LAIR OF THE GHÛL CULT



Hook: It's been years since the threat of Gŵron, the Black, possessed by the spirit of the Witch Lord, Azoraxis the Living Shadow, attempted to conquer the Misty Bay area. The region is quiet, now, but, there are murmurs of something stirring in The Dark Forest. The goblins there are unusually restless, and attacks on The Road and livestock and wildlife have begun to increase... It could be some troll leader or bandit lord behind them urging them on, or, it could be more...

Details: The Lair of the Ghûl Cult has been in operation for a little over a decade, after 10 prior years of construction on the complex, mining and scouring. The stones from the excavation were cut and used inside for pillars and foundations, and the rest dumped into moat.

The ghûl, Vorixus, on orders from the Strixian Empress Empusa, has traveled here to both raise Azoraxus, along with Gŵron's body, and secure the Misty Bay area for the empire and Chaos. Strixa, in her aspect as The Ghûl Queen, is the goddess worshipped here, so, any humans, barring any mercenaries, are black-clad cultists with a round bronze medallion featuring the vampiric skull of Strixa. The dead have been gathered in a special crypt prepared and reserved for the purpose. Skeletons sleep within, and wander out on errands, as per their programming. Patrols inside the complex, mostly. A group of goblins, trölls, already living in the area's quarry caves, led by a giant of a tröll thane, Bazmoág, the Ruin, agreed to aid Vorixus in his efforts, patrolling both the back 'goblin gate', and the wilderness of the Dark Forest. They are used to gather intelligence and make regular sweeps to protect the efforts of the cultists. Sometimes, they accompany mercenary bandits on raids. The goblins hate the cultists, but, they hate good more. And they receive treasure and slaves to take back with them to Bazmoág living in the quarry caves. A giant runt, Hárgrind (still large, by most standards, standing at about 10', a voracious and miserable creature, is being kept in a special chamber, chained to the floor, until needed (usually hard labour or combat). He is tossed captives and other food to feast on, now and again. The stairs leading to the cult complex's main entry is used by nearly everyone. The lower entry near the moat is reserved for supplies and prisoners and heavily guarded. There are two sets of abandoned stairs that were built to get to the towers north and south, but, they had to be abandoned, for the magic protecting the castle. The ghûl, Vorixus, rides a strix-bat, a kind of large owl-bat monster hybrid, that lairs in the main postern cave at the bottom of the island outcropping. It comes when the ghûl summons her telepathically.

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