ang | Scarlet Citadel Campaign Diaries #4: The Gaoler

7 Thunders 482 AR

The party arrived at the Scarlet Citadel for the second time on a rainy morning. Arodan injured himself in the rubble trying to scale the citadel walls, while the rest of the party just walked around and entered via the archway.

They found evidence of goblins in the surface ruins, including an abandoned campsite in one of the ruined towers.

Entering the Underkeep on the way to the dungeons, the party found the mysterious doors they'd messed with and left open on their last visit closed again. Razog decided to open the doors and was startled by the two harpies who live there. After one harpy attempted to attack the party to no avail, it flew to the stairs, thinking to lure them away with its song. Razog attempted to apologize to the harpies, telling them he didn't know anyone lived there, and the other harpy slammed the door in his face. Murphy left a ration for the harpies and Razog left an apology note and the party hurried downstairs into the dungeons.

Morrigan found the tripwire for the trap on the stairs to the dungeons had been reset, and was able to fully disable it this time around. He sneaked ahead, with the Goggles of Night Murphy craft for him, and found a priestess in the dungeons. The party debated whether or not to rescue her -- they found her suspicious but thought she may be a useful ally in a fight. Ultimately, they decided they would come back and rescue her after dealing with the Gaoler.

The party found the body of Scar in the oubliette, but failed to avoid touching him, and had to fight him again in zombie form -- like Richard Green, I used Level Up 5e's ogre zombie statblock for this encounter. Ultimately, Razog shoved Scar into the hole in the oubliette, getting his leg stuck, and then Morrigan smashed his lit lantern against scar, catching him on fire, the ashes falling into the bat caves deep below, which will certainly not ever be a factor in the future.

Having dealt with Scar, the party continued ahead into the Torture Room, where they found the Gaoler prepared for an ambush. The party struggled mightily with the fear effects, and Murphy found himself surrounded by the Gaoler's animated objects. Morrigan was able to rescue a little goblin, Rizz, they found in a cage in the room, but the goblin ran away before the party could talk to him.

While the Gaoler focused his attacks on Arodan, who wore the magical butterfly hairclips Murphy found in the Gaoler's stash, Morrigan squeezed through the hole in the back of the torture room wall where the priestess, Ushulx, who he'd previously found in the dungeon's cells, half-heartedly assisting the Gaoler.

While Razog smashed the Gaoler's head, Ushulx surrendered to Morrigan, and Murphy contemplated the sinister frog statue in the torture room. Morrigan prepared to interrogate Ushulx, who he believes to be in league with the bandits who attacked and sold Dugan Lovay and Barrett the Red Hart.

Next - Session #5 >>