Alrighty then.
First off, "A Light in the Belfry", a 2nd edition TSR Ravenloft module published in 1995. It was an early experiment in using CDs as quasi interactive story-telling tools. As such, it was... problematic. TSR was trying to do too much, and many of the books for each setting were clearly written by people who hadn't read the previous books. The story itself is pretty much light-weight quasi horror that Ravenloft degenerated into by the end of 2nd Ed, and much of the writing is flawed--so is the acting and the sound effects on the CD. I think there were only 4 or 5 CDs made, 2 of them adventures, 2 of them pure music, and one a sort of overview of the Planescape world.
The "villain" of the story is a Necromancer named Morgoroth, who was trying to reform his ways, broke, did some more bad stuff, and now has a mini-domain within the Ravenloft plane as a reward. This is a lvl6-8 mod. From the very beginning of the campaign, I was planning on running the party through this. I'd been dropping hints about the lost settlement of Avonleigh once they reached 3rd level, but they fought cultists of Mor'grath starting with the first story and about every other story after that. So there was a fair amount of build up. If there had been a paladin in the party, I'd have mentioned the order's great hero Lambert, who was valiant and pure as a paladin should be before he disappeared on a mission 500 years ago tracking down a vile Lord.
An Eladrin demi-lord had been given permission to re-settle a town where the lost village of Avonleigh (which disappeared about 500 years ago) once was, and hired the party to escort his caravan of initial settlers and craftsmen from town to the site. To help them out, and ensure they did their job instead of taking the money and running, he sent along his agent, a Storm Sorceror. The farther the group traveled, the stronger the storm on the horizon ahead of them seemed to get. The goblin raids to steal stuff from the caravan and slow it down gave the agent a chance to show off his storm magic. The rain starts the morning before the party enters the valley, and once they reach where the town was, lightning strikes and they are at the beginning of the mod: in a ruined and desolate town of old broken buildings. The only bright light they can see is from a building well outside of town...
As it happens, the agent was a red herring, trying to bait the characters into blaming their situation on him.
That's the set up.
As for the actual conversion:
First thing: converting the map from isometric to grid. The grounds of the house do fit on a sheet of regular graph paper if you make each square 10x10 (the walled area becomes 24x30). Obviously, with 5x5 squares that 4e uses, that's 48x60. Once you have the map, a lot of the rest of this becomes very easy.
I put together a cheat sheet with what could be found in each room, and which text block to get to, as well as which mirror shard was in each room. (Yeah, this is all pretty basic prep work, esp when converting an old mod).
[sblock="module text"]
Light in the Belfry
[sblock="Chapters of the Mirror"]
Part 1
The mirror frame fills with the image of a normal-looking village. Crops are being tended in the fields, cattle low, and crafters work their trades. Atop the hill is an elaborate ceramic tower, connected to a manor house and fortified walls. Flags sail from their posts bearing the signs of loyalty to the Eladrin Crown, and a gold circle in a field of white. Within the fortified wall, knights practice for battle. Within the manor house, seated at a table are twelve knights, each with the Golden Circle design embroidered into their vestments. At the head of the table is a knight that seems to embody all that is ideal and righteous. At this table, all the knights hold discussions and debates, but are ever ready to defend their township and any traveler.
The image fades. When it clears, it shows a single traveler in a battered cloak walking through a torrential rain. “They must see me. Someone of the Circle must see me. They must help me ease this burden, and atone.” The man walks to the very door of the manor house and knocks insistently. “Please, I must speak to your master at once.” The servant that answers the door makes a sign to ward off evil and escorts the man into the council chamber.
Only the head knight of the order is sitting in attendance.
“I am Lord Ferran Shadowborn.”
“And I… I ask only that you hear me out, and allow me to finish, before you take any action.”
“I have granted you an audience, sir, despite the hour and foul weather that arrived shortly before you did. Speak your troubles.”
“I am… My name is Morgoroth, and I have done much that I now know to be the most vile, blackest, and evil of deeds. It was my intention to help, but in my zeal… I have destroyed entire villages to learn the spread of disease. I have experimented on prisoners in dungeons to learn the stages of their death. I have brought suffering to innocents, and rather than use my knowledge to ease their woes, have used them as a opportunity to learn more. All this and more I have to tell you.” Morgoroth continues for some time. Ferran’s countenance grew darker and darker with each atrocity confessed. “But worse than ANY of those deeds, and that which brings me before you tonight, last month someone came to me, pledging his allegiance, if I would teach him. He told me he had already done everything he could to obscure records, that my name would not be known to agents of divine retribution. He boasted of obscenities, and that he had dedicated his acts to me. I slew him. He sought not to help his fellow beings, but to punish and enslave them. He showed me what I had become—a monument to evil. I cannot live in such a manner. Better to be dead and forgotten that such.”
Ferran Shadowborn descended from his chair. “Kneel. Your deeds are the most disturbing I have ever heard. The wickedness of them… Had we met on the field of battle, my knights and I would have struck you down without a qualm. But here, in my home, you seek to somehow atone for the evil you have brought to the world?”
“I do.”
“Will you abandon the path you have spent your life following? Will you pledge to obey the laws and rules of this town? Will you swear personal loyalty to myself and the Order of the Circle?
“I do so swear.”
“Then arise, friend. You may live here in peace. Help this town to thrive, and you may come to find the redemption you seek.”
Part 2
Leaving his new liege’s home, Morgoroth strode boldly out into the stormy night to an unclaimed plot of land outside the town, near the forest. As the village bell tolled midnight, he began to chant. All through the night, he wrought macabre rituals and enchantments. The land twisted and buckled. Raw earth and stone reshaped themselves. At dawn, Morgoroth stopped, for his work was completed. He stood at the gates of Tergeron Manor, the estate that magic had built in a single night.
“A home to call my own, and a fresh start. A chance at redemption. I shall not fail these people. I cannot.”
In the village of Avonleigh, rumors were whispered of the house’s construction. Soon the forest was described as haunted, and was from then on referred to as the Phantasmal Forest.
Part 3
While walking through town, Morgoroth’s demeanor was haughty and superior, and the people showed him deference, in spite of his human heritage. Within the halls of the Circle, however he is more humble. He and Ferran have many discussions late into the night.
The Rest of the Circle are less enthusiastic, and stare distrustfully at Morgoroth when he passes them. The esteem of Lord Ferran, however, kept them from openly speaking against Morgoroth, for they had no proof of misdeeds.
As years passed, and Morgoroth proved himself a loyal and true friend, many members of the Order of the Circle allowed a grudging respect to soften their perceptions of the moody sage and counselor.
Not even the rumored wailing spirits within the Phantasmal Forest caused the paladins much disquiet, for none were found, and such tales were often told of wizards, especially those who were, after all, only humans…
Part 4
Sometimes also present at the meetings of the Order was Ferran’s sister, Aurora. She was as pure as a summer fey could be, and devoted to Correlon. Morgoroth was ever deeply moved whenever he saw her. He would mutter to himself afterward when returning to his home. “Fool. Why must you think on Her. She is devoted to her church. Her beauty is… But she is Eladrin, of the highest cast. Whereas I… She would be repulsed at the very idea. No, there are other matters to consider. The fields, the rogue goblins. Solving the problem of the disease brought in by the paracites… These are where my attention must lie. But when I see her face… Ah FOOL.”
At such meetings, Morgorth often sat back, with the hood of his cloak pulled up so as not to see Aurora, and spoke only when spoken to. And Aurora would look at him, her stare seeming to bore into his soul…
Part 5
The mirror shows an explosion in an alchemical lab. “Beshaba’s Brats! This spell… Shall I never master it? If Aurora were here… oh… If only she were. I would tell her everything. And that would certainly be the end of everything I have tried to accomplish. Watching her disgust at the creature Ferran has allowed into his home would end my suffering. But then She would know without a doubt that I was every bit the vile creature they suspect. I do not know that I could bare to have her scorn.”
“Oh, but in my own realm, I could just claim her as mine and kill any who dared say otherwise. And she would be happy. She would have no choice by to be happy.”
“Ah, such distractions. A walk will clear my head. But it is sunset, and the spirits will be out. Already they are coming forth from the woods.”
“Leave me in peace. Be Gone. You dare vex me? You dare mock me? Yes, some of you were undeserving of the evil that befell you. But others were not undeserving. I see you, Drafeen. You murdered dozens to rob them of coins and trinkets when I found you in the dungeons. Be glad that the rotting disease I infused into your food was as merciful as it was. Your suffering taught me much. And you, Taifus, I found you standing over the bodies of your last victims. Children! Your death was too swift by half.”
“Accept the fates that befell you, all of you, and leave me alone.”
Part 6
“Enough of this foolishness. How many months—months nay years—must pass before this ridiculous infatuation for Aurora dies. Will it ever die? Will it haunt me forever as do those spirits in the woods? Enough. If I give voice to it, maybe she will be merciful and slay this foolishness with her rejection. Then I can get back to work in peace.”
Morgoroth went to see Aurora. After uncomfortable silences and banal attempts at conversation between them, he finally told her of his love for her. Aurora turned away from Morgorath at once. Her cheeks flushed, and tears started to run down her face as she fled.
“Well, at least that is at an end.”
Part 7
Another year passed, but Morgoroth’s desires did not fade. Meetings between Morgoroth and Aurora were few, cordial, and civilized, but never alone. Morgoroth spent most of his time within Tergeron Manor.
One evening a foreign knight rode into the town of Avonleigh. The Order of the Circle was called together at once. As advisers, both Morgoroth and Aurora were present, though they did not look at each other. Morgoroth sat in the shadows with the hood of his cloak pulled up and remained silent.
The foreigner stepped forward. “I beg indulgence with the court of Ferran Shadowborn. I, Lamber, knight of the Crucible of Erathis, am on a mission to rid the world of perhaps the most black-hearted and cruel mage this world has ever known--a foul despoiler of life itself. Alas, I know not his name, but only his deeds.”
As Lamber began listing the atrocities of Morgoroth, the faces of the Order of the Circle grew dark with anger. He quietly left the council chamber. “He pursues me. Ferran knows the truth, and all of it. He will speak for me to the others, but they may not listen. I will Not allow them to condemn me! I have earned redemption. I have a right to seek it.”
Morgoroth returned to Tergeron Manor on foot. Lamber caught up to him with his horse and attacked without a word. Lamber was no match for Morgoroth’s magic. “Your mission is accomplished, Lamber. You have not died in vain. No, you have shown me what I truly am, always have been, and always shall be. I should thank you. The spirits in the wood have known. Ferran knew, but did not believe. Aurora must have known. They will come for me. Very well. I shall be waiting.”
Part 8
The council was stunned by Lamber’s words. It was evident from details they had learned over the last six years that Morgoroth was the wizard Lamber hunted. Ferran Shadowborn was forced to confirm it. They made plans for an assault on Tergeron manor. Only Ferran spoke against such action, as Lamber stormed out of the room.
“The man came here intent on making a new life free of the evil he had wrought. While it is clear he has done much evil, he came to me seeking salvation. He knelt before me, pledged his allegiance, and vowed to reform. Should we turn our backs to this?”
“The Wizard Morgoroth has caused no harm to me, brothers. He has done no wrong within the township, not to its people. He has acted only to help us, all of us, through deeds or simple advice. Is there one here who can say otherwise?”
“Then it is my decision to ride immediately to Tergeron Manor and speak directly to Morgoroth. It is possible that we can prevent tragedy from befalling him.”
Part 9
Ferran Shadowborn arrives at the gates of Tergeron Manor, with storm clouds brewing overhead.
“Morgoroth! Morgoroth open this gate. I come in friendship. Please, let us talk. Let me counsel you, as you have so often counseled me.”
The gate opened of its own accord.
“Thank you.” Ferran enters the yard.
Before he reaches the main entry, a rider approaches from the stables and dismounts. “Uhg. By all that is holy, Lamber! But I see no life in you. You are nothing by a rotting corpse.”
Ferran fought briefly with Lamber, but the abominable corpse was no match for a veteran paladin. “Rest, pour soul. Rest in everlasting Peace. Morgoroth! Please… tread no further on this path!”
The door opens, and Ferran enters Tergeron Manor.
Part 10
While the Order of the Circle readies itself for combat, Morgoroth strikes. Aurora Shadowborn and her attendants are offering evening prayer to Correlon. Morgoroth teleports into the shrine and casts an enchantment on Aurora. While the attendants scramble to their feet to stop him, Morgoroth teleports away with his captive.
Outside, the storm begins. Lightning shatters many houses in the town, and the only impediment to the fires that begin is a dank rain.
Part 11
The Order of the Circle rides for Tergeron Manor. From the depths of the Phantasmal Forest, spirits attack, reaching out from the woods. Three knights are slain. From within his home, Morgoroth controls the attack, using the spirits as puppets of his will. No longer mere spirits, specters, wraiths and other undead abound, waiting for orders from their master.
Spectral wolfs destroy two more knights at the gates of the Necromancer’s Manor house.
The remaining six knights enter Tergeron Manor. Pouring rain is interrupted by a clash of thunder as the door closes behind them.
Part 12
The storm, much like the savage tempest that struck the night Morgoroth arrived in Avonleigh, sweeps over Avonleigh. It is as if the sky and soil are at war with each other. The people hide in their homes and basement, only opening their doors to neighbors whose own homes are destroyed. Ancient trees are ripped from the soil and hurled miles away. Cattle are less fortunate. In the morning, the people find their land a grim and dismal place, with a brooding sky, a wan sun, and once fertile farmland reclaimed by foreboding woods that often as not contain dangers only the Order of the Circle was brave enough to face. But they are gone… Gone to Tergeron Manor. The tower that was their fortress has been leveled, including the chapel and the Shadowborn manor house.
As the townspeople storm up the hill, they find the Tergeron Manor surrounded on all sides but one by the Phantasmal Forest. After the first few are slain by the spectral spirits within, the crowd disperses, attempting to salvage what they can of their town.
Part 13
“Something is not right. This house, all of Avonleigh, is not where it should be.”
Morgoroth turns to find Aurora’s ominously still body sealed in a glass coffin. Morgoroth spends many hours trying everything from his most powerful enchantments to a large hammer, attempting to smash the glass. Nothing works.
“Fear not, Aurora. I shall free you from this coffin, and us both from this place, whatever it is. I have a spell, you see—the same one I used to escape Lamber the last time he tracked me down—and with it, we can go somewhere… somewhere we can be together, where you won’t mind too much our differences of station.”
Morgoroth stands a large free-standing mirror in the parlor and begins his spell. The mirror shimmers, and a distant land could be seen in the reflection. As Morgoroth steps through, the mirror bowed, twisted, and shattered. Pieces fly into the air, through walls, and are scattered through the house. Morgoroth, still in the middle of his spell at the time, is scattered into pieces with the shards of mirror. Aurora’s coffin has also moved to some other location within the house…
[/sblock]
[sblock="The Grounds"]
14 The Gate
A sturdy iron gate bars your admittance to the manor house; its fiendishly sharp spikes seem to claw at the air. Two brick pillars uphold the rusty iron gate. Metal plaques corrupted with decades of rust and lettered in a strange, foreign alphabet are set within the pillars. A stout, though corroded lock hampers your admittance.
15 The (Fence)Walls
The slate walls making up this macabre manor loom up before you. Cracks run like spider webs across the surface of the forbidding stonework. Despite the toll time has taken on the stone wall, you suspect it could withstand even an angry giant.
16 The Stables
At the end of a partially overgrown carriageway, you find a small stable. Some of its walls have been felled by vines over the years, but the hitching post and water trough have been kept clear of growth. Within the stable stand the motionless skeletons of six horses. Twelve sightless sockets gaze upon you, and their bony jaws seem to grin at some silent joke. Could they be waiting for you?
17 The Reflecting Pool
The tangled overgrown shrubs reveal a long narrow pool placed before the manor house to reflect the building. The pool is now covered with a thick scum. The stagnant water yields a foul odor as well as a sickly mist. A faint disturbance ripples through the pond’s layer of algae. Is something there? Unlikely, for what could live in those murky, tainted depths?
18 The Garden
The remains of a long-neglected garden spread before you. Brambles from overgrown bushes clutch your clothing. The roses’ thorny stems clutch tenaciously. The cloying aroma of strange blossoms hangs in the air, as does a visible haze of yellow pollen. Is the sweet scent perfume, or poison?
19 The Courtyard
The tangled grass gives way to the stone pavement of a courtyard. The rampant growth of greenery elsewhere on the manor grounds seems restrained here because the walls of the (Tergeron) Manor embrace three sides of the courtyard, though perhaps ‘Smothers’ might be a more apt word. The tower to which the rest of the manor seems to have been anchored rises high into the air, spreading the light at its top uselessly out into the night, like a lighthouse long deserted by the sea.
What sinister powers might this beacon be beckoning?
20 The Back Doors
Looming up on either side of you are the slate walls surrounding the estate and the even higher (and even more forbidding) walls of the Manor itself. The narrow quarters lean toward you with a perceptible tilt. Only the faintest light from the tower spill down into this dismal place.
The rotting floor of the porch creaks loudly—an ominous sound when you are trying to be quiet. The cold seemingly immovable barrier of the manor’s back door seems almost shockingly solid in contrast.
21 The Topiary
The tangled growth in one corner of the garden gives way to an area populated with a collection of trees and shrubs which have been cropped and shaped topiary style. The menacing shapes resemble the forms of broken men and women. Deformed arms sway toward you, seemingly with sinister intent. The botanical nightmares reach toward you, the soft yew branches scraping your skin. It feels as though hundreds of tiny hands are clutching toward you.
22 Lambert’s Phantasm
From between two topiary statues, a knight wearing gleaming battle armor and wielding a battle axe advances upon you, his gleaming eyes fixed on a point past your head.
“Morgoroth.”
The knight stumbles backward, though why you do not know. The knight falls to his knees. A chill creeps along your spine. You can see through the knight to the twisted shrubs behind his body.
“Morgoroth, I curse you. May your black soul never know true peace or rest.”
The fallen knight drops to the ground, light glinting off the edge of his battle axe. Then as abruptly as he appeared, the knight vanishes.
23 The Graveyard
Surrounding the western side of the manor are white slabs rising like uniform soldiers from the earth. These tombstones are all without names. Who would bury so many dead without giving them the respect all life deserves? Who would mourn so little the passing of so many lives?
[/sblock]
[sblock="Ground Floor"]
Ceiling height is 15' unless otherwise stated
24 Greenhouse
The glass walls and ceiling of this room are iced over with frost. The greenhouse is held together by a strange metal framework, faintly reminiscent of a web spun by a some mechanical spider. The remnants of dead plants line the walls. The air here is frigid, and roiling with condensation. Moisture begins to bead upon your skin and armor, sliding across your flesh with icy tendrils.
25 Storage
The sound of your footfalls echoes forlornly off the frost-covered walls of this large storage area. The air here is cold and dry, and your breath shimmers whitely as you breathe. A stale musty odor assails your nose reminding you of an old spice cupboard or root cellar. Crates and barrels, all unmarked and intact, occupy much of the room. A rack on one wall holds rakes, scythes, and other gardening implements—all normal enough equipment you think. Then you see the half-dozen boxes lining the south wall. They look rather like coffins. In the Northwest corner, a flight of sturdy wooden steps runs up the wall to a landing, then runs along another wall and ends at a trap door in the ceiling. This door is the only other egress from the room, but where can it lead?
26 The Grand Entrance Hall
A pair of gilded doors separates the courtyard from the entrance hall. Moonlight from outside shimmers through the doors’ elegant glass and streaks across the black and white tiles of the marble floor. Sparkling in the wan light are thousands of tiny fragments of broken glass, remnants of a shattered crystal chandelier resting in the center of the room. Twin stairwells, both richly carpeted and intricately framed by richly carved mahogany banisters rise up and end at intricately carved doors on the floor above. The whole effect is very grand, but also cold and forbidding.
27 West Closet
A torrent of hot air rushes towards you as this closet is opened. The acrid smell of smoke and something else—perhaps brimstone?—assaults your senses. Moments later, however, the painful heat is gone, replaced by the chill of the Manor house once again. Oddly, the interior of this large bare closet yields no clue as to the source of the heat.
28 East Closet
You struggle to open the door to this closet, the wood seeming to be impossibly heavy. Or could there be someone trying to hold the door shut from the other side?
But no, the door slowly opens. There is the sound of a gruesome laugh. And then the door is wrenched from your hands and slams shut. What foulness is this?
29 Exploding Closet Door
You struggle mightily against the door, trying to open it again and confront whatever horror lies inside. The door explodes outward literally slamming into you. More laughter fills the air, echoing from all around. Suddenly the door is ripped off its hinges, smashing you against the wall.
30 Gallery
Double doors of ornately carved mahogany swing open wide to allow your entrance into the gallery. This elegant square room is paved in the same black and white checkerboard of marble as the entrance hall, but its walls are lined with velvet drapes the color of mulberries. As you enter the Gallery, you are startled to find a cluster of knightly sculptures frozen in battle. Their faces are contorted in horror as if making a last futile stand against and unknown and unseen enemy. What massacre is forever enshrined in this room?
31 Parlor
The double doors of this room hang from wrenched hinges and nearly fall off in the faint disturbance caused by your passing. Inside, the reason for the doors’ condition becomes clear: a tremendous explosion took place here at some point. The walls of the parlor are blackened with heat, the fine fabric scorched. The carpet is nothing but burned ashes and bits of frayed wool, and the furniture, save for a huge, tall mirror, is shattered and charred. The frame of the mirror is intact and surprisingly unscathed, but the glass is missing, leaving only the back in place. A series of lines are burnt into the wood, forming the outline of a puzzle or… What appears to be a shard of the mirror lies amidst the ashes at the base of the mirror, its brightness glinting in the dust.
32 Dining Room
Dominating this room is an immense table, draped in the finest white linen, and set with porcelain bisque dishes, cut crystal, and golden utensils. Four elaborate candelabra, each holding a dozen white candles and a single black one, serve to break up the expanse of the table. Two silver chandeliers hang from the ceiling, swaying gently in some unknown breeze. Each of the four arms holds a dozen white tapers, surrounding a single black one.
33 the Kitchen
A wrought iron stove dominates the northwest corner of the kitchen and pots and pans line the walls, as to racks of cutlery. A pump and basin occupy the north-east corner, though there is no sign of water. The air here is bitterly cold.
34 The Pantry
Just off the kitchen is a pantry lined with shelves containing numerous jars, each filled with fruits or vegetables. Dried meats hang from hooks, and barrels, presumably filled with flour, sugar, and the like, line the south wall. Oddly, the food shows no sign of decay, nor is there any dust. Could there be a natural explanation for this?
[/sblock]
[sblock="Second Floor"]
Ceiling height is 15'
35 Hallway
The long, hallway before you is lined with a plush red carpeting, subduing all noise and lending the area an unearthly quiet. The eeriness is enhanced by a dozen suits of armor, each holding a long sword in battle readiness. A strange icy-blue glow emanates from a trio of glass spheres hanging from the ceiling.
36 Linen Storage
The stone walls of this storage chamber are bare save for the wooden shelves lining them. Linens of various sorts and neatly folded and stacked on the shelves. Frost clings to the fabrics and walls, and your breath scurdles out in white waves away from your face.
37 Guest Bedroom
A brass bed is centered on the north wall of this comfortable guest bedroom. A brown velvet-covered chair rests before the marble fireplace, which is devoid of wood or heat. An empty armoire, its doors wide open, completes the picture. Patches of ice have formed in low spots on the floor, while frost covers all the metal surfaces in the room, as well as a gleaming shard of glass resting on the bed.
38 (Ferran’s) Bedroom2
A luxurious curtained bed dominates this guest chamber. It is an elegant bedroom, richly appointed with gilt and velvet. An ornately carved marble fireplace is set with logs ready to burst into flame. A leather chair and mahogany writing table complete the chamber. There seems nothing of note here in this room, save perhaps what might lie inside the bed…
39 The Body
An air of gloomy solemnity hangs about the room, seeming to increase as you near the bed. As you draw back the curtains, you catch a glimpse of age-tarnished metal, and then the armor of a knight lying in state, and then the corrupted, desiccated skeletal remains of the knight himself. A broken sword and crushed shield lie at the knight’s feet, while a helmet rests at the man’s head.
40 Bathroom
Oddly, the bathroom seems to have suffered considerable damage over the years. The hand pump in the corner is rusted to the point of uselessness. A tub carved of some porous stone is covered in frost, radiating the cold. Shelves line one wall, holding an assortment of perfumes, oils, toiletries, and fabrics.
41 Master Bedroom
By far the most luxurious room in the entire manor, the master bedroom is bedecked with silken draperies lining the walls, and a massive four-poster bed. A fireplace runs the length of one entire wall, stocked with wood and ready to be ignited. A strange glass orb hangs from a chain directly above the bed. It glows dimly, shedding an amber light that touches the room. Perhaps the orb gives off heat as well, for the air seems less chill than the others in this macabre manor.
42 Master Bathroom
A dizzying array of black and white tiles confronts the viewer in a checkerboard pattern, lining not only the floor, but the walls and ceiling as well. After blinking once or twice to orientate your vision, you see shelves holding an assortment of toiletries. A porcelain bathtub, ornamented with gilt, rests in the center of the room. Oddly, water was left in the tub, which has now turned to ice. A piece of silvered glass glimmers in the center.
43 Master Closet
Men’s garments are located here, inside the master bedroom’s closet. All are constructed of some black material—an inky cloth that seems to absorb light.
[/sblock]
[sblock="Third Floor"]
Ceiling Height is 30'
44 Laboratory
The room before you is overwhelming with its touches of the fantastic, the scientific, and the macabre. It is a wizard’s laboratory. You have never seen one more elaborate of better stocked. Shelves lining the north wall contain all manner of bottles, boxes, vials, decanters, beakers, and the like. They are all marked clearly in a language unlike any you have ever seen. An oak ladder, anchored to the shelves many feet above, is fixed with wheels at its base, providing access to all the shelves. Unusual items such as metal pellets, ground quartz, bat wings, and rodent skulls are scattered throughout the room… along with something that looks suspiciously like a human heart, preserved inside a glass container. The south wall is also lined with shelves, and fitted with a rolling ladder, but the goods stocked here are beakers, burners, scales, and other laboratory equipment. Half a dozen worktables are scattered about the room, apparently devoted to different experiments. A creeping horror settles over you as you realize the dried substance in one set of tubing must certainly have been… blood.
45 Library
You step into the hall of an immense library. Its wall soar upward, filled with literally thousands of books, scrolls, and tablets, and the musty odor of ancient tomes, inks and ancient papers. A trio of mahogany tables accompanied by comfortable chairs are scattered about the room. Two of the tables are set with ink wells, stacks of paper, quill pens, charcoal pencils, all perfectly normal items for a library. The third table holds something equally appropriate for a library: a massive tome fully three feet long and nearly a foot thick. It is covered in gleaming black leather, free of dust, and is sealed with an ornate golden clasp. Strangest of all is the shimmering blue aura surrounding the tome. Every now and then, the aura sparkles and glimmers with fragments of light, all glinting off the silvered shard of glass lying atop the book.
46 Alchemical Storage
Bitter odors from caustic acids mingle with the frigid chill in this darkened chamber. The air bites at your nostrils and stings your eyes. Indeed, the air is so saturated with strange chemicals that your skin begins to itch. Despite the blurred vision of your tearing eyes, you can see this room is filled with small crates and barrels. All are unmarked and sealed with tiny locks. In fact, the chamber looks like nothing other than a miniature warehouse.
[/sblock]
[sblock="Fourth Floor"]
Ceiling height is 30'
47 Bell Ringer’s Chamber
This room, colder that any other on the previous floors, is filled with cobwebs. The disturbed dust sparkles in the light. A layer of fine grit carpets the floor, unmarked by the footprints of man or beast. Numerous ropes dangle motionless from the ceiling above. Despite the faint breeze that drifts through the room, the bell-pulls do not sway. Amber light shines down from above, illuminating the pulls.
Ceiling height is 15'
48 The Cells
The bone-numbing cold of this room assaults you as you enter its dark depths. Then something more insidious touches your senses: an odor of decay and corruption so foul you nearly wretch. The source of this evil stench is the half-decayed bodies of prisoners held behind iron bars in small cells throughout the room. Some of the cells are piled high with bodies in various stages of decay, as if prisoners were stuffed in with what remained of past victims. At the far end of the room, a body lies crumpled outside a cell. Unlike the prisoners inside the cells, who wear the garb of common folk, this woman is dressed in armor and wears a sword at her side. Clutched in the desiccated remains of her hand is a gleaming piece of glass
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[sblock="Belfry"]
Ceiling is 30'
49 Bell Tower
You have entered a room with a steepled roof soaring high above you, though only the bottom half of the walls are enclosed. A trio of massive brass bells, and a dozen lesser carillons dangle from a massive beam running the center of the room. Fifteen ropes lead from the bells through holes in the floor and down to the room below. Directly beneath the bells is a table wrought of delicately spun silver and topped with a shining mirror. It is a thing of beauty in this place of bitter cold. But resting forbiddingly on its surface is a coffin. It seems to have been formed of a single piece of glass which reflects the light and obscures its contents.
A stiff wind whirls through the room, stinging your eyes and clutching at your skin. With every breath, a cloud of white steam quickly crystallizes and forms a thin layer of frost on all it touches. But still you draw nearer to the coffin and look through the glass, to find the perfectly preserved remains of a beautiful eladrin woman dressed in a bridal gown of blackest velvet. As you contemplate this spectacle of youth and beauty wasted, you catch the subtle rise of her breast, and realize she is not dead. She is alive…
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[sblock="Climax and Ending"]
50 The Necromancer Returns
A brilliant glow envelopes the mirror as the images fade. The light brightens to white intensity, hurting your eyes and threatening to blind you. The caustic smell of sulfur claws at your throat, and a wave of heat blisters your exposed skin as you throw up your hands to block out the assault. Suddenly, the bright light, the heat, and even the stench are gone. The frigid air of Tergeron once more bites into your flesh, the cold air searing your lungs. Through the tears stinging your eyes, you notice the mirror is once again whole. Visible within its depths is the image of a painfully thin, but still distinguished man. The reflection steps forward smoothly, and emerges from the mirror as if it were a doorway. The man smiles broadly, with a predatory gleam in his eyes.
“Let the world beware: Morgoroth has returned.” (eerie chuckle)
51 The Necromancer Falls (less than 10 HP, more than 0)
Morgoroth stumbles back, and falls to his knees. His eyes lock with yours. He begins an enchantment, then falls forward on the floor.
52 The Necromancer’s Fate
Morgoroth cries out in agony as he falls to the floor.
A misty form rises from his body. For the briefest moment, the mist floats above his form, then is sucked back into the mirror. Shards of glass explode from the frame, scattered far and wide from the magical detonation. The fragments vanish through the walls.
53 The Necromancer’s Doom
As you attack the mirror, Morgoroth falls to the floor, surrounded by bits of mirror and shards of wood. “No. Not… not… uh.” He twitches once or twice, and then is still. The most infamous of necromancers is dead.
54 The Crystal Coffin
There are no openings to the coffin containing Aurora Shaddowborn. The belfry is bitterly cold—your feet and hands are nearly frozen.
You start to slip and fall, and brace yourself on the nearest support: a bell rope. Pulling on the bell ropes seems to have an effect. The room seems slightly warmer—but perhaps it is only another trick of this misbegotten manor house.
55 The Pealing of the Bells
You begin to pull at the bell ropes, trying to set all the bell ropes into motion. The noise is nearly deafening.
56 Back from the Dead
The crystal coffin shatters, but no shards settle onto the woman or the table. She struggles for life, and shudders with the first true, deep breath. She pulls herself from the depths of sleep toward awareness. Her violet eyes meet yours in confusion. “Wha—where? How?” She spins her head, then clutches it dizzily. “What has happened? Will you h-help me?”
57 The Necromancer’s Desperation
“No! You can’t have her! She’s mine, I tell you. Attack them, my minions, that they might join us!”
58 Touching the Mirror
As your hand touches the silver surface of the table. Without warning, you are pulled into the mirror. You are lost from everyone around you. Where you are is the only thing that is real. But, where is that?
59 Returning Home
You are in a strange other world of endless reflections. There is no up, nor down. You are assaulted by twisted images and distortions. You cannot hear or smell anything. Image, after image, after image… all relentlessly reflected back at you. When will this end? You close your eyes against the vision. How much time has passed, you cannot know. Your eyes at last slowly open again, and you find yourself in the middle of a village.
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Monsters and other big details coming soon...
