The Ruins of Ungroth

The four looked out at the old ruins. Before the outpost of Ungroth was destroyed, it was a mighty center of wealth. Not a town, but a single keep with a dozen supporting buildings encompassed by a protective wall pierced with a single gate entering into a common courtyard. At this time, it lay in ruins, great stone blocks lay scattered and smashed throughout the area. The few doors that still hung, swung limply. The keep stood still, the air was motionless; the place looked battered, crippled, and struggled for its final breaths.

The whole group acknowledged Ozzob’s face, it was twisted in confusion.

“It was not that long ago that I visited here.” after a single mournful step, he continued. “Let us find out what caused this.”

Ozzob lead the group into the courtyard. All the interior buildings had collapsed, apparently from time and weather. Piles of trash and miscellaneous junk were strewn about. An uneasy feeling crossed Leone as he secured his pack and pulled out a single dagger.

Dedrick said, “I can not explain it, this place has eyes.”

“I agree that we are being watched…”

Stepping across the ruined hearth of the keep’s entrance one could hardly comprehend the extent, the calamity, of this locale. Engraved rocks and crumbled stone pillars were strewn about the first floor great room. Massive configurations of cob webs covered every concave edge, dirt and grass covered the marble flooring and a small tree grew up from a deep crack near the entrance.

“This place is unearthly… It looks like the keep fell many years ago.”

The next passable doorway lead into a warden room, some kind of old style guardian chamber. The back of the room was curved; a battered stairway lined the wall and lead up to the next floor. Rubble, wood and what can only be described as a type of natural trash covered the floor and built mounds along the walls. A few side rooms look to still be intact. Leone and Dedrick take separate rooms on the right while Mia and Ozzob take the door on the left. Mostly the rooms were filled with the junk passed over from the many previous scavengers; Dedrick collects an old ruined shield because it is adorned with an unusual crest he dose not recognize.

Leone enters a type of planning chamber. A well sized, unusually thick round table sits in the center of the room; it has been chipped and chiseled to represent the land contours of the area. In the center a carved chunk of wood representing the keep is plugged into the table. Leone considers why this room is so preserved and clean while the rest of the keep is barely holding together. Ultimately the sticky fingers of a typical thief overwhelms his judgment and Leone attempts to remove the carving from the center of the table.

As Leone begins to tug on the carving the unmistakable clicking of a trap tremors its way into his bones. An expression that can only say ‘that was a bad idea’ covers Leone. Flames kick up from the corners of the room and a strong breeze rips through the chamber.

“Damn, a furnace trap. Its going to scorch the whole room, except…”

Leone jumps up onto the table as massive streams of flames begin to fill the edges of the room. The fires swirl and the roar is intense. Leone can barely breath as the stone walls of the room start to take on a dim glow. Most fires rage, but this one envelops; the blast lives for about thirty seconds and finally extinguishes. Leone’s body, his clothes and all he carries is singed from the heat. He hops down from the table and walks out of the room; a slight smoke trail is left in his wake.

Oblivious to the roaring fire, Ozzob finds himself engrossed in the crumbling pages of an ancient book. Mia sifts through a table piled with broken gizmos, rotting hand-tools and scrap metal chunks. The entire room is filled with non-descript junk piled on various tables; this had apparently been someone’s workshop many years ago. Ozzob flips the pages of the dead book with growing intensity; then, as the last page falls Ozzob sees his own name written on the back cover. An inscription he penned long ago, ‘I shall see you again soon… Ozzob Eskeen’.

Ozzob faintly whispers to himself, “Has it been that long?”

Gathering back in the guard room, Dedrick presents the shield to Ozzob. The sorcerer nearly turns white at the image of the shield but refuses to explain what it means to him; in fact, he dose not speak at all. Leone enters the room and the rest of the troupe gives him a curious glance.

“It’s hard to explain.”

“Do you recognize this?”

Leone approaches and takes a close look at the shield.

“Yes, it’s a crest belonging to the Dulann family. I heard that the family was slaughtered two hundred years ago. There were supposedly no known survivors. But this must mean there were survivors.”

“Not necessarily,” Dedrick drops the shield, it cracks and barely stays in one piece. “I would bet that this shield is a remnant from that long dead family. But what is it doing here.”

Ozzob speaks, but not directly to anyone in the group. “It is the open air… This dwelling is the home… Was the home of the Dulann family. The were dear friends of mine. From long ago.”

Leone, Dedrick and Mia all wear a mask of confusion across there face, but none feel it is a good time to press Ozzob on the many questions that have been created.

#

The wing tower of this keep lays split open like the weak underbelly of a massive creature. Crumbling rock is strewn inside and out like the bloodstains, and dislodged wooden joists protrude from the walls like broken bones. Entering the lowest floor of the tower is a group of humans led by a robed sorcerer.

Bristled, thick hair covers the exposed back of a grey skinned creature. The devilish knolls burst with corded muscles and grasp makeshift blades, rotten cutters and discarded scythes. The ripped tower of the near-death keep plays host to this veracious breed of creature. From a superior vantage point the knolls watch the group of humans through gaps in the floor; they stalk through the maze-like rooms of the tower preparing an ambush.

#

Ozzob leads the way into a ruined tower. The bottom floor is a single room filled with the same kind of miscellaneous trash found throughout the rest of the place. The group splits apart and looks about the room for anything important; some pieces of a ruined table lie next to similar pieces of a discarded chair. The chamber is completely dead, bits of broken chains and the occasional shattered weapon comprise the most interesting parts of the salvage.

Dedrick moves some old planks off the stairway and begins to walk up it. Ozzob, Mia, and Leone follow him. The stairs squeak and shudder under the weight of the group. Entering the second floor of the keep the group can see several piles of clothing and other softer materials. It appears that someone has used this tower as a simple sleeping chamber in the recent past.

Ozzob comments, “Perhaps they were travelers looking for a safe nights rest…”

Leone pulls out a second dagger and says, “Just be ready.”

Seeing nothing of importance in this room the group begins to head across the open floor to the next set of stairs; Ozzob leads the way. Near the center of the room a curious creaking fills the air. Ozzob stops and looks back to the others only a few steps behind; then the realization occurs. The floor under Ozzob’s feet begins to give way as he plummets down to the previous floor; he impacts with a loud thud. Dedrick looks over the edge to see Ozzob sprawled out on the floor, unmoving.

A hideous, gut wrenching howl echoes through the entire tower as a wicked chattering begins to pop out from the corners of the walls. Dedrick, Mia and Leone huddle up near the center of the room with there backs to each other. The only light source for the room is the cracked wall; the illumination suddenly drops. A huge creature is standing before the gap, silhouetted against the light; the knoll stands seven feet tall and is carrying a massive two handed claymore. The room is filled with a shuffling sound as four more knolls encircle the group.

Dedrick takes the initiative by manifesting a fiery whip that laps at the skin of two knolls. Mia slings her backpack forward, she reaches in with one hand and lets go of the bag with the other; the pack drops to the ground and leaves her holding a crossbow; ready to fire. Leone squares off with the claymore wielding knoll, the creature gnarls then lunges forward; a mighty stroke cleaves it way at Leone’s midsection. Agile and alert, he is able to dodge the tip of the claymore.

Dedrick, now commanding several fiery whips, is able to herd one of the knolls near the cracked wall. With a swift lunge and kick he is able to convince one of the knolls that it was ok to leap out of the crack into the open air, thirty foot above the ground.

One knoll, wielding a vicious looking spiked club, bears down on Mia. Seconds away from striking range she is able to loose a bolt from her crossbow. The razor sharp projectile is on course, striking the knoll in the face and less than a second later exiting the back of his head. The bolt dinks off a distant wall as the monster falls to one knee, then thumps over, lifeless.

Leone continues a game of whirls and dodges with the same knoll. The creature is as practiced in the use of its weapon as Leone is in the use of his weapons. The two are locked in a stalemate, neither able to execute a clean strike, and neither letting there guard down enough to get hit by anything lethal.

The two knolls not engaged with Leone charge at Dedrick the instant his fiery whips dissipate. Moments away from being cut down by the gnolls, Dedrick manifests a force he himself has never witnessed. Spiritual energies slide from his skin and form hardened blades in his hands. The weapons hiss and crackle as they come to life. Ghostly, translucent swords that cause the knolls to second guess there attack.

Dedrick hastily lurches forward between the knolls and delivers a brutal assault. A perfect slice finds it way through one knolls belly. Dedrick quickly attempts to deal the other knoll an equally mortal blow, but the strike was promptly deflected. Without thought or planning, as if the spirit blades commanded him; Dedrick spins about slicing the wounded knoll across the neck—finishing the job. With his back exposed, the knoll connects with a clean blow that knocks Dedrick off his feet.

The knoll presses onwards seeing the opportunity to finish his foe. Although Dedrick is not skilled with a sword his willpower deflects blow after blow until he is finally able to regain his footing. The knoll, showing signs of frustration, swings at Dedrick with all the strength that it can muster. The blow is deflected perfectly, but is followed immediately by another swing. This time, instead of deflecting the creatures maul, the blades temporarily dissipate and allow it to pass by; the knoll’s swing carried such ferocity that the weapon spun around and left its user’s back exposed. Dedrick lunges at the opportunity and stabs both spirit blades through the creatures grey skin; a wound that would prove fatal.

Leone and the last knoll circle a few steps away from each other, each studying the others movements and searching for a weakness. Ozzob, recovered and standing at the top of the stair, utters a single magical invocation then dashes headlong into the final knoll. A blinding flash fills the room and the massive creature crumples under the force of the blow. The monsters corded muscles tear to pieces, the body crumples over, folds, and crumples; after a few moments all that remains of the last knoll is a pile of goo extended by some scraggly limbs.

#

On the third floor the group discovers some kind of knowledge repository. A kind of specialized library that catered to a single subject. There is no way to know what kind of subject was garnered here because the tomes are crumbling from knolls inhabitation. Entire scores of books are missing, while some tomes has simply crumbled from the lack of proper care. More bedding deposits similar to the ones on the previous floor are found here. It is clear that there are more knolls about.

Entering the fourth and final floor from a spiral stairway in the center of the room the group finds a type of high end lookout chamber that has been used by the knoll leader as a bedchamber. A thick repugnant stench fills the air of the room; tiny pieces of forged metal and shiny trinkets are piled in two big lumps in the room. The knolls had apparently collected the objects and given them to there leader. An ancient map drawn on some kind of leather hangs from one wall, it looks to be untouched by the knolls presence.

Dedrick pulls the map down with a simple psionic tug. The map is large; required for the amount of detail. It is a scaled, accurate depiction of the keeps halls and chambers. Mia and Leone hold the map taught while Ozzob examines and compares it to what he has seen. After a few minutes he points to a spot on the map.

“This is our location.”

Then points to another spot on the map.

“We should check out this room.”

“Why that room?”

“The marking here,” pointing to an obscure grouping of symbols beside the room, “suggests that it was a secret place, and that it held secrets… or something to that effect.”

#

Back in the great room, where they entered, Leone uncovers a loose stone along one wall. He carefully scratches away the dust and removes the stone from its lodging; the act reveals a decrepit steel lever. Leone reaches in and activates the lever; a deep groaning is accompanied by a slight shimmer of the floor. A few minutes pass as a section of wall gradually slides back and reveals a stairway leading down into a complete darkness.

Ozzob stalks around the room and finds a haunch of wood that looks like the remnant of an old table leg. He walks back to the newly revealed passage and begins shaking the chunk of wood. It would appear as though he is trying to awaken the dead object, shaking life back into the wood. After a few moments, and more than a few odd looks from his companions, the old table leg begins to glow—emitting a soft white light.

The darkness of the passage is sliced back by the magical light. The walls dance in shadow; distorted patterns likened to silhouetted profiles break along the deep stairway. The passage is narrow, bleak; the only sound that fills the hollow is the tromp of padded feet on the dust covered stair. A clatter pierces the air as a fatal step is made by a member of the troupe.

Reacting without hesitation, Leone dives forward throwing his body across his companions. The group collapses atop one another; limbs flail as the mass of bodies tumble down the stair. Dinged and battered, Leone, Ozzob, Dedrick and Mia collect themselves at the bottom of the stairway. A repeating metallic clang echoes down the passage. Attention turns to the lone door just across from the stairwell.

#

Ozzob pushes the door open to reveal an unusual room. The group cautiously steps in. The walls of the room are covered in gadgetry and flashing lights. Old style desks are placed about and covered in a mélange of gears and handles. An ominous hum fills the volume of the claustrophobic space. Scraping of metal against stone can be heard from behind the walls. The group splits and walks about the room covering different areas, each companion closely inspecting the controls with a fascination.

Dedrick mumbles. “It would take a whole clans of gnomes, years, to build this.”

“What could such a device be used for?”

“It must be a control room for… something.”

“But what sort of technology is this, I do not recognize.”

Ozzob shallowly states, “I don’t know, but Mia dose.”

#

”The worm turns… and may we all be enlightened.” preached the voice of uselessness.