Harrowstone Two
Before the party leaves Vesoriana's room, they ask about Petros Lorrimor - Ves felt him on the prison grounds, several weeks ago, and then just inside the prison a few days after that - and on his third visit, he was slain by a spell cast by an old man, bald and with a hook-nose, wearing armor either made of bone, or stylized to look as such. The man then directed several of his associates to topple one of the Harrowstone Gargoyles from the roof onto Petros' head, crushing his jaw, before his team captured V's husband and left.
Hmmm.
The rest of the main level is investigated, and a secret room with five labeled items is discovered - each item corresponding to one of the malevolent spirits which assails Vesoriana:
Well. Our Heroes, after a brief strategy discussion, decide to head upstairs first. They encounter a ghostly Piper, who animates several skeletal inmates and summons a swarm of stirges; the party dispatches the skeletons, and the spirit, rather handily.
Most of the rest of the upper floor is empty, save for the mess hall (with a haunt of rotten and repugnant food, which nauseates a few of Our Heroes), and an empty cell containing a skeleton wrapped in chains. Perplexed (Vesoriana reported two spirits in the upper level, and the party has only dispatched one), Nod heads to the roof, followed by Vig, and then by Torvan. Moving around on the ruined beams and precarious tiles of the roof Torvan slips, and falls - apparently to his death, on the floor below!
Here our narrative must bifurcate. Torvan's experience is that of death, and then being Raised from the Dead by a friendly priest in Sandpoint months later. The Sandpointian priest soon seems to become a figure of horror, as Torvan struggles with the spirit, struggles for the safety and sanctity of his very soul.
The rest of the Party sees Torvan wrapped in ghostly chains similar to those found in the property room below. They also, each in their own way, attempt to help Torvan in his struggles...
And, are ultimately successful. Torvan is shaken, but harmed only spiritually; the party has put down two of the five spirits that haunt Harrowstone prison.
And so on to the basement! I'm sure that the basement of a haunted prison will be a delightful journey into the best of Varisian architecture and - dare I hope - perhaps an occasion of mid-century Varisian Mosaic works?
No. No, those are vain hopes, and the basement level of Harrowstone are a sepulchral horror. The party finds a pit leading down, with broken machinery where once was a lift to raise and lower heavy objects or particularly bound prisoners; Nelson is a tricky challenge in the descent but eventually all stand in a partially collapsed chamber, ankle-deep in black chill waters as they consider what lies before them. Torches and lights burn with half as much light, and the mood is oppressive and anguished.
Oubliette: noun, a secret dungeon with access only through a trapdoor in its ceiling.
The Heroes move deeper into the dungeons, and are confronted with the Northern Oubliettes, the Southern Oubliettes, or the Cells and Torture. They are labelled "Reaper's Hold", "Hell's Basement", and "The Nevermore" to add to the levity and whimsy one typically finds in areas such as this. Moving north the party feels resonant terrors of this kind of prison:
Oh my. Our Heroes are shaken by this, each in their own way, but resolve to press on. They are not yet actually imprisoned in a pit, they realize, and while it is dark, and oppressive, they have each other, friends and friendships forged in battle, tempered by sharing experiences such as this.
Nothing moves, in the Northern Oubliettes - neither alive, nor undead. The Party continues on.
The prison cells are also as still as a tomb. A tomb is exactly what it is - cells with burnt skeletons line each of the walls, and Our Heroes in their (so far) brief adventuring careers have experienced enough already to realize that when the tomb is as still as a tomb, that is the more pleasant of the alternatives.
A door labeled 'Torture' is investigated and opened, and behind it is a kitten sanctuary, filled with purring small felines and soft cushions. A lute and harp duo play soft music, while light refreshments are offered.
No. No, instead a burning headless skeleton attacks the party with a battleaxe, while behind it a fiend that can only be the Lopper rushes insubstantially at The Party! Soon these two foes are joined by the Mosswater Marauder, also incorporeal with his terrible hammer, flanked and orbited by several floating skulls, and finally the Splatter Man, another incorporeal foe who wields terrible magics.
Kendra falls. Nod falls. Our heroes are on the verge of being defeated by these terrible undead foes but somehow pluck the eyeball of victory directly from the face of defeat, as if they were crows on a battlefield....
Oh, I am sorry for that metaphor. I believe the dread and excruciating nature of this place has seeped into my soul, somewhat. My apologies. It is a hard battle but Our Heroes eventually dispatch their foes.
The torture room is - well, unpleasant. Grisly implements of pain, cages and chains hanging from the ceiling and the walls, a grim iron maiden decorated with the face of a tormented woman, and a skeleton in a tattered guard's uniform strapped to a stretching table in the center of the room. The skeleton has a ring of keys inside its pelvis, and an oval disk of metal inserted into its shattered jaw; this is the warden, his remains a silent testament to the pain of his final hours. His severed hands are animated but easily shattered and dispatched.
Our Heroes return the badge and keys to Vesoriana, who sighs, stops weeping, and then exhales sharply. She turns to the party, smiles slightly, and expresses her thanks - and there is a feeling of relief as the oppressive horror of Harrowstone lifts, leaving only the feeling of age and ruined structures.
Vesoriana starts to fade, but turns to Kendra - they appear to have a silent conversation, after which Kendra nods, once, and says "Yes, I accept," upon which Vesoriana fades out. Kendra reveals that Vesoriana has asked if she can accompany Kendra as one of her haunting spirits, and then smiles, saying it's like having a sister, but one inside of her, or one guiding and advising her.
The party leaves Harrowstone and returns to Sandpoint that same day, arriving just after suppertime. It has been a long day.
Hmmm.
The rest of the main level is investigated, and a secret room with five labeled items is discovered - each item corresponding to one of the malevolent spirits which assails Vesoriana:
- A bloodstained Handaxe. This +1 handaxe belonged to The Lopper, a serial killer who delighted in blood and decapitation.
- A Collection of holy symbols. This set of chains and holy symbols from a variety of Gods was owned by Father Charlatan, who would pose as a clergyman of whatever God seemed most appropriate to rob and deceive the innocent.
- A moldy Spellbook. This book was owned by The Splatter Man, a mage whose love for power and arcane knowledge drove him insane, leading him to violent act upon violent act before his capture and imprisonment. Upon choosing his victim, he would write that person's name on a wall of their house, over the course of successive nights, until the name was fully spelled out and the Splatter Man would perform his bloody acts.
- A smith's Hammer. This silver hammer belonged to The Mosswater Marauder, a dwarf who killed his wife in a pique of jealousy, and then, driven insane by his pain and guilt and longing, would go on to kill 2 score more people - each by blows to the head, in an attempt to find the missing piece from his dead wife's skull.
- A tarnished silver Flute. The Piper of Illmarsh had a love of stirges. To feed his flying friends, he would pipe them into a village and encourage them to feast on the villagers, until all were dead.
Well. Our Heroes, after a brief strategy discussion, decide to head upstairs first. They encounter a ghostly Piper, who animates several skeletal inmates and summons a swarm of stirges; the party dispatches the skeletons, and the spirit, rather handily.
Most of the rest of the upper floor is empty, save for the mess hall (with a haunt of rotten and repugnant food, which nauseates a few of Our Heroes), and an empty cell containing a skeleton wrapped in chains. Perplexed (Vesoriana reported two spirits in the upper level, and the party has only dispatched one), Nod heads to the roof, followed by Vig, and then by Torvan. Moving around on the ruined beams and precarious tiles of the roof Torvan slips, and falls - apparently to his death, on the floor below!
Here our narrative must bifurcate. Torvan's experience is that of death, and then being Raised from the Dead by a friendly priest in Sandpoint months later. The Sandpointian priest soon seems to become a figure of horror, as Torvan struggles with the spirit, struggles for the safety and sanctity of his very soul.
The rest of the Party sees Torvan wrapped in ghostly chains similar to those found in the property room below. They also, each in their own way, attempt to help Torvan in his struggles...
And, are ultimately successful. Torvan is shaken, but harmed only spiritually; the party has put down two of the five spirits that haunt Harrowstone prison.
And so on to the basement! I'm sure that the basement of a haunted prison will be a delightful journey into the best of Varisian architecture and - dare I hope - perhaps an occasion of mid-century Varisian Mosaic works?
No. No, those are vain hopes, and the basement level of Harrowstone are a sepulchral horror. The party finds a pit leading down, with broken machinery where once was a lift to raise and lower heavy objects or particularly bound prisoners; Nelson is a tricky challenge in the descent but eventually all stand in a partially collapsed chamber, ankle-deep in black chill waters as they consider what lies before them. Torches and lights burn with half as much light, and the mood is oppressive and anguished.
Oubliette: noun, a secret dungeon with access only through a trapdoor in its ceiling.
The Heroes move deeper into the dungeons, and are confronted with the Northern Oubliettes, the Southern Oubliettes, or the Cells and Torture. They are labelled "Reaper's Hold", "Hell's Basement", and "The Nevermore" to add to the levity and whimsy one typically finds in areas such as this. Moving north the party feels resonant terrors of this kind of prison:
A stench, first, of fear, old sweat, and blood. Next a sound of dripping water and the occasional moan of another wretched soul. But these are distractions from the crushing sense of hopelessness; your life is now the pit, and will be only the pit, forever. All you know is this circular pit, too small to stretch out in, and dark, dark, dark, except for those few moments when food and water are lowered down to you, and your old buckets raised up. You always surrender your buckets, for if you do not then the pit is allowed to fill with water. Always the dark, the cramped space, and the ALONE. Dark. Cramped. Forever.
Oh my. Our Heroes are shaken by this, each in their own way, but resolve to press on. They are not yet actually imprisoned in a pit, they realize, and while it is dark, and oppressive, they have each other, friends and friendships forged in battle, tempered by sharing experiences such as this.
Nothing moves, in the Northern Oubliettes - neither alive, nor undead. The Party continues on.
The prison cells are also as still as a tomb. A tomb is exactly what it is - cells with burnt skeletons line each of the walls, and Our Heroes in their (so far) brief adventuring careers have experienced enough already to realize that when the tomb is as still as a tomb, that is the more pleasant of the alternatives.
A door labeled 'Torture' is investigated and opened, and behind it is a kitten sanctuary, filled with purring small felines and soft cushions. A lute and harp duo play soft music, while light refreshments are offered.
No. No, instead a burning headless skeleton attacks the party with a battleaxe, while behind it a fiend that can only be the Lopper rushes insubstantially at The Party! Soon these two foes are joined by the Mosswater Marauder, also incorporeal with his terrible hammer, flanked and orbited by several floating skulls, and finally the Splatter Man, another incorporeal foe who wields terrible magics.
Kendra falls. Nod falls. Our heroes are on the verge of being defeated by these terrible undead foes but somehow pluck the eyeball of victory directly from the face of defeat, as if they were crows on a battlefield....
Oh, I am sorry for that metaphor. I believe the dread and excruciating nature of this place has seeped into my soul, somewhat. My apologies. It is a hard battle but Our Heroes eventually dispatch their foes.
The torture room is - well, unpleasant. Grisly implements of pain, cages and chains hanging from the ceiling and the walls, a grim iron maiden decorated with the face of a tormented woman, and a skeleton in a tattered guard's uniform strapped to a stretching table in the center of the room. The skeleton has a ring of keys inside its pelvis, and an oval disk of metal inserted into its shattered jaw; this is the warden, his remains a silent testament to the pain of his final hours. His severed hands are animated but easily shattered and dispatched.
Our Heroes return the badge and keys to Vesoriana, who sighs, stops weeping, and then exhales sharply. She turns to the party, smiles slightly, and expresses her thanks - and there is a feeling of relief as the oppressive horror of Harrowstone lifts, leaving only the feeling of age and ruined structures.
Vesoriana starts to fade, but turns to Kendra - they appear to have a silent conversation, after which Kendra nods, once, and says "Yes, I accept," upon which Vesoriana fades out. Kendra reveals that Vesoriana has asked if she can accompany Kendra as one of her haunting spirits, and then smiles, saying it's like having a sister, but one inside of her, or one guiding and advising her.
The party leaves Harrowstone and returns to Sandpoint that same day, arriving just after suppertime. It has been a long day.
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