A party of adventurers arrived in the village of Oakhurst in search of adventure. They had heard rumors of a ruined citadel that had once been the stronghold of an ancient dragon cult.

A tribe of kobolds was spotted entering the ravine where the underground citadel was said to lie. There were also tales of mysterious apples that were being sold by goblins in the vicinity of the ravine. The ruby red apple was said to have the power to heal people.

The adventurers found one such person who had eaten one of the mysterious apples. It was an old woman whose husband was a farmer locked in the local jail for public drunkenness. After nearly a decade of being bedridden, the apple brought her back to life with renewed vigor. Her husband and his friend went in search of more such apples, but his friend was killed by monsters on the road. The farmer went a little mad after that, and was often found drunk and babbling incoherently.

The adventurers spent the night at the old woman’s house. Late at night, they discovered that the old woman was no longer in bed. She had gone out looking for her husband. The adventurers went after her and found her in the middle of the road holding her husband who was lying on the ground. He was covered with scratch marks and unconscious. The adventurers soon discovered that the farmer had been waylaid by twig blights, which attacked the party as well. They defeated the monsters and rescued the farmer and his wife.

The next morning, the party set out for the underground citadel. They found the edge of the ravine, where the pillars were covered by words of warning presumably written by goblins. There were also signs of an old campfire and a rope tied to a pillar. The party climbed the rope down and followed a stairway into the dark depths of the ravine. Below they discovered an enormous cavern and in the darkness they saw the shadow of the ruined citadel.

At the entrance to the citadel, they fell into a pit trap with a goblin corpse inside. Stepping around the trap, they entered the citadel. The round tower where they entered was filled with more goblin corpses. Behind one corpse they found draconic runes scrawled on the wall that spelled “Ashardalon”. It was the name of an ancient and powerful dragon and the center of worship for a dragon cult.

Venturing deeper into the citadel, the adventurers discovered an elaborate stone door with the shape of a dragon carved in relief. It was locked and had a keyhole in the dragon’s mouth. Beyond the door, they heard the faint sound of a sad melody that played for only a moment. Realizing the could go no further without a key, the party took a different route.

Another door led them into a room where they found a weeping kobold lying next to a broken and empty cage. They spoke to the kobold and learned that his name was Meepo. He was the keeper of dragons for his tribe who lived in the citadel, but goblins had stole their dragon during a recent raid. Meepo begged the adventurers to help him recover the dragon. In return, he offered to take them to the chieftain of his tribe.

The adventurers followed Meepo down a long corridor to a wide chamber where a tribe of mobiles had established a small settlement. Upon a dragon shaped throne, there sat a kobold wearing white robes. Her name was Yusdrayl, and she was the chieftain of her tribe. On either side of her stood her honor guard of three elite mobile warriors. And in the mouth of the dragon’s head upon the throne, there was a key.

The adventurers introduced themselves and offered to help the kobolds recover their dragon. They also asked Yusdrayl about the dragon door and mysterious apples. She told them that the apples were distributed by goblins living in the citadel. They received them from a human named Belak who was some sort of dark priest or magician. Bleak resided in the underground grove beneath the citadel where the apples presumably came from. The kobolds did not interact with Belak and preferred to keep their distance from him. But the were at war with the goblins for mastery of the citadel.

In return for finding and returning their dragon, Yusdrayl offered the adventurers the key that could open the dragon door. In order to aid them on their quest, they agreed to lend them the service of her keeper of dragons. And so Meepo the dragon keeper joined the adventurers on their quest.

 

 

2.

The adventurers set out from the lair of the kobold tribe. They were joined by Taman, an aasimar paladin who had arrived at the citadel a month earlier.

He had been separated from his companions Talgen, Sharwyn, Sir Braford and Karakas who ventured further into the citadel. He had befriended the kobolds and took shelter with them, but now that new adventurers had arrived from the surface, he felt that the time was right to set out once more.

Yusdrayl, the chieftain of the tribe asked the adventurers to find the white dragon wyrmling that was captured by goblin raiders. Dirk the dwarf fighter and bounty hunter elected to remain behind. Guided by Meepo the keeper of dragons from the kobold tribe, the rest of the party took a roundabout path through the dungeon and headed towards goblin territory. Milo the halfling rogue ensured that no traps fell upon the party.

On the way, they faced goblins that were guarding the corridors. Goolly Goolly, the mighty human barbarian, cleaved through many goblins with his greatsword. The survivors were captured and interrogated. Rhyskahin the dragonborn sorcerer created an illusion to make his apples look like the white apples rumored to be poisoned. He used the apples to intimidate two captured goblins named Porky and Jerky and convinced them to follow him as their new master.

The goblins led the adventurers to a stockade where several kobolds and a gnome were held prisoner. The kobolds were set free, and the gnome named Erky Timbers joined the party. He was an acolyte of Lathander and a would-be adventurer who was captured by goblins while traveling down the Old Road. He took an immediate liking to Chipper the forest gnome bard who invited him to join the party.

Meepo was not pleased by the new company, least of all the goblins. When the goblins jeered at him, he silently simmered with rage but bided his time. He waited until the party was distracted in a room full of marble pillars decorated with entwined dragons. There were numerous doors in the room and the adventurers were deciding which way to go in search of the white dragon.

When they were about to move forward, Meepo could hold in his anger no longer. He snuck up behind one of the goblin companions and tried to stab him. But his nervous hands were sweaty and slick. He lost his grasp on his dagger and missed. The goblins wheeled around with their scimitars drawn in an instant and carved him to pieces. Meepo let out a blood curtling scream that alerted the goblin bandits in an adjacent room, as well as the dragon that had been lying in a nearby trophy room.

Two doors burst open on opposite sides of the hall. From one emerged a trio of goblins armed to the teeth, and from the other emerged a white dragon. He was only a wyrmling, but still taller than any man, even the mighty Goolly Goolly. Meepo, seeing the dragon at last, came stumbling forward in a daze. With one arm outstretched, reaching for the dragon that was once his charge, he crumpled to the ground.

The goblins were easily dispatched before Porky and Jerky could decide whether it would behoove them to side with their own kind. The dragon, however, proved to be a more fearsome foe. He opened his mouth and a breath of arctic frost came forth from his maw, blasting the nearest adventurers. Chipper might have perished if not for the heroic sacrifice of Erky Timbers. He shielded her from the dragon’s icy breath and gave his own life. His last words were, “I wanted to be an adventurer…”

Goolly Goolly was not so lucky and felt the full force of the icy blast. He fell shivering to the floor, covered in frostbite. He would surely have perished, but Taman revived him with his healing hand. As Goolly Goolly regained consciousness, he sprung to his feet and grappled with the dragon. Summoning all his strength, he forced the wyrmling back into the room from which he had emerged and slammed the door closed. It would hold him only for a few moments, as the dragon began to tear at the wooden door, threatening to shatter it into pieces. Before he could do that, Rhyskahin spoke to the dragon in an attempt to soothe its rage.

By now the goblin tribe in the great hall beyond the chamber could be heard mustering for battle. The adventurers, finding themselves caught between a dragon and a mob of goblins, attempted to parley with the dragon.

The dragon asked the heroes what they each hungered for. In turn, the dragon said that he hungered for freedom and riches. Above all, he wished to be his own master. But at the moment, he was simply hungry. He offered to abstain from eating the adventurers for the time being if they could offer him a meal in the form of his former keeper, Meepo. The adventurers agreed and gave up their fallen companion.

So ended Meepo, the keeper of dragons. And our heroes found themselves to be the new keepers of the dragon.

 

 

 

3.

Irene heard sounds in distant parts of the citadel. The goblins were on the hunt for the adventurers and the dragon. When her watch was over, Irene was startled to find that the caltrops she had placed were gone and the two goblin lackeys were missing from their room. Then she saw that the door to Rhyskahin’s chamber was ajar.

She looked inside and saw Porky and Jerky along with a third unknown goblin. They were standing around a sleeping Rhyskahin with their daggers drawn, getting ready to stab him in his sleep. Before they could do so, Irene gave a great shout that woke her companions. A brief fight ensued in which the strange goblin was slain and Porky and Jerky were disciplined by Rhyskahin. He punished them for their treachery, and Chipper reminded him not to trust those who betrayed their own tribe.

Unable to remain in the hall, the adventurers quickly left and continued to the Kobold colony. They arrived before the throne of the Kobold chief Yusdrayl. The kobolds of the tribe had a mixed reaction. When they saw their dragon once more, they cheered and welcomed the adventurers, but when they saw the goblins they became perplexed and angry. Rhyskahin offered the goblins as a tribute to the kobolds and invited them to watch as the goblins were fed to the dragon.

The horrified goblins were held by kobold guards as Calcryx circled them as if stalking his prey. Yusdrayl, surrounded by her elite guards, watched with fascination from her dragon throne. The great hall seemed to grow cold. Frost formed along the ancient stone walls and marble columns. Finally, Calcryx reared his head as if to strike, but instead of devouring the goblins, he opened his mouth and breathed a storm of frost upon Yusdrayl and her bodyguards. The kobold leader was startled and tried to cry out, but it was too late. She and her guards were turned into icy sculptures. Calcryx swept her frozen body off the throne, shattering it into pieces. Then he climbed into the throne and heaping what treasure Yusdrayl had once possessed into a pile, he laid himself upon it. The surviving goblins were promptly slain by Gooly Gooly and Rhyskahin, who wished to take no chances with treacherous goblins. The kobolds, shocked and horrified by what they had seen, bowed before Calcryx, their new master.

Calcryx allowed the adventurers to take the key that Yusdrayl had promised. They took it and opened the dragon door in the southern part of the citadel. Beyond the door, they braved numerous traps until they arrived at a chamber filled with a queer green light from a magical torch. In the center of the room was a marble sarcophagus. The adventurers camped for the night and on the next morning they opened the sarcophagus.

They broke the iron latches and lifted the lid. There was a flash of bright green light and a shrill laughter came from behind them. The stone doors in the hallway closed shut and became locked. Inside the sarcophagus, they saw a hideous troll with elongated limbs, long matted hair, and putrid green flesh, robed in finery and jewelry decorated with tiny silver dragons. Long ago, he had been a would-be dragon priest who had performed a terrible ritual upon himself which ended in failure. Having thus transformed himself into a hideous troll, he was cast out by his order and entombed alive in the Sunless Citadel. The troll, released from his long slumber, opened his black, beady eyes and snarled.

 

 

4.

As the monstrous dragonpriest rose, the adventurers were taken aback by the hideous creature. Goolly Goolly, strong and brave as he was, had never seen such a monster before.

Rhyskahin too was unnerved by the twisted visage of one who claimed to worship his dragon ancestors. They both hid behind Dirk who alone stood stalwartly before the sarcophagus he had opened, eyeing the precious jewels that adorned the grotesque figure.

Suddenly, a shrill laughter rang through the halls and the stone doors leading to the tomb closed shut, cutting off Chopper and Irene who were standing just outside the doorway. At the same time, a secret door leading into the tomb opened and revealed three confused explorers. Much to the adventurers’ surprise, they saw their friend Milo with two new companions, a silver dragonborn in ranger’s attire and an elf ranger whom Goolly Goolly recognized.

When Milo was separated from his party shortly after encountering the dragon Calcryx, he became lost in the halls of the Sunless Citadel. While wandering the dark and endless hallways, he came upon the two new adventurers who had entered the citadel and also lost their way. The dragonborn dressed like a ranger was, in fact, a sorcerer named Balasar who had a perpetual smile upon his face. The elf ranger was named Jinx. She was once the owner of a bakery that Goolly Goolly had frequented while working as a day laborer. Goolly Goolly had helped her fend off thieves and thugs who tried to rob her store until she learned how to shoot a bow in order to defend herself. One day, Jinx accidentally killed someone who tried to rob her bakery. As a result, she became an outlaw on the run with a bounty on her head. She came to the Sunless Citadel to seek out her friend Goolly Goolly and her own fortune.

Seeing the present danger, the six adventurers in the tomb banded together to defend themselves against the troll. Milo and Jinx let loose their arrows, but they seemed to harm the creature not at all. The darts that found home were pushed out by the creature’s regenerative ability, and the wounds they made healed almost immediately. The creature seemed to take no notice and turned its attention to Dirk and with its foul claws brought down the brave dwarf. Goolly Goolly, thinking his companion had been slain, flew into a rage and plunged his greatsword into the troll’s chest. The troll lunged at the barbarian, but the stout warrior, holding fast the greatsword between them, kept the monster at bay. While Goolly Goolly wrestled with the creature, Balasar and Rhysakin harried it with their magical bolts, wearing it down until at last the latter dealt the fatal blow with a bolt of electrical energy. The dragonpriest, roused after long years of slumber, fell back into the sarcophagus in a smoking ruin and was no more.

The adventurers gathered their breath and tended to their wounded. Dirk was badly injured but alive and soon regained consciousness. The party and the newcomers rested for a while exchanging stories and keeping a watch upon the door. They explored the tomb in search of the source of the hideous laughter that had mocked them, but did not find it. When they were ready, they tested the door that had shut them inside and found that it could be opened. They exited the tomb, but their companions Chipper and Irene were nowhere to be found.

The adventurers, thinking to seek out the dragon Calcryx, headed towards the kobold colony. But on the way they were disturbed to find that the kobolds whom they had encountered working nearby were nowhere to be seen. The traps they were preparing against goblin intrusion were half finished and plainly visible. The adventurers sensed that some ill fate had befallen the kobold tribe, so they changed course and headed towards the hall of the goblin tribe instead. Perhaps their lost friends had ventured there or were kidnapped by goblin bandits.

In the hallway outside the goblin colony, where they had set a fire to stay the goblin horde, the air was now wintry cold and white frost covered the stone walls and marble pillars. The frost seemed to get thicker and the air colder as they approached the far end of the hallway where the door to the goblin colony was frozen shut. Goolly Goolly used his greatsword and Balasar used his fiery magic to crack and melt the ice. When at last they opened the door, a blast of icy wind escaped through the portal and the adventurers beheld a terrible sight.

A goblin woman held an infant in one arm and reached with the other towards the door, but she was frozen in ice, as were all the other inhabitants of the great hall. It appeared that a battle had taken place between the goblin defenders and kobold raiders, and both goblins and kobolds alike had been frozen where they stood, grappling with each other in a desperate struggle. The goblin village had been ransacked and looted. A few surviving goblins had barricaded themselves into an adjacent chamber. The adventurers, hoping to learn what had transpired here, tried to coax them into revealing themselves, but they feared any intruders and remained hidden.

The adventurers saw a door upon a round wall which appeared to be a circular tower, much like the one that had provided entry into the Sunless Citadel. The air seemed to get colder near the door was which likewise frozen shut. Balasar melted the ice once more and opened the door. Inside, they found a room that was still colder than the hall of the goblin village. White frost covered the floor, growing thicker towards the center of the room where a wide, circulur hole could be seen. The walls of the well were lined with vines that reached to the top of the opening. A soft violet light was emitted from the well, providing the only light in the room and illuminating its four occupants. Three tall hobgoblins and one hobgoblin wearing splintmail were frozen in ice. They were facing the doorway and were drawing their blades against an unseen foe when they were frozen. The mailed hobgoblin appeared to be their leader, but he had a grimace of pain upon his face.

The adventurers investigated the room but found nothing besides the well. Seeing nowhere else to go and no other clues that might lead them towards their lost companions, they climbed down the well. Jinx was the last to descend, and she took one last look around the hall before she did so. Just before she descended into the well, a glint of metal caught her eye. It came from a dagger that had been plunged into the back of the frozen hobgoblin leader.

 

 

5.

The adventurers descended the vine covered shaft. Arriving at the bottom, they found themselves in a wide hall illuminated by a violet light. The light came from glowing mushrooms and fungi that covered the floor. Damp earth, rotting vegetation, and the scattered remains of small subterranean creatures were spread over the fungi. There were two doors along the east and south walls. Leading north from the hall, there was a natural tunnel that plunged into darkness.

Our heroes were not alone. Two robed figures stood in the center of the subterranean grove, wielding large scythes that they used to harvest the mushrooms. Beside them stood two gnarled and withered shrubs. Jinx detected movement among their branches, and her companions soon recognized them as the twig blights that they had seen on the Old Road before entering the Sunless Citadel. When the robed figures turned to face them, the adventurers saw that they were not living men but had fleshless skulls and bones beneath their hoods. The animated skeletons raised their scythes and silently advanced while the twig blights lumbered toward the adventurers, reaching out with their accursed branches.

Despite their frightening visage, the skeletal gardeners and monstrous plants were no match for our heroes who had endured far worse in the citadel above. With their arrows, swords, and magic, they made short work of these guardians of the grove, shattering their unholy bones and branches. But just when they thought the danger had passed, they heard a mighty battlecry coming from the northern tunnel. Dirk, who stood nearest to the mouth of the tunnel, was the first to see the silhouette of the creature that emerged from the darkness. At first, he imagined that his eyes had deceived him, for he saw what appeared to be a great deer or elk striding toward him. But when it came closer, he saw that the antlers of a mighty deer were fixed upon a helmet worn by a tall and heavily armed bugbear, covered with matted fur over his rippling muscles. On either side, he was flanked by two giant rats that followed their master like hunting hounds.

Gooly Gooly stepped in front of Dirk and blocked the mouth of the tunnel. Like a hunter setting his hounds upon their quarry, the bugbear unleashed his rats upon the adventurers while he himself stood afar and harried them with his javelins. The adventurers quickly dispatched the ferocious rats, but the bugbear, being no fool, stepped back around the corner and vanished from view.

Dirk rushed ahead in pursuit of his foe before the others could follow. As he ran through the tunnel and exitted on the other side, he narrowly dodged the morningstar swung by the bugbear who was lying in wait. But as he leaned back to avoid the attack, he was caught by an unexpected foe from behind. Dirk felt a small hand press against his back and a burning sensation crept up his spine as if his nerves were on fire. Afflicted by magical wounds, he turned his head and saw a small robed figure slink back into the shadows. It was a goblin shaman, and he was raising his hands, preparing to cast the next terrible spell.

Dirk was flanked on either side by his foes. But soon his companions came to his aid. The goblin shaman, seeing that she was outnumbered, turned into the shadows and fled. But the bugbear, who cursed the shaman for her cowardice, had nowhere to run. With his back against the cavern wall, he fought ferociously like a cornered beast. But in the end, he was defeated and his mighty antler helm was shattered and broken.

As the adventurers caught their breath, thinking that the danger had passed, they heard hushed voices coming from the mushroom grove behind them. The noise from the battle had attracted a group of goblins who came in through the eastern door to investigate. Most of them were lightly armed with small clubs, but one goblin wore leather armor and carried a blade and shortbow. He looked like the leader of the goblin posse. Rhyskahin conjured his own blade made of ice and threw it like a dart into their midst. The ice shard struck the leader and exploded into a thousand sharp pieces that knocked over his nearby lackeys. The survivors of the magical attack fled back through the eastern door.

Gooly Gooly followed the goblins to see where they went. Beyond the door, he saw a long corridor with three doors on either side. Two rows of pillars also lined the corridor and numerous tables were placed haphazardly between them. The surviving goblins were now rallying together even more goblins who spilled forth from either side of the corridor.

Seeing the present danger, Gooly Gooly shut the door and jammed the iron handle with the narrow end of his wooden torch. The door shook violently for a brief instant as the goblins on the other side tried to open it. But very soon the door was still. Gooly Goopy did the same to the southern door to make sure the enemy could not circle around and outflank them.

Satisfied that all of their enemies had been slain or put to flight, the adventurers examined the natural cavern. A tunnel in the northern wall seemed to lead further downward where the goblin shaman must have fled, but it appeared to descend far deeper underground than any of them wished to go. In the north part of the cavern, the bugbear had left some crude belongings in his makeshift quarters. A weapons rack held numerous spears and swords. A patchy cloak of black fur was hung from a pole, and pieces of rough fur were laid over a pallet like a bed. Jinx examined the bedding and found a box full of coins hidden underneath the furs, at which her companions rejoiced.

Finding nothing else of interest, the adventurers decided to make camp and rest for a time before exploring this strange subterranean realm. They chose the order of the watch and laid themselves down to rest. Goopy Gooly took the first watch. As he sat up alone facing the southern tunnel leading to the mushroom grove, he noticed that it felt colder here than in the north end of the cavern. He spotted the faint traces of frost creeping along the corners of the southern tunnel. How long had the frost been there? It was then that he noticed that the bugbear’s helmet had small droplets running down the length of the antlers, as if frost had somehow formed there and then melted. And at last, he saw that the bugbear’s face was covered with scars, and the stump of his frostbitten nose was lined with blackened and withered flesh.

 

 

6.

The adventurers rose on the following morning, though it was impossible to tell whether it was day or night on the surface. They prepared to delve further into the subterranean grove when they heard footsteps behind them.

The goblin shaman who had escaped during the battle with the bugbear had returned. She was mortally wounded and a strange disease had overtaken her body and blighted her flesh.

The goblin told the adventurers that she was Grenl, shaman and former Chieftess of the goblins of the citadel. She told them of how she had betrayed her hobgoblin leader and plunged a knife in his back. Together with the white dragon Calcryx, she descended into the subterranean grove in a bid to challenge the druid Belak who controlled the grove and the mysterious tree whose fruits were distributed by the goblins on the surface. But Belak overpowered her and took control of the dragon with a strange disease that allowed the druid to dominate him. He would have done the same to Grenl, but she resisted the influence of the disease. However, the disease corrupted her body instead which proved to be fatal.

With her last ounce of strength, she guided the adventurers towards the direction in which they might find Belak and his tree. The adventurers explored the hallways and discovered an abandoned shrine of the dragon cult, a long hallway used by Belak as a laboratory, and wide chambers with ornate bas reliefs of dragons carved onto the walls but which were now used as crude gardens.

It was in one of these gardens that a large band of over a dozen goblins led by a tall bugbear had laid an ambush for the adventurers. After a desperate struggle, nearly all of the adventurers were beaten and captured by the goblins. Rhyskahin alone escaped and watched helplessly as his companions were dragged off by the monsters. He bided his time and followed them to their lair, but he too was captured in the end by the goblins and their bugbear commander.

When the adventurers awoke, they found themselves held captive in the center of a walled clearing. They were bound to a great hulking tree whose black, twisted branches reached upward like a skeletal hand that was clawing out of the earth. They realized that this must be the Gulthias Tree, for upon its bough they saw a single unripe fruit. Before them, they saw the dragon Calcryx, a tall man with a shield and sword, and a blonde haired woman wearing a fine robe. All of them had the same blighted appearance as the goblin shaman, but they looked strong and alert although they had blank expressions on their faces. Then from their midst, there came an older bearded man wearing a robe and holding a staff. This man had no blight upon his flesh, though he looked rather pale as if he had not seen the sun for many a year.

The bearded man introduced himself as Belak. He was the guardian of the subterranean grove and keeper of the Gulthias Tree whose fruit and seed he was tasked with spreading upon the surface world. The Gulthias Tree was born from the wooden stake that was driven through the heart of a mighty vampire lord named Gulthias, the former high priest of the dragon cult of Ashardalon. Belak invited the adventurers to join those who came before them in worshipping the tree as its new supplicants.

As Belak spoke, Chipper quietly freed herself from her bonds and began to loosen the rope that bound the hands of her companions. When Belak turned away momentarily to give them a moment to make their decision, the adventurers sprang to action. Gooly Gooly flew into a mighty rage and burst the bonds that held them to the tree. Then Chipper, Dirk, and Rhyskahin fell upon the Gulthias Tree with their magic and their blades.

Belak shouted in sudden alarm and horror, commanding the supplicants to defend the Gulthias Tree, but it was too late. Lightning crackled from Rhysakin’s hands and struck the tree, burning the already blackened limbs until they caught fire. Chipper pierced the trunk of the tree with her rapier and left a gaping whole from which a black liquid spewed forth like blood. Finally, Dirk thrust his own sword into the wound made by Chipper and then twisted his blade, causing a great crack that went up the center of the tree and split it asunder. As the broken branches of the tree fell to the floor, the supplicant were freed from its influence. They fell upon their former master Belak, who screamed as his former followers tore him apart limb from limb. But with the tree and their master destroyed, the newly freed thralls collapsed to the ground and their bodies began to wither. The adventurers looked on in horror as the man and the woman, whom they surmised were part of the lost adventuring party, perished before them. And Calcryx the white dragon, who had desired freedom from all bonds, was set free from the bonds of his mortal life and was no more.

And so, the adventurers unraveled the mystery of the strange fruit that had emerged from the Sunless Citadel and the lost adventurers who had descended into its depths never to return. Recovering the signet rings from the former thralls of the Gulthias Tree, they returned these tokens to the owner of the general store, Madam Hucrele, who rewarded them for bringing tidings of her kinsmen. With their newfound wealth, the adventurers each went their separate ways in search of new adventures.

The End