BanditFortress

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You set down your heavy pack at the precipice of a massive cliff of black rock as pebbles tumble down into the abyss below you. Before you a dark landscape thick with trees unfirls in the soft light of the stars above. The moon is nowhere to be seen, and the only noticeable shadows are cast by the torches of a distant stone fortress constructed on a steep hill. Below you a gravel road winds through the mountainside towards the keep. [[Check bag->inventory]] [[Follow the main road->road]]

In your burlap sack you find: A telescope A scroll with a blue wax seal A dagger A grappling hook with rope A cask of oil A vial of a green toxic liquid A few crackers of Hardtack A waterskin [[Read the Scroll->Docket]] [[Pick up the telescope and peer at the keep->ViewFortress]] [[Close the bag->Cliff]]

You embark down the dark road, your footsteps breaking the suffocating silence of the night forest. A dark ravine parallels the road to your left, and the mountain rises steeply to your right. As you approach a bend in the road, you see what looks to be a pile of stones obstructing the road wreathed in flickering light. You step carefully to make no noise and approach the blockage. [[Vault the rocks->Gate]] [[Peek over the rocks->gateview]] [[Enter the ravine to approach the wall->wall base]]

"Halt, who goes there!" shouts the guard The clattering of armor stops from atop the wall [[Point to your heavy bag of equipment: "Please I'm a travelling merchant and I have lost my way" ->Conversation]] [[Rush the sentry->Combat 1]] [[Flee->road]]

You sneak a look over the rocks and see a singular guard manning the gate of the black fortress. The treebranches overhead obscure your view of the walltop, but you can hear the clattering of activity coming from above you. [[Duck out of sight->road]] [[Approach the sentry->Gate]]

You tear the bright blue wax seal on the docket and unfirl the scroll and read the message penned in frilly cursive: The Blackrock Bandit gang has been terrorizing the kingdoms main trade road. Due to it's unassailable placement on the mountaintop, the king's intelligence service has deemed that subterfuge is the most prudent option. As such, you shall infiltrate the Blackrock Stronghold and find a way to sabotage the band of brigands so they may no longer function properly in the area. Once the bandits have been routed and their fortress disabled, you will return to the conclave. [[Put the docket back in the bag->inventory]]

Very well, approach. The guard gives a hand signal and you hear the clinking of metal resume from the fortress, however the sentry lets his hand linger on the hilt of a sword hanging from his hip while eyeing you suspiciously. You feign exhaustion and approach the guard until you stand only a few paces away. You jovially exclaim: [[I'm so happy to find a safe place to rest! Thank god his majesty placed soldiers out here. ->c1]] [[What is a group of nice young men doing in the wilderness with all these weapons anyways? ->c1]]

You make it three steps past your rocky cover before you see Archers training their bows on you atop the wall too late. They loose the arrows and their aim is true. Your vision darkens to black, and the void takes you. [[Restart->Cliff]]

Through the smudged lens of the telescope you can see the keep in much greater detail. A craggy ravine of obsidian lies at the feet of the keep's walls, and the dark monotone of the stone keep's walls is interrupted only by a gate of sturdy dark oak. Blurry figures move back and forth carrying torches along the top of the wall. A winding path connects the foot of the cliff you stand upon to the forbidding door of the black keep. [[Put away the telescope ->inventory]]

You slide into the ravine, the thick soles of your leather boots protecting your feet from the sharp shale. You follow the ravine until it forks. When you look up, you can see torchlight and the walls of the keep far above. [[Free Climb up the ravine->wall]] [[check your pack->inventory1]]

A flash of confusion flits across the guards face before he breaks into a knowing grin, revealing his rotten teeth and brown gums. "Ah yes well we are just trying to defend the kings peace and all. Might I inquire as to what you trade?" drolls the sentry in a poor attempt at a noble accent. Respond: [[I think it would be easier if you just looked in my bag->badguardnodonut]] [[Nervously grin and deliberately glance behind him->madeyoulook]]

The guard opens your bag and peers hungrily into the pack: "How are you supposed to make any money off this lousy stock" he laughs, wheezing profusely. [[I meant it would be easier for me if you looked in the bag. I trade mostly in pest removal: suckerpunch the sentry->emptygate]] [[Oh well I never said I was a good merchant->ruhroh]]

The sentry frowns at you as he notices your gaze. He slowly breaks eye contact and turns to look behind him. [[Choke the sentry out with a sleeper hold->emptygate]] [[Bolt->wall base]]

The guard goes limp and you slowly lower him to the ground to avoid alerting the archers above. [[Swap clothes with the guard and enter the front gate->courtyard]] [[Slide down into the ravine->wall base]]

The guard rifles through your pack deeper and spots your dagger and docket with its prominently featured royal seal. "Assassin!" The sentry unsheathes his blade and sticks you with it. [[Restart->Cliff]]

Your boots echo across the cobblestones of the meager courtyard. You skirt around the rusting iron bars of the cages, but there is no avoiding the stench of decay from the poor souls strewn about the ground. You spy two buildings across the courtyard: [[enter the well lit building with the massive chimney->kitchen]] [[enter the large dimly lit building->baracks]]

Your hands are cut and bleed on the jagged rocks of the ravine wall. The muscles in your forearms scream with fatigue, but you reach the foot of the wall, and steady yourself on a small rock outcropping. [[Continue Climbing->wallcheck]] [[check your bag->inventory1]]

You rummage through your pack and the sharp prongs of a grappling hook poke your hand. The metal prongs are rubbed in what appears to be charcoal to avoid reflecting light. [[Close bag and free climb the ravine->wall]] [[Use the grappling hook->wallcheck1]]

When you are halfway up the wall, you see a light cast from a torch approaching. [[Hang and wait for the light to pass->willhelmscream]] [[climb up to the top->woof]]

You twirl the grappling hook and release it, watching it soar above you and out of sight. You hear a dull clink, and when you tug the rope, it holds. You climb with both your hands on the rope, your leather boots once again protecting your feet from the piercing rock of the ravine wall. When you are halfway up the wall, you see a light cast from a torch approaching. [[Hang and wait for the light to pass->wallcheck2]] [[climb up to the top->woof]]

The blood from your hands makes the smooth stones of the wall slick. Your grip weakens and you slip before crashing into the ground below. [[Restart->Cliff]]

You power through the rest of the climb and peer over the wall. You make eye contact with an annoyed looking sentry. The dirty bandit places his leather boot firmly on your face and kicks you off the wall, letting you plumet into the rocks below. [[Restart->Cliff]]

The light stops moving along the wall near where your hook has dug it's metal prongs into the stones. You hold your breath and your heart pounds until you hear the sentry spit and mutter as the torchlight recedes further down the wall into the dark of the night. [[climb up to the top->walltop]]

You reach the top of the wall and turn to your right to see the sentry's light disappear into one of the guard towers. You wrest your grappling hook loose of the stone and place it back in your bag. [[Drop down from the wall top ->courtyard]] [[Survey the camp->view2]]

You peer at the camp from the top of the wall. The area within the keep is not large. A small bare courtyard lies in the middle of the grounds, surrounded by two large buildings and filled with cages full of corpses in varying stages of decomposure. The building closest to you is quite large and tall, its windows are dark, and you can hear faint snores leaking through its dark wooden walls. The further building is well lit, and light spews from the panes of its windows, while smoke billows from its chimney. [[Drop down from the wall top ->courtyard]]

You enter the warm well lit room, and thankfully there appear to be no people currently in the room. The smell of spices and a rich aroma fills the air, and you trace the scent back to a large cauldron cooking over a fire in the far corner of the room below the chimney. [[check bag->inventory3]] [[reenter the courtyard. ->courtyard]]

You wince inwardly as the heavy wooden doors creak on their hinges. Mercifully, the hinges are hardly audible over the thunderous snoring filling the cavernous hall. Rows of ratty beds stretch all the way to the far wall, dimly lit by intermittent torches. Hay and half finished food is strewn about the floor, and nearly all the beds are filled. [[check bag->inventory4]] [[Knock over torch->baracks2]]

You rifle through your bag and you hand touches the smooth vial of a gnarly looking green liquid. [[Empty vial of poison into the pot->Kitchen3]] [[close bag->Kitchen2]]

You hear steps quickly approaching from a side door and look frantically around for another exit. The only point of egress is the door through which you entered. [[Flee to the courtyard->courtyard 5]]

You rummage through your bag an your hand hits the dark stitched leather of an oil skin. [[Empty the oil skin onto the ground and toss the torch->baracks3]] [[Close bag ->baracks2]]

The torch catches on the hay, and the room quickly grows brighter as smoke accumulates, hanging lazily by the ceiling. The bodies in the beds move quicker than you expected, and the bandits quickly smother the flames in blankets. Their gazes soon turn from the flames towards the downed torch and then to you. The bandits rush you and overwhelm you in a see of numbers. [[Restart->Cliff]]

The torch clatters to the ground, skyrocketing sparks far and wide. The oil soaked hay immediately catches and paints the walls a flickering orange. The bandits fly from their beds quicker than you expected and begin beating the flames with their heavy quilts, but the oil continues to burn and soon the quilts catch fire as well. [[Flee into the courtyard->courtyard 4]]

You sprint to the heavy wooden doors and burst through them, slamming them behind you, chest heaving. [[Flee towards the gate->gate2]] [[Flee up the wall->walltop2]]

You pull a pitchfork from a nearby pile of hay in the courtyard and thread it through the thick metal handles attached to the double doors of the barracks you just hastily exited. Moments after you do so, the doors are rocked by a series of frantic impacts and you hear shouting and screaming from the inside. You tear through the courtyard and the echoes of your footsteps on the darkened cobble are muffled by the inhuman howls of the bandits being immolated in the building you have just prudently exited. [[Flee towards the gate->gate2]] [[Flee up the wall->walltop2]]

You jog to the gate and avoid making excess noise, musing to yourself that hopefully bandits will think twice before robbing and killing innnocents next time, not that their will be a next time. You allow yourself a slight chuckle before exiting the gate and disappearing into the night. [[Victory!]]

You climb the stairs and alight atop the wall trying to avoid making excess noise, musing to yourself that hopefully bandits will think twice before robbing and killing innnocents next time, not that their will be a next time. You allow yourself a slight chuckle before backtracking to your grappling hook and disappearing into the darkness of the ravine and the safety of the moonless night. [[Victory!]]

You uncork the vial and you could swear you see a small green skull form from the escaping vapors before fading away into the warm muggy air of the kitchen. You shrug it off and pour the contents of the vial into the cauldron as you hear steps quickly approaching from a nearby side door. [[Book it to the courtyard ->courtyard 2]]

You sprint to the heavy wooden doors and burst through them, slamming them behind you, chest heaving. [[Barricade the doors->courtyard3]] [[Flee towards the gate->gate3]] [[Flee up the wall->walltop3]]

As you reach the gate you turn to see bandits violently kicking the door you slammed open and pointing at you to give chase. You high tail it out of the fort and down the road. You resolve to return to properly disable the fortress another time. [[Restart->Cliff]]

As you alight atop the wall, you turn to see bandits violently kicking the door you slammed open and pointing at you to give chase. You high tail it out of the fort and down the road. You resolve to return to properly disable the fortress another time. [[Restart->Cliff]]

You sprint to the heavy wooden doors and burst through them, slamming them behind you, chest heaving. You hear footsteps rushing towards the door in pursuit. You doubt the bandits will eat a stew that an intruder was alone with for an unspecified amount of time, it looks like your mission has failed, but you can still escape with your life. [[Flee towards the gate->gate3]] [[Flee up the wall->walltop3]]

You've won! Thanks for playing.