Garsen's Tower

Summary

Adventure: Garsen's Tower
GM: Greg Graydon

Party

Mission: Fishermen have been reporting strange lights emanating from a ruined tower late at night. The Guild has put up a token amount for a group of new adventurers wanting experience to sail to the area and check out the situation.
Adventure Dates: 1/12/95
Original Scribe Notes: Media:Snwi9604.zip

Scribe Notes

Overview of Adventure

The party investigates to find a ruined tower which is partially underwater at high tide. While searching the tower, a Demonic creature emerges from a pentagal and kills Ettien. Her body is tossed through a portal mirror. The party travels through the mirror to rescue her body. Pierre stays behind so we can return.

We end up in the area of Telen, and travel quickly to the correct area. Her body is guarded by a Wight, with whom we agree to find and return a Sacred Crown in return for her body.

This we do, and we return with Ettien's body in time for a resurrection. We return to the tower where a large iron golem guards a woman's body and a man suspended in time some how. Hidden doors lead us back in time to visit Garsen (the man) and his wife still in good health. Warning him of his fate, he prepares defences against his foe and gives us potions to release him if his fate has not changed. We return to the present time to find the empty tower in immaculate condition with the Iron Golem as caretaker. Garsen has left the tower and the Golem to us as a token of his help. This future is not our Alusia however, and a Genie's bottle must be used to return us to our own lives.

Geographical Information

Garsen's Tower is four-level stone tower situated on the northern tip of Landfall, a sandy coastline about 40 miles south of Chub's bay and the sea trading port of Newhaven. The tower is on a small island, although at low tide it is possible to walk from the island the the mainland.

Garsen's tower was initially in ruin and partial underwater when first investigated. However the investigation changed the tide of time and prevented the very reason for it being destroyed. It is now in pristene condition and includes it's own 4-armed Iron Golem called Igor as caretaker and guard of the tower. Plans and information of the tower are available.

Limestone Caves

Minor caves are found in the limestone cliffs scattered all over the general area of Chub's bay through to Landfall. Most are small and of no particular interest. A set of formerly inhabited can be found on the west-most cliffs of Haven bay. They are of Dwarven origin, and have not been inhabited for at least 25 years. The caves are relatively small with a few rooms and some storage areas.

Telen Township

Telen is ruled by Marshal Cobart, originally from Nordica. The seaport of Kaymour is 30 miles down river (heading north) from Telen. With regards to healing, it is rumoured that the town's Apothecary once brought someone back to life.

River Ferry: The ferry operates while the City gates are open, and continuously during the day. If necessary, a green flag or lantern is used to attract the ferryman from the other side.
Local History: King Saithroul of Kamour was skilled 50 years ago in a fight with the misshapen ones. Unknown who the current King is, although the previous King's name was Richard. Not sure if King Richard and King Saithroul are the same people or not.

Accommodation

Two establishments were recommended by Lex and Martha. These are:

The Giddy Mare: South west of the town square.
The Falling Donkey: A reasonable class inn out of town to the south. Horses available for hire at approx 200sp plus a significant deposit. Goodman Turner is the stable keep. We hired horses here on our rush to to retrieve Ettien's body.

Telen Standing Stones

The standing stones are in the forest south of Telen and across the River. The stones are four pillars in a square around a wight's barrow. It is not a place visited by locals due to it's history. It was known locally as a place of magic until some important and large event in the past. Details of this event are unknown.

On arriving in the area, we found a large stone from the top of one a pillar had been dislodged. We replaced the stone, and some time later a magical field became apparent for a large area around the barrow. It is believed this field turns you to stone if you are in it. This evidence comes from the statue of a Dwarf. Inside the barrow was a Wight, who has now left after we returned a Sacred Crown for the release for Ettien's body, and the Dwarf.

Barrowmore, a Drawf from the Iron Mountains, said that the forest is a great source of mana due to the three ley-lines that converge in the forest. These ley-lines are relevant to an Elvish Portal System that used to be active over the entire continent.

People and Entities Met

Garsen the Binder

Garsen is the original owner of the Tower. We met him after travelling back in time to 1826 through one of the hidden entrances to his bedroom. At this time he lived in the tower with his Fiance Orsena. After we warned Garsen of their fates, he managed to prepare himself effectively to defeat his enemies. Garsen since left the tower and moved into the neighbouring forest with his (now wife) Orsena.

Igor the Iron Golem

Igor is dedicated to looking after the Tower, and was left at the tower for our benefit. He has four arms, which can be just as effecively in fighting as in cleaning. He has a very fast regenerating ability to repair damage done during combat. Don't get on his wrong side!

Cursed Sasquach

A single Sasquach-like creature was found in a cave on the northern cliffs of Landfall. The creature had a curse-like disease which could be transmitted to those in contact with it. Prolonged exposure to the curse will begin to degenerate a person into a form similar to that of the creature. The water in the cave was infected with the curse at the time.

Barrowmore the Dwarf

Barrowmore was released after being turned to Stone about 35 years earlier in Telen Forest. He is a dwarven shaper who lives in the Iron Mountains 60 miles from the forest. While being particularly unimpressed by certain members of the Guild party, he was grateful and provided help to the party including the making of charms which acted in the same way as a combination of amulets.

Lex and Martha

Lex is a farmer living 10 miles away past the river ferry with his wife Martha and 5 children. The two eldest are girls aged 13 and 14. They are very friendly, but poor and relatively naive of the greater world. They were very impressed with the Guild party, considering us of noble birth. Other Objects and Items of Interest

The Elvish Portal System

Some further information was discovered on an Elvish Portal system that used to span the entire content at one stage. This system which has since fallen into disuse. A large portal door at Newhaven has not been used for about 2000 years, which could indicate the approximate time it happened? The portals are known to run between ley-lines in the ground, of which three converge in the Telen forest.

Ley-lines are made of chalk and are very straight. Due to there size they can be difficult to notice from the ground, and can be seen with fire-mage vision. They are more obvious where they cross.

Garsen the Binder said there were Elvish portals active to the north in 1826 (the time we visited him). He talked of large scale deforestation relating to the portals.

No specific investigations have yet been undertaken to discover details of the portal system and see if it can be re-activated. The following places are known to be involved with the portal system.

Newhaven Portal

A large inactive portal gate has been created from the cliff at Newhaven. Nearby is a 'mana collector' device that continues to draws in mana from the surroundings. The mana from any spells being cast near here are 'sucked' into the device. This has been happening for at least 2000 years with unknown consequences.

Telen Forest

The forest south of Telen is a meeting point of three ley-lines. At the point of meeting are 'standing stones' which are said to have been a great source of mana in the past. Telen is an extreme distance from the Guild, far beyond the Sea of Grass. The only known portal to this area is the blood-mirror in Garsen's Tower.

Unknown Marker Stone

Where: The hills of Shoshi, Landfall An unusual marker stone was discovered in The Hills of Skoshi on the top of the southerly most foot hill. The stone is round and flat, and does look quite old. We had no Aura detecting abilities and thus could not determine details of magical or other properties.

Markings on the stone include a single triangle with a central spot. The apex of the triangle is points directly north. Underneath the base of the triangle (ie at the south) is the common rune 'R'.

Blood Mirror Portal

Where: 4th Floor of Garsen's Tower. A magical mirror in the tower acts as a portal to the Telen and the surrounding area. The mirror is solid unless your blood touches the surface. At this stage you can push through the mirror into an area somewhere in the vincinity of Telen (it could be 20 or more miles away). You can see an image of the area through the mirror when your blood touches it, and the physical location is unique to each person and does not seem to change.

Multiple people can pass through the mirror at one time, with the person who's blood is used defining where the destination location is.

Rug Map and Portal

Where: 4th floor of Garsen's Tower. A rug found on the floor in the tower acts as both a magical map and a portal to Telen Forest. The rug shows a map of the Telen area (only the forest?) at the current time. For example, when Ettien's body fell through the mirror, we could see it in the rug. If you touch the map you begin to 'fall' into the area you are looking at. This may be particularly perilous if you do not have some sort of flying or floating spell on, although without these abilities we could not test the theory.

Garsen's Tower - Investigation

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