The day after the battle was spent cleaning up and assessing the damage to the Keep. There was discussion about adding to the defenses for the Keep in order to keep attackers out. Kaylord expressed interest in contacting a local group of Dwarves, the clan Dronil, about adding an additional wall and a stable. With winter coming the group could explore the idea of expanding out or modifying the Keep to improve their defenses.
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While the cleanup was occurring, Count Ismae, Sophia's father, rode up, raging about the danger his daughter had been in. Sophia talked to him and showed him that she was fine but he would not listen to reason. He told Sophia to come home and she was forbidden to spend any more time at the Keep. Sophia reluctantly agreed and told The Strangers that she had to keep peace at home, for now. She went in to gather her things and on the the way out she thanked them for the lessons she had in fighting from Hugin. Sophia also said that she believed The Strangers were making good use of the Keep and they would have her support in town.
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After getting things cleaned up The Strangers headed into Cillamar to take in the prisoners, a halfling cleric and some surviving archers, to the jail. The Magna'gard went with the group as an escort to The Gaol and stayed with the prisoners once they were checked in. While at the Gaol, a messenger found them and requested that they meet with the Patriarch in order to tell him about what happened. The Strangers met with the Patriarch at the Lord's Gate Citadel and told him about the previous day's events. The Patriarch listened with interest and thanked them for their defense of the Keep. He also told them that the prisoners would be guarded by Magna'gard that he knew could be trusted so they would not die a mysterious death.
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He then mentioned that Count Ismae had stopped by and demanded the their group be removed from the Keep and be exiled from Cillamar because of their reckless actions that called down an attack on the city. Patriarch Franz Mentzer said he had told the Count he backed the actions of The Strangers and the town of Cillamar would be increasing support for the Keep as a vital defense for the town. The Count continued to rage and finally left, vowing that he would not drop this matter and the Lord's Council would make sure the right thing was done. The Patriarch told The Strangers that he currently had enough support from the Lord's Council for his plans for the Keep but the group now had an enemy in town that would be working against them. In order to keep peace and support the Patriarch with the council, The Strangers were asked to stay away from Sophia.
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The Patriarch then said he would find funds for a defense budget for the Keep, especially for the repair of the door. With the recent threat to crops and the continued flow of refugees from the south he felt he could work with the Lord's Council to get funding for defenses around Cillamar. He then thanked them for their service and said he would let them know if the prisoners yielded up any information. The Strangers were also free to question the prisoners to see if they could get any additional information. If they did, he asked that they tell the Magna'gard who were guarding the prisoners and they would pass the information on to him.
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The Strangers left and went over to the Gaol to question the prisoners, especially the halfling. When questioning the archers they found out that they were sell swords from the Warrens who had been hired for a special job. All of the archers and fighters were dwarves who had been hired by a tall human, older, who looked fit for fighting but didn't wear much armor. They had also seen a female and male dwarf talking to the human, both dressed for fighting, but never heard any of the conversations.
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They then questioned the halfling, who had been stripped of all items, bound and gagged. The halfling was a cleric of Urgathoa and would only answer that he was doing his part to bring war to the world and more undead to his goddess. Even when threatened with torture, he remained calm and said that he trusted his goddess to watch over him and honor how he chose to experience different aspects of the world, including torture.
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The Strangers left and decided to look around town to relax and have a pint or two at the The Slumbering Drake. Most people greeted them with “Job well done!” or “Thank you!” as they walked about but a few people looked away, muttering under their breath. At the tavern they were greeted by the Lady Chauntess who thanked them for their defense of the Keep and Cillamar and for finding out what caused the illness that had been spreading. She also bought them their meal and all rounds of their drinks for the evening.
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The next day, waking at the Keep, the Strangers continued to assess the Keep and their options. They met with the farmer families, the Hofer brothers, to make sure they were doing fine. They also checked on Kina, the daughter of Colton Hofer, who had shown a connection to the divine and found she was doing well and was interested in her upcoming lessons with Quis'Ari. The families said they would be able to finish the harvest and that the crops in the area around the Keep were in good shape. They expected a good harvest which would contribute to the supplies of the Keep for the winter.
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Over the next few weeks the group prepared the Keep for winter by getting supplies stockpiled and getting the defenses fixed. They also met with Delra from the Sablewing Council and found out more of the purpose of their group. They were also asked to continue exploring the ruins at Castle Whiterock since there was still activity there. Another group, The Storm Peace Keepers, had explored a cavern underneath the ruins and found a ruined chapel with the remains of a paladin of the order of Iomedae. The temple of Iomedae had laid the remains to rest but were curious about a chapel that had been located within the caverns underneath the old castle. They had determined that the ruined chapel had not been associated with Iomedae. About 30 years earlier communication had been lost with a chapel and the Cillamar temple would appreciate any information about the paladins if the group found any information.
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Delra also asked them to look out for signs of duergar, there were rumors that they had made a home deep within the mountain below the castle. Some of the rumors connected the duergar with the slavers and spoke of duels to the death being held for entertainment somewhere close by. If the group continued to explore the Castle they would continue to build experience and become better prepared to help the Council in protecting Morraine. She suggested that they might start with a short trip to the Castle to check an entrance they had found on level 2. The group agreed and planed to head up before the snow started and closed the area for the winter.
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Hugin stayed at the Keep to drill the five warriors and keep an eye out for trouble. Nora continued getting the supplies ready for the winter and organized the farmer families to make sure they were also provisioned for the winter. The harvest was busy and everyone, including all the children who were able to walk, helped out in getting everything ready. The Strangers traveled up to the castle and left Thera and Katana to guard their wagon. They then traveled to the 2nd level and found the secret room where they had found a duergar almost a year before. Coravel easily found the secret door where the duergar escaped where they then found an ogre that appeared chained to the wall. It turned out he wasn't chained but after a quick battle he wasn't a problem anymore.
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They then found a basket, ropes and pulleys that operated a lift system down into the mountain. They figured out how to work the ropes and were able to lower everyone down. As they started lowering they were attacked by a group of derro that were on the bottom and in another basket on the way up. In spite of the late hour of the session for the players, the derro were vanquished. The group surveyed the cavern at the bottom and could see that it went into the dark and that there was a river. SInce the entrance had been cleared the group decided to head back up and then go back to the Keep. The group made it back just as the first winter snows started and settled into the Keep for a long winter rest. There the session ended.
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