The Reclamation of Lull, The Tomb of the Dwarven King – Part
1 as told by Naurung Goldenhammer Dear Cousin, I thank you for notifying me of the opportunity to help
reclaim Lull. On receiving your letter I
made post haste for Hope. Too long has
it been since our kin have walked the halls of our ancestors. Fortunately I’ve not been the only one to heed the call. On arriving in that outpost town I found a
half dozen fellow travellers, dwarves all, keen to set right this ancient
injustice! So it was I set forth with Cleaver, Dain Trollbreaker, Hank
McStank, Thoradin Firebeard, Thommy Threeleg and Augra Stoneweave. We all of us were dwarves though not all of a
kind. Our talents and outlooks were many
and varied, united in the desire to find the key to the gates of Lull. The beginning of our journey could have been more successful,
however, for I promptly steered us astray despite the helpful promptings of
Dain Trolbreaker (perhaps a finer warrior than a navigator). Augra had offered to provide guidance as well
and I had refused her out of pride, not wanting to be nagged and cajoled by the
left and right shoulder as it were. Suffice to say we did not reach our destination that day,
though we did pass the night unmolested.
Listening to the conversation between Dain and Hank I felt reason to
ponder whether the McStank fellow was quite as ‘dwarven’ as the rest of us. His attitude was a little off, and he seemed
to be some sort of warlock which is downright suspicious. He might bear closer
scrutiny. The next day we attempted to right our course but alas even
with the help of Augra (a fine woman of a dwarf, very experienced and well preserved
and highly attuned to nature) we drifted off course again. I blame it on the fact Dain and Augra provided
conflicting advice on how we should proceed.
Thankfully, we at least found the mountains, we were dwarf enough to
achieve that. We overnighted in an abandoned mine and were attacked by
giant bats. They took us by surprised
and some of us suffered serious hurt.
Augra was picked up by a bat that seemed set to carry her off! Fortunately, the rest of us awoke and I struck
some mighty blows, bringing one bat low and severely hurting another. Thommy Treelegs (a strange looking dwarf covered head to foot
in leaves) brought down the bat carrying Augra, though she took quite a fall
and was struck unconscious. Hank McStank
killed the final bat as it was trying to flee and the battle was over. The next day, following the mountain like a blind man follows
a wall, we achieved our destination. There
was a further complication, however, for we came upon four wolves worrying at a
tethered horse. We sprang to battle, forming a good battle line. Thoradin was most helpful in spurring us to
action and bringing out the best in us.
I was impressed with the way Augra summed a magic staff and set about
the wolves, much like old mother Zaurung used to take her stick to the children
that pestered her too much! We soon prevailed
tough Thommy took quite a mauling. Dain attempted to approach the horse but it would have none
of it and hoofed him in the face. It
will be some time before Dain loses the horseshoe imprint from his forehead, I fear. Fortunately I was able to calm the beast (Thank Clangeddin!)
and we lead it to fresh pasture and water.
A search of the saddlebags suggested a dwarven owner so we hastened to
enter the nearby tomb, hopeful of finding our kinsman alive and well, though it
looked as though the horse had been alone for some days. On entering the tomb we soon fell afoul of some undead
inhabitants, a troop of skeletons and zombies; vile desecrations of the bodies
of fallen dwarves. Cleaver (a madman
with an axe), Dain and I held the front line and made short work of the foe, again
with excellent support from the others. We declined to search their resting places, though I saw
McStank throw a hungry glance at the grave goods. We passed through a mortuary without incident
but then triggered a trap set into what appeared to be the tomb of the king. The noxious gas rendered some of us unconscious
and badly damaged the rest of us. It was
all we could do to retreat with our lives. Taking stock we realised that we were too hurt and depleted to
continue with the mission. Reluctantly
we returned to Hope, determined to return once we had recovered. That is all I have to tell you dear Glaurung, I hope your
quest is successful and we cross paths in Hope, or better yet Lull!
Grandmother is keeping well, young Waurung and Laurung are kept
exceedingly busy keeping her scales polished. I remain your cousin, Naurung Goldenhammer
