The Haunting of Calrow Ruins: The Approach
Calrow Ruins overlooks Lach Gwyren, a freshwater lake blanketed by fog and ringed by poplars, aspens, and cottonwoods. The keep’s disrepair is evident from even a mile away. A moat was dug around the portion of the keep not buttressing the lake. The moat was filled by channels connected to the lake, but the earthquake two years ago caused the moat to drain. This left behind a ditch with only shallow water that becomes a muddy mire after rains. A stone bridge spans the moat leading to the gatehouse, however it was broken in Lady Nydaridien’s flight from the keep to prevent the gibberlings from following.
The Outer Bailey
Calrow Ruins’ outer bailey is the only way in or out of the keep without navigating Lach Gwyren. A pair of guards , Hamson and Glamock, stand futile watch over the shattered barbican leading into the outer bailey. These guards are loyal to Ser Paviss, though their time in and around the ruins has warped their minds toward paranoia.
Both Hamson and Glamock believe they’re fulfilling critical duties in guarding the barbican and cannot be convinced otherwise. Hamson, in particular, believes that the horned trolls are massing for a raid on the keep, and he demands anyone wishing to pass prove they’re not trollish collaborators (for example, by demonstrating they don’t regenerate wounds). Glamock, on the other hand, believes the keep and surrounding lands are cursed and encourages characters to turn back for their own good… unless Glamock realizes a cleric is among them, in which case he is keen to invite the cleric (and just the cleric) inside to negotiate with his commander, Ser Paviss.
Exploring the Outer Bailey
The outer bailey is where the peasants serving the Nydaridien family once dwelled. Massive boulders, now overgrown with moss and artistically engraved with runes by the keep’s former occupants, are scattered across the grounds. Ruins of workshops, stables, livestock stalls, granaries, and servants’ quarters occupy much of the outer bailey.
Meeting with Ser Paviss
Ser Paviss is brooding and distant, apparently occupied with his grim duty of standing watch over a ruined keep, but will meet with the characters to provide them with information (and deliberate misinformation) about what they can expect within the keep. During this meeting, he attempts to ascertain as much as he can about the characters while giving away as little about his true nature as possible. Characters conversing with him may make a DC 11 Wisdom (Insight) check to learn information about him.
Ser Paviss knows the following:
- Some gibberlings have the vague likeness of former servants or knights. They have raided the garrison, and are armed. (True)
- Gibberling activity is confined to within the walls of the ruins thanks to the efforts of Ser Paviss’ guards and the moat. (False)
- A general layout of the castle, including the main areas the Garrison wing, the Great Hall, the Kitchen wing, and the Keep. He also knows about the postern entrance. (True)
- There are no other hazards or monsters in the ruins besides gibberlings . (False)
Methods of Entry
Bridge
This stone bridge spans 20 feet, supported by three pillars rising from the muck with arches forming beneath it. Razorvine crawls up the edges and threatens to spill over the stone railings. The last ten feet of the bridge are broken, ostensibly to keep the gibberlings inside. Characters jumping across this gap or climbing up from the moat below, enter the gatehouse (Area 10).
Moat Fissure
Murky water about 2 feet deep is all that remains of the moat. A PC proficient in Arcana, Nature, or the herbalism kit who searches this area will discover a cluster of 3 darkscape mushrooms.
Exploring the moat area outside the cellars (Area 4) reveals a narrow fissure in the stone leading to the cellars, mostly hidden by overgrown moss that a Small creature could squeeze through. The fissure can be widened to allow Medium creatures to squeeze through by dealing 30 points of bludgeoning damage, damage from a pick, force damage, or thunder damage. However the noise created by such activity will attract gibberlings, raising the difficulty of encounters in the cellars by one step.
Postern
Exploring the perimeter of the keep on the lake side reveals a concealed postern entrance on the northwestern side, disguised via an optical illusion created by masterful stone-laying so it is only visible when viewed from within 60 feet. This narrow passage only permits creatures through in single file, leading into what was once the garrison (Area 8).