The Forge of Spells

The party followed after Varien as he headed deeper into the cave, mounting the stone steps that led to the second large structure within the starry-roofed cavern. Radegast took a closer look at the map that had fallen out of the dusty old tome, figured it was an outdoor map of no immediate use, and pocketed it. The party passed the skeletal remains of many fallen dwarves, gnomes and orcs, including a dwarf clad in robes that marked the wearer as a priest or cleric. The second structure was as badly battered as the first, but was also larger, with columns supporting a peaked roof and heavy block walls. The stone double-doors were partially open, and from the crack in the doorway, an eerier green glow spilled out. Xylon cast mage armor on himself. Varien and Radegast peeked through the narrow opening between the doors. The interior looked like a large workshop, badly damaged by the ancient disaster that had befallen the cave network. Worktables took up two corners of the room and were badly scorched, and the plaster had been burned clean off the masonry walls. In the middle of the room stood a stone pedestal, upon which was a small brazier within which a dazzling green flame danced and crackled. The brazier and its pedestal appeared to have been untouched by the destructive forces that had destroyed this area. On either side of the brazier floated spherical creatures measuring roughly four feet in diameter. Four eyestalks protruded from their central mass, two on each side. In the centre of their bodies was a single, larger eye, currently closed as if at rest. Radegast quickly identified the creatures as spectators - extraplanar aberrations from the realm of Nirvana. "Can they bleed?" Theryn whispered. Radegast shrugged hopefully. Erwen suddenly wildshaped into Bear form and hurled himself against the cracked door, its melted iron hinges protesting as he and Who bounded into the building's interior. The party heard a thick, burbling voice inside their heads say, "Hello there. Welcome to the Forge of Sp-YEAARRGH!" The druid and the owlbear each chose a target and rushed at it. Xylon stepped over the threshold and cast burning hands at the two spectators. One absorbed the full brunt of the blast, while the other appeared to instantly reflect the spell away from it and directly onto Who, who roared in surprise and pain as he was doused with magical fire. "Wait, are we doing this?" one of the creatures said telepathically. "Okay then!" Radegast nocked an arrow into her bow, stepped into the opening and let fly before pirouetting back behind cover. Theryn took to the shadows and rounded the northern corner of the building, looking for another way in. He was rewarded with the sight of another pair of scorched doors leading to an antechamber off the main structure. The arrow's aim looked to be true for an instant, but as it passed near the glow of the green fire, it suddenly veered off course and splintered against flagstone. Erwen-Bear savaged the nearest spectator with his bite and claws. "What does it taste like?" Radegast shouted. Who, his feathered hide still alight, charged and thrashed one of the spectators with his beak and a claw attack. The other spectator rose from where it had been hovering and aimed an eyestalk at Xylon, firing a rainbow beam that sizzled across the room and dazzled the wizard. Xylon was overcome with sudden confusion, a stream of nonsense syllables escaping his lips. Another eyestalk pivoted and fired off a sickly yellow ray that opened a channel of weeping wounds upon Who's back. Radegast let fly with another arrow, striking one of the spectator's eyestalks. The floating creature reeled. Theryn quietly picked his way through the mess of debris in the smaller room and found himself looking in on the main workshop, just in time to see Who tear one of the creatures apart. Theryn leaped into the fray, swinging his staff to no effect, but following up with a solid strike against the floating creature with his booted foot. The spectator gazed down at Theryn with its horrible central eye and unhinged its jaw, trying to bit the monk's head off. Theryn ducked as the creature's jaw snapped shut on nothing but air. "Ugh!" the spectator said. "I guess I'm out of practice!" Xylon stumbled around and suddenly ran full-tilt out of the chamber, running full-speed into the rocky wall of the cavern outside. He picked himself up, still foaming at the mouth, and ran babbling into the darkness. The remaining spectator fired off a pair of rays at Who and Erwen-Bear, who had rushed to the aid of his injured mount. Theryn took advantage of the creature's distraction to grab two of its eyestalks with each hand and drive his knee into the creature's eye. The force of the blow killed the spectator, who slumped to the floor and began to noisily deflate. Only the sound of Xylon's confused hooting from outside could be heard as silence descended on the workshop. "Is this...is this the Forge of Spells, then?" Radegast said, the green firelight dancing in her wide eyes. She cast cure wounds on the owlbear. "This could be it," Varien said. Theryn began a careful search of the room. He discovered two objects half-buried by scorched wooden fragments that had fallen from the roof onto a worktable. The items themselves were in pristine condition. The first was a mace, the head of which was made of solid brass and shaped like a stylized sunburst. Xylon recalled a passage in the dwarf Urmon’s journal that mentioned this artifact. “That is Lightbringer, a mace made for a cleric of La-” “A cleric of Lathander, the morninglord, the God of Dawn,” Radegast finished. “Yes, it’s quite obvious, isn’t it?” Xylon frowned and cast identify. He discovered that the weapon could glow as bright as a torch at the command of its wielder, and, while it was glowing, the mace’s radiance would be effective against undead creatures. “Well, who wants it?” “I’ll take it!” Erwen piped up. Theryn handed the mace to Erwen, who immediately struggled under its weight. The second item on the worktable was a fine cuirass with a gold dragon motif worked into its design. Xylon cast identify and learned the object’s secrets. “This will give the wearer an advantage against draconic breath weapons.” Varien looked up as he finished buckling the breastplate and backplate over his chainmail. “Sorry, what?” “But what of this forge?” Bob said, pointing at the brazier. “Well,” Xylon said. “From what I’ve read, the Forge-” “-was crafted by Dwarven mages who harnessed the magical properties of Wave Echo Cave,” Radegast interrupted. “The mine contained mineral wealth, but it was the magical energy within that led to the creation of the Phandelver’s Pact, an alliance between the dwarves and gnomes.” Xylon frowned. “Yeah, but what does it do?” “Iunno,” shrugged Radegast. “It enchants items, maybe? There’s really only one way to find out.” She looked at the adventurers and their equipment. “Anyone got a sword they’re not too attached to?” Alec’s hand strayed towards the Sword of Trevelyan at his side, only to have Bob’s hand slap it away. “I’ve been carrying this thing around but I'm no good with it,” Theryn said, pulling a longsword from his belongings. “All right, we can work with that,” Radegast said. She looked around for some tools of the trade and spied an old pair of workgloves and a set of iron tongs. “Okay, now, I audited a class in smithing back at college,” Radegast said, almost to herself. She fitted the hilt of the sword into the tongs and dipped the blade into the green flame. There was a dazzling green glow. Radegast picked up a hammer and tapped it experimentally against the sword’s blade, turning the sword over and over in the flames of the brazier. After a minute or so, the sword had drawn some of the green energy into the steel of its blade, and as Radegast withdrew it, the sword cast off a pale green glow. “Neat,” Erwen said. Radegast handed the sword to Xylon, who held it gingerly. He cast identify on the weapon and determined that indeed it was now infused with magical energy. “And there you have it!” Radegast beamed. “Another satisfied customer of the Forge of Spells.” The bard pulled her rapier out and began working it over in the forge. “I don’t suppose it would, like, double-enchant weapons that already held their own magical qualities?” Varien asked hopefully as Radegast pulled her now-glowing blade free of the forge. Xylon shook his head. “That’s a recipe for disaster.” “Well, in that case…” Varien slid his shield into the brazier. There was a sizzling crackle and the green flame leapt towards the ceiling. “Woo!” Varien said. Radegast fiddled with the shield, turning it over with the tongs until its surface had been completely covered by the lapping tongues of green fire. Soon, Varien was the proud owner of an enchanted shield. Xylon took a closer look at the brazier and frowned. It was obvious that the green fire within was now much lower than when they had first arrived. “I think this thing’s in danger of going out,” he said. Varien shrugged and hefted his shield. “We’ve got bigger fish to fry. Let’s get a move on.” Bob stepped forward. “Finding the Forge of Spells is a pretty big deal, and if the Black Spider finds it while we’ve moved on, that could be trouble. Alec and I will stay here and guard the forge until you scout out what’s ahead.” “Sounds fair,” Varien said. “Don’t break the forge while we’re gone.” “Please,” Bob said. “We’ll take good care of it.” The rest of the party ventured out of the wizard’s workshop and headed into the north tunnel. The air had a tang of seawater and the booming echoes of the waves thundered quite loudly in their ears as they mounted the hewn stone steps. They found themselves standing on a narrow ledge overlooking a large, dark cavern that housed a surging, seething body of water in its depths. The rhythmic booming heard throughout the mines was earsplittingly loud here. At regular intervals, a fresh surge of water funneled into the chamber and slammed against the wall just below the ledge, soaking the adventurers with a spray of cold saltwater. The echoes gave hints of a larger cavern complex to the northeast, accessible only by swimming in the roiling, black maelstrom 15 feet below the ledge. The ledge continued to the west and north, skirting the edge of the watery cave, and there were two tunnels leading westward. The first looked artificial, like a channel cut into the stone by dwarven miners. The tunnel ceiling here was about five feet high. The second one, further west, was barely four feet high, obstructed by rounded boulders and pebbles. Bone-dry now, it might have been a streambed at one time, emptying into the cavern. “Who’s going to have trouble with this smaller tunnel,” Erwen said. “I can check it out though.” The others nodded. Erwen turned and wildshaped into a swarm of rats – a twisting, writhing entanglement of red-eyed rodents that moved as one. “Okay, that’s gross,” Radegast whispered as the chittering rat swarm disappeared into the darkness of the streambed. Erwen enjoyed the sensation of being able to view his surroundings from several pairs of rat eyes at ones as the swarm wriggled its way over the smooth pebbles and stones that covered the surface of the streambed. He took advantage of the booming sound of the waves behind him to stealthily move through the tunnel, which he could see opening up ahead of him into a larger cavern. His multiple ears picked up the sound of metal on stone and rough voices ahead, as well as the sound of rushing water. Erwen-Swarm crept to the edge of the streambed and settled down. The tunnel came to an abrupt end, its rocky edge sheared off. A wide rift split this cavern in two – across the way, roughly in line with Erwen’s perch, a stream poured out of the western wall, and tumbled down into the rift below, flowing out again to the north. About twenty feet down, the floor of the cavern was choked with debris – boulders and rocks. Across the chasm, the western section of the cave was more or less intact, with tunnels heading to parts further west. Several ropes, secured to iron stakes, led down to the uneven chasm floor from the western edge of the rift. Erwen-Swarm could barely make out the entrance of another tunnel several yards south of his position, leading back east. It too had been sheared off by the collapse of the cavern floor into the debris-choked mess below. The cavern was occupied. Three miserable-looking goblins wielded pickaxes, swinging them desultorily on the rocks under the watchful eye of a rough-looking Bugbear. Atop the western ledge stood another pair of Bugbears and a male Drow clad in leather armor. The drow was shouting at the goblins. “Put your backs into eet, you lazy dolts! The master says there’s something special buried down there, and you won’t rest until you find it!” Erwen-Swarm thought the Drow’s accent was slipping slightly. “Aww, c’mon!” one of the goblins protested. Erwen-Swarm thought his voice sounded familiar. “I just got my arms put together and you have me busting rocks? It’s not fair!” The bugbear sneered. “There’s two types of people in this mine, Yeemik. Those with swords, and those who dig. You dig.” “Aww, c’mon!” Yeemik protested. Erwen-Swarm prepared to retreat down the streambed to report his findings, but couldn’t resist a little trickery first. He dropped out of wildshape and used his skywrite ability to sketch an ominous message that floated in the air over the chasm. YOU ARE DOOMED… He waited until one of the goblins took sight of the message, which drifted like stormclouds overhead. “AIIIEEE! What’s that in the air over there!” One dropped his shovel and pointed frantically. “That’s it, I’m not being paid enough for this!” Yeemik bellowed. Erwen smirked and ran back down the streambed. As his companions grumbled nervously, the Drow squinted at the streambed near where the word clouds were swirling and frowned. Erwen returned to the booming cavern and reported. “We’ve got company,” he said. “A drow, some bugbears, and some goblins, digging for something in a cavern to the west.” He thought a moment. “Oh, and Yeemik is with them.” “Yeemik!” Varien said. “Bob’s going to be furious!” “Did you recognize the drow?” Theryn said. “Have we crossed paths with him before?” Erwen shrugged. “Well, perhaps if we take this southern passage we can circle around and hit them from behind,” Varien said. Erwen nodded. “I’ll take Who and go first, just in case.” The party squeezed into the rock channel and began following its westerly direction. Who snorted and grunted angrily – it was a tight fit, and more than once, the rest of the party had to push hard on his hindquarters to get him moving. Erwen whispered encouragement to the Owlbear to keep him from flying into an unstoppable rage, and managed to keep a lid on the creature’s ill temper. After several minutes of crawling, Who suddenly began sniffing the air and became agitated, his claws digging furrows in the rocks as the beast struggled to get loose. “Easy now, Who!” Erwen said. Who roared and suddenly popped forward like a cork flying from a bottleneck. A fetid breeze blew into the channel as the Owlbear let the rest of the party smell what he had been smelling. Who scrambled up out of the channel and disappeared from view. Varien used his divine sense and recoiled at the stench of evil undeath that polluted the area ahead. “Be on your guard, friends!” Following closely behind, Erwen and Varien noted that the channel opened into a much larger cavern, and that they were about five feet below the cavern’s surface – an easy climb out. The sound of scything claws and gnashing teeth was very loud and very close by – Who had found some prey. Climbing out of the channel, Varien saw that a blast furnace and mechanical bellows powered by a waterwheel dominated this large chamber. The furnace was cold and dark, but heaps of coal were piled nearby, along with carts full of what looked like unrefined ore. The waterwheel sat in the channel cut into the floor further to the west. More than a dozen withered corpses were scattered around the room, some of them still wearing the remnants of their armor. Floating above them, however, was a skull engulfed in green flame. There were other creatures in the cave – beings that moved through solid objects, trailing spectral tendrils behind them that waved in a breeze that Varien could not feel, though his heart was chilled at the sight of them. Directly to the south, Who was locked in combat with what looked like a pair of zombies. Varien pointed at the flaming skull. “That skull-” “I see it!” Theryn said, launching himself at the skull. He swung his bo staff and was rewarded with a solid crack. He followed through with a bicycle kick, striking the skull twice more and sending it reeling. Radegast pulled out her enchanted rapier and thrust it at the skull as it sizzled overhead. Varien breathed a quick prayer, took a running start, and jumped off a mine cart, his sword Talon flashing in the darkness as he sliced into the flaming skull, unleashing a divine strike that sent a shockwave of radiant energy through the cavern. The skull disintegrated under the force of his blow, green flames guttering and dying out as the fragments fell to the ground below. “Ha!” he shouted triumphantly. He was rewarded with the echoes of several groaning zombies throughout the cavern that got to their feet and began shambling towards him. Three zombies began climbing over the wooden superstructure of the waterwheel and bellows setup, their bodies riddled with arrows. Not to be outdone, Xylon stepped forward and cast burning hands on the approaching creatures, including a spectral orc that was floating in his direction. The zombies facing Who mauled the Owlbear. A zombie swung his arrow-pierced fists at Theryn, missing him, but a slam attack from a second zombie had him seeing stars. Varien’s shield protected him from the attacks of two more zombies. A spectre glided through Who’s body, tearing his flesh as it did so. Erwen wildshaped into bear form and came to the aid of his animal companion, biting down hard on a zombie. A spectre tore his incorporeal claws through Theryn’s midsection. The monk felt a dark chill ripple through his body, but it did not have a lasting effect. Who reared back and bit down hard on one of his zombie combatants, chewing it in half. Theryn turned and regarded his spectral opponent – it looked like in life it had been a dwarven mage. He attacked with a flurry of blows and swings from his bo staff, driving the undead creature back. Varien swung his sword, dealing radiant damage to another spectre. Xylon cast burning hands again, setting zombies and wooden beams alike alight. A zombie took advantage of Varien’s distraction and clawed him, and the spectre also struck the paladin a devastating blow. Erwen-Bear bit and clawed a zombie into chunks of rotting meat. Who tore another zombie apart at close range. Radegast poked her rapier into a spectre’s ribs. Theryn clocked a zombie with his staff. Varien swept his sword through a spectre, radiant energy preventing the creature from knitting itself back together. It disappeared in a wisp of ectoplasm. Xylon cast chromatic orb against a menacing spectre, opening a hole in its incorporeal body from which its life energy spewed out. A zombie clawed Erwen-Bear. Varien shouted in pain as another spectre swooped in and clawed him. Erwen bit another zombie in half and clawed at the spectre menacing his paladin friend. Theryn lined up a shot with his quarterstaff and struck a spectre squarely with it. The scream of an eagle reverberated through the cavern as the spectre disappeared. He leaned painfully on his staff. “I’m going to need a minute here. Maybe a few minutes. Maybe a long rest.” Xylon cast burning hands again, turning two zombies to ash. Varien strode forward and decapitated the last zombie. Silence descended over the cavern, save for the crackling of fire as the waterwheel threatened to go up in flames. Erwen-Bear’s sharp senses picked up a disturbance in the tunnel to the west. He could hear the sound of a fierce battle from the passageway. The fight was not over yet.