Adventure # 4: Tower of Blood

Upon hearing that our heroes encountered agents of the Black Eagle Barony pursuing Avernus in the gnome city of Thresholm, Archduke Stephan Karameikos decided to send his agents on a fact finding mission to Fort Doom. They were to present themselves to his treacherous and deceptive cousin, Baron Wolfgang Von Hendricks, and discover something of Avernus’ history in those lands. What, for instance, had Avernus done to deserve being so ruthlessly hunted, and what greater danger might Avernus pose to the realm?

Sir Kristoff being delayed, the Archduke’s ministers deployed Kerwyn the Mysterious, Father Orekh, and Sir Cavillor, a knight of the realm. In addition, Neon and Bronislaw, two men-at-arms, were sent along for support. Two days away from Fort Doom, the heroes came across a band of men wearing the livery of the Black Eagle Barony and abusing a young woman on the road. Her face was bruised, and they seemed to be preparing to take her away. The heroes intervened, but the young woman was murdered by one of the men before they could save her. Dispatching the villains, the heroes wrapped the woman’s corpse and took it with them to the nearby village of Borja.

People in Borja seemed a sorry, demoralized lot, but they managed to encounter Kaslo, farmer made of sterner stuff that the rest. He explained that their village suffered from the predations of the terrible Lady Secuba who lived in an old, semi-ruined keep nestled deep in the nearby forest. Lady Secuba came to the land a year previous and established herself in the keep. She then began to pay willing villagers for their daughters, who were promised bright futures as handmaidens in her court. The villagers, however, became increasingly disturbed when the girls were never seen again. They began to refuse the Lady Secuba’s offers, and that is when her soldiers began to take their daughters by force. Offering to give them room and board for the night, Kaslo took the heroes back to his home, only to find his daughter missing. The heroes showed Kaslo the body of the girl who died earlier that day, and his grief confirmed their worst suspicions. Kaslo was determined to help the heroes before, but now he offered to personally lead them to Lady Secuba’s keep. That evening the village was attacked by Secuba’s men, but the heroes managed to vanquish them to a man. They also managed to kill a suspicious looking crow that watched them from the rooftops. Hoping that they had killed Lady Secuba’s familiar, they bedded down for the night, determined to make their way to the keep in the morning.

The trip to the keep wasn’t long in distance, but the forest was thick and dark. On the way they were suddenly attacked by wolves. Several of the heroes were wounded, and Kaslo was killed. The brave farmer had done his part, however, getting close enough to the keep for the heroes to find it. What resulted was a full out assault. The heroes attempted to scale the walls surreptitiously, but they were noticed by Secuba’s men and had to fight their way into the heart of the keep.

Badly wounded, they found Lady Secuba in an inner chamber, standing on a balcony overlooking the statue of a hideous, amorphous creature sporting tentacles and multiple beaks and eyes. At the foot of the statue several of Lady Secuba’s servants poured blood onto the statue as she chanted a spell. The heroes attacked. Lady Secuba launched attack spells as Father Orekh, Sir Cavillor, Neon, and Bronislaw fought off her henchmen. Using his magic boots, Kerwyn teleported behind Lady Secuba and attacked her from behind. He missed, and she drew a poisoned dagger and attempted to kill him. Having used all his spells earlier in the day, Kerwyn tackled her off the balcony, and they both fell onto the statue. Her head struck its hard surface, staining it with her blood. At that point, she screamed in pain, as the statue hungrily siphoned off her blood and life energy, leaving nothing behind but a brittle husk and skeleton. Having thus fed, the statue turned flesh and came to life. Drawing the flaming sword of Ixion, Father Orekh leaped into the fray. Together with Cavillor, he vanquished the creature, sending it back to the darkness from whence it came.

Remarkably, they all survived the incident. They searched the keep, found some items of note, and then decided to rest in Borja until they were sufficiently recovered to continue their business in the Black Eagle Barony.