Foul Weather at Wayside - Essentials Kit: Storm Lord's Wrath

Foul Weather at Wayside. "Foul Weather at Wayside" is balanced for characters of 8th level, though characters of 7th level should be able to survive the encounters. Location Overview As the characters played the "Attack on the Wayside Inn" introductory encounter earlier in this adventure, they should be familiar with the place, as well as the key NPCs who work and dwell there. However, they probably did not learn all of its secrets! Most of the staff employed at the Wayside Inn are cultists of Talos who follow the dark teachings of Fheralai Stormsworn, a priest of the Stormbringer. Although the inn's owner does not know this, the bartender, Backes Dunfield, is a lieutenant of Stormsworn, fully pledged to the subjugation of the Sword Coast by his master. The rest of the cultists at the Wayside Inn see Backes as their leader however, to be protected and obeyed in any circumstance. The local cultists have received orders to kidnap a local bard, Tarbin Tul, and then turn the Wayside Inn into a shrine to Talos. From this point, they would establish a series of shrines up and down the High Road, allowing them to bend the weather to their will and choke off travel and trade between the civilized areas of the northern Sword Coast. As they draw power into the shrine within the Wayside Inn, the cultists summon storms to do the bidding of their master. This results in foul weather and raging skies appearing right above the inn, while the rest of the area is sunny and calm. If the adventurers can intervene in time, they can stop the ritual and save Leilon from destructive weather in their immediate future. Quest Goals To complete the Foul Weather at Wayside quest (see "Leilon Quests"), the adventurers must defeat the cultists of Talos at the Wayside Inn, destroy the shrine of Talos before it is fully activated, rescue the sacrifices, and find clues to the location of the cultists' hideout at the Thunder Cliffs. The Power of the Echo In a D&D adventure, as in any narrative en...