KINGMAKER:
The Wardens of the Greenbelt
Entry 19.
The Abandoned Keep
With the Wardens back in Wardenholme they were able to rest and take some time to themselves. Travelling around the taverns T'lef and Havrik met the mercenaries they had seen on their earlier travels; the ones led by a well spoken Orc; Kyrim Pain. They were in town awaiting a shipment that needed escorting up to Restov via Leveton.
At the council meeting room the next day the militia Captain arrived with Effan. Efan had been baking some tootberry pies for the Wardens as a thank you for the way they had treated him and found him work. The pies had already been well received by his colleagues in the militia. The Captain handed over two wanted posters that had appeared around town. One concerned a lost boy who was thought to have wandered off around the lake shoreline. The other was on behalf of a local lumberjack who had fought off hodag with his special spear. The hodag had run off with his spear which he would like back if the hodag is defeated. The Captain was also alarmed about rumours that women had been meeting in private; not something he approved of. He wants toknow more about what is going on but can't convince Effan to dress as a woman in order to infiltrate the group. His only woman officer in the militia was unsuitable for the task as she looked less like a woman than Effan.
Later two ships arrive from across the lake. One is a trade ship and the other a small warship both are from the kingdom of Mevon. The trade ship is the one expected by the mercenaries and is due to travel up river to the site of the Thorn River Camp from where its cargo can be unloaded and transported the remainder of the way to Restov by wagon.
The warship carried a diplomat, Caviot of Priam. He brought a message of friendship from the king of Mevon and one of thanks for the assistance that the Wardens had given to the priests at the Temple of Kelimdor. The diplomat was tasked with negotiating a trade deal with the Wardens and the suggestion of a future alliance if their relationship prospered. He also asked about the Wardens' relationship with Brevoy, the Swordlords and other kingdoms; especially about how they traded with them.
With the trade agreement concluded and the diplomat heading back to Mivon, the Wardens headed out to explore more of their lands.
The area northwest of the Swamp Witch's cottage was where they started their exploration. The land was forested with marsh and swamp hampering their movement along the valley floors. After a day they came upon a tall man dressed in rags on the path ahead. He waved to them and greeted them amiably. Ione recognised him as a fellow druid and he was joined by his own big cat companion. He invited Ione into his residence in a hollow tree where he immediately attacked her. Although taken by surprise Ione managed to fight back. The druid's cat was attacked by the other Wardens outside the tree and was soon dispatched. Ione had correctly assessed that this was Bokken's brother and the mad man that the Old Beldame had told them about. Before he died Ione had the pleasure of telling him that they knew who he was and that they were exacting revenge on behalf of his brother.
The Wardens then continued on their way, working their way north and west. This brought them close to the blighted hollow (where they had fought the Scythe tree) and the grove of Tiressia and Falchos. Not far from there the Wardens were aware that a wolf pack was attempting to surround them. As they prepared for a fight the sound of music reached their ears and as its source grew closer the wolves ran off. Falchos appeared, pleased to see the Wardens. He was soon joined by Tiressia herself. They exchanged news about the forest and the Warden's expanding lands. Ione told her about his dreams and about seeing Jedhial. They also let them know about the captured animals and the orphaned foal. Tiressia confirmed the rumour about the forest drake but could give them little information regarding its whereabouts. Ione explained that the Wardens would bring her grove within their lands which would allow them to protect it more thoroughly. They all bid each other farewell as the satyr and the dryad headed off into the forest singing and dancing as they went.
A little further on they came across a shocker lizard by a pool. It seemed to be paying them no attention but they gave it a wide berth none the less.
The next day they came across the ruins of an abandoned keep. The Wardens explored it carefully. It appeared to be ancient and of elven construction. Although overgrown with creepers and ivy the walls were still substantial although maybe half their original height. There appeared to be two ways in; through what remained of the gateway with its portcullis or over a rubble slope where part of the wall had collapsed.
Havrik examined the gateway and found that it was defended by a trap which could cause the portcullis to drop on any unwary explorer. T'lef used his climbing abilities to scale the wall and take a first view of the courtyard beyond. Meanwhile the other Wardens climbed over the stones of the fallen wall section. Once inside the Warden realised that most of the keep and courtyard was covered in undergrowth with vines and creepers covering the walls and towers. There was a large keep in the centre of the courtyard with ruined towers at the corners of the curtain walls. Deciding to investigate carefully the Wardens made for the first of the towers. Havrik and T'lef approached first followed by Clint, Ione and Sidhe. The first tower was a roofless ruin with little signs of habitation. Havrik kept looking for traps as the one at the gateway had made him very suspicious but he found none here. Instead as they entered a swarm of rats rushed them. These were easily dealt with but kept them on their guard.
The Wardens then moved clockwise following the outer walls. The undergrowth here was very dense. As they approached the next tower Clint caught a glimpse of something fast moving beside him which came close then raced away. A sharp pain in his left leg revealed that he had been dealt a deep wound. The Wardens were still reacting to this when the movement reappeared and stabbed Clint again. By now Ione had cast spells attempting to identify the assailant and slow it down. It was a quickling, Rigg Gargadilly. He rushed back into the undergrowth. Ione took on her eagle form and flew above the area. She could see the zig-zag route he used to get away. A display of dancing lights behind the Wardens failed to distract them and Ione managed to warn the others as the quickling rushed them again. This time the Wardens managed to fight back and held the fey creature in melee. They injured it a number of times before Ione swooped down and delivered the killing blow. They examined Rigg's body and found his dagger and short sword along with phials of a poison. Thankfully he hadn't applied the poison to his blades before his attack. Havrik and T'lef entered the tower whilst Ione tended to Clint's wounds. The tower had been Rigg's lodgings. The ground floor containing a few useful items with more precious ones stashed in his sleeping area above. A crude wooden roof had added some protection from the elements.
The next tower was completely ruined with most of the stonework piled up inside the remaining wall which stood less than one storey high. Any further search would take time and the Wardens pressed on to the fourth and final tower. This one seemed to be almost intact and about three storeys high and covered in a thick coat of creepers and vines; some of which were as thick as a man's arm.
A substantial door barred their way. Havrik was still wary of traps but the door proved to be unlocked. The ground floor was empty except for a small table and chair. It was noticeable that the walls inside were also covered in the climbing vines. A stairway led upwards around the wall. T'lef went up first followed by Havrik and Clint whilst Ione and Sidhe brought up the rear. As he approached the opening to the floor above T'lef caught sight of a movement in the room above, something had been watching them. He rushed up into the room just in time to see someone disappear into a hatchway in the ceiling above.
At the same time Clint was grasped by the vine alongside him. It pinned his arms and pulled him against the wall whilst another vine wrapped around his chest and started to crush him. Havrik from the stairs above and Ione from below fought to cut away the heavy vine but it continued to envelop him. By now it was wrapped around his neck, strangling him whilst continuing to crush his chest and arms. Havrik risked harming Clint but managed to finally hack through the vines and free the young fighter. They all then chased after T'lef; Clint quickly drinking several healing potions to recover from the ordeal.
T'lef by now had pulled himself through the hatch and the others followed after him. The creature they chased was a Grimstalker, Teorlian. He was now attempting to escape by climbing down the outside of the tower. T'lef climbed down after him whilst Havrik fired from above. Ione cast a speed spell on Clint and soon the fighter was climbing down too; seeking revenge. As the Grimstalker reached the ground T'lef and Clint managed to overtake it and a flurry of blows saw it killed as it tried to head towards the central keep. A fitting revenge from Clint for the damage the Assassin Vine had caused him.
Before continuing the Wardens dressed their wound and supported their recovery with several more potions. They left any search of the tower for later as they needed to press on before darkness fell. Steeling themselves they advanced on the keep to see what it contained. Close up they could see that it was finely built of a white stone, towering almost seventy feet tall and still stood complete. The main door opened to a grand hall, carvings of eleven figures and sylvan life covered the walls. Havrik discovered a pressure trap in the floor which he managed to disable; it seemed to be primed to release a gas into the whole room if it had been triggered. A grand staircase led them up to another large room. It was sparsely furnished but more much finely than the rest of the castle. A tall woman stood at the end of the room and she welcomed them in; introducing herself as The Dancing Lady. Ione was wary and held back with Sidhe but the others seemed more at ease and moved quickly to her side. At this point they turned towards Ione and drew their weapons. The woman, a Baobhan Sith, embraced Havrik from behind and he started to visibly weaken in her presence. Clint and T'lef did nothing but face off against Ione. Luckily Ione still had a dispel magic spell available and cast it on T'lef. Sidhe leapt forward to attack The Dancing Lady but Clint defended her against the cat's attack. T'lef had broken out of the Lady's spell and moved quickly to attack the monster. Havrik was only moments from death when the combined attacks of Sidhe and T'lef finally managed to overcome her and they dispatched her as she fell at their feet. Ione rushed to stabilise Havrik and started to administer healing potions to him.
GM comments
I don't tend to comment about how the Wardens are doing outside of the journal however I think this session deserves some notes.
I randomly decided which character was attacked by the Quickling and by the Assassin Vine (controlled by the Grimstalker). On both occasions this turned out to be Clint. This was lucky as the fighter could take the damage but was unlucky in the fact that he was still injured by the time of the second attack.
The final fight with The Dancing Lady was difficult. Once three of the four Wardens were under her spell then the odds were in her favour. Another combat round would have seen Havrik killed and she could have then done the same thing to either T'lef or Clint whilst the other one defended her from Ione or Sidhe. It would have been a very close call. She still had spells she could have cast on Sidhe and Ione to increase her odds of success. It was only the fact that Ione still had one “Dispell Magic” spell available (and not much else) that allowed T'lef to intervene and defeat the Lady. It made for an interesting and difficult fight which everyone enjoyed. But it was close run.
This leads me to consider that the Wardens are maybe suffering from losing their cleric and wizard characters. In straight melee encounters with the creatures of the Greenbelt and bandit groups it poses few problems but may do in the future if they come upon powerful magic users and more difficult fights.
Perhaps they need to fill the healer and magic user gaps in the party.
