Castle Capers: Part I

by Tristan el'Mer

The infiltration of Castle Narytar went better than any of us could have hoped. After Snapjaw spoke to leading members of his tribe he and one other lizardfolk warrior escorted us into the castle under the guise of being new cult recruits. Thanks to Nuri’s brilliant fast talking and a touch of illusion, we got past all of the guards as well as a dining hall full of cultists, and were able to make our way into an unoccupied tower. From there, with help from Rhumor, we then crossed over to the tower we needed to be in that led to the basement stairs by running along the castle’s perimeter wall.

The top of the tower we re-entered had been boarded up and was completely unused by the cult. We soon discovered why. There were three skeletons on the floor, and Virgil recognized the vestments of the Order that his friend belonged to. As he was investigating the remains three ghostly apparitions rose and attacked. Once the ghosts were dispatched Virgil was able to confirm that none of the remains were that of his friend. Part of me wonders what it is he expects to find here. I empathize with him, and do hope we find evidence that his friend had escaped whatever fate befell their order before the Cult of the Dragon arrived, but so much time must has passed. With the strange timelessness of the Fey Realm it could have been decades… or more. If his penpal’s cohorts remains are now nothing but bone, how long has it been? Perhaps some clue will present itself.

Now free to follow the stairs all the way down into the subterranean portion of the castle that Sintos had alluded to, and that our new Lizardfolk allies had indicated would be the most likely location for the Bullywug leader, Pharblex Splattergoo, we descended. Two bullywugs tended to some mud (the hatchery perhaps?) and were easy to dispatch. Following the cavern deeper in we ran into swarms of centipedes, giant frogs, and eventually more bullywugs. The centipedes, whilst annoying, were not a terrible threat, particularly once we figured out they shy away from flame (even torch flame was enough to accomplish this). Conrad spoke to the giant frogs and was able to convince them that we would not make for very good eating, an argument enhanced by the piles of dead centipedes we could now provide them. Then out came the bullywugs, who largely stayed underwater. Two of them got away deeper into the cave.

The cave system grows dimmer and dimmer, and I sense we are close to reaching our goal. I just hope this bullywug shaman is within our capability to deal with. Aside from the obvious price of failure for our little band, I do wish to see the lizardfolk freed from the forced servitude of the cult and bullywugs. I can’t wait to see the looks on the faces of Biteclaw and Snapjaw when we present them with the head of the bullywug shaman. If they will fight the cult with us, we should have no problem clearing out most of the rest of the castle’s residents. Then we can make a proper search for clues to Virgil’s missing friend, the cult’s next moves, and hopefully pack in a good portion of the treasure.

Continue reading...

To Greenest
17th of Flamerule, 1486

Goblins and Wargs and Minotaurs, oh my!
16th of Flamerule, 1486

Greenest is the Blackest
18th of Flamerule, 1486

On dragons, monks, and shite
19th of Flamerule

Ethereal Me
20th of Flamerule

Revelations
21st of Flamerule

The Cave of Triumph and Terror
22nd of Flamerule

Liches Give Stitches, and other Horrors of the Dark
22 of Flamerule

The Long Road Ahead: Part I

The Long Road Ahead: Part II

The Long Road Ahead: Part III
Midsummer

Sleeping on Splinters
Mid Uktar

The Convergence of the Bizarre and Unlikely

Castle Capers: Part I

Castle Capers Part II

Castle Capers Part III: Shadows of Darkest Light

Castle Capers Part IV: Visions of the Past & Hints of the Future

Mountain Dream Houses and How to clear out the vermin you find when you arrive:

Through the Woods, and into the Air, to Blathokus’ House We Go!

Castle in the Sky, I Can Fly Twice as High

The Ice is on Fire

The Journal Entry’s title

The City of Splendors

City of Splinters

Faces, Masks, and Catnip

Doppler DupliCity

Amorphisms

High in the Skies and Deep in the Ground

Aberrations and Apparitions?

Of Temples, Tombs, and Secrets

The Journal Entry’s title

Castle Capers: Part I

Continue reading...

Find your way!

Resources

WHO WE ARE

LEGAL

Get the news

Listen to our Podcast

Our Allies