Ironspire Keep
The air is heavy with the weight of centuries and the smell of ozone and old parchment.
A jagged stone fortress perched atop a desolate crag, Ironspire Keep serves as a silent tomb for the fallen House of Vorne. Its towers are perpetually shrouded in a grey, unnatural mist that dampens sound and drains color from the world.
The air is biting cold and smells of wet stone and old parchment. Sound is muffled as if through thick wool, and the only light comes from occasional sconces of flickering, soul-blue flame.
☠ Threat
The Shade of Duke Alaric, now a powerful Death Knight, commands the spirits within the keep from his frozen throne. His presence creates a necrotic aura that pervades the dungeon, causing non-magical lights to flicker and fail. He seeks to gather enough souls to finally break the keep's boundaries and expand his necrotic influence over the valley, marching an army of the dead across the living realms.
History
Built by Duke Alaric Vorne as a defensive bulwark against the northern tribes, the keep was the site of a bloody betrayal centuries ago. Alaric's own court sorcerer made a dark pact with a shadow entity to ensure the family's eternal reign, but the magic backfired. Instead of immortality, the inhabitants were transformed into spectral husks, bound forever to the stones they once swore to protect.
Encounter Table
CRA spectral knight that phases through walls to challenge the party's strongest warrior.
Dark, blade-wielding silhouettes that strike from the shadows and vanish.
Rumours & Whispers
The Duke's gold still shines in the vault, but it's guarded by his own shadow.
Do not speak the Duke's name within the walls, or he will hear your heartbeat.
A secret library door leads to the Duke's private chambers, but only a scholar can find it.
The keep was not taken by force, but by a single word spoken in the dark.
Quest Hooks
Quest giver: Lord Byron Vorne
A local noble claims to be the last of the Vorne line and hires the party to retrieve the signet ring.
A small estate and 10,000 gp.
Quest giver: Elder Thorne
The necrotic energy of the keep is killing the surrounding forest, and the local druids need the source destroyed.
Staff of the Woodlands or Rare Potions.
Corridor Notes
Rusted suits of armor that track movement with their visors as players pass.
Chilling drafts that carry the sound of a weeping child but have no source.
Turn Ironspire Keep into a sheet
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