Big Blue Feud Adventure

The sun is already high in the sky as our sleepy little team rouses themselves from sleep; stretching stiff muscles and rubbing sand from eyes. There is no trace of the previous night's activities. The Snufflepi are gone. The Rumble Cat is gone. And, the dew has already dried in the risen sun.

There is one curious addition to the camp. There are handprints all around the bed mats of the adventurers.

That's when you notice, all the food is gone.

The group travels along the road, occasionally confirming that they are still on course by finding the mysterious hand prints in the dust at the crests of hills and down in the vales where small creeks and streams occasioned to cross over and muddy up the path.

Before too long, the group emerges from a small wood, and beholds the Croaking Castle perched at the top of a hill. A murder of crows sunning themselves on the branches of an old, dead tree, call out their contentions for the whole valley to hear.


Suddenly, a loud screaming laugh, erupts from within the castle's keep. It is followed by a moment of silence. And then the crows resume their quarreling.

The group leaves the road and heads towards the Croaking Castle. A small outpost at one time, the castle has a large outer wall, with two adjoining rooms. One was a loafing shed for the castle's sheep, the rotten remains of a manger and a wooden gate are all that is left. The other may have served as a root cellar, and possibly a detached kitchen. Nothing remains but a covered well in the corner.

The wall is two-stories high and is falling apart. There is a balcony that runs the inner perimeter. On the ground floor, there are rooms for garrisoned soldiers, possibly some officer quarters, and some stables for finer animals. All is in disrepair.

In the back corner of the inner yard is the tower. It is three stories tall and has a tiled roof. Most of the tiles are still present. As the group stops to size up the castle, the crows explode in a flurry of black sound. They circle the castle a couple times and then fly out over the valley, towards the Ancient Forest, croaking whatever news their ominous calls can carry to whomever has ears to hear.

"in-in-in"

Emma's voice echoes against the old stone walls of the keep. There is no response. Despite the crumbled walls and missing doors making entry into the castle proper nothing more than a quick hop, step, and a jump away... the castle does NOT look inviting. It is old. Run down. Falling apart. Large chunks of the walls have come down. There are holes in the roof of the tower. The windows are black holes in a mossy, slab of great, grey stone.

The group steps through the space where a large, wooden gate used to be. Iron hinges hang useless on the wall, the remains of the original wooden gate slowly melting into the ground, covered in moss.

Inside the walls, the courtyard is relatively empty. Tall grass and weeds grow where the sun reaches. Where it doesn't, it's shorter grass, moss, and dirt. Along the wall, an old wooden walkway still clings to the stone. The right, there are two stone columns that support the walkway. To the left, a couple rooms. Probably barracks for the officers stationed here. In the back left corner is the main floor of the tower.



Inside, against the outer wall, there is a dining table and benches. In the far corner, behind the stairwell, was probably the location of a serving nook. Holes in the outer wall were probably used as some sort of pass-through to the outside, where the kitchen was likely located.

On the other side of the stairwell, crates are stacked up. The crates are empty, and look like they were probably supply crates that were brought to the castle and then stored for firewood. Old barrels are stacked on the floor in the nearest corner of the room, . They are mostly empty. One of the barrels, recently turned on its side, has some dark liquid leaking from it into the dirt-covered floor. This would normally be unremarkable, except for the footprints tracking through it towards the stairs.

They match the footprints you've been following.