Baru led the party in a counterclockwise tour of the curtain wall. At each tower there were stairs upwards and downwards. Also a bridge led to a balcony on the main Keep from each tower. The lone outlier was the southwest tower. There was no tower, no stairs, merely a covered altar with a statue of a dragon sitting upon it.
Ralom approached slowly, the altar and statue were covered in grime and filth. The whole area around the altar looked like no one had been there for years. Seglun ran right up to the statue but determined it was a little unwieldy to carry around with the party.
Baru studied the stairwells, the stair that began on the southern balcony wound around the tower clockwise to the very top, in the rear where is met the stair the started at the eastern balcony. It was hard to tell but maybe there was an entrance at that level some 90 feet or so above the curtain wall. There was also a stair that began about 30 feet up the tower from the southeast that seem to end one floor below the top. Baru also climbed the stairway to the top of one of the curtail wall towers. Ther was an open crenelated area on top of the tower. From there Baru could see that the great chasm was infinitely deep in all directions surrounding the Keep and it spread out northwest to southeast.
Now having seen the lay of the land the group decided to climb the tower leading up from the south balcony. Single file they started up the tower which had a rail way about waist high on Baru on the outside. Seglun, Arvien and Grunyar could barely see over the railing. At around 30 feet up there was a landing and a door to the northeast. The group was headed for the top so they bypassed the door and found themselves at another door to the east around 30 more feet higher. Again they kept climbing the tapering tower of the mighty Keep. At 90 feet or so they met the stairway rising from the other side of the Keep at a landing. To the south was an open doorway leading to a round hallway, unlit except by the open doorway, that appeared to circle an inner room. Seglun headed to the southwest where she found a door on the east. Hearing no noise at the door, she checked for traps but there was a keyhole. Trying the door was futile so Varrid moved forward, did her own check for traps and then tried to pick the lock, failing several times. So... the party move on around the circle. At the eastern side they again found a door to the west. It was identical to the door on the east and the group attacked it with the same results, no noise, no traps, and no opening of the lock. Arvien had called Summergale into the hallway as there were several dozen blackbirds circling the tower and wheeling through the air outside.
With no luck at this level, the group decided to proceed down the other stairway outside the doorway. Down now they proceeded to a door around 30 feet below the top floor. Again Seglun and Varrid checked the door traps and listened for noise. Varrid determined that this door had no locking mechanism, so Baru opened it and entered a foyer that led to halls going south and west. The floor was covered with dust, but there were also bipedal foot prints that were sooty black paced around the floor. To the east was a door, which was unlocked and opened into a barracks like area, two cots, some chests, with rotten, moldy cloth in them and dust covered everything, the cots moldy also. Further south was another foyer with a door that appeared to lead outside the tower and a hallway west. Another door was on the south which led to a former Armory. Weapons racks covered the walls and tables held damaged armor and weapons. Seglun again saw a incorporeal creature moving toward her. A beautiful elven woman, face twisted into a cruel leer, ragged dress revealing shapely limbs. She quickly exited and shut the door, which wouldn't stop the creature anyway. Ralom was continually checking for evil and/or magic in each room or area. Baru was further down the west leading hall where he found another door to the north and the hallway turned north where there was a door on the west. It appeared that there was a large square area in the center of the tower here with a hall on all sides.
Varrid found the door to the north was locked and Seglun opened the door to the west which led to a privy, which appeared to be unused for decades based on the dust covering everything. Meanwhile Drovic and Arvien let out a small shriek as the ghostly elven apparition moved through the wall into the foyer area and then into the barracks room. They hurriedly moved west to meet the rest of the party. At the west side was another foyer with a door, apparently leading outside and the hallway headed east. There were doors on the north and south of that hallway. Northward was another barracks room, the southern door was locked. The sooty footprints were only found in the hallway, not any of the rooms. Varrid picked the lock on the door, inside was a large dust covered room with a spiral staircase int he center leading down. The sooty footprints were evident in this chamber also.
Down the stairs led Baru and Ralom. The stairs led to a circular room. Positioned around the room were six doors. Immediately to the southwest was a wide archway leading to an open area. On the far wall of this area, midway between three sets of windows, was a line of wooden pegs.
The archway was supported by three pillars. Each had been carved in the shape of a vaguely humanoid figure with taloned fingers and tones and a long, barbed tail. The faces were hideous parodies of a human face, with long, fang-filled snouts, bat-like ears, and stubby, curving horns protruding from their brows. Seglun and Arvien checked the doors which were all locked. Ralom moved closed to the archway and saw that the pegs held keys, six large keys on one set and three smaller keys on another. Arvien used her mage hand to start collecting the keys. As she was collecting the second key the pillars suddenly moved, the gargoyle creatures attacked. In a heated battle, arrows flew, acid darts rained down on the now flesh gargoyles. A dire boar appeared untder Arvien's command and Summergale even moved to attack. Varrid found a flanking position but the gargoyles had four attacks, two claws, bite and horn, which were inflicting multiple damage on Seglun, Baru and Ralom. It appeared that magic was needed to inflict complete damage on the monstrosities. Finally the heroes gained the upper hand and the gargoyles fell one by one. After doing some healing Ralom checked out the open area, where he saw a body laying int he south most corner. The southern most window was broken and the body was badly decayed, little more than bones and ragged, moldy clothes survived. Deep gouges were visible on the bones -- claw marks similar to the damage the party had taken. A rope lay, rotten and moldy in the corner, daggers were rusty and the leather armor of the body was to rotten to be of service. Ralom's examination did find a magic ring on a bony finger. Varrid identified the ring as one of feather falling, useful if the thief had lived.
Meanwhile Seglun had collected the six larger keys and was opening the doors in the circular room. One room held a pile of copper pieces, another a pile of silver pieces. A third had fold pieces, but also that incorporeal being appeared, so Seglun closed the door in a hurry. Varrid speculated that the ghostly creature was following the party around the Keep. Behind the fourth door were platinum pieces, the fifth had a pile of gemstones. The sixth and final door held but a necklace which Seglun appropriated.
DMs Notes: The party earned 654 XP for the night and how have 25,715 XP.
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