As the party traverses the Fey Wild near [insert place here] they come upon a colony of Omikyr, going about their business. It’s a small village, both basic and upscale, with trinkets and ornate fixtures slapped onto spartan wood structures. A well-to-do Omikyr sees the party and runs over, identifying herself as Le Fawnda, the ambassador of the rangale.
“You look like more than capable adventurers in need of some excitement, interested in the opportunity of a lifetime?”
“We just need the cube back Le, it’s not that great,” another deer mentions as he walks by.
“Shhh, don’t be rude Olph,” she yells. “Anyway, we’ve recently had something of great importance stolen from us.” She motions to the center of their village where an imprint of a square remains. Traces of a white powdery substance taper off into the treeline from the spot. “You see, we’ve recently been victim of a terrible crime. Our Great Salt Cube has been taken from us, and we believe we know by whom.”
At the word “salt” the other Omikyr’s ears perk up briefly before going back about their business. “We were able to track the salt to an abandoned lighthouse about two miles from here and believe the Sea Elf that lives there is responsible. Vile creature.” She shivers as she mentions him.
Le Fawnda continues that one of their sneakiest individuals, Buckley Buster (or “Buck”), recently tried to retrieve the Cube, but the Sea Elf has harnessed dozens of Will-o’-Wisps to create beams of light that stopped Buck in his tracks. During the day the lighthouse is protected by three Ogres who, per union rules, are only allowed to put in eight hours before returning home for the evening.
“We need to get the Cube back before our birthing ritual ‘The Fawn-due’ takes place tomorrow. Will you help us?”
What’s The Bright Idea
If the party accepts, they can opt to go get the Cube during the day or at night. Each approach is different.
During the day, the party will get the the edge of the forest and see the three Ogres patrolling around the outside of the lighthouse. One will be reading their Union handbook, the other two will be bickering over whether it’s fair for non-smokers to not get a smoke break.
If the party is rather persuasive, they can likely convince the Ogres to leave without any sort of fight. They will not deal well with Intimidation, but pretending to be the union rep, or something else along those lines is a potentially powerful avenue. If not, they will have to fight through to the main door of the lighthouse.
If they approach at night, there will be no one at the base of the lighthouse, but the Will-o’-Wisps will be extremely agitated inside the light at the top, slamming against the glass they are contained in.
The beams of light make it difficult to be stealthy, but it appears no one is actively watching. As the party nears the base, two Will-o’-Wisps escape from the lighthouse glass and swoop down at the party, initiating combat. They are largely agitated that they’ve been cooped up and if battle lingers they may lose interest and float away.
Someone’s Salty
Whether through stealth or kicking in the door, here is what the party will find:
Inside the base of the lighthouse is a roomy home with an open floor concept, decrepit bookshelves that are falling apart line the walls, and in the far corner appears to be a makeshift bedroom, though the bed looks untouched.
At the back of the building are large doors that are big enough to fit the cube through
Hanging in the center of the room is the Great Salt Cube Le talked about. It has some larger chunks carved off the bottom and is held up by a large rope that extends to the top of the lighthouse and holds the cube in a giant cargo net, tying off at the top of the stairs.
There are stairs on the west wall that lead up to the top where six more Will-o’-Wisps slam frantically against the glass of the light lenses.
Adjacent to it is a large aquarium with murky water. In the 30×50 room, the aquarium takes up a 10×15 space, while the cube takes up 10×10.
If the party takes a stealth approach, they will remain unseen until they make a large amount of noise or they start trying to lower the cube. Lowering the cube quietly will be a task on its own, and the check for lowering quietly is up to the DM (some have argued Sleight of Hand, while others argue Athletics). With a high DC, it will be unlikely (but not impossible!) for the party to lower the cube without disturbing the aquarium.
If barging in, a Sea Elf will burst out of the water in the aquarium, confused to no end about who has entered his makeshift home. He will shout at the party as he leaps out and begins to put clothes on.
”Get ouuuuuuut!” He screams. “Who dares disturb Shnarkel Oysterfen?” The party can identify themselves, or hop straight into battle with the elderly Sea Elf.
If they talk with him, they will learn he is there for observation purposes. He’s been sent by his king to study the ways of landfolk. There are rumors swirling in his parts of humans growing gills and “evolving”. The concern is that once that happens, the sea will be overcrowded and sea home values will begin to decrease.
Shnarkel also makes it known that he stole the Cube because he needed salt for the aquarium he sleeps in. Any attempts to tell him what a dumb idea it is will be met with anger and violence.
Of note, Shnarkel has pockets full of salt that he can use in his “Blinding Salt” attack.
When reduced to half HP, Shnarkel will attempt to sprint up the stairs and release the remaining Will-o’-Wisps. It is possible for the party to stop him or prevent him from getting there, though he should likely have a headstart.
Eliminating Shnarkel, he will use he’s last breathes to curse them and let them know his king will send his best men to make sure the party pays for what they’ve done.
DM Note: Later on, the party will encounter another sea elf that let’s them know the king appreciates what they have done and Shnarkel was actually exiled for spouting conspiracy theories about humans sprouting gills overnight. He will grant them one favor if they ever come into contact.
Once Shnarkel is dealt with, the party will have to determine how to get the cube back to the Omikyr village. We’ll let the DMs and parties out there determine how this works since weight rules are different at each table.
Returning to the villagers, they will all run over and begin licking the cube, saying a brief prayer and running away.
Le Fawnda greets the party and thanks them for their work. As a reward, they are invited to an upcoming Stag Party, as well as a Bag of Doe Nuts (8), the contents of which are very similar to Goodberries, but grant +2 HP each.
They are welcome to stay for the Stag Party and the Fawn-due if they like.
