Week 3: The Deep Warrens

Earthquakes have been happening a lot in Cascadia ever since the Hearthstone shattered. A stranger to the village arrives with a warning! There’s a villain harming the earth from deep inside a nearby cave system in the mountains, called the Deep Warrens. If they’re not stopped, the damage could destroy all of Cascadia!

Advance Preparation

You will need props or a plan to handle a few of this weeks adventures:

• A number of colored bands to mark objectives in games.
• Ideally, you’ll be able to dig or have access to a pit in the ground for a character to be trapped. If this isn't possible, the scenario can be easily be acted out as improv.
• A printout or hand-copied version of the Dwarven message from Belna (see Day 2 for download).
• You will also need to have a rock to play the part of the Dwarven Hearthstone. This can definitely be picked up on the fly, but keep an eye out for a cool one.

Non Playable Characters (NPCs)

These are the NPCs that may be encountered in this story. They are ordered from most to least screentime in the narrative.

• Belna
• Cinna
• Ral
• Sable

Day One Morning

The first game of the day establishes teams of four. Choose one of the options below:

Forehead Dots

Trackers all get a colored mark on their forehead while their eyes are closed. Mark four Trackers in each color, and choose randomly, as these will be future teams. The "dots" can be masking tape, a post-it, or even washable marker.

When you're done, Trackers open their eyes. They must now sort themselves into teams in complete silence, using only non-verbal communication to find their color matches.

OR

Hide and Seek Out Your Team

Half the Trackers hide within specified boundaries. After 30 seconds head start, send the other half out in search. When the seekers find someone, they both head back to group up, and are now teammates!

In the second round, play this in pairs to end with teams of four. Team Camp time this morning should include time for journaling and character creation.

At the beginning of Morning Adventures, lead the group to the Village area and introduce yourself as their Guide.

“Welcome to the Village! This is the nearest community of humans in Cascadia and your home for the next week. The Village was mostly destroyed last week by natural disasters when the Hearthstone was stolen, but things are mostly better now we have it back… in pieces. You’ve all been summoned from local areas to help investigate if, and how, a Hearthstone can heal."

Explain the basics of Hearthstone lore. You can also make up your own identity and Guild affiliation, so long as you're a native to the Village. Your current assignment is leading the effort to mend the Hearthstone.

Next, introduce Trackers to an NPC, Indigo. They're a friendly and charming Ranger with a pet osprey, Scree, which nips at their ears as they try to talk. Play Scree for laughs when you can!

Indigo explains that, because of the natural disasters in the area, they need to check everything's location for the Village's reference. Could you help them by mapping things out?

Map Area Around Village

You may play the guide as well as Indigo while helping the Trackers set up their camps. Remember to include Indigo’s falcon, Scree, for some comedy! After the area has been arranged, Indigo will express his appreciation for your help with this project. As thanks, he offers to teach you how to stick fight.

Stick Fighting

Once the Trackers seem to have the basics, announce a rumbling in the earth! Oh no, maybe the natural disasters aren't over?

Day One Afternoon

Afternoon Adventures begin with the Guide sharing intriguing news with the Trackers: the Village is abuzz, because during your training, a dwarven elder came through town! This is a rare occurrence, the first time in decades such an ancient dwarf has visited a human camp.

• Here’s what you can tell them, cobbled together from the villagers’ gossip:
• They think the dwarf was a woman, but she has a pretty magnificent beard
• Nobody speaks Dwarvish except Sable (a ranger who’s on the hunt)
• The dwarf seemed to need help
• The dwarf left about 20 minutes ago, and seemed to be following (choose an animal type to track)

Teach the Trackers’ teams to move through the wilderness and the basics of tracking. Following this animal will lead you towards the dwarf, after which you can hopefully find out what she needs!

Tracking Game of Choice

You finally come across the dwarf… who’s at the bottom of a pit that opened up during the earthquake! She’s clearly in distress. If you have any Trackers with a Dwarven origin, you may note that she's using some strong language.
Rescue Game - This can be a realistic rescue from a pit trap if an appropriate site is found. If not, this game may include foraging and crafting cordage to make a rope, then an improv challenge to pull the dwarf to safety.

The dwarven woman is very grateful! She’s able to gesture to herself and communicate her name: Belna. If there are any Trackers with a dwarven origin culture, they can try and speak to her, but with limited success (i.e. they can get the nouns underlined below).

Belna is saying help, pointing in the direction of mountains. She’s frightened of something!

As the Guide, you can note that those mountains contain a cave system where most local dwarves live. Maybe something is wrong at the dwarven settlement?

Day Two Morning

Before the day begins, plant a bandana in the area the Trackers will be searching for Sable later in the morning.

Following the Opening Ceremony, assemble Trackers in the Team Camp area to meet with Belna. She seems to feel a bit better, but is still insistent on communicating her message. She writes something down in Dwarven, which is essentially a cipher. Trackers with Dwarven origins can be given the translation for all vowels.

Indigo offers to watch Belna so you can go find Sable, the ranger who speaks Dwarven fluently. Teams break up to comb the nearby woods for the bandana you hid to represent her position.

Searching Game of Choice

After everyone is grouped up at Sable’s location, she can introduce herself properly:

“You all’d better have a good reason for disturbing my hunt! It’s a matter of life and death for our Vvillage. Speaking of which, I haven’t seen any of you around before. If you say you’re one of us and want a favor from me, y? You’d better prove you’re worth it.”

Survival Game of Choice

Sable admits, you have the skills valued by the Village, and she did hear there would be newcomers. She’ll take a look at the message from Belna and do her best to translate. However, Belna’s language is the oldest and least accessible form of Dwarven, and there are a few symbols she doesn’t recognize. Trackers must finish piecing together the message to fully learn Belna’s predicament:

“Dwarves of the Deep Warrens need help! Stranger draining the mountain’s spirit, our spirit.”

• Sable is surprised and alarmed to read this. She wants to return to the Village with you to meet and talk to Belna in person. GThough grudgingly, she can tells you the following information about the Deep Warrens:
• It’s a chain of small mountains with a deep, interconnected cave system underneath
• It has long been the home of the dwarves, though they long ago they had to cease mining and pursue lifestyles that cause less pain to the earth
• There are rumors that the underground caves are haunted by the ghosts of ancient dwarven miners

Sable thinks those rumors are probably right. Return to the Village to digest this info, and also lunch.