Tirisfal Glades
While the land is the home to the Forsaken they are not the most dangerous thing about Tirisfal, the curse of undeath affected much of the land and alot of what is infected was unable to break the will of the Lich King, his mindless minions roam the land looking to devour whatever they can find. If that wasn’t enough the Scarlet Crusade, A fantical religious sect of the light who are dedicated to purifying the lands of all undead.
Undercity
As anyone from the Horde will know the Forsaken aren’t always the easiest to work with and it’s not wrong to think there are a few among the Forsaken who kept their former morals from life, but most of the Forsaken keep themselves separated from the other races. They do allow outsiders within their walls, as long as they are Horde, however most of the living races dare not enter into the city.
In the center of Tirisfal stands the ruined remains of an enormous city, larger than Stormwind this is the fallen city of Lordaeron. The walled city is patrolled by Undead guards & Abominations large bloated creatures that are made of several creatures stitched together and raised in undeath. While the old City is left guarded it is not where the Undead who reside within the Undercity live, the Forsake have turned the lower levels of the city's sewers into their residence.
Road to The Monastery
The best path to take towards the Scarlet Monastery is to stand north and avoid the Forsaken, the Mindless undead are many in number but then tend to be attracted to large groups so they mainly hit Forsaken settlements or Murloc villages on the coast. There's a path that worms through the middle and would reduce the risk greatly.
The path is a dry mud road, the grass surrounding the path has a horrible off green colour as if it’s only just alive, the trees are twisted and corrupted, and the sight of something dead and rotting isn’t uncommon. A horrid stale smell lingers in the air.
As night falls and the party settles down for a night's rest there is an uneasy feeling that washes over everyone, a slight paranoia as they can feel the heartbeat in their chest rest come uneasy. During the night they are awoken by the sounds of skittering, as the sound gets louder and louder off in the dark heading towards them it looks like a blanket of darkness is rushing in their direction, almost like a swarm of insects. But as this swarm comes into view closer it’s not insects or beasts, it’s a skittering swarm of severed hands all moving independently, as the swarm of hands jumps and attacks the party.
The next morning a group of 2 human soldiers adorned in crimson red armour and white armour approach the party, as they step aside a 3rd man walks forward, He is wearing a robe in the same colour as the armoured men but he has a golden staff with incense burning in the top, helping clear the rotten smell that hangs in the air. He has small circular glasses on and a well kept white beard, you can see a small amount of white hair coming from under the Biretta (a square cap with three corners).
Candrie with a face of fear walks up to them “Brother Bertley, what brings you away from the Chapel? I was on my way to trade with you.”
Bertley looking down his nose at Candrie “I’d heard a rumour that the Village of Dawsbury had made a pact with a group of Forsaken?”
Candrie now looking even more distressed looks back at the party then turns back to Bertley “Brother it might sound bad but we were only paying them to keep ourselves safe from them, the agreement was we would pay them and they wouldn’t attack us or turn us. It wasn’t an alliance and more an understanding to save ourselves.”
At this point pure disgust falls across Bertley's face, “You dare take the gifts we give to you and then pass them on the irredeemable… come, you shall answer to Grand Inquisitor Whitemane for this. Kill the others we will deal with Candrie then whip his filthy village from that god forsaken forest afterwards.”
Scarlet Monastery
Foreboding over Tirisfal one bastion of the light in a grim dark land. Slightly ironic that the lightest place in a land so grim is really the most dark. Ascending up the hill towards the Monastery the trees are littered with hanging corpses in various states of decay all in what looks like the same red attire they saw earlier, where the trees have run out of branches, people have been hung up and crucified. One man top less dead for maybe a week nailed to a cross has the word “Traitor” carved into his chest.
As the party climbs the hills towards the Monastery wisps dash around the area whispers can be heard but not made out, these are the fallen from a great battle that had taken place in the past between the Forsaken and The Crusade. At the top of the hill they are greeted with the sight of a gigantic gothic cathedral, the Scarlet Monastery has multiple spires pierce into the sky. Outside the gate there are a few guards posted in scarlet armour and a couple in cloth, behind them there is an archway with a set of stairs heading into the building.
Scarlet Halls
1. The Grand EntranceAt the top of the stairs the outermost chamber of the Scarlet Monastery. The room itself is decorated with pillars and statues of scarlet warriors. Burning candles atop simplestands cast a yellow light up into the vaulted ceilings of the chamber.
2a. Training Grounds
Light shines through ornate windows into the entryway to the Scarlet Halls. This passage is crafted with impeccably cut stone, the party can hear the clanging of swords as they make their way down a small corridor that runs parallel they can see into a courtyard where several soldiers in training are sparring with swords and a few others are practicing with a bow. At the end of the corridor a large guard dog chained through the door towards the men training. The party can make a DC 12 Perception check to find a bucket of meat to distract the dog. At the eastern end of the Entry Passage, a door leads northout into the Archery Range.
2b. The Courtyard
Past the Entry Passage, the party finds itself in an open-air courtyard nestled within the walls of the Scarlet Monastery.Another patrol walks along the southern end of the courtyard underneath a covered awning that surrounds the entire space. The courtyard is dominated by a well-trodden field that is currently being used as an archery range to train the new recruits. There are 1d4 reinforced archery targets that are about 5ft tall. The characters may make a DC 13 Strength check carry these targets in front of them. While carrying them, the adventurers have 3/4 cover but their speed is reduced by 10ft. Across the courtyard, at the northern end of the Archery Range are 5 Scarlet Archers led by Commander Lindon. Once he sees the party, Lindon will direct his subordinates to unleash their arrows upon them
The short covered passageway leads out into another open courtyard. A red-roofed awning supported by arched marble pillars rings the grounds. Along an elevated path, a few scarlet banners are hung, gently swaying in the breeze.
The courtyard, itself, is carpeted in well maintained grass and contains a few stately trees. In the center of this area stands Houndmaster Braun. A narrow passage leads east to a small alcove containing the hounds kennel. The place reeks of blood, flesh, and hound excrement. It is otherwise unremarkable.
The stairs from the Huntsman's Cloister lead into a series of connected chambers. Unlike the courtyards above, the halls are dimly lit and a thin fog clings the ground. The walls are lined with racks of armor and an assortment of weapons. The chambers first lead east. In that direction, a group of crusaders await the adventurers. From this hallway, the armory continues northward, as the party walk around the next corner the player at the front steps on a loose tile of the floor, as a loud bang sounds off as a row of cannons fire all the players have to make a dex save 14 or take 3d8 damage. As they make it to the next corner they finally come across a set of stairs leading back up.
5. Hall of Champions
Stepping out of the armory the party sees a small corridor leading down to the left, directly in front of them there is a large double door. Through the door they are led into a circular chamber, ringed by 11 massive stone statues depicting the fallen Champions of the Scarlet Crusade. Ornamented candelabras and light streaming through blue glass windows cast light and shadows across the hall. A platform rings around the edge of the room, both directions ramping down towards the ground floor. A set of short stairs on the northern end of the platform leads down to the center of the room and a bare-chested but otherwise clad in scarlet armor brute of a man, Armsmaster Harlan, weapons master of the Scarlet Crusade.
7. Athenaeum
The Athenaeum is the repository of the crusade's knowledge and teachings. The portraits of the prior chamber have been replaced with densely filled shelves, straining under the weight of countless tomes and scrolls. Gathered around lecterns are two groups of students being indoctrinated in the intolerant teachings of the Scarlet Crusade. Each group is composed of a Scarlet Scholar and his three Scarlet Pupils. They will defend the Athenaeum and its knowledge with their lives.At the end of the hall is a circular chamber containing thecrusade's most ancient tomes and the records of the crusades hidden past. Inside is Flameweaver Koegler, currently purging the library of anything that would bring to light the crusade's past misdeeds and failures. The room is thick with smoke and ash from the books that have already been immolated. A few bookshelves, as of yet spared from the flame, ring the chamber.
Scarlett Chapel
2a. The Graveyard
A small corridor leading out from the Library leads back out door, The party enters what was once used as a graveyard for the Scarlet Crusade. The acrid smell of smoke and burning flesh assault their senses as a horrific scene opens up before them. This once peaceful place is now a scorched and blighted battlefield. A paved path leads down the center of the courtyard, to the west. On either side, blackened husks of trees loom over exhumed gravesites. Two mausoleums also flank this path, their entrances caved in to prevent the rise of more undead within the walls. The bodies that were once buried here have been dug up and piled into Piles of Corpses distributed around the cursed grounds. A squad of crusaders comprised of two Scarlet Centurions and a Scarlet Flamethrower are engaged with each Pile of Corpses, furiously attempting to stem the flow of Zombified Corpses rising from them.
At the far end of the Graveyard is the ruins of Honor's Tomb, surrounded by a twisted iron fence, darkened by the soot and ash that clings to every surface of this courtyard. Before this gate, the paved path also forks south to a set of locked doors leading to the Sealed Hall.
2b. Honor’s Tomb
Before the adventurers stands the crumbling ruins of Honor's Tomb and the source of the undead assault, Thalnos the Soulrender. The skeletal mage is currently engaged in a ritual extracting souls from the bodies trapped within the broken tomb.
A small hall sits off to the left of the graveyard, inside a heavy double door reinforced by iron is on the back right of the room, in the center of the room is a stone statue of a man holding a frame, around his neck is a key also turned to stone. The man is looking directly into the eyes of a statue of a woman with snakes for hair. She has a face of anger. The door is locked.
The way to solve the puzzle is to cover the man's eyes so he turns back to normal then they can use the key. (his name is Darius he is a trainee who realised the Scarlet crusade were insane he tried to escape but was met with a medusa.)
3. Chapel Gardens
In stark contrast to the graveyard before it, the Chapel Gardens are a haven of the Light. A sprawling open courtyard surrounding an elaborate fountain filled with crystal clearwater prefaces the Crusader's Chapel. In this sacred place,the elite members of the Scarlet Crusade engage in training and meditation, preparing to unleash their merciless crusade.
3a. Lower Courtyard
The northern end of the Chapel Gardens is a sprawling courtyard paved with grey flagstones. It is centered around a shallow fountain filled with crystal clear water, a rarity in these lands. While the courtyard is largely stone, a few trees and shrubs dot the grounds. Ringing the west, north, and eastends of the courtyard is a covered awning supported by marble columns.
3b. Upper Courtyard
The stairs from below lead the party into a second courtyard.Unlike the paved area below, the Upper Courtyard is largely covered in grass and plants. Rows of lush, ornamental trees line the grounds. To the west and east are raised, paved areas covered with awnings similar to those in the Lower Courtyard. At the center of the gardens, a multi-tiered fountain sits in the middle of a pond, providing the water source for the fountain below. Just like the Lower Courtyard, these grounds are used to train the Scarlet Crusade's elite forces. Training dummies are arrayed around the courtyard, two on each side of the pond,where crusaders hone their chosen method of combat. On the fair end of the courtyard there is a chapel building, sitting on the steps a man meditates, topless wearing baggy trousers in the scarlet red, with a band around his head with the Scarlet Crusade logo on it.
4. The Chapel
At the heart of the Scarlet Monastery stands the Crusader's Chapel, the final bastion of the Scarlet Crusade.
The party enters into an expansive room lit by scores of low burning candelabras and chandeliers. Thick stone pillars hold up a vaulted ceiling painted with scenes from the crusades storied history. These murals are obscured by thick clouds of smoke and ash from the thousands of candles burning within the Sanctuary. In the center of the ceiling, a massive brazier holding an eternal flame contributes to the light and smoke filling the room.
4b. Sally Whitemanes Quarters
Inside the small space at the back of the chapel there is a room in which High Inquisitor Whitemane would have spent her down time, varius art covers the wall, some of what looks to be Sally with her family, some of human kingdoms. There is a small bed, wardrobes with clothes after searching the room the party finds…
1600g.
3 diamonds worth 300g, 250g & 450g.
And the items below.
Enemies Within the Crusade
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