WH8.2 – The Bloody Pick

Cragford

Two mornings after the stolen tools are returned, Cragford is in an uproar again. A miner is found dead near the quarry — throat slit, body left sprawled, and a bloodied pickaxe propped beside him like a grotesque warning.

Flan villagers gather at the scene, muttering darkly. An old woman hisses, “See? The earth has claimed him — this is Beory’s judgment!” Others glare openly at Izgil’s dwarves, and a young Flan man shouts, “You think we don’t know you staged the theft to keep us from the ore?!”

Izgil’s face is red with fury, but his voice shakes when he growls: “This wasn’t us. Someone’s framing us — and if we don’t find out who, there’ll be blood in the streets before sunset.”

Quest Giver (NPC)

Izgil Halstayyn (again, though more desperate): He begs the PCs to clear the dwarves’ name before the Flan riot. This is also a chance for PCs to speak with Flan elders or try to mediate between the sides.

Obstacle & Objective

The murder was committed by a cultist agitator sent to inflame tensions. PCs must:

• Investigate the scene (Survival DC 13 to find small, clawed tracks → kobolds or cultists).
• Question witnesses (Insight DC 12 to spot a panicked young Flan who saw cloaked figures at dawn).
• Track the killers to a hideout in a disused mine shaft or an old root cellar near the river.

Inside, the PCs find a ritual site:

• Crude carvings of a single eye and horn.
• Bloody tools arranged in a triangle around a pit.
• The murderer (cult fanatic) preparing to kill a second victim — a bound dwarf miner.

Encounter Areas

• Murder Scene: Opportunity for skill challenge (Investigation, Insight, Survival) before escalation.
• Cult Hideout: Small, torch-lit cavern or root cellar with ritual markings.
• Ritual Chamber: Battle with fanatic and minions before the victim is sacrificed.

Scaling Encounters

• Lv 1–2: 2 Cultists + 1 Guard Drake.
• Lv 3: Cult Fanatic + 2 Cultists + Guard Drake.
• Lv 4: Cult Fanatic + 3 Cultists + Guard Drake + Kobold Dragonshield.

Stat Blocks (Condensed)

Cultist – AC 12, HP 9, Scimitar +3 (1d6+1).
Guard Drake – AC 14, HP 52, Bite +5 (1d8+3).
Cult Fanatic – AC 13, HP 33, Command, Hold Person, Spiritual Weapon.
Kobold Dragonshield – AC 15, HP 44, Spear +5 (1d6+3), resistance reaction.

Rewards

• Base: 25–50 gp in stolen goods, bloody ritual dagger.
• Bonus: PCs who stop the ritual may gain a Blessing of Beory (advantage on one saving throw vs. fear/charm).
• Finding the cult symbols links this quest back to WH9.1, suggesting a single hidden hand behind both crimes.