Uncle's Keep The Time of Troubles & Era of Upheaval Inspired By Ed Greenwood

Uncle's Keep, "as it was once known" is a dwarf-built keep that was part of deeds granted by the Lords of Waterdeep and received in an inheritance. Centuries ago, the keep stodd proud against the backdrop of Kryptgarden Forest.

It was once owned by an elderly wizard called Uncle "which is what most everyone called him so he just kept the name as his own". Uncle was what some called a particular reclusive wizard who owned the keep in the Kryptgarden Forest on the Sword Coast North. After his death, he left his keep to a relative who was either his niece or nephew.

I leave all my property, both real and personal, to any living heir who avenges me by ridding my wonderful home of these foul creatures no later than 60 days after my death―Uncle's Last Will and Testament".

The wizard known as Uncle was a recluse who did not maintain contact with people outside his keep, even family. Nevertheless, he was kind enough to treat his servants well, and made a point of celebrating their birthdays each year with parties. He was also conscious about security, as he filled his moat with invisible spears and had a secret escape route out of his keep.

The wizard's most significant possession was Uncle's Keep, a modestly sized but well-decorated building in the southern end of the Kryptgarden Forest. In his keep, he kept a number of guards and servants. He also had a stable full of livestock, which included a pony. He owned a magical mirror that could cause someone to be enthralled by their own reflection. He owned many other magic items, including enchanted weapons. Before his death, the wizard lived a somewhat solitary life in his keep although he made regular visits to Red Larch.

The wizard had few relatives. He was married to a woman from Red Larch, and had a friend who was a wandering druid. He occasionally thought about his distant niece or nephew, to whom he was considered 'long-lost', and who inherited his estate after his death. His keep made him a target of the Lostafinga tribe of hobgoblins.

About five years before his death, the wizard saved the life of a lord of Waterdeep, who repaid him by granting him a tract of land in the south end of the Kryptgarden Forest, as well as a keep there and money. Some time after, the wizard became married to a woman from Red Larch. His wife and their unborn child both died during childbirth. Two years after the death of his wife, the wizard's keep was raided by a patrol of the Lostafinga tribe of hobgoblins. They killed his hirelings, and the wizard as well. As he bled out from a fatal arrow wound, his last act was to write a will in ink and his own blood, leaving the keep to a particular niece or nephew of his.

The nephew failed to follow through on his uncle's dying wishes, and the keep eventually fell to ruin. Today the former keep stands in ruins, a shell of its former self. All manner of foul creatures have taken up residence over the centuries.

Legend states that the wizard constructed a maze of tunnels and catacombs beneath the former residence which has now been overrun with monsters of all sorts. Legend also states that Uncle burried a massive horde of treasure beneath his keep deep in the dungeon below but this could all be false, noone has been brave enough to explore the depths of Uncle's Keep.