The Ghoul Keeper's Pact

Foreword
This adventure is designed to be played by one to three player characters from levels 2 to 5. Because the primary appeal of the tale which follows is its "whodunit" nature, the referee may decide that it is appropriate for higher level characters as well. However, unless generosity is to be the rule of the day, little experience will be gained from this short trek, as it is written to be complete in a single evening's play. The referee is encouraged to read the entire adventure thoroughly before attempting to conduct a game session.

Note: It was play tested by a single 4^th level Fighter character who was able to complete the adventure successfully without it being too easy.

Introduction
Several months ago, an unscrupulous thief named Galthor struck an unholy agreement with five ghouls following an accidental close encounter with the gruesome beasts. The deal was such that, in exchange for secretly transporting the ghouls from town-to-town in his oversized wooden wagon and assisting them in their search for suitable victims, he would be free to collect the victims' property and treasure to keep for himself when the undead had finished feeding upon them.

To date, the agreement has worked to the two party's mutual benefit. Galthor has proved, much to the ghouls' delight, to be quite adept at finding strong, healthy victims (typically families) who, by mere coincidence, happen to be fairly wealthy. With the help of fate, his travels have brought him and his devilish entourage to the very town where the PCs happen to be staying.

If the player characters are worth their heroic reputations, Galthor's free ride, as well as that of the ghouls, should soon come to an abrupt end.

Background and Premise
The referee should decide upon a setting for the adventure which is appropriate for the adventuring party's current campaign. The adventure is suitable for any small town, but it is somewhat important for them to be visitors, as their first contact with Galthor will be at the adequate three-story Inn in which they have decided to stay.

Galthor keeps his ghouls locked in a wooden wagon by day. At night he looses them on carefully chosen victims and loots the poor souls' homes after the ghouls have finished their business. The wagon is secured by a normal heavy padlock which can be picked by a theif. In addition to the five ghouls, it contains a sizeable amount of treasure (310 gp, 168 ep, 95 sp, 210 cp, 21 items of jewelry, 11 gems), but any party member who keeps any portion of it with knowledge of its origin should be penalized and be forced to make an alignment check. It should first be offered to the authorities or to a worthy charity.

GHOULS (5): AC 6; MV 9"; HD 2; THAC0 19; #AT 3; Dmg 1-3/1-3/1-6; SZ M; AL CE; XP 65 +2/hp; INT: low; MR: std; Special Attacks: Paralyzation (touch); Special Defenses: Immunity to sleep/charm spells.

GALTHOR (R2) Human; AC 8 (padded armor); MV 12"; hp 9; #AT 1; Dmg 1d4 (dagger); STR 7, DEX 9, CON 14, INT 6, WIS 5, CHA 3; AL NE; THAC0 20; Special Attacks: Poison dagger (Type A: 2-5 rounds, 0 damage or 15 hp depending on save).

The ghoulkeeper has arrived during the night and will be noticed almost immediately by the PCs the following morning. He is a quiet character who keeps to himself and will usually be seen sitting alone in the darkest corner of a room. If he is approached, he will identify himself as a traveling merchant in town "for just a few days."

If the barkeeper is questioned about the stranger, he will tell the party that he arrived very early this morning, at about 2 or 3 am.

The First Day
The ghouls have wasted no time in making their mark on the city. During their first night on the town, they have murdered a wealthy aristocratic family whose disappearance will be noted at dawn. Galthor checks in to the Inn immediately following this incident.

Read or paraphrase the following:

"You awaken early and make your way to the Inn's dining room located on the ground floor. Aside from the barkeeper, who is hurriedly polishing glasses and mugs in anticipation of the day's business, the room is empty. Without looking up from his work, he asks, `What can I get for you this morning?'"

"As you seat yourselves and begin to engage in light conversation, you note a strange fellow seated in the corner whom you don't recognize. He must have arrived during the wee hours of the morning and stayed up all night, for you can't help but notice the mug of ale in front of him on the table. The stranger's features are indiscernible in the unlit darkness of his location."

At an appropriate time during the morning meal, read or paraphrase the following:

"You are interrupted by the sudden arrival of one of the townspeople. A young squire bursts through the front door of the Inn and quickly shouts something about a murder during the night, and the mayor giving a speech in the village square. Before he can be questioned, he dashes out as quickly as he arrived, the door left open wide and squeaking on its hinges. The quiet of the sunny morning outside gradually becomes a distant roar disseminating from the center of town."

The Mayor's Speech
The players are assumed to attend the mayor's announcement. If they are astute however, they will notice that Galthor is absent among those who have congregated in the village square.

"Good morning everyone. It's nice to see us all together on such a beautiful day. I only wish it could be under different circumstances…As some of you may already know, the Kalymyrr family was savagely murdered last night as they slept quietly in their home on the west side. It is unknown at this time who was responsible for this terrible tragedy, but you may all rest assured that the perpetrator or perpetrators will not go unpunished.

"There was little sign of a struggle, so it seems they were taken by surprise. However, the lock on the front door was visibly broken, and all valuables had been removed from the home. Anyone who has any information which could help us to find the killer or killers should contact me at city hall."

After the second night of killings, a reward of 500 gold pieces will be offered by the mayor for finding those responsible for the murders.

Loose Ends
The referee should make a concerted effort to identify Galthor as a suspicious character without pointing him out as an obvious suspect. All of the following items should at some point be noted by the characters:

• While he claims to be a traveling merchant, he is never seen selling his wares. In fact, his wooden wagon remains parked all day in an alley behind the Inn.
• During the mayor's speech, virtually every one of the townspeople will congregate in the village square. The one notable exception will be Galthor.
• At least one of the PCs has a third floor room which overlooks the alley below. If astute during the night, Galthor can be seen hitching up the wagon and starting one of his deadly nightly runs.
  

A further source of information for the party is a cowardly assassin named Tarsk. He silently witnessed the Kalymyrr murder and will contact the party only if he feels they will pay him or split the mayor's reward. He is much too infamous in the area to come forward and claim the reward for himself, so he will try to profit by selling his information to the highest bidder. Tarsk should be used at the referee's discretion only if the players are having difficulty, or have failed to identify Galthor as a suspect.

TARSK (R3: Assassin) Human; AC 8 (dexterity); MV 12"; hp 12; #AT 1; Dmg 1d4 (dagger)/1d6 (short sword); STR 9, DEX 16, CON 13, INT 12, WIS 9, CHA 7; AL CN; THAC0 19. Special attacks: Backstab (THAC0 15). XP 76.