Palace of the Walls that Scream

Within the grim corridors of the labyrinthine Palace of Diamonds in the capital city of Ferrara, the mad heir to the powerful house of Este, Niccolo III has been giving vent to his lust with countless women and girls of all ages in the province. His bottomless passion spent in the most extreme forms of depravity dragged the young man into the delirious spirals of sin with no return, damning his soul forever to the torment of hell. 

Here, in the capital of the Duchy, the mirror-plated halls reverberate with the moans and whispers of perdition so insane that they cannot be repeated in this text, destined to be preserved forever behind their mute reflections.

Present day. When a delegation of the nobles loyal to Emperor Frederick arrives in the capital during the first days of spring, the Diamond Palace opens like an orchid after the long rigid Winter storms that followed the Night of Screams, hosting in unrestrained luxury artists from all the Este territories to welcome, as is customary, all the families loyal to the Emperor to define the strategies of the recent conflict against the Guelphs loyal to the Pope.

One after another, the palace welcomes artists, clergymen and nobles among the flowering trees, offering beauty and culinary delights of all kinds to those welcomed to court. But amid dances and music, incredible frescoes and intricate sculptures, uncertainty meanders between the lips of the guests. Who is going to stay loyal once the battes begin?  Who will confirm their loyalty … To whom?

Then, last night, the corridors of the palace get suddenly tinged with blood. Men and women in shock emerge from its fanged mouth naked, their eyes averted as if lost in another dimension. Guards and mercenaries of the household enter the palace in search of the emissaries, legates and ambassadors, driving them out in a state of shock.

What happened? A group of adventurers is hired to find out the truth… But perhaps, sometimes it is better not to know.

An adventure for level 3-4th level characters for Dungeons & Dragons 5 Edition, set in the dark new world of Of Iron & Thorns.