Dungeons and Dragons Day 11: The Road to a Dwarven City
Into the Tunnels:
The party was ready to get to the Dwarven City. The exiled prince revealed his name: Fodrin The group followed the Dwarf into the tunnels. Quickly the group noticed the unique beauty of these caves. Mushrooms gave light to the darkness. A unique bluish hue showed the way forwards. The cave system had once been a tomb for a famous Dwarf that referenced the Chaotic Good Deity Wylf. But this king had lived so long ago that any records about their life had long since disappeared.
However, trouble reared its head immediately. A magical spider web blocked the quickest way through the caves. Despite the party’s best efforts to remove it, the webbing remained firm. Even fire failed to have any effect. Thus the group was forced to go the long way. Fodrin warned he had never gone deeper into the tomb. And the Death Knight, being raised to know the signs knew that spider webs only meant one Race: Drow
When confronted with a door, the Barbarian Warlock called upon his Rusted Bag of Tricks. Summoning a Giant Goat, he commanded the creature to go near the door to set off any traps. An arrow trap and a broken down door later, and the party was able to proceed. And by proceed, that meant right into the arms of two Drow, armed with crossbows.
The Drow:
The two Drow did not tell much when the Death Knight asked their intentions in Elvish. They informed that they were hunting an exiled Dwarf. Despite the fact that the Death Knight convinced the Drow that no such Dwarf was nearby, the two declared their killing intent. Stating the name of a being called Cranaak, the two foes vowed to cut out the eyes of the entire party.
However, Gonk and the Monk had other plans and quickly picked off the weaker Drow before he even attacked. The stronger foe posed a greater threat. First he fired a crossbow bolt at the Monk. A threat that was stopped instantly by said Monk catching the attack. Crushing it on the ground, he discovered that the bolts were poisoned. The Drow then picked the wrong spell to cast. Placing an Orb of Darkness in the room was a mistake. The Barbarian Warlock was immune to such Magic and got free attacks on the unwitting Drow.
Canceling the spell, the Drow Elite decided to use his short sword to defeat the players with a flurry of blows. But an unfortunate natural 1 sealed his fate. Or he should have been killed, but the party elected to spare him and prepared to interrogate him. However, they left him behind for a while to go investigate the rest of the cavern. The Death Knight helped himself to the Drow Crossbow and their poisoned bolts.
Dealing with Orcs:
In the next room, the party stumbled upon two Orcs. Explaining to them that the party meant no harm, they asked why they were in a Dwarven Tomb. The Orcs explained that someone in the nearby Dwarven City was kidnapping and torturing Orcs in this very room. Indeed the bloodied remains of many lines this room. A torture chamber from appearances.
The party vowed to get a new king on the throne. One who would not kidnap and torture Orcs.The Orcs said they would leave without a fight, but vowed to get swift revenge on the group if they failed to prevent more innocents from being kidnapped by the Dwarves. The party wondered what this meant as these two individuals left the tomb.
The Elemental:
The group continued exploring the Dwarven Tomb and found a hallway filled with strange noises. Unfortunately, the sources of those sounds turned out to be an angry Earth Elemental. And the hallway where this foe had appeared was the worst place to engage it. The group attempted to flee back to a larger room, but the Elemental charged through the very ground and cut them off. Attacking the party from multiple angles, the Earth Elemental managed to slay the Goat summoned by the Barbarian Monk.
After taking some damage the Elemental vanished. The party used this quiet to flee back to the room with the unconscious Drow. However, before they could try and wake up and interrogate said Drow, the Barbarian/Warlock decided to summon another minion from his Rusted Bag, just in case the Elemental returned. He managed to call upon a smaller Goat. Not want to lead this creature to harm, he let the creature go free. This ended up leading to harm, as the Earth Elemental reappeared in its path.
A Reemerging Threat:
The Goat was slain, but the party managed to once again fend off the Elemental. Not wishing to delay, the party tried another door in the room, and left the unconscious Drow behind. No traps were on this door. Or so the party thought. As it turned out, the other side was the problem. A slide took the party deeper into the caverns. And right into the waiting Elemental’s arms.
This newest battle with the being resulted in more mistakes being made. Specifically the Elemental attacking itself in error. Horribly wounded, the creature fled once again.
The path only had one remaining route and it led right into the Dwarven City. Only a small doll stood between the exit and the party. However, the Death Knight and Monk refused to take any chances and prepared to destroy the doll in case of foul play.
Doll of Cranaak:
Fodrin warned them not to touch the doll because it was an evil totem of Cranaak. The eyes being missing was a dead give away he claimed. Not wanting to deal with problems, the party promptly destroyed the totem, and the Elemental with it. As it turned out the creature was tied to the object. Leaving behind Slippers of Spider Climbing, the Monk grabbed the item and prepared to make use of them.
The Dwarven City
Finally the group entered the Dwarven City, but Gonk and Fodrin stayed back. They were criminals after all, and did not want to get caught. The three remaining adventurers quickly encountered gaurds. After making introductions and asking for directions to craftsmen, the group managed to start making a plan of how to help the exiled prince.
The Barbarian/Warlock bought a shield. The Monk asked if the Dwarves knew how to make an artificial symbol that mimicked a full moon. Since they lived underground, none knew how to accomplish such a feat. However, one of the guards mentioned that the Elves would know the answer. The Monk eager to get said item asked where the Elves were. The Dwarves laughed and said only the Elves knew where they were.
Final Revelations:
Before the party turned in for the night, the Guards informed the group of two things. One: The group was required to have armed guards with them at all times or they would be arrested. Two: Most of the Dwarves were busy with the new king. The party paid attention closely as this was the individual that stood in the way of Fodrin. What the party did not expect was to find out that the leader was a Female! A Dwarf named Hespith. This was the first time a Queen was the leader of the City.
With all this information in tow, the group turned in for the night, hoping that the next morning would help lead them to a situation. But time is of the essence. They only have till the next full moon, 13 days, before something will happen that will change the very world. And what happened to the Drow that was left behind in the tunnels?