Session 17
The Party regrouped on the first floor of the Hollow Mountain after nearly being crushed when a well-placed Entangle spell sent cracks through the second floor ceiling. Once the dust began to clear, the group began to make their way through the hallways until the smell of clean mountain air and moonlight hit their faces. Surprisingly, their horses were still there hitched to their posts just as they had left them. Eager to depart the area, they mounted the horses and departed immediately.
About 12 hours later, the Party, while still on an unpaved road, encountered a cart that had gotten stuck in the mud. Two dwarves were struggling to pull it out when the Party turned a bend and made visual contact. The dwarves began to become worried and immediately pulled out a crossbow and a sword, yelling at the Party to keep back. Bloodbane made the decision to approach the pair to try to deescalate the situation, using his new-found abilities from his Belt of Dwarvenkind. The two dwarves were taken aback by the sight of a massive Half-orc speaking perfect Dwarvish, and of the axe Ravager. Bloodbane and Typhon explained that they had just emerged from the Hollow Mountain doing a service on behalf of a dwarf named Thurgramm Hammersmith. The two dwarves were even more suprised, and introduced themselves as Gafroir Blackbrew and Kudeg Dimbuster. The pair offered to take them to their home, hidden nearby. The Party accepted and began the trip.
The Party arrived at Greyhelm within an hour and were met with an icy reception. Mothers in the streets hurried away children. Doors and window shutters were closed abruptly, and people scurried out of their way. It had been decades for many, lifetimes for others, since they had seen non-dwarves. Dimbuster explained that since the fall of the Mountain and the flight of Clan Hammersmith, they had not trusted outsiders. The two dwarves brought the Party to the local tavern, an establishment named the Lonesome Sword. All eyes in the tavern immediately turned to the Party, but the barkeep, a stout dwarf named Torekwola Flintblade greeted them with curiosity and a round of drinks.
A few minutes later, another dwarf with a chest-length braided black beard entered the tavern, clearly in search of the visitors. He introduced himself as Yoldrick Shatterbasher, the head of security for High King Gaznick Hammersmith. The Party explained their circumstances and offered to trade information about the Hollow Mountain for information about the cloud giant Gorfius. They agreed to wait until the Party had rested a bit and instead chose to celebrate their adventure.
The night was filled with multiple retellings of the story of the Assault on Hollow Mountain. Each time the tale grew bigger and bolder, with ever more villains being dispatched and the possibility of a dragon being slain. The crowd loved it. At one point the Party was interrupted by a child claiming to have seen zombies near some ruins close to the town. Typhon realized that the town in question was most likely Oakenwallow, a town which had been abandoned some 150 years earlier after some devastating winters coupled with multiple attacks from Goblins. The Party declined investigation of the reports, instead preferring to leave the matter to the locals.
The next morning, the Party met with Yoldrick once more to discuss the exchange of information. Yoldrick provided the group with the name of an airship operator in Silverward; a Halfling named Merimas Stumbletoe. The group provided information on the current situation inside the Mountain. Yoldrick requested that the next time they see Thurgramm, that they send him to Greyhelm. The Party must now decide whether to spend time in town or to continue on with their quest...
Characters:
- Typhon
- Bloodbane
- Sir Didymus
- Vigwalin
- Gafroir Blackbrew
- Kudeg Dimbuster
- Torekwola Flintblade
- Yoldrick Shatterbasher
Comments