The Sunless Citadel

New Friends

Before they left the Tor at Hightower, Tolly and Gerald found a cache of healing potions in the last room. They left the dungeon in the early morning light and headed up the hill. The ruined tower at the top was empty, but it gave them a spectacular view over the surrounding countryside and they could the Old Road sweep round the hills and passed to the east of a narrow ravine. At the road's closest approach to the cleft, several broken pillars jutted from the earth where the ravine widened and opened into something more akin to a deep, but narrow, canyon. They made their way across country and when they arrived at the pillars they found one had a knotted rope tied around it. Cautiously they descended to a large ledge about 20 feet below from which a winding staircase was cut into the ravine's walls.

The narrow stairs led into a small courtyard, apparently the top of what was once a crenellated battlement - part of the Sunless Citadel. The buried citadel had sunk so far into the earth that the battlement was now level with the surrounding cavern floor. They made their way cautiously across the floor heading towards a door, but not cautiously enough as Gerald suddenly found himself hurtling 10 feet down a concealed pit-trap. Once Tolly had helped the chastened Gerald out of the trap they went through the door into a circular room that had once been the floor of a great tower. The area was littered with partially gnawed goblin corpses.

Two doors led off from this room and they tried the southern one first, quickly coming to a dead-end at a locked stone door with a rearing dragon carved in relief upon it. Backtracking, they tried the other exit which led to a long corridor. There were a couple of empty rooms in one of which they found a barrel which as well as water contained a very annoyed ice mephit. Feeling outmatched by this creature, Tolly and Gerald managed to convince the mephit they meant no harm and hastily retreated.

Moving down the corridor they emerged into a large and irregularly shaped crumbling chamber. A large pit in the centre showed evidence of a recent fire. A metallic cage in the middle of the southern wall contained a gaping hole and stood empty. A small wooden bench draped with green cloth was next to the cage, and several small objects rested on it. A bedroll lay near the wooden bench, and the sound of whimpering came from inside it. The occupant of the bedroll turned out to be a kobold called Meepo. Initially terrified of the Adventures he calmed down when he realised they weren't trying to kill him. He explained, pointing at the cage, that he was the tribe's Keeper of Dragon! Unfortunately, as  their dragon had been kidnapped by goblins, he was now out of a job. When Tolly offered to help, Meepo cheered up significantly and then offered to lead them to meet the Big Chief!

The Big Chief turned out to be a female kobold called Yusdrayl. Yusdrayl mentioned her surprise as seeing humans informing them that the kobolds didn't see many and another Party had gone through only a few days ago! When Meepo told her that the Party had agreed to help with the missing dragon she immediately offered them a reward if they succeeded, and even offered them Meepo's help - despite the small kobold's dismay! They rested that night with the kobold tribe, enjoying a feast of  meat and vegetables that they didn't care to examine too closely! Rested, set out next morning.

Meepo led the way to the edge of the tribe's territory confidently at first then quickly became more cautious as they moved through more empty rooms beyond. In one room they found a fountain from which they manged to make some blood-red liquid emerge, which Tolly managed to save in a cup provided by Meepo. Two doors in the east wall land a passageway north led form this room. One of the doors was stone carved with skeletal dragons and draconic runes that  read "Rebuke the dead, open the way."
They decided to take the northern passageway which led to a series of small rat-infested cells. As well as some rats which were quickly dealt with, they found the body of what was presumably one of the previous adventures to pass through the area. In a room beyond that, Tolly unfortunately manged to trigger a trap and they fled as flood of poison gas filled the room. Tolly was badly damaged by the gas, but a healing potion soon put him right.

Pressing on to the next room, the Party found a giant bloated rat lurking in a disgusting nest. The rat initially proved a difficult opponent, but with a little help from Meepo they manged to dispatch it.

Goblins Galore

After resting for a while Tolly and Gerald, pressed on. As seemingly they had reached a dead end, they headed back the way they had come, going through one of the doors they had by-passed earlier. The door led through an empty room and a caltrop strewn corridor to a large chamber where layer of filth on the floor, stains on the walls, shabby hides, and much-used fire pit attested to the years of use this room had seen at the hands of creatures not overly concerned with hygiene. The eastern door on the southern wall is gone, replaced by a crudely mortared half-wall, complete with crenulations.

Immediately our brave adventurers came under assault by small javelin from behind the wall. As usual, Meepo hung back while Tolly and Gerald charged forward, the low wal proving little hindrance to them in attacking the two goblins sheltering behind it. In short order the goblins were slain, and they moved on.

The room beyond was some kind of practice range, dozens of blunted and broken javelins lay on the cracked cobblestone floor, though a few actually protruded from three crudely sewn human-sized targets hung along the center of the south wall. The northern third of the room was separated from the south by another crudely mortared and crenulated half-wall. A permanent camp of sorts lay north of the wall, complete with a fire ring and several small iron cook pots. The goblins here proved briefly troublesome, but eventually our heroes prevailed, save for one goblin who fled!

Pursuing the would-be escaper led the two adventurers to a long hallway where several torches mounted in crude wall sconces burned fitfully, filling the air with a haze that blurred sight. A double row of marble columns carved with entwining dragons marched the length of the hall. The goblin made the mistake of trying to ambush Tolly, which proved to be the last mistake it would make in its miserable life. Several exits led from this room, the first to a trophy room where mounted and stuffed animal heads adorned the walls. The assortment of heads includes cattle, rats, and other not particularly impressive specimens. However, a few grisly trophies shared the wall with the animals, including a couple of kobold visages. Smashed and broken cabinets and small tables littered the periphery of the room, mute victims of some sort of rampage. A rusted iron spike stood askew in the centre of the room, trailing a broken chain. Thin patches of ice coated sections of the walls, floor, and debris, which of course Gerald slipped on!

As he picked himself up he noticed a tiny dragon perched on one of the upturned tables. Meepo immediately let out a shout of glee. The tiny dragon puffed out a breath of cold that did little damage. Gerald retaliated by charging forward and trying to grapple the creature, being somewhat astonished when it actually worked! With Tolly's help he forced the struggling dragon into a sack and they remitted it to Meepo's care. Without even a "thank you" the gleeful kobold ran off, abandoning them!

They quickly searched the trophy room, recovering a few useful looking bits and pieces. The  they moved on through a door in the eastern wall that led to a narrow corridor. This time it was Tolly's turn to fall into a pit, much to Gerald’s' amusement! Helping the sorcerer out they moved on finding another few goblins in a room at the end of the corridor, but little else of interest.

 

They headed back to the hallway where they discovered that the door at to the end led to what had once been a large temple nad now seemed to be the central goblin encampment. Deciding that all those goblins and even a few bugbears were a but much, they hastily retreated back to the practice room. A locked door in the west wall proved a brief hindrance until Gerald remembered he had retrieved a key from one of the goblins they had slain.

 

The key indeed opened the door which proved to lead to a long, low dungeon. Three kobolds were roughly tied with crude ropes to a large spike near the entrance. Farther back, a battered gnome languished inside a rusted iron cage, which was small even for his frame. Several sets of corroded manacles were connected to the walls, which were empty except for the occasional crumbling skeleton. They quickly freed the Kobolds, sending them on their way, then confronted the gnome.

 

The gnome was a fighter/cleric named Erky Timbers. In exchange for his release, Erky helpfully answered their questions, telling them that year past, he was on his way to seek his fortune and took the Old Road shortcut. Unfortunately the goblin bandits caught him and he's been here ever since. He went on to tell them that he'd heard the goblins talk about the Twilight Grove down below. There an evil druid called Belak tends an enchanted garden and harvests the enchanted fruit from something the goblins call the Gulthias Tree, but only in the most terrified of whispers. The enchanted fruit grows on the Gulthias Tree. There is bound to be treasure to be recovered there, but be wary as Belak controls monsters called "twig blights". Erky offered to join them, which the two accepted.

Moving on through the twisting corridors, the now increased Party suddenly found themselves back in kobold territory, and decided to rest.