Rose could smell the sweat of gnolls before she even entered. The Keep’s bottom floor was by far its’ largest. Two arrowslits overlooked the road. Then a large gate loomed open to any who dared enter. Beyond more arrowslits followed the wall around a corner. As Rose walked she saw a furry shadow standing behind the second arrowslit. She stopped and inspected the first gate. Two gnolls guarded the entrance, one to either side. “They must have spotted us,” thought Rose. “They are waiting to ambush anyone who comes through.” She looked at the open gateway. Even some twenty feet below it, the raised metal portcullis tickled her skin. In front of the portcullis were three, curiously small, dark windows angled downwards. Rose wished she could climb up without being heard and stick her head inside to get a better view. But she did not dare try it. Still, the windows was perplexed her. “Maybe they’re slides for cats?” she guessed.
Very quietly Rose tiptoed past the two guards and into the Keep. The gateway walls funneled inwards and then opened into a single large space. Torches lit the room. Rose did not breathe as carefully moved deeper inside. Looking to her left, she spotted the gnoll behind the arrowslit. Two more guarded the second gateway across the room. The far wall held the only interior door, a wooden one with banded metal. In the room’s center several large piles of stone were jumbled. Each was carved, as if it were once a statue, but now crushed to pieces. She could not determine if they were dropped or simply piled in place. Then she saw it: a large wooden crate without a top. It was against the wall near the gnoll in the arrowslit. Quietly walking over, Rose saw three more spiralstones inside. She gently placed her own stone in the bottom and drew her hand back. The stone was still stuck! She tried touching it to other stones or to the crate, but nothing worked.
Rose knew the cursed stone would be nothing but trouble. After a few more experiments, she finally relented and walked around the room searching for secret passages. She found two. One was in the interior stone wall just to the left of the normal door. The second reminded her of a covered pit trap. It was built into the floor several feet across from the first secret door. Rose listened at both, but heard nothing. Moving to the normal door she immediately heard rough voices within. Light streamed out a large keyhole in the door tempting her to peek through. Rose obliged. Beyond was a smaller room. Four half-humans sat playing cards around a wooden table. There was so much gold on it her eye tickled just looking. “Let’s take stock,” she thought to her self. “Five gnolls, two with bows, three with axes, all in scale armor and shield. Add to that four half-somethings in leather armor – obviously weaker. I think we could take them. The key is getting inside without being seen beforehand.” Trying to think of what to do next, she decided to wait.
A full hour later, four more large gnolls marched inside through the far gateway. “They must have been patrolling the pass,” Rose thought. The five guarding the exits switched positions with them. Rose was amazed at how regimented they were. Every one marched in formation, whether they were paired, in a group, or alone. Rose followed the five gnolls as they left out the second gateway. They marched down the road and just as the soldiers reached the end of the Keep’s wall they stopped. One stepped over some fallen rocks where the wall abutted the stone. Somehow it opened yet another secret door. Rose could barely see a set of stairs inside before the gnolls entered and the door closed. Checking the wall for seams she found the sides to the secret entrance. “It’s very cleverly hidden, but once you know where to look…” she thought. Taking her time, she checked the rest of the Keep’s exterior wall, but found nothing.
Rose walked back around the mountain bend and towards Darius. She could see Father Ben walking like he had a full bladder again. “Rose?” Diedre searched around blindly with her hands out. Somehow the woman had sensed her return.
“I’m back,” said Rose. The rest of the team gathered around. Rose had to grab a hold of Darius to avoid being stepped on. She gave as full a report of everything she had seen. The team listened in dismay. A long discussion followed afterwards about whether or not to the Keep could be entered by force. In the end, they decided to head back towards Kera and make plans that night.
Rose tugged at Kayla’s robe. “How long do invisibility potions last?” she asked.
“I am unsure,” said Kayla. “We may need to find an antidote.”
”What!” cried Rose. She enjoyed walking around unseen, but with large slow-moving humans about it would be dangerous. She stared at the large feet moving around her sullenly.
“Did you bother to look for Tankurd?” asked Dram.
“I-I couldn’t. They would have seen me,” Rose whimpered.
“What about your stone?” asked Ormand. Rose pouted and wanted to cry. She shook her head, but no one saw.
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