Finally, Klarkosh!

Arodus 23, 4711

After descending to the 6th level, the Coopers arrive in a room dimly lit. In the room are two levers, a red handled one and a black handled one. Thorne pulls the red lever, and a grinding sound can be heard in the distance. He then pulls the black lever, to a similar effect. The Coopers quickly realize that these levers activate switching plates that rotate hallways, providing access to other sections of the dungeon.

They begin to explore the rooms next to the staircase. In one, they discover Klarkosh's trophies, artifacts he collected from all of his victims.They find several mementos displayed by the wizard, including a tapestry that depicts a strange royal court, what looks like melted metal, placed on a pedestal, and two weapons, a heavy mace and a broken staff. Roscoe touches the melted metal, triggering an electric trap that zaps both himself and his sister Daryle. They take both weapons with them.

Opening another door, they come upon Klarkosh's private bathroom. The bath is already drawn and the water is warm, as if the wizard was about to use it.

Continuing on, the Coopers stumble upon Klarkosh's jail and its jailer. After a short combat they triumph over the jailer, and they explore the cells. In several of them they discover strange and hostile animals, but in one of them Darelle discovers a nude man in one of the cells. He is severely dehydrated and he has wounds all over his body. After Darelle heals him, he tells them his name is
Jharun, a wizard in the service of the Goldenfire Order. Roscoe recalls that Jharun is one of the two wizards sought by Iliara Starcloak. She had mentioned to him that Jharun and Tiawask sent her a note a few weeks back saying that they were ready to explore the Emerald Spire, but since then, they hadn't been seen. She had entrusted Roscoe with the mission to find the missing wizards and bring them back alive, or at least bring their bodies back, to the Order. 

Jharun tells the Coopers that he and Tiawask were captured by Klarkosh, but that Tiawask managed to escape. He's been here all these months, a prisoner without hope. The Coopers tell Jharun how to escape the Emerald Spire, but he decides he wants to stay with them a while longer, since it seems to be safer.

In Klarkosh's throne room stands a throne and two emerald automatons. The Coopers briefly fight them before taking flight. Thorne comes up with a plan to hide his face under a heavy cloak and pretend to be the evil wizard. The youngest Cooper manages to pull it off and convinces the emerald automatons to disactivate.

The hallway from there leads to what appears to be a large training room. Two more emerald automatons stand at the end of the hall, and rows of weapons line each wall. Two sets of heavy iron bars divide the room into three sections. With the bars down, the party decides to backtrack and heads back to the throne room. There they stand next a door they had left unexplored. Thorne tries to open the door and after much effort he manages to pick the lock. Inside, they discover Klarkosh's bedroom. The room is well furnished with a large bed, a desk, chairs, and a fireplace.

Daryle finds the red and yellow silk embroidered with a K sheets attractive, and takes the bedding off the bed, including the pillow cases. Thorne is strangely attracted to the chairs, and he sits in one of them, finding it very comfortable. Unfortunately, the chair he selects is infested with a small worm-like parasite, and one of them bites him and burrows itself in his back.

Roscoe will close the flue and hope that enough smoke comes in to attract Klarkosh. He instead discovers that the stove itself is a secret door that leads to Klarkosh's laboratory. As the group debates who should go first, Gerald jumps at the chance and heads through the secret door.

In the large room he discovers a machine belching steam and creating a deafening sound. Hundreds of cogs and gears spin about, causing the ground to vibrate slightly. At the other end of the room, sitting at a workbench is a man bend over a broken automaton. Wearing a mask covering half of his face and with an artificial arm and leg, Gerald recognizes Klarkosh by the descriptions provided by various enemies on the upper levels.

Gerald considers his options, and decides that the best thing to do is to slowly maneuver towards Klarkosh and attempt to attack him from the back. Despite the noises and the vibrations, however, Klarkosh has a good view of Gerald's path, and Gerald is not all that good at sneaking anyway. Halfway to the ruler of the 6th level, Klarkosh raises his head and looks directly at Gerald, greeting him. As Gerald and Klarkosh engage in discussions about automatons, Daryle enters the room and moves towards one of the alcoves, hoping to get a good shot at the wizard. Meanwhile, Roscoe senses evil in the room, and he comes to the startling conclusion that the Klarkosh that stands before Gerald is nothing but an illusion, and the real one is hiding in an alcove. Daryle bumps into an invisible emerald automaton, and as the invisibility spell is broken, combat begins.

Darelle wedges a dagger in the steamworks mechanism, and gears stop spinning. Slowly the pressure beings to built, and soon the steamworks will explode. The Coopers engage the various automatons, while Roscoe charges the spot where Klarkosh is hiding. Thorne is injured twice, while Gerald falls to the ground after summoning various monsters. Darelle and Daryle were also severely injured, but in the end Roscoe slays the wizard, Darelle removes the dagger, and the steamworks do not explode. The master of the first 6 levels has been killed by the Coopers.





Injured and bloodied, Gerald and Thorne decide to head back to Fort Inevitable. They agree to accompany Jharun back to his order.

Roscoe, Daryle and Darelle decide to press on. The next room they enter reveals an armory guarded by a bronze minotaur. After a viscious fight in which Roscoe is grievously wounded, the Coopers slay the monster. They find Klarkosh's scrapyard which contains a multitude of spare parts, before returning to the training hall. After opening the hall's gates, they enter the Hall of Steam, where they meet a strange bioluminescent humanoid standing next to the fountain. Two emerald automatons are also in the room, recently decapitated. The Coopers cautiously approach the outsider. He tells them he rather finds the automatons fascinating, and he makes no hostile move. The Coopers leave him be and proceed to the next room, where they discover the staircase heading down to the 7th level.

Going down, they emerge in a room light by large trellises of candles, with a door in the west wall. Roscoe approaches the door but triggers a trap that incinerates the Coopers, causing them wounds that would have fell weaker people. They decide to retreat back to the 6th level and Klarkosh's quarters to recuperate.

Time to pay the rent ...

Pharast 30, 4711

In an interesting coincidence, every member of the Cooper family receives a quest from various inhabitants of Fort Inevitable on the same day.

In the morning, Thorne overhears a conversation in the store about a secret organization in Fort Inevitable called the Seven Foxes. This organization is dedicated to relieve some of the harshness of the Hellknights' occupation of the town. Later on that same day, he is approached by one of the frequent customers of Braddon's General Store who insinuates that, should Thorne ever hear of information concerning potential enemies of the Hellknights or plans to attack them, he should report them to him by contacting Ferdin the stableboy at the Juliver Arms. Thorne must now decide whether he will form an alliance with either the Hellknights or the Seven Foxes resistance.

That same day, Darelle overhears a complaint from Mother Holworth about high taxes and how she's most likely not going to be able to make. She decides to help her by giving her three gold crowns from the family's coffers. She also decides to contribute to replenishing these same coffers by discovering the path to reach the dungeons underneath the Emerald Spire, which she has heard would fetch a pretty penny with the Hellknights.

Having established a working relationship with Maralictor Kiera Wirt, Daryle is often in contact with the Commander of Mosswater Gate. On this day, she meets the Commander and Wirt reports that some of the dead goblins that have been turned in for bounty have been sporting an uncharacteristic mark. Three goblins in the last month wore leather armor with the symbol of a crude red crowned skull. Wirt wants Daryle to investigate the matter, and discover and destroy the evil force represented by this evil symbol. She will be rewarded by the Hellknights should she succeed.

Roscoe has started to train as a paladin when he's not performing at the Juliver Arms. Over the last week, he's made friends with Iliara Starcloak, leader of the Goldenfire Order of Thornkeep. In the morning, she informs Roscoe that she must head back to Thornkeep today, but she was not able to locate two missing wizards of her order, Jharun and Tiawask. They sent her a note a few weeks back saying that they were ready to explore the Emerald Spire, but since then, they haven't been seen. She entrusts Roscoe with the mission to find the missing wizards and bring them back alive, or at least bring their bodies back, to the Order. On a personal note, she also tasks Roscoe with finding three pieces of research about the Emerald Spire's portals and bring them back to her. She will reward him handsomely for both quests.

Upon hearing that Gerald is thinking of exploring the Emerald Spire, Abernard Royst proposes him a quest. Inviting him over to his house, Abernard tells the sorcerer that he has been studying the Emerald Spire for over a decade now, and he believes there are unbelievable powers retrenched within the structure. He has been looking for someone willing to head into the Spire and collect as much information from the inside as possible. Should Gerald return with a map of the underground level beneath the Spire, the old sage will reward him handsomely. Gerald readily agrees.

Abernard Royst's house

Pharast 31, 4711

On the last day of the quarter, the Hellknights celebrate their rule in Fort Inevitable by mustering their forces on the town square and executing the criminals condemned to death in the last three months. Because it's their first Mustering, the Coopers are strongly encouraged to attend, so they can be seen by the powers that be to be dedicated citizens, or at least not opposing their rule.

On a sunny morning following a rainy night, a third of the Hellknight force musters on the town square in front of the citadel, wearing their ceremonial uniforms. Pennants and flags fly high in the air as the force separates the crowd from the scaffolding where the Hellknight's swift justice will be dispensed.

Lady Commander Audara Drovust steps out of the Citadel and mounts the scaffolding. "Citizens of Fort Inevitable," she declares, "today we celebrate another successful winter where we protected Fort Inevitable from the perils that dwell in the Echo Woods." The assembled population clap politely.

"We are here today to administer justice to those criminals who have violated the laws of Fort Inevitable." Immediately, seven criminals are paraded in front of the crowd, and one by one, as their name, crimes, and sentences are pronounced, their heads are chopped off. A smuggler, a petty thief, a female hoarder, a merchant, and a tax evader.

The last prisoner, however, receives a special treatment. "Our last criminal is a Razmiran priest of the Living God!" shouts Drovust. At that, the crowd, which had been tepid in its support, hoots loudly as the false priest is hoisted on top of a pyre. The Coopers immediately recognize him. It's one of the local constables that tried to escort them away from their family! They cheer when the pyre is light and the constable burns to death.


Gozran 1, 4711

The Coopers come to Fort Inevitable and make their tax payments to the Hellknights, before heading out to the Emerald Spire. On a beautiful spring day, they head out on their first adventure as a group. The Spire is located about ten miles southeast of Fort Inevitable, and the trek is tense but uneventful, with no evidence of goblins or other monsters lurking in the woods.

The trip lasts six hours, and by the time the Coopers first catch sight of the Spire it is later afternoon. Cresting a small hill, they reach the edge of a large clearing about two miles in diameter. In the middle on top of a promontory rests the ruins of the Spire. A large complex built of glass emerald, the Spire still reaches about 120 feet in the air, but the front of the castle shows significant damage from a violent assault eons ago. The dimming sun bounces off the castle's structures, emitting a soft green light.


Strangely, the first mile or so of the clearing is filled with saplings and tall grasses, but then about a mile into the clearing all vegetation stops and the ground becomes barren. Large pile boxes and crude fortifications stretch around the base of the promontory, and are evidently the work of goblins.


Daryle decides to get closer to the Spire, and walks to the edge of the barren lands. She feels like someone is watching her, but she cannot see anyone. Getting closer, she hears the sounds of barking dogs close to the Spire's entrance. She returns to the edge of the clearing and shares her information with the rest of her family.


The Coopers come up with a clever plan. They will attempt to poison the dogs using natural drugs at night, so Darelle returned in the woods and gathered plants that would do the trick. However, before they were able to execute their plan, the dogs left towards the northwest, and soon the family couldn't hear them at all.


Gozran 2, 4711

After waiting another hour, they decide to approach the Spire and begin their exploration. In the first pile box they encounter they discover old ruined blankets and the pervasive stench of goblins, but nothing else. A crude access ramp has been built from the base of the promontory to the entrance of the Spire, where remnants of the ruined gate lay crumbled about. Large enough for a goblin, the Coopers have a hard time ascending it and must go single filed.

They reach the top of the promontory. In the entryway, the party is surprised by a goblin mounted on a goblin dog. Roscoe is bitten by the dog and fights for his life as Darelle and Daryle pour arrow after arrow into the goblin and his dog. Gerald casts a few spells, then attacks with his dagger. Meanwhile, Thorne sneaks around the goblin and enters the Spire. The magical properties of the Spire are such that any light source only provides five feet of illumination, and Thorne discovers that more goblins are hiding in this room when he is suddenly attacked by them.

The party is eventually able to triumph over the four goblins, but, having suffered significant injuries, they decide to head back to Fort Inevitable and cash in the bounty on four more bodies. Daryle reports to Maralictor Kiera Wirt that some of the coin retrieved from the dungeon was Numerian silver, and that some of the goblins sported a similar tattoo as the ones she had discovered earlier, but this one had a crown embedded in the design...