Players! Want to play this quest? Stop reading and notify your DM. Save the fun for the game-table!Running this Quest
You can adjust any of the information below according to your campaign, preference or imagination. Feel free to experiment and let other visitors know what works for you in the comments below.
The setup for this quest is that one of the partymembers is heavily wounded (or even dead) and needs urgent help from a powerful healer. Alternatively, an NPC needs similar help and the party has accepted to escort them to the healer.
You make your way through the lands, following a small path that is slightly elevated. Around you are wet and muddy marshlands, filled with puddles and streams. Wetland trees and plants are growing all over and this seems to be a lush and fertile place. Insects are buzzing around you and the occasional bird and lizard slips out of your way.
You come upon what looks like a miniature castle. It is a gentlemen’s house, but walled off with a large stone wall. There is even a round guard tower on the western side facing the swamp. When you come closer, you see how the path leads to a large closed gate, and a figure standing behind it.
Succeeding a DC12 (passive) perception check here would reveal that the walls are about 20 ft high and have defences built onto them, such as spikes and barbed wire. Succeeding DC15 reveals the figure is not reacting to their presence and remains perfectly still.
The gate
You proceed to walk to the gate. It is made of cast iron, and has a sign spanning over the top that says “In sickness and sorrow, find comfort within“. When you get closer you notice the figure to be unresponsive to you and when you reach the gate you can see why: it is a statue.
The gate is unlocked. When it is pushed it will make a loud squeaking noise, which alerts the healer of their presence.
The statue is that of a lizardfolk male wearing a tunic. To investigate it, the party must go through the gate. First off, they notice its posture. It’s left foot and arm are bent forward a bit and its gaze is towards the ground some way in the distance. Succeeding a DC15 check would reveal it to be intricately detailed; with pores and hairs and all.
Actually, it was a living creature once, that has been turned to stone and placed here. The creature was captured nearby, and is unaware of what has happened. The party can use a Greater Restoration spell or other magic to free it, in which case it will be scared, speaking in simple Draconic and will run off.
The garden
Behind the gate the path is paved with stones and some steps, leading up to the front door. The garden around the house seems to be very well kept and full of lush greens and vibrant flowers. It looks much less gloomy in here, then it does on the outside.
If the party decides to look a bit further:
The garden looks nice enough, but it feels cramped, because it is walled off with a small castle wall. The wall has a wall walk along the battlements. On the wall walk there is defensive gear: spears, loaded crossbows, pots filled with liquids (acid, oil) and full quivers of arrows. Also, you see a guard tower that has two doors, one in the garden, and one above it on the wall walk.
The guard tower
The bottom level of the guard tower is filled with garden tools. There is a flight of stairs running to the second level. On the second level, there is a guard room. It holds a few weapons and a table and chair, and a door that leads to the wall walk. In the middle of the room there is a full suit of armor.
Succeeding a DC12 perception check indicates that the suit of armor appears to be brand new and looks very shiny. It has intricate details carved into the metal and seems of very high standard, possibly royalty. There is nobody in it. Succeeding a DC20 perception check reveals that has no rack or something to hold it up. Casting Detect Magic will reveal a glow of Conjuration and Enchantment magic.
This is a construct (Animated Armor, see below) that is controlled by the healer. If a party member tries to wear the outfit, it will come alive and act defensively. In this case, the healer will walk up to the party to stop any potential fight. Defeating this construct will dispel its magic and reveal it to be simple wooden sticks and plates.
Ruby Hennin
You are greeted by a middle aged woman, clad in a beautiful white and golden dress. Her hair is done up in old medieval fashion, with a cone holding the hair up and a veil hanging down from it. “Welcome dear, welcome to you all! My name is Ruby Hennin. Can I help you with this?” she says while nodding to the injured party member. “Please come in! Oh dear. What seems to be the problem?”
You enter the house, which seems lavish and rich in decoration. There are golden ornaments on the walls and ceiling. The floors are made of marble and the house is lit with what looks like crystal chandeliers. The house is filled with jade and bronze vases, and carpets that shine with a silver gloss. The mint condition of the house and the cleanliness of it is striking.
A hennin is a medieval women’s hat, so her name is a play on Robin Hood, except in her case she takes from the poor to give to the rich. Or rather, to herself. Ruby is an neutral evil wizard, posing as a healer. She is skilled in the schools of Necromancy, Evocation and Conjuration. She offers quick healing, but unaware to her clients, she taps from the life energy of creatures in the nearby swamp. More specifically, from a colony of lizardfolk living in a village in the swamp. Every injury healed is directly given to random people from this village.
If players inquire about the fortifications or the Animated Armor, she will explain that this is due to the evil that hides in the swamp. Some nights they come out and she needs to scare them away. When players want to know what or who comes out of the swamp, she hesitates to tell. Succeeding a DC15 persuasion check will make her tell you that it is lizardfolk from the swamp that stalk her.
If players inquire about the statue in the garden she’ll say it is ancient and was left from when lizardfolk roamed these lands. If confronted with it un-petrifying she’ll say it is a miracle.
If players inquire about the riches in the house, she will acknowledge that life has been good to her. She’s rather proud to tell she gets visits from royals and upper class people from all over the kingdom.
If players inquire about the healing procedures and the magic involved, she becomes dismissive and tries to change the subject. She will resort to defending “the cook’s recipe” is not on the table.
The Healing Ritual
She takes the injured party member to a room in the back of her house, where they are laid down on a stone table. This room smells like a strange mixture of oil and alcohol. You can see pots of herbs, crystals hanging from ropes, many small idol statues of unknown gods, some books in unknown languages and some strange devices that look like musical instruments.
“Listen,” she says and turns to the party with a serious voice and even more serious face, “I can help but under two conditions only. First of all; I work alone. None of you can be here while I perform the surgery.” A silence is notable as she looks around the room. “Second, this will cost you dearly. It is not an easy feat, what i do.”
Again, if players inquire about the procedures and the magic involved in her healing, she becomes dismissive and tries to change the subject. She has no intention to let people know she practices black magic.
Ruby is a businesswoman and she will try to get the best deal out of every customer. She will assess their wealth and urgency, and squeeze the most out of them. Bottom price of restoring health would be in range of 20 GP per 1 HP. Bringing someone back from the dead is just as easy for her to do, but often this is a chance to really shake someone down. Her last customer is known to have paid over 10k of gold pieces to bring back his wife.
The ritual itself is kept secret. However, if any of the players manage to witness (parts of) it, it roughly involves these steps:
- Embalming the wound or body.
- Spreading chalk, salt and sand around the body
- Cooking up a foul mixture of rotting herbs and bones
- Drawing blood from the victim and adding this to the mixture
- Drinking the mixture and calling out ritual words in Demonic. This will make her breath out a thick, black smoke that snakes its way to the chimney as if it was conscious
- She starts chanting until some of the idols start glowing
- Still chanting, she takes one and places it on the victims chest, where it melts into their body
- Wounds close, limbs grow back and air fills their lungs
- The victim wakes up in full health
If a player tries to investigate while she’s performing the ritual, they will be able to peek through the keyhole for instance, to see some of what is going on. Based on an investigation check you can disclose any and all of the steps above. If players look outside for clues during the ritual, a DC10 investigation check will let them see the black smoke leaving the chimney, and snaking its way into the swamp.
The Real Victims
You follow the black smoke, as it slithers its way deeper into the swamp. After some time you walk up to a clearing around a lake. You can see simple huts around the shore. You see lizard-like creatures, similar to the statue you saw at the gate. It is a community of lizard folk living here. Following the smoke with your eyes, you see how it hovers and floats in between the huts, back and forth. Until it suddenly strikes down onto one of the children.
The lizardfolk are friendly to the party. In fact, they are weakened from all the hardship they have had to endure for years. They are powerless against the evil that has stricken them and are quietly suffering.
If the players investigate, they learn the child that was struck by the black smoke is injured with the same injuries that were inflicted upon the wounded party member. When players take a better look, they notice all of the men, women and children in this village are horribly mutilated.
When asked, the lizardfolk tell you about the witch of the open plains, who has made a pact with the darkness to feed an eternal hunger for suffering. The village seems divided on the meaning of it all. Some think the witch should be worshipped, others seem to want to drive her away. Every so often young man try and raid the witches castle but they never return.
Attacking the Healer
If at any point the party decides to attack the healer, she will try to get to her “safe room” which is the attic. This attic can’t be reached through the hatch as this is boarded shut from the inside. She can go there by casting Gaseous Form and seeping through the cracks of the ceiling boards. From the attic she can peek through the cracks onto the second floor, and through two small windows into her garden. Once safely in the attic, she will cast Mordekainen’s Faithful Hound to defend her house.
Looting the House
If the party goes loot hunting in the house and the surrounding area, they are able to find all kinds of high quality household items and furniture, beset with valuable ornaments (up to 2000 GP if the party really strips everything). Trying to remove these requires succeeding DC10 dexterity check using Tinkering Tools. Using force will diminish the value by 2/3.
If they succeed a DC25 investigation check in the healing chamber, the party can discover the following high value loot behind a hidden closet in the wall:
- A broom of flying.
Its command word is “hatchoo” and is only known to Ruby. - A potion of animal friendship
- A potion of climbing
- An orb of direction
Monsters and NPC's
Ruby Hennin (Evocation Wizard Lvl 7)
Medium Humanoid (human), neutral evil
Armor class 12 (natural)
Hit points 52 (8d6 +24)
Speed 30 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
10 (+0) | 12 (+1) | 16 (+3) | 14 (+2) | 18 (+4) | 14 (+2) |
Senses Passive Perception 10
Languages Common, Demonic
Challenge 1/2 (100 XP)
Spellcasting: The wizard is a 4th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Intelligence (spell save DC 12, +4 to hit with spell attacks). The mage has the following wizard spells prepared:
- Cantrips (at will): Chill Touch, Light, Mage Hand, Shocking Grasp
- 1st level (4 slots): False Life, Expeditious Retreat, Mage Armor, Shield,
- 2nd level (3 slots): Crown of Madness, Gentle Repose, Misty Step, Mirror Image
- 3rd level (3 slots): Counterspell, Gaseous Form, Remove Curse
- 4th level (1 slot): Mordekainen’s Faithful Hound
Actions
Healing Ritual: Once per long rest he wizard can perform a ritual to heal any wounds on a creature by inflicting them on another creature. The ritual requires a totem that will represent the receiving creature. During the ritual, the wizard breathes out a black smoke through which their consciousness can travel to find a target within 2 miles. The wounds are instantaneously inflicted upon the target and removed from the healed creature. In case of bringing someone back from the dead—which kills the target— this will cause a complete re-roll (randomization) of the healed creature’s base ability scores.
Animated Armor
Medium Construct, Unaligned
Armor class 18 (natural armor)
Hit points 33 (6d8 +6)
Speed 25 ft.
| STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
14 (+2) | 11 (+0) | 13 (+1) | 1 (-5) | 3 (-4) | 1 (-5) |
Condition Immunities Blinded, Charmed, Deafened, Exhaustion, Frightened, Paralyzed, Petrified, Poisoned
Senses Blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), Passive Perception 6
Languages —
Challenge 1 (200 XP)
Proficiency Bonus +2
Antimagic Susceptibility. The armor is incapacitated while in the area of an antimagic field. If targeted by dispel magic, the armor must succeed on a Constitution saving throw against the caster’s spell save DC or fall unconscious for 1 minute.
False Appearance. While the armor remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a normal suit of armor.
Actions
Multiattack. The armor makes two melee attacks.
Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) bludgeoning damage.
