The Keys of Telku / The Final Key pt. 3 / Kith the 10th through the 11th, 3593 CE / 12-26-21

The Adventurers arrive at Castle Argaine, ancestral home of their companion Shadolok the half-elf ranger. The lord of the manor is Shadolok's brother, Rickard, having taken the title upon the death of their father while Shadolok was away on various adventurers. The party receives a warm welcome, as Shadolok's social currency among the staff and servants of the keep still seems in good standing. When Rickard himself comes out to greet the newcomers, Doctor Marrow notes with interest that he has a limp, probably due to a birth defect, as she knows from experience that people of Rickard's station can usually afford divine healing later in life. Rickard invites the party in to a sumptuous banquet, waited on by his servants, while Shadolok confides in him the trouble they have found themselves in, accused of treason and betrayal by Lord Tarrus of Liem and wanted throughout the Seven Kingdoms. Rickard is sympathetic, and offers respite at Castle Argaine, but after hearing their plan to travel onward to Pandona, proposes they dress as guards and join a trade caravan he is sending that way, headed up by his loyal knight, Sir Derban. The party agrees and soon gets into various pursuits around the castle. Stele requests to see the Argaine family tomb to satisfy his own fears that proper rites were not enacted, while Baijao proselytizes to the help and Bladehelm and Adrienne over indulge in the bounty of food and liquor provided by Lord Argaine. As some of the party members get lost in the endless halls of the castle, they come across a disused wing, and sitting upon a windowsill, they find a dark fetish of Anubhak! With concern, they rush to tell Lord Rickard, but the best they can do is get a guard to fetch Sir Derban, who downplays the threat and assures them that the Lord is well protected. Not fully satisfied with this, Rados decides to investigate the grounds, flying up and over the castle walls to land in the garden, There he falls asleep in a stone bench, but awakes in the dead of night convinced that someone was watching him. Frustrated by his inability to find more clues of Anubhak's presence, he returns to the safety of the keep to finish out the night. In the morning, the party meets once more in the dining room for breakfast, and Lord Rickard tells them that the wing of the castle in which they found the fetish had been closed since his father was Lord. Shadolok andSultar inform the party they will be staying behind at Castle Argaine and will keep an eye on things. The Adventurers begin making preparations once more to hit the road, this time disguised as Lord Rickard's caravan guards.