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| - For 35 years, the castle was a stop for all kinds of traffic, renowned for the carnivals thrown exclusively for visitors, the peace, gaiety, good food and drink earned the Spellseer family untold renown and prestige. 830 to 836 DR was a terrible time for the family however, as merchants, jealous of the Spellseer's success used forged documents and false testimony to decrease the family's prestige with the royal family of Amn. To make matters worse, the Archmage/Necromancer Kartak "the All-Seeing" Spellseer was tried and convicted of 14 murders in the region of the Tejam Hills and then escaped justice when he fled to the Iltkazar Range. 2 years later, the family patriarch Tregas II changed the family name to Spulzeer and brought the renamed family back into the people's good graces. In 1090 DR, King Imnel IV of Amn was forced to cede all lands south of the Tethir Road to Tethyr in exchange for an undisclosed amount of money and enough military aid to rid Amn of its overpopulation of monsters which it was not at that time able to dispose of itself. Castle Spulzeer was on the wrong side of that road and now found itself a Tethyrian holding. It would take 170 years and some clever negotiations with king Haedrak II before the castle was again free of Tethyr's political constraints. A 3rd level was added in 1268 DR, making it the second largest castle in Tethyr for a time. Unfortunately the next patriarch of the castle, Kelamar, was a gambling man. With his new position he became incredibly bold, using the castle to host a variety of gambling enterprises, which became progressively dark and disturbing as the years went on. In 1315 DR the daughter of the mayor of Riatavin was found dead in a ditch near the castle, covered in wounds indicative of throwing knives. Kelamar was later captured on the Tethir Road, bound to a tree and shot repeatedly with crossbows. Kelamar's niece Kaisha (who's mother had previously eloped with a circus performer) suddenly returned with a son and daughter in tow. She immediately assumed the role of Lady Spulzeer, without consulting her family, and did not bother to clean up her late uncle's excesses. The rest of the family left in disgust, taking the family funds out of the castle and using them to set up the Spellseer Inn further along the Tethir Road (which later grew to become the town of Trailstone). The castle degraded over time without the family money and with Kaisha's poor management skills. The 'entertainments' became less extravagant (although some say more evil) and Kaisha, with her son Chardath eked out a living until 1348 DR when Kaisha died and Chardath took her position. His younger sister, a deaf-mute he named "Marble" (as Kaisha had never bothered to give her a name) had grown up into a beautiful, if silent woman. Chardath kept her locked away in the top floor of the castle; none of his acquaintances even knew she existed. Although she was allowed free reign of the castle, she had become afraid of everyone save her brother and stayed in family quarters when guests were around. Marble was Chardath's one joy and he hoped that now his mother was gone and he was lord, they could start a new, better life. But it was not to be. Chardath's ancestor Kartak, had turned himself into a lich and had previously been living in the Kuldin Peaks in Erlkazar advancing his powers until destroyed in a spellbattle with members of the Twisted Rune. His phylactery was a silver book hidden in Castle Spulzeer's library and his remains were hidden in a secret chamber beneath the castle. All it would take was one complex ritual to bring Kartak back to unlife. Chardath had always been weak-willed and Kartak used that to his advantage. He possessed Chardath and made him take Marble down into the secret chamber where he performed the ritual which involved slitting Marble's throat with a magical dagger Aggarath. Chardath could only watch as Kartak performed the deed with Chardath's hands. Kartak left the castle and Chardath's sanity degraded. He reinstated Kelamar's 'entertainments' and eventually grew to embrace them, becoming thoroughly evil by 1353 DR, fostering thoughts of revenge against his ancestor but thinking himself too weak to defeat the powerful lich. Every year however, on the anniversary of Marble's death Kartak was teleported back to the castle and somehow was unable to leave by any means for a full 24 hours.
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