May your feet always be unshod!
The Shogun, in turn, runs a feudal hierarchy
- Ancient Kara-tur curse
Love’s Labour Lost is an adventure for a party of four
4th level player characters (PCs). The scenario is set in
The Forgotten Realms, but is easily transplantable into
most other settings.
Where a creature or NPC is mentioned in bold-faced
type, its statistics can be found either in the Monster
Manual or in Appendix B of this adventure.
Throughout the adventure, descriptions of the appearance,
personality, and motivations of important NPCs are
presented in red boxes.
Dialogue is contained in italicized boxed text.
Location descriptions are contained in plain boxed
text.
The PCs are retained to guard the daughter of an
important noble from far off land of Kozakura in Kara-
tur. They are given a safe house in which to guard her,
but this safehouse is breached, first by the daughter’s
lover, who means her no harm and believes he is
rescuing her from the PCs, and then by an evil
hengeyokai and her minions; she who precipitated the
events that led to the daughter’s predicament in the
first place.
Ultimately, the PCs must not only protect the daughter,
but decide if true love will win out, or if duty trumps
the heart.
While this adventure has many elements of Oriental
Adventures, it actually takes place in Faerun. Where,
precisely, is flexible, although the ideal location is
Impiltur, both for its proximity (relatively speaking) to
Kara-tur, and its interests in trade and mercantile
activities. That said, give the use of teleportation magic,
the adventure can theoretically take place anywhere in
Faerun, including the Sword Coast. The adventure
takes place in winter, although this is not a
requirement.
Kozakura is ruled nominally by the Emperor who sits
on the Jade Throne, but in actuality is ruled by the
Shogun.
with Shugo-daimyos serving him as dukes of the land.
These Shugo-daimyos continually jockey for power
and position and have been involved in civil
insurrections over time.
Like many of the inhabitants of Kara-tur, the people of
Kozakura have long been given to taking omens and
prophecies with earnest and sometimes deadly
seriousness. So when a mystical crone reputed to have
oracular powers stated the following to Shugo-daimyo
Morashiko, he took notice:
I, Corunisato, am touched in the tongue by the eight million
gods. I see the future, and this is what appears before my eyes.
To the Shugo-daimyo Morashiko shall be born a daughter,
though her birth will bleed the innards from her mother, who
shall never know her child.
And the child will grow to be as infused with beauty as her
mother is infused with pain and agony during her birth.
And the fates, they fly around this child as a moth around a
flame. For she is a reminder that both beauty and pain
accompany the choices and conduct of our masters.
And as long as Shugo-daimyo Morashiko is a goodly man and
favoured by the eight million gods, then shall his daughter live
and grow into her beauty. But should the Shugo-daimyo ever
fall from the path of truth and enlightenment, then shall is
daughter surely perish, and the light of her beauty shall be
snuffed as quickly as the goodness of the Shugo-daimyo’s soul.
This the eight million gods have decreed, you shall see the
truth of my words in time!
Indeed, many things that the crone said would come to
pass did happen. The Shugo-daimyo’s wife did die in
horrible agony during childbirth, bleeding out and
expiring after the difficult labour, despite the efforts of
the midwife. And, too, the child born was a daughter
and, as she grew up into adolescence and then young
womanhood, she indeed displayed a remarkable
beauty and grace about her that was often called
divine.
The crone was never seen again after her
pronouncement. The Shugo-daimyo himself is a fairly
worldly man (for a Kozakuran) and he only half
believed the prophecy. However, his subjects have
taken the pronouncement very seriously, especially
after the first elements of it came to pass, and so the
Shugo-daimyo must take it seriously as well.
Every day, the daughter was presented to the people
from her balcony high in the round pagoda of the
Shugo-daimyo, in order to show the people that, as his
daughter lived and prospered, so the Shugo-daimyo’s
own worthiness was proven. At all other times, his
daughter was protected in luxurious isolation, for if
harm came to his daughter, then the Shugo-daimyo’s
own legitimacy to rule would be in question.
Despite the fact that outsiders could only catch a daily
glimpse of the daughter, the son of a neighbouring
fiefdom, who had come to visit Morashiko’s palace
several times, had fallen in love with the daughter. The
suitor, named Simojito, requested her hand in
marriage, but Morashiko refused the suitor, for he
worried that were his daughter to leave his protective
embrace, some harm might befall her, especially if she
became pregnant and, like her mother, died in
childbirth.
In some ways, however, the Shugo-daimyo’s
knowledge of the prophecy may make its doom
become self-fulfilling. Armed with the knowledge that
as long as his daughter lives and prospers, he can take
any actions he desires and claim he has the blessings
of the eight million gods, Morashiko has ruled with a
very heavy hand, especially over the more powerful
noble families and samurai of his domain. Normally, a
Shugo-daimyo who wished to remain in power would
have to accommodate at least some of these nobles in
order to retain support amongst the powerful families
and to fend off challenges by rivals. Armed with the
prophecy and the broad support of the people, the
clergy, and the soldiery, Morashiko has chosen to
forego noble support and instead throw his weight
around, confounding the landed families and samurai
of his province and invoking their ire.
It wasn’t too long before these noble families realized
that the solution to their problem was to slay the
daughter, thereby using the very prophecy that had
allowed the Shugo-daimyo to defy them and turning it
against him. For, if the daughter were to die, then,
according to the prophecy, it would be a sign that the
Shugo-daimyo has angered the eight million gods and
was corrupted. The Shugo-daimyo would then lose his
popular support and the nobles could make their move
against him,
And so, an alliance of several powerful families was
formed. But the Shugo-daimyo learned of the plot to
have his daughter killed and placed her under lock and
key in his palace, foregoing even his daily display of
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her. However, when a ninja assassin breached his
defenses and almost slew her in her very bedchamber,
Morashiko realized the seriousness and capabilities of
the forces that had arrayed against him.
Morashiko decided that it was too dangerous for his
daughter to remain. He was about to move against the
noble families opposing him, and it was likely that this
move would prompt them to take final, desperate
action against his daughter.
Therefore, Morashiko determined to send his daughter
into hiding for a while, until the noble houses could be
put down. To that end, he reached out to an intrepid
merchant from the far off nation of Impiltur (or
wherever the PCs are located), with whom he was
developing a trade agreement. The Shugo-daimyo
asked the merchant to take his daughter and hide her
in the western lands for a period of up to four months.
The merchant, who has access to a wizard with
teleport and has an associated object from his manor in
Impiltur and from the Shugo-daimyo’s palace, has
arranged to have the daughter teleported out of
Kozakura and to Impiltur. He is eager to please the
Shugo-daimyo in this manner in the hope that, should
he return the daughter safely to her father, it will help
to conclude his trade agreement.
What none of the parties knows is that the original
prophecy was a false one, engineered by a hengeyokai
(animal spirit) who had an old grudge against
Morashiko’s grandsire. The hengeyokai could not get
close enough to the Shugo-daimyo’s grandfather or his
father to exact her revenge, and even the Shugo-
daimyo himself proved untouchable. So, she devised a
plan that would allow her to establish the very means
by which the Shugo-daimyo would be deposed and his
line sundered.
The hengeyokai posed as the prophetic crone and
sounded the prophecy. She then engineered the initial
events, including the death of the Shugo-daimyo’s wife
by posing as the midwife. Morashiko’s daughter is
actually a tiefling that was substituted at birth in place
of the Shugo-daimyo’s real unborn daughter, who was
killed during birth by the hengeyokai midwife.
The hengeyokai knew that the teifling child, with the
blood of a succubus in her veins, would grow up
ravishingly beautiful, and she also knew that the
prophecy would allow her to engineer the Shugo-
daimyo’s downfall by providing a means to strike at
him by way of his “daughter” and the doom
Love’s Labour Lost 3
pronounced in her false prophecy. The uprising of the
nobles was certainly helped by the machinations of
this hengeyokai, who stoked the flames of discontent.
Further, the hengeyokai has made contact with the
nobles and offered her services to them in the guise of
a mystic. She has agreed to team with their ninja
assassins to slay the Shugo-daimyo’s daughter. The
nobles do not know that they have been manipulated
by the hengeyokai in a grand act of revenge. Nor do
they know that she is a hengeyokai or that she was the
originator of the prophecy. To them, she is a wicked,
greedy mercenary doing this for profit and, perhaps,
mayhem.
When the daughter is killed, the people will turn
against the Shugo-daimyo, and he will be deposed and
likely tortured and killed…much to the hengeyokai’s
delight.
The PCs will be contacted by a powerful merchant who
knows of them either by way of past services or
through reputation. The merchant offers them a job
that promises to pay well. In addition, it is always good
to have a powerful merchant on your side, both for
information and to dispose of treasure for which the
PCs night wish to find a buyer.
The merchant, named Barnabus Riverine, is well
known in these parts, and his bona fides can be
verified if the PCs ask around.
When the PCs arrive at Riverine’s manor house, they
will be ushered into an audience chamber by servants.
Barnabus will be present, along with his wizard,
Veribor (male human NG Wizard 9), a cloaked female
figure, and four cloaked male figures.
Barnabus will welcome the PCs and invite them and
his other guests to sit. Veribor will remain standing,
alert for danger. The four cloaked male figures will
also remain standing, and a DC 10 Wisdom (Insight)
check will reveal that they are clearly bodyguards of
some sort for the female figure.
Once everyone is settled, Barnabus will tell them that
the job he offers them requires discretion. There is
nothing illegal about it and there are no questionable
morals involved. It is, instead, about protecting the
innocent from harm. But he does require the PCs’
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absolute oath that, should they refuse the job, they will
speak of it to no one.
Should the PCs agree to so swear, then Barnabus will
remind them that should they betray his confidence,
he is a powerful man with many means of punishment
at his disposal. At this, the wizard Veribor will adjust
his cloak, revealing a belt full of wands.
I have called you hear for a special assignment. One that
requires discretion and wisdom.
Before you is Marinto Ashishiko [he gestures to the cloaked
female]. She is the only daughter of Shugo-daimyo Morashiko
of Kozakura, a land far to the east. These four men [gesturing
to the cloaked males] are her bodyguards.
They are here at the request of the Shugo-daimyo. It seems
that there is some political strife in Kozakura and the Shugo-
daimyo is worried that his enemies might try to strike at him
through his daughter. Thus, he has had her spirited away here
under arrangement of secrecy. She was teleported here. But I
do not feel it is safe here. Nor does Veribor. Too many eyes and
ears are about, and too many trade rivals sniffing around as a
matter of course.
Nor, indeed, do I wish for the enemies of the Shugo-daimyo to
learn of my involvement in this affair, should they prevail.
After all, I will then wish to trade with the new Shugo-daimyo.
So, I want you to escort her and her bodyguards in secret to a
remote location that I hope will be safe.
Our contract is to keep her for four months. After that, the
Shugo-daimyo assures me, his political matters will come to a
head. I assume that means either he will be victorious, or he
will be deposed. Either way, our contract will have been
fulfilled.
You are to take Lady Marinto to the safe location and guard
her there with your lives. You will present sealed and signed
orders from me to the guards there ordering them to report
back to me so that the keep will be entirely yours.
If you keep her safe and fulfill my contract, I will pay you each
1,000 gp and I will make certain that you get the best deals
possible in the quickest amount of time should you need to
dispose of treasure. I can also be invaluable in procuring
sometimes hard to acquire items.
Are there any questions?
If the PCs do not agree, then the adventure is over and
the PCs will be expected to keep their word. They
won’t know where the safe location is unless they
somehow follow the next group of adventurers
Barnabus hires.
Love’s Labour Lost 4
The safe place is a keep in a remote location far from
other settlements, about a twelve day journey from
here. The PCs will be expected to leave that night, in
about four to six hours from now, if they agree to
accept the assignment Barnabus will inform the PCs
that no communication received by them will be
authenticated as coming from him or Veribor unless it
bears the password “Cholent”. The PCs are to assume
that any supposed communications from him that do
not bear the password are ruses by the enemy.
Passage out of the city will be made under the guise of
a small caravan. This will include two large wagons
drawn by four oxen each. Within the wagons are food
and provisions for the PCs, Marinto, her bodyguards,
and the oxen for four months. Marinto and her
bodyguards will be placed in secret compartments in
the floor of the wagon, these being lined with lead.
While the compartments are quite cramped, Marinto
and her bodyguards need only remain inside of them
until the wagons are out of sight of the city, after which
they will stay inside the tarp covered wagons until
they arrive at the keep.
The journey can be as eventful or uneventful as the DM
wishes. The wagons travel across well-tended roads at
a rate of sixteen miles per day. The PCs can elect to cut
across the land straight to the keep, but although the
distance is shorter in miles, the rutted tracks are
harder on the wagons, especially in winter, and so it
will still take twelve days to arrive at the keep no
matter which route is taken.
During the journey, the PCs will have a chance to
interact with Lady Marinto and her four bodyguards.
None of them speaks Common; they speak only
Kozakuran and the Trade Tongue of Kara-tur.
The bodyguards are dour and grim-faced and always
seem alert and poised on a knife’s edge. If spoken to in
a language they can understand, they will be curt with
their answers.
Lady Marinto possesses a pearl of speech given to her
by her father (see Appendix A). This item grants her
the power to speak and understand Common. Using
this item, the PCs will be able to converse with her.
The four bodyguards are Faigons (which translates as
“devoted defender”, see Appendix B) in training who
are sworn from birth to protect their charge. They will
give their lives for their Lady, Marinto Ashishiko (see
Appendix B), who will be demur and shy around
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Westerners, will at some point reveal herself by
tossing back her hood. She is stunningly beautiful, her
every movement steeped in grace and a natural
allurement. No outward signs of her teifling heritage
exists. She did have both a vestigial tail and bumps on
her back where wings might have been, but all of these
were removed in infancy by the hengeyokai crone.
Marinto is unaware of her own heritage and believes
she is, indeed, the daughter of the Shugo-daimyo. She
also believes she is completely human and will now
know she possesses the special abilities of a teifling
(though, as a plot device, this could manifest at a
critical moment, such as during the battle with the
assassins). She believes her darkvision is the result of a
blessing from her dead mother and has kept it a secret.
Due to her sheltered life, she has never been exposed
to fire enough to know she has resistance to it. Due to
her upbringing, she never learned Infernal or Abyssal.
Marinto is in love with her suitor, Simojito, and is
somewhat saddened by her father’s insistence that she
remain close by his side and unwed. She knows of the
crone’s prophecy, though it is unlikely to come up until
the PCs fight with her suitor.
Note: This keep is fashioned after the Stone Tower
dungeon tiles presented in Dragon Magazine #295. DMs
with access to those tiles can use them here.
After the twelve-day journey, the PCs will arrive at the
keep. The guards here, a dozen men (treat as guards),
will accept Barnabus’ documents as genuine. One of
the guards will indicate that the documents order him
to show the PCs the entirety of the keep, including its
secret rooms. He will do so, and then the men will pack
up and depart back to the city, handing one of the PCs
a ring of iron keys.
Refer to the House Riverine Safe Keep Map at the end
of this adventure for details.
The keep sits astride a slight ridge outthrust from the
highlands. It is in good shape, with a dry moat, a
curtain wall with a gatehouse, and an inner bailey
composed of a rectangular building from which a
tower thrusts up some 50 feet.
Unless otherwise stated, the keep is of dressed stone
for its exteriors, floors, ceilings, and inner partitions.
Love’s Labour Lost 5

All curtain walls and building/tower tops are
battlemented, with 2.5 foot wide merlons spaced 2.5
feet apart.
Ceilings. All rooms and hallways are 10 feet tall unless
otherwise stated.
Light. All rooms and passages have sconces indicated
by an orange oval on the map. These have torches
stuck in them with continual flame spells cast upon
them.
Sound. Due to the solid stone construction of the keep,
sound does not travel well, especially from floor to
floor. Nevertheless, screams or the sound of battle on
one floor can usually be heard by those on the floors
above and below.
All doors are strong wooden doors, unless stated
otherwise. Locks require the keys given to the PCs or a
DC 20 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tool) check to open.
All arrow slits are as indicated, 1.5 feet wide and 3.5
feet tall at the terminus end, slightly wider on the
inside. Exterior windows are uniformly 3 feet wide and
4 feet tall and all are barred with iron bars one inch in
diameter and set six inches apart. These bars are
forged with crosspieces at the top and bottom set into
deep grooves in the stone and mortared shut. As such,
it is not possible to simply pry the bars out with a
dagger.
Secret doors are all stone doors and require a DC 25
Wisdom (Perception) check to find the door and then a
DC 20 Intelligence (Investigation) check to find the
hidden switch. All such doors are secret from both
sides and each side has a hidden switch.
The first four locations are described, but not shown
on the map because it is unlikely that the PCs will man
these structures given the small number of PCs and the
rather large area encompassed by these structures.
Therefore, the tactical focus of this adventure is on the
central tower.
The Moat (not shown on the map)
The moat is dry. It is basically a large, muddy ditch
about 25 feet deep and 20 feet wide that surrounds the
curtain wall of the keep. The bottom contains brush,
plant matter, and one section is clearly a midden. The
moat is full of insects, rats, and other scavengers.
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There is a 5 – 7.5 ft. ledge between the curtain wall and
the moat.
The Curtain Wall (not shown on the map)
The curtain wall is 8 feet thick and 20 feet tall and
contains steps that lead up to allow the wall
battlements to be manned. The steps are placed every
30 feet or so. The wall is circular and is 120 feet in
diameter. At the northwest, southwest, northeast, and
southeast cardinal points are stone bastions. At the
south end is the gatehouse.
The Gatehouse (not shown on the map)
The gatehouse is a two storey structure. It sits at the
south end of the curtain wall and is 25 feet tall with a
battlemented roof. The structure measures 30 feet
wide by 15 feet deep.
The ground level consists of a 10-foot wide
passageway that runs north through the gatehouse. At
each end of this is an iron portcullis, and at the south
end is a thick wooden drawbridge. Murder holes look
down on this passageway from the second storey, and
arrow slits line the walls of the passageway, one every
5 feet.
The passageway is flanked by two chambers, each 10
feet wide by 15 feet deep. The western chamber
contains a mechanism to raise and lower the
drawbridge and the north portcullis. The eastern
chamber contains a mechanism to raise and lower the
south portcullis. Each chamber has a stone staircase
spiraling up to the second storey. Each also has a door
in the north wall leading to the inner bailey. The
chambers are furnished with rough furnishings,
including a table and some chairs.
An iron ladder on the second storey of each chamber
leads to a trap door to the roof that can be barred from
the underside.
The Bailey (not shown on the map)
The inner bailey is the area surrounded by the curtain
wall. Other than the stone tower itself, there is nothing
of note here, the ground being muddy in some places
and grassy in others.
A large wooden lean-to along one side of the bailey can
serve as a rough stable for the PCs’ mounts.
Love’s Labour Lost 6
The Stone Tower
The exterior walls of the central stone tower are two
feet thick. The interior walls are one foot thick.
Ground Floor
Access to the ground floor is from the north, forcing
visitors and intruders to travel around the central
tower within the inner bailey before reaching the
entryway.
The entry is comprised of several stone steps leading
up to a portcullis.
Guard Posts
These are areas flanking the entryway that allow the
guards to observe and fire upon anyone in the entry
hallway. The western guardroom contains a small
bench and, along the west all, a weapon rack.
The eastern guard post contains a small bench and a
mechanism for raising and lowering the portcullis
entry to the stone tower.
To the west of the western guardroom is a small privy.
Common Area
This large area contains a large hearth to the west that
vents through a chimney built into the thick exterior
stone walls and emerges through a slit just before
reaching the roof. Cords of firewood are stacked to the
south of the hearth.
A large oak trestle table dominates the room, with a
velvet cloth and two brass candelabras set upon it. Six
plain chairs flank the table, while a larger master’s seat
is set at the western head.
Kitchen
A standard, well-stocked kitchen, consisting of an iron
oven in the southwest corner that vents through a flue
in the wall and joins with the chimney for the hearth in
the common area. There is also a stack of firewood, a
wooden cabinet holding dishes and place settings,
several tables for chopping, and a couple of stools.
To the south are five barrels and a stack of crates. The
barrels hold water and the crates are empty.
A small grate in the floor of the south part of the room
drains to a small hole in the exterior wall of the tower.
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First Floor
Barracks
This is a single room that holds half a dozen feather
beds. At the foot of each bed is an empty chest with a
key stuck in the lock. Along the west wall is a weapon
rack. Several coal braziers are present to provide
warmth.
Servants’ Quarters
Each of these is a plain room containing two stuffed
pallets set on wooden platforms and a single dresser
with two drawers. All of the dressers are empty. Each
room also has a small coal brazier for warmth.
Second Floor
Master Bedroom
The door to this room can be locked. This large room’s
floor is done in polished marble. A large, fancy bed
with silk sheets sits against the western wall, with a
small nightstand and washbasin set nearby. In the
northwest corner is a large wardrobe with several
drawers built into it. Along the east wall is a large
mirror in a wooden frame and a set of shelves. A
couple of coal braziers are present to provide warmth.
Bedrooms
The doors to these rooms can be locked. Within are a
plush feather bed, a nightstand and washbasin, a coal
brazier, a small wardrobe, and an empty chest which
key is sticking out from the lock.
Third Floor
Library
The doors to this room can be locked. Within is a large
hearth along the west wall, sharing the chimney with
the hearth in the common area. Two large plush red
chairs are set before the hearth, each with its own
ottoman and a small table with two goblets set
between them.
Flanking the hearth are two large urns that are stained
from old wine.
The walls of the room are covered in book shelves, and
within is a well-stocked library dealing with histories,
myths and legends, fanciful tales, and accounts of
battles.
To the south is a large mirror framed in wood. To the
west is an empty curio cabinet.
Love’s Labour Lost 7
Study/Office
The doors to this room can be locked. Within, a large
blue table and red rug dominate the floor, leading to a
large teak desk and chair. A mug sits on the otherwise
clean desk. Behind the desk is a shelving unit that is
mostly empty, but holds a few books detailing flora
and fauna of the area and a few charts and maps of the
surrounding area and of this keep, including some that
are obviously plans for expansion of this structure.
Along the south wall is a mirror in a wooden frame.
Two coal braziers are here to provide warmth.
Fourth Floor
Guard Posts
The southwest guard post contains a weapon rack and
an empty cabinet. To the north, a wooden ladder leads
to a trap door to the roof. This door can be barred by a
stout metal bar from this side.
The northeast guard post contains a bench, a stack of
sacks filled with feed, three barrels of water, and a
large cabinet that looks like it might be designed to
hold saddles and tack and harness. It is currently
empty.
Stables
Each stall consists of a good wooden door that can be
latched from the outside. Each door has a small
window set into it that can be opened to view the stall
within. Each stall is divided from the other by a set of
iron bars one inch in diameter and six inches apart
that runs from floor to ceiling. A grate set into the floor
of each stall drains to a hole in the exterior wall of the
tower.
The middle stall of the western row contains six bales
of hay and a barrel full of water.
Interestingly, the stables of this tower are located on
the top floor and lead to the roof. While horses and
other beasts could, in theory, be lead up and down the
spiral staircase and into and out of the tower through
the ground level, this is anything but practical. It
should be clear that this tower was designed for flying
mounts of Large size.
Ramp
This stone ramp leads up to a trapdoor set into the
roof. The trapdoor can be barred from this side by two
thick metal rods.
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Roof
There are two strong wooden trapdoors set into the
floor of the roof. The larger one is actually a double
door and leads to the ramp below. The smaller one
leads to a wooden ladder in a guard post.
Along with the trapdoors, the roof holds a pile of
weathered crates containing mundane supplies, such
as 300 feet of hempen rope, hammers, nails, iron
spikes, etc. Three crates are full of arrows (400),
crossbow bolts (400), and javelins (50). Two nearby
barrels contain flammable oil.
A large trunk, almost 4 feet high , holds a block and
tackle set up that looks like it can be used to hoist
heavy objects up the outside of the stone tower from
the ground. It appears even horses could be hoisted. A
DC 15 Intelligence check will be required to properly
set up the mechanism. Failure on this check by 5 or
more indicates a mishap will occur during a hoist.
Failure by less than 5 indicates the mechanism simply
doesn’t operate or that it is apparent the mechanism is
not set up properly. It takes 10 minutes for each
attempt to set up the mechanism.
Dungeon Level One
Storage Room
This room contains three large casks filled with ale,
wine, and beer respectively. Also here is a pile of crates
holding non-perishable foodstuffs. A pile of sacks holds
grains and legumes, and three barrels hold lamp oil.
Several shelves are stacked full of mundane supplies
such as mugs, ewers, jugs, mirrors, sacks, etc.
Combat Training Area
This room is set up to allow various sorts of martial
exercise. A wooden attack dummy stands in the room,
while along the wall is a weapon rack holding wooden
swords, practice axes, and blunt spears. A set of
barbells is on the floor, and set into the west wall are
two bullseye targets. Along the north wall are hung
three metal shields. In the southwest corner is an
empty chest.
Gymnasium
This room consists of various metal bars and ladders
at varying heights all about the room, with a plush pad
on the floor under one bar.
Love’s Labour Lost 8
Dungeon Level Two
Alchemy Lab
This is a small alchemical laboratory, consisting of two
worktables holding various empty vessels and flasks, a
stool, a shelf unit, a liquid bath, and a large trunk.
A large candelabra rests on one of the tables, along
with an open book that seems to be a very basic
primer on alchemy.
The shelf unit holds more basic treatises on alchemy.
The liquid bath is empty but contains a silvery metal
interior lining its wooden frame. Underneath the silver
lining is a lead lining.
The trunk has a key sticking out of it, and inside are
racks for holding vials. There are a dozen empty vials
inside and nothing else.
Magic Lab
The southern portion of this chamber is given over to a
permanent inlaid summoning circle set with silvery
runes. Nearby is a reading table and stool. Upon the
table is an open book containing instructions for
casting wizard cantrips; it appears to be an
apprentice’s primer. Near to that stands a tall
candelabra holding three thick black candles.
Two wooden cabinet contain racks atop their drawers
for holding vials and wands. These cabinets are empty.
Torture Chamber
Dried bloodstains still dot the floor of this chamber. A
stone chair sits to the west, with wrist restraints built
into the arms. Next to that is a cabinet holding
manacles, gags, a small torture implements such as
gouges, scalpels, needles, thumb screws, clamps, and
vices. Along the south wall is a rack, and to the north is
a bin filled with hot coals. A Candelabra stands nearby.
Prison
Each of these 10 foot by 5 foot cells is warded by an
iron door set with a key lock and an iron bar on the
outside.
Life in the Keep
The PCs have a four month stay ahead of them, so the
DM should let them settle into the place, take what
precautions they like, organize watches, et al.
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Marinto will go where requested by the PCs as far as
living arrangements are concerned, though her
bodyguards will try to arrange for her to get the
master bedroom and they to domicile in the other
bedrooms on that floor. Marinto will not remain
cooped up inside her room for four months, and at the
very least, she will want to roam the stone tower. She
will try to gain permission to occasionally get a breath
of fresh air and exercise by wandering the bailey or the
roof of the tower.
The bodyguards will certainly take turns using the
combat training area and gymnasium.
The DM is encouraged to add some minor plot devices
and encounters during the interludes between the two
attacks (see below). This will serve to somewhat divert
the players’ focus away from guard duty and will
provide a sense of time passing. A useful device the DM
can use is to introduce an encounter or two that, at
first, might seem to be the assassins attacking but
turns out to be little more than a random occurrence.
Some examples include:
 A very strong storm wracks the keep. If winter, then
a blizzard with complete white out conditions will
occur. If not winter, then heavy rains, winds, and
thunder and lightning will be present.
 Several large animals (e.g. some wolves and a black
bear) will meet and fight outside the keep walls.
These will create quite a racket.
 A PC will hear strange sounds coming from one of
the dungeon levels. Investigation will turn up some
normal rats squeaking around there.
 Scratching sounds on the roof late at night come
from a giant owl that is temporarily roosting there
for the night using it as a perch from which to
observe and hunt the surrounding countryside. The
owl will leave if molested or one its own the next
afternoon.
The first attack will come about a month or so into the
stay at the stone tower. Simojito has arrived, and he
believes that the PCs have kidnapped Marinto; he
seeks to rescue her from the evil clutches of the PCs.
Love’s Labour Lost 9
Simojito is being manipulated by the hengeyokai into
helping her find Marinto. He and Marinto truly and
deeply love each other, even though they have only
met a few brief times in the Shugo-daimyo’s palace,
and this love has formed a mystical bond that the
hengeyokai hopes to exploit.
When Marinto was first spirited away from Kozakura,
the hengeyokai was frustrated, for she could not locate
the Shugo-daimyo’s daughter and could therefore not
direct the rebellious nobles’ assassins to Marinto’s
location. But, when Simojito arrived at her lair seeking
the “old crone” of the prophecy, who he believed could
use her prescience to find his beloved, the hengeyokai
was elated. She used a lock of Marinto’s hair given to
Simojito as a keepsake to forge an amulet that would
use the strength of the love-bond between Simojito
and Marinto to locate the daughter.
The hengeyokai stoked Simojito’s fervor by pretending
to divine that Marinto had been kidnapped and that
she faced all sorts of dire consequences if not rescued
immediately. She then handed the amulet to Simojito
and urged him to rescue his fair maiden with all due
haste. The young samurai then hired a loyal wu-jen to
teleport him to the vicinity of the keep (the wu-jen
then immediately teleported back to Kozakura). This
was only possible because of the powers of the amulet,
which allowed Simojito to visualize the area and
convey that to the wu-jen. Nevertheless, even this
method was risky, as the amulet only allows Simojito
to teleport with a description of the area, but
fortunately for him, the teleport was on target.
Unbeknownst to Simojito, the hengeyokai then crafted
an amulet of her own that would key to the amulet she
had given Simojito, so that she and the assassins could
follow Simojito and slay Marinto.
If everything worked according to plan, Simojito would
find Marinto, slay or weaken anyone guarding Marinto,
and then the assassins could clean up whoever
prevailed.
Simojito (see Appendix B) is not an evil person. In fact,
he is quite righteous and honourable. He is simply love
struck and gullible and is also subject to the Kozakuran
viewpoint that all Westerners are horrible barbarians.
Thus, when he learns from his amulet that his beloved
is being held prisoner in a keep in the lands of the
Westerners, his mind will run wild with images of
Westerners violating his love and this will cause him to
attack the PCs first and ask questions later.
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Simojito was given, by the crone, a potion of gaseous
form, a potion of climbing, and a bone key talisman (see
Appendix A), to help rescue his beloved. The three
items are certainly good enough to get him into the
tower. He will likely try to go through an upper
window at night in gaseous form and then save his
other potion and talisman to rescue Marinto and make
good their escape.
Simojito also wears the amulet crafted by the crone,
which is a piece of amber on a leather thong with a
lock of Marinto’s hair set inside it.
The young samurai also has a heavy crossbow fitted
with a mechanism to fire a grappling hook up to 100
feet into the air. He has such a hook and 100 feet of silk
rope and he will use this to scale the tower walls if
possible, saving his potion of climbing to give to
Marinto.
Unless there is a guard on the roof, Simojito’s plan will
likely involve firing the grappling hook to the roof,
climbing up, using his bone key talisman on the small
trapdoor there, and then entering the keep to find
Marinto. If such an ascent to the roof will likely not
succeed unnoticed, then he will resort to using his
potion of gaseous form to float up to a window and pass
through the iron bars into the keep.
Simojito will be quite aggressive when he first enters
the keep, though he is no murderer and will not finish
off those he has defeated (at least not as long as his
beloved is alive and unharmed).
It is likely that Simojito will run afoul of Marinto’s
bodyguards or one of the PCs. The Faigons or the PC is
almost certain to assume he is an assassin sent to slay
Marinto. Given that Simojito believes the PCs and
Marinto’s Faigons have kidnapped her, a fight is likely
to break out.
During this battle, Simojito will loudly call for Marinto,
asking where she is and telling her that he will rescue
her. If the PCs can understand him, it is likely they will
realize he is not an assassin.
The bodyguards will make no such distinction, as they
do not know Simojito and will not care that he is
calling for Marinto in a very un-assassin-like manner.
If Marinto can hear Simojito’s shouts, she will
recognize him and express surprise at this presence.
Love’s Labour Lost 10
She will order her Faigons to stand down and try to
make the PCs stop fighting as well. If necessary, she
will interpose herself between the PCs and Simojito.
She will certainly plead with Simojito to stop fighting,
though her pleas might take a round or two, as
Simojito may believe she is charmed or somehow
enchanted to side with the PCs.
Once things are calmed down, Marinto and Simojito
will converse in Kozakuran, explaining their own
situations to each other and then, eventually, to the
PCs.
Should Simojito somehow sneak past everyone and get
to Marinto, she will explain her circumstance to him
and eventually convince him of the truth of the
situation. They will then go to the PCs and introduce
Simojito to them.
Nevertheless, a fight between the PCs and Simojito
would be dramatic and the DM is encouraged to make
it happen. If the PCs reduce Simojito’s hit points to 0,
but the PCs have not chosen to knock him out, the DM
should allow the samurai to make death saving throws
just like the PCs rather than assume he has died.
Once peaceful contact is established, Simojito will
explain that he was told by an oracular crone that his
beloved had been kidnapped by Westerners and that
horrible fates would befall her. So, he came here to
rescue her. Marinto will ask if this crone is the crone of
the prophecy, and Simojito will affirm that she was.
By this time, the PCs should be curious about the crone
and the prophecy. If they ask Marinto about it, she will
tell them of the crone’s prophecies, how the first ones
came true, and that the remaining oracles hang heavily
upon the head of her father.
Is Simojito has been slain, Marinto will be overcome
with grief. She will explain to the PCs who he was and
express puzzlement as to why he came here. The magic
of the amulet will have been spent in locating Marinto,
so that will provide no explanations. Short of a speak
with dead spell, his presence will remain something of
a mystery.
Assuming Simojito is still alive, he will demand that he
be allowed to remain in the tower to help guard
Marinto. It might be clear to perceptive PCs that he still
doesn’t entirely trust his beloved in the hands of the
PCs. However, he also wants to stay because he
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believes she is in danger from the rebellious noble
families and because he feels shamed at having
possibly misunderstood with PCs’ intent and so he
wishes to try to reclaim his honour.
Simojito will observe the proprieties of Kozakuran
society with regard to himself and Marinto and they
will sleep apart. However, despite attempts to prevent
it by the Faigons, he will try to spend time with her,
conversing with her and even attempting to hold
hands and have some private moments together. It is
up to the PCs whether they allow this and, if so, how
they overcome the strenuous objections of the Faigons
(who are loyal to the Shugo-daimyo over Marinto). If
the two lovers are allowed to spend time together, it
will be clear to anyone observing them that what was
an intense infatuation has blossomed into a deep and
true love. The DM is encouraged to play this up, with
Simojito bringing Marinto flowers from the
surrounding countryside and reading her poetry, et al.
In all it will be an excellent example of courtly love.
Several weeks after Simojito’s attack, the hengeyokai
crone (see Appendix B) and her eight ninja assassins
(see Appendix B) will arrive. They used the link
between Simojito’s amulet and her own to get enough
familiarity of the area around the keep to teleport
there using a spell scroll, but in this case the teleport
was off by a fair distance, so that even though this
group teleported shortly after Simojito did, it took
weeks for them to trek from where they had
teleported to the keep.
To aid in her attack, the hengeyokai has brought along
some magic items that she will use during her assault
on the keep. These include a bone key talisman (see the
description at the end of this adventure), a potion of
greater healing, and two packets of dust of
disappearance.
The hengeyokai will scout the keep as a sparrow,
which should be virtually impossible for the PCs to
divine, as sparrows are quite common in the area
during daylight hours.
The exact plan of the assassins is left up to the DM,
since they will shape their plan based on whatever
precautions they observe being taken by those in the
keep.
Love’s Labour Lost 11
All things being equal, a likely plan would be for the
hengeyokai to fly into some window in the tower in
sparrow form, attempt to make her way to the roof
through a trap door, and then lower a rope to allow the
assassins to climb up and enter the tower from the
roof, the hengeyokai using her bone key talisman to
gain access through the trapdoor there.
Nevertheless, if a better plan presents itself after
observing the routine of the keep for several days, then
she will alter her plans accordingly.
The assassins are only under orders to slay Marinto
(and to bring her head back to prove the deed to the
nobles). That is their primary goal and they are
professionals who go about their task with business-
like precision. They will not deliver attacks on downed
PCs or chase fleeing PCs unless those foes have proven
their willingness to rejoin the fight after doing so.
The hengeyokai is primarily interested in helping the
assassins slay Marinto. However, she will also wish to
dispose of Simojito, if he is still alive, to cover her
tracks and to eliminate a potential future enemy. She is
thoroughly evil, however, and would very much enjoy
causing the PCs pain and suffering, and death as well, if
it doesn’t hinder her primary goals.
The assassins and the hengeyokai will not give up or
surrender, and they will not leave until they have
completed their mission. Failure for the assassins
means ritual suicide if they cannot continue to make
their attempts.
That said, there is nothing to stop the assassins from
pulling out of a bad encounter with the PCs and,
instead, seeking to assault the keep at a later time or
even, in extremis, planning an attack on the PCs and
Marinto as they make their way back to Barnabus on
the roads or overland.
The hengeyokai is so focused on her revenge and the
long years of elaborate planning needed to bring her to
this point that she will not flee or give up.
Of course, if the assassins pull back and keep a watch
on the tower, the PCs could track them to their camp
and ambush the ninjas!
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There are several outcomes to this adventure, and
these are dealt with below.
If Simojito is alive, his time spent with Marinto in the
tower has fully cemented their love, and Marinto will
not wish to be returned to her father. She will instead
desire to leave with Simojito and be trothed to him and
live with his family.
About a week or two before the end of the four month
period, Marinto will request, in private, away from her
bodyguards, that the PCs allow her and Simojito to
leave on their own after the four months are over. She
will offer the PCs her carried wealth (100 gp and 50
pp) if she thinks that will help convince them and will
plead her case for true love very persuasively (note
her Persuasion skill, although the PCs should decide
for themselves whether she has convinced them). Her
arguments should be very compelling, tugging on the
emotions of the PCs.
Obviously, her bodyguards will not allow this and will
have to be dealt with. If they catch wind of what is
happening, they will even use force against the PCs and
Simojito to return Marinto to her father. If Marinto and
Simojito turn up missing, the Faigons will leave to hunt
them down. The PCs could, in this case, try to imprison
the bodyguards long enough for Marinto and Simojito
to get a good head start. Or, more brutally, the PCs can
kill the bodyguards.
If the PCs refuse to let Marinto leave, Simojito and she
will probably try to escape on their own. Simojito will
try his best not to hurt any PCs in this case, but if he is
forced to, he will. The bodyguards will, in this case,
assist the PCs in restraining the two lovers and/or
tracking them down should they manage to escape.
If Simojito is not alive, Marinto will be distraught but
will return to her father willingly.
The PCs will receive a courier at the keep at the end of
four months. This courier bears a sealed note that
requests the PCs return Marinto to Barnabus for
reclamation by her father. The note is signed
“Cholent”.
If the PCs have let Marinto leave with Simojito, then
they have some tough explaining to do to Barnabus, if
they even have the guts to return to the merchant.
Love’s Labour Lost 12
Barnabus will lose all trade ties to Kozakura when the
Shugo-daimyo finds out his daughter is gone. If the PCs
do return, Barnabus will not care one whit about “true
love”, as his love is of wealth and power. He will be
furious with the PCs, naming them oathbreakers and
betrayers, and he will have to be restrained by his
wizard, Veribor. Barnabus will refuse to pay the PCs
anything and order them out of his manor and to never
darken his doorstep again. The PCs will have made a
powerful enemy, though one more likely to oppose
them politically and economically rather than directly.

If the PCs choose to respond to Barnabus’ wrath with

force, the DM should assume Barnabus has many
guards within call and Veribor is a powerful wizard in
his own right.

If Marinto was slain, then the PCs will have failed their
mission. Barnabus will be very disappointed, as this
means the end of any trade prospects with Kozakura.
He will ask how it happened, but assuming the PCs do
not divulge any complicity or negligence, then he will
thank them for trying their best and send them on
their way. He will not pay them the reward, since they
did not complete their mission.

If the PCs attempt to lie to Barnabus about what

happened (for example, they let Marinto go off with
Simojito but claim she was slain by assassins), then
assume Barnabus has a Wisdom (Insight) bonus of +8
to be opposed by the PC’s Charisma (Deception) check.

If Marinto is returned to Barnabus, then he will be

overjoyed. The successful completion of this task will
cement trade opportunities with the Shugo-daimyo,
who has now quelled the revolting nobles and has
secured his province…for now.

Award standard XP for defeated foes. Remember to

divide XP amongst all of the PCs and NPCs who
participated in a given fight.

Additionally, if the PCs allowed Marinto and Simojito

to leave together, then each PC should receive an
additional 500 XP.

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Wondrous item, uncommon
This small talisman is shaped like a key made of bone.
When squeezed in one hand and concentrated upon,
the talisman will allow its wielder to cast the knock
spell as an action. After casting the spell three times,
the talisman crumbles to dust.

Wondrous item, uncommon

This pearl, when placed under the tongue, allows the
wielder to speak and understand a single language
that is chosen at the time the item was created.
Inserting or removing the pearl is an action.

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This section presents statistics for NPCs encountered
in this adventure that are not presented in the Monster
Manual.

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Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only . Love’s Labour Lost 16
Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only . Love’s Labour Lost 17
Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only . Love’s Labour Lost 18