Resting for a day or so after arriving at the village of Myrehall, the players are confronted with their next challenge. The local livestock is being raided. Who is responsible? Is the mysterious Molgond mixed up somehow? And what are they going to do about it?

Emerging from the Red Tavern one morning the players find a heated discussion underway in the street between a number of villagers and Terrowin the Reeve,the local authority. Jed the shepherd, backed up by others, is expressing concern about the safety of the village flock.

Jed: I tell 'ee that sheep have been taken. Taken I tell 'ee.
Jed: Where? If I knew that I wouldn't be stood hear complaining about it now would I!

Terrowin: How on earth can you be sure that one or two sheep have gone missing? And what makes you think they've been taken?

Jed: I know my sheep, and you can't tell me I don't!

Terrowin: Well I don't have the time to waste on a wild sheep chase. When you have some concrete proof then we'll talk.

It turns out that Jed believes some sheep have been taken from the village flock while he was camped out on the outskirts of the village, although most were left untouched, which is why Terrowin is having a hard time believing that Jed knows each and every one of his sheep well enough to be sure that just one or two have gone. Turning away from Jed, Terrowin sees the players emerging from the tavern and approaches them while Jed slopes off with the other peasants grumbling loudly.

Hey there! I assuming you heard about that? Well I don't have time for this, I have to head off soon.
Would you be willing to look into it and see if there's any truth in what that idiot is wittering on about? He may be an idiot, but the village can't afford to lose its flock. I can offer you a small reward, say 40 crowns?

If the players accept they should talk to Jed. If they refuse Terrowin will shrug and head off and the players will then be approached later by Jed as they move around the village.

You there! Yes 'mmm talkin' to you! You 'mmm helped Fared when those creatures attacked him. Will you 'mmm help me too? I's worried about my sheep. Every night this week I's 'mmm settle down for the night, and in the morning one's not there any more. I's lost three already and I won't lose any more.

Jed doesn't know what is taking the sheep, just that they are disappearing. If the players agree to help then move on to Part Two.

The players may decide that they want to follow up on Molgond. If they visit his cottage they find it locked up, and no answer to knocking on the door. The players could try to pick the lock, but will need someone with Thieves' Tools (and proficient in their use) and make a Dexterity Check against DC20 (Molgond is very security conscious). The door is steel reinforced and heavily barred from the inside so kicking it in is even harder (Strength Check against DC25) and will attract quite a bit of unwelcome attention, including from Terrowin.

Terrowin can tell the players that she believes Molgond has gone to Drakeholt, and doesn't seem to think it's a secret. No-one else in the village can say much about Molgond's whereabouts. He keeps himself to himself and isn't seen much around the village.

Jed leads the players along a pathway out of the village with the flock running in front of them, shepherded by Jed's dog Shep. Jed takes them to where he slept last night. There are the remains of a campfire. The sheep spread out and start to graze. The players can take a look around, but there is no obvious sign of violence, or of the missing sheep. If they organise themselves and work systematically moving outwards then they may eventually find a trail leading off away from the village. The traile, already over a day old, gets gradually harder to follow as the ground gets stonier away from the village. After a mile or so the players will need to pass a tracking check on Wisdom (Survival) against DC 25 to continue following the trail. If they manage this, they will find that the trail winds through the countryside towards some low hills and ends at the entrance to the Kobold Lair (see Part Four).

If the players don't successfully follow the trail (or choose not to) Jed will encourage them to camp out with him so that they are on hand should there be any further incidents.

During the next night, another sheep is taken. If the players camp with Jed and set a watch they will see shadowy figures on the edge of the flock trying to wrestle a sheep away. Characters with darkvision will clearly recognise 2 of the dragon-like Kobolds. They can move to attack the Kobolds, but they will spot them quickly and try to escape. The players may then follow them through the night back to the Kobold Lair using the “chase” rules on p. 254 of the DM's Handbook. The Kobold's will stay far enough ahead for any delay to allow them to escape from sight and force the players to follow their tracks instead. A successful Dexterity (Stealth) check against the Kobold's passive perception of 8 will allow the players to attack the Kobolds before they run off.

If the players returned to the village, Jed will burst into wherever they are raving about his sheep and demanding that they come and help.

However they reach the site of the attack, this time around the trail is easier to follow, with obvious signs of a sheep being dragged away which the players can follow without difficulty to the hills and the entrance to the Kobold Lair.

However they arrive the players will eventually reach the entrance to the Kobold Lair, an opening in the hills through which the players have been travelling for a mile or so by now. There's nothing obvious outside but the tracks very clearly lead inside.

All of the Kobolds here will escape if they can rather than face a serious fight. They are scavenging and marauding in the local area and so would rather escape to maraud another day than face a showdown with people who mean business. The lair itself is rough hewn and damp with roots and creepers on the walls.

The entrance way is a small opening high and wide enough for human size players to pass through in single file.The tunnels are rough hewn and there are roots and vines growing over the walls and ceilings through this lair. There is a single Kobold watching the entrance way from an alcove in the passage way who will challenge and fight anyone who enters. A noisy fight here will not lead the other Kobolds to investigate, but it will put them on their guard, the the Kobold here will shout back down the passage way to ensure the others know there are intruders. Beyond the guard alcove, the passage slopes gently down into the hill, reaching a small chamber with two further passages branching off.

10 metres down the passageway there is another Kobold watching over two locked doors from a small alcove scooped into the wall of the cave sitting among a couple of barrels and jars holding food and drink. If the players made it past the entrance guard without raising the alarm, they may try to sneak up on him. Otherwise he'll be prepared and looking out for them, and will try to fit at least one missile attack in against whoever is leading the party down the passage (which still only fits single file).

There are two small rooms here with very basic doors. One is locked and can be picked with a Dexterity Check against DC 10 by someone with Thieves Tools and proficiency. The other is unlocked and the room is empty. Both have straw on the floor and stink. In the locked room is Grimdahr from the Lost Caravan. His story is that he got left behind in the Red Tavern after a heavy night drinking. He knows that everyone was in a hurry to get to Drakeholt, but hadn't really understood why and was caught by the Kobolds trying to catch them up the following day. He's been imprisoned here for some days now and is tired and hungry. Released he insists on heading out of the cavern and can be caught up with later just outside the Lair.

The other tunnel from the entrance way leads down again to the Kobolds' living quarters. There are 4 Kobolds here who again the players could potentially sneak up on if they've not managed to raise the alarm before now. If the Kobolds are prepared they will retreat to the storeroom (6) entrance and will try to stick with ranged attacks for as long as they can, trying to get past the players and escape back up the tunnel to the entrance.

The room itself is a larger cavern with a fire to one side with bones and dead sheep carcasses scattered around. There is firewood stacked on the other side of the cavern, and sacks holding grain nearby. There's also a chest, which holds some rusty daggers and bits of armour. The whole place is grubby and smelly.

A short passage leads to what is obviously a sleeping area with a number of bedrolls but nothing else of note. The whole place smells of Kobold.

There's a hole in the ground here, and it stinks. There's not much else to say.

Reached by a short rough tunnel from the Living Quarters, the storeroom holds barrels and sacks and jars with water, beer, and other food items stolen by the Kobolds and stored here. There is nothing of value here, and rubbish all over the floor. A further tunnel leads onwards.

The small tunnel from the storeroom leads to another chamber, smaller than the storeroom. There is rock and debris lying around, and a whole in the wall floor that falls through to a lower level. Looking through the hole a carved chamber of neatly dressed stone can be seen

The Sanctuary Carvings

The hole in the floor of the Kobold Lair drops down into a much more neatly carved space. The walls are carved out of the stone and squared off. The size and scale is closer to human, larger and more comfortable for humanoids than the rough hewn Kobold-sized space above. Part of the wall and ceiling has collapsed though. The space is completely silent and rather eerie. The atmosphere feels much drier and dustier than that in the Kobold Lair above. Just away from the hold that bridges the two areas there is a dead Kobold on the floor. It's unclear how they died - it doesn't look like they fell through the hole, but neither are there any obvious injuries on its body. There is a neatly carved passageway leading further into the complex. After about 15 metres it ends in another rockfall and a further passage branches off to the right.

A short way further on the passage opens out into large hall. The ceiling disappears far above the players' heads, held up by 8 pillars simple in nature but branching out into intricate fan vaulting. Although the space is open the silence is oppressive. There are no markings on the walls, but large banners hang across both longer walls. They are dusty and degraded, whatever it was they displayed cannot now be made out. The hall is symmetrical with exits on each of the walls, larger archways on each of the shorter ends that open into large arched passages, and a smaller opening on the opposite long wall from that where the players enter.

Heading through the right hand archway a wide neatly carved passage opens out into a wider chamber in the rock about 12 metres by 10 in size. The floor is covered in dust, walking through it the players disturb the dust and debris that on investigation turns out to be broken shields, swords, and other bits and pieces of arms and armour. There are six stands of armour in the room, spaced evenly down each side, each is rusted and decayed. They are on slight raised platforms and they glower down silently on the players. There are no other markings on the walls, and nothing else to see although the armour creates a sense of silent menace.

On investigating the shields and armour more closely, any Knight of Icaria will recognise the emblems of the Order.

The opposite larger arched passage way leads after a short while to a square chamber with a raised pool in the centre. The water is clear, dark, and still. There are no markings on the walls, but somehow the water increases the sense of silence and foreboding.

The smaller passage from the Hall is still about 2 metres wide and 3 metres tall. It is dark and smooth and has three openings on the left and three on the right. Each leads into a small chamber about 5 metres square. They are silent and dusty with no markings on the walls. Within each chamber is a large stone sarcophagus on a flat stone plinth. The sarcophagi are rectangular and unadorned apart from a scroll carved in stone recording the name of the body interred there (and listed below).

If the players stop to think about it, any member of the Knights of Icaria can make an Intelligence (History) Check against DC15 to recognise that these six names are legendary members of the Order from the far distant past.

The lid of this sarcophagus is just slightly shifted to one side. Not far enough for the players to see anything inside, but it's definitely not securely placed on its moorings.

Beyond the sarcophagi, the passage comes out of an arch and opens up before emerging into a square chamber with a large statue in the middle. On the far wall there is a secret door that they players will not be able to find through an ability check. It is hidden behind a relief carving (the last one in the “temple carvings” file) of a human fighting a dragon. This door can only be opened by pressing all the markers on the five other carvings in the two other chambers in this part of the Sanctuary. When the players do this they will a the noise of stone slowly grinding against stone. Returning to this chamber they will find that the relieve carving has slipped to one side opening a passage through to the secret room. The statue is of a chained dragon roaring to the sky in anger. Small passages exit this room to both left and right.

The passage to the left leads to a chamber with two relief carvings on the walls showing humans looking at dragons in the distance (the top two pictures in the “temple carvings” file). Each relief has a marker at the bottom that looks like a roundel with a human hand engraved on it. If pressed lightly each will depress slightly. The players need to depress both these, and the ones in the chained dragons room to open the door to the secret chamber.

The passage to the right leads to another chamber with three further relief carvings, this time of dragons enchained (the middle row in the “temple carvings” file). Each has the same roundel at the bottom, each will depress slightly when touched. Once all five roundels are depressed, the players will here the noise of stone slowly grinding against stone. Returning to the room with the statue they will find that the relief carving has fallen away opening the passage to the secret room.

This room can be accessed once all five roundels in the rooms of Distant Carvings and Chained Dragons have been depressed. If the players are struggling and need a clue, then a ghostly figure, cloaked and hooded, will appear at the far end of the hall and will pace slowly past the sarcophagus rooms to the chamber with the statue, past the statue, before passing through the wall with the dragon relief picture (where the secret door is). If the players interfere, they will have to fight the ghost.

A short passage leads into a small unadorned room with a cabinet against the far wall. There are a number of decayed books lying here, with just one that is still in a readable state. It is the Book of Victory, but written in draconic the players will not be able to understand it. Also on the cabinet is a scroll of Magic Circle (see page 256 of the Players Handbook). Next to the cabinet are laid six identical longswords. Each has draconic written along the blade (with the name of one of the six Knights from the sarcophagi, although the players won't know that) and a large (dragon) claw at the end of the hilt. Each is a “dragon slayer” sword (see the DM's Guide p166) conferring +1 to attack and damage rolls, and 3d6 additional damage to dragons.

Once the players make it to the Secret Room they will shortly here a series of noises that sound like small explosions - something that is shocking in the silence of The Sanctuary. 4-6 Skeletons (depending on the strength of the players at this point) emerge from the sarcophagi and start slowly making their way towards the chamber with the statue. After the sound of their emergence, the players will here the scrape and tread of them moving across the stone in the silence. They will try to kill the players by any means necessary. The Magic Circle scroll might be used to prevent the Skeletons from making it into the statue chamber if the players are quick.

The Skeletons will not let the players leave the Sanctuary without defeating them. Once the players have defeated them, they will find that the appropriate number of sarcophagi have been broken open from the inside.

At any point after arriving in the Sanctuary, the DM can trigger one of the suits of armour in the Chamber to become animated. The players will hear the slow clank, clank of footsteps coming towards them. This could be triggered either before or after the players find the secret room and trigger the skeletons. It fits best when the players arrive in the Hall, but depends on how the players have survived the struggle with the Kobolds. However the DM can also trigger this after the fight with the Skeletons if it's all felt too easy, or skip it entirely if the players have been strongly challenged.

Once the Kobolds are destroyed the players can return to Terrowin and claim to have identified and destroyed the source of the sheep abductions. She will pay the players their 40 crowns, and won't be interested in stories of Sanctuaries buried in the hills.

Yes yes, very well. Thank you for clearing those creatures out, hopefully the village is safe now. I have to travel to Drakeholt and report to Lord Hugon's steward.

Molgond would be extremely interested, but of course he is not here. Jed will show a little more interest.

Arr. Them hills. Always been an odd place. Should've known that's where the sheep were taken. But these creatures, they don't sound right. Ain't never been dragons here, not for a long time. T'ain't a good sign that they should appear here. We's all going to need to be careful now.

Assuming the players complete the adventure successfully there will earn 100 experience points each, with up to another 400 available to be shared between them at the DM's discretion - based in particular on how they approach solving the Sanctuary and finding the Book of Victory.

• Kobolds: Monster Manual p195.
• Skeletons: Monster Manual p272.
• Ghost: Monster Manual p147.
• Animated Armour: Monster Manual p19.