The Fortress of Kahar

Synopsis

The Front Gate House stands as the threshold of Kahar Fortress, flanked by Tower 1 and Tower 9. Its walls rise thirty feet, and are four-foot thick, with no doors, only twin steel portcullises that open and close in ritual sequence. In between the portcullises, is a seventeen-foot by twenty-two foot empty chamber, with no windows, doors, nor any other type of openings, except the murder holes far above in the twenty-foot high ceiling. The only access for defenders to enter the upper two levels or the Front Gate House is through the roof hatch, reached by ladders from the wall or from the ground below.

Within the crew room, four chaplains sleep in bunkbeds above murder holes. They alone operate the portcullises, enacting judgment on those who dare approach. When the outer gate is raised, enemies rush inside, only to be trapped between inner and outer portcullises. Arrows, spears, and boiling oil rain down from above until the outer gate slams shut again, sealing their fate.

Perched among the battlements of the Front Gate House is a ballista, capable of firing heavy bolts, javelins, or stones up to a half a mile away. Operated by Captain Chen himself, the ballista is capable of breaking enemy formations or fortifications. Barrels of ammunition line the back walls.

The Gate House is more than a defensive structure, it is a temple of purification. Each mechanical act is a sacred rite, each portcullis pull a liturgy of steel. The chaplains embody Peotor's judgment, while the bishops patrol the towers, ensuring discipline and cosmic alignment. Together, they make the threshold a living ritual, where entry is not granted but earned.

Front Gate House Sketches

The Vocal Ensemble at Dusk

At dusk, the ceremony gathers in solemn balance: the Captain and Lieutenant stand at the gate, the Inquisitor brings the voice of devotion, the Master Sergeant anchors discipline, while four Bishops and four Chaplains lift their prayers. Together they mark the transition from day to night, guiding the fortress into shadow with reverence and resolve.

• Captain - oversees the order of the rite
• Lieutenant - ensures the procession flows smoothly
• Inquisitor - delivers the invocation at twilight
• Master Sergeant - serves as witness for the enlisted personnel
• Bishops - intone the evening hymns
• Chaplains - secure the banner and ground the ceremony

The Lantern Bell of the King's Ramp

The Creation

In the 98th year of the fortress of Kahar, only 2 years after the end of the 6th Dark Crusade, dark and evil spirits entered the King's Ramp. Families living on or near the ramp were plagued by shadows, and hunted by wights. The chaplains of the Front Gate House sought help from the clerics, and, with their help, they created the,Lantern Bell. A powerful talisman, it resembled a lantern hung on a small, wooden belfry. But at night, when the spirits plagued the King's Ramp, it shone with powerful radiant light, enough to chase the spirits off and cleanse the ramp once more. For 30 years the Lantern Bell shone whenever evil attempted to enter.

A few months before the battle, strange shadows begin to gather near the King's Ramp, the southernmost point of the fortress. The Lantern Bell, the radiant beacon atop the King's Ramp, once cast protective light across the southern plain, but now it has gone dark. The soldiers of Tower 9 report that shadows are increasing their attacks on the many caravans of merchants, traders, and market workers. The soldiers confess that their weapons are nearly powerless against the shadows and the many pilgrims searching for the many temples are full of fear and trepidation. The soldiers describe how the path that leads to the Lantern Bell is guarded by a dark, brooding presence. The soldiers report that they see figures moving in the darkness, and hear faint voices carried on the wind. The soldiers are uneasy, and some are filled with nervousness when they go on duty at night. The Chaplains of the Front Gate House are concerned about the morale of their troops, and they seek out adventurers to investigate the source of the darkness and restore the light of the Lantern Bell. A notice is posted throughout the fortress, in every hamlet and village:

The Adventure

The Lantern Bell stands five feet from the rim of the east cliff overlooking the King's Ramp, but now only a sphere of magical darkness marks the place where it once shone. A wight has brought with it a giant wolf spider bred from birth to contain the spell Darkness. A fifteen foot diameter sphere of absolute darkness surrounds the creature at all times. The spider has begun to wrap the Lantern Bell in webs; if the cocooning is completed, the Bell's magic will die. Only magic such as Daylight or Dispel Magic can pierce the darkness long enough to reveal the spider and the wight within. Unless the PCs intervene and drive off the wight, defeat the spider, and free the Lantern Bell, the King's Ramp will fall to an infestation of undead spirits; shadows, ghosts, wraiths, and worse.

History

The Front Gate House has guarded the southern threshold of Kahar since the earliest days of the fortress. It was raised when Tower 8 was completed and the design for the Front Gate was finalized. Facing south, the Gate House stood with Tower 1 on its right and the newly built Tower 9 on its left. The lowest level forms a 22' x 17' corridor with a 20' ceiling, sealed at both ends by 15' steel portcullises. The second level holds four bunks for the chaplains stationed here, with murder holes cut into the floor. Above them, the third level houses the winch room, and the flat roof, complete with battlements, serves as the uppermost platform.

During the 4th Dark Crusades, the Gate House became a crucible of judgment. Chaplains raised the outer portcullis to draw the giant's vassals inside, then trapped them between the gates. Arrows and spears fell through the murder holes until the corridor became a tomb. Enemy survivors whispered the name The Chamber of Doom, but defenders remembered the rite as The Silent Psalm, for the chaplains sang hymns as they loosed their arrows, binding death to liturgy.

In later years, the copse of trees north of the Gate House concealed the Pillars of Janae, teleportation devices hidden beneath the desert willows. These pillars transported unknowing visitors a mile and a half north, to the sister copse just south of Apperton's Arch. Thus, those who passed through the Front Gate and entered the trees never reached the Royal Triangle, but instead emerged beyond it. Every soldier stationed at the Front Gate knew of the pillars, for it was one of their standing orders: tell no one. The command was repeated each morning and each evening, a ritual of silence woven into the fortress routine. The Gate House became not only a defensive bastion, but a sanctum of controlled passage between worlds.

Yet all its decades of rites and vigilance could not prepare it for the night of Hot 17. As Tower 1 fell to treachery and the Arcane Gate tore open behind the walls, the Front Gate House stood in the path of a catastrophe it could neither foresee nor withstand. While chaplains kept their silent watch and bishops marked the moons, the fortress shifted beneath them, magicians betrayed their oaths, Khalista climbed the western tower, and the long night began. By dawn of Hot 18, Tower 9 would erupt like a volcano, the Gate House would burn, and the southern threshold of Kahar, the temple of purification, the Chamber of Doom, the Silent Psalm, would be torn apart stone by stone.