Unending Watch

The broken castle stands,
A tribute to the world before.
Once it shielded these lands,
Now it lies shattered to it’s core.

A soldier still remains
Walking the walls and passageways.
Watching his Lord’s domain,
Blind to the passage of the days.

He sees only the past,
When his charges would laugh and play.
Now he stands as the last,
A sentry now fated to stay.

For as long as people have been living in Lorin they have been aware that a ghostly figure guards the ruins of the castle that once stood in the centre of the town. Those foolish enough to enter the castle grounds are either scared away or extreme cases frightened to death.
This spectral sentinel mostly stays within the bounds of the castle, but after several enterprising souls tried taking stones from the castle to use in other buildings it was found that the sentinel could and would follow the stones. Taking stones from the castle is now a criminal offence, though the threat of the ghost is generally more effective than any mortal punishment.
Attempts have been made to get rid of the ghost, but while it has been driven back or disrupted, it always returns, and even the Church of Seyr and Church of Merial seem unable to remove it.

This was written for Spooktober 2023 to answer the Specter Prompt.

Related Location

Lorin

Related Adventure

An old man's tale.

A Nasty Trick

It is not unknown for those seeking revenge to take a stone from the castle and place it in the home of the person they want revenge on. This has resulted in both harm and occassionally death for those then subjected to a visit from the sentinel, and has led to the creation of a criminal charge of harm inflicted through use of ghost.

Ghost Line

The region haunted by this spirit extends a little beyond the castle walls so a line has been painted in the street to show what area to avoid. Some foolishly cross this line on a bet or dare. The lucky ones make it back across before the ghost notices them.