The Order of Illustration
Old Deer River is an entrance to the Underground where the Crab-Men, the Karuat live. Originally, they lived above ground, but many millennia past they moved into the Underground, beyond the great lake beneath Illustrious Castle. Their burial ground beneath the castle is especially sacred to them, and they still make regular trips to the burial area for their rituals.
Farmers and hunters still find stone spearheads from when the Karuat roamed aboveground.
A captured Night Priest tempted the Order into summoning a demon to gain knowledge and power.
The sacred nature of the Karuat burial chambers added power to the heretical attempts by the decayed Order to conjure demons. They did not understand this place of power, and the demon Eliazu rebelled against their summoning. He destroyed all within the castle. Unable to escape, he lies in wait in the secret summoning areas beneath Illustrious Castle. In revenge, he has also caused Tragos d’Illus to remain and haunt the castle.
The growing power of the demon Eliazu has also spawned or summoned many twisted creatures in the area of the castle. As he grows in power, he draws more fantastic creatures to his service.
The Night Trolls
The Night Trolls that have been acting in the area are goblins who have rebelled against their hobgoblin masters and taken up residence in the castle. They rebelled in the autumn, led by a tough and smart goblin named Ustark. But Ustark died last All Hallows Eve under the influence of the Phantasm of Tragos d’Illus.
The remaining goblins have simply been making ends meet, reveling in their freedom but having no vision for it.
The winter was long and cold. They lived off small animals who didn’t have the sense to hibernate, and by raiding local farms for food and farm animals. They have killed travelers and farmers, but they prefer to simply steal without confrontation whenever possible. They are open to bargaining if anyone understands their tongue.
Some townsfolk and farmers may remember the discovery of the dead hobgoblins last summer, a tiny battle of large and small night troll corpses (hobgoblins and goblins). “It looked as though they killed each other.”
They won’t necessarily mention that the fight happened by the castle. Bad things happen there. Tom Corner over by the gap was attacked by a huge hawk last year. No one paid much attention to it, though Tom did need some convincing that it wasn’t a demon. In fact, it was one of the blood hawks; but this was before the crowns of eyes began stealing body parts, so he eventually was convinced it was a normal hawk that looked big only because it was attacking him. But even if it were just a normal hawk, it’s the kind of thing that happens by the castle.
Adventure Guide’s Notes: Timeline
| 291 | Vince Kellius founds the Order of Illustration to preserve the knowledge of the Ancients from the fighting of mankind’s remnants. They build their stronghold in a remote valley north of Hightown. |
| 558 | Aaron Paul brings the Astronomers across the mountains from East Highland, where they build a castle south of the Leather Road. |
| 615 | The Order founds the Library at Biblyon in response to a rise in scholarship throughout Highland. |
| 699 | The great Dormitory of Vincent is begun, to house traveling scholars who come to study at Biblyon. |
| 824 | Underground complex work begun by the Dwarves of Feltarn. |
| 832 | Charles Dodgson inspires the foundation of the Costumers Guild. |
| 848 | Work begins on Costumers Guildhouse |
| 856 | Underground complex work completed. |
| 887 | Peace treaty between Illustrators and Astronomers. |
| 891 | Illustrators find No More Stars |
| 896 | The Goblin Wars begin. |
| 897 | Illustrious Castle falls to the Goblin Mage. |
| 901 | The Goblin Wars end. |
| 901 | Tragos d’Illus returns to the castle. The Order draws in upon itself and begins searching for more power. They rediscover No More Stars and begin searching for the full version, More When Doors Mow Spun Death. |
| 903 | The Founding of the Tutoris Libris. |
| 907 | The Order acquires More When Doors and starts searching for The Fit May Rule. |
| 910 | The Order captures Wendell Redstar, a Night Priest of the True Family. |
| 911 | Ensender Eanderon arrives searching for a mysterious Elven runesword. |
| 911 | The Order summons Eliazu. Everyone dies. |
| 916 | Work begins on House of Tutors |
| 919 | Arthur Wells disappears enroute to Black Stag. |
| 990 | Ustark leads his fellow goblin slaves in a revolt against their hobgoblin masters in early Autumn. |
| 991 | The Present |
Involving the Adventurers
The most obvious reason for the characters to be here is to study at Biblyon. Whereupon they decide to investigate the animals with missing eyes, and the attacks by night trolls on travelers.
If the characters are traveling through the area that you have placed Biblyon and the castle, they might run across a burnt carriage (the source of the smoke that someone saw recently), and be able to trace the carriage’s attackers to the castle. Or, they might be visitors to Biblyon, looking for special knowledge known to be in Biblyon—or rumored to have been part of the knowledge that the Order took with it to its demise. If you choose the latter, you should put that knowledge, or a clue to that knowledge’s current location, somewhere in the castle, probably in the basement.
Perhaps they’ve run across a reference in the diaries of the late Bishop Robert Agwood, of Crosspoint, to the misgivings of the Order’s priest, Edgar Lewar.
If they’ve been through The Lost Castle of the Astronomers they may be looking for the secret underground complex built by the Dwarves, referenced in the Astronomers’ texts.
Character History
If any of your players’ characters are from the area, they may ask if they’ve ever visited the castle. In general, adults steer clear of it at night, but they do often pass by. There is a natural resting spot just below the castle. Many farmers and travelers use it; it is about half a day’s walk to Biblyon. The natural path has always gone past the castle, that’s why they built the castle there.
Children, especially teenagers, being what they are, it is not at all unlikely that some would go into the castle at night on a dare. Because travel tends to occur when the moon is at its brightest, it also isn’t unlikely that they will do so on a night when Tragos d’Illus is haunting.
If you wish to, and a player brings it up, you can simply roll: a 10% chance that if they entered the castle at night, they met with the apparition. Or you can simply decide that since they brought it up, it happened.
Yes, you remember the castle at night, the beams of moonlight shining like shafts through the holes in the stone castle walls. It was a warm night; you fell asleep inside the deserted foyer. When you awoke later, you felt the night’s chill, and you realized that someone was walking toward you in the dark hallway beyond the foyer. You heard the rustling of a dragging robe, and saw a king arrayed in the finest robes glide slowly into the deserted ballroom. Its eyes were white discs writhing, and when it turned to you and opened its mouth crickets fell to the ground. You heard them fall. And then you turned and ran, out of the castle, across the castle grounds, and down the path to your campsite, and you kept running until morning, when you rested in a glade in the warm sunshine. Your friends who had dared you to go inside ran when they heard you screaming. You later pretended that you’d just been kidding them, and boy were they scared! But you will never forget that gaping mouth leaking bugs to the stone floor and the pale things that writhed in its eyes.
You have never been in Illustrious Castle again, not even during the day.
It is unlikely that anyone will be in the castle on Hallowe’en night, as people are genuinely afraid of the place, and the night when spirits walk is not a time to be in a haunted castle. If a player assures you that their character did, find out who else went in with them. There were others; if there weren’t, their character would not have come out alive. Some of their friends did not, and the worst part is that their friends died at the hands of each other. Their character barely escaped alive. That bloody night has haunted them ever since.
In either case, this information should be conveyed privately to that player.
Adventurer Level
This adventure is designed for characters of second to third level. At least one sorceror or prophet is expected, and probably at least two warriors and one thief.
The adventure is also sparsely populated, especially in the dungeon. If the characters require more of a challenge, you can choose to place Eliazu at a more advanced stage in his plans. More demons, more skeletons and perhaps other undead, especially in the basement. More fantastic evil creatures in the castle and the surrounding forests.
Involving the Adventurers: Treasure
Coins in this adventure are given as standard coins in Black Stag or Crosspoint. A shilling is one monetary unit, a penny is one-twelfth of a monetary unit, a half-penny is half that, and a farthing is forty-eighth of a monetary unit. If you use the generic system, just make shillings one unit, pennies tenth units, and farthings two hundredth units.
Inside the castle, there are also special coins made by the Order. See Coins of the Order on page for more about them.
After the Adventure
Remember that there are multiple levels to this adventure: the characters might clear out the goblins and never realize that there is more to the castle than that. Or they might enter the basement and never realize that there’s a demon even lower. That’s all fine. The castle will wait for them. Eliazu might not, though. If they haven’t exorcised Eliazu, the demon is likely to try to free himself and build a power base, not necessarily in that order.
Unless the characters find the scepter, the castle (or its ruin) is also likely to remain haunted by Tragos d’Illus. And depending on whether the characters took anything from the Karuat tomb, the Karuat may come looking for their relics.
