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Hammerfall #10

A new face:

Farther to the south, a young woman by the name of Virae was walking through a hallway in another dungeon. Something unexpected happened. The ground beneath her feet gave way and Virae fell! What happened next was a blur of tumbling down a small shaft and then rolling through a tunnel. Suddenly the tunneled opened up, and Virae dropped onto a small ledge overlook a pool of lava. The air is very hot but it’s not a hindrance to Virae.

Gathering her wits, Virae is surprised to find herself in a new location. Even more surprising whatever it was she just fell through is no longer there. There is no tunnel above this ledge, just rock glowing from the heat of the lava.

The pool of lava seems to fill one side of a large room. A battle seems to be transpiring in that room. The largest feature is a huge fifty-foot tall metallic statue lying on its back. Scattered amongst the room are surface dwarves, duergar Underdark dwarves, and even some drow! Unsure just what is going on and who is who, Virae watches what is happening.


Battle for the Iron Orb:

In the vast chamber where the Iron Warrior was being constructed a fierce battle is taking place. Grondar has raced to cut off Brother Clavis from retrieving the Iron Orb. Seeing that the dwarven priest is not in control of himself, Grondar attempts to stop Clavis with a Hold Person spell. The enchantment works and Brother Clavis stops moving.

The duergar warriors guarding the chamber have been defeated. The drow led by their unnamed priestess leader rushes towards the Iron Orb itself. Oran violently removed the Iron Orb from Brother Clavis by hitting it with his Firehammer. Since then the orb has been careening about the vast chamber wildly.

Fearing that the drow are attempting to take the Iron Orb for themselves, Aria rushes to retrieve it first. Daraden and Farian follows. The worker duergar give the heroes a wide berth and most simply run to the exit to escape.

The drow surround the Iron Orb seeking to protect it. Aria dives in-between two of the male drow and grabs the orb! The drow priestess turns back in complete shock at the sight of Aria holding the Iron Orb!

“You fool! What have you done?”

“Hammerfall?” Aria answers to an unspoken question. “Restore. Yes. Easily controlled.”

“The Orb is possessing her!” the drow priestess cries out. “She most be stopped! Attack her!”

The drow warriors move to obey their leader and attack Aria!

GM Notes:

Welcome a new character to the fold. Virae is a transfer from the Tower of Magic game.

Current Hit Points:

Aria: 61 of 99
Arlos: 63 of 71
Daraden: 51 of 59
Dougan: 44 of 62
Farian: 59 of 75
Grondar: 58 of 70
Lotha: 31 of 37
Opal: 26 of 32
Oran: 98 of 102
Senoia: 51 of 61


Now what?

Grondar:

Praise Berronar! Clavis stops moving even as the spell finishes rolling off Grondar's lips. Thankfully, he won't have to strike the dwarf to stop him.

However, a commotion behind him draws Grondar's attention. Turning, he sees that the drow are closing in on the Iron Orb. Just then, Aria leaps into the middle of the group and touches the Orb. Almost immediately, Aria begins speaking to it, just as Clavis had done earlier.

Oh, no...

“Hammerfall?” Aria answers to an unspoken question. “Restore. Yes. Easily controlled.”

“The Orb is possessing her!” the drow priestess cries out. “She most be stopped! Attack her!”

"No! Stop them!" Grondar shouts to Daraden and Farian, who are drawing near. They will find a way to release Aria later. First, they must prevent the drow from killing her. Fortunately, Grondar has another Hold Person available; the words to the prayer leap to his lips immediately as he casts the spell on the drow warriors threatening Aria. Even as he does so, he races to physically interpose himself between the drow priestess and Aria.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Welcome to the game, Virae!

Farian

“The Orb is possessing her!” the drow priestess cries out. “She most be stopped! Attack her!”

Farian will attempt to block the Drow with his warhammer in hand. If they come close he will guard himself and Aria, “Get that orb away from her and fast…”

Daraden:

The drow surround the Iron Orb seeking to protect it. Aria dives in-between two of the male drow and grabs the orb! The drow priestess turns back in complete shock at the sight of Aria holding the Iron Orb!

“You fool! What have you done?”

“Hammerfall?” Aria answers to an unspoken question. “Restore. Yes. Easily controlled.”

Daraden shakes his head as he watches Aria pick up the Orb and become possessed almost immediately. "Why don't ye ever listen to me?" he wonders aloud, hardly expecting an answer.

“The Orb is possessing her!” the drow priestess cries out. “She most be stopped! Attack her!”

"No! Stop them!" Grondar shouts to Daraden and Farian, who are drawing near.

Daraden will rush up putting himself between Aria and the drow. "Nuh uh uh," he says, wagging a finger while holding his axe in his other hand, "this wasn't no part o' the bargain. Ain't no way we be letting you kill our leader. We be figuring this one out without bloodshed."

Darkfang will growl menacingly at one of the other drow just waiting for a signal from Daraden to attack. Hopefully he won't have to give that signal, but there is no way he's going to let those drow attack Aria.

Virae

Suddenly the floor beneath her gives and she begins tumbling down shaft or tunnel. Hitting every body part on the way down she finally comes to a stop on a ledge deep underground as lava flows beneath her.

Shaking the grogginess and soreness away, Virae looks up to where she fell. Much to her astonishment there is no tunnel no way back. “Wonderful, just my luck!” she says as she looks around seeing the lava then to the cries of dwarves, duegar and drow. Raising an eyebrow, “Drow,” she says with a bitter taste in her mouth, “These dwarves have no idea what they are dealing with.” Jumping from the ledge and rolling onto the ground she comes up just as she hears the commotion apparently they are working together and having a lovers spat over a metal orb and the dwarf who is carrying it.

Drawing her short swords Virae will move forward on the draw her cowl covering her head as her hazel eyes with red tinge look out, She will drop a Globe of Darkness on the Drow, hoping it will give the dwarves a moment or two of surprise ( if to close to give the dwarves that benefit, Move silently to the closest drow and backstab)

Post Continued:


The situation as taken a dire turn! Aria has reached the Iron Orb and touched it. But now it appears that she is being controlled by it! See this, the Drow Priestess orders her minions to attack Aria! The dwarves rush to defend their leader.

Farian, Daraden, and Darkfang interpose themselves in-between Aria and the drow warriors. The drow warriors have dropped their hand crossbows and are using short swords. The Drow Priestess begins to cast a spell when Oran’s Firehammer comes flying in. The flaming hammer hits the priestess in the side, sending her flying into the chamber wall. She hits the wall hard and slides to the floor in a daze.

“Ye be keepin’ yer filthy hands off of her, ye devious dark wench!” Oran cries out as he flings his hammer.

The drow warriors, initially hesitant to attack Farian and Daraden, strike! Farian avoids being stabbed by the short swords and swings his warhammer to defend himself. He lands two solid blows on one of the drow warriors, but he continues to fight.

Close by, Daraden and another drow warrior exchange attacks with neither side doing any real damage. Darkfang leaps up and knocks another drow to the chamber floor.

Grondar moves closer, casting Hold Person as he slowly advances. The spell meets with mixed success and two of the drow warriors freeze up. (Spell casting is a no-move action, but the house rules allow a little movement, so Grondar could move closer and cast the spell at the same time.)


Almost unnoticed, a new figure emerges on the scene. She leaps down, rolls upon landing on the chamber floor and rises up with her short swords in hand. The newcomer frees up her one hand by sticking her sword between her arm and body, and then gestures towards the battle dwarves and drow. In response a field of darkness engulfs all in the area!

Just as fast as the field appeared, it disappears once Grondar is close enough. The Continual Light rock he carries negates the magically created field of darkness. From those in the field, everything when dark for a few moments before light returned.


The other dwarves rush to defend Aria. Lotha moves to secure Brother Clavis, to ensure that he plays no further part in this battle.

Mayor Arlos slashes a drow warrior twice with his short swords, badly wounding another drow warrior. Senoia pounds another with her twin war hammers.

Dougan also casts Hold Person and two more of the drow freeze up in mid-battle, making it easy for their opponents to finish them off.

While this is going on, Opal reaches Aria. “Lady Aria! Let us help you!” Opal reaches out her hand to the battlemaiden that she has come to idolize.

Aria’s face twists in what can only be disgust and hatred. “Help? From a filthy surface dwarf? Never! I was created to destroy dwarves like you and that is what I’ll do!”

Unexpectedly, a blast of magical energy erupts from the Iron Orb! It washes over Opal blowing away her flesh and bone. When the blast fades, all that remains is dust from what was once Opal Kriegstrum. She never even had time to scream.

GM Notes:

There are 8 drow warriors in all, with four them being held. The ones Farian and Daraden are fighting are both still moving, while the one engaged by Darkfang is held.

Current Hit Points:

Aria: 61 of 99
Arlos: 63 of 71
Daraden: 51 of 59
Dougan: 44 of 62
Farian: 59 of 75
Grondar: 58 of 70
Lotha: 31 of 37
Opal: RIP
Oran: 98 of 102
Senoia: 51 of 61

Now what?

Farian

Unaware of what transpired behind him he will continue his assault on the drow before him.

Grondar:

Farian and Daraden race to protect Aria from the drow and soon find themselves in battle with the duergar warriors. Oran's enchanted hammer knocks the fight out of their priestess, at least for the moment. Taking a step forward, Grondar's spell captures two of the warriors, as does one from Dougan. Mayor Arlos, Senoia and the others join the fight as Lotha binds Brother Clavis to prevent any further mischief from him.

Suddenly, a momentary area of darkness appears about the fighting duergar, but it vanishes as quickly and mysteriously as it appeared. Though puzzled and concerned, Grondar doesn't have time to seek out the source of this strange phenomenon.

The young warrior maiden Opal reaches out to aid Aria, only to be met with a most surprising response. Aria speaks with the venom of a duergar priest, and then the Orb incinerates the young woman where she stands!

"Gods Above and Below!" Grondar bellows, shocked to the core by Opal's sudden and violent demise. Racing forward, he attempts to tackle Aria to the ground and restrain her with his own magically-enhanced strength. Should that fail, he intends to subdue her with TruthGiver as quickly as possible. Even as he acts, he yells out, "Oran! Drive the Orb into the lava!"

Daraden:

The drow warriors, initially hesitant to attack Farian and Daraden, strike! Farian avoids being stabbed by the short swords and swings his warhammer to defend himself. He lands two solid blows on one of the drow warriors, but he continues to fight.

Close by, Daraden and another drow warrior exchange attacks with neither side doing any real damage. Darkfang leaps up and knocks another drow to the chamber floor.

"I be expecting no less from your ilk!" Daraden roars as the drow break the tenative alliance and attack. He tries to get an upper hand against the warrior, but the two are evenly matched for the moment. Darkfang however has some luck and he can't help but wonder what that drow is thinking staring into the snarling maw of his wolf companion.

There is a lot of commotion, most of which Daraden misses. Some spell or other goes off but he dares not look away from his adversary to catch a glimpse. Instead he will continue to press the attack against the drow he faces, preparing to engage any others that might remain after he dispatches this one.

Virae

Looking slightly taken aback that her Darkness was so easy turned away Virae wonders what these dwarves hold within themselves. But these are thoughts for another time as a dwarf is blasted into dust, her eyes widen as she realizes just what this dwarf can do.

“This one should not draw breath.” Spreading her wings, making them look like a bird she once saw with Kharyna and move so she can land on top of the Iron Warrior.


(OOC does Vi have her spells? Assuming not)

Post Continued:


Allies have become enemies as the drow are fighting to remove the Iron Orb from Aria! The dwarven fighters engage the drow warriors and for the most part they are on even footing. That is until Grondar and Dougan use Hold Person spells to thin out the ranks of the drow warriors causing half of them to freeze.

Farian continues to engage the drow before him. The two exchange hits, but Farian is the one who remains standing.

Daraden’s struggle with his opponent continues. Both sides seem pretty evenly matched and nether one seems to have an advantage. More attacks are dodged or blocked. Dougan of Moradin rushes in to assist Daraden in his struggle. This gives Daraden an opening to drive his axe deep into the enemy’s chest dropping him to the floor.

Mayor Arlos and Senoia engage the last two active drow warriors, keeping them occupied.


While this is going on, a mysterious winged female flies up and lands on the top of the Iron Warrior. She continues to observe the struggle between dwarves and drow.


Grondar rushes forward, having seen the Iron Orb disintegrate Opal right before his very eyes!

Grondar wrote:Even as he acts, he yells out, "Oran! Drive the Orb into the lava!"

As Grondar closes in, Oran rushes forward as fast as his legs will propel him. With the fighting between the other dwarves and the drow going on between him and Aria, Oran doesn’t have a clear shot.

“I don’t have a target!” Oran yells as he approaches. “Just hold her and I’ll give you a hand!”

Grondar reaches Aria and tries to tackle her, but Aria was ready for his approach. The two grapple for a few moments, their strength even matched. Then the orb enters the fray again! A blast of magical energy is fired from it, striking Grondar in the face! The energy saps away some of Grondar’s life energy and he is forced back a step allowing Aria to break free.

“This new host is far better than the first one I had!” Aria announces, but it’s clear it’s not her voice. “So easy to direct and control! If it is Hammerfall that you seek, then it is Hammerfall I shall go to! Go there, dwarves, so that you can be destroyed! I’ll be waiting for you!”

With that, Aria simply fades away and is gone! Oran arrives and waves around his hammer to determine if Aria is really gone or just concealed. His hammer strikes nothing.

The drow priestess regains her wits just in time to see what transpired.

“You blind, ignorant fools!” She thunders. “You let the orb escape and gain easily controlled host! All the terror that the orb unleashes from this time on is on your heads!”

GM Notes:

OOC does Vi have her spells? Assuming not.

No, she never had time to rest and recover spells.

Four of the drow warriors continue to be held. Two of the active ones fell in combat, leaving two still able to fight. Not only do you have the drow to contend with, but the mysterious winged female as well. And to make matters worse, Aria is gone and under the thrall of the Iron Orb.


Current Hit Points:

Arlos: 63 of 71
Daraden: 51 of 59
Dougan: 44 of 62
Farian: 56 of 75
Grondar: 38 of 70
Lotha: 31 of 37
Oran: 98 of 102
Senoia: 51 of 61

Now what?

Virae

While this is going on, a mysterious winged female flies up and lands on the top of the Iron Warrior. She continues to observe the struggle between dwarves and drow.

Having her wings fold then disappear from her back she watches as two dwarves wrestle the other with the orb away but only gets blasted then the orb bearing dwarf is gone. Looking to the dwarves then the drow, Virae is curious as to what will come of this. ‘Apparently these dwarves did not need me to interfere..’ she thinks to herself .

“You blind, ignorant fools!” She thunders. “You let the orb escape and gain easily controlled host! All the terror that the orb unleashes from this time on is on your heads!”

Virae’s eyes drift over to the drow priestesses, sheathing her swords as she does so. The thought of her swords sinking into the drows flesh, flashes through her mind for many a moments and she bits her tongue as none realize she is present as of yet. Sitting on the Iron Warrior, she takes a piece of jerky and rips a piece, chewing on it and enjoys the show for now….

Grondar:

The remaining drow warriors are taken down or engaged. Unfortunately, Oran cannot get a clear shot on the Iron Orb. Racing forward, Grondar attempts to tackle Aria, but she grapples him and manages to hold him at bay. Before Oran can join him in subduing Aria, the Orb emits another blast full into Grondar's face. Thankfully, Berronar protects him from the worst of it. Still, Grondar stumbles backward a step from the sheer force of the energy released.

Aria wrote:“This new host is far better than the first one I had!” Aria announces, but it’s clear it’s not her voice. “So easy to direct and control! If it is Hammerfall that you seek, then it is Hammerfall I shall go to! Go there, dwarves, so that you can be destroyed! I’ll be waiting for you!”

Even as Grondar shakes off the pain and blurriness in his vision, the Orb voices its plans through Aria, then they both vanish. Not good.

Drow Priestess wrote:“You blind, ignorant fools!” She thunders. “You let the orb escape and gain easily controlled host! All the terror that the orb unleashes from this time on is on your heads!”

Rubbing the last of the stars from his eyes, Grondar waits patiently for the drow priestess to finish her rant. "Your accusations have little value at this point. Clearly you know more of this enchanted orb than you have shared with us. There is much to be done to stop that thing; if there is anything more you can tell us about exactly what that thing is or what its capabilities are, now would be the time. Otherwise, we will be leaving immediately. It might be wise for you to remain here to ensure that it doesn't return and activate this metal golem."

At the first opportunity, Grondar will convert his Protection from Evil, 10' Radius to heal the worst of his wounds.
_______________________________
Lesson: Never rely on an NPC to execute a critical part of your plan.

Daraden:

Daraden’s struggle with his opponent continues. Both sides seem pretty evenly matched and nether one seems to have an advantage. More attacks are dodged or blocked. Dougan of Moradin rushes in to assist Daraden in his struggle. This gives Daraden an opening to drive his axe deep into the enemy’s chest dropping him to the floor.

"Yer a crafty one, I'll give yah that!" Daraden says as he still is unable to land a decivise blow. Then Dougan rushes in and Daraden is able to bury his axe in the drow. "Thank ye kindly," he'll say to Dougan.

“You blind, ignorant fools!” She thunders. “You let the orb escape and gain easily controlled host! All the terror that the orb unleashes from this time on is on your heads!”

"If you woulda not forced us to kill your escorts and worked together like we were supposed to, then maybe we woulda had this wrapped up already," Daraden retorts, using the drow he just killed for wiping the blood off his axe. "So I disagree. All this is on your head. Sit and stew on that while we go and take care o' this."

Daraden waits for the others, but there really isn't alot of time for that available. Hopefully Grondar picks up the reigns of leadership quickly and they can get going.

Farian

Farian continues to engage the drow before him. The two exchange hits, but Farian is the one who remains standing.

Gritting his teeth as the drow’s weapon strikes him, Farian bring his warhammer to bear and the drow drops like a sack of potatoes.

As the drow wags its forked tongue Farian turns to Grondar and finds Aria not among them. His eyes widen in disbelief as he wonders where she went. Then a new figure catches his eyes, which is oddly enough eating a piece of beef jerky. Softly, “Daraden, What ya be thinking about this.” Motioning his head toward the new arrival.

Post Continued:


The Iron Orb has taken possession of Aria and has seemingly departed for Hammerfall! This leaves the dwarves behind with their former drow allies, and a strange newcomer in the form of an unknown woman with wings. The drow priestess of Lolth is not happy.

Daraden wrote:"If you woulda not forced us to kill your escorts and worked together like we were supposed to, then maybe we woulda had this wrapped up already," Daraden retorts, using the drow he just killed for wiping the blood off his axe. "So I disagree. All this is on your head. Sit and stew on that while we go and take care o' this."

“We moved to encircle and prevent anyone from reaching the orb,” the drow priestess retorts. “It was your foolish leader who caused all of this. She inexplicably touched the orb and became dominated by it. When we went to remove it from her, you attacked us. Clearly, you do not comprehend what working together means, as all your actions have lead to this disaster! Now all of us remain at risk. The only thing to stew about is your complete and utter incompetence!”

Grondar wrote:Rubbing the last of the stars from his eyes, Grondar waits patiently for the drow priestess to finish her rant. "Your accusations have little value at this point. Clearly you know more of this enchanted orb than you have shared with us. There is much to be done to stop that thing; if there is anything more you can tell us about exactly what that thing is or what its capabilities are, now would be the time. Otherwise, we will be leaving immediately. It might be wise for you to remain here to ensure that it doesn't return and activate this metal golem."

“I have no additional knowledge of the Orb beyond what I told you earlier,” the priestess continues. “It’s blatantly obvious that the previous host had some measure of resistance against the orb as he was questioning its goals and plans. We all heard that. With its new host, there is no resistance and her body is little more than a puppet to the orb.”

When hearing that Grondar intends to depart right away, the priestess will add, “Metal work is the hallmark of your race, dwarf. Clearly, the Iron Warrior needs to be guarded and destroyed to prevent it from being activated. I trust you can handle such a simple task on your own? In the meantime, my mission to destroy the orb will continue without your interference.”

The remaining drow warriors will gather up their kin and begin to depart the chamber with their priestess in the lead.

Senoia will need to be held back to prevent her from attacking the drow! “Dark elfin scum! You lot probably planned all o’ this from the start! By the Lady of the Fray, I’ll see your blood splattered upon my hammers!”

“Further violence will not accomplish anything,” Dougan of Moradin will say solemnly. “While I do not appreciate the tone of her words, the drow does speak truly on this one thing. We Sons of Stone are the most qualified to dismantle and destroy the Iron Warrior.”

“I can have a crew down here working on the task within an hour,” Mayor Arlos vows.

“I can see if me Firehammer can damage it,” Oran quietly offers.

“It seems that the words Lady Aria spoke earlier in jest have come to pass,” Dougan continues. “You are our leader now, Lord Grondar. What shall we do?”

GM Notes:

Grondar casts Cure Serious Wounds on himself and is healed. What are you going to do with Brother Clavis? And who is that strange woman?

Current Hit Points:

Arlos: 63 of 71
Daraden: 51 of 59
Dougan: 44 of 62
Farian: 56 of 75
Grondar: 52 of 70
Lotha: 31 of 37
Oran: 98 of 102
Senoia: 51 of 61

Now what?

Daraden:

“We moved to encircle and prevent anyone from reaching the orb,” the drow priestess retorts. “It was your foolish leader who caused all of this. She inexplicably touched the orb and became dominated by it. When we went to remove it from her, you attacked us. Clearly, you do not comprehend what working together means, as all your actions have lead to this disaster! Now all of us remain at risk. The only thing to stew about is your complete and utter incompetence!”

"And we moved to encircle our leader from being cut down by your buffoons 'fore we could get the situation under control," Daraden snaps back. "Fer the record your warrior swung first! I had no desire to drain his foul blood from his carcass, but he wanted it that way. Bah, yer mind's already made up! I just be wastin' my breath is all! You came to ME about this alliance you ignorant wench. Don't be lecturing me 'bout how to work together. Grondar woulda had the situation well in hand if he hadn't a had to waste spells and time on your lot."

Daraden was going to walk away, but this drow has really gotten under his skin. He's half a second from letting Darkfang loose on her and calling it a day while she screams beneath his companion's fangs. He's confident that she wouldn't get a spell off before Darkfang was on her. However, there seems to be another distraction that buys the drow wench a few more seconds of life.

Softly, “Daraden, What ya be thinking about this.” Motioning his head toward the new arrival.

"Eh?" Daraden says, clearly distracted. "What be this? Another drow trick?" he mutters as he looks in the direction Farian indicates. Whoever it is up there seems to be enjoying the little show. He watches to see if this individual does anything new now that others are aware of the person.

Grondar:

Daraden and the drow priestess exchange angry words, and it seem like it is all Daraden can do to resist attacking her on the spot. "Easy, my friend," Grondar says to Daraden. "We all know what happened here, and we all share some of the blame."

Dougan wrote:“It seems that the words Lady Aria spoke earlier in jest have come to pass,” Dougan continues. “You are our leader now, Lord Grondar. What shall we do?”

Many excellent suggestions are made, leaving Grondar to nod and wonder if they really need his leadership. "I agree that this is a task for dwarves, but I will not leave Aria's fate to these drow! Thus, I believe it is time for us to split up. Oran and I have the most powerful weapons, so we will stay and work toward destroying this metal monstrocity.

"Mayor, I would like you and Lotha to go fetch your work crew.

"As for the rest of you, I want to you return to HammerFall and do what you can to save Aria. I will join you once Mayor Arlos returns with his crew. In the meantime, Farian, you will be in charge of this group. Feel free to collect Master Rat along the way.

"Any questions?"

Grondar notes the distracted attentions of Daraden and Farian. Looking over, he finds a female perched on top of the golem. "And who might you be, miss?"

Grondar wrote:"As for the rest of you, I want to you return to HammerFall and do what you can to save Aria. I will join you once Mayor Arlos returns with his crew. In the meantime, Farian, you will be in charge of this group. Feel free to collect Master Rat along the way.

One minor problem here: Hammerfall is the place that you've been working towards reaching. You've haven't been there yet! Fort Fletcher is where the dwarvers were based when this mission started and you've reached Mountain Lake just recently. Best guess still puts you around 10 miles from Hammerfall and you'll have to pass through unexplored territory to reach it. Based on what the Orb said, it took Aria to Hammerfall, not back to Fort Fletcher.

Farian

"As for the rest of you, I want to you return to HammerFall and do what you can to save Aria. I will join you once Mayor Arlos returns with his crew. In the meantime, Farian, you will be in charge of this group. Feel free to collect Master Rat along the way.

Bringing his hand to his face, Farian shakes his head. “Me Leader.” He scoffs, “Never was one much for that but so be it.”

Farian will make ready for the trip forward, though he doesn’t care for the idea of splitting the group up yet again.

Virae

Grondar notes the distracted attentions of Daraden and Farian. Looking over, he finds a female perched on top of the golem. "And who might you be, miss?"

“Lost, or so it would seem.” She said as she dusted off her hands on her pants and stood on the top of the golem. “Ye might not be letting them go. Drow have an odd habit of lingering and striking without warning when they kill their kin…” As she looks at the drow with a lingering stare knowing far to well their capbilities.

“One moment I was exploring the Tower of War with my companions, the next I was here. Angered the Gods? bad luck? a missed step? Whom is to say what brought me, though I am here none the less.” Dropping down to the ground and casting her gaze to the dwarves, “Virae Liadon, at your service good dwarf.”

GMMad wrote:One minor problem here: Hammerfall is the place that you've been working towards reaching. You've haven't been there yet! Fort Fletcher is where the dwarvers were based when this mission started and you've reached Mountain Lake just recently. Best guess still puts you around 10 miles from Hammerfall and you'll have to pass through unexplored territory to reach it. Based on what the Orb said, it took Aria to Hammerfall, not back to Fort Fletcher.

Yup, I know they didn't reach it, but my understanding was that it was through all those tunnels and whatnot back on the other side of the dwarven town. My thinking was that it would take them quite a while to make any significant progress through those tunnels and wouldn't have gone too far before Arlos returns with the work crew. With the speed at which he moves, Grondar could then catch up with them pretty quickly. Meanwhile, they would be able to follow the drow, who seem to be convinced that they know the way to HammerFall.

The alternative seems to be to keep everyone here until the work crew arrives, letting the drow get a big head start. This means the dwarves have to find their own way, which is likely to take longer and give the drow plenty of time to do whatever (kill?) Aria before we get there.

I'm open to suggestions if others have them.

fanchergw wrote:Yup, I know they didn't reach it, but my understanding was that it was through all those tunnels and whatnot back on the other side of the dwarven town. My thinking was that it would take them quite a while to make any significant progress through those tunnels and wouldn't have gone too far before Arlos returns with the work crew. With the speed at which he moves, Grondar could then catch up with them pretty quickly. Meanwhile, they would be able to follow the drow, who seem to be convinced that they know the way to HammerFall.

The alternative seems to be to keep everyone here until the work crew arrives, letting the drow get a big head start. This means the dwarves have to find their own way, which is likely to take longer and give the drow plenty of time to do whatever (kill?) Aria before we get there.

I'm open to suggestions if others have them.

No problems, I just wanted to be on the same page. The returning to Hammerfall line when you had yet to be there just threw me is all. I was thinking maybe he meant Fort Fletcher instead of Hammerfall.

Here's the travel options you have. The tunnel that led you to Mountain Lake connects with area #7 on the mining map. While you don't know which route the drow took to reach here, it's a good bet that they passed through area #9 on the mining map. The route that connects to Hammerfall starts in area #8 on the same map.

Basically, the route from Mountain Lake takes you nearly all the way back to Fort Fletcher and Area #7, onto #8, and then into unexplored territory to reach Hammerfall. There is a map, but that's in the possession of Baluk Ironforge back at Fort Fletcher. The map will show you which passages to take when you come to intersections. But the map is also over fifiy years old and won't show any changes such as the chasm's that have sprung up here and there. Who knows what challenges lie along the way?

It's entirely possible that the drow know of another route that is shorter and quicker. Chasing after them should be interesting.

As always what you guys choose to do is up to you.

So essentially, if they cannot follow the drow, who may well try to hinder/harm them, they need to retrace their route back through Mountain Lake to area #7. From there, they descend to area #8 and begin the trek down the unexplored corridors toward Hammerfall. Baluk's map might be handy, though they cannot afford to waste a lot of time fetching it.

Grondar:

Farian wrote:Bringing his hand to his face, Farian shakes his head. “Me Leader.” He scoffs, “Never was one much for that but so be it."

"I have faith that you will do fine, my friend," Grondar says. "And I will rejoin you soon."

Virae wrote:“Lost, or so it would seem.” She said as she dusted off her hands on her pants and stood on the top of the golem. “Ye might not be letting them go. Drow have an odd habit of lingering and striking without warning when they kill their kin…” As she looks at the drow with a lingering stare knowing far to well their capbilities.

“One moment I was exploring the Tower of War with my companions, the next I was here. Angered the Gods? bad luck? a missed step? Whom is to say what brought me, though I am here none the less.” Dropping down to the ground and casting her gaze to the dwarves, “Virae Liadon, at your service good dwarf.”

"It seems the gods have brought you to us, Virae, though only they know their reasons. As you offer your services freely, I am honored to accept." Grondar offers a forearm for a shake in the dwarven fashion. "If you were exploring the Tower of war, no doubt you have useful skills. Please assist Farian here," he says, gesturing to the Wayfinder, "as best you can until I catch up."

"As for the drow, I feel they have a part yet to play in this and no not yet whether it be for the best to keep them from it. We shall certainly remain wary of them as we have thusfar."

Grondar turns back to Farian's group. "If you lose track of the drow or are forced to slay them, then meet me at the number 2 ore storage depot [area #8]. I will join you there as soon as I am able."

Once everyone is on their way, Grondar will turn and join Oran in trying to smash the golem. It shouldn't take more than a few whacks to determine how successful this tactic is going to be.

Post Continued:

Aria has been enthralled by the Iron Orb! The evil artifact then teleported away, presumably towards Hammerfall based on its words! The alliance with the drow has fallen apart. Angry words are exchanged before the drow depart on their quest to destroy the Iron Orb.

The situation has left Grondar in charge of the expedition. Suggestions are offered and decisions are made.

Grondar wrote:Many excellent suggestions are made, leaving Grondar to nod and wonder if they really need his leadership. "I agree that this is a task for dwarves, but I will not leave Aria's fate to these drow! Thus, I believe it is time for us to split up. Oran and I have the most powerful weapons, so we will stay and work toward destroying this metal monstrosity.

"Mayor, I would like you and Lotha to go fetch your work crew.

"As for the rest of you, I want to you return to Hammerfall and do what you can to save Aria. I will join you once Mayor Arlos returns with his crew. In the meantime, Farian, you will be in charge of this group. Feel free to collect Master Rat along the way.

"Any questions?"

Farian, Daraden and Darkfang, and Senoia depart the chamber in their pursuit of the drow. A young woman named Virae just arrived and Grondar asked her to join the pursuit with Farian. Mayor Arlos and Lieutenant Lotha follow, as their destination lies in the same direction.

Dougan of Moradin pauses for a moment as if in thought. He then turns to speak to Lord Grondar.

“A thought does come to me, Lord Grondar,” Dougan states. “Let me tend to Brother Clavis before joining the others. Given that he was controlled by artifact, he might have some inside knowledge of it’s working. This knowledge might be useful to us in the days to come. At least give us some understanding the threat we now face.”

After speaking with Dougan, Grondar joins Oran Firehammer in the task of making sure the Iron Warrior is never used. Oran stands back and throws is fiery hammer at the gigantic metal construct. The hammer impacts with a tremendous clang, much like it did to the iron golems earlier. The metal begins to weaken and break at the point of impact, but it much tougher than the smaller golems. Nearly three times as many hits are needed to break the metal down into smaller pieces.

In short order, enough damage is done to the Iron Warrior to prevent it from being a threat. The legs are shattered, as are the arms. The thicker torso was much harder to damage, but the head was severed. The task took about twenty minutes in all.

“They can just chuck the debris right into the lava,” Oran notes. “That’ll permanently take care of this monstrosity!”


Elsewhere, Farian leads the way after the drow. The drow have a good lead and it is growing. Like most taller races, they move faster than dwarves do. The dwarves pass through the iron golem building area and into the hallway beyond. Farian stops long enough to make sure that the pit trap over the lava bridge is in the inactive position. He finds it in the activated position and deactivates.

The bottom of the stairs is reached and the dwarves begin to climb. Further up the stairs you can hear what sounds like the sounds of battle. Finally you reach a point where you can see the drow once more. They are locked in battle with duergar who are coming down the stairs! There seems to be many dozens of the gray dwarves! The drow are too busy fighting to notice you coming closer.

GM Notes:

The drow are about halfway up the stairs. The location of the spring traps are still noted on the steps from the earlier descent.

Current Hit Points:

Arlos: 63 of 71
Daraden: 51 of 59
Dougan: 44 of 62
Farian: 56 of 75
Grondar: 52 of 70
Lotha: 31 of 37
Oran: 98 of 102
Senoia: 51 of 61

Now what?

Daraden:

The bottom of the stairs is reached and the dwarves begin to climb. Further up the stairs you can hear what sounds like the sounds of battle. Finally you reach a point where you can see the drow once more. They are locked in battle with duergar who are coming down the stairs! There seems to be many dozens of the gray dwarves! The drow are too busy fighting to notice you coming closer.

"I say we let them rot in whatever hell spawned the lot of 'em," Daraden mumbles. He isn't eager to go to the drow's aid, but if Farian and the others think they need to do a rescue, he will join in. The stairs though don't seem to offer much in the way of easy assistance and the duergar have the high ground.

Grondar:

Dougan wrote:“A thought does come to me, Lord Grondar,” Dougan states. “Let me tend to Brother Clavis before joining the others. Given that he was controlled by artifact, he might have some inside knowledge of it’s working. This knowledge might be useful to us in the days to come. At least give us some understanding the threat we now face.”

"An excellent idea, brother Dougan," Grondar says. "Please do as you suggest, and if you can return him to his senses, so much the better. If you succeed, you can leave him in the care of Mayor Arlos before rejoining the others."

Soon the cavern reverberates with the sound of Grondar and Oran smashing the Iron Golem. The sound is deafening, but dwarven ears are accustomed to the crash of metal-work. It takes a fair while, but the pair working together succeed in breaking the construct down into manageable pieces.

Oran wrote:“They can just chuck the debris right into the lava,” Oran notes. “That’ll permanently take care of this monstrosity!”

"Exactly what I was thinking, Oran. I suspect that Mayor Arlos won't return for a while yet, so perhaps we should to try to meet him on the way back. I doubt anyone will be able to make any serious mischief with this junk," he says, gesturing at the pieces of the golem, "while we're away. Once we catch up with them, I would like you to take on the responsibility for the safety of him and his crew. With so many duergar crawling around, I believe he will be in need of a warrior of your stature."

If Oran doesn't protest, Grondar will lead him off in the direction the others went. Grondar could make much better time, but he doesn't want to leave his companion behind without reason.

Farian

The bottom of the stairs is reached and the dwarves begin to climb. Further up the stairs you can hear what sounds like the sounds of battle. Finally you reach a point where you can see the drow once more. They are locked in battle with duergar who are coming down the stairs! There seems to be many dozens of the gray dwarves! The drow are too busy fighting to notice you coming closer.

"I say we let them rot in whatever hell spawned the lot of 'em," Daraden mumbles. He isn't eager to go to the drow's aid, but if Farian and the others think they need to do a rescue, he will join in. The stairs though don't seem to offer much in the way of easy assistance and the duergar have the high ground.

“They will rot in time, underneath our hammers and axes.” He says in reply as he hefts his war hammer and shield. “There only be one way of getting out of here, and that be through that.” He says nodding his head towards the fighting mass. “Kill the Duegar, if the Drow get in the way, show them what dwarven steel can do. It makes no difference to me if they die by their hands or ours.” He says simply as he moves forward. "Anyone who can attack at range Fire into the duegar second rank." He will do his best to get a foothold for the dwarves to link up on. If A drow takes a swipe at him he will return the favor, though he will keep his focus on the Duegar, for now.

Virae

Drawing out her shortbow and knocking an arrow she follows the rear of the group as they decide what to make of the situation. Within moments, Farian lets it be known.. “Kill the Duegar, if the Drow get in the way, show them what dwarven steel can do. It makes no difference to me if they die by their hands or ours.” He says simply as he moves forward. "Anyone who can attack at range Fire into the duegar second rank." He will do his best to get a foothold for the dwarves to link up on. If A drow takes a swipe at him he will return the favor, though he will keep his focus on the Duegar, for now.


Taking aim with her shortbow, Virae will fire into the mass, Once the dwarves are engaged she will lower her bow and fight with her short swords.

Post Closed