Session 13: Sunblight Part I

General Summary

After realizing it would be impossible to catch up to the Chardalyn Dragon here in the depts of the Spine of the World, the party made the climb into Sunblight. When the party approached the front gate they spotted the tracks of the three duergar they had been trailing for several days now. Other than those tracks, this path had not been traveled in a very long time.
Peering through Ollivander's eyes, hopping through the snow, he approached the font gate. Through his sight, Atalanta noticed a small opening where a guard from inside the castle can observe. Jumping into the opening, Ollivander was noticed by the guard there on duty but quickly scurried away. After a few moment's, mysteriously the front gate began to open. As the party into the entrance of Sunblight, careful to wedge the door so that it could not close entirely, they we ambushed by a horde of duergar lying in wait. The party made quick work of the dark dwarves with a carefully placed fireball from Morthos.
Making their way into the guard's chambers, Atalanta found a secret door that led them into a rectangular room with two sets of double doors, one to the north and the other to the south. A brazier of glowing-hot coals stands in each corner. In the middle of the room is a low stone table, on the top of which is drawn an illustration that looks something like a map. Closer inspection of the drawing revealed that it’s an accurate depiction of Ten-Towns and its environs. Mounted to the top of a thin iron stand on the table is a 6-inch-tall dragon figurine carved out of chardalyn—a miniature version of Xardorok’s chardalyn dragon, its wings outstretched. The figurine’s stand is attached by an iron rod to a groove carved into the table, allowing the figurine to move across the map from one settlement to another. If a lever on the west side of the table is pulled, the dragon figurine “flies” over Ten-Towns on its preset course. As you payed close attention, you discerned the flight path of Xardorok’s chardalyn dragon would take 2 hours to reach Dougan's Hole; furthermore only 4 hours until it reached Easthaven.

Chardalyn Dragon's Flight Path

This discovery solidified the decision to press forward and figure out a way to stop the dragon or better yet, defeat Xardorok Sunblight. One of the doors in this room led you into Xardorok's Xardorok’s personal chambers where you had set off a trap but eventually pilfered through some of his personal belongings.
As you continued to traverse through the fortress, you made your way to the guard room that Ollivander had previously snuck into. A floor-to-ceiling iron cage dominated the middle of the room that contained an elevator shaft with chains running up and down away from it. The chains are in constant motion, and you hear loud mechanical noises higher up the shaft and farther down as well. This specific elevator seemed to go up-only. In room you discovered the culprit who allowed you to walk in through the front entrance. Before Amelia viciously slit his throat, he informed you that there was a revolution forming against Xardorok because of his harsh rulership and declining mental stability. He told you where to find Grandolpha Muzgardt Grand Dame of the Muzgardt duergar clan.

Entry Level

Just down the hall from the initial battle, you found the private dinning hall the duergar had mentioned. Three braziers heaped with glowing-hot coals illuminated and heated this long hall. At the eastern end is a hexagonal stone table surrounded by six stone chairs. Seated in the chair facing the door is a haggard old duergar with long black hair streaked with ribbons of white and fingernails like shards of iron. She sat there devouring a hearty buffet of cooked meats, mushrooms, and the brain of some strange creature from the Underdark. Lurking next to her is a small mechanical dragon made of a shiny black substance.
Behind her stood three hulking dark skinned, grey furred yeti's. Hunched over a hot stove in the west side of the room were three duergar cooks. At the sight of you, they dropped their utensils and reached for their weapons, but the old duergar said something in Dwarvish that kept them at bay.

Grand Dame of the Muzgardt Duergar Clan

The old duergar introduced herself as Grandolpha. She is here in Sunblight because Xardorok had proposed an alliance between his clan and the Muzgardt clan. She told you honestly that she's entertaining Xardorok’s offer but hasn’t agreed to anything. The mechanical pseudodragon is a gift from Xardorok, designed to win her affection. She doesn’t know Xardorok’s current whereabouts but assumes he’s in the forge on the lowest level of the fortress.
She also shared with you that Xardorok is capturing Underdark monsters, which he plans to unleash upon Icewind Dale. He has also captured a myconid sovereign and is using its spores to reanimate corpses. Given time, Grandolpha thinks she can turn most of the Sunblight duergar against Xardorok. Several of them have already pledged their loyalty to her. She made the agreement that her men would help you take down Xardorok and she would even let you keep whatever spoils you found in exchange for Castle Sunblight.
She promised that if you succeeded, she would let you leave Sunblight unharmed and even spare Tentowns from any attacks from her clan for at least the next century.

Sunblight Top Level

After making the deal, you left and made your way to the chamber containing the elevator. Making your way up to the top floor where the chardalyn dragon previously emerged from, you found the workshop where the construct was assembled. Two invisible duergar made their escape from the workshop. As you followed suit to chase them down the long hallway, they were cut off by a familiar figure. Their lives came to an end as their bodies were slammed against the stone wall.
Stopping in your tracks from the sudden outburst, you watched as a snowy white owl flew halfway down the long hallway towards your direction and landed in the middle of the corridor. Making her presence know walking around the corner, was the same eye-patched woman Atalanta saw just a few days before in Easthaven.

Grandolpha Muzgardt

Report Date

20 Apr 2021