[Compled] Expedition - Bromric/Demon - 30 April, 1 VC

[Keehnelf]

As the group approaches, they see that very few of the creatures lying about are goblins. They spy a dozen or more naked, pale-skinned dwarves laying sprawled in various states of dismemberment, along with an equal number of gnolls in studded leather armor and bloody tabards and half a dozen goblins with broken spears and vicious animal wounds. Lying in the midst of all this carnage is an odd sight: an incinerated dwarf in charred and ash-covered plate armor, a similarly charred battle axe lying on the ground nearby, wrapped up in a massive, red-scaled talon severed from whatever creature it once belonged to, the stone around pitted and scarred by its corrosive blood. The burned dwarf marks the northernmost point of a circle approximately twenty feet across that is just as blackened and burned as he is.

[Zhym]

Melvin looks wide-eyed at the scaled talon and the circle of fiery destruction. "Dragon," he says in hushed tones. "So that's what happened to this place. Doesn't explain all the dwarves, though. I'd heard that the Black Wolf slaughtered the only dwarf tribe in the region."

Melvin is the only member of the group who wasn't at the dwarf tomb, so he doesn't know about the army of the dwarven dead.

"That armor looks to be in awfully good shape for having gone up against a dragon. Visitor, you're currently occupying the only dwarven body among us. Fancy an armor upgrade? You may not have much use for it where you're going, but it would be a suitable parting gift for Bromric. The axe looks like it might be worth salvaging, too."

[Marullus]

Bromric nods simply, approaching the remains. He inspects the armor and axe and, if still intact, will put it on, storing his old armor on the pony.

Before completing that act, however, he inhales deeply of the ash within the chest piece, and carefully empties the remains into a sack, offering it to Melvin. "Dragon-charred bone fragments of a vengeful dwarf are a powerful antecedent for a reliquary or enchantment," he says, then looking to Martin. "As well as a way to honor Fangir's wishes. He would like you to carry him into further battle."

[Starbeard]

Seadu casually inspects some of the debris and corpses surrounding him as they wait for the Visitor-in-Bromric to take care of the armour. With a quiet voice he haltingly stumbles through a series of prayers and responses, trying with difficulty to recall the exact formulas. 'To be honest, it is not very common that one has to perform the death rites for those who are already dead. No one really bothers to memorize the formulas.'

[Keehnelf]

May 5, 1 VC - 11:10am

The visitor inspects the axe and armor and discovers that the armor is indeed in almost pristine condition, though quite ancient of design. The plate is light and crafted of mithril. Oddly, though, he grows uneasy as he handles it and seems reluctant to take it for his own. The charred remains are easily recovered from within, and placed in a mean receptacle for transport, should someone wish. The head of the battle axe is in excellent condition, and overall it could still be wielded, but the fire did enough damage to the wooden haft which, though unusually resilient, could not stand up untouched to the presumable dragon fire. There is a chance of the haft breaking when used in combat in its current condition--it could easily enough be restored with or without the haft.

Seadu meanders about the field of the dead, incanting prayers he thought himself unlikely to use, settling the spirits of the dead. He discovers, to his surprise and alarm, that the naked dwarven figures shrivel and collapse to dust immediately under the force of his prayers, and he is sure that he sees a faint glimmer hang in the air for just a moment before the glare of the volcanic flame in the background absorbs it. The goblinoid bodies seem unmoved by his supplications.

Edit: autocorrect fix--not sure why "of mightily" is more correct than "mithril", but there you go

Marullus:

The visitor is fairly certain something bad would happen to him if he put on this armor. It reeks with the foul stench of Law and the lingering aura of dwarven vengeance--vengeance of the same dwarves who imprisoned him. To don such armor would be a dangerous gamble at best.

[Keehnelf]

The dwarven body bears no other items of value apart from three keys of various metals that rattle out along with the remains--one of silver, one gold, and one platinum. They are simple but untouched by fire. The various goblinoid bodies yield 39 gold pieces in various denominations.

[Dogma]

"Dragon-charred bone fragments of a vengeful dwarf are a powerful antecedent for a reliquary or enchantment," he says, then looking to Martin. "As well as a way to honor Fangir's wishes. He would like you to carry him into further battle."

Martin accepts the sack of ashes from Bromric. "I will see that they are properly cared for. Perhaps internments back at the dwarven tomb," he muses to himself before stowing them in his pack.

The young cleric joins Seadu in giving benedictions to the dead before returning to the group.

"Perhaps we should stow that armor and the axe head on one of the pack animals for later," he suggests on seeing Bromric's hesitation regarding the armor

[Marullus]

The Spirit-in-Bromric packs the Axe and Armor onto the pony dispassionately. "I'm sure Bromric will be grateful for your gift."

He reassured Martin, but he offered the sack to Melvin. I'd say Melvin gets first crack at taking it. Lets wait for him to post?

[Dogma]

Ah yes. I see now. Sorry for the poor reading comprehension. For the sake of continuity I'll leave my post as is but we can ignore the part about Martin accepting the sack of dwarf.

[Zhym]

Melvin accepts Fangir's remains wordlessly.

[Keehnelf]

May 5, 1 VC - 11:30am

The party continues on, wending its way back toward the northwest and the promised exit from this sulfurous chamber. The way passes for a brief moment within twenty feet of the crumbled edge of the floor that opens out on to the volcanic heart of the mountain below, and even that brief moment of contact is enough to make their hearts flutter a bit as their bodies struggle to regulate the intense heat. Then, they are past, into the continuation of the twenty-foot-wide passage and on to more shallow downward stairs, the heat lessened but the memory of it imprinted on their psyches.

The stairs go down for sixty feet, almost the entire right half covered with a cooled stream of molten stone with crystals bursting from the surface in an almost verdant profusion--the material seems to have bored its way down through from above, a large number of irregular man-sized chimneys along the wall and ceiling attesting to the destructive force of the molten stone.

At the bottom, the stairway opens directly out on an intersection of twenty-foot wide corridors. Ten feet north and south of the intersection, massive bronze double doors limit passage. Thirty feet west of the intersection, a similarly massive set of shining silvery doors stands. All three are embossed with similar markings of a silhouette of the Finger of Doom with clouds and a full moon hanging in the sky above it. The floor of this entire area is covered with the irregular cooled runoff from the molten flow that has come from above. Judging by the markings on the walls, it is almost two feet deep on average. Odd oily streaks in the surface of the stone indicate worked metals melted by the stone, Bromric's voice notes with seeming enthusiasm.

An opening at the northwest corner of the intersection leads on to a set of steep stairs leading downward. A similar opening on the southwest seems as though it once led up, but that way is currently blocked with huge slabs of collapsed masonry.

The floor is irregular and the stairs down quite treacherous: this seems like it is as far as the animals can go.

[Zhym]

"Down, I presume?" asks Melvin.

Is this a reasonably accurate quick & dirty sketch of the intersection (except for the blocked stairs up, which I forgot to add)?

Doc - Nov 9, 2015, 11-20 AM.png (119.47 KiB) Viewed 461 times

[Marullus]

"Down, as far as we can go. The Underwarrens are what transits the sections of the dwarfhome." He pauses, looking confused by the beast he leads as it balks at the steps. "Someone must decide about these animals. Do you wish to leave them in this hallway, or in a building back in the marketplace? It doesn't seem able to continue."

[Keehnelf]

"Down, I presume?" asks Melvin.

Is this a reasonably accurate quick & dirty sketch of the intersection (except for the blocked stairs up, which I forgot to add)?

Doc - Nov 9, 2015, 11-20 AM.png

That is an accurate approximation, yes.

[Zhym]

"A building might be better than leaving them to roam around in this intersection," says Melvin.

[Dogma]

Martin, human Cleric

dialog]"I don't know...if we put them in a room and something happens to us then these poor beasts suffer a long, slow death. maybe better to let them raon and at elast have a chance of finding there way out?"[/dialog]

[Zhym]

Melvin, who has no beast of burden of his own, shrugs. "I quite literally don't have a horse in this race," he says. "But you might not want your animals wandering away if you think you'll make it back here alive."

[Starbeard]

Capilla the mule's hoof slips on the uneven volcanic surface, and she brays uncomfortably as Martin describes their slow deaths. Seadu yips when her attempt to regain footing almost lands directly on his toe.

'I say finding a safe room would be better for now. The surrounds seem a bit too dangerous to have them wandering, they're liable to hurt an ankle or fall into a pit. We'll be able to gather them when we make our way back up.' He rubs her neck to calm her nerves as he speaks. 'Did anyone notice any rooms upstairs that looked secure?'

[Keehnelf]

The party passed a number of structures that seemed intact, and a couple of them also had metal doors.

[Dogma]

Martin shrugs in acquiesence. "It's better if they are all together even if it's to be lock up." He'll help lead that animals back to the closest buildign with metals doors and them make sure he has any needed equipement transferred to his pack.