Young members of the town of Kassen go forth on what should be a simple coming of age event, but instead, find themselves face to face with an aroused spirit.
About 3 months ago, a group of tomb robbers broke into and looted the Crypt of the Everflame. While this alone would be a tragedy, the robbery had one unintended consequence. When the thieves broke open the sarcophagus containing Asar’s body, his foul spirit stirred from its slumber, rising as a skeletal knight. While most of the tomb robbers escaped, Asar’s bones now wander the halls of the tomb, using evil magic to turn the crypt into a deadly lair. Just before the start of the adventure, the traditional group of pranksters left the town to prepare the crypt, only to be set upon by Asar and his newly risen minions. Unfortunately, no one made it back to town to warn them of the danger.
This year’s quest for the Everflame is special: it has been 4 years since the mayor last decided to send a group of young heroes to the crypt. The adventure begins during a solemn ceremony in the town square, in which the characters are sent out to retrieve the Everflame. Although almost everyone knows that the challenges they will face are nothing more than tricks and illusions, the entire town plays along, unaware of the very real danger that lurks ahead.
The campaign starts on the 4th of Neth (November), 4709 AR
Now their campaign complete, the young heroes can never again return to being simple farmers and villagers.
Ekat Kassen was a crusader and fortune seeker who came to serve Lastwall in the year 4515 ar. While he fought with distinction, he soon realized that he wanted more from life and left the Lastwall military to find his fortune elsewhere. His travels took him all over the region around Lake Encarthan, and he decided to settle down in 4522 after a very profitable adventure. Using a sizable portion of his fortune, he set out to tame a small area of the Fangwood on the banks of the Tourondel River, making it a natural stopover for those traveling up and down the river to Skelt. For the next 10 years, the town, which was then known as Kassen’s Hold, grew and prospered. All that changed when Asar Vergas came to Kassen’s Hold with a host of mercenaries under his command. Asar was an old companion of Ekat, and the two had traveled together for some time before splitting up just after Ekat’s last adventure. Over the years, Asar became sure that Ekat had cheated him after that adventure. Promising great wealth to his mercenaries, Asar raided the town relentlessly for 2 months. Finally, the townsfolk managed to locate Asar’s camp in an ancient crypt deep in the forest, and Ekat himself went out to deal with his old companion. The battle was terribly bloody, with only a few townsfolk coming back to tell the tale. In the end, Asar was slain and his mercenaries scattered, but Ekat suffered a mortal wound. He died 2 days later, on the 11th day of Neth, 4535. In honor of their beloved founder, the townsfolk buried Kassen in the ancient crypt, interring his bones in a place of honor, above the simple sarcophagi used to inter Asar, his mercenaries, and the townsfolk that lost their lives in the bitter struggle. They placed an eternal flame above Kassen’s final resting place, so that all who visited might find warmth in the wilderness.
Over the years, the Crypt of the Everflame has become an important part of the history of the town, now simply called Kassen. The townsfolk view the crypt as a memorial to those difficult first years of the town’s history. Every autumn, a few of the townsfolk make a pilgrimage to the crypt to light a lantern from the flame and bring it back to town, where it is preserved all winter, a symbol of the town’s resilience. Most years, the town mayor and a group of dignitaries perform this quest. Every few years, however, a handful of younger townsfolk are given the honor of lighting the lantern. Many see this as a passage into adulthood, a taste of adventure before settling down to work and marriage. The quest starts out as a solemn ceremony in town, where the townsfolk gather to wish the adventurers luck, just as it was when Kassen himself left to fight the mercenaries. When the adventurers return a few days later, the town holds a great celebration in their honor. This also marks the final harvest celebration before the long winter.
The quest itself is a relatively simple one. The adventurers must travel to the tomb (about 2 days’ travel outside of town), venture inside, light the lantern, and return home. Over the years, this ritual has grown more elaborate—now, some of the townsfolk head there in advance to set up simple traps, puzzles, and illusionary monsters for the adventurers to overcome.