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Unfortunate Middlemen: Blood for the Black God Part 1 | 5th-Level Fifth Edition Adventure

Added 2021-08-25 18:32:24 +0000 UTC

Unfortunate Middlemen is part one of "Blood for the Black God," a two-part Fifth Edition adventure for three to six characters of 4th to 6th level, optimized for a party of four 5th-level characters. A priest at the church in Byzateia notices that a body from the mausoleum has gone missing. He hires the adventurers to track down what happened to it, and they will soon learn it has been stolen by a thieves’ guild known as Seven Fingers in service to a strange warrior-cult calling themselves the Black Templars. Can the adventurers successfully track down the Seven Fingers safehouse and recover the body that is being kept there? What will they learn about why it has been stolen, or the mysterious individuals who ordered the theft? This adventure takes place in the city of Byzateia in the Freelands campaign setting. With a few adjustments, it can be placed in any large town or city in another campaign world.

Background

It is known by many that the city of Byzateia is built atop the ancient ruins of the great Khorsinian empire. Fewer know that the power the Khorsinians possessed lurks in the rubble beneath the city, waiting for those with the will and the means to harness it. The Black Templars know this, and are eager to take the Khorsinians' necromantic secrets for themselves. But accessing this old and forbidden magic is not easy—only through complex arcane rituals can the spirits of the ancient empire be communed with. The Black Templars' research suggested that the body of a holy man is a necessary component for these rituals. They concocted a plot to infiltrate the church within the city and steal the bodies of the clergy entombed below. To execute this plot, the Templars contracted a thieves' guild called Seven Fingers, both to ensure a skilled job and to create a layer of separation between themselves and this serious crime. Seven Fingers themselves then created an additional layer of separation from the crime by paying another man, named Sippas (whom they were not otherwise affiliated with), to bribe a clergy member for information about the church. With this information in hand, Seven Fingers executed their thefts. The plan was a success, and the Templars have now acquired numerous bodies from beneath the church with the help of Seven Fingers, who take the bodies back to one of their safehouses before they transfer it into the possession of the Black Templars.

Recently, though, the theft has been discovered. Durriken, a priest at the church, happened to notice that a body was missing after the tombs were flooded during a heavy storm. Though Durriken is not aware that more than one body was taken, a single instance caused him serious concern. After an internal investigation of his own, Durriken discovered that someone within his own church was providing the information that enabled the theft. Knowing that he had to punish those responsible for this crime and understand why it occurred in the first place, Durrikken was quick to act. He feared that anyone stealing bodies from the church itself was likely quite capable, and, suspecting informants, he did not know whom within his own organization he could rely on for help. He has thus sought out capable adventurers who can investigate this matter for him discreetly.

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