The Ruined Keep, A Dungeon Crawl Classics Funnel: Part 4

 

The Adventure Continues

The peasants continue to explore the aboveground ruins of the keep in their search for the Oracle.

Turn 11

Olnod turns the old key in the lock on the trapdoor and heaves it open. They look down into a shaft with a metal ladder on one wall. They can just about make out a stone floor about ten feet down when they light Kali's lantern.

They climb down one by one and find themselves facing a stairway going down about twenty feet south. That leads to a flat landing, then turns west and goes down another twenty feet. They move slowly and carefully, checking for traps or any unsafe stairs.

Turn 12

They enter a thirty by thirty foot room with an arched doorway in each wall.

Do they go north, south or west? (1D3)

South.

They go to the south door, checking the room carefully. Olnod seems to have taken on the role of leader, so he pulls on the door but it's stuck fast. Anebrius, a rather muscular scribe pushes him aside and shoves the door hard.

Strength check (DC12)

6: Failure.

The others take turns trying until Olnod manages to get it open. The lantern light reveals a storeroom full of mould-covered crates and sacks. Everything is damp. They search the place for ten minutes but unfortunately someone disturbs a patch of mould and yellow spores burst from it in a cloud ten feet across.

Which peasant is caught in it? (D12)

8: Kali.

DC12 fort. save

9: Failure.

1D6 stamina damage: 3, stamina reduced to 9.

Kali coughs and wheezes as yellow spores enter her lungs. She feels much weaker and starts to cough regularly.

Do any other peasants choose to keep searching?5-6 on a D6.

Tariad, Nechta and Tanti do.

Wandering monster check.

Monsters!

While the three of them search, a hideous rotten ghoul jerkily and erratically moves through the room they were just in. It comes through the doorway and it seems as surprised as they are. They begin pelting it with sling stones and arrows from the bows they took from the courtyard goblins but it leaps at Kali the dwarven miner, tearing her throat out in one bite. Moments later Gifu the animal trainer fells it with an arrow to the head. The other take Kali's lantern, spear, torches and fifty-six copper pieces, plus a potion of haste she picked up earlier. Anebrius takes the lantern and holds it aloft.

Turn 13

Tariad, Nechta and Tanti keep searching. Tariad disturbs more mould spores, fails his fortitude check and loses four stamina points, bringing him down to eight and making his modifier -1 instead of +1. Nechta opens a barrel and finds it full of oil. They refill the lantern and Tanti gives Anebrius an empty flask he was carrying, which he fills from the barrel and carries along with the one he already had. Tanti finds a usable shield in a pile of junk.

Are they able to find any jars or bottles and rags they could fill with the oil? Very unlikely, 6 on a D6.

2: No.

"Let's get out of here." Olnod suggests.

Turn 14

They go back to the crossroads room.

Do they go west or north from here? 50% chance.

North.

The northern door has a window with rusty iron bars. Anebrius pulls it open with a creak, and as he enters his lantern reveals a small room with a similar door in the opposite north wall.

It's empty except for a peg board on one wall that looks like it was used to hang small items like keys. They carefully search the room and then open the other door by pulling a sliding bolt.