Shaken Yet Unstirred, Part 2
General Summary
Returning to Mine 37-C, King Bombo and Marrajo found things had only gotten worse. The mine had been quarantined, yet the dwarves they had tied up had returned to work, continuing to sing their song. The tunnels had progressed as well. After searching every inch of the mine for clues, all Marrajo could find was an overwhelming enchantment aura on the miners, so the party decided to see if Diggy Gemsniffer's dreams were somehow to blame. Bombo slept first, and had a vision:
The Great Mountain erupted and fire poured from its mouth, filling the caverns of Forgehaven with lava and blood. From the depths of the caldera, a large dragon spread its wings above the Stoney Mountains and burned dwarves and outsiders alike on the streets of Fjordhaven. He spoke to the dreamer, then: "I will be avenged, for I am Caex'charir! None may slay me except Dragonslayer.
My vengeance for your sin
will be named Justice by Moradin.
Now dig and see!
Break your backs for me! And I will boil the blood of your kin!" The dream ended with a flash of an ancient chamber that looked like a massive forge bathed in red light. Bombo, having slept in his armor, did not experience any domination effect, but resolved to remove all the dwarves from the mine anyway. Hearing singing in another mine, he found it had been infected, too, so he recruited some guards to move all of them into the prison and summoned all of the city's healers to try to break the enchantment. Only Goraldina, high priestess of Berronar, was able to break the powerful curse, and even she struggled. Eventually, all the miners were freed, but not before Marrajo himself was affected, having wanted to see the dream himself. Bombo paid the miners their lost wages, but in their pride they returned the gold to Lord Orem, who in turn returned it to the king, before returning to the mines to work, whether for the pride or for fear of losing their jobs, none said. Orem also provided maps, but despite Marrajo's geography skills, he could not pinpoint the source of the dream, even triangulating all of the now three affected mines. It seemed the mountain itself was emanating the curse, and the tunneling was random. Bombo investigated the oldest forges in the depths of Forgehaven, and spent some time there with its proud forgemasters. He found that thes forges were made in the same style as the one in his dream, and used a clockwork system of gears to pull the hottest fire from the earth, but none of them were big enough or old enough to match the one he was looking for. Digging through local libraries, Marraho found no mention of a dragon, though he was able to translate the name from Draconic: Red Sword. He also discovered that the Elder Lords of Forgehaven were the ones who oversaw the first forges, and only one lord from those days yet lived: Lord Durak of Kadre Harbor.
A visit to Kadre Harbor proved valuable as the King was willing to condescend to sit at Durak's right hand and hear his wisdom. After enduring Durak's barbs, Bombo discovered the greatest secret of the dwarves of Pandora: the source of their fire was a captured great red wyrm. The dragon in the dream was real, and his essence fueled the dwarves' monopoly on metallurgic goods in Pandora. Every magic item component, every weapon, every metal mined from dwarven pickaxes, owed its existence to the Kingdom of Fjordhaven. The destruction or release of the Caex'charir would be catastrophic for their people. Agreeing with him, Durak called upon the king to swear not to do so, and Bombo agreed to do whatever it takes to secure Fjordhaven's future. Satisfied, Lord Durak revealed the location of the Dragonslayer, the one weapon that could rebind the dragon to the mountain. It was kept by the gnomes who first helped the dwarves. It may have been Moradin's Folk who built the forges, but it was Gond's Tinkerers who designed them. As Marrajo had been forbidden to hear Durak's words, Bombo only informed him that the key to defeating the dragon Caex'charir was a weapon called Dragonslayer, kept in a gnome vault in Ozrilyn. Before the king could say another word, however, a messenger rushed in to tell him that the "singing sickness" had spread to the surface of Fjordhaven, and that Queen Javida had disappeared into the mines! The King rushed home on his metal steed, and Marrajo barely kept up to jump aboard before they returned to Fjordhaven.
The Great Mountain erupted and fire poured from its mouth, filling the caverns of Forgehaven with lava and blood. From the depths of the caldera, a large dragon spread its wings above the Stoney Mountains and burned dwarves and outsiders alike on the streets of Fjordhaven. He spoke to the dreamer, then: "I will be avenged, for I am Caex'charir! None may slay me except Dragonslayer.
My vengeance for your sin
will be named Justice by Moradin.
Now dig and see!
Break your backs for me! And I will boil the blood of your kin!" The dream ended with a flash of an ancient chamber that looked like a massive forge bathed in red light. Bombo, having slept in his armor, did not experience any domination effect, but resolved to remove all the dwarves from the mine anyway. Hearing singing in another mine, he found it had been infected, too, so he recruited some guards to move all of them into the prison and summoned all of the city's healers to try to break the enchantment. Only Goraldina, high priestess of Berronar, was able to break the powerful curse, and even she struggled. Eventually, all the miners were freed, but not before Marrajo himself was affected, having wanted to see the dream himself. Bombo paid the miners their lost wages, but in their pride they returned the gold to Lord Orem, who in turn returned it to the king, before returning to the mines to work, whether for the pride or for fear of losing their jobs, none said. Orem also provided maps, but despite Marrajo's geography skills, he could not pinpoint the source of the dream, even triangulating all of the now three affected mines. It seemed the mountain itself was emanating the curse, and the tunneling was random. Bombo investigated the oldest forges in the depths of Forgehaven, and spent some time there with its proud forgemasters. He found that thes forges were made in the same style as the one in his dream, and used a clockwork system of gears to pull the hottest fire from the earth, but none of them were big enough or old enough to match the one he was looking for. Digging through local libraries, Marraho found no mention of a dragon, though he was able to translate the name from Draconic: Red Sword. He also discovered that the Elder Lords of Forgehaven were the ones who oversaw the first forges, and only one lord from those days yet lived: Lord Durak of Kadre Harbor.
A visit to Kadre Harbor proved valuable as the King was willing to condescend to sit at Durak's right hand and hear his wisdom. After enduring Durak's barbs, Bombo discovered the greatest secret of the dwarves of Pandora: the source of their fire was a captured great red wyrm. The dragon in the dream was real, and his essence fueled the dwarves' monopoly on metallurgic goods in Pandora. Every magic item component, every weapon, every metal mined from dwarven pickaxes, owed its existence to the Kingdom of Fjordhaven. The destruction or release of the Caex'charir would be catastrophic for their people. Agreeing with him, Durak called upon the king to swear not to do so, and Bombo agreed to do whatever it takes to secure Fjordhaven's future. Satisfied, Lord Durak revealed the location of the Dragonslayer, the one weapon that could rebind the dragon to the mountain. It was kept by the gnomes who first helped the dwarves. It may have been Moradin's Folk who built the forges, but it was Gond's Tinkerers who designed them. As Marrajo had been forbidden to hear Durak's words, Bombo only informed him that the key to defeating the dragon Caex'charir was a weapon called Dragonslayer, kept in a gnome vault in Ozrilyn. Before the king could say another word, however, a messenger rushed in to tell him that the "singing sickness" had spread to the surface of Fjordhaven, and that Queen Javida had disappeared into the mines! The King rushed home on his metal steed, and Marrajo barely kept up to jump aboard before they returned to Fjordhaven.
Rewards Granted
Loot:
[11,000 gp] Wages from Fjordhaven Mining Company for recovery of Sentient Assets
Experience:
Bombo (13): 1,300 XP = 975 (the dwarves aren't actually drunk this time, we swear) + 325 (Durak-charmer)
Marrajo (8): 4,800 XP = 3,600 + 1,200
Alignment:
Bombo does not shift
New Current Events
Fjordhaven
[11,000 gp] Wages from Fjordhaven Mining Company for recovery of Sentient Assets
Experience:
Bombo (13): 1,300 XP = 975 (the dwarves aren't actually drunk this time, we swear) + 325 (Durak-charmer)
Marrajo (8): 4,800 XP = 3,600 + 1,200
Alignment:
Bombo does not shift
Show spoiler
Marrajo shifts to: because he acted within his alignment.
Show spoiler
N5/N5 (True Neutral) and his cohort, Don Greedman, threatens to leave if much more of this keeps up (basically, he'll be upset if you move 2 steps away from his alignment, but it may still depend on circumstances and the DM).
New Current Events
Fjordhaven
- 1/day--an earthquake occurs. They are getting worse. ~~10%~~ 25% chance it is large enough to endanger people from damaged buildings, avalanches or falling rocks.
- Anyone sleeping with the city limits of Fjordhaven will have a dream of a dragon (see World Anvil article on Caex'charir for details) and be subjected to a Show spoilerdominate monster spell, Will save DC 25, mind-affecting compulsion, caster level 19 (19 days on a failed save) and be forced to dig a random tunnel in the mines.
Related Reports
Report Date
12 Jul 2024
Primary Location
Secondary Location
Related Characters
