Journal of Our Journey to Havelock's Keep

The Adventure: Part One

Chalice of Janvel Swayne

"Aye, we'll take the challenge," the burly Skyelander boomed. Havelock wiped the tears from his eyes. For the first time in the last three days, hope came to the beleaguered potter. His comrades exchanged glances with each other. The harrowing experience at the Gallery of Wishes was hardly a memory. Rest was needed. Perhaps a few days of welcome sleep would prepare them for battle. Quorloc, Trell, Spectre, Asswipe, Bug, and Viper exchanged glances again. David Sinclair had begun to sing a rousing battle song of the Northern Reaches each verse increasing in volume, telling of a great legend who had faced Death with dignity and won a heroic battle. Each adventurer smiled as the Skyelander pulled out his sword and began to sharpen it. There would be no time for rest. They would leave in the morning.

It was shortly before dawn when the party gathered at the shore of the harbor. Potkin was there, naturally, with three boats laden with supplies. He paced nervously back and forth, and the crunching of the gravel under his boots betrayed his eagerness to have the rescue underway. Soon, the three boats were dots on the horizon as they made their way along the coast to the Keep of Misfits, Havelock's Keep.

After two days moving slowly along the coast, the party found itself camped on the north bank of the River White. With Trell and Bug on watch, a band of eight troglodytes ambushed the party. Bug and Asswipe slept several of the beasts while the other five fighters dispatched the rest. The tide of the battle changed several times, but in the end, the party was victorious. The suffering was minimal - some cuts and broken ribs. The rewards were fair- the party earned the fifty gold pieces for the effort. The bodies looted, they were tossed into the river.

The next morning Trell began to track the troglodytes. Throughout the day she made slow steady progress to the northwest, skirting the Land of Bogs and the Little People. Finally, the sounds of the waves crashing against the eastern coast could be heard. Coming over a slight ridge, the tracks led to the shore where a small boat was tied. Beyond lay the troglodytes home: Havelock's Keep. Trell returned to the party's camp on the River White, describing the small island and its sinister inhabitant.

Arriving the next day at the island, a small piece of rock whose heathery scrub was dominated by a small stone keep perched near the southern end, the party decided to enter through a "gate" underneath the keep. They disembarked and hid Potkin's small boats in some nearby bushes. The sun was high overhead, and there seemed no chance that their trek to the keep would go unnoticed. Settling in for a long day's wait, the decision was made to make a night raid.

As the sun set, Bug scrambled up the rocks to the entrance of the castle. Throwing down a safety rope, it wasn't long until the entire party stood high above the crashing sea. The courtyard was empty. Faced with four towers perched at the points of the compass, a decision was made to enter the South Tower. The door open easily, showing signs of frequent use. As their eyes adjusted to the light, the party saw that they were in some sort of workshop. In the far corner, two red glowing lights blinked on. Suddenly, the party found itself being rushed by a large mechanical beast, resembling a lizard man, but far more bulky and dangerous. The party fell into a defensive posture in the outside courtyard. The beast, known as the Zachris, crashed into the party. Flaming arrows flew, swords sang as they bit metal into metal. The Zachris swung out its massive arms, and Quorloc fell into a unconscious heap. The party was in trouble. Thinking quickly, they dodged past the Zachris and into the tower, slamming the door behind them, spiking it shut. The Zachris beat on the door and splinters of woods jumped into the room. A cursory search of the workshop revealed a stairacase behind a tapestry in the northern wall. Quorloc was healed, and without a second thought, the party descended.

A long hallway extended to the north lined with doors on the eastern side. The sound of the Zachris was muffled above, but the party knew that soon the door would give way and the Zachris would again present a problem. Moving north, the party came to a large pillared hallway running east. Entering the hallway, two troglodyte guards spotted them, and fled into large room beyond the hallway. The party pursued, hoping to dispatch the guards before more of their brothers could be summoned. Rushing through the door, the party entered into a large common room. From the sounds that came from the adjoining rooms, it was obvious that soon the entire troglodyte population of the castle would be upon them. Fleeing back down the pillared room and then again south, the party found themselves climbing the stairs back to the workshop. The pounding of the Zachris could not be heard. Flying into the room, the party made straight for the now-destroyed door. The red eyes of the mechanical horror flashed on, and the Zachris lurched forward to finish the job it began. But again, the party was too fast, slipping by and descending quickly on the safety ropes that were left behind.

From the safety of their camp, the party noticed that the castle was now guarded. Patrols of three troglodytes walked the walls at all times. After a brief discussion, it was decided that the guard detail would be ambushed that night. The ambush went very well, indeed. While Asswipe slept one guard, Viper slept another, and the third was quickly dispatched by Quorloc, Trell, and Bug. The sleeping guards were tied up and questioned. While the guards were cooperative to a point, it seemed certain that a greater fear than death was on their minds. The party learned that the Keep had four towers. The west tower was ruined and not used, its rusted door was barred from the inside. The north tower, likewise, was forbidden to the guards. An adventurous comrade who journeyed into the tower was never seen again. The other two towers were in general use by the castle inhabitants. The east, or champion's, tower was the home to Ulric the Hunchback and his invincible arms. With Ulric were four young girls, his harem. The south tower served as a general entrance and Havelock's workshop. Stairs leading down from the south tower lead into the rooms used by the guards and their master. In addition, to the castle inhabitants, a floating eye was the intelligent companion to Havelock. The eye was said to play games on a checkerboard of large colored stones in the courtyard floor. Little more was learned from the guards, so they were tightly bound and gagged and hidden in the heather.

Again the party entered into the castle, this time heading straight for the eastern Champion's Tower. Coming quickly through the door, they surprised Ulric the Hunchback who was practicing his swordsmanship. In a fury of attacks, the hunchback died. His magical splinted mail and two-handed sword were taken. Upstairs, they found the squalid apartment where Ulric kept his most prized possessions: four young girls. After freeing the girls, the party learned their story. Meri, Devra, Ivy, and Runa had been held captive in the tower. They had no idea of the layout of the castle, but Runa's father, Branwell the Merchant, was being held in the dungeons below the castle.

The party decided to explore the possibilities of rescuing Branwell before making a decision. Searching Ulric's room, a secret passage was found leading to the north. The passageway was unused for many years, and its width would allow only one person to pass through at a time. The party, now eleven strong, journeyed along the passage until they reached another secret door, this time leading out into a small anteroom. This room contained a single stairway leading down and a single door leading north. The party opened the door into the north tower.

The north tower had no upper floor, the whole room being open to the ceiling. The smell of dust and disuse was very strong here. Two long oak benches centered in the room faced northeast, and it was obvious that once this room was a small chapel. A set of stone steps led up to a triangular altar in the northeast corner. There, in a niche, was a small stone ledge. On the ledge was a golden chalice which glowed slightly, obviously a relic of great value. The tapestries which must have once filled this place of worship were now tattered rags, sooty and ruined. On the western wall hung a large black tapestry, however, that was intact. Even the torch brackets in the wall were rusted with disuse. The party ignored the chalice, and explored behind the black tapestry - finding a coffin. After some debate, the coffin was opened, and its undead host disturbed. Asswipe held high his holy symbol, and, to his surprise the coffin's denizen recoiled. The party quickly grabbed some treasure in the coffin: a silver statue of the sea god, 200 pieces of gold, and a large ruby. The undead priest snarled, a sound that made blood run cold. With Asswipe holding his most precious symbol aloft, the party escaped down the spiral stairs and into the dungeon.

After some brief exploring, the party found a storeroom in which to rest. It was decided that Bug and Viper would return with the four young girls to Dragonsford, and the rest would search for Branwell. A brief farewell was spoken, then David Sinclair, Quorloc, Trell, Spectre, and Asswipe found themselves alone. A decision was made to rest for several hours. Trell took watch and the rest of the party dozed in a fitful slumber. It was near the end of the respite that Trell woke the party. Two sets of footsteps were approaching from the spiral staircase. Weapons readied, the familiar forms of Idaho and Finn MacDuff, missing since the journey to the Heathrock Downs appeared. Greetings were exchanged, and Finn MacDuff related the story of how they had taken a boat from Dragonsford at the urging of Potkin only to encounter Bug, Viper, and four young girls outside the castle walls. Getting the story of the adventure to date, the two young fighters were anxious to add their swords to the effort. The time for action had come.