Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 71 [RPG]

[Moonday, 3 Arodus 4708 A.R.]

Having pushed through the black mist that separates the interior of Castle Scarwall from the outside world, three brave souls find themselves in an entry corridor.  Rows of arrow slits line the walls, murder holes look down from above, dozens of orc skeletons and scattered bones cover the floor, and the way forward is blocked by yet another combination of portcullis and heavy gate.  At first, there’s an eerie silence, but then the sound of quiet breathing and creaking armor can be heard from all around.  In sudden unison, an onslaught of crossbow bolts are fired through the arrow slits while liquid cold enough to instantly freeze the flesh is poured through the murder holes above!  Unable to see or fight their attackers, Anorak cleverly conjures illusory walls along the side of the corridor to stymie the crossbowmen while The Reckoner charges the portcullis and gate, smashing them with swing after swing of an adamantine war-maul!  Still, a crossbow bolt longer than a sword embeds itself deeply in his back.  Yraelzin is quickly on the scene to magically heal the wound, and the trio push forward out of the murder hall.

But it’s from the frying pan and into the fire, for the large chamber they find themselves in is stomach-turning.  Bodies lie everywhere, orc and human alike.  Judging by the sprawled and mutilated nature of the corpses, they fought brutally before succumbing to their wounds, dying in heaps on the floor.  Many corpses are riddled with arrows and crossbow bolts, and a few appear to have perished while locked in mortal combat, still holding weapons embedded in various parts of each other’s anatomy.  Strangely, while the room reeks of death and the bloodstains appear incredibly ancient, the corpses themselves seem quite recent.

The Reckoner instructs Plate to turn him invisible as he moves cautiously through the room toward a huge mound of corpses in the northwest corner of the room.  But even the most sensible of precautions may be of no avail in Scarwall!  The mound begins to somehow animate and move, scuttling forth on dozens of arms and legs, speaking in a dissonant, disturbing tone that no one can understand.  Suddenly, it lets forth a horrifying shriek as all of its many mouths scream at once.  Yraelzin’s knees turn to water at the sound, but Anorak bravely rushes forward only to find himself grabbed by a dozen mismatched arms and pummeled relentlessly.  As Yraelzin recovers enough to evoke magical bolts of force, The Reckoner does an amazing leap over the mound, landing on the other side with a powerful blow!  Anorak tries to extricate himself and cast spells, but the intricate gestures and words of his spellcraft are disrupted time and again.  Finally, with great effort and nearly at the cost of Anorak’s life, the hideous aberration is destroyed.

 

After benefitting from several uses of a healing wand, Anorak is able to continue exploring.  A heavy door that must be barred from the other side stands to the northeast corner of the corpse-ridden chamber.  The Reckoner smashes it down with one resounding blow that echoes through the castle.  Jagged splinters are added to the bits of ruined tapestries, ancient bones, and broken weaponry lining the hallway on the other side.  Only one skeleton appears whole, slumped against a far corner of the room, clad in dust-caked full plate armor.  Sure that that skeleton is going to animate and attack, The Reckoner moves in slowly while Anorak and Yraelzin wait at the doorway.  The silence of the ancient castle suddenly shatters as the hall fills with a cacophony of clashing weapons and battles cries intermingled with the screams of the dead and dying—individual words are impossible to make out, but as the sounds reach a crescendo of violence, smoky black shapes boil up out of the bones and swirl into a vortex of angry shrieking spirits!  But just as suddenly as the mad vortex arises, it disappears.  Yet there was reason to be cautious: a towering, smoky form rises a moment later from the plate-clad figure in the corner!  It lunges towards The Reckoner, shrieking “You shall not have Serithtial!  It is mine and no other’s!”

Although The Reckoner has prepared for the spirits of Scarwall with an enchanted weapon that can destroy the incorporeal as easily as the corporeal, his armor is not similarly enchanted.  The wraith plunges smoky hands into his body time and time again to drain the very life out of him, but somehow The Reckoner manages to resist!  “I brought Serithtial here!  I used it to slay Kazavon!  It’s mine!” screams the fearsome shadow monster.  Yraelzin contributes more force missiles, while Anorak brilliantly bluffs the unnatural menace into thinking that he’s the one who wants to steal Serithtial.  As the spectral evil flies away from The Reckoner and toward the dwarf, it leaves itself open to another blow from the enchanted weapon and disappears with a final shriek of torment.

After the bracing event, Anorak examines the plate armor on the intact skeleton and realises it’s among the most powerfully enchanted he’s ever seen!  Marked with the heraldry of Lastwall, it must have been worn by a true knight.  The Reckoner urges Anorak to put it on.  The explorers then decide to barricade themselves in the adjacent room, using the magical spike they purchased in Kaer Maga to make it appear as if their camp is a mound of bodies.  Disturbing noises and vague but troubling dreams make for an uncomfortable night’s rest, but everyone is ready to continue when morning finally comes.

[Toilday, 4 Arodus 4708 A.R.]

Despite their surroundings, the day begins auspiciously for those slumbering in the cursed castle:  Goldcape and Rocky have arrived!  After some misunderstandings over the illusory campsite, Goldcape explains that Thousand Bones had been poisoned with purple worm venom by an evil Shoanti intent on assassinating the tribal elder for his own gain.  Fortunately, Goldcape explains, she arrived just in time to neutralise the poison ravaging the shaman’s body and managed to capture the assassin.  After the explanation, Anorak shows off his new armor and explains about the wraith’s remarks about Serithtial and Kazavon.  Goldcape puts two and two together, and surmises that the armor must have been on the skeleton of Mandraivus, a paladin from Lastwall who led a small band to infiltrate Scarwall and kill the evil warlord.  Yraelzin interrupts to say that he wants to move quickly to break the curse of Scarwall and strip Ileosa of her invulnerability, whether or not they find Serithtial.  He says he can’t bear to spend another night in Scarwall, but The Reckoner replies it could take days to search a castle of this size!  Yraelzin quickly apologies for a hastily-made insult about The Reckoner breaking the deal with allies (Shadowcount Sial and Laori Vaus) who would surely speed up the search.  He explains Scarwall must be getting to him already.

With their first full day inside Castle Scarwall ahead of them, the Harrowed Heroes are at full strength!  Perhaps the legends around this haunted place are overblown, and success will come quickly.  The time has finally come to find out.

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GM Commentary

The animated mound of bodies is a monster called a "corpse orgy", and it certainly put up a good fight as well as tying in well to the atmosphere of Scarwall.  Mandraivus' appearance also helped provide some of the backstory to Scarwall and Serithtial.  I tried to have Yraelzin's fright contribute to the idea that just being in this place would be terrifying.  Anyway, for a first session in its walls, the group made solid progress; in future sessions though, the sheer size of the place will bog them down.

I made a mistake in my commentary for last session; it wasn't then that Goldcape left and his player became "Assistant GM"--it happens a little further down the line.