The rains have come early this season and they have hit hard and show no signs of slowing. The roads are flooded, rivers are overrun and the mud is everywhere.

To make matters worse the plague flags are up and the city's are shut tight.

The party finds themselves trapped in the border town of Wrens Crossing till the plague flags are dropped.

Running low on funds, supplies and trapped in a wet, cold, overcrowded town they find them selves in the unenviable position of having to look for a ... gasp ... job!

The Back Story

Raif, the local herbalist finds himself in a bit of a bind. Not only does he have to deal with an overcrowded town in the midst of a plague scare, but he is also faced with a more personal and pressing problem.

Lord Drin , the lord of Wrens Crossing and the surrounding rounds must produce a son by Midwinter or he will lose his claim to the lordship of the area and his brother, The Snake, will be named lord.

So far Drin and his many short lived wives have failed to produce a Son and Lord Drin has come to Raif for a solution.

A solution Raif better produce for Drin or Drin will have him hung.

Raif knows of a possible solution to Drin's 'problem,' but he is so overworked dealing with all the populace getting sick that he can not take the time to work on Drin's cure.

The Hook

Either as a group or individually the Players have herd of Raif's problem and that he is offering good money for help.

The players have been employed by Raif to get the one thing he needs to finish Drin's cure. Raif needs a complete flower from the Midnight Rose plant. A rare rose that only blooms at night.

In order to get Raif a Midnight Rose, the players will need to exit the town, go into the nearby woods (rumored to be haunted), find a healthy sample of the Midnight Rose and return it to Raif by the end of the week.

In return not only will Raif pay the party members a handsome reward, but they will find themselves with a high level (and high ranking) master herbalist in their debt.

Complications

1: The first major complication is getting out of the city. All the known exits out of Wrens Crossing are closed and guarded 24/7 for as long as the plague flags fly. No one gets in or out.

A.) The party could go over the walls but they are patrolled by a guard shift every fifteen minutes.

B.) The party could try contacting the local underworld and see if there is a 'secret way out.' The local thieves _might be willing to smuggle the party in and out of Wrens Crossing but at a high cost.

C.) Or a clever PC might come up with a complete new way to get out of the city.

2: The second major complication facing the party is of course the weather. It is cold and wet, the roads are water logged and muddy and the trip to the woods is just miserable. All die rolls will be made at -2 due to the weather and each PC must make a disease check every hour or catch a cold.

Should anyone fumble this disease check, he or she has caught the plague. At first it will seem as if they just have a bad case of a cold but as the day progresses they will get sicker and sicker till they are so ill that they can not move. (More on this plague later).

Travel in the mud and rain is difficult and tedious. It is impossible to ride and walking is just plain yucky. It will take the party a day and a half to reach the Haunted woods.

Into The Woods

The woods are dark, wet and muddy. The ground is ankle deep in mud and dead leaves and scattered about the area are dead squirrels, victims of the plague.

Giant cobwebs cover many of the tress which are choked and dyeing from the water log. Wolves can be heard howling and occasionally the PCs catch glimpses of them stalking the party.

The forest has a damp, musty smell to it. Fires will not light and the rain and mud seems to just seep into clothing as if alive.

There are two major encounters in the woods, one that happens during the day and the second at night.

A: Wolves

Due to the rain, hunting has grown scarce in the woods and the local wolf population has suffered greatly. Now they must eat whatever they can, whether it be plague-infested squirrels or a band of adventurers.

The wolves will catch scent of the party almost the second they enter the forest and will begin to stalk them. Lacking the strength to attack the party directly, they will wait till they can ambush lone members. Just think of all those nature documentaries where the Jackals single out one gazelle and get it and use the same tactics with the wolves.

There are twelve (12) wolves in the pack. Each one has fifteen (15) hit points (or whatever) and attacks for 1d8+1 damage.

B: Orcs

Something wicked is moving in the land, an evil presence is behind the weather and the plague and it has sent its agents in to the forest to perform evil deeds.

The party will find the Midnight Rose shortly after nightfall and will be able to pluck it and store it with little trouble. Now they need to get it back to Raif before dawn, which means a mad dash back through the forest and into town.

As the party begins their trip back to the city, they will get the feeling they are being followed. They will catch glimpses of red eyes in the dark and hear the guttural sound of the Black Speech echo in the rain.

The Orcs will stalk the part for about ten (10) minutes to determine their strength, then they will do what Orcs do best.

Attack

First the Orc Archers will fire a volley of Black Arrows (1d10+4) then the Orc Footmen will charge the party from the woods.

While the party will be at -2 to all rolls because of the rain and mud and an additional -1 because of the darkness (Unless they have night vision or blind fighting), the Orcs will suffer no such penalty and in fact are +3 to all rolls to hit (Orcs are just that tough)

To make matters worse the Orcs have been told to capture anyone they find as slaves for their Master.

Orc Footmen (15) Scimitars (1d8+3). Chain mail. Shields. 20 Hit Points each.

Orc Archers (8) Black Long Bows (1d10+4). Chain mail. Daggers.

Black Orc Commander (1). Long Sword (2d6+5). Chain mail. Shield. Spear (1d8+5)

The Orcs will attempt to capture the party and take them back to their Master; the party should do the smart thing and split up and run. Or they could fight the Orcs, though chances are the Orcs will win.

If the party chooses to fight the Orcs, rock their worlds. Run the Orcs like the killing machines they are, take a few party members down then at the last second have the cavalry show up (see below).

If the party chooses to run , have the Orcs give chase. Make it hairy. Run them ragged, then again have the cavalry show up.

Cliffhanger ending

When all looks bleak and the Orcs look like they are going to win, the party hears the sound of hunting horns and a group of men in armor come riding in on horses armed with spears and long swords.

They will aid the party in routing the Orcs, though a few of the Orcs will escape in the rain.

Then the men in armor will come over and see to the party's wounded and ask about their health and what they are doing in the woods. The men have the look of Knights about them though they carry no banner or wear any heraldry to give a clue to their allegiance.

After the party has been bandaged and fed and small talk has been traded, the leader of the Knights will invite the party to come back with them to their home.

Of course the party will refuse as they still have to deliver the flower to Raif by dawn.

At which point the leader will take off his helm and smile an ugly smile as all fifteen knights draw their swords and point them at you.

"I am sorry, I don't remember giving you a choice. You are coming with us back to our holdfest to be our guest for the night. Don't try to run, my men are on horseback and can easily outrun you. Don't try to fight as I have fifteen swords at my command."

The party will have no choice but to be the unwilling guests of this ugly man until they figure out a way to escape, and dawn is only a few hours away.

It's going to be a long night.

Next issue: Chapter Two of Down and Out in Wrens Crossing -- Action, Sports, Snakes.

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