Lonely Kingdom, The Unsought Deeps Log 1
The Story So Far
Having been subcontracted into the fulfilling prophecies business, our intrepid heroes had dabbled with dragons, dealt with demons, disappointed an angel, met a god, two kings, a prince and arrested one of them. They are seeking parts of the Omulkur, an artifact that has an almost ominous lack of legends associated with it. They have secured one piece, in its shrine in the center of a labyrinth, and have in their possession a second piece: a pin, of grey-black stone, that utterly cancels and nullifies magic. They seek its matching counterpart in the Underdark, based on the dying words of a burning halfling.
The Descent
The Dwarrow of the Underdark have pretty much sealed the deeper reaches off, and so they found on the few surface forts, built against the possibility of a sudden army of Dwarrow rising from the deep. In its abandoned state, it offered few challenges to our heroes. They pressed onwards and downwards, and found a suitably majestic Dwarrow manhole, almost twenty feet in diameter.
By holy decree, in the year 7836, this offense against the forge was sealed. Atone.
-Inscription on the Imperatum Dwarrow seal.
The stairs proved to be one way only, and had all sorts of invective against intruders carved into them. The party, reaching the bottom, struck out into the Underdark, skirmished with a few nasties, and finally found a bridge of Dwarrow manufacture. They impressed the bridge keeper, and were brought to an outpost, treated somewhere between honored guests and living timebombs. They spent a day or so in the company of the outpost staff, before showing them the pin, and being told they would be brought to the capital shortly.
(This was the end of the session preceding a summer long break. It is included with the first session for completeness.)
Session One
Three Complications Arrive
The party had insisted that they were alone and not spies. This story was cast into doubt by a Dwarrow patrol finding Padeen, Eirika and Luka, and capturing them. The two parties now having lost what little credibility they had in the Dwarrows eyes, were treated with greater hostility. One Dwarrow took Ilde aside, and mentioned that they had a patron in the capital, and that they should just keep their heads down. Based on that, the party elected not to try any funny business as they left the outpost. They were loaded into a cannister, with crash couches built for Dwarrow proportions. After being strapped down the cannister was sealed, and flung violently forward. Most of the party passed out due to acceleration forces.
"What, you thought I wasn't going to make the height and weight fields an immediate gameplay concern? I hope you filled them all out..."
The Station and the Capitol
After a grueling journey, the cannister was stopped, unsealed and opened. The Dwarrow who came with them made a speedy exist, looking nausues and the party found themselves unexpectedly left to their own devices.
Padeen started to investigate the materials, tools and construction of the station, and found it all to be confusing and surpassing his wildest dreams. He ends up pinching a random tool from a workers toolbox.
Varis gathered the combined party and shooed them up to the concourse. They could see at the far end a large group of Dwarrow arguing, so they went the other way. They found some Dwarrow studiously working in a landing bay next door. Padeen tossed a coin down to them and they seemed confused and angered by it, but did not engage with the party.
The Escort
Shortly thereafter, a large group of militarily garbed Dwarrow arrived, and told the party to come with them, and stop being so inconsiderate. There had been riots, and the commander indicated a group of Dwarrow trembling and deliberately not looking at the party. They were rboguth through the hexagonal streets of the capitol, leaving silence and then furious activity in their wake.
The Scholar Veidrie
They were finally introduced to a Dwarrow who seemed to be their patron, a certain Scholar Veirdrie. He seems to be a theoretical Scholar in heretical objects, those that are outside of Legend-As-Truth, but that nevertheless exist. His entire field and research is being validated by the PCs presence, and he is overjoyed and confused in equal measure. Veidrie had a translation device, and was able to talk with all the party.
Veidrie: "But isn't having so many different languages pointless and confusing?"
Eirika: "It works out. I learn languages left and right."
Veidrie: * Looks at either side of them, expectantly *
Through a long conversation, Vedrie learned a confusing mishmash of surface world knowledge, and the players began to get a sense of the theocracy that served as a foundation for the Dwarrow society. Veidrie seems to have limits he's not very good at respecting concerning what he is allowed to say, and finally the party proposes that they take the Scholar with them on a mutual observation mission. They get to try and find their relic, and the Scholar gets to view them in action. The Scholar considers it, then leaves the room, muttering about asking the Forge Gaurd-Master.
End Session One
Thanks for reading! That was a lot of ground to cover.
Next time: Akthas, and the party gets itself entombed