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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 1452317" data-attributes="member: 6294">Kull's 13th Report - Part 1SaltmarshFirst MoonTo: Bishop-General Kartrak VisehartReport from Kull RedfistSir,I am grateful for the forbearance shown by the church elders in dispatching an inquisitor to review the situation in this region.  I believe that, after a full and thorough review, they will be satisfied that I acted in the best interests of Our Lord.  We have the opportunity to establish a new stronghold of our faith, and I would not see this chance foregone.As a demonstration of my continued loyalty to Our Lord and to the church, I have prepared a full report of recent events.  This will be provided to the inquisitor for their review, and subsequent provision to yourself.As I purposed in my last communication, I set out to the Beacon some twelve days ago.  With me, I had Dargrim and Ulfgar.  The wizard Gnorric was still in Torlynn, and I judged it more important to act with speed, than to wait his return and the doubtful strength he would add to my force.En route to the Beacon, I made a call at the stronghold of the lizardfolk, to help cement the ties of alliance between Saltmarsh and their clan.  Their representative warned of 'many hundreds of renegade lizardfolk' to the east, in the area around the Beacon.  They could provide little more information than this, however, saying only that they had lost most of two patrols to the newcomers.This news only made my errand more urgent, and I set forth again the next day.  Evidence of the Beacon's presence became apparent long before the structure itself came into sight: during darkness, I could see a strange green glow in the distance, lighting an area that must have been many hundreds of feet across.After several days, my small force reached the environs of the Beacon itself.  I dedicated some hours to watching the structure, but detected no sign of movement during the day.  Once night fell, however, several lights could be seen burning in the windows, in addition to the green glow, which emanated from a point near the summit of the tower.Taking the landward side of the Beacon as the 'front', it consists of a strong gatehouse at the fore, flanked by a pair of towers.  Four more towers ring the outer wall, which encloses a paved courtyard.  At the centre of the courtyard is the main keep; a powerful stone building, with the only entrance being via a narrow set of stone stairs.  The only windows were arrow slits, situated so as to give a commanding view of the courtyard.In all, a well designed and constructed fortress.  It had suffered considerable damage over the years, however, and most of the complex seemed deserted: lights glowed only in the main building, and in the gatehouse.  It also did not seem large enough to be the stronghold of 'many hundreds' of troops.  If the renegade lizardfolk were indeed using the Beacon as their base, and if they were indeed as numerous as claimed, then it seemed likely that there would be extensive caverns or dungeons beneath the tower. Near midnight, I gave the order to move forward, and we moved around to the rear of the structure, using the cover of some low-lying hills to conceal our approach.  Once at the rear, we went over the wall, and into the courtyard, at a location that was out of sight of the gatehouse, and far from the lit windows of the main building.When there was no sign of any alarm being raised, I led the way around the base of the wall, until reaching the door of the gatehouse.  My strategy was to overcome the defenders of this outer position, first, rather than assault the main structure while the gatehouse defenders remained at our backs.Entering the ground floor of the gatehouse, I found that it had been converted into a stable.  One lizardman was there, as well as a scruffy human guard and a couple of warhorses.  I led the attack to destroy these defenders, though they managed to raise enough of an alarm that reinforcements soon began to enter the room from the floors above.These troops - all human - were ill trained, however, and fell like wheat before the scythe.  Within moments, I had led the advance into the next storey of the gatehouse, where two more guards fell swiftly.On this floor there were two exits: one that crossed the gate to the tower on the opposite side, and one that continued upwards.  Seeking the maximum advantage from the speed of our assault, and conscious of the possibility that reinforcements might arrive from the main building, I directed Ulfgar to cross the gate, while I continued upwards.  Dargrim would remain where we were, to guard against attack from the rear.Thus it was that I was alone when I reached the highest chamber of this tower, and met the leader of these brigands.</blockquote>

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