Beneath Copperton
Part of the Falconrun Series
A classic dungeon crawl!
The Adventure Hook
You have been summoned to a meeting in the Handel Town Hall. A Court official has arrived from the capital requesting to meet with you at the request of the King. The traveler wears the scarlet robes of a monk of the Order of the Red Dawn. He is Brother Gregory, an advisor to King Harold. He seeks your help with a dangerous quest to help protect the Kingdom.
The monk pours you each a glass of fine wine he has brought with him from the King’s private reserves. He tells you, “Settle in and let me tell you a bit of history.”
Gregory drinks deep from his glass and begins his tale, “To the south of here lies what was the village of Copperton. It stood in a strategic location for trade both here in the Kingdom and abroad. It benefitted from a deep port and trade across the Pearl Sea was brisk. It served as an excellent stopover for those traveling from Falcon’s Rest or Farhaven on their way to Dorn. To its north were the Wyvern’s Bumps – a series of small hills situated on the coast. A large copper deposit had been discovered in the Bumps which originally lead to the establishment and growth of Copperton. Indeed, the future looked bright for Copperton… until the war.”
Gregory continued, his tone serious, “About ten years ago a dispute arose over control of the copper mines in the bumps. The Graystorm Exploratory Company sought to monopolize mining in the Bumps. This caused direct conflict with the Eastern Gnome Trade Confederation who had offices in our capital, but it was known that they were well funded by King Zax Threetoes of the gnome kingdom of Silverglade which sprawls across the mountains on the western continent.
A bloody battle between the two organizations broke out and tension rose between King Harold who backed the GEC and King Zax who backed the EGTC. It looked as if the corporate quarrel might lead to all-out war between Falconrun and Silverglade. But then a local priest, Golan Greenlief stepped in. He brokered a truce that resolved the issues. Graystorm was awarded a ¾ share of all mining in return for using the EGTC as the exclusive shippers of all ore. For his efforts, Golan received a tithe from both companies. As you can imagine, while the deal satisfied the two kings, neither company was happy with the arrangement, but initially the truce was kept, and the payments were made. Things were settled – or so it seemed. But then strange events started to occur. Reports began to trickle in of missing children and incursions by sinister creatures surprising and killing hunters and trappers in the Chimewoods near the village.
The troubles continued culminating with Golan’s mysterious disappearance. Many thought he had been killed by one of the mining companies as payback for his interference, but other rumors surfaced of Golan delving into magic better left alone. Some say he began to deal with demons and had been overwhelmed in the process. And then, the copper mine went dry! For the last year or so Copperton has been little more than a struggling backwater village. A town that never was. Yes, Copperton was all but forgotten. Until now. For it was, about a month ago, that Victoria deGrange, a sage and professor at the university in the capital made an incredible discovery. She had been studying the accounts of an incursion of evil and foul gnolls who had laid siege to and captured the Fantail Archipelago in Antioch across the Pearl Sea. This was no ordinary band of gnoll marauders. They were clever and dangerous and where lead by a sinister being – the Lich Lord Nafar. One by one, the towns on the archipelago fell with Nafar providing unnatural strength to the beastly creatures and advising them on strategy and tactics. It was her study of the Siege of Fantail that led her to alert the King of her fears. When reports came into the capital that three weeks ago Copperton had been destroyed and all evidence pointed to gnolls, Victoria raised the alarm. The attacks were too precise for ordinary gnolls. These were Nafar’s troops she surmised, and he was making a move on Falconrun. At first the King did not believe her. Why would Nafar set his sights here? And why start his invasion in such an insignificant place as Copperton. But Victoria was undeterred and continued her research… and then… she found the proof she needed! Hidden among the old scrolls of the GEC’s company records, there was a report from a company spy assigned to watch Golan. And the scroll confirmed not one, but two sinister rumors. The spy reported that he had successfully led a hired assassin to Golan with the intent of ending his life. They followed Golan down into the sewers under the village and the assassin killed him… or so they thought. To their horror Golan rose and before their eyes he transformed into a hideous creature. The spy barely made it out of the tunnels alive. The assassin was not so lucky. Before Nafar became the abomination he is today he had been none other than Golan Greenlief, the cleric of the Order of Starlight who had been assigned to the newly built church in Copperton those many years ago. The spy’s report also confirmed that Golan had been using the sewers under Copperton as a sanctuary for his dark arts. Victoria was now certain. The signs were clear, Nafar had hidden his phylactery in the sewers of Copperton and now he was back. Her research also confirmed that the sewer entrance that would lead to where that evil storage jar could be found would be marked with Nafar’s seal – two triangles pierced by a sword.”
Gregory poured another glass of wine and concluded his story, “As you can imagine, this information is extremely secret and confidential. If Nafar’s agents found out, surely, they would move the phylactery elsewhere. The King is sure Nafar has spies in the capital – perhaps even in the Court – he could not risk sending his own agents to retrieve it. So instead, at the advice of his Seneschal he has turned to you, as a group of would-be adventurers who have served us so well before. You must travel to Copperton and enter the sewers and retrieve the phylactery. Time is of the essence and the fate of the kingdom hangs in the balance!”
