The Path of Stones

[Darth Ultron]

The small town of Dorgin located high up in the Glittering Spires mountain range is home to several hundred dwarves. It is mostly underground, with only some scattered farms on the surface. The town supports several mines and surface farms, doing good trade for such goods.

The Icefall Forge is the small temple to Moradin in town. It is built into a large cavern, and gets it's name from the ice melting on the surface and falling down to create a misty rain over most of the cavern.

Belrimm Urgaest leads this temple, and under him are Galgan Darmek and Geto Baravok and a handful of lesser priests.

[plenty]

Krommur was in his sleeping quarters, with his supplies for his journey laid out on his bed. A suit of scale mail lay at the foot of his bed, a mace and shield lay next to it. On his pillow were his food and water, he only had a day's supply, but he expected most towns and villages would be willing to trade some for a healing or blessing. Best to spend his four remaining coins on something that would be difficult to obtain when needed.
The bedroll he had been given by Gulrom Dolnik, an older priest who had travelled in his youth and acted as a mentor to Krommur, was in the middle of the bed. It wouldn't be the most comfortable, but he wasn't doing this for comfort, he wanted to help people. He wouldn't deny he'd like to see the world, but that was more of a side benefit to his true mission.
He added his latest acquisition, a crossbow and bolts, to the collection. It had occurred to him that having the option to discourage enemies at a distance might be a benefit on the road, if he had to protect an injured traveller, or in a dozen other situations. He should probably practice with it a little later, just to get a feel for it.
He wondered again if there was anything to add to the collection. Rope had a lot of uses, but he could get it easily enough, and he didn't plan on leaving the roads, so he thought it best to leave it.
It would probably be worth talking to Gulrom to see if he had any advice about supplies. There was probably something Gulrom would suggest that Krommur would never think of on his own. He wasn't sure where Gulrom would be right then, but he would definitely have an opportunity to talk after the evening meal.
His eye caught on the bolts to go with his crossbow. How was he going to carry them? They would be no use in the bottom of his pack and he couldn't exactly hold them all the time. It suddenly hit him that he'd seen a belt pouch in the market just that morning. He decided to go see if he could still buy it and headed off in the direction of the market.

[Darth Ultron]

The free market of Dorgin is a very orderly place. Stonework stalls are set at even distances from each other and form several large blocks. Each block makes a square, and each square is made for a single trade good: one for metal items, one for non metal items, one for foods and one for objects of war. Each vender has their items neatly arranged in and around their stalls. Every thing is clearly marked with a price.

Heading to the second square, it only takes a couple minutes to find a vender selling items that can be worn. A middle aged dwarf has a large selection of items such as belts made from fur, leather or cotton. A shelf holds a number of belt pouches, all made of leather. The basic belt pouch has a listed price of one gold. Next to the belts is a shelf of bandoleers, also one gold each.

The market is full of dwarves, mostly buying and selling in order and quiet, on a normal day in town.

[plenty]

Krommur approached the stall, and asked if he could try on a bandoleer. At the dwarf's agreement, he picked one up and put it on. He then spent a few moments reaching into the various pouches and loops to see how difficult it would be to retrieve items from them. Satisfied that it would be a significant improvement, he paid for it, thanked the merchant and began to wander the market, glancing at the wares of any stall that caught his eye.

[Darth Ultron]

The merchant makes the trade and gives you the bandolier.

The market is mostly full of piratical day-to-day items. The vast bulk of all items is not made to stand out or catch anyone's eye. Only a couple stalls have eye catching items.

You do pass by one stall full of small, between one and five inch tall, metal statuettes of dwarven gods. A lot of them are made holding small bowls filled with water. It does catch your eye that the water in the bowls is rippling slightly from side to side.

[plenty]

Krommur walked up to the stall and greeted the merchant, "Good morning. I was wondering if these statues with the shaking water bowls help with prayers somehow?"

[Darth Ultron]

The merchant, an older dwarf female with gray hair, "well, they are not in any way magical if that is what your asking. They are made to focus one thoughts, and hold a bit of water or even holy water.

The water has been shaking for the last hour or so...but I don't know why? Maybe so sort of weak air flow?

They are a gold coin each "

[plenty]

"Well, that's odd. But I will take one." Said Krommur, handing the merchant a gold piece and pocketing a statuette with a bowl. He noted the location of the stall, in case this was some kind of scam, and continued wandering the market, now specifically looking out for open containers of liquids.

[Darth Ultron]

Just two stalls down has a selection of metal mugs. Several of them have sample ale in them and all are rippling slightly from side to side.

Another nearby stall has metal buckets, some filled with water and all are rippling slightly from side to side.

[plenty]

Krommur was now convinced that something strange was happening, but he didn't know what to do about it. He decided to continue wandering and see if he could find a limit to the affected area.

[Darth Ultron]

The town is full of typically daily activity, but nothing seems strange. It's all normal, everyday life.

If you single out looking for any liquids, you do see all liquids rippling slightly from side to side.

As you wander, you don't seem to see a limit to the effect....anywhere you go in town you see the ripple effect in liquids.

[plenty]

Krommur knew something must be causing this, but he didn't know what it might be. He also knew that not many people would take his concerns seriously.
If he went to the guard and told them that all the water in town was rippling suspiciously, the best he could hope for they'd probably laugh at him, at best they'd as what he wanted them to do about it.
Perhaps if he tried asking a scholar of some kind they might know, but the problem was Krommur didn't really talk to any scholars, and randomly walking up to one and saying, "All the water in town is shaking, do you know what could cause that?" didn't seem like a great plan.
Unfortunately, aside from waiting to see what happened next, it was the only one he had. And it wasn't as if he knew where he'd need to be, so he'd be as likely to be useful near the temple library as anywhere else in town.
Krommur accept it was the only thing he could do, and set off for the temple library at a joy, keeping his eyes peeled for any scholars who might have wandered into town.

[Darth Ultron]

There do not seem to be any obvious scholar type dwarfs walking around the town. At least none with an obvious tell like reading glasses or a book. It's a short walk through the town to the temple

The Icefall Forge itself does have a hall of records. The large hall is filled with stone slabs, runestones, and scrolls made of both metals and paper. A couple scholars work here keeping track of families and clans, titles, deeds, lore and lots of legal details. Most are quite busy at work, and point you towards an open dwarf.

Whurlak Nanidak is an older dwarf in simple gray robes and with dark white hair.


"I'm Whurlak Nanidak, Rune Scholar of Moradin. Axe low, how may I help you?"

[plenty]

"Greetings Whulak, I am Krommur Holderhek, cleric of Moradin. I was in the market this morning and I noticed that some water seemed to be shaking. I've had a look around and it seems like all the water in town is affected. I was wondering if you might know what could cause this"

[Darth Ultron]

Whurlak Nanidak asks for more detail descriptions of what you saw and listens carefully as you tell him.

"Well, now there are a couple things that can effect water like that. Winds. Pressure. Heat. Cold. Maybe some sort of ripple in the Ether. Might be nothing, but could be something big. You did not see anything harm full so that is a good sign. I hope.

I've not heard of any warnings from the temple, so the Soulforge must be silent....or it's banging away an no one is listening. "

[plenty]

"When you say it could be something big, how big do you mean? And is there anything we could do to rule that out?"

[Darth Ultron]

Whurlak Nanidak "Well, like effect the whole town big.

Well, sure we can rule out heat and cold and wind, right? You did not feel any of them anywhere you saw the swirling water, right? Pressure is a tricky one to detect, but we feel it all the time. Ether ripples....well, we'd need to check the Ethereal Plane. Know anyone that would like to take a little planehop?"

[plenty]

"This is probably a stupid question, but if the ripples in the ether are on another plane, doesn't that mean they can't affect this one.
And how bad could this be? Are we talking about the whole town burning to the ground or the whole town getting rained on?"

[Darth Ultron]

Whurlak Nanidak "Well, the Ethereal plane is special. It kinda touches..maybe over laps...with us here, on the Prime. It's where ghosts are, they are mostly there...and just a bit here...like, well, a ghost.

Well, sure I guess the worst kind of bad would sure be the whole town being destroyed. I'm not sure shaky water could cause that....but kinda depends what is shaking all the water."

[plenty]

I suppose I could take a quick look. But we'd need to find a way for me to get back, and I don't know what ripples in the ether would look like.

And how dangerous is the ethereal plane?

[Darth Ultron]

Whurlak Nanidak "It's plenty dangerous. You can handle yourself in a fight, yes? It's about as dangerous as going out into the wild. Getting there is not a problem, I got plenty of ethereal oil. Just rub some on and off you go. Want to come back, just rub it off. Nice and simple."

[plenty]

"OK, I'll do it. I'll go get my gear. If you get the ethereal oil, we can meet back here in a few minutes."

[Darth Ultron]

Whurlak Nanidak nods "I will be ready, see you in a few."

[plenty]

Krommur returned to his room and donned his armour. He put his belt, cloak and bandoleer on over it, before attaching his mace and crossbow to his belt in a position from which they could be easily drawn. The crossbow bolts went into a pouch on the bandoleer. He briefly considered leaving his pack, but ultimately decided it would be best to have it and not need it. Quickly transferring the statuette to his pack, he strapped it on, and attached his shield to it so it was out of the way, but within reach.
After one final check of his weapons, shield, ammo and holy symbol he decided he was as ready as he'd ever be and made his way back to the hall of records.

[Darth Ultron]

Whurlak Nanidak stands ready in a small enclosed courtyard. He holds two small metal cans of light blue oil, and a bag of sand.

"So a can of oil on your skin takes you there. It will last an hour. If you need to come back, just rub it off."

[plenty]

"Ok, seems simple enough." said Krommur, before removing his gauntlets and tucking the into his belt. He then rolled up his sleeves and took one of the cans of oil and spread it over his hands, face and forearms. Once he had finished he quickly replaced his sleeves and gauntlets.
"Well, that feels unpleasant." he muttered.

[Darth Ultron]

Slowly, everything around changes. All color fades to black and white and gray. All sounds fade away to just a slight background hum from everywhere. You feel much lighter, and your boots don't quite touch the gray smokey floor. Everything around, the floor, wall, ceiling, Whurlak Nanidak becomes made of thick gray smoke. The smoky Whurlak Nanidak looks right at you, but does not seem to be seeing you.The smoke stays semi solid and shaped like everything...but also wiggles slightly. The smoky wall to the south wiggles a bit more then the rest.

[plenty]

Concluding that the source of the wiggling was coming from beyond the south wall, Krommur set off in that direction, looking for anything that might be the cause.

[Darth Ultron]

Leaving the hall of records you see....the whole town, people and all. Everything is made of the soft gray smoke. A smoky dwarf in plain clothing comes down the street...and walks right into Krommur, and the dwarfs form distorts into a cloud for a moment, then snaps back into shape...and the dwarf never misses a step and just keeps on walking.

As you head south you can see a silvery flash of light shining through the clouds...the first and only real color you have seen. And as you get closer, moving to about the center of town, you can see the source of the light...is a giant metal spider that is bigger then several buildings, sitting in the middle of the town.

[plenty]

Krommur took one look at the spider, and decided that it was far beyond his ability to deal with. He quickly moved so that one of the smoky buildings would hide him from the spider's line of sight and began to remove the ethereal oil from his skin.

[Darth Ultron]

It takes a bit of rubbing, but you fade back into reality. The town, people and all fades back into full color and view......


...and as soon as you do, a deep rumble comes from all around and the whole town starts to shake. Your knocked off your feet, just like everyone else you can see as everything all around shakes.....

[plenty]

Trimmer carefully got to his feet and looked around to see if anyone was hurt or in danger.

[Darth Ultron]

The ground continues to shake violently all around. Buildings, shops and homes all collapse. The ground ripples and rolls, much like a wave. A nearby dwarf tumbles out of a second story window, slamming head first into the street. Then with an loud crack, chunks of the cavern ceasing rain two on to the town. People everywhere scream.

[plenty]

Krommur ran over to the fallen dwarf and checked if he was still alive.

[Darth Ultron]

The dwarf that feel from the second story to the street is very dead. Many of his bones, notably his skull and back are broken. And there is blood everywhere.

[plenty]

Krommur made a mental note to say a prayer for the dwarf later, then set off towards the nearest person in need of help.

[Darth Ultron]

The shaking stops after only a minute, but the damage is done. Just about every building has some damage..fallen walls, roofs dropped in. Most of the paved stone streets now have large cracks, even fissures, in them. Chunks of the cavern ceiling have fallen all over town.

There are plenty of hurt dwarves everywhere. Just a few feet down the road a dwarf in dark gray worker clothing lays in the street in a pile of rubble, bleeding from a cut on his leg.

[plenty]

Krommur hurried over to the dwarf and asked, "How badly does it hurt? Can you walk?"
While he spoke, Krommur looked more closely at the injury.

[Darth Ultron]

Dwarf "My leg is numb and can't take any weight. I got clipped by a rock good."

The dwarf has a cut along his leg from his mid thigh to just below his knee. There is plenty of blood flowing out of the cut, and soaking the gray pants.

[plenty]

Krommur placed his hand on the wound and sacrificed his prepared use of magic weapon to cast cure light wounds restoring [roll0] of the dwarf's hit points.
"Hows that feel?"

[Darth Ultron]

The curing magic spreads through the dwarf and concentrates on his leg. The wound glows for a moment and then closes and fades away...not even leaving a scar.

The dwarf blinks, looks down at his leg, and rubs his hand over his skin. He stands up slowly, and wiggles his leg.

"Praise be to Mordian. You have healed me....thank you. I'm Ellak Yurmak. he reaches out to shake your hand.

[plenty]

"Krommur Holderhek, cleric of Moradin," said Krommur, as he shook the dwarf's hand. "I'm sorry to cut this meeting short Ellak, but there are many in need of my assistance."

[Darth Ultron]

Ellak Yurmak "I understand. I...must check on my family! Thanks again.!" He rushes off down the street.

Many injured dwarves now fill the streets, many in shock just looking around.

[plenty]

Krommur decided it would be best to get everyone moving and shouted, "Everyone, look around you. Is anyone injured? Is anyone trapped? Is anyone missing? And is there anything you could be doing to help them?"
Without waiting for a response, he jogged over to the dwarf with the most serious injuries.

[Darth Ultron]

Most of the nearby dwarves seem to be in shock, but a couple start to move around and do things. Dwarves start to help each other. They start to move rubble from a fallen building and dig out a young dwarf. The young dwarf is bleeding from a large gash on his head and is only semi awake.

[plenty]

Krommur ran over to the young dwarf, and cast cure light wounds healing the dwarf for [roll0] hit points.
"How do you feel? Was there anyone else in the building?"

[Darth Ultron]

The young dwarves wounds heal completely. "Ah, no....I feel fine now. Thank you. I was home alone...my mother..was...out...at the market." He looks down the ruined street.

[plenty]

Krommur asked the young dwarf "Do you want me to help you look for her?"

[Darth Ultron]

Young dwarf "No, that is ok. You have done more then enough...my wound was bad. I could feel myself slipping away. I have no doubt you saved my life.

But I can look for her myself. There are plenty of others that need your help." he points.

Just one building down the street three dwraves pull another dwarf out of the rubble. The dwarf is quite covered in blood.

[plenty]

Krommur hurried over to the dwarf and checked if he was still alive.

[Darth Ultron]

The dwarf from the rubble is covered in blood and is not breathing, you can clearly tell that he is not alive.

[plenty]

"I'm sorry guys, but he's gone." Krommur said to the dwarves pulling him out. "There's nothing we can do for him now. I know it seems heartless, but the best thing to do would be to leave him and help someone else."
Closing the dwarf's eyes with one hand and holding his holy symbol with the other, he said "Moradin, please guide this poor soul safely into the next life, and watch over those he left behind."

[Darth Ultron]

The dwarves around look quite sad, and lay the body off to the side and cover it with a gray sheet.

The streets are full of dwarves moving around and helping. Many are hurt, but not too badly. The immediate area seems to have no dwarves with bad injuries. Though they do add a couple more to the dead pile.

[plenty]

Krommur assumed that the town guards would be aware of where he could do the most good, and set off in the direction of the nearest guard post, keeping an eye out for anyone in need of assistance.

[Darth Ultron]

The town guards are starting to organize aid. A town guardsman says "If your a cleric, or otherwise knows the healing arts, head to the temple. We are talking all the wounded there."

[plenty]

Krommur nodded to the guard, and began making his way back to the temple.

[Darth Ultron]

Like most other buldings the temple is damaged, broken windows, collapsed parts, toppled statures.

And older dwarf comes over and gives you a long look, then hands you a wand. a wand of cure light wounds "It's filly charged. Help who you can'

The guards and volunteers bring dwarves over to the temple, most are wounded.

[plenty]

Krommur looked over the arriving wounded, searching for those who were still in danger or had wounds that would significantly reduce their mobility.

[Darth Ultron]

The most critical wounded are being moved into the main hall, where there are plenty of clerics. A lot of wounded are being placed in the main courtyard. Lots of the wounded in in the courtyard have injuries to their legs or feet. You don't see any other clerics in the main courtyard.

[plenty]

Krommur went into the main hall and approached the nearest injured dwarf who was being seen to and began examining their wounds.

[Darth Ultron]

The first dwarf has a lot of cuts and marks, and a broken bloody foot. He rubs his foot with his left hand and softly mumbles ''oww''.

[plenty]

"Let me help you with that," said Krommur, as he placed the wand against the dwarf's foot and activated it, healing the dwarf for [roll0] hit points.
"Is that better?"

[Darth Ultron]

The dwarf blinks and stands up, putting his full weight on his foot. "Better? You healed me all up! Good as new! Thanks!''


We can say you help all the injured dwarves you can for the next couple days

[plenty]

Krommur spent the next few days healing the injured. Whenever he had a few minutes to spare, he kept an eye out for Whurlak, as he thought the scholar would appreciate knowing about the giant spider thing, and might be able to find out more about it.

[Darth Ultron]

The hall of records, being an older building, was greatly effected by the earthquake. Almost the whole structure was destroyed. Six dwarves in the hall, including Whurlak Nanidak were killed. Laving the town with a single young clerk/scribe.

The towns ruler, and much of the goverment also died in the quake, leaving quite a power vacuum.

The streets are mostly clear within a day, though all most every building has damage. Dozens of funerals are held.

[plenty]

With the injured having been healed, Krommur decided his time would be best spent making sure everyone had a roof over their heads and food to eat, and assisting them with other necessities.
He would have liked to discuss the spider-thing with the scholar, but thought that he would be too busy, having to do the work of six other dwarves, and deal with the work the earthquake generated.

[Darth Ultron]

With the immediate needs of people taken care of, eventually attention turns to rebuilding. Though problems start right away as their are limited supplies. A lot of buildings and homes are badly damaged r just deemed too unsafe, so a lot of dwarves are forced to live in any open spot they can find in a tent or often not.

As the days go by, very little work is done in the town due to both a lack of supplies and their being no real government left.

In fact, the only building that is even partially restored, by workers working around the clock, is the Icefall Temple

[plenty]

Krommur felt that the Icefall Forge, while an important building in the town, did not need to be rebuilt more urgently than the homes destroyed in the earthquake, and was disappointed by the apparent decision to give priority to the temple. He decided to speak to Galgan Darmek about moving some of the workers rebuilding the temple to rebuilding homes.

[Darth Ultron]

Galgan Darmek is easy to find in his office. He is a middle aged dwarf with gray hair in very fancy brown and silver robes. He sits at a small table filled with cooked meats, eating a meal as you come to the doorway. He happily waves you inside the room.

Galgan Darmek "Come on in! Sit down. Is something on your mind? Would you like a bite to eat? Help yourself. It's important us clerics keep our strength up, as we are the backbone of the community and all."

[plenty]

Krommur sat down and said "I'm not hungry. I wanted to talk to you about the rebuilding effort, I noticed that there is a lot of work being done on the temple, but almost none has been done on the town, so there are dwarves living in tents, some of them don't even have that. I believe we have a responsibility to help those people, so I was hoping some of the workers rebuilding the temple could be reassigned to repairing houses."

[Darth Ultron]

Galgan Darmek "Oh, of course! Rebuilding peoples homes is a top priority. It's at the top of the list, right after the temple. You understand the temple, it's not just a pile of stones, it is the heart and soul of the community, of the people. Everyone looks here for hope and strength. They need to see a perfect symbol when they look this way. Not a building with some damage. A temple is and must be more then that. "

[plenty]

"I disagree. The temple is a group of people who help those in need, the temple building is just a pile of stones. Right now, when they look to us, they see us dealing with our own problems and ignoring theirs. Times like this are when the temple should be proving its worth to the community, especially with the government in such a poor state, leaving us and the guards as the only real authorities in town."

"Even if we can't help with the rebuilding of the town right now, why not offer up some rooms in the temple as temporary accommodation for the worst off? The elderly, the sick and the very young really shouldn't be left on the streets."

[Darth Ultron]

Galgan Darmek "Well, now there is nothing wrong with your ideas. We do encourage people to have open minds and all. The temple is much more then a pile of stones. It is a symbol. We can't have folks piled up everywhere, just think how would that look. People need to look to us as a symbol of strength, not a mass of stones with hurt people in it.

And no one will be in the streets for long, we will get to everyone eventually. "

[plenty]

"It would look like we cared about them, like we could spare two seconds to think about their suffering. Some of these people might not last until the temple is rebuilt if they're left on the streets. Then people will start to question why the town even has a temple in the first place."

"And if the temple is just a symbol, what is our role? Why isn't this a mason's office?"

[Darth Ultron]

Galgan Darmek "Well, I can see you just do not understand. But then this is why I'm high priest and your the acolyte. And maybe someday, if you stay faithful and set your stones right, you might get to be high priest of your very own temple.

But not today.

Today we do things my way. Understood?"

[plenty]

Krommur knew he wouldn't get anywhere arguing, so he said "Yes, I understand," and marched out of the office, adding "If you need me, I'll be trying to find a way to help the people," as he left.

Krommur decided that as the temple couldn't be used to house the newly homeless, he would look into gaining the use of other large buildings in town. He went to look for relatively intact large buildings.

[Darth Ultron]

Most of the large buildings took a lot of damage. And the few that did not lost supports or are full of cracks and could collapse any time. So, for safety people are kept out of them.

There are plenty of medium sized buildings that took only a little damage. The Stone Mule merchant group has six empty warehouses with little damage as the trade caravan left a day before the quake. But they sit...empty.

[plenty]

Krommur went to the nearest of the warehouses and searched for someone who could point him in the direction of a member of the Stone Mule merchant group.

[Darth Ultron]

You get directed to the nearby merchant Gordan Murdindar who is supervising some workers as they wash the floor of a warehouse.

Gordan Murdindar "Ah, axe high. What may I do for you?"

[plenty]

"Hello, I'm Krommur Holderhek, cleric of Moradin. I'm looking for some temporary accommodation for the people whose homes were destroyed in the quake. I was hoping that it would be possible to use some of your warehouse space."

[Darth Ultron]

Gordan Murdindar "Ah, well our warehouse space is all bought up. And the holders of each square don't want to give up the space. And one won't get up a spot and put themselves at a disadvantage...unless they all do it. And they never all agree on anything. It's business ."

[plenty]

"Would it be possible for me to meet with the holders? Might they be willing to give up a fraction of a space each?"
Trimmer glanced around the warehouse looking for something marking the boundaries between spaces and asked "How big is each space, and how long does it usually take for them to fill back up?"

[Darth Ultron]

Gordan Murdindar "Ah, well we sell ten foot cubes. Most buy in bulk. I, um, guess you could meet with the holders. Except their names are confidential. But I can ask them if they will speak with you and let you know in a couple days...maybe a week."

[plenty]

"That's a bit longer than I was hoping for, but it will have to do. I'll try to get an estimate of how much space would be needed by then. Thank you for your assistance."
Having said that, Krommur left the warehouse, intending to speak to a builder about getting some homes repaired.

[Darth Ultron]

Most of the builders, as well as anyone with crafting skills, is busy working on the temple, the temple grounds and street there. Some are working on the dam, that has a large crack in it, and are repairing it so that it does not break and flood the town.

[plenty]

Krommur assumed that those who held similar opinions the temple's priority would have been assigned to the dam, so he decided to go there, and look for someone who would know what supplies would be needed to rebuild the town, or at least make the buildings habitable.

[Darth Ultron]

There are a couple dwarves working on the dam. One who is cutting stone blocks waves you over "Greetings. What can I do for you? Don't guess you have any craft skills? Help us fix up the dam. It has a couple good cracks in it. Nothing too serious..we hope. But we want to be sure, you know."

[plenty]

"I'm afraid not," Krommur replied. "I wanted to talk to someone about getting the damaged buildings habitable again. Obviously, speed is the most important factor here, so it wouldn't have to be pretty or last longer than it takes to get around to a proper repair, but I don't know what supplies would be needed, or when builders will be available to do the job."

[Darth Ultron]

Dwarf "Yea, the quake caused a lot of damage. Though that is the big problem, the town just does not have enough of anything. You really can't prepare for big disasters like this. As for dwarf power, that is short too. We lost a couple good ones in the quake.

But I heard the king is sending aid, money and supplies and dwarf power. They did not forget about us.

[plenty]

"I hadn't heard about that. It's good to hear that aid is on its way. I expect they will get right to work rebuilding homes, so there's not much point in me trying to get that done. Thank you for your time and good luck with the repairs," said Krommur before setting off to the hall of records, to find out how many dwarves had lost their homes in the quake.

[Darth Ultron]

The hall of records is not too damaged, at least not the building. The inside is a mess of scrolls and books all tossed all around. There is no one around in the hall. The temple is just a couple buildings down the street and is full of people and activity.

[plenty]

Krommur went into the temple looking for someone who would be likely to know how many homes had been destroyed.

[Darth Ultron]

After asking around, you find a dwarf that knows, "Ah, at last count it was 51 homes. more or less half the homes in the town."

[plenty]

"That means three or four hundred dwarves lost their homes. Do you know how many are still on the streets?" Krommur asked the dwarf.

[Darth Ultron]

Dwarf "Ah, well I'm not sure. Most of them. I mean even me and my family are in a tent. My house is just rubble now. It's bad times all around."

[plenty]

"I'm sorry to hear that. Thanks for your help," said Krommur to the dwarf.
It occurred to Krommur that the Stone Mule Merchant Company would probably want paying for the use of their warehouse, and he had nowhere near enough money for that. He would have to get funds from the temple, which meant getting one of the senior priests to authorize it. He doubted that Galgan Darmak would help after his earlier outburst, which Belrimm Urgaest and Geto Bavarok had almost certainly heard about by now so neither of them was likely to be particularly cooperative right now.
"This ain't gonna be pleasant," Krommur muttered as he set off towards Geto Bavarok's office.

[Darth Ultron]

Geto Bavarok is in his office with the door open, looking over a couple scrolls. His office looks brand new and quite clean, if there was any damage here it has been repaired without any trace.

He sees you in the hallway

"Ah, I see you out there, come on in. Is there something I can do for you?"

[plenty]

"Yes, I've been looking into arranging temporary accommodation for the dwarves whose homes were damaged in the quake, and I have found a potential candidate. Hopefully the dwarves who can make that decision will agree to meet with me in the next few days, and I was hoping that the temple would be willing to cover the cost. I think they would be much more likely to agree if we could offer them some degree of compensation," Krommur explained.

[Darth Ultron]

Geto Bavarok "Helping the homeless dwarves? That is good of you. Nice to see you take the step up to help. Though all temple fund usage must be approved by high priest Galgan, so you'd really need to take it up with him. He has the final say. "

[plenty]

"OK, I'll go speak to him. Thank you." said Krommur.

He began walking slowly towards Galgan's office, wondering how best to phrase his request.
"I'm sorry about what I said earlier." - No, it sounds too much like I'm apologising for wanting to help people.
"About our earlier discussion, I may have found something that can satisfy us both" - No, that sounds like I'm doing him a favour somehow.
"I'm sorry for my outburst earlier, I shouldn't have allowed my emotions to get the better of me." - OK, that's a good start.

[Darth Ultron]

Galgan Darmek is in his office, sitting quietly in his chair reading a scroll. He waves you inside. "Yes? Is something up? You have more bad news?" he says, more to the wall then in your direction.

[plenty]

"I've come to apologize for my outburst earlier, I shouldn't have allowed my emotions to get the better of me.
I've since looked into both rebuilding and temporary accommodation. Apparently that the king has dispatched aid, so it seems that the rebuilding is mostly a matter of time now. I have found a building that may serve as temporary accommodation and I hope to arrange a meeting with the dwarves who can make that decision within a week. I believe that they would be more likely to agree to the use of their warehouse if we were to offer them some degree of compensation and I was wondering if the temple would be willing to cover the cost."
After he finished his speech, Krommur realised what Galgan had said, "Bad news? Has something happened?"

[Darth Ultron]

Galgan Darmek nods "We lost six more workers in an accident. A stone slab slipped and killed them all. More bad news.

Time, all we need is time. Maybe. But we also need a leader. And here we are, with no government. So many problems. And no leader.

Warehouses for people. That is a good idea. But money...what is wrong with some dwarves. A disaster like this and they only think of money.

This is why this town needs a leader.......me."

[plenty]

"I haven't actually spoken to them yet, so I don't know if they want paying. I just wanted to see if any funds would be available if they did."

"I agree that the government needs to be replaced, but I don't think that unilaterally declaring yourself leader will be accepted by anyone. Perhaps you should meet with the remaining members of the government and leaders of the guards to see about appointing an emergency government until a proper government can be chosen."

[Darth Ultron]

Galgan Darmek "Your so young. Your ideas are like wet clay. Not bad, just soft and unformed. Not like my ideas of unbreakable stone. But we were all young once.

The guardsmaster is a friend of mine. We won't have any trouble taking them warehouses, and no coins need to be passed. It's such a good idea, I'm glad you thought of it.

Just think of it....me...saving the town. I'll be canonized. Dwarves everywhere will know my name. Statues will be built in my honor. beardless younglings will learn about me in class." He smiles big, looking off into space.

[plenty]

"There might not be trouble taking the warehouses, but the merchants who own them won't be happy about it, and they might cause more problems later on, and any dwarves who are inside at the time might get hurt. I think it would be for the best to try diplomacy before sending in the guards."

[Darth Ultron]

Galgan Darmek "Clay feet too, I see.

Well, no matter, I know what I'm doing.

But say, you do have a good mouth on you. And a good sharp mind...well, with maybe a little clay of youth still in there. But if your really worried about people getting hurt, why not become an enforcer? Maybe you can help talk others out of resting or fighting. What do you think?"

[plenty]

"I don't think I want anything to do with this, and the fact that you expect to need enforcers worries me."

[Darth Ultron]

Galgan Darmek "The word enforcer is wrong. I should not have said that. Say maybe a peacekeeper, that sounds much better.

Well, what do you say?"

[plenty]

"I'm still not interested," said Krommur, "I don't think there's any way this can end well, and the less I have to do with it, the better."

[Darth Ultron]

Galgan Darmek "Well, it's your choice. Though you might want to think about your own future. You can go far under me. Alone, you don't have a chance. This is the chance of a Lifetime for you."

[plenty]

"From where I'm standing, it looks like your path will lead to innocent dwarves suffering. I want no part of it. I don't think you will either."
"Look at it this way: how would you react if the guards marched in here and announced they were seizing the temple? I don't think you'd take it lying down, and I don't think the merchants will either."
"Maybe you could resolve the immediate crisis, but you'd just be setting us up for a bigger problem in the future, possibly even a civil war. People who start civil wars are almost always remembered as villains."

[Darth Ultron]

Galgan Darmek "You don't understand. I'm not talking about politics or the dealings of dwarf and dwarf. I'm not talking about the mundane daily living. I'm not a butcher or baker or merchant. I'm a priest. The divine hand of Mordian himself here on Toril. What I do, I do with divine authority and right.

[plenty]

"Can you prove to the average dwarf that Moradin wants you to do this? Because if you can't they'll see you as a tyrant seizing power for his own benefit and not the chosen one you seem to see yourself as."

[Darth Ultron]

Galgan Darmek "Well, the common dwarf knows what we tell them to know. We, both you and me, are clerics. We have the divine power inside of us of Mordian himself. And with age and experience you will understand that we can't be wrong. Though your still young...like clay. I'm older and wiser, like stone.

And anyone who voices a complaint...well, we can deal with them."

[plenty]

"You say this is a good idea, I say its a bad idea, one of us must be wrong. So either clerics can be wrong, or you're wrong when you say we're both clerics, which would mean you're just pretending to be a cleric."

[Darth Ultron]

Galgan Darmek "It's not that clerics are never wrong. It's about with age comes wisdom and experience. And that is what makes me, not you, incapable of wrong doing. "

[plenty]

"By that logic all I need to do to prove you wrong is find someone older than you who disagrees with you, even if his reason for disagreeing is 'his turnip told him to.'
With age comes wisdom, not infallibility."

[Darth Ultron]

Galgan Darmek "Well, I am the oldest cleric in town.

But I can see you just don't understand and don't want to join me.

It might be best for you to go. Leave town. Maybe...maybe hunt down an artifact that could help the town. You' like that, no?"

[plenty]

"Right now, I think the best way to help the town is to help with the rebuilding, then I have to find out what the giant metal spider-thing that caused the earthquake was, so I don't think I'll be leaving any time soon"

[Darth Ultron]

Galgan Darmek "I think it would be better for you to leave. That would be of much bigger help to me....help for the town. Your young...a quest will do you good."

[plenty]

"And go where? Just setting off in search of something that could help the town doesn't seem like a smart move, it could be years before I find anything. I think that I would be able to help much more here."
"Perhaps I'll give that a try when the immediate crisis is resolved."

Krommur would go if he had a lead on something that would help

[Darth Ultron]

Galgan Darmek "Years? I think you would be more motivated then that. If you could go get the Book of Building, for example, we could rebuild the town in a couple days."

[plenty]

"That would be very useful, but I imagine the reason no-one else has found it is that nobody knows where it is. I could spend years wandering around and not get within a hundred miles of it."

[Darth Ultron]

Galgan Darmek "True. Unless, you go for an item that we know the location of already. The goblin king Gaalbuigz has the Crown of Servants. If you could get that, and put it on the head of one of the builders, we could have a hundred builders to rebuild the town. Of course the goblin king is not likely to give up the crown. And we can't get it with an army, but maybe just one dwarf or a handful of dwarves. Ones that were very determined and had the right stuff could do it. Maybe you."

[plenty]

Krommur thought about the suggestion and then said, "That sounds useful, and achievable. I'll need some more information though: where Gaalbuigz is, what kind of opposition to expect, that kind of thing. Maybe some supplies of there's any too spare."

[Darth Ultron]

Galgan Darmek "Well, we have few supplies. The needs of the townsfolk are great. I'm hardly the expert on such things. Jalaur Musdaban, the trader, might be the best expert we have. You should talk to him."

[plenty]

"Of course, I wouldn't want to take anything that couldn't be spared. I'll go speak to Jalaur Musdaban, and find out what I can. I'll be sure to let you know before I set out."
Krommur left the office and set off in search of Jalaur Musdaban.

[Darth Ultron]

Asking around eventually get you to a tent with Jalaur Musdaban and his family in it.

Jalaur Musdaban is a young dwarf with black hair in nice brown clothing"Hammer high, what can I do for you?"

[plenty]

"Axe low, I am Krommur Holderhek, cleric of Moradin. I intend to retrieve the Crown of Servants from the goblin king Gaalbuigz, and I was told that you would be the best person to speak to to learn more about what I'd be up against."

[Darth Ultron]

Jalaur Musdaban "Well, sure. He got the crown a little over five years ago. Found it in a stream. He went from zero to king quick, in less then a year. And now he rules a couple thousand goblins in a kingdom. And, well, you know he won't give up the crown. You'd need to steal it or kill him."

[plenty]

"Does Gaalbuigz move around at all? If I could predict his route, ambushing him in transit would probably be easier and safer than attacking his home base."

[Darth Ultron]

Jalaur Musdaban "He pretty much stays in his castle, Glumperstopk. He made it himself with the crown. He does not travel much or anything. The only real reason he leaves his castle is war.

His kingdom, Glaadorkislorm, is at war with two other goblin kingdoms and a bugbear one, and sort of us too. Though they really fight more among themselves then they are a threat to us here."

[plenty]

Krommur thought about this for a moment, before saying "So, to get him out of the castle, I'd need to convince him that Glaadorkislorm was under attack. I'd need a lot of dwarves for that, and there'd be a high risk he'd find us before we found him. It would probably be better to take a small, stealthy group and infiltrate the castle, and approach this like an assassination."
"Do you know where I could get a map of Glaadorkislorm? And plans of Glumperstopk, if they exist?"
"Do you know how many goblins are in the castle? Or where in the castle Gaalbuigz might be found?"

[Darth Ultron]

Jalaur Musdaban "I don't think starting a war for any reason is a good idea. So you want to assassinate the goblin king? Well, that might be do-a-ble. I don't have a map of Glaadorkislorm, and I doubt any dwarf does. It's not like we are welcome there. Same for his castle. It's a small castle, so with mates, kids, workers and guards...eh, maybe a hundred goblins. You can't miss Gaalbuigz it's right in the middle of the town of Galblat, and Galblat is in the middle of Glaadorkislorm. "

[plenty]

"Well, it sounds like the real trick is going to be getting through Galbat unseen, but I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Is there anything else I should know before I go?"

[Darth Ultron]

Jalaur Musdaban"Well, sure there is plenty more to know. Just not sure what you need to know and all. I can answer any question you have. "

[plenty]

Krommur thought for a moment,then asked, Do you know if there is a way into the castle without passing through Galbat?"
"How big is Galbat, and how many warriors does it have?"
"Does Gaalbuigz have any spellcasters?"

[Darth Ultron]

Jalaur Musdaban "I don't know of a way, but there must be at least one. Every goblin place has a goblin hole, a secret escape passage. Like most goblin homes have it in the cellar. You can be sure the castle has one, and likely a separate one for the king too.

Well, every goblin male, just about, is a warrior, so that is around five thousand.

They got plenty of priests, of course. A couple sorcerers and warlocks, you know with like demon blood in 'em. I've never heard of a wizard there, but there might be one or two. And, I'd guess the king might have at least one court wizard. So yea, plenty of spellcasters."

[plenty]

"About these goblin holes, how far do they normally travel? Is there a way to identify the exit from outside?"

"I assume goblin kings have been assassinated before, how do the other goblins respond?"

[Darth Ultron]

Jalaur Musdaban "Fairly far. Thousands of feet at least. I'm sure the castle ones lead right out of the town, for example.

Well, with chaos. Goblins don't really do the whole passing the crown to family thing like dwarves do. It's more of a free for all until someone can get and keep the crown. Though most of the time there is no kingdom left and they need to make a new one and all. "

[plenty]

"How difficult would it be to find the castle's goblin hole and enter through it?"

"So once word got out that the king was dead, I'd pretty much be in the middle of a city-wide brawl. Wait, when you say get the crown, do you mean the actual physical crown or just the metaphorical crown?"

[Darth Ultron]

Jalaur Musdaban "Well, hard, but not impossible. Goblins are real sneaky. You'd just need a sneaky dwarf, you know what i mean.

Well, no, i mean the real crown. The one on the kings head. Gaalbuigz has two crowns, the Crown of Serveants and his goblin king crown. He wears both all the time. "

[plenty]

"So it looks like the plan's going to be:

Find a woods guide and someone who's good at finding things, and maybe a couple of others for muscle.
Make our way to Galbat, avoiding towns and roads within Glaadorkislorm wherever possible.
Locate the castle's goblin hole and enter through it.
Find and kill Gaalbuigz.
Take the Crown of Servants.
Throw the goblin crown from the battlements to keep the goblins distracted.
Grab anything worth taking and exit through the goblin hole.
Return to Dorgin, again avoiding goblin towns and roads wherever possible.



Do you think that might work, or is there something I should change?"

[Darth Ultron]

Jalaur Musdaban "That sounds like a fine plan. Except one thing. You don't want to toss the king's crown down among the common goblins. You want to toss it to the royal court. You want to get them fighting over it, and they will drag in all the rest."

[plenty]

"Ok, is that because the common goblins wouldn't recognize it, or because they wouldn't want it?"

"Do the royal court live in the castle or outside it? And is there a time when they all enter or leave the castle together?"

[Darth Ultron]

Jalaur Musdaban "Most of them would know the kings crown. It's a lot more that they would not know what to do with it. You don't want a goblin just standing up and saying 'I'm the king now', you want a goblin who gathers a whole group of supporters and then says he is the king. The more ambitious goblins will drag in the rest.

The castle is just for the king to live. The court will live as close as they can, all the places right next to the castle. And most days, if the king is there, they will be there dawn to dusk."

[plenty]

"So, if I were to enter the castle just after dusk, spend the night searching for Gaalbuigz and throw the crown out in front of the castle gates just before dawn, so the court will be arriving right around the time the fighting starts, would that work, or would it be better to wait until the court had assembled?"

[Darth Ultron]

Jalaur Musdaban "Both of them should work just fine. The only thing to really add is the kings dead body. That lets everyone know the crown is up for grabs."

[plenty]

"Thank you for your advice, you've been very helpful," said Krommur, before leaving the tent in search of people who would both be willing to help in his quest and have the skills needed to do so.

[Darth Ultron]

The town is full of people, of course. Lots of dwarven families in tents, among lots of damaged buildings. It's hard to say who might have the needed skills, and also want to go.....

[plenty]

Krommur assumed that people who knew about navigating the wilderness would likely live on the surface or near to it, so he decided that should be the first place to look. Even if he couldn't find anyone, it seemed a reasonable assumption that anyone regularly entering the wilderness would be known to the farmers.
Krommur made his way to the surface, and headed over to a nearby farmer.

[Darth Ultron]

The quake effected to surface too, though with much less damage. The ground in lots of places was shaken and great holes were made, but few crops or animal were hurt. I lot of the farming buildings have damage, and the few wooden barns totally collapsed.

The closest farmer is a middle aged dwarf with a staff, next to a small heard of sheep.He looks over as you approach "Bright forge to you,"

[plenty]

"And to you," said Krommur. "I'm in need of a woods guide, and I was hoping that you might be able to point me in the right direction."

[Darth Ultron]

Dwarf farmer "A woods guide? Someone who knows nature and the lands? You can try Bofthic and Bakli Armarum. They got a small hold just north of here. Go due north from here, past all my sheep."

[plenty]

Krommur thanked the farmer, then walked north to the Armarum's hold, weaving his way through the sheep.

[Darth Ultron]

A little ways past the sheep fields is a long wooden house on a small pond. It looks undamaged and of simple construction.

Two male dwarves, one older and one younger work cutting up a large bull on a stone slab next to the house. They were simple commoner clothing, that is covered in blood.

[plenty]

Krommur approached the dwarves and said "Axe low. I'm Krommur Holderhek, cleric of Moradin. I am in need of a woods guide, and I was told that Bofthic and Bakli Armarun might be able to help me."

[Darth Ultron]

"axe low. I'm Bofthic Armarun and this is my son, Bakli Armarun. woodsdwarf is a bit limiting. We are both outdoordwarves. Mountains, woods, grasslands, whatever. What is it that you need help with?"

[plenty]

"I intend to retrieve the Crown of Servants from the goblin king Gaalbuigz. To do this I need to travel to the town of Galbat in Glaadorkislorm, but I want to avoid roads and towns whenever possible. Do you think you could lead a small group there?"

"I've been told the castle will have an escape tunnel, a goblin hole, I believe it would be best to enter through that. Do you think you can find the entrance to it?"

[Darth Ultron]

Bofthic Armarun "It sounds like a fine and noble quest. I'm a bit too old to e running off though. But it sounds like just the perfect thing for my son to wet his beard in."

Bakli Armarun "I know the lands and ways from here to Glaadorkislorm. Though I have never entered those lands. I do have skill detecting traps and hidden doors and goblin holes."

[plenty]

"Ok, I imagine it won't be too hard to find our way to Galbat once we're in Glaadorkislorm. I'm afraid I won't be able to offer you any pay in advance, and I'll only be able to offer you a share of anything found on the quest."

"Do you think the two of us will be enough, or should we find someone else to help?"

[Darth Ultron]

Bakli Armarun "Well, keeping the group small is better for avoiding detection. As long as we got everyone we need. Maybe a warrior or two? How much stelth do you think we might need, might we need a real rogue?"

[plenty]

"I'd prefer to avoid fighting completely until we find Gaalbuigz, so there's no such thing as too much stealth, but once we're in the castle, that'll be near impossible. Although, being able to scout corridors before we all pile into them would be useful, so we should probably take a rogue."
"An extra sword might be the difference between success and failure, so if you think we could still be fairly steathy, a warrior or two would be a good idea."

[Darth Ultron]

Bakli Armarun "We don't want a Battlerager for sure. Might even be better with a stealthily fighter. And I got an idea. Though it's a bit out of the cave. Maybe we cloud take a prisoner or two. Find one with the right skills and offer them freedom in exchange for this job?"

[plenty]

Krommur thought for a moment, then said "That could work, we'd need someone to authorize the release, but I think everyone would be glad to be able to use the resources elsewhere. We'd also need some way to keep them from just running off once we got out of town."

[Darth Ultron]

Bakli Armarun "That was my thought. Why waste resources on people in prison, when real people need them elsewhere. I'm not sure who is left in the government to ask, or who is even in charge. "

[plenty]

"Well it's ultimately going to be up to the guards if they let anyone out, so the best thing to do would probably be to tell them our plans, and ask what we'd need to do that."

[Darth Ultron]

Bakli Armarun "Sounds like a good idea. You sure got a golden tongue too. "

The prison is a large building, and like most others has plenty of damage.

[plenty]

Krommur approached a nearby guard, and said,"Hello, I am planning an expedition into goblin lands to retrieve the Crown of Servants, and it has been suggested that I recruit prisoners to assist with this, offering them freedom in exchange. Who would I need to speak to about arranging something like this?

[Darth Ultron]

A dwarf comes over

Farthic Medakak "I'm Farthic Medakak. I.....am the High Guard now. The old one pass during the quake. I'm trying to fill his boots.

Ah....recruit some prisoners? I'm not sure who is in charge...we lost most of the government. "

[plenty]

"I'm sorry for your loss," said Krommur.

"Do you know if anything like this has been done before? What did they do then?"

[Darth Ultron]

Farthic Medakak "I've never heard of anything like that. But it sounds like a good idea. Get a couple of our cells empty, and for a good cause. I'm tempted to just say yes. " Farthic scratches his beard.

[plenty]

"If I can get someone in the government to agree to this, would that be acceptable?"

[Darth Ultron]

Farthic Medakak "Well, sure. The town lord could pardon them, so he could make the deal. But he died in the quake. Same as the high judge. I'm not sure who that leaves in charge."

[plenty]

"Well, getting the Crown of Servants was the High Priest's idea, so he'd be fairly likely to agree to this, but would that be acceptable?

[Darth Ultron]

Farthic Medakak "Well, yes, of course. He has just about taken over things around here anyway. He has to be the highest authority figure we have left. "

[plenty]

"I'll go see if he'll agree to this. Thanks for your help."
With that, Krommur made his way back to the temple, intending to speak o Galgan Darmek.

[Darth Ultron]

Galgan Darmek is easy enough to find in the temples main hall, talking to a large group of dwarves leadership and the right things to do. He wraps up his speech after a couple of more minutes and sees you and waves you over.

Galgan Darmek "Well again. I thought you might be gone by now. Is there a problem?"

[plenty]

"I'm in the process of assembling a team for the mission. I've found a guide, but I'm not really sure where to look for any other skills. Balki, the guide, suggested recruiting prisoners, with an offer of freedom in excahnge for their help. I had a word with the high guard about it, and the only person either of us could think of, who could authorise this, was you."

"This would free up space in the prison, and the prisoners wouldn't be consuming the town's resources any more. So, what do you think?"

[Darth Ultron]

Galgan Darmek "I think that is a great idea. It nicely digs two holes with just one shovel. " Galgan calls over a scribe, gets a scroll and quill and writes out a letter and signs it. Then hands it to you.

"Full pardon to anyone how agrees to help sounds fair. I hope I don't need to tell you to watch you back...very in a real sense...with people like them."

[plenty]

"Thank you. I know, I'll ask the guards to pick out some relatively trustworthy prisoners."

Krommur returned to the prison and handed the letter to Farthic Medakak.

"Galgan Darmek agreed to the plan. Do you know if any of the prisoners can be trusted to hold up their end of the deal?"

[Darth Ultron]

Farthic Medakak reads over the scroll. "Well, I'm not sure who is more trust worthy. But sure some are better then others. What were you looking for anyway? Like what kind of dwarf? "

[plenty]

"Someone who's good at getting into places they shouldn't be, and finding hidden passages, a burglar maybe. Other than that, just dwarves who can handle themselves in a fight. No more than two or three."

[Darth Ultron]

Farthic Medakak nods and looks over a couple small scrolls. And then goes in to the cell block and comes back with three dwarves.

"Rasurn Barakrak, your burglar. Bazic Erdur and Maag Aethud are both fighting types. "

Each dwarf is dressed the same, in a simple gray tunic.

[plenty]

"Bright forge. I am Krommur Holderhek, cleric of Moradin. I intend to retrieve the Crown of Servants from the goblin king Gaalbuigz. I've found an outdoorsdwarf who will lead us to the outskirts of the town of Galbat. At that point we will need to locate the entrance to the castle's goblin hole. Rasum, this is where you come in. We'll enter the castle through the goblin hole, staying undetected as long as possible, and search for Galbuigz. Once we find him, we kill him and seize the Crown of Servants. Then we take his body, and his goblin crown, and throw them out in front of the castle gates. This will provide a distraction while we take anything useful from the castle and exit via the goblin hole."

"Bazig and Maag, your role will be to deal with any goblins who notice us or cannot be avoided, ideally preventing them from raising the alarm."

"I have arranged a pardon for any of you who help with this. Are you willing to do this? Are there any questions, comments or suggestions?"

[Darth Ultron]

Rasurn Barakrak "Anything is better the jail...I'm in."

Bazic Erdur "What he said."

Maag Aethud "Out of prison? Kill goblins for a good cause? And get a pardon? Sounds like my kind of mine shift."

[plenty]

Ok, do you all have your own weapons, armour, tools and camping supplies?

[Darth Ultron]

The three dwarves that were just let out of prison don't have anything other then boots and plain gray clothing.

Farthic Medakak "We have a supply room of donated stuff and found items and items just left behind. It's all second hand stuff, but better then nothing.Feel free to raid it." He moves over and opens a door.

Each dwarf finds some armor, weapons and equipment they like.

Rasurn Barakrak "I'm sure we will find more stuff along the way...hehe"

[plenty]

Krommur thanked Farthic for his assistance, then led the three dwarves to the Armarun's, and introduced them to Balki.

"Hello again, Balki. This is Rasurn Barakrak, a burglar, and Bazic Erdur and Maag Aethud, both warriors. Balki Armarun is our guide, he'll be leading us to the castle."

"Balki, would you mind checking our gear in case we're missing anything?"

[Darth Ultron]

Balki Armarun looks over everyone. "Well, guess we got a good mix of stuff. Everyone has decent clothing and weapons. I'm not sure we want to be weighted down too much. We want to move quickly. We can make due with what we find. "

[plenty]

"Well then, I don't see any reason not to set off now. Would you like to lead the way?" Krommur then turned to Bofthic, "Bofthic, would you mind letting the temple know we've left?"

[Darth Ultron]

Bofthic "I will. Keep your beards clean."

Balki Armarun nods and leads the group up to the surface, and out on to a rocky mountain side, and then heads north.

"There is not road or path to follow. We will have to go overland. It's rough, but so what? "

The first couple of hours of walking take the group through dwarven lands, so there is an occasional farm or shepherd, but no towns or cities. Then the group enters the the true wilderness.

[plenty]

Krommur looked around thoughtfully, "It looks like we might run into some troublesome wildlife soon, what kind of things should we be on the lookout for?"

"I probably should have asked earlier, but how far is it to Galbat?"

[Darth Ultron]

Balki Armarun "A good three to five days. Goblins don't mark their borders in a set way. So it's hard to say. But once we get into goblin lands we will head underground. I know of a wet way in, a underground river. It's not patrolled, but I'm sure some monsters live in the water.


Crag cats are the big thing to watch out for here. Lots of the overhangs have rock spiders, but we can avoid them. Giant bats at night. Though them is just the common stuff. Could be a chimera behind any rock..."

[plenty]

"I suppose there's not much we can do but keep going and hope for the best."

"Do you and Rasurn want to take the lead, and have the rest of us follow behind? You're more likely to spot an ambush and be able to avoid it than the rest of us."

[Darth Ultron]

Rasurn Barakrak "I'm fine being second, but I'll keep a good look out."

Balki Armarun "I'm a bit better in the wild. We are in a good spot that we are going over land and not on a trail. People and monsters don't just set up at random spots and wait for prey."

[plenty]

Krommur looked a little embarrassed, "I really didn't think that through did I? It wouldn't hurt to be on guard anyway though."

"Shall we continue our journey?"

[Darth Ultron]

Balki Armarun leads the group along for the rest of the day, and moves over to a small rocky overhang.

"This will be a good enough spot for the night. We should turn in and get an early start. We should set a guard."

[plenty]

"Shall we draw straws for watches? Or is there a reason one of you can't take a watch?"

[Darth Ultron]

Balki Armarun "This is not so rough. With five of us it's just a three hour guard shift each. And just go by first name letter."

Everyone grumbles a bit, but nods yes.

[plenty]

"OK, I guess you're first then, Balki," said Krommur, "Any volunteers for cooking duty? Everyone else should get to work on setting up camp."

[Darth Ultron]

Balki Armarun heads off to watch. Rasurn Barakrak makes a meal, everyone eats. As the sunsets, everyone except Balki goes to sleep.

[plenty]

Krommur crawled into his bedroll, and dozed off.

[Darth Ultron]

Balki Armarun wakes you up some hours later. "We got a problem. There is a young ogre out there. I'm pretty sure he is on our trail and hunting us. Ogre's are not too smart, but they can track food if hungry enough. Maybe. I tried to hide the trail we left to the cave as best I could, but he still might find it...or maybe just stumble on us at random. So the thing is, do you want to take the chance? Just let the ogre, and maybe have it surprise us later or do you just want to take him out right now?"

Bazic Erdur "I say we kill him."

[plenty]

"Its probably best if we take him out now. We'd have surprise on our side, and we can work out any problems with our teamwork tomorrow. Get ready everyone," said Krommur as he gathered his things in preparation for battle.

[Darth Ultron]

Balki Armarun quietly wakes everyone and fills them in. A couple minutes later everyone is ready.

Balki Armarun "Did you have a plan?"

[plenty]

"Balki and Rasarn, you're the stealthy-est, you'll sneak around and come at him from the rear. Basic, Maag and I will attack from the front, and try to spread out so he can't see all of us at once. Balki, we'll move on your signal. Agreed?" Krommur looked at each of his companions in turn, waiting for them to raise an objection or agree to his plan.

[Darth Ultron]

Maag Aethud "That works for me. I do love to fell me some giant-kin."

Balki Armarun "Works for me too. We will go out and circle around and get behind him. Give us say 15 minutes. I'll signal we are ready by lighting a torch."

Rasurn Barakrak and Bazic Erdur just nod.

[plenty]

"Okay, we'll start moving slowly towards him, and try to stay out of sight, so we can respond quickly when you two are ready."

[Darth Ultron]

Balki Armarun and Rasurn Barakrak head off into the darkness quietly.

About 20 minutes later Bazic Erdur points out a waving flame in the distance. Maag Aethud nods and waves to follow him.

A couple minutes later the ogre comes into sight. A 10 foot tall harry humanoid cover in animal skins and with a huge club walks along slowly. It's head is down, looking at the ground as it walks.



Balki Armarun and Rasurn Barakrak are about 20 feet behind the oger, following in it's tracks and waving the torch.

[plenty]

Krommur laid his hand on Maag's weapon and casts magic weapon, before drawing his mace and yelling "Get him!"

[Darth Ultron]

Maag Aethud and Bazic Erdur both charge forward...


Maag [roll0] [roll1]
Bazic [roll2] [roll3]


Maag misses with his great axe, but Bazic hits with his war hammer

And Balki Armarun and Rasurn Barakrak move up from behind


Balki [roll4] [roll5]
Rasurn [roll6] [roll7] [roll8]


Balki hits with his spear, but Rasurn misses with his short sword.

[plenty]

Krommur charged towards the ogre and swung at it with his mace.

Attack: [roll0]
Crit confirm: [roll1]
damage: [roll2]

[Darth Ultron]

Krommur's mace hits only empty air.

End surprise round..

Round 1

initiative


Dwarves: [roll0]

Ogre: [roll1]

You can roll your own initiative, or act with the other dwarves.

[plenty]

Krommur swung at the ogre again.

Krommur will be using the dwarves' initiative.

Attack: [roll0]
Crit confirm: [roll1]
damage: [roll2]

[Darth Ultron]

Maag Aethud "Eat my axe, giant!"

Everyone attacks


[roll1]
[roll2] [roll3]

[roll4] [roll5]
[roll6] [roll7] [roll8]



Ogre goes for Maag


[roll9] 2d6+3[/roll



Bazic and Balki both hit, but everyone else misses. The two hits baddy wound the ogre...

The ogre swings it's club and misses...

[plenty]

"Good work guys, keep it up," said Krommur, before aiming another strike at the ogre

Attack: 1d20+2)
Crit confirm: 1d20+2)
damage: 1d8+2)

[Darth Ultron]

Your rolls did not come through....you will need to re-roll

[plenty]

Sorry about that. I copied from my previous post to get the format and rolls, but didn't check it worked afterwards

Attack: [roll0]
Crit confirm: [roll1]
damage: [roll2]

[Darth Ultron]

Krommur 's swing misses the ogre as it stumbles around...

[plenty]

I think that's Krommur's tur over.
Are the other dwarves and the ogre not acting?

[Darth Ultron]

Everyone attacks



[roll0] [roll1]
[roll2] [roll3]

[roll4] [roll5]

[roll6] [roll7] [roll8]



Finally some good hits are made....

Ogre falls down dead....


[roll9] [roll10]

[plenty]

Krommur crouched next to the body and began checking it for anything useful, interesting or valuable. "Balki, will we be coming back this way tomorrow? I only ask because if scavengers show up, it will be more difficult, so we should probably move the body before they do."

[Darth Ultron]

Balki Armarun "Not within a day no. I'm not sure moving the body is a good idea. Why would you want too?

Maag Aethud "Glad it finally fell. Sorry guys I'm feeling a bit rusty from being locked up for so long."

The ogre body has a giant greatclub and a small sack with 200 gold coins in it along with lots of bones and a large knife.

[plenty]

"I was thinking of moving it if we were coming back this way to avoid scavengers gathering here, but if we're not coming back soon, it would be pointless."

"That's o.k. Maag, it's better we find out now than when we're in the goblin's castle."

Krommur began dividing the gold into five equal piles."Does anyone want the knife or the club?"

[Darth Ultron]

Balki Armarun "It's best to just leave the body."

Everyone shakes their head no.

Rasurn Barakrak "I could use some gold though,"

[plenty]

"Sure, I'm just about done sharing it out, everyone grab a pile," said Krommur as he pocketed the pile closest to him.

"Shall we head back to camp, then?"

[Darth Ultron]

Everyone takes a pile of coins.

Everyone nods and returns to camp and rests. The rest of the night passes, and morning comes. Balki Armarun makes a bit of food for everyone and then starts the trek again.

Just after noon, Balki starts to head downward into a deep, jagged valley.

[plenty]

Krommur followed Balki into the valley. "Is the place where we'll be going underground somewhere in this valley?"

[Darth Ultron]

Balki Armarun "Right. At the bottom of the valley is a river, it runs underground and right into goblin lands."

Balki Armarun leads the group downward, often having to climb rocky slopes.

[plenty]

"Do you know why the goblins don't guard this route?"

[Darth Ultron]

Balki Armarun "goblins fear underground rivers. The goblin land of the dead is accessed by an underground river, but none know what it looks like. So it could be any underground river. Go into the wrong river and it will kill you and take your spirit to the underworld. At least that is what goblins believe. So by tradition and fear they keep well away from underground rivers. The city will have a couple trenches cut by the river and some pools fed by that. The goblins will get water and fish from them, as they are not ''the river''.

But the river won't exactly be ungraded. More to say it won't be guarded by goblins. The goblins will throw all their waste in the river and lots of clever predators will live in the waters waiting for food. And goblins are not totally stupid, so they might have stuck a monster or two in the river also."

[plenty]

"Well, I suppose it's good that they won't know we're coming until we get past the river."

[Darth Ultron]

Balki Armarun "yea, lets just hope the monster down there is not an octopi, I hate them things. "

Balki leads the group downward to the bottom of the valley, and sure enough there is a river there. He then turns to follow the river for a while, and eventually the river leads to a cave in the side of the mountain.

[plenty]

"How hard will it be to find campsites in there?"

[Darth Ultron]

Balki Armarun Nods "Hard. We might be better backing up a bit, resting and heading down there fresh tomorrow."

[plenty]

"Sounds like a good idea to me."

[Darth Ultron]

Balki Armarun leads the group a way back and over from the cave and eventually to a large over hang. Lots of thorny plants grow around the overhang.

Balki Armarun"This will work, same guards as last time."

[plenty]

"Shouldn't we switch the guards around from one night to the next, so everyone gets a full night's sleep at least every few days?

[Darth Ultron]

Balki Armarun "Sure we could. What can I say I'm a lawful dwarf set in my ways."

Rasurn Barakrak "I like chaos a bit, we could draw stones."

[plenty]

"How about we move the first two to the end, and everyone else forwards? That way everyone gets to do first or last watch every two or three days. So tonight it would be me first, then Maag, Rasurn, Balki and Bazic would have last watch." Krommur gustured to each of the others as he listed the order, then waited to see if anyone would object.

[Darth Ultron]

Everyone nods yes to the idea.

Balki Armarun "That was a good idea, your quite a natural at this sort of thing."

Balki Armarun makes a small meal for everyone and then they bed down for the night.

[plenty]

Krommur found a convenient place to sit, with a good view of the surroundings, and settled in for his watch.

[Darth Ultron]

It gets dark quickly as the sun goes down....

...and as soon as the dark sets in and you can see a single touch light moving out in the darkness. Slowly it gets closer and you can see it is a male dwarf in leather armor. He has the torch in one hand and his other hand is free, but he has plenty of daggers strapped to his body in sheaths.

[plenty]

Krommur decided it was better to be safe than sorry and woke the others, telling them that a dwarf with a lot of daggers was approaching, but there was no reason to assume he wasn't friendly.

"I think we should go and see what he's after. We're pretty much in the middle of nowhere, so it can't be a coincidence he's this close to us."

[Darth Ultron]

Balki Armarun "Something smells moley. We are in goblin lands, why would a dwarf be here."

Bazic Erdur "Other then to kill goblins."

Rasurn Barakrak "Or steal from the goblins"

Maag Aethud just sits quietly

[plenty]

"Even if he's just here to kill goblins, the goblin lands are a fairly big place and I doubt there are many dwarves here, the chances of him just happening across us must be a million to one, let's go talk to him and find out what's going on."

Krommur set off towards the dwarf and stopped a few yards from him, "Hello there, traveller. What brings you out here this late at night?"

[Darth Ultron]

"Oh, by my beard! Do my eyes and ears fool me or do I be seeing another dwarf here in goblin lands? Well met, well met! I'm Dorglin Smelltel, a a trader that has lost his wagon"

He keeps walking forward and stops about ten feet away.

[plenty]

"I am Krommur Holderhek, cleric of Moradin. My companions and I are on a quest to retrieve an artefact that has fallen into goblin hands."

"Would you mind telling us how you lost your wagon? And how you came to be in goblin lands to begin with?"