Baru passed another rose bush and was hit by the thorns also. In between two bushes lay the body of a woman. Her pointed ears marked her as an elf; her hair was a dull silver. She had no obvious wounds, but thorns stuck out of her body and her features looked a little sunken.
Arvien flung her bedroll over one of the rose bushes and Baru hurried past the bush near him. Seglun and Ralom took damage but Ralom covered the other bush with his bedroll. Draped over the arm of the elf was a basket, a knife lay beside her. It appeared that she was laying atop a scroll, which glowed magic, along with her vestments. In the basket was a single cut rosebud, withered to a dull brown. Drovic lifted the body to access the scroll and as he did he saw words written on her hand. They read: "A seeker of the rose," and "A servant of the dark lord." Ralom recalled that Ticklemop had used the first as a password with the Skeletal Warriors, "Maybe the second is for the Banshees," he surmised.
The vestments and the scroll were taken by the group as they headed to the stairs down to the main level. Arvien asked Ticklemop about the phrases on the elf's hand. "Lord Soth changes the password everyday," was her answer. Continuing with the exploration the group headed down the western staircase. This led to a Grand Hall where they also saw the end of the other staircase. A cold wind whistles into the large, echoing room. The floor was littered with wood that had fallen from the ceiling. Tapestries on the western wall had been blackened by fire, little of them remained. Just in front of the staircases was the back of a massive throne, carved from black-veined marble and studded with blood-red gems. A flicker of movement overhead caught Arvien's attention. Something was moving along the heavy beams of the ceiling, darting from shadow to shadow. Arvien cast dancing lights to illuminate the ceiling but she could not identify the source of the noises. Seglun headed to a door on the southwest which led to a hallway south, east and west. At the corner of the eastern hall was a door to the south. Entering she found mushy straw covering the floor, a foot deep. Mangy looking mice and other vermin scurried through it. Here and there the straw was blackened, as if several small fires had burned there. The smell of smoke hung in the air.
Pegs on the walls held ropes, bridles and other riding gear. Along the south wall was a line of doors. Judging by their design, Seglun determined that the opened onto horse stalls. One stall seemed to be occupied. Its door gave off faint thumps, as if a horse were kicking it weakly. Then a high whinny split the air. It sounded like the horse was in pain.
Seglun approached the door next to the noisy stall, she opened it hoping to find a view into the other stall. No luck and all the rest of the stalls westward were also empty. Arvien suggested leaving the area alone, "It's probably a Nightmare!" Meanwhile Ticklemop and Varrid stayed in the Grand Hall where Ticklemop headed to the eastern wall. The wall there held tapestries, stained and damp, but the subject was obvious -- a great battle between knights riding dragons. Drovic made sure that the throne was empty but was careful not to approach to closely to the massive seat.
Seglun determined to find what was kicking the stall door, so she flung open the door. A horse leapt from the stable. Its eyes glowed brilliant red, and orange flame flickered in its snorting nostrils. In the light of the flame all could see that the horse's coat was black as a starless night. Wherever it set its feet, the straw smouldered. The horse pawed the floor in frustration, flicking its black tail. It bolted out of the door, its burning eyes fastened on Seglun in an angry glare. Burning hooves landed their blows Baru as he rushed to attack. Ralom cast a bless and Arvien bemoaned the fact the this Keep seemed very dangerous. The battle was not swift, Drovic's acid darts kept hitting the floor as smoke rose from the straw where they landed. Baru and Seglun landed blows, Arvien cast Grease under the Nightmare, who nimbly avoided falling but had limited movement on its hind legs. A combination of attacks and magic missiles finally felled the terrible beast. Seglun limped out of the stables, with Baru behind. "Lets go visit the healing statue," she suggested. "I'm feeling a little weak!" Ralom channeled healing onto the party and the exploration continued.
Baru was taking with Oathmaker trying to determine if it could help against the Banshees or the Skeletal Warriors. Oathmaker was silent on these topics only reiterating its want for fallen Solamnic knights.
Heading west around the floor the party found storage areas, a food preparation area, and a cloak room where a Banshee followed Seglun into the hallway. Everyone moved quickly away except Baru, brandishing his sword. Baru backed away slowly trying to determine if Oathmaker had any affect on the Banshee. Unfortunately for him, the Banshee just continued to advance. After gathering in the Grand Hall the party continued their search. They found storage areas, a bedroom, another food preparation room and tool storage room. One interesting area was a room furnished with formerly elegant couches, now stained with mold. A large harp at the center of the room was covered in dust, and a lute lay broken in a corner. A broken harpsichord was leaning drunkenly. Something was making the strings thrum. Ralom entered still looking for magic, which he found in the harpsichord. Arvien created a mage hand to start plunking the keys of the harpsichord. As the "music" flowed from the instrument Arvien and Ralom stated to attack one another. The mage hand stopped playing but the music reverberated while the two battled for a round or two. When this distraction stopped the party found the bloody pieces of two rats inside the body of the harpsichord.
Finally the group decided to try the keys that Seglun had found on the locked door on level four. At the doorway one of the keys unlocked the door and the party headed up the stairs.
At the back of a large, circular room sat a heavy throne, carved from black-veined marble and studded with blood-red gems. The throne sat on a four tiered dais. Behind the throne was a balcony; staircases on either side of the room led up to it. The room was once lavishly decorated but now showed signs of a severe fire and decay. Its carpets were blackened and mold-spotted. Elaborate carvings on the charred wooden beams, thirty feet, overhead were streaked with bat droppings. A huge chandelier had crashed to the floor, scattering shards of crystal and broken candles.
The only objects n the room that seemed in good repair were a series of six mirrors, three on either side of the throne, mounted on the walls. The mirrors were oval in shape, and were about six feet high and three feet wide. Each was enclosed in a black iron frame wrought in the shape of intertwined roses, complete with needle-sharp thorns.
Seated on the throne was a knight in dull black plate mail. The knight's hands, resting on the arms of the throne, were little more than burned and blistered skin stretched tight over dry bones. His face, visible under a raised visor was a ghastly burned and rotted ruin. His eyes were closed, but a menacing orange light glowed under translucent eyelids.
The knight's armor was of an ancient make, a style that had not been seen in centuries. Mail and steel alike were covered with sooty streaks. The scent of smoke clung to both. The breastplate was embossed with the almost indiscernible pattern of a rose. One side of this symbol was melted, as if by a blast of heat. The figure was utterly still upon the throne, except for its mouth, which formed silent words. The hands were as still as death and made no move toward the long sword laying across his lap.
Ralom immediately detected magic, which revealed the six mirrors and the mail and sword on the throne. Ticklemop confirmed that this was indeed Lord Soth, but he certainly looked bad. More incorporeal than alive. Since the day was almost done, the sun was setting as the party climbed up the the fourth floor, Arvien suggested heading back to the outdoor temple. "We certainly do not want to be in the Keep when the Banshees start to keen," she suggested. So the party headed to the parapets for the evening. The party sacked out for the evening, at midnight Varrid again heard the Banshees singing(?) in the tower. Early in the morning, Varrid noticed Ticklemop lean over, expose her fangs, and attempt to bite Drovic's neck. She raised the alarm and the party roused from their slumber to finish off Ticklemop Toothfang as she became a mist and tried to float away into the night.
DM's Notes: The heroes earned 1143 XP for the nights adventures. They now have 27,472 XP needing 7,528 additional XP to reach 6th level.
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