Castle Kilgrave

Castle Kilgrave, also known for a time as New Acheron, was a stone castle once found in Cormyr, that served as a fortress for the avatar of the god Bane during the Time of Troubles in the mid–14 century DR.

"The walls live and breathe...can close in on you, shape themselves to put you in a maze."

- The description of the castle as given by Caitlan Moonsong.

Location
It was built atop a hill situated within a valley in the Storm Horns mountain range.

Structure
The stone castle appeared as a squat square keep measuring tall and  along each side. It was three stories tall aboveground, with four circular towers that sat atop its corners and a single obelisk that served as a gatetower looming over its central gate.

Within the the keep's center was an inner courtyard that surrounded a central audience hall.

Interior
The castle included numerous living quarters, a kitchen, feasthall, library and an audience hall that doubled as a throne room, among other locations.

Its hallways were lined with marble columns, inlaid with gold, decorated with elaborately-woven rugs.

Atmosphere
While it appeared as a typical squat stone fortress for much of its history, Bane briefly transformed Castle Kilgrave into an otherworldly fortress of some unknown black material marbled with red. During that time, he could conjure terrific visions and paranoia-inducing illusions that could cloud the senses of anyone that dared wander inside. The visions offered trespassers everything they wanted in life and only let back into reality if they managed to resists the allure, or were pulled away by some exterior force.

Defenses
Beyond its stone structure, Castle Kilgrave was defended in part by a shallow moat that surrounded its perimeter.

History
During the Time of Troubles in, avatar of Bane took over the castle and reformed it as his own personal domain on Faerûn, known as New Acheron. He used spell shape magic to make it better resemble his own Temple of Suffering on his home plane of Acheron.

Using some unknown means, along with the magic-nullifying effects of a hakeashar, Bane managed to subdue and imprison the pure-energy form of Mystra within his New Acheron. While he originally sought to have the goddess of Magic join his alliance to overthrow the overgod Ao, her refusal limited him to siphoning away her power over arcane magic.

Unfortunately for Bane, Mystra compelled teenager Caitlan Moonsong to bring the mage Midnight and a group of worthy adventurers, a group that would include the priest Adon, the mercenary Kelemvor Lyonsbane, and a thief named Cyric; across Cormyr to Castle Kilgrave to free her essence from Bane's clutches. Armed with an amulet holding part of Mystra's essence, Midnight was able to dispel Bane's illusions over the castle. Mystra merged with Caitlan and defeated the Black Lord's avatar, forcing him to flee through a vortex as New Acheron slipped away from him.

Mystra attempted to ascend the Celestial Stairway but was obliterated by the god Helm. The ensuing explosion was leveled the entirety of Castle Kilgrave, leaving it little more than rubble and scattered crumbled walls atop its foundation. Some underground passageways beneath the castle were destroyed, while others remained entirely navigable.

Over time, the landscape surrounding the became a wasteland of bubbling tar pits. In the decade that followed, some adventurers attempted to explore the castle's underground levels to no avail. Those that returned in one piece with their psyches intact came back emptyhanded no richer for the risk they took.

Rumors & Legends
The gnome scholar Nadul DaRoni of High Horn offered sketches of Castle Kilgrave, among other famous architectural landmarks, for the nominal fee of a single gold piece via Aurora's Emporium.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Shadowdale (adventure)
 * Waterdeep (adventure)
 * Novels
 * Shadowdale (novel)
 * Tantras (novel)
 * Tantras (novel)
 * Tantras (novel)