Spoilers for Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen...
Moments after the party drove off the last of the traitorous mercenaries the Solamnic knight Becklin, Mayor Raven Uth Vogler, and Cudgel, commander of the Ironclad Regiment, arrived. They had barely survived an assassination attempt by several mercenaries as they prepared to watch the battle reenactment along with other townsfolk from a nearby hill.
In the aftermath of the tragedy the great priority was to get the survivors and townsfolk back to Vogler with all speed, and the leaders and characters rapidly accomplished this, then sequestered themselves in the Brass Crab Inn to hold a council and figure out what had occured and what its import was. A mercenary was also taken hostage, and was held in a spare room of the inn. Cudgel requested that the characters accompany her for the interrogation.
Cudgel struck the prisoner and smashed some of the room's furniture in her fury as she confronted the traitor. Turning back to the door she whispered to the minotaur knight Asterius: "I need you all to take over. I'll kill him if I continue like this."
Asterius nodded. He and Gringle attempted to physically intimidate the mercenary, as Asterius picked up the prisoner and the chair he was tied to and shook him upside down. Gringle took this opportunity to search the man's pockets and scoop up the loose coins that fell as he was shaken and his face turned beet red.
"I am Duke Gringle Graggle of Greenwood, and you must help me out so I can help you," said Gringle.
"I don't have'tah do nothin'," the mercenary said.
Davgin looked over the man, thinking: probably weak willed. And cast charm on him. The prisoner sang like a bird for his old friend Davgin then, telling how Gragonis, the half-ogre was the leader of the traitors. That he had offered gold after meeting with a hooded figure wearing black and gold armor and visited the woods East of Vogler over the past several days. He also recounted how some mercenaries still loyal to Cudgel remained at the Ironclad Regiment's camp with her loyal lieutenant, Jeyev.
The group then stepped out, leaving Cudgel to provide her summary judgment and execution of the traitor. After all, this was now a time of war.
After returning to their council Cudgel spoke forcefully: "I must return to my camp and discover what has occured! I must see if Jeyev is still loyal. And what has happened to those that fled the battle. Will anyone accompany me?"
Gringle and Thalis agreed to go, while the others decided to investigate the woods were Gragonis had gone. They both departed immediately. The sun was now gone after the long day of the Kingfisher Festival and the Battle of High Hill, and they each arrived at their destinations under the light of Krynn's moons.
Cudgel, Gringle, and Thalis were hailed by the picket at the stockade the Ironclad Regiment had set up around their camp.
"Halt! Who goes there?"
Cudgel swore loudly in dwarvish, something Gringle couldn't understand. He hear the sentries speaking to one another:
"It must be Cudgel!"
They rapidly swung the lashed staves aside to allow Cudgel past the barricade. She headed directly to the center of the camp. Looking about Gringle saw tents, bedrolls, and campfires for a force of several hundred. There seemed to be perhaps seventy soldiers judging by the occupied bedrolls. All the lights and fires were doused, under strict light control, but he could see pickets posted around the edges of the camp keeping watch over the approaches.
They reached an open area in the center of the camp and Cudgel dismounted, striding toward a tent that seemed to be hers. A faint light shone out between the flaps.
"Jeyev!" Cudgel spat as she flipped the flap open. A man with a shaved head and red-tinged beard snapped to attention, hopping out of a chair at a small table covered in maps where a guttering candle flickered. Cudgel unleashed a string of dwarven curses then demanded a report from Jayev.
"We heard about the battle at High Hill, ma'am, and of Gragonis' treachery. We've slain those traitors that have made their way back here and I was planning our next move. We presumed you dead."
"Well, here I am. Kicking hard still. Rouse the men. I want a cavalry patrol out to hunt down any of those remaining fools! Get everyone up! We're standing watch all night and getting ready to move out!"
The camp was soon a blur of activity as troops mounted up and others began packing. Gringle took the opportunity to poke around. Cudgel pointed him to a large wagon that had belonged to Gragonis. Six oxen that pulled the wagon grazed in a grassy area next to the wagon. Gringle tried the doors and windows, unsuccessfully try to jiggle them open with his thieves tools. Finally he dragged Thalis over and had him smash the door. Thalis opened a crack in the door, allowing Gringle to snake his nimble hands through and jimmy the door open.
The wagon was dark, with a half-ogre sized bed, a large trunk at it's foot, and a counter with some unfinished food sitting out. Gringle managed to open the chest, finding a great sword, a tan bag with interesting marks, some gold ingots, and a map or scroll case.
He took all of the items, passing the great sword to Thalis, and rubbing his clawed hands gleefully as he stowed the ingots in his bags. Then the pair went off to assist Cudgel and prepare for the return to Vogler in the morning.
At the same time Asterius, Fallon, and Davgin went into the woods, searching for any clue as to who Grqgonis had met prior to the battle. They found a number of footprints, some of human-made boots, and others clawed and foreign to them. They followed the tracks further to the Northwest until they came to a small valley, and stopped short at a ledge that let them view the area. Spread below were many red tents and camp fires, with hooded figures with red and black armor moving amongst them. The encampment was large, perhaps a thousand soldiers or more.
"What should we do? Asked Asterius, "Maybe we can set a fire or do something to set the camp in disarray."
"Why do you assume they're hostile?" Asked Davgin, "The evidence isn't conclusive that they paid Gragonis... although it's a very compelling theory based on inference...I suppose I concur with your analysis, perhaps we should do something."
Fallon narrowed her eyes, squinting in the moonlight and recognizing that among the cloaked figures were ones with wings and claws like the strange creatures that had fought them on the road to Vogler.
"I think they're bad news," she said, sharing her observations with her friends.
At this moment they heard the crack of a branch and turned to see a patrol of the creatures and soldiers moving towards them through the trees. Combat was joined immediately, but they could see that there were too many to dispatch quickly. Thinking quickly Asterius clotheslined the front rank of enemies, hurling them into one another and setting them into disarray in the darkness. Fallon added to the confusion, pulling out her stringed instrument and banging out a cacophony of notes. Davgin hurled a spray of fire, badly burning several. With these distractions the three managed to slip away into the trees, escaping the patrol.
The trio hurried back to Vogler to rouse Mayor Raven and Becklin. Soon after the three arrived, with first light of dawn, Cudgel and Gringle rode back through the gates and rendezvoused with the others at the Brass Crab once more.
The mood was tense with the news of the hostile army. The party now had been awake almost twenty four hours through the almost forgotten Kingfisher festival, the battle, and the long night.
“What do you think we ought to do?” Becklin asked the group. Asterius considered the question, his bovine eyes balefully looking back.
“We must evacuate the town. There is no hope of survival otherwise,” he said. Becklin met his gaze with steady, steely blue eyes.
“You speak the truth,” she said.
Before the conversation could go further, an old fisherman who had been standing watch at the Fisher’s Gate ran into the inn, panting and breathless.
“A messenger in black and red armor stands at the gates demanding the leader of the town!”
When the leaders arrived at the gate they met an armored figure on a warhorse.
“I bear a message from the Red Dragon Army, the heralds of Takhisis," he said. “Where is the leader of Vogler?”
Before anyone else could react, Gringle stepped forward flourishing his cap in a grand gesture.
“It is I, Duke Gringle Graggle of Greenwood—I speak for the town.”
The herald gazed at the goblin as though he were boot filth.
“Fine then. Quarter the troops of Takhisis this knight, by order of Belephaion, the voice of Takhisis. Refuse and the town will stream with blood and fire. This is the will of the Dragon Queen."
We covered a lot of ground in the session, and I modified it slightly from the written adventure. For instance, the characters don't accompany Cudgel. I thought it added more drama to have them have the option instead of railroading them. Gringle's investigation was also all impromptu. The scouting mission that discovers the dragon army is a set encounter, but I enjoyed cutting between the two scenarios.
Really the biggest thing about this adventure is that the players need to be made the central protagonists instead of not being the focus of attention in the adventure. They need to always be in command or at the center of the action. There can be important NPCs, but they need to enrich instead of overshadow the importance of the players.
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