Wulfram ferries Eustoma and Rogar through the air to cross the dangerous cavern. Karla teleports herself and your large animal companions to the far passage, allowing you all to safely continue through the tunnel.
Rough-hewn stone forms the walls of this extended cave complex, while the floor consists of broken bits of rock. Scattered chunks of insectile viscera litter the area. Smaller nooks, eight to ten feet deep, are dug into the walls, reaching almost to the ceiling.
A horrific aberration floats above the ground here. Four tentacles stick out of a churning nucleus of multicolored fluid. Plates of rock and metal orbit the floating mass. It turns towards you, and the ends of its tentacles harden into gemlike structures--one dusty rose, one green, one pearly white, and one red.
"Wha' is tha' thing?" Rogar exclaims, his patchwork knowledge of the creatures of the deep nowhere near comprehensive enough to know what the monstrosity is. Still, he knew how to deal with it, and he planted his feet, and earth swirls around him, hardening and transmuting into shining steel. With a wave of his hands, he directs it towards the creature, forming a spinning blade, flashing through the air on a deadly trajectory towards the creature.
"I don't know, but it doesn't look friendly!", Wulfram replied to Rogar. He prayed to the Battle Spirits for victory, bolstering his allies.
Eustoma recoils and waits.
As Wulfram blesses the group, Rogar hurls a blast at the strange creature. It seems to be preternaturally aware, though, managing to dodge the attack!
Karla tries to wall off the monster, but it swiftly flies forward and avoids being trapped by her conjuration!
The pearly white gem on its tentacle transforms into a blue one. Beams of cold, acid, and fire shoot out from the blue, green, and red gems, all three striking Rogar!
Rogar nearly goes on his knees from the overwhelming elemental assault, but despite the marks they leave on his skin, more stone than flesh by this point, he still retaliates with a massive spike of iron, geokinetically thrown at the creature. Rogar considers stepping underground to protect himself, but realizing that would just make his allies the new target of the beast decides against it, bracing himself for the inevitable retaliation.
Wulfram uttered a quick prayer and assaulted the horrifying creature.
.
You find the strange monster incredibly difficult to hit, as it nimbly dodges most of the attacks aimed at it. Eustoma, Sia, and Wulfram miss completely, while Nik'o only manages to rake it with one of her back claws. Rogar's blast catches it full-on, though, tearing apart a large portion of its amorphous body and splattering fluids across the cave.
The gems on the creature's tentacles change to a combination of dusty rose, pale lavender, pearly white, and red. Its wounds begin to swiftly heal as it fires a fiery ray at Rogar and swings on Nik'o with its other three tentacles! Two hit, but without the force necessary to get through the cat's magical resistance.
Wulfram roared and stabbed furiously at the bizarre monster.
Rogar tries again, but his spear sails past the monster and strikes Karla's wall.
Euststoma casts Flame Strike on the creature doing he best to miss all her allies.
Sia bites at the creature.
The monster dodges the worst of Eustoma's flame strike, and the though the fire doesn't seem to burn it much, the divine power wracks its body. It dodges Sia's bite, but Wulfram scores two powerful hits, stabbing his spear deep into its amorphous body.
Karla sends five magic missiles streaking towards the creature, but its lavender gem glows brightly as it absorbs the spell! The gem then turns dull. Rogar's blast goes wide again, but Nik'o manages to hit with a claw, wounding the thing enough to finally put it down. Grotesque liquid leaks from rents in its membrane as it sags to the ground, tentacles twitching feebly before finally falling still.
In the aftermath, you search through the insectile remains scattered about the room. A distressing chunk of torso still carries a scabbard. The belt holds a +1 adamantine construct bane battleaxe and is latched with a golembane scarab.
"I've never seen anything like it!", Wulfram agreed. After healing some of Rogar's wounds, th shaman said, "I should meditate and pray for more healing. The healing wands won't last otherwise."
Rogar nods in thanks and in relief as his skin, scorched and frozen, mends with Wulfram's magic. "Ah hope we don't find any more o' them. Ah don' know wha it was doing, bu' i' didn't like me."
You can feel intense heat coming from the exit tunnel as you continue on your way. The source soon becomes apparent. A beach of glassy stone edges a vast lake of lava that stretches out for several hundred feet. To the north an ascending path of rock curves up the sides of the immense chamber. The ceiling is shrouded in darkness and rises at least several hundred feet. A few clusters of metal pipe and ceramic tubes descend from above.
A stone structure floats gently atop the bubbling pool of lava some twenty feet from the shore. The upper side of the stone block has cracked open, exposing a hollow interior.
Wulfram meditated and memorized another curative prayer; then he healed Rogar.
When they saw the lake of lava, Wulfram told the others, "I'm going to try to look into the building, if I can bear the heat."
He flew towards the stone structure, trying to get a look inside.
"Be careful Wulfram. I know you like fire, but that is a lot of heat." Eustoma looks concerned as the shaman flies up and over toward the structure.
She keeps an eye on the ceiling just in case.
Both Wulfram and Eustoma spot the dangerous creatures lurking in the lava. A trio of glowing rocky monsters are submerged around the stone structure, lying in wait. Red light spills from their eyes and mouths, as well as fractures in their outer surface.
Wulfram recited a prayer and studied the rock monsters, careful to stay out of reach. He couldn't identify what they were, although obviously the lava didn't bother them.
He flew back to the others and reported, "There's three creatures lurking in the lava near the building; I don't recognize what they are. We could just avoid them if we want, but I'm pretty sure we'd have to fight them if we wanted to explore the building."
Eustoma describes the creatures she sees to Karla and Rogar. "Do you know what they might be?"
"I'm inclined to agree. Leave the trap to those who don't know better than to mess with unknown creatures."
Rogar shrugs, "Ah've never heard o' them before. Jus' carry on, ah guess?"
Leaving the floating structure and the magma monsters alone, you begin to ascend along a stone path that curves up the northern side of the immense chamber housing the lava lake. It rises several hundred feet before abruptly stopping at a stone-arched entrance leading into a long tunnel. A massive reinforced stone door blocks further progress.
Shoved in the corner by the door, covered with a layer of dust and soot, are a set of restless lockpicks. Their leather carrying case still shows a faintly embossed Ironfang Legion coat of arms.
Wulfram replied, "OK, let's try to leave them be. Try to stay as far as you can from the lake."
He flew ahead, trying to keep his distance from the strange creatures. He watched them carefully for any signs of aggression.
He recovered the dust-covered lockpick case and examined it. "It seems that the Legion has been this way!"
Karla is able to study the lockpick's aura and determine their abilities.
Rogar peeks through the door, checking to make sure it's safe, then tries to open the doors in front of them.
Rogar sees a worn stairway leading up beyond the doors. As he looks, though, he hears a loud bell ringing--he's tripped a magical alarm! Nobody immediately reacts to the alarm though.
The doors prove too large to affect with his powers, though he could dig a tunnel in the earth around them to allow you to bypass them.
Wulfram recited a prayer and carefully examined the doors to see if they were trapped.
The doors are locked, but with a prodigious feat of strength--and a little aid from Nik'o and Sia--Wulfram is able to shove the massive door off its hinges and allow you to progress further along the passage.
The worn stairway eventually ends in a large chamber filled with mining equipment and tools for maintaining the various pipes and ducts accessing the lava lake below.
Two seven-foot-tall, helmed dwarven warriors stand guard over the door exiting this chamber. They hold massive battleaxes and shields, and their expressions are grim and fierce. A subtle otherworldly glow surrounds them.
"Halt! No strangers may enter the great Sky Citadel of Kraggodan!" one states in a booming voice.
"Especially filthy stinkin' duergar!" the other shouts. Belatedly, you remember you are still disguised by Karla's magic.
"Hmph! So you claim!" one of the tall dwarves says.
"Only dwarves may pass through this gate! You may enter the Sky Citadel," the other says, pointing at Rogar. "The rest of you, go back from whence you came!"
Rogar shifts into dwarven, much more comfortable in his mother tongue,
Rogar turns back to his allies, "Ah can go an' try ta gain ye entry. Ah don' think tha' they'll let ye through." he offers unless they come up with a better idea.
Turning back to the dwarves, he asks
"Oh, please let them start some trouble! It's been so long since we've had a good fight!" the other exclaims.
The first one chuckles. "Aye, indeed. But if you get authorization from one of the council members, then I guess we'd have to let them pass. Begrudgingly, I might add!"
Rogar nods, "Ah'll be righ' back." he says, venturing up into the city.
The hulking dwarves step aside to let Rogar pass. The pathway ascends for a short distance before emerging past the fourth of seven massive iron doors. Between these large doors are dozens of smaller stone doors.
No fewer than eight dwarves await Rogar here, all in positions of combat readiness. Six are unarmed and unarmored--monks, most likely. A female dwarf in full plate grips a waraxe while a male dwarf in a high-collared red robe stands with fingers spread wide to cast a spell.
The female stares hard at Rogar, as if peering into his soul, then nods in satisfaction. "At ease," she orders, and the monks seem to relax just a bit.
The robed dwarf makes a few exasperated noises as he smooths out his robes. "Who are you? What business do you have infiltrating the vaults of Kraggodan?"
Rogar replies in Dwarven, "Greetings, my kin. My name is Rogar Stonehammer, also known as Dragonslayer. I have ventured here through the Long Road with my companions, two humans and a halfling. We come bearing information regarding the war that, while not imminently critical, Kraggodan would benefit immensely from learning. Would it be possible for my companions be granted permission to enter the city, that we might present our case?" he asks.
"Dragonslayer?" the dwarf asks, curiosity piqued. "What dragons have you slain?"