As the party wanders through a town, a half-elf and a grizzled kobold walk up to them. “Hear ye, hear ye, my lords and ladies, I beseech thee. We require a strapping group of individuals such as yourselves for an escort. You see, my business partner and I must traverse to the white castle beyond the ridge to re-paint it. The sun has bleached it completely white, ruining the prior appeal of its exterior.”
The kobold shifts uncomfortably as the half-elf continues. “I left my former life as a herald to start a painting business with my kobold friend here and this is our first big job. The problem is, we can’t quite remember how to get there.”
Even without a map of the nearby area it is extremely clear how one would to the white castle, as it is off of a main path (where exactly is up to the DM).
“We will be carrying our equipment and won’t be able to defend ourselves, lest some bandits or others try to dethrone our booming business.”
The kobold gives a strange forced smile, as if he’s either a little off or has never attempted to smile before. “Our dear king plans to use the castle as his summer home, and is paying us top dollar to get it done. We would be happy to split some of the coin if you are willing to escort us there.”
The Long And Winding Road
If the party decides to escort the painters, there are many shenanigans that can take place, not totally unlike a similarly titled movie:
- Herald and Kobold want to stop in order to pick up special herbs from a local Druid, because they make them feel good (tea leaves of course!)
- A small group of Racoonfolk stop the party on the path, demanding they hand over all of their garbage. If the party has none, the Racoonfolk attack.
- The party comes across a man with an arrow wound, needing medical assistance. If the party helps, the man tells the party about a shortcut to the White Castle.
- Along the path, a halfling bard asks to join up, noting that he has had too much to drink and needs a sturdy shoulder to guide him. The halfling will attempt to steal any gear he can from the party and scurry away.
- A tabaxi with peculiar spots is acting strange and writhing on the middle of the path. It will lash out at anyone that attempts to move him. The tabaxi becomes docile and its pupils dilate if the party gives it some of the tea leaves from their earlier stop (if they did in fact stop)
- A few town guards on patrol mistake Herald and Kobold for two similarly described individuals that recently vandalized the town walls and chase the group for a ways. The party can fight the guards and lose favor with the town, persuade them, or run faster
- Several knights block the path, challenging the party to any sort of duel. They will not cede the path unless the party accept their challenge.
As the party crests a hill, they will see the sun-bleached castle in the distance. The herald and kobold sprint ahead of the party, excited to rest up before getting to work.
Reaching the castle, Herald and Kobold are mortified at what they see. Inside the walls, three Meat Cubes are running wild, slamming into walls in attempts to smash the servants taking care of the castle itself. The party must fight off the meat cubes so Herald and Kobold can get to work.
Resolution
Once the Meat Cubes are dispatched, the painters can get to work. DMs Flavor here, but the duo can realize they have the wrong paint and request an escort back, they can paint the castle without issue, or they can have their painting interrupted by a group of bandits that thought the king was already in this castle.
If the party assists Herald and Kobold with successfully completing their job, they will get 3,000gp, along with a Crave Clutch. The Crave Clutch has the ability to summon any food item once per day to the owner of the clutch. The only limitation is that the food item must be generally considered a consumable and must be able to fit in the clutch itself.
