Following on from a few weeks again where I introduced the concept of The Bleak I wanted to provide a bit of an expansion to that with Behind the Walls. As there are many adventures that can come from owning a keep of your own, let alone one that you didn’t intend on owning in the first place, this adventure concept is a bit of a discovery of what could happen to the unlucky or unaware.
But enough of that, the title speaks enough and were wont get further that that if we don’t get a roll on into tonight’s adventure.
It had been a few weeks since the new owners of The Bleak had taken over the keep and they had come into a steady rhythm of what owning the keep meant. That would be true if it wasn’t for the noises along and inside the walls of the keep. For several nights the adventurers-come-custodians had woken with the sensation of being watched and they had caught the sound of scratching on stone from within the walls.
However they had not seen any sign of anything but mice and rats moving along the, mostly, stone walls. That was until they found a scrap of cloth caught in a rack between two slabs of stone, a whistle of wind through the crack and the discovery of a narrow passage beyond the hidden door. What other secrets did the Bleak have and who, or what else knew about them?
Behind the Walls
445SaTB-BeWa
Waking up in the middle of the night was never a good sign for anyone let alone seasoned adventurers who were used to being on alert while travelling in the wilds. Looking around the room there was nothing to be alarmed about. The windows and their shutters were secure, the door was closed and despite a small sway from the lantern that was burning low on a suspended rope from the ceiling all was quiet.
The scamper of claws on stone was the only sound other than a soft howl of wind from outside the window. They had seen a few mice and rats since their stay at the keep, their keep The Bleak, but the cats that called the fortified building home kept them under control and hunted them without mercy or hesitation.
The others in the keep had reported it as well. Being woken in the middle of the night with a feeling of being watched, the feeling of movement in the room with nothing being present or the sound of mice and rats claws on stope would interrupt their sleep. The keepers of the building had brushed it off stating that “you’ll get used to it” and reporting that they hadn’t found anything nor had anything bad happened in the years that they had been here
Claws on Stone
The first sign that it was something to be concerned about came in the form of a shifting stone. Woken from the noise again the adventurer followed the sound of scampering feet and claws. They hadn’t seen rats or mice for weeks and the fattened cats had indicated that they were doing a good job of keeping the rodents population down.
However with no mice or rats to be seen the muffled sound of claws scampering on stone concerned them. Following the noise it suddenly disappeared near one of the outer walls in the courtyard. That’s when a splash of colour drew their attention. A strip of blue fabric was caught in the crack of two slabs of aged yet sturdy stone. Examining the fabric the crack emitted a faint whistling sound as air rushed from the other side of the stone wall.
Their heart sunk as they examined the crack further, a passageway lay beyond the crack and after a few moments of searching their suspicions were confirmed. A secret door lay within the courtyard leading into the keep itself and the strip of blue, dirty fabric had been caught within the seam of where the door had closed. Someone or something had been using this tunnel to get further into The Bleak and judging by the gloom and darkness beyond the the tunnel wove under the main building.
What ever was behind the walls needed to be found out and it was a job for the whole party, no lone adventurer should venture into the secret passage that was a secret to not just the new custodians of the keep but the existing ones as well.
Thanks for dropping by tonight for an expansion to The Bleak adventure campaign. With the concept of having a Bastion rooted in the new Dungeon Masters Guide the premise of a owned building providing an avenue of adventure is a bit more than homebrew now, something that generates adventure and not just a place to hold the dozen +1 longswords that a party would collect over a series of adventures. Don’t forget that tomorrow is ZINE night so make sure you come back for that and, as always, don’t forget to roll with advantage,
The Brazen Wolfe
Brazen Wolfe Tabletop 
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