Session 5
General Summary
The party were allowed into Khazagrim by the guards at the gate because they had Traubon with
them. They were led down some very small straight corridors that they guessed were designed
more for defence than anything else and soon found themselves in the halls of Khazagrim proper.
Every room they came across was a marvel of dwarven engineering and craftsmanship. The rooms
were lit with magically enchanted gems spilling beautiful lights of all colours across the walls,
floors and ceilings. The tunnels that connected the halls were bare, for the most part straight,
unadorned and dark. It was clear the dwarves just used these to connect the halls which were their
masterpieces.
They were led into some guest chambers where hot and cold springs bubbled and food was laid on
for them. They relaxed for a while, letting the arduous of the trail wash away from them. Then
they decided to see if Flek could read the next rune on The Map of Titus. He was unable to do so.
They were not sure if that was because he was not yet a Sylvarran or if that was because they were
not deep enough in the realm of the dwarves.
Later that day they were given an audience with Dain Balzar who was overlord of the dwarves and
whose word was law in Khazagrim. Also in attendance was the High Priest of Moradin, Jedd. The
group spoke at length with the dain, telling him of news of the Kingdom. They learnt that Nolo
Ironbrand was in fact Prince Nolo and was the dain's son. They told of the war with the Easterners
and of the invasion of the orcs of the north. The dain listened intently, asking questions where
appropriate. The party went on to explain their desire to read the runes on The Map of Titus and
also to stop the dwarves from chopping down what they guessed were the roots of the elven Tree
of Life. The dain agreed to discuss these matters fully if the party would do a favour for him and
the dwarves.
Apparently an ancient dwarven hero and smith had once built a large stronghold where he and his
clan created many weapons of great power for the dwarves. This stronghold was overrun by ogres
and the dwarves routed. It was said that the ogres never found the lost horde of magical weapons
however. The party agreed to go and see if they could clear the stronghold of evil. The dain told
them that it was believed the stronghold existed on three levels.
Fortunately Traubon knew of the location of Khundrakar and was able to lead the party right to
the gate. They approached up a winding path that lead up a steep cliff face. At the entrance to the
stronghold they saw a few ogre guards. The party concocted a neat ruse to get Tor inside, telling
them he was an emissary from the orcs. He got just inside the entrance when the others lured the
remaining guard away and killed him. Unfortunately they were spotted by hidden guards and the
alarm went up! Chaos reigned! Tor was on the inside of the stronghold surrounded by ogre guards.
Kai was half way in having successfully followed the half orc some of the way. The rest of the
party were still on the outside. The group battled valiantly to bring themselves together and were
reunited just inside the stronghold with a host of dead ogres at their feet and splashed all over the
floors.
Once inside they started to explore the area a bit more thoroughly. They found some prisoners
who they released and told to wait outside as the wilds were dangerous. They continued to explore
and came across a room with a single large, blue, ogre in it with a pet wolf of immense size. They
surprised the ogre and slew it easily. The wolf too. However, as they were checking over it's
treasure chests the ogre rose back from the dead, ran to the corner of the room and blasted half the
party with an immense cone of cold. It was an ogre magi! The party just survived, but managed to
defeat the ogre magi and burn it's body. They recovered some potions, gold and an interesting
silver bracelet of unknown properties from the treasure chests. They decided at this stage to go
and camp back near the entrance and get some rest. Unfortunately they forgot about the two
prisoners they had rescued and left them outside. The prisoners didn't last long when a patrol of 5
ogres returned later that day. Nor did the ogres when they met the party at a deep chasm spanned
by a rope bridge. The sounds of this combat brought the remainder of the ogres to the party and
they just about managed to fend them off. Beaten up and out of healing the party spent a worried
but safe night just inside the ogre lair.
The next day they finished exploring the upper level of the stronghold and found away deeper into
the mountainside.
This level of the dwarven realm was mostly natural caverns, shaped and improved by dwarven
hands. The walls dripped with semiprecious stones and the natural phosphorescent lighting
glittered off walls in places streaming with water. Natural crevasses, galleries and waterfalls
finished off the picturesque scene.
The party started to investigate when they came across a couple of lizard like man creatures who
were on guard. Fortunately Traubon is very alert and was able to spot them before they spotted the
party. Traubon and Kai started to sneak up on them in an effort to take them out quietly but
unfortunately they were not expecting the creatures to smell as bad as they did and Traubon let out
a stifled cough and gag. The alerted creatures reacted in time to open a nearby cage door and let
out a towering bear that charged into Kai and grabbed him, almost ripping his head off. The
nimble monk quickly evaded it's grasp and escaped and the bear was peppered with arrows by
Flek whilst Lady Fortuna and Tor engaged it in melee. It soon succumbed to their superior combat
prowess. The two guarding lizard creatures were quickly overcome and the area secured.
Report Date
10 Apr 2024
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