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Hammerfall #4

While tracing back the flow of water, the explorers have encountered several obstacles along the way. The first was a brick wall built across the tunnel. Next the tunnel opens up into a much larger chamber and the way is now a ledge on the side of a cliff. Far below a stream of lava flows deeper in the earth. The path continues on, but then suddenly ends, as the ledge is no more. But the water trough mounted to the side of the cliff does continue on.

Farian is the lightest amongst you, including gear, so he will attempt to cross first. A rope is tied around his waist that is to be held by Grondar and Daraden. Armed with a second rope and a handful of climbing pitons, Farian steps up onto the water trough. It groans slightly under his weight, but seems solid enough. Gingerly, Farian begins to cross over the wide-open space. He stops every few feet to hammer in a piton and then feed the second rope through it. The process is slow, but Farian maintains a steady pace. After nearly an hour, he safely reaches the far side and steps back down to the ledge.

Daraden and Grondar follow very carefully using the rope to hang on to. Darkfang makes the crossing the easiest and the fastest. Finally, everyone is past the drop off and continuing on.

The ledge keeps turning to your right for a time before reaching the far side of the cavern. The water trough goes back into a tunnel once more and the lava cavern is left behind.

You continue on for about another hour and by now it’s getting late in the day. By now it’s probably too late to make it back to Fort Fletcher for the evening, so you decide to keep going a bit longer.

Not longer after that, a loud thundering sound starts to reach you ears. Its quiet at first but grows louder as you move along. It’s hard to figure out at first, but eventually you realize that it is the sound of water going over a waterfall!

A few minutes later the tunnel opens up into a small cavern. Up ahead, water flows into the cavern overhead and falls down deeper into the earth. A wide ledge leads up the waterfall. The water trough continues upward at this point. (It’s always rising upwards through out its entire length, so that the water can easily flow down it.)

Once close enough you can see what the problem is. A metal chute-like arrangement suspended by chains dangling from the ceiling once channeled some of the waterfall into the water trough. The chains that hold the part of the chute in the water have been lowered down, so that no water runs in it. It’s a simple pulley arrangement and the chute can be raised back up in place once more. When that is done, the water will flow again.

As you look around, you realize that you can feel a cold breeze. The tunnel, minus the water trough, does continue on and seems to slope upwards past the waterfall. Faint daylight can be seen at the top of the tunnel. You’re near the surface!

Moving up the tunnel, you emerge on a ledge some twenty feet above a small mountain lake. It’s clear that this lake is in a mountain valley and what’s more there are signs of civilization! About a dozen buildings are spotted on the opposite side of the lake. Behind the buildings are paths leading up into the mountains once more. Many of these paths lead to other cave openings.

A trail leads down the ledge to the ground below. A path follows the lakeshore towards the small town. Further ahead the lake narrows to a river that feeds the lake. There a bridge has been built to cross. Using this bridge you can reach the town.

While taking all of this in, several things are noted into town. Towering over the buildings are several frost giants! They are blue-skinned humanoids who stand over 20’ tall! The frost giants are lording over what you would guess to be slave labor. At a closer glance, you realize that this slave labor force is composted of dwarves!


Now what?

Daraden Stormbeard:

It's a slow process, but eventually all the dwarves manage to cross using the trough. Darkfang yips at Daraden as he makes his way across using the ropes. "Hush you," he gripes back, but saves any further comments, instead concentrating on the crossing.

Not longer after that, a loud thundering sound starts to reach you ears. Its quiet at first but grows louder as you move along. It’s hard to figure out at first, but eventually you realize that it is the sound of water going over a waterfall!

A few minutes later the tunnel opens up into a small cavern. Up ahead, water flows into the cavern overhead and falls down deeper into the earth. A wide ledge leads up the waterfall. The water trough continues upward at this point. (It’s always rising upwards through out its entire length, so that the water can easily flow down it.)

"Now if that ain't a sight," Daraden comments as they continue their way upward.

Once close enough you can see what the problem is. A metal chute-like arrangement suspended by chains dangling from the ceiling once channeled some of the waterfall into the water trough. The chains that hold the part of the chute in the water have been lowered down, so that no water runs in it. It’s a simple pulley arrangement and the chute can be raised back up in place once more. When that is done, the water will flow again.

As you look around, you realize that you can feel a cold breeze. The tunnel, minus the water trough, does continue on and seems to slope upwards past the waterfall. Faint daylight can be seen at the top of the tunnel. You’re near the surface!

"Hmm, looks simple enough," Daraden says, noticing the chains and pulley. "What's that?" he asks as he feels the breeze and turns to look. "Lookie there lads!" he says, pointing, "We're back to the surface. We should go take a look as long as we're here."

Stepping outside, Daraden looks around and Darkfang barks approvingly. Then he spots the small town across the mountain lake. He looks carefully and can begin to pick out figures. Figures he's not entirely pleased to see.

"By my grandpappie's beard!" he exclaims. "Those be giants! Those oversize buggers have them some slaves too. Dwarves!" he says grimly upon seeing a group of them. "That's not something we can leave for too long, you know."

His hands drop to his weapons as Darkfang starts growling. Daraden knows the odds are tough, but the dwarven captives should join in once they see a rescue effort underway.

Farian

"Hmm, looks simple enough," Daraden says, noticing the chains and pulley. "What's that?" he asks as he feels the breeze and turns to look. "Lookie there lads!" he says, pointing, "We're back to the surface. We should go take a look as long as we're here."

“Aye, let’s see if it works.” Farian will move forward and put the water back on line if he is able, first checking for traps or alarms. Feeling the breeze upon his face, Farian looks in the direction. “Must be.”

Moving to follow Daraden he sees the outlayings of a town, towering over it are Giants! And worse of all they are using dwarves for slaves. “The bigger they are, the more fun we be having.” He says as he leaves his warhammer in his grip. “And We won’t be my friend.”

Looking to the sky, Farian squats down. “Seeing at is getting dark we will have a chance to get to them before they notice us. Perhaps we can get the jump on them take one or two out before they realize we are here. Grondar, you have any of that doodad magic of yours that may help us free our kin?”

Grondar:

The priest watches anxiously as Farian works his way across the chasm via the trough. Fortunately, their don't appear to be any weak spots in the trough and he makes it across safely. It takes some time, but the rest of them join him on the far side.

Following the tunnel farther on, they soon come to a smaller cavern. Grondar's eyes are drawn immediately to the light coming from far above and a smile creeps onto his face. Perhaps he really has been aboveground for far too long...

Farian wrote:“Aye, let’s see if it works.” Farian will move forward and put the water back on line if he is able, first checking for traps or alarms.

Noticing Farian's movement, Grondar quickly realizes what he intends. "Farian, did you repair the breech in the trough back where the new wall had cut it in twain? If not, I think we should wait until we do so to start the water flowing. Flooding the tunnel there could create more problems for us."

They follow the tunnel up past a magnificent waterfall and out into the light of day. Their eyes wander the valley before them and the buildings therein. Moving about the building are large humanoids that he is able to identify as frost giants! Looking closer, it appears that they have slaves - which appear to be dwarves! Daraden and Farian sound as upset about this as he is.

Daraden wrote:"By my grandpappie's beard!" he exclaims. "Those be giants! Those oversize buggers have them some slaves too. Dwarves!" he says grimly upon seeing a group of them. "That's not something we can leave for too long, you know."

Farian wrote:Moving to follow Daraden he sees the outlayings of a town, towering over it are Giants! And worse of all they are using dwarves for slaves. “The bigger they are, the more fun we be having.” He says as he leaves his warhammer in his grip. “And We won’t be my friend.”

"Hold up. We should inform Aria and get her and the others to join us. We cannot afford to risk losing this battle. I know your blood burns hot at this sight, as does mine, but we must apply wisdom here."

Farian wrote:Looking to the sky, Farian squats down. “Seeing at is getting dark we will have a chance to get to them before they notice us. Perhaps we can get the jump on them take one or two out before they realize we are here. Grondar, you have any of that doodad magic of yours that may help us free our kin?”

"I do retain most of the blessings that Berronar has granted me this day. However, there is little there of the kind of attack spell you may be thinking of. At best, I can boost our abilities somewhat."

GM Notes:

Farian wrote:“Aye, let’s see if it works.” Farian will move forward and put the water back on line if he is able, first checking for traps or alarms. Feeling the breeze upon his face, Farian looks in the direction. “Must be.”

Grondar wrote:Noticing Farian's movement, Grondar quickly realizes what he intends. "Farian, did you repair the breech in the trough back where the new wall had cut it in twain? If not, I think we should wait until we do so to start the water flowing. Flooding the tunnel there could create more problems for us."

Grondar is correct. The water trough was cut to allow the brick wall to be built in the cavern. The bricks blocking the trough will have to be removed and the trough repaired to allow water to reach the water wheels again. Otherwise the water will just spill out into the tunnel.

So for the moment the choice is to continue on towards the town and the frost giants or go back to alert the others to what is transpiring here.

Now what?

Grondar:

"Tel you what," Grondar says. "Since I'm the fastest, I'll head back to collect Aria and the others. We should be back by tomorrow some time. Meanwhile, you two scout the enemy. Watch for movement patterns, terrain cover and such that we can use to our benefit. If you have a plan of attack ready when we return, we can resolve this dilemna without further delay."

If Farian and Daraden agree, Grondar will race off to his rendevous with Aria and fill her in on what they have found.

Farian

Noticing Farian's movement, Grondar quickly realizes what he intends. "Farian, did you repair the breech in the trough back where the new wall had cut it in twain? If not, I think we should wait until we do so to start the water flowing. Flooding the tunnel there could create more problems for us."

“Aye I realize that, but Do you know if this has to be repaired as well?” he asked as his hands are upon the chain. “I was going to return it to this position after seeing if it worked or not.” He said evenly. “But if that’s your wish to go all the way back to get the tools to fix it, it will be on your head.”

"Hold up. We should inform Aria and get her and the others to join us. We cannot afford to risk losing this battle. I know your blood burns hot at this sight, as does mine, but we must apply wisdom here."

"Tel you what," Grondar says. "Since I'm the fastest, I'll head back to collect Aria and the others. We should be back by tomorrow some time. Meanwhile, you two scout the enemy. Watch for movement patterns, terrain cover and such that we can use to our benefit. If you have a plan of attack ready when we return, we can resolve this dilemma without further delay."

“Then run along, Grondar. And see if you can bring back some tools that may cut or release them.” Eyeing the village he wonders out loud softly. “While the battle may begin, I could drop the tools at the slaves feet unseen.” Looking to Daraden he will say, “We can’t be sending you’re pet to have a look around. If they see the tracks the will know something got through the wall. Question is Which of them leads…” he says gazing out at the giants. “Might be wise to go for a stroll among them this night.”

As the night draws on Farian will use his invisibility ring and move toward the town, looking for cover that could be used, as well as any uncertainties that may affect the outcome of this battle. Enemy numbers, if there are more within the village that they cannot see

Daraden Stormbeard:

"Hold up. We should inform Aria and get her and the others to join us. We cannot afford to risk losing this battle. I know your blood burns hot at this sight, as does mine, but we must apply wisdom here."

"Tel you what," Grondar says. "Since I'm the fastest, I'll head back to collect Aria and the others. We should be back by tomorrow some time. Meanwhile, you two scout the enemy. Watch for movement patterns, terrain cover and such that we can use to our benefit. If you have a plan of attack ready when we return, we can resolve this dilemma without further delay."

Daraden thinks on it a moment while Farian responds. He can not stand to see dwarven slaves, especially being prisoners of those overgrown bullies. He is seething at the mere thought of waiting, but he tries to reign himself in.

"Aye, but don't linger," Daraden finally compromises, turning to Grondar. "Our folk have been suffering for too long as it is. We will have a full accounting of their strengths and numbers by the time you return."

“Then run along, Grondar. And see if you can bring back some tools that may cut or release them.” Eyeing the village he wonders out loud softly. “While the battle may begin, I could drop the tools at the slaves feet unseen.” Looking to Daraden he will say, “We can’t be sending you’re pet to have a look around. If they see the tracks the will know something got through the wall. Question is Which of them leads…” he says gazing out at the giants. “Might be wise to go for a stroll among them this night.”

"I figure it be the one with the largest and loosest tongue on 'em," Daraden responds about locating their leader. "I'll have Darkfang remain here to keep an eye out fer any of them that may wander up to the opening."

Daraden instructs his loyal wolf to remain here and be wary. When Farian winks from sight, Daraden's lips curve into a smile, knowing the scout could easily cause the giants a great deal of misfortune all on his own. He will descend towards the encampment quietly, taking note of everything he sees. He will not press as deep into the village as Farian most likely will, so he will look to see things like patrols, security, alertness and such of the giants. It is his hope they are quite lax and complacent, thinking they are the biggest boys in the land.

Grondar:

Farian wrote:“Aye I realize that, but Do you know if this has to be repaired as well?” he asked as his hands are upon the chain. “I was going to return it to this position after seeing if it worked or not.” He said evenly. “But if that’s your wish to go all the way back to get the tools to fix it, it will be on your head.”

Farian is grumpy as usual, so Grondar just nods his heads. "I'll make sure we bring tools with us."

Farian wrote:“Then run along, Grondar. And see if you can bring back some tools that may cut or release them.” Eyeing the village he wonders out loud softly. “While the battle may begin, I could drop the tools at the slaves feet unseen.”

"That's a good idea. I'll make sure there are plenty extra when we return."

Daraden wrote:"Aye, but don't linger," Daraden finally compromises, turning to Grondar. "Our folk have been suffering for too long as it is. We will have a full accounting of their strengths and numbers by the time you return."

"Don't worry, we'll be back in force as quickly as possible."

Grondar then races off. He is careful going across the trough over the crevace, but runs as fast as his enchanted boots will take him the rest of the time.

When he reaches Aria, Grondar gives her a full run-down on the situation, including the dwarven slaves and frost giants, the need to remove the wall and repair the trough and Farian's idea for extra tools/weapons to arm the slaves.

Post Continued:

GM Note:

There is a map for the immediate area around the town in the private area. I’ll be referencing it in this post, so you might want to have it handy.


The dwarves have reached the source of the water flow. It comes from an underground river that flows out of a mountain lake. A small waterfall drops deeper into the earth and small chute channels some of the water away, sends it down the troughs and eventually it turns the water wheels, which in turn powers the automatic buckets that carry the coal higher up in the mines.

Farian moves to see if the chute still functions properly. It had been lowered at some point in the past, to prevent the flow of water. It quickly becomes clear that the chains have rusted tight from the constant exposure to water. Clearly whatever was used to protect them and lubricate the chain mechanism is long gone. Re-lubing the mechanism should make it workable again.


Moving further up the tunnel, the explorers reach the surface and see a mountain lake before them. On the far side of the shore and to their right sits a small dwarven town. There are about a dozen outside buildings and roads lead up to other caves in the hills above the town. No doubt that other dwellings are underground there. A portion of a dwarven settlement being above ground while most of it is below is not uncommon.

However, the excitement of finding an inhabited dwarven settlement is quickly dashed. Several frost giants are spotted move through the town and they seemed to have enslaved the dwarves!

Both Farian and Daraden are eager to go on the offensive, but Grondar suggests scouting the enemy out before rushing into battle. While that is going on, he’ll rush back to the others at Fort Fletcher and return with more help. The pair reluctantly agrees to this. Grondar then rushes off, moving far faster then any normal dwarf could. (Well over three times faster then the rate used to reach this point.)

In short order Grondar reaches the gap over the lava flow. He slows his rate considerably as he crosses over, but once on the other side speeds up again.


Back at Mountain Lake, Daraden and Farian wait for darkness to fall. While neither knows much about frost giants, most giants are not known to be able to see in the dark like dwarves can. The senses they do have are sharper given their larger stature, so caution is still required. Once dark enough, Farian activates his Ring of Invisibility and goes forth to explore. Daraden cautiously follows.

A small path leads you down from the elevated place where the tunnel emerged. A dirt road passes close by that leads you towards a small bridge that spans a river that flows from the lake. On the other side sits the above ground buildings. These stone structures look like normal buildings, but they are built to dwarven height. Thus ceilings are only around 6’ high, instead of the 8’-10’ range that human buildings have.

The largest building in town is four stories high and it sits not too far away from the bridge. (This is Area D.) However, a pair of frost giants stands guard outside this building. Their presence prevents Daraden from moving too far into town as the bridge is in their direct sight. Fortunately, Farian is not so hindered.

The purpose of this building becomes rapidly apparent. A third frost giant escorts a group of weary dwarves to the building. Their leg shackles are removed and the dwarves enter the building. Right after that a new group of dwarves come out and their legs are shackled. The frost giant then leads the workers through town towards area C. There two more frost giants stand guard outside of this mine.

Some of the replacement workers are sent into the mine, while others are shackled to large sleds. The purpose of these sleds quickly becomes clear. The sleds leaving the mines are carrying iron ore. The sleds returning are carrying iron ingots. The ore is worked at a smithy in town. Several dwarves in chains work there. (The smithy is area E and the frost giant guards at D can plainly see it.

Next to the smithy is a small corral holding mountain goats.

As Farian explores further, he finds that there are, or rather were, several other businesses in town. Each has been boarded up. This includes several businesses typical for a dwarven town and does include a tavern.

The large building seems to be an inn (D). It is now used as place where the slaves return to rest and be feed. A small group of female dwarves makes the food and tends to those forced to work in the mines.

Further exploring reveals that the frost giants have a camp further to the north of town. (The road that goes further north past the mine.) At the camp another half-dozen or so frost giants relax.

Farian does note that none of the buildings in town are large enough for the frost giants to enter. Even the mines the dwarves go in and out of are too small for them. Clearly something else watches the slaves inside the mines.


After about two hours of running at full speed, Grondar reaches area #7 in the mines. In short order he locates Aria and the other dwarves who are making their way back to Fort Fletcher from their days explorations.


Now what?

Grondar:

It's a long run, and by time Grondar gets back, he's blowing hard. Finding Aria quickly, it is several minutes before he gets his breath back sufficiently to speak.

"Aria! We found the residents in the mine town!" Grondar takes a couple deep breaths. "Our kin are being used as slaves by a group of frost giants up there. We need to free them. Farian and Daraden are scouting the town and constructing a plan of attack."

It occurs to Grondar that he should fill her in on the rest, as well. "Once we got through the wall we encountered earlier, we found that the trough continued on the other side and just a small section had been removed to make way for the wall. The tunnel led to a large cavern and along a ledge. One section of the ledge had fallen away, so we had to cross by climbing on the trough. We reached a smaller cavern where a waterfall goes by and the mechanism for diverting the water into the trough is. The mechanism will need proper maintenance to return it to working condition. Thus, we'll need equipment to repair the trough and the mechanism.

"Also, Farian has an idea for arming the slaves as we battle the frost giants, so we should take plenty of extra tools and weapons." Grondar pauses for any questions she might have.

Aria:


After a long day of exploring the various tunnels off the supply shaft, Aria and those with her are heading back to Fort Fletcher when Grondar comes rushing up, his face red and short of breath.

Grondar wrote:"Aria! We found the residents in the mine town!"

“Grondar? Mine town? What mine town?”

Grodnar wrote:Grondar takes a couple deep breaths. "Our kin are being used as slaves by a group of frost giants up there. We need to free them. Farian and Daraden are scouting the town and constructing a plan of attack."

“What?! Haela’s Hairpins! Overgrown, lumberin’ mutants of the earth threatenin’ our kin? Where they at? Let’s chop’em down to size! Let’s get a move on!”

Aria waves her battleaxe around for greater emphasis.

Grondar wrote:It occurs to Grondar that he should fill her in on the rest, as well. "Once we got through the wall we encountered earlier, we found that the trough continued on the other side and just a small section had been removed to make way for the wall. The tunnel led to a large cavern and along a ledge. One section of the ledge had fallen away, so we had to cross by climbing on the trough. We reached a smaller cavern where a waterfall goes by and the mechanism for diverting the water into the trough is. The mechanism will need proper maintenance to return it to working condition. Thus, we'll need equipment to repair the trough and the mechanism.

"Also, Farian has an idea for arming the slaves as we battle the frost giants, so we should take plenty of extra tools and weapons." Grondar pauses for any questions she might have.

“If there be a dwarf town up there, then they should have everything need to make repairs and have tools and weapons on hand. You ever known a dwarf town to not have tools? They’ll just need to be found and used is all. We each should have enough rations to get us through the night.”

Aria pauses for a second to recall just who is where right now. Farian and Daraden are at this town, Grondar is here along with Dougan, Rat, and Senoia. Rat won’t be good in a fight, but his sneakiness will help before hand. Dougan has clerical powers for support and Senoia is probably even more eager for a fight than Aria is. After a few more moments, Aria decides on the proper course of action.

“We’ll start towards this town immediately. Grondar, since you can move so fast, I want you to go towards Fort Fletcher and find Baluk. Tell him what’s going on. Have him tell Oran and Salem to follow after us. Then he is to gather a small group of dwarves to follow us tomorrow morning with tools, weapons, and food. Once that is done, catch up to us once more. We’ll be marching all night if necessary to reach our kin!”

Farian

“Good hunting, Daraden.” he says as the night sky grows darker and activates his ring of invisibility. Moving across the bridge in short order, Farian spots the two Frost Giants stand guard amongst the Large building.. After a few moments of scouting the town, another frost giants lumbers into sight followed by a procession of dwarves.

Gripping his war hammer tightly, the blood flowing from his hand causing them to turn white. Farian struggles to keep his wits about him and not free his kin. The voice of a womanly dwarf enters his thoughts as, “We should inform Aria and get her and the others to join us. We cannot afford to risk losing this battle. I know your blood burns hot at this sight, as does mine, but we must apply wisdom here."

Very slowly he backs away and sees several female dwarves readying food. Shaking his invisible head he wonders why they arent fighting back… Surely cooks have knives and even a pot can be made to be a weapon. Seeing their faces he wonders just how long they been in servitude.

Further exploring reveals that the frost giants have a camp further to the north of town. (The road that goes further north past the mine.) At the camp another half-dozen or so frost giants relax.

Farian does note that none of the buildings in town are large enough for the frost giants to enter. Even the mines the dwarves go in and out of are too small for them. Clearly something else watches the slaves inside the mines.

After much thought, Farian decides to head back toward Daraden, seeing no reason to endanger himself and the information he carries further by entering the cave. Once back near Daraden, Farian will squat down next to the wolf handler, while still invised. “Come we have much to speak of.”

If they make it back to the caves unseen, Farian will retell Daraden what he saw. “The four story building is where are kin are being held. They come in shifts and are guarded night and day, as I am sure you saw. The mines are guarded by two Frost Giants, and not far from it I saw a camp of 6 or so lounging about.” After some thought he looks to his companion, “There is something else that I saw but wasn’t able to entertain my curiosity. The mine entrance is not fit for giant kind. Something else is watching them within the mines, orcs, goblins perhaps drow, would be my guess.”
“I guess the tree hugger of a dwarf was right. We are going to need the others.”

“I want to take a look within that mine.” he says flatly looking to the wolf handler hoping he shares his thoughts.

Daraden Stormbeard:

“Good hunting, Daraden.” he says as the night sky grows darker and activates his ring of invisibility.

"Aye, you as well," Daraden says before Farian vanishes from sight.

The largest building in town is four stories high and it sits not too far away from the bridge. However, a pair of frost giants stands guard outside this building. Their presence prevents Daraden from moving too far into town as the bridge is in their direct sight.

Daraden regards the two giants for a moment. "You'll get your's soon enough, don't worry," he says in a hushed tone before leaving the area to wait for Farian.

After much thought, Farian decides to head back toward Daraden, seeing no reason to endanger himself and the information he carries further by entering the cave. Once back near Daraden, Farian will squat down next to the wolf handler, while still invised. “Come we have much to speak of.”

"Hmm?!" Daraden says with a start, Farian's voice in his ear. Regaining his composure, he will return to the caves.

If they make it back to the caves unseen, Farian will retell Daraden what he saw. “The four story building is where are kin are being held. They come in shifts and are guarded night and day, as I am sure you saw. The mines are guarded by two Frost Giants, and not far from it I saw a camp of 6 or so lounging about.” After some thought he looks to his companion, “There is something else that I saw but wasn’t able to entertain my curiosity. The mine entrance is not fit for giant kind. Something else is watching them within the mines, orcs, goblins perhaps drow, would be my guess.”
“I guess the tree hugger of a dwarf was right. We are going to need the others.”

“I want to take a look within that mine.” he says flatly looking to the wolf handler hoping he shares his thoughts.

"That's not even 3 to 1, we coulda taken 'em," Daraden scoffs, including Grondar in that calculation. "Still, if there is a yet unseen foe aiding the overgrown brutes, then it probably best we did wait."

"As far as the mine, I think you should take a look," Daraden says. "Even with his speed, I doubt Grondar could carry all the others on his back. They'll be a long time arriving still. Best to make use of the time we have, no?"

"I think I'm gonna cut across a bit, maybe make a wide circle o' the place and see if I can't find anything else useful," he adds. Since they're bound to have some extra time, Daraden will circle the mountain lake and see if any giants wander about that far away. He will depart once Farian leaves to go investigate the mine, taking Darkfang with him.

Post Continued:

Grondar has returned to the area of the mines near Fort Fletcher. He has located Aria and alerted her to what is going on back at Mountain Lake. The battlemaiden agrees to begin the trek to Mountain Lake immediately, marching all night if necessary and trusting the rations they are carrying to sustain them.

Grondar is then instructed to go back further and locate Baluk Ironforge, update him on the situation. Baluk is to direct Oran and Salem to follow when they are able. Tomorrow morning a small group of workers are to follow with food, tools, and extra weapons. Aria then leads her band up the ladder to the tunnel that leads to Mountain Lake.


And at Mountain Lake, Farian and Daraden continue their explorations. The general area has been reconnoitered so far, but Farian wants to take a look at the mines where the dwarves are forced to work. The entrance is too small for any of the frost giants to go inside, so something else has to be watching the dwarves inside.

Daraden decides to circle around the other way around the lake to see if there is anything interesting. He and Darkfang move off, moving around the drifts of snow heading to the west.

Farian takes the main road back into town and move towards the mine entrance. He waits until a group of dwarves are dragging a cart of iron ingots into the mine to further mask his presence. The main mine tunnel averages twenty feet in width. There are no light sources in the mines. Almost immediately there is a side cavern that seems to be used as a storage area. There are no other exits from that area.

Farian continues along, staying near the dragged ore carts. The main tunnel begins to slope downwards at a gentle grade. Some two hundred feet along, the tunnel opens up into a much larger cavern. Farian estimates that he’s gone down some forty feet into the earth. At the far end of the chamber, the slaves dragging their carts here stop and begin to unload their ingots. As Farian watches, he notes several dwarf-like beings keeping watch. Three are near the slaves while two more stand guard near the entrance just past through.

The guards appear to be emaciated, nasty looking dwarves. Their complexion and hair range from medium to dark gray. Even their clothing is drab and non-descript. Farian realizes that these creatures are duergar or gray dwarves, a vile Underdark race of dwarves! The sound of workers mining deeper in the mines echoes through this cavern.


Outside, Daraden finds a small forest on the western edge of the lake. These woods circle the far end of the lake and end before reaching back to town. As Daraden moves along, Darkfang picks up a scent and begins to growl in alarm.

Up ahead, a figure in a black cloak moves from behind a tree. It’s about five feet tall and appears to be slender. Too tall for a dwarf, too short of a human. Several other figures are noted behind the first, but they do not reveal themselves.

The figure moves closer, it’s hands exposed to show that it carries no weapons. At the same time, the hood is thrown back to reveal a female drow! The dark elf maiden comes to within twenty feet and then stops. She then speaks using a heavily accented common.

“Greetings dwarf! If you care for your lives and the success of your mission, you will hear what I have to say.”


Back in the long tunnel, Aria and company have reached the brick wall. By now Grondar has caught up to them again. Best estimates put the group about five hours march from Mountain Lake.


Now what?

Daraden Stormbeard:

Outside, Daraden finds a small forest on the western edge of the lake. These woods circle the far end of the lake and end before reaching back to town. As Daraden moves along, Darkfang picks up a scent and begins to growl in alarm.

Up ahead, a figure in a black cloak moves from behind a tree. It’s about five feet tall and appears to be slender. Too tall for a dwarf, too short of a human. Several other figures are noted behind the first, but they do not reveal themselves.

"Whatcha smell?" Daraden quietly asks his furry companion, "something with a stench?" Soon he takes note of a figure moving from behind a tree. One hand reaches for a weapon while the other rests lightly on Darkfang. All he has to do is take his hand off of his loyal companion and the wolf will attack.

The figure moves closer, it’s hands exposed to show that it carries no weapons. At the same time, the hood is thrown back to reveal a female drow! The dark elf maiden comes to within twenty feet and then stops. She then speaks using a heavily accented common.

“Greetings dwarf! If you care for your lives and the success of your mission, you will hear what I have to say.”

"Greetings indeed," Daraden snarls back in common. "I care enough about my life to see you dead under the heel o' my boot! What kind of gambit are you dark skinned rogues up to, spoiling a wonderful night like this?"

Daraden is not easing up at all and is a hair's breath away from letting Darkfang attack. The female drow better have something very useful to say and soon...

Grondar:

Aria wrote:“If there be a dwarf town up there, then they should have everything need to make repairs and have tools and weapons on hand. You ever known a dwarf town to not have tools? They’ll just need to be found and used is all. We each should have enough rations to get us through the night.”

Grondar just shrugs. His religious training didn't leave him with a lot of experience or knowledge in this regard. Still, he's sure Aria knows what she's talking about.

Aria wrote:“We’ll start towards this town immediately. Grondar, since you can move so fast, I want you to go towards Fort Fletcher and find Baluk. Tell him what’s going on. Have him tell Oran and Salem to follow after us. Then he is to gather a small group of dwarves to follow us tomorrow morning with tools, weapons, and food. Once that is done, catch up to us once more. We’ll be marching all night if necessary to reach our kin!”

"Yes, milady," Grondar says simply, then turns and takes off at inhuman speed. It doesn't take him long to find Baluk.

"Baluk. Aria sent me to notify you that we're heading off tonight to free some of our kin who are being used as slaves by a group of frost giants in the mining town at the other end of the tunnels. She wants you to send Oran and Salem to join us immediately. We'll be marching through the night. In the morning, you should gather a small band and follow us with tools, weapons and plenty of food."

Grondar pauses long enough to respond to any questions Baluk might have before returning to Aria's group. As they reach the brick wall that had been penetrated earlier, Grondar points out the missing piece of the trough so they know about the necessary repairs.

When they get to the crevasse in the large cavern, Grondar will show them how they crossed using the trough. He's careful to make sure that only one dwarf crosses at a time, as they don't want to risk breaking it and stranding some of them on the wrong side.
_________________________________________________________
"The voice of a womanly dwarf". "the tree hugger of a dwarf". I get the feeling that Farian isn't Grondar's biggest fan...

Farian

"As far as the mine, I think you should take a look," Daraden says. "Even with his speed, I doubt Grondar could carry all the others on his back. They'll be a long time arriving still. Best to make use of the time we have, no?"

"I think I'm gonna cut across a bit, maybe make a wide circle o' the place and see if I can't find anything else useful," he adds.

“Aye, It does.” he says evenly as he considers the fun of going within the cavern, perhaps even causing a little mayhem if at all possible.

Waiting for an iron cart to be pushed through, Farian enters the cavern for a looksy. His eyes adjust in moments to the dim light. As he gazes about he notices a storage area with no exit, As he creeps through the Darkness, he soon spots the guards whom watch over them! His hand quickly snakes over his war hammer ready to strike out at these vermin. There standing near the shackled dwarves, are gray dwarves! ‘That explains the wall…” he thinks to himself, “It was our kin that built it but these dark loving leeches!’

Seeing no reason to sit around and watch this any further, Farian waits for the opportune moment to leave the mine. Once he does so,if he does so, he will go towards the inn and wait to see how the chains are removed from the dwarves feet. (wondering what kind of key, or if they even have a key. Once this is seen he will return toward the cavern mouth and await the other dwarves.

Farian just views Grondar as very Feminine dwarf. Very motherly, kinda like he will yell at a kid for getting dirty.

Post Continued:

The dwarves are scattered about at the moment on a variety of tasks. In a small wood to the west of the lake, Daraden has come across a band of drow! A dark elf maiden speaks to him.

"Greetings indeed," Daraden snarls back in common. "I care enough about my life to see you dead under the heel o' my boot! What kind of gambit are you dark skinned rogues up to, spoiling a wonderful night like this?"

“I am here because we share a common enemy,” the drow answers tartly. “The dwarven priest Ulvmard in particular. If left alone, his plans would threaten both your kind and mine. That is why we are here, to stop him. I assume that is your reason as well.”

“Although I realize our races might have disagreements over many issues, let us not waste blood and effort by trying to settle these problems here and now. I ask you to consider a temporary truce, a truce for the sake of defeating Ulvmard and preventing him from using the Iron Orb to create an Iron Warrior.”

“We would benefit from your skills, and you will surely need ours to succeed. I ask no price for this, only that you avoid getting in our way as much as possible.”

“Since you are much slower and nosier than we are, it would be impractical for you to attempt to move with us through the mine. Instead, I propose we each pursue our common goal in our own way, assisting each other when needed. You may not see us again until we find Ulvmard, but be certain of this: When you confront Ulvmard and the power of the Iron Orb you will be glad to have us on your side.”

“What say you, dwarf?”


Elsewhere, Farian has entered the mines and discovered that Gray Dwarves are the ones guarding the regular dwarfs. Farian makes his way back to the surface, using his stealth to avoid detection. Again he waits until the dwarves return with a cart of iron ore before daring to move past the frost giant guards outside.

As he moves along, Farian locates the chain that the giants use to secure the dwarves when they are taken to the inn for rest. There is no key, instead the giants simply crush the metal about the dwarves legs and then later force it open again. The manacles get weaker each time this is done. Already a few of them have already been broken.

After a time, Farian reaches the inn and peaks inside the back windows again. There is very little movement inside. Some of the women are still working in the kitchen. They go about their tasks without any show of emotion or without even speaking. It’s as if they were drugged or controlled in some manner. That could explain why they don’t fight back at all.


And in the tunnels leading to Mountain Lake, Grondar has caught up to Aria and the others. He delivered the message as she requested earlier. Baluk understands what is required of him and will comply. He wishes the group success on their mission.

Aria has the group moving along at a brisk pace, much faster than one would normally take while exploring this tunnel, but since Grondar has already passed through here, it should be safe. The group is nearly jogging along and the miles pass by quickly. After what seems like only another hour of movement, the group reaches the area where the cavern opens up and there is lava below. Mountain Lake isn’t too far away now, but the trip over the lava on the water trough will slow things down considerably.

GM Notes:

There are many different movement rates available in the game. You used the standard exploration rate while making the journey to Mountain Lake. This equates to your movement rate in tens of feet per minute, as you are moving slower in unfamiliar territory. Above ground this rate increases to your move in tens of yards per minute. This rate can be used underground but at a penalty to avoid anything you might come across. Since the tunnel has already been passed through, the higher rate can be used without much hindrance. As in all cases, the group can only move as fast as its slowest member. In this case it’s Dougan.

Now what?

Aria:

Once Grondar rejoins them, Arias has the group double time it towards their destination. There shouldn’t be any threats along the way, as this passage was passed through recently. Since Grondar has been this way, he leads.

Grondar pauses long enough to respond to any questions Baluk might have before returning to Aria's group. As they reach the brick wall that had been penetrated earlier, Grondar points out the missing piece of the trough so they know about the necessary repairs.

“Should be easy enough to repair,” Aria says, eyeing the trough. She takes a gulp of her water skin, wishing that it were ale instead. Business before pleasure!

Eventually we reach a large cavern and there’s a stream of lava down below. Aria warily eyes the path across, using the trough itself!

“You crossed over that!?”

Grondar shows how it is done and the group slowly makes their way across. Aria does not look down. There is time to rest while the others are making the crossing. Once past this obstacle, we speed up once more for the final leg towards Mountain Lake and our enslaved kin.

Grondar:

Aria wrote:“You crossed over that!?”

"Yes, ma'am," Grondar replies, wondering if he's finally found something that the bold warrior-woman is afraid of. "Farian crossed first and installed the guide rope. After that, it wasn't so bad. Kind of slow going, though."

And it is slow going; so much so that it takes their band quite a while to all get to the far side. At least it allows everyone a bit of a breather. Then they speed up and set off for the lake exit.
__________________________________________________________
Farian just views Grondar as a very Feminine dwarf. Very motherly, kinda like he will yell at a kid for getting dirty.
That's pretty funny, and quite appropriate considering that his patron is known as the Revered Mother. (Though I doubt he's much inclined to yell at kids unless they're in real danger.)

Daraden Stormbeard:

The drow elf answers him, but she goes on and on. Just because they're all long lived don't mean they need to be taking all this time just to say something, Daraden thinks impatiently. In fact, when she's done, he almost doesn't catch it but feels her eyes on him waiting for an answer.

“What say you, dwarf?”

"Hmmpphh?" Daraden mutters, covering up for his lack of paying attention quickly. "Well it's not just me yah need to be worrying over," he explains. "There's a whole gathering of my kith coming soon. More than enough to handle this priest o' yours. Despite being slower and noisier as you so elegantly put it, I'm sure we're all up to the task nonetheless." (ooc: I'm guessing you meant noisier rather than nosier, although some of us are probably quite nosy too! )

"As long as you aren't getting in our way, and you don't directly harm any of those dwarves we aim to free, then I won't have to gut you myself," Daraden adds flatly. "Also I don't expect you to depart with this Iron Orb yourself. Just because we may not want this dwarf to have it surely doesn't imply we want you to have it either."

Depending on what is said next, if anything, Daraden will watch the drow depart, at least until they pull one of their disappearing tricks. He will head back with Darkfang in hopes that Farian is soon to return, and maybe Grondar and the rest of them won't be much longer either.

Farian

Upon seeing how the dwarves are chained as well as their soul less forms go about their daily chores. Farian wonders what was done to his kin. Hopefully finding the one responsible and making them pay ten fold.

Farian will sneak back to the waterfall and await the others.

Post Continued:

The scouting of Mountain Lake continues. In the forest to the west of town, Daraden has come across a band of drow elves that present an interesting offer…

Daraden wrote:"Hmmpphh?" Daraden mutters, covering up for his lack of paying attention quickly. "Well it's not just me yah need to be worrying over," he explains. "There's a whole gathering of my kith coming soon. More than enough to handle this priest o' yours. Despite being slower and noisier as you so elegantly put it, I'm sure we're all up to the task nonetheless."

“I’m sure you are,” the drow maiden responds. “But you don’t know what you face yet. We do. You will need us.”

Daraden wrote:"As long as you aren't getting in our way, and you don't directly harm any of those dwarves we aim to free, then I won't have to gut you myself," Daraden adds flatly. "Also I don't expect you to depart with this Iron Orb yourself. Just because we may not want this dwarf to have it surely doesn't imply we want you to have it either."

“Your terms are agreeable,” the drow answers. “As for the fate of the Iron Orb, it is a dwarven artifact and of no use to my kind. I would see it destroyed permanently. Until we meet again.”

The dark elf maiden steps back behind the trees and her companions move off. In moments Daraden is alone in the woods and Darkfang relaxes. The pair begins their trek back to the cave where they entered the valley.


Elsewhere, Farian continues to scout out the town cloaked by Invisibility. He takes a closer look at the Inn and notes that there is an unguarded rear entrance to the place. The snow is fairly deep behind it and the only tracks it shows are those going back and forth to the lake, most likely to get water for cooking. The dwarves could have run off if they wanted too. Something is clearly preventing them from doing that.

Wrapping up his explorations, Farian returns to the cavern to find Daraden and Darkfang waiting for them. Less than an hour later, Grondar returns with Aria, Dougan, Rat, and Senoia.

“Where be these giants at?” Senoia wonders. “Time to chop those overgrown icicles down to size!”


GM Notes:

It’s close to the middle of the night now. You’ve got at least five more hours to go before sunrise.

Now what?

Aria:

Grondar wrote:"Yes, ma'am," Grondar replies, wondering if he's finally found something that the bold warrior-woman is afraid of. "Farian crossed first and installed the guide rope. After that, it wasn't so bad. Kind of slow going, though."

“Well, that’s why we have Farian and Salem around. To do crazy things like this!”

Aria crosses the chasm very slowly and never looks down.

The jog continues and finally we reach the place where the water is diverted into the system of troughs. Not far beyond that is the entrance to the surface. There we meet up with Farian and Daraden. Time to rest and plan our attack.

“Okay, lads what have you found out about this place? How many giants are there? We’ve got the advantage here in the dark, so I say we make the most of it. We’ll need to cut’m down before dawn. Can our kin here fight? We’ll need to protect them and deal with the giants at the same time. We’ll also need to move those who cannot fight to some place safe where those lumbering mutants o’ the earth can’t get at them!”

Farian

Moving back to the waterfall, Farian sees Daraden and Darkfang waiting close by. “This is going to be harder then I thought.” He said evenly as he looked to his fellow dwarf. “Did you find anything?” he asked curiously.

Within a few hours the others show up. And Aria begins asking what has transpired.

“Okay, lads what have you found out about this place? How many giants are there? We’ve got the advantage here in the dark, so I say we make the most of it. We’ll need to cut’m down before dawn. Can our kin here fight? We’ll need to protect them and deal with the giants at the same time. We’ll also need to move those who cannot fight to some place safe where those lumbering mutants o’ the earth can’t get at them!”

Sitting down upon the stone ground, Farian looks to Aria and begins explaining, using a dagger to carve into the dirt. “From what I can tell the Giants number around 12. Two stand guard over our kin, here.” Pointing to a makeshift box that resembles the inn. There is another giant who walks the dwarves to the mines and back, Two more at the entrance of the caves. Not far from there and around the bend is the Giant’s camp.”

“When we came through we encountered a wall, surely you saw it.” He says gruffly,” There seems to be much more then what it appears. I entered the mines to see what guarded our kin, Dreuger dwarves have taken a liking to our kin, and bound them in chains. I bet my last war hammer on it be they who built that wall. As I moved back I took a peek within the Inn, The guards only guard one exit.” Seeing if the others caught on. “Our kin could escape if they wanted to, but something is vexed. They act as though they have no will of their own!”

Grondar:

Aria wrote:“Well, that’s why we have Farian and Salem around. To do crazy things like this!”

Grondar chuckles. "Indeed! And good thing we do, too."

After jogging for a couple more hours, they reach the exit to the surface. In short order, they link up with the two scouts and Aria begins questioning them.

Farian wrote:Sitting down upon the stone ground, Farian looks to Aria and begins explaining, using a dagger to carve into the dirt. “From what I can tell the Giants number around 12. Two stand guard over our kin, here.” Pointing to a makeshift box that resembles the inn. There is another giant who walks the dwarves to the mines and back, Two more at the entrance of the caves. Not far from there and around the bend is the Giant’s camp.”

"A dozen of the brutes..." Grondar murmurs, half to himself. "There's about as many of them as of us. That's gonna make for a tough fight. If they're split up, though, perhaps we can deal with one group at a time. That should make the task somewhat more managable."

Farian wrote:“When we came through we encountered a wall, surely you saw it.” He says gruffly,” There seems to be much more then what it appears. I entered the mines to see what guarded our kin, Dreuger dwarves have taken a liking to our kin, and bound them in chains. I bet my last war hammer on it be they who built that wall. As I moved back I took a peek within the Inn, The guards only guard one exit.” Seeing if the others caught on. “Our kin could escape if they wanted to, but something is vexed. They act as though they have no will of their own!"

"Duergar!" Grondar nearly spits out the word. "I knew I sensed their stink in this!"

Farian's last words stir a spark of memory in Grondar's brain. "What you say, Farian, reminds me of the dark water we encountered some time ago. It was water poluted by the touch of a sleeping, malignant god. It stole the will of all that tasted it. Maybe these duergar got ahold of some before we purified the source. If not, it is likely some other form of vile magic."

Grondar then turns to hear what Daraden has to report...

Aria:

Aria listens as Farian reports his findings.

Farian wrote:Sitting down upon the stone ground, Farian looks to Aria and begins explaining, using a dagger to carve into the dirt. “From what I can tell the Giants number around 12. Two stand guard over our kin, here.” Pointing to a makeshift box that resembles the inn. There is another giant who walks the dwarves to the mines and back, two more at the entrance of the caves. Not far from there and around the bend is the Giant’s camp.”

Grondar wrote:"A dozen of the brutes..." Grondar murmurs, half to himself. "There's about as many of them as of us. That's gonna make for a tough fight. If they're split up, though, perhaps we can deal with one group at a time. That should make the task somewhat more manageable."

“Aye, my thinkin’ exactly,” Aria adds. “We wait until the giant is bringing workers back to the Inn and then we attack the three of them. It’ll be a challenge, but I think we can take them. We can use the distraction of the workers returning to mask our approach. Then we can deal with the two outside the mine, leaving the camp for last.”

Farian wrote:“When we came through we encountered a wall, surely you saw it.” He says gruffly,” There seems to be much more then what it appears. I entered the mines to see what guarded our kin, Duergar dwarves have taken a liking to our kin, and bound them in chains. I bet my last war hammer on it be they who built that wall. As I moved back I took a peek within the Inn, The guards only guard one exit.” Seeing if the others caught on. “Our kin could escape if they wanted to, but something is vexed. They act as though they have no will of their own!”

Grondar wrote:"Duergar!" Grondar nearly spits out the word. "I knew I sensed their stink in this!"

“Gray devils and giants!” Aria utters, finding herself unable to even recognize those creatures as kin. “That just proves how far remove these duergar are from a true dwarf! We’d never ally ourselves with such lumberin’ mutants of the earth! While I’ll happily split their skulls with me axe, we have to deal with these giants first. Once day comes, those gray devils won’t dare step out of the mines. We’ll be able to rest and liberate our kin before having to go in and root those ticks out!”

Grondar wrote:Farian's last words stir a spark of memory in Grondar's brain. "What you say, Farian, reminds me of the dark water we encountered some time ago. It was water polluted by the touch of a sleeping, malignant god. It stole the will of all that tasted it. Maybe these duergar got a hold of some before we purified the source. If not, it is likely some other form of vile magic."

“Can you undo this?” Aria asks Grondar. “Can you break the spell that they are under? It seems to me that we may not be getting much help from our kin then. We’ll need to find a place of safety for them. The temple up hill seems the most defensible position to me. The giants can’t get in and if it doesn’t connect to the mines, then it’ll be safe from those gray devils.”

“What did you find out, Daraden?”

Grondar:

Aria wrote: “Can you undo this?” Aria asks Grondar. “Can you break the spell that they are under? It seems to me that we may not be getting much help from our kin then. We’ll need to find a place of safety for them. The temple up hill seems the most defensible position to me. The giants can’t get in and if it doesn’t connect to the mines, then it’ll be safe from those gray devils.”

Grondar scratches at a his beard a moment, trying to recall their previous experience with this stuff. "If it is indeed the same, I seem to recall that Dispel Magic was the best way to remove the effect. It also seems like the water needed to be consumed periodically or it wore off after a while. This implies that they would need to have a fairly large amount of the vile stuff to keep our kin under control this long.

"Unfortunately, I have only one Dispel Magic blessing available to me right now. It does affect a fairly sizable area, so if I can get to where there's a concentration of our kin - such as inside that inn - then I may be able to release a fair number from this accursed affliction. Come morning, I can request more of the blessing from our Revered Mother and eventually release them all.

"If the effect is caused by something else, it's possible that a Neutralize Poison spell may be of use, and I have two of those."
___________________________________________________________
I did some digging around, but couldn't tell if Neutralize Poison was ever tried against the black water, though I kind of doubt it would help any.

Daraden Stormbeard:

“Your terms are agreeable,” the drow answers. “As for the fate of the Iron Orb, it is a dwarven artifact and of no use to my kind. I would see it destroyed permanently. Until we meet again.”

Daraden watches them go, wondering just how bad the situation could become. Drow are known to be crafty and this could be an intricate lie. There is no use worrying about it though; the dark ones will make their true intentions known soon enough, so he heads back to wait for Farian's return, as well as the others.

Moving back to the waterfall, Farian sees Daraden and Darkfang waiting close by. “This is going to be harder then I thought.” He said evenly as he looked to his fellow dwarf. “Did you find anything?” he asked curiously.

"Aye, that I did," Daraden says, with Darkfang adding in a bark as if to say just how understated the response was. "Things will either be much easier or that much harder than even you think now," he adds cryptically.

Once the others show up, Farian reveals everything he found out first. He scoffs when Grondar says it'll be a tough fight against about a dozen giants. That's not enough numbers to cause them too much trouble, but Grondar is a priest after all, and not one dedicated to a warrior god.

The revelation of Duergar is surprising indeed! "By my grandpappy's beard!" Daraden exclaims, "What truly vile alliance goes on here?"

To make matters worse, it seems like the dwarven captives are content at their current lot in life. It's almost too much to stomach. His thoughts drift to the Drow and wonders if they weren't already involved, and then wonders if this is indeed a clever trap. If it was, then they must have known they were coming for quite some time...

“What did you find out, Daraden?”

Aria's question breaks him from his troubled thoughts. With a furrowed brow, Daraden replies, "I met up with some Drow out past the lake. They wished to form a temporary alliance, of all things!"

"Their leader was some strumpet that told me about a dwarven priest known as Ulvmard and further that he has in his possession an Iron Orb," Daraden continues. "She then informed me they will move against this priest even as we work to free our kith. She had the gall to say we would be needing their help before it all was over!"

"I know not if there is any truth to the words that fell from her twice-cursed lips, but we need to be cautious in case they too are in allegiance with those arrayed here," Daraden warns. "Never once have I heard 'o dark elves helping our kind and it turning out for the better."

Aria:

Aria listens as the scouts describe what we face.

Grondar wrote:Grondar scratches at his beard a moment, trying to recall their previous experience with this stuff. "If it is indeed the same, I seem to recall that Dispel Magic was the best way to remove the effect. It also seems like the water needed to be consumed periodically or it wore off after a while. This implies that they would need to have a fairly large amount of the vile stuff to keep our kin under control this long.

"Unfortunately, I have only one Dispel Magic blessing available to me right now. It does affect a fairly sizable area, so if I can get to where there's a concentration of our kin - such as inside that inn - then I may be able to release a fair number from this accursed affliction. Come morning, I can request more of the blessing from our Revered Mother and eventually release them all.

"If the effect is caused by something else, it's possible that a Neutralize Poison spell may be of use, and I have two of those."

“We’ll have to try to Dispel it and see what happens,” Aria answers with a nod. “After we’re down with the first three giants, we’ll round all our kin up and see if that’ll work. If not, then we’ll have to get them to safety.”

“Dougan, can you cast this spell too?”

Daraden wrote:Aria's question breaks him from his troubled thoughts. With a furrowed brow, Daraden replies, "I met up with some Drow out past the lake. They wished to form a temporary alliance, of all things!"

“DROW!!” Aria cries out in obvious agitation. “By Clageddin’s Twin Axes, grey devils, dark elves, and blue giants! We’ll lads, we be dwarves and we’ll be chopping down whatever foe gets put in front of us to free our kin! We will be reclaimin’ what is ours!”

Daraden wrote:"Their leader was some strumpet that told me about a dwarven priest known as Ulvmard and further that he has in his possession an Iron Orb," Daraden continues. "She then informed me they would move against this priest even as we work to free our kith. She had the gall to say we would be needing their help before it all was over!"

“An Iron Orb?” Aria wonders, scratching her facial stubble. “Can’t say that I’ve ever heard of such a thing. Maybe it’s this Iron Orb that took the fight out of kin? We need their help? By Moradin’s Hammer, what arrogance!”

Daraden wrote:"I know not if there is any truth to the words that fell from her twice-cursed lips, but we need to be cautious in case they too are in allegiance with those arrayed here," Daraden warns. "Never once have I heard 'o dark elves helping our kind and it turning out for the better."

“As for this dark elf, she’ll lay split into two at my feet before I ever trust one of her kind! Aye, she’s got something else in mind, somethin’ that she has to gain by playing this game. If the dark elves want to fight the gray devils, then I’m all for that! Maybe they’ll wipe each other out! I know how their kind works. We help them and then get a dagger in the back for our efforts!”

“Say, you boys did find signs of drow passage down in this tunnels a few days back? Hmm, I wonder if those drow are the ones Daraden met up with? It might mean that there’s another way to reach this valley underground.”

“First things first. We deal with the giants and save the dark elves and grey devils for latter. You scouts saw the giants bringing our kin back to this inn earlier, right? Hmm, they may not change over again before the morning light. We might have to risk an attack sooner before we lose the night…”

“All right, we move out now to take down those two guards. We can’t let them get passed us to warn their brethren. We take out the giants, and then we see if the spell on our kin can be broken. While this is going on, Rat can scout out the Temple to see if it can be used as a safe haven.”

“All right, lads! It be time for battle!”


Aria’s own combat strategy is rather simple. Reach the giants and strike repeatedly with her battle axe!

Grondar:

Grondar just nods in response to Aria's thoughts on using the Dispel Magic. If Dougan has it available, that will help a lot.

Aria wrote:“DROW!!” Aria cries out in obvious agitation. “By Clageddin’s Twin Axes, grey devils, dark elves, and blue giants! We’ll lads, we be dwarves and we’ll be chopping down whatever foe gets put in front of us to free our kin! We will be reclaimin’ what is ours!”

Grondar grunts angrily at this news. The involvement of the drow cannot signal anything good. "Indeed. The drow had best stay out of our way," he growls menacingly.

The mention of this Iron Orb causes Grondar to search his memory for any mention he may have heard of it previously. The suggestion that it may be what is enslaving their kin is particularly troubling.

Aria wrote:“Say, you boys did find signs of drow passage down in this tunnels a few days back? Hmm, I wonder if those drow are the ones Daraden met up with? It might mean that there’s another way to reach this valley underground.”

"We did," Grondar confirms. "I had been considering that possibility myself."

Aria issues order for the battle against the first few giants. Grondar turns to Rat. "I could share Berronar's protection with you while you scout. It might keep you safer." If he accepts, he will cast Protection from Evil on the halfling. If not, he'll ask if anyone else wants it.

Unfortunately, Grondar has little in the way of combat-related spells right now. He'll have to fix that in the morning. In the meantime, he intends to use his speed to get to the other side of the giants and cut off their route of escape. He'll use his enchanted crossbow until they try to run, then crush them with TruthGiver.

Farian

It doesnt appear much of a surprise that the drow are about but on the surface, draws farian's curiousity. In short order, Farian is ready to take the fight to the Giants.

With war hammer in hand Farian will make ready to assault the giants. Once the battle begins Farian will begin bashing the Giants with his war hammer.

Small update:

Aria wrote:“Dougan, can you cast this spell too?”

“No, I cannot, Lady Aria. Such magic is currently beyond my skills.”

“I have heard of the Iron Orb,” Dougan speaks up. “I heard tales of it while training for the priesthood. Legend has it that the gray dwarves created the Iron Orb long ago in a foul alliance with the Illithids by trapping the spirit of a beholder inside a 1 ‘ black seamless sphere. The Iron Orb was an artifact created to control a construct called the Iron Warrior. This Iron Warrior was supposed to be a powerful weapon the duergar would use to defeat their enemies, namely us.”

“But legend also tells that the Iron Warrior was defeated by a band under the leadership of Durin Ironfoot. The Iron Warrior and the Iron Orb were both thrown into molten lava and though to be destroyed. This all occurred centuries ago. If the orb has been found, then whoever has it will try to build a new Iron Warrior. They’ll need much ore to create this beast. If this is the case, then they must be stopped before they can complete this task.”

Dougan’s tale reminds Grondar that he heard a similar tale as part of his own training.

Grondar wrote:Aria issues order for the battle against the first few giants. Grondar turns to Rat. "I could share Berronar's protection with you while you scout. It might keep you safer." If he accepts, he will cast Protection from Evil on the halfling. If not, he'll ask if anyone else wants it.

“Thank you, kindly,” the halfling accepts with a roguish grin. “I’ll take all the protection I can get!”

Now what?

Grondar:

Unfortunately, Dougan is currently unable to wield the Dispell Magic blessing. This really limits their ability to help those who might be under the influence of the black water - if indeed that is the culprit here.

As the priest talks about what he has heard of the Iron Orb, the memories return to Grondar. During his training, he had heard some of the same tales. Nodding, Grondar confirms the story, "I had been told essentially the same story as part of my training, lo these many years ago now."

[quote=""Rat"]“Thank you, kindly,” the halfling accepts with a roguish grin. “I’ll take all the protection I can get!”[/quote]
"You're most welcome, Master Rat," Grondar replies with a smile. "Still, beware of taking foolish chances." With a short prayer, Grondar casts the blessing upon their small friend.

Now, time to bring some giants down...

Farian

Farian listens to the tale of the Iron Orb in mild disgust and interest. Soon enough he grows tired of hearing all the talk, especially when his kin are held soulless against their will.

Farian will make ready with his war hammer, once in position he will begin moving forward and bash any Giants that come into his view.

Post Closed