The party was called by Ostur Barrelbringer of the Order of the Gauntlet, and asked to meet him at the House of Cormyr, a Gauntlet base to the North of Cormyr, South of Arabel. The party gathered outside the gates of Hawthorne, awaiting their transport. Before this, Vilnius called upon Asmodeus to grant him a planar companion. A sickly red portal opened in the ground, and a hideous looking creature, with barbs and blades all over its body climbed out. After explaining to the other party members that this was not, in fact, an enemy to be killed and sent back to the lower planes, the group saw a shimmering circle appear in front of them, a gate. They headed through, and found themselves at the outer edge of the House of Cormyr Base. A halfling guard, named Listus, came to greet them. He led them inside, and introduced them to Ostur. Ostur sat them down after introductions, and began to explain the particular nature of the quest ahead of them. He explained that the Order did not need particular help with this issue, but that it was of more personal interest. He brought his cousin, Dulmar Southfire, into the room, to explain what he and his family had experienced. Dulmar explained that their clan originally hailed from the long-fallen Dwarven kingdom of Shanatar, to the South, in between Amn and Calimshan. Shanatar was originally built deep under the earth, and connected to the Underdark. This part was known as Deep Shanatar. Above this, later in the Kingdom’s age, the Dwarves built aboveground as well, which became known as High Shanatar. The Kingdom was hundreds of miles across, but the entire kingdom fell when Duergar invaded, with help from Calishite humans. The Southfire clan makes a pilgrimage to the aboveground ruins every few years, to view the ruins and honor their ancestors. This time, however, they heard strange voices, Dwarvish voices, calling up from deep below the earth. However, none still live in Shanatar, and such voices were quite troubling. Ostur gave the party some supplies, and informed them that they were to find the source of the sounds and report back. The party was teleported to the edge of the Starspire mountains, and given a map of the region’s Underdark, should they become unfortunate enough to find themselves in its depths. Swolic and Villinius worked together to find the secret door on the side of the mountains, and Swolic opened it. From within, the party could smell ash, decay, smoke, and mildew. They could hear the cry for help, a female Dwarvish voice that echoed from somewhere far below. It called out “May Moradin strike me before I will give it willingly!” The party entered the mountain, and the door shut behind them. Finding themselves in a large cavern filled with steaming and boiling waterfalls, they planned their journey across. Lei was turned into a cloud of gas by Villinius, as the others readied their wings and powers to traverse by air. The cry for help came again, but after it another noise followed: a horrid sound that made their ears bleed, and forced their bodies to start shutting down. After collecting themselves.The party made their way to a narrow edge, and crossed an old stone bridge. They came to the edge of the next tunnel entrance, and faced an enormous stone Dwarf guardian. Unfortunately, they angered it, but with a cunning use of stone shape Vilnius removed its bottom half. They travelled for some time, before then coming upon a series of runes, which indicated the nature of the chamber beyond. Swolic read them, and learned that the area ahead was once an ancient burial chamber, a tomb. Ephemer sensed a the presence of sadness, despair, and many deaths-a massacre. Richter placed his hands on the runes, and attempted to understand what had happened here. He fell unconscious, as he entered a spirit-like state, and was given a glimpse into the past: Many duergar, allied with drow and humans, launched an assault on this Kingdom, and with vicious weapons of torment, they killed each and every dwarf that lived in these halls. Richter found this to simply intolerable, as he was helpless to stop something that had already happened. He found himself curling into his own emotions, and he began to regard the amulet around his neck as not just a lucky charm, but his only source of solace. If he were to be separated from it for any reason, he would become paralyzed with fear. They ventured into the tomb after Richter returned to his body. Ephemer identified that one part of this tomb still had divine energy, the pulpit and lectern used by the High Priests. Within it, they saw three symbols inscribed: That of Moradin, Father of the Dwarves, that of Berranor Truesilver, Matriarch of the Dwarves, and a joint symbol, combining the powers and realms of two Dwarvish deities, namely the protection of Gorm, and the Good Fortune of Haela Brightaxe. Swolic found a voice in his head, a deific sort of voice, informing him that it could help the party, but needed to be allowed in. He accepted, and his eyes blazed with white light, as a voice that was not his boomed through the cavern. The voice exclaimed that it had been sent by Moradin to warn them of the trouble that faced them, and to bolster them. They felt invigorated and strengthened, and the voice departed. The party would later notice that a symbol of Moradin had been emblazoned on the side of Swolic’s left arm. They found two tomes in the lectern, the first was a book of Dwarven funeral rites, and the second was a record of experiences that the priests had felt and seen. Ephemer paged through it, and learned that some being or person had been “granted’ to the Dwarves here on behalf of several deities, not all of whom were Dwarvish in nature. The full extent of the person was not revealed in the text, but it seemed that she was rather important. The text reported that she had been killed. They headed further into the gloom and cold halls of stone. They came upon a great staircase, as Lei and Swolic began to sense the presence of a Dragon. As the party entered this hall, they found that a system had been set up, likely by Duergar, to fuel a forge somewhere down below. Inside a huge stone box, the heat source had been contained. They began contemplating their path forward, when a dagger of solid bone nearly severed Ephemer’s nose. The party reacted quickly, and found themselves surrounded by horrid creatures, with many arms, each of which ended in a dark, clawed hand, and their teeth seemed to be made of solid crystal. Their eyes danced with green flickering light. Two pillars exploded, as massive, otherworldly beings emerged, crushing the stone they stepped on. They swung massive, rope-like arms, threatening to shatter the party, quite literally. As the party took these threats on, the stone box exploded, as a Red Dragon burst forth, swooping down and releasing fire upon the party. After felling the creatures, the party recovered the Dragon’s head. On its body, the symbol of Richter Hawthorne remains forever emblazoned. The party found that a set of stone doors lie ahead. Ephemer inserted his keyblade into the door, and with a few words, he forced it open. The cavern beyond was filled with the remains of hundreds of Dwarves. It seems that this was one of the civilian population groups, forced to fight for their lives, which they were unable to retain. In the dark rubble, Valerie found a golden rod with jewels, which reacted strangely to her magic. Noting this, and seeing that the symbol of the Dwarf who had carried it, the party had an epiphany. The symbol on the Dwarf was that of Thautam, Dwarven god of Magic, Secrets, and Mystery. It was said long ago, that Thautam worked with an Elvish deity (which is quite rare), to create an Spirit of Prophecy. It is said that such a spirit had been placed under the protection of the Kingdom of Shanatar. Perhaps this Oracle is the great gift that the priest’s book had spoken about. Traversing further, they came to a grand underground city, or rather, what used to be a city. The stone was now as cold as ash, and no fires burned. Illuminated simply by the divine and arcane light of the party, the city was enormous, at 15 miles wide, and likely just as long. They travelled through it, and discovered remains of the great Dwarven cities in the rubble, including a stone piece that once served as a Crest for a particular Dwarven household, and likely represented its most recent kin. They found that they had then come to a dead end, as they reached a wall of dark stone. However, blue light seemed to flicker out from within the wall, compelling the party to remember their greatest motivation, their true driving force. Swolic’s sight allowed him to see that their were thousands of beams, each one heading for a different creature, creating this effect. Gazechach, the devil summoned by Villinius, pulled out a black tome, and it appeared he wanted to sacrifice Richter Hawthorne. Vilnius sent him back home, and later received a note that informed him that this specific devil would not be summonable in the future, and had been destroyed for attempted treason against Asmodeus. Vilnius and Swolic took down a portion of the wall, with a mixture of might and magic. They found they had come to a sanctuary of sorts. On the far wall, two symbols were burned in close proximity, illuminated by the eternal flames that burned here: that of Thautam, the Dwarven god of Secrets, Magic, and Mystery, and that of an Elvish deity, Labelas Enoreth, Elvish god of Time, History, and Knowledge. It was quite strange to see that combination, but beneath those two symbols, a stone stool sat empty. A kneeling angel statue decorated the center of the room, and a basin of crystal clear water sat on the left side of the room. The party rested here, feeling safe, as they investigated. Valerie gazed into the crystal water with Swolic. She saw nothing for a few moments, beyond her reflection, though after a few seconds, the image shifted and changed. She saw herself growing up, learning elvish among humans. She saw herself walking down the dark corridors above, traversing the dark with her companions. She saw herself in a dark cavern, surrounded by Duergar, as one stood over Ephemer’s unmoving body, and struck him down. She then saw herself standing alone, as all her companions lay dying. She stuck her hand into the water, interrupting the vision. She decided to collect her breath, and try again. She looked again, and saw the party standing before a shimmering green mist, seemingly conversing with it. She then saw herself standing with others she knew: Oberyn, Swolic, Lei, and Izzet. She saw them standing in a dark underground cavern, looking around with fright as the tunnels around them collapsed. As the top of the cavern caved in, the vision ended. She took some water from it, and copied down the symbols and construction on the basin, for further research. They ventured out of this structure, and found they had come to a centerpoint of one of the inner subkingdoms, a heart of sorts. Thousands of Dwarven remains lie scattered across the ground, and the party headed towards a central temple to Moradin, where many Dwarves made their last stand. Heading inside, they found a Duergar in black and purple robes, engaged in some sort of altercation with a strange entity: a being of Dwarven remains, monster pieces (Carrion Crawlers, Slaad’s, and others). Three other Duergar guards stood around, and prepared to fight, recognizing Swolic as a Battlerager Mountain Dwarf. The shadows in the walls seemed to move unnaturally. After confronting the Duergar, the party began unleashing everything they had. Holy light shielded them, flashing before their enemies, and making it harder for them to hurt the party. The shadows stepped out of the walls, and raised blackened wings of shadow. They radiated an aura of undeath. The party defeated the Duergar, and Villinus used his mysterious trickery to possess the remaining Duergar leader. He learned, while inside his head, that the Duergar had found the Oracle, destroyed her physical body, and forced into the horrid amalgamation of parts near the altar. They had been trying to compel the spirit to grant them prophecy, but it had held out for long. The party managed to petrify one of the shadowy beings, with a blast of prismatic light from Valerie’s hands. They approached the remains there, and Richter and Ephemer united to free its spirit. Green mist emerged and shimmered around the party, as it conveyed a message to Valerie. The mist explained that she was the spirit of Arnelia, Oracle of Thautam and Labelas, gift to the Dwarves of Shanatar. She needed a host form, and explained that Valerie had demonstrated her worth and her good heart. The line of this oracle is matrilineal in nature, and may only be passed from a female mortal with Elvish and Human ancestry, who is an ally of Dwarves or related to them. Valerie accepted the spirit, and the mist encircled her, and then flooded her mouth and nose, as it disappeared into her. She fell unconscious, and a symbol appeared on her left palm-a mark. She awakened after 24 hours, and notices no substantial change.
Remove ads by subscribing to Kanka or enabling premium features for the campaign.