Chapter 37 - The Mines' Vestibule

General Summary

Franz and Dietmar return to the farmstead and join their companions. Before they turn in for the night, a raven appears, a key tied to its leg. Franz, who is aware of dwarf legends concerning Fellsmar surmises that this key opens the front gate to the realm as the last light of the setting sun hits the keyhole on the summer solstice. The solstice is less than three weeks away, but this is still time the companions don't have. Nor is the location of the keyhole clear.  
The following morning, Franz makes another quick foray into the Zwerghof to speak to Brimir. Using the same method to slip in through the city gates unseen, and then to fly over the wall of the compound, Franz appears before the dwarf, and asks him to give him a map to the front door, and whether there are any other ways into the realm that don't require such a long wait. The dwarf elder sketches out a rough scheme on a piece of parchment, and then tells Franz that there may be alternative ways in through abandoned mine shafts. He is not certain regarding their location, but feels like some locals living nearby should know. The map made by Brimir is written in special ink, and disappears as long as Franz is not touching it. Franz asks for a slight increase in payment by silver weapons, and Brimir easily grants it.   
Armed with some direction, Franz returns to the group, which now makes ready to go. Of the two ways - the road toward Blauhorst, and the road to Hegenburg, they chose the former path - though Dietmar's old village is likely infested with walking corpses, the other path is a known danger from which they just barely escaped with their lives. Dietmar prays for a safe passage, and after a days' march, which involves skirting around Blauhorst, they reach the foothills of the Düst Mountains. According to Brimir's map, Fellsmar lies another half a day's march east along the foothills.  
The group makes camp, and after an uneventful night, continues their progress along the foothills. The terrain is broken and difficult, and it takes the party a whole day to move the distance that, according to the map, it should have taken them half a day to cover. But they seem to have arrived in the vicinity of the entryway. Nothing is visible - the mountains are fairly low, and forest-covered. They prepare to rest for the night, and Nit conjures up a small hut visible only to those staying inside it. After darkness falls, they hear a beast roaring in the distance. Franz flies around the area, and notices a small hamlet hidden by the eaves of the forest. Waking his companions, they move carefully toward it, and find a pit into which a bear has fallen. As they move closer, and arrow flies in their direction, and a voice, hidden by the leaf cover, demands they turn and leave the area. The members of the party identify themselves, and say they are looking for an entry into the mines, and are prepared to pay for the information. Soon, six armed people appear to parlay. After some tense moments, when it looks like the negotiations may break down and turn into a battle against an unknown number of assailants, Franz offers the villagers food, daggers, and ??? in exchange for information about entry into the main. Eventually, the leader of the residents of Leosmund - given as the hamlet's name - takes the offer, and names a nearby depression which has a foul reputation. The villagers don't go there, but there are likely dwarf tunnels that extend into the area. Agreeing to deal further after their foray, the party takes their leave.
Going into the low-lying areas with a foul reputation seems at night like a bad idea, so the group settles down for the night, and sets out to search out the depression in the morning. Dietmar easily locates it, and finds the beginnings of a stone shaft, filled with dirt. Removing the dirt would seem like a serious undertaking, but after Nit's request, Carrot the Donkey locates a shiny shovel in the woods, and a succession of strong diggers - Dmitrei, Johann, and Erich, they soon find themselves in a 10-foot-deep pit, and a tight, low horizontal tunnel intersecting with it. The sides of the tunnel seem familiar - they remind Dietmar and Franz of the Erdstall underneath the St. Beatus Sacristy. Caution is key here, because they don't want to get stuck like last time. Removing heavy equipment and leaving them in Carrot's care, Dietmar takes charge of fastening a rope around a tree, and then, one by one, the companions descend into the tunnel.  
Franz takes the lead, followed by Johann, and then Ingrid, Dmitrei, Dietmar, Nit and Erich. After walking, stooped, in a thirty foot tunnel lit only by Dietmar's staff, the lead people find themselves in a somewhat wider hallway with six stone benches projecting out from the walls. As Franz and Johann move in, the benches suddenly open, and armored dwarf warriors, their eyes lit with an unnatural green fire, climb out, and swinging their axes, attack. Franz summons up defenses, but the dwarf axes bash their way through them in no time. Johann is pressed quite badly and is on the verge of being overrun. Worse than the axes is the warriors' green, cloudy breath, which weakens its victims. Dietmar, Ingrid, and Dmitrei push their way into the chamber, but the rest cannot make their way through. Dmitrei and Ingrid take some pressure off the leaders, but the unarmored Dietmar is confronted by the sharp axes, and in front Franz and Johann feel like they won't last much longer. At this point, Nit summons a presence which audibly makes its way into the chamber, attracting the dwarfs' attention. Thinking that someone is trying to make their way past them, and to a staircase at the other end of the chamber, some of the dwarfs retreat to try and stop it. Franz takes this opportunity to flicker to the other end of the chamber as well. The number of defenders drops, as they are distracted, and by combined effort of weapon and prayer, the party begins to batter them down. Dmitrei calls out that they are surely undead, and should be dealt with as such, but Dietmar is not so sure. He calls on the Trinity to channel divine fire toward them, but they are resilient. Nit distracts several by summoning a hand to block their vision. Eventually, Erich makes his way past Nit to relieve his beleaguered companions, and, one by one, all six warriors are laid low. 
The way toward the staircase is open, but most of the companions are exhausted by the ordeal, covered with scratches and bruises, and drained by the creatures' enervating breath.

Rewards Granted

• A key (into Fellsmar?)

Missions/Quests Completed

• A back entrance through mines is located

Character(s) interacted with

• Brimir 
• Villagers of Leosmund

Report Date

06 Jul 2021