Curse of Chardros
I have a bit of a messy stash of old Young Kingdoms-related scenarios, as well as various rulebooks and Companion volumes. I've been digging through them to find materials that would make interesting one-off interludes for the new campaign, and I found a really ratty old version of a scenario from, I think, the Elric! GM's screen. So I incorporated it into the series of ongoing events.
Bomilcar's narrative
Jorthan's six month stint as representative of Ilmar in Bakshaan is drawing to a close, and we are packing up ready to return to the northern capital city. We are having a bit of a debate about whether to go by sea or land, when an invitation arrives. Jorthan and companions are invited to the 50th birthday party of one Lord Sternbrow at his castle on the caravan route between Bakshaan and Ilmar. Jorthan has been putting quite a bit of effort into establishing this alternative land route between the two cities as a viable alternative to the sea lanes, which are becoming more dangerous due to ongoing Pan Tang activity. Lord Sternbrow is a minor aristocrat, one of many Jorthan has had to deal with over the last two seasons, but his estate is strategically located. His friendship is worth cultivating, and that makes the decision for us - by land it is. We buy some nice party clothes for the occasion, and then head off.
It's only a comfortable couple of days' ride to the Sternbrow lands, but a storm starts to whip up as we approach. Sir Blanque and Destiny are both worried by this, noting that it doesn't seem entirely normal. By the time we reach the castle gates the winds and rain are howling all around us, and we are grateful to reach shelter. The guards are already half-cut from the ongoing festivities, and wave us inside. Even the presence of a Melnibonean doesn't seem to put a dampener on their spirits.
We are met by Lord Sternbrow's chamberlain, who announces us to the assembled company. Most of them are half way under the table already, and the evening has barely begun. The only person more inebriated than the lord of the manor is his guard captain. We are led upstairs to our apartments to change, and then we come downstairs for the dinner. This is the usual fare, quite well prepared. Plus there's lots of it. Destiny, Sir Blanque and Jorthan sit at the high table (social status...) while Marion and I mingle with the commoners on the lower benches around a load of trestle tables. Everyone is already pretty far gone, and the troubadours are doing their best to cope with the slightly lurid songs and sea chanties favoured by the locals, who are drawn from the higher ranks of the peasantry and fishermen from the Sternbrow holdings.
The room is dominated by a life-sized painting of the illustrious ancestor of the family, Lady Aglarana Sternbrow, servant of Donblas of Law. She is shown against a backdrop of a burning tower, wielding a sword and showing off the severed head of a rather dark-featured man. She has a distinct resemblance to the current lord, with a rather prominent monobrow seeming to run in the family - hence the name, I suppose. Lord Sternbrow pours a libation to the memory of his illustrious ancestor, praising her defence of the realm during the Chaos incursion of two centuries ago, and her destruction of the Pan Tang sorceror Tzimik Marghul; I notice that he bears the very same sword shown in the painting, and it shows no sign of the passage of time. Apparently his birthday coincides with the 200th anniversary of the battle. He boasts that his family was gifted Marghul's lands in perpetuity.
Sternbrow returns to the conversation at the top table, which in his case seems mostly to consist of drunken bragadoccio between himself and his guard captain. His main advisor, a priest of Donblas, seems very willing to engage in conversation with Destiny, which is rather surprising given her Melnibonean heritage. But then again, I suppose this a good chance for the man to have some sort of civilised conversation, which seems to be rather lacking in these parts. The reticence of Lord Sternbrow's young wife is very noticeable in all of this; she is at least half his age, and I gather from various comments made by my eating companions that they have been married for six years, with no sign of any issue. A typical dynastic marriage, then. She barely picks at her food, and seems strained; every time a gust of wind or a blast of rain hits one of the window coverings, she looks up as if half expecting something to happen.
Eventually things wind down, mainly because it seems as though this lot has been drinking heavily since early afternoon. We are upstairs and in bed at around 10.30 in the evening, by my reckoning.
A terrified scream pierces even the noise made by the unnatural storm, and we all rush to the state bedroom of Lord and Lady Sternbrow. Between us and a couple of the more sobre guards, we manage to force the door open. The sight that greets us is entirely unexpected. The lord of the manor is being dragged through the window by a group of what can only be described as ghouls. Horrible leathery, emaciated things pull him onto the adjoining curtain wall and then vanish into the night just as we gain entrance to the room. He seems to be resisting a great deal less than one would expect. His wife is lying on the floor of their chamber, having fainted, and beside her is the still moving corpse of one of the ghouls. It has been cut in half by the Sternbrow sword, which is similarly lying on the floor. The thing glares at us balefully with fiery red eyes; despite its current state it is still somehow horribly alive. It also bears an uncanny resemblance to Lord Sternbrow, with the same prominent monobrow. I hear one of the troopers beside me mutter something about the Sternbrow family curse; "It's all true, then! That Pan Tang sorcerer really did curse the family!"
Destiny tries to pick up the sword, and can barely shift it. By this time, the castle chamberlain has arrived, and we can hear the sounds of a pursuing party being put together downstairs by the less drunken among the guardsmen. The chamberlain suggests that Sir Blanque should try the sword. "I do apologise, my lady," he says to Destiny, "According to family legend, the sword is attuned to Law, and as a Melnibonean you may well be unable to use it." Sir Blanque lifts it easily, and admires its heft and superb balance. [+5 attack and parry, and +3 damage; the bonuses in effect make Sir Blanque a sword master, at least while using this item.]
We quickly arm ourselves, and jump on to our horses, which are ready downstairs. By this time the storm is at full peak, howling like something from hell, which is probably about right. Joined by the two soldiers from upstairs, we gallop off into the night, led by Sir Blanque [critical success on his Ride skill.]
We reach a thicket that seems to be at the centre of the storm, and the strange thing is that in this place, all is silent. A set of low rings is up ahead, with a cemetery of sort off to our left. The two men with us exchange worried glances - "This is the tower of Tzimik Marghul!"
We jump down from our horses, all except one of the guards, whose mount is spooked by the place and is uncontrollable, at least for the time being. [Fumbled ride roll]. There is a gap in the low, overgrown wall of the tower to our left, so we start to file towards it. Destiny heads around to the right in case there is another way into the ruins, with the other guardsman protecting our rear.
Inside, the tower is as you would expect in complete disarray, with rubble and rather nasty plant life strewn about at random. Some of the stone is fused and melted, reminding me of the great fire celebrated in the Sternbrow portrait. The man himself is hiding in a pile of refuse, and makes a grab for Marion, gibbering about wanting to stay here with the rest of his family. She sidesteps his rush and knocks him on the back of the head with the pommel of her dagger; he collapses, mercifully unconscious.
It soon becomes apparent what he meant about the rest of the family, as the monobrow ghouls arrive. Four of them burst out of the ground in the cemetery, and a trapdoor opens in the tower floor; there must be anther half dozen of the things down there. Sir Blanque and the guardsman move to intercept the ghouls from the graveyard, while the rest of us take up position around the trapdoor; at least they will only be able to come through there one at a time. At that moment, Destiny arrives and orders her fire elemental to blast the four ghouls advancing on Sir Blanque and his comrade. Two of the undead things go down, writhing and screaming as the flame engulfs them; the other two are badly hurt, but keep coming. Sir Blanque despatches them with great ease - that sword seems to be really nasty against Chaos. [A Virtuous broadsword, it automatically does full damage to creatures of Chaos]. Sir Blanque also lets off his famous fire flash, which pretty much blinds everyone except Jorthan and myself [another fumble, although Jorthan made a critical DEX roll to avoid its effects]. We eviscerate the ghoul at the top of the stairwell leading downwards, and then finish off a second. That leaves four of them, which retreat into whatever lies beneath.
We all shake ourselves back to our senses and Jorthan takes the opportunity to light a resin firebrand so that we can see what we are doing. I lead the way downstairs, followed by Jorthan and then everyone else. There is a bare earth cellar, with a large statue of some Chaos deity with a scythe, protected by the four ghouls that are still upright. Destiny's elemental clears the way for us and then Sir Blanque finishes them off with that sword of his. It doesn't take long before bits of Ghouls are lying everywhere, although each is still somehow alive.
We wonder what to do about the statue, which Destiny says represents Chardros the Reaper - sounds well nasty to me. She suggests to Sir Blanque that he use the Lawful sword on it, and a couple of swipes sees the thing reduced to rubble. At that very moment, the ghouls disintegrate, and we hear a whispered "Thank you!" as their souls are finally released.
Upstairs, Lord Sternbrow is stirring, and seems to have returned to his normal self. He thanks us profusely for lifting the curse on his family, and gifts the Sternbrow sword permanently to Sir Blanque. "You are a more fitting man to wield it than I," he says, "and I believe that my illustrious ancestor would approve."
[Jorthan's critical DEX roll is well rewarded in the round-up afterwards; the stat increases by a point.]
Bomilcar's narrative
Jorthan's six month stint as representative of Ilmar in Bakshaan is drawing to a close, and we are packing up ready to return to the northern capital city. We are having a bit of a debate about whether to go by sea or land, when an invitation arrives. Jorthan and companions are invited to the 50th birthday party of one Lord Sternbrow at his castle on the caravan route between Bakshaan and Ilmar. Jorthan has been putting quite a bit of effort into establishing this alternative land route between the two cities as a viable alternative to the sea lanes, which are becoming more dangerous due to ongoing Pan Tang activity. Lord Sternbrow is a minor aristocrat, one of many Jorthan has had to deal with over the last two seasons, but his estate is strategically located. His friendship is worth cultivating, and that makes the decision for us - by land it is. We buy some nice party clothes for the occasion, and then head off.
It's only a comfortable couple of days' ride to the Sternbrow lands, but a storm starts to whip up as we approach. Sir Blanque and Destiny are both worried by this, noting that it doesn't seem entirely normal. By the time we reach the castle gates the winds and rain are howling all around us, and we are grateful to reach shelter. The guards are already half-cut from the ongoing festivities, and wave us inside. Even the presence of a Melnibonean doesn't seem to put a dampener on their spirits.
We are met by Lord Sternbrow's chamberlain, who announces us to the assembled company. Most of them are half way under the table already, and the evening has barely begun. The only person more inebriated than the lord of the manor is his guard captain. We are led upstairs to our apartments to change, and then we come downstairs for the dinner. This is the usual fare, quite well prepared. Plus there's lots of it. Destiny, Sir Blanque and Jorthan sit at the high table (social status...) while Marion and I mingle with the commoners on the lower benches around a load of trestle tables. Everyone is already pretty far gone, and the troubadours are doing their best to cope with the slightly lurid songs and sea chanties favoured by the locals, who are drawn from the higher ranks of the peasantry and fishermen from the Sternbrow holdings.
The room is dominated by a life-sized painting of the illustrious ancestor of the family, Lady Aglarana Sternbrow, servant of Donblas of Law. She is shown against a backdrop of a burning tower, wielding a sword and showing off the severed head of a rather dark-featured man. She has a distinct resemblance to the current lord, with a rather prominent monobrow seeming to run in the family - hence the name, I suppose. Lord Sternbrow pours a libation to the memory of his illustrious ancestor, praising her defence of the realm during the Chaos incursion of two centuries ago, and her destruction of the Pan Tang sorceror Tzimik Marghul; I notice that he bears the very same sword shown in the painting, and it shows no sign of the passage of time. Apparently his birthday coincides with the 200th anniversary of the battle. He boasts that his family was gifted Marghul's lands in perpetuity.
Sternbrow returns to the conversation at the top table, which in his case seems mostly to consist of drunken bragadoccio between himself and his guard captain. His main advisor, a priest of Donblas, seems very willing to engage in conversation with Destiny, which is rather surprising given her Melnibonean heritage. But then again, I suppose this a good chance for the man to have some sort of civilised conversation, which seems to be rather lacking in these parts. The reticence of Lord Sternbrow's young wife is very noticeable in all of this; she is at least half his age, and I gather from various comments made by my eating companions that they have been married for six years, with no sign of any issue. A typical dynastic marriage, then. She barely picks at her food, and seems strained; every time a gust of wind or a blast of rain hits one of the window coverings, she looks up as if half expecting something to happen.
Eventually things wind down, mainly because it seems as though this lot has been drinking heavily since early afternoon. We are upstairs and in bed at around 10.30 in the evening, by my reckoning.
A terrified scream pierces even the noise made by the unnatural storm, and we all rush to the state bedroom of Lord and Lady Sternbrow. Between us and a couple of the more sobre guards, we manage to force the door open. The sight that greets us is entirely unexpected. The lord of the manor is being dragged through the window by a group of what can only be described as ghouls. Horrible leathery, emaciated things pull him onto the adjoining curtain wall and then vanish into the night just as we gain entrance to the room. He seems to be resisting a great deal less than one would expect. His wife is lying on the floor of their chamber, having fainted, and beside her is the still moving corpse of one of the ghouls. It has been cut in half by the Sternbrow sword, which is similarly lying on the floor. The thing glares at us balefully with fiery red eyes; despite its current state it is still somehow horribly alive. It also bears an uncanny resemblance to Lord Sternbrow, with the same prominent monobrow. I hear one of the troopers beside me mutter something about the Sternbrow family curse; "It's all true, then! That Pan Tang sorcerer really did curse the family!"
Destiny tries to pick up the sword, and can barely shift it. By this time, the castle chamberlain has arrived, and we can hear the sounds of a pursuing party being put together downstairs by the less drunken among the guardsmen. The chamberlain suggests that Sir Blanque should try the sword. "I do apologise, my lady," he says to Destiny, "According to family legend, the sword is attuned to Law, and as a Melnibonean you may well be unable to use it." Sir Blanque lifts it easily, and admires its heft and superb balance. [+5 attack and parry, and +3 damage; the bonuses in effect make Sir Blanque a sword master, at least while using this item.]
We quickly arm ourselves, and jump on to our horses, which are ready downstairs. By this time the storm is at full peak, howling like something from hell, which is probably about right. Joined by the two soldiers from upstairs, we gallop off into the night, led by Sir Blanque [critical success on his Ride skill.]
We reach a thicket that seems to be at the centre of the storm, and the strange thing is that in this place, all is silent. A set of low rings is up ahead, with a cemetery of sort off to our left. The two men with us exchange worried glances - "This is the tower of Tzimik Marghul!"
We jump down from our horses, all except one of the guards, whose mount is spooked by the place and is uncontrollable, at least for the time being. [Fumbled ride roll]. There is a gap in the low, overgrown wall of the tower to our left, so we start to file towards it. Destiny heads around to the right in case there is another way into the ruins, with the other guardsman protecting our rear.
Inside, the tower is as you would expect in complete disarray, with rubble and rather nasty plant life strewn about at random. Some of the stone is fused and melted, reminding me of the great fire celebrated in the Sternbrow portrait. The man himself is hiding in a pile of refuse, and makes a grab for Marion, gibbering about wanting to stay here with the rest of his family. She sidesteps his rush and knocks him on the back of the head with the pommel of her dagger; he collapses, mercifully unconscious.
It soon becomes apparent what he meant about the rest of the family, as the monobrow ghouls arrive. Four of them burst out of the ground in the cemetery, and a trapdoor opens in the tower floor; there must be anther half dozen of the things down there. Sir Blanque and the guardsman move to intercept the ghouls from the graveyard, while the rest of us take up position around the trapdoor; at least they will only be able to come through there one at a time. At that moment, Destiny arrives and orders her fire elemental to blast the four ghouls advancing on Sir Blanque and his comrade. Two of the undead things go down, writhing and screaming as the flame engulfs them; the other two are badly hurt, but keep coming. Sir Blanque despatches them with great ease - that sword seems to be really nasty against Chaos. [A Virtuous broadsword, it automatically does full damage to creatures of Chaos]. Sir Blanque also lets off his famous fire flash, which pretty much blinds everyone except Jorthan and myself [another fumble, although Jorthan made a critical DEX roll to avoid its effects]. We eviscerate the ghoul at the top of the stairwell leading downwards, and then finish off a second. That leaves four of them, which retreat into whatever lies beneath.
Destiny's fire elemental. She calls it 'Ash'.
We all shake ourselves back to our senses and Jorthan takes the opportunity to light a resin firebrand so that we can see what we are doing. I lead the way downstairs, followed by Jorthan and then everyone else. There is a bare earth cellar, with a large statue of some Chaos deity with a scythe, protected by the four ghouls that are still upright. Destiny's elemental clears the way for us and then Sir Blanque finishes them off with that sword of his. It doesn't take long before bits of Ghouls are lying everywhere, although each is still somehow alive.
We wonder what to do about the statue, which Destiny says represents Chardros the Reaper - sounds well nasty to me. She suggests to Sir Blanque that he use the Lawful sword on it, and a couple of swipes sees the thing reduced to rubble. At that very moment, the ghouls disintegrate, and we hear a whispered "Thank you!" as their souls are finally released.
Upstairs, Lord Sternbrow is stirring, and seems to have returned to his normal self. He thanks us profusely for lifting the curse on his family, and gifts the Sternbrow sword permanently to Sir Blanque. "You are a more fitting man to wield it than I," he says, "and I believe that my illustrious ancestor would approve."
[Jorthan's critical DEX roll is well rewarded in the round-up afterwards; the stat increases by a point.]
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