07: Rivergard Keep Part 1

   

The adventurers spent a productive day at the Bargewright Inn, acquiring new magical gear from the highly organized Zhentarim. Bessok also shared insights from his recent readings, focusing on local lore relevant to their quest. With new equipment secured and plans made, they prepared to depart the following morning.

Information about Besildur

Information about Ghaunadaur

Leaving Bargewright Inn, the group travelled along the waters edge, keeping a safe distance from marshy terrain. Their destination was a small, crumbling keep nestled within high hills, accessible via a narrow inlet that branched off the main waterway. Though clearly ancient, the keep showed signs of recent repair with new wooden beams and packed earth solidifying its foundations and towers.

From a safe vantage point, the group observed the keep's activity. A familiar keelboat, the very one used by the Water Genasi who sold them books in Womford, was docked. The courtyard bustled with figures wearing leather and carrying scimitars and crossbows, or jagged sharktooth-style swords and giant crab-shell shields. Occasionally, ragged locals, likely natives reduced to servitude, toiled at menial tasks, sometimes subjected to beatings for the pirates amusement. Guards patrolled the walls, making the keep appear well-secured.

Rivergard Keep

As night fell, the keep became eerily quiet. Doors were locked, and the courtyard emptied, save for fresh guards patrolling the walls. Seizing this opportunity, Joe and Rowan, cloaked by Gark's powerful stealth spell, began their reconnaissance. They scaled the outermost tower (K14), finding cover as a guard's back was turned. Cloaked in Gark's magical shadows, they became imperceptible.

Map of Rivergard Keep

Listening at the tower door, they discerned the sounds of bestial creatures within but couldn't identify them. They moved to the adjacent chapel (K15), which was silent. Crossing the courtyard, they approached the barracks (K8), hearing loud, thuggish banter. Finding the next two buildings (K6, K7) quiet, they moved to the stables (K5), where they heard the snuffling of horses.

Finally, they reached the southwestern tower (K2), hearing voices and the clatter of dice. Having encountered no one during their stealthy infiltration, they decided to strike. Rowan and Joe simultaneously took out two wall guards with precise shots, then quickly dispatched the remaining two. They lifted the bar on the main double doors, opened them, and swiftly re-joined the rest of the group to bring them into the now-open gates.

Though not their initial plan, the attack had begun. The group entered the keep, heading first to the northeast tower (K14), where Joe and Rowan had heard sounds. Gark recognized the voices as Bugbears, three of whom were eager for a fight. Rowan unlocked the door, and Bessok charged in, followed by arrows. Lilium's fire bolts, Bessok's axe, and Gark's bear claws quickly overwhelmed the surprised Bugbears, eliminating them before they could raise an alert. The room, a dirty and smelly holding area for the Bugbears, was otherwise empty.

Another Strange
Symbol

Next, they investigated the chapel (K15). Bessok opened the doors to find plain wooden pews facing an altar. No specific deity was evident, but a crude symbol – an 'X' with a horizontal bar linking its bottom limbs – was painted above the altar. This symbol was familiar, having been seen on one of the keelboats and elsewhere in the Sumber Hills.

Their next target was the southeast tower (K9). Descending stairs near the main dock, they heard nothing from behind the doors. Rowan quietly unlocked and opened the door, stepping back. Inside, three guards with jagged swords and strange shields lay on straw mattresses, with a curtain concealing another area. Gark, in bear form, mauled one guard. Bessok knocked out a second with solid blows, while Rowan silenced the third with a knife held to the throat. Bessok checked behind the curtain, finding a bluish-skinned human who raised his hands in surrender. Simultaneously, the bear continued its grisly work on the silenced guard, leaving Joe to stare, bewildered, at the bloody scene.

Fathomer, Warlock of Olhydra

The blue-skinned human took a step forward, then abruptly transformed into a serpent of solid water, splashing through a narrow arrow slit and dropping into the water below. Bessok tried to grab it, but his arms passed harmlessly through the watery form.

Panic erupted. Joe and Rowan immediately gave chase, rushing out of the tower and into the water. Bessok and Gark, still cloaked by Gark's magic, ran for the stairs. The water serpent rose from the water like a reverse waterfall, reforming on the keelboat (K12) they recognized from Womford. Joe and Rowan climbed onto the outer wall, using a chain for assistance, and opened fire with arrows. Lilium unleashed the full force of her Wand of Magic Missiles, blasting holes in the solid water creature that dissolved into large bubbles on the keelboat deck.

The serpent slithered to the keelboat door, reforming into its original, now heavily wounded human form. Dropping to one knee, the man desperately banged on the door, crying for help. Bessok, now riding Gark in bear form, arrived and invoked his god, casting a zone of silence over the keelboat. Those inside had already heard the commotion, however, and two guards emerged, followed by Pike, the angry-looking Halfling from Womford.

Shoalar Quanderil

The battle continued. Rowan leaped onto the boat to engage the blue-skinned human, but Joe's volley of arrows struck first: one shot through the man's head, the second flying through the resulting gap and into the Halfling. Pike and the guards quickly fell to the combined assault of Gark the Bear and Bessok. Shoalar, the boat owner, was the last to emerge. His magical abilities nullified by Bessok's silence, he rushed forward, jumping off the boat into the water, hoping to escape the spell's effect. But Gark, still in bear form, quickly followed, securing his fourth meal of the night despite fighting through the water.

Back on the keelboat, the team regrouped. A thorough search of the area revealed a substantial hoard of treasure, including Bessok's gold that he'd paid for the books. They had secured a good haul, but only the outer edges of the Keep had been breached; the main tower and barracks still stood defiant.