Return and Goodbye

Life, Death

The Party return to Bellhollow and are forced to say goodbye to an old friend...

The Party decided to continue their business in Greyhelm by visiting the two blacksmiths in town. Their first stop was The Clank Tank, home of the local weaponsmith. The group was greeted warmly by the lead weapon designer, a dwarf with a bright red beard named Thakreag Redfinger. Thakreag was more than excited to meet the heroes of Hollow Mountain. After looking through the smith's wares and discussing prices, Sir Didymus decided to purchase a heavy crossbow, while at the same time placing an order for a 300 gp custom-built whip. The Party then hopped across town and then visited Matter of Metal, the local armorsmith. There, the head smith, a frizzy-haired female dwarf named Gimwela Pebbleshaper, greeted the Party with excitement. She had attended the recounting of their adventures the night before at the tavern and felt like she was in the presence of celebrities. Typhon inquired about the availability of any magical items, and while Gimwela explained that she does not make any, she does, however, purchase them from their people that do find them. After some rummaging around, Gimwela managed to find a Staff of Frost that instantly caught Typhon's eye, as well as his money. The Party, now well equipped and rested, took their leave of Greyhelm and made for Bellhollow.   An uneventful day and a half later, the Party arrived at the secluded lakeside town of Bellhollow. The warm afternoon air and the familiar sounds of village life were welcome to the adventurers, who had spent the better part of the past week trudging through mountains and goblin-infested tombs. The group dropped off their horses at the Miner's Guild first and inquired about any potential jobs. The Guild representative, Elmer Reykian provided them a standing offer of 20 gp for any additional survey work in areas that they don't have good visibility on. The Party accepted the offer - after all, it should be easy enough to fulfill - and headed to The Demon Didgeridoo Inn to find Thurgramm Hammersmith. Sure enough, there he was, drinking with Thali Undersword and reminiscing on old times. As soon as Thurgramm saw the Party, he immediately ordered some men to clear a nearby table and ordered a round of drinks for his friends. He congratulated the Party on their success and told them how glad he was to see them, and how much they had come to mean to him.   The Party told him all about what they had found - the goblins, the armory, and Greyhelm. Thurgramm listened with envied disbelief. Why had he not heard of a town of his kinsmen before? Regardless, he knew he must go to them. Thurgramm told the group that they would need to secure an airship, and that he had been part of a dwarf survey party years ago that explored some of the lands belonging to Gorfius. He told them of a series of tunnels that open up to the skies that could be exploited to gain entry. Bloodbane told him that they knew of an airship operator in Silverward, and even offered a spot on the trip to Thurgramm. He declined, citing his need to visit this newly discovered town the Party had told him of. The group said their farewells and began their trip back to where it all began: Silverward. Soon, they would be on a ferry crossing the Misty Lake.   As the sun set in the west, and Hillfar was rising on the shore, the Party took one last look back at Bellhollow. To their horror, they could see black smoke billowing into the sky as flames tore through town. They wasted no time in turning the boat around and driving toward the fight.   Forty-five minutes later, the Party landed on the shores of town. The smoke was heavy and screams could be heard all throughout the town. Nearby, the Miner's Guild headquarters was burning and a Bugbear could be seen pulling out the limp and lifeless body of Elmer Reykian. The Party threw themselves into action. Typhon cast wall of ice, instantly killing one of the bugbears and severely injuring the bugbear chieftan and ogre. Bloodbane followed up with a casting of chain lightning. Three goblins and a bugbear dropped dead in their place. Sir Didymus brought down the surviving bugbear chieftan, while Vigwalin blinded the ogre. Typhon quickly followed up and finished off the beast.   The group continued on to the tavern, where they could hear the screams of Thurgramm and Thali. The Party found the building in flames, while a pair of Ogre Howdahs, bugbears, and Hobgoblins prepared to depart with their captives. Leading them was an armor-clad hobgoblin that the Party recognized from their encounter with Liam Carr: the hobgoblin known as Ovrul Rend. He held Thurgramm by his throat, waiting to see what the Party would do. A hobgoblin fired an arrow at Sir Didymus, barely missing the halfling ranger. Typhon quickly cast one more instance of wall of ice, effectively separating the group while killing one of the bugbears. Ovrul Rend and Thurgrumm landed on the opposite side of the wall along with one of the ogres. Ovrul took the opportunity to drive his blade through the dwarf and leave him to die. He and the ogre then left the scene, while the Party was left to deal with the rest of. The ogre nearly caved in Bloodbane's ribs with a mighty blow of his mace, but Vigwalin was able to restore his wounds. Sir Didymus and his wolf pounced on the back of the ogre. The beast fell over, spilling out the four goblins. Sir Didymus quickly finished off the ogre while Typhon slew a goblin with a bolt of flame. Vigwalin's thunder clap killed two more goblins and a hobgoblin while a crack from Sir Didymus's whip snapped the last one's neck.   The group had rescued Thali, but they had lost Thurgramm. With his dying words, he told the group how proud he was of them...