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.

Into the Mountain

Zol, Barrakas 10, 998 YK (Day 24).

After an almost endless period of time, the party settles on calling themselves the "Eclipse Collective." They inform Mr. Artauche of this, who is relatively uninterested, and wanted the name only for the sake of bureaucracy. Now that his forms have been filled, he grants them more details. They are to meet with one of his primary agents: a man named Talbot, who has been in the Seven Pillared Hall (the hub of civilization in the Labyrinth, maintained by the Mages of Saruun) for some time. He will have more information on the artifact Mr. Artauche desires, which is called the "Rod of Order." All that he is able to say about the item is that is reputed to have immense magical power, though he is uncertain what this power is.

Thunderspire is about a day north of Vedykar, so the party sets out immediately. Lucan decides he must leave once again, citing only "Medani business," and abandons the party once more.

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

The Collective arrives at Thunderspire. The mountain is preempted by a large cobblestone pathway leading up one side and gated by an enormous arched doorway, flanked with elaborate minotaur statues. As they arrive, Lythanis stops to admire the craftsmanship of the old minotaur civilization.

They find the door leading into the mountain is closed. Two imposing guards are posted outside, who inform the party that the Mages of Saruun have ordered the place closed to outsiders, for the time being. When asked why, the guards offer little information. The party decides after some not-too-careful deliberation that waiting until the guards must leave to sleep is the best idea. They wait until the sun sets.

At this point, the guards posted out front go inside through a smaller iron door to the right of the main gate... and two different guards emerge, for a changing of the guard. The party groans all at once, with the exception of the mute Eshunu.

Stahlstrauss attempts to intimidate the guards into letting them in by yelling madly at them. The guards care little for what he has to say (yell?), and Lythanis believes a different approach is necessary. He attempts to sneak around the side of the mountain, presumably to look for an alternate way in, while Stahlstrauss provides a distraction by continuing to yell furiously. Lythanis, however, is not stealthy in the slightest, and Stahlstrauss in unable to intimidate the guards, and the plan fails completely.

Fed up with the guards' indifference to their plight, Lythanis launches into a long explanation of some obscure, almost-forgotten magic ritual used once to smite some group of mages' enemies to intimidate the guards. Knowing the power of the Mages of Saruun, the guards are put somewhat at unease. One guard decides to go inside to check with the Mages about the Eclipse Collective's business.

After some time, Zil'dejin grows impatient. He turns to the remaining guard and yells, "WHAT IS TAKING SO LONG?!" Stahlstrauss chimes in with a (helpful) "REALLY WHAT IS IT." The guard is intimidated by the presence of the two large and menacing individuals, and so turns inside to find out what the holdup is.

With the two posted guards gone, Garmeth hastily picks the lock on the iron door, and the party goes inside. They find themselves in a roughly-made room carved out of the rock and dirt, in which a small guard post is set up. Another guard sits at a table inside. Lythanis lies to him about their motives when questioned, and the guard believes what he is told. However, he still does not let the party further into the mountain.

After some time, growing alarmed by the quickly-coming approach of the two gate guards, Zil'dejin offers a bribe of 500 gold to the guard, who takes it and allows the party to proceed without his attention. As they leave the side chamber, they find themselves in a well-crafted but dimly lit hallway, huge and descending downwards from the minotaur gate. They notice footsteps approaching.

Eshunu uses his knowledge of cave and labyrinth layouts to guide the party to an easily missed side-passage at the side of the long hallway, and the five quickly duck inside. The guards pass by, and the Collective hears a conflict going on in the room at the end of the side-passage. The voices are apparently hobgoblin and halfling. Curious, the party goes inside to investigate.

The hobgoblins, who identify themselves as the "Bloodreavers," are attempting to kidnap a halfling in this room. The Bloodreavers also have a grudge against the Eclipse Collective for interrupting their slave deal with Kalarel at Winterhaven. This deal is revealed to be the reason for the numerous captures there, including that of Stahlstrauss, Eshunu, Garmeth and Lucan, as well as the attempted abduction of Typhus. They are enraged as the party is identified, and are riled up further by Stahlstrauss' taunting, and so they attack immediately, turning their attentions away from the halfling.

The fight proceeds quickly. Zil'dejin is in particularly good form in this battle, and is responsible for the final blow upon every hobgoblin slaver, which is also fueled by his immense hatred for slavery. The warcaster, who leads the small group of hobgoblins, attempts to take the halfling hostage, but is forced to drop him when Lythanis attacks him telekinetically and pulls him away, allowing the rest of the party to eliminate him.When the battle clears, the party speaks with the halfling, who introduces himself as "Rendil Halfmoon," claiming his family owns the only inn in the Seven Pillared Hall. He offers to guide the Collective there through the labyrinth to the Hall, and they accept.

Once at the Hall, they check in with the frequently-apologizing Talbot, a man with sharp features and a love of dark clothing. He tells them a bit more about the Mages of Saruun and their lock-down of the Seven Pillared Hall and the entire labyrinth. His information on the Rod of Order has so far been very limited, and he informs the Collective that their best bet is to speak with the Mages themselves.

After browsing around some shops in the Hall, they are accosted by the guards from earlier, and are brought to a teleportation circle connected to the Mages' tower. Inside, a mage named Orontor offers to forgive their trespass and possibly even allow them to take the Rod of Order from the hall if they can investigate the whereabouts another mage of their order, named Paldemar. As it happens, Paldemar has been missing for a few weeks without contact. The party, seeing no other option, agrees, and Orontor gives them a small metal symbol (an eye with a snake wrapped around it) as proof they are working for the Mages.

They visit the Halfmoon Inn for directions, and with a map drawn by Rendil Halfmoon, set out into the Labyrinth to look in the first place they can come up with for a missing person: in the hands of the Bloodreavers, the hobgoblin slavers in the mountain.

The Golden Claw, Pt. II

Mol, Barrakas 9, 998 YK (Day 23).


During the interval in which they rest before proceeding to the next part of the ruin, the party is rejoined by Garmeth and Lucan. Garmeth's inability to accompany the group in the first place is explained by him as "severe illness, due to eating nothing but rats and insects for so long in Winterhaven." The group decides not to press the matter. Meanwhile, Lucan's return is apparently incidental, and his acquisition of information on the party's whereabouts and current business is mysterious, but is possibly best explained by his connection to House Medani. Tam'elanath, however, remains in Lakeside; he contemplates as he has before if the life of an adventurer is really meant for him.

After the brief reunion concludes, the six open the double doors and proceed into the next chamber, which is mostly empty save for a deep well in the center and a side room splitting off at the side. Here, they are met with another group of gnolls, including one particularly savage-looking one outfitted in human remains and wielding a large flail. They are attacked immediately upon entry, and are forced to defend themselves.

The battle proceeds more or less as expected, until one of the gnolls is pushed into the well by Lythanis' telekinetic abilities. At this point, the party hears some loud crunching and muffled screaming; they pass this off as an ideal success in killing the gnoll.

Some time later, however, a different creature arises from out of the well. They are able to identify it (with some difficulty) as a "Carrion Crawler," a bizarre millipede-like creature that survives off of animal remains. Awakened by the gnoll pushed into its domain of the well, it rises to the surface of the room and joins the fray.

The toxin it emits is, initially, a little daunting for the group, and its paralytic effects prove surprising and somewhat difficult to contend with. Eventually, however, once Stahlstrauss and Eshunu have cleared the rest of the chamber of gnolls, the party is able to kill the creature. The room now safe, the party investigates. In the adjacent side room, they find the Golden Claw atop an old, long-dried fountain, which is handled by Lythanis.

Meanwhile, Stahlstrauss and Garmeth decide to descend into the well from which the carrion crawler emerged, and using lengths of rope supported by Lucan and Eshunu (and to some tiny degree, Lytnanus), move to the bottom of the well. Here, they find nothing but darkness and a tunnel that descends further into the earth. It ends in a blocked off passageway, which they decide to break open.

They see only a larger passageway within, but hear strange sounds. The ensuing dialogue at this point is as follows:

Stalhstrauss: "Should we keep going?"
Garmeth: "I don't know. I'd give it 50/50."
Stahlstrauss: "I hear... millions of tiny claws."
Garmeth: "Our odds aren't good here. I don't even think I could heal you if something happened."

Lengthy pause. The silence is filled by distant skittering.

Stalhstrauss: "Let's get the hell out of here."
Garmeth: "Yes. Let's."

They attempt with some difficulty to escape the well, and the party emerges from the chamber just as more carrion crawlers burst from the well. They shut the door behind them and run from the ruins, leaving them behind.

They return to Vulyar, where after additional confusion as to where to meet the agent, they finally return to him at the Singing Serpent and give him the claw, receiving their reward. The agent also tells them that Mr. Artauche has more work for them, and would like to meet them at his home in Vedykar, if they are so inclined. The party agrees, and works on how to get to Vedykar from Vulyar, as there is no Lightning Rail line between the locations. They eventually locate a small guild of mages in Vulyar which has a sister guild in Vedykar, and for a small fee the knowledgeable dwarf custodian allows them to use their linked teleportation circle.

One disorienting teleportation later, they arrive in Vedykar, and stay the night at the "Horse and Ass" inn, a shabby establishment in which many questionable drinks are had and Garmeth is given a bar of soap. Garmeth and Lythanis have a heated argument about eating rats (as Garmeth did in Winterhaven); Garmeth calls Lythanis uncivilized, who takes great offense at the accusation. Lythanis and Zil'dejin play a card game. Everybody finally goes to rest.

* * *

Zol, Barrakas 10, 998 YK (Day 24).


The party tours various shops around the city, including Davran's Magical Items owned by a snarky halfling, and Dorragan Coalstriker's smithy, where Stahlstrauss learns a bit more about the Coalstriker family and their distribution throughout Karrnath. They also visit a guild of mercenaries, the Bladed Arms, where they are summarily kicked out.

Finally, the six goes to meet Mr. Artauche in his manor on Wealth Street. They are admitted on official business, and meet Mr. Artauche himself, who introduces himself as "Remelius Artauche." He is a tall, slender man with a serious face, clean-cut appearance and extravagant clothes. In his office, which is littered with various devices, he explains he has a contract to adventurers willing to go to the Thunderspire, the tallest of the Ashen Spires to the north where a small group of mages has control over a former minotaur labyrinth. He is looking for an artifact from there, and believes the party has proved themselves capable of retrieving it.

The party considers it, and finally agrees. He has them sign a series of contracts binding them to his business; one for each party member, and one that collectively represents the party. He asks them to sign the name of their adventuring company; the party needs to take a moment to consider what this is.

It takes much longer than expected.