The Abbey of Saint Markovia
North Gate
The road from the village climbs above the mist to the wide ledge on which the abbey is perched. A light dusting of snow covers the trees and the rocky earth.The gravel road passes between two small, stone outbuildings, to either side of which stretches a five-foot-high, three-foot-thick wall of jumbled stones held together with mortar. Blocking the road are iron gates attached to the outbuildings by rusty hinges. They appear to be unlocked. Viewed through the gates, the stone abbey stands quiet. Its two wings are joined by a fifteen-foot-high curtain wall. A belfry protrudes from the rooftop of the closer north wing, which also sports a chimney billowing gray smoke. The iron gates are unlocked but squeal loudly when someone opens them.
Graveyard
Stunted pine trees grow out of the rocky earth in the graveyard near the foundation of the abbey’s north wing. The windows of the structure are cracked panes of leaded glass. Ancient gravestones burst from a thin crust of snow in the yard. Beyond the low wall that surrounds the graveyard, the ground falls away. The village lies four hundred feet below, and the view is breathtaking.Abbey Entrance
A fifteen-foot-high curtain wall joins the abbey’s two wings. Behind its battlements, two guards stand at attention, their features obscured by fog. Below them, set into the wall, is a pair of ten-foot-tall, wooden doors reinforced with bands of steel. To the right of these doors, mounted on the wall, is a tarnished copper plaque. The plaque bears the abbey’s name, under which appear these words: “May her light cure all illness.” The double doors are heavy but unlocked. They can be pushed open to reveal a foggy courtyard.Old Troughs
These three horse troughs are badly rotted and fall apart if handled or jostled.Chicken Sheds
Each of these sheds is fitted with an iron padlock.Tethering Posts
Iron rings bolted to these wooden posts were once used to secure horses. Chained to one post is Marzena Belview.Alterations
Gardens
Nestled between rising and plunging cliffs are four rectangular garden plots enclosed by a five-foot-high wall of mortared stones. White rabbits nibble on turnips uprooted by the cold. Two lifeless scarecrows with stuffed gullets and sackcloth heads hang from wooden crosses pounded into the cold, hard earth.Gardens Gatehouse
A gatehouse stands at the entrance to the abbey gardens.Architecture
Main Hall
Gentle-sounding music trickles down from above, played on a single stringed instrument by some unseen master.The ground floor is one large, fifty-foot-square room with arched, leaded glass windows. A cauldron sits on an iron rack above a fire in a hearth, while above the fireplace mantel hangs a golden disk engraved with the symbol of the sun. In one corner, a wooden staircase climbs to the upper level, while in another corner a stone staircase descends into darkness.
Several chairs surround a wooden table that stretches nearly the length of the room. Wooden dishware and gold candelabras are neatly arranged on the table, standing behind which is a young woman with alabaster skin dressed in a torn and soiled red gown. Her auburn hair is neatly bundled so as not to touch her soft shoulders. She seems lost in her own thoughts.
Foyer
This room used to be an office, as evidenced by the remains of a desk and a chair, both of which have been smashed to pieces. A hallway to the south leads to a staircase going up. A dark passage to the east is full of unnatural whispers, mad laughter, and bestial odors. The stairs lead up Ocarym Noccr room. The hallway continues to the Madhouse.Madhouse
This lightless corridor has multiple doors behind which lie creatures that shatter the quiet with their mad cackles and whispered curses. The stench is overpowering. Even in the gloom, you can make out a monstrous shape lumbering down the hall. When the darkness can no longer hide its true nature, your eyes are treated to a terrifying, 7-foot-tall assemblage of human body parts. All of the doors leading from the hall are locked. If the characters open them with the key and look inside, they see that the rooms on each side of the hall are dimly lit by natural light that filters through dirty, shuttered windows. Izek Strazni is being held up in one of the cages.
Parent Location
Owner