The Castle

It's been a trek and a half, but you've all finally made it. When your party left the town you came from, it was sunny and temperate with a cool breeze, a lovely autumn afternoon. The leaves were all shades of green to orange to red to brown. Then, not but a couple hours after heading off, clouds rolled over the sky and blanketed out the sun. Then came the drizzle, then came the downpour.

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The job was simple: Go to this really really super-duper old castle and rescue a dwarf treasure hunter named Gundren Rockseeker. He's been held hostage by a monstrous tribe of dastardly goblinoids: the Cragmaws. Their leader, some King Grol, has been described as a sickly giant, a humungously mountainous bulbous goblin whose breath alone is enough to kill a dwarven monk. The last party sent on this mission failed miserably, so you're being sent to do the job right, whether it be for coins, for pride, for something exciting to fill your weekend with, or because you just really hate goblins, your quest-giver don't care.

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But, after three whole days of slogging through the dense ancient forests and its abundant mud and rain, you've arrived at mid-day. Lightning cracks overhead, KACHOOM! and before you can even start counting how far away the storm might be, the sky answers your question with a resounding GRRRRUMMMMMMBLE. It might suck to be so wet, but the noise of the rain and thunder might come in handy later...



Before you now in a small clearing sits the ancient Cragmaw Castle, about 50 feet or so from the edge of the treeline. A ruined castle from an age loooong past. It's easy to tell that the castle used to be so tall it might've scraped the sky, but here now only a single story stands firm. Most of the walls are still standing, but not much more than that. Long gold and purple banners with red painted letters that spell out CRAGMAW and KING GROL (not pictured above) hang on either side of the main entrance to the castle, waving sporadically due to the rainy wind.

"Not much of a castle." Liltila grumbles under her breath as the ruins come into view.

Standing in the mud just inside the treeline of the woods, she pushes on her armor in a few strategic places in an attempt to wring some of the rain water out her saturated armor padding. Streams of water run down her body and drip onto the ground below, but more than an insignificant amount ends up in her boots.

"The gods be damned!" the Tiefling grunts, her dark red eyes narrowing in anger.

"That dwarf best be easy to find in this place..."

Dana yelps as another rivulet of rainwater finds its way through her armour and runs down her back. She adds yet another mental note to the litany of leaks, in order to further improve the suit's waterproofing later. It would be much easier if she could consult her schematics and make notes - the worst thing about the rain is that she can't write anything down.

Otherwise, the armour is performing well! The new propulsion-assist enhancements let her easily keep up with her longer-legged companions, and she's still got a spring in her step - quite literally, in fact - after walking for miles through the mud.

"I shouldn't worry," she replies to Liltila. "Dwarves usually make enough noise to be easy to find. And he'll probably stand out amongst all those goblins!"

Bright Storm adjusts his cloak, shrugging it a bit tighter around his shoulders and pulling the hood so far forward it’s hard to make out his feline face, save for the shining green eyes peering out from the shadow. He’s used to traveling and roughing it but, despite his tribal name, if there is one thing he tries to avoid, it’s getting soaked. It takes forever for his fur to dry out. While the waterproofing on his cloak has held up so far, there is only so much it can take. Storm is soon ready to try his fate with the goblins than spend much more time in the downpour.

He growls from beneath his hood, "Well, at least we know we are in the right place," nodding to the sign. "If this is any indication of what’s to come, we may be led right to him."

Ash is one of those annoying people who is not bothered by the rain. The little red Robin (bird) is on his shoulder, and it might get wet, but the water slides off it as easily as it does on Ash.
His initial demeanor is of the careful giant (2,4 meters or 8 feet for the unenlightened), with long strides that just eats up ground. But pushed beyond a certain limit, he is a fierce brawler who usually comes out on top. On top of bullies, bears, wolfs and whatever else gave him his scars. It's only water guys. His voice is deep and melodious, but he draws out words a bit further than normal people.

He addresses his bird (familiar, thx to spellscroll). Hey little fella. Will you tale a look for us in that mountain of cut stone?

Reika wasn't paying much attention to much of her companion's grumblings in the rain. She was busy staring up wide-eyed at the Goliath in their party. Even though she and her companions were traveling together for a week or so, she still hasn't gotten used to seeing giant people. Especially those who don't try to capture and eat smaller people. It was shocking at first, then awe, then finally, fascination set in with the young ranger. That fascination was translated now in her wide-eyed, open-mouthed shiny-toy-at-the-storefront expression.

I was about to ask how's the weather up there but I don't think you Goliaths are big on jokes! ehehehe.

As if in exasperation to her corny overdone joke, her intelligent pet mouse Nettles squeaked inside her waterproof poncho raising its head above one of the pockets.

Oh hush you! we will have enough money after this job to buy more snacks! I'm just having a 'lil fun! I never knew you Gargantuan Astral Mice are such ornery lot...

Reika dear. I have tolled you and Nettles that I am not of the Goliaths. I am of the Firbolg.

Robin is undeterred by the massive downpour and seems delighted to receive commands. Everyone else hears the tiny bird tweet happily and singsongingly into Ash's ears before taking off in flight towards the castle. Ash hears, in a high-pitch but not shrill voice respond, "Yes! Yes! Of course my friend, anything for you! I shall take a gander at that big ol' castle and be right back! Ha ha! I am off!"

The tiny bird takes off and circles the castle once or twice. It's a little nerve-wracking for Ash watching Robin fly through the sky, as every twenty seconds or so, an enormous lightning strike seems to pass right over/through the small bird. But after a couple minutes, it returns safely to Ash's shoulder.

In a rushed and excited voice, the bird relays to you the following information:
--There are two entrances, one at F10 and another at P15. However, the one at P15 seems a lot smaller and sturdier, and there is a body or two lying outside of it.
--There are some rooms in the castle that do not have roofs, but they were all empty, so Robin never really saw any people or anything moving.

"Looks like your companion has once again proven itself useful." Liltila says looking up at Ash, envious of his apparent lack of discomfort in this weather.

"The bodies might be worth investigating." she offers. "Perhaps they'll offer a clue as to what we can expect once inside."

Good idea Ash moves towards the opening with the bodies

"Agreed, excellent idea." Storm says as he eyes the dark skies with no sign of a break in the clouds. He joins the others to examine the bodies.

I don't know what a Furbag is...you don't have any fur that I can see though...and Nettles can also scout ahead for us if you guys want as long as I can get its lazy arse to move, Reika said as she looked down to her poncho's left pocket. The mice within were dozing off again.

Or maybe not...anyway let's go and check out the entrance with those two stiffs.

She moves with the others towards the other entrance all the while keeping her ranger's eyes and ears open for any danger.

"Actually, firbolgs and goliaths are quite closely related, both being forms of the broader category of giantkin," Dana chatters brightly as the group approaches the castle. "While they can be quite hairy, the fir in firbolg comes from an old word for a man. Bolg is related to our modern word bag," she pats the enchanted satchel slung across her shoulder to make sure that everyone understands what a bag is, "so essentially, a firbolg is a bag-man."

"I'm... not sure why they were called that." She looks up at Ash. "Do you know?"

No little Dana. That is not correct. I would be happy to enligten you about the firbolg history and the conflict with the fomorians, but this is not the time or the place. Something in his voice betrays a wounded pride, and the clenched fists inside the yellow leather gloves suggest that the gentle giant, will not stay gentle indefently.

Even as the group chats and banters as they approach the castle, the rain mixed with thunder and lightning drowns the noise out and the castle remains silent. The party arrives at the side door to the castle.

Whereas the door in the front of the castle was big and in shambles, this one is small and sturdy, made of multiple-inch thick wood and iron. Lying on the ground right outside the door are two bodies holding hands. With a quick inspection by everyone in the party, it's clear that these people died of electrocution. Their skin is slightly melted and charred, which mixed with the rain and the ozone of the lightning above, isn't giving off that great of an odor.

As the group sneaks up on the castle, Dana continues in an intense whisper.

"Oh yes, fomorians! Their name means those from under the sea, which is very strange because they come from the Feywild, not the ocean. Sometimes I think people in ancient times just weren't very good at naming stuff. Anyway, that sounds great - I'd love to hear more about your people's history. Maybe on the walk back?"

"Lightning strike?" Liltila ponders out loud as she kneels next to the bodies in order to perform a more thorough search of the couple.

"I suppose it's possible, but very unlikely. Lightning naturally seeks the highest point, and these two would have been sheltered by the castle. If I had to guess, I'd say they were killed by magic... and we should be very careful about touching that door. Let me take a closer look."