Encounter 10: The Dead Son

The True and Rightful King

Encounter 10:  The Dead Son

Level 2:  Hardest (party’s level +4 = 6) 250 xp

Gray Company Fallen Hero, Level 6 Brute, xp 250 (1 player)
Adept of Orcus, Level 6 Controller (Leader), xp 250 (2 players)
Gray Company Fallen Hero, Level 6 Brute, xp 250 (3 players)
Gray Company Fallen Hero, Level 6 Brute, xp 250 (4 players)
Barthus, Level 6 Solo Controller, xp 1,250 (5 players) (delete all Gray Company Fallen Heroes and the Adept of Orcus)
Adept of Orcus, Level 6 Controller (Leader), xp 250 (6 players)

Setup

Each of the adventurers has been visited in his or her bed by a ghostly presence.  The presence whispered to each of them, “Come to the great hall during the time of Tiamat.  You must.  It is important.”

And so, they are all gathered in the great hall of Silverkin Keep as the constellation of Tiamat rises in the night sky.  Candles flicker in sconces around the walls of the room, giving light, but doing nothing to reduce the eerie feeling of the room at night.  The rough wooden table is there, surrounded by the chairs used by Baron Silverkin and his court, but all are empty.  There is nothing but silence.

The wait is not long before two apparitions appear, seeming to materialize out of the very stone.  One of them is the ghost who came to each of you in your beds.  He is a young man of ordinary appearance, wearing leather armor and carrying a mace slung at his belt.  On a short chain at this throat is a pale gray pendant, shaped like an arrowhead.

The other apparition is a man with a sharp, weathered face, wearing a helmet with horns curved forward like a ram’s, and carrying a small, simple rod.  At his belt is some sort of symbol.  Religion DC 15 reveals that this is a Symbol of Orcus.  The horned apparition looks at you malevolently.

The young man’s lips move, but there is no sound.  Nonetheless, you can hear him as clearly as if he were speaking out loud.

“I am Lord Fellwood Silverkin, son of Baron Grayward Silverkin and my mother, Xithira.  I have been dead since twenty years past.”  He pauses and a look of profound sorrow passes over his features before he seems to recover himself and begins to speak again.

“I left my father’s keep to go to war, but on the way I was waylaid by a band of villains.”  Behind him, the older man’s eyebrow arches slightly, then he smiles thinly.  “They slew me and my soldiers, but they did not let us die.  They cursed us to a life of undeath.  I must resist you,” he says sadly, his eyes flicking briefly in the direction of the other man.  “I am commanded to do so.  But, I need you to slay me so that I and my men may go to our rest.”

He reaches up and self-consciously touches the pendant at his throat.  “And, yes, this is the amulet, the amulet of my family, which you seek.  Slay me, and return it to my father.  I beg you.”

With that, he unslings his mace and assumes a martial stance, ready for battle.

Tactics and Development

Only the monsters which correspond to the number of players actually participate in the battle.  If it is more than just the original two, then the additional ones appear and act on their initiative on the first round.  If the Adept of Orcus is not part of the action, he merely observes.  Those who are involved fight to the “death.”

When the battle is over, all those except Lord Silverkin “de-materialize,” leaving only his now corporeal body.  The pendant itself, however, is still gray and lifeless looking, until Baron Silverkin combines it with the sword and shield, when it becomes alive and jumps to whoever will ultimately wear it.

Features of the Area

Room:  Stone floor and walls and wooden ceiling (8x8)

Table:  The table requires one square of movement to get up on or get down from.  It requires a move action to turn on its side.  On its side it offers partial concealment to standing creatures and total concealment to prone (or crouching) creatures.

Chairs:  The chairs can be pushed out of the way (moved to a different square) by using one square of movement to do so.  The square they occupy is difficult terrain.

Lighting:  The candles offer dim light evenly throughout the room.

Treasure

Perception DC 10
1 potion of healing
10 gp
The Silverkin family amulet (this will become the Amulet of Passage when combined with the shield and the sword)

If Baron Silverkin obtains the amulet, he holds a ceremony – after the burial of his son – at which he lays the shield, sword, and amulet together.  Upon combining ceremonially, they all regain their new appearance.  The amulet turns a bright blue – becoming the Amulet of Passage – and jumps to Sjolander, lowering itself around his neck.