night Flowers”. After a while, Lightfeather heads on to bed. Two guards are assigned outside his door. The players can volunteer to stand guard if they want but Lightfeather will not allow anyone in his room. Fayne Dio sets up an alarm trap on the door and windows inside. One of the thieves will distract the guards while the rest slip into Lightfeather’s room through the ceiling and snatch him. The players cannot stop the kidnapping but they may catch the thief who distracts the guards by flirting with them. Her name is Rose and she could reveal the safehouse where Lightfeather is being held. Otherwise, the players may use a successful Investigation DC 17 check to determine where the thieves have gone. A successful survival DC 15 check can also be used to track the thieves. If the players are completely stumped they can turn to Fayne Dio who may use a scrying spell to track down the safe house.

Freeing Dio: Use the Safehouse Map.

The safehouse is an abandoned old temple in the shadier part of Khadij. The thieves here are all women and each one goes by a flower code name. Some flower names you could use for interactions are Daisy, Iris, Marigold, Jasmine, Poppy, Amaryllis, Blossom, and Hyacinth. Each individual thief will surrender if reduced to under half her hit points. The thieves were hired by Hila. They have Lightfeather tied up and are trying to coerce him to give up the Amulet of Greed. 

Front Hall: The Front Hall has two large doors. They’ve been barred from the inside. Two flower thieves guard the door on the outside. They will warn the others if attacked. Two more thieves guard the hall itself. Apart from the front large doors there are no windows or other entrances on the first floor. There were other doors but the flower thieves blocked them up. The front hall has two stairs that go up to the second floor on either end of the hall. Otherwise, they open up into an old worship chamber. If the players make a successful History check DC 18 or a successful religion check DC 15, they will determine that this is an old temple to Waukeen, the god of wealth. They will also know that it was common for the Waukeen priests to create a secret entrance in the back for a quick exit or for wealthy patrons to enter the temple. If the players make a successful Perception or Investigation check DC 15 by the fountain they will find a lever that will open up a secret entrance leading to the left storeroom. The thieves are aware of this entrance and have trapped it with an alarm trap. The players will need to make a successful Perception check DC 15 to spot it and a successful Sleight of Hand check DC 15 to disarm it. Otherwise, it goes off alerting all of the flower thieves to the presence of the players.

Worship Chamber: The old worship chamber is empty apart from several crates filled with incense and candles. The players could create a distraction in here to lure the flower thieves in the front hall into the room if they want to disable them without alerting the rest of the thieves.

Upper Hall: Two stairways lead down to the first floor. There are two rose thieves patrolling this corridor. Windows sit along the walls at regular intervals.

Summoning Chamber: There are six rose thieves in this room along with Hila. Lightfeather has been tied to a chair in the center of the room in the middle of a ritual circle designed to separate Lightfeather from the Amulet of Greed. Several candles on stands surround the ritual circle. A successful arcane or religion check DC 15, will reveal the purpose of the circle. It can end attunement on any magical item. A number of windows stand on the wall that look out into the fountain courtyard. Hila will be revealed here as a rakshasa (see Monster Manual) and while the thieves will run or surrender if reduced to half hit points, Hila fights to the death.

Resolution: Once freed, Gabril Lightfeather, will thank the party and give them a rope of climbing and a bracers of archery as a reward (see Dungeon Master Guide). Gabril will retire back at “The Dancing Djinn” but in a different room to prepare for his meeting with the sultan the next day.