Riosan will ship the adventurers to the Fjord, but will not be attacking the tower: that is their job.

Payment is negotiable. Riosan agrees to any sensible sum, but refuse to pay a single groat in advance. If they ask what guarantee they have of payment, he points out that they can hold the statue as collateral.

Before Departing

The adventurers may buy any standard equipment that they require, and make other reasonable preparations for the journey. Those who are suspicious of Riosan may ask questions around town, talk to the crew of Riosan's boat, his servants, etc. Such questioning provides th following information:

Riosan arrived in town four days ago, hired the ship, recruited mercenaries to act as servants and bought basic provisions (thick blankets, food, torches, etc.). All large purchases were made using tarnished silver coins of an unknown type, each embossed with the symbol of a half sun. The captain still has one or two of these coins, and would show them to courteous adventurers.

The Truth

Riosan is a Passing Demon. "his" real name is Phredusg'gen, and he was Summoned - but not successfully Bound - by a sorcerer named Neyaloran. The sorcerer sought aid in fortifying a ruined tower and in subjugating the local populace, whilst he disinterred a magical statue that was buried beneath the tower.

The demon agreed to help the sorcerer, all the while planning to steal the statue as soon as it was excavated.

The Journey

Unless you want to throw in incidental encounters of your own, the voyage is uneventful. The ship has two cabins, one of which Riosan takes, with the other given to the adventurers.

Throughout the journey, Riosan is closely attended by his three servants, each now carrying a broadsword. Their other weapons are wrapped in a blanket in their cabin. He eats little, but privately sips blood from a small silver bottle each day (his required POW).

The captain, Pacrile, is from southern Tarkesh, and distrusts the northerners. The characters find that he is not interested in their mission, nor even in the possibility that Riosan might be planning some treachery. Though he won't say as much, he assumes that Riosan needs the ship to get back south, and so whatever might befall the adventurers he thinks that he'll be OK. Ultimately, he is concerned with his own skin, his ship, and his crew. The adventurers are just cargo to him.

Makard

Makard is a small trading town in the far north of Tarkesh. Twenty miles south of Osek's Fjord, it is the nearest settlement of any size. The locals know nothing of Selavial's Curse and little of the fiord. The most informative is the town's main resident trader, a brash, confident man named Svadren.

Svadren knows that there are - or at least, were - three small hamlets around the edge of Osek's Fjord. Each spring they brought bundles of furs to sell in Makard, and each autumn return to buy any provisions. That was until three years ago. Then they simply stopped coming.

From Makard

Leaving Makard at dawn, the ship makes slow progress against a harsh northerly wind. At dusk it approaches a thick fog bank, which the captain estimates to be two miles south of the fiord's mouth. The captain is concerned. The wind should clear the fog, but instead just seems to agitate it.

The ship pulls up on a beach for the night, and guards are set. (The wind is strong, the night is dark, the beach is surrounded by cliffs and above the cliffs are hills treacherous with mud and shingle: the adventurers won't get far if they try approaching the fjord over land.)

The next morning the ship rows into the fog, which swirls in the strong wind. A few flakes of snow fall, and drinking water in the ship's barrels ices over. The fjord's mouth looms to the west, and the ship heads into it.

The fjord is edged in rocks and pebbled beaches. Wherever the adventurers wish to land they may. Riosan says that the ruined tower is on the north edge of the fjord, set on a low cliff, but they may wish to check around the surrounding area first.

Osek's Fjord

Adventurers may just blunder into the tower, without exploring the area first. More fool them. Alternatively....

The Fjord

The fjord is four miles long by half a mile wide. The steep slopes rising from the waters are covered in pine trees and a light dusting of snow.

The waters themselves are freezing cold. Anyone who falls into the water must roll CONxs or less on percentile dice or lose one hit point, rolling every round in which he or she is in the water. Even after clambering out, the adventurer must attempt a similar roll every five minutes until he or she sheds the soaked clothing and gets somewhere warmer (e.g. into a bed on the ship, or simply into a fresh set of warm clothes).

The Settlements

The three settlements around the fjord are deserted.

The hamlet on the north coast shows signs of ordered retreat: valuables have been taken, and the houses have been shuttered and locked up securely.

The two settlements to the south have been evacuated in a hurry. A child's doll, the remains of food still on a table, clothes draped over chairs - these and other clues point to a hurried exodus. A few makeshift barricades suggest a swiftly improvised defence, and those succeeding in a Search roll find a few human remains, bones picked clean by animals. All that is missing is easily portable jewelery and coins.

The buildings in all of the villages remain intact. The southern settlements have good stores of firewood, and all have boats rotting on the beaches or pulled up safely above the waterline. With three man hours work (and a successful Repair roll for each man-hour), a boat from any of these villages could be made serviceable.

The Woods

There are human tracks in the woods. The light snow makes these so obvious that anyone can find them with either a Track or Idea roll. A successful Search roll whilst combing the woods uncovers several traps and snares, set to catch woodland animals or fish in the streams.

Following the most recent tracks (i.e. those with no snow yet overlaying them) requires a successful Track roll, but allows the adventurers to catch up with a group of hunters. Following old tracks, or tracing recent sets backwards, simply lead to the Tower.

Hunters

Adventurers following recent tracks through the woods come across a group of three human hunters, checking traps and snares and stalking game. All have had their left hands amputated, their mouths are sewn shut with wire, and they are generally ragged and unkempt.

They are slaves of Neyaloran, but have no love for him. They are prepared to communicate with the adventurers or guide them to the tower if they wish, helping to engineer their master's downfall however they can: still, they remain extremely frightened of him, and refuse to fight against their fellows. They certainly fight to defend themselves.

The stitches in each of their mouths may be removed with a successful Physik roll, allowing the people to speak for the first time in nearly three years.

The Truth

Three years ago, Neyaloran enlisted the aid of the village nearest to the tower to subjugate the others (offering them the choice of submission or death). With Neyaloran and Phredusg'gen to aid them, their victories were ensured.

The villagers from the south, nearly one hundred people, were used in the construction of the Tower - as living parts of the structure. They still remain, barely alive and half conscious, as a part of the stronghold, drained of POW to feed the demon.

The northern villagers now work as hunters and labourers, feeding themselves and their master. Also drained of POW (each has only 1 or 2 points left), their compliance is assured by the mutilations: whenever one of them errs, Neyaloran may cause the offender excruciating pain; he also tells them that he has the power to kill them. They haven't the nerve to rebel.

Phredusg'gen (alias Riosan) is responsible for the mutilations. Each of the surviving locals remembers him vividly, and although the name means nothing to the adventurers they may recognise the description. What the locals also know is that the Passing Demon also has a gaping fanged mouth in his belly. (On learning this, shrewd players will head straight back to the boat to conffont their employer.)

Confronting Riosan

If the adventurers confront Phredusg'gen (alias Riosan) before they have seized the statue, he tries to dismiss their evidence as absurd and circumstantial. If they insist upon inspecting his stomach he admits that he is a demon: so what? He is still offering to pay them, and they've come this far.

The demon might agree to up the adventurers" pay as he still intends to double-cross them. He certainly does not let them restrain or disarm him or his guards. The captain does not wish to get involved in the argument, though he tries to dissuade hot-heads from fighting on his ship: he wants to get out of this alive, and preferably be paid (Riosan still owes him 20 silvers).

If the adventurers kill Riosan (Phredusg'gen), they might still continue on the tower, motivated by a sense of justice or greed. If they choose to sail for home, well, it's their call.

The Tower

The tower stands thirty feet tall by forty broad, a twisted pile of timbers, stones and human limbs. Arms reach around to hold logs or stones, bleeding bodies provide human mortar and faces peer out into the misty woods. Occasionally a finger twitches or an eye blinks, and crushed torsos struggle constantly for breath.

The bodies of those used in the tower's construction are kept alive by Phredusg'gen's magics, and drained of their willpower (POW 1 each) are subject to Neyaloran's will.

If anyone approaches the tower (unless invisible or making a Hide roll) the heads begin a constant wail as an alarm call.

The Bridge

The tower has no windows and only one door. This entrance leads from the central floor of the tower onto a bridge of wood and mortal bodies. The bridge spans a fiffeen foot wide crevasse, and forty feet below it an eight foot deep, ice edged river feeds into the fjord.

Four armed slaves stand watch here, to bar the way to intruders.

Every round after the alarm is sounded or these guards are attacked, two more come from the tower to join them. Note that the guards are fighting only for their lives: if they don't protect Neyaloran they believe that he will kill them, but if the adventurers seem tough enough to defeat their master they retreat to let them past.

The Entrance

A fur curtain hangs across the entrance, and inside stairs go both up and down. The room itself is an audience chamber, with a throne, table and benches. No resistance is offered to the adventurers here.

The Upper Chamber

The slaves cook and sleep in this chamber - twenty here when the adventurers attack, half of them asleep. Filthy bedding and basic furniture litter the cramped area, in which forty five people are expected to live. When the bridge's guards retreat they run up to here, defending the top of the stairs and using basic gestures to indicate that they don't want to fight.

The Lower Chamber

This is the laboratory and living quarters of the sorcerer, Neyaloran. The finest furnishings from the villages have been brought here for his use thick blankets, a plump mattress, etc. - and arcane symbols decorate the walls.

The floor is bare rock, with an unlocked trap door leading down to the cellar.

On one table forty five left hands, none decayed, are lashed to a board. When Neyaloran stabs one of these hands, it causes intense pain and 1d3 hit points damage to the slave from whom it was taken: he knows exactly which slave each was taken from.

On Neyaloran's desk are his bound Grimoire, and hundreds of pieces of paper covered in scrawl, calculation and sorcerous deduction. Each round, any practitioner of magic may attempt an Idea roll to determine from these notes that the sorcerer was attempting to unravel a complex magical conundrum: a second Idea roll suggests that he was actually trying to circumvent some kind of defensive magic.

Neyaloran prepares his defence here. He stands at the base of the stairs, a thin faced, lank man with blue robes and heavy sideburns, fighting with his dull grey demon sword and spells, shouting unheeded orders to his slaves. He casts Hell's Armour when the alarm is raised, and he places Flames of Kakatal on the stairs when he is charged.) If forced to back off by opponents attempting to get behind him, for example) he retreats to stand above the trap door.

His tactics are to strike first at those opponents who seem the most dangerous to him. In practice this means that feeble adventurers can shelter in safety near the back of their group, while the toughest take all the damage: none of the characters should fall here, but several may be badly injured.

Killing Neyaloran

As soon as the sorcerer is slain, Phredusg'gen is released from the agreements that it made with him. Most importantly, it is no longer obliged to keep the tower standing.

The round after Neyaloran dies, the tower begins to rumble and shake, chunks falling hrom the walls. Remember that characters may generally run 120 feet (40 yards) per round, and so adventurers who do not start running immediately are unlikely to be out and over the bridge this round. Half of the surviving slaves realise what is happening and immediately flee for the exit.

At the start of the second round the bridge collapses, and then the walls of the upper floor fall in on themselves. Dying slaves moan from the top floor, and anyone not already out across the bridge is stuck inside. Those already on the bridge may make a Luck roll to get across before it tumbles: those failing this may attempt a Luck roll - or else plunge into the freezing water. The impact of the fall takes 1d4 hit points, and see above for the perils of being in the water: scrambling up the far bank requires a Climb or Dexterity roll, and adventurers in heavy armour may drown.)

At the start of the third round the tower is shaking violently. Any adventurer trying to get to the cellar or leaping from the doorway may do so. Any others lose 2d6 hit points as the building collapses about them (only magic reduces this damage) and are buried - presumably until someone digs them out.

The Cellar

The cellar is a room thirty feet across, hewn out of the bare rock. Those sheltering here are safe from the buildings collapse, but a large stone blocks the trap-door above, sealing them in.

The room has two windows, carved out of the stone and looking out over the ravine: although currently blocked by several large slabs of rock, a successhul Strength roll against a Size of 20 on the Resistance table clears these obstructions.

There only fumiture is a sing e large chest (Pick Lock or 15 hit points of damage to open it). It contains 124 silver coins, emblazoned with the sign of a half sun, plus 500 bronze worth of petty jewellery and trinkets (stolen from the settlements).

There is also a crystal plinth, inscribed with countless minute symbols, and the remains of a shattered crystal cage. On the plinth is a granite statue. At first glance the statue is clearly humanoid, about two feet tall, but without any obvious features. This is the Curse. If any adventurer insists on examining it closely, see the entry below.

In theory, the task for the adventurers is to climb up the cliff outside (a successful Climb roll is required), and to winch the statue up (assume that it has a SIZ of 18). The complications are

(1) if they fall from the cliffwhile climbing they plunge into the water below: hopefully players think to use ropes and pulleys to make such climbs safer - and if they don't you might suggest it to those who make Idea rolls.

(2) Phredusg'gen, if still alive, intends to betray them.

The Betrayal

As soon as the alarm is sounded at the tower, Phredusg'gen (Riosan) has the captain pull in to a cove just east of the tower: he knows when the alarm sounds, after all -- he set up and maintains the magics that support the tower. In the thick fog and through the trees the adventurers cannot see this.

When the tower collapses, he and his servants guards head up the hill to the rubble. One minute after the tower falls, they reach the edge of the ravine, above the windows from which the adventurers must leave the cellar.

He offers to help them pull the statue up: he has rope, pulleys and three strong thugs.

If the adventurers don't fall for this (e.g. they insist that he should pull them up first) he resorts to threats: give me the statue or stay there until you freeze to death. (Adventurers may survive for a number of hours equal to their CON -- or until they run out of water and food if fortified with blankets or suitable magics. Phredusg'gen is prepared to sit it out indefinitely, as he has blankets, firewood and plenty of food and water.)

From here it is entirely up to the adventurers. Some of them may be out in the woods, rather than trapped in the cellar. Others may be dying from the cold if they fell into the water. If you wish, as a GM, you might make a fight easier or tougher for the adventurers by increasing or reducing the number of thugs the demon commands, or giving them more or fewer bows.

If the players surrender the statue Phredusg'gen sends two of his men to carry it to the ship, waits until one returns to say it is aboard and then heads offto the ship and sails away. The adventurers should have enough resources to make it back (e.g. taking a boat from a village on the south side). The ship carrying Phredusg'gen and the statue is never seen again.

If they spitefully tip it into the river - where even Phredusg'gen cannot immediately get at it - the demon vows revenge. Phredusg'gen and his thugs leave, for now. But maybe he does later seek revenge on the adventurers, or finds some way of pulling the statue from the icy waters.

Selavial's Curse

Any adventurer looking at the statue for one round, sees it taking on her own likeness. (If two stare at it at the same time, the adventurer with the highest POW is replicated).

Henceforth, the granite statue lends the adventurer some portion of its own strength, giving +5 hit points and +1 CON, permanently. The statue's own HP are henceforth equal to the adventurer's.

However, if the statue is ever damaged, the adventurer also loses the same number of hit points. Moreover, every year thereafter the adventurer loses two APP and two DEX, and has her Movement reduced by one unit. Her skin becomes greyer, her limbs more sluggish. Eventually (when DEX or Movement reaches 0) she is fully transformed into a granite statue.

Exactly what Phredusg'gen wants with the statue is up to you to decide. A bribe for a human servant, or a gift for a demon master? A treasure sought by a greater sorcerer than Nevaloran?