Encounter 2: Last Chance Inn

After a long day of travelling, you finally reach the point in the High Road where it forks and a smaller trail runs east toward Blackstone. Down a rolling hill between the branches of the fork you see a handful of wooden buildings, the largest among them is a small two-story inn. Perhaps it is the glare from the setting sun or the shadow of the hill you are on, but "last chance' may refer the inn's chances of standing upright through the night. As you draw closer, a scholarly looking man and a gnome enter the structure, which appears more sound up close, but still looks risky. The gray wooden door smells vaguely of dry rot as you open it to look in on an unremarkable common room. There are five medium sized round tables surrounded by chairs, a large fireplace with meat cooking on a spit, a Iow bar with a bench, a short staircase leading up, a door into a back room, and even a few patrons. "Hail travelers," the gnome behind the bar calls as you enter.   Krink, the innkeeper:

• Will quickly ask how he can be of service and show them to a table near the bar, a fair distance from the fire (it is spring after all).
• He will quickly begin setting tankards of ale and trays of meat and boiled green vegetables before the PCs.
• He will show anyone inquiring a room upstairs which is small (ten by ten) with four or five straw pallets with wool blankets thrown over them. Gaps in the floorboards allow the sounds, smells and some light in from the common room below. There are no human sized beds in the inn, most big guests sleep on the tables or bar in the common room. On cold, crowded nights, desperate travelers have even been known to sleep on the floor. The other buildings are a small barn, a stable for guests mounts, and an outhouse.

  The heavily cloaked figure is a local ranger name Astin who spends his days patrolling the lands surrounding the Last Chance Inn and keeping them free of his chosen enemies, goblinoids and giants.

• He will respond to any attempts at conversation with monosyllabic grunts.
• If the PCs appear to be pushing Astin, Krink will intervene, recommending that they leave him alone.

The gnomish boys are Klink and Klank, Krink's sons.

• They help with the work around the inn, but are afforded a great deal of free time in the evenings.
• They will try to bring the PCs into their dice game (highest roll 2d6 wins).
• If you loose three in a row, you have to stand on your head until someone else loses three in a row.

The scholarly looking human is Bwirse. He is an associate of Kran's and is trailing the PCs to see if they turn up any treasure. He passed them on the road earlier in the day when he was fairly certain that they would stop at the Last Chance Inn. He been waiting outside to make sure this was indeed the case and moved inside when he saw them approach.

• He will pretend to be a scholar studying gnomish dialects in Blackstone.
• He will say that he is returning to Greyhawk to document and publish his findings.
• Try to make this as boring as possible.

  After the PCs are settled into the inn and begin their dinner, the dwarf begins pounding out a solid rhythm on his drum.

• Thump thumpa-thump thumpa-thump thumpa-thump-thump-thump.

  The loud clattering of a chair against the wall and floor of the inn interrupt the dwarfs song.

• The cloaked figure in the corner has leapt to his feet, his hood thrown back. With a wild-eyed look the man gazes out the open window. He sniffs loudly once and turns to the room asking, "Can you hear that?!"
• His eyes blaze with fury and in a single smooth motion he leaps through the window, drawing his sword and shrieking a battle cry. As you look on he runs to attack a gang of red-eyed humanoids that are fleeing downhill from the barn with several chickens and a cow in tow.

  A dozen orcs are attacking the inn. Astin is more than a match for half of them, bu the heroes will need to fight the other half.

• Three of the orcs are pulling Krinks uncooperative cow downhill with limited success, two more are fleeing with two or more chickens each, and the remaining three move to attack Astin and any other opposition that emerges from the inn.