A mist-shrouded isle near the shores of the Reik, Malfic Island is the ancestral home of the hated Schrekensrich family. Foul necromancers one and all, they have long since gone to the stake, and their house torched by the witch hunters. They may be ashes, but their legacy lives on. Local folk speak of strange lights in the ruins, and of treasure seekers leaving for the isle, never to return.[1a]
Legend has it that the heretical patriarch of the Schrekensrich sold all he owned, his lands, his titles, his jewels, and even his soul for a coffer of gold that was eternally full. Never found by the witch hunters, this legendary Malfic Hoard has lured many to the charred black stones of Schrekensrich Manse. Some claim that a mighty leaden chest, held far beneath the ground holds but a single coin, a gold crown forged by the Ruinous Powers. The leering face on this coin is said to whisper secrets—powerful secrets, worth more than all the gold in Reikland...[1a]