Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 76 [RPG]

[Oathday, 6 Arodus 4708 A.R.]
 
The Harrowed Heroes’ room-by-room exploration of the massive Castle Scarwall continues.  One chamber, perhaps once a formal waiting room, now contains only ratty, ruined couches interspersed by small tables and shelves containing broken bottles of wine and serving trays covered with sheets of mold.  A search of the room turns up nothing of interest, but as Anorak goes to leave, he suddenly exclaims in fear and sadness as tears run down his face! He embraces The Reckoner, saying it’s time for him (Anorak) to go—that Kazavon will never provide mercy, so the only recourse is to throw himself from the castle’s walls!  Although the strange impulse quickly fades and Anorak realises the emotions he was feeling weren’t real, the lingering terror of the Lord of Scarwall remains.

Yraelzin reminds the group that Goldcape and Rocky are still missing.  The others remind Yraelzin that he has a way to magically communicate with allies, leading the former priest of Razmir to cast the spell.  He reports that Goldcape sounds strange, saying only that she’s in the “big room off the hallway with the double-doors”.  The group backtrack, trying to see if they’ve walked past anyplace that fits that description.  At one point, Lorien looks back to see something startling—a ghostly figure seems to be hovering right behind Yraelzin!  Dressed in archaic, overly formal clothing, the spectral human is looking down at Yraelzin with clear disapproval on its face.  “Who are you?” Lorien calls out.  The figure speaks in response, but no words can be heard.  By reading lips, The Reckoner is able to annunciate a few of its words, though the language is strange to everyone—everyone but Yraelzin.  Shaken by the apparition suddenly dissolving into a pile of wet snow, Yraelzin says the words are Old Azlanti and refer to him being a “failure” and a “disappointment”.  And even more strangely, continues Yraelzin, the man’s clothing marked him as from the time of Azlant—a continent lost to a worldwide cataclysm almost ten millennia ago, well before Scarwall was built!

Although the mystery lingers, the search for Goldcape must go on.  Before long, the group find a set of double-doors in the same hallway where they fought the nightmarish horse.  When the door is opened, the group is at first pleased to see that Goldcape and Rocky are indeed there—but happiness turns to concern when they seem to be in a deep trance.  Around them is a massive hall, its ceiling supported by thick wooden columns.  Between the columns, in the center of the room exactly where Goldcape and Rocky are hovering, is a large fire pit, its ashes long gone cold.  At the far end of the hall, difficult to see with the darkness and distance, is a wide dais.  A terrifying sight floats above one of the two chairs on the dais: a ghostly torso bound by lengths of writhing chains connected to misty skulls on the ground at its feet.  With the subtlest of nods from the ghostly figure, Goldcape and Rocky streak forward to attack!  The Reckoner backflips away, but not before Rocky gouges him with talon and beak.  With a prayer to Cayden Cailean, however, Lorien is able to dispel the evil enchantment that had clouded Goldcape’s mind and turned friend into foe.
 
But the danger is far from over.  Several spectres—the same type of creatures that nearly killed The Reckoner earlier—drift through walls and into the chamber.  Yraelzin hastily utters a new spell he learned especially for Scarwall—a spell to keep lesser undead completely at bay.  But although the spectres are barred from doing any harm (and soon incinerated by Anorak’s magic), the chained spirit on the dais hurtles itself forward, its merest touch leaving disfiguring wounds and shattered morale.  Strangely, the chains connecting the spirit to the skulls constantly snap it backwards to the dais like a taut bowstring being snapped.  The Harrowed Heroes decide to close the distance to the dais, putting themselves in harm’s way as the chains around the spirit lash out with more disfiguring attacks.  But The Reckoner’s enchanted hammer is unstoppable, and soon the chained spirit is completely dispersed.

Or so it seems.  The ghostly skulls remain on the dais, and barely a minute passes before the chains go taut and they pull the screaming spirit back from the Great Beyond for more torturous moments in the mortal realm!  Lorien’s magic conjures a silver-haired warrior from Elysium to aid in the struggle at the same time that Goldcape unleashes magical arrows, Anorak uses electrical spells, and The Reckoner continues swinging away.  Again, the chained spirit is dispersed.

But for how long?  The Harrowed Heroes try everything they can think of to destroy the four ghostly skulls remaining on the dais, but nothing seems to work.  Worried that the group can’t survive a third fight against the chained spirit, The Reckoner hurries everyone out of the room seconds before it reforms with an ear-splitting wail. 

 

The group retreat to the campsite, where, fortunately, Lorien has exactly the right spells prepared to help Goldcape and The Reckoner recover from the spiritual harms they suffered.  Yraelzin says they should just avoid the castle’s throne room—there’s no need to defeat every foe in the castle.  The Reckoner speculates that defeating the chained spirit could be part of lifting the curse.  Speaking of curses, The Reckoner and Anorak speculate that one or both of them may have been cursed, so they shed everything they’re wearing for a thorough magical inspection—but both turn up clean.  Afterwards, The Reckoner and Anorak debate whether to push on with exploring or rest for another 24 hours to regain their strength.  This time, Anorak’s argument wins the day, but with the proviso that he take the lead.

 

Sprawling Castle Scarwall holds many mysteries that test the strength and courage of all who would dare enter it.  One such mystery now seems prominent: how to defeat a foe bound to eternal battle?

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GM's Commentary

The ghostly Azlanti figure following Yraelzin was my way of incorporating that he had the Vestige bloodline and had gained the Call Ancestor ability, which summons an ancestral spirit as a temporary ally.  Since Yraelzin was created, his bonded object was an otherwise non-magical ring with an inscription in Azlanti on it because I wanted to tie him into an adventure path I planned to play him in as an actual PC (Ruins of Azlant) before he quickly transitioned into being a GMPC here.  The idea of the spirit being disappointed relates to the fact that Yraelzin didn't fulfil his original destiny and connected to how (secretly) uncertain and self-doubting he was throughout much of the campaign.

This session is also notable for the first battle (of many!) against the chained spirit that rules Scarwall.  As the adventure provides, the spirit is attached to four "anchors"--other creatures--and cannot be permanently destroyed until those anchors are destroyed.  It's a fun concept and a good challenge for the players to figure out what's going on and what they need to do.  I also really liked the unique "yo-yo" movement style of the chained spirit (how it could charge forth a limited distance but at the end of its turn would automatically be yanked back to its starting point by the chains).