Since last the Chronicle investigated the goings-on of Chainlock Keep, an unprecedented prison break has occurred. Details at this point are sketchy and unreliable, but this reporter obtained several eyewitness accounts from current guards, prisoners, and former inmates concerning the events.
We first spoke with one Jerath Norn, a platinum blonde drow currently serving time for petty theft, fraud, and impersonating a city official. Per Chainlock Keep records, this man’s recidivism rate remains high, despite multiple warnings and incarceration periods within the Keep. He provided the following account following extensive psychological care from the on-site medical professionals:
“Are you sure they won’t be upset if I tell you…? I, uh, I watched two of them kill a guard with a wooden duck and a hammer that just appeared out of nowhere, you know. They…they didn’t even seem to mind. Was like murder was an inconvenience because it got their clothes dirty. They’re animals. DEADLY PREDATORS…! It’s not safe! NOBODY’S SAFE!!! [After being assured that he would remain in protective custody until he deemed otherwise, Jerath continued] Sorry. Right. So I was across the hall from a half-elf and a halfling man, and apparently they had some sort of relationship with a gnome prisoner and his human Grey Virtue escort. After…after the…the thing had happened, they were discussing how to find this guy named Sebis Thull and break out of the prison. If it was anyone else, I’d think they were fools, but these guys… They were professional assassins, so I wasn’t questioning it. They offered to let me out, you know. But I couldn’t trust they wouldn’t snuff me once I left my cell, so I just stayed in there. Told them how to find the First and hid. The gnome came back later to, I dunno, taunt me with food? It was weird. But later the First summoned me to their chambers to help with some, uh, drow chemistry, and the halfling was there too. Maybe they weren’t as bad as I thought?”
A confusing narrative, to be sure, but there’s no doubt the escapees made quite an impression on Jerath Norm. Our next interviewee was Grey Virtue Daria Lemelson, a human woman with a short black braid, square jaw, and arms the approximate size and shape of a sackful of footballs. She provided some additional details:
“We aren’t supposed to discuss ongoing investigations with the press, but I believe the public should be warned. Whoever these people were, they’re dangerous. A Grey Virtue I didn’t recognize requested I check on the Cage Landing Center, since it appeared to be unmanned. After ensuring my post at the prisoner material lockup was covered, I took over and proceeded to follow the normal release schedule for meals. About a half-hour into the shift, I pulled down a cage that contained the body of Virtue Trevor, who was supposed to be maintaining the Landing Center. I hit the alarm and we started a search for the culprit or culprits. That’s when the bodies started to pile up. We found another guard stuffed under one of the bunks in the Center Block, and our Chief Interrogator, Myna Bloodwing, and her attendant Grey Virtue, have gone missing as well. There was nothing but a suspicious gelatinous puddle outside her chambers, so our current theory is the prisoners either coerced them to assist in the escape, or she masterminded the whole thing for some unknown reason.”
It appears that the mysterious group managed to both dispatch a group of armed and armored Grey Virtues and escape without a trace, but the reason for this remains a complete enigma. Another former inmate, who wished to remain anonymous, commented with the following:
“I dunno how much you know about Chainlock Keep, but let me tell you a little open secret: the Warden’s got only the authority that the First gives him. If the First wants to get someone out of the Keep, by gods, they’ll be gone. They’ve got their fingers in every pie, know every secret, have everything figured out ahead of time. I heard they even keep a black dragon in the basement, eh? [This reporter then attempted to get the interviewee away from wild speculation about prison conspiracy overlords and secret dragons.] Heh, sure, don’t believe me if you want. But how do you explain how these folks managed to escape? They just happened to have the materials to knock people unconscious while removing their prison collars? They just fell into a secret passage out of the Keep [the Grey Virtues at the entrance reported no movement through what was assumed to be the only entrance to Chainlock Keep]? No, of course not. The First got them the supplies, gave them directions, hell, probably killed Sebis Thull for them too. I heard that’s who they were really after… Who knows?”
On that note, it is worth reporting that according to official Chainlock Keep documentation, only a single prisoner actually died during the incident, one Sebis Thull. This dwarven man was serving time for distributing Type II Restricted Minerals (refined seraphinium) without a permit, so his murder is something of a puzzle. Was this entire affair a complicated plot to reach a single convicted criminal? What sort of person would have the resources or incentive to mastermind such a plan? A guild leader? An archwizard? A city Chancellor? This reporter would prefer to avoid the wild speculation entertained by our last interviewee, but it does still make one think…
In any event, both the Warden of Chainlock Keep and the Clearcrest Chronicle would like to implore the citizenry to remain vigilant against suspicious activity. A cadre of merciless killers may be walking Clearcrest’s streets, and it’s up to each of us to ensure they’re apprehended and punished for their heinous crimes. Should additional details come to light, loyal readers can be assured they’ll be relayed with all due expediency. Stay safe and alert, and stay tuned for the next edition.
The Clearcrest Chronicle 