WH2.2 – Ale’s Gone Sour!

Intro/Boxed Text:

• Talla Maltbrew, brewer of Oxenford, pours you a tankard — and spits in disgust. The ale tastes foul, rancid overnight. “It ain’t natural,” she growls. “The barley’s cursed. Fey folk are behind this, mark my words.”
• Quest Giver (NPC): Talla Maltbrew, stern brewer, proud of her ale.

Obstacle & Objective:

The PCs must discover the cause of the souring. Fey pranksters are spoiling the grain stores. PCs may fight, negotiate, or bargain with them.

Scaling Encounters:

• Lv 1: 2 Sprites (mischief only, nonlethal).
• Lv 2: 3 Sprites + 1 Quickling.
• Lv 3: 2 Quicklings + 1 Redcap.
• Lv 4: 2 Redcaps + 1 Satyr (instigator)

• Sprite (CR 1/4) – AC 15, HP 2, Shortbow +6 (1 piercing + poison DC 10 sleep).  
• Quickling (CR 1) – AC 16, HP 10, Multiattack Dagger +8 (1d4+6).  
• Redcap (CR 3) – AC 13, HP 45, Iron Boots +6 (3d10+4).  
• Satyr (CR 1/2) – AC 14, HP 31, Panpipes (charm/fear/sleep).

Puzzle:

• Sprites left riddling chalk signs on barrels. PCs may solve their rhyme (DC 12 Insight/Arcana) to learn how to appease them with honey and music. 

Riddle One (Level 1): The Grain’s Secret

“I am born in fields of gold,
Yet crushed to dust, my worth is told.
Feed me fire, I turn to cheer,
Name me now, for I am near.”

Answer: Barley (grain/ale)
Correct solution → Fey giggle and leave behind a sprig of enchanted barley.
Failure → A sprite pours sour powder into another cask (further loss of ale).

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Riddle Two (Levels 1-2): The Hidden Guest

“You see me once in morning light,
Again at noon, but not at night.
Catch me never, though I fall,
What am I, that touches all?”

Answer: A Shadow
Correct → Fey relent and reveal which barrels are tainted.
Failure → A Quickling dashes by, scattering grain (PCs must chase it).

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Riddle Three (Levels 1-4): The Fey’s Demand

“We dance unseen, yet music knows,
Our feet are quick, our secret shows.
Offer sweet, and we will play,
Or else your drink shall rot away.”

Answer: Honey (sweetness offered to appease Fey)
Correct → Fey pranksters can be bargained with using honey and song.
Failure → They summon a Redcap as “muscle” to defend their mischief.

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Reward:

• 25 gp each, ox-cart, and fresh supplies.
• At higher tiers, Brenn gifts Oxhide Armor (AC +1 hide armor).