Colmarr
First Post
Skamos turned the blade over and over in the firelight. Occasionally he passed a hand over the weapon and muttered under his breath. Finally, he slipped the dagger back into its sheath. He stared into the flames for a long moment before he realized I was watching him. He smiled then, and nodded. He silently mouthed “It’s magic”, and then turned back to the fire.
We rose at first light and scoured the area until we found the dog-men’s tracks. We followed them eastwards for hours, until eventually we crested a hill and caught sight of Cragg Keep. The ruin was largely intact, a classic keep-and-wall structure atop an imposing hill. The keep itself was small by the standard of the regent’s fortress in Kronos Keep, but it seemed larger than it was; its size magnified by the barrenness of the surrounding countryside. The windows of the keep were crumbling and the shutters hung loose. More than a few had fallen away altogether. The flagpoles about the gate were bare. Were it not for the halfling and dog-man tracks leading up towards the keep’s imposing portcullis, I would have thought it abandoned.
While we huddled behind a nearby rise and debated how to approach the keep, something flashed in my peripheral vision and I glanced to my right just in time to see a hare bound across a narrow animal trail. I took a step closer to peer into the bushes that the rabbit had disappeared into. The creature was long gone by the time I moved close enough, but fate or luck caused my eye to come to rest on something far more interesting. In the middle of the trail was a dog-man footprint, faded with age but still clearly visible, facing off to the southeast and seemingly following the animal trail around the base of the hill.
I revealed my find to the others, and we gladly delayed thoughts of approaching the keep’s front entrance. We followed the new tracks around the hill until they disappeared into a bush. Corrin motioned for the rest of us to stand back, and then he stepped into the foliage. We heard him rustling about, moving further away from us, and then abruptly he returned.
“There’s a narrow tunnel back there”, he said. “It leads back towards the keep. You three will need to crawl to get through.”
“What’s a secret tunnel doing buried at the base of the hill?” I wondered aloud. “Is it safe for us to use?”
Skamos peered into the bushes. “It’s not unusual for these types of fortifications to have secret entrances and exits. That’s how Abraxus Farstrider held Eastwall Keep against the Red Skull horde in 1432 YCC. The human and dragonborn defenders used the tunnel -”
“Yes, I know that”, I interrupted him. “What I meant was, do the dog-men know about this entrance, or are we going to find them waiting for us at the far end?”
Skamos shrugged, but Corrin spoke up.
“Judging by the cobwebs in there, the tunnel hasn’t been used for some time. If they know about it, they certainly haven’t done anything to maintain it. Or block it.”
We discussed our options for a few minutes. No one really liked the idea of venturing into a cramped dark tunnel with enemies potentially waiting in ambush at the far end. But ultimately we all agreed that approaching the keep via the main path and trying to enter through the portcullis or over the walls was an even less attractive proposition. Corrin offered to go first, but Skamos argued against it and suggested that he should take the halfling’s place.
I stared at him in open-mouthed shock. The tiefling was one of the least physical people I had ever met. He was arrogant and sometimes bad-tempered, but he had always relied on his arcane abilities to justify and excuse his temperament. I had never seen him undertake physical work, and I doubted that he had ever done a day of manual labour in his life. He was protected only by robes, and carried only a dagger for protection. And he was volunteering to go first?
He noticed my surprise and grinned, his teeth a striking match with the curving horns jutting from his brow. “Oh, believe me; I am aware of the danger of being the first into the tunnel. It’s not a risk I take lightly, but I am the only logical choice. Although I might not have your or Corrin’s impressive armour, my night vision is far superior to either of yours. And I am far stealthier than any of you. A legacy of growing up in the slums, I suppose. If our goal in using this tunnel is to achieve some measure of surprise, I think it is I that should go first.”
Tira laughed, and then gestured towards the entrance to the tunnel. “Be our guest!” she said. I didn’t like it, but I couldn’t fault Skamos’ reasoning.
We rose at first light and scoured the area until we found the dog-men’s tracks. We followed them eastwards for hours, until eventually we crested a hill and caught sight of Cragg Keep. The ruin was largely intact, a classic keep-and-wall structure atop an imposing hill. The keep itself was small by the standard of the regent’s fortress in Kronos Keep, but it seemed larger than it was; its size magnified by the barrenness of the surrounding countryside. The windows of the keep were crumbling and the shutters hung loose. More than a few had fallen away altogether. The flagpoles about the gate were bare. Were it not for the halfling and dog-man tracks leading up towards the keep’s imposing portcullis, I would have thought it abandoned.
While we huddled behind a nearby rise and debated how to approach the keep, something flashed in my peripheral vision and I glanced to my right just in time to see a hare bound across a narrow animal trail. I took a step closer to peer into the bushes that the rabbit had disappeared into. The creature was long gone by the time I moved close enough, but fate or luck caused my eye to come to rest on something far more interesting. In the middle of the trail was a dog-man footprint, faded with age but still clearly visible, facing off to the southeast and seemingly following the animal trail around the base of the hill.
I revealed my find to the others, and we gladly delayed thoughts of approaching the keep’s front entrance. We followed the new tracks around the hill until they disappeared into a bush. Corrin motioned for the rest of us to stand back, and then he stepped into the foliage. We heard him rustling about, moving further away from us, and then abruptly he returned.
“There’s a narrow tunnel back there”, he said. “It leads back towards the keep. You three will need to crawl to get through.”
“What’s a secret tunnel doing buried at the base of the hill?” I wondered aloud. “Is it safe for us to use?”
Skamos peered into the bushes. “It’s not unusual for these types of fortifications to have secret entrances and exits. That’s how Abraxus Farstrider held Eastwall Keep against the Red Skull horde in 1432 YCC. The human and dragonborn defenders used the tunnel -”
“Yes, I know that”, I interrupted him. “What I meant was, do the dog-men know about this entrance, or are we going to find them waiting for us at the far end?”
Skamos shrugged, but Corrin spoke up.
“Judging by the cobwebs in there, the tunnel hasn’t been used for some time. If they know about it, they certainly haven’t done anything to maintain it. Or block it.”
We discussed our options for a few minutes. No one really liked the idea of venturing into a cramped dark tunnel with enemies potentially waiting in ambush at the far end. But ultimately we all agreed that approaching the keep via the main path and trying to enter through the portcullis or over the walls was an even less attractive proposition. Corrin offered to go first, but Skamos argued against it and suggested that he should take the halfling’s place.
I stared at him in open-mouthed shock. The tiefling was one of the least physical people I had ever met. He was arrogant and sometimes bad-tempered, but he had always relied on his arcane abilities to justify and excuse his temperament. I had never seen him undertake physical work, and I doubted that he had ever done a day of manual labour in his life. He was protected only by robes, and carried only a dagger for protection. And he was volunteering to go first?
He noticed my surprise and grinned, his teeth a striking match with the curving horns jutting from his brow. “Oh, believe me; I am aware of the danger of being the first into the tunnel. It’s not a risk I take lightly, but I am the only logical choice. Although I might not have your or Corrin’s impressive armour, my night vision is far superior to either of yours. And I am far stealthier than any of you. A legacy of growing up in the slums, I suppose. If our goal in using this tunnel is to achieve some measure of surprise, I think it is I that should go first.”
Tira laughed, and then gestured towards the entrance to the tunnel. “Be our guest!” she said. I didn’t like it, but I couldn’t fault Skamos’ reasoning.