"Anything to get out of a wedding…"

Foreword

This short adventure is designed to be complete in a single session's play. It is highly recommended that the DM read it in its entirety before attempting to conduct it live with players.

Background

This adventure revolves around a young couple named Martin and Lily. The two are engaged to be married in one week's time, but Martin has mysteriously disappeared. He left town about a week ago in search of plant specimens for his studies as a botanist and hasn't been seen or heard from since then, despite the fact he had only planned to travel for about a day's ride from the city.

Lily, with her overactive imagination, fears that her beloved fiancee has been abducted by members of a bizarre cult which has been growing in size over the past several months. In reality, however, the young man has secretly fallen prey to one of his would-be specimens, a deadly Yellow Musk Creeper.

Introduction

The rumors of a cult called the "Ozair" are designed to throw the adventuring party off track in their search for Martin. However, the DM should let the PCs discover information about the cult on their own, since there is a danger of the players getting too focused on the rumors and never finding the young botanist at all. Lily will voice her fears about the cult during her initial encounter with the player characters, but after this there should be no further mention of it unless the party directly questions the townspeople on the subject. Most folk are quite afraid of the Ozair and will not be overly anxious to answer questions about them to strangers for fear of reprisal from the cult.

Lily may seek to find adventurers by looking at a local tavern, or perhaps by posting a missing persons notice on the community bulletin board. The referee should choose a method which best suits his or her players' situation. When this is done, read or paraphrase the following:

"Good day, strangers <sobbing>. My name is Lily. I know that you busy folk are probably tired from your latest adventure, but might I offer you a job? I'm looking for my fiancee whose been missing for a week and I'll pay you as much as I can if you'd be willing to help me find him. I have gone to the Sheriff, but he and his men just laugh at me and say that Martin ran off with some floozy.

"But…sob, sob, … I'm afraid that something terribly may have happened! He was traveling in his wagon on the north road out of town. I've heard that the Ozairs travel that road at night a great deal and I think they may have kidnapped him! Oh!! I begged him not to go until after the wedding, but he insisted that he acquire some late blooming samples of some rare plant…"

With that, Lily breaks down into a crying fit and will need to be consoled before she can offer any additional information. She is prepared to offer her dowry of 150gp to the party if they are willing to help her find Martin. Whether or not the DM decides it is noble for a party to take money from a crying woman is entirely his or her decision. At any rate, they should be given experience for earning the reward whether or not they decide to keep it.

The Creeper's Lair

The Yellow Musk Creeper which has taken Martin lives in a shallow cave set into the side of a short cliff only about a day's ride from town. Martin will be encountered near this area in the form of a Yellow Musk Zombie as he attempts to lure the party to within the Creeper's grasp.

YELLOW MUSK CREEPER (1): AC 7; MV 0"; HD 3; THAC0 17; #AT 7; Dmg Special; SZ L; AL N; MORALE Fearless; XP 110; INT: Non; MR: Nil; Special Attacks: Pollen; Special Defenses: Immunities.

YELLOW MUSK ZOMBIE (Martin): AC 9; MV 6"; HD 2; THAC0 19; #AT 1; Dmg 1-8; SZ M; AL N; MORALE Fearless; XP 120; INT: Animal (1); MR: Nil; Special Attacks: Nil; Special Defenses: Immunities.

Clues

The north road from town is indeed travelled by the Ozair at night. If the party chooses to stake out this area they will undoubtedly encounter a group of cult members. If approached correctly, they may even be able to provide information about Martin. One or more members of the party may report having seen a man near the area where the Creeper makes its lair.

OZAIR PRIESTS (2; P2) Human; AC 5 (Chain Mail); MV 12"; hp 11; #AT 1; Dmg 2d4 (Morning Star); AL NE; THAC0 20; Special Attacks/Defenses: Spell Use.

Martin's horse may be found grazing in a field which overlooks the cliff which shrouds the Creeper's lair. It is still hitched to its wagon which contains partially consumed rations and various harmless plant specimens.

Astute party members may notice the stench of rotting flesh in the general vicinity of the Creeper's lair. The source of this odor is the decaying bodies of the Creeper's dead victims. A thorough search of the area will result in the discovery of at least two sets of remains.