IC VIII

[thirdkingdom]

Duergar

The grey dwarf considers Thordin's words for a moment, spits, then nods. "Though we and the onrein are sworn enemies, your word can be trusted. I am Argsan, second lieutenant of the Clan Deepmire. We are scouting here at the behest of a sundweller, far from our home to the north." He pauses, looking askance at his companions, then speaks again, this time in broken Common. "There was a wielder of magics who came to us, spoke to the chief, presented her with riches and persuaded her to send troops to this backwater. There are those of us amongst the clan who disprove of this plan, yet cannot act openly. Those who wish to oppose the strategy, who would like to see things returned to the way they were, would make sure that wealth would find its way into the hand of those who could openly oppose the chief and her patron."

[Bouv]

Are they speaking common or dwarven? And I would assume that Thordin would be translating for us? If so, Tratiln will say the following...

Tratiln's ears perk up when he hears mention of a magic-user. "By chance, you wouldn't happen to know of this magic-user's name, would you? And where would you lie on this - in support or opposing?"

[thirdkingdom]

For the sake of moving things along I always assume they translate.

[Innana]

Innana the Fighter:

Innana ponders what Merodin says, but realizes that he has his own views on things that differ severely from hers. " I hope you are wrong about these dark dwarves. My gut tells me that the choice to accept their surrender in good faith is the right one. I don't expect you to agree with me, and I realize it may not make a lot of sense. Perhaps these dark dwarfs caught me on a good day."

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny glances up from the ground when the duergar leader starts to address the group in Common. The elf is surprised to learn why the duergar are here in the first place, having assumed that they simply emerged from the depths underneath the castle. When Tratiln speaks up, Lanny nods his head in mutual understanding and speaks quietly to his fellow elf.

"I was just thinking the same thing, Tratiln... The letter that we found in the chest from Bargle to Elwyn stated that Bargle had some business to attend to "in the north". It did not state exactly where in the north, or the nature of the business. But I wonder... could our enemy magic-user and their enemy magic-user be one and the same person?"

Lanny looks to Thordin and requests that he ask the duergar leader the following:

"Where in the north is this homeland from which you traveled, before you arrived here? And do you know if this wielder of magic is still there, residing in your homeland?"

Lanny will probably have more questions to ask, but I didn't know if any of the other PCs wanted to ask their own questions first.

[Innana]

Innana the Fighter:

Listens to the back and forth with the dark Duergers, and her attention peeks when she hears the words Bargle and the words Northern Lands. Innana turns to Lanny and Traitiln, "This could be the break we are looking for." Innana smiles big.

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny replies quietly aside to Innana.

"Tis only our best guess at this point, as to the connection to Bargle... But it seems likely, given all we have seen and heard... The mysterious voice calling Bargle's name in the room upstairs, the medallion of Elwyn's cult upon the gnoll shaman... There is definitely something to all of this. But let's hear what the duergar has to say first... Perhaps his words will confirm our suspicions."

[thirdkingdom]

Argsan, Duergar lieutenant

The duergar shrugs and looks around. Those under his command are beginning to look askance at one another. "I do not have much time; my kin are beginning to wonder what we discuss. The mage, I never met. He wore black, had hair on his face; all you surface dwellers look alike," he says. "He promised great riches in exchange for forging weapons to equip a small army, amongst other things. I, and some of my other kin, would prefer not to do this, for reasons of our own."

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny considers the duergar's words.

"These dark mages are the nemesis not only of you and your kinsmen, but of the people of this area as well... This entire region, in fact, is on the hunt for a dark mage who is believed to have passed through this very castle... Where you are from, Master Dwarf, so that we may know where to begin looking for this dark mage of which you speak?"

Lanny asks the rest of his questions to the duergar leader, reminding him of their agreement that all questions must be answered fully and faithfully as a condition of being released, and that evasive answers would be deemed a refusal to cooperate and would end badly for the duergar.

For the sake of expediency, here are the questions I thought that Lanny would ask. He'll take what he can get, but he is at least trying to sound tough to the duergar leader.

"Are there more of you stationed inside this castle? If so, where are the others? And where are the weapons you have been forging?"
"What were you doing or searching for in your roamings underneath this castle? How deeply have you delved, and how far do these passages extend?"
"Have you encountered any gnolls or hobgoblins above or below ground? If so, what do you know about their activities?"

Lanny will defer the final words to Thordin, if he wishes to say anything else to the duergar.

[thirdkingdom]

The other duergar seem increasingly unhappy and nervous that Argsan is communicating in Common. The lieutenant picks up on this and switches back to dwarven. "We traveled three weeks through twisting caves and tunnels to reach this spot, and we are here to meet with an envoy, of the filthy hobgoblin race. Do as I order, onrein, as there are two score more of my people several levels below us, awaiting our scouting report!

[Bouv]

Tratlin whispers to Lanny, "Should we tell them about the hobgoblin?"

[thirdkingdom]

Allright, guys, that's about all the info you're going to get. I'd like a majority decision on how to proceed within 24 hours of this post.

[Innana]

Innana the Fighter:

Innana paces the room, and stops, and says to Thordin, "We have ourselves a predicament, and it seems the gravity of it is heavy on your shoulders since these are you distant kin. We have killed two of their friends, and they are not likely to become our buddies here. I think we should tell them that they won't be getting to talk with the hobgoblin today, and send them back to their group. I for one will honor my word, and will not kill them, so that they may report back that there is nothing here for them. Do you think it wise to tell them that if they should return with their group we will definitely have no choice, but to rig these tunnels and burn them, or raise arms against them?" She looks at the Duergers in their dark eyes, "You know these Dark ones better than anyone Thordin, how should this be handled?"

Innana turns to Bregalad, "Do you think you could get through to these Duergers?"

[riftstone]

Thordin the dwarf

(in dwarf) "The Hobgoblins are no more, and this place is no longer safe or fruitful for your troops. Go back and report this, then go home. "

(in common) "I see your predicament, and honor it. Though we may be enemies, there is no reason we cannot be civil. Take your men back, and do not test these ruins again."

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny watches as Thordin interacts with the other dwarves. He smiles and comments aside to the elves and Innana.

"You do have to admire Thordin's style of interaction... That which would take me ten sentences to convey takes him only one... Yet that is all that is really needed."

Lanny looks around at the remaining duergar and notices that the other chieftain in plate mail armor is still held by the Marodin's spell. He points to the paralyzed foe and addresses the various duergar in Common, assuming that Thordin or Bregalad will translate for him.

"He is under the effects of a spell... it may take an hour or two for those effects to wear off... Perhaps you can all assist in carrying him back to your kinsmen in the lower levels."

Lanny asks the party to be ready to provide a brief escort of the dwarves back out the door to the south and to see them off down the passage from whence they came. He wants to know which of the unexplored passages they traveled to get to this room, for future reference.

[thirdkingdom]

Just to remind everyone, there is also a doorway leading out of this room to the north. In theory, this is the one that leads to the statue room.

The duergar whisper amongst themselves for a few moments, shrug, then agree to the terms. They gather up their possessions, including the flickering braziers -- which seem to contain some weird, esoteric flame that provides light without heat -- and under the scrutiny of the party pick up their weapons and exit the room by the southern doorway, turning to the west and continuing down the passage out of sight.

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny looks around at the group after the duergar leave.

"Well, I suppose only time will tell if we made the right decision. I am glad to have obtained the information, though... And at least now we know which passage leads down to the lower levels. Now then, I believe we had entered this room with a purpose, to try to find the connection back to the statue room. So let's see where this northern door leads..."

After the standard checks on the door, and once the party is ready to proceed, Lanny will attempt to open the door.

If I remember correctly, I believe both doors leading from the statue room were swollen shut when we had checked them before. If this door is swollen shut, Lanny will attempt to force it open.

Strength Check: 15

[thirdkingdom]

Lanny examines the door and finds that it is swollen. He puts his shoulder to it and is able to force it open with his masculine vigor. The door swings open to reveal the statue room. The wizard still stands there, frozen in time, hands outstretched and cupped as if to receive an object, roughly the size of an apple, or perhaps something slightly larger.

Strength check to open door: (1d20=12)

[Alethan]

Rhys the Traveler

"Ahhhh..."Rhys exclaims with a smile as he eyes the statue in a new light. "What might happen if we placed that crystal ball from the other room in this wizard's hand?"

FYI, you all are lucky I'm not playing Till or my two-headed halfling in Ways Of The Earth's game on the Immersive Link forum (http://forum.immersiveink.com/viewforum.php?f=4)... I'd have just gone back into the other room, grabbed the crystal ball, and put it in the statue's hand, all rather impulsively...

[Innana]

Innana the Fighter:

Innana puts her hand on Rhys shoulder, "that is a great idea. I will go with you to grab it, or should we all go together?" Innana spreads out her arms to indicate the whole group.