Finally the party moved to a door at the north end of the hall. This door was locked sot Varrid moved up to pick the lock, which she did successfully. Seglun again entered and found a fireplace, long tables piled with rolled up papers, mostly brittle and stained with mold. Unlit oil lamps sat on the tables. On the west wall Ralom studied a map that showed Forlorn, with areas indicated as "cleared". There were also several X marks on the map, with the question "Sanctuary?" scribbled beside each. Ralom noted that none were close to Shelaugh or Maeve's Sanctuary areas.
Arvien started looking at the rolled papers which had maps of Forfar and its neighboring lands. This meant nothing to the party. Inside one rolled up map she found a note.
Meanwhile Seglun searched for any secret door or compartment in this map room as there were no other doors. Right behind the map tacked to the west wall she found a secret door. Opening it led to a store room of some sort. Shelves and cabinets held bedding and linens. Laundered sheets were hung in front of a fireplace, possibly to dry? The only door led to the north where Seglun found a hallway traveling east-west with a southern extension in the middle of the hall. The floor was carpeted and clean and opposite was another door. Arvien moved north into the room beyond this door where she found a bedroom. There were three beds, wardrobes, night tables, chests and armchairs facing a fireplace. The room was clean and tidy. All along Ralom detected no magical auras and Baru found nothing evil.
As the party started to move into the hall, a female servant appeared asking who they were and how had they come here. Stammering Seglun let Baru explain that they had come through a secret door in the store room. The servant asked if they had spoken with the Lord Marc. When Baru responded negatively, she insisted that they return to the Audience Chamber to talk with the Lord. While she stood her ground blocking further entry, Baru hustled the party back to the map room which had undergone a change since they had left it. There was no map tacked to the wall over the secret door. In fact an unfinished map like it was on one of the tables showing a rough outline of Forlorn, and "Time of Terror" penciled above it. Outside the window it was dark with gobs of rain pouring down. Lightning flashed across the sky almost continuously. Varrid moved out into the first room in the hallway where she found several people sitting on the couches, which were clean and whole. As she entered the people looked up but didn't react in a negative way. Varrid inquired into their reason for being here. Two indicated that they were looking for tax relief. The others had minor conflicts with neighbors that they hoped Lord Marc ApBlanc could solve. She also noted the mural, which showed members of the nobility running in terror from a knight. I was labelled "Freedom to Fear." Grunyar moved further down the hall ot the store room, which contained linens, tablecloths and wall hangings in good condition. Certainly different from the last time here.
Ralom entered the Accounting Room where several books lined the shelves, though a few had spilled onto the floor. On the desk were papers stained with ink from an overturned ink well. The papers and books were accounting ledgers.
Arvien joined Varrid and the townsfolk were certainly surprised at her appearance. Arvien jovial personality soon had them discussing the weather, awful since the earthquakes and tremors began, the defeat of the ApFittles by Marc ApBlanc. Marc had arrived around thirty years ago, he bore a striking resemblance to the minstrel ApBlanc. His papers proved he was the grandson of Brangain ApBlanc, whom he said had fled to a neighboring country in 1839 to escape her father's wrath. His documented claim to the property was approved. Civil war between the ruling ApFittles and Marc erupted in the 1920s and the surviving ApFittle family members were imprisoned in the dungeons.
A soldier entered the Waiting room and the two townsfolk seeking tax relief were led to the Audience chamber.
Grunyar followed the group into the chamber, a large opulent room with an ornately carved wooden chair on a dais below two large, leaded windows. The floor was covered by a plush carpet -- the design on its was of a mailed fist clutching a white feather. Trophy shields lined the walls, the leaded windows finished with diamond-shaped panels of red and white. The west wall held a magnificent mural labelled "Freedom to Speak" showing members of the nobility lined up before a chopping block. There were two soldiers in the room along with the two townsfolk.
On the chair was a handsome middle aged, blond headed, man wearing a white kilt with green stripes, a sporran decorated with a mailed fist gripping a white feather, a dark green shirt with lac cuffs and collar, white knee-high wool socks and polished black shoes with wide silver buckles. The peasants plead their case to the very charismatic Lord, who listened politely and then demanded that they make their payment of grain and meat or face imprisonment and torture in the castle dungeons. They were led weeping from the chamber by a mercenary.
Another mercenary entered the waiting room to usher the next group of townsfolk to the Audience Chamber. Baru, Drovic and Arvien had moved out into the hall toward the Audience Chamber and they then heard.
"What is that short, wide thing in the corner? Haven't I seen you before?" echo from the Chamber. Grunyar's voice replied "I'm a Dwarf you fool, prepare to die!" Horrified Baru headed at full pace to the Chamber, with Drovic, Seglun and Arvien following. Several more mercenaries entered the Chamber from the south and Ralom blocked the hallway from the north.
As Gruyar moved toward the laughing figure with his bow notched a swirling mist appeared next to him, a bubbling, choking sound was heard as a red-haired, green robed figure barely appeared in the mist. Grunyar, Baru, Drovic and Arvien saw before them a grove of trees in which a young blond teen was bent over the corpse of a young doe. He rose with a crimson-smeared face. The vision shifted slightly and the sun set behind a large oak tree. Under the tree was a middle aged Druid, meditating over an antler. Up crept a blond haired teen who suddenly leaped at the woman. She turned and drove the point of the antler into his chest. The teen uttered a blood-chilling howl of agony as he pushed back the point and overpowered the Druid, pinning her arms to her sides. Then, his eye teeth lengthened to deadly points, which he sank into her neck, drinking deeply of her blood as his own drained from the antler wound and washed over her. A look of horror appeared on the young man's face. Enraged he tore at the Druid's body, savagely ripping it open with his sharp nails, pounding her until her body went limp, screaming in rage and pain all the while. With a hiss, he leaned over the druid and prepared to finish his deadly work.
As she lay dying the Druid faintly spoke, "I was going to heal you, bring you back into the light," she whispered through bubbling lips. "But now I curse you! With my dying breath, I beseech the gods to make you an eternal prisoner of this place, which you have stained with evil! Let murder burn in your veins with every setting of the sun, and may peace never come to you!"
The vision ended and Marc erupted in horror and rage. He yells "She is the Lord of Forlorn and this is one of her evil delusions. Kill her!" The heroes ignore Marc's statement and attack him, the misty figure flows through him and then moans in despair. The mercenaries fled the room, dropping their weapons on their way out. Seglun joined them in retreat. Ralom and Varrid flanked the last mercenary in the hallway and dispatched him apace. In the Audience Chamber the battle was more fierce. Marc attacked Baru and sank those fangs into Baru's neck, drinking his fill. Grunyar fired bolts aplenty at the now known undead Marc, as Arvien hasted the party. Using magic against Marc was much more difficult as he seemed to shrug off those attempts. Drovic used lightning arc effectively but Arvien's magic was for nought. Baru healed himself during the battle and the ghostly figure kept up her attacks. After a protracted battle, Marc finally fell to the floor, his body dissipating as mist. The ghostly figure also left the room.
Seglun returned suggesting that they head to the dungeons again for more loot. Baru and Ralom were trying to determine what the hell was going on. Was this one lord or only this time's manifestation. Was the monster really dead? Surely not! Maybe he is in the dungeons Arvien added. So at last the party headed south to go back to the dungeons. There was a door at the south end of the hallway that they had not been through before. It lead to a familiar hallway, this was where the guest room they stayed in was located. Also the barred door was here. Seglun headed to the middle door which hadn't been opened yet. From inside the barred room a voice cried out, "Father! How could you?" Varrid used her X-ray vision to peer inside, there were two ghostly figures, one a young man whose body was lopped off at the waist, the other an apparently teen aged male whose skin is bloated with dark veins that showed quite clearly. His hair was matted, his clothing torn and dirty, with bloodstains on the from of his chest and the plain druidic kilt he wears. His left side appears to have been burned, patches of exposed scalp, soot on the skin and partially burned clothing. The spirit flies directly through the barred door, into and through Arvien and through the north tower's door. Varrid tried to follow the spirits in the tower but the stone blocked her vision. Arvien hit the floor with a thud.
DM's Notes: The party earned 1,000 XP for the night and now have 51,785 XP. With another 1,215 XP they will reach 7th level.
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