The adventure

The roughly-hewn archway led along a curving ravine and eventually they saw, ahead, the ravine blocked by two well-built walls with a gap in the middle, forming an uncovered corridor between the crenellated walls. Standing in front of this corridor were two sentries. The friends managed to charge these without them getting away to raise the alarm, and caught their breath at the foot of one of the walls whilst Salva's scanner showed a patrol coming along the top of the built walkway. They neglected to look straight down, and walked away, giving the friends time to catch a patrol of 3 Rapax in the corridor. They took a chance and continued along the corridor, which turned to the left. At the corner a bowman leaned over and saw them, taking a couple of shots, but they started running and reached the main doors, which were on the right at the end of the death trap, as 3 patrols and a samurai leader tried to close them. They died quickly, and the friends barged inside the castle as the bowman alerted the rest of the guards.
Inside the doors there were two ramps up onto the ramparts, and the friends ran up one, slaughtering two bowmen at the top of the ramp and using the crenellations to protect themselves from the archers further out on the ramparts. They strode along to the turn onto one side of the ramparts, which were split by the ravine, choosing that side because they could see an entrance that looked like a barrack-room carved into the rocky cliff-face.
At the corner they were met by a charging patrol, which didn't hold them up at all, Shu Ting scoring another quick kill, perhaps because he hadn't seen her below the wall. The next one got knocked out by Karen, but while they chopped him up one caught them from behind, slashing Salva in the back. It took some fancy footwork to turn around and get RFS and Karen at him, and he got good slashes at Quentin and Shu Ting as the party turned. With the help of Salva's regenerating stone, and Quentin's restful magic, they survived the rear assault. Everyone else, feeling full of energy again, quickly slaughtered two bowmen who had come forwards to get better shots, and towards whom they had been advancing whilst fighting their rearguard action. The scattering of bowmen left they picked off one by one before looting the barracks.
Finally they entered the castle through the second great set of metal-studden doors, coming to a small antechamber. This they looted for a few things stored in the entrance to the castle before entering the main entrance hall. This had two exits at the far end, one on each side.
They took the right, which opened onto a long corridor parralel with, but stretching beyond, the main hall. They managed to leap across it and through an entranceway not quite opposite, thinking that they had escaped the notice of a patrol that they had seen further down the corridor.
They looked around and saw that they had entered a room with a giant furnace in it. In another room adjoining it a Rapax smith was regarding them with curiosity, but not hostility. They approached him and started talking.