Bloody Hand, Short Life

Written by Chrundle_the_Great

General Summary

In the wake of the raid on the Chapel of St. Brenna, Kapital sends an expedition to the impenetrable Smithy on the Scar, where Thorak aims to free his brother from the heavy chains of the Ironhelm Dwarves.

Session Notes

• Balthazar moves in to attend to the to-be-built church of the Sacred Flame
• Lucretia uses the dowsing rod, with delerium instead of the control gem
• Assisted by the plumbers' guild, Grimgar stages a successful heist of the Wastewater Treatment Facility
1. Chief arranges transport along the Drann with the Blackhorn Raiders
2. The hoppers returned and allied with Pudding Pop and his oozes
3. Freddy kills the Prophet while he kneels before an eerie fish-like shrine
4. The others dissolve Pudding Pop by pushing him into a gelatinous cube
5. The Blackhorn Raiders occupy the hideout and will open their doors to Grimgar and the plumbers for their next heist
• Previously Redgaard's industrial district, the Spokes are well-known for the Scar, a delerium-rich ravine carved into the earth by a chunk of the meteor
• The Ironhelm Dwarves are four siblings who pay the Queen for protection
1. The Queen's Men want a premium for missed payments
2. The Academy wants an exclusive contract for delerium sales
3. The Lanterns want the dwarves' weapons and machinery
4. The Colony wants the abhorrent mines burned down
5. The Falling Fire want the delerium and an end to the miners' suffering
• The group, accompanied by Thorak, set out from Emberwood Village
• The Smithy on the Scar is fortified by high walls and powerful artillery, around which smoldering mounds of dregs, mutants, and monsters lay
• Mordecai Ironhelm turns the group away, unless they want to sell "brutes"
1. "I suggest you leave before nightfall. That's when the hordes approach."
• While the group hides nearby, Vikr sneaks into the Smithy while wildshaped
• He sees the Queen's Men and one of her Jokers shaking down the Ironhelms
1. They agree to defend the Smithy that night, for increased payments
• While dregs attack, the group sneaks to the elevator and enters the Scar
• They battle swathes of dregs that were once miners and overseers
• Bleaters (goat-mutts) chase the group into Reginald Ironhelm and his guards
1. The creatures impale the unnamed guards and leap out of the chasm
2. Thorak charges Reginald who, equipped in power armor, executes him
3. The Ironhelm ignores the others and leaves to defend the Smithy
• Mizzryn kneels over Thorak, one hand on him, another on the lead sword
1. Something, maybe her sorcery, allows Thorak to see Lady Death
2. He accepts her as his bride and rises, as a new paladin
3. "She is so beautiful. Thank you for showing her to me."
• The group finds the enslaved miners, who are locked in a cage at night
• Gorak, fully contaminated and mutated into a long-limbed terror
• The group fights bravely, but the creature is too quick and too lethal
• Thorak tearfully accepts that his brother has been erased by the Haze
1. "Bloody hand, short life. It is not your time."
2. To save the group and the slaves, he tackles Gorak into the chasm
• Vikr reunites with Ears, an elephant that escaped from the Redgaard Zoo
• Mizzryn magically shapes the prison bars into pickaxes for the slaves
1. She also, somewhat hopefully, crafts and drops a magic item for Thorak that senses when hostile weapons are nearby
• Vikr wildshapes into a dire wombat, and he and the miners begin tunneling
• Worms pool out of the dirt, and a hideous squirmer attacks the group
• Although some miners are devoured, the creature is killed with fire
• When the group reaches the surface, sunlight shines over a grisly sight:
1. In addition to the dead mutts, the Queen's Men are all dead and hanged
2. Newly hired, the Lanterns hold the perimeter of the Smithy on the Scar
• The group trudge towards Emberwood Village, but are spotted by a regiment
• Captain Helga, a seasoned soldier and witcher known as "the She-Wolf"
1. She appreciates the group's willingness to negotiate, instead of fight
2. The Ironhelms contracted her regiment to capture the escapees
3. However, she is surprised to learn that they were enslaved
• Vikari tries to argue with her, but Helga quiets him and tasks a soldier with escorting the group back to the village

Character(s) interacted with

Balthazar Adamos 
Lucretia Mathias 
Freddy 
Chief 
Pudding Pop 
Prophet 
Thorak the Lungless 
Mordecai Ironhelm 
Lies 
Spikes Kovach 
Reginald Ironhelm 
Gorak 
Captain Helga
Lieutenant Vikari 
Dickless

Report Date

07 Sep 2024

Primary Location

Smithy on the Scar

Related Characters

• Grimgar Boomshot
• Mizzryn Ironheart
• Vik'r Praug