![[game pieces]](/themes/swa-2008/Webgroup3.gif)
Durgeddin the Black and the Dwarf-delve of Khundrakar
Cast of Characters:
Snorri, Gold Dwarf, L3 Paladin of Moradin
Berek, Shield Dwarf, L2 Cleric of Moradin
Nym, Sun Elf, L3 Wizard
Bridie, Rock Gnome, L2 Ranger / L1 Rogue
After their profitable return to Sundabar from Kleston Manor, the group enjoyed some well-earned downtime, selling many of their acquired items, commissioning a number of magic items, increasing their training in their chosen fields, and brewing some potions for the expedition ahead. The assumption at this point was that they would be going to Barakus, searching for Frendais Hert....until Berek was approached with another offer he couldn't refuse.
While taking a break with a nice ale and some roast beast after two weeks of potion making with Nym, Berek was approached by the innkeeper of the White Stallion, who said a dwarven gentleman (a stretch for a dwarf, I know, but inneepers are polite) would like to have a word with him. Berek assented, and a middle-aged, well dressed dwarf was shown to his table. The visitor called for more ale and introduced himself.
"I am Argaz Twin-Axe. I received your name and the name of your party, from an acquiantance, Turin Alemaker. He said you had helped him with a similar task in the recent past and might be of some assistance to my clan."
Leaning close, he continued in a lower voice, "You might know that my clan is well known for its fine weapons and armor. But we are also collectors, keeping alive the art of days past so that those who follow can learn and be inspired. There was once a great smith from the north, one Durgeddin the Black, whose work was of such sublime quality that it still makes one draw breath when seen today. Durgeddin's home was sacked and his family slain before his eyes by cursed greenskins, but he found the strength to gather the survivors of his clan and flee to the wilderness, where he built a secret stronghold. For decades after, he carried on his war with the orcs, crafting more and finer weapons. It coud not last and did not, for the greenskins somehow found a way in and slaughtered Durgeddin and his folk to the last. Occasionally a weapon of his is still found in their hands, or in one of their cursed barrows. But it was rumored that more weapons existed, and that they were hidden deep where the orcs could not reach."
"But now,after long years hidden, my clan has found an ancient map to this lost citadel. There is likely quite a bit of booty accumulated, if the greenskins are still there....and that is yours, should you choose to undertake this task for the Twin-Axe Clan. As an incentive to find these weapons and return them to us, we will reward you with the market value plus an additional 500 gold pieces for each weapon you recover. You will not likely find a better offer. What say you?"
Berek thought of many things in a short time....help for a fellow dwarf, finding ancient weapons of his folk, crafted by a true master....and the gold, the sweet gold.....
"Aye, we will do that for you," he declared.
"What of your group? Will they be as agreeable?" demanded Argaz.
"Fear not, I can convince them," Berek confidently replied.
Argaz, taking the sworn word of a cleric of Moradin at its face-value, readily agreed and showed Berek Durgeddin's maker's stamp as well as a copy of the map to the citadel, Khundrakar.
"It is most noticeable by the jut of rock at the top of the mountain. Some call it the Stone Tooth," said Argaz.
Berek went off to the party's suite to inform the group of their new task. Snorri and Bridie were agreeable, but Nym proved harder to convince; while the money was enticing, the last thing he wanted to be doing was grubbing in the ground for some dwarven antiquarian. Two bottles of fine elven wine, a gift from Berek to grease the wheel, convinced Nym to acquiesce gracefully. Their current work was rapidly brought to a conclusion, with supplies being bought and even a donkey acquired to ease the strain of carrying supplies. The group was well-stocked, particularly in the nature of alcoholic sustenance, carrying a full 10 gallons of ale plus another gallon of a more fiery liquid....for fortification and medicinal purposes, claimed Berek, as well as the occasional boilermaker.
To be Continued in "The Journey to Khundrakar"
Showdown with the Great Ulfe
Cast of Characters:
Snorri, Gold Dwarf, L3 Paladin of Moradin
Berek, Shield Dwarf, L2 Cleric of Moradin
Nym, Sun Elf, L3 Wizard
Bridie, Rock Gnome, L2 Ranger / L1 Rogue
Hundar, Human, L2 Fighter (magically re-united with the group)
Following the fight in the chasm room, the party decided to press their advantage, while it still existed. They went through the doors to the east, discovering a semi-finished cave stocked with all manner of goods from various locales; obviously plunder stollen by the orcs they had encountered. As they edged slowly into the cave, they heard loud voices coming from a tunnel in the north; they formed ranks, with Snorri and Berek leading the way, and advanced to the attack.
What greeted their eyes was indeed a sobering sight. A half-dozen or more orcs, still led by the chief they had driven from the chasm-room, 2 large wolves....and an Ogre that was roaring in a greatly displeased manner. Snorri and Berek were rapidly engaged by a pair of orcs, Hundar charged into the fray, his 2-handed sword flashing death for the orcs, and Bridie and Nym backpedaled, to give ranged support. Hundar cleared his front quickly as Berek and Snorri struggled to finish the orcs to their front. The ogre, shouting loudly, "None who disturb the Great Ulfe lives to tell!!" charged at Hundar with his great club, smashing the human nearly to his knees. Before the Great Ulfe could press his advantage, Hundar backpedaled away and Snorri engaged the racial enemy of his kin. Nym and Bridie engaged using their missile fire, magical and mundane. Their fire thinned the rear ranks of their opponents while Berek struggled to finish off the orcs in his immediate front. Soon all that stood was the Great Ulfe, vainly trying to hit the crafty paladin whose people had developed well-tried techniques of fighting giantish enemies. At last, a well-placed blow from Snorri's warhammer sent the ogre down in a large heap. The group stood, bruised but alive, and surveyed the carnage.
A search of the corpses revealed the first good find, a masterwork handaxe bearing the maker's mark of Durgeddin! The hallway to the north was quickly explored, with more stolen goods being found. A sizable stash was found in the ogre's "throne room", the prize being a magical Rapier +1, as well as assorted potions, gems, and coin. An ancient dwarven statue was found in the corridor nearby, but only revealed a trap of poison gas. Following their hard fight and the lack of any immediate enemies, the party decided resting was in order. The mule and provisions were brought inside, and a temporary camp was set-up where everyone could recover. During their convalescence, two prisoners were discovered who had been held by the orcs. They thanked the group profusely, loaded up on rations and gear for their trip home, and invited the group to visit them should they make it out.
After another day, they were ready to continue their search of the Mountain Door.
To Be Continued in "Clearing the Mountain Door and into the Depths"
- Login or register to post comments
)Re: Durgeddin the Black and the Dwarf-delve of Khundrakar
You post what you think and we will tell you if you are right.
- Login or register to post comments
)Re: Durgeddin the Black and the Dwarf-delve of Khundrakar
i am not an evil elf if thats what dave was thinking.
- Login or register to post comments
)Re: Durgeddin the Black and the Dwarf-delve of Khundrakar
I purposefully left the names off. The players can post to claim their glory (or infamy!) if they like
Hundar rejoins in the next post.
- Login or register to post comments
)Re: Durgeddin the Black and the Dwarf-delve of Khundrakar
Please tell us: who are the players behind each of these characters?
Snorri, Gold Dwarf, L3 Paladin of Moradin
Berek, Shield Dwarf, L2 Cleric of Moradin
Nym, Sun Elf, L3 Wizard
Bridie, Rock Gnome, L2 Ranger / L1 Rogue
Hundar: L2 Human Fighter (Still in the game?)
- Login or register to post comments
)Forcing the Gate
Cast of Characters:
Snorri, Gold Dwarf, L3 Paladin of Moradin
Berek, Shield Dwarf, L2 Cleric of Moradin
Nym, Sun Elf, L3 Wizard
Bridie, Rock Gnome, L2 Ranger / L1 Rogue
The night passed uneventfully and the adventurers woke in the morning. The Stone Tooth gleamed in the early morning summer sun. Bridie's experienced gaze noticed something odd about the approach to the mountain....a path that wended its way to the doors of Khundrakar itself! Apparently, time and erosion had worn away the concealment of the builders and with no maintenance the road was now visible from a distance.
The party packed up their camp and headed out, taking some caution in their approach. They found the old trail easily and made their way upwards, with Bridie scouting some 30 yards or so in advance. Near the top, they saw Bridie stop and hold her hand up, indicating they should stop as well. She made her way quietly back to the main group and reported.
"There are two orcs about 25 yards or so up from where I stopped. They don't seem to be very on watch." she whispered. After some quiet discussion, it was decided that Bridie and Snorri would attempt to hit the closest orc, while Nym would use arcane magics on the second.
They crept up until they reached the spot on the trail where they could see the orcs. While Bridie and Snorri readied their weapons, Nym began to incant his spell. As twin Magic Missiles raced to their target, Snorri slung a well-placed rock alongside Bridie's rapidly fired arrows. Both orcs went down from the sudden onslaught, and were still. There appeared to be no reaction from further up the trail.
Bridie sneaked (if that is a word!) forward, to the bend in the trail. The trail did a hairpin turn and continued up the mountain for another 50 yards before turning again. Bridie's keen sight picked out a set of three cleverly concealed arrow slits in the mountain face, overlooking the trail. She snuck back to her companions.
After quiet debate, the party opted to try and sneak past the arrow slits....hopefully those inside would be as lax as their compatriots! The decision made, the group crept along slowly in single file. Bridie cringed as her two plate-clad companions clanked--at least to her sensitive ears--up the trail. The orcs were either not keeping watch, or were otherwise occupied, for no missile fire came from the entrance. At the next turn, the group saw the object of their travels: a set of carven stairs in the bedrock leading to the large double doors of Khundrakar. And the doors were ajar, not barred, allowing them easy entrance!
Continuing in single-file, the party crept forward. As they neared the stairs, they were greeted with arrow fire from one slit in the southern wall and a shout to rouse the garrison. Hurrying to the doors, the party rushed inside while the access was easy to gain.
Inside was a wide, narrow ledge in front of a deep chasm from which the sound of rushing water could dimly be heard. A narrow rope bridge led acroos the chasm to the far side. Of more immediate interest were the two orcs readying longbows and arrows. Bridie and Snorri quickly dispatched the pair with accurate missile fire. Debate ensued, with the decision being taken to cross the bridge, as the only visible door was on the far side. The party made their way across, one at a time, as the rickety bridge swayed under the dwarves in their plate mail. With sighs of relief, the group prepared to go on when, from cleverly concealed doors across the chasm, a parade of bow-armed orcs appeared and lined up along the ledge. A large orc in back spurred his warriors into position, and gave the order to fire as the group turned to face them.
Nym, being near the rear (as we know most elves are wont to be), was unfortunately closest to the orcs. With preternatural swiftness, he cast the deadliest spell in his arsenal at the center of the orcish line: Snilloc's Snowball Swarm! He knew with some good iceballs, he could drop half of the orcs before the battle got underweigh!
Sadly, the Swarm caused some wounds in the frontline, but none went down! The orcs responded with a wild volley, with Nym coming the worse for wear. As he hustled behind his companions, Bridie and Snorri returned fire; Berek regretted his quick disdain of all missile weapons as his companions traded fire.
Despite being outnumbered, Snorri and Bridie's fire quickly told as the injured orcs were easily dispatched. The orc leader, disliking the tendency of this fight, barked orders to his warriors and they retreated through the the now-revealed door in the north. The party quickly tended their wounds, Berek closing several with his Wand of Cure Light Wounds--the vendor had claimed it was a bargain, and he was right!
To Be Continued in "Showdown with the Great Ulfe"
- Login or register to post comments
)The Journey to Khundrakar
Cast of Characters:
Snorri, Gold Dwarf, L3 Paladin of Moradin
Berek, Shield Dwarf, L2 Cleric of Moradin
Nym, Sun Elf, L3 Wizard
Bridie, Rock Gnome, L2 Ranger / L1 Rogue
The first couple of days of travel saw the party travel through the small villages and thorps surrounding Sundabar. By the end of the second day, they were headed cross-country, out of the sight of civilization. The ground was still mostly open, with rolling hills and many stands of trees. They could see the foothills of the Nether Mountains rising in the distance. If the TwinAxe map was correct, their destination lay in a forgotten valley some 2 days distant.
The third day of travel was uneventful as the hills grew more steep and the trees closed in. The party found a sheltered spot amid the trees and camped for the night. It was a beautiful summer night and the first watch passed quietly. Snorri and Nym took their turns aslumber while Berek and Bridie took the late watch.
The night was quiet as Bridie made her rounds. The trees were close and would impair long range bow fire, but the loveliness of the setting made her heart long for her village, destroyed now these many years. She went still as she heard the sounds of voices coming from beyond the reach of eyesight....someone was approaching and trying to stay quiet, although making a hash of it. She found Berek and whispered this news to him. He listened closely, but couldn't make out anything through the background noise of the woods. Bridie snuck slowly to the camp perimeter to have a look...
....and was met by a hail of javelins from the woods! Shouting fierce war cries, a small warband of orcs charged from the trees. Brandishing large, wicked, curved blades two-handed, they surrounded the little ranger and ran at Berek as Nym and Snorri struggled awake. Bridie took some wounds as she backpedaled away from the orcs, toward Berek. Snorri, armorless, grabbed his warhammer and shield and leapt into the fray, smashing orc bits in various directions. Nym deftly wielded his magics as he was charged by a number of greenskin warriors. The party was slowly backed into the center of their camp before the tide turned in their favor. After heavy fighting, the war chief was slain and the few surviving members of his band fled into the forest. Their wounds and the woodland terrain, as well as the darkness inhibited their pursuit. Injuries were tended and the party rested until dawn, when they packed up and moved on toward Khundrakar.
Travel that day was slower, some due to the increasingly difficult terrain and some due to their fatigue from their interrupted sleep. In late afternoon, they crested a high ridge and across the valley spied a tall rock spire, jutting toward the heavens....the Stone Tooth at last! They made as good time as they could until near dark and camped for the night, confident the following day would see them within the walls of Khundrakar.
To Be Continued in "Forcing the Gate"
- Login or register to post comments
)