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DM's Introduction: This scenario had been designed to follow the events portrayed in Scenario A " The Beginning". If you are not using this scenario as a sequel to that, then the DM will have to setup this scenario using his own devises. All that is really required is that the party needs to take a voyage by sea.

Scenario Outline: As the party sails from Arvoria, on the Isle of Onlor, they are attacked by a sea monster. After driving off the beast, their ship must put in for repairs on a nearby island. Upon landing, the party discovers an almost abandoned village. Those left tell of abductions in the night and blame the owner of a sinister tower to the north. Investigation of the tower reveals not the cause of the abductions but a neutral Necromancer who will agree to aid the party. Further investigation, assisted by the Necromancer, will determine the cause of the abductions, an evil spirit and a detestable act. The party must then find the perpetrator of the act and thereby exorcise the evil spirit.

The Situation: On Fermengarr Isle in the Heynosht Archipelago dwell a primitive people of mixed Morakki stock. Some months previous to the party's arrival, a young woman named Kelanni was betrothed to a young tribesman named Varrin. This betrothal angered another young tribesman named Hadulo. Kelanni and Hadulo had been in love for many years and eagerly hoped to be married. Just before Kelanni's betrothal age of 17 years, Hadulo's father was charged with cowardice by the tribe during a raid by sahuagin. Hadulo's family was disgraced, and Kelanni's parents refused Hadulo's offer of marriage, not wanting their daughter to marry the son of a coward. Instead, Kelanni was betrothed to Varrin.

This made Hadulo very angry, and he asked Kelanni to run away with him. But Kelanni refused, not wanting to leave the tribe or anger her parents. Over the next few months, as the wedding neared, Hadulo's pleas became more desperate....and more insistent, and he began to withdraw from tribal life. Once he even beat Kelanni, but she kept silent, fearing him. But Kelanni finally told Hadulo that she did not love him anymore...that she was now truly in love with Varrin.

Finally, about three months before the party arrives, Hadulo snapped. A few days before the wedding, as Kelanni and Varrin walked hand-in-hand along the moonlit shores, Hadulo saw them. He snuck behind and slew Varrin, who screamed out. Then, he raped Kelanni, who was a virginal bride, and as the tribespeople began to approach, used his knife to mutilate her womanhood, so that she would never bear the children of another man. Then he ran north, into the forest.

Kelanni saw the dead Varrin and also saw the blood between her legs, and when she heard the tribespeople rushing towards her, she too snapped, and screamed in shame and despair, for she could now never be a wife or a mother. So Kelanni staggered off into the jungle.

When the tribespeople arrived, they saw Varrin's body and the trail of blood from between Kelanni's legs. But it was dark, and the trail could not be followed. So, the shaman took Varrin's body and Kelanni's blood and, with magic, determined what had happened. Hunters searched for Hadulo, but he was an experienced hunter and was never found.

Likewise, Kelanni was never found, and when even the shaman's magic could not find her, the people assumed she was dead.

But Kelanni was not dead. She wandered blindly through the Jam-Jum Forest and entered the Cudinarn Jungle. There she came upon the Norebo, a spirit of deceit which, when given a body, feeds upon pain, despair, and souls, and grows strong therefrom. And the Norebo whispered to Kelanni that it could avenge her...could make her strong...strong enough to kill Hadulo...or even the tribal elders who had condemned him and his father. The Norebo's whispers were like the calm eye in the tempest that was her mind, and she listened to the Norebo and accepted its vileness into her wracked body...and was possessed.

Over the next three months, the Norebo raided the village, killing some tribesmen as they slept, but taking others back to its lair to torture and to feed. Now, the village of 570 men, women, and children numbers a mere 14 persons...

Part One - Arvoria and the Sea

The ship Jerregobe has hired for the party is called the Gallon's Widow, a cog in decent repair and sporting three well-used ballistae. The captain of the Gallon's Widow is one Heletarsh of Torlune (a small village under the eaves of Western Relum). He is a friend of Jerregobe's, a privy of the Council of White, and a consummate smuggler. The captain will make contact with the party in Arvoria, but will tell them not to approach the ship until nighttime, when the mate will lead the party onboard, out of the watch of prying eyes.

Once the party is aboard, Heletarsh will show them to their place below decks and ask them to stay put until the ship clears port. While the party rests, Jerregobe the White Wizard will appear suddenly, having teleported in. He will praise the party on the success of their trek through the heart of Onlor, such praise tempered by concern and condolences for any losses the party took. He will also, at this time, induct any new party members as agents of the Council of White, providing amulets for them (see Scenario A - The Beginning, for more details) or memory-wiping and teleporting to Algol City those who will not join (i.e. these characters are effectively out of the campaign). The Wizard will also introduce any new party members to replace losses, these having teleported in with him, having proved useful from amongst those citizens ensnared by him during the Maug attack. Such new members will have amulets already.

Jerregobe will also tell the party that they are bound for Vosh-gerr and will hand them a map (this map is a map of Vosh-gerr. Refer to Scenarios C and D for maps of the region). He will then mention that the party is to travel to Pelarth and seek a contact there friendly to the Council of White.

NOTE: If running this scenario as part of a different campaign or without having run scenario A, then ignore the entire encounter with Jerregobe. The party will merely go to the hold and rest.

The Gallon's Widow is a cog, seaworthy with a length of 75' and a beam of 25'. Its base move is 3 mph or 90 yards per round. Emergency move is 4 mph or 120 yards per round. Seaworthiness is 68%, better than most cogs due to improvements made by Heletarsh. Crew numbers 16, including captain, mate, boson, and line crew. Only Heletarsh is an agent of White, though the crew, being smugglers, keep secrets and ask no questions.

All crew speak Common, Heynosht (including V'nartan), and Imperial.

Captain Heletarsh (AL NG; CL F3; AC 5; HP 23; S 16 (0/+1), C 15, D 16 (+1/+2), I 13, W 10, CH 9; #ATT 3/2; D by weapon type; MV 12; Specialized in Shortsword ; NWP direction sense (13), seamanship (17), swimming (16), weather sense (9), navigation (13); Weapons: shortsword, dagger; Armour: studded leather)

Mate (AL CG; CL F1; AC 8; HP 9; #ATT 1; D by weapon type; Weapons short sword; Armour leather; NWP seamanship, navigation, swimming, rope use)

Boson (AL N; CL T1; AC 5; HP 6; #ATT 1; D by weapon type; SA backstab x2; PP 20, OL 20, F/RT 05, MS 25, HS 25, DN 15, CW 90, RL 05; Weapons shortsword, dagger; Armour leather; NWP healing, seamanship, swimming, navigation, rope use)

Crew (AL N; CL 0 level; AC 8; HP 7; #ATT 1; D by weapon type; Weapons shortsword, dagger, short bow; Armour leather; NWP seamanship, swimming, rope use [one crewman has cooking NWP instead of rope use])

KEY TO THE GALLON'S WIDOW:

A. Forecastle:

The forecastle of the ship rises 5' above the level of the Main Deck (area B). Mounted upon a swivel in the centre is a ballista. This ballista has the following characteristics:

ROF 1/3 (1/2 w/ a 3 man crew)
S 120; M 240; L 320
Speed 12
Fires a large iron javelin which does 2D6 to S-M and 3D6 to L

All crew are non-proficient with ballistae and suffer a -2 to hit therefrom. Nearby, in a large basket draped in oilcloth, are 20 javelins. Twelve of these have their rounded heads pierced by a hole 3" in diameter, through which oil-soaked rags may be set alight.

Below the forecastle, via double wooden doors from the Main Deck, is the galley. Steps descend 2' to the galley floor, which is cluttered with pots, pans, a stove and oven (which vent through a porthole), a hammock (for the cook), a sea chest with personal possessions, and six barrels of rum, all chained shut under lock and key. Only the cook has the key, which he also has for his chest and the galley double doors.

B. Main Deck:

Sporting two masts with square sails and webbed with rigging, the Main Deck is crowded with ropes, pulleys, gaffs, chains, et al. A ship's boat is lashed on deck, it being a six man rowboat with two oars and a small mast and sail stowed under the seats. In the centre of the Main Deck is a wooden grill which leads down below deck.

Steps lead down to the below-deck. The walls below deck are actually about 1.5' from the hull. Panels can be removed to allow contraband to be hidden. Astem are the crews' quarters -- a messy miss-mash of bunks, hammocks, a table nailed to the floor, water barrels, and fourteen sea lockers containing crew personal effects. To the rear is space for about 150 tons of cargo. Some of this is taken up by supplies (food, water, tackle, tools, pitch, greek fire, etc.). The rest is half filled with bolts of cloth. In the centre of the hold, a trap door leads down to the bilge -- a wet, smelly place about 3' high and half filled with sea water.

The party will have to sleep down here, and any horses must also be tied here.

C. Sterncastle:

Two sets of steps lead up 6' to this raised area, upon which are two ballistae (exactly like that in area A). To the rear is the tiller, a long wooden handle which runs to the rudder below.

Beneath the sterncastle are two rooms, accessed by wooden doors form the main deck. Each leads to steps descending 2' into two rooms.

The left room, smaller of the two, is the mate's quarters. Here is a bed, desk, cabinet with charts and instruments, a locked sea chest holding personal effects and coins totaling 75gp, a table and chairs, and a wash basin.

The right room is the captain's room and is L-shaped. The rear portion holds a sumptuous canopied bed, a locked chest, and a washbasin. The rest of the room holds a small wardrobe, table and chairs, a ship's logbook (with false entries), a cabinet holding charts and momentos, and a mirror hanging from the wall.

The chest holds the captain's personal effects, including a spyglass. A false bottom in the chest is guarded by a poison needle (Type D poison) and holds two vials of Type D poison and a small silver pendant worth 25gp in the shape of a swan with its wings upstretched into a V-shape (the sign of the Council of White).

A secret panel leads from this room to the mate's quarters. The mate is unaware of this secret.

Finally, behind a loose hull plank behind the captain's cabinet is the ship's true logbook, showing its smuggling activities. Note that the party's arrival can be found noted in the secret logbook but not in the false logbook.

THE VOYAGE:

The initial voyage out will be fairly uneventful, as the ship sails generally just out of sight of the coastline, coming in every six hours or so just enough for a man in the sails to check the ship's bearings. Anyone with navigation NWP may make a check to notice that, eventually, the ship does not turn north to parallel the Eastern Relum coast but continues east, towards the Heynosht Archipelago. If questioned, the captain will explain that patrols and whatnot (he winks at the party) will likely watch the direct passage to Vosh-gerr, but ships generally stay away from the Heynosht during the winter, both because of its treacherous reefs and because various sea monsters like to winter in its warm tropical, food-rich climes.

The alarm is raised early one morning as the ship begins to make passage through the islands. Coming up on deck, the boson will announce he saw "crittersign" about 300 yards off of the right front. The captain will angle his boat away from the contact at about a 120 degree angle, thus allowing all three ballistae to bear. All will be silent for several minutes, then the giant squid which has been stalking the ship will attack.

Six tentacles will attack the ship and begin to squeeze while D4 others will attack crew members (and the party) randomly. Each round, allow a 50% chance that the squid body will be surfaced enough to attack, either from the deck or from ballistae (only two ballistae will bear, however).

The squid will pull any non-struggling being in its tentacles to its mouth, taking one round to do so. If four tentacles are severed or 3/4ths of its HP are gone, the squid will retreat in a cloud of ink. In any case, during the attack, the squid's other six tentacles will constrict the ship, causing timber to buckle and crack and rivets to pop. If the squid attacks for 12 rounds, then the ship must make seaworthiness checks for each round of constriction thereafter in order to stay afloat.

Giant Squid (AC 7/3; MV sw 3 jet 18; HD 12; HP 64; #ATT 11; D 1-6 (x10) / 5-20; SA constrict 2-12; SD ink)

Assuming the ship does not sink, it will be noted that the hull has suffered severe structural damage and is taking on water in some places (this even if the squid was able to maul the ship only for a single round). The captain (or whomever is in charge) will consult his charts and announce his intent to make for a small island inhabited by friendly tribesmen. The island is called Fermengarr Isle and the people are of the V'narto tribe. There, he can beach the boat, make repairs, and resume the voyage. With help from the V'narto, he estimates repairs can be made in a few days.

NOTE: If the boat has sunk, assume the party and 2D6 crew are able to grab onto wood and swim to Fermengarr Isle, which will be visible on the horizon. In this case, the party will have to build a make-shift boat using V'narto outrigger canoes as a base in order to eventually escape the island.

After a precarious six hour journey in the damaged Gallon's Widow (or on a raft of wood), full of more beams splintering, a furious bailing of water, and desperate jury-rigging, the ship sails into V'narto Bay and beaches itself as described in area 15 of the Village Map.

Part Two - V'narto Village

V'narto Village, before its current problems, was a prosperous tribal community of 570 persons. Of this total, 160 were children, 210 were women, and 200 were men. The tribe was dominated by a chieftain, who is elected for life by a council of all males over 30 years old. The society is monogamous, and bachelor males dwell in a separate dormitory, while unmarried women live at home. The community mostly fishes for sustenance, though women sometimes forage in the southern parts of the Jam-Jum Forest. The V'nartans worship the sea and their ancestors, their religious needs being tended to by a shaman. Technologically, the V'nartans are equivalent to the ancient Polynesians on Earth. Being of Morakki lineage, they are dark olive skinned with black hair and almond eyes. They speak their own language, a dialect of Heynosht, which is itself a combination of ancient Morakki and sea elf. Only those listed as speaking common tongue speak the common tongue.

KEY TO THE V'NARTO VILLAGE:

1. Meeting Hall:

This structure is made of logs with a thatched roof. It is raised 6' off of the ground by four logs and accessed via a small log ladder. The outside walls are decorated with various totemic-looking carvings, including various leering faces, each representing a protective ancestor. Normally used for tribal councils, various benches are now scattered in disarray around the single, airy chamber. A few wooden masks still hang from the walls, but most are on the floor, broken. A thin coating of dust covers most of the place.

2. High Meeting Place:

This is the place where the entire tribe meets for tribal councils, elections, and communal activities such as storytelling and rituals.

The place is located on a small hillock, about 30' high, which is relatively flattened on top like a mesa. A small footpath leads up the southeast face of the hill to the meeting place.

Atop the hill are four stone plinths, each about 2' in diameter and about 8' tall. They are crudely carved into representations of gods or goddesses as follows:

o A male fertility totem
o A female earth mother figure
o A male ocean deity figure
o A male ancestor figure

Within the space bounded by the plinths is a smallish depression about 10' deep ringed with terraced seating like a small arena. In the bottom centre is a place for a large bonfire.

3. Spirit Plinths:

A footpath leads from the Helorto River into the outskirts of the Jam-Jum Forest. Where it reaches the first eaves of the forest, there are two smallish stone plinths, about 6" in diameter and 4' tall. Each plinth is carved with various strange runes and symbols, as well as crude figures representing the sun, moon, stars, winged beings, and other less recognizable figures. The footpath continues past these plinths into the forest.

Each plinth radiates magic and contains an ancestral spirit of the tribe. These are low-level guardian spirits which operate on an instinctual level and cannot be bargained or parleyed with. If a non-tribesmember passes between the plinths, or within 30' of them, the spirits will emerge, one from each plinth, appearing as translucent, vaguely man-shaped forms which will attempt to touch the party. They attack as 4HD creatures and only dexterity and magical protection (not armour or magical armour) protects against this touch. Any victim touched must save vs. spells or be struck with fear. Such a terror will cause the affected to run screaming away from the plinths at fullest possible speed for 1 full turn, and then to exhibit a compelling reluctance to approach within 100 yards of the plinth for the next D4 days.

The spirits may not be struck by weapons, but may be driven off by protective circles or spells like protection from evil/good. They may also be exorcised. The spirits will not pursue beyond 100 yards from the plinths. They will also not attack anyone escorted by the shaman.

4. Shaman's Hut:

A little way beyond the plinths (area 3) the path arrives at a small clearing, in the centre of which stands a hut. The hut is made mostly of rune-carved bones, filled in by mud, leaves, and wicker. The roof is thatched. A strange variety of gourds, skulls, trinkets, and other strange gew-gaws hang from all portions of the hut, which is entered by a small opening covered with a hide.

Within dwells the shaman. The shaman is closely tied to the psychic well-being of his tribe, and most shaman are generally eccentric and half insane anyways. The calamity that has befallen the V'narto tribe has driven him completely insane, and he will leap out and attack anyone who enters his hut.

The shaman has used up all of his priestly magic and is too insane to reach the state of commune necessary to regain his spells.

V'narto Shaman (AL N; CL P4 [savage priest kit]; AC 7; HP 27; S 12, D 17, C 18, I 10, W 12, CH 8; #ATT 1; D by weapon type; MV 12; NWP: Weather Sense, Survival (Jungle), Swimming, Fire-building, Healing, Herbalism, Local History, Religion (ancestor worship); Weapons: Staff; Armour: none)

This shaman has no magic items, but does have a spirit companion gained after a lengthy and difficult ritual. In combat, this spirit will appear hovering around the shaman's body and will ward off blows, giving the shaman +4 to AC.

The shaman can be subdued. If he is slain, the two tribal spirits in the plinths (area 3) will be released, but will first attack the shaman's slayer, in this case they will attack for D4 rounds each, each successful hit causing D6 of chilling damage. After that time, the spirits will depart for the nether realms.

If the shaman is subdued, he will mutter curses and emit much spittle, but will sometimes utter the following snatches:

"Blood from the cave!"

"Virgin Blood speaks strange songs!"

"Death like life comes and goes...in the night"

"It is she!"

Within the hut is an absolute mess. Piles of furs, a vermin infested pallet, a rickety chair, a fire ring, hundreds of gourds, countless animal body parts in various stages of decomposition, clay pots filled with mostly pungent unidentifiable powders and liquids, all in all a shamanic mish-mash. Most everything is covered with runes in black paint and everything is covered in ashes and soot, probably from the fires built in the fire ring and not properly ventilated out of the chimney in the centre of the hut's roof.

A careful search of the mess will reveal two objects reverently wrapped in a piece of fine velvet:

o a stone knife covered with dried blood, and
o a small clay stoppered urn filled with a watery red liquid

The first is the knife used by Hadulo to commit his heinous deed. The second is watered down blood from Kelanni.

5. Chief's Hut:

This is a set of two buildings, done up in traditional V'nartan style, with the floor being raised up a few feet on stilts. The roof is thatched and the walls outside are decorated with palm leaves, sahuagin hides, and the trophies of vanquished foes (spears, pieces of shields, et al). Within are several chambers, now dusty and cluttered with furniture of wicker and wood broken and overturned. In one place the wall has a hole, as if something tore through it, and it is near this opening that dried bloodstains cover the walls, floor, and even the ceiling.

The other smaller building was a quarters for the chief's wives and concubines, but that too is empty and dusty.

6. Palisade:

It is here that the tribespeople come when trouble besets them. Usually, this is when the sahuagin raid in force, or when pirates land nearby. The structure is a wooden palisade of irregular shape, these being thick logs sharpened to a point at the top, each log being about 8' tall and mounted into an earthen embankment 3' high. Thus, the top of the palisade is some 11' above the outside ground level. A single wooden gate made of logs lashed together sits in the northeast corner. It is closed and barred by a stout log from the inside.

The inner walls have a plank running around them part way up to allow defenders to mount the walls. Within is a hut, built in traditional V'narto fashion, raised from the ground and made of wood with a thatched roof. Beside the building is a small well from which fresh water may be accessed.

Beneath the raised building is a small round stone, which can be moved exposing a large chamber in the ground which holds foodstuffs (grains, wild rice, nuts, berries, salt, and other provisions) for hard times.

12 V'nartans dwell here. They are the survivors (so far) of the Norebo's attacks and are completely demoralized and in a perpetual state of terror. They will not emerge from their fortress for ANY reason, fearing the tricks of the Norebo. If entry into the fortress area is attempted, the adults might throw stones and a few of the males will attack hysterically, but they can be made to calm down if their attacks are not reacted to hostily.

V'nartan Males (AL N; CL 0 level; AC 8; HP 7; #ATT 1; D by weapon type; MV 12; NWP: hunting, fishing, survival (jungle); Weapon: javelin, spear, knife; Armour: wicker shield and dexterity)

V'nartan Females (AL N; CL 0-level; AC 10; HP 5; #ATT 1; D by weapon; NV 12; NWP: cooking, foraging, weaving; Weapons: knife; Armour: none)

V'nartan Young (AC 10; HP 2; MV 9; #ATT none)

If calmed, the V'nartans can explain what they know of the situation. They can basically tell the story of Kelanni and Hadulo, up until the point that both fled into the jungle. They can then tell of the attacks. However, due to the shame of the incident involving Hadulo and Kelanni, they will not offer the exact details of the story unless pressed or probed in some manner. They do not, of course, know what is causing the deaths, but they can tell the following:

We were once a prosperous people who made no war except against the evil fish folk or against the bad boat men. But before the last day change, people began to be missing. First it was hunters, hunting for food in the forest. And we thought it was Hadulo (he will explain that Hadulo is an outcast of the tribe....he will not tell why he was outcast, not wanting to mention the shameful act, but will say it was for a very bad crime) except that one of the hunter's bodies was found mutilated in a way Hadulo would not....could not do.

Then we were worried, but it became worse when people became missing from their beds at night. We became afraid and kept watches over this place, but still more and more people became missing, now whole families, and sometimes without any struggle sign, and sometimes with blood everywhere in their huts.

We ask the spirit maker what was happening, but all he could say was that a new evil was on the island.

Then the chieftain thought about this and decided it was the stone dweller who was the cause of this evil, and he and a band of the best warriors, along with a priest, went to slay the stone master, but he and they never returned, and the spirit maker told us that their souls were not in the bosom of their ancestors.

We picked another chief, but he was taken the next night. Then we stopped picking chiefs. One night 12 people were gone....that was maybe 3 hands days ago. Some of us fled into the forest, in despair, and have not come back. Others stayed in their huts and prayed......they are gone too.

Now there is only us. We were more before......maybe 2 hands, but at night some say they would hear a voice and it promised help, but then they would leave the log place and we would hear their screams as they were dragged off into the forest.

Now we live here in fear. We do not know if any are left in the village. We will not let anyone in, because the evil may be tricking us to open the gate, which we will not do.

And now we ask our ancestors for help, but we have no priests, because they are gone.

We send our curses to the stone dweller...the stone master, for that is an unholy place.

If asked about the stone dweller or stone master, he can tell the following story:

One hand summers ago we saw strange lights in the sky in the north and east of this land. And we heard sounds...strange sounds, which were as the sounds of the wind blowing through trees, but as if made by human tongue. And the spirit maker cast his bones and said that the ancestors were disturbed by a dweller within stone, and many were sundered by a great force in the north which was preparing a place of power.

And the chief and some braves went to the place where the lights and sounds had been, and there was a hut, but what a hut! Larger than a mountain and made of stone...its face that of a skull. And the chief came forth and knocked upon the door, but no one came. The door was shut, and he camped nearby and presented gifts to the stone dweller, but the dweller never came forth.

And the chief sent for a priest, Mygloini, and he came to the stone place and made ancestors come forth to destroy the place and its evil, but a great winged thing came from the highest part of the stone hut and drove off Mygloini and the chief and his band.

And Mygloini declared the place evil, and made the entire northern half of the land taboo and bad juju, and we do not go there. But for one hand summers the stone dweller never came to us, and we had no evil from it, and we stayed on the south side of the land. And we still prospered and traded even with the evil to the north, until the takings began.

7. Bachelor's Quarters:

This is a large hut, raised off of the ground as usual for V'nartan architecture. A large space is in the thatched roof for a chimney, and within are the signs of an overturned dormitory. This is where the bachelors lived, those men who had undergone the ritual of manhood but had not yet been married. They were the warriors of the village, and it can be guessed that this hut could easily accommodate 50 persons spaciously.

Now, however, all is a dusty shambles and nothing of value is left.

8. Champion's House:

This was the house of the bravest warrior of the tribe. When a warrior has performed an extraordinary deed or deeds of valour and battle, he is sometimes made a champion of the tribe and housed here. He gains many wives and all of them live in this spacious hut. The entire hut is in a shambles, and blood is very prevalent everywhere. A careful search within will turn up the rotted bodies of three women, with holes in their skulls, and, under much rubble, the body of the champion. His skull is intact...and it appears he died of strangulation, as his neck is crushed.

Upon his person are:

a rune-carved stone spear which is enchanted by the tribal ancestors. It always serves as a +1 spear, but if the name of "Chouchunto", the spear maker's ancestor, is uttered, the spear will burst into flame and become a +1 flaming spear, +2 versus undead, +3 versus cold using or water dwelling creatures. The ancestor can be called upon only once per season, and the name can only be uttered by the wielder. The tribespeople left alive can say the name of the spear is "Chouchunto", but do not know of its powers. The spirit must be actually concentrated on, the mere utterance of the word does not activate the spirit,

a turquoise and pearl necklace worth 50gp,

and a jade dagger which is as sharp and hard as a metal dagger and is worth 150gp because of its beautifully carved handle which is shaped like two leaping dolphins.

9. Bridge:

This is a small wooden bridge, wide enough for foot traffic but not enough for a cart. The bridge spans the small but pure Helorto River. The river is about 40' wide. Impaled upon a post of the bridge is a rotting male V'nartan head, now crawling with worms and centipedes.

10. Watch Towers:

Each of these is a wooden watchtower, basically a platform of wood with a thatched roof, set on stilts some 20' above the ground below it. A ladder reaches up to the platform, upon which is also a knotted rope long enough to reach the ground. Each watchtower is set upon a small rise, the largest rise being the southwestern one, which is some 40' high. Wooden steps lead up the hill to the tower. The other two towers are merely set on small mounds about 20' high.

All the towers are empty of life, although one, the southwestern one, as a body with its head crushed leaning against a post, such that from a distance it would appear as if a guard were present.

11. Racks:

Here, in a muddy delta-like area, are a series of wooden racks, ostensibly used to tan and stretch hides, dry fish, and other such activities. Now, rotting fish and leather emits a horrendous stench, showing long neglect.

12. Priests' Place:

This is a rather large hut, decorated with teak and ebony carved into elaborate motifs. Most appear to be angelic creatures, ocean beasts, and native warriors.

The door, once a wicker screen, is ripped to shreds, but it appears that something large and wooden has been dragged across the doorway. In addition, the windows are covered with wood.

Around the entire hut has been sprinkled salt.

Within dwells a single old male V'nartan. He is a bit off of his rocker, having gone insane from seeing his tribe taken, The man has loosened the floorboards in one place and uses them to occasionally sneak out by daylight from beneath the raised hut in order to forage for food and water.

Within the hut a wooden altar is what barricades the door. One could take time to pry out the mother-of-pearl inlays, in which case an hour's work with a dagger would yield about 25gp worth of the stuff.

The windows have been covered by wooden planks lashed to the sill with tough vines.

A large store of nuts and drying fruits sits in a pile in one corner of the hut, while a bladder filled with water hangs from a cord from the ceiling.

The rest of the hut is a complete mess, with piles of junk and furniture covered with patches of dust.

Old Man (AL CN; CL 0-level; AC 10; HP 5; #ATT 1; D by weapon type; MV 9; NWP: fishing, local history; Weapons: club; Armour: none)

The old man is not a priest, but has, in his insanity, declared himself high priest of the V'nartans. He will claim to worship the Broken Lady, and will claim that She punishes the unfaithful. More than that he will not say, but he will decry those holed-up in area and blasphemers and heretics

The old man will often read from a scroll made of goat skin (the head is, in fact, still attached) claiming it to be the writ of the Broken Lady...but it is actually a priestly scroll of Protection from Evil written in V'nartan runes and symbols.

He will tend to rant and rave at the party, but will not attack unless an attempt is made to remove him from the hut.

If the place is searched, another goat skin can be found with a crude map of the Isle (see the Map later in this scenario for details). It lists the northern lands as taboo and specifies the location of the stone dweller.

13. Wall of Ancestors:

This is a large earthen wall, rounded like a big speed bump, which, at its centre, is some 20' high and about 100' wide. Within are buried the ancestors of the tribe. Only the important tribal shamans, priests, champions, and chiefs are buried here, the common folk being sent into the sea. Around each grave, which is a body-sized hole sealed with hard clay, are drawings and paintings showing the deeds of each ancestor.

About twelve of the graves have been torn open and are empty, although in one case, a skeleton, broken into pieces, can be found on the ground about 200' to the northeast of the Wall.

The ancestors are buried with various trinkets and gew gaws, but no valuables.

14. Bonfire:

This is an area where a constant bonfire was kept by the tribe, used as a signal fire and as protection. It shows no sign of recent use.

15. V'narto Bay:

V'narto Bay is unique because it is very deep almost up to the beach and is free of reefs, rocks, and other dangers. This means even a cog-sized ship can beach itself right onto the mud of the delta area surrounding the racks at area 11.

While a sizable sahuagin community dwells about 10 miles to the south of the Bay, they generally do not keep a vigil on the island.

16. Huts:

These are the tribal huts. Each is raised off of the ground by about 2' and is about 15'-20' a side. They have thatched roofs and wicker doors. Each is one large room.

All of these huts are deserted. Many show signs of damage and forced entry, and in those cases, often show water damage as well. Thatching is all over the ground near these huts.

A good number of the huts show bloodstains as well...all dried. Occasionally, a corpse can be found, of a tribal male, female, and occasionally, grimly, children.

All of the huts have worthless personal effects and minor furnishings strewn about in disarray, and all sport a haze of dust over everything.

Because the huts have been abandoned, some of the nearby wildlife has moved back in. Amongst small rats, spiders, and other such vermin, if the party searches the huts, allow a 1 in 6 chance for each group of 6 huts searched that something has taken up residence within. If such is indicated, roll on the following chart:

1 = 3D6 large bats which will flutter out of the hut, surprising the party and possibly knocking out torches.

Large Bats (AL N; AC 8; HD 1/2; HP 2; #ATT 1; D 1d2; MV 3, FL 15 [C])

2 = 2D12 giant centipedes

Giant Centipedes (AL N; AC 9; HD 1/4; HP 2; #ATT 1; D 1; MV 15; SA poison)

3 = 2D4 giant rats

Giant Rats (AL N; AC 7; HD 1/2; HP 3; #ATT 1; D 1d3; MV 12 sw 6; SA disease 5%)

4 = a spitting cobra with poison requiring a save at +3 or become incapacitated for D4 days after D4 turns onset time.

Spitting Cobra (AL N; AC 5; HD 4+2; HP 20; #ATT 2; D 1d3/spit; MV 12; SA poison, spit)

5 = D20 hairy spiders in a web-shrouded hut

Hairy Spiders (AL N; AC 8; HD 1-1; HP 4; #ATT 1; D 1; MV 12 wb 9; SA poison)

6 = 3 stirges feasting on a giant rat

Stirges (AL N; AC 8; HD 1+1 [4]; HP 6; #ATT 1; D 1d3; MV 3 Fl 18 [C]; SA blood drain)

If an encounter is rolled, it cannot be rolled again, instead treat as no encounter.

Part Three - The Stone Dweller

Having investigated the village, the party should now suspect that the Stone Dweller is the cause of the V'nartan's problems. This deduction is, of course, wrong, but also understandable and vital to the rest of the plot.

No V'nartans will travel to accompany the party, being deathly afraid of the place, but they can provide enough direction that even without the map from area 12, the party can find the place.

The captain will not relish sending any of his crew north, leaving the adventuring to the adventurers. He will want a guard for the ship and then a guard to guard the guards. He will also need men to start to effect repairs, which, without help from the villagers, will take a lot longer than originally anticipated. Needless to say, the entire crew of Gallon's Widow will be jumpy and superstitious.

If pressed, the captain can be persuaded to send 2 crewman and the boson.

It is about a seven mile journey to the place of the Stone Dweller, which is called the Dead Tower by its mistress. The going is rough and the heat, even in winter, oppressive enough to make wearing armour very uncomfortable, especially as bugs and other creepy-crawlies get inside the armour and start biting. Penalize anyone wearing armour by giving them a -1/10th to hit penalty for each AC bonus afforded by armour (not magic or dexterity or shield) for each full hour the armour is worn. Thus, if leather armour is worn, that gives a 2 AC bonus (from AC 10 to AC 8), so for each hour worn 1/5th of a penalty to hit is applied. After 5 hours of walking in leather amour, the person would be at -1 to hit.

Each hour of not wearing armour negates one hour's worth of this penalty.

The best route, and the one suggested by the map in area 12 of the Village or by those in area 6 of the Village, is to follow the Helorto River north until it reaches Leedinark Mountain. Then the party should skirt east around the mountain until the coast is reached. Then they turn north, cross the Fast One River, and eventually reach the promontory whereupon sits the Dead Tower.

Such a journey will take about 12 hours of hard marching and will pass through several regions of Fermengarr Isle.

KEY TO FERMENGARR ISLE

V'narto Village:

This village is detailed in the Key to V'narto Village presented in this scenario.

Helorto River:

This river is about 40' wide at its flat portions, and slow flowing and pure. It is faster flowing when it tumbles down the Leedinark.

Jam-Jum Forest:

This forest is a mixture of palms and other jungle trees and flora mixed with a few subtropical varieties of cypress and jacarandas. The forest is not too thick and provides ample foraging and water from various streams and rivulets coming down from the mountain. The forest is home to much wildlife, including large snakes, spiders, giant frogs, and a few dangerous plants. All in all, though, it is a wholesome wilderness.

Altar:

This is a stone block carved with runes glorifying the sea and the sky. Signs of burnt offerings (charred pieces of wood, soot on the altar) tell of the seasonal rituals normally performed by the V'nartan priests.

Leedinark Mountain:

This mountain is the island's dominant feature, being some 2,800 feet tall and punctuated by many ribbon-like water falls. The mountain itself is rather rocky, and the igneous rock makes it look dark, almost black and a bit foreboding. Giant eagles are known to dwell high up on the peak of the mountain, and the V'nartans believe the mountain is tall enough to hold up the sky, and they worship it thusly.

Cudinarn Jungle:

This is a true jungle. It is choked with vegetation, mostly palms, jacarandas, ferns, and undergrowth. The place is lush with wildlife, except for the portion marked by the 'NC', which is where the Norebo dwells. This area is devoid of animal life. As with most jungles, there are dangerous places to be avoided. Travel through this jungle is very slow, involving much machete work.

Naytom River:

This is a small faster flowing river winding its way through the Cudinarn Jungle.

Little One River:

This is a swiftly flowing river which tumbles from the Leedinark into an isolated cove.

Fast One River:

This is a dangerously fast river, entirely unnavigable and barely swimmable in some spots. To cross it requires magic or a bridge of some sort. Fortunately, like all rivers on the Isle except for the Helorto, it never is more than 20' wide.

Dead Tower:

This tower is detailed in the Key to the Dead Tower contained later in this section.

The journey to the tower will proceed apace.

During the journey, encounters can take place. Roll on the appropriate wandering monster chart(s) detailed later in this scenario.

When the party finally arrives at the Dead Tower, which sits atop a high promontory accessible by a tiring climb up a spur of Leedinark Mountain, refer to the Key below.

KEY TO THE DEAD TOWER

Wandering Encounters:

Wandering encounters can occur throughout the tower, mostly with zombies as they go about their business cleaning and maintaining things. Allow a 1 in 4 chance per turn that d3 zombies will appear to perform some chore. They will not hinder or bother the party but will attack if property is taken or destroyed in their sight or if they are attacked or if their tasks are hindered in any material way.

In addition, a necrophidius wanders the entire tower, pushing through any door that is not locked. It will attack any strangers it encounters, unless they have previously been blessed by the Necromancer in front of the creature's presence. Allow a one in 20 chance that any location entered that is not barred by a locked door will contain the patrolling necrophidius. In addition, if the party is stationary, allow a 1 in 20 chance per turn that the creature will cross the party's path.

This creature is the most fearsome guardian of the tower, aside from the Necromancer herself.

Necrophidius (AL N; AC 2; HD 2; HP 13; #ATT 1; D 1-8; MV 9; SA death dance, venom, silence; SD immunities)

If the necrophidius immobilizes all opposition, it will fetch the Necromancer, who will then parley with the party when they regain consciousness and find out why they have intruded upon her property.

Ground Level

A. Outside:

The Dead Tower is a large structure of imposing visage. It is constructed of dark grey stone and has three major structures that make up the tower. The first is a small gatehouse roughly in the shape of a diamond. This gatehouse abuts the main keep, a larger diamond-shaped structure which eventually tapers into a cone-like shape before ending abruptly in sharp battlements. The top of this "crown" sprouts a slender round tower with a roof shaped like the closed jaws of some horrific creature.

Behind the main keep is a secondary smaller tower, square-shaped and connected to the main keep by a ground level corridor and a second story bridge.

Windows pierce the walls at various places. These windows are mere slits, and only the slenderest of unarmoured halflings could squeeze through (and then with some difficulty).

Leering from the front of the tower is a huge stone skull. The stone that makes up the skull is bone white in colour, providing a sharp contrast to the dull grey stone of the rest of the tower. Below the skull, two bone-white stone skeletal hands emerge from the main keep and rest upon the roof of the gatehouse.

Just above the skull, in a ring around the conical tapering of the main tower are poles bearing deep black and purple pennons embroidered with skulls and runes of death.

The tower structure atop the conical portion is made of a deep jet black polished stone.

Atop the rear small tower is a three-pronged spire made of a sickly greenish stone, almost but not quite jade-like.

The entire face of the tower walls are covered with ornate carvings and bas-reliefs. These decorations are horrific in nature, with a common motif of skulls and skeletons, but also with scenes of death and destruction and scenes of funerals and burials.

Steps lead up to the double doors that seem to provide entry to the place. The steps rise about 4' and are made of a translucent black material like quartz. The double doors are of a deep black metal and have bas-reliefs in the shape of grinning skills with sharp fangs which seem to have black flames leaping from their mouths. There is a large handle on each door.

The doors will not open. No amount of force less than a Storm Giant or siege equipment will open the magically locked doors. These doors have been Wizard Locked by a 12th level wizard and may be defeated by methods which will open Wizard Locked doors.

Although there seems to be no way into the place, this is actually not so...but the party must be patient.

An examination of the area will show footprints and traffic in and around the area marked (D). This area is downhill from the main doorway and hidden from sight, and the traffic leads north by northeast to a small terrace where an orchard grows. There is also a freshwater well here.

The (D) signifies the location of a secret trap door leading down to area G in the Dungeon Level. This is a one-way trap door, in that there is no mechanism by which to open it from this side. The zombies which serve the Necromancer here use this door to travel about a quarter of a mile to the orchard to gather fresh food and water for their mistress. They emerge once per day, at about noon, and then emerge at sundown to take out refuse and dump it into the nearby ocean. This refuse includes the detritus from various failed experiments.

A total of 10 zombies will emerge to take part in these tasks. They will ignore anyone who does not hinder them in their task, but if one of the zombie attacks or is attacked, all of the zombies will seek to defend themselves.

While the zombies are out, the trap door is visible and left open. Each task takes the zombies about 2-3 hours. This is, essentially, the only way into the tower.

B. Gatehouse:

This is an impressive chamber, with a domed ceiling ranging from 20' to 30' above the floor. The floor is of polished grey marble shot through with white and black veins. The veins often congeal on the floor to form a wispy ghost-like or skull-like visage. A rich red carpet leads from the doors to another set of double doors, these made of ivory or bone bound in iron. The carpet is embroidered with scenes of tendrils wrapped around eyeballs.

Flanking the outer doors are two stairways leading 10' up to a gallery which runs the length of the rest of the room. Upon the gallery stand four guard zombies armed with crossbows. These are under orders to attack any who enter the chamber without escort from the Necromancer.

Zombie Guards (AL N; AC 6 [leather armour]; HD 2; HP 7, 12, 10, 9; #ATT 1; D by weapon type or 1-8; MV 6; SD immunities; Weapons: heavy crossbows)

The interior double doors are locked from the inside (from area K) by a thick iron bar.

C. Storage:

This smallish chamber contains storage for day to day items of use for the tower. These include rope, chains, barrels (empty), lamp oil, torches, tools, candles, etc. The place is absolutely filled with the stuff in no discernible order and movement around the room is very cramped and difficult.

D. Storage:

This is another storage chamber, as much a cluttered mess as the other (area C). This one contains more in the way of foodstuffs and dining utensils, mugs, cups, cooking gear, etc. Foodstuffs include a rack of fine wines, all stoppered with wax and lead, barrels of rum and ale, nuts, dried fruit, etc. Nothing perishable is contained herein.

E. Megaron:

This impressive room is entered via grand valves of bronze inlaid with lapis lazuli and other semi-precious stones in order to form a mosaic of a man's life from birth to death represented as a successive string of human images. However, whereas most such murals end with death, this one continues, showing burial, resurrection as a ghoul, and an eternity of unlife.

The doors here are unlocked. Within is a musty room, probably little used, although it seems to be free of dust. A fireplace is against the south wall, unused and very clean. Also in here is a dais along the southeast wall, upon which rests an elaborately carved ebony throne decorated with skull and skeleton motifs. The back of the chair looks like a giant rotting hand erupting from the earth. The chair is very valuable but also extremely heavy.

Tapestries adorn the walls...these being black velvet and displaying scenes of vivisection, mummification, skulls, and worms.

Empty torch sconces line the walls.

Next to the fireplace is a trapdoor, which is openable by removing a brick in the side of the hearth and pulling up a metal ring and chain therein. This door leads to area A of the Dungeon Level.

F. Barracks:

This is the holding chamber for the skeletons that serve this Necromancer. Six are here.

Skeletons (AL N; AC 6 [shields]; HD 1; HP 6, 5, 8, 3, 4, 4; #ATT 1; D 1-6; MV 12; SD immunities; Weapon: broadswords)

The room is decorated with tapestries made from flayed human skin decorated with art representative of each culture from which the person's skin came. The whole is a rather grotesque patchwork, especially when close examination reveals the nature of the decorations.

These skeletons will attack anyone opening the door and will pursue anywhere in the tower. They will only spare those escorted by the Necromancer.

G. Barracks:

This room is similar to that of area F, except the decorations here are woven from human hair of different shades. These are decorated with coloured bones woven amid the strands.

Skeletons (AL N; AC 7; HD 1; HP 8, 8, 7, 5, 4, 2; #ATT 1; D 1-6; MV 12; SD immunities; Weapons: battle axe)

These skeletons have the same orders as those in area F.

H. Stairway:

This triangular room is unadorned, excepting sconces that are lit. Stone stairs lead up to Level One.

I. Dining Chamber:

Double doors to this room are made of ebony and decorated like a huge toothy maw about to devour those who enter.

This huge chamber is ornately decorated with tabards displaying death runes. A huge ebony table dominates the place, with a score of chairs assembled around it. A centerpiece is made by two candelabras in the shape of skeletal fingers outstretched. Oil lamps burn fitfully, casting a gloom over the large chamber, and braziers keep the place warm, in a slight haze, and smelling slightly charnel.

Various cabinets of fine workmanship hold dishes, goblets, and utensils, many of fine quality silver and worth a total of 1,200gp to an enterprising thief. The cabinets are unlocked, but the total silverware would weigh over 50 pounds.

Two large hearths are here, one along the west wall and the other long the south wall. These show signs of use.

J. Kitchen:

This kitchen is crowded with pots and pans, knives and spits, a large clay oven, and a bin of salt. Additionally, cabinets hold serving platters and other mundane serving utensils.

K. Hallway:

This impressive hallway is done in flagstone, decorated with ornate sconces in the shape of skulls. The sconces hold torches which light the hallway. Between the sconces are hung grey tabards each showing a nude male standing with a portion of his skin peeled away showing the skeletal structure underneath.

Level One

A. Hands of Stone:

These are a pair of white stone wooden hands which are normally at rest atop the gatehouse roof. However, via levers and dials in area B of Level Two, they can be made to move as if they were alive. See Room B Level Two for more details.

B. Hallway:

This is a small hallway dimly lit by oil lamps. It is unadorned.

C. Antechamber:

This area is lit by torches in sconces. A Zombie cleaner is here, his broom stuck in between the wall and a sconce. Since the Zombie has instructions not to break the cleaning tools but also cannot damage the sconce but also must clean at the appointed times, the Zombie is in a sort of logical loop. It has been struggling with this dilemma for several hours, and will continue to do so until someone helps it extricate the broom or attacks it, forcing it to drop the broom and attack.

Frustrated Zombie (AL N; AC 8; HD 2; HP 6; #ATT 1; D 1-8; MV 6; SD immunities)

D. Bridge:

This bridge is exposed to the outside. It has a stone side that rises up 3' on each side to prevent accidents. The bridge is slightly arched and is decorated with skeletal serpents along its sides. The floor of the bridge is designed to look like a spinal column.

Both doors are locked from the inside, each door being solid oak with iron bindings. The locks on these doors are key locks...the keys being on the Necromancer's person.

E. Library:

This chamber is accessed via the bridge (area D Level One) and comprises the top story of the rear tower. Within, the walls are covered with bookshelves and scroll racks. This represents a major library, most of the works dealing with death, necromancy, undead, extra-planar creatures, spell research, strange ingredients, and other such arcane subjects.

Also within this place are several unlit braziers, lit lanterns hanging from the ceiling, a single zombie holding a bucket of sand with instructions to put out fires, and several divans and chairs and a reading desk. Within the desk are ink and quill and a supply of good quality paper and vellum.

Sand Zombie (AL N; AC 8; HD 2; HP 16; #ATT 1; D 1-8; MV 6; SA sand; SD immunities)

Behind one scroll rack is a loose brick in the wall. If the brick is pivoted in place, a stone in the ceiling will slide open, revealing an attic of sorts in the 30' high ceiling. A rope ladder, coiled up atop the sliding stone will fall to the ground.

Within this attic space, which is 10' by 10' by 4' tall, are the magical works of the Necromancer. These include:

o a scroll with a Dismissal spell upon it (18th level)

o a scroll with Sleep, Hold Person, and Wall of Fog (12th level)

o a scroll with Identify (8th level)

o a scroll with Gust of Wind (7th level)

o a scroll with Ice Storm (9th level)

o a storybook that will speak its words as each pages is turned

o a tome with diagrams and incantations necessary to activate magic circles and other protective diagrams

o Fine quality giant squid sepia and various quills made from magical creatures and vellum made from the hides of various extraordinary creatures for use in scroll creation

o A book full of blank pages that, if one's hand is pressed onto the title page and an inscription is read (the inscription is on the spine of the book), then the entire life history of the person touching the book is transcribed onto the page. Such transcription lasts until another touches it or until 1 month, whereupon the words fade

F. Specimen Storage:

This room stinks of formaldehyde. Within are a great number of barrels, both large and small, and coffin-like wooden crates. All contain specimens, both human and otherwise, some sapient and some animal, including babies and adults, including whole bodies, fetuses, and organs and body parts. Most are stored in pungent chemicals or strange powders. None are V'nartans, as can be seen from the eyes and, in some cases the skin colour, if such has been retained.

Each container bears black writing (in scrupulous Common) detailing the origin, date of expiration, and nature of the specimen.

G. Laboratory:

This is a typical laboratory, if such a thing can be called typical. Scattered around wooden tables and benches are scales, alembics, weights, beakers, clay urns, lead stoppers, scoops and spoons and tongs, scattered papers and notes and a few open books similar to those found in room E Level One. Bits and pieces of bone and skin and unidentifiable organs are here and there in various little containers. Lamps of oil light the place, and a few oil fires burn under vials of liquid, which are bubbling and frothing.

Various jars are filled with strange multi-coloured powders of indeterminate origin and there is even a half eaten lunch of fruit, bread, and cheese, which the zombie cleaners have not yet cleaned.

H. Laboratory Storage:

This room contains many shelves and racks holding a bewildering array of experimental ingredients. They are organized by some system whose basis cannot immediately be determined, and most of the containers have writing on them, presumably labels, but although written in Common, they are mostly some sort of code or scholarly notation indecipherable without a studious amount of research.

I. Stairway:

This small chamber contains a spiral staircase that winds up to Level Two.

J. Bed Chamber:

This is the Necromancer's bedchamber. Within is a gothic canopied bed all done in black, with bats as a motif for the ebony posts and the canopy itself. Also here are a wardrobe, table and chairs, a nightstand with washbasin, a divan, a fireplace, several braziers and oil lamps, and two ornate mirrors. All of these furnishings are finely wrought, but with ghoulish or macabre motifs worked into the design.

The wardrobe contains woman's clothes, but they are garish, gothic, sinister in appearance and of the style one would expect from an ostentatious, wealthy debutante.

In the northwest corner is a curtained area that contains a toilet. Another curtained area to the southwest contains a bathtub of copper, decorated with skeletons in various sexual poses with other skeletons. Jars of cosmetic powders and personal care substances are nearby, as are several black drying cloths.

K. Living Quarters:

This is the Necromancer's living area, although she spends most of her time in study. There are several plush divans and comfortable chairs. Also here is a common table and chairs of darkened oak, a large hearth with grinning gargoyle figures looming above it, and an ornate chessboard with figures of ivory shaped like skeletons and figures of ebony shaped like wraiths.

L. Antechamber:

This chamber is decorated with tapestries depicting a small manor house near a gloomy looking swamp. Within the swamp a far-off will o wisp glows between the trees. This is the Necromancer's homeland, which she lived in as a child. There are two skeletal guards here, who will attack any not escorted by the Necromancer.

Skeletons (AL N; AC 2 [metal bones and shield]; HD 1; HP 8; #ATT 1; D 1-6; MV 12; SD: immunities, half damage; Weapons: halberds)

These skeletons have been the subject of a Transmute Bone to Steel spell.

Level Two

A. Stone Skull:

This area is accessed by several steps ascending up about 5'. Within is the interior of the great Stone Skull as described in area A Ground Level. Hanging on a chain in this place is a metal gong and hammer and nearby on the floor is a metal cone which serves as a megaphone.

B. Manipulation Room:

This chamber is pierced with chains, levers, pulleys, and dials which can be used to manipulate the Stone Hands (see area A Level One) to move like a giant puppet. Many of these require a decent amount of strength, and when the Necromancers wants to use these, she has help from zombies.

The Necromancer designed the Stone Skull and Stone Hands as a hobby and in order to scare away anyone who approaches the tower, especially superstitious natives.

C. Vivisection Chamber:

This chamber is where the Necromancer experiments on the specimens from area F Level One. Several operating benches are here, each capable of being raised or lowered and/or independently tilted by a series of cranks. Currently, there are three tables, and one of them has a human female's corpse with its chest cavity spread wide open. The internal organs are missing.

Various vivisection tools are here, as well as a water basin, a refuse bin, several anatomy tomes, and a few jars of powders and liquids.

A spiral staircase descends to area I Level One.

D. Creation Chamber:

This is where the Necromancer creates her undead servitors. There are implements and tools to sow back limbs onto zombie bodies, plaster to mend bones, and sets of replacement parts of various sizes and types.

Several tables and benches are also here.

A spiral staircase ascends to area A Level Three.

Level Three

A. Sanctorium:

This is the pinnacle of the Necromancer's studies. Here are several types of protective circles etched into the floor and inlaid with lead. Various charts and arcane formulae are hanging from the walls or rolled up into tubes. Several books and scrolls of arcane origin are scattered on the floor or on a small table shoved against the wall. A podium holds a chained tome of extremely large size (at least 2,000 pages) which is the Necromancer's main spellbook.

Necromancer's Spellbook:

The spellbook is guarded by a 12th level Fire Trap (D4 +12 damage save for half damage). Within the thick front cover is a hollowed space where a tiny (6" long) skeletal serpent rests. Its teeth are dipped in venom (save at -2 or die within D4 rounds) and it will bite any hand but the Necromancer's that opens the book. Characters wearing splintmail or better or who have magical gauntlets are immune to this attack. Otherwise, the snake attacks with surprise as a 2HD creature. Its attack does no damage but injects the venom. The snake can be automatically hit and destroyed after its first attack.

The spells contained within are many:

Animate Dead Animals, Corpse Link, Exterminate, Locate Remains, Spectral Voice, Embalm, Living Link, Skeletal Hands, Bone Dance, Skulltrap, Brainkill, Summon Spirit, Bind Undead, Bone Blight, Graft Flesh, Corpse Host, Ghoul Gauntlet, Transmute Bone to Steel, Cantrip, Chill Touch, Detect Undead, Spectral Hand, Feign Death, Hold Undead, Spirit Armour, Enervation, Animate Dead, Magic Jar, Death Spell, Reincarnation, Alarm, Protection from Good/Evil, Dispel Magic, Fire Trap, Remove Curse, Minor Globe of Invulnerability, Repulsion, Light, Feather Fall, Wizard Lock, Knock, Fog Cloud, Levitate, Strength, Blink, Slow, Wraithform, Fire Shield, Polymorph Self, Vacancy, Wizard Eye, Telekinesis, Unseen Servant, Melf's Acid Arrow, Invisible Stalker, Magic Mirror, Cloudkill, Detect Invisibility, Web..

On a bookshelf along a wall are two travelling spellbooks.

These contain each six spells in them, which the Necromancer found useful when she used to travel:

Book One: Magic Missile, Shield, Jump, Invisibility, Detect Magic, Fly

Book Two: Read Magic, Rope Trick, Sleep, Charm Person, Unseen Servant, Haste

A cabinet nearby has spell components for most of her spells in the spellbooks.

A spiral staircase leads down to the Creation Chamber (area D Level Two), while an iron ladder leads up to the Observatory (area A Level Four).

Level Four

A. Observatory:

This small chamber is the highest chamber in the tower. The windows here are bigger, wide enough to admit a man-sized creature, but they are also equipped with iron shutters that can be latched shut from the inside.

A ladder in the floor here leads down to area A Level Three. An open trap door can be closed over the ladder, eliminating any hazard of falling.

A telescope made of brass stands on a tripod here, pointed up and out of an unshuttered window. Nearby are a rolled up astronomical chart and a scroll with scribbled notes on the movement of heavenly bodies and various conjunctions of these same bodies.

A large chain dangles from the centre of the ceiling here. The chain can be pulled with a moderate effort, and this opens the jaws of the top of the tower, releasing a skeletal wyvern which will then emerge to chase away any who are within sight of the tower. It will only attack any who do not immediately flee.

Skeletal Wyvern (AL N; AC 6; HD 6; HP 26; #ATT 2; D 2-12 / 1-6; MV 9 Fl 9 [D]; SD flight, immunities)

This creature has been imbued with the power of flight through its creation process.

Dungeon Level

A. Entry Passage:

This passageway ends at an iron ladder bolted to the cave wall which ascends up to the Megaron (room E Level One).

B. Wine Cellar:

This cave actually holds more than wine. Many wooden racks do hold wine, as well as barrels containing beer, ale, rum, and many barrels of water.

C. Food Storage:

This large chamber holds the perishable supplies of the tower. Included are bushels of fruit, dried jerky, meat held in bins of salt, grain, hops, barley, flour, etc. About a dozen small skeletal snakes slither around the place, looking to keep vermin away from the food. They are instructed only to attack creatures smaller than themselves who enter this chamber. A few rat bodies ripped to shreds by the guardians can be seen here and there where the cleaners have not yet tidied up.

D. Captive:

Held in cold iron chains is a ghoul captive of the Necromancer. It is chained tightly to the wall, by wrists, feet, and chest. Its head is covered by a black hood and a metal knob has been stuffed into its mouth. Dressed in torn rags, the ghoul might appear to be a human captive at first, and if released it will attack.

Ghoul (AL CE; AC 6; HD 2; HP 16; #ATT 3; D 1-3 / 1-3 / 1-6; MV 9; SA paralyzation; SD immunities)

E. Dangerous Captive:

This place is blocked off by a brick wall pierced by a closed iron door that has been barred and chained from the outside. Within is a horrific undead monster, once the lover of the then young Necromancer. He died tragically and she tried to restore him with an experimental spell far beyond her powers to cast. The spell warped her lover, bringing him to a horrific undead existence. The Necromancer used to spend much of her studies trying to find a way to cure him, but she then became too absorbed and fascinated in the scholarly pursuits and began to try to help him less and less. Now she has all but given up hope of restoring him, but also cannot still bring herself to slay him.

Warped Lover (Ghast) (AL CE; AC 4; HD 4; HP 32; #ATT 3; D 1-4 / 1-4 / 1-8; MV 15; SA stench, paralyzation; SD immunities)

F. Graves:

In this cavern are 8 closed sarcophagi. They are of marble and decorated with complicated patterns and heraldic crests. Within are the remains of the Necromancer's parents and family members who have passed on. Although wrapped in death shrouds and wearing the tattered remains of clothing, there is nothing of value within them.

To the east, earth has been brought in and piled into a mound about 6' high and about 10' by 20' in area. Atop the mound are three headstones marking the graves of the Necromancer's siblings. The youngest was a baby, and if this tombstone is titled backwards, the secret door (as mentioned in area I Dungeon Level) will open.

G. Zombie Cavern:

Here is where the zombies dwell when not working. There are 15 zombies here normally. However, one is currently stuck in area C Level One. The other 14 zombies are used by the Necromancer as servants. Some cook, others emerge to tend the orchard, take out the trash, gather water, or clean the tower. Roll a D12 to determine how many zombies are here at any one time. Subtract from this any zombies met wandering the tower or encountered outside.

Zombie Workers (AL N; AC 8; HD 2; HP 10; #ATT 1; D 1-8; MV 6; SD immunities)

These zombies will not attack unless they are attacked or prevented from doing their tasks. In this case, all zombies within sight will attack, pursuing anywhere in the tower.

This cavern is quite large, and about 20' high, and the ground is covered with little gibbets of flesh that have fallen off of the zombies.

H. Tool Storage:

This chamber holds many of the tools the zombies use to maintain the tower. Included are bags of seeds, pruning shears, hatchets, hammers, saws, clasps, and a supply of weapons and armour, including 12 battleaxes, 10 bucklers, 3 war hammers, 10 maces, 4 scimitars, 5 broadswords, 6 daggers, 2 crossbows and 40 quarrels.

I. Secret Passageway:

This passageway is accessed via a door carved to look like the cave wall in area F of the Dungeon Level. The door opens when the proper headstone is moved as described in area F of the Dungeon Level. From the other side, the door is obvious and merely pulls open with a twist of a handle.

Within is a long passageway about 6' high which winds a long ways to the north, descending all the while down long stairs, until it arrives at an isolated cove with a small sandy beach. Here is a small twelve-man row boat with a mast. Within the boat are provisions for one person for twenty days, including fresh water, and a map of the surrounding seas and islands in a sealed tube. This is where the Necromancer can escape in an emergency and also where supplies ordered from afar are taken into the tower.

Just within the secret doorway, and again just within the cave opening at the cove, is a hooded lantern filled with oil and a small bit of tinder and flint.

The Necromancer

The Necromancer who dwells here is named Thaariyshya. She is from Antorium and was the daughter of a prosperous land owner who was slain by bandits. She was the only one who escaped, and as a result of this childhood trauma she became fascinated by death. When an apprentice, she took a lover who eventually died a tragic death. Wanting to save him, she stole an experimental spell from her master's spellbook and attempted to twist it to resurrect her lover. The spell backfired and warped her lover into an undead monstrosity.

Her master kicked her out, and she subsequently delved into self-study to find a cure for her lover. Although this quest has thus far failed, her single-mindedness gained her immense necromantic lore. With this lore, she became very adept and grew powerful in her sorcery. Eventually, her desire to save her lover became overwhelmed by her love of scholarship, and she began to devote herself less to her lover and more to her arts in and of themselves.

Eventually, her experiments drew the ire of her neighbors, and so she mustered much of her lore and, through arcane means, built the Dead Tower on isolated Fermengarr Isle. It was her assumption that she could study here in peace, importing supplies and cadavers from well-paid smugglers who ply these waters.

Except for an initial brush with the V'nartans, whom she scared away, she has been in complete solitude, having not left her tower for the entire time she has been here.

Thaariyshya has little care of the outside world. She is pure scholar, fascinated by death and all things related to it, and she is content to spend the rest of her existence delving into such lore. She has never taken an apprentice, being relatively young and having no desire yet to pass on her knowledge. She is not overly aggressive or hostile, even to intruders, as she disdains combat and the use of force unless necessary. Her studies and obsession have left her very stoic and emotionless, except in extremely meaningful (to her) circumstances, such as those outlined later in this scenario.

Thaariyshya - 12th level Necromancer Kit: Philosopher Alignment: Neutral Strength 10 Dexterity 13 (Ring of Protection +1, Constitution 12 Cloak of Protection +1) Intelligence 18 Wisdom 16 Charisma 9 Armour Class 8 Move 12" Hit Points 31 Weapons: Dagger NWP: Anatomy (18), Netherworld Knowledge (14), Read/Write Common (18), Necrology (16), Healing (14), Spellcraft (16), Etiquette (9), Astrology (18), Herbalism (16) Spells Memorized: Exterminate, Light, Cantrip, Protection from Evil, Unseen Servant, Skeletal Hands, Spectral Hand, Levitate, Web, Melf's Acid Arrow, Detect Invisibility, Bone Dance, Blink, Slow, Feign Death, Spirit Armour, Minor Globe of Invulnerability, Polymorph Self, Enervation, Wizard Eye, Vacancy, Animate Dead, Magic Jar, Bone Blight, Telekinesis, Cloudkill, Death Spell, Repulsion Magic Items: Dagger +1, Ring of Protection +1, Lesser Bone Ring (47 charges), Amulet of Terror, Cloak of Protection +1, Wand of Fear (59 charges)

Thaariyshya will not be pleased to find intruders in her tower, but she will not overreact either. She will be intensely curious as to why a group of people would arrive at an isolated island and then make their way into her tower. As long as she senses she is not in danger, she will use her defensive spells instead of her Death Spell.

In her tower, the DM is going to have to place Thaariyshya. It is suggested she be in her Sanctorium, researching a spell. This will force the party to explore most of the tower before confronting her.

Part Four - Investigation and Confrontation

It is to be hoped that, given the lack of evidence of slaughter of the Morakki within the tower (the fact that there are no Morakki bodies in the Specimen room [area F Level One] should be a dead giveaway...pardon the pun), the party can eventually establish peaceful contact with the Necromancer. She will be very curious as to why the party has intruded into her demesne, and once that is established (assuming the party has told the truth), she will resign herself reluctantly to helping the party, for she realizes that:

o the party is likely to fight her if she cannot prove her innocence, and although she has confidence in her Death Spell, she does not know how powerful the party is or is not and does not want to risk a confrontation when one can be avoided

o if there is some force on this island capable of taking over 500 beings, then it is likely to be a threat to her and her research, and it is probably only a matter of time before it comes after her

Thus, healthy self-interest and her desire to eventually be left alone necessitates her cooperation with the party.

First, she will ask the party to tell her everything they know. Assuming they are forthright, she will then tell them that the first step would be to search the rest of the northern half of the Isle, in order to try to locate the source of the evil.

She will suggest that the next day the party accompany her in this search.

DISCOVERY OF THE SITE

Armed with her map of this Isle, the party and the Necromancer will head out into the Cudinarn Jungle and the northern slopes of the Leedinark. Wandering encounters may be rolled for during this journey.

Eventually, after a search of close to 2 days, the group will stumble across the clearing of the Norebo. They will likely first notice the lack of animal sounds in the area. As they continue, they will then hear the Norebo, which sometimes howls with glee as it feeds. They will also likely hear the moans of the current feeding victim. Following the sounds will lead eventually to a horrific charnel stench, and finally to within sight of the ghastly clearing.

THE HELLISH CLEARING

Refer to the map of this clearing (The Clearing of the Norebo) provided with this scenario.

This clearing, some 400'-500' in diameter, is a ghastly spectacle of pain. In the centre of the clearing are 5 large wooden X's fashioned from two logs lashed together. These are planted into the ground vertically, and lashed to them are tribespeople, including women and children. All are extremely mutilated, showing signs of hideous torture of a kind unimaginable to the party before now. The Norebo can be seen standing before the eastern most X, practicing a final bit of excruciating torture using a bamboo shoot on an almost dead tribesman who is moaning in utter pain.

The Norebo appears in Kelanni's body, an attractive 5'3" dark-skinned V'nartan woman with long straight black hair. The woman is nude, and significant is the huge mass of scab and scar tissue between her legs. He eyes are wide and bloodshot, and her body is dirty and unkempt and covered with blood and grime. Her nails are long and look razor sharp and her teeth seem to have been broken in places, making for a jagged, wicked-looking mouth. Open sores on her body weep from infection.

The rest of the clearing is just as bad. To the west is a large log setup like a totem pole except that real bodies and body parts have been nailed to it. The surrounding trees that make up the edge of the clearing are literally draped in pieces of human skin, looking kind of like a bunch of fleshy spider webs draped gracefully amid the boughs of the trees. Human bodies and body parts are everywhere strewn about. Every face has a look of utter wide-eyed horror upon it, and few of the bodies are intact. Many of them have their skulls crushed open and the brains are gone, long since devoured by the Norebo. Bodies have huge slivers of wood stuck in them and many show signs of partial devouring.

Some heads are sticking up out of the ground, suggesting that the rest of the body is buried into the ground.

In one instance, a human tree has been created by sticking wooden poles through bodies and then posing them into a trunk and branches with scalps serving as leaves.

The entire spectacle is completely nauseating, and anyone viewing it for the first time must make a D20 roll under CON plus level or be forced to flee from the area and retch for a short time. The Necromancer is immune to this effect. Once the first glance has been made, even those affected can return to the clearing without losing their self-control.

Thaariyshya will hold back the party, warning them that they do not yet know what they face, and that they must preserve the element of surprise in order to have any chance of prevailing. She will remind them that this thing took out over 500 beings.

RESEARCH

Thaariyshya will request the party accompany her to the V'narto village. She will need to ask why a V'nartan woman would be committing such horrible atrocities and, if not in control of herself, who she was.

The DM should roll for more wandering encounters from Cudinarn south through the Jam-Jum and to the village. This journey will take about a day.

Back at the village, the captain can report that the crew has not been harmed, but also that no villagers have been sighted either. If the party questions the villagers in area 6 of the Village about the V'nartan woman (they will have to describe her as best they can), the villagers will give a look of despair and tell the story of Kelanni and Hadulo. Thaariyshya will become very interested at this and will at once want to head back to the Dead Tower.

Again, the DM should roll for encounters. Once back at the tower, Thaariyshya will cloister herself in her library, seeking to research any possibilities as to what has happened. Eventually, after D6+1 days less 1 day per mage assisting her, she will arrive at the conclusion that a Norebo is involved. She will be able to tell the party general information about Norebo and will proclaim that a plan needs to be developed to banish the Norebo back to its home plane, since she does not think she and the party can best it physically after it has consumed so many souls.

She will state that she has the knowledge of a protective circle that can hold the Norebo. She also has a scroll with an 18th level Dismissal Spell on it. Unfortunately, she will explain, the spell will not work on an embodied Norebo, and as far as she knows, only an Exorcism Spell (which she does not possess) will remove the spirit from the body.

However, she will offer to do more research, since she now knows what it is she is looking for, and see if there are any accounts of how to remove such a spirit from a body without using an Exorcism spell..

If a PC wizard is helping with research, allow him the thrill of finding this passage in an obscure scroll telling the exploits of a Paladin of yore:

...and the wretched peasants didst implore me to rid the hag of the spirit that didst overtake her. And I, knowing nothing of fear, could not refuse even such as these, for is it not certain that those lowest in the eyes of the gods are the highest in the need of aid? And they led me to the hag, who saw me and raved at me and came forth to cause me bodily harm with her nails. And I noticed something familiar about the hag...something from my childhood…

But she struck out at me, and I underestimated the strength and wiles of the creature within, for although I saw an unarmed woman, her hands grasped my shield and wrenched it apart, and she warded my sword with her bare arm. Her claws ripped through my enchanted mail, and such was the ferocity of her assault that before I could react I was prone, and she atop me. Sorely wounded was I, bleeding from many horrible wounds, and ready to meet the gods and my death in combat against evil, and the hag tore the helmet from my head, so as to strike a mortal blow.

And the woman stopped in mid strike and howled at the top of her lungs. Then she seemed wracked in an internal struggle and dropped to her knees. The gods took ahold of me, and gave me inspiration, for it was recognition I saw in the eyes of the hag, and I held her and looked into her bloodshot eyes and said "mother". And she saw me then and screamed "my son! My beautiful son!". And the conflict within her increased, and her body wracked in agony, but it was then that I saw the shape expelled from her body. Like shadow it was, full of menacing evil but it fled like the wind.

And I looked into the renewed eyes of my mother, she who had sold me into harsh servitude as a small child. And when she saw naught but forgiveness in my eyes she smiled and thanked me for expelling the evil spirit, for she said it had entered her body through the tears in her soul and in her conscience and it fed off of the guilt she had harboured in giving me up as a child.

And we both thanked the gods that justice had been served, for the guilt that had driven her insane was assuaged by its very cause. Such is the justice of Meredros and the gods.

Otherwise, allow the Necromancer to locate the passage and read it to the party. The abilities of the spirit in this passage are very similar to a Norebo, and it shouldn't be too hard for the party to figure out that severe psychic shock or trauma can expel the possession.

THE LAST INVESTIGATION

The Necromancer will ask the party for ideas regarding what would be sufficient shock to allow Kelanni a chance to expel the Norebo. Allow the party to attempt to come up with the idea of finding Hadulo and presenting him for revenge.

If the players get stuck, the Necromancer can finally arrive at this conclusion on her own.

The next course of action is to find Hadulo. The Necromancer now has a plan. If Hadulo can be found, the plan would work as follows:

o Prepare a protective circle near the Norebo's clearing

o Lure the Norebo into the circle using a party member as a decoy

o Activate the protective circle, imprisoning the Norebo temporarily

o Present Hadulo and promise Kelanni revenge upon him if she will come and get him

o If Kelanni can break the hold, Thaariyshya will intone her Dismissal spell and hope that it works

THE HUNT FOR HADULO

It is known that Hadulo was an adept hunter and forester, and the most likely place for him to be is in the Jam-Jum. The Necromancer can use her Magic Mirror Spell to locate Hadulo. With it, enough detail can be seen to get a general fix on where his cave is. The mirror will show the cave, the forest, and the mountain in the background.

The party can arrive at the cave site within 16 hours (probably a full day and part of another). The exact site has to be searched for, so this comprises a portion of the 16 hours. Eventually, the party will site the cave. Refer to the map of Hadulo's Cave and the key below.

KEY TO HADULO'S LAIR

Hadulo's Lair is essentially a huge boulder, some 50' high and 180' in diameter, which has a split in its front which goes deep into the heart of the rock and has provided for some cave-like openings. The space within is very cramped, with ceilings actually being sharp and coming to a point about 10' overhead. This means that there is barely enough room to walk stooped over, except in the "chambers" where the cracks are wide enough to give a full 10' clearance overhead.

A. Entry:

If the path between two flanking trees is taken to enter the cave, those who do so will encounter the pit. This is dug in typical hunter's fashion and has sharpened stakes at the bottom, although they are not poisoned. The pit is camouflaged with twigs and leaves and grass and some mud, and Hadulo is very adept at doing so, so it is likely not to be noticed casually, except elves have a 1 in 6 chance of spotting it. The pit is 10' deep and, combined with the spikes, will do a total of 2d6 damage to one who falls in. As the pit is 15' by 10' in area, it is possible for two persons walking abreast to fall in at the same time.

Tracking can determine that footprints actually enter the cave from the sides.

B. Entryway:

This area is generally exposed to the air, although it is covered somewhat overhead. Crude drawings on the walls here show drawings of female figures, all with long black hair (like Kelanni's), some with blood rushing from between their legs. Others show a dead male figure lying in a pool of blood with a big knife sticking out of its chest.

A coil of vine-rope, some 50' long, lies bundled against the cave wall. A hollowed out tree trunk lined with bladder skin holds fresh water. A fire ring on the floor shows signs of recent use, as does a large fanlike leaf set nearby. The fan leaf is covered with soot.

To the rear of this place, at the entryway to the rest of the caves, a thin line of cord (made from goat ligament) has been strung out across the passageway. This cord is attached to a pile of coconut shells. The cord is very hard to see, even in torchlight, as it is low to the ground and covered in mud. Anyone stepping on it will dislodge the coconut shells, causing a noise. Hadulo uses this to guard him while he sleeps.

C. Small Place:

This small passageway opens slightly into a little chamber. A crude wooden latticework has been placed here to block off the chamber, the latticework weighted down with stones and wedged tightly in place between the passageway walls. The way to open the latticework is to either smash it down (a long and noisy prospect) or to simply untie some lashings in the centre which keep the two-part latticework together as a single unit. The knot untied and the lashings removed, the latticework splits in half and pulls out.

Within are Hadulo's food stores. There is a goat carcass hanging by its feet from a beam running across the ceiling of this chamber. There are also berries, nuts, roots, fruit, etc. here.

D. Niche:

This widening contains a small ritual area where Hadulo tries to ask forgiveness from his ancestors. A pig's head sits upon a stone here like a trophy on a pedestal. Crude runes and pictures have been carved into the rotting head, and fruits and shiny stones are laid at the base of the stone. One of these shiny pebbles is actually an amethyst worth about 35gp.

E. Sleeping Place:

Here is where Hadulo sleeps.

Within the sleeping place proper is a fur pallet, a gourd filled with water, some arrows and arrow heads, a bag of eagle feathers, 3 flint spears, 12 torches, a set of flint and tinder, and a wooden digging scoop.

F. Place of Refuge:

This place is hidden from area E. The passageway leading to it is high up, about 6 feet above the ground and is very small (about 2' in diameter). Crawling is required to get to the chamber, which is about 6' tall, and Hadulo covers the way with a turtle shell painted grey to look like a part of the rock walls. Such a device will not fool close inspection, and elves have double the chance to notice the concealed way, but it does serve to fool casual inquiries.

If Hadulo hears the pit trap open or the coconuts topple, he will listen for a quick second to see what is coming. After that quick listen, he will grab up his knife and quickly run into the passageway to area F. Placing the turtle shell behind him over the passageway.

The chamber at the end of the way has enough food and water stored to keep Hadulo alive for a week.

If Hadulo is confronted, he will attack wildly, figuring the party was sent by the villagers to get him. Hadulo knows nothing of the Norebo and has not been back to the village since his terrible deed.

Should the party slay Hadulo, they could certainly continue their plans by simply presenting Hadulo's body to Kelanni and claiming that he is alive.

Hadulo will never surrender, but should be easy to subdue without killing him.

When the party first arrives at the cave, Hadulo will be sleeping in area E, having just come back from a hunt at night. Hadulo is paranoid about justice from the village and so only emerges from the cave at night.

Hadulo (AL NE; CL F2 [savage kit]; AC 8; HP 21; S 17 (+1/+1), D 16 (+1/+2), C 15 (+1), I 13, W 9, CH 11; #ATT 1; D by weapon type; MV 12; Specialization: bow; NWP: direction sense, weather sense, endurance, survival (jungle), hunting, tracking, bowyer/fletcher, set snares, animal lore, running, fire-building; Weapons: short bow, knife, spear/javelin; Armour: none; SD savage alertness ability (per the spell once per day)

THE FINAL CONFRONTATION

The party, having captured Hadulo, should now make its way to the Norebo clearing. Once there, a suitable decoy should be arranged. The Norebo, unused to being challenged and having grown unwary after his easy successes against the V'nartans, will certainly follow the decoy, right into the circle. As it holds him fast, Hadulo can be brought before Kelanni. She will scream and writhe and eventually will start to attempt to expel the Norebo, so that she can reach Hadulo and kill him. This internal conflict will proceed much as described in the Paladin's Passage, but after about 5 minutes of this, the Norebo will suddenly be expelled and appear as a disembodied shadowy form.

With this, as Kelanni drops to her knees, too exhausted to even reach Hadulo, Thaariyshya will intone the Dismissal Spell. Unless the DM has something special in mind, after a round of reading, the Necromancer and the Norebo will engage in a final contest of wills, the Necromancer trying to direct the energies of the spell into the Norebo, and the Norebo trying to dissipate the spell energies. Eventually, the spell will succeed, and the Norebo will be banished back to the Plane of Shadow.

Norebo (AL CE; AC 3; HD 8; HP 47; #ATT 2; D 6-8 / 6-8; MV 12; SA: see description; SD see description)

Thaariyshya will then suddenly walk up to Hadulo and strike him across the throat with her dagger. The move will be sudden and likely unexpected, and Hadulo will be slain instantly from the virulent poison the Necromancer concocted in her laboratory and coated upon the blade. If questioned, the Necromancer will explain that Hadulo deserved nothing less for his heinous crimes and it is clear that the normally stoic Thaariyshya has been affected by Kelanni's plight.

With Hadulo now lifeless, the party will witness Kelanni starting to go completely insane as she realizes what she and her body did to her tribespeople. She will start to claw her face, pull her hair, and scream "I did this! I did this! Oh help me please! I cannot stand what I have done!"

Thaariyshya will start to cry as she walks over to Kelanni, seemingly to calm her. She will raise up Kelanni and embrace her, cooing her gently "there there, it's all better now" and stroking her hair for a moment. But then Kelanni's body will go limp, and as Thaariyshya pulls back from Kelanni's lifeless body, a bloody dagger can be seen in Thaariyshya's hand. Kelanni is dead from the knife and from the poison thereon.

Although the party is likely to be shocked, through her tears, Thaariyshya will explain that there was no way Kelanni could live with what she had done to her people. Her life would be a torment worse than any hell. The Necromancer will go on to explain

While you may deem death as a painful ending, I who have studied it, nay plumbed its very depths, I know that death is merely a beginning. And that is what Kelanni needed, a new beginning.

CONCLUSION

With that, Thaariyshya will depart, asking the party to burn the Norebo clearing until nothing of its unholiness remains. She will warn them that their welcome in her tower is now at an end, and that they should now respect her privacy, having proved her innocence.

The party should make its way back to the village. There, they can bring the bodies of Kelanni and Hadulo. The Villagers, seeing these bodies, will believe the party when they say that the evil has ended. The villagers will be grateful, but have nothing to offer the party. They will try to help with the repairs to the ship, but the going will be slow until four days later when a troop of 24 zombies arrives, the lead one with a scroll nailed to its forehead. The scroll reads:

It is in all of our interests to see you off of this island. I have seen your type before, you are the kind that attracts trouble, and I foresee much of that in your future. But I came here to escape the problems of the world, and I intend to keep it that way, so I have sent these to help see you off. Command them as aids to help you repair your ship, and when you leave, please do not judge me too harshly for what I did to Kelanni...for I once tried to cheat death, and it turned out badly for me...this time I embraced death, and found that it would accept my judgment willingly. Fare you well.

Thaariyshya

The boat will take another day to repair, with the tireless help of the zombies saving a lot of time. They also assist in unbeaching the boat and then shamble back into the forest, heading back to the tower. As the remaining villagers wave their thanks, Fermengarr Isle fades over the horizon.

NOREBO

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any
FREQUENCY: Very Rare
ORGANIZATION: Solitary
ACTIVE TIME: Night
DIET: Souls
INTELLIGENCE: Genius
TREASURE: varies
ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Evil
________________________________________________
NO. APPEARING: 1
ARMOUR CLASS: 0 [special]
MOVEMENT: Fl 18 [host]
HIT DICE: 1 [or more]
THAC0: varies
NO. OF ATTACKS: 0 [host]
DAMAGE/ATTACK: -- [see below]
SPECIAL ATTACKS: see below
SPECIAL DEFENSES: +2 weapon to hit [none]
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 0% [or more]
SIZE: M (5'-6' tall)
MORALE: Special
XP VALUE: varies

Norebo are evil spirits from the Plane of Shadow which sometimes make their way to the Prime Material Plane via the spells of wizards and priests or through weak points in the barriers between the planes.

Combat: Norebo have two states -- embodied and disembodied. A disembodied Norebo is almost helpless. It appears as a shadowy column, semi-amorphous, but generally man-sized, with two tiny sparks of red, like embers, for eyes. Norebo are hard to spot when disembodied. In daylight, they are seen 90% of the time. In shadows, twilight, or under cover they are seen 10% of the time. In pitch darkness, their eyes are easy to see and can be spotted 50% of the time.

Disembodied Norebo are unable to affect the physical world. They are purely shadow and cannot touch or lift things. They may pass through physical objects if these are not magically warded, and if they pass through a living being, only a momentary chill is felt.

Disembodied Norebo dislike full daylight and have their hit points halved therein.

Disembodied Norebo seek to possess a body. Unintelligent beings cannot be possessed, since a Norebo's possession is spiritual and mental, not physical. In fact, Norebo are more readily able to posses more intelligent creatures, since such minds and souls are more prone to self-doubt.

Norebo possess a body by being invited in by the host. Such invitation can be conscious or sub-conscious. Norebo cannot possess a dead body. A Norebo only has a 5% chance of a sub-conscious possession. It involves the Norebo enveloping the potential host and scanning its brain for sub-conscious yearnings or guilt or despair, and twisting these thoughts into acceptance of the Norebo. A sleeping person is doubly vulnerable (10% chance).

A Norebo can also be consciously invited into a host. The host must mentally invite the Norebo to possess it, and in this case, chance of successful possession is 95%. Norebo gain conscious invitation through bargaining, harassment, wiles, seduction, and deceit. A Norebo may promise anything to a potential host, but almost never keep their word, except when sufficiently threatened. Norebo are adept liars and often select mentally stressed hosts, since their powers allow them to work on insecurities and self-doubts.

Disembodied Norebo have the powers of ESP, Telepathy, and Suggestion at will. Suggestion may only be used to convince a victim to accept the Norebo as a host, and if the saving through against it is successful, that person is never subject to Suggestion from that Norebo ever again. Telepathy is used to mentally communicate, seduce, and wear down the potential host.

If a Norebo attempts possession and fails, it may never attempt to possess that person ever again.

As stated, intelligence modifies the chance of possession inversely. Thus, the chance to possess someone with low intelligence is halved. The chance of possessing someone with average or very intelligent is normal. The chance of possessing a being with highly or exceptional intelligence is times one and one half, and the chance to possess someone with genius or supra-genius intelligence is doubled. Beings with godlike intelligence cannot be possessed.

An Embodied Norebo dwells within the soul and mind of its victim. Once possessed, a victim is under the complete control of the Norebo and has no self-interest or volition. The victim is aware of its body and its surroundings, and its sensations and activities, and often, even if the Norebo is expelled, the Norebo's activities will have left the victim insane. If the host body is killed, the Norebo is expelled. An expelled Norebo becomes disembodied but keeps its Hit Dice and Magic Resistance (and its enhanced strength and Armour Class if it becomes re-embodied).

A newly embodied Norebo has 1 Hit Die, 0% Magic Resistance, and the strength, number of attacks, damage, and movement of its host. As it feed, it grows more powerful. While Norebo feed off of pain, despair, and other strong, hurtful emotions (by being within 1' of such emotions), they actually grow by consuming souls. Consuming a soul is a lengthy and gruesome process, taking 1 hour per HD or level of the victim (treat victims of less than 1 HD as 1 HD for this purpose) and involving such grisly rites as the devouring of a live brain. Feeding generally requires a physically helpless victim.

Each HD or level consumed gives 1 Feeding Point (FP) to the Norebo. Creatures with less than 1 HD count as 1/2 FP.

Each doubling of accumulated FP gives the embodied Norebo 1 HD, 3% Magic Resistance (MR), +1 AC, and +1 strength. For example:

FP	HD	MR	AC	STR
2	2	3%	+1	+1
4	3	6%	+2	+2
8	4	9%	+3	+3
16	5	12%	+4	+4
32	6	15%	+5	+5
64	7	18%	+6	+6
125	8	21%	+7	+7

Thus, a Norebo that feeds off of 256 0-level souls while in a 10 strength male human unarmoured body would have 8HD, 21% MR, AC 3, and a 17 Strength.

Once strength reaches 18. Each further strength point gained adds 10% to exceptional strength. Thus, a Norebo with a strength of 18 (84) that gains a strength point from feeding would now have as strength of 18 (94). A further gain would bring the Norebo to 19. Thereafter, it takes 10 strength gains to advance (for example, from 19 to 20 strength would require +10 strength points from feeding).

In addition, Norebo have the following abilities while embodied:

Move Silently and Hide in Cover at 90%

Infravision 60 feet

Charm Person or Monster once per week per HD of the Norebo (however, this ability can never have more than one victim at a given time. In other words, the Norebo can have only a single being charmed at any one time. This is because the charm is less magical and more an expansion of the Norebo's malignant will).

In full daylight, Norebo have none of the above special powers and are at half HD and hit points.

In twilight or cover or other conditions of shade they have one and one half their HD and hit points, drawing power from their close connection to shadow.

In darkness or nighttime they operate normally.

Animals and things of nature become uneasy in a Norebo's presence. Dogs may bark, horses shy, and crickets will become still when a Norebo passes by.

A Norebo is not undead and may not be turned. Exorcism can remove a Norebo, but it is merely expelled from its host body, free to wander the Prime Material in search of another vulnerable victim. To be fully defeated, its spirit form must be destroyed or it must be banished back to the Shadow Realms via spells that force creatures from the Prime Material Plane (like Dismissal or Holy Word).

In some rare cases, a victim can expel a Norebo without an exorcism. This is difficult and requires some sort of severe psychic or mental shock or revelation (like if a Norebo kills its host's offspring). In such a case, allow a 1% chance per HD or level of the victim to expel the Norebo after D4 turns of extensive inner turmoil. For these purposes, treat beings with less than 1 HD as having 1 HD.

Bonuses can apply to this chance depending upon the nature and the severity of the shock, especially if the trauma is related to the initial feelings of guilt, self-doubt, or despair that invited the Norebo into the body in the first place. If the shock is relevant and severe enough, bonuses as high at +50% can be given.

Habitat/Society: Norebo are hungry spirits who thrive off of pain, strong emotion, and even souls. Because their home plane is devoid of such "food", Norebo are perpetually weak and in agony in the Shadow Realms and constantly strive to make their way to the Prime Material Plane. By feeding, not only do they sate their hunger, but they grow more powerful, eventually returning to lord over their weaker, unsuccessful brethren.

WANDERING MONSTERS

As this scenario involves a lot of travelling back and forth across the island, wandering monsters should be introduced so that these treks do not become entirely uneventful.

Therefore, allow a 1 in 12 chance of a significant encounter for each fifth of a mile traversed. If an encounter is indicated, roll on the chart appropriate to the terrain. Statistics are not given for these encounters. The DM will have to pre roll them or look them up during play.

Jam-Jum Forest (D12):

1	Giant Rats	5-20
2	Snake (Jaculi)	1
3	Spider, Hairy	1-20
4	Spider, Large	1-8
5	Stirges	1-12
6	Bats, Giant	2-20
7	Frogs, Giant	1-3
8	Tick, Giant	1-6
9	Boar, Wild	1-3
10	Snakes, Winged	1-4
11	Lizards, Giant	1-3
12	Leopards	1-2

Cudinarn Jungle (D12):

1	Snake (Jaculi)	1
2	Spider, Large	1-8
3	Jaguars	1-3
4	Garbugs, Black	2-5
5	Vampire Moss	1-6
6	Centipedes, Giant	1-12
7	Beetles, Fire	1-6
8	Termites, Giant	2-20
9	Insect Swarm	varies
10	Warthogs	1-6
11	Retch Plant	2-20
12	Giant Sundew	1

Leedinark Mountain and Foothills (D12):

1	Beetles, Fire	2-8
2	Eagles, Giant	1-6
3	Mountain Lions	1-2
4	Fly, Giant Bluebottle	1-3
5	Bumblebee, Giant	1
6	Ants, Giant	1-10
7	Gorillas	1-4
8	Jackals	1-6
9	Goats	5-20
10	Scorpions, Large	1-3
11	Snake, Poisonous	1
12	Spider, Huge	1-3

These wandering monster charts are not meant to represent the actual frequencies and the entire range of encounters possible on Fermengarr Isle, but are instead designed to be quick and easy to use and present encounters that most low level parties can deal with (albeit some with difficulty). Remember that most of these creatures are natural animals or giant-sized versions and will not be interested in attacking a large party.

THE END

DM's Notes: This is a very linear scenario, especially once the party hooks up with Thaariyshya. It is important for the DM to try to accomplish several things:

1) For the party to eventually make peace with Thaariyshya and accept her help. If the party is dead set on fighting her, then logic dictates they will be destroyed. Try to make Thaariyshya's pleas to stop fighting and start talking believable and sincere.

2) Try to let the party conduct as much of the investigation into the cause of the possession as possible, as well as coming up with as much of the solution as possible. This scenario is risky in that there is only one solution, and so the party must eventually arrive at it for the scenario to finish. The Necromancer can eventually supply all of the answers, but it is better for the DM to use the Necromancer to provide hints and nudges that will get the party thinking in the right direction.

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