Mardeyrian moves off like a shadow and scouts the dark passage that looms so blackly in the pale light that passes for mid-morning in the clearing of the keep. He returns with word that there is a chamber below, and he has spotted at least one small and green humanoid in the shadows of the torches which light the place. After a brief discussion, you charge down the stairs, and into battle!
You quickly discover that goblins, though not strong, are cunning. They have covered a shallow pit in the centre of the chamber, and the warriors in the vanguard plunge into it, beset by the crawling, biting rats that infest it. Two goblin warriors engage the party, and bolts from crossbows fly from the shadows. The fight is bloody but brief, and the goblins are overcome. The last goblin screeched about fleeing, but seemed to feel that all his escape routes were cut off. This is strange, because there was at least one door he could have reached... perhaps fear kept him from it. After gathering up the few coins the goblins carried and ransacking the goblins' storeroom, you press on, to the west and north.
It is difficult to imagine that anything nearby could have failed to hear the shrieks of dying goblins, but you can hear few sounds save the shuffling of your feet and the clinking of your armour. Ahead, more doors await you; the one in the western wall leads to another store room full of the sort of fare only goblins would touch. The north door opens to a torture chamber, and it is full of goblins. One is notably larger than the others, a hobgoblin, and he fights with a red-hot poker from the fire!
As you chase the goblins around the room and narrowly escape death several times, cries can be heard coming from the cells to the west. The voice is goblin, but it appears to be cheering you on... With your healing magic depleted, you manage to corner the last goblin (literally) and end his menace. As you begin to tend to your many wounds, you release the goblin prisoner. His name is Sneep, jailed for stealing ale rations he says. He promises to help you if you will keep him safe. Amn seems to have cowed him, and so you will trust the pathetic little creature.
For now.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Into the Keep
After considering all that you've learned, it seems that the ruined keep to the north is where your next steps must take you. Something is afoot there, and unsavory business to do with the darkness of the Shadowfell and the unimaginable evil of Orcus, demon prince of the undead. You ponder briefly whether the Raven Queen might play a part in this, she who rules the Shadowfell, and the afterlife. Perhaps you might make an alliance with her followers, but such a course would be risky at best. You decide to send a message to Tyr's temple in Fallcrest, nearly 50 miles away, and to wait a few days for a reply. Considering that there is almost certainly a spy of the Keep's dark denizens amongst the folk of Winterhaven, your delay is a ruse. Whoever, or whatever, hides in the keep will not be warned of your coming!
Early the following day you set off for the keep that lies about a mile to the north of Winterhaven, along an overgrown and little-used road that wends its way into the Cairngorm Peaks. Düvren stays behind and, with a few other villagers who witness your early departure, wishes you well at the gate. You keep a sharp eye out for riders, but none pass you on the road. It appears your deception may have gained you some time and prepare yourself to surprise whatever dark power now resides in the ruins ahead.
The keep is a tumbled ruin, nestled in a dark clearing where little but vines and brush will grow. Yet amongst the decay you detect signs that there have been recent visitors here. A path is cleared through the rubble, and debris has been cleared to reveal a dark stair leading down into darkness.
Early the following day you set off for the keep that lies about a mile to the north of Winterhaven, along an overgrown and little-used road that wends its way into the Cairngorm Peaks. Düvren stays behind and, with a few other villagers who witness your early departure, wishes you well at the gate. You keep a sharp eye out for riders, but none pass you on the road. It appears your deception may have gained you some time and prepare yourself to surprise whatever dark power now resides in the ruins ahead.
The keep is a tumbled ruin, nestled in a dark clearing where little but vines and brush will grow. Yet amongst the decay you detect signs that there have been recent visitors here. A path is cleared through the rubble, and debris has been cleared to reveal a dark stair leading down into darkness.
The Tale of the Keep
You return to the town of Winterhaven. The whole trip back, Düvren grumbles about how old he is, and how he'd better learn to let the youngsters have their day. By this you can only assume he means you.
Valthrun the Wise joins you at the inn (he claims he spotted you coming from his tower) and together the two of them tell you the tale of the Keep on the Shadowfell.
"The people of Winterhaven avoid Shadowfell Keep. Some leave it alone because all ancient ruins have a disturbing feeling about them, a feeling composed of lingering memories and unknown mysteries. Some say the place is haunted. Others fear the rumors of goblinoids using the place as a lair. Whatever the reason behind its solitude, one fact is clear. Within two short decades after the collapse of the Nareth Empire, Shadowfell Keep was aban- doned and left to fall apart and decay. It was on a grisly night about eighty years ago that the commander of the keep garrison, Sir Keegan, put into motion the events that led to the keep’s downfall.
Perhaps the Shadow Rift’s malign influence is too strong to resist. Maybe Sir Keegan was an insane monster driven by demons we may never understand. Whatever the case, at the stroke of midnight on that fateful day, Sir Keegan began to systematically slaughter every resident of the keep. His own wife and children were first to fall to his blade, then his trusted advisors, and finally many of the soldiers under his command. Sir Keegan was too skilled for any one soldier to defeat, yet eventually the garrison managed to respond with an organized defense. Although many brave soldiers died, they managed to drive the mad knight into the passages beneath the keep and finally dispatch him.
The keep became notorious for a time. As one of the last bastions of the fallen empire, there was no one to order it back into service. So, it was abandoned, feared for a time, and eventually, more or less forgotten. An earthquake a few years later collapsed the upper towers and walls, and turned the place into a ruin of tumbled stone.
Rumors persist of great treasures buried beneath the keep, yet few have dared explore the passages over the year. Sir Keegan’s ghost is said to roam the corridors beneath the ruins, wailing in grief over the tragedy of his life. The people of Winterhaven avoid the place, and the mere mention of Shadowfell Keep is considered bad luck by many of the farmers and villagers."
(Mearls, Mike, and Bruce R. Cordell, H1: The Keep on the Shadowfell, 24).
Valthrun the Wise joins you at the inn (he claims he spotted you coming from his tower) and together the two of them tell you the tale of the Keep on the Shadowfell.
"The people of Winterhaven avoid Shadowfell Keep. Some leave it alone because all ancient ruins have a disturbing feeling about them, a feeling composed of lingering memories and unknown mysteries. Some say the place is haunted. Others fear the rumors of goblinoids using the place as a lair. Whatever the reason behind its solitude, one fact is clear. Within two short decades after the collapse of the Nareth Empire, Shadowfell Keep was aban- doned and left to fall apart and decay. It was on a grisly night about eighty years ago that the commander of the keep garrison, Sir Keegan, put into motion the events that led to the keep’s downfall.
Perhaps the Shadow Rift’s malign influence is too strong to resist. Maybe Sir Keegan was an insane monster driven by demons we may never understand. Whatever the case, at the stroke of midnight on that fateful day, Sir Keegan began to systematically slaughter every resident of the keep. His own wife and children were first to fall to his blade, then his trusted advisors, and finally many of the soldiers under his command. Sir Keegan was too skilled for any one soldier to defeat, yet eventually the garrison managed to respond with an organized defense. Although many brave soldiers died, they managed to drive the mad knight into the passages beneath the keep and finally dispatch him.
The keep became notorious for a time. As one of the last bastions of the fallen empire, there was no one to order it back into service. So, it was abandoned, feared for a time, and eventually, more or less forgotten. An earthquake a few years later collapsed the upper towers and walls, and turned the place into a ruin of tumbled stone.
Rumors persist of great treasures buried beneath the keep, yet few have dared explore the passages over the year. Sir Keegan’s ghost is said to roam the corridors beneath the ruins, wailing in grief over the tragedy of his life. The people of Winterhaven avoid the place, and the mere mention of Shadowfell Keep is considered bad luck by many of the farmers and villagers."
(Mearls, Mike, and Bruce R. Cordell, H1: The Keep on the Shadowfell, 24).
Thursday, July 2, 2009
A Missing Mentor
After a few days of tramping about Winterhaven, gathering clues and slaughtering kobolds, you finally get back on the trail of Düvren Stahl, a noted explorer, and a mentor and friend to some of you. Once more you head into the dark woods that surround the small point of light that is the town of Winterhaven, following rather good directions to the supposed site of a dragon burial.
You have been beaten to the site by some intrepid amateur archaeologists, a gnome and his human cronies, who invite you into the pit to appreciate the majesty of what they've uncovered. It's a dragon skeleton in poor condition, but mostly it was an ambush that they were planning.
After a bit of a tough fight you take down the crew of bandits, capture a prisoner, and find the missing explorer Stahl. The name Kalarel comes up again, along with further hints of trouble in the nearby ruined keep. The crew of minions was digging in the burial ground for a mirror that belonged to a wizard a century ago...
You have been beaten to the site by some intrepid amateur archaeologists, a gnome and his human cronies, who invite you into the pit to appreciate the majesty of what they've uncovered. It's a dragon skeleton in poor condition, but mostly it was an ambush that they were planning.
After a bit of a tough fight you take down the crew of bandits, capture a prisoner, and find the missing explorer Stahl. The name Kalarel comes up again, along with further hints of trouble in the nearby ruined keep. The crew of minions was digging in the burial ground for a mirror that belonged to a wizard a century ago...
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