"Take care of those archers, my friends. I'll hold him off."
Targrish continues to gamely tackle the tiefling.
for
for
Aicard blinks away the tears and rushes forward. These archers need to be stopped! Oh God, but the torment he'll put them through, the thought of inflicting such pain breaks Aicard's heart. Why are they forcing him to do this?
AC 30
Fort +20, Ref +19, Will +17
Collar of the eternal bond []
Effects:
The Tyrant steps back in unison with a cutting remark from Vashta. A moment later he breathes a cone of electricity over the three archers.
HP 114/173 (Toughness)
AC 27
Fort +13, Ref +11, Will +13; fire resistance 5 (crown), poison resistance 11 (brass dwarf), xx weakness 5? (brass dwarf)
Hero points: 2
Active Harrow Omen: The locksmith (keys)
Chaotic Destiny []; Incredible Improvisation []; crown of the fire eater []; ring of lies []
Focus Points: 1/1
Effects: crushing despair (can't use reactions and must attempt another save at the start of its turn; on a failure, it is slowed 1 for that turn as it sobs uncontrollably) 2/10
"Finish that poor knockoff of Aicard," Vashta taunts the other tiefling.
Vashta fails to demoralize the tiefling. The Tyrant zaps the archers with his breath weapon, but Aicard fails to land a hit. Targrish slashes the tiefling again. Clover attacks the wounded archer with painful sound waves, but he resists the spell.
The hasted tiefling swings twice on Targrish but misses both times due to concealment! Frustrated, he casts another spell, swinging his axe and creating a storm of duplicate weapons around him!
Two of the mercenaries switch to rapiers as they move to flank Aicard. The other one steps back and shoots the Tyrant.
HP 104/173 (Toughness)
AC 27
Fort +13, Ref +11, Will +13; fire resistance 5 (crown), poison resistance 11 (brass dwarf), xx weakness 5? (brass dwarf)
Hero points: 2
Active Harrow Omen: The locksmith (keys)
Chaotic Destiny []; Incredible Improvisation []; crown of the fire eater []; ring of lies []
Focus Points: 1/1
Effects: crushing despair (can't use reactions and must attempt another save at the start of its turn; on a failure, it is slowed 1 for that turn as it sobs uncontrollably) 3/10
Vashta lets out a sob as The Tyrant attacks at her urging.
AC 30
Fort +20, Ref +19, Will +17
Collar of the eternal bond []
Effects:
The Tyrant charges forward toward the most injured archer, jaws snapping. The slam closed around the archer-turned-swordsman, sending a spray of blood across everything in the vicinity.
"Nice spell, but I've dodged my share of axes," the dwarf boasts. He continues to rely on the protection of his implements and attacks the tiefling.
for
for
Aicard continues the fight with his tears as nothing about what he's doing feels right. If only he could shed his skin, leave this mortal coil and let his spirit soar toward the high heavens above!
The Tyrant tears into one of the mercenaries with his jaws, then Aicard finishes the opponent off with a gluttonous bite, draining the man's vitality for himself. The most wounded assassin still manages to stay on his feet after weathering more of Clover's painful vibrations. The tiefling fends off Targrish's attacks.
The tiefling repeats his previous tactic, slashing twice at Targrish before unleashing another weapon storm.
The last mercenary switches to his rapier as he flanks with the critically wounded one, scoring a hit on Aicard.
The mental pain is nearly washed away by the physical trauma inflicted upon Aicard, but he can't but linger in this endless ocean of despair. The tiefling's mouthful of bristling demonic teeth aches to inflict that what he endures upon those around him.
HP 104/173 (Toughness)
AC 27
Fort +13, Ref +11, Will +13; fire resistance 5 (crown), poison resistance 11 (brass dwarf), xx weakness 5? (brass dwarf)
Hero points: 2
Active Harrow Omen: The locksmith (keys)
Chaotic Destiny []; Incredible Improvisation []; crown of the fire eater []; ring of lies []
Focus Points: 1/1
Effects: crushing despair (can't use reactions and must attempt another save at the start of its turn; on a failure, it is slowed 1 for that turn as it sobs uncontrollably) 4/10
Collecting herself, Vashta urges The Tyrant on. "You'd better run, dear, before he rips you apart too," she tells one of the assassins.
AC 30
Fort +20, Ref +19, Will +17
Collar of the eternal bond []
Effects:
Targrish avoids most of the swords, and his amulet protect him from the rest.
He give the tiefling a stinkeye as he brandishes his amulet, "Attack me again, you fiend."
He finishes with a kukri cut.
for Plus weakness 7
Aicrad and the Tyrant finish off the most wounded mercenary, while Clover strikes the other one with a beam of searing light. Vashta’s attempt to demoralize is unsuccessful. The tiefling resists Targrish’s hex and avoids his attack.
Both remaining enemies attack ineffectually!
HP 104/173 (Toughness)
AC 27
Fort +13, Ref +11, Will +13; fire resistance 5 (crown), poison resistance 11 (brass dwarf), xx weakness 5? (brass dwarf)
Hero points: 2
Active Harrow Omen: The locksmith (keys)
Chaotic Destiny []; Incredible Improvisation []; crown of the fire eater []; ring of lies []
Focus Points: 1/1
Effects: crushing despair (can't use reactions and must attempt another save at the start of its turn; on a failure, it is slowed 1 for that turn as it sobs uncontrollably) 5/10
Vashta sobs again, unable to shake the feeling of crushing despair. Still she has enough in her to boost The Tyrant again.
AC 30
Fort +20, Ref +19, Will +17
Collar of the eternal bond []
Effects:
The Tyrant, enraged by the attack and Vashta's tears, tears out the last assassin's throat.[
"This ends now! I'm done with it all, done!"
"Good idea!" Targrish swings at the flanked tiefling.
for Plus weakness 7
for Plus weakness 7
The assassin goes down under your attacks and the tiefling is further wounded. Despite the tide of battle turning against him, he continues to attack, slicing Targrish once with his axe.
Targrish wards off most of the damage, but the axe still gives him a wicked cut across the face.
"You'll pay for that!"
for Plus weakness 7
for Plus weakness 7
HP 104/173 (Toughness)
AC 27
Fort +13, Ref +11, Will +13; fire resistance 5 (crown), poison resistance 11 (brass dwarf), xx weakness 5? (brass dwarf)
Hero points: 2
Active Harrow Omen: The locksmith (keys)
Chaotic Destiny []; Incredible Improvisation []; crown of the fire eater []; ring of lies []
Focus Points: 1/1
Effects: crushing despair (can't use reactions and must attempt another save at the start of its turn; on a failure, it is slowed 1 for that turn as it sobs uncontrollably) 6/10
Vashta concentrates, sending electricity through the tiefling and The Tyrant into battle.
"This may come as a shock, dear, but you're about to die," she tells their enemy as they swarm him.
AC 30
Fort +20, Ref +19, Will +17
Collar of the eternal bond []
Effects:
"Most painfully too!" The Tyrant adds.
Though the Tyrant misses, Vashta shocks the tiefling and Targrish slices him open with his kukri. The fiendish man groans and falls to the floor, blood pooling beneath him.
Dieral cautiously emerges from his hiding spot. "Is it over? Are they... gone?"
"In a manner of fashion, dear," Vashta says. "At the very least, they won't be bothering you again, unless you don't like the sight of blood and have a weak stomach."
"We took care of them. You seemed to know they were coming...what's going on?"
“A strange harrow card just appeared in my possession one day not too long ago.” Dieral produces a card from his pocket and shows it to you: The Carnival. Its style matches those already in your possession. ”This card, and others like it, belong to a greater whole—a powerful collection known as the Deck of Destiny. I know this because I have seen it in my nightmares. I have had terrible dreams since the card came to me, dreams of being pursued by a man in demonic armor, a hulking werewolf, and a monstrous black bird, all of whom taunted me that the glories of the Deck of Destiny were not meant for me.
“I have tried to sell, discard, and even destroy The Carnival in countless ways, only to fail each time and find the card returned to me. Maybe you could try to take it from me?” The elf gives you the card, but fully expects it to return to him within a few moments. When it doesn’t, he’s shocked, amazed, and more than anything else, relieved.
”Incredible! It would seem that perhaps you, unlike me, are destined for the artifact’s power. I believe that if all of the cards in the deck are gathered in one place, the resulting collection will likely have much greater powers. But the fact that I didn’t recognize The Carnival makes me think that either the Deck of Destiny itself is remarkably ancient and forgotten, or unusually recent in its construction.”
In his gratitude, Dieral also offers you two moderate salamander elixirs that he discovered earlier.
Aicard wipes away the last of his tears and sighs. It's a shame the goons felt the need to fight to the death. Don't they know it's stupid to do so when facing Vastha, Targrish and Aicard?! The overwhelming emotions are finally dissipating, but the memory remains and the tiefling will need a drink to truly get over and past them.
Worn-out, but not beaten, he joins the conversation with Dieral and listens intently. "You say the card keeps returning to you. Well, some of the other cards also found their way to you. You, or this card," he says while eyeing the Carnival card. "I don't know how or what, but fiendish forces seem to be aware of what's going on, and they're actively hunting for these cards. I eh, I'd feel a lot better if you were to come with us, so we could keep you safe, but perhaps we've become the magnet for trouble now, so maybe you'd be better off staying as far away as possible."
"I appreciate the offer, but I think I'd prefer to get back to my life now and put all of this behind me," Dieral says. "Good luck!"
Once Dieral has answered all of the questions you might have for him, he takes his leave, eager to get back to his normal life. He lifts up the Harrow Barrow and wheels it away.
Chapter 2: Scattered Stories
Mere moments after he has left, a sudden sense of vertigo overwhelms you as a thunderous sound fills the air of what must be a colossal deck of cards being shuffled. The world around you flickers and fades as images of a new reality, viewed as if in a series of rapidly flashing pages flipping over and over, manifests before you. This vision shows a sprawling valley surrounded by impossibly tall mountains. Within the valley lie forests and swamps, deserts and plains, and a massive lake. At the valley’s heart sits a lonely castle atop a low hill, surrounded by a village. A sudden sense of homesickness seems to rise up from that castle, and then, just as quickly as it began, the vision comes to an end.
As if by instinct, you understand the truth of what has occurred—by bringing together a card from every suit in the Deck of Destiny, a new reality has been created. Further, each of you understands how you can enter this new reality and knows its name—the Harrow Court.
You also notice something else odd has occurred. Clover has vanished, and in her place stands somebody else, holding the card Clover once possessed--The Empty Throne.
You concentrate on a card from the Deck of Destiny that you have invested, focusing on it as if you were looking through a window rather than at a piece of artwork. After 1 minute, a stationary portal appears in the air in front of you, its edges resembling the quick riffling of a thick deck of cards. You and any other creatures you designate can pass through this portal to enter the Harrow Court. Once created, the portal persists for up to 1 minute or until you take an action with the envision trait to close the portal.
A character in the Harrow Court can use this activity to open a portal out of the demiplane, but this portal always leads to the same point in the multiverse they were at when they previously entered the Harrow Court.
"Bolka's blessed bloomers! What was that?" Targrish exclaims after his vision clears.
"A sort of demi-plane, unless I miss my guess. Some wizard mucking about with reality, again."
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A tall, raw boned man in robes of sun-faded dun and lilac stands before you. Garlands of wooden beads give him the air of a holy man, though he carries no obvious religious symbols. A wicker fetish that vaguely resembles a lantern hangs from one of the necklaces. Inside it, a green spark flutters about like a firefly.
His long, raven black hair is pulled back from a sharp widow's peak and shaved clean on the sides. Freckles mark his broad cheekbones, and on the right side, a tattoo connects them with straight clean lines that resemble a constellation. It wraps around the right side of his head, seemingly connecting moles and other blemishes on his copper scalp.
His lavender eyes look up from the card he is holding in his hand, a quizzical look giving way to a calm and reassuring smile.
"Three Moves Ahead," he says in Taldane. "I'm afraid I have you at a disadvantage as I have been following your exploits here in the city. I am Orozomoc. You may call me Oro. The stars spoke to me of our meeting."
His accent is clearly Garundi, though his widow's peak and freckles mark him as having a touch of Azlanti blood. Together with the facial tattoo, those of you familiar with the Mwangi Expanse would mark him as hailing from Jaha, perhaps of Saoc ancestry.
"I do not know what has become of your friend, Clover In Spring, but be assured her disappearance was not my doing."
"Oro, is it? Targrish Spellstone, at the service of you and yours." The dwarf gives a nod of the head in greeting.
"We've got whole realities appearing around here this morning, so a few mysterious disappearances are hardly a surprise. By your greeting, I assume you've had the same vision we did--a card appears and you feel pulled toward Absalom. Well, the short, short version of our day so far is that we've managed to track down a few more of these special Harrow cards, " Targrish flicks The Rabbit Prince into his hand and shows it to the new arrival.
"Did you see what happened when you arrived? We've got a card from each suit, now, and it seemed to open some sort of portal when we brought them together. To me, going through it seems the natural next step, but there are some complications."
"First, we don't seem to be the only ones with our eyes on these cards. We ran into two groups of nasty customers already. Hands on their swords and the stink of Hell on them." He steps aside to point out the casualties from the recent battle.
"Second, this business with the portal itself. Opens onto some sort of pocket reality called the Harrowed Court. Who knows what we'll find there, eh?"
Could this day get any more strange? Sure, sure it can. Aicard throws Orozomoc an appraising look and after a second or two, nods, seemingly happy with what he sees. "Honestly, it seems like the right thing to do to go through ... with this. With the fiends involved, I can't help but feel the need to stand up and do whatever it takes to keep their accursed claws from acquiring these cards."
And, in an attempt to keep everyone's hopes up, he adds, "Perhaps we'll find Clover there?"
When you are ready, you open a portal into the Harrow Court. As you step through the portal, you find yourselves in a grand hall. The bare stone walls of this cathedral-like chamber are draped with cobwebs and dust. No furnishings adorn the immense hall, while the ceiling above arches up to a height of nearly a hundred feet. Dozens of stained glass windows, each depicting a different scene from the Harrow, allow light to stream into the dusty chamber, and several wooden doors allow exit in all of the room’s walls but one. This wall instead features six shallow alcoves filled with swirling gray mist. Each alcove is framed by an elegantly carved archway featuring decorations from the six suits of the Harrow—hammers, keys, shields, tomes, stars, and crowns.
You instinctively understand the nature of this realm...
Divinities none
Native Inhabitants simulacra
The Harrow Court appears as an idyllic region that could have been plucked from the heart of Avistan. At the demiplane’s center, a fortress known as Harrowheart sits atop a hill, which is in turn surrounded by a village and farmlands. To the north, the farmlands give way to barren deserts, while to the south they decline into a swamp. A vast lake lies to the east, and a dense forest grows in the west, while all around, towering mountains surround the realm, giving it the appearance of being nestled in a single vast valley. The sun rises in the east every morning at 6:00 am and sets in the west every evening at 6:00 pm, splitting time into equal periods of twelve hour days and nights. The sky above appears normal (complete with moon and stars at night) but has an impassible barrier—the edge of the demiplane—at an altitude of 3 miles.
There are no dangerous monsters native to the demiplane. The PCs are the only truly living things within the Harrow Court, but they’re not alone. People and animals populate the fortress, surrounding village, and modest farmhouses that dot the countryside, representing what appears to be a perfectly ordinary mix of both young and old from numerous common ancestries. Beyond the farmlands, simulacra of all kinds of wild animals populate the wilderness, yet they do not encroach upon the heartland of the demiplane. When the PCs first arrive in the Harrow Court, it is sparsely populated.
These people and creatures are created by the Deck of Destiny, but they’re not truly “alive.” Instead, they’re more akin to simulacra. They possess full memories, relationships, and interests that seem legitimate—these citizens of the Harrow Court believe that they have always lived here and have memories that include lineages and traditions, yet they’re not actual living creatures. All of these simulacra, be they citizens or wild animals, appear to live and even die as normal, but with each new sunrise in the Harrow Court, dead bodies fade and those simulacra wake as normal with no memory of their previous death as they continue to play out their constant but repeating role within the demiplane.
The defining characteristic of the Harrow Court are its epitomes—one for each card in the Deck of Destiny. Each of these epitomes helps to expand the demiplane by adding new opportunities to the realm. A card’s epitome activates immediately as soon as it arrives within the Harrow Court, as long as the card itself is invested. Likewise, if a PC invests a card while within the Harrow Court, its epitome activates automatically. Once a card’s epitome activates, the player characters immediately become aware of those effects, regardless of where in the Harrow Court the epitome manifests. An epitome remains active forever —there’s no way to reverse an epitome once it takes place.
The six cards you have brought into the Harrow Court pulse with power as they begin to epitomize themseles within the demiplane!
Critical Success The PC observes some of the carnival performers and gains subtle clues as to the nature of a foe they will soon face. The GM chooses a specific, named enemy that the PCs are likely to face at some point in the current adventure they’re playing. When the PC encounters that foe (as long as the foe isn’t disguised), they automatically recognize them. At this point, the GM informs the PC that they recognize the foe from their visit to the carnival, and the PC learns information about the foe as if they had achieved a critical success in an attempt to Recall Knowledge against that target. Until the party encounters and defeats that foe, they cannot visit this carnival again to search for clues.
Success As success, but instead of granting insight into the nature of a specific foe, the GM chooses a generic monster that the PCs may soon face, selecting from standard monsters that might be encountered in the current adventure the PCs are playing. The information gained is equal to what the PC would have gained from a success by Recalling Knowledge about that monster.
Failure Apart from a vaguely unsettling feeling of being watched themselves, the PC learns nothing from their visit to the carnival.
Critical Failure Rather than noticing anything helpful, the PC emerges from their trip to the carnival with paranoid feelings of being watched by unseen eyes, and becomes stupefied 3.
Critical Success Once during the next month, you can reroll a failed or critically failed saving throw. This is a fortune effect.
Success As critical success, but you can only reroll a failed saving throw. This is a fortune effect.
Failure You gain no benefit from the meditation.
Critical Failure The next time you critically succeed at a significant or important saving throw, as determined by the GM, you must reroll that saving throw. This is a misfortune effect.
Critical Success You surprise the Rabbit Prince and he is impressed enough to gift you a +2 striking weapon. The specific type of weapon is up to you, but it must be a common weapon. The Rabbit Prince is now on the lookout for your tricks, and you can never attempt this activity again.
Success You spot the Rabbit Prince for a moment, but he doesn’t spot you. The next time you perform this activity, you gain a +4 circumstance bonus to your Stealth check.
Failure You do not spot the Rabbit Prince.
Critical Failure You don’t spot the Rabbit Prince, but he spots you. He’s insulted by your curiosity and triggers a trap that inflicts a serious wound upon you. You become clumsy 3 for 1 week or until the condition is removed via an effect like restoration.
You can either investigate the six arches in this hall, or explore the rest of the castle...
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"Targrish, the stars have smiled upon me this day. I am pleased to meet you," says Orozomoc, and nods to Aicard.
Turning to the Tyrant, he says, "I came expecting to meet one who was mighty and owed reverence. I prepared this small gift for the occasion."
Oro offers up a small fetish of woven thistles and river grass. It smells faintly of pine and lemon.
Aicard wanders through the imposing hall in what is almost a trance. The beauty on display almost brings a tear to the eye, but such levels of admiration are supposed to be coming his way and not the other way around. "I bet Desna would love to go on a date with whoever made all of this ..."
As you approach the arches, the mists grow clear and display a region in Golarion, as if the archway were actually an exit from the building into another place. You automatically understand that each one is a one-way portal back to somewhere on Golarion. The portals themselves are physical manifestations of the Deck of Destiny’s need to return to a full collection, and in order to facilitate the recovery of these cards, the portals indicate to you which cards in each suit your destinies are “most comfortable” with at any point in time.
While the precise location that an active portal leads to may not be obvious to all, the card that lies beyond the portal is. When you approach an active portal, the name and imagery of the card that lies beyond manifests in your mind.
The current cards in question are (in order from left to right as they appear in the six arches) The Big Sky, The Juggler, The Trumpet, The Snakebite, The Silent Hag, and The Theater.
"Ah, it seems the realm itself wants us to reclaim cards from this Deck of Destiny!" Targrish peers curiously at the portals.
"I'd like to explore the area a bit before we take off. Perhaps we can find some clues about who created this plane--I'm loath to go chasing after artifacts if we don't know what the endgame is, here."
The Tyrant looks over Orozomoc and then looks to Vashta.
"YES," he rumbles, "I ACCEPT YOUR TRIBUTE. DO NOT THINK YOU CAN SWAY ME FROM MY CHOSEN CHARGE, BUT YOU WILL BE WELCOME TO ACCOMPANY HER."
Vashta smiles at Oro, laying a quelling hand on The Tyrant. "Welcome, Oro, we will miss our dear Clover, but if you can help us fight these devils, find our friend and explore these mysteries, we are happy to have our fates entwined," she says lightly.
"Yes, let us explore this area," she says. "Perhaps the 'people' here may be able to give us some insight as well? Perhaps we should explore this carnival?"
As you step into the halls of the castle to begin exploring the sprawling complex, a man in a well-tailored suit approaches and bows. ”Welcome, masters. We have been expecting your return. Harrowheart is ready for you, and its staff are at your service. Shall I show you around?”
The man leads you around to the various facilities as a small but bustling staff of cooks, valets, and servants prepare to tend to your needs. You note a contingent of paladins standing watch at strategic locations around the castle. Many appear to be tieflings, and they salute Aicard as he passes by.
Bedrooms: These chambers are a perfect place to rest and relax. They can be outfitted as recovery rooms as well, to provide places for long-term rest or other medical care as needed.
Dining Halls: These chambers range from sprawling rooms capable of hosting galas to intimate nooks for single dining. Meals provided by cooks in adjoining kitchens are filling but not overly flavorful. While the materials used to cook these meals vanish like all other materials if taken from Harrowheart, the sustenance they provide is real—a character who eats and drinks in one of the castle’s dining halls remains full and sated, even if they immediately leave the demiplane after finishing their meal.
Training Rooms: The first time a training room is entered, it’s empty, featuring only a single meditation mat lying on the center of the floor. A character who spends a minute meditating on the mat can adjust the room’s contents to be a shrine, laboratory, library, dojo, garden, sparring hall, or any similar room that matches the themes of their class. The room thereafter can be used by any character of that class for the Retraining downtime activity. A character can adjust the room’s contents to support a different class by meditating at the center of the room—provided the room isn’t already in use.
Workshops: Harrowheart’s workshops feature numerous tools and resources for creating a wide range of items, including magical items. The tools located in each workshop are of high quality and grant a +1 item bonus to any Crafting check made within. Raw materials must be provided by the crafter, of course, as no materials found within Harrowheart can exist outside the demiplane.
In one of the workshops stands the Brass Dwarf, a clockwork smith with hair and beard of fire. They give a stiff bow as you approach. ”I stand ready to stoke the fires of the forge, should ye be need of me crafting services,” they say in a hollow, metallic voice.
"Ah, perhaps we will later, my good man," Targrish greats the other dwarf. "Now we are pushing on to the carnival outside of town."
The Dwarf nods as you depart.
Harrowheart is situated on a hill at the very center of the Harrow Court, surrounded by a small village in turn surrounded by farmlands and pastures. It’s in this village that the simulacra who play the role of servants in Harrowheart “live,” and all the food and drink served in Harrowheart’s dining halls come from the surrounding farmlands. Beyond these fertile plains lie scorching deserts, trackless swamps, a deep lake, and a sprawling forest. Surrounding them all is a range of looming mountains.
You travel through the farmlands to where The Carnival has epitomized. Here, you find yourselves among a colorful, vibrant, and slightly off-putting fairground where festivals and celebrations are in constant swing. The simulacra who man the carnival are subtly sinister as they dance and cavort around you.
Critical Success The PC observes some of the carnival performers and gains subtle clues as to the nature of a foe they will soon face. The GM chooses a specific, named enemy that the PCs are likely to face at some point in the current adventure they’re playing. When the PC encounters that foe (as long as the foe isn’t disguised), they automatically recognize them. At this point, the GM informs the PC that they recognize the foe from their visit to the carnival, and the PC learns information about the foe as if they had achieved a critical success in an attempt to Recall Knowledge against that target. Until the party encounters and defeats that foe, they cannot visit this carnival again to search for clues.
Success As success, but instead of granting insight into the nature of a specific foe, the GM chooses a generic monster that the PCs may soon face, selecting from standard monsters that might be encountered in the current adventure the PCs are playing. The information gained is equal to what the PC would have gained from a success by Recalling Knowledge about that monster.
Failure Apart from a vaguely unsettling feeling of being watched themselves, the PC learns nothing from their visit to the carnival.
Critical Failure Rather than noticing anything helpful, the PC emerges from their trip to the carnival with paranoid feelings of being watched by unseen eyes, and becomes stupefied 3.
Targrish wanders the carnival grounds warily. "Not a spark of life in them," he mutters to Vasta. He eyes all of the simulacra suspiciously.
Aicard shares the dwarf's opinion. Is this place supposed to cheer them? Let alone entertain them?! He doesn't get it. "Perhaps I need to grace this place with a performance some day. Bring some joy to it, some life, because it's sorely missing both."
Vashta frowns. "You're right. Perhaps we can make it more lively when we return with more cards," she muses.
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Orozomoc bowed his head when The Tyrant cautioned him. "I meant no impertinence."
To Vashta he said, "I shall be glad if I can help you find your friend, and all the more if together we can unravel this mystery. The question of this Harrow deck burns away at my soul."
Later, investigating the circus, Oro bends his keen powers of observation to the simularcra cavorting around him, discerning in some of their patterns an alarming clue to the future.
You return to your rooms in Harrowheart to rest. The next day, you notice all of the simulacra in the castle following the same routine as they did yesterday. It’s as if each of the, are living predetermined lives that waver only when you interact with them.
Targrish makes his way across the farmland and into the woods, in search of the Rabbit Prince...
Crouching in the underbrush, Targrish stalks the Rabbit Prince. The Harrow card in his belt feels almost warm to the touch, or perhaps he merely imagines that as he crouches over a game trail.
A creature rustles down the trail, but stops just as the dwarf catches a glimpse. It slips away as fast as it appeared!
Once Targrish returns from his partially successful hunt, you approach the arches in the Great Hall and peer closer at them...
Arch of Hammers: This arch shows a forest clearing dominated by a few fallen trees. The card here is The Big Sky.
Arch of Keys: This arch shows a forested mountainside with an ocean on the horizon. Orozomoc identifies the region as the Terwa Uplands in the Mwangi Expanse. The card here is The Juggler.
Arch of Shields: This arch shows a view from what appears to be the top of a rubble-strewn hillside. A scree-covered slope angles steeply downward, with a ruined stone structure protruding from the rubble nearly 200 feet away, while beyond stretches a barren badland of jagged hills and twisted fissures. Now and then, strange monsters creep and flop and lurch across this landscape, scuttling from one fissure to the next. Orozomoc and Targrish identify the strange creatures as a wide range of aberrations native to the Darklands.
Arch of Tomes: This arch shows a 70-foot-wide jungle clearing in a dense, tropical jungle. Aicard identifies the plants as being common to the southern reaches of Tian Xia, likely the nation of Nagajor. The card here is The Snakebite.
Arch of Stars: This arch depicts a landscape of grassy, rolling hills, dotted here and there with copses of trees. An ancient road, its paving stones nearly overgrown with grass, winds off into the distance from the base of the portal’s view. The card here is The Silent Hag.
Arch of Crowns: This arch shows what appears to be a partially constructed balcony seating area with billowing red and black curtains, which obscure the view of the main theater beyond. All of you are able to confirm that the VIP box the portal opens into must be located within one of the many high-class opera houses in the nation of Cheliax. The card here is The Theater.