Thunderspire VI: The Second Death of Thair Coalstriker

Sar, Barrakas 14, 998 YK (Day 28).


Thair Coalstriker has returned to life shortly after his suicide, resurrected by a duergar theurge who recognized the dire situation and the immense strength of the short-tempered dwarf. The party is now being attacked by Rundarr the champion from one direction, the theurge and Thair coalstriker from another, and an invisible scout from yet another.

After being shot by the invisible scout, Eshunu is able to clearly point out to the other party members where the scout is. Tam'elanath takes the opportunity to fire on it, revealing its position more clearly as it is pierced with arrows, and finally Cecil is able to finish the scout off completely. Meanwhile, Eshunu falls under attack by the theurge and Thair Coalstriker, made vulnerable by being alone on the bridge. Thair quickly beats him down to the ground, and Stahlstrauss rushes away from Rundarr to aid him.

The theurge uses psychic abilities to suppress Stahlstrauss, limiting his usefulness. But Eshunu is able to miraculously recover, and runs away. Thair Coalstriker follows, leaving the theurge to fight the warforged warrior alone. At the same time, Garmeth and Lucan struggle against Rundarr, with the two-on-one battle staying at what is basically a stalemate.

Thair hammers Cecil to unconsciousness with scarcely a second thought, and then approaches Lucan. The ardent fights back, but is eventually cast down as well. Garmeth hits Rundarr with a decisive blow, but now that he is fearing the end of his life, the champion expands, becoming massive and more powerful. He knocks down Garmeth, leaving only Stahlstrauss, Eshunu, and Tam'elanath standing.

Thair charges at Eshunu, who has assumed his insect form and is hiding among the diamonds. He knocks him yet again into unconsciousness, but Stahlstrauss has arrived immediately behind him. With a great swing of his +2 flaming warhammer he crushes Thair entirely, breaking most of his bones and rendering him completely lifeless (again). But this attack leaves him vulnerable, and Rundarr approaches him from behind, now enlarged and furious, and knocks Stahlstrauss to the ground as well. Only Tam'elanath is left, and he too is quite injured.

Rundarr approaches him for the final blow, but just as he is about to reach Tam'elanath, he is shot twice in vital locations, causing him to tumble to the ground, lifeless. Tam'elanath helps his allies back to their feet, and everyone takes a moment to rest. The six then approach the slaves for questioning.

They confirm that Paldemar is not a slave, and that he has dealings with the Blackfang gnolls under Maldrick Scarmaker. They also note that they are the last of the slaves and request that they travel with the Eclipse Collective to safety, who once again refuse, but are willing to arm them. The slaves are not combat-trained and are quite weak, but Stahlstrauss insists they burden themselves with an excess of heavy armor and weaponry if they are going to move with the Collective.

"You must be hungry. Humans like salt, right?" Stahlstrauss extracts a heavy bag of salt he carries with him.

"No, look... humans don't just eat salt. Here, salt this dried meat I have, and we can feed that to them." Cecil presents some dried meat for this purpose, but Stahlstrauss pours an inedible excess of salt on top of the meat.

As the slaves move out of earshot and raid the duergar food stores, Stahlstrauss leans in close to Tam'elanath.

"I think I'm going to get that armor back real soon."

"Why? Are they going to sell it back to you?"

The party leaves with fistfuls of diamonds, and meets back up with Zil'dejin at the portcullis room. They give him the slaves to escort back and a small amount of money for his troubles. He grumbles, but does so anyway, never one to leave slaves stranded. They then discover that the diamonds only have this property when they are within the Horned Hold, and outside are nothing more than rocks. The group drops the stones and follows the map to the location marked by the half-orc, only to find that this is a dead end.

Tam'elanath is able to lead them back to the vicinity of the Seven-Pillared Hall while they plan a new approach, and at this time Rendil Halfmoon locates them, informing them that things have calmed down at the Hall, and the duergar food convoy has left. It is safe for them to return, and so they do so, resupplying themselves and selling miscellaneous goods they acquired in the Labyrinth. Garmeth purchases three pounds of pickled rats from the dwarf-run House Azaer merchant post. Nobody questions this decision.

At this point, the group visits Orontor of the Mages of Saruun to discuss their findings and current course of action. Orontor provides them with the correct location of the Well of Demons and discusses the grim possibility of Paldemar having gone rogue. Lucan then describes his killing of the angel, and Orontor expresses his gratitude, with the angel and its troglodytes having been a great problem - they give a piece of magical hide armor as a reward, which Eshunu takes and wears. After this, they meet with Talbot, who discusses the situation further and decides to accompany the group to the Well of Demons.

In the entrance, they encounter four pillars with carved minotaur faces in them, who recite the following in magical voices:

Greetings, seekers of Baphomet's boundless glory. Those who prove unworthy of his attention shall be claimed forever as his slaves. Those who prove worthy shall be granted power beyond mortal reckoning. Mask. Bell. Blade. Tome. 

 At this, three long-limbed creatures (identified as "cavern chokers") and a ghoul emerge from behind the pillars, while tentacles burst from the ground, attacking the party at the entrance. Eshunu identifies the tentacles as belonging to a beast known as a "phalagar," burrowing predators with tentacles covered in small mouths that leak a caustic substance.

The phalagar's tentacles grab Lucan tightly, and burn and constrict him into unconsciousness, but the party kills it shortly after that. Meanwhile, the ghoul attacks from the front, and the chokers climb along the ceiling to gain access to the Collective members at the rear. Tam'elanath is choked by one of them, but is able to fend it off; the next one to choke him takes him down, and moves onto Eshunu, who is also rendered unconscious. Garmeth fights the third to keep it away from the rest of the party, and Stahlstrauss deals with the ghouls.

Cecil launches an eldritch blast at the choker grabbing Eshunu, but the choker uses the shardmind as a makeshift shield, and Eshunu takes the full brunt of the blast. The consequences are devastating; the already-wounded Eshunu is blown apart the blast, his life force basically diminished. He loses his conscious control over the crystals that form his body, and he shatters. Cecil is frenzied, and loses control over himself as well - his eyes go black, and the demon that possesses him, Lagrish, takes charge. He pulls down the choker with the Chains of Levistus, which finish it off for good.

Stahlstrauss breaks away into a frenzied run away from the ghoul to go to (what's left of) Eshunu's side. He cries out in rage and anguish over the loss of his longtime companion, and begins slowly gathering up the pieces. Meanwhile, Garmeth and the now-standing Lucan finish off the other choker and the ghoul. Talbot suggests that they might be able to revive him back in the Seven-Pillared Hall, and they go to do so, each carrying an armful of shattered Eshunu.

At the "Temple of the Hidden Light" in the Hall, a drow priestess trades Tam'elanath's prison of Salzacas for the revival of Eshunu, and after eight hours his body reassembles around the pitch-black dragonshard that is his heart. He seems confused about what happened, and of his time in death can remember only a surreal, colorful landscape and vague voices telling him about his pre-amnesic past.

After this ordeal, the party goes back to the Halfmoon Inn to rest for the night. During his sleep, Lucan is plagued by dreams of pitch-black tower, surrounded by enemies on all sides. Lythanis, bearing a strange tattoo, is leading a relentless wave of attackers against the Eclipse Collective. The dreams ends with uncertainty about their fate.

Thunderspire V: The Horned Hold (part 2)

Far, Barrakas 13, 998 YK (Day 27)


After defeating the wights in the ruined chapel, the party proceeds to the opposite end of the room, where there is an old portcullis in place. Stahlstrauss attempts to lift it, but it gets stuck halfway; Cecil crawls underneath and opens it with a lever on the other side. The ancient mechanism eventually gives, and the portcullis opens. The party proceeds up the darkened stairway.

At the top, Cecil lights a sunrod, and reveals that they are currently in a crypt-like room, with sarcophagi along the floor and in alcoves on the wall. At the far end, there is a large statue of a skeletal minotaur (identified as the minotaur personification of death) which appears to have been intended to hold a weapon (though the weapon is now gone), and a chest in front of it. Garmeth picks the lock on the chest and removes the item from within, which is a magic cloth mantle that fades away at the edges - apparently some sort of ritual burial shroud. He takes it and wears it, and the party proceeds down a different set of stairs to a closed door. Before anything else, Stahlstrauss bangs aggressively on the door (why? Who knows). Frantic voices yell from the other side to prepare for combat. The door is opened all the way.

The room contains three deep pits, one of which is filled with water. There are more duergar in this room, and two spiny creatures (identified by Eshunu as spined devils, or - more accurately - "Spinagons") who are tending to the dry pits, which contain sets of slaves packed tightly and chained against the pit walls. One of the slaves is an elf, who is attempting to mock the devils, but the devils find it amusing rather than bothersome. They all attack the party as they enter, save for one devil who begins killing the chained slaves, thinking that the Eclipse Collective has come to rescue them.

Framarth, the theurge (equivalents of priests to the duergar) in the room assails the party with blasts of brimstone and horrible fumes, causing them some damage while the other duergar and the devils fight them directly. In the confusion, the elf slave sees an opportunity to slip out of his shackles as he has been planning for some time, and makes a daring acrobatic escape, fleeing out of the room and out of sight. The fight continues in spite of his escape, as the Collective is more of a threat.

But the elf is more formidable than he seems. A short time later, he returns to the room, and opens the chest where the duergar were keeping the slave's possessions. He quickly reequips himself with his gear, and begins firing arrows from his bow while trying to stay out of sight. Before long, the duergar and the devils are beaten, and the elf introduces himself to the party.

It is none other than Tam'elanath Edroin, one of the very first members of the Eclipse Collective (before it was even called that). Zil'dejin recognizes him instantly, and Tam'elanath explains how he was captured by the duergar in Lakeside some time ago. He decides to take up arms again with the party, at least until he can get out of Thunderspire. The Collective then frees the slaves, who tell them that Paldemar is not with them, but there are other slaves in the great hall. They request that the party escorts them back to safety. Remembering the trouble at the Seven-Pillared Hall, they are reluctant to do so, but eventually Zil'dejin leads them to the armory they discovered earlier to arm the former slaves and parts with the group to lead them out of the mountain himself.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group proceeds onwards in the direction they were told to find the great hall, and find a door that seems to hold loud yelling and laughter behind it. Thinking this to be the hall, they open the door to find what appears to be the head of the duergar within, accompanied by a few of his men. This is Murkelmor, the head warlord of the Horned Hold. As the group enters, he tells them that he intends to sell them as slaves to the mind flayers. Combat begins.

Murkelmor and his men fight hard, but are overwhelmed. Though they are able to expand in size (and strength) when cornered, the Collective wears them down before long. Tam'elanath demonstrates his almost-forgotten skill by turning one of the shock troopers into an apparent sponge, with a massive singular entry wound and dozens of tiny exit wounds on his back. Their leader Murkelmor is spared for the purpose of obtaining information, but all of his men are killed. He is bound (read: wrapped entirely with rope from neck to feet) by Stahlstrauss and interrogated by the party, revealing some important information. Paldemar is no slave of the duergar, and has apparently recently been dealing with a gnoll named Maldrick Scarmaker, who runs a gang of his kind in Thunderspire called the "Blackfangs." They operate out of an area elsewhere in the labyrinth called the "Well of Demons." Murkelmor gives no more information than this, so Stahlstrauss thinks to leave him in his bedroom and fill the room with smoke from the fireplace there. Eshunu prevents this from happening, and so the group just leaves him there instead. They also take a treasure mounted on his wall:  a fierce-looking greataxe, clearly taken from the minotaur statue found earlier. It is taken by Lucan.

From here, they proceed further towards the great hall, and encounter a group of orcs, accompanied by an ogre and led by a half-orc. As combat is about to begin, one orc (who fled the party earlier) recognizes the group, and begins yelling in panic about the terrifying warforged and the man who split his own tongue on his axe. The Collective attempts "diplomatic" resolutions, and rattles off their defeats of the duergar so far while talking down the orcs. Eventually, the orcs subsist, and are willing to let them pass, particularly because they are now looking for Maldrick Scarmaker and his gnolls. The half-orc leader attempts to mark their map to indicate where they can find the Well of Demons, and the party goes on their way.

They find an abandoned barracks, bar the door, set up Stahlstrauss and Eshunu to watch over them, and rest for the night.

Sar, Barrakas 14, 998 YK (Day 28)


When they wake, they proceed across a bridge to the last section of the Horned Hold they have not yet visited: the great hall. They are two duergar on guard at the door they enter through.

As they enter, Tam'elanath quickly spots a pile of rubble which is out of the ordinary. He calls attention to it, and it becomes apparent that the rocky covering is obscuring what appears to be a pile of raw diamonds.

Damn it, Cameron. 

The duergar now notice it as well, and flock to the diamonds to have their share. As they are distracted, Cecil binds one of them with the icy Chains of Levistus; the other one, rather than helping, bends to his greed and takes the opportunity. Both of them are killed quickly. Before long, though, they are supported by more duergar, and the party is assaulted by more guards and Rundarr, the duergar's champion.

Besides this, crossbow bolts are hitting the party members from an unknown origin. Tam'elanath and Cecil are eventually pushed away from the rest of the party into a side hallway, where they discover the three remaining slaves. They inform the two that one of the duergar had turned invisible while they were watching.

Just as the fight seems to tip in their favour, there is some noise behind Eshunu, who is positioned "safely" on the bridge. A duergar theurge has arrived to join the fight.

And she has brought the revived Thair Coalstriker.

Words fail me.

Thunderspire IV: The Horned Hold (part 1)

Far, Barrakas 13, 998 YK (Day 27)


The Collective proceeds into the Horned Hold from the portcullis room. They come across two doors: one set of double doors straight ahead, and a smaller door to the left, which opens from within and includes no handle. It is apparently locked, so they attempt to bash it down, and, in time, succeed. Inside, they discover what appears to be the duergar armory, which is filled with mundane weapons and armour. After briefly discussing a plan involving using the armour to disguise themselves (unlikely to succeed given that they are still not duergar in that case), they leave, and proceed to the double doors. They hear the hammering of iron and the barking of commands from behind them - it is a smithy.

Inside, a duergar master smith commands a small number of assistants and some orc guards. He turns as the party enters, and seems very familiar to Zil'dejin. Before long, it becomes clear just why this is the case: the master smith under the duergar's employ is in fact Thair Coalstriker.

He's back, baby.

His reasons for being in the Horned Hold are vague, at best. His release from Padraig's prison in Winterhaven led to exile from the town about one month following his arrest, with that incident providing the final push after Thair's history of short temper and hostility. After recognizing Zil'dejin, he claims he has followed the party's trail from Winterhaven to the Thunderspire Labyrinth, but this claim is dubious. His presence is more likely a coincidence.

As Zil'dejin realizes the connection, he panics and moves slightly closer to the back of the party. The rest of his group remains confused. He briefly explains his reasons for his reservations, though it becomes clear in a few moments anyway; Thair grabs a weapon from the forge fire and smashes it on the floor, spilling blazing hot coals across the floor in front of the doorway.

A battle then begins between Thair and his underlings and the Eclipse Collective. The reluctant duergar assistants and orc hirelings are forced into combat by the dwarf, even against the burning coals on the ground and the fact that they are outnumbered. One of the orcs flees, and the duergar assistants perish quickly. Cecil unleashes a more potent display of his power than he had shown before:

"By the fires, be purged! I summon the flames of Phlegethos!"

Infernal streams of liquid fire course out from Cecil's fingertips and coat Thair, burning away sections of his clothing, melting his armor, and searing his flesh. Thair insists he will deal with Cecil shortly, but disregards him for the present to focus on Zil'dejin, who is the last member of the Eclipse Collective that he is still able to recognize. Zil'dejin takes a rather savage beating, but as he just about to fall, Stahlstrauss jumps in front of him and pushes him out of the way, withstanding the hit instead.

It is towards the end of the battle with Thair Coalstriker that the troglodytes and their angel break into the Horned Hold and attack the party from behind. The angel states in clear terms (though not in Common, the tongue is recognizable by any who hear it anyway) that Eshunu cannot be afforded to remain in the Labyrinth. He says that he will let the party be, if they surrender the druid to them.

Zil'dejin responds to this with a heavy-handed charge towards the newcomers. He engages the troglodytes in combat with the others for a while, as Stahlstrauss holds off Thair Coalstriker. While the rest of the party focuses on the troglodytes, Lucan decides to attack their angel accompaniment. As his greataxe connects, there is an enormous flash of light and a resounding burst of sound; when it subsides, nothing remains of the angel. Their main arm gone, the troglodytes flee the area.

Now alone, Thair Coalstriker is finished off quickly. The party takes him captive, but he is reluctant to cooperate. The party aggressively insists upon information and cooperation - Cecil in particular - and eventually, disgraced, Thair throws himself off of one of the bridges connecting the Horned Hold keeps and into the ravine below. Stahlstrauss looks over the railing. "...maybe he's alright."

Zil'dejin casts an angry glance at Cecil. "You nagged him to death!"

"Good riddance," Cecil says, though even he seems somewhat unconvinced.

The party enters into a hallway that splits in two. One door has noises of activity emerging from behind it, and another seems to lead to a dimly-lit area. The party heads that way, and arrives in what appears to be the ruins of a chapel, at the center of which is large, crumbling statue of a minotaur. As the party enters, long-dead humanoid wights rise and attack. The Collective fights them off for a time, but as Stahlstrauss accidentally hits the statue, the wights shriek. Figuring this to be what is binding them, Stahlstrauss breaks apart the statue while the others fight off the wights, and they collapse, lifeless.

Thunderspire III: The Road of Shadows (part 2)

After a while the Collective follows the map (roughly) to a large, nature chasm, about 30 feet across. They see the Horned Hold at the other side, but now must find a way across to the only entrance. There is a drawbridge raised from the other side with an active guard post, and on the party's side, there are ruins of another post that was not kept in the same state of repair. The two buildings were once connected with signalling bells attached by a thick chain, but the chain has long rusted over. They formulate a quick plan to get across without raising the suspicion of the guards on the other side: Zil'dejin will swing across on the rusty chain, scale the cliff and lower the bridge. Lucan and Cecil use rope provided by Stahlstrauss to secure Zil'dejin to their side as a sort of failsafe, and Stahlstrauss and Zil'dejin ready themselves. Eshunu tries to use his scarabs as physical obstructions to silence the bells, but they fall off the chain and plummet. Stahlstrauss cuts the chain anyway with one great cleave, and gives no warning. Zil'dejin nearly misses this, and grabs the chain at the last possible second.

Stahlstrauss stows his axe. "Well... he was alright," he says to nobody in particular.

 Meanwhile, Zil'dejin has not realized that Luucan unwittingly tied himself to Zil'dejin in a failed attempt to secure him, and the two both swing into the ravine. Zil'dejin is able to roll with the impact, but Lucan is injured and slightly dazed. Zil'dejin grabs him with one hand and scales the cliff face, unties himself, and lowers the drawbridge quietly. The party crosses, and Eshunu takes some time to stare down the chasm and silently mourn his lost scarabs. They still must sneak past the outpost to get the Horned Hold unharmed, and a single set of footsteps are approaching from within.

Eshunu turns to a swarm of scarabs and attempts to hide among the rocks, but the insects are too large for his ambush plan to work properly. Lucan and Cecil go to hide behind some rocks, just out of sight. Stahlstrauss attempts to raise the drawbridge again so their pursuers can't follow them, but uses too much strength and breaks the ancient stop on the mechanism, leaving the bridge permanently lowered. Zil'dejin hides on cliff face, hanging from the severed chain. As the duergar guard approaches to investigate, he shakes the chain, ringing the bells and drawing the guard to him. The guard peers over the cliff, and Zil'dejin thrusts his halberd into the duergar's eye, who is in shock and unable to scream. He then pulls the weapon back hard, and sends the dark dwarf over the cliff and into the chasm below. He then climbs back up, and Cecil congratulates him.

"Not much discretion - but very good."

Zil'dejin then provides a brief reflection, and refers to Lucan as having been "unconscious through the whole thing," and Lucan takes deep offense, claiming he was never unconscious at all. Zil'dejin is challenged to a "Duel of Elation," something certainly made up by Lucan, where the victor will make the most people happy in a certain period of time. Zil'dejin scoffs, but on his honour, accepts anyway. Lucan simply pours his overflowing emotions into Cecil, and Zil'dejin responds by recounting a story he believes to be inspiring. It is not; it is instead the story of his escape from Cabor's Chains, and is actually very depressing. Lucan wins the Duel of Elation... surprisingly.

They arrive, finally, at the Horned Hold, and sneak up to the portcullis that serves as the only gate to get inside the keep. There are five orcs inside, who begin attacking with spears and crossbows as soon as the party arrives in sight. Cecil observes that they are not of the strongest demeanor, and at least one might flee if they can only intimidate them. Stahlstrauss repeatedly attempts to tear open the portcullis, but even with Zil'dejin's assistance, he cannot. He resorts to throwing axes - only one of which actually hits its target. Meanwhile, Lucan follows up on Cecil's observation, and allows his intense euphoria to spill out, laughing maniacally and licking the blade of his axe in clear view of the orcs (his tongue is healed by his powers, but the orcs cannot see this). Stahlstrauss then leans in through the portcullis at the one looking most terrified, and stares it in the eyes.

"You know, there's enough space up here for an orc skull, too." He then grabs wildly for the orc's face, who falls backwards and then flees in terror.

The rest of the battle continues with Cecil's dark powers being revealed for the first time, and Eshunu turns himself into scarabs to pass through the portcullis, lift a key from a guard's corpse and unlock the portcullis. The party proceeds inside and the door is relocked. Once in the Horned Hold, Eshunu's prophetic vision is fulfilled as a burning, divine creature with wings appears, accompanied by an escort of small lizard-like beings. They look at the portcullis for a time, which has been barricaded, and then at the Eclipse Collective. Eventually, they simply turn and leave.

 ¹ vv Actual dialogue from this conversation is after the jump vv

Thunderspire III: The Road of Shadows (part 1)

Far, Barrakas 13, 998 YK (Day 27) (take that, hiatus!)


During the night - or, again, perhaps early in the morning - Lythanis becomes wracked with horrible, vivid nightmares. This is not unusual for him, as he has been plagued by nightmares of this sort since his hopeless battle with the Inspired at Dar Mirn several years before. The difference tonight was that he would not wake from his haunting visions. As the time came that he was roused from sleep, the dreams did not stop. He had at last succumbed to the illness he had contracted back in Riedra, and was no longer in control of his own body. His psyche trapped in a whirling hellscape of nightmares and his body under unknown influence, Lythanis departs while the rest of the party sleeps. He leaves behind only his journal, and with it, the last remnants of his former life.

As the rest of the Eclipse Collective awakens, this recent departure remains initially unclear, and there is no reason to suspect that things are not completely as normal. The main floor of the Halfmoon Inn is, as usual, relatively empty. Rendil Halfmoon and his aunt are seated at the counter, and the cloaked form of Talbot is seated across from a bald man, who is drinking sourly and tending to noticeable wounds. Curious by this new arrival, the available members of the collective sit at a table nearby to eavesdrop. They catch the tail end of what seems to have been a fairly serious conversation, about a contract of some sort for Mr. Artauche that the man has failed to meet his terms upon. Unless he can somehow assure Talbot that his contract is still viable, it will be considered void.

Talbot

Soon, Talbot notices the party and indicates to the man that they are to be his replacements. They learn that he was part of another adventuring group, called the Reclaimer Company, that was also hired by Mr. Artauche to find the Rod of Order. Believing them to be a liability and a high risk of failure, he sent the Eclipse Collective after them. His mistrust was well placed, as the entire Reclaimer Company save this man was killed in an ambush in the Labyrinth. Seeing no other options, this stranger - who is introduced by Talbot as "Cecil" - asks to join with the Eclipse Collective temporarily, just until they retrieve the Rod. A discussion¹ about this ensues once Stahlstrauss finds that Lythanis is gone, and ultimately Cecil is accepted as a temporary member, then caught up with the party's current business. Talbot lays out a plan based on the map they found in the Horned Hold and directs them to go there and look for slaves, to find Paldemar. Cecil also marks the location on his map where his companions were killed.

Suddenly, there is a clamour outside. The Collective goes to investigate, and Talbot stays inside. In the Hall, Rendil is propped against the wall of the Inn and watching a gathering mob some distance away. He informs them that a Duergar convoy, come to pick up food rations from the outpost, has discovered their companions dead and have rallied the Mages' Enforcers against the Eclipse Collective. Their numbers are great, and Rendil urges them to start running. After Eshunu has a sudden and dark prophetic vision about what is to come, they run out into the Labyrinth through the exit nearest the inn. Cecil expresses his regret for joining.

This is the first skill challenge with the new system.

The enemies give chase, and the Collective quickly attempts evasive action. Stahlstrauss begins charging forward blindly to clear a path, while Eshunu rides atop his back and attempts to use his knowledge of Minotaur labyrinth systems to point him in the right direction. The charging is more than effective and clears aside much debris and rubble, forming a clear path, but Eshunu's directions leave something to be desired. Meanwhile, Lucan stays back to clear aside footprints while Cecil attempts to knock debris into the path of their pursuers, but Lucan lingers too long and is shot by a crossbow bolt, and Cecil strains himself in his attempts. After running a while, with the duergar and Enforcers still in tow, they come up with a plan to stop the pursuit. Zil'dejin contemplates lighting a fire using his alcohol, but has a hard time parting with his spirits. Eventually Eshunu knocks the bottle from his hand, and Zil'dejin lights it and runs, claiming Eshunu now "owes him one." The charging duergar are caught in the fire and with no alternate route, stop to tend to their wounded. The party escapes, but Garmeth has been lost in the confusion. Knowing his love of labyrinths, however, they leave him be, knowing he will catch up before long.

(Summary is continued in the next post and ¹in-character dialogue  from this discussion is in the next post, after the jump.)

Thunderspire II: The Grimmerzhul Outpost

Zor, Barrakas 12, 998 YK (Day 26).

Lucan, Zil'dejin, Garmeth and Lythanis return to the Chamber of Eyes the next day, presumably morning, although time is difficult to discern in the Seven Pillared Hall. Here, the interrogation of Reb continues, though all he is able to reveal is that the Bloodreavers sold their slaves to the duergar a few days ago, and knows nothing further. They ask if a wizard was present, looking for clues on Paldemar, but Reb is uncertain. The Collective debates for some time on what to do with the terrified Reb, and Zil'dejin's frustration mounts over the attitude of his companions towards the captured goblin. Eventually, he is simply let go.

With their only lead being the selling of the slaves to the duergar, the party moves back to the Seven-Pillared Hall to question the Clan Grimmerzhul merchants who keep their trade outpost. This is still based on the assumption that Paldemar was indeed captured and made a slave, which, while the most likely scenario, has yet to be verified.

The duergar within are every bit as cold and unreceptive as they had been the last time the Eclipse Collective had visited the trading post. It is clear that they are willing to tolerate the group as long as they have money to offer. When questioned on the topic of the purchased slaves, the duergar act insulted and order the group to leave. They do, and outside they deliberate their next move.

They realize they have evidence, but that law is loose in the Seven Pillared Hall, and they will likely receive no direct support from the Mages of Saruun if they attack the duergar. Still, this is their only lead, and they conclude that they must follow up on it.

They reenter the post, and the duergar have now elevated to the level of hostilities, going so far as to draw their weapons and threaten the Collective. The group sees this reaction and reflexively draws weapons themselves, and a fight ensues.

The duergar at the front of the post are rapidly joined by more of their kin from somewhere in the recesses behind the storefront, and the battle goes on for some time, looking grim briefly. After a while, however, all the duergar are defeated, and the party looks around in the trading post for any further clues, having obtained nothing from the duergar themselves. Searching the back rooms, they discover little other than some bedrooms, but discover in one of them a dresser containing a rudimentary map marked in dwarven glyphs, and another letter - also written in dwarvish - apparently addressed to the owner of the room.

After the long day - most of which was spent moving back and forth through the labyrinth - the party investigates some minor leads in the Seven Pillared Hall, and go to rest in their respective rooms at the Halfmoon Inn, prepared to contemplate their next move the following day.

Thunderspire I: The Chamber of Eyes

Wir, Barrakas 11, 998 YK (Day 25).


With only slight difficulty, the Collective follows Rendil Halfmoon's map through the Labyrinth to the so-called Chamber of Eyes, the current hideout of the Bloodreavers. On entry, they find themselves in a large, mostly-empty chamber littered with rubble, overlooked by a balcony at the opposite end. Other than the door through which they entered, there is only one other exit to the room, located on a wall to the party's right.

They test the door and find it locked. Garmeth volunteers to pick the lock, and after an initially unsuccessful attempt is able to get the door open. The hall beyond that door opens up into what appears to be a guard outpost, containing a bugbear and a few goblins. They raise an alarm of sorts and charge the party, who fend them off in short time and consider their options. They are in a hallway, which acts as an intersection between four passages. Behind them is the way they came. To their left, the guard chamber, containing some rudimentary beds and other furniture, and stairs leading upwards. To their right, a hallway leading to a closed door, and in front of them another hallway, leading to a set of large double doors, embossed with the image of an eye.

They decide to head through the guard post and up the stairs. The hall here splits into two; one way leads to the balcony overlooking the room the entered into, and the other leads to yet another closed door. They head this way, and open it. It is not locked. Inside, two duergar are resting in front of a fire. As the Collective enters, they spring to their feet and draw their weapons. Shortly into the battle, the commotion draws hobgoblins from adjacent quarter rooms, including the apparent warchief of the Bloodreavers, who is identified as Krand.

A rather vicious battle ensues, throughout which Lythanis appears somewhat distant and remote, acting unusually. He is of little help to the battle, but ultimately the Collective emerges on top, and the entire group is defeated. They search the area for clues towards Paldemar's whereabouts. In the quarters of Warchief Krand, they find an enchanted set of armor, some money, and most importantly, a contract written in Common detailing an agreement between Krand and an unknown name (written in dwarven glyphs) for a purchase of slaves worth 1,000 gold pieces.

The Collective then leaves this area, headed for the double doors. Inside, they find a large, mostly-empty chamber, containing a few hobgoblins and a massive black wolf lying on the floor. Chains, apparently manacles, are anchored to the ground and the walls, but do not hold any prisoners. As the party enters, the inhabitants of the room attack.

The party fights back with great success, flowing smoothly in the battle and defeating their opponents with ease. Even the Dire Wolf they face is little match to them, and Zil'dejin finishes it with such a potent strike that the battered form of the beast is thereafter unrecognizable. After this is done, they search the room and discover a secret passage in the far corner of the room. After some deliberation, they choose to follow this dark passage.

On the other side, they find themselves in a store room of some kind, containing numerous boxes and barrels. They see light and hear sounds of revelry from a room beyond, and they attempt to sneak through, but are detected by this room's occupants. Here, there are more goblins and hobgoblins, as well as a few shifty-looking humans. The Collective fights these enemies, and captures one of the goblins.

After some slight questioning, they discover his name is Reb, and for the time being he is too frightened to give much more. The party decides to leave for the sake of resting, keeping the captured Reb under the watchful eyes of the sleepless constructs Stahlstrauss and Eshunu.

The others - Zil'dejin, Lythanis, Lucan and Garmeth - return to the Seven-Pillared Hall and stay the night at the Halfmoon Inn, intending to return to the Chamber of Eyes the following morning.