Dongle the Dungeoneeror--CLOSED--Adventure #52

[Gray Shade]

"Oh!" he exclaimed, dropping the goblet to hold up a finger at my master, who calmly and smoothly snatched the goblet before it fell past his waist. "Little one not a Mephit" he spit and slurred the word, then bobbed his head to the side. "Would recognize Mephit."

 

[Lazlow]

Dongle regarded the drunken Grig for a moment, and thought better of asking him any more questions, considering his current state. Instead, he held out his hand.

"Well, I thank you my little blue friend. And now, as a show of my appreciation: Hm? Hm?" My master gestured toward his outstretched palm, motioning for the Sprite to climb aboard.

 

[Gray Shade]

Good byes

At first the Grig went to shake my master's hand, but when he put his hand flat, the Grig was confused. Finally, with a hop and a sway, he was standing on Dongle's palm. "You're welcome, Giant. Thank you for your tribute. I hope I've been of help. The next time you're in the Twisted Forest, be sure to ask for Stymie the Sober, and perhaps I can repay your hospitality."

 

[Lazlow]

"You've been most helpful indeed, Stymie, and I thank you. Now. If you'll allow me, I'll help you back to the forest." And with a quick, deft flick of Dongle's hand, he gripped the little blue drunkard like a balsa-wood gliding apparatus, and with a quick, smooth motion, sent the Grig sailing back into the Twisted Forest.

"I've always wanted to do that..."

And with that, we were on our way. Master Dongle figured we might as well examine at least the ground floor of the keep, even if it was deserted as the Sprite had told us. We made our way to the keep, circling it once for good measure, and to see what we could see.

 

[Gray Shade]

The Black Keep was indeed quite large for something designed as simply a watch-tower. There was a large gate that faced East (away from the forest) and a smaller gate that faced south and met with an off-shoot from the road we'd been following most of the way from Safe Haven.

The iron bands that had held up the doors were bent and rusted with neglect, and the wooden doors burned and rotted out. However, someone had obviously been here recently, as there were makeshift wooden walls put up over the doorways. The walls covered the arching entrances and were apparently attached on the inside and were without so much as a handle to grasp.

We took a closer look at the rounded keep wall. It was about 25 feet high, with a ledge that cropped out about four feet near the top. Most of the stone seemed sturdy and damage, realistically, was quite minimal overall. Although my master did notice with a frown how slick the walls had become with all the moss grown over them.

We could not see or hear anyone inside the Keep, and it, if you'll pardon my turn of a phrase, 'felt' quite safe.

 

[Lazlow]

"Well, I hate to chop through a perfectly good wall," Dongle stated flatly as he ran a hand over the wooden barricade in what was once the main entryway. "And it doesn't look as if we'll have an easy time scaling the wall, either. Let me see that map again... If we are to keep things quiet and low-key, we'd probably do best entering through one of the tunnels to the northeast, here. What do you think, old friend?"

 

[Gray Shade]

A decision.

"I concur that it would be simplest, yes. It would be nice to start with some idea of what awaits, though, and our only idea is for entrances from within the Keep, as the Grig had come in. So it is a tough decision--what we know (at least, to start) or what is most straightforward."

I took a closer look at the map and measured with a length of my finger. "Although this map is not to exact scale, if it is anywhere close to representing an actual distance, then we could make either of these entrances in a few hours ride at most." I looked back up at the Keep wall and frowned, feeling its mossy exterior. "You would have no problem scaling such a wall were there necessity to it, but I'm sure that I could not even if necessity were about to bite me in half, but it is your call, my lord. Just as sure am I that I could not climb this wall, I'm sure that you would let me in through the door if you choose that as our path."

 

[Lazlow]

"Ah, you've got a point there," Dongle replied. "We should stick with what we know. Alright, stay here by the door, and I'll see if I can open it from the inside."

Retrieving Bessie, his trusty grappling hook, and the ever-useful Rope of Clmbing from his haversack, he attached the former to the latter and tossed it up to the battlements. Tugging the rope to ensure the hook had caught fast, he commanded the rope to knot itself and began the climb.

 

[Gray Shade]

Black Keep, first encounter

With equal amounts of skill and ease, my master shimmied up the magically knotted rope. At the top he clambered over battlements and found himself on a catwalk along the inside of the wall. The catwalk itself had fared well considering its proximity to the blazing inferno that must have enveloped the keep, and the twenty-odd years of weather and decay since. That is, most planks were rotted, but most of the heavy timber pillars still stood, and Dongle could make his way easily enough along those as he desired.

Being on top of the wall, he had a grand view of the courtyard of the keep, but found that there wasn't much to see. There was a blockish stone structure near the middle of the 500-foot around circular wall that used to be the fire tower. There were two other small buildings that still stood as well with stone paths leading from them to the old fire tower building. Finally, there were several stone outcroppings and small gatehouses and shanties for the watch around the wall and near the gates.

The stairs from the catwalk down to the courtyard were destroyed, but my master could move to one of the watchtowers and climb down stone stairs if he chose.

The following is a sketch I have made of the Keep for our records (click for larger image):

 

[Lazlow]

Keeping a wary eye and ear out, Dongle quietly made his way to the nearest watchtower and made his way down to the courtyard, and to the southern door of the keep's outer wall.