Goblins have launched raids against Verge.

While they cannot breach its defenses, they continue to raid

caravans and robbing merchants and farmers. Verge's mayor is worried about the gnomish caravan
slated to come and has asked the players, who arrive shortly after an attack on their own caravan, to
find and exterminate the goblins.

1st Encounter: The Caravan Raid

Players approach Verge after being contracted by the caravan leader as guards. While drawing close to
Verge, the caravan comes under attack by goblins. The players may catch something is amiss with a
Wisdom(Perception) check against DC 14. Success alerts them to the ambush and they may take action
regarding it, including rallying the guards.

The Ambush: The Ambush is composed of 20 goblin raiders and 1 bugbear. The Caravan Guard are
woefully undisciplined and will not amass a meaningful defense until after turn 1 (they're considered to
act last). The attack is spread out along the caravan and the goblins are as uncoordinated as the guards.
The raiders' main objective is to pillage as many supplies and valuables as they can before
withdrawing. They are not preoccupied with killing anyone.

The goblin raiders will bug out if the fight isn't going their way. After six deaths, or six or seven turns
of combat, they will flee. If the bugbear leader is injured to below half HP, he will call for a retreat.

XP: In addition to slain goblins, the party gains 50xp each for completing this encounter successfully. If
the PCs managed to injure the bugbear leader, they will gain an additional 50xp each. If the bugbear is
slain, then in addition to the bugbear's XP, the party gains 100xp. (At least, the party should earn 63xp
for each member)

Verge: Arriving at Verge, the PCs can rest and recuperate. They receive their contract payment of 20gp
each for completion. If the Caravan Leader is particularly impressed, he will add in a bonus of 5gp.
General mundane goods can be purchased within Verge, though the church of Karameikos will offer a
few potions of healing for sale.
Verge is a well defended village with a wooden palisade surrounding it. It's developed but hardly
modern by Thyatian standards. It's run by the Thyatian mayor Ruso Norbanius who attempts to keep a
fair and even approach, following Grand Duke Stefan's approach to running the village and easing
ethnic tensions. As such, Verge has prospered from a general tolerance of differing races and
ethnicities. The other important figure is the local Traladarn cleric Alya Tushina, a level 3 cleric who is
doing her best to keep people fed and happy. If the adventurers demonstrate particular valor, the mayor
will approach them with an offer to deal with the source of the goblin threat; otherwise Alya will
approach them on the next morning asking for help.

Notable buildings
The Cream and Wheat: A local tavern that offers poor drink and even poorer bedding. However, its
rates are cheap and is a good source of information. It's run by a Traladaran innkeeper.

The Church of Karameikos: The largest structure of Verge which offers services. It's a quiet place and
quite humble, including wooden figurines of the immortals in a shrine. It houses a relic of an old
mummified hand of a Traladaran paladin which is kept in a reliquary on the shrine.

The Mayor's Palace: The most gaudy structure, having been built of plaster and brick. This is where
Ruso Norbanius lives.
Once charged with the quest of dealing with the goblin menace, the PCs are given a vague direction of
goblin raiders coming from the South West. The cleric Ayla will make sure to provide each party
member a potion of healing. The players should gather information from Verge, one such rumor may
point to some ancient Traladarn ruins nearby to the South West which will offer a lead to the players. If
not, they can attempt to track the goblins or do a general search (at risk of burning through supplies and
being whittled down by random encounters).

The Sunken Keep

Eventually, the players will arrive at the Sunken Keep. An ancient Traladaran keep that had collapsed
on itself, leaving side rooms intact but the center is dominated by a pit, the debris of the keep forms
natural chambers. There's two entrances here: the front gate and the rear tunnel. The rear tunnel is easy
enough to access, but the front gate is trickier to get through.

The Rear Tunnel

1. Entrance – A goblin sentry has been posted just inside. Once it detects interlopers, the goblin
immediately takes flight, chattering. If not stopped, it will alert the others in the cave who will
take up defensive positions and ready ambushes.

2. The Fork – There are two paths here, one going deeper into the cave, and the other boarded up.
A stick is set in the ground with a skull and four fingers dangling below it. A DC 12
Intelligence(Nature) check reveals it to be a warning totem. Tearing apart the boards to gain
access is a simple DC 12 Strength(Athletics) check.

2a. The Zombie Pit: A shallow, 5-foot deep pit is here along with the rancid smell of death and decay. 7
zombies inhabit this pit, mindless with little awareness. The undead which the goblin wizard is
unsatisfied with are dropped off here before control is relinquished. They can be bypassed or engaged
in combat. The pit contains only few valuables.

3. Goblin Checkpoint – A small rock tower has been carved here with crude wooden boards built
to provide cover to two archers above. If the alarm has not been raised, the archers are fast
asleep. The other goblin warriors are preoccupied in playing a game, their attention distracted
from their duty as well. Individual treasure on the goblins is small.

4. Storage alcove – No threats here. The PCs may explore and loot this place for few valuables
and a healer's kit along with three torches.
5. Storage alcove passageway – This narrow passage has a collapsing ceiling trap (DC 10
Perception check). Bypassing this trap without triggering it nets the party 20xp.
6. Rest Area – A table and several barrels are in this room, with an unlit candle. This is a decent
place to rest in. PCs find much of the supplies here are rancid, but they can find 4 ration packs,
each capable of feeding one person an entire day. Along with one axe and a dagger still in good
condition.
7. Storage Nook – Two goblins are here, bickering over food. A couple of crates are here which
contain some supplies from an earlier raid. Use individual treasure, there's a fine fur cloak in the
crates worth 10gp and a day's worth of rations.
8. River Defense – A bugbear commands four goblins here, guarding the entrance to the keep
itself. The bugbear here is not too bright and will happily charge across water to get to the
adventurers. For once, the goblins are more cunning and will take shots at the adventurers,
 leaving their commander to face the party by himself. If the alarm hasn't been raised, the
goblins and bugbear are distracted in an argument.

The Keep
Much of the keep is in disrepair with many sections having collapsed into rubble. While the
ruins still stand, there is some uncertainty to whether they will hold.

1. Gatehouse – The front entrance is secured by an iron gate. A PC can climb up to the gatehouse
with a Strength(Athletics) check at DC 13 and open the gate. The gatehouse room has little save
for the skeleton of an old Traladaran sentry. The sentry wears a rusted chain shirt, a rotted
shield, and a spear whose tip has been kept surprisingly clean.
2. Mess Area – This room has three tables and many chairs. There's scraps of meat still on the
table from a recent meal. Searching the room requires a Perception DC10 check to find 3 gold
pieces under one of the tables.
3. Kitchen – Two Bugbears and goblins are arguing over how best to cook some meat with one
arguing more salt and the other more pepper. Aside from this, the kitchen is quite well stocked.
A pouch of exotic spices can be found (rated at 8gps in worth), a mess kit can be found here,
four waterskins still full with liquid, 12 lbs of flour, 2 lbs of salt, 1 lb of clove, and 2 lbs of
pepper.
4. Larder/Storage – A cowardly goblin resides here who will not offer a fight. If anyone
understands goblin, he will readily yield information. Not much can be found here except three
potions of cure light wounds.
5. Western passageway – This unremarkable hall has a collapsed ceiling trap that deals 2d10
damage. Triggering it will cause the passage to seal off; the triggering player who fails his Dex
check gets caught on the opposite side.
6. Southern Passageway – This leads to the kitchen. At the western end there is a hidden
passageway that can be revealed by removing a loose stone with a DC 14 Perception check.
7. Northern Passageway – This place is rather unremarakble save for a dart trap. Percpetion check
DC 12 reveals it and the tripwire that triggers it.
8. Barricaded Door (Northern Room)-- A large table has been shoved against a door to barricade
it. The table is heavy and can only be moved with a DC 13 Athletics check; failure can still
cause it to move but it will be dragged, creating a lot of noise and causing the ghouls behind it
to burst into the room.
9. Treasure Room – Two ghouls and the remnants of an unfortunate goblin are here. Once the
ghouls are defeated, the room is a small treasure horde yielding many valuables.
10. Barricaded Office – A traladaran wizard's corpse resides here along with his ghost. The ghost
only speaks Traladaran, but it is friendly, aiding the PCs by revealing the secret passage and
what foes to expect. The spirit will request that its remains be buried. If promised, it will reveal
the location of his spellbook in a secret compartment in the desk. Unfortunately, much of it has
degraded and faded, but the spells of Sleep and Color Spray can be made out. There is a scroll
of Sleep and Chromatic Orb in the desk, along with magic inks for writing worth 10gps.
11. Barracks – There are signs of this area having been rummaged through before. A DC 10
Perception check reveals a potion of lesser restoration and a potion of cure light wounds, along
with a stash of 34 silver pieces and thieves' tools. This place looks safe to rest in.
12. Southern Storage/Cavern entrance – A tripwire has been setup to cause a rock club to swing
down and bat an unfortunate PC on the head, dealing 1d10 damage. It can be spotted with a
Perception DC 10 check. Aside from that, the room has three bottles of alchemist's fire, a
bucket, a couple of whetstones, and an old shortsword that looks serviceable along with water
and a day's worth of rations.
13. The Pit – The collapsed center of the sunken keep is where the goblin wizard musters his
troops, aping the trappings of civilized authority.