Hellgate Keep: Game 30

General Summary

The Company of the Furies: Eumenides teleported to Hellgate Keep in pursuit of a shadow monster like creature that the that fled with the Dragonkey, which is used to protect towns and cities like Hammerfast from Dragons, negotiated safely past Treants, climbed to the summit of Hellgate Keep, viewed the destruction of Hellgate Keep, traveled down a stair case, fought and killed Tanarukka guards, and then ended the session with the party beginning to fight a second set of Tanarukka. Information about the Dragonkeys can be read in the summary of Rewards and Escape of Dragon Key: Game 29. The Company learned from research prior to leaving Hammerfast, prior investigations and discussion with the treants that there were multiple factions within Hellgate Keep, and that it might be best to learn the political geography those remaining within the Keep through negotation and/or taking prisoners. It may not be possible to simply mash and destroy each room by room as often has proved greatly successful in the past. The Company passed up opportunities to take prisoners and/or negotiate during its first two encounters, opting for its traditional problem solving approach.

Teleportation

The Party used the teleportation room in the dungeon under the dwarven silversmith’s shop to teleport to Hellgate Keep, similar to the room in Adlerweg Keep, which was discovered in Arrows of Slaying and Adlerweg Keep: Game 13 and Adlerweg Keep Clearing the Top: Game 14, and could teleport toSentinel Fortress and the Fire Giant volcano. Teleportation room only one way for non-elves.

Treants

When the Company arrived, they landed outside of Hellgate Keep, the room was badly damaged from the destruction of the Keep. During the recent destruction and explosion of the Keep, the room was thrown at least a half a mile from the Keep and crashed into the forest. The teleportation room was quickly being destroyed by the forces of nature, and appeared as if years had passed with brush, trees, moss and other vegetation covering and breaking a part the remainder of the room. The entire area was a very dim, stuffy, frightfully treeish, musty, tense, very old and full of memory. The Company tracked the shadow monster toward the Keep, and discovered that the Treants of Trulong were causing the ruins to be overgrown with small tress and shrubs and other vegetation that they magically moved by to the locale. The Company was able to communicate with Treants, who are planning to permanently destroy the Keep so that evil forces can never return. The Company convinced the Treants that they had not inconsistent goals, although the Treants were strangely disinterested in the Company’s methods or obtaining the Dragonkeys to save distant human and dwarven cities. The Treants, however, explained the various ways to enter the Keep. First was traveling the Razorthorn Rift, which is about half way up the cliff, which was fully overgrown, including dangerous throns. One of the first places tended by the Treants was to block the cleft with 30' high sharp thorn and briar patches to deter entry or exit. The slopes beneath this Razorthorn Rift are rocky due to the large amount of fallen stone and debris shed by the damaged cliffs above. The Company instead choose the second option, which was to travel to the rim of the Gulch with ropes, which occurred without incident.

Rim of the Gulch

Once the Company scaled to the rim of the Gunch and the Company discovered that all cross the rim and former city aeras, roots creep and crawl over the rubble and into archways still standing among shattered walls. Massive vines shroud the broken stone walls all around the ruins, suing either great crushing strength or their invasive roots to undermine and destroy what few structures remain. Old stairwells and cellars and even the sublevel sewers lie exposed in open air, and the vegetation has taken hold everywhere, chaining areas shut with roots or linkage areas by living bridges of ivy and vines across parts of the open gulch. The Treants do not venture much further up than the former eastern gates or the foot of the outcrop on which the Keep rested. The Company learned that in the spring of next year, the Treants plan to plant baby Treant trees along the cliffs to break up the rock itself and further erode it. A top the cliffs that were formerly Hellgate Keep are three partially riuined sites that are that remains from the old fortified town. These may only be extant for a short period of time, given the terraforming being done by the treants, but for now they still stab skyward as the last evidence of the demon occupation. All are at least 40% covered in vegetation and vines. There were three tower remants. The Tower Arcanatorus, the Sundered Armony and the Three Torn Towers. The Company explored the first two, but the Three Torn Towers, which are the former gares of Hellgate Keep and can only be appoached from a ramp opposite the cliff the Company climbed up. The Company could look down into the gulch and see the cellars, sewers, some passages from lower levels and a pile of rubble at the bottom. The former sewers ran no closer than 30 feet from the surface of the Keep, as to not intersect any cellars.

Well Pillar

Oddly enought, the chaos of the Keep's demise did not disprut the delicate magics that created a tall pillar of water that still rises hundreds of feet from the western slope of the Gulch to the destroyed public well and fountain. Although it is no longer supported by well walls, the watery pillar continues to hold itself aloft, its waters gurrling upwards as a thin foundation from teh well shaft belwo on the side of the ravine.

Tower Acanatorus

Tower Acanatorus is the sole building within the boundaries of Hellgate Keep that seems to be whole from the outside; however, it actuality it is not a whole building, as the interior floors have collapsed onto the main floor below them, leaving only a shell of a tower. The southwestern tower still supports short spans of curtail walls to either side of it, and the two outbuildings tnad before them—though without front walls or roofs. At the base of the curtain wall is a doorway that leads to a door beneath the ground level and within the Tower, timbers and stone creak ominously with every step and they threaten to collapse at the slightest noise. Beyond the door is an antechamber and cloak room, and a hidden door the leads to a spiral stair case going down. The Company needed to clear some debris to reach the staircase. The stairs are very unstable since the destruction occurred on this side of the town.

Sundered Armory

The Sundered Armory is the northernmost surviving relic of the Keep. It seems like the massive walled armory and the nearby tower kept each other supported during the destruction. This locale can be reached only by climbing the cliffs or approaching and walking across the Gulch on the vines (the direction the Company took). Within the armory and its barracks torn in half and the top half of the tower beyond sheared in two along its length, the Armory appears incapable of supporting anything other than scavengers. There are broken and damaged weapons still buried among the rubble, and in the back of the armory, where it nears the tower, there is a stairwell leading below. This stairwell is completely unblocked by rockfalls and showed the most signs of recent use. Thus, the Company elected to use it to go down.

Crumbling Construction

The ruins are unstable and crumbling. Activity above and within the Keep could collapse the weakened floors, walls or ceilings at any time.

Down the Stairs

The Company fought and killed six Tanarukks guarding a small room, giving up the opportunity to take one as a prisoner. The following treasure was obtained:

A platinum nose ring with an inset, teardrop-shaped onyx. Sized for an orc, but probably NOT made by them.
A matching pair of brown leather bracers that are spiked with bear claws and wolf fangs.
A pair of drop earrings made from gilded halfling finger bones. They are obviously orcish in construction.
The leader had a golden breast plate.

Tanarukks Again

The Company encountered a second group of Tanarukks, who were ready for them and in a larger room that included passages exiting. The Company has evidently arrived at a landing area that leads to chamber and other rooms. This is where the game ended.