| The Haunted Citadel (Part I) |
| On their way back from town the party, (Ignatius and Jack along with Portia) encountered a mysterious cloaked stranger who questioned them about a Magus Thomas Ken. After telling him that they thought they had heard of him but offering no further clues, the stranger departed. In town they came across their friend, Nemo who was taking his noon time break from the forge. Naturally curious about the dragon skull they were carting through town he asked how they equired it. Despite their attempts to claim they killed it, he saw through the deception. Still he was interested in the tale and sadden that he wasn�t able to join them. The party then headed to the inn, where they displayed the skull. While Portia regaled the town with her account of the dragon slaying, the party chatted with Old Tom. Tom admitted to being Thomas Ken and was visibly shaken when told someone was looking for him. They asked about the key and he told them it was probably one used in the abandoned citadel at the edge of town. he also informed them the citadel was haunted like the tower they tried to spend a night in. About this point Nemo noticed a stranger sitting the corner opposite them. Meanwhile, Jack left to enquire at the Church of Technology about the cost of firearms and the possibility of cutting the emerald to make it easier to sell. A little later as the party was resting, a merchant caravan came into town with wounded guards and arrow punctured carriages. The owner, Jilt, was a Tethyrian merchant from the city of Verta and claimed goblin raiders had attacked his caravan two miles from town. It was at this point that the party quietly offered to help restock his supply of guards and cautioned him that he should wait a week at least until leaving town (since they still wanted to check out the citadel). Jack left to make a deal with the mayor to sell the diamond before the merchant could get to him first. With his cunning salesmen skills he got top price for it. Meanwhile Nemo approached the stranger watching Old Tom intently, a woman tattooed along the edges of her face, named Barabel. After she gave him the cold treatment, he retreated back to Tom. About this point, Tom apologized to Ignatius, threw his drink at him and vanished from sight. Barabel quickly left to pursue him. The next day, richer for selling the skull and emerald, and Jack better equipped with a pistol, the party entered the haunted citadel. They weaved through the old castle church and through the palace�s ground floor. Ignatius quickly spotted a secret door and the party headed through it and down below the earth. There they quickly found their way to the lock that the key went to and into the old wizard�s tower. Stealing some books along the way, they reached the top and found a barrel of ale, a healing potion, a new spell, and a note from Tom. Tom�s note explained that these were gifts of encouragement and that he was leaving. They then started to explore the castle dungeons but turned back when they encountered what seemed to be goblins lurking in the darkness. Trying a different way, Ignatius found another secret door, which led straight to the throne room of a kobold sorcerer. In the fierce battle that followed the heroes were forced to retreat to fight the kobolds another day. In town they learn goblins and perhaps giants are raiding the town's outlying farms. The next day after getting healed up in town, the party tried to sneak up on the kobold king, but fell prey to a trapped door that alerted the creatures (as well as pelting Nemo�s head with caltrops). They headed for the kobolds and were again driven off due to the kobolds� knowledge of the tunnels and superior numbers. As they retreated up a tunnel to a way out, they discovered the kobolds were already there and lighting fire to the wooden stables it led to. In a quick battle they fought their way clear of the flames, only to run into a hostile skeletal horse (angered due the presence of a drawn blade). Finally they defeated the horse and the above ground kobolds and escaped. After resting a moment they decided to attack immediately since the kobolds wouldn�t expect it. After yet another fierce battle, the kobold leader was dead and the rest of the kobolds fled in terror (save one priest who fought valiantly but died a horrible flaming death). The party looted the room and left, planning to return for more treasure. That night though the town main church, a cathedral being constructed for Heironeous is rocked by a powerful explosion and set aflame. Nemo manages to get a glimpse of one of the culprits, a goblin. With much of a night's effort, the cathedral is save though the construction is set back by months and dire things seem to lurk in the future. |