Part VI: Enetring Schloss Caromarc

We hastened along to Schloss Caromarc, home of the former ruler of Vieland, Count Alphon Caromarc.

The castle was actually a set of buildings, built onto rocky outcrops on the side of a gorge, with thundering waterfalls hundreds of feet below. Each building was attached to another by an elegant stone bride.

As we approached the gatehouse, we encountered two large, slavering creatures guarding the way. I have since found out that these big brutes were trollhounds. We didn't know this at the time, and thought that they may just be guardians of the castle, so we did our best not to kill them.

Once the hounds were dealt with, we tried to open the doors to the castle. There was no response to our knocks or calls. It was then that Ferdibrand said he could hear voices on the other side - goblins and trolls.

Suddenly the doors swung open, and three scared looking goblins greeted us, claiming they were slaves to a pair of trolls who had found the castle gatehouse abandoned, and had come in to try to take over the castle.

As the goblins told us their story, two trolls appeared and attacked. They were swiftly dealt with.

We let the goblins go, and they said that the trolls had been prevented from entering the castle due to a "monstrous dog thing". So, we continued over the bridge that connected the gatehouse to the main manor house, and came face to face with the "monstrous dog thing" - a large dog that seemed to have been stitched together from bits of other animals - a golem dog.

We managed to defeat the creature and enter the main house. The place was beautifully decorated, but seemed unlived in. It was as if the owner had stopped living in this building for a week or so. He also seemed to have had guests, as one of the guest rooms seemed occupied. While exploring, we discovered a symbol that belonged to the Whispering Way. The Whispering Way had been there? Why? This couldn't be a coincidence. They had been at Harrowstone Prison, and now here. What was going on? We needed to find the Count, warn him of the approaching mob, and find out why the Whispering Way were here....

Part V: The Trial of the Beast

We started our journey north to Lepidstadt. It was about a hundred miles to travel, so it took us several days. A few days into our journey, we encountered The Crooked Kin - a travelling circus and freak show. They seemed to be having problems, so when we asked if we could help, they said one of their number had wandered away several hours ago and not come back. So, we followed the woman's trail into a nearby swamp. Unfortunately, we found her body, and her killer - a huge phase spider that appeared and attacked us. It was no match for us, though, and we soon killed it.We returned to the Crooked Kin with their fallen comrade. they were very sad, but thanked us for retrieving her body. They then let us travel with them to Lepidstatdt.

We arrived in the city amid great celebration. The Beast of Vieland - a notorious monster who had killed hundreds of people over the past twenty years - had been captured as was to be put on trial and then burned at the stake.

We delivered the books we needed to deliver to Lepidstadt University, and then visited Miss Daramid to give her the last book. Miss Daramid was actually Judge Daramid, an elderly woman who was about to preside over the trial of The Beast. She told us that something wasn't right about the trial, and she had an inkling that the Beast was innocent. She asked us to help the Defence and find out more about the crimes the Beast was reported to have commited.

We met up with Barrister Kaple, the attorney for the defence. He was a thin man, prone to stuttering. He told us that although the Beast had commited hundreds of crimes, the trial was going to focus on his three most recent ones. We were to hurry if we were to find any evidence for the defence, as the trial was starting the following morning.

Before we started our investigations, we had to meet the Beast. He was a monstrous construct, stitched together from bits of man and animal. Although he appeared terrifying, there was something gentle and childlike about him. He seemed to be sad.Our first crime scene was the hamlet of Morast, where the Beast had reportedly slain ten inhabitants. The locals there told us the Beast had been seen carrying dead bodies, but was driven away by the locals and supposedly eaten by a crocodile. We discovered that there were not simple killings here. It seemed as if someone had been body snatching. We found, among other things, a set of surgeons tools hidden in the swamp with a peculiar emblem on them.

The following day, Ichabod and Ferdibrand joined the defence in the court, bringing out the evidence to prove that the Beast was not responsible for the killings. The rest of us tracked down the owners of the surgeons tools. It lead us on a merry chase, but we found that they were bought by a man called Grine, from Vorkstag and Grine's Chymic Works.

However, we had no time to investigate this, as we had to find more evidence for the next crime. In the village of Hergstag, the Beast was accused of killing six children. He was even seen carrying one of the dead children and laughing. Investigation of the village discovered that the children were in fact slain by a wraith-like creature, and the Beast, who had become friends with one of the children, was returning the body to her family.

The court was in shock that day, as Bazak brought in one of the dead children and used Speak With Dead on him. The boy's spirit told the court everything, and how the Beast was innocent.

A few hours after the trial adjourned for the night, a mob stormed the courthouse, demanding that the Beast be brought out and burned. We tried desperately to disperse the mob before they got too violent, but it was the appearance of The Crooked Kin on our side that calmed the mob down.

We had no time to waste. The final crime scene was a mental hospital called Sanctuary that the Beast was accused of burning down. While there we found more evidence connecting Vorkstag and Grine to all of this.

It was time to confront the two alchemists. We broke into their factory at night, and managed to capture Grine - a pale gnome. He was very uncooperative though. However, when we found Vorkstag, we had better luck. He was an evil fey creature called a Skin Stealer. We found a whole wardrobe filled with stolen skins and faces that the creature would wear and duplicate other people. And among the grisly collection we found a huge skin of a monster that could have been mistaken for the Beast.


So, on the last day, we submitted our last pieces of evidence. Vorkstag and Grine were body snatching, and using the Beast as a scapegoat for their crimes. The judges found the Beast innocent and he was free to go.

The townsfolk were furious. They were forming a mob to go after the creature. We had to save him. Before he left, the Beast told us he was going home to see "his father" who lived in Schloss Caromac, a nearby castle.

Could we reach the castle before the mob did and save our new found friend...?

Part IV: The Last of the Criminals

We ventured first into the northern wing where we were attacked by a fiery headless skeleton, and then encountered the third criminal. Up from a deep pit in the centre of the cell block rose the figure of a man wielding an enormous axe. It was The Lopper. His attacks were lethal, almost killing myself and Crimbledon. But our paladin was stronger and was able to dispatch him.

Next was the west wing. It was here we encountered the spirit of the Mosswater Marauder, a sad looking dwarf with several skulls floating near him. Bazak, the dwarf priest, quickly began to destoy the floating skulls, causing the Mosswater Marauder to wail in agony. He was soon destoyed by the rest of us, using our positive energy attacks again.

While in this wing we found the body of the head prison warder. his body was stretched out on a rack, several bones broken, and his hands severed. He had obviously suffered a horrible death from the escaped prisoners. We also found his badge of office, the item that his wife Vesorianna had asked us to find.

The final wing, the southern one, brought us face to face with the most powerful of the criminals - the ghost of The Splatter Man. We first began to see our names being written in blood on the walls. Frantically, we began to destroy the letters as they appeared, trying to erase our names before they were completed.

As the last letter was removed, an unholy howl filled the air, and the ghost of The Splatter Man appeared before us. He was a powerful wizard, and began hurling spells at us. I remembered the mouldy spellbook we had found, the one Skalif was clutching to himself. I snatched it from him and set the book alight with my torch. The Splatter Man screamed in agony as the book burned. As he wailed, the others let loose all the positive energy they could muster up, and soon had the vile spirit screaming into oblivion.

With the five major criminals now destroyed, we headed back to the spirit of the warder's wife. She thanked us, and she said that she could now prevent the minor spirits from leaving the prison forever.

Before she faded from view, she said "Find my husband". And that was it. Harrowstone Prison was now an empty shell. All that remained were the physical reminders of the past.

We headed back to Ravengro. We had only a few days to wait before we were allowed to leave. In that time, we helped Professor Lorrimor's daughter complete her affairs.

With the month in Ravengro over, we made arrangements to head north to the city of Lepidstadt, to deliver the books we were asked to deliver, and to pick up the final monetary part of the Professor's will.

Part III: The First of the Prisoners

As we continued our exploration of the fire-wracked ruins of Harrowstone Prison, we came across the laundry room, where, no doubt, prisoners would spend their time washing clothes. It was here that we encountered the ghost of Vesorianna Hawkin, wife of the prison warder.

She had some terrible news for us. Since the fire, her husband's spirit had been keeping the spirits of the prsioners in check. However, several weeks ago, her husband's spirit had vanished, as if pulled away from the prison. She had desperately tried to take over in controlling the prisoners, but they were too strong for her. She was losing control, and soon the ghosts would be free to escape and wreak havoc across the land. She begged us to destroy the five strongest spirits. And to help us, she directed us to a hidden room that held objects that were dear to the spirits, objects that we could use against them.

So, we first explored the upper floor of the prison, where the non-violent prisoners were kept. Each cell held the remains of a prisoner, each one having died of smoke asphixiation fom the fire of the floors below. The place was made even eerier by the mournful flute music that echoed around the halls. The music came from the ghost of the Piper of Illmarsh. One of the items we had picked up was the Piper's silver flute. Ichabod tried to play it, but was overcome by the spirit of the Piper, and he could not stop playing. Blood began to pour from his eyes, but he still could not stop. Crimbledon eventually managed to rip the flute out of his hands, breaking the curse. We then noticed that the eerie music that had been filling the area had stopped. But suddenly it started up again, and an apparition of the Piper appeared before us. Skalif grabbed the flute and began to play. The spirit thrashed around in pain as he played. While he was distracted, the rest of us attacked him with positive energy attacks. Soon, the spirit of the Piper was destroyed. One down.


The next spirit we encountered was that of Father Charlatan. Ellavorn took out the tangle of holy symbols we had found and held tham up towards the apparition. Again, he reeled from them, and the rest of us could finish him off. Two down.

With the upper floor fully explored, it was time to venture down into the area beneath the prison, where the dangerous and violent criminals were kept. We still had three spirits to defeat - The Lopper, The Mosswater Marauder, and The Splatter Man.

As we entered the charred remains of one of the cell blocks, Skalif was acting strangely. He kept saying that he could see his name written in blood on the walls. He had been affected by the curse that came with a moldy spellbook we had found and that he was carrying. He had become too scared to cast his spells, afraid he may never get them back.

We entered the main hall of the lower prison, and were promptly attacked by the skeletal remains of several of the prisoners. Ichabod took great delight in cleaving the undead with his greatsword.

We were now faced with three wings of the prison. Three wings to explore, and three ghostly prisoners remaining. Three extremely violent ghostly prisoners. We were about to engage in one of our most difficult battles ever...