When the party
emerged from the caverns beneath the Tor, they were greeted with a
welcome sight: Toly, who had been lost in an enchanted pool guarded
by malevolent dire corbies, had materialized not far from the
entrance and found his way back to the surface. Spike was laid under
the earth to await judgment day. After several days of resting
healing, the adventurers and their men-at-arms descended again into
the caverns, intent upon discovering what had happened to the waters
of Piledup. Exploring further in the caves, they encountered and
slew a band of warbling batrachians, though they sustained losses in
doing so- Milo and Toly were struck down by the creatures claws and
jaws. Milo being a particularly valuable and pious hireling, Fray
decided to pray to Saint Martin of Tours to resurrect him. The saint
heard Fray's pleas and was merciful. A column of angelic light shone
upon Milo's body amidst the darkness and dripping stalactites of the
caverns, and he was returned to life. The group pressed on through
the winding caves and came upon an underground river. They followed
it upriver and found a great cavern of crystals and strange fungi.
Among the latter were large violet pulsating toadstools which emitted
a shrieking sound when exposed to torchlight.
A voice from
nearby implored the explorers to douse their flame, lest the
toadstool's shrieks should attract the unwanted attention of
creatures dwelling in the dark places of the world. The source of
the admonition proved to be a xvart boatman named Gog who plied the
underground river, overseeing the fungus beds of the Wizard of the
Tor, Alarbus. Cruum informed the creature that the wizard had died
by his hand, and that the dwarf was now the Tor's new master. He
further inquired as to the river's source and origin. Gog responded
that xvarts had dug a tunnel northward to siphon off the waters from
Piledup's aquifer in order to irrigate the beds of fungus which
Alarbus had been cultivating for his experiments. The adventurers
bid Gog farewell and decided to leave the caverns and report their
findings to the master of Piledup.
After returning
to the town and receiving their reward from the master, the party was
approached in the local tavern by a man named Martin. He identified
himself as an agent of the Iron Tower, the oldest and most prominent
magical school in all of Aglarron. His mission, he claimed, had been
to locate the slayers of Alarbus and mete out the Tower's justice,
but he confessed that he had other goals and felt that these brash
wizard-slayers could be of more use to him alive than dead. He
related to the party that of late he had been part of a company of
Tower agents decimated by a powerful entity which had long been
suspected dormant- one Ix, a powerful sorcerer and child of the great
sorceress, Rionach Dihada. Desiring to uncover why Ix once more
walked abroad, Martin proposed an exploration of the mage's old
demesne, a crumbling keep which lay deep within the Forest Caladon.
After mulling it over briefly, the adventurers pledged their swords
to Martin's cause in the hopes of gleaning some treasure from the
ruins. Cruum hired three men of Piledup, burly mining folk who wished to put aside their picks and seek adventure and glorious death.
They trekked forth over the plains and into the great forest,
a journey of just over two weeks. On the fifteenth day of their
quest, they heard a commotion ahead in the forest. They took cover
beneath the roots of a great tree, narrowly avoiding a patrol of
hobgoblins, marching off to some godless purpose. Ambushing the
creatures was discussed but decided against. That night, as camp was
made, Martin went off alone into the forest, instructing that no one
follow him. Later in the evening, the camp was visited by Angbor
McKenzie, an elderly druid of bitter disposition who resented the
intrusion of Christians into his forest. Fray attempted to convert
the aged pagan, who met the suggestion of abandoning the Old Ways
with scorn and derision. He slouched back into the dark of the wood,
muttering curses against Christians.
The next morning,
Martin returned and the party made for the keep. They found it to be
tumbledown affair, uninhabited for 108 years, ever since the combined
might of the Iron Tower and Phillip II's armies
had driven its
master out. It consisted of three walls and three towers arranged in
a southward-pointing triangle enclosing the keep. As they approached
the keep, the party was halooed by a woodsman who identified himself
as Edulf. He bore a great two-handed sword with a black blade, and
implored the adventurers to abjure the keep altogether or to let him
aid them in its purification. The party agreeably welcomed him into
their midst. After crossing the fallen drawbridge into the
gatehouse, the party was ambushed a horrible creature with a body
like a serpent and two great, bony claws. Strange vibrations emitted
from the beast, causing intense discomfort in the spinal columns of
spellcasters, causing them great grief and rendering them unable to
cast spells. Fray was brought low by the creature's claws before it
could be slain by the combined might of Cruum's blade and arrows
launched by Fray's hirelings. Martin attempted to administer a
healing draught to Fray, but after this failed, he enlisted Cruum's
help in porting the deathly wounded cleric to a nearby hut. Here
dwelt a beautiful witch named Phoebe, Martin's lover. She was able
to heal Fray, who immediately attempted to convert her. She was
quite upset with Martin for having brought anyone, much less a
cleric, to her hut. His attempts to impress the necessity of doing
so upon her were in vain.
Returning to the
keep, the party ascended the first tower over the gatehouse. At the
top they found a laboratory, and within in a small devil-like
creature imprisoned within a ring of salt. It promised to lead them
to great treasure if they were only to free it, but they ignored its
cajolings, reasoning that nothing with such an appearance could have
anything but mayhem on its mind. Descending the tower and entering
the bailey, the troupe discovered the main keep, a ruined workshop,
and another outbuilding. Exploring the outbuilding first, they found
only an abandoned dining hall, an empty stables, and a kitchen
infested with some kind of olive colored slime which dripped down
from the ceiling upon them. Exploring the main keep, the party found
within the great hall a fountain in the shape of three gargoyles.
Within the fountain was a gelid ochre substance which suddenly reared
up and attacked. Fray was nearly struck down once more, but he
successfully propositioned St. Vitus to intercede and cure his wounds
before they could lay him low. After the jelly was destroyed, a
large iron key was found within the fountain bed.
Finding nothing
else within the keep, the party resolved to explore the towers. The
north-west tower was first addressed. Within it were two olwbears,
creatures of the wood who made their home here. The adventurers
surprised the monsters, and Martin revealed his training in the
killing arts, slaying one of ursine beasts instantly. The other was
brought low by the combined might of Cruum and his companions. Also
in the tower were found a magic mirror which none dared to peer into,
and a library in which roosted a clutch of firebats. In the highest
chamber of the tower was found a beautiful door attached to a
freestanding wall. It looked to have been transported from another
building. The door was hewn of wood, painted deep blue, and banded
with gold etched with wiry intricate runes of obscure meaning.
Martin worked a bit of his magic upon the runes and informed the
others that the door served as a means to "walk
to many places and times, the earth in many colors, and innumerable
spheres." This was intriguing, but none in the company had a
key which would function upon the door. It was resolved to explore
the last tower.
The
first floor of the north-eastern tower was given over to the storing
of arms and armor. Within was found a suit of exquisite plate mail
with shield and shining sword, all of which animated and attacked.
After the three items were destroyed, the armor was searched and
within was found a large key of unknown, rainbow colored metal. At
the top of the tower was discovered Ix's former quarters, which had
been despoiled by time and the elements. Fray noticed something
shining with a bird's nest, an iron ring set with a shining ruby.
After he announced his observation to all present, Edulf gave a loud
whistle, grabbed the ring, and leapt from a nearby window. Cruum ran
to the window in time to see the perfidious woodsman born aloft in
the claws of a beast with the body of a great eagle and the head of a
stag. Cruum ordered his hirelings to fire arrows at the beast. Two
pierced its body, upsetting its flight and causing its charge to drop
his great two-handed sword into the forest below. Martin was
incredibly distraught at having lost an important clue to an apparent
agent of the enemy. When Cruum dared to mock the magician-assassin
for his failure, Martin cast sleep upon the dwarf, though he
immediately apologized to the others for his rash behavior. When
Cruum awoke, he tormented the magician further, insinuating that
perhaps the blackguard had already found his way to Phoebe's hut.
Martin immediately traveled thence, and Fray went along. Phoebe
turned out to be fine, much to Martin's relief, and the two shared a
kiss, doing much to dispel Fray's initial apprehension that the two
were siblings. As Martin and Fray walked back to the keep, Fray
questioned the magician about his personal beliefs and his love of a
witch. Martin affirmed his devotion to God, but owed that he
believed that such women as Phoebe were not the evil that the Iron
Tower or the church made them out to be. He asked that Fray be
discreet about what he had witnessed. Meanwhile, Cruum and his
hirelings made a thorough search of the forest where the sword fell,
turning up the black blade, which had pierced the loamy floor of the
wood after its fall.