Wardens of Heroes Gate

Dawndra on Ten Trail

] You are in Fireshear preparing to make the dangerous trek North to Tentowns. You have just finished a long rest aboard the Kirn Kuldihr – the sailing vessel of your guide, Shenthrik Spinedelver. You are making this journey to compete in the Frozenfar Fray Games, an annual competition in the Tentowns area. Last night you arrived in Fireshear and discovered a raiding party of Duergar from Clan Grackleback were stealing a cache of weapons and other valuables. Who joined in the battle against the “Gracks” but Saarvin – a Gold Dragonborn native of Fireshear and long-time friend of Shent. Over a meal, he shared some guidance for competing in the Fray Games, seeing as how he has been through them four times as a competitor and several times before that as a guide to contestants. You also visited a local alchemist and stored up some healing potions and some vials of acid for fighting Frost Trolls.

] You awake to a soft silence. The waters at the docks of Fireshear are calm. You climb out of the hull to find a thick blanket of snow covers everything . Large dry flakes are falling, clouding your vision of the rest of the ships in dock and of the town up on the hillside.

Dawndra]  The cold snowy air invigorates me. I go out onto the end of the pier and, looking out over the sea of swords, I drop my robes and practice my forms before the day begins. Rising…. Sinking… breathing in, I breath… breathing out, I breath… Arms rise… arms sink… opening… clearing…

] 30 minutes pass without your notice, so deep is your medititation. The cold temperature give you an added +1 to your Con modifier, increasing your hp by +3.   As you complete Heaven’s Orbit, you notice the smell of pipe smoke and turn to find Shent sitting on the bow of Kirn Kuldhir watching you.

] Shent “Good Waking Dawndra”

Dawndra] “Good Waking.” I pick up my clothes, shake the snow off and cover my body.

] Shent “I hope you slept well enough… it may be a bit small but its where you will be sleeping for the next several tendays.”

Dawndra] “What? I expected we would be traveling by foot from here.”

] Shent “Oh we will… We can make our start as soon as you are ready. We will travel as far North as we can get today in this snow. But, and I will just have to show you, we will return here for safe rest each night. Unless, of course, you want to sleep in the wilderness. ”

Dawndra] “There is something I don’t understand, but you are my guide so I will trust you know what you are talking about.”

] Shent “You will see… and I think you will be happy to start each new day here as you have today. Speaking of being your guide… I want to make something clear – even if I don’t need to. I am your guide – not your guard. My job is to direct you, not protect you.”

Dawndra] “That sounds rehearsed.”

] Shent “It is. Point being, I will fight alongside you should the need arise but I am not your shield. And if I say run, I’m running whether or not you run too. Clear?”

Dawndra] “Of course. I would not have expected any different.”

] Shent “The dockmaster here is a friend, he will do his best to ensure the Kirn Kuldhir is left to itself while we are gone. If you want to store anything in the hull, it should be safe enough… unless giants attack Fireshear again… then… well… lets just hope for no giants right?”

] The two of you ready and depart. After a quick meal at Crotta’s  you strap on your snow shoes and begin your northbound journey on the snow-covered Ten Trail. Travel is slow but uneventful. Somewhere around Crex (midday) the snow stops falling and the sky brightens – affording you some spectacular views of the Spine of the World.  The mountains are larger and more striking than any can imagine. You do not see sign of any other persons the entire day and only hints of movement in the foothills. As Last Shadow nears, Shent is looking to call it a day.

] Shent “We have traveled just over six miles I would say. Not bad for a first timer in heavy snow. I say we call it a day and go get some grub at Crotta’s.”

Dawndra] “Crotta’s?”

] Shent “Over there, we can lose our tracks among the small copse of trees.”

] He leads to you offtrail to a forested area where the trees are so heavy with snow that the ground beneath them is mostly frozen gloam rather than fresh snow.

] Shent “This should do nicely.”

] He pulls out a gem from a pouch tied around his neck. It is a blue star sapphire similar to the one Guide Riandyl gave you to pay Shent with. He tucks it into the ground and tries to hide any trace of it. Then you see him reach a hand to the pendant braided into his snow-crusted beard. A moment later, a blazing blue portal opens up directly above where he buried the gem.

] Shent “After you friend. Don’t worry, as long as the Kirn Kuldhir is still afloat in the docks, it is perfectly safe. Just take a couple steps forward on the other side so I don’t knock into you.”

Dawndra] I step into the portal.

] As though stepping through a doorway, you find yourself inside the hull of Shent’s boat. A moment later Shent also steps through.

] Shent “Hungry? I sure am!”

] Inside Crotta’s you meet up again with Saarvin and Roller. The young dragonborn girl is overly excited to see you again and she talks your ear off whenever her father is not telling his own fantastic stories. He might embellish things a bit for flare, but you sense he truly is a legend of a Ranger in these parts.

] You sleep for a long rest in the Kirn Kuldhir. In the first shadow of day 26 you repeat your practices, have a quick meal and then step back into a swirling blue portal to find yourself back in the copse of trees where Shent buried the gem. He tucks it back into the pouch around his neck and you strap your snow shoes back on. Somewhere past Crex, Shent stops.

] Shent “Here we have a decision to make. You can’t tell with all the fresh snow, but if we head north and west from here we will be on The Iron Trail towards Ironmaster. If we continue north, we will soon see the city of Hundlestone. Given that the Gracks would not spare us an extra breath, I think we want to avoid Hundlestone. We can either go off-trail and give the city a really wide berth… or we can go underground. How do you feel about dark tunnels and tight spaces?”

Dawndra] “I can’t know I really know. The one time I tried to enter into a mountainside mine, I couldn’t… well… I couldn’t fit. It was a small crevasse. Even the gnome had to squeeze if I’m honest.”

] Shent “The path for the next 10 miles or so is the most dangerous regardless. If we enter into the old mining tunnels, we can skirt right around all of the drama at Hundlestone – and probably make much better time without snowshoes. Honestly I’ve travelled twice as many miles in these tunnels without encountering so much as a Bandicoot… but I’ve also nearly lost my life in these tunnels a few times too. There are more than few Remorhaz in these parts. Of course, when I want to find one, they are nowhere to be found. That was my last expedition… the one I had just got back from when you showed up at the Cutlass. I was guiding a party on a Remorahaz hunt. They had strong numbers, and I was worried about outcomes. With just you and I, we would be outmatched by an adult, and there is nowhere to run in the tunnels. Still, the odds are probably better for us there than anywhere near Hundlestone right now.”

Dawndra] “Tunnels it is then.” I feel for the ring on my finger which allows me magical light. I am not afraid of darkness – but I would be completely blind without some light and I don’t know if I can fight blinded. I find myself thinking about Olirasi and wishing I had spent more time taking lessons from her.

] Travel gets a little easier along The Iron Trail – the snow has stiffened and waymarkers are clear. Ater a few miles, Shent leads you off-trail into a region of rocky spikes and spires. He winds through the unique landscape – obviously quite familiar with the terrain.

] Shent “Here we are. Best light a torch, its going to get really dark really quick.”

Dawndra] I pull a torch from my pack and cast Light on it using my ring. “There’s more than one way to light a torch! eh?”

] You follow Shent into the tunnel which winds around and down into the ground a hundred feet or more deep. The spiral drops out into a surprisingly large tunnel running north and south from you. You see ancient support beams made of black timber. There is some detritus along the edges but it appears as  though the tunnel has seen recently foot traffic – perhaps quite a bit. The air is cold and smells of mineral and dirt.

] Shent whispers “We will likely hear trouble before we see it, so keep as quiet as can be.”

] You have been walking behind Shent for almost an hour when he motions to stop. He reaches out and feels the rock wall of the tunnel.

] Shent “What is that!?” he says softly. “Can you feel it?”

Dawndra] I put my hand on the wall.

] You notice a very slight vibration but probably would not have if Shent had not called your attention to it.

] Shent “Boots on ground. Lots of boots… hundreds. That is an army!”

Dawndra] “Where would an army come from out here?”

] Shent “Only one place… Ironmaster. And if Ironmaster is marching… the only reason will be Hundlestone. They are going to strike down the Gracklebacks!”

Dawndra] “Then Hundlestone will should be safe to travel thru on the way back then?”

] Shent “I would bet my blades on it. If Ironmaster has left their gates in force… the duergar clan does not have much of a chance to hold the city. Although honestly, no one knows how they even managed it in the first place. We have another choice to make I’m afraid…”

Dawndra] “You want to go back and join the march on Hundlestone?”

] Shent “No, I’m not the army-Dwarf sort of Dwarf… but to watch Ironmaster forces in action… that would surely be a story one could tell for years upon years. It would cost us a day extra… at most.”

Dawndra] “I have time before the games start. Let us go watch a war!”

] Shent “There is a connecting tunnel, maybe a mile ahead, which leads east and eventually into the mines beneath Hundlestone. I know a way through which might just give us the best view of the action if we can get there ahead of Ironmaster.”

Dawndra] “Lead on then Ser Spinedelver.”

] You continue forward in the tunnels for a distance before turning east down the connecting tunnel. The eastbound tunnels are a tighter fit for you and you need to duck to enter them. Before you walk more than a hundred feet, you hear echoes of conflict from the tunnels ahead. There is a ear-piercing shriek, followed by another, which make you reach to cover your ears.

] Shent “Trouble ahead. I cannot make out much.”

Dawndra] “If it is coming our way, I’d rather fight in the larger tunnel behind us.” I ready my ice pike at about half full length so I can use it in the tunnels. I carefully backtrack.

] Shent “There is someone running towards us, several someones… and fast.”

] Just as you reach the junction, five duergars appear running at full speed towards you.

Dawndra] I drop the torch and ready a defensive position.

] The under dwarves seem panic’d. A second later you see why. Chasing them is a snarling beast with a spiked horn on it head and giant tri-claws. Its head and neck are plated with shimmering white scales but the rest of its body is covered in dirty-white fur. Five duergar quickly become four as the monster shreds the backside of the furthest runner. The lead nearly plows into Shent trying to get away. [()] He tries to strike down the running dwarf but misses.

] Initiative

] The four duergar reach the larger tunnel and see you Dawndra blocking their way North and Shent blocking their way South. They apparently decide that north is the way they want to escape. One attacks you (03) as the other (04) tries to run around you. [()] The Grack fails to hit, leaving himself open to your reaction.

Dawndra]

] You stab the under dwarf as the other skirts around you and disappears down the tunnel. Shent attacks another duergar (01) as it runs into range. [()] You hear his battleaxe strike thru leather armor.

Dawndra] “They don’t want to fight us.”

] Shent “Keep the fodder penned! Attack the beast .”

Dawndra] I ready an attack for the rampaging beast as soon as it comes into range while trying to block the way north.

] Two of the duergar realize they are being boxed and turn to face the onrushing claws. [()] They both succeed in damaging the beast. It begins to circle them, putting its hind quarter into your range.

Dawndra]

] The ferocious thing squeals with a high pitched cry [()] but is so focused on the duergar it blames them for the pain [()] and takes a bite into one of them. You hear more charging echoes from the eastbound tunnel.

] Shent yells “More trouble coming!” and readies an action.

Dawndra] I repeat my attack on the beast

] The white-crested creature flops forward as your pike pierces vital organs.

Dawndra] I throw a side kick at one of the grey dwarves (03) – if only to prevent him from running around me

] Two Gracks attack Shent together [()] but he ducks and blocks their weapons. Another Ambusher charges into the intersection of tunnels and with strange squeal, like a tea kettle whistle, it thrusts its horned head upwards. [Dex Saving Throw]

Dawndra]

] Your ears being to ring as a burst of magical frost emanates from the horn of the creature, painting everyone and the walls around you in icy white. The duergar engaged with Dawndra falls on the blow but two remain.

] Shent “What was that!?” He attacks the second beast head-on [()] His axes glance off white scales.

Dawndra] I position myself for a flank attack on the creature

] You take good advantage of the flanking position, spearing the creatures side and then driving a heel kick repeatedly into the wound. The Frostspawn Ambusher turns on you – obviously injured and furious. The wounded duergar (01) sees an opportunity and runs past Shent. The other (02) follows.

] The Ambusher attacks you Dawndra, swiping with its giant three-clawed paw for 5 damage. It drops its head and attempt to charge you with its horn [()] but you sidestep the attack easily as it rushes past you into the northbound tunnel. [Opportunity Attack]

Dawndra]

] You deftly drop the creature to the tunnel floor.

Dawndra] I turn back towards the eastbound tunnel. “Any more coming? Can you tell?”

] Shent is quiet a moment. “I hear nothing. But m ears are ringing. Let us stay on guard to be sure.” After remaining still and quiet for nearly two minutes, he relaxes his fighting stance. “Did you see what this beast did?”

Dawndra] “Yes, but I have no idea how. Any idea what kind of beast it is?”

] Shent “Just a guess… but that kind of magic… it felt like a breath blast of a White Dragon. Plus, look at these scales… Ever seen a creature with both fur and scales?”

Dawndra] “Feathers and scales… but no… not fur and scales.”

] Shent “I’ve seen feathers that are scales… just south of Mirabar when Faernina and I were… oh… now is no time for those stories. These beasts… they must be dragonspawn. Some kind of cross between a White Dragon and… what do you think… a badger? A dire badger? And that squeal… it was… unnatural. My ears are still ringing.” He digs through his pack and pulls out a small sawblade. “If my guess is right, their magic is somehow in their horns. Help me out a minute. Hold the horn still.” With your help he begins to saw the horn from the corpse.

Dawndra] “Are you thinking you can use the horn to cast the same blast of frost?”

] Shent “Right. And if not, it may have other uses. Kinyalo will pay us well just for the opportunity to experiment with it.”After a few minutes, the major portion of the horn comes free. “There! Its not too heavy… I can pack it with us until we return to Fireshear tonight.”

Dawndra] “Do you want the other one?”

] Shent “Might as well. We will split whatever gold I get for them. Speaking of coin, we might as well loot that Grack too – no sense leaving his pocket change to rust down here.”

Dawndra] I search the corpse of the duergar.

] You find a few gold worth of coin and a small pouch with 3 gems (Onyx 50gp ea). After you remove the horn from the second creature, Shent packs up and starts back down the smaller eastbound tunnel. Several hundred feet in, you start to see more bodies of duergar slain by beasts. Some have been fed upon. Ahead the tunnel is nearly blocked by the corpse of a horned, white-scaled beast.

] Shent “There must be 20 more here. No way only three of those dragonspawn did all this. ”

Dawndra] “If the Gracklebacks were traveling west in such a large group, do you think they knew that Ironmaster was marching on them?”

] Shent “Hard to say… but you are correct – it does seem a large group. Could be several raiding parties going out of the city together… or maybe they were fleeing the city knowing that war was upon them. Let’s pick them clean and take what we can carry.”

[()]

] As you are digging through the bloody packs and pockets of the slain duergar, suddenly a Frostspawn Ambusher charges out of a hidden whole in the side of the tunnel wall. [()] Shent is hit hard by the horn of the creature. He flies into the wall and falls to the ground. The ambusher grabs his feet in it mouth and begins dragging it back into the hole.

Dawndra] “Shent!” I attack the creature

] You get one strike against the creature before it backs into the hole – with Shent in its jaws. Just ahead, another ambusher appears from another hidden hole and starts towards you.

Dawndra] I extend my ice pike to its full 10 feet and through it to the ground long-ways. “Shent! Hold on – don’t let it pull you all the way in!” I prepare a stance to face the second beast.

] Shent is able to grab hold of your weapon which is plenty long enough to cross the hole. He struggles and yells with the pain – his legs being torn by teeth. The second beast stops short of an attack then raises his horned head upwards. Your ears are once again assaulted with a high-pitched squealing and a burst of cold energy radiates out. [Dexterity check]

Dawndra]

[()]

] The cold blasts the both of you. Shent nearly loses his grip. You can see his legs are being tugged at from inside the hole.

] Initiative

Dawndra] “Hang on Shent!” I unleash all I’ve got against the beast in the tunnel.

] You perform a sweeping advance and raise your knee into the throat of the ambusher. Then you slam your elbow down into the scaled skull repeatedly. The creature is clearly injured and lets out a series of odd chirping sounds. Then it attacks you. [()] It misses with a bite attack but catches you with its claws for 7 dmg. You hear another yell from Shent, now behind you.

] Shent “It has released me. Watch out – it’s probably circling to attack you.” he says as he slides your weapon towards you. “Here, your pike!” He begins pulling himself out of the hole.

Dawndra] I don’t want to risk having that horn rammed up my backside so I continue to beat on the beast unarmed.

] You pound on the skull of the creature until its brain staggers and its eye go empty. It falls before you.

Dawndra] I pick up my weapon and ready for another attack from behind.

] You see Shent has pulled himself out into the tunnel but remains prone. His legs are mangled and bleeding. From another hole about 20 ft west of you, you see the other ambusher emerge.

Dawndra] I step over Shent to place myself between him and the creature. Then I ready a Dodge action.

] The ambusher charges with its horn [()] you feel a blast of cold force energy throw you backwards and you land atop Shent, taking 4 cold damage.

Dawndra] I try to throw my pike as a spear from my prone position

] Your desperate throw is successful, piercing into the left forward shank of the beast and sticking there. It howls in pain and raises its horn. [()] There is no squealing sound however. As it moves forward, your ice pike is jammed further in by the corpse of a duergar. The beast yelps and looks confused for a second before it begins backing away from you, taking your weapon with it.

Dawndra] “Oh no you don’t! Get back here!” I get to my feet and go after it.

] The creature attempts to turn around in the narrow tunnel but again, the long spike sticking out of its chest gets caught on the tunnel wall and it cries out again. As you approach, it again attempts to blast you with cold burst [()] but the magic does not recharge.

Dawndra] I grab my ice pike and attempt to shove it even further into the creature [Strength check]

] You succeed and punish the beast with pain (-10 hp). It attempts to slash at you [()] twice but you  hold it out of reach with your weapon. Another shove and the needle sharp point finds the beasts heart. It falls dead.

Dawndra] I turn back. “Shent! You still alive?”

] Shent is laying on the ground, digging through his pack. “Still here. A bit hobbled… not sure if I can walk.” He pulls a potion out and drinks it down. Then he hands you one. “Here – you are not looking great yourself.”

Dawndra] I drink it down (4d4 +4 = 10hp)

] Shent “I can stand at least. Not sure how many miles I can risk without some rest… we may have yet another decision before us.”

Dawndra] “Back to northbound tunnel? I wouldn’t mind… this one is a bit tight for me anyhow.”

] Shent “We will just have to hear the story of Ironmaster at Hundlestone from the bards I guess. Oh well. Let’s see how much coin we pick from this lot.. We will probably need it to replenish our supply of healing potions.”

] You find several coins on just about every corpse, amounting to just over 100gp. Every one of the Gracklebacks were carrying the same black Onyx gems. You tally up a total of 42 Onxy gems (42x50gp = 2,100gp) . Aside from these, you find some other mundane items, some daggers and common weapons and armor. Most weapons are hammers or war-picks much like the ones you saw on the docks when you fought the Grackelback raiding party. In one pack, you find a strange shaped rock with 8 even sides. Each side has some sort of rune carved into it.

Dawndra] I show it to Shent “What do you make of this?”

] Shent “Careful not to drop that… it looks like a Thunderstone. I’ve heard about these. Basically you throw it, it breaks open with a really loud bang. Might come in useful… might break in the pack too… you choose.”

Dawndra] I roll the Thunderstone into one of the side holes. I keep looting.

]  The pack on the back of one corpse has some rope and torch and some kind of toolkit. There is also a small sealed bag of something mushy – you assume food of some kind.

Dawndra] I open the bag of mush out of curiousity.

] The area is suddenly filled with the foul smell of rancid fat.

] Shent “Whew! What is that? I can smell it from here!”

Dawndra] I close it back up quickly. “Looks like a bag of rancid fat? Why would they carry this around?”

] Shent “Some questions are better not to ask.”

] You find on the body of the Grack carrying the rancid fat, a smelly filthy rag wrapped around a small pocket tin. It is rusted and dinged-up, but appears to be sealed tight.

Dawndra] I take the toolkit and the pocket tin. Being curious, I open it and look inside.

] Inside the pocket tin is some kind of ointment which smells to be made of the same rancid fat.

Dawndra] “Look… That fat is like some kind of ointment? I found this in his pocket. What do you think it is?”

] Shent “Nasty business! That is what I think it is! But if I took a serious guess, I’d say it was some kind of healing ointment. Try it and see… just stay downwind from me righto?”

Dawndra] “You think it is enchanted? Like a potion of sorts? Hold on…” I pull the bag of mush from the backpack and open it, slightly.

] The contents of the sack reeks as does the ointment in the tin except the smell from the tin has a metallic or medicinal taint.

Dawndra] “Whew!” I quickly close the bag. “I think you are right… now why would he carry rancid fat in a bad and in a tin… unless the tin somehow transforms the fat. I’m going to try it… sorry…” I open the tin and smear the contents on my skin… down on my ankles… far away from my nose.

] You regain 4d4+4 HP.

Dawndra] “Yes – it is a healing ointment. I may need a wizard to confirm it… but I will hang on to this tin.”

] Shent “Here… let me carve you off some fat from this dragonspawn to use instead of that smelly bag of smell.” He digs a blade into the belly of one of the ambushers and drops a handful of fat on the ground. “There… see if that works instead. ”

Dawndra] I wipe out the tin with the foul rag and fill it with the beast fat.

] Nothing happens.

Dawndra] “Well, it might need some time. I close it up and tuck it in my pack.”

] You gather everything else you might want or need and then head back to the northbound tunnel. Travel is slow but uneventful. After several hours, Shent decides to find a safe place to open a portal within the underground chambers. The next day (day 27) you are both back to full strenghth and exit the mining tunnels about ten miles north of Hundlestone. You travel the Ten Trail throughout the day. Along the way you have several small encounters with the local wildlife – including an attack by two hungry Crag Cats – which you defended against easily enough. You again portaled to the Fireshear docks just as Last Shadow started. Shent says you will be in Bryn Shander by Crex of day 28.