Missing Unicorn

I had to work like mad to create maps and mash-up an adventure for my Swords & Wizardry campaign after the players ended the previous adventure, The Hall of Harsh Reflection, prematurely. But I managed to get it done before the session. The mash-up I created used the plot from the Creations Edge Games Swords & Wizardry mini-adventure Morganna's Zoo written by Matthew E. Kline and added in the Dungeon Magazine Adventure "Menagerie" from Dungeon issue 126 by B. Matthew Conklin III.

Two adventures with similar enough plots that fit well together. I thought I might get one session out of it but it looks like it is going to get me two sessions. After that we shall see if the players decide to pick up the dropped plot again.

Session 64: Menagerie

Lakima (human magic-user), Eathwund (human fighter), Alonso (human fighter), Aashdoshan (human necromancer), Fenris the Filch (human thief NPC).

After meeting with Lord Colten Brightmoor, the members of the Company of the Black Dragon rest for a few days. Domago keeps an eye on the recovery of Vervork and Lantosh at the Church of St. Aleena. Their business agent Moffatt sends word that they have an interesting job offer from the Elvish Ambassador Wynather.

Lakima, Eathwund, Alonso, Aashdoshan, and Fenris walk over to the Estate where Wynather resides. There they meet Evenar Wildstride an elven ranger from Haven. Evenar explains that a Unicorn was captured in the woods of Haven and she has tracked the hunters who captured the unicorn to Edgerton. Aashdoshan asks questions about the hunters to which Evenar replies that she never was able to get within a day of those she tracked. She believes the hunters were four men. She lost the trail near Edgerton. Not knowing what to do next she came to speak to Wynather. Wynather suggests that the two humans in Edgerton who trade and keep exotic animals might be the right place to start. These are Morganna’s Zoo and Gwen’s Menagerie. Wynather offers 2,500 gold for the return of the unicorn.

The heroes set out immediately for the Menagerie as the more likely of the two locations to look. The building housing the menagerie is a street behind the Town square not far from the riverbank. When they approach the dark stone building, they see a small crowd gathered in front of the double doors to the building. A man blocks people from entering the building while another man can be seen excitedly running through the crowd urging people to flee.

“Run, the monsters are loose!”

The party approaches the front door and the man on the door initially yells at them to stay back. But once he recognizes them, he eagerly waves them forward. The man, who they later learn is Gwen’s assistant Eigeen, tells them that something happened in the shop a short time ago. Before he arrived for work, Javers (the man running about) burst out of the shop exclaiming that some of the more exotic animals kept there had escaped. Worse yet, Javers told him that the owner Gwen had been turned to stone by a cockatrice.

Eigeen asks the heroes if they will enter the shop and rescue Gwen while being careful to capture but not harm any of the escaped creatures. Lakima begins to state the standard rates charged by the Company of the Black Dragon, but Eigeen anxiously tells them that they will need to work it out with Gwen once she is rescued. He is just an employee. They do get a list of creatures that have likely escaped, a pair of cockatrices, a dark mantle, and three shocker lizards.

Fenris enters the shop first followed by the rest who fan out down the various aisles in the showroom. Eigeen closes the doors behind them. They do not find any creatures in the main showroom but they do spot a petrified man who appears to be a customer. In the back room, they can hear the squawking of numerous birds.

Lakima drops his pet mimic on the floor and motions it ahead of the group as they move through a curtain into the back of the shop. They see a room in shambles with dozens of wooden cages on shelves or lying on the floor. Some of the cages on the shelf have exotic birds in them and some are empty with their doors ajar. On the floor are several larger cages with their doors ajar. In the distance, they see a metal, spiral staircase but the bottom four feet of the staircase are gone. On the floor sitting in a pile of rust flakes is a Rust Monster. Lakima and Eathwund quickly identify the creature as they have encountered some before and they warn everyone.

Lakima sends the mimic ahead of him in the shape of a barrel with four legs. The mimic charges the rust monster which in turn bats at the mimic with no effect. The mimic bites the rust monster several times on one leg driving it back through the room. Lakima yells at the mimic to drive the rust monster into a large, wooden cage that is lying on the floor but the creature steps around the cage.

With the rust monster driven off the group examine the rest of the room. They find the petrified body of the shop owner Gwendolyn near the metal staircase. They also find doors that head outside and a large cart. Suddenly, an octopus-like creature drops from the ceiling settling on Eathwund’s chainmail coifed head. A moment later the area is engulfed in darkness. Eathwund grabs his quarterstaff and tries to knock the darkmantle off of himself. Aashdoshan and Lakima cast glow cantrips that seem to help a little in pushing back the magical darkness. Eathwund does manage to solidly hit the darkmantle and that is enough to dislodge it. The creature retreats up the metal staircase.

The party makes their way around the corner of the room and they find a closet full of invoices and receipts. While the rest of the heroes spread out looking for the missing cockatrices, Aashdoshan spends time sorting through the receipts looking for the mention of a unicorn. He does not find any mention of unicorns but does find the receipts for the cockatrices, shocker lizards, and rust monster.

While heading into the back room again they confront the rust monster again. The creature has returned to eating the staircase. This time the mimic is able to push the rust monster into a wooden cage and Alonso leaps forward and locks the cage.

Unable to find anything on the ground floor level, the party decides to continue upstairs. Fenris scrambles up the wall and leaps onto the lowest remaining step of the staircase. The staircase wobbles ominously but Fenris assures them that it is sturdy. He drops a rope for the other men. They climb up into a short hall. At the far end is a globe of magical darkness. Several arrows are fired into the darkness by Eathwund. Most hit wood but one hits something else and the darkness is dispelled. They see the darkmantle splayed out on the ceiling dripping black blood. While they debate whether to kill it, Fenris pins its head to the ceiling with a crossbow bolt ending the discussion.

A door opens into a workshop area in the building. The area is a mess, several items on a worktable have fallen over into a large puddle on the floor. Of greater concern is an enormous shocker lizard eying them from further into the chamber. Although such lizards rarely grow to be no more than 3 feet long, this one is 10 feet from head to tail. Two normal-sized shocker lizards are also spied sitting nearby.

Before anything bad can happen, Lakima casts sleep and all three lizards fall unconscious. Lakima tells Eathwund and Alonso to gather up some cages for the two small lizards. As they move to pick up some cages, Alonso is attacked by an animated chair, and Eathwund by an animated hat rack. Both are quickly dealt with. But the door to the balcony swings upon and strikes Lakima. The two smaller lizards are placed in cages and the big one is tied up. In a nearby room, they find the cause of all of the ruckus. A strange, flying lizard is found trying to break its way out a window. Small objects fly through the air near it (quills, glasses, and the like). A chair animates and attacks Eathwund. He quickly smashes it. Eathwund tries to break the window with arrows but misses. Fenris manages to smash one pane of glass with a bolt and the flying snake scoots right out through the hole and disappears. All of the animated objects drop to the floor.

Fenris, Eathwund, and Aashdoshan start searching the area. Aashdoshan finds the empty remains of some potions on the workbench including an enlarge potion. Eathwund finds 4 salves of stone to skin in a desk drawer. Fenris finds a locked chest but he is unable to open it. Lakima burns the chest open with acid. Inside they find four large bags of gold coins which Fenris puts in his pack. After some arguing, Fenris agrees to put the gold back as Lakima tells him they can get the gold as a reward.

Armed with the salve they head downstairs and restore Gwen to normal health. She is confused at first but quickly takes stock of the situation. She is dismayed at the damage to her shop but eventually agrees to pay the Company of the Black Dragon 3,000 gold if they capture the cockatrices. Gwen tells them some details on how to handle cockatrices and then hurries out the back door to safety.

The heroes eventually find the two cockatrices in the showroom hiding amongst some jars of ointment on a high shelf. One becomes aggressive and flies at Alonso and Fenris, they manage to duck out of the way. The other is caught in a web by Aashdoshan behind the counter. Seeing how well that worked Lakima uses his wand of webs to trap the other cockatrice near the petrified human patron.

They go outside to inform Gwen and ask her how she handles the creatures. She tells them of some leather handling gloves she has in her room. Those gloves are procured and handed to Fenris. But Fenris shakes his head and hands them to Alonso. Alonso puts on the gloves and tries to grab a cockatrice but misses. The cockatrice pecks Alonso on the arm turning him, and the gloves, to stone. Alonso’s petrified body is dragged out of the webs and restored. The gloves are now handed to Fenris. Fenris manages to grab one cockatrice and he puts it in a cage. Before he can try for the second one Lakima comes up with an idea. He sends Eathwund to a nearby smithy to procure a pair of long, metal tongs. These are handed to Fenris and he manages to grab the second cockatrice and secure it. The company yells for Gwen to enter the shop and they show her that they have safely captured the cockatrices. Gwen pays the Company of the Black Dragon the agreed amount. They do ask Gwen if anyone has asked about unicorns but she tells them that she never deals in creatures that large. She has not heard anything but suggests they check with Morganna the owner of the Zoo.

The company heads to a nearby Tavern and enjoys a meal and some drinks. Then they decide to check out the zoo since it appears to be the only lead. They get to the Zoo well before dusk and pay the 1 copper entrance fee. A burly man who gives his name as Galvin leads them on a guided tour. Inside he shows them cages containing stirges, an axebeak, and a giant constrictor snake. In a yard, he shows them larger pens that hold several larger exotic creatures, a leopard, baboon, giant ape, troll, ogre, owlbear, manticore, and a land shark. The Land Shark certainly should be able to easily escape its paddock along with some of the other creatures. But Galvin assures them it is all perfectly safe. They keep the creatures drugged and docile.

After the tour Lakima asks him about unicorns and Galvin says that they have never had a unicorn in the zoo. Keeping intelligent creatures would be wrong he insists. When Lakima points out the troll and the ogre he just shrugs and says they are not really intelligent and besides they are happy here. The party asks Galvin several other questions about areas off-limits in the zoo and about how they acquire the creatures. Galvin proudly proclaims that he is a member of the team of hunters that capture creatures. Satisfied for now the entire group leaves the zoo a few hours before dusk.