Preparing to Enter the Mines While resting in Stilt Town the group was visited by a human messenger who said the dwarves were demanding their assistance and that they come at once. The group departed for the dwarven colony and was met by the Trademaster at the Trade Depot before the gates to the colony. The Trademaster led the group into the city, and told them that the Ardalydd (leader of the city) had personally requested their assistance. The group was led westward through the great Crafting Hall, which was lined with craftsdwarves of all kinds and the cacophony of steel and stone being worked; a long pair of rails running its length. The group noticed that the street was filled with a great many raucous dwarves spilling from too-full taverns. Finally the group arrived at an impressively large bronze statue of a dwarf raising his hammer in the air above a tightly packed group of dwarves holding long flowing banners; the massive stone plinth upon which the statue stood possessed a wide tunnel into which the rails ran through and gradually descended. Carved upon the plinth were the words "The Ardalydd, Corrach Gwyntog, who retook the city in 4120DD." The words are embedded further into the stone's surface, as if the original words were carved away and replaced. The group was led down below the statue until they arrived at a closed portcullis, a pair of wood doors on either side before it. Here they were met by a heavily armed contingent of veteran battle-hardened dwarves who looked at them with disdain. These dwarves wore dull steel layered plate armor, held large crescent hand axes in one hand, as well as thick round shields of solid steel nearly as tall as they were. Their helmets were functional, but not full-faced, and contained an odd depression towards the center of the forehead. The adventurers were ushered through the left door. Inside this room stood a gruff dwarf with white streaks through his beard, armored as those were outside, his helm resting on the table before him. The gruff dwarf introduced himself as Swarister, Marchog Captain of Dinas Môr. He explained that the adventurers were brought to assist with a troll problem in the mines. He had sent a contingent of 20 Marchôgian into the mine to find and rid the area of a group of trolls that had wandered into the area and were attacking the workers. The Marchôgian never returned, and no sign of them could be found. He lacked the dwarves to lead another group into the mines, and his requests to the Deeg (duke) for more Marchôgian had been rebuffed. He offered the group several ancient items that the dwarves found when they reclaimed the city; these items were not of dwarven make and once belonged to surface dwellers. He asked the group to head into the mines and dispose of the trolls and find out what happened to his dwarves. The group agreed, and was offered the barracks (this entire area before the portcullis,through either wooden door) as a place to rest. He assigned two of his most experienced dwarves as guides, Golddoch and Gaysard. The group was encouraged to visit the craftsdwarves to spend any gold they brought with them, and they were assigned a Marchog to accompany each person through the city. The adventurers did not see anything of particular interest to them, and just when they were about to return to the barracks a dwarf in exquisite gold leaf armor approached them introducing himself as Goldseeker Quidred. Quidred looked different from the other dwarves on the street, with gaunt features, deepset eyes with a thick prominent brow, a faded white beard, and dark grey skin. The group would later discover that these were known as the True Dwarves, and that the clergy and nobility of dwarven society were exclusively composed of them. Quidred eyed their persons greedily and demanded that they give over their gold. He explained that the gold rightfully belongs solely to dwarvenkind, and that it is his sacred mission to seek out and return all gold to his people as a cleric of Abbathor. The group refused; Quidred fumed and stomped off vowing to return with his brethren to punish them and take it by force. So the adventurers returned to the barracks and headed into the mines through the nearby portcullis. The Mines Swarister gave out light stones to each of the adventurers, and Golddoch and Gaysard fastened theirs to their helmets. The group wandered the mines heading westward following the mine cart tracks. Eventually they found a medium sized cavernous room with a giant geode crystal on one side and a crevasse descending into the darkness in the opposite corner. It took them a moment to notice, but several giant centipedes were crawling towards them. The adventurers quickly dispatched the centipedes, and were investigating the area when one of them struck the crystal with their weapon. The crystal rang with a solid note, not unlike a meditative gong, the sound echoing loudly through the mines. After the sound faded, the group heard only silence. The group returned the way they came, on guard for alerted monsters. Ten to twenty minutes later those in the group felt a tingling sense at the back of their neck as if something was watching them. Gradually this feeling increased to the point where a chill settled upon their shoulders and a sense of dread lingered in the air. Suddenly the group met a pair of trolls investigating the noise, and a great battle was pitched. The giant-sized trolls, with their gangly limbs and strong sharp claws rent the adventurers' armor, almost killing at two of the adventurers with their swift ferocity. Many in the group were seriously injured in the battle, and decided to return to the barracks in light of the unease that still hung in the air, like cold water doused down their backs. But first they checked ahead and eventually came upon the low-burning campfire the trolls had been tending; it was clearly not the troll's lair. The old and wisened Gaysard told a story of a similar phenomena his father told him. Back when the Marchôgian were free from allegiance, they watched over and guarded the Deep Roads between the cities and kingdoms. It was at the end of this age when Gaysard's father served, when the roads were increasingly becoming dangerous from disuse. His father was with a group of dwarves on the road when a similar feeling unsettled him. Increasingly he realized something was wrong, and his breath appeared before him in clouds of vapor. From beyond their light they heard a hideous scream, and the feeling so unnerved them that the entire group fled away from it. Gaysard said they were able to escape from whatever it was but never laid eyes on it. The Goldseekers Swarister told the adventurers that he refused Quidred and the other goldseekers entry into the barracks, but that the Ardalydd would eventually hear of it and most likely order him to let them in and probably take away his command and rank. Ramkis gathered forth those in the group with gold, and asked them to follow him outside into the Crafting Hall. When he exited the barracks, he found several goldseekers standing watch waiting for them. At this point Ramkis asked to speak with Goldseeker Quidred, and he was fetched. Using a cunning knack for diplomacy with the tools of reason and respect, Ramkis was able to convince Quidred to exchange their gold for something that was far less valuable to the dwarves but still of value to the humans. Each adventurer received a well-worked silver dagger with dwarven etchings in exchange for their gold. The group departed the goldseekers on almost friendly terms. Finishing the Job After resting, the adventurers entered the mines again, seeking the trail of the trolls. The group went further east down the mine tracks this time until the tracks ended in a room with several exits. Kyle led the group north from the tracks, and they wandered for a time among a set of increasingly remote caves and tunnels devoid of dwarven tools and activity. Again, the feeling of cold dread creeped upon them. The feeling of something following ebbed and flowed, but always growing closer. The group worked their way around southwards, eventually happening upon a large cavern with several flat levels at different heights, and were attacked by giant beetles. Lucien was able to cast a sleep spell upon the 12 of them, putting all asleep. The group dispatched the defenseless bugs and found some debris as well as an exquisitely worked gold-leaf plate armor in the nest. There wasn't a scratch or drop of blood on the armor, which seemed odd to the group. Continuing along, they found their way back to a familiar set of passages, and discovered some gems in a side room. Under the strange disquiet and tension that settled upon the group, they decided to give up their search and return to the barracks. They were pausing at an intersection momentarily when they suddenly noticed a dark shadowy humanoid form standing at the edge of their light, directly in their path home. The group's light stones began to dim. The group tried to approach the mountain wraith but the light from the stones was still bright and it retreated from them staying just outside of its radius. Some in the group ranged it with stones and arrows, but were unable to see if there was an effect, and Lucien slung a lightning bolt towards it, causing a horrific shriek of agony. Those who were brave enough, walked towards it their weapons at the ready. The light stones continued to dim, now only half as bright as they were at the beginning. Realizing that they would soon be without light, the group desperately closed with the wraith, Lucien doing most of the work from a distance with several magic missiles shooting it apart. Most weapons passed through the wraith without effect, but those that were magical left bright trails in the shadow substance and incited shrieks of pain rage from the dark entity. With only a flicker of light equivalent to that of a candle left in their stones, Lucien placed a magic missile squarely upon the wraith and it was engulfed in a flash of magical flames. The adventurers returned to the barracks and told their story to Swarister, showing him the Goldseeker armor. Swarister said that the Marchôgian squad he sent out was accompanied by a Goldseeker, and it appeared to be his armor. Swarister surmised that the mountain wraith must have found a way into the mines from the deep earth or deep roads; that there are parts of the tunnels and caves that are still unexplored by the settlers. The Marchôgian should have been able to deal with the trolls, but the wraith must have gotten to them. He said that he would lead another patrol to finish off the trolls, and that the real threat was dealt with. Ramkis returned the armor to Quidred and with an almost respectful farewell from both Quidred and Goldseeker, the group received their reward and departed for Stilt Town. **************************************************************************************************** First Expedition: 5x Giant Centipedes 2x Trolls Total XP: 2,188 XP per Player: 313 Second Expedition: 12x Giant Beetles 1x Mountain Wraith 5x Gems 1x Ornate Gold Leaf Dwarven Plate Armor +2 Mace +1 Bow 1x Potion of Shrinking 1x Potion of Clairvoyance 1x Oil of Etherealness 1x Jewel Necklace 1x Scroll of Snake Charm 1x Scroll of Prayer 1x Scroll of Protection from Lycanthropy Total XP: 24,250 Total Gold: 4,150 XP per Player: 3,465 Gold per Player: 593 Remember to pay your hirelings and share the loot with the hirelings if you have any, and also remember to split xp with your companion evenly if you brought one along. The dwarves were freebies and didn't suck up any xp or gold since they were just doing their jobs. Each hireling (cooks, porters, torch bearers) that accompanied you will take 2% of the gold from their employer's share of the loot. Each level 0 mercenary will take 10% of the gold from their employer's share of the loot, and if you don't have a companion you may try to recruit them; you may also level them by sharing your xp to turn them into henchmen. Each level 1 or higher henchman will take 1/2 the gold from their employer's share of the loot; and you may allocate any amount of your xp to them. Each companion will take 1/2 the gold from their controlling player's share of the loot, and you must share 1/2 of the earned xp with them as well. ******************************************************************************************************* DM COMMENTS TO PLAYERS: I would like to hear your thoughts about yesterday's adventure. What could have made it better? What could it have done without? I spent two days developing the Dwarven Colony module, and a majority of the work went into building a background for the dwarves for use in future adventures and interactions. The mines were originally supposed to be an hour long adventure, but I felt that after centuries or more of mining that their tunnels should be numerous and not-entirely known to the dwarves. I tried to lay down several clear paths to follow, the mine cart rails only branched out into something like three ends, all connected. Two of the rails would lead to trolls, and the third was supposed to take you near the deep roads. Becoming lost would have been a very real threat if you had lost or become seperated from your dwarven guides; and you would have then been forced to use your player abilities of deduction and reasoning to find your way back. The mountain wraith could have easily caused your dwarven guides to flee but fortunately they rolled a super good reaction. I feel I need to develop a better, less annoying way of having the wraiths track you guys down. The wraith wasn't a guaranteed encounter either, and you did in fact roll for a full encounter as you were leaving. At a certain point you guys did leave the map, and I had to start using randomized caves/tunnels and encounters. You did come close to several things of interest I had placed in the mines; however I'm always reluctant to influence your actions, and those times you guys were just out of sight or earshot of the interesting things.
