The Overgrown Threshold
Encounter: The Overgrown Threshold
Bright Davokar — Levels 1–3
For 2–4 players. Estimated play time: 60–90 minutes.
Overview
The party is hired to escort a nervous Ordo Magica cartographer named Edrell to Serand's Pyramid in Bright Davokar — a half-day's trek from Thistle Hold. The job sounds simple: walk to the ruin, wait while Edrell sketches measurements, walk back. But Bright Davokar is never simple. The forest tests newcomers with deception before it tests them with violence.
Read Aloud: Entering the Forest
The palisade gate of Thistle Hold closes behind you with a heavy thud. Within twenty paces, the world changes. The road — if you can call it that — narrows to a muddy trail pressed between walls of ancient oak and birch. Sunlight filters through in pale shafts, but it feels thinner here. Quieter. The birds you heard from town are silent. Edrell pulls his cloak tighter and mutters something about the measurements being worth the discomfort.
The air smells of moss and rot. Something sweet underneath it — almost floral, almost wrong.
Part 1: The False Guide (Social / Exploration)
Setup: An hour into the trek, the party encounters a young woman sitting on a fallen log at a fork in the trail. She introduces herself as Mira, a freelance guide who works the Bright Davokar trails. She's friendly, knowledgeable, and offers to lead the party to Serand's Pyramid by a shorter route — one that avoids the "jakaar nesting grounds" on the main trail.
The Truth: Mira is a scout for a small crew of treasure hunter bandits (3–4 thugs + 1 leader) camped a quarter mile off the main trail. She's steering the party into an ambush. She does this regularly to expeditions coming out of Thistle Hold.
Clues Mira is lying:
• DC 13 Wisdom (Insight): Her smile doesn't reach her eyes. She asks too many questions about what the party is carrying.
• DC 12 Intelligence (Nature): Jakaars don't nest — they're nomadic pack hunters. There's no such thing as "jakaar nesting grounds."
• DC 14 Wisdom (Perception): Fresh boot prints in the mud at the fork — multiple sets, heading down Mira's "shortcut."
• Edrell (if asked) says he's been to Serand's Pyramid twice and always took the left fork. Mira wants them to go right.
If the party follows Mira: She leads them into a narrow ravine where her crew is waiting. The bandits demand everything of value. If the party resists, combat begins. Mira draws a hidden dagger and fights with the bandits.
If the party refuses Mira: She shrugs and lets them go. The bandits may follow at a distance (GM's choice) or the party avoids them entirely.
Bandit Ambush (if triggered)
Enemies:
• Mira — Use Scout stat block (CR 1/2). Has a hand crossbow hidden in her pack.
• Bandit Leader ("Gorst") — Use Bandit Captain stat block (CR 2). Wears a looted Templar breastplate with the sun symbol scratched off.
• 2–3 Bandits — Use Bandit stat block (CR 1/8).
Tactics: Gorst demands surrender first. He doesn't want a fight — he wants loot. If the party kills or drops Gorst, the remaining bandits flee. Mira surrenders if cornered.
Loot: 28 gold pieces, a potion of healing, Gorst's breastplate (functional but desecrated — wearing it in Thistle Hold will draw questions from the Church), and a hand-drawn map showing three other ambush locations along Bright Davokar trails (useful intel to sell to the Town Watch for 15 thaler or a favor from Mayor Nightpitch).
Part 2: The Poisoned Grove (Exploration / Survival)
Setup: The trail passes through a grove where the canopy thickens and the light turns green-gold. The ground is carpeted in low bushes bearing clusters of deep purple berries. They smell incredible — sweet, almost intoxicating.
Read Aloud
The trail opens into a grove where the trees arch overhead like the ribs of some enormous creature. Shafts of green-gold light fall through gaps in the canopy. The ground is covered in low bushes heavy with dark purple berries — clusters of them, glistening. The smell hits you before you see them: sweet, rich, almost like wine. Your mouth waters involuntarily.
Edrell stops walking. "Don't," he says quietly.
The berries are Blackbane — a poisonous plant native to Bright Davokar. Edrell recognizes them immediately. He explains that three expedition members died eating them last season. They taste wonderful. You're dead within an hour.
DC 12 Intelligence (Nature) or Wisdom (Survival): A character identifies them as toxic without Edrell's help.
The real danger: A dead treasure hunter lies face-down in the bushes fifteen feet off the trail, partially hidden by foliage. He has berry juice on his lips and his pack is still full.
• DC 13 Wisdom (Perception): Spot the body from the trail.
• The dead man carries: a *journal* with notes about a ruin called "The Grey Archives" deeper in Wild Davokar (adventure hook), 12 thaler, rations (spoiled), rope, and a bronze medallion stamped with the symbol of the Treasure Hunter's Guild in Thistle Hold.
Corruption note: No corruption in this grove — this is mundane danger, which is the point. Bright Davokar kills with ordinary things before the supernatural even enters the picture.
Part 3: Serand's Pyramid (Exploration / Combat)
Setup: The party reaches Serand's Pyramid in the late afternoon. It's a stepped stone structure, roughly 40 feet tall, covered in moss and creeping vines. The base is 60 feet square. A partially collapsed entrance on the north face leads into darkness.
Read Aloud
The forest opens into a rough clearing, and there it is — a stepped pyramid of pale stone, strangled by moss and vine. It's smaller than you imagined but still imposing, rising above the tree line like a clenched fist. The entrance is a dark rectangle on the north face, half-choked with rubble. Carved symbols frame the doorway — worn smooth by a thousand years of rain but still visible. Spirals. Eyes. Shapes that might be letters in a language no one speaks anymore.
Edrell's eyes go wide. He pulls out his sketchbook and starts drawing immediately. "Give me an hour," he says. "Maybe two."
While Edrell works, the party can explore the exterior or enter the pyramid's ground floor.
Inside the entrance chamber:
• A single room, 30 ft × 30 ft, ceiling 15 ft. Rubble from a partial collapse blocks a staircase going down.
• DC 14 Wisdom (Perception): Scratching sounds from behind the rubble. Something is down there.
• DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation): The carvings on the interior walls depict figures bowing before a tall, antlered being. Below the figures, rows of small handprints — hundreds of them.
The Mare Cat Den: A pack of 3 mare cats has denned in the collapsed lower level. If the party makes significant noise or attempts to clear rubble, the cats emerge — hairless, low to the ground, pupils blown wide in the dim light.
Enemies:
• 3 Mare Cats — Use Panther stat block (CR 1/4) with the following modification: their bite is venomous. On a hit, the target must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 hour.
Tactics: Mare cats are ambush predators. They attack from rubble and shadows, targeting the smallest or most isolated party member (probably Edrell). If two are killed, the third flees into the rubble.
If Edrell is attacked: He drops his sketchbook and cowers. He has 8 HP and AC 10. Protecting him is the job.
Wrap-Up: The Walk Back
The return trip to Thistle Hold is uneventful — the forest has made its introductions. Edrell pays the party 15 thaler each and offers to recommend them to the Ordo Magica Charter Hall for future work.
Rewards
• 15 thaler per character from Edrell
• Bandit map (if recovered) — sellable or usable
• Dead treasure hunter's journal — hook to The Grey Archives
• Bronze guild medallion — returning it to the Treasure Hunter's Guild earns goodwill and a contact: Iasogoi Brigo, the most famous treasure hunter in Thistle Hold
GM Notes
• This encounter is designed as a first expedition — an introduction to how Davokar works. The threats are mundane: liars, poison, and animals. No corruption, no magic, no abominations. Save that for later.
• If the party handles the bandits without combat, reward that. Symbaroum is a world where violence has consequences and clever players survive longer.
• Edrell is a useful recurring NPC. He's timid but well-connected within Ordo Magica. He can become a quest-giver, information source, or liability depending on how the party treats him.