Day 16 - Corridors of the Cube & Chamber of Statues

Corridors of the Cube

 The group finds themselves at a junction point, a long hallway stretches to the left and to the right of them. To the right, the dim light lingers off into darkness, and to the left, illuminated polished stone. After a brief discussion, deciding that the lovely polished stone to the left must be a trap, they decide to head right into the darkness.

Kaede illumates the area revealling mossy cobble and a wooden door nailed shut. Beneath the door slumped against the wall is a decomposing Goblin, with a board nailed to his corpse which reads 'Closed. Do not enter.' The group decides to ignore this warning. Yotisot removes the board from the Goblin and keeps it for possible later use.

They pry the door open, revealling a stark contrast to the dark hallway behind them, polished and well lit stones, very clean and very sparse. They investigate further when suddenly an invisible creature slides out from one of the alcoves along the wall, gelatinous arms reach out and pull Songfey and Yotisot inside itself, a gelatinus cube has attacked!

A brief battle takes place before the creature spews out Yotisot and Songfey, and in turn sucking in Jokun. Yotisot and Kaede attempt to use the board from the Goblin and Yotisots rope to rescue Jokun while he is being crushed inside the creature, but fail.

The creature roars and sucks in Songfey once again, until Jokun manages to slice his way out of the creature and it is defeated. The group take a moment to rest, and ponder what had just happened.

They continue exploring and find a series of sarcophagi along a wall, two of them slide open. Out of them steps two small corpses, which the group infers are children. 

The children slowly drag themselves forward towards a small door in the opposite wall, the group decides to see what happens. They bang on the wooden door, seeming to want something on the other side.

Songfey and Yotisot open the door for them, and inside they find a locked chest. Kaede approaches the chest as the corpses surround her, Jokun and Yotisot hold them back from Kaede. She opens the chest, and inside finds some toys, a small sword and a doll. Also within the chest is a small medallion with the name Drystan Keegan etched into it, and a bracelet with the name Ceinein Keegan etched into it. They hand the toys to the corpses, whom promptly return to their sarcophagi, but not before revealling a hidden panel beneath each of their feet, containing gold, a Safewing Amulet and a medallion that looks like a sword.

Yotisot takes a moment to collect the sword and then to scratch the names of the children into the bases of their Sarcophagi, so that they will not remain unknown.

The group leave the area, and find themselves back where they started, with a polished stone hallway ahead of them.

Chamber of Statues

The group wanders down the hallway finding themselves at a large polished stone door with no keyhole, but a large sword is carved upon it. Yotisot recognizes it as the same as the sword the children gave him, he holds the medallion up and the door slides open with a heavy crunch.

They cautiously enter a room, illuminated by torches, the room his huge and dominated by a massive stone statue of a knight in armour wielding a sword upon a platform.

Songfey and Yotisot step into the room, the statue comes to life swinging its huge sword around knocking them both to the ground and injuring them.

Kaede attempts to sneak around to investigate two smaller statues of dragons in the room, but is blasted by a wall of fire that launch her backwards towards the statue where she is also knocked down.

Jokun charges in, and manages to avoid the huge sword, climbing onto the base of the statue, out of reach of the statues weapon. Yotisot manages to stand up and run off towards an opposite wall where a pool of water has formed, he steps across the threshold and an invisible wall springs up behind him. Four cherub statues wielding vases spring to life and begin pouring water, filling up his new prison.

Songfey and Kaede swiftly move to the back of the statue and join Jokun on its base, searching for any way to defeat it. They find a small panel behind the statues legs on the base, they open it up revealing four gears turning rapidly. Songfey, Jokun and Kaede take turns in removing the gears until a final loud crunch is heard and everything that was moving comes to a solid halt, the statue is no longer active.

Yotisot gasping for air takes a deep breath and swims down, takes aim at the cherub statues, smashing them. As the fourth cherub is shattered the magical barrier holding him vanishes and water collapses out into the room, freeing him.

Kaede returns to look at the smaller dragon statues, carefully maneuvering past the flames she finds herself next to one of the statues.  Her investigation finds a small rune on the side of each statues base, pressing them reveals they are actually buttons and the statues become silent.

A panel opens on the wall between the two statues, inside a small lever. Kaede pulls it, a third panel at the base of the front of the knight slides open, the group gather around to investigate it. They find a number of small treasures, as well as Dwarven Chainmail and another small medallion.

They walk over to a door behind where Yotisot had been nearly drowned, and hold up the medallion. A static like energy fills the air, the door makes a loud crack as it begins to open, darkness beyond.

Day 15 - The Warchief's Council Room

The group of adventurers returned to the small hallway where they found their new friend Belrry hiding before they ventured into the Hobgoblin Barracks, and decide to investigate down the hallway behind where he was taking refuge.

Upon entering the hallway they immediately noticed a flagstone in the floor appears to be misaligned, one of the adventurers flicks it, and a portcullis slams down in front of them blocking their passage!

Luckily, they remember they retrieved a key from one of the dead Hobgoblins in the barracks, and locate a small slot for it on the western wall. Inserting the key and turning it, the portcullis retreats back into the ceiling, allowing them to step through.

They group enters a large room, dominated by a big wooden table, in the corner of the room they find the decaying remains of a Dwarf, amongst his possessions, a small note which reads:

"Day 10 - Finally found it, I think. 312 not 321."

They take note of the words written and explore in silence around the room, finding two doors. A large metal door to the south, and a smaller wooden door in the corner of the north east. They approach the metal door with caution and attempt to unlock it, just as they are about to succeed Hobgoblins spew forth from the wooden door behind them, attacking them!

A battle ensues, and as the adventurers are looking to be victorious, the metal door slams wide open, and a large Hobgoblin appears, The Warchief!, yelling that he will handle the intruders himself!

A vicious battle is found, until Jokun decides on a plan. They will attempt to crush the Warchief under the portcullis! But alas, the Warchief is slain to hastily for the plan to be put into action.

Exploring into the room from where he had entered, the group discovers three switches on the wall, next to a metal cabinet. They are labelled 1, 2 and 3. Remembering the note they found, they enter the correct combination and revealed within is a shiny Short Sword!

After a brief rest, they decide it is best to move on, and venture into the deepest part of The Keep, they cannot be far from their goal now.

Day 14 - Hobgoblin Barracks

Pressing onwards deeper into the Hobgoblin controlled barracks, the group of adventurers find themselves in a long hallway. Ahead of them they notice an odd looking Hobgoblin who wanders out from behind a corner. His armour doesn't look like it fits properly.

Upon closer inspection the group discover that it is actually a Halfling who has become lost in The Keep, and has been hiding inside the armor of one of the Hobgoblins he had killed. They learn his name is Belrry, and he is invited to join their exploration of The Keep. Which he accepts in payment of ale.

The group and their new companion head off further into the hallway, and notice a small figure peeking around another corner, as they approach it cautiously, the creature darts off yelling that they are under attack!

The adventurers rush inwards and a fierce battle ensues, Hobgoblins attacking from the front whist other Goblins attempt to flank them. The battle rages on and their newly found friend Belrry proves his mettle in battle by launching over a table and stabbing one of the Hobgoblins through the eye,  rendering it unable to fight successfully.

Whilst Songfey, Kaede and Yotisot are keeping the rest of the Hobgoblins busy, Jokun runs in and lures the now blinded enemy out towards him, and raises his mace into the air, about to end his suffering. But, as the mace reaches over Jokuns head, the Hobgoblin reveals himself to be the brother of Buddy.

Songfey and Yotisot yell out to let him live, they need information about Buddy and where he may have gone!

*SMASH*

Jokuns mace flys through the air and slams into the Hobgoblins chest, smashing through his rib cage and into the stone floor beneath, his head flies off and rolls into a table leg.

Jokun revels in his victory, whilst Songfey and Yotisot are dismayed. The adventurers collect his head for some unknown future purpose.

After the battle the group investigates a series of crates packed up against the walls and finds a number of barrels of ale, one of which they uncork in celebration of their victory, and their new found friend Belrry.

After a quick drink, and some rest, they head back out into the long hallway that brought them to the barracks.

Day 13 - Hobgoblin Guard Room

After an extended rest and regrouping in Winterhaven, the group of adventurers sold off some of their lesser needed items, and purchased themselves some new supplies and weapons before setting out back to The Keep. Kaede decided that she would remain in Winterhaven, just to make sure that the threat to it was over for now.

Arriving back at The Keep, they ventured down through the first level and found a staircase leading down into the second, and lower level. They saw standing just beyond the bottom of the stairs, two small statured figures.

Approaching,  one of the figures cries out at them "Shadow seeks shadow!"

The group after a quick deliberation decide they're seeking the password that they recovered from Ninaran outside Winterhaven. They reply "And life fails in the dark!". After which one of the hobgoblin ventures off and finds their superior. Returning, a larger hobgoblin asks the group what business that they have in The Keep.

While the hobgoblins are distracted discussing what to do with these possible intruders, Yotisot decides to try and rope them. He pulls a rope from his pack and throws it to Jokun and in turn to Song-fey. The roped hobgoblins cry out, and the adventurers attempt to pull them all into the open pit well behind the hobgoblins, but to no avail.

Two of the hobgoblins manage to break free and attack the group, but the adventurers fight back with such force that two of them are knocked into the well and killed, with the final enemy dispatched and then thrown in as well.

Just in time for another hobgoblin to enter the room, now void of other hobgoblins, and puzzling to him, he asks what this strange group is doing in their guard room.

The adventurers bluff the hobgoblin to believe that they have just dispatched a number of other hobgoblins who were working against the wishes of Kalariel, and that they have thrown them into the well for their crime. The hobgoblin wanders over to inspect the well, and as he approaches the group push him over into the well and he falls to his death.

Just as they thought their battle was over, another dumbfounded looking but larger hobgoblin approaches them from a darkened hallway. Again, they bluff the hobgoblin and he walks over to the group. They greet this new hobgoblin in different ways, each puzzling to him. He reveals that he has no name, and is simply a menial guard in the ranks of the other goblins of The Keep.

The group decide to quicken his fate, and push him into the well also. But he is not killed as he falls, landing on the bodies of his comrades. Two of the group feeling sorry for this unnamed creature wish to help him, while Jokun does not, and decides to drop his pants and defecate into the well, narrowly missing the hobgoblin, who thinks this is another form of strange greeting.

After a lengthy discussion, the group decide to let the hobgoblin go, but only if he provides them with information on what is beyond this room in the second level of The Keep. Naming this new friend 'Buddy', he provides them with knowledge that they face the rest of this goblin comrades in their barracks, and also his hobgoblin master. But that he does not know what lies further in the depths of The Keep.

Let loose, Buddy retreats upwards to the exit of The Keep, looking to live a simple life in the outside air and sunshine, he has become weary of the darkness he has lived in all his life. Yotisot and Song-fey are happy for their new friend, while Jokun is quite dismayed that they let a hobgoblin leave.

Day 12 - The Dead Walk

The group of adventurers decided to leave The Keep for a brief respite, and return to Winterhaven to resupply. Upon exiting The Keep, they discovered the corpse of a horse. Esselte had been slain!

A note was attached to her, stabbed into her decomposing side with a knife. The note was from Amerike, stating that he had grown tired of waiting for the party, and had ran out of food, resulting in him needing to kill and eat Esselte, and that he had returned to Winterhaven to seek other adventure.

The group devastated at the news, burnt Esselte's remains and held a quiet moment for her.

After they said a few words, they continued on back to Winterhaven. Arriving at the gates, Padaraig yelled down from the battlements that the undead had risen from the cemetary and that they would not be allowed back into the town unless they took care of it, they had taken ten of the townsfolk captive!

They reluctantly agreed, and headed for the cemetary.

As soon as they set foot inside the cemetary, undead skeletons rose from their graves, the deceased townsfolk had been magically imbued and animated to fight them. The adventurers having experience with this magic before quickly dispatched the entire horde of skeletons. But as they thought they were victorious, two gravehounds launched forward from one of the crypts and attacked them.

A battle was fought against the hounds, and half way through elven arrows began raining down upon Songfey, injuring her. After dispatching one of the hounds, the second fled to the west towards a crypt, the adventurers followed, still being rained upon by arrows. As they approached, an elven woman exited the keep and mocked them as she fired her arrows from a distance.

Yotisot taking the initative, ran forward and lassoed the elf woman, which the group of adventurers interrogated. She revealed to them she had been employed by Kalarel, and after some "very subtle" interrogation (being held over a fire and threatened to burn to death), revealed a password to get into the second level of The Keep.

Content with their success, the adventurers returned to Winterhaven.

Padaraig excited to see them, and with the ring leader of the undead spawn captured, offered them 600 gold pieces for the pleasure of executing the elf for her crimes of capturing and killing ten townsfolk. The adventurers reluctantly agreed, and she was executed by guillotine.

After the execution Scholar Parle came forward and revealed to the party that Amerike had come past, and confessed to him the murder of Esselte. Parle offered his help to Yotisot and the group, that with certain items he would be able to perform a ritual, and raise Esselte from the dead, and return her to Yotisots care. But this would require collecting some unusual materials from within the deepest and darkest depths of The Keep.

Resting for the evening, and consolidating themselves and their supplies, the adventurous group prepares to enter the second level of The Keep. 

Day 11 - The Skeletal Legion

The heroes well rested travel back out into the maze of passageways from the previous day. Heading into a wider hallway than they have seen recently, the adventurers notice ten massive stone sarcophagi lining the walls of this place.

Approaching one, Yotisot attempts to pry one open to peek inside. Crash! Groan! All the doors of the once dormant sarcophagi swing open, and undead skeleton warriors pour out from within.

Kaede takes this opportunity to quickly cast a spell to fill the area with light, causing the skeletons to almost instantly collapse into piles of bones.

Two other stronger skeleton warriors approach from the opposite end of the hallway, and a battle takes place between all the adventures. The skeleton warrior skulls eventually removed from their necks and smashed with many different weapons.

After the battle the adventurers notice a starry light emenating from the opposte end of the hallway, and move to investigate. Finding two strange granite altars, they examine them in great detail wondering what could their use be?

Songfey discovers an iron door, quite wide and sealed with some kind of magical force.

Yotisot takes the initative and prys open one of the altars, revealing two dragon statues, one made of platinum and another of silver.

The other altar is opened and another two identical statues are found.

A soft click is heard, the magics locking the door fade away into nothing, the adventurers push the door lightly and it gracefully opens.

Sir Keegan's Tomb

The group of explorers venture into this newly discovered room, and find it completely empty bar one raised dais in the old crypt.

Kaede thinking there may be danger thinks about casing a spell to damage any foe that may come forth from the dais, but decides against it as it is discovered by Yotisot to have been engraved with a similar dragon to that which he worships.

The adventurers all move over to the crypt to examine it, the coffin lid shifts, a flurry of dust filling the air as it crashes to the floor. Before them stands the undead remains of a skeleton in plate armor, emblazoned with a dragons head, and brandishing a wonderous longsword.

He reveals himself as Sir Keegan, and interrogates the party as to their business in this place. His home for eternity.

After convincing Sir Keegan that they are indeed friends to be trusted, that they are here to cleanse The Keep of evil, he returns to his place of rest, but not before revealing that he was originally here to also cleanse The Keep. Failing to do so by being tormented and corrupted by the forces of a Rift to an evil place.

Sir Keegan wishing the adventurers well in their quest, gifts Yotisot with his longsword, Aecris, a fine weapon for a follower of Bahamut the Platinum Dragon.

Day 10 - Crypt of Shadows

The party ventures out into the depths of The Keep once more.

Finding a new series of passageways to explore, now completely sheathed in darkness one of the party lights a torch, revealing strange runes inscribed on the floor of the hallway.

Walking over to investigate them, strange moans and groans are heard approaching from the darkness. Fleeing from the noise one of the party runs over the rune, triggering a terrifying scream t be heard and causing all party members to flee in random directions.

One of them bumps into the source of the moans and groans, a group of zombies! The zombies grab and slash at the adventurers, but are no match for them. They are quickly dispatched.

Investigation continues on the runes, revealing a hidden doorway and a place to rest for the evening. Is it even evening? None of them know, they have been underground for almost two weeks now.