尽管名义上由一位市长统治，但煮锅城实际上是瓦兰图这只贪婪眼魔的私有财产。作为一个有影响力的贵族，“瓦兰图勋爵”是煮锅城政府背后的神秘力量。他魅惑了各种贵族、商人和城镇卫兵。他将目光投向城里内各种合法和非法的场所，即使是市长大人或警卫队长也被他蒙在鼓里。
通常来讲，煮锅城里的生活是幸福的。警卫处理普通的不法分子，但将更大的问题（如抢劫的恶棍）留给城里的市长或者教堂。无论是市长还是城里的牧师，都会定期雇用冒险者来处理这些问题。
尽管最近一连串的失踪和抢劫让市民有所担忧，但他们对市长普遍还是很满意的。有的人在夜间被从家中带走，市长既无法确认罪犯的身份，也无法找到失踪的市民。此外，受害者的家丢失了一些轻便的贵重物品。似乎各地的警力都没法再保证当地的安全。
煮锅城的眼魔领主知道绑架背后的秘密。瓦兰图遇到了卡莫真，他是个半矮人半巨魔的奴隶贩子，住在城镇下面的孔雀石要塞。这个不择手段的奴隶贩子经营着一个奴隶集市，他在那里把他最近得到的东西卖给黑暗生物。
卡莫真是最近才来的，到目前为止，他仍然在想办法拓展这门生意。卡莫真以每个月的贿赂换取了瓦兰图的收容，和继续经营他业务的权利。绑架者最后被送到了卡莫真手里，而潜伏客和幽暗匍匐者是绑架的执行者，绑匪可以从受害者的家中拿走任何东西，外加卡莫真出售奴隶所得利润的百分比。
最近，四名儿童从灯笼街孤儿院失踪，这激怒了许多当地人，并促使一名悲痛欲绝的圣·库斯伯特牧师在她的教堂里使用圣物来占卜。这个法术揭示了几个重要的线索，牧师一直无法拼凑在一起。玩家由此切入。
劇透 - :
Although nominally ruled by a lord mayor, Cauldron secretly serves as the demesne of a greedy beholder named Vhalantru. Disgulsed as an influential noble,"Lord Vhalantru" is the secret power behind Cauldron's government. He charms various nobles, merchants, and members of the town guard. He pokes his eyestalks into various legitimate and illegal venlures within Cauldron's walls, and no one-not even the lord mayor or the captain of the town guard-is the wiser.
In general, life in Cauldron is good. The town guard deals with local troublemakers but leaves the bigger problems （like marauding monsters) to the lord mayor or one of the many churches in town. Both the lord mayor and the priests of Cauldron periodically hire adventurers to deal with such problems directly.
Townsfolk are generally pleased with the lord mayor, although a recent string of disappearances and robberies worries them. People have been taken from their homes during the night, and the town guard has been unable to identify the culprits or locate the vanished citizens. Moreover, the victims' homes were stripped of portable valuables. It seems that no place is secure.
Cauldron's beholder overlord knows the secret behind the abductions. Vhalantru has met Kazmojen, the half-dwarf/half-troll slave trader who dwells below the town in an old stronghold called the Malachite Fortress. This unscrupulous slave trader runs a slave bazaar where he sells his latest acquisitions to creatures of the Underdark.
Kazmojen is a recent arrival, and is still carving out a business niche for himself. Vhalantru has accommodated him thus far, allowing Kazmojen to continue operating his business in return for regular monthly bribes. Skulks and dark creepers are directly responsible for the abductions: the people they capture are taken to Kazmojen. The kidnappers get to keep whatever they take from the homes of the abductees, plus a percentage of Kazmojen's profits from the sale of the slaves.
The recent disappearance of four children from the Lantern Street Orphanage has outraged many locals and prompted a distraught cleric of St Cuthbert to use a holy relic in her church to cast a divination spell. The spell has revealed several important clues, which the cleric has been unable to piece together. Enter the player characters.
绑架案
绑匪从当地锁匠凯根·盖尔夫那里得到了几把万能钥匙。他们在夜间从盖尔夫的锁匠店的出口爬出来，抹去了城市里容易被发现的痕迹。在某些时候，PC们可能会询问当地警卫关于绑架和犯罪现场的情况，希望找到绑匪身份的线索。每个成功的收集信息鉴定DC 12揭示下列信息之一：
城里每个区域都有人被绑架。犯罪并没有特别区域限制。
大多数受害者是中低阶级的平民，但除此之外，似乎没有什么能将他们联系起来。
最近所有的绑架案都发生在夜间，绑匪更喜欢在阴天的晚上或者月亮刚出来的时候进行作案。
警卫一直在监视那些被怀疑是“笑到最后”或者“街角破坏者”的组织成员，但他们目前还没有更多的发现。
绑匪撬开了受害者住所的锁。
一旦入室，他们会迅速制伏受害者，拿走任何他们能迅速收集到的战利品，然后逃离房子。
没有目击者声称发现了绑架当夜的尖叫声、混战或着凶恶的嫌疑人。
根据在不同的犯罪现场发现的脚印数量，当地警卫怀疑是二至六个小体型和中体型成员组成的罪犯团伙。
潜伏客和幽暗匍匐者会寻找适合当奴隶的受害者。他们喜欢在晚上挑选受害者，跟随他们回家并留下标记，调查受害者的住所，直到黄昏。然后，在夜深人静的时候，他们偷偷的溜进去，迅速制伏受害者，并洗劫了这个地方。
对孤儿院的攻击是一个新的转折：卡莫真的老客户：一个名叫派拉克·希拉特的杜扎根矮人（半炼狱灰矮人），想要更听话、不太可能反抗的年轻奴隶。因此，卡莫真给了潜伏客和幽暗匍匐者们指令，让他们从地表收集孩子们。
最近的受害者名单
在调查绑架案时，玩家可能会想要一份失踪城镇居民的名单。尽管调查这些过去的受害者对于推进本模组剧情并没有任何帮助，但是你仍可以使用下面的列表来提供每个绑架受害者的一些细节。
缇凡·维斯沃特（男性侏儒，91岁）：当地的炼金术士，缇凡和两只猫生活在一起，经营着一些小生意。他88天前失踪了。
乔里·赛尔金（男性侏儒，72岁）：在当地一位名叫埃里克·吉尔巴的侏儒律师事务所工作的律所职员，他83天前从家里失踪了。
阿兹米·德莱斯克（女性人类，19岁）：一个著名的妓女，在鳗鱼酒馆做生意，81天前她失踪了。她和同事莎伦·瑞卡从一位叫玛蒂拉·海瑟薇的老妇人那里租了个房间，老妇人那天晚上就睡在房子里，什么也没听见，什么也没看见。
莎伦·瑞卡(女性人类，20岁):另一个妓女，经常出入鳗鱼酒馆，和同事阿兹米·德莱斯克和他们的房东住在一起。莎伦81天前消失了。
克瑞斯卡·恩德科特(男性人类，24岁):因酗酒和行为不端被当地民兵开除，克瑞斯卡在74天前的晚上从父母家中消失。父母双方都没有听到或看到任何可疑的东西，他们相信克瑞斯卡可能是拿走了家里的钱，并耻辱的逃离了城镇。
卡勒姆·桑尼鲁斯(男性半身人, 37岁):他为拉瑟迈尔贵族家族培育马匹和小马。69天前的晚上，他从当地一家舒适的小旅馆的房间里消失了。
格林芬顿·马雷克(男性人类，33岁):他在坦卡德酒馆当酒吧招待。他在66天前失踪了，就在他计划与酒馆的酒吧女招待伊梅利·德兰蒂举行婚礼的三天前。
塞洛德拉·卡拉格(女性人类，35岁): 自称圣人的她经营着自己的小书店。她18岁的儿子利根最后一次见到她是在60天前的晚上，利根是个泥瓦匠的学徒。
坦博·卡拉万(男性人类，25岁):当地一位著名的吟游诗人，52天前从他在笑马旅馆的房间里消失。
厄鲁斯·默卡迪(女性人类，36岁):她是当地的船用杂货商，47天前从她店铺楼上的公寓里消失了。
迪文·麦扎尔(男性人类，18岁):45天前失踪的点灯人。守卫们发现了迪文摘提灯的杆子在离他家几个街区远的街上(没有被抢劫)。
詹纳尔·艾佛道恩(女性半身人, 42岁):她是珠宝商的学徒，在布鲁卡特学院做志愿者工作，40天前失踪了。
罗森·爱恩弗洛德的(男性侏儒，125岁):一个熟练的车匠。他和妻子桑多在35天前从家里消失。
桑多·爱恩弗洛德(女性侏儒，年龄127岁): 罗森·爱恩弗洛德的妻子，她和她的丈夫在35天前失踪。
瑞卡多·韦斯卡(男性人类，34岁):他被洗劫的房子里有血迹和带血的刀——这并不奇怪，因为瑞卡多是剥皮工人。他31天前失踪了。
莱斯特·科尔德沃特(男性人类，22岁):训练有素的抄写员和勤奋的诗人。他和他的女朋友杰露丝26天前从她家消失。
杰露丝·瑟拉娜(半精灵女性，33岁):一个苦苦挣扎的鞋匠，继承了她父亲失败的生意，26天前她(和她的男友莱斯特一起)消失了。
埃莱托·阿什斯塔夫(男，半精灵，58岁):法师兼魔术师，偶尔会在上流社会孩子的生日派对上表演一些小魔术。一只死老鼠——可能是埃莱托的魔宠——在他家被发现。他22天前失踪了。
梅普(女半身人，32岁):姓氏不详，传说梅普与街角破坏者有关。她18天前失踪了。
柯里斯坦·派克(女，35岁):一个退休的冒险者，靠偷来的赃物生活，拄着拐杖走路。她6天前从她那简朴的住所消失了。
贾斯珀·德拉德斯普(男性侏儒，74岁):一位隐居且古怪的数学家，曾在布鲁卡特学院工作，据说是九天前失踪的。他那间被洗劫一空的房子里，散落着几张写满数字和符号的羊皮纸。
迪肯·史多姆谢耳朵(男性侏儒，20岁):一个聪明的侏儒，迪肯三天前被从灯笼街孤儿院掳走。在他六岁的时候，他的父母没能从冒险中回来，孤儿院收留了他。
伊芙琳·拉达维克(女性人类，9岁): 一个安静、忧郁的女孩，三天前被从灯笼街孤儿院掳走。她的父母死于七年前在煮锅城里肆虐的尘热瘟疫。
露辛达·奥尔德琳(女性人类，8岁):一个爱交际但迷信的孩子，4岁时被贫困的母亲送到灯笼街孤儿院。三天前，露辛达在孤儿院被掳走。
特雷姆·克巴拉提斯(男性性人类，9岁):这个孤儿是三天前被从灯笼街孤儿院掳走的，他是一个忧郁、喜怒无常的孩子。他出生后不久父母就去世了(情况不明)。
劇透 - :
THE KIDNAPPINGS
The abductors have bullied copies of several skeleton keys from local locksmith Keygan Ghelve. They creep out of Ghelve's Locks at night and scour the town for easy marks. At some point, the PCs might question local guards about the abductions and crime scenes, hoping to find clues to the kidnappers' identities. Each successful DC 12 Gather Information check reveals one of the following pieces of information:
Shellen Rycah (female human, age 20): Another prostitute who frequented the Slippery Eel Tavern and shared a house with coworker Azmi Dresker and their landlord. Shellen vanished 81 nights ago.
People have been kidnapped from every district in the town. The crimes are not particularly localized.
Most of the victims are low- to middle-class citizens,but otherwise nothing seems to connect them.
All of the recent kidnappings have occurred at night The kidnappers prefer to strike on overcast nights or when the moon is new.
The town guard has been watching suspected members of the Last Laugh or the Alleybashers,but their vigilance has not yet paid off.
The perpetrators pick the locks of the victims' dwellings.
Once inside, they grab their prey, steal any loot they can gather quickly, and vacate the premises.
No witnesses have come forward to report screams,loud scuffles, or sinisler figures creeping about on the nights of the kidnappings.
The local constabulary suspects between two and six culprits, based on the number of footprints found at various crime scenes. The footprints suggest that the abductors include both Small and Medium humanoids.
The skulks and dark creepers select victims who might be worth something as slaves. They like to pick a victim in the evening, follow their mark home, and survey the victim's residence until nightfall. Then, in the dead of night, they slip inside, quickly subdue the victim, and loot the place.
The attack on the orphanage is a new twist: One of Kazmojen's recurring clients-a durzagon (half-fiend duergar) named Pyllrak Shyraat wants younger slaves who are more tractable and less likely to revolt. Thus, Kazmojen has given the skulks and dark creepers instructions to gather children from the city above.
RECENT ABDUCTEES
During their investigation into the kidnappings, the players might ask for a list of missing townsfolk. Although investigating these past victims only yields more dead ends, you can use the following list to provide some details of each of the kidnap victims.
Tiervan Wispwort (male gnome, age 91): A local alchemist,Tiervan lived with two cats and ran a marginally successful business. He disappeared 88 nights ago.
Jori Seerkin (male gnome, age 72): A law clerk who worked for a local gnome barrister named Aeryk Gylbar,"he disappeared from his home 83 nights ago.
Azmi Dresker ((emale human, age i9): A known prostitute who plied her trade at the Slippery Eel Tavern,she disappeared from her resi.dence 81 nights ago.She and a coworker, Shellen Rycah, rented the house from an old woman named Martira Hathaway, who was asleep in the house that night and didn't hear or see anything.
Krylscar Endercott (male human, age 24): Kicked out of the local militia for drunk and disorderly conduct, Krylscar vanished from his parents' home 74 nights ago. Neither parent heard or saw anything suspicious, but they believe Krylscar may have robbed them and fled town in disgrace.
Callum Sunnyrusb (male halfling, age 37): He groomed horses and ponies for the Lathenmire noble family. He vanished from his room at a cozy local inn 69 nights ago.
Gryffon Malek (male human, age 33): He worked as a barkeep at the Tipped Tankard tavern. He disappeared 66 days ago, three days before his planned wedding to tavern barmaid Imelie Deranti.
Szordra Callagher (female human, age 35): A self-proclaimed sage, she ran her own small bookstore. She was last seen 60 nights ago by her i8-year-old son Leagan, a mason's apprentice.
Tembor Kalavan (male human, age 25): A local minstrel of some repute, he vanished 52 nights ago from his room in the Laughing Horse Inn.
Irruth Mercadi (female human, age 36): A local chandler who disappeared from the apartment above her shop 47 nights ago.
Deven Myrzal (male human, age 18): A lamplighter who vanished 45 nights ago. Guards found the pole Deven used to unhook hanging lanterns in the street a few blocks from his home (which was not robbed).
Jeneer Everdawn (female halfling, age 42): A jeweler's apprentice who did volunteer work at Bluecrater Academy, she disappeared 40 nights ago.
Lorthan Ironfold (male dwarf, age 125): A skilled cartwright. He and his wife, Sondor, vanished from their home 35 nights ago.
Sondor Ironfold (female dwarf, age 127): Wife of Lorthan fronfold, she and her husband disappeared 35 nights ago.
Rikaldo Veskar (male human, age 34): His ransacked home contained blood droplets and blood-encrusted knives-not surprising, since Rikaldo worked as a skinner.He disappeared 31 nights ago.
Lestor Coldwater (male human, age 22): A trained scribe and struggling poet. He and his girlfriend, Jelluth, vanished from her home 26 nights ago.
Jelluth Sirlana (female half-elf, age 33): A struggling shoemaker who inherited her father's failing business, she vanished (along with her boyfriend, Lestor) 26 nights ago.
Elethor Ashstaff (male half-elf, age 58): A wizard and trickster who occasionally performed minor feats of prestidigitation at birthday parties for upper-class children. A dead rat-possibly Elethor's familiar-was found in his home. He vanished 22 nights ago.
Maple (female halfling, age 32): Last name unknown, Maple was rumored to be associated with the Alleybashers.She disappeared 18 nights ago.
Corystan Pike (female human, age 35): A retired adventurer who was living on stolen loot, she walked with a cane.She disappeared from her modest abode i6 days ago.
Jasper Drundlesput (male gnome, age 74): A reclusive and eccentric mathematician who worked at Bluecrater Academy, he is believed to have vanished nine days ago.Pieces of parchment covered with numbers and symbols littered the floor of his ransacked house.
Deakon Stormshield (male dwarf, age 20): A bright dwarf, Deakon was taken from the Lantern Street Orphanage three nights ago. The orphanage took him in when be was six years old, after his parents failed to return from an advenhne.
Evelyn Radavec (female human, age 9): A quiet, sullen girl, she was ta.ken from the Lantern Street Orphanage three nights ago. Her father and mother succumbed to the filth fever plague that struck Cauldron seven years ago.
Lucinda Aldreen (female human, age 8): A gregarious but superstitious child given to the Lantern Street Orphanage at age four by her poverty-stricken mother, Lucinda was abducted from the orphanage three nights ago.
Terrero Kbaratys (male human, age 9): This orphan, taken from the Lantern Street Orphanage three nights ago, is a dour and temperamental lad. His parents died shortly after his birth (circumstances unknown).
战役注释
此时此刻，卡瑟利互助会已经完成了他们灵魂仪式需要的所有环节。现在就剩下13个束缚者了。当战役开始的时候，已经有11个束缚者被囚禁，这些囚犯被关在沙特尔霍恩监狱里，直到战役后期，他们才被转移到深埋在煮锅城下的灼热圣地。卡瑟利互助会选择了一个名叫特雷姆的本地孤儿作为他们的第12个束缚者，在接下来的几章中，卡瑟利互助会将继续寻找合适的人选。
第13个束缚者。如果其中的一个PC具有疤痕灵魂特征，那么他也是束缚者之一，你应该认为PC作为束缚者之一的身份只是暂时逃脱了卡瑟利互助会的注意。如果卡瑟利互助会在第四章末尾抓到齐尼斯·司本德谢耳朵之前发现其中一个PC上有卡瑟利之眼的标志(也许是因为那个PC公开展示了他的胎记，或者因为其他原因对他脸上奇怪的看不见的印记大谈特谈)，卡瑟利互助会将不考虑迫害这名PC,并决定使用齐尼斯,仅仅因为他们不想冒险从煮锅城绑架一个名声日益增长的人，并引发冒险者的盟友过早的对他们的计划进行调查。
当特雷姆和其他三个孩子被一个叫做卡莫真的半矮人半巨魔奴隶贩子和幽暗匍匐者从孤儿院偷走时，卡瑟利互助会觉得事情不妙，并要求瓦兰图去带走男孩并把它转移安全的地方。在这一章中，他们不应该出现在PC面前，除了本章末尾的特法缘。
[边栏]开始第一章
当这一章开始的时候，PC们应该是新建的1级角色。你可能希望在第一幕场景开始之前，与一些煮锅城的NPC进行一些扮演上的接触，或者你也可以直接进入模组，和那个牧师偶遇。
劇透 - :
CAMPAIGN NOTES
At this point in the campaign, the Cagewrights have gathered all of the souleages they need for the ritual of planar junction. All that remains now is the gathering of thirteen Shackleborn for this event. When the campaign begins, eleven of the Shackleborn are already prisoners of the Cagewrights; these prisoners are kept under Shatterhorn until later in the campaign, when they are moved to the Fiery Sanctum itself deep under Cauldron. The Cagewrights have selected a local orphan Shackleborn named Terrem as their 12th victim, and for the majority of the next few chapters of this campaign the Cagewrights continue to search for an appropriate 13th Shackle born. If one of the PCs has the Scarred Soul trait and is thus one of the Shackleborn, you should assume that the PCs identity as one of the Shackleborn has simply escaped the notice of the Cagewrights for now. If the Cagewrights learn that one of the PCs bears the sign of the Carcerian Eye before they capture Zenith Splintershield at the end of Chapter Four (perhaps because that PC has publicly displayed his birthmark or otherwise made a big deal about the strange invisible sigil on his face), the Cagewrights opt not to use this PC as one of their victims and decide to use Zenith instead, simply because they don't want to risk abducting a growing celebrity from Cauldron's streets and triggering an early investigation into their plans from the adventurers' allies.
When Terrero is stolen from the orphanage (along with three other children) by some skulks and dark creepers working for a half-dwarflhalf-troll slaver named Kazmojen, the Cagewrights become agitated and turn to Vhalantru to find the boy and return him to safety. They should not make any personal appearances before the PCs in this chapter, with the possible exception of Thifirane at the chapter's end.
starting chapter one
The PCs should be brand-new and fresh 1st-level characters when this chapter begins. You may wish to run a few role-playing encounters with some of Cauldron's NPCs before starting with Event 1, or you can simply jump right into the game with the accosted priest.
