Chapter 40: The Yikari of Mount Hamarhaast

General Summary

Date: 11th of Marpenoth to 14th of Marpenoth, 1491 DR

  As the airship drifted skyward, leaving solid ground behind, the heroes began their journey towards the Silver Marches in order to locate the Forge of the Fire Giants and find another Conch of Teleportation. With the wind on their side and a horizon illuminated by sunlight, their journey began without danger. That quickly changed however.   Beyond the clouds, Ranvas spotted a familiar red creature hiding within the clouds, tracking the ship. The crew prepared for combat as a young red dragon pierced the clouds, it's flaming maw aimed towards the ship. It's fire breath spread across the deck as the heroes began fighting the beast. It clawed and bit as Bene and Belros were trying to hold it off. The dragon snatched Nomime and flung away from the ship and dropped her from hundreds of feet towards her demise. It then charged back into battle.   While Ranvas loaded the harpoon gun, Nomime managed to transform into a giant bat and fly back to the ship. Another harpoon lodged into the dragon, this time with a rope attached that kept the dragon in place for the Good Fellas to kill it off. Its still corpse laid on the deck, while the heroes made for an emergency landing.   With barely enough supplies to fix the heavily-damaged balloon, the heroes decided to rest for the night and head off to a nearby settlement. As the first rays of the sun hit the ground, they were heading towards a hamlet called Newfort.   Landing their vehicle to the edge of the settlement, the heroes went along the road to the center of the village. They eventually found a tavern called Hero's Reward with a hospitable tavern keeper Delf Dereldar who served the group some drinks and food. They got rumors regarding the Fire Giants as well as managed to hear about an ancient Fire Giant forge Ironslag that was nestled within Mount Hamarhaast. This might be the place they were looking for.   Since the ship was badly damaged from the fight with the red dragon, the heroes hired some helping hands from the village to fix it. After the day had passed, the Good Fellas were ready to venture north towards Mount Hamarhaast. They bid their farewells to the hamlet as the airship pulled up and disappeared in the horizon. During this trip they were met by a scouting Storm Giant flying an enormous roc. The encounter ended as abruptly as it started, once the Giant concluded the heroes were inconsequential to their quest. It disappeared within the storm clouds and the journey continued.   After several hours had gone by, the majestic Mount Hamarhaast could be seen from the horizon. The adventurers got a glimpse of a village perched on the mountain side, as well as massive adamantium doors that awaited in the foot of the mountains. They landed a safe distance away from the doors and investigated them. Ranvas knew the password to open the gates, but unfortunately he had forgotten it. Thus, their plan now was to infiltrate the village in the cover of night and free the prisoners.   The Good Fellas, after scaling the twelve thousand steps, were finally outside of the village that was split in two by a ravine. Climbing over the mortared stone walls, they used the cover of the huts and scanned the area. No guards were present, but they found several prisoners locked inside metal cages that were left outside. They freed them and escorted them to safety outside the walls. The moon elf slaves begged the party to save their princess, who was kept inside the chieftains hut.   The heroes agreed and made their way to the other side of the ravine and climbed over the wall. Soft as shadows, they unlocked each cage and freed many slaves without raising any alarm. This was about to change however. While being escorted to safety, one of the prisoners fell and made a loud noise. This attracted the yak-folk in the nearby hut and the heroes were unable to stealth past them.   Using the surprise to their advantage, the heroes attacked. Bene threw a vial that shattered on the yikaria's face, paralyzing it. He turned invisible and climbed through the window only to see another yak-man waking up. The rest of the party dashed in, trying to apprehend the awaken yak-man who was now bellowing in alarm. They finally managed to take down the two, but the noises had attracted another pair of yak-folk who barged outside from their hut.   Luckily, the Good Fellas had managed to hide and weren't spotted by the Yikaria. They made their way towards the last cages, hugging the walls of the village. The yak-folk were also approaching the cages. Suspecting a revolt or planned escape, they grabbed one of the halfling slaves and threw them to the ground, threatening to execute them if they wouldn't tell of their plans. The halfling had no idea about what was transpiring in the village and pleaded for their life. A sharp blade of a sword was pressed against their neck as the halflings friends watched in horror from their cage.   The yak-men were caught by surprise as four individuals dashed towards them. Ranvas unloaded his gun, shooting two of the yak-men, while Nomime summoned a tidal wave that crashed to the remaining two. The heroes easily took them down, but the noises from the combat had alerted the other residents of the village. More reinforcements arrived, shooting arrows towards the party.   From behind Nomime, the ground begins to rise up as a massive genie, Dao, appears behind her. The chieftain with his two brides rushes out of their tent and attacks the party. One the brides, a priest, banishes Ranvas into the water-realm, as the Chief Kartha-Kay clashes against Belros. Bene joins the fray and together he and Belros manage to kill off the chief.   The Dao and the second bride summon earth-elementals to join the battle. Nomime runs off to line up a Lightning Bolt that almost vaporizes the two priests. From the shock of damage, the priest loses concentration and Ranvas is brought back. He uses this opportunity to line up shots and the tides of battle turn as two priests get defeated, their summoned creatures disappearing as well.   Once the battle is over, Bene intimidates the remaining yak-man to surrender, which it does. They rush into the tents only to find three moon elves, bloodied in the floor. Luckily, the elves were still barely alive and the heroes had means to heal them. After waking up the princess Halani, she rushes in to kill the tied-up yak-man the party took prisoner. After the encounter, she relaxes and the heroes tell her what happened.   Princess Halani tells that more prisoners are inside the mines and asks if the party would be willing to escort her back to her people. The party uses this time to search the village and plan what they will do next. Will they save the moon elves and escort them to their home or will they continue to venture inside the Forges of the Fire Giants?

Rewards Granted

• Illusionist Gambit
• Bandolier of Elements
• Potion of Superior Healing
• Flame Tongue
• Dao Urn
• Bonfire Charm
• Vineyard Amulet
• 50 platinum pieces from Brodo Figgins ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Missions/Quests Completed

• Overtake the Yak-folk village and rescue the Moon Elf Princess

Character(s) interacted with

• Delf Dereldar, the tavern keep of Hero's Reward
• Jorok Narm, the constable of Newfort 

• Brodo Figgins
• Sammin Gamgi
• Pip Tookborough
• Merriam Brandy

• Halani, the Moon Elf Princess
• Hasaan al-Hamzalahdeen, the imprisoned Dao
• Chief Kartha-Kaya