Human beings have braved to venture across the lakes, seas and oceans of the world for millennia,since before the dawn of recorded history. Among the earliest were the Polynesians who sailed between the islands of the Pacific, and the Phoenicians who plied the waters of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean beyond. Still, none were more famous than the single Greek flotilla, one thousand ships strong, that sailed from Mycenae to make war on the city of Troy.

The events of that battle have now been woven into the fabric of the world's history and folklore -- Paris' abduction of Helen, Achilles' showdown with Hector, Odysseus' stratagem of the Trojan Horse. Some of the details are not so well know, however. One such is the homeward voyage made by Menelaus and Helen, during which their ship was cast adrift in a storm. It was during this peril that one of the vessels accompanying Menelaus ran aground on the south side of the island of Crete. What has been lost to memory is the fact that the vessel carried a sacred artifact pilfered from Troy?a statue of Athena, said to have fallen from heaven, known as the Palladium.

Recently the light of discovery has fallen again upon this relic. In the midst of a powerful storm and pummeling southerly winds, a fisherman named Ioannes Kafouros suffered his own shipwreck in the same location where Menelaus' ship was lost. Ioannes managed to swim to shore, and eventually returned to where he'd lost his boat. When he dove down to retrieve items from the wreckage, however, he was quite surprised to find the remains of a far older vessel as well. With help from fishermen in the local town he began to explore the wreck, and was amazed to find that it held long-lost golden treasures. Two items were especially notable, however. One is a marble bust of a remarkably beautiful woman; the other is an olivewood statue depicting a maiden in full battle armor. The bust proved relatively easy to salvage, but the statue required extra care. Because of this, Kafouros has set out for Heraklion to procure additional equipment. It was not long before this new-found fame brought with it some unwanted attention...

Spoils of War is an adventure for the Treasure Hunter campaign setting, for use with the D20 Modern rules system. It is intended for a party of four to six heroes averaging 3rd-level each. While this adventure can be used as a stand-alone scenario, it can also be used as a part of the Quest of the Ancients campaign begun in The Mystery and the Tomb.