A real
OSR type scenario this time. This was one of the adventures that Oliver Johnson and I wrote for Game Workshop's Questworld pack in the early '80s. The idea was for a non-Gloranthan world for
RuneQuest that would be parcelled out among various publishers, each getting their own continent to play with. Oliver and I were given a detailed map that came with some fragmentary history already in place, which we quickly wrangled into a form that suited us better. I remember being nonplussed as to why all the traditional RQ gods were transplanted to Questworld. What's the point of a new setting if it has much the same flavour as the old? Still, it was a job. (Well, in principle it was - we were never actually paid.)
The British Questworld pack never happened because Chaosium, who owned the RQ licence, decided not to renew their UK distribution deal with Games Workshop. Eventually Oliver and I found out, but only when we delivered the finished Questworld books to GW. Oops, as they no doubt said. Our own comment on the matter is less printable.
So there we were with a complete world sourcebook, referee's book, creatures book, and a starter campaign comprising seven scenarios. Later, while working on
Dragon Warriors, we took another look at our Questworld book, chucked out the RQ gods - and, of course, the damned
ducks - and started to repurpose it as
Invaders & Ancients. The scenarios for that would have been less dungeony, seeing as we were in the driving seat now, but sadly that never came to pass. You can get a taste of it from the scenario
"More Precious Than Gold", though, as well as our unfinished novel
The Land Below The Sunset.
Some quick trivia: Oliver and I were in a hurry to get the scenario ready for playtesting one evening, and whatever circuit in our brains came up with fantasy names had burned out. Needing instant inspiration, Oliver seized the carton of orange juice on the table and declared this to be a story of the Fujusei clan. Fruit juice, you see. We had probably been to a Kurosawa season at the
Electric, because Fujusei's rival became Lord Genmoro. We wouldn't have kept those names in the
Invaders & Ancients book - well, hopefully not - so I've altered them in this version.
The scenario was originally called "A Tale of Treachery" but in the circumstances I couldn't resist
the Byron quotation. Lord Calomel learns the truth of that one in quite a grisly manner.
Quick
overview:
For one reason or another the characters find
themselves in Lamentation, on the fringe of the great Miasmos swamp, with time
on their hands. Rumours around town suggest there could be some action in Cinderbrake
village, some fifteen miles to the north.
The village has troubles, all right. The wife of the
late Baron Missal, rightful lord of Cinderbrake, has returned to wreak terrible
revenge on those responsible for her husband’s murder fully thirty years past.
The village headman quakes in his boots, for he it was who betrayed Lord Missal
to his enemies. He presents himself to the characters as a good man, concerned
for his village now that a mad woman has come to threaten it, and tries to
convince them to help him. He intends to do away with them once they’ve rid him
of mad Lady Missal.
This adventure gives the characters their first real confrontation
with the terrifying powers of Chaos. They have the chance to develop several
useful skills and to try their hands at simple strategy (in the form of a “commando”
raid on the castle).
INTRODUCTION
This adventure requires the characters to visit the
town of Lamentation, which is about five hundred miles upriver from
Deliverance. There are a number of ways you can arrange this. The most obvious
is to have the characters hired by a merchant to guard the wares he is
carrying. This is a common source of income for hired swords around
Deliverance. If you want to provide some continuity within your campaign, you
could have the characters looked up by Guilder Connla from Brimstone, who has
made the perilous journey down the coast in person in order to consolidate some
business interests along the Issaries River. (This would only be reasonable, of
course, if the characters were on good terms with Connla when they left Brimstone.)
The merchant, whether Connla or not, will offer the
characters 200L each for the entire expedition, which should cover about six
weeks. The total journey to and from Lamentation will take a month, and the
merchant will spend a fortnight in the town making various deals and arranging
to have his boat refitted for the return voyage. During this fortnight, the
characters’ time is their own; this is when the adventure will take place.
Lamentation is a drab, drear place – a frontier town
with a resident population of about 3000, bordering on the great swamp Miasmos.
The streets are ankle-deep in mud for the most part, so there are extensive
boardwalks for getting around the town. The atmosphere is sleepy, and will soon
have seasoned adventurers chafing impatiently. The bleak vista of Miasmos to
the east, and the humidity which makes any exertion sweatily unpleasant, seem
to drain the townsfolk of life. By night one must sleep under nets because of
the swarms of plague-bearing kissgiss
insects and the vipers which sometimes crawl from the fens. Lamentation’s
importance is as a staging point—the last port of call for merchants beginning
the great river trek eastwards and a haunt of adventurers organizing
expeditions into the heart of the swampland.
The town has a number of inns and taverns of varying
quality. Since the characters have little to do other than sitting around in
bars or putting in some worship at the Lightbringers Temple, there is ample opportunity
for them to hear some intriguing rumours. Some of these, such as the tales
concerning the Forest of the Serug, may pique their curiosity and provide a
springboard for adventures later in the campaign. But remember that the main
priority is to get the characters to Cinderbrake, so make it clear when the rumours about Cinderbrake
come up that these are currently the source of greatest interest in
Lamentation.
RUMOURS
AND EVENTS IN LAMENTATION
The chance of encountering a rumour or random event is
20% each hour in a tavern, 10% elsewhere. For the first rumour/events, roll
using d6, then all subsequent rolls on d20. (This is to ensure the players get
to hear the Cinderbrake rumour early on.)
Events marked ● are to be used only once; if they turn
up a second time, ignore them and reroll.
* This may crop up more than once, but unlike most
rumours it will always be told by the same person. This drunk has a grudge
against Ancients.
BACKSTORY
At the western edge of the swamp called Miasmos, fifteen
miles north of the town of Lamentation on the Issaries river, stands the
baronial demesne of Missal. The area has been fraught with civil war since its
first settlement by Invaders four hundred years ago. The Ancients, however, had
never established themselves here – and with good reason, considering the
inhospitable marshlands to the east.
Two hundred years ago, the twelfth Baron Missal,
fretting at the increasingly bureaucratic rule in Deliverance, established Cinderbrake
castle right on the edge of the swamps as an outpost against the evil to the
east. Despite incursions of Chaos from Miasmos and internecine strife between
the Missal clan and their frontier rivals, the castle stood intact until thirty
years ago when it was surprised and partially razed by the Calomel clan.
During the savage fighting in the castle after its
defences had been mysteriously breached, the eighteenth Lord Missal and his two
sons were killed along with the great majority of their retainers. The mortal
remains of the defunct Missal clan lie buried at various points around the
castle. The lady Amarna, wife of the last Lord of Missal, escaped into the
swamps sometime during that terrible night. Thirty years later, and now an old
woman, she has returned to the ruined fortress.. She believes that the village headman,
Loku, and others of her serfs were responsible for the betrayal of the
weaknesses of the castle to the Calomel clan.
Lord Calomel himself, after living in prosperity off
the taxes exacted from the merchants passing through the region on the way to the
territories of the Ancient Race, disappeared some months ago. His body, in a
dismembered state, is to be found in the dungeon area of Cinderbrake castle.
It is now the turn of the perfidious villagers to have
vengeance meted out on them by Amarna, whose Rune powers have been increased
during her sojourn in Miasmos. Peasants have disappeared from the area to the
north of the village with increasing regularity, and the woods around Cinderbrake
castle are now considered too dangerous to be entered. The village lunatic, Knorr,
claims to have seen strange lights in the woods and around the castle (see
NPCs).
Loku is anxious to deal with Amarna with minimum risk
to himself, to which end he will offer employment to any adventurers passing
through. At the moment he has two bodyguards, Aitch and Bato, as well as the
support of the young shaman Holmek, and is as yet unwilling to move away from
the village, knowing that the income he now enjoys from the tithes of the former
Missal estates cannot be replaced. If anything, he sees Lord Calomel’s murder
as an opportunity. Betrayal is in Loku’s nature, and if the characters survive
their encounter with Amana he will turn on them the moment he knows the task
has been accomplished.
If the characters investigate the village, they will
find it a humble collection of ramshackle cottages surrounded by a rough wooden
palisade. Some of the cottages have been gutted by fire. Only Loku’s house is
made of stone. The villagers will mostly appear cowed and uncommunicative (apart
from the lunatic). Loku, however, will appear only too obliging, and will ingratiate
himself with the characters in order to gain their co-operation.
ARRIVING
AT CINDERBRAKE VILLAGE
The characters enter the village from the south.
Assuming they arrive during the day, they will see about twenty peasants
working in the fields to the south of the village. On closer inspection,
several peasants can be seen to have cudgels in their belts. One of the
peasants runs to a stone building in the village as he sees the characters
approaching. Loku appears shortly and greets the characters with great
courtesy.
By night, armed peasants man the palisade around the
village. They are equipped with cudgels and short bows. If there is any
disturbance, one of them will alert Loku. As long as the characters approach
peaceably, however, they will be admitted
and Loku summoned.
After providing the party with food and drink at his
own house, Loku leans forward and speaks in a voice choked with emotion:
“I must apologise for the poor fare which is all this
village can offer. We are humble people whose livelihoods have lately been put
at risk by an incursion of Chaos from out of the east. Since the baron was
slain in an attack on his castle thirty years ago, we have clung to the
peripheries of this swamp, eking out a miserable living and deprived of the
protection of a liege-lord. Wretched as that existence was, lately our position
has become intolerable. A mad woman supplied by some Chaotic source has come
out of the east to plague our existence. By night and day villagers have been
spirited away, and a foul beast prowls the forest. Iniquitously, this woman has
chosen to occupy the ruined castle where our noble lord ruled formerly. Only
rid our village of the witch and all our remaining wealth is yours... Aitch,
fetch the chest.”
Aitch fetches a battered wooden chest from the next
room and gives it to Loku, who unlocks it and opens it ostentatiously. Within
are some twenty-five silver coins.
“My friends, this is all we can offer. Slay the evil
woman and our treasure and our gratitude our yours.”
If the characters demand the money immediately. Loku
will not immediately refuse, but merely point out that should they fail in
their intent, the money will be lost to the village and therefore preclude the
possibility of hiring other aid.
THE VILLAGE LUNATIC
Usually
to be found hanging around the outskirts of the village or surreptitiously
following strangers from behind the cottages. He will introduce himself
variously as Ogo the carver, Withak the innkeeper or Lord Missal. His real name
is Knorr, and he was one of the best of Missal’s men. Knorr was absent from the
castle at time of the attack. When he returned he was seized by the Calomel
warriors and tortured until mind and body alike were broken. Normally he is
docile and cringing, but if any character should try to rough him up he may
react with some of his former spirit.
THE
WOODS
Cinderbrake castle is two miles north of the village.
The path is muddy and somewhat overgrown. Every half-hour there is a 35% chance
of encountering the bearwalker. Several hundred yards short of the lake, a
barely discernible track branches from the main path (Spot Hidden to notice
this). This leads to the ancient shrine.
The bearwalker moved into this area some months before
Amarna returned to Cinderbrake Castle. He knows nothing about her.
When he first meets the party it will be in his human
form: a robust middle-aged man with a large beard, clad in fur robes and
carrying a crude spear. He will greet them cheerfully, then suddenly hurl his speedarted spear at the nearest
character as he transforms into bear form. Characters on horseback will need to
make Riding rolls to stop their mounts from bolting.
If the encounter takes place at night or on an overcast
day he can move freely. Otherwise he must keep to the ample shadows of the wood
once transformed, as sunlight would return him to human form. If characters
realise this and find an open glade, he will not be able to close with them to
attack.
THE
ANCIENT SHRINE
The characters find a large, rounded slab of rock in a
dark grove. There is a depression in the middle of the slab, with writing scratched
into the stone around it. The depression contains damp, matted straw, fragments
of a large egg, and a snake’s sloughed-off skin.
This was where Amana hatched her basilisk. The
inscription is in Earthtongue and reads:
“In the venom in the stone there is safety from death by stone.”
This refers to the venom of the adders which nest
under the slab. Anyone bitten becomes 95% resistant to the basilisk’s gaze. The
adders’ poison is Potency 2 blade venom. Every minute spent in the clearing
gives each character a 10% chance of being bitten by an adder.
While the characters are examining the shrine, a
skeleton in rough robes steps from among the trees. It speaks in a hollow
voice, threatening them with dire curses if they do not leave. It carries a
staff, but is not powerful and will only fight if attacked.
A character who makes a Spot Hidden roll while in the
clearing will notice a staff in the undergrowth beyond the shrine. The bones of
a severed human hand lie by this. The staff is of varnished mahogany with a
lumpish, twisted, vaguely organic form. Anyone who touches it will be unable to
let go and acquires a Chaotic feature – select randomly from the Chaotic or Reverse
Chaos features table. The only way to rid oneself of the staff (and
accompanying Chaos affliction) is to use Dispel Magic 8 or to sever the hand
holding it.
THE
BEARWALKER’S LAIR
The characters will probably not find this unless they
have good Tracking skills. The lair is just a hollow in a bank, twined with the
roots of trees. It contains a number of skulls and decomposing heads – the
bearwalker’s kill trophies – and some treasure wrapped in sacking. This latter
comprises 38C, 59L, 2W and a jewel (just trade junk, worth maybe 5L).
THE
APPROACH TO CINDERBRAKE CASTLE
From the point where the track emerges from the woods,
it is a distance of twenty metres across the moat to the far bank. The moat was
once spanned by a bridge, but it has been partly demolished and its remaining
sections (see map) are separated by distances of about three metres.
To the right, a boat can be seen moored among the
reeds on the far bank. To the left, a small island with three poplars in a
line.
Amana’s henchman Gorstang spends most of the day in
the gate‑house. If he spots the characters crossing the moat (which he will do
unless they make an effort at stealth) he will lower the portcullis and then go
up to the battlements to snipe at them with his crossbow.
Amarna herself is usually in the tower. For six to
eight hours each night, Gorstang goes there himself to sleep; at these times he
leaves the portcullis down.
THE
COURTYARD
Characters entering the courtyard will see that the
walls of the castle are ruined and breached in many places to the north. In
front of a shattered tower in this wall there is a tree which has grown
unmistakably in the form of the Truth Rune (Y). Under its boughs are a score of simple graves – shallow mounds
with rusted weapons lain upon them. The wind in the leaves creates a
disquieting sound, as of a multitude muttering at a distance.
These are the graves of Missal’s slaughtered
men-at-arms, given only a cursory burial by the treacherous Lord Calomel. Anyone
moving close enough to the tree to reach the graves is subject to a POW attack
of 14; if overcome, the character falls into a deep sleep in which he will
experience the Dream of the Betrayal (see below). After two minutes (twelve
rounds) he can be shaken awake. Otherwise he will waken naturally in 2-12
minutes. Any character who tries to damage the tree itself receives a POW
attack of 14. which will inflict him with the effect of a Yelmalio geas.
On a Spot Hidden roll, characters will observe a
narrow recess in the castle wall to the west (at the point marked S on the map). The roll is at -20% if
the character is merely passing through the courtyard without pausing to look
around. Close examination of this recess will reveal a small red gem set into
the wall at about eye level. If broken out of the wall, the gem is worth 35 L.
THE
TOWER
Broken double doors stand ajar at the entrance to the
main tower. In front of these, facing the towards entrance, stand two
disfigured statues of warriors in lifelike combat pose. Any character who doesn’t
charge straight in will hear a shifting of chains from the darkness beyond the
doorway.
THE
TOWER - ENTRANCE LEVEL
FIRST GLANCE: A basilisk. It may be the last
thing the character sees.
CLOSER LOOKS: The wall has a number of armorial
blocks and, to the east, a bas-relief Sun symbol with a yellow gem in the eye
at its centre.
In the centre of the chamber, steps lead down into an
unlit passage. To the right of the doorway, a spiral staircase leads to the
floor above.
DENIZENS: Amarna’s basilisk is chained to
the wall opposite the doors. The chain is long enough for it to reach any point
in this chamber.
COMMENTS: The basilisk could not be hatched
within the castle walls, where the power of Law is still strong, so Amarna
hatched it at the ancient chaos shrine in the woods. Anyone who was bitten by
an adder there will be resistant to the stare of this basilisk.
The Sun symbol provides the key to the location of Missal’s
treasure. The rays of the dawn will pass through the gem in the symbol’s eye,
focusing through the tower entrance on the recessed gem in the wall. The light
beam is diffracted south slightly by this second gem and falls directly on the
small island to the west of the castle. Anyone looking from the castle at dawn
will clearly see a suffusion of blood-red light from the island, lasting for
about twenty seconds.
THE
DUNGEONS AND CRYPT BELOW THE TOWER
The steps go down about eight metres. The walls are of
granite blocks. At the end is a heavy oak door (not locked).
1.
ARMOURY
OVERVIEW: The room is 5 metres square.
There are brackets for torches on either side. There are three chests against the
wall. The door to the east is closed. Weapons hang on the walls.
CLOSER LOOKS: The chests contain arms and
armour. The door to the east is sturdily locked.
TREASURE: The first chest contains a light
scale hauberk (SIZ 8), plate greaves and vambraces, and a closed helm. This
armour is embossed with red lacquer with a continuous design in black based on the form of the Truth rune. There is
also a broadsword. The second chest contains an iron full helm with a demonic
black visage, and an iron battle axe. The last chest contains a plate
cuirass(SIZ 12) and three broadswords. The other weapons are: four long spears,
three pikes, four bastard swords, two light crossbows (both in bad repair), and
a shortsword.
COMMENTS: There are two keys to the east
door. One is on Amarna’s person, the other is in her room in the tower above. The
armour in the first chest was made for Missal’s young son. It was never used.
2.
PASSAGEWAY
OVERVIEW: The passage runs down another two
metres or so along its length. Spots of pallid mould clump the walls. The air
here seems unhealthily damp.
CLOSER LOOKS: The passage terminates in a heavy
portal of black wood. This bears a lead knocker in the form of the Chaos rune.
The door will not open.
COMMENT: Amarna set the knocker on this
door. The moment it is rapped the door will open easily.
3.
DOMED CHAMBER
OVERVIEW: A hemispherical chamber of 5 metre
radius. The characters emerge onto a landing raised 3 metres above the floor.
Steps lead down to the floor from either end of the landing. There is a stench
of putrefaction.
CLOSER LOOKS: A macabre and
horrible sight – around the wall are chained skeletons and half-rotted corpses,
the victims of Amarna’s revenge. There are fifteen bodies in all. One (clamped
in a chair at the point marked G)
has pride of place; it has no head.
There is a narrow passageway off the landing, leading
south. Lichen stains the wall to a height of nearly 3 metres.
SPOT HIDDEN: There is a small inlet at the
point marked H on the map. A
character of SIZ 13 or less could squeeze through and crawl along to the swampy
fringes of the lake.
TRAPS: If the character who touched the knocker was not
associated with Chaos, or if the door was broken open, Amarna’s trap is
activated. After three rounds a block slides up in the far wall and water
begins to flow into the chamber. From the same opening lumbers a marsh-dwelling
Chaos creature which Amarna has partially brought under her control. The water
will continue to rise until it reaches a level of 27 metres, which takes five
minutes; it then drains rapidly away. The trap requires sorcery and must be
renewed by Amarna before it will work again.
DENIZEN:
This muddy brown creature, roughly humanoid but with
overlarge arms and a small head, is covered with writhing, stunted tentacles
which distribute mud and slime over its body. It identifies Amarna by the
Mastery rune belt buckle she wears. It will attack anyone without this
distinguishing symbol. It will not carry a fight beyond this chamber because it
fears getting cut off from the marsh, and it retreats when the water level
starts to fall.
COMMENTS: The corpse in the chair is all
that is left of Lord Calomel – with the exception of the fragment in the Missal
crypt (5, below).
4.
BED OF COALS
OVERVIEW: At the head of the stairs the way
is interrupted by a bed of flickering coals.
CLOSER LOOKS: The air above the coals is smoky
and shimmers with heat, but some details can be made out of the crypt beyond.
TRAPS: A member of the Missal family or one of their loyal
retainers, can cross the coals without harm. Anyone else will be attacked by a
medium salamander (fire elemental). The coals could be jumped, of course, in
which case the salamander will not emerge. The bed of coals is 3½ metres across,
and since it is at the top of a flight of steps any jump must be a standing one
(giving -15% from Jumping skill).
DENIZEN:
5.
LORD MISSAL’S CRYPT
OVERVIEW: Three stone sarcophagi under a
vaulted roof, each bearing the Missal crest (four swords in the form of the
Mastery Rune). The middle sarcophagus is open. A severed head in an iron helmet
rests on a wooden trestle at the foot of the open sarcophagus.
CLOSER LOOKS: The skeleton in the open sarcophagus
has its skull pillowed by a gilded scroll-case. The other sarcophagi are
smaller than the central one, and if opened will be found to contain the
remains of two children. The adult skeleton wears cloth-of-gold robes and
clasps an iron greatsword to its chest. Its legs have been hacked off at the
knees.
Anyone who had the Dream of Betrayal will recognize Lord
Calomel’s head from the wisps of red beard still clinging to it. His helmet has
a silver trefoil crest.
DENIZENS: Missal’s ghost has INT 11 and POW
15. It floats forward as though out of a mist – a gaunt, spectral figure of
tormented aspect whose legs end at the knee. The ghost appears only if anyone
tries to loot the tomb, and attacks only if they continue looting after it has
warned them off. It will speak (in Sovereign), first to threaten any who would
plunder the tomb, and then to relate the tale of Missal’s death. The ghost’s
version of the tale runs contrary to the events shown in the Dream of the
Betrayal; it claims that Missal was drugged by Loku and later awoke to find Lord
Calomel’s men had taken over the castle. Calomel then tortured him, hacked off
his legs, and finally put him to death.
TREASURE: Missal’s sword has a POW storage
crystal (POW 8) set into the hilt. The gilded scroll-case under the skull
contains a parchment with the words Loyalty
beyond the grave in gold leaf upon it. The value of this is 85 L.
Calomel’s helmet (an iron open helm) is perhaps the
greatest treasure here. A character putting it on will know that he has automatically
attuned it. This counts
as the one attuned crystal a character can have, so if
he already had a crystal it is now unattuned. The major power of the helmet is
to warn its wearer of the presence of undead. This warning takes the form of a
dull “heartbeat” when undead are within 80 metres, growing increasingly louder
as the undead approach with an abrupt silence moments before they arrive. The
minor power of the helmet is that it functions as a turn undead matrix; the
wearer must permanently relinquish
a POW point for each use of this spell. Those powers
must be discovered by trial and error or else by analyze magic as they are not immediately obvious to the wearer.
If any of the treasure is taken, or if Missal’s
remains are disturbed after his ghost issues its warning, thirteen of his
warriors will rise from their graves in the courtyard (see NPCs).
COMMENTS: The smaller bodies are those of Missal’s
sons. Amarna left Calomel’s head here so that her husband might relish in death
the final destruction of his hated foe. It was Calomel who chopped off Missal’s
legs and then, a few months later, killed him. Calomel saw this as an apt
cruelty, for Missal was a renowned runner and athlete.
THE
UPPER LEVELS OF THE TOWER
FIRST
FLOOR:
6.
LANDING
Beyond the heavy oak door to the south a short flight
of steps leads down to the battlements along the castle wall. The door can be
barred from inside. A passage leads north from the landing.
7.
MAIN HALL
OVERVIEW: A large fireplace in the vast
wall has several shields hung over it. There are two bay windows. One of the
two dining tables is on its side, broken, as though some incredible force had
hurled it against the wall.
CLOSER LOOKS: One of the lead candlesticks on
the floor has been completely flattened. The fireplace contains the burnt
remains of several wooden shields. The design can still be made out on one or
two of these: a silver trefoil on a grey field. In the grate there is a silver
horn worked with feral, unhuman faces.
SPOT HIDDEN: A trapdoor in the floor by the
west wall overlooks the dungeon stairway in the entrance chamber below.
TREASURE: The horn was one of the magical
artefacts Amarna used up in retaking the castle. Its energies are now
completely expended, but it still has its intrinsic value of about 400 L.
8.
MAIN BEDCHAMBER (locked; Amarna
has the key)
OVERVIEW: There are dust and cobwebs everywhere. Dominating
the room is a four-poster bed with velvet covers. The bay window in the west
wall looks out over the courtyard. There is a desk in the north-west corner and
an armour-rack (empty) against the east wall. Another door leads north.
CLOSER LOOKS: The door in the north wall is
locked. (The same key is needed to open it.) A thorough search of the desk (i.e., if it is taken apart) will unearth
a vellum letter pasted above a drawer inside it. This has a wax seal with the Missal
crest (three upright swords over one horizontal) and the heading, “To my sons”.
The letter reads:
For certain treasures of our family you must wait to greet the Lord as
He rises and meets the eye with His gaze. Follow as He guides you through the
door and the blood-red eye, and where the drop of His blood falls, there delve
until you have found.
Under the bed there is a small coffer containing 120L
and 20 W.
COMMENTS: Amarna removed all trace of Calomel’s
occupancy from this room and since then has kept it locked. The letter was
written years ago by Lord Missal. It refers to the treasure buried on the small
island across the lake to the west (see
later). The letter has remained hidden in the desk for
thirty years.
9.
SECOND BEDCHAMBER
OVERVIEW: This room contains a black-draped
four-poster and a desk against the opposite wall. There is a battered wooden
chest on the floor in one corner. The bay window gives a view of the woods to
the north. A door connects with 8.
CLOSER LOOKS: The connecting door is locked.
Several sheets of paper on the desk describe the location of a Chaos citadel
two hundred miles to the north-east, in the hills beyond Miasmos, which was one
of the places Amarna learned her mystic arts.
The chest contains some jewellery, four sealed flasks,
and pages of notes – Amarna’s and Gorstang’s battle plans for retaking the
castle and their intended attack on the village.
DENIZENS: Amarna herself will be here if
not forewarned of intruders by Gorstang.
TREASURE: The jewellery comprises a robe
clasp (red gem in a gold setting, worth 3000 L ), a necklace with several
stones missing (worth 300 L) and a ring (white gold with small black gemstone,
worth 650 L).
The potions are a pale yellow liquid with a bosky
smell (herbal systemic poison, potency 9), a dark green liquid (spider venom
systemic, potency 7), an acrid, viscous amber fluid (blade venom, potency 11)
and a pale yellow liquid without odour (a spoiled magical potion: drinker gains
random Chaotic feature for fifteen minutes and attacks others indiscriminately and
Fanatically for this time, then loses 1D4 POW and 1D3 DEX permanently; the
Chaotic feature is 20% likely to recur each time the drinker uses any other
magical potion).
The notes on the desk would be useful to crusading
Lawful types. They could pay up to 8000 L (if the characters think of selling
the information) but may turn nasty if they suspect they’re being duped or
taken advantage of.
10.
STAIRS
A narrow stairway leads up to the next floor.
11.
LANDING
To the north, steps lead through an archway and,
beyond that, a balcony with steps down to the wall. An iron grille can be
lowered to block the archway. There is a corridor to the south.
12.
GUARDROOM
OVERVIEW: A plain, almost empty chamber
with a single pallet and travelling kit over by the west wall.
CLOSER LOOKS: A shortsword and three throwing
daggers are tucked under the pallet.
DENIZENS: Gorstang spends six hours a night
sleeping here; he will awaken as soon as the door is opened. At other times he
is usually on watch in the gatehouse or patrolling the walls.
13.
SMALL BEDROOM
14.
GUEST BEDROOM
15.
STOREROOM
OVERVIEW: Racks along the west wall contain
bedding, various utensils, five composite bows with full quivers, and three hand
axes.
16.
CHAPEL
OVERVIEW: An unadorned chamber. The large
bay window to the east has latticed panes of yellow and red glass forming a
vertical line of Truth Runes. A white cloth with a black Death Rune drapes the
altar in front of this window.
CLOSER LOOKS: The altar originally had panels
which have been removed.
COMMENTS: Originally a chapel to Yelmalio.
The Calomel clan turned it into a chapel to Humakt, their own favoured deity.
The altar panels depicted Yelmalio and had to be taken out.
17.
PRIEST’S ROOM
OVERVIEW: A small bed with a rough blanket.
There is a desk in front of the window.
CLOSER LOOKS: The desk contains sheet music for
the flute. There is also a manuscript copy of a composition by the Master Barak
Verdayn. A flute is among the priest’s personal effects in a satchel under his
bed.
TREASURE: In the right circles the
manuscript could fetch 400 L
18.
STAIRS TO THE TOWER BATTLEMENTS
LORD
MISSAL’S TREASURE
This is buried at the foot of the middle poplar on the
small island west of Cinderbrake Castle. An bronze-clasped chest inlaid with
ivory contains a book, a silver statuette, a gold drinking cup, and a ruby
ring.
The Book of the
Fleet-Footed is the fruit of Missal’s last years. He was a
renowned athlete of his day, winning the plaudits and envy of his peers at
countless competitions. The book instructs in how to improve DEX by 1 point and
Jumping, Climbing and Swimming scores by 10%. The normal training time is still
required, and the reader cannot of course take his DEX over species maximum.
The silver statuette is worth 950 L intrinsically, and
up to 2000 L as a work of art. The gold drinking cup is worth 1800 L. The ring
is worth 5000 L as a piece of jewellery and is also a matrix for the Yelmalio
cult spell lantern 4.
NON-PLAYER
CHARACTERS
Amarna was thirty when the Calomel clan attacked Cinderbrake
castle and ruthlessly slew its inhabitants. Amarna escaped with the young
warrior Gorstang whom Lord Missal charged with her protection. Amarna has
devoted half her life to gleaning magical secrets from hermits in the swamps of
Miasmos, even pledging herself to the powers of Death and Chaos in her
all-consuming desire for revenge. A good deal of her magic was used up in
annihilating Lord Calomel and his retainers. Now she is trying to build up POW
for more Rune magic so that she can complete her revenge by destroying Loku and
the villagers.
Amarna always carries a key-ring with the keys to the
dungeon and to Missal’s room. Her belt-buckle has a gold Mastery Rune.
Gorstang was a young warrior in Lord Missal’s service.
When Missal realized that his hated foes were sacking the castle he sent Amarna
away with Gorstang. Gorstang might have preferred to stay and die with his
lord, but his loyalty is absolute and he has guarded Amarna these past thirty
years. Like most of the Missal clan, Gorstang worshipped Yelmalio. Religion is
unimportant to him now, however - his only god is his duty to Missal. Not so
long ago he contracted swamp fever and was gravely ill for months; his health
is slowly recovering, but even in his present weakened state he is a formidable
opponent. Note that he has an iron helm.
Loku is in his early fifties, a man of vigour and
decisive action. Although by nature a bullying and deceitful sort, Loku will portray
himself to newcomers as the honestly worried leader of the village. He will try
to send adventurers against Amarna and then have Holmek poison any survivors.
Loku began his rise to power in the village thirty
years ago, when he was instrumental in betraying the castle to Lord Calomel, a
rival baron envious of Missal’s power and prestige. Loku was steward at the
castle then; he drugged the guards and then signalled to the Uenmoro warriors
waiting in the darkness of the forest. After a wholesale slaughter Calomel
rewarded Loku with a stipend. Loku added further to his wealth by murdering
occasional travellers and stealing their possessions.
When Amarna returned and wrought her revenge on the Calomel
clan, Loku’s first instinct was to cut and run. But Holmek the shaman suggested
that Amarna’s powers would be depleted after the excesses of her vengeance,
that she would realize Loku was now forewarned and so was likely to gather more
magical power before moving against him. Loku was convinced that Amarna could
be defeated, and now seeks to weaken her further before making his own
pre-emptive strike.
Holmek is a young man who has come under Loku’s
influence. He is quite honourable according to his own lights, but has only
heard Loku’s account of that night thirty years ago and believes that Missal
was a tyrant whom Loku was forced to betray in the end. Holmek never liked the
usurper Calomel, and could not understand Loku’s close association with him.
He doesn’t like the idea of poisoning travellers, but
is completely in thrall to Loku and does as he is told while finding ways to
justify it to himself. A few months ago Holmek tried to bargain with a spirit
for control, but he couldn’t spare the POW and this has further undermined his
feeble confidence and driven him to completely relinquish any sense of
self-responsibility through obedience to Loku.
Aitch and Bato
are a couple of ruffians who had to leave Deliverance in a hurry after their
employer was brutally murdered. They arrived in Loku’s village thinking that he
was just an old rustic they could push around, but soon learned better. Their
grudging respect for Loku turned to admiration when he poisoned the king’s
officer who had tracked them from Deliverance. Now they are as loyal to Loku as
men of their unsavoury character can be.
There is
bantering antagonism between the two of them. Bato has beaten Aitch in several
drunken brawls and Aitch now thinks his friend is a much better fighter than he
is. He has a tendency to toady to Bato, who often takes the lead and will put Aitch
down in front of others, but the bottom line is that the two are inseparable
chums and will trust their lives to one another.
Thirteen of
the warriors buried under the tree in the courtyard of Cinderbrake castle will
rise as zombies if Missal’s remains are disturbed. They will then make their
way to the crypt, attacking anyone who gets in their way except for Amarna,
whom they instinctively recognize. After slaying those in the crypt and setting
their lord’s body and effects back in his sarcophagus they will return to their
graves.
These zombies
are badly rotted, and their arms and armour are corroded, hence the irregular
stats.
* * *
A few people have asked if it would be okay to share PDFs or Word versions of this scenario. Sure, be my guest. I only ask that you attribute it to Dave Morris and Oliver Johnson, and if you include a link back here to the FL blog that would be ever so nice.
