THE ABANDONED STRONGHOLD 2

 


Hook: A crumbling finger of stone perches atop the ragged limestone cliff face that rises up, an imposing gray-white edifice plunged into the gray-blue of early morning shadow... Birdsong is sparse, just beginning to increase throughout the boreal forest as the cool, misty autumn day begins. A sound draws your attention to the rocks ahead of you. A broken stair hugging a cut stone gatehouse attached to the rocks climbs under two narrow arrow loops to a height of about ten feet where it greets a black, gaping portal. A creaking sound echoes from it. You barely make out a drawbridge being lowered from the inside before it 'clunks' against the top stones of the stair. Soon, a few dark, squealing shadows bearing only spears and swords, one with a shield, detach from the opening and begin a contentious descent down the stairs, breaking their argument only to carefully sidle past the broken areas where the stone has fallen away. Four of them. Broad of build, two of them no taller than four feet, or so. One looms over them, almost by a foot, while another is about a foot shorter. Only the two middle-sized creatures are fighting. They push the other two around, jockying to be the more effective leader. They reach the bottom of the steps and continue bickering down the narrow footpath disappearing around the curving cliff to the west...

Details: Now that The Stronghold is abandoned, and goblins have moved in, there is real danger, here. They are planning a raid on Lantern Falls. Most of the place has been left to the elements for the better part of fifty years. Only in the last few have the goblins been here. They cleaned it up, some, mostly by lazily kicking or moving some stones aside to clear paths or archways. The stables and smithy are in complete disrepair. The watchtower is an active part of the goblin patrol and guard duty, and can be accessed either via the stairs from the barracks which curl narrow and high through the rocks to the top of the cliff, or by following the footpath back past the rear entry. A rare female goblin leader, Golgorza, aided by her three surly brothers, run the place. The mines are still active. Slaves are kept in the mining storage room. Some monsters have moved into the caves, as well. Stone crawlers and a voracious giant water beetle. Bird bats nest, as they do, in the high cliff caves. The giant family behind the rear entry regularly attacks goblins patrolling the northern footpath. If there is trouble, one of the brothers is sent to investigate with an armed patrol, while another is sent to alert the Goblin King, and the third stays to guard Golgorza, the goblin captain of The Stronghold. The goblins will capture any comers, if they can, and it's not too much trouble to do so, use them in the mines, but, will not lament killing anyone. They'll cook them up and eat them, later, and steal anything of value.

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