Castle Xyntillan - Session 2: Shambling progress

The first venture into the castle was not very fruitful and the sight of Rubert's thorn-inflicted wounds was still freshly punctured into their minds. The adventurers now knew that profiting from Xyntillan's riches might not be as straightforward as they had first imagined. Still, everyone survived, and the party had high hopes that their next expedition would be more lucrative; 'Rome wasn't built in a day, ay?' joked Shubert, the cleric. But for the brave Rubert, the adventure was over, for now at least. Along with Karl Gruber, his dwarven companion, he decided to return to Tours-En-Savoy and lick his wounds. The rest of the party, still encamped in the Valley of the Three Rainbows, was eager to enter the castle once more. They were planning their next move, when approaching footsteps brought them snapping to attention. Jerome had already cocked an arrow, with Gaston valiantly hiding behind him in the shrubs, when an unfamiliar pointy-eared fellow greeted them jovially: 'Ciao! Buongiorno!'

Francesco, the elf from northern Italy.

The party:

• Gaston: level 1 thief hp 4(Leon)
  
• Shubert: level 1 cleric hp 4(Tom)
  
• Hubert: level 1 magic-user hp 3 (Barend)
  
• Bodo: level 1 halfling hp 5 (Ron)
• †Francesco: level 1 elf hp 5 and Alberto: level 1 elf hp 2 (Siem)

Retainers:

• Jerome (normal human) 5hp
• Pierre (normal human) 4hp
• †Clement (normal human) 2hp
• Arpin: level 1 thief 4hp

In Tour-en-Savoy

Back in Tour-en-Savoy another group of three adventurers was about to depart to the infamous castle. These were Bodo, a plate-clad halfling from the grassy hills of Denmark; Hubert, a mysterious Frenchman dabbling in magic and a loudmouth called Francesco, from the elven community of Milan (the bad one). For Hubert and the halfling, the journey to the Valley of the Three Rainbows was agonizing. For the full two-day hike, the elf would not stop recalling far fetched anecdotes, making slightly disgusting jokes and describing the best ways to prepare some sort of hot beverage from a land he called "Abissinia ". After such torture a swift deliverance in the halls of Xyntillan didn't seem so bad after all. Even when they met Rubert and Karl along the road, and seeing the harrowing wounds on Ruberts body, turning around and having to suffer through Francesco's monologues again wasn't even considered. At least the bloodied visage of the fighter shut the elf up for a while. After saying goodbye, the three adventurers decided to meet up with the companions that Rubert and the dwarf had left behind, and join them in their next expedition. 

Trouble in familiar places

When the three men met the companions of Rubert and Carl and introduced themselves, it was quickly decided that they seemed (at least somewhat) trustworthy and the two parties joined forces. Not long after, the company, now eight men strong, returned to Castle Xyntillan. They took the familiar route, thinking it to be their safest option. Earlier, Gaston the thief had told one of the newcomers, Hubert, about the leather strap he had seen on the hayloft in the stables (see session 1). Gaston had not dared to touch it, fearing some kind of trap. Hubert was evidently not as worried about the dangers that the castle holds, as he was determined to find out to what object or thing this leather strap belonged to. So, after entering the castle through the gatehouse, Hubert sneaked into the stables, accompanied by Bodo the halfling and Clement, the farmers son. The elf, Francesco, stood guard at one of the doors. They tried to make as little noise as possible, as they were warned about the small garrison of skeleton guards, that Gaston had spotted on his earlier visit. Much to their delight, they quickly found the leather strap, still sticking out of the haybale. They then silently lifted the leather strap with a ten-foot pole, and consequently discovered it was attached to a saddle bag. After further inspection, Hubert found only a single bottle of wine in the bag. At that point Francesco, in all his wisdom, yelled at the party:

'How ya doin' up there?'

Almost immediately they heard the rattle of bony feet coming from the southern part of the stable building, where the barracks were located. Bodo quickly climbed up the ladder to the hayloft, joining Hubert and Clement, and lay flat on his stomach. The elf then, instead of retreating, decided to make for the hayloft as well. But before he could reach the ladder, the southern door swung open and seven skeletons armed with rusty weapons and armor entered the stables, almost bumping into him.  

'Who are you? We don't know you! What are you doing here?' they asked in creaky voices.

The elf tried to explain that he was just looking around and that he had no bad intentions. The cautious skeletons didn't trust him, but refrained from attacking him outright. Instead the elf was ordered to leave the castle grounds immediately, and he wisely obliged. The three men in the hayloft then watched in silence as an orderly column marched out of the stable building, with the elf in front. But, when Francesco took his first step out the door, he swiftly spun back, slamming it shut and bracing it with his body. It would have been a fine plan, buying the rest of the party precious time to take their positions—if not for the second door, just beside the one the cunning elf was blocking. Bodo the halfling, still on the hayloft, decided to help the elf by shooting at the skeletons with his short bow, revealing his position in the process. Because of this courageous attack, just four skeletons followed the elf, while the other three went towards the ladder. But alas, it wasn't enough. When Francesco turned around and tried to flee, he was mercilessly hacked down—and killed. He just wasn't fast enough. Adding to the tragedy; just a few seconds after the untimely death of the elf, Shubert raised his holy amulet, and the four skeletons creaked and screamed, fleeing the castle grounds through the gatehouse. 

The fight on the loft

Meanwhile, Bodo, Hubert and Clement were battling the three skeletons from the loft with fire and sword. Clement toppled a pile of hay onto two skeletons, and Hubert followed with a flask of oil, igniting the heap with his torch. The third skeleton was already on the ladder and, despite the efforts of Bodo, managed to climb up to the loft. Luckily, both the halfling and Clement landed good hits on his old skull, and the skeleton collapsed. But a second skeleton quickly took his place, even as burning hay and oil clung to his bones. Before anyone could react, the flaming skeleton struck Clement with his rusty axe, killing him instantly. No time for mourning. Bodo and Hubert fought hard, and the weakened skeleton was quickly dealt with. Still there was one left; and just as it was about to scale the ladder, a stone hit it right in the head with tremendous velocity! Sparks and flames shot out of the burning skull as it exploded into a hundred pieces. Behind the skeleton, now reduced to a pile of bones, stood Shubert, sling in hand. 

  

Ghostly meeting

The stables were now slowly catching fire. Before escaping, Hubert couldn't resist taking a quick look inside the barracks. Apart from piles of junk and rusty weapons, he found some posters promising three thousand gold pieces for the capture of Claude Malevól. He took one of them with him and then hastily escaped the burning building. Outside he met Gaston, Jerome and Pierre, who had just dispatched the two skeleton sentries who manned the guard posts. The skeletons were probably awoken by the sounds of battle coming from the stables. Unfortunately, the two guards weren't the only ones attracted by the ruckus; a ghostly apparition appeared from one of the towers of Xyntillan, approaching the party with great speed! The chaos did not seem to end. The companions were bracing themselves for another battle, but to their surprise, the ghost of an old woman greeted them in a friendly voice:

'Thank you for dealing with those pesky idiots. The noise was killing me!'

The old ghost was stirring in an equally ghostly cauldron, which seemed to float alongside her. The friendly crone invited them to visit her potion shop somewhere in the north western wing of the castle, and then disappeared as a dissipating cloud of smoke. 

Tactical Retreat

The party lost two men, and the halfling was heavily wounded. But it seemed fate finally granted the party some respite. After a smelling test, the halfling took a swig from the wine that Hubert had found in the loft and was miraculously healed from his wounds. Still, the companions were badly shaken. Despite the much welcome rejuvenation, the party decided to return to Tours-en-Savoy anyway. There they stocked up on supplies, hired Arpin, a thief, and asked about Claude Malevól in the tavern, which did not lead to any clues. In the tavern Hubert was also approached by a shady figure, who asked about Clement. Hubert explained that poor Clement died an honorable death in Castle Xyntillan, and the shady man disappeared without saying goodbye. Lastly, the party met Alberto, an elf who introduced himself as the brother of Franceso. Upon hearing that Francesco had died, he vowed to avenge his brothers death and the party somewhat reluctantly took Alberto with them on their next journey to the castle. 

The Galloping Hall

Using the usual route, they went in again through the gatehouse. The now familiar castle yard lay silent and barren before them, the stables reduced to a pile of ash. The party decided they would explore the northwestern wing, hoping to find the old crones shop. Without wasting any time, they climbed up the parapets and found the makeshift bridge still intact (see session 1), providing them with save passage through the rose garden. Once inside, the hall where they met the cat lady now lay empty before them. Immediately they heard something that wasn't there before: a thundering sound of galloping hooves, coming from beyond the doors in the north and east, where they had found the trampled corpse. To his surprise, when Gaston peeked through the keyhole of the door in the north, he saw two magical horses galloping through the hallway. One was flash of unbearable light, the other a storm cloud of darkness. A little shaken by this sight, the party discussed about how to continue. It was finally decided that they would try to cross the hallway in turns, waiting for the horses to pass every time. This proved to be successful, as nothing seemed to distract the horses from their eternal race. 

The route taken through the castle.

'Shambling mound...'

After the last companion had crossed the galloping hall, the party now focused their eyes on their new surroundings. They found themselves to be in another tight hallway—the floor littered with leaves. 

'Shambling mound...' mumbled the halfling.

Quite unfazed by these warning words, the party continued along the hallway. Further up the ceiling and the walls were covered in moss, and more and more leaves now covered the floor. 

'Must be a shambling mound' said the halfling again. 

The party continued. Entering a door to the south, they found a room which was completely covered in moss and vines. A statue of and old man lay on the floor, fallen from a pedestal that now stood empty. A painting of an autumn landscape hung on the wall, above a large pile of leaves. 

'I'm telling you, there's a shambling mound in here!' the halfling said, now visibly frustrated. 

Francesco's brother, Alberto, was too enchanted by the painting to hear Bodo's words of warning. Without consulting the party, he stepped into the room and walked towards the painting.

'It could be magical! I'm going to touch it!' he excitedly exclaimed. 

Shambling Mound by Ray Rubin

Just before he could reach the painting, the pile of leaves seemed to suddenly rise and within seconds, a shambling mound was towering above the elf. The halfling sighed. Fortunately the party was quick to  realize the severity of the situation and ran for their lives. On the run, the halfling thought of a cunning plan. He realized they had to go past the galloping horses again if they wanted to escape the shambling mound. They could lure the terrible monster into the hallway and, as it was quite slow, it would surely be trampled by the horses. Thus, the party hastily crossed the hallway again, this time just narrowly avoiding the horses as the shambling mound was slowly drawing closer. When the last companion crossed the hallway, the party anxiously waited for the creature to show itself. When the vine-shaped limbs of the shambling mound finally reached around the doorway across the hallway, they slammed the door shut. Hubert quickly bolted the door with iron spikes. Again they waited in silence, the anticipation almost unbearable. Suddenly they heard the sound of hooves, and a great thrashing from beyond the door! And again! Just as they were about to get their hopes up, something started pounding on the door. They watched in horror as the door shook and trembled with every strike. Again they heard the galopping and the thrashing, but the pounding against the door soon continued. Finally, the door flew open, and the hulk of leaves, branches and vines stood before the terrified companions. However, it was clearly severely crippled by the repeated trampling. Thus the party found their courage, composed themselves, prepared their slings and drew their bows. Within seconds a hale of arrows and stones struck the monster with incredible force, and it collapsed at last. 

The shambling mound defeated. 

 Statues Galore!

Carefully crossing the hallway again, the party now set about exploring the room in which they had encountered the shambling mound. Alberto seemed to have forgotten about his earlier presumption that the painting might be magical, and it was bagged as loot without further inspection. Hubert was visibly fascinated by the toppled statue of the old man, which still lay flat on the moss covered floor. 

'I wonder if...' he mumbled.

Then he quickly turned towards Arpin, requesting his help. With considerable effort, they hoisted the statue back onto its pedestal, ignoring the party members who felt it necessary to remind them that they hadn’t come to Xyntillan just to tidy up the place. Those same party members were left gaping when the statue started speaking, graciously thanking the two men for their assistance. 

'As a token of my gratitude, please, take this wand from me' the statue spoke again, before it froze and became just an ordinary statue. 

The wand was made of polished metal but it still felt light in Hubert's hands. He quickly stashed it away for later use, not yet wanting to waste one of its charges. The party then pressed on westward, where they came upon another hallway that stretched from left to right. They saw torchlight coming from the left, so Gaston the thief went to check it out. Carefully peeking across the corner at the end of the hall, a large open space opened up to his left. In the flickering light of the mounted torches, he saw a strange scene that disturbed him deeply. Wicked humanoid statues were mounted on four pillars and a collection of stuffed animals was gathered between. What scared him even more was the silhouette of a menacing figure, seated upon a marble throne. Having witnessed the scene for just a few seconds, he quickly sneaked back to his companions.

Risky Refreshment

So the party decided to follow the hallway in the other direction, not wanting to deal with anything the frightened thief described to them. They soon stumbled upon a dimly lit room which was enclosed by an ancient arcade of slender pillars and arches. A beautiful and alluring round bath filled most of the room, steam rising from it's azure-blue water. Green serpentine shapes whirled around in the air above the pool, twinkling in the faint light coming for a glass dome in the ceiling. Without much hesitance, Hubert undressed himself till he was stark naked, after which he lowered himself in the enchanting waters. A feeling of great satisfaction immediately fell over him as the pleasantly smelling bathing salts clung to his body. Alberto quickly followed suit; ridding himself of all his clothes before he joined Hubert in the pool. The other party members were more reluctant and could not be convinced to join the other two companions in their bathing. 

Hubert and Alberto were not allowed to enjoy their hard earned bath for long, as the rest of the party was ready to leave the castle. Retracing their steps, they made their way quickly but carefully to the door that opened out into the rose garden. It all went smooth until they ran into a group of peculiar inhabitants of Castle Xyntillan. Five decapitated figures dressed as servants stood before them silently. The party stood equally silent for a moment, when at last Hubert ordered them in a commanding voice:

'Fetch me a barrel of your finest wine!'

The servants "looked" at each other for a moment, and then scurried away. After this awkward encounter the party pressed on, escaping the castle without anymore distractions. 

Curios and Antiques 

Back in Tours-en-Savoy, the whole party went to Curios and Antiques. Curios and Antiques is a store that sells all kinds of artifacts, owned by Ben Mordechai. The peculiar shopkeeper was instantly intrigued by the painting with the autumn scene. After some fierce haggling by Gaston, the party managed to sell the work of art for two thousand gold pieces. Satisfied, Ben Mordechai hung the painting on a nail and, as the party members watched in complete astonishment, stepped through it as if it was a portal. The rest of the party still dumbfounded, it was Alberto who first broke the silence: 

'See! I told ya!' 

The final map drawn by the players.

—

This was the first session where the party seriously explored the interior of the castle. Progress was slow and steady. I think we all had a lot of fun again. The chaotic behavior by the Elven characters belonging to Siem especially led to some hilarious (but tense!) situations. It also taught everyone that old school D&D is punishing, and bad choices can be lethal. A hard lesson learned! The shambling mound and the sold painting granted the party quite a lot of XP, and we also used the carousing tables from Downtime and Demesne for some extra XP. Leon's character Gaston reached second level because of this, but broke his arm in process! This session we were also blessed by the presence of someone very dear to me: my dad! Although a seasoned D&D veteran himself, he's a forever DM and only played a character once, more than thirty years ago. He played the plate-clad halfling Bodo. My dad has a sizable collection of classic D&D books and boxes from the 80's, including a Dutch translation of the original red box, which he brought with him. In the near future I might write a blog post about his whole collection. The third session is also drawing near, so stay tuned for more posts!

Merijn