The Bones of Gorlak
A Conan RPG adventure by David Nelson
For characters level 4-6

The Hook:

	This adventure takes place in the mountains that stand on the border between Nemedia and Aquilonia.  An Aquilonian noblewoman named Vivienne, who belongs to a family with some connection to one of the PC’s, was kidnapped recently.  A ransom note was delivered and an appropriate Patron (call him Count Federico if there is none at hand in your campaign) has given the PC’s the task of delivering the ransom.  They were to deposit it at a place called the Plateau of Skulls in the mountains.  After hiring some shepherds as guides, they journeyed to the plateau, set up camp and waited.   At night, the camp was surprised by hideous Ape-men who grappled the players in their sleep….

What’s Really Going On:
	Vivienne was not in fact kidnapped for ransom.  She and many other Hyborian women from the Aquilonian-Nemedian border have been snatched by cultists attached to a temple of lost Acheron, known as Gorlak.  The temple is inhabited by a group of skeletal warriors, known as the Bones of Gorlak, who are worshipped as gods by the cultists.  These “Bones” animated on moonlit nights are demanding a supply of Hyborian women to sacrifice to Set.  Meanwhile, a group of mountain bandits, led by Areisto (a Nemedian thief), and her lover Thespus  (a renegade Gunderman soldier), are using the disappearances to extort ransom for various marks, including the patron of the PC’s.

Encounter One:  Get your filthy paws off me, you damned, dirty apes!
	The characters begin tied up, with their weapons pile neatly some 30 feet away.  They are surrounded by 4 large Ape-men.  The shepherd guides are there and are not being molested by the ape-men at all.   They are packing the ransom onto some mules and laughing.  One of the “shepherds” is a woman and is their leader. She removes her shepherd disguise and taunts the players.  She is a Nemedian thief named Areisto and has nothing to do with the kidnapping of the noblewoman, but once she heard about it, she arranged the false ransom demand for a chance to get some quick cash.  She has a standing deal with the Ape-men, whereby she provides victims for their amusement. 	
As the thieves with the ransom turn the corner around a hillock, the PC who has the highest number of Fate Points will be snatched up by an ape-man to be hurled off a cliff to his death (Roll Initiative!).  The Ropes with which the players are tied have a DC 22 to either break with Strength or to overcome with Escape Artist, it a full round action to attempt to get free of the ropes, and it may be tried each round until successful.  The ape will throw the first PC of the cliff, and then try to beat the rest of the PC’s top death with their hands, but if any of the PC’s wins free, the apes will switch to weapons.  The Ape-men do not get coup-de-grace against the bound PC’s, because I said so.  There are 4 ape-men, each wearing a tunic, bronze breastplate and helmet; two of them have large spears, 2 of them have swords.  The ape-men do not speak any known language and are only interest in tormenting and killing the characters.   If the players are defeated, they will be pitched over the cliff to be “left for dead.” Spending an additional Fate Point by one of the characters allows them to be found and tended by real shepherds and taken to the nearby village of Sheeptown.

Encounter Two:  Rumor and Innuendo
	Unless they are lucky (beat the apes and catch Areisto’s tracks, see below), the players are going to have to search for information in the local area.  There are several questions they might ask.
•	Who is this woman bandit chief?  Gather Info DC 10 at any settlement in the area will get you the name of Areisto and her partner Thespus as the preeminent bandit leaders.
•	Who is snatching women? If you check at the “Old Grimy” in Vorburg, or “The Wanderer’s Rest” in Melion, Gather Info DC 15 (and if you aren’t obviously a noble or a cop of some sort) will reveal that no one thinks Areisto and Thespus are the snatchers, but it is probably some ancient curse in the mountains.
•	Where is the mountain bandit stronghold? If you check at the “Old Grimy” in Vorburg, or “The Wanderer’s Rest” in Melion, Gather Info DC 20 (and if you aren’t obviously a noble or a cop of some sort) will reveal that Thespus and Areisto have a secret stronghold 40-60 miles north of Castle Thauron in the mountains somewhere.
•	Are there any strangely acting folk about?  Gather Info, DC 10, just about anywhere, report that there is a sect of mountain-dwelling hermits who dwell in scattered caves and sometimes come down into town.  They are all tall, pale faced and black haired, with creepy-looking eyes. A Gather Info 20 follow up will lead to “Old Titus” in Vorburg, who says he’s heard that these guys call themselves “The Sons of Acheron” and they claim to live only to serve “The Bones of Lost Gorlak.”
•	Are there any strange, haunted places around?  Gather Info DC 10 will reveal that “the plateau of skulls is infested with Apemen” (duh), and DC 20 will reveal that there is a cursed temple called Gorlak south of the main pass in the mountains somewhere.

Encounter Three:  The Trackless Mountains
	There are several reasons why the players might wander around in the mountains:
•	Track Down Areisto and her bandits.  To do this they must make a Track roll (Survival, DC 25) immediately after the encounter with the Ape-men.  If they fail (one attempt per tracker), then they lose the trail.  If they succeed, go directly to the Bandit Keep encounter.
•	Find the Bandit Keep: if they get the rumor that Thespus and Areisto have a keep in the northern stretch of mountains, then they can search each hex as desired.  One man can search one hex in the mountains, or 2 in the foothills per day.  It is a DC15 Search check to find the keep if you are searching for it in the correct hex.
•	Find Lost Gorlak: if the players hear that there is a lost Temple in the southern stretch of mountains, they can find it on a Search DC 15 from its own hex.

Travel in the Mountains:  folk on horseback (or leading horses) can only travel 2 hexes per day on the mountains, on foot 4 hexes per day.  In the foothills, foot travel is 5 hexes per day; horse travel is 4 hexes per day.  On open ground or the road, foot is 6 hexes per day; horse is 12 hexes per day.

Wilderness Encounters:  As the Referee desires, certain creatures of the wilderness, events or mischance might appear to vex players spending large amounts of time scouring the wilderness.  Pick from the following list (no more than one per day).   If you prefer some randomness, allow a 1 in 6 chance per separate group of PC’s in the mountains per day of an encounter.  Roll 1d12 for specific encounter result.
1.	Nemedian Patrol:  one dozen Nemedian Borderers looking for bandits, thieves or Aquilonian spies.
2.	Aquilonian Patrol: one dozen Aquilonian Borderers looking for bandits, thieves or Nemedian spies.
3.	Bandits: from 1 to 20 sheep thieves or cutthroats (use Nemedian thieves stats)
4.	Cultists:  1-20 Acheronian cultists on a mission from the Bones.
5.	Bear
6.	Apemen:  1-2 of the nasty guys like in encounter 1
7.	Giant Spiders: 1-8 of them
8.	Panther
9.	Wolves
10.	Avalanche:  5d6 damage, each character make a Reflex save DC 20 for half.
11.	Weevils: nasty weevils either befoul all food supplies, or give some folks a rash (-1 on all rolls for 1d4 days)
12.	Water Hazard: nasty microbes in water supplies, everyone make a Fortitude save DC 20 or be violently sick (-6 to all rolls for 1d4 days).

Encounter:  the Fort of the Bandit Chief
Thespus and Areisto have refurbished an old Nemedian fort among the mountains.  Here they are laying low, raiding occasionally and running the ransom scam.  It is a small, square-walled watch station, with a crenellated parapet running around it, and some rooms built in under the wall walkway.  Inside will likely be found Areisto, Thespus, and their bandit gang.  The bandits are a mixture of Nemedian thieves and Gunderman soldiers (suggested total numbers about twice the number of PC’s).  Adjust numbers to the number and level of the PC’s.   Once the battle begins, Areisto will flee as fast as possible away from the players, protected by the rest of the bandits and Thespus.  Just as she is about to escape “off the table” she will be snatched by several mysterious robed figures—the Acheronian cultists of Gorlak (using Entrance spell and Grapple moves).  At this point, Thespus will ask for a truce.  At first he will assume the players stole Areisto and will try to negotiate her release.  When he realizes they don’t have her, he will ask if the PC’s will want to team up and track down the kidnappers together.  He will make the point that these foes are probably the same that snatched Vivienne.   He will say, that the forces of the haunted ruins of Gorlak are likely the culprits.  None of his men will go there, but he can lead the players there if they are brave enough. 
If the entire bandit gang is simply slaughtered, the ransom for Vivienne will be there in tact, and there will be an additional 5,000sp in coin, and 3000sp in jewels in the treasure box.  Ample food and wine will also be found.

Encounter:  the Bones of Gorlak
	The Temple of Lost Gorlak is located on the sheared off top of a mountain about 40 miles SE of Castle Fontain.  Little remains but some old columns.   If the players arrive in the daylight, they will see little or nothing.   Every nightfall, when a moon rises, a group of Skeletal Warriors—the Bones of Gorlak—arise on the grounds of the temple and slay any non-Acheronian who dares enter.  If they are slain, they will rise again the next nighttime moon.  The Bones are infused with hatred toward the Hyborians who destroyed ancient Acheron.  Therefore, they have their cultist followers gather Hyborian women, preferably from noble or wealthy families, as sacrifices to Set.   When the cultists have gathered a certain number suitable women, they bring them all to the temple and they are sacrificed. 
	One night soon after the temple is discovered by the players, the cultists will arrive with the women including Vivienne, and Areisto if that’s how things flowed, and will take them to the temple.  GM will have to adjust the numbers of the Bones of Gorlak and the Cultists to the levels and numbers of his players, but there should be at least a half dozen women, an equal number of cultists (I like 13 myself, but I have a large group).