Permanence

Permanence is as striking a sight as anywhere within Aerdy. The five-towered castle is built atop a great, 50-foot high slab of red rock which has no relation to the surrounding geology of the land. Even looking at the castle is painful; the spired towers seem crooked, the spiral stairways running around them seem to follow impossible angles, bends, and turns. The castle almost seems to be a huge stone clawed hand reaching for the skies, or searching for something to crush in its grip. Detect magic reveals the place to be crackling with unidentifiable sorcery.

The castle is home to Kalreth, an animus-warrior wholly loyal to Ivid. His household troops are but 200 in number, and they include 20 fiend-knights. Their power is wholly disproportionate to their number, not least due to the many magical items they possess. Should this force be dispatched to strike against someone or some place at Ivid's behest, they would be devastating.

That they do not do so is because of Kalreth's adjutant, Balraize. A powerful warrior himself, Balraize hopes to depose Kalreth and lead the army here himself. He always alters summons delivered from Rauxes to avoid major military actions. Balraize tells Kalreth that Ivid's orders are to secure Permanence as a place of retreat should Rauxes fall, with the option to ride to Rauxes should the need arise. This is a plausible enough story, so Balraize has gotten away with his dangerous game so far. Further, Balraize is in the pay of both Strychan and Montand as a spy. Both those princes fear the power of Permanence and its elite strike force and want to know what is happening here (and in Strychan's case, to somehow neutralize it should he march on Rauxes). Both is unaware Balraize is a double agent, of course.

Further, Permanence's magic verges on the awesome. Within the deepest of the dungeons burrowed down into the rock is a chamber containing magical banestones which can cast permanency spells if used by a wizard of 14th or higher level. This allows the crafting of magical items of power, of course, without the risk of the Consti tution drain which casting this spell normally entails. For this reason, many mages of Oerth have a distinct interest in the place. There are three reasons why none has entered it for many years.

First, Kalreth will not tolerate the presence of any wizard within his walls. One of his personality quirks as an animus is a paranoid hatred of wizards, a generalized and amplified obsession developed from his personal antagonism to Karoolck (who is the main reason why Kalreth retreated here from Rauxes). Second, every wizard who covets Permanence's magic does not dare to try to capture it, for fear that other wizards would strike against him. And finally, Kalreth owns a magical artifact of such power that most wizards would rather face a rampaging tarrasque than challenge the lord of the castle here.

The spear of sorrow is a barbed, fauchard-like weapon, some seven feet in length, made entirely of black stone. Its exact origins are uncertain, but some say that it was crafted in the Cauldron of Night from whence the malachite throne itself came. Karoolck gave it to Kalreth in the hope of warping him to his own will, given the magical control powers of the malign thing. But Kalreth was not overcome by it or its curse. He was, however, aware of the potential of the spear and realized what a poisoned gift Karoolck had given him.

If Karoolck had not shortly taken up his role as Ivid's favored wizard, Kalreth would have slain him. Details of the spear are given in Kalreth's character profile below. Permanence can be a major goal for a high-level adven turing group. It is rumored that permanency spells are not the only innate magic of the castle, and trying to capture the stronghold would be an immense task for high-level PCs. Even trying to subvert or decoy its defenses would be very difficult. But the magical rewards here could be very great.