The Island

The skeleton is struck by the the two blows and the bones scatter as it collapses.

As stillness settles around you and you take stock you notice that the tops of the fortress battlements can be seen over the tree tops. You were told the cemetery is along the river shore almost directly north of the fortress.

The skeletons left a couple of rusty swords that must have been maintained by the same magic that animated them for they have rusted beyond use in mere moments.

Degs pauses for a moment and locates Ziggy poking his head out from between some tree roots and scoops him up as the party wanders on aiming for a point north of the fortress to get a lay of the area between the cemetery and its walls. As you move on you avoid making any excess noise and listening for any other movement. As you get closer you notice that the area around the fortress is clear of tress and any brush above the kneed of a human. The walls are over 30' tall of stone with 50' towers and a gatehouse on the western wall. The tops of the walls, towers, and gatehouse are all manned by fixed and patrolling guards. A squad of armored guards stand in front of the open gates to the fortress interior.
You finally find a small thicket where you pause to look north to the cemetery. The cemetery begins over a hundred yards north of the fortress, 50 yards beyond its cleared area. The forest has grown into the cemetery but this is obviously more recent as the trees are more sparse and thinner. The cemetery has a wide variety of burial stiles from simple cairns to headstones and even mausoleums. The larger and more elaborate markers and structures become more frequent further to the north. The cemetery continues up to and beyond the shore. Some of the taller structures appears small islands in the river with a few even standing and entire story up out of its waters.

With Shmautz and Eddisham both expressing an interest in the fortress the party heads over. moving into the clearing that surround the fortress you find the west gate open but manned by a squad of 4 undead in plate armor. As you approach the undead turn their helmed heads to watch and you hear one call back into the open gate. A tall pale man in leather armor and an officers uniform walks forward to greet you. As you near you notice his eyes are black with red pupils and he greets you with a smile, revealing unusually pronounced canine teeth.
Welcome. The commander has ordered that the courtyard and smithy are free for your unescorted use. However before entering each of you must give your parole not to attack any of the guards, enter restricted areas which are guarded, or damage the fortress or any of it's facilities. If you will give me your bond to obey these restrictions you may enter. And he gestures into the fortress while glancing at you with a bit of curiosity and expectancy. His accent is unusual, sounding archaic and formal, but not too different from the common speech you all use.

The man(?) chuckles at your comment. If you have questions I best take you to the commander. To do that I must insist you swear to do no harm to the fortress or it's defenders. Do you so swear?

The others agree, some more cautiously than others after the Lieutenant assures you that your oaths only hold while in the fortress and are in return guarantee your status as a protected guest. While a guest the rules are simple in that you can stay as long as you like in the courtyard and the smithy, which is off of the western courtyard and has been set aside for "guest" use. The magic forge in the smithy keeps it warm at all times. You must not interfere with the undead or try or break anything you find.

The Lieutenant escorts you counter clockwise around the west side of the keep and points out a door on the east exterior wall and indicates it is the smithy and the best place for you to stay and rest while here. Don't enter any of the adjoining rooms though. You are only permitted the courtyard and smithy, except under escort

You notice most of the defenders are skeletal like the gate guards but most wear chainmail. There are also small squads of ghostly soldiers that patrol the area either walking or floating high in the air. You estimate there to be several hundred undead in the fortress, none of which look to be as simple as zombies or the basic skeletons.

Entering the keep you pass more full plate guards in front of a door that leads to the keeps main hall. It has a cross shape to it and you are taken to the middle where there is a large table placed and several undead confer with each other in low voices that stop as soon as you enter. Turning to look as you and receiving a signal from the Lieutenant approaches. Behind him another of the undead stares at you then waves a claw like hand causing mist to fill the intervening space cutting of your view of the area beyond the lone approaching undead.