castle

Excerpts from

HAUNTED CASTLES

DRYCHTNOTH

Kruselx ta Kandrax

(The book includes maps of several of the castles listed. The book was written during the fourty third year of the sixth age during the reign of Andoriax VI)

Arkirfa Garmund: The castle of King Garmund, a star shaped castle in the mountains of Xordithattox is rumored to contain the spirit of the ancient king of Corinthia, prior to its annexation by the empire of Drychtnoth. Garmund ruled Corinthia from 1038 V to 1068 V.

Garmund was a black robed mage who had been hired by a king of Indor to kill the Corinthian monarch, Geok MalMarnek. After killing the Corinthian king, Garmund took the throne for himself, plunging Corinthia into the darkest era of its history. It is known that he had allied himself with a lich. Current legends persist that the castle does not hold Garmund's ghost, but his lich...

King Garmund instituted the worship of Olanigan as Corinthia's primary diety. He conquered, lost, and made peace with Nyandar at various points in his thirty year reign. He married several times, killing all of his wives. He congressed with demons and fiends and built the first of many colosseums where gladiator fights were held. Garmund is also famed for beginning the Red Robed Order of Magic-Users. Originally psionicist slayers, they eventually evolved into the modern day Warlords. He was killed in 1068 by Gruth the Slayer.

This castle sits abandoned in the kingdom of Xarthyl II. It is against Drychtnothian law to come within a mile of the castle. Despite this law, several adventurous rogues have entered the edifice. Less than half ever returned, and those that have almost never speak of the experience.

Arkirfa Xlamir (Castle of the Lost Sword): A forboding citadel in Northern Drychtnoth, just north of Talp Kolj (Dream Lake). It was conquered in 1453 V by a fallen paladin of the Order of the Lost Sword and an army of flesh-eating ghouls. Local legends depict the lost paladin ruling the land eternally as one of the living dead. Some legends make Isaxor Ghor a vampire, others make him out as a ghost. The truth is unknown, as no one has come back from there alive. Even the legendary Glauraith the vampire hunter has thus far avoided the area (according to local legend anyway)

The legend runs thusly: In 1453 Isaxor the Paladin of the Order of the Lost Sword captured a werewolf. This lycanthrope was the brother/father/uncle/son (depending on who is telling the tale) of a powerful gypsy matron. This gypsy cursed the holy warrior to never again cast a reflection or shadow for he had taken her brother (or father, or uncle, or son) from the light of the world forever. Upon returning to Arkirfa Xlamir, his fellow paladins saw he had no reflection. Isaxor was accused of vampirism and witchcraft by the Elder Priests. Trust in Isaxor waned after months of trials, accusations, and hatred passed. His family was found guilty of necromancy and hanged. Upon finding the hung bodies of his family, Isaxor rode to the Arkirfa and slew the Elder Priests. He then rode away. The next night he returned with an army of ghouls and destroyed the Order. Known as Isaxor Ghor, he rules there still.

Kuthia's Castle: a castle 50 miles south of the ruins of Xusa, northeast of Lake Eonnoth. The vampiress Kuthia, one of three noble sisters, is presumed to live there, but vampire hunters who have entered the castle in daylight have all been killed.

Arkirfax Xelos (the Palace of Xelos): This fortress, as is well known, is the main citadel of Andoriax the Sixth and is located at the heart of Sprakxorclerat, the Imperial City. Many ghosts reside here. I have chosen not to detail these spirits here, but will detail them in a companion piece at a later date.

Ruins of unnamed castle: North of Sproktoxxoroktoxorat somewhere is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of Ekbat V, killed by magic in 790 V.

Ekbat V was crowned the ruler of Ekbatai in 720 V by the priests of that decadant culture. He tried to restore the Ekbatai people to greatness after their defeat at the hands of Dagam rebels. He built a modest temple to Yogath Hob, but was largely an ineffectual leader. He did instigate the assassination of King Axdar of Drychtnoth in 739. He was killed in 790 by three ruthless assassins, the mages Isuthan, Uxrustrian, and Darezgru.

The Ekbatai castle held the court of the next Ekbatai king, Uthat III, and the one following him (Ekbat VI) before it was abandoned. Unmaintained, it fell to ruin quickly. The current Drychtnothian government under Emperor Andoriax VI has no interest in rebuilding the castle or excavating it in any way.

Arkirfa Asborinat: Deep in the Drychtnothian Desert lies the ruined castle of old king Irtik Kan'gi. The castle, though currently uninhabited, holds three powerful spirits, according to local folklore.

The first of the three is reputed to be the phantom of an ancient witch, evil and ugly. Back in the days when the desert was fertile, she was in the employ of a forgotten king. Three of the lord's children constantly made fun of her hideousness, playing pranks and doing their best to belittle the sorceress. Angered after three years of abuse, she killed the three children. Some stories maintain she cooked them and served them to the court. Some stories tell that she ate them herself. Others say she sold them to a Baatorian Prince and they live still in eternal slavery. One other narrator related that she drowned them after enchanting them to have sexual relations with her. At any rate, she hid her crime for months, until she finally slipped up and was discovered. She was hung for witchcraft (one tale I heard relates that she was turned over to Grindill and his Grey Robed witch-hunters), but her spirit was denied rest by the gods of death and she haunts still the castle.

The second ghost is that of the Master Groundskeeper. Several generations after the witch's evil deeds were performed, another king of Asborinat ruled that dying land. It had already begun its disintigration into desert land. Anyways, this groundskeeper was very good at keeping the grounds lush and green. Bandits attacked the castle, killing most of the inhabitants. The groundskeeper smuggled the king's wife and children out of the castle and to safety in a nearby cave. The king had died defending the keep. The groundskeeper returned to the castle to help in its defense. To bring the castle to its knees, the bandits set the grounds on fire. The groundskeeper was frantic in his efforts to put out the spreading flames. He had succeeded in saving his king's children, but he failed to keep the grounds. To this day he wanders the grounds, trying to bring back life to the dead earth.

The third spirit of the castle is a vile one indeed. The last king of the castle was an evil, dark man. His perversions are too disgusting for me to detail here, so I shall spare any women who may be reading this. He was a despicable old miser, lonely and ghastly. His soldiers were little better than raiders and villians, worse even then those bandits who had burned the grounds to ash two generations earlier. They robbed the people blind, even as they tried to grow food in a quickly forming wasteland. He grew to be so grisly that even his most hardened soldiers left him. Alone he died there, miserable and pitiful. His spirit is the most evil of all in this castle. His ghost is so vile, it makes the witch's spirit seem angelic. It does not appear as a humanoid spectre, instead it appears as a luminous cloud. Most of the stories claim that this ghost can drain the blood from the living. It doesn't seem to imbibe the blood, like a vampire, but dumps it all on the floor around the corpse. A few tales relate that this spectral cloud does use the blood for sustenance, and a few others tell the tale that can make the skin of the living run like water. All the tales I have collected reference the treasures of the castle. The ghost made sure none of the surviving relatives could come and take anything from the castle. The ghost also allows no one to live there, and it has stood abandoned ever since - about two or three hundred years according to my best sources.

Arkirfa Jot: The ghost of cruel looking man haunts this still occupied castle. This ghost seems to delight in physically abusing servants and rearranging items. The ghost also likes to clean. According to legend, the ghost is that of an old castellan. The dates are lost, for every teller of this legend dates it at a whim and I haven't gained permission to look at the castle records. Thus I have no proof of anything that follows concerning this spirit. I can't even verify the ghost's name. Anyways, the legend tells that this castellan was cruel and would beat the maids and other members of the household staff. His only passion was order. Everything had to be in order. He couldn't stand dust, dirt, or untidiness. The old king of the castle (again I cannot verify the names, and each member of the current household has its own pet ancester to saddle with this legend) was very pleased with this castellan's work, since he also was obsessed with cleanness. The elderly king would turn a blind eye to this castellan (most legends indicate that this king was mostly blind and deaf physically to begin with). Tired of the abuse, the servants conspired to be rid of this castellan. They began to dropping hints that the castellan was a traiter aspiring to be king of Arkirfa Jot. They drew up documents perporting to be his journal detailing his plots against the king. Finally, after two months of this the king's faith in his castellan had waned considerably. The servants rose up and beat the castellan and tied him to the king's throne. The old, nearly blind king came upon the throne and found his castellan there. From behind the chair a servant exclaimed, "I shall rule now, you decrepit fool!" The nearly deaf old king ordered the castellan thrown in the dunjon. The next day the castellan was torn apart by five horses and his bones were scattered throughout the land. But before he died he cursed the rebellious servants and swore he would have revenge against any who ever served in this castle. To this day his ghost still seeks his scattered bones and still wreaks pain on the servants of Arkirfa Jot.

Arkirfa Kaboran: A famous artist, Xyth Kul, of 1344 V lived in this imposing castle. His paintings, especially his life-like nudes, were in high demand throughout central Drychtnoth. He specialized in female nudes for he was completely in love with the female body. He just couldn't see enough of that gender. In addition to being known as a remarkable painter, Xyth Kul was a renowned "peeper", always striving to place himself in positions where he could spy and catch glimpses of the fair sex. It was his personal agenda to see unclothed every beautiful female he possibly could. Most of his nudes were sold to the king of Arkirfa Kaboran, Lord Xerka, who, like Xyth Kul, also had an appreciation for feminine charms. He felt Xyth Kul's paintings were even better than the real thing, for Xyth Kul had melded his own love for the figure into each of his paintings, effusing them with an ethereal lust that gave the canvassed subjects a unique life.

Xyth Kul loved nothing better than to charm a lovely lady out of her clothing so he could paint or sketch their beautiful nudity. One of his favorite places was a river nearby to the Clerat Kaboran where he could sketch the women as they bathed completely unaware of his presence.

One girl he longed more than any other to see nude was the lord Xerka's daughter. Fifteen she was, and lovely as could be. But never could she be coaxed from her clothes. Always her attendants kept him from her baths. She knew his lust to view her undraped body so she would tease him, putting herself so that he could just almost see those things he longed to see, but never did she reveal anything of herself.

He often did paintings of her for her father, as he did for many Drychtnothian nobles, but always clothed. By degrees he began to obsess over seeing her naked. His work began to suffer. He became more daring in his peepings. Thrice he was thrown in the dunjon.

Finally he travelled far and wide from the castle, consulting gypsies and diviners of all sorts, seeking magic to force Lord Xerka's daughter to model for him in the nude. Finally, via the conjurations of a scheming warlord, a hideous demon was summoned from the nether pits (one person who told me the tale told me the name of the demon was Larbius. Of course I have no means of verifying this intelligence and only mention it in passing for the sake of completeness). This fiend offered the artist a means to his end...for a price. The artist had to give the demon one nude painting of the daughter of Xerka, and of every daughter, wife, niece et. al. of every king to ever rule over the province of Kaboran until the demon told him the price had been met. The artist promised. The monster gave Xyth Kul a ring. This ring allowed him to gaze through the obstruction of clothing. In fact he could even gaze through walls and most other barriers, but it could not gaze through flesh. Xyth Kul took the ring and returned to the castle at Kaboran. The king of Kaboran was glad to have his court painter returned to him. Xyth Kul arranged to do a portrait of Xerka's daughter. With his ring he was able to see her in the nude even though she was sitting with her clothes on. He painted a vibrant (and accurate) nude of her. He painted several. He gave one to the demon and hid the others amongst his private collection. He made nudes of several prominent wealthy Drychtnothian noblewomen. He sold most of these to discrete buyers. A year later, the demon appeared in Kaboran as a peddler. He had the painting of Xerka's daughter with him and he presented it as a gift to Lord Xerka. Xerka recognized the work as Xyth Kul's and had him blinded. In anguish, the artist committed suicide. But the terms of Xyth Kul's agreement with the devil did not allow him to rest in peace. His ghost strives to take over the bodies of the living (for he cannot see otherwise), fetch his ring, and paint the females of the castle.

Xaquikashakrinat: In the years when this tower was built, one of the craftsmen overheard a conspiracy between the Lord High Chancellor and the Lord High Chamberlain. The two conspirators discovered their lapse in security and plotted against the craftsman, which resulted in the craftsman being embedded in the foundations of the tower. His ghost resides there still. Also of note, a famed cartomancer had decreed that this tower will one day be ruled by a lich or a vampire. Currently it is uninhabited.

Corinth Castle (Arkirfa Corinth): Many ghosts haunt this ancient castle. One of the most famous of its phantoms involves a lecherous cook and his two mistresses. This cook was killed in the kitchen after he consumated an affair with a scullery maid. Another lover of the cook had witnessed the tumbling and she hit the cook over the head with a bucket filled with water. The scullery maid tried to escape, but she too was dispatched with the wood and iron bucket. She buried them both in the garden. The murders were discovered and she was hung. The scene plays over and over again during the early morning hours.

Another of Corinth Castle's ghosts is Magina, a poor girl cursed by gypsies for refusing them shelter. Although the refusal was actually made by the girl's father, she was held accountable by the gypsies. The curse laid upon her (which was unknown to her) was that upon being married she would, on her wedding night, become hideous in the eyes of her husband. She lived her life very normally for a few more years, then she fell in love and was married. The curse ran its effect and she hung herself. Her ghost still wanders the halls of this castle.

Several kings of Corinthia walk the halls of this ancient edifice. Many more of its queens, princesses, and princes pace its passages. This work is too short to detail all of these spirits and will be dealt with in a companion piece when my researches are complete.

Arkirfa Tacarandithat: A boy here hung himself as a prank to scare the major-domo. Unfortunately he died. His spirit can still be seen.

Xuquita Arkirfa : This mouldering castle holds the spirit of a dog. This dog howls whenever a murderer is in the vicinity. The story runs that this dog witnessed the murder of his master. The killer saw the dog, but paid it no mind. All night, every night, for months, the dog howled, making the killer's conscience heavy. Later the killer murdered the dog too. It now howls through eternity.

Tonsikxorclerat Fortress: The ghost of a young lady can occasionally be seen on the grounds of this fort. According to locals, she had been in love with a brave Drychtnothian knight. To get closer to her love she took a job as a stable hand at this fort. The two would meet at night and consumate their passions. One fateful night, while rushing to finish her chores so as to meet her lover, she was kicked by one of the horses and was killed. Such was her rush that she did not realize she had died and her spirit went forth to the tryst. The knight, however, passing by the stable saw her dead body. He did not, of course, continue his journey. The ghost waited and waited for her knightly lover. She waits there still...

Xotrin Castle: The building of this border castle was a hurried and barbarous affair. Many hundreds of men were killed from the burdens of their work and the haste of their overseers. One can often hear the cries of the dead workers echo out of the very walls of this very old castle.

Akirfa Karthellant: Several generations back the king of Karthellant, a member of the then prestigious Xuul family, collected figurines and statuary art (including rare Stygian ushabtis, toys, etc). The castle was filled with figurines. He was very concerned with his collections, always walking around looking at the small humanoid statuettes, rearranging them in little dioramas and scenes, and even, when no one was looking, playing with them. King Xuul, so concerned about his collections, specified in his will that his figurines must forever remain in the castle or he would come back in anger. His will was kept by his ancesters, but 15 years ago when the Kel family attacked and defeated the Xuuls the new king Kel sold the figurines (as he was unaware of the will). Ever since then, he and his family have had many troubles from this restless spirit. Currently king Kel and his family are desperately seeking the figurines for their return to the castle.

Atarkirfat (The Castle on the Mountain): This castle has a helpful spirit. Along time ago (the legends are inexact) a Taster for the king of the castle who was very devoted to his king. He died after tasting poisoned wine. The king was saved, and he gave his taster a fabulous funeral. Now, anytime the king of castle is about to eat poisoned food, this Taster's ghost is seen, alerting the king to the danger.

Telhrix Arkirfa: This castle has always been well known for its excellent library. Unfortunately no one can get in to use it. The librarian of the castle in the year 1360 V loved the books and scrolls he stocked his library with. He valued the castle's library above his own life. He collected many rare and esoteric volumes. He even collected one of the three known extant copies of the Nan Curinir. The Warlords, the militant branch of the Red Robed Order, heard of his collection and deemed it subversive to the Empire. The warlords came to confiscate the library. The librarian died defending his books and scrolls. The warlords entered the large library and were slaughtered. The librarian didn't care if he was dead. His books would be protected and now he had the power to do so. The librarian's ghost continues to guard the library to this day, allowing only a select few in, killing in a most expeditious manner all others.

Kelktyon Border Castle: A disfigured court cartographer and a beautiful girl from the village were passionately in love. The townsfolk hated this affair and would often abuse the pair, singly or together. The two lovers began to secretly meet at an ancient tree that grew next to the map-maker's family crypt. The village hero, a handsome, vain, brute of a fellow was also in love with this girl (as was most of the males in the village). This muscular man challenged the cartographer to a duel. The map-maker refused to fight a fight he couldn't win. The villager decided to simply take the girl. The cartographer fought and was beaten. The rest of the townsfolk stepped in and continued the beatings, chasing him from the village back to the castle, where he was beaten and driven away by the knights of the Kelktyon king. Meanwhile, the girl tried to run, but was killed when her father tackled her. The cartographer was killed by the knights and with his dying breath he swore he would have vengeance against the king and all his progeny. Over the next several nights, the people of the village, beginning with the girl's father and the vain popular "hero" of the village, were killed by the tree that grew next to the crypt. This has continued to the present day. The latest victim of this tree was the son of the present king last summer. All attempts to destroy this tree have failed.

Arkirfa Kidoth: A poor servant served for many years in this old castle. He was hated by the rest of the staff but well liked by the king of Kidoth. The old king had no children, and wasn't liked by anybody but this servant. When the king died, he left all his wealth to this loyal servant. The servant was so happy and in a fit of excitement as he paraded around, he fell down the main stair case and was killed instantly. His ghost can still be seen trying to cause problems for the present owners of the castle, trying to recapture the wealth he lost.

excerpts from

GHOSTS AND GOBLINS OF LAMAPACHER

Author Unknown

Llaerianen's Terror: Llaerianen was an Elvish lady who chose, with her family, to travel amongst the human lands during the early years of the Fifth Age. The various empires of Drychtnoth, Dagam, and Ekbatai were very harsh toward them, and they fled into the wild lands south of the Kargan mountains. During their wanderings, Llaerianen found a ring of gold, an unusual find for these uncivilized lands. The ring, it was determined, dated back several thousands of years. In fact, it had been forged and magicked in ancient Angust during the First Age. Had they known that, they would have surely tossed the horrible thing aside as unwholesome. But Llaerianen kept the ring and found she could command the very air around her.

In time, she grew more and more protective of the ring, and more and more paranoid of others. Finally, she caught her nephew looking at the ring...She slew him. The worst crime an elf can commit - she slew another elf.

Reviled by her people and family, they tried to drive her out. She slew them all with the ring and her own skills. As the last of her family died, he pierced her heart with his blade and cursed her to forever be alone, to be a harbringer of death, and to forever guard the ring so no other could be cursed by it. His sword in her heart, she died and her spirit went forth with the Angustian ring. Now, if any hears her terrible cry, they know death will strike that night, and if any were to approach her, she would slay them, regardless of her own will, for she must ever be a lonely guardian of that pitiful ring.

She dwells in a forest in the middle of Lamapacher. The forest is called Llaerianen's Terror.

Itsitlawikanah: A terribly haunted place, and with due cause. One can experience phantom shifts, spectres, and poltergeists during a visit to this magnificent ruin. Most of the ghosts here are either chaotic bugaboos or woeful spirits of Lord Komaaks' victims. In either case, while disturbing, nearly all the spirits found here are largely harmless. There are two known exceptions. The ghost of Lord Tregillish Mul is known to haunt his chambers in the upper floors of the castle. He will attack if anything in his room is removed. He will use deadly force if his sword is even touched. Two of my investigators did not come back alive from this spiritually active citadel. This phantom is otherwise harmless. The other dangerous spook is the restless ghost of Lord Komaaks himself. Although some sources place Lord Komaaks' tomb in the mountains north of the Desert of Yam ibn Saud, I believe Thigru had him buried under his castle in Lamapacher. At any rate, this rarely seen spectre is reputed to be very violent. Although none of my investigators witnessed this ghost's appearance, it is well "documented" in local folklore as being present.

Grithyall's cave: A cave is reputed to be located in the mountains around Axlimapacher where those who enter are found later, missing limbs - arms, legs, heads, hands, etc. I have seen this cave, but did not enter it, for I prefered to chance staying alive.

Ammelimba Forest: This forest is infamous for a monster that lives within. The monster is rarely seen, but is reputed to be very deadly and fierce. Currently it is unidentified.

Duch'b's Dragon: A dragon is reputed to live in a cavern system that has an outlet in the Duch'b Faswen.

Kreon the One-Eyed: Kreon is a confirmed dragon that lives in the Grimbern mountains that border the southeastern edge of Lampacher. He is a Great Wyrm of Red coloration. Evil and avaricious he rarely leaves his lair these days. Rumors persist that he has dealings with the lich Endrath (see next entry).

Endrath's Laboratories: I have personally travelled through the ancient dungeons in the norther reaches of the Grimbern mountains. I have met Endrath the lich. While, for completeness, I will mention that he lives in these mountains, but I will not give an exact location. I will detail my encounter with this horrific personage in another volume.

Lake Egroth: Legends persist of a lake dragon in this remote body of water. I did not witness this creature and cannot vouch for its existance.

The Pit at Kiroj: There is a pit near Kiroj wher rumbles, grumbles, and roars of horrific aspect can be heard at all hours. I experienced weeks of nightmares after visiting this hellish pit.

The Stone Ring of Arulochabar: There is a ring of tall standing monoliths near the village of Arulochabar. On certain nights of the year, people standing within the ring disappear forever. I stood there and I still am here, so I cannot verify this story either.

The Statue of Borani Alnavco: This statue of an ancient saint, a priest of Kalendor Hob, is reputed to have healing properties. While not a ghost or a goblin, I felt it worthy of mention.

The Ghost of Saylon: Anytime this village is occupied, a ghost arises and slaughters everyone. No one is currently living here, so I witnessed no ghost.

Kapimlaswir: This village should be avoided at all costs. Cults of the Old Ones survive here and something unreal is happening here.

Xorckrat: A man here, while testing a guillatine, chopped off his own head. He is still looking for it according to local legend.