Session 4

Session 4

Preparations began in a bizarre fashion when Zanne first began seeing small shadowy figures that were snickering and bantering him from a distance.  Unfortunately, the rest of the party did not share the same perception of the events and it became quickly evident that something odd was happening to the Warlock.  The party was ready to set off toward the Keep when a sealed parchment dropped out of Zanne's pack.  He read aloud the following Note:

Lord Zanne and Friends,

 I hope your journey to the Keep was safe and uneventful.  I wanted this letter to serve as a reminder to you all about the situations leading up to the current situation that appears centered around the Keep of the ShadowFell.  Zanne can recall from his childhood the secrecy that exists around the Keep.  It was something that the people of Winterhaven rarely spoke of or made the topic of conversation.

 Historians and scholars have only been able to piece together fragments of the Keep’s history.  I always fancied it as strange happenstance that the rise and the fall of the Keep occurred over only the past 150 years.  So much over such a short time.  This information was important for me to understand before researching this strange local landmark.  I am now convinced that the Rift and the Evil influences beyond it are the sources of this volatile history and our recent events.  I also hold firm in my stance that the Death Cult knows more about this than we can possibly imagine.  If my research has shown me that the pathway of the Rift could lead directly to the homelands of Orcus, then surely they realize the same!  Now, they will undoubtedly stop at nothing and Winterhaven would merely be a staging area for their conquests.  May the Gods save us if we ever must pen those pages to the history books. 

 The seals were placed by the wizards of the Nerath Empire, and they must hold!  You must see to this!  Lest we all become undead servants of this unholy army.

 Rumors of the keep talk of traps that are both grisly and magical.  Secret passages, natural mazes, and other oddities are to be expected.  In addition, the ghost of the crazed garrison commander, Sir Keeghan, is said to prowl the halls of the Keep.

 Master Borridin, the Herbmaster, was near the keep recently and was nearly captured by the bands of goblins and hobgoblins in the area, while he was harvesting his yearly Balley Thistle Root.  Please take this ointment.  It may come in handy to heal up any injuries you may face at the hands of these unsavory creatures.

  I pray the Raven Queen herself provides blessings to thee all.

 

Fondly,

Valthrun

The party found their way to the Keep on the Shadowfell and they made their way to the center of the ruins on a pathway that appeared clear of rubble and swept of debris.  A 4'x8' hole in the center of the middle tower floor was found to be a dark stairway that led down into a darkness.  Varsuvious was brave enough to creep down the steps, although not very quietly.  His quick wit and a small mirror allowed him to escape a javelin throw from a waiting Goblin below.  The party quickly rushed down into the odd shaped stone room to confront the guard room Goblins. Dakani,  in his haste to protect his friends, missed a large pit trip in the middle of the entrance chamber.  He rapidly found himself laying on the ground in the bottom of the pit with rotted bodies and a swarm of angry rats.  Despite their best efforts, a lone Goblin Sharpshooter was able to escape through a door to the east.  The party quickly searched around their immediate surroundings finding another hallway leading to the West, a set of double doors leading west and a a few areas that served as the guarding Goblins quarters.

Dakani and Nardinn alerted the party to noise that was coming from far behind the door that the Goblin Sharpshooter had escaped through.  The group quickly organized and investigated the area behind the doors.  They moved into a large excavation site that was being worked by a group of Goblins and a few Guard Drakes.  Once the guard drakes were dispatched, a strategically placed Sleep Spell by Varsuvious allowed the party to overtake the goblins quickly.  A search of the area found some gold coins as well as a Holy Symbol of Bahamut.  Unsure as to why these goblins have dug here so long and not finding any other clues, the party moved on.

A thorough search of the hallway to the dig site turned up a secret door.  Once the party made sure the door was not trapped, they opened it and Varsuvious traveled up the steps behind the door in an attempt to discern further clues.  Listening beyond the door, Varsuvious was convinced he heard a loud snoring sound.  Zanne stealthily entered the chamber to find a small area partitioned off by tapestries with a grossly obese goblin snoring loudly on a small bunk.  He also found another smaller goblin that was sitting in the area beyond the tapestries.  The party hatched up a scheme to overtake the goblins and interrogate the largest of them.  The plan worked smoothly and despite a short drooling and foaming at the mouth period by Zanne, they were able to find out the following facts from Balgron, the Goblin Chief.

1. This group of Goblins was asked to watch the entrnace to the keep in exchange for a secure place to stay as well as any treasure they may find on the excavation site.
2. The men that asked them to stay at the keep have been coming and going more frequently in the recent weeks.
3. The symbol of the Death Cult that the party had on the necklace they found was also recognized by the goblin as a symbol carried by this group of humans.
4. The Cult members are deeper in the keep but Balgron does not know where.  They were told they would be protected only if they stayed in the entrance areas of the keep.
5. The pass phrase to the lower levels is "And life fails in the dark"

They left Balgron tied up in ropes with a warning to not try to thwart the parties progress into the exploration of the keep.  Balgron complied and said he would command the rest of his tribe to let the party pass uneventfully, especially since they were nice enough to not take the goblins gold.

It is at this point that the adventure was paused.  All party members except Nardinn will have 2 action points at thier disposal.  The party was preparing to set off to explore the double doors and once they sealed the secret door that led to Balgrons chamber, Varsuvious pointed out another outline of a doorway that he has missed.  The rubble and dirt that was packed made it appear as just another section of the rough dirt wall leading into the dig site.  After clearing a small opening and peering in with the torch, Varsuvious says, "Looks like we have yet another set of steps heading down.  These appear to be roughly hewn into the dirt itself and there is such a foul smell about this dark chamber.  I wonder what we should do now?" 

Each Character receives 435 XP.

The loot is as follows:

• Short Sword x5
• Leather Armor x6
• Crossbow x6
• 73 Crossbow Bolts
• Spear x3
• Club
• 11 Javelins
• 65 Gold Pieces
• 51 Silver Pieces
• +1 Symbol of Battle (Bahamut).  grants +1 to attack and damage rolls.  Deals +1d8 damage on a critical hit when used with divine powers that have the implement keyword.  It also has a power that is used as a free action that when you hit with a power that uses this holy symbol you can deal an extra +1d8 Damage.  It recharges automatically with an extended rest or a milestone.
• +1 Magic Wand.  Gives user +1 to attacka nd damage rolls when using arcane powers with the implement keyword.

I will be compiling a list of all the parties loot so that we can decide who wants what parts of it and what will eventually be sold if I do not kill you all on the next session.