A Journeyman’s Tale,
Exploring Birch Vale
Part 5 – 21st December 2021
The journal of Bori Ironhelm, cleric of Moradin and master of the forge.
Journeyman in the Explorer’s Guild.
Back into the Depths
We had discovered a hidden valley, accessed via a tunnel that had been guarded by a bugbear and a pair of goblins – all three dead by our hand, of course. Though it wasn’t obvious from our vantage point, we supposed that there might actually be a way into the valley from elsewhere, and that the evil minions were actually guarding the way in to the hidden tunnels beyond the dwarf mine rather than the way out of them. We had no time to go exploring down this valley however, and it seemed clear that there were more pressing matters to deal with in the tunnels. We had barely scratched the surface of what evil may lie within the tunnels, and Grimnir’s axe was thirsty for more goblin blood!
Besides, we had yet to find our dwarven kinfolk who had been taken. If there was a chance that they could still be alive, we had to keep searching with all haste. With that in mind, we turned back into the tunnels and strode past the stricken bodies of our goblin foes, heading in a northwest direction.
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| We strode past the stricken bodies of the goblin guards |
Day four – 14.30
Proceeding northwest through the tunnels, we found the webbing was getting thicker – at times up to our ankles, and even higher on Merla’s legs. We decided to try to disturb the webs as little as possible, to avoid forewarning any enemies of our approach, but neither Merla’s normally graceful steps or Grimnir’s more stomping gait were able to avoid disturbing the webs. Perhaps I put more effort into being careful, being well aware that my heavy armour normally hampered any attempts I made to be stealthy… to be honest, I’m not sure if I felt more pride at myself for proceeding with such caution, or annoyance at my companions for negating my efforts. Regardless, it seemed to matter not as we saw nothing heading in our direction.
Light shone from up ahead, where the passage appeared to expand and split. The light glittered on minerals that lined the walls of the tunnel we were in – it was a beautiful sight to a dwarf, seeing the glorious bounty that can be found underground. I was going to explain to Merla that it was a similar feeling to the way she responded to awe-inspiring landscapes and towering trees on the surface, but I saw her eyes glittering and remembered how much she appreciated shiny baubles. Maybe it wasn’t quite the same reverence as I felt being in this place, but she saw the value in it and understood why Omratin and his brethren risked all for this place.
We stepped forth into a cavern that opened off the side of
the tunnel. Dark, thick webbing twisted overhead. I poked around the floor but
found nothing of interest amongst the debris of desiccated animal corpses.
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| Various caves lead from the tunnel system, each covered in thick strands of webbing |
A second chamber opened up ahead. Again, the rough stone
floor was covered in desiccated animal remains and thick webbing covered the walls
and ceilings. I was prepared to leave this cave as well until Grimnir’s sharp
eyes and hunter’s instincts caused him to stop me short – he had spotted
movement in the far corner. A giant spider! I was lighting a torch to help drive
the beast away, but before I knew it Merla had raised her bow and shot the
beast through its disgusting head. It was already dead. What a fantastic shot
our Halfling companion was, even here in the gloom, far from her natural environment.
My cousin and I were fortunate to have her by our side.
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| Merla took down a giant spider with a single well-placed shot |
There was no time for celebration, though. We were getting close. A much larger cavern lay ahead. It was well illuminated by light shining in from a hole in the ceiling, some 100 feet above us. A large pool of water sat beneath the hole, surrounded by small piles of bones. There were several smaller chambers leading from this large cavern, and ahead we could see the largest spider that any of us had ever seen. I doubted whether Merla could slay this foul beast with a single arrow...
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| We entered a large, well-lit cavern, and could see an enormous spider ahead of us |
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| Ambushed! |
We ran into the smaller cavern to our right, ducking to avoid the barbed arrows being fired at us from the opposite chamber. The two goblin archers looked terrified as we ran towards them, and within moments they were dead on the ground. Merla and I then took up a position at the entrance to the smaller chamber, her drawing a bead on the goblin archers opposite while I summoned the mystical energies to Bless myself and my companions. Grimnir had seen a foe worthy of his time – a goblin chieftain riding on a giant spider. So, with a roar of defiance, he charged towards the evil creature, his rage almost a palpable aura surrounding his crested orange hair.
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| Merla and I secured a side chamber while an enraged Grimnir charged a goblin spider rider |
Though we were hard pressed by goblins and spiders, Merla calmly reloaded and continued firing across the cavern. Grimnir was the total opposite, fully descended into his battle rage now, flecks of spittle coating his beard and the whites of his eyes showing as he hacked and slashed at the spider rider in front of him. The creature decided to try and get away from the furious assault by charging towards me – big mistake. I slammed my hammer down onto the spider’s head, then swung it backhanded at the goblin as he came down low enough for me to reach. The hapless greenskin was thrown from the back of its mount and smashed into the wall of the cave with a crunch, where it slid down to the ground in an unmoving heap. By Moradin, this wondrous star metal hammer was truly a worthy weapon (even if the head was elvish work!). I would do my best to prove myself deserving of such a gift from the heavens.
The large cavern and the adjoining chambers were soon littered
with goblin and spider corpses. Still, the enormous spider had not moved from
its position – perhaps fortunate for us, so we could deal with the minions. We
now saw the puppeteer behind this play – a goblin shaman was standing in front
of the monstrous arachnid, guarded by some burly orcs. This must be the wizard
that the goblins had been talking about in the tunnel, before we gutted them.
If their chattering was to be believed, this was a potent magic user. Of
course, caution wasn’t a word known to my barbarian cousin (and even less so when
he was lost in a battle rage), so he charged straight at the orc guards before
the spider he had just dismembered had even stopped twitching. I could see
various cuts and lacerations on Grimnir’s body – I’ve seen him fight through
the most grievous injuries, but even his prodigious constitution has its
limits. I told Merla to remain hidden behind the rocks while I charged forwards
to help my cousin fight the wizard and his orc guards.
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| Standing shoulder to shoulder, Bori and Grimnir batter their way through the orc guards to get at the goblin wizard behind |
The sneaky wizard used all the tricks at his disposal to try
and escape our wrath, especially once we dispatched his orc guards. He used a
Mirror Image spell to obfuscate his real location. Merla’s arrows flew through
misty apparitions of the goblin, dissipating the magical images until only the
true wizard remained visible. Once Grimnir had viciously sliced at the wizard,
he stepped backwards into a cloud of mist and disappeared from view. It was
only the cackling from up above that told us where he had gone – he was looking
down on us through the hole in the cavern roof, laughing maniacally and moving
his hands through mystical patterns as he summoned the energy to cast some sort
of spell at us. Merla shot his between the eyes. The body fell down through the
hole, landing with a splash in the pool 100 feet below. We would have
congratulated her if we didn’t now have the huge, monstrous spider to deal
with!
Though it hadn’t moved until this point, once the spider did detach itself from its egg sac, it was surprisingly fast. It stabbed at us with its pointed legs and snapped its mandibles, trying to hold us in place long enough to wrap us in sticky silk. My armour and shield protected me, while Grimnir’s speed and agility kept him largely out of harm’s way – until the spider finally managed to land a blow on him. This was one injury too many for my resilient cousin, and he crashed to the ground like a felled tree. I redoubled my efforts, swinging my hammer with all my might, while Merla rushed to the chamber entrance to assist me with her magical crossbow. Between the two of us, we laid the monster low. It tried to crawl back into a corner, away from us, but finally it shuddered and died, curling its legs up as it finally stopped moving. We looked about ourselves and could find no more enemies to fight. Victory was ours, but our first concern was to tend to Grimnir’s wounds and get him back on his feet.
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| Merla and Bori enact retribution on the monstrous spider after it knocks Grimnir down |
Once Grimnir was standing again, I looked round the spider’s lair and found some bodies wrapped in spider silk. They seemed to be the missing dwarf miners. Just as I was thinking to recite the funeral rites, I noticed that they were breathing – it was shallow, but it was there. They were alive! Quickly, we released the dwarfs from their sticky bonds and got them to their feet. Amazingly, they were in fairly good form – the indomitable will of my people. We gave them a draught of healing potion to restore them, and they were on their feet and thanking us in no time.
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| We had saved the three dwarf miners! |
We decided it was best to save the questions till later and
get ourselves and our rescued friends to safety (and to a good mug of ale).
Merla and I quickly scoured the caverns for any useful loot. There was a large
wooden chest where the dwarfs had been trapped. We found their weapons in the
chest and happily returned them. The three miners seemed to grow in stature and
confidence as soon as their weapons were back in their hands. Other than that,
there were some semi-precious stones and other sundries. Most notably, there
were two of the very fine fire gems – the primary object of mining in this
mountain. They were spectacular jewels, and it was clear that Dourhec wanted to
have them returned, which I graciously did.
Among the dead, apart from the usual goblinoid detritus,
there was a silver medallion with spider logo around the neck of the spider
rider. I could feel magic emanating from it, but something about it felt unfamiliar
to me – it would have to be taken to a specialist for identification. The
wizard carried a spell book, written in some filthy goblin code. It may be
worth translating at some point. His wizardly staff was damaged, but it clearly
had some magical function that some scholar could discern for us.
And so, we began to make our way back through the tunnels
and towards the mine proper. We were fairly confident that there were no
enemies left to molest us, but we maintained our vigilance. Before leaving the
tunnels, we remembered Merla’s promise to Aeleora, the dryad in the hidden
grove. Our halfling friend swam through to the grove to let her know that the
goblins had all been dealt with. Aeleora was already aware of the good news,
sensing that the evil creatures had all been killed, and she was extremely
pleased. She granted a boon to Merla, as promised – a golden chain with a
delicate golden leaf on it – and proclaimed her a Friend of the Forest. The
chain was accompanied by an incantation that would allow Merla to purify any
food and drink. She simply had to say:
“My foes fall like the leaves of the forest. This is one
such leaf.”
Merla also asked Aeleora what enchantments lay on the goblin
wizard’s staff. All she could say was that it could create fire, so wasn’t
welcome in the woods. The dryad began to melt back into the foliage, but before
she disappeared entirely, she told Merla to look behind the waterfall. Her
sprites had seen an ancient chest hidden there, and they had told her we hadn’t
noticed it (to be fair, we were fighting for our lives against a grey ooze!).
With that, the dryad was gone, and Merla returned to us.
We backtracked a little to find this additional reward. The
chest was old and the lock rusted, so we broke it open and discovered a trove
of treasures. There was a silver figurine of Tymora, Goddess of Fortune, and it
felt to me like it had been blessed by the Lady herself. She was accompanied, appropriately,
by bags of coins. Additionally, there was a box containing a small mechanical
crab. It was wonderfully made; I appreciated the work of the artisan who had
constructed it. It also seemed to be moving around within when the box was
closed, so would warrant further investigation later. I also found half a
floorplan for a castle and, to Merla’s delight, an ancient arrow of Elvish
design that seemed to be made of the same star metal as my warhammer – truly a
great artifact!
Finally, we made our way out of the mine and gave the secret
knocks on the door so that Omratin would know it was safe to open it and let us
out. His joyous reaction at seeing his kin again was a pleasure to see – almost
as much of a pleasure as seeing the feast and jugs of ale that he later
prepared for us!
Day four – evening revelries with the dwarfs
Dourhec, Omratin and the other dwarfs welcomed us as kin to
an almighty feast in honour of our deeds in clearing the mines and saving their
lives – red meat off the bone and copious quantities of ale in front of a
roaring fire. Omratin really knew how to host, we felt like honoured guests in
the hold of a dwarf king!
We felt comfortable enjoying the hospitality as we knew that
we were within the time limits Cydor had laid down for us. The predicted bad
weather shouldn’t come in too soon, so we should be able to pick up the
Necromancer’s trail to the north, if it was there. After speaking openly with
Omratin before descending into the mine, we felt there was no need for secrecy
now and discussed our plans with him and his folk to see if they had any
advice.
It seemed most likely that the Necromancer had crossed the
great ice field to the northwest, and that his mysterious benefactor was
situated somewhere out there. Omratin provided us with useful guidance for
crossing the ice field, as there were mining communities that had to travel from
the ice to trade. By aligning a compass bearing to the standing stones on the
ridge, we would be able to find our way across and to the mining trails. That
would take us west toward the mining communities – likely the direction that
the Necromancer had travelled. The dwarfs could provide us with cold weather
gear to make the crossing possible.
There were therefore two options open to us: head to the
Ranger Station as planned or save time by crossing the ice field directly. The
main reason for heading to the Ranger Station was to obtain cold weather
supplies; as Omratin had kindly provided them, it was possible we didn’t need
to travel there at all. He also told us about an ancient watch tower, ruined and
half-buried in the ice, which would provide shelter and additional supplies if we
needed them. It was the only remaining part of an ancient castle and town,
referred to as the Frozen City by locals.
We determined that we would travel north in the morning,
towards the Ranger Station. Merla would need the light of day to keep looking
for the Necromancer’s trail. If the trail led to the Ranger Station, we would
follow it there to see if further clues could be found. However, given the hidden
nature of the Station, we figured it was unlikely that he would know where it
was… if he did know where the Ranger Station was, then our enemy was far more well-informed
than we had believed. Cydor would have to be informed that the Ranger secrets
were not as secret as he believed (although, given that he had not expected
Omratin to know about the Ranger Station, perhaps that steam ship had already
sailed).
If the Necromancer’s trail did not direct us towards the
Ranger Station, we would proceed across the ice field and hope to catch up with
his comrade somewhere out near the mining communities, or at least find further
clues to his location. Omratin promised to release a bird to send word to Cydor
of our actions in the mine, and suggested that we release the second bird from
a suitable location on the way to the ice field, or perhaps once we had found some
more clues.
By this time, we had filled our bellies and had a solid plan
in place. We finished another few mugs of ale and slept soundly that night, waking
up well rested in preparation for the next step of our journey.
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