After a day of travel the group was glad to be back to the Keep. Hugin had brought in guards who were training, Nora was busy with stocking for the winter and training Sophia and her other helper. There were also farmers and their families out harvesting. Hugin reported that all had been quiet, the work on closing the spring had been completed and that the farmer families checked out. The families were 3 brothers, their wives and children who had chosen to come and farm the land. The oldest brother is Abram Hofer, the other two brothers are Colton and Lucien. They are from the area around Cillamar and are familiar with the various farms and techniques required to raise food.
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The group settled in but planned to go back and make sure that all of the creatures were cleared out of the lake. If they needed to go back they wanted to make sure that there would be no more attacks on Thera and Katana while they explored the castle ruins. They trained and the casters prepared scrolls to take with them. A special oil was found to waterproof the scrolls so that they could be used underwater this time. Kaylord suggested having the farmers and their families up to the Keep for a dinner so they could meet the families. Kaylord was also interested in seeing if one of the young boys could help him with chores around the keep. The brothers were invited and came, along with their wives and the oldest of their children. The younger ones were left in the care of one of the girls in order to avoid disrupting the meal. Aramil prepared a fine display of magic and gifted the farmers with everburning torches so they would always have light when they needed it. The brothers and their wives Annetta, Nora and Teresa came along with the oldest of the children, Micah, Brad, Kim and Darnell. When Kaylord asked about help Abram and the brothers recommended Micah as the oldest and most responsible of the children. Abram said he would not mind Micah helping out so long as he did not neglect his regular chores around home.
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Kaylord then said that he had a test to see if the boy would be comfortable in handling animals. He allowed the boy to pull an animal from his Rust Bag of Tricks to see how he would react. The boy pulled out a boar and although it surprised him and the other guests he quickly stepped up and controlled the animal. His father and his father's brother looked ready to step in, after the inital surprise but Micah handled the animal and seemed comfortable enough. After the animal disappeared Kaylord said that he would hire the boy and start off paying him a copper a day. Abram agreed and Micah agreed to show up the next day to help out. Quis'Ari mentioned that she would be glad to have one or two of the girls to help out at the keep. While their they could learn about the management of a keep along with womanly arts such as fine embroidery and sewing. The fathers agreed and said they could send Kina up the next day along with Kim to see which one might be more suitable. After some more chit chat the meal wound down and the farmers left since they had to be up early. They thanked the group for their presence that would keep them and their families safe from bandits.
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A day or so after the meal the group again headed back up to Castle White Rock.They again prepared to adventure underwater and left Thera and Katana above to guard the wagon. They first explored the secret room by the stairs and found another hall connecting to another room. In the room there was a sealed box that had some hint of magic about it. It was decided that they should clear the area before trying to open the possibly trapped box. In the first room they found beetles that first circled and then attacked . Kaylord and Coravel found them easy kills but Quis'Ari took damge from their bite and poison before the battle was finished. Aramil aided with a few well placed magic missiles and a spell of haste. After searching the room the group continued on and found another room with transparent oozes. After a great deal of hacking away the oozes were dissolved into small pieces. They then found a shaft in the ceiling that led up to a well they had found on one of their earlier explorations.
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Going back the group found another large room with a water adapted ogre and an eel. After one round the group retreated and closed the door. This allowed them to enhance themselves and have a better fighting chance. Once the appropriate spells had been cast Kaylord waded out and attacked the ogre while giving Coravel a flank. Coravel took a lot of damage but eventually they beat the large monster down. After finishing the brute they went back to the sealed chamber. After taking precautions Coravel was able to unlock the door and they found the remains of the old weapon armory for the castle. Within their was a stone box that was trapped. Coravel was able to disable the trap and the Strangers found magical weapons and armor to take with them.
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After looking around and out the large room they felt that they had cleared out the dangers that were underwater. They headed back up, after taking pearls from the giant clams on the stairs and rejoined Katana and Thera. While there they realized that there was still a scarab down below that they could see about retrieving. Hopefully nothing else had come along to guard the scarab.
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