Session 015: Igniting the Mithral Forge
General Summary
Date: Pythion 21st
The Fifth Order discusses strategy with The Troglodyte King, eventually deciding to split the party into a stealth group that will scale the walls of the dark pit, while the more physically powerful members head back down the elevator. Ianthe and Aurelia volunteer to climb down the pit first with a pair of Troglodytes in order to get a better idea of their situation. The reptilians set up a series of ropes to aid in the descent and tie themselves and the two-party members onto a line as a backup plan. The first half of the journey goes by smoothly, but at one point, Aura slips, almost losing her grip on the support rope. Ianthe, however, bounds to her aid, and is able to help stabilize the monk, and they make it down to the mouth of a dimly lit tunnel opening.
At the end of the tunnel, the pair of heroes are able to get a full view of the great Cerberus and its lair. They spot what looks to be the only exit from the room and gauge how to approach the oncoming battle. With a little more information, the pair and their reptilian guide make their way back up to the main floor and explain what they found. The party works out how to time their descents and split into two groups: Ianthe, Aura, and Dorianna, as well as a half dozen troglodytes will head down the shaft, while Acacius, Hybris, two brutish troglodytes, the King, and Kyrah, The Goddess of Music will head down the elevator. The stealth group makes their way into the tunnel relatively easily and begins to take positions, being as quiet as possible. Before long, they begin to hear the screech of metal as the elevator begins to descend with the other group aboard. Aura ends up making the first move, possibly a little earlier than the rest of the group had expected. From the shadows, she hurls a dart toward the mighty beast as it turns its attention to the intruders.
With the sudden attention of the beast, the stealth group is forced to advance while waiting for the elevator to deposit the rest of their forces. The trogs begin to leap from surface to surface, some making their way to the base of the cavern to meet the monster head-on; however, out of the shadows, a number of unnaturally cloaked two-headed dogs leap from the darkness and meet them in combat. The stealth group tries to juggle ranged attacks as well as traverse the difficult terrain in order to get closer to the beast.
The Cerberus remains mostly stationary as the other combatants close in and engage with each other, but it doesn't take long for it to unleash a familiar cloud of fire, ash, and death as a majority of the stealth group is enveloped in its breath weapon attack, less effective this time, but still doing considerable damage to the group. The elevator troop has to break through a few hounds before they can make it to the main threat, and a few of the trogs are thrown/fall into the surrounding lava river, just barely managing to pull themselves onto 'stable' ground before succumbing to too much damage. As the heroes close in, Kyrah attempts to assist by playing her harp, but it doesn't exactly go to plan. She ends up summoning a great gust of wind that launches Hybris to the next platform next to the monster. With multiple targets within biting range, the three-headed hound takes advantage of the situation and begins lashing out at anything within reach, laying to rest a number of the troglodyte's forces. In retaliation, Dorianna and Ianthe launch a coordinated psychic assault on the beast, dealing significant damage to its three brains.
With the situation becoming dire for the beast, it unleashes a cacophony of earth-shaking barks that send tremors through the lava surrounding its home platform. These vibrations send the pillared platform, that Aura and Dorianna are standing on, crashing to the ground, knocking out Dorianna. The Cerberus follows up by taking out both Aura and Acacius with vicious bite attacks. The scene is quickly turning against the heroes as over half the group has been laid unconscious, and all of their supporting forces, except The Troglodyte King, lay dead at their feet. Refusing to give up, Hybris steels himself and unleashes a glorious blow to the creature, piercing his mighty greatsword through the center maw of the beast, and ripping out its tongue, sending the monster to its grave. The remaining party members quickly take action to stabilize and heal their downed companions. After everyone has been taken care of, Dorianna and Acacius attempt to harvest materials from the beast but find it to be too damaged to gain anything useful. As they work, the body of the creature melts into inky black ichor and oozes into the surrounding magma, sending a ghastly plume of smoke into the air that takes on the visage of a feminine face with a smirk, before it quickly disappears.
Before the group heads up the stairs to the next chamber, Aura notes a treasure hoard in the corner, and the party claims some well-earned treasure. Inside the forge proper, the group investigates some of the side chambers and Acacius finds some additional loot, as well as a seemingly magical mithral xiphos. Ianthe finds a tunnel that leads to a grand chamber beneath the forge, the great falls of the Arkelon raining down on the far side, with an ancient dock amid a pool of water. A nearby bronze lever is pulled and the waterfall parts, possibly allowing a vessel of some kind to sail up the river and dock under the forge.
Back in the lava pool chamber, Aura notes movement from within the basin, serpentine in nature. A few moments later, a hand emerges, followed by another, and finally, the body of The Forgekeeper crests above the magma and she greets the surrounding visitors. She explains that she is the creature with the capability to relight the forges, and also explains her predicament: she was tricked into a contract by the dwarves of the mines to serve as their forge-keeper under the watchful gaze of a freezing orb that will blast her if she leaves the pool. She has been trapped here for centuries since the dwarves abandoned the mine after Lutheria sent the Cerberus to deal with the smiths. She says that she will not enter into an oath ever again, but is willing to make a deal with the chosen heroes. She agrees to power the forge until their prophecy has been fulfilled in return for the destruction of her contract tablet, releasing her from her imprisonment. Hyrbis uses Pythor's Hammer upon the mighty anvil of the forge to shatter the tablet into pieces. With that, she dives under the magma, and a few minutes later, the forge is brought to life.
With their second labor complete, the group heads down to the dock chamber for some much-needed rest, and to wait for Volkan to arrive at the forge like he said he would. The night's sleep, unfortunately, proves to contain dangers of its own as the members of The Fifth Order are assaulted by nightmares, and the familiar ethereal feminine voice of the sister-titan Lutheria.
The collective vision ends as the heroes feel the grips of madness begin to take hold once again. This time, however, the power of their Oath of Fellowship unites their minds into a stronger defensible position and protects them from the worst of the nightmare's effects. The night is still young though, as the heroes begin to witness numerous other visions depicting their companion's painful pasts or deep-rooted fears. Each member bears witness to their allies' visions, though in a jumbled state where it's hard to concentrate on any one in particular. Their own, however, is clearly displayed to them. After what feels like an eternity, the party all jolts awake from their restless slumber, bathed in sweat. They hear the cackles of a woman echo through the cavern.
The Fifth Order discusses strategy with The Troglodyte King, eventually deciding to split the party into a stealth group that will scale the walls of the dark pit, while the more physically powerful members head back down the elevator. Ianthe and Aurelia volunteer to climb down the pit first with a pair of Troglodytes in order to get a better idea of their situation. The reptilians set up a series of ropes to aid in the descent and tie themselves and the two-party members onto a line as a backup plan. The first half of the journey goes by smoothly, but at one point, Aura slips, almost losing her grip on the support rope. Ianthe, however, bounds to her aid, and is able to help stabilize the monk, and they make it down to the mouth of a dimly lit tunnel opening.
At the end of the tunnel, the pair of heroes are able to get a full view of the great Cerberus and its lair. They spot what looks to be the only exit from the room and gauge how to approach the oncoming battle. With a little more information, the pair and their reptilian guide make their way back up to the main floor and explain what they found. The party works out how to time their descents and split into two groups: Ianthe, Aura, and Dorianna, as well as a half dozen troglodytes will head down the shaft, while Acacius, Hybris, two brutish troglodytes, the King, and Kyrah, The Goddess of Music will head down the elevator. The stealth group makes their way into the tunnel relatively easily and begins to take positions, being as quiet as possible. Before long, they begin to hear the screech of metal as the elevator begins to descend with the other group aboard. Aura ends up making the first move, possibly a little earlier than the rest of the group had expected. From the shadows, she hurls a dart toward the mighty beast as it turns its attention to the intruders.
With the sudden attention of the beast, the stealth group is forced to advance while waiting for the elevator to deposit the rest of their forces. The trogs begin to leap from surface to surface, some making their way to the base of the cavern to meet the monster head-on; however, out of the shadows, a number of unnaturally cloaked two-headed dogs leap from the darkness and meet them in combat. The stealth group tries to juggle ranged attacks as well as traverse the difficult terrain in order to get closer to the beast.
The Cerberus remains mostly stationary as the other combatants close in and engage with each other, but it doesn't take long for it to unleash a familiar cloud of fire, ash, and death as a majority of the stealth group is enveloped in its breath weapon attack, less effective this time, but still doing considerable damage to the group. The elevator troop has to break through a few hounds before they can make it to the main threat, and a few of the trogs are thrown/fall into the surrounding lava river, just barely managing to pull themselves onto 'stable' ground before succumbing to too much damage. As the heroes close in, Kyrah attempts to assist by playing her harp, but it doesn't exactly go to plan. She ends up summoning a great gust of wind that launches Hybris to the next platform next to the monster. With multiple targets within biting range, the three-headed hound takes advantage of the situation and begins lashing out at anything within reach, laying to rest a number of the troglodyte's forces. In retaliation, Dorianna and Ianthe launch a coordinated psychic assault on the beast, dealing significant damage to its three brains.
With the situation becoming dire for the beast, it unleashes a cacophony of earth-shaking barks that send tremors through the lava surrounding its home platform. These vibrations send the pillared platform, that Aura and Dorianna are standing on, crashing to the ground, knocking out Dorianna. The Cerberus follows up by taking out both Aura and Acacius with vicious bite attacks. The scene is quickly turning against the heroes as over half the group has been laid unconscious, and all of their supporting forces, except The Troglodyte King, lay dead at their feet. Refusing to give up, Hybris steels himself and unleashes a glorious blow to the creature, piercing his mighty greatsword through the center maw of the beast, and ripping out its tongue, sending the monster to its grave. The remaining party members quickly take action to stabilize and heal their downed companions. After everyone has been taken care of, Dorianna and Acacius attempt to harvest materials from the beast but find it to be too damaged to gain anything useful. As they work, the body of the creature melts into inky black ichor and oozes into the surrounding magma, sending a ghastly plume of smoke into the air that takes on the visage of a feminine face with a smirk, before it quickly disappears.
Before the group heads up the stairs to the next chamber, Aura notes a treasure hoard in the corner, and the party claims some well-earned treasure. Inside the forge proper, the group investigates some of the side chambers and Acacius finds some additional loot, as well as a seemingly magical mithral xiphos. Ianthe finds a tunnel that leads to a grand chamber beneath the forge, the great falls of the Arkelon raining down on the far side, with an ancient dock amid a pool of water. A nearby bronze lever is pulled and the waterfall parts, possibly allowing a vessel of some kind to sail up the river and dock under the forge.
Back in the lava pool chamber, Aura notes movement from within the basin, serpentine in nature. A few moments later, a hand emerges, followed by another, and finally, the body of The Forgekeeper crests above the magma and she greets the surrounding visitors. She explains that she is the creature with the capability to relight the forges, and also explains her predicament: she was tricked into a contract by the dwarves of the mines to serve as their forge-keeper under the watchful gaze of a freezing orb that will blast her if she leaves the pool. She has been trapped here for centuries since the dwarves abandoned the mine after Lutheria sent the Cerberus to deal with the smiths. She says that she will not enter into an oath ever again, but is willing to make a deal with the chosen heroes. She agrees to power the forge until their prophecy has been fulfilled in return for the destruction of her contract tablet, releasing her from her imprisonment. Hyrbis uses Pythor's Hammer upon the mighty anvil of the forge to shatter the tablet into pieces. With that, she dives under the magma, and a few minutes later, the forge is brought to life.
With their second labor complete, the group heads down to the dock chamber for some much-needed rest, and to wait for Volkan to arrive at the forge like he said he would. The night's sleep, unfortunately, proves to contain dangers of its own as the members of The Fifth Order are assaulted by nightmares, and the familiar ethereal feminine voice of the sister-titan Lutheria.
“Poor little mortals." The woman's voice is soft and
concerned. “So worried about everything! Worried
about honoring the gods; worried about offending
them. Worried about war. Worried about the future.
What can we do to make you worry less?"
On the path ahead, you see a man standing with his
back to you. He gazes out over a beautiful valley, which
is covered with wild flowers. A soft breeze is blowing,
and birds are singing brightly.
“Knowledge is the greatest of all mortal burdens,
don't you think? Knowledge is pain. Ignorance puts the
mind at ease. Ignorance makes mortals happy!"
The man turns. His face is twisted with pain and
despair. Red tears streak his face. His eyes, ears, and
mouth have all been stitched shut.
The collective vision ends as the heroes feel the grips of madness begin to take hold once again. This time, however, the power of their Oath of Fellowship unites their minds into a stronger defensible position and protects them from the worst of the nightmare's effects. The night is still young though, as the heroes begin to witness numerous other visions depicting their companion's painful pasts or deep-rooted fears. Each member bears witness to their allies' visions, though in a jumbled state where it's hard to concentrate on any one in particular. Their own, however, is clearly displayed to them. After what feels like an eternity, the party all jolts awake from their restless slumber, bathed in sweat. They hear the cackles of a woman echo through the cavern.
Rewards Granted
- 1 x adamantine Trident
- 56 mithral dragons, 125 gold drachmae, 389 silver obols
- 1 x mithral Xiphos
- 1 x amethyst ring - 250gp (Acacius)
Missions/Quests Completed
Light the Fires of the Mithral Forge
Report Date
18 Apr 2023
Primary Location
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Related Characters
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