Page 168 - Curse of Strahd_Neat

CHAPTER 11: VAN RICHTEN'S TOWER

NE OF THE MEN EMPLOYED BY STRAHD TO APPROACHING THE TOWER
raise Castle Raven loft was an archwizard
named Khazan. After his work on the The Svalich Woods have swallowed up the road that
castle was complete, Khazan retired to once led to the tower. Now only a wide dirt trail remains.
the Barovian valley and built a tower for
himself on a small island on Lake Bara­ You come to a cold mountain lake enclosed by misty
tok. With the help of some engineers and
laborers, he also built an earth-and-gravel causeway woods and rocky bluffs. Thick fog creeps across the dark,
connecting the island with the nearby shore. still waters. The trail ends at a grass-covered causeway
In his waning years, Khazan visited the Amber Tem­ that stretches a hundred yards across the lake to a flat,
ple (chapter 13) and discovered the secret to becoming a marshy island with a stone tower on it. The tower is old
lich. He returned to his tower and was able to complete and decrepit, with collapsing scaffolds clinging to one
the transformation. Some years later, after Strahd be­
came a vampire, Khazan paid a visit to Castle Ravenloft side where a large gash has split the wall. Timeworn grif­
with the notion of challenging Strahd for rulership of fon statues, their wings and flanks covered with moss,
Barovia. Instead, much to Khazan's surprise, Strahd perch atop buttresses that support the walls.
persuaded him to serve as an advisor in matters of Parked near the base of the tower, within sight of the
magic. When not advising Strahd, the lich spent most of entrance, is a barrel-topped wagon spattered with mud.
his time in the Amber Temple, trying to master the se­
cret of demilichdom in the hope of finding a way to mag­
ically project his spirit beyond the confines of Strahd's The tower stands 80 feet tall. It has four levels (each 20
realm. His efforts failed, and Khazan destroyed himself. feet high) and a mostly intact slate tile roof. The second,
His remains lie entombed in the catacombs of Ravenloft. third, and fourth floors have arrow slits that are 6 inches
Khazan's tower stood empty for ages, it seemed, and wide, 3 feet tall, and 1 foot thick. The tower's uppermost
would have collapsed under the weight of neglect were it level overhangs the levels below it and has window
not for the magic wards placed on it long ago. Recently, boxes in addition to arrow slits.
the tower was taken over by the legendary vampire The mossy griffons atop the buttresses are nothing
hunter Rudolph van Richten, who used it as a base from more than decorative statues.
which to explore Barovia. He has since relocated to the
nearby town ofVallaki, where he hides in plain sight. KHAZAN'S SPELL DRAIN
Following in the vampire hunter's footsteps is his Khazan warded his tower so that he alone could cast
protege, Ezmerelda d'Avenir, who has taken to living in spells near or within it. The effect is identical to an
the tower while she searches for her mentor. She isn't antimagic field centered on the tower and extending 5
present when the characters arrive, however. feet from it in all directions. The effect doesn't apply to
magic traps and constructs created by Khazan, includ­
ing the trap on the tower door in area V2, the golems in
areas V4, and the animated suit of armor in area V7.

VAN RIGHTEN HAS RETURNED,
the old fool. He tries to hide from
me, but I shallfmd him. He and I
have much to discuss.
-Strahd von Zarovich .1