Introduction
After successfully defeating, though not killing, Duraak Voraxtor and all of his lycanthrope allies, the adventurers return to Aragentrium to recover and heal. The people of Aragentrium treat them well and they will live, for about three weeks, free of charge on good food and drink. Messages are sent north and east, to all of the towns which used to trade with Aragentrium, stating that the mines are now safe and ready to be opened for business again. Within a week, families of Humans and Dwarves begin arriving in wagons loaded with mining and building supplies and equipment. The families quickly begin the task of rebuilding the town and opening the still-lucrative mines.
During their few weeks of recovery, the adventurers make a few journeys into the nearby wilderness, seeing some excitement. They find nothing but normal creatures and some signs that a small number of trolls or ogres have recently passed through the area. They continue to search, but find no other signs of danger. The adventurers will quickly tire of the situation, and they will eventually state their need to be moving on. During this time, however, winter will take firm hold and the mountain passes will become completely blocked.
Winter in Aragentrium is brutal with icy winds lashing down from the frozen tundra to the north and deep snows. There is little to do save keep inside and stay warm. The inn, which saw some expansion in the last few weeks before winter closed its icy fist around the town, becomes the focus of the town's activity. To ward off boredom, the townsfolk and PC's play numerous games; each of the adventurers, if not already knowing it, will gain the nonweapon proficiency: Gaming, but with a -3 penalty until they spend a nonweapon proficiency slot on it because of the low-stakes nature of townsfolk games. Characters with gaming proficiency will be able to pick up 20+2d10 gp in games from throughout the long winter.
In the early spring, as soon as the passes open again, new caravans will arrive with an influx of new workers and a few adventurers who only recently got the word about monstrous incursions in the lands of Aragentrium. The new arrivals will, of course, wish to join the bold party who faced down a vampire and his werewolf minions.
As a final gift to the adventurers for their courage and skill, the people of Aragentrium give each of them the choice of a fine-quality light war horse or RidingBeast as well as the necessary tack, harness, and pack saddles. New additions to the party will not be so gifted and will have to buy their mounts.
Travel to Southern Lands
Properly outfitted and supplied with a week's worth of traveling rations, the adventurers head south seeking the warmer climate and richer adventuring opportunities of the Lands surrounding Taal Immerisan, the Sea of Splendor.
The southern road out of Aragentrium gradually degrades over the course of the first few days, until the adventurers find themselves in the frontier wilderness of northern Ghaan. The terrain includes some scrub land and few areas of open grasslands and ranges from dense forest, to wooded hills, to sparse mountain highlands.
They've been paralleling a range of mountains, the DragonMist Mountains, and have been consistently heading in a southerly direction. None of the adventurers have ever been in this area before and they will have to trust to the Direction Sense of the Elven members of the party to maintain their southerly course. Luckily, the weather is good and will hold for most of the journey. They will meet with only a few random wilderness encounters until the beginning of the third week; encounters are checked for twice during the day and three times at night with a 1 in 10 chance of an encounter occurring.
Daytime Encounter Table (roll d100)
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Herd Animals |
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Hobgoblins |
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Gnolls |
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Badger, Giant |
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Bear, Black |
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Bear, Brown |
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Centaurs |
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Goblins |
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Orcs |
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Wolf |
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Stirge |
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Owl, Giant |
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Thuraakh |
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As they should suspect from the nature of the encounter, especially dragonfear at such a tremendous range, the red dragon is an immense Great Wyrm. Lord Thalarianus, as the mighty beast is called, is the undisputed ruler of the northern DragonMist mountains and should the adventurers be so foolish as to try and confront him, he will destroy them without a shred of mercy.
Though they will see signs of many more, any encounters with the barbarian clans or the Dwarven Highlanders of this area will be with small hunting parties of six or less.
At the end of the second week, they will be tired and hungry. Their food stores will have run out and they will have been living off the land for an entire week. They will be moving into the less wooded area of northern Cauthax. It will soon become obvious that this region was once inhabited, but little of that past inhabitancy remains. Wars with Nosk invaders over the past 50 years have driven away or destroyed all of the towns and hamlets that once flourished in this fertile land.
The adventurers will pass the ruins of two small villages both of which have been long-since abandoned by their original inhabitants and overgrown.
The first village consists of a dozen small stone houses, open to the sky where thatched roofs have rotted away. One building is infested with 18 giant rats (AC 7; MV 12; HD ½; hp 4 each; THAC0 20; #Att 1; Dmg 1d3; SA 5% chance per bite of disease; Ml 3; XP 15). A second building is now the home of a giant spider (AC 4; MV 3, Wb 12; HD 4+4; hp 28; THAC0 17; #Att 1; Dmg 1d8; SA Poison (2d12 damage, save for half); Ml 13; XP 420), careful inspection around this house will reveal the desiccated corpses of several goblins. Additionally, a small pack of 4 starving Ghouls (AC 6; MV 9; HD 2; hp 10, 13, 12, 10; THAC0 19; #Att 3; Dmg 1d3/1d3/1d6; SA Touch causes paralysis; Ml 12; XP 175) haunts the village's rather expansive cemetery. Inspection of the tombstones will reveal that most of the inhabitants died in the same month of the same year, some 27 years ago, in 5,055VE.
The second village is even smaller, barely qualifying as a settlement let alone a hamlet, a mere eight tumbled down structures that might have once been houses. When the characters arrive, they will find a fire burning in a fire pit surrounded by a number of large boulders and a deer roasting above the fire on a spit sending out a delicious aroma noticeable from quite a distance to characters with outdoor survival skills/nonweapon proficiencies.
Numerous muddled footprints encircle the fire pit but no creatures are in evidence; even a ranger will be unable to determine the nature of the creatures leaving the footprints other than to determine that they weren't humans.
Closer inspection of the boulders will reveal that ten out of a total of eighteen are not, in fact, boulders at all. The false boulders are actually ten Gnolls (AC 6; MV 9; HD 2; hp 13, 10, 9, 8, 10, 7, 10, 6, 9, 13; THAC0 19; #Att 1; Dmg 2d4 (weapon); Ml 11; XP 35) hiding beneath boulder-shaped, cloth-covered wooden frames. Without touching the surface, there is only a 1 in 10 chance of determining whether a boulder is real or not. If found out, the Gnolls will immediately attack trying for as much surprise as possible. If the players are foolhardy enough to begin eating the deer (they will be hungry and it does smell delicious) without first thoroughly checking the area, they will immediately be attacked from behind by the nearly-silent Gnolls.
Between them, the Gnolls are carrying 2866sp and 20 gems (3 X 10gp, 7 X 50gp, 5 X 100gp, 5 X 500gp). The leader of the Gnolls is also fighting with a short sword +1, Dwarven-made with the runes of Strength carved into the blade.
The roasted deer is perfectly safe to eat and should provide a welcome meal if the adventurers manage to kill or drive off the Gnolls.
At the beginning of the third week, the adventurers will be well within the northern border of Cauthax and will encounter Lord Ehrnas Rowanwood. They will find him and his horse lying injured along the path they've been following. Though seriously injured himself, Lord Rowanwood will be tending to his horse, using the last of his healing salve as the characters approach.
He won't ask for assistance, but it is obvious that if he doesn't get some help that he will die. It is equally obvious that he is a man of considerable means and thoughts of reward should be lurking in the back of the adventurers minds.
If the adventurers help him, he will be very grateful and will graciously offer to put them up in his home for the night (or longer) to recover from their travels. As a highly skilled rider and trainer, he will point out to the adventurers that their mounts are nearly done in. He will likewise offer to have his groom tend to the minor injuries of their mounts.
If the adventurers ask him what he was doing, he will tell them he and two of his companions have been hunting a particularly large Thaar which has been preying on his prized horses. The three men had ridden out to slay the beast, but instead were ambushed by it. The creature mauled Lord Rowanwood and bit his horse, injecting its deadly poison, before being driven off by his two companions. Lord Rowanwood urged his companions to chase the Thaar rather than stop for him and they followed the beast deeper into the hills to the east.
When healed, Lord Rowanwood will head off in the direction he claims his friends went. Again, he will not ask the adventurers for help.
If they follow him, they will find that the two companions of Lord Rowanwood have cornered the huge Thaar (AC 4; MV 24; HD 8+8; hp 55; THAC0 19; #Att 5; Dmg 2d6/4x1d4; SA Poison (2d20 damage, save for half); Ml 16; XP 4000) in a small arroyo. It is injured, down to 34 hit points, but enraged. The two hunters have been keeping it a bay with war dogs and missile weapons. The bloody, torn-open bodies of four huge black war dogs lie in a semicircle before the vicious creature. If further damaged, and taken below 15 hit points, the Thaar will attempt to break free by rushing straight out of the arroyo pausing only to maul whoever is unfortunate enough to be in its path.
If the PC's aid in killing the Thaar, they can share in the experience points. If the beast escapes, Lord Rowanwood will continue to hunt it until he manages to kill it. Upon the death of the Thaar, he will expertly skin the creature, taking the skull and talons as well, before returning to his home with his companions and the adventurers.
House Rowanwood
Situated near the top of a large hill, House Rowanwood is an impressive structure, more like a castle than a mansion, surrounded by excellently maintained gardens and broad horse pastures. Several stables can be seen in the nearby fields and servants quarters are arranged behind the main house. The house may be perceived as having a dark appearance, especially by Lawful Good characters, due to a large number of gothic arches and leering gargoyles, but it doesn't appear actually evil or malevolent.
Near to the house, atop a second, smaller hill, can be seen a circle of black standing stones surrounding a smaller circle of eight ancient rowan trees. If asked, Lord Rowanwood will explain that although he does not know the circumstances of its construction, the circle is what gives Rowanwood its name.
Lord Rowanwood's personal groom will immediately take the horses and riding beasts to the best of the stables and begin to tend to them. Knowing everyone to be exhausted, Lord Rowanwood will have his servants show the characters to their rooms for the night, and invite them for a dinner later. Each room is sumptuous and outrageously decorated, and each bedroom has access to its own privy in which the characters will find a steaming bath already waiting.. Stuffed trophies and skins of all sorts fill every room of the great house; Lord Rowanwood is obviously quite accomplished as a hunter.
However, nothing in any of the rooms can compare with the vast entry hall of the house. Here stands Lord Rowanwood's most prized trophy; an expertly stuffed and displayed green dragon. The great emerald beast is nearly 20' long; impressive but clearly not a Great Wyrm. The dragon is posed amid a jumble of logs and boulders, looking back over its shoulder with its wings raised as if about to take flight.
After refreshing themselves, the characters will find well-made clothing laid out on their beds. Everything will be of a style similar to what they were wearing but it will be of exceptionally fine cloth, and everything will fit perfectly.
Then, the adventurers will be taken to the dining room and feast with the Lord and his two companions; Allendar Braithemore and Terellian Wellsmaine. The food is excellent and the wine even more so. During the meal, the three men will regale the adventurers with tales of their hunting expeditions over the face of the world. Terellian will not contribute much to the conversations but will laugh and agree with nearly everything. Though the men are not truly warriors, each is an expert shot with nearly any sort of missile weapon, including a number of magical ones the PC's will not have seen before.
Sometime during the meal, Lord Rowanwood will explain that his wife and children are visiting relatives who own an estate outside the city of Theodoptra which lies a few days journey to the south, on the northern shores of Taal Immerisan on the border between Cauthax and Dhaisoth.
At the end of the meal, as Lord Rowanwood, his friends, and the characters are retiring to the library for drinks, they will be interrupted by one of Lord Rowanwood's gardeners, a sturdy man of middle years named Lorem, who will inform the Lord that there has been a death.
Pausing only to gather lanterns and his prized Magic Missile crossbow, Lord Rowanwood will follow his frightened gardener out into the dark night. As the adventurers might suspect, Lorem nervously leads them straight to the top of the nearby hill and into the circle of stones and trees.
Laying face-down beside a recently excavated 10' hole is the body of Gregar, another of Lord Rowanwood's gardeners. Shears, a scythe, and other gardening implements explain his actions here. Lorem will explain that the he and the other man discovered a series of strange depressions along the top of the mound while mowing. Curious, and suspecting buried treasure, they had begun to dig one of them up. When it began to get dark, Lorem went back to the House for a couple of lanterns while Gregar remained to keep digging. When Lorem returned, he found Gregar dead and ran straight to get the lord of the manor.
If the body of Gregar is inspected, the cause of death will be fairly obvious. Bruises around his throat indicate strangling by some sort of cord or wire. There are no footprints or other indications that there was anyone else on the hilltop but Gregar and Lorem.
At the bottom of the hole, something gleams white.
Further excavation will reveal a skeleton, curled into a fetal position and surrounded by surprisingly well-preserved wild flowers. Humanoid, perhaps four and a half feet tall, with exceptionally long fingers and toes, and a large, almost Elf-like skull, the skeleton is of no creature recognized by the group. About the skeleton's neck is a necklace of beaten gold. Lord Rowanwood will be fascinated and will want to bring the skeleton into his house for display. A creature that no one can identify, yet which is obviously not a hoax, would be a splendid addition to his menagerie of trophies. Nothing anyone says will convince him otherwise.
He will instruct Lorem to bury Gregar in the House Rowanwood cemetery and will return to his house with the skeleton from the hill. He will then place the skeleton on a velvet pillow on a table in the library. Excited, but tired, he will recommend that the PC's get some sleep and asks if they will help him excavate the other depressions in the morning, offering them a share of whatever treasure he might find.
Night at House Rowanwood
During the night several things will happen. One of the characters with a relatively high wisdom will awaken with a 'chill' and happen to peer out of the window late at night. Off in the distance they will see a dim green light flickering in the middle of the standing stones. The ring of rowans are swaying in the wind. Then, they will notice that none of the other trees in the garden or beyond seem to be swaying at all, and will get the feeling that there's something almost conscious about the movements of the trees.
Another character will have a dream during the night. He will dream of a procession of thin, pale, regal-looking women bearing glowing spheres of pale greenish light passing through his room, passing through the door as if it or they were immaterial, and moving on into the hallway.
In the Morning
When they awaken in the morning they notice that Allendar doesn't join them for breakfast. Then Lord Rowanwood mentions that he was up late with Allendar drinking brandy in the library and that when he went to bed a few hours past midnight, Allendar was still there reading. He suggests that Allendar might want to sleep late. Lord Rowanwood is a bit non-plussed by this, but is ready to set out to the wilds of the backyard anyway.
Lorem brings picks and shovels after breakfast and everyone heads out to the burial site. In the middle of the stone circle, there can be found seven more depressions in the ground, spaced evenly in a circle from where the first excavation was made. The digging commences.
In each of the burial shafts they will find a skeleton similar to the one already found by Gregar. It is unlikely that anyone will dig in the shaft which the first skeleton was taken from, but if they do, they will find the mangled body of Allendar there beneath a thin layer of new soil.
It will take most of the day to dig out the shafts. And at noon or so several Rowanwood servants will bring out tables and campaign chairs for a leisurely lunch at graveside. Throughout the day, the pleasant weather will began to darken, and massive dark clouds will be seen gathering on the horizon. Characters with Weather Sense will know that a storm is coming.
Allendar never joins them, and as they prepare to head back to the house, Lord Rowanwood tells a servant to make sure the Allendar is feeling well and have him meet them in the Library. Lord Rowanwood has instructed his carpenter to build a ring of eight ornate platforms to display the skeletons from the hill in the same configuration they were found. He is sure that scholars and trophy hunters from the more civilized lands to the south will come to view them.
When the grisly trophies are gathered in the Library, a servant arrives with the announcement that Allendar is missing, and not only that, but it is clear that he didn't pack up and leave, because his clothes are still there and his bed has not been slept in.
The last place Allendar was seen was in the Library, and a close inspection of the Library will reveal an open book on the floor about migration habits of game animals native to the Great Southern Plains, some dots of blood around it, and the fact that the tiger skin rug which is normally there is missing.
What's Going On?
The grove of rowan trees is an ancient holy place. Each of the eight large trees contains a powerful guardian spirit which can manifest as a young woman (as in the dream above) or can possess and animate non-living flesh (tiger-skin rugs, etc.). These Rowan Spirits will attempt to get the skeletons back, or replace them with new sacrifices, like Allendar.
If they go and dig out the original burial shaft, they will find Allendar's body, mauled as if by a tiger, wrapped in the tiger skin rug from the Library, and garlanded with wild flowers. It may take them a while to figure out to do this, so let them stew and be mystified.
The spirits can only be placated by returning all the skeletons and maintaining absolute silence about their existence. In fact, if they go to re-bury the skeletons they will find that there are now ten holes instead of eight, eight for the skeletons, one for Allendar and one for Lord Rowanwood. The spirits will do all they can to make sure that hole is filled.
Though they cannot be turned and are not affected by spells and weapons, the powers of the Rowan Spirits are limited. They can only operate in darkness. They cannot travel more than 5 miles from the grove. Each spirit can only animate one thing per night.
An animated item, whether a stuffed bear or tiger-skin rug, withstands 25hp of damage and takes only one point of damage from piercing and bludgeoning weapons. Animated predators such as large cats will have three attacks (claw/claw/bite) for d4/d4/d6, other predators will have only one attack (bite) d8. Animated herd animals will have one attack (horns) for d6. The Rowan Spirits will not animate creatures which lack natural weapons or cannot cause physical harm.
When an animated item is destroyed, the Rowan Spirit will appear as a ball of flickering greenish light in which can be seen the face of a young, large-eyed elfin woman with a sorrowful expression darkening her otherwise attractive features. Immediately after being separated from the animated flesh, it will begin to float back towards the circle and will disappear when it enters the circle of trees.
The Second Night
Most likely, by the second night they will either be working on or not have solved the mystery. That night as they sleep, several things may happen. The weather will turn bad and a fierce storm will hit in the late evening. Strong winds, lashing rain, and flashing lightning will help to mask sounds and increase the sense of foreboding.
The same character who saw the rowans swaying the night before will look out the window at midnight and see the Rowan Spirits stepping out of their trees to take the form of young women who then move in a procession towards the house.
Most likely one or more of the characters will be awakened by the sound of pounding and rending as five animated creatures, 2 elk, 2 bears and a gorilla attempt to break into the Library. If approached, the animated creatures will attack anyone attempting to stop them from entering the Library.
Three of the characters will find that the stuffed anaconda or bearskin rug or boarskin bedspread will come to life as they are drifting off to sleep and attempt to attack them and drag them out to the grove.
Someone who is relatively susceptible to such things will be visited by two of the Rowan Spirits who will attempt to seduce him (using the equivalent of a Charm Person spell), take him to the grove, manipulate his mind and will, essentially enslave him, and then send him back to the house to get the skeletons and Lord Rowanwood for them.
Can they save Lord Rowanwood?
The only way to save Lord Rowanwood would be to keep the Rowan Spirits and their animated creatures away from him throughout the second night and then get him away from House Rowanwood immediately in the morning, never to return. In fact, in that situation, the house would have to be permanently abandoned because the Rowan Spirits would keep looking for sacrifices. This is not truly an option as Lord Rowanwood will not abandon his ancestral home.
If they attempt to burn down the grove, they will quickly learn that no uncovered fire will burn within the circle of standing stones. This includes all open sources of fire from normal torches, to flasks of oil, to fireballs. Only covered sources of flame, such as lanterns, will continue to burn.
If they attempt to cut down the rowans, the trees will attack as 10HD Treants (AC 0; MV 12; HD 10; hp 51, 53, 61, 58, 47, 46, 69, 55; THAC0 3; #Att 2; Dmg 3d6; XP 3000) either seeking to strangle the characters with their outermost limbs (like Gregar) or by simply smashing them with larger branches. Though the trees are more firmly rooted than true treants, any tree can reach any spot within the ring of standing stones.
Finally, they could offer someone else in sacrifice, but finding a willing victim is unlikely, and giving an unwilling sacrifice would be inappropriate and will most likely call for alignment changes in the party members.
Unfortunately, Lord Rowanwood has set into motion events which will inevitably lead to his death. If the players protect him from the assault of the animated creatures, he will gather up his weapons and go up to the circle to face the Rowan Spirits on their home ground.
The angry Rowan Spirits will show him the open grave they've prepared for him and show him visions of his wife or children being placed into the hole garlanded with flowers. When he sees this, he will fly into a rage and rush into the circle firing wildly at the trees with his most powerful magic crossbow. The injured trees will retaliate and kill him. His body will be laid into the hole and flowers will materialize around him. Once buried, the trees and Rowan Sprits will cease all hostile activity … even if they were being attacked by the characters. As soon as Lord Rowanwood is buried, all damage done to the trees will immediately heal as they lapse into somnolence again. If the characters continue to attack, they will reanimate and seek to destroy or drive away the characters.
Ending
Upon Lord Rowanwood's death, Terellian Wellsmaine will announce that he is now the executor of the Rowanwood estate and will do whatever is in his power to stop the characters if they attempt to carry off any of the Rowanwood riches. He will, however, gift each player for their service with a leather bag containing 4 pounds of gold coins.
Terellian will then ask the players if they would journey south to Lady Rowanwood in Theodoptra inform her about her husband's death and escort her home to put his affairs in order. He will offer them a second bag of gold each if they agree. Whether or not the characters agree, their mounts will be returned in excellent condition and they will find a week's worth of feed and rations in their saddle bags.
Unknown to the characters, Terellian Wellsmaine is actually a priest of Salsmen named Saarthos who has been sent by his masters who have been making advances into the Theodoptra regions from nearby Nosk and Neoth. The Rowanwood estates are prime real estate for the development of a new temple to Salsmen and the existence of the circle only heightens the value of the property. Saarthos will do nothing to betray his true nature to the adventurers.
Saarthos is greatly pleased that the incursion into the barrow has brought about the death of the rightful lord and saved the priest the effort of killing Ehrnas himself. All that remains is to eliminate the heirs to the Rowanwood estate and any witnesses....
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