Session 74: The returning of glory

General Summary

So there we were. Deep inside a keep of fire giants built into a volcano. Face to face with their king named Snurre. Behind him stood a magnificent ancient forge that pulled on my soul. Snurre abandoned Morradin in favour of worshipping Ignalbaum, the dragon which inhabited the volcano as a god. There was no other option than to fight.   Aaldryn made the first move, casting a spell on the Snurre that addled his mind to think he was stuck in a vortex of blades. He told us to stay away from him, making the illusion last longer. So we started attacking it with everything we got.   During the fight, I got several strange visions of the forge. At first I saw it being much smaller, about the size that a dwarf would prefer. I then saw a dwarf working at the forge, she looked very similar to my mother. The dwarf seemed to be doing some kind of ritual channelling energy through the anvil into the item she was crafting. The items she was crafting looked similar to a crown, which reminded me of stories of the ancient dwarven kings. In those times all Thaigs were joined as one kingdom. The crown Snurre was wearing looked identical to the crown in the visions. Moradin must’ve guided it back to the forge where it was created. A feeling dawned on me that this is why Moradin guided me here and that I had to prove myself before restoring the crown.   While these visions intermittently appeared, we fought hard to defeat Snurre. It looked like he was about to go down, so Valstrax charged in with Mythweaver. Aaldryn’s illusion dissipated and Snurre seemed to have been defeated, but suddenly the crown on his head started to glow. Tendrils of magma rose from the pool and wrapped around him; he was more powerful than he had been. We attacked him with all our might, but Valstrax and I, who were close to Snurre got hurt by the heat of the magma. After wailing on Snurre with weapons and spells, we finally defeated him. With one last blast of power from my hand Snurre came crashing down before us. I had never seen Valstrax be that hurt before in a fight, the magma really did a number on him.   After a short rest, we pried that crown off of Snurre’s head and took the head with us as well as proof. Getting to the classroom we removed the iron bar blocking the door and Voron talked to the teacher. The teacher rightfully looked very distressed at the decapitated head of their king that we had brought. After we backed off they made their escape. We took a nice long rest with the mountain being cleared of giants.   Early in the morning we headed back to the forge. Janey performed a magical ritual on both the forge and the crown to learn more about their lore. The forge was called ‘The Anvil of the Void’, a legendary title that I had never heard of before. Its purpose was to channel magical energy from the forger into the item they were crafting, a difficult task indeed. The crown was indeed the very crown of the ancient dwarven kings, though it had seen better days. I knew for sure at that point that I had to restore the crown. But before I could, I had to prove myself to Moradin. If I were to attempt to restore it unproven, I would likely disintegrate by the mere attempt.   The forging of a magical item took a lot out of me. Even though I could bear some heat, working beside a caldera was another thing. The anvil also sapped part of my magical ability to channel it into the weapon. Luckily that very same magic helped create a dousing pool for the metal. My friends helped me along the way. It was my task to prove myself, but that didn’t mean I couldn't get some help. Both Voron and Valstrax helped me when they could stand the heat. Voron guided me as I worked and Valstrax’s aura helped with bearing the heat. It took a total of ten days to craft the item that was lodged in my mind. I didn’t know what I was crafting, but it turned out to be a magnificent and magical shield! Shortly after finishing, I felt lightheaded and fell unconscious.   When I woke up, I was surprised that I couldn’t feel any of the heat anymore. I felt like I could touch magma without getting hurt. Also, somehow I could make fire spew out of my hand at will. I felt this was a blessing of Moradin and a sign that I had been deemed worthy to restore the crown and become the next King Chooser. That did mean that I had to say goodbye to my friends. My people needed me and I couldn’t let Moradin down and the task would require a lot of my time. I travelled with them back to Youghal and promised them that if they ever needed my help, they would only need to let me know. When time allowed, I also promised to search the library in Castleinn for any help with the flying city.   My purpose for adventuring has been found and now a new one has arisen. I hope you all find such a purpose in due time.   Your friend, Duldar Coppergrip, Chosen of Moradin, Returner of Glory.

Rewards Granted

Leveled up!!! Level 13