After leaving the Wanderers' camp, the band travelled northeast towards the dark spire that rose above the treetops. Near nightfall, they reached a great, mist-filled chasm; stretching to either side for miles, it was by far the largest of any of the rifts which wracked this land. Situated precariously on a spire of rock in the center was an immense, fire-blackened fortress, it's crumbling walls and formerly elegant latticework lending it the resemblance of a rose. They had arrived at Nedragaard Keep. As the night darkened, the party made an abortive attempt at crossing the lowered drawbridge, but the wood was too rotten and it gave way beneath them. Dragging themselves back to the edge, they waited out the night.
The next morning a second attempt was made, and the party managed to reach the closed portcullis. Leif used Farid's magical talisman to levitate over the walls and scout the area; noting that it was clear, Yoshi applied his great strength to lifting the closed portcullis. The party managed to slip through into the courtyard, but the gate was left in ruins, the portcullis obviously unraisable.
Searching, the party came to a large stable on the south side of the keep. When Yoshi went to investigate what sounded like a wounded horse in one of the stalls, he found himself confronted by a fiery demon horse, its coat black as midnight. As the beast charged him, Yoshi used his great skill to throw himself onto the horse's back. Angered at having a rider, the demon horse took to the air, flying ever higher as a trail of fire blazed from his burning hooves. Finally, the beast allowed Yoshi to dismount, but the samauri warrio found himself trapped atop the highest spire of the Keep. Only Farid and his magic talisman managed to rescue him (in addition to leaving a small symbol of triumph - Farid's kefia - tied atop the highest banner pole.)
From the stables, the party separated, exploring the corridors of the Keep's main level. Eventually they reunited and came into a Great Hall, the massive room having fallen to ruins. After a brief misunderstanding and subsequent conversation with a throne-shaped mimic named "Yoshi", the party ascended a back staircase to the Keep's second level. There, they found more corridors, in addition to a large indoor garden. Skirting the garden and it's obvious dangers (Endeleban mentioned "killer plants"), they opened a door onto a furnished, but delapidated bedroom. Suddenly, an apparition of a woman appeared in the dimly lit room, and the party quickly made their exit. Leif, however, noticed that the ghostly image had seemed protective of an old wardrobe, so, gathering his courage, the half-elf re-entered the chamber. Before he could react, though, the door slammed closed and a heavy trunk slid in front of hit, barring the exit. The ghost woman appeared again, angered, and she wrapped her icy clawlike hands around his throat as Thomasin and Yoshi attempted to break the door down to rescue Leif. As they dragged the warrior from the bedroom, the woman gave a cry of anguish and disappeared.
As they were gathering their wits, however, another advesary appeared from the darkness of the Keep - a tall warrior, dressed in ancient armor, armed with a mighty sword. The warrior's visage was skeletal, and small flames burned in his eyesockets. He challenged the party, and then attacked when they did not answer to his liking. The battle was hard, as the companions found their weapons to be mostly useless against the force of the unnatural warrior. Through their combined magic, though, the party managed to defeat the warrior, Farid driving Thomasin's spear through the ancient breastplate.
But even as the warrior fell, they heard a shrill scream. Endeleban had wandered off during the fighting, seeking safety within one of the side rooms. As he reached for the door, a ghostly hand grabbed him, chilling his blood. Yoshi caught up with the mage just as he collapsed. Dragging him back into the sunlight, they could see the white marks left by the ghost's claws on Endeleban's throat. Exhausted, nearly defeated, the party scouted a safe-feeling bedroom and made a defensive camp.
Having bunkered down inside the ruined bedchamber, the party sought to regain its strength before foraying out into the fortress again. No sooner had the bedrolls been laid out, though, then noises in the corridor outside heralded the approach of another guardian. As Thomasin listened at the cracks in the door, he heard another armor clad warrior beyond. The sound of metal scraping the stone floor indicated that the second warrior had discovered the remains of the first one felled just moments earlier. Hoping to hide from the second warrior, the party failed to notice the light from the (sleeping) gypsy's glowing dagger filtering out into the hallway. Too late, Thomasin fought to cover the amber light...As he stopped to spy through the door to see if they had been discovered, the skeletal warrior came crashing through, issuing its challenge.
As Thomasin fell back and splinters from the door flew inward, Leif and Yoshi lept to defend the party. Swords clashed, and the warrior was driven backwards. Farid hung back, defending Quallen and the exhausted Delben should the apparitian win through. Thomasin attempted to use the elvne spear in the close quarters and ended up gouging Yoshi accidentally. Finally coordinating their efforts, the samauri, the half elf and the bard battled the guardian back further into the hall, finally defeating it. Dragging themselves back into the bedchamber, the three collapsed from pain and exhaustion as Quallen moved amoung them, tending their wounds with the grey moss. The door was haphazardly repaired and covered by a thick blanket to block any light, and the party finally managed to sleep.
When they awoke, it was well into the night. Venturing into the hallway, they found it still and quiet. Turning north, they came to a foyer with several passages leading off from it. As they started to explore, a ghastly sound came reverberating down the stones of the hall...the sound of several mournful voices, raised in discordant song. As the voices seemed to come closer and join together, the party headed into a nearby scriptorium, seeking shelter. Thomasin withdrew his harp and attempted to counteract the fearful melody that was descending down upon them from above; however, the song itself seemed flawed and out of time, causing the bard's melodic accompainment to sound harsh and discordant. While the fearful harmonies sent chills down everyone's spine, it had a grave effect upon Quallen, who broke free from Farid's soothing control and ran screaming into the corridor. The party gave chase to the frantic elf, following him into the vast indoor garden that dominated this floor, but they arrived too late to save the elf from falling victim to an assault from a twisted, mutated rosebush. Cautiously exploring the garden, the party discovered more of the deadly rosebushes, along with another of their victims - a female elf, a basket over one arm. Using both torch and magic to burn away the foul blood-drinking rosebushed, the party gained entry to a central stairwell wwhich wound up from the center of the garden to the chambers above. Leaving the horrors of the garden behind, the party ascended higher into Nedragaard Keep...
Reaching the top of the starircase, the company found themselves in a large chamber dominated by murals depicting unknown gods. Above their heads, a mighty silver dragon faced off against an even larger five headed serpent, while a scale bearing aesthetic hovered dispassionately between them. Doors and corridors led away from all sides of rhte vast room, and a staircase along one wall led upwards. Investigating, the group eventually worked its way south out of the chamber and found themselves in a grand, but neglected, library. Here, Delben called for a camp so that he may regain his strength in order to peruse the many tomes found within. Having no interest in books (well, not as much interest, anyway), Thomasin and Leif returned to the mural room to search further.
While examining the images depicted on the walls, Thomasin caught a glimpse of movement off to the north. He and Leif investigated, searching several sparsely furnished rooms before coming to a dust-covered sitting room. There, they discovered a strange being - a halfling calling herself Ticklemop. She wore a hooded cloak and carried a strange forked walking staff. She identified herself as a 'kender' (which apparantly did not mean 'dingleberry' in orcish) and proclaimed to have knowledge of the Keep. They took her back to the library, and Ticklemop revealed much information, including the necessary passphrases to protect against the skeleton warriors. She also spoke of her Very Important Mission that would save her land of Kenderlind from destruction...a mission that centered around the presentation of an iron, rose-embossed amulet to Lord Soth.
Despite the obvious danger lurking within the Keep, the party decided to individually range out from the library and explore. Thomasin took to wing and secretly followed Ticklemop, who had some exploring of her own to do. Following the light-footed kender into the upper halls and out onto an open balcony, Thomasin discovered a grisly sight - the kender crouched over the broken carcass of a raven, apparantly feeding upon it. Before he could escape, the kender pounced on him, seeking to strangle the life from him. Only when the bard released his magic did the feral kender disappear again into the shadows, leaving her forked hoopak staff behind.
Leif, meanwhile, left the library to look for Thomasin. Wandering upstairs, he investigated a closet before heading back to the group. Farid, as well, decided that the Keep warranted searching, and soon found himself in a ruined temple off the antechamber. The centerpiece of the temple was once a beautiful marble statue, but the statue had since been broken into large pieces. Divine thoughts filling his head, Farid gathered some book binding glue from the library and began to repair the broken statue.
Eventually Leif found Thomasin and the two returned to the library, where the bard related his story about his encounter with Ticklemop on the balcony. Endeleban, having rested and studied, began a search of the library and study room, using his magic to reveal two large books hidden inside a lecturn. Tucking them away for later, the mage gathered his bodyguard and joined his two other companions in going to find Farid. They found the gypsy bard in the Temple, the statue having been miraclulously repaired. Farid had undergone a sort of transformation as well, partly due to his efforts in restoring the image of the goddess. At the gypsy's request, Leif handed over the platinum amulet that he had recovered from the priest Ian prior to entering Sithicus. Rested and healed, the party set out to investigate more of the Keep.
Across the muraled antechamber, the aprty entered another temple-like room, but this one was gouged by fire. A large tarnished metal statue of a dragon dominated the room, but the heat radiating from the statue prevented a closer examination. Thomasin suddenly claimed to have heard a voice in his head, proclaiming "Free me!". Yoshi, as well, heard the voice, and the party began to experiment with how they could overcome the barrier of heat around the statue.
With the rest of the party occupied with the dragon statue, Endelban set off alone to investigate more of the rooms off the antechamber. Entering a meditation chamber, the mage was just beginning his search when the room's door ominously slammed shut. As his companions without struggled to get to him, Endeleban found himself confronted bu another of the ghostly maidens who haunted the keep. Parley proved futile, and all seemd hopeless until Yoshi, Leif, and Thomasin came crashing through the magically reduced (courtesy of Farid) door. The three rushed to the mage's defense, but the spirit called up other apparitions to block their path. Desperately, Thomasin stabbed upwards with the elven spear, only, to his horror, to discover that he had hideously miscalulated and had skewered Endelban by accident. As the apparitions fled the room, the mage's lifebllod flowed out onto the floor. Desparate, Yoshi clutched his charge, seeking to stem the flow of blood, but the mage was quickly fading.
Just then, Farid stepped up and told the samuari to remove his charge to the temple with the statue of the goddess. Leaving a trail of blood behind, the party re-entered the restored temple. Farid was lost in divine prayer for a brief moment, then there was a flash of light. A loud crack resounded throughout the chamber, and the statue once again crumbled to broken pieces, but as the marble chunks fell to the ground, Endeleban awaoke, having been healed of his mortal wound. Yoshi bowed to Farid in gratitude, then promptly divested the elven spear from Thoamsin's possession. Again, the party rested, their hopes for survival dwindling as they witnessed the futility of their disorganized, leaderless actions.
Recognizing the importance of setting aside their differences, the party came together under the reluctant leadership of Thomasin. As a storm blew in from the west, Farid noticed the dwarf from their previous encounter in the woods returning to the keep. As they were preparing to depart, Leif noticed a strange glow coming from deep inside the two Ba'alstones. No one could knew what the glow indicated, but Leif theorized that it could mean the third stone was near.
Leaving the crumbling Temple, the party returned to investigate the dragon statue to the east. After some manipulation, the decision was reached to just bash the statue into bits, to which Yoshi readily obliged. As the hollow metal statue was reduced to scrap, a glowing sword resting on an anvil was revealed; however, the commotion caused by the samurai's destruction rang throughout the keep, announcing the party's presence. The sword was glowing red hot, and the party was forced to wait several agonizing minutes for it to cool enough to be handled. As Leif gingerly placed the sword within an empty sheath, an alarm sounded from the lower levels, and Thomasin ordered a retreat out into the antechamber. As the sounds of iron-shod boots filled the halls below them, the party moved up the stairs into the upper levels.
Upstairs, the party quickly investigated the chambers and soon discovered a door, sealed with an elaborate lock. Before they could seek entry, however, the party was confronted by three more of the armored skeletal guardians who demanded their surrender. Farid used his magic to hasten the party, and the warriors were engaged. Farid and Thomasin managed to fell one of the warriors by tangling it up in Farid's rope. Yoshi, magically enlarged by Farid, destroyed one of the guardians and turned on the second entangled one. Leif battled the third, but was burned when he tried to draw the silver sword recovered from the statue. Thomasin, lacking a magical weapon, snatched up the bright sword and charged forward. The silver blade flared with a brilliant radiance, and the bard felled the last warrior with several well-landed blows.
Their enemies defeated, the party moved east out onto a balcony. They turned north and began climbing an open stairway which wound its way up the outside of the keep's central spire. As storm clouds rolled in, the party climbed higher and higher, eventually gaining one of the upper levels of the tower. Entering, they found themselves on a level which once housed the keeps guards and soldiers. Searching, they eventually came to a sort of trophy room, decorated with the shields of long fallen enemies. A spiral stairway descended from the trophy room, and it was here that the party paused to rest and regain its strength.
Having rested and recovered, the party decided to explore the upper reaches of the Keep before working their way back downward. As the storm blew in from the west and dark clouds gathered around the fortress, the group ascended the spiral stairwell unitl they reached the uppermost level of the central tower. There, a promenade circled the tower, leading to a room filled with impenetrable darkness. Farid, aided by magic, explored the room, recovering several objects: several scrolls, a book, a small box, and a dagger. Wishing to research their spoils, the party left the inky darkness and returned to the shield room where they had just recently camped.
Looking over their gains, they were about to dismiss them when it was revealed that Thomasin, while holding the sword Oathmaker, could translate the text of the book, titled Chronicles of Astinus. The bard read aloud from the text, quoting a passage that detailed how Lord Soth, as a Death Knight, conquered the city of Palanthas. Seeking to gain further answers from the tome, it was entrusted to Delban, who conjured a magical servant to carry the collected tomes. As iron-clad footfalls rang out in the corridor outside, the party decided to descend the central stariwell to avoid another encounter.
In the chamber below, the party found several large, vault like doors, along with a rack of keys. As Leif was retreiving the keys, however, three stone-like gargoyles came to life in the midst of the party. A battle ensued, with Leif killing one and Farid blasting another with magic. While fighting the third, however, Oathmaker was knocked from Thomasin's grasp and was retreived by Yoshimoto, who found himself much more conducive to the sword's purpose than the bard had been. Eventually, the third gargoyle crumbled into dust.
Exploring the locked vaults, the party discovered several treasure rooms. Among the coins and jewels were a few other choice objects: a gnarled wooden wand, a suit of ancient armor, and a large silk cloth that, when streched out upon the floor, became a doorway into a magical room. Before the party could count their spoils, however, one of the ghost maidens of the Keep - identified as a banshee by the Chronicles of Astinus, appeared to defend her sanctum. Yoshi, bearing Oathmaker, held his ground and confronted the apparition, while Farid wove a spell of silence around himself, Leif, and Thomasin to defend against the banshee's deadly keen. The maiden grappled with Yoshi, and opened her mouth to release her scream; however, at the last moment, Delban charged forward and knocked the samurai aside just as the banshee keened. Delban collapsed, but Yoshi was unharmed. Brandishiing Oathmaker, Yoshi avenged his fallen ward, and the ghost was destroyed. Kneeling, Yoshi placed the bright sword across the fallen mage's chest; after a few words of pleading and prayer, Delban awoke, alive, though he had changed: his skin had the pallor of a corpse and the touch of ice. His health had been shattered, but he lived through the grace and magic of Paladine, the god to whom Oathmaker was dedicated.
Shocked by the change in their companion, and tired from their recent battles, the party again made camp to rest and gather up the treasure.
The party rested, gathering its strength and newly won treasures before adventuring out into the Keep once more. As they waited the arrival of day, they slept, relearned spells, and polished weapons. As Thomasin moved to survey the landscape through the broken windows, however, he was visited again by Ticklemop, who kept herself concealed in the shadows. She spoke of Azrael's return to the Keep, and the danger that Sithicus was in. Before she left, she gave Thomasin the iron pendant that she had found, in the hopes that he could use it to rally Lord Soth to come to the land's defense.
Waiting until morning, the group decided to further explore the barracks level of the tower. Coming to an outside door, they discovered a second stairwell running up the outside of the keep. However, a disagreement in direction between Farid and Thomasin resulted in the Dalesman and Leif heading downwards, with the gypsy and the mage Delban heading upwards. Yoshimoto was just choosing a side when he suddenly felt a cold presence just inside the doorway - another of the ghostly maidens, seeking revenge for the destruction of her sister. Wielding Oathmaker and magically bolstered by Farid, Yoshimoto quickly dispatched the banshee woman. Leif, Thomasin, and Delban returned to explore more of the level, but Farid continued his path upwards to the higher levels.
Reaching the chambers above, Farid began to his search. Through one door he found what appeared to be the bedroom of the seneschal Azrael. Searching the dwarf's possessions uncovered a small stash of coins - guarded by a small, black snake marked with a skull mark on its head. Farid, being desert-bred and familiar with the ways of animal handling, began an ancient gypsy ritual designed to form a bond between animal and master. Using his mental powers to boost his connection with the serpent, Farid managed to instill a sense of trust in the small, poisonous snake.
Meanwhile, having found an armory containing pitted weapons, Thomasin led the rest of the group down the outside stairwell. There they came to a locked door; Leif produced one of the silver keys and unlocked the heavy portal. It opened onto a balcony, overlooking a massive throne room. The chamber was ruined by fire and rot, but several things remained intact; among them, six black-polished mirrors set into the wall behind a large stone throne. Seated upon the throne was a knight in black platemail. The knight's flesh was translucent, drawn tight over blackened bones, and a hideous orange fire burned behind the closed eyelids. He did not move, save for his lips, which silently mouthed the words to some unheard song. Yoshi announced that they had found Lord Soth, and promptly issued a challenge to the death knight - but the knight did not move, nor even seem to acknowledge the samurai's presence. As Yoshi approached closer, he discovered that Soth appeared insubstantial, ghostlike.
In the upper chambers, Farid continued his explorations. He used his magic to make himself invisible and then to gain entrance to a locked doorway and discovered a study of some sort. Unable to make anything of the assorted documents and books scattered about, he deposited all of them into his pack and continued his search. A foul smell emanated from a nearby storage closet; bracing himself, Farid opened the door to find the remains of a partially eaten elf corpse. As he struggled against the horrible sight, there was a sudden commotion behind him. Turning, he saw the dwarven seneschal, Azrael, investigating the entry into his chambers. Farid levitated himself to the ceiling where, invisible, he sought to evade detection, but the dwarf's nose caught the scent of the invader. As Azrael approached, Farid dropped the small snake onto his face, distracting him, then began the attack with a barrage of spells meant to incapacitate the shape-changing dwarf.
Down in the throne room, Yoshi received a mental distress call from Farid. Relaying it to the others, they all started back up the stairway to lend their assistance. Thomasin took to wing in the form of a small grey owl and was the first to arrive at the scene of battle. Farid continued to assault the dwarf with his full spell arsenal while Thoamsin, still in owl form, flew at Azrael's face to distract him. The dwarf, having transformed into a ferocious beast form but blinded by Farid's magic, knocked the owl out of the air and charged forward, grasping his deadly axe as he sought to hew his prey in half. Taunting his enemy from the grisly closet, Farid quickly threw down the magic cloth to the floor, spreading it out so that the magical chamber came into being right under the dwarf's feet. With an outraged scream, the dwarf fell into the pit, just as Farid lifted the corner of the cloth, causing the chamber to resort back to a silken painting. As he lifted the tapestry to survey his captive, Faird was greeted with a grisly shock - the dwarf was being torn limb from limb by the demonic statues that resided within the chamber. Satisfied, Farid rolled up the cloth just as Thomasin returned to his own form and the others reached the chamber.
After the gypsy related the tale of the seneschal's death, the party began looking through the documents discovered in the study. The most noteworthy was a simple journal that the dwarf had apparently just started keeping. The entries detailed the seneschal's search for someone he referred to as simply "K", and Lord Soth's growing anger with his lack of success. The journal mentioned something about Lord Soth entering the mirrors, and his deteriorating state. Leif surmised that Soth's presence in these mirrors could be responsible for the condition of Sithicus; since lord was tied to his domain, the land suffered when its lord was not present. Gathering up the journal, the party returned to the throne room.
Investigating the mirrors, the party discovered that they each reflected a different scene. Farid guessed that the scenes were from Soth's past, and that the death knight had entered one of the scenes, leaving his ghostly form behind in the throne room. After some manipulation, Farid suddenly was gone, leaving only a ghostly image of himself behind. The mirror reflected back an image of a man in multi-colored robes, looking surprised, standing in a large hallway of some distant structure. The party decided that the next leg of their quest would not be through the halls of Nedragaard Keep, but instead through the halls of Lord Soth's memories...