Session 12 Summary

December 29, 1479FA
Morning: The group follows the map they looted from Kedhira and heads to the Horned Hold.

Afternoon: The path winds along the edge of a deep chasm, finally rounding a corner to reveal several large bastions clinging to the side of the chasm. Two bridges span the chasm’s depths, linking the bastions together. The path ends at the nearest fortress, where a portcullis blocked the way. A couple of orcs were visible behind the portcullis, keeping watch.

While the rest of the party hid around the bend, Pype approached the gate and attempted to taunt the orcs to open the gate and come outside. There was a bit of a language barrier, and some laughs were had by all. Then suddenly Pype moved to the side of the chasm and out of the view of the orcs. Curious to see if the crazy elf had thrown himself off the cliff or was trying to scale the walls, the orcs came outside to investigate – at which point the party attacked. After a brief battle, the orcs were slain and the party moved into the Horned Hold.

After searching some empty rooms and closets, they noticed the ring of hammers striking anvils and the roar of flames coming from the next room. Inside, a large furnace roared loudly on one side of the room, stoked by an orc at the bellows. Several duergar worked at anvils nearby, beating glowing blades into shape. Racks full of recently finished weapons lined the walls. The party surprised this group, and attacked.

Urwol, the master smith, was killed almost outright by the group’s initial onslaught. Eventually, the duergar and their allies were dispatched. The party took a short rest before moving on down a passageway to the second fortress.

Evening: The group searches several more empty chambers before luckily entering a kitchen area staffed by two human men. Their names are Arum and Calder, and they, along with a woman named Bessa in the next room, are from Fallcrest. They were captured in a Bloodreaver raid six months ago and sold to the duergar. They have been slaves ever since.

While not the captives from Winterhaven that the adventurers are seeking, they do know that more slaves are held in the western fortress, because they bring food to them once per day. The thralls want only to escape, and they beg the party to escort them to the Seven-Pillared Hall, which they know about by reputation.

The party tells them to lock themselves in a storage room while they take care of the duergar in the next room, an expansive chamber which appears to be some kind of dining hall. Just finishing his meal is the duergar champion Rundarr, and several of his underlings. Combat, of course, ensues.

The fighting is difficult, especially when invisible duergar appear, poison a party member, then run off and disappear again. Things get even more interesting when Rundarr is seriously wounded and grows four times in size! The battle is bloody and chaotic, with the tide turning only when Phaean critically strikes Rundarr with a magic missile, blowing a hole through the giant duergar and putting him down for good.

A post-battle search of Rundarr’s body reveals some magical dwarven greaves that no one seems much interested in, and a small iron key. The party hands out some weapons to the three slaves, and, exhausted, decides to hole up for the night.