[Closed] Peeking at the Peak

[justice_is_blond]

WHO: Alistair, Anders, Carver, Loghain, Nate, Teren
WHAT: A happy little field trip out to a happy little place, all in hopes of continuing with a Blight cure.
WHEN: Drakonis 5
WHERE: Soldier's Peak
NOTES: Summarized here.

The Fortress looms before them, cold stone walls protecting cold stone towers, rimmed by cold snowy hills.

It's cold, basically, and somehow manages to look even colder than it feels. The stairs upward are no longer even, crooked and bent as if some giant decided he wanted to romp his way through, and the gates are askew and slightly open.

On the approach there's little noise beyond wind whistling through, until the gate is touched and a flock of ravens bursts upward in a cackling cacophony. Beyond that it's still. Too still, perhaps.

Comments

Mingle on the way

[justice_is_blond]

Courtyard

[justice_is_blond]

Stepping through the gate reveals a large grid of blue-grey squares, surrounded by thorny vines. The trees have been cut down and all is smooth, aside from two columns standing on the floor itself... or more like one and a half standing. The one on the right is intact and topped with a griffon, while the other has been struck by something and crumbled in on itself. On the other side of the courtyard is another set of uneven stairs, this time blocked off by a sealed gate.

The floor hums quietly.

Entry Hall

[justice_is_blond]

The gate is open, and the keep is before them. The front door opens easily to show a large, square room, the walls of which are lined by bookshelves. All but one of the bookshelves are full - the one nearest the door on the far end has four shelves, all of them empty. On each shelf is a carving of an animal surrounding a rectangular indentation.

A large, out-of-place, stuffed chair sits next to an old firepit in the center, and various small tables are scattered here and there. There are faded notes on a couple of the tables or sticking out of some of the books, eight notes in total. On one of the tables stands a tiny model of dragon wrapped around a pillar.

Several books aren't fully flush with the others, one each of various cover colors: red, blue, yellow, green, purple, orange, brown, and black.

[justice_is_blond]

Entering into this large room seems to be the trigger for a ghostly figure in mage robes pacing back and forth between table and bookshelf. On the table is a large book, and beside it are a pile of notes that the figure seems to be making notes on... until the company draws close. Then book, mage, and notes vanish and the room is still again.

There's still several racks left on the table, holding various vials and jars, some of them broken. None of the labels are legible - if the writing was clear when it was first made it's too faded by age to make out. The frame of the chair by the table is carved in a ridged pattern, and the back has a kraken carved into it.

There is a door to the west and a door to the east, but the pathway east is blocked by a collapsed hallway that would practically take an army to clear.

Final Room

[justice_is_blond]

It is, surprise surprise, another large room. But this one is larger than any of the others. The door slams shut behind them once they're all in, seemingly guarded by a massive, beheaded statue of a woman.

In the floor around them are four large, square pits, each with a column in its center that is topped by an animal. The closest on their left is a griffon, behind it a kraken, to the right from that is a dragon, and close to the party again is a massive bear. Each has a lever next to it.

To the back of the room is a raised platform, holding a desk with books and notes, next to a large, overstuffed chair with its back to them.

The air has a subtle crackle to it.

Elgnim

[justice_is_blond]

[For all your mingle-on-the-way-back needs.]