Broken Spire Keep
A partially ruined castle in the Spiderfell, held by deed from the Lord Warden of Fallcrest in exchange for sworn fealty.
The party has cleared it three times: once off the Iron Circle, and twice off goblins and spiders who moved back in while they were away.
What it was
Voren the Green warned them before they ever went: the keep has a dark infernal history and was destroyed years ago by fiendish forces.
More recently it was an Iron Circle base — the holding and sorting point for prisoners bound down the trafficking route. Markus, a priest of Asmodeus, ran it, and there is a shrine to Asmodeus in the dungeons.
That shrine has since been Hallowed by Leander.
The deed
The Lord Warden's terms were three:
- Eliminate the goblin and spider threat
- Hallow the shrine to Asmodeus
- Swear fealty
All three have been met. The bargain covers the Spiderfell and the keep together.
The stronghold
| Type | Castle, Grade 3 on a scale of 1–8 |
| Target | A Haven — a defensible stronghold — once restored |
| Cost | 5,000 gp and thirty days with a proper crew. 4,500 gp paid up front |
| Staffing | At least twenty people, with ongoing costs |
| Still owing | A road, and a full staff |
Upgrades
| Upgrade | Effect | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Hallow | Allows celestials, blocks extradimensional interference, excludes non-loyalists | 1,000 gp — incense, brazier, two black onyx gems at 250 gp each |
Cast by Leander over twenty-four hours, on the shrine to Asmodeus, while the keep was under attack. A guard died on watch during the ritual. Leander kept casting and finished.
Who is there
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Clem | Guard, 1 gp/day. Left in charge |
| Eric | Guard, 1 gp/day. Left in charge |
| Gorrim Taelwyn | Master mason, 5 gp/day, recruited out of Hammerfast |
| Horace | Guard. Killed on watch. Buried at the keep |
| Freya | Castellan — departed |
Plus twenty-five goblin workers sent by the Goblin King, and about twelve human guards the Lord Warden sent before the Iron Circle assault. Deep gnome builders were promised by Felani to fortify the tunnel access, and have not arrived in the record.
Key features
- The Hallow — the former shrine to Asmodeus, sanctified
- The secret room — where the party stores treasure. It has survived three separate occupations of the keep untouched
- The broken spire — the tower that names the place. As of the last report, the top of it was the only major outstanding repair
- Underdark access — tunnels beneath the keep lead down. This is how the party reaches the deep, and it is a hole in their own basement
Treasure held here
From Araniax's hoard: 1,200 gp, 2,500 sp, 4,000 cp, six black opals at 100 gp each, two moonstones at 50 gp each, and the Dawnforge Gauntlets.
The battle
The Iron Circle sent 150–200 troops against the keep and about 50 against Goblintown.
The party held with roughly twenty human guards and fifty goblins, and destroyed them, then pursued. Valthor Kade and Dren Shadowveil escaped.
Standing threats
- A dragon of some kind lairs in the tunnels beneath the keep. The party woke one down there on their first descent and ran. Separately, the Goblin King says a dragon ordered his people to rebuild the keep and promised help against the Spider Queen, and his goblins are terrified of it.
- Mind flayer activity in the tunnels below
- Whatever the Iron Circle does next
Plans for it
Jaylin and Andrin intend to marry at the keep once their apprenticeships end, and to set up shop there — Jaylin as a mage, Andrin as a gem cutter. Agatha will officiate.
This is one of the very few purely good things on the campaign's books, and it is a concrete reason to want the place finished and safe.
Where it stands
As of the 32nd of Autumn the keep is fully repaired and quiet. Battle damage gone, guards performing well, nothing having happened in the party's absence. Clem and Eric are in charge.
Money recovered in the deep since then has been earmarked as capital for further work.