Hammers (Str), Keys (Dex), Shields (Con), Books, Stars (Wis), and Crowns (Cha)
As the crushing despair spell threatens to overwhelm Dimitrie, his desperation pushes him to draw a harrow card, and it's none other than The Tyrant. The card's power surges through him, bolstering his resolve and allowing him to resist the effects of the despair.
With newfound determination, Dimitrie focuses his magical energy and unleashes an unraveling blast at the charging tiefling. A small but potent blast of potential energy erupts from his hands, targeting the tiefling's very essence. The force of the blast disrupts one of the possible futures of the tiefling, leaving him momentarily disoriented and reeling from the attack.
Critical Success The creature is unaffected.
Success The creature takes half the mental damage.
Failure The creature takes full damage and is flat-footed until the start of its turn.
Critical Failure The creature takes double damage, becomes stunned 1, and is flat-footed until the start of your next turn.
Natalya’s sunburst dazzles two of the rogues and blinds the third. Anna moves in to claw a rogue, but he resists being paralyzed. The trifling ignores Dimitrie’s spell! The devil’s shield deflects Elanna’s attacks!
Renewing its shield, the devil stabs at Elanna with its four daggers, but she fends them off.. The tiefling chops at her with his axe, scoring a critical hit!
The blinded rogue stumbles across the room to take cover until his sight returns. The dazzled foes switch to their rapiers, trying to flank Anna. She denies them that advantage, though one still manages to stab her.
Anna turns her slashing claws against one of the other rogues.
Elanna feels a splitting pain and hears a sickening crack as the tiefling's axe clearly breaks a bone or two.
With all the power she can muster, she swings her greatsword in a giant arc as she twists to face the tiefling stood in front of her.
Natalya sprints forwards and claps a flaming hand onto Elanna's worst wound - there's a momentary sizzle and a smell of BBQ before she turns her attention to the tiefling with the axe and bolts of lightning start leaping all around her.
"Can't handle the heat?" The kineticist taunts.
"Can't handle the heat?" The kineticist taunts.
Dimitrie, as he prepares to cast a spell, can't help but roll his eyes and think to himself that Natalya needs some better catchphrases. However, he doesn't let this distract him from his spellcasting duties. He focuses his magic and casts haste on Elanna, infusing her with additional speed and energy. As he does so, he can't resist adding a somewhat corny saying about it, hoping to inject a bit of humor into the tense situation.
Dimitrie, with a hint of playfulness, says, "Elanna, time to kick it into high gear! May your steps be swift and your blade even swifter!"
Anna's foe seizes up and becomes paralyzed! Dimitrie hastens Elanna as Natalya heals her. The champion turns her attention to the tiefling, slicing him with her sword.
The devil and the tiefling attack Elanna again, but only the latter manages a hit with his axe.
The rogue near Anna attacks with his rapier, landing a hit. The one who had been blinded fires his bow but misses. The paralyzed one recovers1
Anna growls and focuses her attacks on the archer that dared to break free from the paralysis.
Now that she has foes Natalya steps back and wraps Elanna momentarily in a snake of fire! It shoots around the champion without ever singeing her but shows no such mercy to her opponents!
Feeling the mounting tension, Dimitrie swiftly reaches for his Harrow deck, hoping for guidance in this dire moment. With a deep breath, he draws The Hidden Truth card, though his active omen is the suit of keys, not books. Knowing that Harrow's wisdom can have multiple interpretations, he relies on his intuition.
Attempting to recall crucial information about the attacking devil, Dimitrie comes up empty-handed. Nonetheless, he telekinetically lifts rubble nearby and hurls it precisely at the approaching tiefling.
You draw a card from your harrow deck just before you cast a spell to infuse your magic with its destined potential. If your next action is to Cast a Spell, the suit of the card you draw enhances the spell in one of the following ways. If the card you draw matches the suit of your active harrow omen, the effect is enhanced further as detailed below. When you Harrow Cast, attempt a DC 11 flat check. If you fail this check, you lose your active harrow omen at the end of your turn.
1. The Avalanche (Shields)
2. The Bear (Shields)
3. The Big Sky (Stars)
4. The Brass Dwarf (Keys)
5. The Carnival (Books)
6. The Courtesan (Crowns)
7. The Cricket (Keys)
8. The Dance (Keys)
9. The Demon's Lantern (Stars)
10. The Desert (Shields)
11. The Empty Throne (Keys)
12. The Fiend (Keys)
13. The Foreign Trader (Books)
14. The Forge (Shields)
15. The Gem (Books)
16. The Hidden Truth (Books)
17. The Joke (Crowns)
18. The Keep (Stars)
19. The Locksmith (Keys)
20. The Lost (Stars)
21. The Mute Hag (Stars)
22. The Owl (Keys)
23. The Paladin (Crowns)
24. The Peacock (Keys)
25. The Publican (Keys)
26. The Queen Mother (Crowns)
27. The Rakshasa (Books)
28. The Theater (Crowns)
29. The Tangled Briar (Books)
30. The Teamster (Shields)
31. The Unicorn (Stars)
32. The Wanderer (Keys)
33. The Waxworks (Keys)
34. The Bear (Shields)
35. The Big Sky (Stars)
36. The Brass Dwarf (Keys)
37. The Carnival (Books)
38. The Courtesan (Crowns)
39. The Cricket (Keys)
40. The Dance (Keys)
41. The Demon's Lantern (Stars)
42. The Desert (Shields)
43. The Empty Throne (Keys)
44. The Fiend (Keys)
45. The Foreign Trader (Books)
46. The Forge (Shields)
47. The Gem (Books)
48. The Hidden Truth (Books)
49. The Joke (Crowns)
50. The Keep (Stars)
51. The Locksmith (Keys)
52. The Lost (Stars)
53. The Mute Hag (Stars)
54. The Owl (Keys)
Hammers: The force of the spell is enhanced. This effect only enhances single-target offensive spells that require you to make a successful spell attack or require a saving throw from the target to resist. If you hit the target, or if they fail their saving throw, the spell inflicts additional force damage equal to the spell’s level. This additional damage doubles if your harrow omen is Hammers.
Keys: Some of the magic remains behind, infusing your defenses. Until the start of your next turn, you gain a +1 status bonus to your AC and all saving throws. If your harrow omen is Keys, this increases to a +2 status bonus.
Shield As the spell’s magic takes effect, it heals you as well, restoring Hit Points equal to 2d6 + the spell’s level. If your harrow omen is Shields, the Hit Points restored increases to 4d6 + twice the spell’s level.
Books: The spell’s magic infuses your mind with sudden insights about the target. You can attempt to Recall Knowledge about the target as a free action, using your spell attack roll to make the check. You gain a +2 status bonus to this roll if Books is your harrow omen.
Stars: The spell’s magic bolsters those it aids. This effect only enhances single-target spells cast on willing subjects. The magic restores Hit Points to the affected target equal to 2d6 + the spell’s level. If your harrow omen is Stars, the magic also grants the target a +2 status bonus to all saving throws until the start of your next turn.
Crowns: The spell’s magic is hidden and subtle, and observers may not realize you’re doing anything more than manipulating cards in your harrow deck. Attempt a Fortune‑Telling Lore check against all observer’s Perception DCs. If your check is successful against an observer’s Perception DC, that observer doesn’t notice you are Casting a Spell, even though normally spells have sensory manifestations. This hides only the spell’s spellcasting actions and manifestations, not its effects. If your harrow omen is Crowns, you gain a +2 status bonus to your Fortune-Telling Lore check.
Elanna is clearly losing momentum at this stage, but her determination shows no bounds.
While the devil is immune to fire, Natalya's flying flame scorches the remaining foes. Anna savages the most wounded rogue, taking him out. Dimitrie batters the tiefling but Elanna is unable to get past his defenses.
Finding it hard to hit the paladin, the devil tries to confuse Natalya instead. The tiefling hacks away at Elanna!
One rogue stabs Anna twice but the other misses with his bow.
Natalya shakes off the spell with a powerful effort of will and, ignoring the devil, blasts the tiefling with a powerful surge of lightning.
{AA}
She misses, but thankfully goes higher rather than lower and avoids zapping Elanna's downed form.
"Dammit, woman, there wasn't supposed to be casualties this fast!" Anna calls out as she sees Elanna fall.
Leaving the rogues for a moment, she scrambles over to the downed champion, ducking under Natalya's lightning with a, "Don't mind me, Luv."
She ties a quick bandage on the most grievous of Elanna's wounds.
Dimitrie's gaze locks onto Elanna as she falls, and in a swift motion, he sends a harrow card soaring toward her. Simultaneously, he channels a healing spell to revive her from unconsciousness. Once she stirs, he follows up with a guidance spell, bolstering her for a swift return to the battle.
◈◈
◈
Elanna, disoriented from her fall, takes a second to get her head back in gear before scrabbling back up and doing her absolute best to eliminate the tiefling.
Natalya misses again, but electricity still crackles around her, wounding the tiefling and devil. Anna misses with her claw as she moves over to heal Elanna, Dimitrie further bolstering the paladin.
Elanna parries an attack of opportunity from the tiefling as she stands back up, slicing the man across his midsection! He is badly wounded, but still standing.
Annoyed with Dimitrie healing Elanna, the devil attempts to trap him within a resilient sphere! The tiefling attacks Elanna again, slashing her twice.
With Anna disengaged, the other rogue switches back to his bow. Both fire on the halfling!
"Elanna! This will go better if you don't get hit so-" Dimitrie says, the voice cutting off when the sphere envelopes him.
Dimitrie's frustration flares as the resilient sphere encloses him, its translucent barrier preventing him from intervening in the ongoing battle. He pounds on the invisible wall, desperation and impotence welling up within him.
With a quick and decisive incantation, he harnesses the power of the dimension door. In a blink, he vanishes from within the sphere, reappearing adjacent to Elanna. He slaps some oily substance on a wound and says "Please try to stay on your feet."
"Ai, no you don't!" Anna snaps at the bow-wielding rogues. "I'll feast on yer eyeballs!" She dashes back towards the archers, focusing her efforts on the more wounded of the two.
Natalya sends another snake of fire searing through the tiefling and the archers (or as many as she can reach at least), before shooting a ball of lightning at the devil.
"There is a vial in my backpack if we need it." Elanna says rather frantically, as she swings again before scrabbling a few steps away from the tiefling creating some space between them and hoping this fiery woman - whatever her name was - immolates it.
The tiefling cries out in pain as the flying flame critically scorches him! One rogue evades the fire while the other does not. Natalya scores a good hit on the devil. Anna misses with her claws, but Elanna finally takes out the enemy tiefling with a mighty chop of her blade!
With its vulnerable ally defeated, the devil doesn't hesitate to detonate a fireball directly at its feet!
The first rogue festoons Anna with arrows, turning her into a halfling pincushion!
The other shoots Elanna!
Natalya seems utterly unphased by the fireball and swings another bolt of lightning at the devil before shooting forwards into the archers, where another blast of lightning proves quite distracting!
Dimitrie can't move fast enough and is nearly engulfed in the flames, luckily destiny intervenes and he finds a way to dodge the majority of the worst of it (with Natalya's help).
This battle has gone on far too long, so the harrower pulls out one of his stronger spells and seeds a horrible apocalyptic vision in the enemies minds.
The halfling remains still on the ground. There's no blood, but the arrows protruding from her small form give testament to how seriously she's injured.
Elanna is expecting devilish trickery and thanks to Natalya's aura emerges completely unscathed as she turns her fury on the devil with a combination of fury and desperation as arrows threaten to fell her once more.
Natalya blasts the devil. Dimitrie afflicts all of the enemies with a phantasmal calamity, wracking their minds with terror! Elanna delivers a strike to the devil that finishes the fiend off!
The two remaining mercenaries choose to exercise the better part of valor, fleeing the building at top speed!
Dieral cautiously emerges from his hiding spot. "Is it over? Are they... gone?"
Natalya drops to her knees and grabs the nearest corpse. It may be slightly barbecued but she pulls it over and shoves the hand into Anna's mouth before setting to work on her wounds.
With a ragged intake of breath, Anna sits up abruptly. Feral eyes frantically search the area before relaxing into something more ... civilized.
"Thanks, a chara," she says with a sigh. "That hurts more than I thought it would." There's a grumbling noise from the halfling's midsection. "If you'll all excuse me for a wee bit, I need to ... see to something."
Dragging the still smoking archer, she slips off into a dark corner of the outer room to feed her hunger in privacy.
Elanna slumps back against the wall, wincing heavily and closes her eyes, steadying her breath. "Well, that was unexpected." Her voice is awfully distant.
"I need a few minutes before we try to unpick this further. Dieral, you don't have anything here to help do you?"
With Anya up on her feet again Natalya heads for the next nearest person (Elanna) and sets to work fixing the champion up as best she can. The kineticist is pleasantly warm to be around and Elanna finds her muscles relaxing under the dark-skinned woman's hands.
Dimitrie is about to comment on the intense battle when the stranges series of events transpires around Anna. He opens his mouth to speak several times, closing it each time without any words coming out. He looks back and forth beween Anna, the body that was dragged away and Natalya.
Elanna's words snap him out of his daze and he turns to her as she falls against the wall. "My dear. Are you quite intent on sacrificing yourself in the name of Lady Luck this day? It appears you should take a moment. I'll handle Dieral."
The harrow draws a harrow card.
Dimitrie observes the drawn card, the unicorn, with a thoughtful expression. To him, the card represents purity, healing, and the potential for a new beginning. Given the chaotic and dangerous events that unfolded moments ago, he interprets it as a symbol of hope and renewal.
With a nod, he turns his attention to Dieral, who has emerged from hiding. "Fear not, Dieral," he says in a soothing tone, attempting to reassure the visibly shaken man. "The danger has passed, and you are safe now. We're here to help you."
While Natalya tends to Elanna and Anna tends to her inspection, Dimitrie focuses on Dieral, making sure they are safe and protected.
“Thank you. This all started when 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.
Dimitrie carefully examines the harrow card, The Carnival, as Dieral presents it. As it remains in his hand, Dimitrie listens intently to Dieral's account of the strange events that have unfolded since the card came into his possession. When Dieral offers the card to his allies for inspection, he initially expects it to resist his grasp, but to his surprise, it doesn't.
"Intriguing," Dimitrie murmurs, studying the card. "It seems fate has chosen a new bearer for this card. It would appear we are meant to gather the entire Deck of Destiny, as you suggest." He looks up at Dieral with a mixture of determination and curiosity.
Dimitrie assures him. "Your nightmares and troubles may soon be at an end. Thank you for your trust and assistance."
Natalya pays passing attention to Dimitrie and Dieral, but not enough to distract from Elanna and her wounds. Fortunately the conversation seems to distract Dimitrie from Anna. Natty doesn't particularly care about Anna's 'proclivities' but she knows other people do, so its a good thing the sorceror is distracted.
"You're welcome. Now, 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 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.
This change - this awakening - shifts Elanna's very motivation - her sense of purpose.
"The Great Dreamer knows just what she wants of us, she has a vision and she has laid it out clearly. Did you all experience that too?" Elanna asks with awe.
"This is our purpose now - we do everything we can to fulfil the Goddess of Fortune's wishes and be her servants."
Yes - there was nothing in those visions to say Elanna's patron God was involved, but its clear that she is utterly and totally convinced by the fact.
Elanna concentrates on her own card stares at it a moment and then closes her eyes - the image ingrained in her mind - thinking of nothing else and using her meditation techniques she learned and practiced everyday.
Natalya seems curious about the whole situation rather than anything else and follows Elanna through the portal without further comment, apparently interested in what's going to be on the other side.
The thought of not going through doesn't seem to have crossed her mind. Or possibly its because she now considers Elanna to be something of a baby chick - bright and colourful, but not safe enough to be let out of sight.
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...
With his deep connection to the Harrow cards, Dimitrie is both fascinated and intrigued by the unfolding events in the Harrow Court. He takes a moment to absorb the significance of the epitomes activated by the cards they brought with them.
Dimitrie takes a moment to inspect each Harrow card they brought, considering their potential within the Harrow Court. He quietly reflects, "The Brass Dwarf may aid us in crafting, The Carnival could provide insights into our future foes, The Empty Throne offers fortune but with potential misfortune, The Paladin might teach us valuable techniques, and The Rabbit Prince could grant us a special weapon. As for The Vision, it enhances our abilities in the workshops here."
After a brief pause for contemplation, Dimitrie suggests, "It appears that our journey has taken a most unexpected turn, my friends. We now find ourselves in a realm shaped by the very cards we possess. Each epitome offers unique opportunities and insights; there is much to explore here. I propose that we investigate these arches within this grand hall first to gain a better understanding of the realm."
"Thoughts?" he asks, looking to his companions for agreement or disagreement.
"I want to go chase a rabbit!" Natalya says with a grin. It seems her slightly birdlike tendencies can't resist the idea of a hunt! "I say we take some time to explore here! Maybe you can figure out the arches?" She adds, looking at Dimitrie. "Probably more cards, or tests of some sort. You figure it out! I'll be back later!"
With her piece said Natalya sets out and heads for the forest, drawing the very air around her to help cloak her from prying eyes.
Anna laughs as her friend heads off to find the mascot of the Harrow card in her bag.
"The arches, yes," she says, agreeing with Dimitrie. "We should learn what we can about them and this place."
Elanna sighs as Natalya charges off and waits to make sure that Anna and Dimitrie are safe as they settle in with the arches. Once they seem to be getting on smoothly she wanders off to explore the castle further.
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 where a card from the Deck of Destiny can be found.
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.
In order from left to right:
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. 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. The card here is The Trumpet.
Arch of Tomes: This arch shows a 70-foot-wide jungle clearing in a dense, tropical jungle. 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. The card here is The Theater.
***
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 Elanna as she 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.
***
Natalya immediately makes a beeline out of Harrowheart and into the surrounding woods. After spending all day in pursuit of the Rabbit Prince, she catches a fleeting glimpse of him before he scampers off. She vows to catch him next time!
Natalya eventually returns, driven more by a rumbling stomach than anything else. The Rabbit Prince may have escaped today, but she'll catch him yet!
"So? Doors?" She asks simply when she finds the rest of the group. "Where next? Need to go back to Absalom first. There is something I want to buy."
Following Natty back through the portal to the city, Anna almost immediately doubles over, clutching her abdomen. When Natty stops and turns back she hears the halfling hissing in pain. When the woman approaches, she waves her off with a small, wrapped hand.
"Nai, donna worry 'boot me," she says finally after a couple of large gasps of air. "Seems that eatin' on the other side, while satisfying, donna actually fill some hungers. She pulls her hood up closer over her head.
She follows the Sylph on a roundabout path that eventually leads to a shop selling various magical curios.
"That's an interesting whatchamacallit," she declares, looking over Natty's purchase with curiosity. Her halfling lilt has vanished and her tone has blended into the ever-present cosmopolitan accent of Absalom. "Now we need to pay a visit to someone I know."
Moving through the stalls and carts of one of the market squares, the pair quickly find themselves on the edge between shabby stalls and narrow streets that aren't much distinguished from alleys.
"Morning, Jos," she calls out to an ancient dwarf that's just finished up haggling with a customer over a pair of shovels. The craggy face turns and his lip turns up into what could be considered a smile. "Morning, Anna," he replies, approaching the small woman and turning his shrewd eyes on her companion.
"This is Natty. She's a friend," Anna explains brusquely. Jos nods and turns back to the halfling. "And what can I do for you this morning?" he questions in a tone that leaves no doubt that he knows exactly what she's looking for.
"The only thing I ever need, Jos," Anna replies with a shake of her head. Jos nods again and considers. "We do have ... something ... available. Nasty fellow. Caught him trying to take advantage of Narra's granddaughter. Got him in one of the cages. Told the guard about him, but, as usual, they're taking their bloody sweet time doing anything that resembles justice." He makes a fist in frustration and then just as quickly grimaces in pain.
"Dammit, Jos," Anna snaps, stepping around the counter to get a closer look at the dwarf's wrist. "You've been drinking that foul spice water again, haven't you?" she snaps, gingerly handling the limb that more resembles a bunch of sausages than a dwarf's hand. "You're swollen up like a pig's bladder." The dwarf actually looks away, a guilty flush spreading across his lined face. "Just a little," he mumbles.
"I told you what would happen. You can't drink that any more!"
Shaking her head in frustration, the halfling begins digging into her bag and eventually produces a small pouch. Thrusting it into his hand, she waggles a tiny clawed finger in the bigger man's face. "Three leaves in tea, twice a day. No more than that. The swelling should drop off in about three days." The dwarf nods like a schoolboy being castigated by a strict teacher.
Anna sighs.
"Fair trade?"
The dwarf's features soften. "Fair trade," he replies in a quiet voice.
The halfling turns to Natty. "Could you stay here for a ... " she trails off as she notices that something has attracted the Sylph's attention. "What are you ...?" she begins to question before the scent hits her. While not appetizing to her anymore, she can still appreciate the scent of Varisian spices. "That would be Leondreina's stall. She does pork wraps." Anna's expression turns wistful. "They're really good. You should go try them. I'll be finished in an hour or so. I'll meet you there."
She seems genuinely curious as she looks down at the halfling. "Everyone eats. I see people eat animals all the time. What is so wrong about it? You are a good person - but you hide from people. Why?" Her new purchase, a bracer of fine gold that seems to suggest flames spreading up her arm, gleams as she finishes yet another wrap.
Anna gives the wrap a look of desire that only a hungry halfling can carry off before closing her eyes and shaking her head. She pushes the warm food away with obvious effort.
"Thank you, but I'll have to pass. If I ate that it would be back before I could drop the wrapper," she says with a sad shrug. "You may think I'm a lovely person, but the Lady of Graves and her many followers look at me with a different eye."
She watches the woman finish off the last of the spicy food with barely concealed envy. "And it is different than those that simply subsist on carrion. It's an unnatural hunger and won't be satisfied by just ... meat. I've tried. The hunger only abates if the source was something ... someone ... sentient. The far majority of the civilized world takes a very dim view on those that partake of such things. Urgathoa is a right b$~!& with a sense of humor to match."
Her eyes turn back to the stall where the Varisian woman is serving up some of her famous wraps to another customer, the scent of spices heavy in the air.
"It doesn't mean that I wouldn't give up a hand or foot to enjoy a couple of those again. But we don't move forward in life lamenting about what we can't have." She turns back to Natty. "We should move along. If Leondreina sees me, she'll throw a right fit."
Once the others return from their shopping trip they find Elanna staring at the arches contemplatively.
"There's no obvious right answer here." She says slowly. "So I think we start here." She points to the arch of Crowns. "It won't be a real show, but it's a place to start. You both ready to go?"
"Sure." Natalya says with a smile. She's moving a little slower than usual, with one hand rubbing circles into her stomach - the classic signs of someone who's eaten too much. "Have you had pork wraps before?" She asks the room at large. "So delicious!"