As the adventurers travel toward Leilon, they pass the Wayside Inn, which is being attacked by undead creatures. The adventurers can thwart the attack and meet the residents of the inn, learning a bit about Leilon in the process.
“Attack on the Wayside Inn” and “A Normal Day in Leilon” are balanced for characters of 7th level, though characters of 8th level should be challenged as well.
Location Overview
Many enterprising hostellers have tried to maintain an inn where the Triboar Trail meets the High Road. Some have succeeded for many years before falling victim to monsters or bandits. Others have given up relatively quickly, when the dangers become apparent.
The current owner of the Wayside Inn is Martisha Vinetalker, a striking half-elf whose pleasing features contrast with her tough demeanor. She is cold, calculating, charismatic, and knows how to run a business with ruthless efficiency and an eye for profit.
The bartender is Backes Dunfield, a human with a scarred face and a crooked smile. He started working for Martisha six months ago and quickly proved himself a valuable lieutenant.
The cook is Cooragh Struckt, a half-orc who has been a close friend and confidante of Martisha for many years. Cooragh is famous for her incredibly tasty, and alarmingly well-spiced, stews and meat pies.
Undead Attack
This encounter occurs at night. As the characters approach the junction of the Triboar Trail and the High Road, set the scene:
An oddly shaped building sits at the juncture of the Triboar Trail and the High Road. Two entrances into the building are apparent: a smaller one at the northern corner, and a larger one, suitable for beasts of burden and wagons, near the first.
Right now, both sets of doors are under attack by humanoid figures. They have already breached the smaller door, and they are starting to make cracks in the larger.
The smaller doorway leads into a cloak room, and another door bars the way into the common room from there. The larger doors lead into the courtyard, where there are stables and a smithy.
Monsters
The attacking creatures are comprised of 1 zombie per player character, and 1 wraith per every two characters (rounded down), excluding sidekicks. The zombies are the only ones attacking the building. The wraiths come out of the darkness after the party approaches the zombies.
The zombies don’t notice the party until the adventurers are within 60 feet of them, or until the party attacks. Then all the monsters turn their focus from the building to the party, who are easier to reach.
If the zombies are defeated and examined, each bears a brand on its forehead in the shape of a skull. A successful DC 15 Intelligence (
Inn Occupants
The people within the Wayside Inn have barred the doors and windows, hoping the zombies would be unable to breach the doors. If the party runs into difficulty dealing with the creatures, occupants of the inn can open the windows and fire crossbows or other missile weapons at the monsters to help.
Aftermath
Assuming the adventurers defeat the threat, the occupants unbar the doors and windows, allowing the party entrance.
Martisha is thankful, but not ebullient in her praise or her rewards. She offers the characters food for their efforts, but not drink or lodging. Backes and the other occupants, however, make sure the characters drink for free this night. A traveling merchant also offers to pay for the characters' lodging for the evening.
Use the bullet points below to roleplay the rest the evening at the Wayside Inn:
- Martisha sits in the corner at a lone table, poring over records and watching the business. She answers any attempts at conversation curtly. She wants to partner with the settlers of Leilon to set up a mutual protection pact, as well as a trade pact where she sells her vegetables and livestock in return for the goods they will produce.
- Backes keeps the ale flowing all night for the adventurers. He tells them that he gave up a life as a privateer (that is, a pirate) to get into business on land. He works the bar and assists Martisha, but he hopes to someday open his own place in Neverwinter or Waterdeep. He wears a pendant around his neck in the shape of a trident, which he says the crew of his last ship wore as a way to appease the many sea gods.
- Cooragh only emerges from the kitchen long enough to thank the adventurers and give them a piece of her special pork pie. It is very spicy, but delicious for those who can stomach the burn. On her neck, beneath each ear, are tattoos of curved daggers. If asked, she admits she got them because she knew it would upset her mother, a human from Luskan. It was a foolish youthful folly, she says.
- The smith who works at the Wayside Inn smithy is a strapping woman called Teega who can wield a hammer in each hand like a titan. Her anvil is forged in the shape of a dolphin, and at night she drinks at the bar with the other patrons. She met Backes after his life as a pirate ended, and she hopes to join him in setting up a business in a city at some point. She makes jewelry in her spare time and wears a set of bronze bracers shaped like three lightning bolts. She proudly displays three suits of plate armor that she created, each bearing the same symbol as the design of her bracers.
- A young halfling named Silla Scalesweep sits at a table, humming to herself. She is traveling from Neverwinter to Leilon, hoping to get hired on as a fisher by Valdi Estapaar, the woman in charge of the fishery in the town. She wears her long hair in five braids atop her head, and she is very talkative. She also plays the harmonica quite well and is keen to have an audience.
- Tarbin Tul is a traveling bard who wanders the High Road, seeking new songs to add to his already impressive repertoire. Tarbin sits by the fire, singing along to Silla’s ditties on the harmonica. He gladly buys a drink for anyone who helped drive off the undead.
- Feel free to populate the rest of the inn with travelers and staff. There are servers, farmers who work small fields nearby that supply the inn with food in return for protection and shelter on the inn’s land, farmers who provide meat and milk, and other laborers. A few of these people came here because of Backes, and they serve him within the Cult of Talos.
The Long Con
Some of the workers at the Wayside Inn are members of the Cult of Talos. This information should be hidden from the characters until it is ready to be revealed later in the adventure. Placing bad guys in the party’s path before it is ready to be revealed is always a risk, but it is a great shock when it pays off.
The best way to allay suspicion is to have the characters become friends with them early, especially during this opening encounter. The secret cultists can heap praise, rewards, free drinks, and information upon the adventurers, gaining their trust and friendship.
Details Make the Con: This long con works best when you provide details that might later prove to be portents of the truth, if not actual clues. For example, the necklace worn by Backes is noteworthy early in the adventure, and it becomes clear later what it represents.
Play the Shell Game: On the off chance that your players figure things out too quickly (or if someone is already familiar with the adventure), details can be changed. Backes is the leader of the Talos cultists at the inn, but he doesn’t have to be. Maybe Cooragh the cook is really the leader, and Backes is just a patsy she is using to throw suspicion off herself. With just a few adjustments, you can keep your players guessing even after they think they know what’s happening.