You are just from Absalom, the mighty City at the Center of the World, and you’ve always longed to explore one of the countless ruins of failed conquerors that litter the plains outside the city’s walls.
You’ve heard rumors that one of the sealed siege castles has been laid open by a minor earthquake. Word on the street is that no one has yet entered the tower, which folks are calling the “Fallen Fortress.” What better way to start a life of excitement and adventure than by exploring its long-abandoned, dusty halls and perhaps claiming its ancient treasures?
You've all gathered for different reasons, or perhaps you already know each other. Absalom's Eagle Garrison is responsible for scouting any possible threats in the Cairnlands. You might've convinced the commanding officer to give you the spearpoint. Religious organizations believe valuable artifacts are inside following rumors of the undead and are offering a fortune for any such relics. Multiple historians are likewise interested in collectible pieces, you might've been hired to liberate them.
The ruined siege castle now being called the Fallen Fortress rises out of the churned earth of the Cairnlands perhaps 300 feet before you. No doors or windows mar the otherwise smooth expanse of the tower’s walls. The tower is quatrefoil in plan; its eastern wing has largely collapsed, exposing the interior floors to the open air. Only the topmost level seems whole, though its eastern portion hangs precariously over the mountain of rubble left by the collapse. At ground level, the rubble frames a gaping hole in the side of the building that provides access to the tower’s darkened interior.
Well, ain't nothin' more to it. Let's head in.
The tower rises to about 80 ft in the cloudless noon sky. The 5 stories are easy to pick out as you make your way closer. There is an asymmetry in its weight distribution that betrays the aesthetic.
Near the base, amidst the rubble, you spot a few wild dogs putting their noses into the air and getting anxious.
edit: map updated
"I say, it certainly has earned it's 'fallen' moniker. Not sure I like the looks of those beasts. What say you, gentlemen? Try to avoid them or hope for the best?"
Gloriana listens to her companions and takes in the disarray of the tower and the dogs and says, What are a few dogs? Let us move in and see what awaits us in the tower?
Their anxiety changes over to a slow growling as you approach, they seem unwilling to retreat into the tower, instead somewhat encircling you.
Gloriana readies a javelin...just in case.
Easy doggies. Best if you back off now and let us be.
Strength check (17):
Gloriana scares the s#@% out of them. The dogs cower the instant you raise your javelin and quickly disperse into the plains, yelping and biting each other in disappointment and shame. Mangy devils probably won't last the week.
As you enter, the interior of the ground floor becomes more apparent. From floor to wall, ceiling to door and everything in between is coated in thick sticky webs. The stench of death flares your nostrils. You can hear something skittering and scraping a few floors above you, but this chamber is eerily silent. A cacooned dog carcass is stuck upside down in an arched passway, only its ear escaped the web sheathe. There is a large column in the center of the 4 quatrefoils with a shut wooden door ().
"Hmm... let's see if something is monitoring these webs..." Pindleton picks up a small, but somewhat hefty rock, and tosses it into one of the webs and then watches for any reactions.
Gloriana watches the dogs run off with a grin and then takes a look inside. When Pindleton tosses the rock, she glances at the rogue and shakes her head. Imagine how big the spider has to be to catch a grown dog. And now it knows we're here. Anybody else have a torch?
She takes one of her three torches off her back, fishes inside her backpack for flint and steel, and lights the torch. She puts her javelin away and draws her sword. With sword in one hand and torch in the other, Gloriana awaits whatever lives in the webbing.
The sound that results from the rock being thrown into the webs remarkably resembles that of a boot thrown into an old harp, there is a strange musical quality. Indeed it is pure darkness in the eastern quartrefoil and dim in the others, but you hear a slow unmistakable hissing coming from the webs. You could be forgiven for not spotting it instantly, for it glides about on the ceiling () and seems to take a position in the northeast corner of the north quatrefoil ().
A restrained creature's speed becomes 0, and it can't benefit from any bonus to its speed.
Attack rolls against the creature have advantage, and the creature's attack rolls have disadvantage.
The creature has disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws.
Round One, Order
Pindleton/Gloriana/Odan <----ALL UP
Spider
Sohar/Mystery PC
Odan watches the dogs scamper away, and a slightly sadden look travels across his bearded face.
Poor mutts, he says, under his breath. Despite his fondness for the animals, he still had one hand on the hilt of his axe, ready to draw at a moment's notice.
Entering into the tower itself, he actually pulls a hand ax out to the ready, but seeing the webs, the ax slides right back into the leather loop. Instead, he pulls out a javelin, and with a running start, launches it.
The repulsive rubble clinger was too busy weaving some kind of projectile to notice Odan's wooden shaft take flight.
*CRunCh!* It's slimy exoskeleton pierced, the abomination struggles to keep itself aloft, its scythe-sized pincers grasp at the javelin in vain furiously until finally connecting...bursting the wooden fibers and sending it, coated with insect ooze, to plop on the floor. It turns to you with its 8 beady eyes in primal hatred.
Round One, Order
Pindleton/Gloriana/Odan <----ALL UP
Spider
Sohar/Mystery PC
Seeing the large spider, Gloriana wishes she had kept her javelin in hand, but she grimly nods and decides to make the best of it.
Following Odan into the room, she swipes the webbing with her torch and prepares to fight. Nice throw! she says, as she searches the ceiling for others.
When the creature gets within sword distances, she strikes at it.
Round One, Order
Pindleton/Gloriana/Odan/ <----ALL UP
Spider
Sohar/Seth
"Ah, yes. I figured it would be better to entice whatever beast was there to come out in the open where we can strike with some distance rather than having it drop down right on top of us. Fine strikes, my friends!"
Pindleton fires off an arrow from his shortbow.
Seth Mentally agrees with Pindleton. Not in melee range is the best place to be in a fight.
Careful, better to stay far from the thing...,better to avoid nasty surpirses
*HisSSrch* The sound of hissing is cut short by Pindleton's arrow embedding itself in whatever kind of twisted insect larynx the beast sports. It lurches forward, the arrow snagging itself on the webs, only to reach Gloriana's blade. One quick *pang* topples the spider onto its back.
Besides the holiday edition fido packed in the archway, and the sheer awe/disgust of the infestation's architecture, there are a few things that might catch your interest in this chamber.
If there is nothing else to be done here, we should move on
Seth, its hard to tell what the purpose of this chamber was in its current state. There are a few iron rings embedded into the stonework which might have been for hitching animals, but they could have just as easily held tapestries or prisoners. Despite the stench of spiders and their prey, the air is crisp and has just a faint odor of earth.
When the spider dies, Gloriana moves slowly forward, burning the thick webbing as she goes. Once she sees it may take several minutes and may not prove useful, she abandons this idea, encircles around behind Odan, and enters the next chamber, torch and sword at the ready.
Sohar, with that high Nature roll you also are keen to the fact that the species of tree from whence it came is unlike anything you have ever experienced. It almost resembles specimens of petrified wood you've studied...there is something primitive about its genus.
Additionally, the way the tracks fold betwixt the toes is a tell tale sign of lizard kin. At least, you're pretty sure.
As you follow the tracks around mentally you're taken through to the darkest quatrefoil to the west. They seem to concentrate near the wooden door.
For the curious the south wing is almost totally collapsed. Reports of earthquakes in this area must be true, after all.
"My my, this structure is old. You see this masonry here? It's a technique that was used by a temple-forge called the Rachikan. They were part of the Jistka Imperium, which I'm sure you are aware is a truly ancient civilization. Quite impressive work to be intact at all after all this time."
Pindleton cautiously moves into the next area and listens at the door.
The room here is choked with rubble, but there is still enough of a path to get to the door. Utter silence from behind the door.
Odan says to Pin, Excellent eye, Son! You're as keen as a dwarf, you are!
This looks like it was once a stairwell, but the earthquake that rocked this fortress has collapsed it into a pile of large granite blocks. It seems you'll have to find another way up to the higher levels of the fortress.
Can the higher level be reached via climbing the wall or something? can we see an entrance?
There's always a way through or a way around. Back in my days in the army, if we couldn't dig to an enemy, we'd scale the walls. Come on, let's see if there's windows outside.
Anyone have a grappling hook? I've got rope.
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"Let's just climb. Shouldn't be too hard. Keep an eye out for more spiders, please." Sohar climbs up without too much trouble, slipping once, sending a miniature avalanche of pebbles and dust cascading down. At the top, he'll tie his rope on to something that seems sturdy and look around without going anywhere as people climb up.
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Not to be outdone by no elf, Odan quickly scampers up the wall, pretending it was he that started first.
You're thinking the same as a dwarf: climb up and secure a rope for the rest of the team.
Gazing up the tower, you might be able to climb even further...though falling would be much more unpleasant from up there. It almost looks like you could climb all the way up to the 4th floor in a huge gash in the old stone. The top floor extends out perhaps 10 feet and would be nearly impossible to reach from outside, though a balcony rounding the exterior might serve as anchor for an attempt.
There are 2 wooden doors immediately on this little section of floor serving as a landing. You can see clear signs that something has been coming and going, scrape markings from old grappling hooks, a snuffed campfire, doodles in soot. The wooden doors looked to be once decorated but now are swollen in their thresholds and have a grungy appearance.
Something is obviously moving and sniffing at the southern door. At times you hear a loud *crack* or *pop*, and the shuffle of footsteps, a bottle rolling on stone, perhaps a 4 legged creature of some sort.
Odan looks up to try and judge how challenging it would be to climb to the top.
It may be easier to start at the top and come down, level by level.
Looks about 65 ft to the tippy-top from where you are now. The last anchor-able point is probably below that though, 50ft would be just enough. Each level is about 15 ft high. The crack isn't perfectly vertical but spirals round slightly. The upper floors extend over the crack precariously, well beyond their center of mass. It looks fairly unstable in general, the whole thing could collapse right now for all you know. On the other hand, the stones certainly have a bizarre quality, maybe a mixture of shell and powdered metals. Its incredibly smooth and well finished where the earthquake spared.
Well, we are already here, I'll vote for first exploring the floor at hand.