A Journeyman's Tale, Exploring Birch Vale - part 4

A Journeyman’s Tale,
Exploring Birch Vale

Part 4 – 4^th November 2021

The journal of Bori Ironhelm, cleric of Moradin and master of the forge.
Journeyman in the Explorer’s Guild.

Previous - Chapter 3

Ranging Far and Wide

As we sat by the fire eating the warming stew that Cydor had prepared, he outlined what he wanted us to do. He fixed us with his hard, green eyes and told us that he reckoned the necromancer must have had a cache of warm clothing and supplies somewhere nearby – how else would he have navigated the frozen wastes to the north? Of course, while that might be true, we were fairly confident that he could have made the journey simply by wearing the enchanted boots that now clad Merla’s dainty feet – the halfling felt comfortably warm while wearing them, no matter the weather. Still, it was clear that the evil wizard had travelled from the north, and after we saw that his raven had flown that way to correspond with someone it was clear that was the way we had to go whether we were looking for his cache or not.

We were given a regional map of the land north of Birch Vale, with another one that included further details of the area surrounding New Mine, a recently opened dwarf-run operation. Cydor wanted us to visit the mine and drop off a homing pigeon and some bottles of Old Stripey. Finally, a chance for Grimnir and I to get back underground and experience some true dwarvish hospitality! Cydor seemed to know these dwarfs reasonably well, and he thought it was worth asking if they had spotted the necromancer on his travels. Seemed sensible enough to me.  

And, although Merla was going to be fine in her magical boots, neither Grimnir or myself would object to a warm cloak to keep out the bitter northern wind as proceeded into the wastes! Fortunately, Cydor told us that there was a Ranger Station situated not far beyond New Mine. Apparently, this Ranger Station would house a hidden cache of supplies and warm clothing – Cydor handed us a schematic that would show us how to access the stash, secreted behind a panel in the Captain’s room. He also gave us the key to this panel.

The final instructions we received were to keep the knowledge of the Ranger Station, as well as the intelligence we had gathered regarding the portal and Death Cult activities, to ourselves. To be honest, I wasn’t sure how I felt about that – yes, I have agreed to follow the directions of my superiors in the Explorer’s Guild, as it seems to be the best way to secure a life for myself and my cousin outside of the Clan Hold. I won’t be able to command top dollar for my work in the forge without Guild backing, no matter how good it is. And, of course, I’m no oath breaker… and Grimnir isn’t. Not any more, at least. But, lying to fellow dwarfs? It’s not right. I decided to wait and see what occurred at New Mine before deciding how much or little to divulge. Of course, I would not reveal my true feelings to Cydor lest I jeopardise my position in the Guild, and I felt no ill-will towards the man as I understood his reasoning. But, at the end of the day, the bonds of kinship among dwarfs runs as deep as the roots of the tallest mountains. To be asked to betray that trust, even with dwarf-folk who I had yet to meet, made me feel ill at ease. I decided to put my faith in Moradin and his unerring justice to help steer my actions when the time came.

Map of the region north of Birch Vale

Detailed map of the terrain near to New Mine

Sketch of the Ranger Station interior

Day three – 14.00

We departed Spring Grove and headed north. I was still reflecting on Cydor’s final words as Merla expertly followed the necromancer’s tracks in the soft ground. What was I going to say to the dwarfs when we reached New Mine? I was further troubled by his parting comments about him providing sufficient bird seed for the pigeon because “you know what dwarves are like for having to cover extra expenses.” The cheek of it! I could feel the anger rising in Grimnir as he said it… I mean, of course, I wouldn’t want the miners to be out of pocket to look after a bird that was there to take information to Cydor. Where would they get the birdseed from up in the mountains anyway, and certainly not at a reasonable price. Really, it should be down to Cydor to provide, and it wouldn’t have even been a question amongst dwarves as it would have been stipulated in the fine print of any agreement. So, no, they shouldn’t be covering the extra expense… but… he shouldn’t really be pointing it out like that. Quite rude.

Anyway, I went back over the list of miners that Cydor had provided. Their leader was Dourhec Battlethane, an old and successful warrior. Good, strong dwarf name that. His older brother, Omratin, was apparently the business mind behind the venture. They had remained at the mine along with two of their fellows whilst the other four had visited Birch Vale. Two of them had then gone on to Island Town whilst the remaining two had remained, nursing hangovers. And Grimnir hadn’t even managed to catch up with them to show them how proper dwarfs drank!

There were eight dwarfs in total.

• In New Mine:
• Dourhec Battlethane
• Omratin Battlethane
• Broukead Darkgranite
• Havromri Stormblade
• Travelled to Birch Vale then on to Island Town:
• Norarnaes Hornbender
• Sidgraen Aletoe
• Remained in Birch Vale, nursing hangovers:
• Gizmat Lavashield
• Durmar Bonebreaker 

Merla had no problem in following the necromancer’s trail for the most part throughout the rest of the day, except for a few occassions where the prints disappeared over rocky terrain; she quickly picked the trail up again by a riverbank or in some other soft ground. We camped beneath the stars with no disturbance. In fact, all was quiet during our journey and we made good time northwards. 

Day four – 11.00

Well-rested, we continued our march and arrived at the approach to New Mine during late morning. Ahead, we saw that a large pool had been created through the installation of a thick dam, some 100 yards across, which was crossed by the path up to a palisade wall. That must have been the entrance to the mine. Good, strong defensive position – very dwarfish.

The approach to New Mine

We were a little cautious about what might be hiding in the depths of the dammed pool, but it seemed safe enough, so we strode up to the palisade. It was some 30 feet high and had a large doorway built into it, 8 feet wide and 8 feet tall. Grimnir hammered on the door with the haft of his axe, the echoes rebounding from the surrounding hillsides. After a long pause, we heard the heavy tread of iron-shod boots and the creaking of timbers before a bearded face underneath a horned helm poked out over the top of the palisade. The grumpy dwarf told us that we had no business in New Mine and that we should bugger off, before turning and descending back down the unseen stairs.

Neither Grimnir nor I could believe the lack of hospitality being shown by one of our own kind – that’s not how we were raised in the halls of Khazad Dwemer! My cousin hammered on the door once more, so hard that I thought he might knock it from its hinges. We were fortunate that he wasn’t angry enough to turn the weapon and use the axe blade… not yet, anyway!

The weary steps began again and the grumpy face appeared over the parapet once more, this time accompanied by two hand crossbows pointing down at us. I was incensed at this outrage and shouted at him in Dwarvish about the hospitalities expected for dwarf travellers. He seemed to think we had done something to the “peaceful monk” that had been wandering the land outside the mine, as we had the man’s pack mule. Once I explained that this ‘monk’ was really an evil necromancer (who was suffering from a bout of axe-in-the-head, leading to a severe case of being-very-dead), his manner softened. We switched to speaking in the Common tongue so that our halfling companion could understand, and once he realised that we had been sent by Cydor he finally consented to allow us within the palisade.    

We followed the wobbling rump of this dwarf – his arse was the size of Grimnir’s axe head – past several wooden outbuildings, towards a low hall with smoke coming out of a chimney. Our host led us inside where he had been stewing something that smelled delicious. It was clear he hadn’t missed any meals up here in the mountains, but now that he had welcomed us inside, he wasn’t shy in sharing his food with us. We sat down and got a proper look at him. He matched Cydor’s description of Omratin Battlethane, elder brother of Dourhec. As we shared food and ale, his demeanour softened, and he became genial. Merla recounted our tale to Omratin, which he listened to with great interest. He revealed a sharp mind when he laughed at Grimnir and me for our deception to the Explorer’s Guild – of course he could tell that we were older than we should be for the Journeyman Programme! He said that Cydor wouldn’t have been fooled either, but if he had gone along with the ruse then there must be serious trouble around Birch Vale indeed. Cydor was no fool and he must have been keen for our help to allow us to circumvent the Guild’s rules.

Omratin was also well aware of the Ranger Station, easily guessing our purpose for travelling this way. It seemed that there was no point in trying to conceal anything from his, as Cydor had requested, which was a relief to my conscience. After the brusque welcome, I had quickly grown to like this dwarf and had even less desire to deceive him than before, no matter the reason. 

After another ale or two, the conversation turned towards the mine and our host. We noted that we had expected to see a further three dwarfs, but they were conspicuously absent. Omratin became more serious and told us that perhaps our visit was fortuitous and there was something we could do to help him.

It turned out that the miners had gone through a fault plane the previous day, breaking through into a series of previously unknown tunnels. Dourhec, Broukead and Havromri went to explore the tunnels but had not returned. When Omratin went to search for them, all he found was a large, fresh web blocking the way forwards before he was set upon by a grey ooze. He managed to escape the monster and return to the main mine, shutting a heavy door behind him to keep whatever else was in there trapped. His brother and two friends were stalwart warriors, so Omratin figured that whatever had taken them had to be a serious threat. He asked us if we would venture into these tunnels and attempt to rescue his fellows. Of course, we could not refuse such a plea for help! He provided us with a sketch map of what he remembered from his quick sojourn into the tunnels and handed us the key to the heavy door that would lead us into the labyrinth. He told us that he would lock the door behind us, so we would knock in a distinctive way when we returned. 

Omratin's sketch of the old tunnels the dwarfs had tunnelled into

Day four – 12.30 - entering the tunnels

We were well fed and warm from the ale in our bellies. Omratin led us through the mine – it was good to be beneath the ground once again and feel the warm embrace of the rock around us. We reached a large wooden door that he opened with an iron key. Ahead, a huge cavern opened up. Our darkvision allowed Grimnir and me to see a stream flowing at the far side of the cave – Merla had to light her bullseye lantern. There was a drop of some 20 feet or so ahead of us, so we bid farewell to Omratin and went to climb down the rope that was attached to a rock in front of us.

The first view of the tunnel system beyond the dwarf mine

As the stream at the far end of the cavern was only shallow, we were able to easily splash through it. There was the sound of rushing water to our left, and the stream seemed to get slightly deeper in that direction. We chose to take the path to the right, which quickly dried up. There was a feeling of warmth coming from that direction and after about 50 feet we found an opening on our right to another cavern, containing a pool of clear, steaming water. The water flowed out through a small hole in the opposite wall. As Merla turned her lantern to look at the rubble on the ground, I noticed a glow emanating from within the pool – intrigued, I pointed it out to Grimnir. He splashed into the water and found an opening large enough even for his broad shoulders. He took a large breath and ducked his head into the water, splashing into this tunnel and disappearing from view.

We splashed through a shallow stream and into the tunnel system

A chamber opened out on our right, containing a pool of clear,
steaming water and an interesting glow emanating from beneath the surface

Day four – 12.45 –  The Grotto

Merla and I looked at each other and followed our companion when he didn’t return. We pulled our way through and emerged into an even larger cavern. We waded through the warm water towards a waterfall ahead of us, which was tumbling down a high cliff and flowing past a stunning green scene. I’m not one for trees and things, but even I was impressed by the beauty of this hidden grotto. Shafts of sunlight pierced down through openings in the rock where the waterfall entered the cavern, dappling the grass and an enormous, ancient-looking tree. It took me a minute before I noticed the naked female emerging from the leaves. She was strikingly gorgeous and had an aura of power about her. I couldn’t look away. 

Swimming through the tunnel led us into
a wondrous grove of natural beauty 

The woman’s lilting voice welcomed us to the grotto and warned us not to raise any weapons. She told us that she had friends with knives at our throat, and it was only then that I noticed the little sprites that had appeared beside each of us. The woman’s name was Aeleora. Merla whispered that she was a dryad, a magical being of the forest and someone we should trust if we were to receive the blessing of Mielikki and escape from this place with our lives!

Fortunately, Aeleora decided we were trustworthy and told us that she visited this grove occasionally to collect rare fungi, but this time she had discovered that the neighbouring tunnels had been infested with filthy goblins, led by orcs and a wizard. Her sprites had slain four of the goblins, but had retreated to the grove as the wizard’s magic allowed him to see the sprites even when they concealed themselves – they wouldn’t risk sneaking up on the goblins again, as they had done to us. The dryad wanted us to kill the interlopers and stop their evil plan. They were breeding giant spiders that could be used to attack the region to the south, including Birch Vale, which was something we all wanted to prevent. Not that we needed much incentive to hunt goblins! We readily accepted and the sprites gave us each a potion to counteract the effect of spider venom for a 24-hour period.

Finally, she told Merla to return for some further blessing of the forest should we be successful in our hunt. Aeleora and her minions then faded away and we waded back into the warm water and returned to the tunnels.  

Aeleora, a dryad, bade us destroy the
goblins infesting the tunnels

Day four – 13.15 - exploring the caves

Leaving the grotto behind, we proceeded into another cave with a sandy floor. A single skeleton lay on the ground, though there were three abandoned bed rolls. Closer inspection revealed that this was a goblin skeleton – the spear and armour were acid damaged, and the flesh appeared to have been recently removed. Presumably this was one of the goblins killed by the sprites and then eaten, probably by the ooze that Omratin had warned us about.

There wasn’t much of interest on the corpse or in its pack, just some copper coins and a wooden effigy of a large, bald goblin’s head – far too ugly to consider taking with us.

We proceeded through a tunnel into the next cave, finding another goblin skeleton in the same condition. This one carried a surprisingly fine jade carving of a voluptuous orc warrior, that I picked up – there was bound to be some perverted person who would pay coin for this piece. There was also a small bronze bowl that might be useful, and an unusual onyx-bladed shortsword that Merla took for herself. Other than that, there was no sign of the ooze itself or any living goblins. So far, so quiet.  

Day four – 13.45 - the waterfall

A tunnel led to a crossroads, back on the main path that we had used to enter this area. The sound of rushing water that we had heard earlier was ahead of us and was much louder now. To our right, we could see the thick webbing that Omratin had told us about. While it was most likely that his comrades were beyond that barrier, we decided that we needed to fully explore these tunnels before pressing onward to make sure we had thoroughly searched for the miners. Besides, if we were lucky we might find a goblin or two that the sprites hadn’t already killed.

There was a natural chimney above our heads at the crossroads. We carefully looked up in case there was anything waiting to drop on us from above, but we saw nothing in the vertical shaft so we pushed forward into the next chamber.   

We had explored much of the tunnel system

A natural chimney rose into darkness above the crossroads

The noise was deafening as the water crashed down over the rocks, but as it flowed towards the entrance to the tunnels it was shallow and easily forded. We found another dead goblin on this side of the stream, again stripped of flesh. No luck in finding one to kill ourselves. There were some rough semi-precious stones and a silver coin in its pouch, and a smooth blood red carnelian that caught my eye and certainly seemed to take Merla’s fancy – it was a surprisingly nice gem to find on a lowly goblin.

I indicated to the other two that we should cross the stream as there appeared to be another corpse on the other side of the cave. I kept watch while Merla and Grimnir examined the skeleton (the fourth of the sprites’ victims), and it was then that I was attacked from above. Sucker punched by that tricksy ooze! I was scanning the walls of the cavern when the damned monster dropped on me from above, somehow finding its way through chinks in my armour, despite the fine quality of my chainmail, to deliver a burning kiss of acid to my skin. I couldn’t believe it, but my bellows of rage went unheeded by my companions, who were engrossed in searching through whatever crap was on the goblin corpse. They couldn’t hear me over the roaring water.

Dropped to my knees by the pain, I managed to summon the power for a Searing Smite before I blacked out into unconsciousness. The bright flash of divine magic stung the ooze and, more importantly, illuminated the cave and alerted my friends to my plight. Merla rushed over, using her quick thinking to draw the onyx shortsword that she had found earlier – it was one of the few pieces of equipment that were unaffected by acid damage. Through half-closed eyes, I saw her deftly stab the ooze and finally stop it from moving. The next thing I knew, she was pouring a healing potion down my throat and helping me to my feet. I was furious to have been humiliated by such an obvious ambush, but as the warming potion flowed through my limbs, I stretched my arms wide and began to feel myself. I would feel even better after cracking some goblin skulls with my warhammer, Sundering Star.   

The waterfall was deafening inside the cavern

Sucker punched by a gods-damned ooze!

Day four – 14.15 - beyond the web

I didn’t need long to catch my breath before we continued – it takes more than a mindless puddle of jelly to slow down Bori Ironhelm for long! We returned to the crossroads and drank the anti-venom potions before Grimnir slashed the webbing with his axe. He led the way down the dark passageway, keeping Merla between the two of us and ensuring that her lantern was hooded so that we would not alert any enemies to our approach. Before long, we heard goblin voices ahead – I was pleased to finally have something to fight.

Grimnir and I both understand the filthy goblin tongue, but we could only make out some of what the creatures were squeaking about as the twisting tunnel echoed their words too much. There were two voices, and “Shivrak” sounded important, though we didn’t know what it was. They were also concerned about getting their food, and also worried about “Magic Fingers” who had apparently fried two goblins for talking back to him. Well, that was another two goblins we weren’t going to get to slay…

As we listened, there was a third voice, much deeper – I guessed it was a Bugbear. We heard it lumber off to guard something and decided that would be a good time to strike. Despite my heavy armour, we were all able to sneak forwards towards the goblins without making a sound. We could see some guttering torches casting a flickering light over a small area of open ground, where the two goblins continued chittering to one another. Merla surprised one of the creatures by shooting it in the back of the head, dropping it to the ground before it could raise the alarm. It was a fantastically good shot from our halfling friend!

Grimnir then ran into the room, slashing his axe at the second goblin but managing to miss it completely. It screamed in surprise and terror then began running towards the tunnel that the bugbear had disappeared down. The deep-throated grunts coming from that direction told us that the bugbear was on its way back.

Merla wasn’t in a position to shoot the retreating goblin, but Grimnir’s rage at his poorly-aimed attack meant it was clear he didn’t want anyone else taking this quarry from him. He barreled down the tunnel after the goblin, leaping forwards and bringing the axe down in one mighty sweep. He cleaved the goblin in half from the top of its head to its groin, and the barbarian continued the momentum of the swing so that he tumbled forwards through the parting body and rolled to his feet, roaring in triumph as the bugbear advanced towards him.

I saw the larger creature heading for my cousin and used the magic of the forge to heat the morningstar that the bugbear carried in its enormous paw. It cried in pain as the red hot metal burned its skin, then dropped the weapon in a puddle of water where it sat, steaming. With no weapons in hand, the bugbear rushed forwards to try and tackle Grimnir with its bare hands. This was the creatures final, and fatal, mistake. 

Merla kills one goblin with pinpoint accuracy while
a second runs away from Grimnir's axe

The bugbear stood no chance once it had been
forced to drop its morningstar

Day four – 14.30 - where next?

The two goblins had been an unusual blue colour, though this seemed to be due to some sort of body paint rather than a natural colouring. One of the goblins carried a carving of a bald goblin head, similar to one we’d seen before, but carved with superior craftsmanship and in bone rather than wood. I recognised it now – it was Bargivyek, a goblin god who wanted to unite goblins and bugbears in an evil alliance to rule the world. If they were praying to this deity then it might indicate some form of additional organisation among these goblins. Still, just goblins.

The bugbear, for its part, held a jade carving of Skiggaret, the bugbear god of fear. Strange choice, but there you go. Aside from that, the three defeated enemies held a handful of coppers and a few low value stones. There was a silver medallion depicting a half moon and a brass ring with a bat motif. I didn’t know if these were significant, but we took them just in case. At worst, they might be worth a few coins.

Continuing along the tunnel we were in led to a narrow, steep-sided valley with a raging river flowing down it. There was no way to navigate this river, and climbing the sheer sides of the valley would be difficult. It appeared that the goblins and bugbear were guarding this as an entrance to the tunnels, however, so there could be some way of traversing the valley. Considering that this seemed to be the entrance, it stood to reason that we should return to the tunnel and proceed back to where we had passed the webbing to continue the search. We had yet to find the dwarf miners – I just hoped we would be able to find them alive…

Our exploration of the tunnels so far

Next - Chapter 5