| DM | It has been a month
since the party of six arrived back in Ansimont with Elwyn in chains. The
stories of your endeavours have been told, exaggerated to your liking, and
told again; mainly by Dreylin.
For most of that month, you have been employed by the church of Chardastes
(your previous employers) as guards on Elwyn's cell and during her transit to
and from the church where she was tried. You have spent several excruciating
nights on the floor of the temple as "guests" of the church before moving into
a decent inn.
The trial itself was a bit of a non-event really. Elwyn looked at her feet
for the entire time while a very boring church advocate listed her crimes in
detail. The only bit of any interest was when he finally picked up and rang
the clapperless bell, which actually made a kind of pathetic tinkle.
Either way, ten minutes before she was due to be sentenced to death, Elwyn
underwent a "miraculous conversion", saw the error of her ways and went back
to the worship of Chardastes. The patriarch of this particular branch of the
church, a kindly (stupid) old gentleman, immediately decided that her guilt
was penance enough and pardoned her.
The fact that she slipped on the church steps and broke her neck only goes to
show that Chardastes probably didn't agree with the verdict.
Two days ago, five days after the trial, Berillia was approached by a member
of her church (the followers of Valerias) and was asked to bring you, fully
equipped, to a meeting this morning regarding employment. You have arrived to
find a sharp looking man in robes with a wizened, old bloke next to him. Also
in the clearing (for that is where you are meeting) is a rather sheepish
looking elf who introduces herself (in Glantrian accented Darokinian) as Rhea.
The man, who introduces himself as Patriarch Chen, says that he has been lead
to believe that you are happy doing missions for the churches. It turns out
that someone high-up, he's not sure who, wants your party specifically. In
addition, the church of Ilsundal (an elven church) has sent a representative
to join you. You will be paid a commission on your return. He then recounts
the following story.
The valley of Harren lies near Biazzan, in Thyatis. Until recently it was
ruled over by a young princess, Argenta, some relation of Thincol the Emperor.
It was a reasonably stable place until a few weeks ago, when a group of miners
found a large ruby in one of their seams. Out of kindness (and possibly a
little political leaning) they gave the ruby to the princess, calling it "My
Lady's Heart".
A banquet was planned to celebrate the discovery of the jewel, and, the day
before, "the man" turned up again. He was known to the princess but no one
telling the tale knows his name. He is tall and pale skinned with long, blond
hair and a beard. He arrived riding a white dragon. It is believed that he was
invited to the feast but that is not confirmed.
At midnight, disaster struck. Clouds hid the moon and a freezing wind blew
over the valley. The crops withered and the cattle grew sick. At that point a
portion of the palace apparently exploded, and when the dust settled a red
glow surrounded the building.
Harren is in chaos, as raiders and monsters begin to take over the
unprotected land. The people in the palace are either trapped or dead and the
situation is rapidly becoming desperate.
Chen finishes by saying that the church is willing to transport you to Harren
and back, and cover any incurred costs. You are to enter the palace as scouts
to find out what happened. If you feel able, you can do something about it.
The little old man regards you for a moment and then mutters under his
breath. |
| Chen | [Expensive
effect] |
| DM | You are approximately
ten metres from the portcullis of a large palace. All of the castle and a fair
amount of the surrounding land glows red. All the plants in the aura are dead
except for some odd looking white roses and a few thorn bushes. You stand just
within a clear patch by the entrance and can see a definite edge to the glow.
As you watch, a rat darts into the glowing area. It suddenly stops, twitches a
bit and then dies. There appear to be several dead creatures in the glow.
The patriarch points behind you and you see now that the red glow does not
enter the castle itself. It simply extends from the walls out into the
surrounding countryside. The clear patch that you are in is just large enough
to hold the party and leaves the entrance to the castle clear.
The old man appears to be concentrating very hard. |
| Chen | I take it you
accept. |
| DM | The clear patch gets
slightly smaller. |
| Dreylin | Ah, excuse my
ignorance, Patriarch. I assume you will be accompanying us then? Otherwise,
how are we to leave?.... |
| Leanna | Come now,
Dreylin. I'm sure the Patriarch expects us to deal with the red glow as part
of our mission. Should we get inside quickly to save your strength, O Gracious
Chen? |
| Dreylin | Ah yes my dear
Leanna, but as I recall, our mission is to scout out the castle and find out
what's gone on... not necessarily to do anything about it. |
| Chen | As you have
surmised, we will not be coming with you. Magus Varr here [Points to the
old man] can hold back the glow long enough for you to enter the castle,
which should be clear of its influence.
[Points at Berillia] |
| Berillia | [Winks at
the patriarch in a slightly inappropriate way] |
| Chen | She is carrying a
symbol of our order. Should any mishap befall her remember to take it with
you. When you wish to leave carry out a simple Valerian blessing with it and
we shall return to this location. Are there any more questions? |
| DM | The clear patch gets
slightly smaller and Varr frowns. |
| Narond | Magus Varr, how
long can you keep the glow back for?
[Turns to Berillia]
Well who know what will happen in the future - not I certainly. |
| Habib | Yes, only the
Immortals have any idea as to what is going to happen. So let us find out what
is in store for us. |
| Leanna | Very well,
Patriarch, I think we should move inside while we still can.
[Avoids telling Magus Varr that your powers are weak, old man] |
| Chen | Excellent, we will
come when you call. |
| DM | He nods to Varr who
mutters something to himself. The two of them gradually fade until nothing
remains. Slowly, the clear patch in the red glow begins to collapse.
You pass southwards beneath the raised portcullis and enter the palace
proper. The gateyard is a large open area surrounded by tall, rock walls. It
runs 30 feet east to west and is 40 feet long. There are doors to the east and
west, 20 feet south of the entryway (which is the entire northern wall). Both
doors are made of wood and are reinforced with iron bars. There are two small
portcullises in the south wall, each 10 feet wide and 20 feet high. One is set
in the westernmost region of the wall and the other in the easternmost area.
There is 10 feet of solid stone between the two gates.
As Dreylin (the last person in the group) passes beneath the gates, the
portcullis crashes down behind him, removing any chance of escape. The ruby
glow now fills the region cleared by the Magus and extends as far as the
portcullis. It does not extend into the palace itself. |
| Leanna | [Has a more
thorough look at the area] |
| DM | The portcullises to the
south can be seen through. They both lead into corridors 10 feet wide. The
west one is the north wall of the first square of a corridor that runs west.
You can't see any more than that. The east one is the north wall of a square
which is the junction of two corridors, one leading east and the other heading
away to the south. The corridor is lit periodically by torches and appears to
be rather long. It is clear that the regions do not join up.
Generally, the area you are in is overhung by the upper level of the castle.
The castle was built directly into the bedrock and so this region is partly
constructed and partly tunnelled. There are no signs of life, although a close
examination of the portcullises shows that the east one is marked "B" and the
west one, "A". They are both closed.
There is no sign of the explosion in this region of the castle. The weather
is standard for winter in Thyatis - overcast, but not cold. |
| Dreylin | [Spins around
as the portcullis crashes down behind him] Whew, that was close. If that
keeps happening, I'm moving nearer the front! [Looks around the
courtyard] Well, there doesn't seem to be an immediate threat here, shall
we split up (in this room) to see if we can get through either these doors, or
the portcullises? [Without waiting for an answer, moves towards the door in
the east wall] |
| Leanna | I vote we try one
of the doors. |
| Narond | [Has a
prolonged look around the room looking for anything on the walls, and then
walks over to the east door to investigate] |
| Rhea | [Attempts to climb
up portcullis "A" to see if she can climb over it] |
| DM | Rhea finds there is no
way over the portcullis.
Both Dreylin and Narond reach the east door at the same time. There are
scratches from the other side. |
| Narond | I wonder what
that could be? [Backs off slightly, expecting Dreylin to open the door]
People, I can hear something scratching at this door... |
| Leanna | [Turns around
and draws her sword] |
| Dreylin | [Not being
one to disappoint, Dreylin opens the door] |
| DM | The door swings back to
reveal a dark room beyond. A thin looking grey rat sits near the edge of the
light baring its teeth at you. To your considerable surprise, it is a little
over three feet long. |
| Dreylin | Ooops, probably
shouldn't have done that....
RAT!!!!!!
[Fishes about in his pockets for a small morsel of food and throws it to
the rat] Good rat, nice rat, you don't want to attack me, I'm your friend.
[Realises that this rat is about the same size as him] |
| Narond | Hey, this rat is
about the same size as Dreylin! [Edges further away from the
door] |
| Berillia | Rodents of
unusual size? [Joins the group at the door] |
| Leanna | [Lopes towards
the door, sword in hand] |
| DM | The rat runs to the food
and grabs it with slavering jaws. It stares balefully at you for a small
moment and then runs into the darkness. |
| Leanna | What was that -
don't say a rat... Shall we go this way now the door's open? And do you think
I need to get my lantern out? |
| Shianara | [Starts
paying attention and sprints over to the door] |
| Narond | Hello and nice of
you to join us. You would be amazed at how exciting the absence of a large rat
can be. |
| Shianara | I think that
maybe we should wait for the others?... I have a lantern but maybe you can use
yours first. But is it dark? [Tries to glance round the corner of the
door] We should perhaps let those with better night vision go first?
|
| Narond | Not bad ideas,
but do we also want to open the door opposite and have a look down there, see
if we can see more down it than this one, or sod it and walk down this one?
|
| Dreylin | Sorry guys,
guess I got a little carried away. (Probably a good idea that I'm usually
stuck at the back!) [Smiles] But it's not everyday you meet a rat
bigger than you! |
| Leanna | [Calls for a
pause, and prepares to go on for some time]
We seem to be getting a little carried away here, people. Let's think this
over. There's no obvious way through the portculli at the moment, although
hopefully we can find one, so they are out for the time being. That leaves us
with the two doors. We can either check both, and then decide which to go for,
or just stick with this one. Certainly, as this one is open, we should at
least see what is immediately obvious.
The advantage of going through this one and not looking at the other is that
we won't be alerting more things to our presence than necessary. On the other
hand, if we don't open the other one and it turns out to be a small room with
two levers marked A and B and nothing else, I suspect we could become quite
annoyed if we've trekked halfway around the palace looking for a way through
the portculli here! My vote would be to open the other door and see what's
through it.
Didn't mean to go on so long, sorry. |
| Dreylin | I'm afraid that
I don't agree. If we did open tht door and find two levers marked A and B,
then we'd have three - no make that four (since the corridor to the east
splits) different choices of direction, and at our current rate would be here
for another week discussing and trying to decide what to do next! |
| Shianara | Ah yes, if we
close the door again, will the sound restart? Interesting idea, huh? Must also
check the doors are not one-way... though we need a volunteer(s) to stand on
the other side and try! [Backs away from the door] I wouldn't mind
doing some tracking, but on the other side of a possibly locked door on my
own?! Not me...
Can anyone remember if we were told what compass direction the Palace
exploded in? Might help to decide where to go. |
| Dreylin | I think that we
really have two choices at this stage, we can either nominate a leader to make
important decisions, or we can vote. Even though I'm the outsider here (a Hin
in a party of three elves and four humans), or perhaps because I am, I would
much prefer the voting option as I would feel I'm getting a say.
[Looks through the door]
Hey, I think I can still see "Ratty" through the door!... and there's a red
glow in the far corner. |
| Leanna | [Muses...]
I wonder if the red glow in the far corner has anything to do with the
prodigiously sized rat? |
| Dreylin | [Suddenly
works out how infravision works]
...The red glow in the far corner is the rat... how embarrassing.
|
| DM | The party enters the
room.
The flickering light from the torch reflects off the walls of a square room.
It is 20 feet along each side and the door through which you entered is set
into the southern 10 feet of the western wall. There is a thin, giant rat in
one corner avoiding the light and munching on something. It isn't looking at
you. There is also a lever in the south wall. |
| Leanna | If this is all
that's in the room, shall we check the other one before pulling the lever?
|
| Dreylin | [Elbows his
way past everyone's legs to get a look] That does sound like a sensible
idea to me. I expect that we'll find a very similar room, and I'm betting this
lever operates one of the portculli... I don't suppose it's labelled A or B?
|
| DM | Upon closer inspection
you find that the lever is labelled "B". |
| Narond | Let's go. But we
could give this one a tug while we are here to see what happens. [Pulls the
lever] |
| DM | There is a clank and
then the creaking of chains. |
| Narond | I'll go and
investigate the other door with Leanna. While Dreylin and the rat get more
intimately acquainted... [Winks at Dreylin suggestively regarding him and
the rat] |
| Dreylin | [Looks
despairingly up at the ceiling and shakes his head] |
| Leanna | [Over at the
other door] Narond, although I'd love to open up and let you in, I think
it might be better if we tried it the other way round, don't you? [Winks at
Narond suggestively (regarding, well, who can tell?), blows him a kiss, laughs
disturbingly, and hefts her sword in her hand.] |
| Narond | Okay my dear,
I'll open up while you enter majestically with your sword. [Leers at
Leanna, and opens the other door] |
| DM | Anyone who cares to look
will see that portcullis B is now open. |
| Leanna | Would anyone care
to lend a hand here? There's a couple of skeletons here who don't seem to be
pleased to see me... |
| Narond | No, I wonder if
it could be the sword that is making them nervous. [Backs away from the
door] |
| DM | The skeleton nearest the
doorway leaps towards Leanna and brings his sword round in a large arc.
Unfortunately for the skeleton, Leanna's sword connects sharply with its third
vertebrae, severing its head which flies comically into the corner of the
small room. The red light gradually fades from its eyes.
The other skeleton approaches... |
| Leanna | [Stops making
faces at the skeleton and sidles away from the door slightly to allow other
people to get a hit in. Coz she's sweet like that...] |
| DM | The skeleton is about
halfway through the doors, beginning another attack on Leanna, when it notices
Berillia staring intently at it. It freezes for a moment before dropping its
sword, retreating into a dark corner of the western room and cowering.
As a group, you follow into the room (the skeleton appears to be trying to
crawl through the wall). The room is identical to the eastern room and
contains a lever. |
| Dreylin | [Peers at the
skeleton] ...Know how he feels... Well, shall we put him out of his
misery? We could always just store him with the rat in the other room, and
collect ourselves a menagerie!
Anyway, my vote would be to explore the passageway already opened before we
open the other one... we don't know what might be wandering these halls!
[Pauses for thought... whirr, click...] Oh yes, where was I? Ah,
whichever way we go, I'd feel much happier if "Mr. Skeleton" here had no
access to the levers to close off our way back. |
| Berillia | If it makes
you any happier, we could just break the lever... But skeletons look so
much better without their heads. |
| DM | The skeleton continues
to look helpless until Berillia bludgeons it to death. |
| Leanna | I agree with
Dreylin, I think we should be watching our backs and not opening the second
portcullis yet... Berillia, is there anything we can do to the skeletons to
make sure they won't reanimate like spreading their limbs around, perhaps
giving a few to the rat? Or throwing them through the main portcullis
entrance? |
| Berillia | They won't.
|
| DM | You enter the corridor
by the open portcullis. The forward passage stretches away with a couple of
exits (openings not doors) in the eastern wall. It then descends some stairs.
The other passage extends east and then goes down some stairs. There is also
an opening south just before the stairs. |
| Habib | Whichever way we
choose the Immortals will guide us to where we are needed. |
| Leanna | Spoken like a
true, erm, chap from the desert, thanks Habib...
[Decides that the party will go east, feeds various skeleton bones through
the main portcullis out, and spreads the rest around the three
rooms] |
| Back to Elwyn's Sanctuary
Next section |
![[Mystara Campaign Journal]](./mystara.gif)