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Literature / Shadow Keep

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Shadowkeep is a short 1984 novel from Alan Dean Foster, based on his work on the Trillium RPG of the same name. (The 1991 Mac game Shadow Keep is no relation.)

The good wizard Gorwyther, owner of the eponymous fortress of Shadowkeep was tricked and sealed by the evil Demon King Dal'Brad, who's now planning the invasion of Earth. The young smith apprentice Practor Fime decide to try his luck and venture forth in the cursed castle. Along the way he befriends the Garoo Sranul, the Thaladar sage Maryld and the mighty Zhiss'ta Hargrod. Together, they venture in the castle in order to free Gorwyther, stop the Demon King and reclaim the legendary treasure of Shadowkeep.

The book, while sounding similar to a Role-Playing fantasy adventure, is still not too bad.


This work contains examples of:

  • Action Girl: Maryld, despite being a sage, isn't afraid to go dungeon crawling.
  • Always Chaotic Evil: Goblins and Trolls are listed as such. The former are introduced attacking a caravan of Lizard Folk unprovoked, the latter have... peculiar taste in food.
  • Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Dal'Brad can easily tower over a medium size town.
  • Bait-and-Switch: When Practor is suddenly surrounded and seemingly attacked by the Garoos he thinks his adventure is already over... turns out, it's a Garoo custom to capture a traveler to make him the "king" of a day-long feast, where he gets plenty of food and drink alongside the clan who captured him.
  • Bait-and-Switch Boss: Our heroes manage to defeat the Demon Prince, only to find themselves face to face with the true Dal'Brad.
  • Battle Cry: Averted by the Zhiss'ta who are silent fighters. The Troll Boss' one is "Lunch! Lunch!"
  • Beast Man: Garoos are humanoid Kangaroos, capable of great jumps. Zhiss'ta are Lizard Folk.
  • BFS: The Troll boss has a gigantic sword.
  • Big Bad: Dal'Brad the Demon King.
  • Big Fun: The Garoos have a propension for parties and banquets.
  • Big Good: Gorwyther the wizard. Who sadly is also a Posthumous Character by the time they free him.
  • Booby Trap: Shadowkeep is filled with traps of any kind, usually paired with Schmuck Bait.
  • Brick Joke: In the beginning one of the street kids asks to another one if the Spinner "looked like his mad uncle". When the party confront fake Demon King and ask him if he's Dal'Brad, he says: "Well, I'm surely not your uncle Thavel."
  • Call to Agriculture: Former hero Shone Stelft decides to turn down the call to adventure and remain a blacksmith.
  • Can't Argue with Elves: Can't Argue With Thaladars. Thaladars are really cold and unbearable, but thankfully Maryld and her relatives are "eccentric", hence friendlier and kind.
  • Combat Tentacles: The Brollachian monster has several of these along with clawed arms (his physical description isn't too clear).
  • Cool Helmet: Halfway through, Practor obtains a well-crafted metal coif/skullcap to wear. According to Hargrod's judgement, it's well-built enough to protect him from lighter weaponry.
  • Chekhov's Gun: Many, especially the staff in the Brollachian chamber, the inscribed stick and the altars of teleportation.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: The Spinner is apparently made of gloomy shadows, but is good-naturated.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Sranul, Hargrod and the Innkeeper Norell.
  • Death is Cheap: For Sranul, who's killed by the Demon Prince but revived thanks to the Keep's magic.
  • Don't Touch It, You Idiot!: Will Sranul ever learn the lesson?
  • Dungeon Crawling: Pretty much a Dungeon Crawling book.
  • Fantastic Racism: Thaladars are cold and detatched to strangers: you won't see them throwing petty slurs or employing sarcasm, but they'd hardly move a finger to help them, with the aversion being Maryld and her family. Maryld's ultimate goal is to use her part of the loot to make a school open to children of all races.
  • Feed It a Bomb: How Practor kills Dal'Brad. The latter even has a moment of Oh, Crap! when he realizes he just swallowed the cithqua.
  • Four-Temperament Ensemble: Albeit with a very mild case of said humors
  • Holy Hand Grenade: The cithqua (Demon Gem) forged by Gorwyther, which obliterates Dal'Brad in a volcano of pure light.
  • Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Sranul is impaled through the chest by the Demon Prince's scimitar. Later Practor repays him in kind.
  • In the Back: How Practor kills the Demon Prince. He feels a little ignomious for doing that, but given the situation he can't afford to be picky.
  • Insult Backfire: The Troll Boss, while facing our heroes in his lair/office.
    Troll Boss: A deal? I don't make deals with trash like you!
    Sranul: But you eat trash like us? You have strange tastes!
  • It Gets Easier: Downplayed, though when Practor kills one of the Goblins attacking the Zhiss'ta, the narration mentions that it was the first time he killed a sentient being and he feel discomfort with that. Since he's in battle though, he soon recovers.
  • Javelin Thrower: Sranul fights with javelins.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Sranul sometimes acts like a selfish, foolish money-obsessed jerk.
  • Large and in Charge: The Troll Boss is far larger than his subordinates and so too Dal'Brad. Especially the true one!
  • Lightning Bruiser: Sranul is very fast and can jump really high.
  • Lizard Folk: Zhiss'ta are a race of gray-scaled, stout but powerful lizardfolks who're mostly nomadic. They prefer to be left alone and rarely disturb others, but are honorable and powerful warriors.
  • Made of Air: The Demon Prince can't be harmed by physical weapons, which just phase through, but the magical staff can turn him solid for a moment.
  • Made of Iron:
    • Hargrod can run as a strong steed for whole days without getting tired.
    • The Brollachian is one of the few monsters that not even Hargrod can slay in combat, with the latter commenting that probably even decapitation would feel like a minor nuisance.
  • Magnetic Hero: Practor manages to hold his odd fellowship together.
  • Mistaken for Granite:
    • Subverted. At one point the heroes walks in a corridor full of mean-looking, demonic statues. This being Shadowkeep, Sranul thinks that the statues will come to life and attack them, but they're eventually revealed to be just harmless statues.
    • Played straight in the finale with the Demon King Dal'Brad, masquerading as a titanic demon idol.
  • Mr. Vice Guy: Sranul pass off as a really greedy, money-obsessed guy, but he's more hedonistic than greedy.
  • Orcus on His Throne: Dal'Brad. Justified in that he believes that movement is for people who don't think and prefer to control things from behind the curtains.
  • Our Trolls Are Different: Vicious humanoid monsters inhabiting caves and dark places with a great love for gold and meat. Any meat.
  • Proud Warrior Race Guy: Zhiss'ta. Not even the Legions of Hell dares to mess with them.
  • Really 700 Years Old: While not that old, Maryld is still older than she looks. When she calls Practor "Young friend" he jokingly threatens to call her "Granny".
  • Red Herring: The golden ring shown by Norell to Practor. Also some of the secrets of Shadowkeep are left unexplored.
  • Retired Bad Ass: Shone Stelft, and he's not coming out this time.
  • Rodents of Unusual Size: The guards of Dal'Brad are described as large rat-looking monsters.
  • Royal Rapier: Maryld's weapon of choice is a sword, though unlike Practor's standard arming sword she has a thinner, sharper rapier fitting her noble birth and frame.
  • Schmuck Bait: Shadowkeep is filled with baits of many kind. Discussed at one point when they go on a brief discussion on wether or not the massive mirror and chessboard puzzle they're looking at is actually a hidden door to a cache of treasure or an elaborated trap before opting for leaving it alone.
  • Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Maryld and her family towards the obstructive Thaladar Council.
  • Sealed Good in a Can: Gorwyther. However he's already dead and only his "echo" is left.
  • Sexy Soaked Shirt: There is a scene with getting clothes wet, and Chaste Hero Practor attempts to ignores the Fanservice.
  • Ship Tease: Despite being already promised, Practor can't stop noticing how attractive Maryld is, and she likes to tease him a little about it.
  • Sinister Scimitar: The Demon Prince, upon seeing how badly his troops are performing against the heroes, pulls out a massive curved sword from his throne and joinst the fray.
  • Technicolor Toxin: A cloud of orange toxic gas appears as a trap.
  • Tentacled Terror: The Brollachian is a massive green monster with many claw-tipped tentacles and a vaguely humanoid torso. Even Hargrod is unable to slay it after a long underwater battle.
  • That Makes Me Feel Angry: Dal'Brad, upon revealing himself, takes his time to tell the heroes just how angry he is for their meddling before he tries to crush them all.
  • Throwing Your Sword Always Works: During the final fight, Hargrod suddenly throws his axe at the Demon Prince, to no avail, causing him to sarcastically ask if he really thought that tossing his weapon would make it more efficient. It works as a distraction from the runed staff, which is promptly used to turn the demon solid and kill him.
  • Too Dumb to Live: Yes, Sranul, I'm sure there's nothing wrong with that ominous silver altar covered in magical runes.
  • What You Are in the Dark: When the heroes finally stumble into the famous treasure of Shadowkeep they were looking for, each of them has to see which of the two really matters the most: getting the treasure for their long-term goals or stopping the evil Dal'Brad.
  • What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Discussed when Practor, Maryld and Sranul help the Zhiss'ta carovan against the goblins.
  • Wham Line: Gorwyther drops one when he reveals that he's already dead and that they're talking to his echo.

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