Hammer and Smoke Report
General Summary
The party relaxes at the Fair Chair Inn. Bilge sells the Ettercap limb to Farin, who can identify it with his journal's help. He explains to Bilge what it was and Bilge sells it Fair for 4 silver pieces. Farin happily goes to start the pickling process. Elyas buys an exotic spirit from Farin and becomes inebriated for the next hour, spouting off about the spiders. Orawyn scans the tavern for possible threats and sees a pug-faced half-Orc staring him down from across the bar. He tries to warn Thondi and Elyas but Elyas is too drunk to care.
The half-Orc is suddenly behind Orawyn and tries to talk to them. He introduces himself as Bulad Nurzag and wants to examine the spider appendage. Nurzag carefully investigates the limb and confirms his suspicion that the limb is a Silver Silk Phase Spider. Several of the party members make perception checks on him to determine what his other racial half is and it is elf. After a lengthy conversation and several questions trying to figure out whether Nurzag's mom or dad was the orc, he explains he was a former blacksmith. His forge specialized in crafting armors and weapons from exotic materials. In Riverrun, he works in the lumber industry but yearns to return to his smithing past. To do this, he needs his tools that were left at the forge, but he cannot go because creatures of some sort have taken it over. He also gives the party a key to a lockbox located at the forgery. The lockbox contains items and coins the smiths stored as a rainy day fund. He hopes that this will be sufficient payment in the meantime while he prepares to restart his smithing trade. Bilge pockets the key for safekeeping. Bulad is uncomfortable by the party's parentage questions and leaves early after giving them directions to head west to the nearby mountains.
Farin stops by the party and chats with them about their conversation with Bulad. He encourages them to be careful and if they need any supplies or information then he would gladly be of service. The party begins their journey to the forgery in the west. They make camp six hours later and Flimpf finds a log to rest in while the others make do with their surroundings. Orawyn is on the first watch and as he scans the outskirts of the camp he notices something relaxing on Elyas. Orawyn moves closer and sees that it is a fairy. He interrogates the fairy, Lily, who pays no heed to any of his comments. Lily is eventually tired of the conversation and flies up to a nearby tree to spend the rest of the night. Several others are woken up by the commotion and get a brief and slightly awkward introduction to their newest party member.
*This next part I could not follow along for at all so just uh ask McKensey, Tyx, or Connor. I'm just going to skip it for now*
The party arrives at the foot of the mountain and finds the path to the forgery. Lily and her fox, Finley, examine the dirt for tracks and come across insect tracks. Lily licks an absurd amount of dirt to determine this as noted by several party members. They continue up the path and enter the Great Hall of the Orc-made forgery. Elegant ceremonial armor and weapons hang from the walls of the great hall. Elyas and Lily attempt to steal the inlaid gems of the armor but Lily is grabbed by the armor set. The armors and weapons suddenly spring to life and the gate behind the party closes. They are surrounded by Animated Armors and Weapons. The animated items awkwardly attempt to get the party to surrender. The party tries to ease tensions and make formal introductions. The leader among the animated items introduces itself as Geralt who is just the upper half of plate armor. After the party convinces Geralt they are not a threat, he explains the situation.
Rust monsters had repeatedly tried to invade the forgery for years but with the absence of the smiths, they were able to make their way inside. The Rust Monsters have been eating anything metal inside the forgery for some time, including the animated items. But during the Battle of the Great Hall, the animated items successfully fought back, killing nearly half the Rust Monsters and pushing them off into the wings of the forgery. Bilge shows them the key Balud gave the party and Geralt offers them a deal. He will let them do their business here and release them if they go into the wings and kill the remaining Rust Monsters. The party agrees and goes to the west wing, going through it room by room and killing the Rust Monsters there. In the final room, Lily finds Bulad's tools while Elyas and Thondi leave the party to begin killing Rust Monsters in the Eastern Wings. The party realizes Elyas and Thondi left and they quickly leave to meet up with them. Lily argues with Geralt and his second-in-command Walter about opening both doors to the Eastern Wing at once. Eventually, she relents and joins the rest of the party. They make their way through the Eastern Wing killing the Rust Monsters. They come across a lockbox room and Bilge attempts to find the lockbox his key belongs to.
The party leaves Bilge behind to kill the remaining Rust Monsters and destroy their eggs. They succeed in their endeavors and Bilge finds 21 cp, 11 sp, A bronze pentacle with an etching of a rat's head in its center, and 1 bottle of brandy King Street (150 gp). Bilge manages to find one intact Rust Monster egg and takes it with him so Farin can pickle it. The party goes back to speak with Geralt who congratulations them as they are free of the Rust Monsters and the forge is open so they can begin to make repairs to themselves. He states that if they ever need the animated items help, they will be there for them. The party leaves the forgery with new allies in the region.
They make it back to Balud in the Fair Chair Inn and give him his tools. He is happy to have his tools back and he tells them he can begin work on items when they bring him the necessary supplies and payment. Thondi wants a crossbow to which Balud says if he has the proper resources, he can build it. The party relaxes at the Fair Chair Inn after another successful outing in the West Marches.
Rewards Granted
21 cp, 11 sp, A bronze pentacle with an etching of a rat's head in its center, and 1 bottle of brandy King Street (150 gp)
Report Date
30 Jun 2022
Primary Location
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