Horder of coal

Adrian examins the remains of the aggressive trees with the help of Jak. The trees seem to have been affected by evocation and transmutation magic that all seems to correlate with Adrian's previous theory that there is a curse on this place.
Being grumpy from cold, Jak tries to see if he can resummon their defeated foe as an undead tree. The tree never had a soul and therefore can't be summons as an undead. There is, however, suddenly a spectre standing before Jak to the sound of the group's surprised gasps. The ghost is of a man with a broken neck. He says his name was Samuel and that the crown hung him in Eldolan for another's crimes. Now he wishes to serve Jak in the hope of it granting him redemption and passaged to the realms of Veles. Jak sends Samuel off to see if he can find the creature in the castle and some information about him.
In the meantime, Adrian asks if Irdien could scout ahead while he stays back to protect the rest of the group. Irdien walks a bit and finds the castle, that is partly built into a mountainside. It has a six-meter high wall with a broken gate. She returns to find that Labrat and Jak have been throwing snowballs at each other with at least one going stray that seems to have hit Adrian. Sirona sits by herself, building a small snowman.
The group starts discussing if they should avoid the gate or not. On their way towards the castle, there are oversnowed hoofprints. Jak finds coaldust in the snow suggestion that the creature was carrying a sack of coal. Right at the wall, Samuel returns saying that the beast is asleep in the highest tower. A battle ram has destroyed the gate, suggesting a siege. The group enters the courtyard to discover two massive piles of charcoal on either side of the keep, and a cart filled with twigs.
Jak finds a family crest on the wagon, but Adrian says it is not of one in use. The fort is dwarven made, but the architecture is human.
The door to the fort is massive and old. Jak gets Labrats help to reach the top hinges to put some oil on them. Then Labrat and Sirona pull the door open.
Inside are touches burning, but they give off no heat. Adrian reflects that the cold could be connected to the curse. The group walks inside looking around for clues. Jak is imminently drawn to the remains of an old journal, written by the butler. Flipping through the mostly destroyed pages, he finds the name Lord Gwali. The journal is written around a hundred years ago.
Adrian finds a well-regeld door. The lock is magical. Irdien takes a peek through the keyhole and sees the room on the other side contains boxes. While discussing how to get through the door, Jak and Adrian start arguing as the bard-necromancer wants to set it on fire.
Their loud voices travel up the stairs, and suddenly they can hear the sound of a roar. Adrian tells the group to barricade themselves in a side room to make an ambush. Jak decides to set the door on fire, but Irdien snuffs it out with her cape. Labrat gives the door a trying kick before Following Jak and Adrain into the ambush room. Irdien helps pull Sirona in with them, as the Aasimar was dillydallying trying to listen for footsteps out in the open corridor.
As Sirona starts casting spells to enhance Labrat, Irdien and Adrians attacks and weapons Adrian, Jak and Labrat hear voices speaking in a fey language. Adrian sees small gnome looking creatures with pointy green hats examining the sinched door when he looks out through the keyhole. A three-meter tall, vicious-looking, half-devil man follows them. Adrian kicks the door open and attacks with Irdien right at his heel. However, the drow underestimated the grisly beast's visage and that moment of hesitation where her brain adjusts give her opponent time to move out of her path. She retreats into the room where the others are. The half-devil roars; sending a wave of cold energy that seems to clasp to Adrian. The Monster hunter bites down and ignores the pain, attacking the beast again. His sword and axe are cutting away at the sizeable hairy body. The small gnomes around them start pulling weapons. Labrat runs out and joins Adrian. Lightning shots from her breath as she swings her sword at the large creature. It snarls at them both, looking hurt.
From the dead-end room, Jak summons Samuel. The spirit has a friend with him this time, but introductions will have to wait. The bard pulls out his lute and sends off a Sound burst in the corridor. It bounces loudly, and a small ricochet hits both Adrain and Labrat.