CCVV-2550

Dicey Dangers, The Creepy Creature of Vulture's Vineyard

Game by Joel Hills

Quest

Set Up

Carla doesn't look up from her kettle when you ask about the arch. She's quiet long enough that you wonder if she heard you at all. "Fridays," she finally says. "Every Friday, near dark. The runes light up one at a time, like somebody counting, and then they come through. Rat-shaped, man-sized, quick. They don't see me, or they don't care to. They go somewhere below, and before morning they come back through carrying things." She sets down the kettle and looks at you for the first time. "I've watched that arch most of my life, and it never once opened for me. So you tell me why it opens for them."

On an in-game Friday, the portal within the Ancient Stone Arch (CCVV-0074) awakens. A Hero who steps through drops far below Vulture's Vineyard, onto Level 6 of the dungeon.

Quest Goal

Follow the Ratmen through the Friday portal, track them to their Lair on Level 6, and defeat the Portal-Priest who keeps the arch open for his warren.

Special Rules

• This Quest can only be started after hearing Carla's rumor (CCVV-6106), and only entered on an in-game Friday via the Conditional Action on CCVV-0074.
• Stepping through the portal places the Hero in a new room on Level 6. Generate the arrival room using New Room.
• Once found, note each Clue on your Hero Sheet. When the Hero finds their 2nd unique Clue, the next room they encounter is the Lair instead of a normal room.
• The Lair: a warren-shrine lit by the same shifting light as the portal above. Seven crude idols ring the chamber, each carved with a different face, each face wearing a different expression. At the center stands the Portal-Priest.
  
• The portal home is not open behind you. Defeating the Portal-Priest releases the gate: a Hero standing in the Lair may then step directly back through to the Ancient Stone Arch. A Hero who flees the Lair, or leaves before the Priest falls, must climb out of the dungeon the long way, or wait below for another Friday.

Objectives

• Hear Carla's rumor (CCVV-6106)
• Enter the portal at the Ancient Stone Arch on an in-game Friday
• Find 2 unique Clues on Level 6
• Defeat the Portal-Priest in the Lair

Rewards

The Portal-Priest's body yields a Portal Shard. When you step back through the arch, Carla is waiting with the kettle already on. She listens to everything, nods once, and disappears into her tent, returning with a small box she's clearly had ready for years. Inside is a Ring of Natures Gate with 10 Charges, from her own stock. "The arch never opened for me," she says. "But it seems it answers to you now. Best you have a way to knock."

Failure

There is no failing this Quest, only surviving it. A Hero who retreats can return on any future Friday; the Ratmen's traffic through the arch simply continues, and Carla keeps her vigil. But every Friday the portal opens is another Friday something comes back through carrying things.

The Creepy Creature of Vulture's Vineyard New Room Item Properties Wandering Monster

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