DEATH IN THE WOOD

A Triple Kingdom Adventure

The Bell Wood has always been rumored to be a dangerous place, full of strange creatures and odd
happenings. Timber from the wood is highly sought after for its reputed magical properties, so brave
foresters sometimes dare the wood to harvest trees to finance their futures.

But this time, people are dying. Loggers are vanishing, their mutilated bodies recovered from the
undergrowth hours or days later. What has changed in the wood? Can anyone solve the mystery? And
can they survive the investigation?

A 34 hour adventure for 45 characters of 1st level

by Jonathan Garland

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1
Introduction
Triple Kingdom adventures are a series of D&D modules
that can be played in isolation or as part of a campaign.
Dungeon Masters should feel free to play in the world of
the Triple Kingdom, or to transplant these adventures in
their own campaign world, as they choose.
The Triple Kingdom
Just over 100 years ago, the Kingdoms of Esterra, Allora
and Bann were demoted to duchies when King Bron the
Unifier (called "The Conquerer" by some) welded the
three into the Triple Kingdom.
The territories within the kingdom stretch from high
moors, dark forests and high mountains in the north; to
expansive savanna in the west; to rich lowland plains
bounded by ocean to the south and southeast. An
archipelago sits off the coast to the southeast, and a desert
lies beyond the northern mountains. Any kind of terrain
you can imagine exists in or near the Triple Kingdom.
The kingdom faces internal struggles from families that
lost power during the unification, from groups that use
the unrest to further their own enterprises and agendas,
and from allied races such as elves and gnomes on
kingdom borders to the east. There is also pressure from
outside the kingdom, where orcs, goblins and other races
see a soft target ripe for plundering.
Wherever you travel in the Triple Kingdom, there is work
for adventurers.
The Barony of Woodside
Woodside is the main town of the barony of the same
name. It is close to the center of the kingdom; six days
to the south west of the capital, Kingsholm, on the main
road to the cities of Esterra and Landsend, in the Duchy
of Esterra.
The economy of Woodside is driven by timber,
harvested from the several nearby tree farms or from the
Bell Wood to the south, which is rumored to be
magical. The barony also is famous for its apple brandy.
The town of Woodside is surrounded by a wooden
palisade of thick and sturdy construction. Timber is the
predominant building material inside the town walls.
Some stone buildings can be found but they are a rarity.
Baroness Mathilda Carnarvon rules Woodside on behalf
of the king, supported by a range of administrative and
ecclesiastical advisors.
The city watch is run by Sheriff Shale Rockbrother, a
dwarf. The barony also maintains a company of soldiers
that are headquartered in the town.
Synopsis of this adventure
The Bell Wood has always been rumored to be a
magical place, full of strange creatures and odd
happenings. But the timber harvested from the wood is
highly sought after for its reputed magical properties, so
brave foresters sometimes dare the wood to harvest
trees to finance their futures.
But this time, people are dying. Loggers are vanishing,
their mutilated bodies recovered from the undergrowth
hours or days later. What has changed in the wood? Can
anyone solve the mystery? And can they survive the
investigation?
What's really going on
Manfred Smith, camp boss of the loggers currently
harvesting trees from the Bell Wood, flew into a jealous
rage and killed Erin Markham's fiance William in the
wood not far from the camp two months ago.
That violent death, committed in a magical place like Bell
Wood, has spawned a Gulthias tree that grows from the
site of the murder and is poisoning the wood around it.
The influence of the tree is creating blights, ambulatory
plant creatures that prey on anyone who strays too far
inside the boundaries of the wood.
Nobody, including Manfred, knows what is causing the
deaths. The sheriff has posted a reward for information
leading to a resolution to the mystery.
Erin wants to know what happened to William, whose
body has never been found. Manfred wants to ensure his
act of murder remains undetected. The sheriff wants the
mystery solved.
To successfully complete the adventure, the PCs should
uncover the mystery, investigate the scene of the deaths,
destroy the Gulthias tree poisoning the wood, and
uncover evidence of William's murder by Manfred.
2

Part 1: Woodside
The Two Short Planks Inn
The Two Short Planks Inn is a comfortable
establishment catering mostly to the middle class. It is
frequented by merchants passing through town to sell
their wares and purchase new stock.
Player Characters (PCs) can purchase food, drink and
accommodation at the Two Short Planks at Modest
rates, as described under Expenses (PHB, pg 157-158).
The inn is run by Meredith Bannerman, a middle-aged
widow, and her son Gareth.
The Two Short Planks Inn consists of a bar and dining area
on the ground floor, with accommodation on the floor
above. Tonight about half of the tables in the bar have
customers; some merchants, drinking wine and talking
business; a group of muscled laborers, nursing ale and
grievances; and your group of adventurers. The woman
behind the bar is kept busy with orders, and a young man
hustles about, clearing and wiping tables.
There is a bang and all eyes flick to the suddenly open door
as a large man enters. He looks around the room, then goes
to the bar and orders a drink. His hands are shaking and he
looks unsteady. A couple of the laborers leave their group
to join him. A young woman follows him into the room.
"Another death," she says, angrily. "That's four bodies
found in a month. And still no sign of my William! When
are you fools going to bring him home to me?"
"That's enough, Erin," says the big man, white-knuckled
hands clasping the mug of ale placed in front of him. "You
haven't seen what we've seen. The way those men died...
flesh torn and wrapped in bramble and vines until they
could hardly be seen. It's the stuff of nightmares."
He drains his mug, hand still shaking. "I'm done. I won't go
back into that wood."
The big man moves to join the other laborers at their table.
Erin looks for a moment like she will follow him, but then
takes a seat at the bar and hangs her head.
The room, which had fallen silent, now stirs again with the
buzz of gossip and speculation.
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3
Things the PCs can learn
The merchants are not local and have no information,
but Erin, the loggers and the bar staff know the
following:
The laborers are loggers from a camp in the
Bell Wood, about two hours south of
Woodside.
The Bell Wood is reputed to be magical, with
strange beasts and odd happenings.
Timber harvested from the Bell Wood can be
sold for a large profit, because of its reputed
magical properties, but few are brave enough
to do so when there are many cultivated tree
farms close by.
A group of loggers has been working in the
Bell Wood for two months, led by Manfred
Smith, the camp boss.
Four loggers have disappeared, starting about a
month ago, their bodies found in the bushes the
next day.
There is a reward for information leading to an
arrest or a solution to the mystery.
Erin's fiance William has been missing for
almost two months.
Erin wears around her neck a pendant made of
half a silver piece, cut in two by an axe.
William wears the matching other half.
Manfred previously courted Erin, before she
started seeing William.
The fight
After a period of time, the party will be drawn into a
fight with the loggers. If the PCs are talking with Erin,
one or more of the loggers will try to stop her giving
information by removing her. If Erin is alone, one of the
loggers will try to escort her home, and she will resist
(if the party don't rescue her, she will call on them for
aid).
The loggers will tell the party to mind their own
business. If the warning is not immediately heeded, they
will begin throwing punches. The rest of the bar quickly
empties when the violence starts.
This is a bar fight. It will be fists only, unless the one of
the party draws a weapon, or casts a spell. Then it will
become a brawl, with bottles and chairs swung and
flung. The loggers will fight smart, one or two
attempting to grapple PCs and/or shove them prone, so
they can gang up on them.
As soon as the fight starts, people start calling for the
watch. The watch should arrive before anyone escapes
DEATH IN THE WOOD
the goal is to have the party wake up in jail. But if they
get creative and get away, let them do it!
Loggers
There are eight loggers. Their stats are identical to
those of the Bandit (MM pg 343).
AC 12 HP 11 Speed 30ft
Fist Attack +3; Damage 1 (bludgeoning)
Improvised club (eg: bottle or chair) Attack +3;
Damage 1d4 (bludgeoning)
XP 25 each
At the beginning of the fourth round of combat, the
Woodside Town Watch will arrive. Anyone resisting
arrest is clubbed into submission.
Those still conscious are forced to carry unconscious
companions and are taken to the watch house, deprived
of their equipment and thrown into the cells with very
little conversation. The guards will not negotiate with
them in any way.
Guards
There are eight guards. For complete stats, see MM pg
347.
AC 12 HP 11 Speed 30ft
Club Att +3; Damage 1d4+1 (bludgeoning)
XP 25 each
The outcome
The PCs should now be in jail. If one or more escape,
they will find it near impossible to rescue their
colleagues from the watch house. Multiple checks
would be required to get them past walls, locked doors
and alert guards.
If the PCs all escape, they may choose to move directly
to the logger camp, in which case they will not have the
encounter with the sheriff.
The watch house
If the PCs are arrested, they will spend an uneventful
night in jail. This confers the all the benefits of a long
rest.
You are startled awake by a loud bang. Through blurred
vision and a sore head, you see you are in a jail cell. Groans
sound all around you, indicating that at least some of your
party is here as well.
A guard rattles his keys as he unlocks the door, making
more noise than is strictly necessary. He grins.
"Come on," he says. "Sheriff wants a word."
The guard leads your group out of the cells and through a
corridor to a spacious room with a large desk and a row of
chairs against the wall. Erin, the girl from the bar, sits in
one of the chairs. A dwarf, bristling with black hair and
black looks, stomps out from behind the desk and glares at
you.
This is the Sheriff of Woodside, Shale Rockbrother. It's
unusual to see a non-human in a position of authority in
the Triple Kingdom. The dwarf is firm but fair in his
dealings, with absolute loyalty to the baroness.
He has limited resources to commit to investigating
crime outside the town walls, so he has not been able to
come to a conclusion about the logger deaths or
Willam's disappearance.
"Well, you look a sorry lot this morning," he says. "I'm the
sheriff of Woodside and I don't tolerate that kind of
violence and destruction of property in my town. Normally,
I would have no hesitation in dropping the lot of you in a
dark hole and leaving you there to rot.
However, witnesses (he waves at Erin) have assured the
watch that none of you started the fight and that you were
acting in self defence. So on this occasion, you get to walk
away and I don't have to see you cluttering up my nice
clean watch house. Collect your gear and get out of my
sight."
If the PCs killed anyone during the fight, add this:
"Oh, by the way," says the sheriff, turning back in your
direction, "There were deaths last night. That's
unacceptable, even in self-defence. So when I say 'get out', I
mean out of town. I don't want you in Woodside."
Things the PCs can learn
The sheriff, the guards and Erin all know the following:
Erin reported her fiance William missing
almost two months ago. His body hasn't been
found.
The other four deaths started about a month
ago. All those bodies were found within a day,
each wrapped in bramble and vine under a
bush, flesh torn and ripped. The wounds are
inconsistent with blades but are closer to the
tearing made by thorns or claws.
There is a reward of 100gp for information that
leads to an arrest or a solution to the mystery
of the dead loggers. There is a further 100gp
for an answer to the whereabouts of Erin's
fiance William.
4
 Logger camp boss Manfred has a history of
violence, and has been thrown in the cells
several times for causing a public disturbance.

Outcomes
Erin is waiting for them, ready to guide them to the
camp. If the PCs have not yet decided this is their next
step, she will remind them they owe her for confirming
they acted in self defence during the fight.

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5
Part 2: Into the wood
The logger camp
There is an air of disquiet in the camp. The deaths have
made people nervous and some have quit.
There are about a dozen people engaged in various tasks
in or near the camp. Most are loggers but there is also a
wagon driver, smoking a pipe while he waits for his
load to be tied down, and a cook, cleaning up the
breakfast things.
You pass through agricultural land on your way south. A
couple of carts laden with goods for market pass you on
their way north to Woodside. In the distance, the looming
green menace of the wood grows ever larger.
Bell Wood extends as far as you can see to your right and
left, seemingly barely containing the dark shadows cast by
huge trees crowded close together. This is old-growth
forest, untouched by civilization.
Until now. A cluster of tents is home to the loggers, who
are harvesting the trees for market in Woodside and
beyond. You can see gaps and stumps at the edge of the
wood where trees have fallen, several still laying on the
ground while loggers trim branches with their axes.
Elsewhere, timber that has been reduced to manageable size
is stacked under waterproof covers, ready to be loaded onto
one of several huge wagons specially designed for transport
of large, long loads.
A big man with a wild, dark beard and huge arms walks
toward you, raising his axe to rest on his shoulder as he
approaches.
This is Manfred, the camp boss. He is gruff and
unwelcoming. He doesn't want the PCs here but has
other things to worry about, so won't do more than
verbally warn them off unless they make trouble. If the
PCs goad him into a fight, others will quickly jump in
to separate them, at which point he will hurl an insult at
the group and stalk off.
He will at first ignore the party while he addresses Erin.
What are you doing here, Erin? he demands. There's no
news and you're just in the way.
You don't get to tell me what to do any more, Manfred,
she replies. I told you, that's over. Since you won't try to
find William, I've brought some people who are willing to
help.
The big man looks over your group. He doesn't seem
pleased.
You're wrong, Erin, and one day you'll realize that. We're
working here. Keep your friends out of the way or they'll be
on the receiving end of my axe, he says, holding up the
weapon in a threatening manner.
The big logger turns and walks away.
Keen-eyed PCs will note (DC 12) that there is a large
notch in the blade of Manfred's axe. If mentioned,
Manfred boasts he has used this axe for many years and
it has more wear than any other axe in the camp.
The PCs can wander the camp without challenge as
long as they don't interfere with any of the work. If they
make a nuisance of themselves, Manfred will object and
try to force them to leave.
Manfred
Manfred has stats identical to a Thug. For complete
stats, see MM pg 350.
AC 11 HP 32 Speed 30ft
Axe Attack +4; Damage 1d8+2 (slashing)
Skills Mulitattack (2 melee attacks)
XP 100
The body found yesterday is still in camp, isolated in a
tent waiting for transport. If PCs examine it, a
successful investigation check (DC 10) will reveal that
the body is covered with lacerations. The wounds are
inconsistent with blades but are closer to the tearing
made by thorns or claws. In some places, thorns and
tendrils of vine are still present, penetrating the skin as
if growing inward.
The wounds show signs of a struggle, such as someone
caught in clinging vines attempting to escape. None of
the wounds are deep enough to kill on their own, so
cause of death appears to be blood loss over a period of
time.
Things the PCs can learn
Any of the loggers, the cook or the wagon driver knows
the following:
It's hard to find privacy in the camp. People
sometimes wander into the woods looking for
quiet, though nobody wants to risk it now.
The dead body found yesterday is still in the
camp. It is wrapped in cloth in the dead man's
tent and will be transported to town on the
lumber wagon once its loaded.
6
 The four bodies were found not far from each
other, just far enough away to be out of earshot
of the camp.
The trees and undergrowth in the area around
where the bodies were found is showing signs
of decay, with green leaves turning brown and
foliage choked out by brambles, vines and
weeds.
Outcomes
The PCs should now have enough information to go
into the wood to investigate the place where the bodies
were found.
Unless the PCs are persuasive (DC 14), Erin will
accompany them. If she is present for any of the
fighting that follows, she will stay back out of the way.
The sprite
As they approach the area where the bodies were found,
the PCs encounter a forest guardian. The sprite calls
himself Hunter.
He will start by making ominous rustling in the bushes
to try to scare them off. He then attempts to trip PCs
with vines and whip them by holding back branches and
then releasing them when the PCs walk into range (no
damage is inflicted). Finally, he will attempt to shoot
one of them with a poison arrow. If the PC fails the
saving throw by more than five points, he or she will
fall unconscious for one minute.
Sprite
There is a single male sprite. For complete stats, see
MM pg 283.
AC 15 HP 2 Speed 10ft; Fly 40ft
Longsword Attack +3; Damage 1 (slashing)
Shortbow Attack +6; Damage 1 (piercing) + CON
save vs Poison (DC 10)
Skills Stealth +8; Perception +3
Special ability Invisibility; Heart Sight
XP 50
When discovered, he will openly defy them.
A small figure zips out of the undergrowth and hovers in
the air in front of you. You see a male humanoid about as
large as a human hand, translucent wings quivering with
fury as he shakes his fists at you. Never still for more than a
moment, he darts around the group, his shrill voice hurling
insults.
"Ugly big people! Go away! Go away from here! You are
not wanted! Take your evil away! Leave!"
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7
If challenged:
"You chop our trees! You anger the wood! You kill each
other and evil grows from your ugliness! Go away and
leave the wood alone!"
The PCs can try to persuade the sprite of their good
intentions (DC 14). If they bribe him with food (DC 8),
he will get wide eyes and quickly become friendly.
Hunter will take the measure of whoever is trying to
persuade him to help them by using his Heart Sight. He
will zip closer to the person, look into their eyes from a
disturbingly close distance, and then place his hand over
the PC's heart, closing his eyes while he reads his/her
emotional state.
Hunter refers to himself in the third person ("Hunter
will show you!).
Things the PCs can learn
The source of the effect that is killing the
wood is a tree. It is small and twisted and
appeared not long ago. Hunter has little
understanding of time beyond "not long"
but if the PCs specifically mention these
measures, he could say "more than 10 suns"
or "two moons ago".
The tree grew out of a spot where one big
person killed another. Hunter is unable to
describe their appearance, as all big people
looks the same to him.
The dead loggers were killed by "little
trees". If asked, Hunter will confirm that
they move around.
Outcomes
If the PCs persuade Hunter to help them, he will agree
to guide them to the place where the loggers were
killed. He refuses to go near the tree.
If Hunter doesn't guide them, they can follow the trail
that loggers have walked to the area (DC 10).
If none of these options are available, the PCs will
stumble across the area with an hour of searching.
The Blights
When the party reaches the spoiled and poisoned part of
the wood:
DEATH IN THE WOOD
 You come to an area where the deep green of the wood
turns to a rusty brown. Tree branches droop and bushes are
withered. Everywhere the foliage looks sickly and sunlight
shines through the tree canopy where the leaves have curled
and died in vast numbers.
The undergrowth is being crowded out with brambles and
twisted, thorny vines. The formerly healthy plants are
pushed aside and overgrown with weeds. The further you
move into the wood, the worse your surroundings look.
If Hunter is with them, the PCs notice that he has
suddenly vanished.
If the PCs state that they are looking around, make a
stealth roll for the Blights and compare the PCs'
perception rolls. If the PCs don't detect them, the
Blights get a surprise round.
There is a sudden rustle and you see movement in the
bushes. As your eyes focus on the motion you realize that
the movement is not IN the bushes it IS the bushes.
All around you, bushes shudder and twist, branches
winding together into parodies of limbs, until you are
surrounded with small humanoid figures made of twisted
branches and thorns.
They move towards you.
Twig Blights
There are six Twig Blights. For complete stats, see MM
pg 32.
AC 13 HP 4 Speed 20ft
Claws Attack +3; Damage 1d4+1 (piercing)
Skills Stealth +3
Damage Vulnerability Fire
Condition immunities Blinded, Deafened
Senses Blindsight 60ft
XP 25 each
If using fire on the blights, PCs run the risk of setting
the wood on fire. If they act quickly, flames can be
easily doused (DC 5).
Hunter may return if the PCs are persuasive (DC 14). If
so, he will check the Blights are really dead, then poke
them with his sword and swagger about as if he killed
them himself. He will point the way to the tree but will
not accompany the PCs for any reason. If pressed, he
will vanish again.
Things the PCs can learn
These are ambulatory bushes, otherwise
indistinguishable from normal
undergrowth.
If the blights are not totally destroyed
(burned to ash, for example), an
investigation check (DC 8) will reveal dried
blood and scraps of flesh on the thorns and
vines that make up the blights' bodies.
By investigating the ground where the
blights moved around, PCs can identify their
tracks.
Once they know what they are looking for,
PCs can find (DC 10) slightly older tracks
that will lead them to the Gulthias tree.
Outcomes
The PCs should sense the end of the adventure is close
and move from here directly to the Gulthias tree.
If they stop for more than a short rest, the DM should
run an encounter with three more Twig Blights, to
convince them to keep moving.
If for some reason they do not know about the Gulthias
tree, or for some other reason they choose to go back to
the logging camp or to Woodside, the PCs will hear of
another death the next day.
The Gulthias Tree
After following the tracks of the Blights for a few
hundred paces, the PCs find the tree.
As you walk further into the wood, the foliage around you
becomes more and more ruined. The canopy has large
ragged holes open to the sky, where leaves and branches
have withered and died. Bark falls in dead, dry strands from
diseased tree trunks. Green undergrowth is crowded out and
choked by brown weeds and twisting vines.
Ahead of you, the dying and diseased wood opens into a
clearing. Almost nothing grows here. Apart from a few
bare, brown bushes and a couple of patches of thin, dying
grass, the clearing is nothing but an area of bare dirt.
In the middle of the clearing is a tree. It is small not much
taller than a man. But it is completely devoid of leaves. The
trunk and limbs are black, dripping some kind of deep red
sap that seems to coat the tree in glistening slime. It stands
crookedly, like a hunchback, its trunk gnarled and twisted
over, black roots thrust into the ground like claws.
8
The tree will show no sign of movement until the PCs If the PCs investigate the body, they will find
approach to melee distance. The Blights will not attack a wound in the skull. Investigation (DC 12)
until the tree moves. will reveal that it the result of a heavy blow
If PCs attempt to remain outside the tree's 10ft reach, it with a notched blade.
will uproot itself and move to attack, using its Near the body is a leather pouch containing
Entangling Plants ability to hold them until it can close 1gp and 14sp.
to melee distance.
Outcomes
You feel a tremor in the ground as the tree moves and
twists. Roots claw free of the dirt with a cloud of dust as the The PCs can destroy the tree and the root by burning it
sap-coated black trunk moves toward you. all in a pyre, or by scattering holy water on the site. If
anyone tries to dig up the root, or otherwise touches it
with their bare hand, they must make a CON save
Gulthias Tree (DC 12) or be poisoned until their next long rest.
The tree has stats identical to a Vine Blight, but with
maximum HP. For complete stats, see MM pg 32. If the tree and root are not destroyed, the Gulthias Tree
will grow back in a month.
AC 12 HP 40 Speed 10ft
Constrict Attack +4; Reach 10ft; Damage 2d6+2 The PCs can prove Manfred guilty of murder by
(bludgeoning) + target grappled & restrained (escape presenting William's skull and Manfred's axe to the
DC 12) sheriff, along with Erin's testimony about the
Special ability Entangling plants (recharge 56) identifying pendant on the body.
Skills Stealth +1 Manfred will not give up his axe willingly but the
Condition immunities Blinded, Deafened loggers will not leap to his defence. If PCs can make a
Senses Blindsight 60ft convincing argument (DC 13) the loggers will assist in
XP 100 restraining Manfred and removing his axe.
If the PCs choose not to confront Manfred but to take
Twig Blights their information to the sheriff and let him handle the
There are four Twig Blights. For complete stats, see arrest, the sheriff will send out guards, as described in
MM pg 32. Concluding the adventure.
AC 13 HP 4 Speed 20ft
Claws Attack +3; Damage 1d4+1 (piercing)
Skills Stealth +3
Damage Vulnerability Fire
Condition immunities Blinded, Deafened
Senses Blindsight 60ft
XP 25 each

Things the PCs can learn

The tree is rotten all the way through and
begins falling apart as soon as it dies.
If the PCs investigate the place where it
grew, they will see a twisted root already
sprouting fresh growth. It is growing
rapidly, almost fast enough to see. When a
PC looks away, then looks back, it will seem
a little larger.
The PCs will also find, half-buried in the
place where the tree was rooted, a body. It
is little more than bones now, with scraps of
flesh in places. Around its neck is a silver
piece cut in half with an axe. It perfectly
matches the half worn by Erin.

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9
Concluding the
adventure
Claiming the reward
To successfully complete this adventure, the PCs should:
find and destroy the Gulthias tree
deliver evidence of Manfred's murder of
William, or deliver Manfred himself.
The PCs can claim the reward if they provide evidence.
If the PCs deliver evidence of Manfred's murder of
William, the sheriff will send out guards to arrest him.
The sheriff listens to you as you describe what you have
uncovered. He scratches his chin through the wiry black
bristle of his beard.
Well now, that's interesting, he says. Very interesting. I'll
send out some of my guards to investigate. I think Manfred
and I should have a chat. If your information leads to
anything, you'll be able to claim the reward money. I'll let
you know in a few hours.
When the guards bring Manfred to the watch house, the
sheriff calls the PCs back and the following exchange
takes place.
If the PCs deliver Manfred to the watch house and
present their evidence, the following exchange takes
place immediately.
In either case, Erin will also be present, either because
she accompanied the PCs or because she returned with
the guards.
The sheriff looks at Manfred.
Every time we meet, Manfred Smith, it's because you've
done something stupid and violent. Did you kill William?
Manfred spits on the floor and looks at Erin.
You belong to me, Erin, he says. You made the wrong
choice. What happened to him was your fault. I did what I
did to fix your mistake. His death is on your head. And
now, mine will be, too.
The sheriff motions for guards to take Manfred into custody
and the big logger is escorted from the room to the cells.
The sheriff goes behind the desk and produces two pouches
from a drawer. He throws them on the desk, where they
land with the muted sound of coins clinking.
Your reward, says the sheriff. For solving the
disappearance of the logger William and for investigating
and resolving the cause of the deaths of loggers in the Bell
Wood.
He looks over your group with a careful eye.
Perhaps you're not as useless as you appear, he says.
That was an impressive piece of work. There are people in
Woodside who may have work for a group like yourselves
who have proven they can get things done. Let's hope that
all our interactions in future are as pleasant as this one.
Now get out of my watch house. I have work to do.
And the sheriff turns his back on you, dismissing you, as he
leaves the room to begin Manfred's interrogation.
Congratulations! You have successfully completed this
adventure!
Further adventures
If the PCs do not permanently destroy the tree (with fire
or holy water), it will grow back in a month and blights
will begin killing again. In this case, the sheriff will
threaten to jail them for falsely claiming the reward. To
avoid arrest, PCs must agree to go back into the wood
and face the gauntlet of blights and a new Gulthias tree.
The PCs are now known in Woodside. Their reputation,
good or bad, will affect further adventures in the Triple
Kingdom. As they make a name for themselves, they will
gain allies and make enemies that may be with them for
years to come.
Look for more in this series of adventures in the Triple
Kingdom, and let the consequences of one flow into
others.
Happy adventuring!
All the images and image components used in this
adventure module were sourced from Internet search
results for royalty free artwork, and are assumed to be in
the public domain.
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 The encounter should occur when the PCs reach the
The Blights marked square.
Each square represents 5ft. There are four blights north of the PCs, and two blights
south, all within 40ft.

Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only . DEATH IN THE WOOD
11
 The PCs begin at the entry to the clearing at the
The Gulthias Tree bottom of the map.
Each square represents 5ft. There are four Blights between the PCs and the
Gulthias Tree.

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