The Sunless Citadel
Life continued as normal for the village of Great Rock throughout the winter and into the spring. A few of the PCs were hired by local farmer Robert Rander to take care of his stirge problem. Along the way, they stumbled upon a few goblins living in a cave near town—closer than any goblin expedition in many years.
On the first day of June, the characters investigated a dead body that had washed up on the beach, leading to their first face-to-face meeting with local hermit “Scary Dan.” The body, apparently that of a sailor who died of an arrow wound, carried upon him the signet ring of Decius Avan (younger son of Darien Avan, Duke of the Western Province) missing for a few weeks since his boat disappeared in a storm. The characters turned the ring over to Sheriff Grimsmythe, receiving a substantial reward for their efforts.
Around this time, a group of four adventurers arrived in Great Rock. Though most of the elders disapproved, the young folk—including our PCs—flocked to hear the stories of these visitors. The youthful acolyte Duran Fortnite was especially struck by the nobility of the visiting paladin, Sir Braford, and his magic sword, called Shatterspike. These adventurers came and went a few times over the course of two weeks or so, then disappeared, leaving the townsfolk to wonder when (or if) they would ever return.
Days later, during their attempt to locate the missing royal warden of the province (off on one of his walkabouts), the young rangers Beran Findalson and Druga Entier-dahl discovered a large ravine on the edge of a barren stretch of land known as the Ashen Plain. Goblin-scrawled graffiti marred crumbling pillars set alongside the ravine, and evidence of recent campfires dotted the area. But most intriguing of all was the rope looped around one of the pillars and dangling down into the darkness. Rather than investigating alone, the two rangers returned to Great Rock to inform their friends of this discovery.
The Citadel
[Warning: This text contains spoilers for the D&D adventure The Sunless Citadel.]
On a bright, sunny day in mid-June, four bold characters—Druga Entier-dahl, half-elf ranger; Duran Fortnite, human cleric; Jarvis Osburn, human fighter; and Seth McCullin, human rogue—strapped on what weapons and armor they could find (and afford) and made their way to the ravine found earlier.
Descending the rope left there by those who had come before, these four would-be adventurers were amazed to discover that the ravine hid an entire fortress, sunk deep into the earth by some ancient catastrophe. Mulling legends of draconic devastation and ancient cults, they forged deep into this citadel, encountering enormous hungry rats and deadly traps.
Making peace with a small reptilian humanoid who called itself Meepo, the characters learned that two forces battled over this territory: the reptilian humanoids, who called themselves kobolds, and the goblins, whom the characters had previous encountered on the surface. The PCs chose to take the side of the kobolds—at least for now—and concentrated their efforts on eliminating the goblins.
Along the way, the characters rescued a prisoner of the goblins—a halfling bard named Erky Timbers. Erky’s adventuring experience came in handy for the fledgling delvers, and he later introduced them to his cousin Malcolm, who owned the Troubadour Inn in Stormpoint, a small city some half-day’s ride north of Great Rock.
After over two weeks of adventuring (including their first run-in with a dragon!) the PCs finally determined what force was responsible for organizing the goblins: the evil druid Belak. Belak had come to the Sunless Citadel in search of a strange plant called the Gulthias Tree, rumored to be grown from a still-green stake shoved into the heart of a powerful vampire long ago. Sure enough, the withered “tree” grew in a deep cavern beneath the citadel. What’s more, the tree had the power to “enslave” victims sacrificed to it, turning them into vegetative zombies under the control of Belak.
Spurning Belak’s offer of a parley, the adventurers (now also including Beran the half-elf ranger and Aethelred the human rogue) took on the druid and his minions, which included the enslaved forms of two of the missing adventurers! Though the battle raged back and forth, the heroes prevailed. On the advice of the local druidess Darnae (herself a former tutor of Belak), the characters burned the Gulthias Tree to the ground, ensuring that no others would be drawn to its evil power. Duran took up Shatterspike, the blade of the fallen paladin, pledging to honor Braford (and Altius the Highfather) with his actions.
The young characters realized that they had become something different than before. Though they had engaged in dangerous excursions before, this triumph over the forces of darkness marked their true entry into the life of the adventurer.
Previous: The Adventure Begins
Next: Missing Children