"I'm interested in what that bottle does. It might have a spirit that can help us. I wouldn't mind avoiding the statues that might attack us. Especially if they've been killing gugs."
Wulfram said, "I'm loathe to disturb the spirits of the dead." He wracked his brain for any knowledge about the images in the bottle.
Neither Karla nor Wulfram know anything about the strange bottle.
Rogar investigates the bottle, getting close and picking it up unless something stops him.
Karla guesses the statues are likely lead golems. These constructs are immune to acid and electricity, as well as most spells that allow spell resistance. Their presence prevents divination spells from happening nearby.
As Rogar approaches the bottle, the face roils into existence once again. It peers at the kineticist imperiously. "Who disturbs the slumber of the Enthroned King?" he asks in Dwarven.
"Greetings, king." Rogar responds, "I am Rogar Stonehammer. I and my allies have been granted access to the vault you are in by the Evenhanded Synod" he shows the face his ring "To reclaim it from the gugs that have overrun it, and to investigate whether Molthuni agents infiltrated it, or if they were framed by the hobgoblins of the Ironfang Legion. We're also trying to find out about an artifact known as the Onyx Key." he responds, bowing his head in deference to the king- whether or not he is actually royalty didn't matter at the moment.
"Hrmm... You show the proper respect and deference to your ancestors... And you bear the sigil of Kraggodan... You have the blessings of the citadel's rulers. If they trust you, then I believe your intentions are indeed pure."
"The Onyx Key... So, you are interested in that artifact as well." The face in the bottle exhales a sigh. "You are only the second visitor I have had here in--I don't know how long it has been. The first was a naga who wished to discuss dwarven history and magic, and despite her hideous appearance, I found her insightful, charming and respectful.
"I know much of the Key. When I was a young man, I traveled alongside the legendary dwarf Kraggodan, leading our people to the surface. I know well the sight of an onyx tower growing from the ground, the Stone Road yawning wide to allow passage. Kraggodan discovered the Onyx Key deep within the vast vaults of Orv, the lowest level of the Darklands.
"Traveling the avenues of the Stone Road opened by the Onyx Key, we made our Quest for Sky with unprecedented speed; scouts advanced quickly and, once safe, opened tunnels through which the old, the young, and the infirm joined them. Tragically, Kraggodan died battling an orc chieftain before we reached the surface, but his work so greatly eased the journey that we memorialized our leader by naming our new surface homeland in his honor.
"Once construction of the Sky Citadel began, we turned to studying our mysterious blessing. Each shard of onyx taken from the Key grows a new tower that can be accessed by any other towers still standing. We hadn't yet dared remove the red sardonyx shard from the artifact's base, but the powerful conjuration magic it radiated suggested it had the potential to open the Stone Road farther afield. By my command, we took the sardonyx shard into the Stone Road, where we found a path to the roads' central hub: a utopian, jewel-lined vault deep within the Plane of Earth. But this land of plenty concealed terrible dangers as well, and powerful beasts flooded through the open gateway, slaughtering many of those dwarves the Onyx Key had so easily protected during the Quest for Sky.
"We fought back against the invaders and sealed the Stone Road once more. Fearing the doorway could be opened again through careless use, we locked the Onyx Key away with other artifacts from the Quest for Sky here in the Reliquary of Ascension. Would that I had locked myself away at the same time. It would have saved my people even more suffering at my hands..."
The Enthroned King grows quiet, brooding silently.
What you did then has no bearing on what you can do now." Rogar reassures the king, "Will my allies be allowed to approach you unassaulted? They will certainly have questions as well, though they are not dwarven, but they do have honor."
Assuming he permits it, Rogar signals for the others to join him.
"You said a naga came through some time ago? That would explain it- we had to fight one not long ago, we suspect she is allied with Ironfang. But the Onyx Key.... That explains so much. How the Legion can mobilize overnight, the black towers they create in battle, how they seem to be everywhere at once. Thank you for that, many things make sense now."
The King offers no protest when Rogar brings the rest of you into his crypt. "I know little of the state of the modern world, but if the Onyx Key is in the hands of hobgoblins, then it could be used to cause great damage. You should do all you can to reclaim it, but whatever you do, do not activate the sardonyx shard! If you link the Stone Road to that alien citadel, you will open the way for an invasion of terrible monsters!"
Wulfram approached and addressed the king respectfully in dwarven, "Greetings, Your Highness. I pledge to you that we will retrieve the Onyx Key. If we need to journey to the vault in the Plane of Earth, any information you could give us about what to expect there could prove invaluable."
Eustoma suddenly looks really ill. "I wonder if that's what the Iron Fang WANTS to do open the road to the ancient citadel. That can't happen. It would be then end of us all." She starts to shake and look at the others. "That can't be right. They couldn't be wanting to do that could they?"
She turns to the King. "Sire what did you tell the Naga? Did she know of this sardonyx shard? What of Molthune? Were they involved in breaking into the vault? Do you know of this? Mr. King sir." she finishes with a small voice.
The Enthroned King seems pleased by Wulfram's deferent tone. "Alas, there is little more I can tell you of the vault itself. The monsters of earth and stone assaulted us before we could get very far, and it took all in our power to fight them off long enough to close the gate once more."
The smoke roils and shifts as he turns his attention towards Eustoma. "I told the naga much the same thing that I told you, including the warning about the sardonyx shard. I am not certain what a 'Molthune' is, exactly. I was not even aware this reliquary had been broken into until you lot told me right now. I am constrained to this chamber... The way that it should be..."
Wulfram asked, "One more thing, Your Highness: do you know if there's an way to get past the lead golems near here, without using the ring that Rogar is wearing, or teleporting? We don't want to have to fight and destroy them."
The King looks confused. "These two lead golems here are my guardians. They ensure that nobody tries to remove me from this prison I have built for myself. You have nothing to fear from them. I do not know what other guardians you may encounter outside this chamber. Alas, I cannot help you with them."
"It's been an honor to talk with you," Wulfram told the king.
He left the king's chamber and avanced slowly down the angled corridor, on the lookout for traps. He peered around the corner at the Iron Golem.
"Thank you your Highness. It's been a pleasure to speak with you."
The king sighs at Kaska's question. "Indeed. Opening that forsaken vault was but the least of my sins. During the tumultuous early years of Kraggodan’s history, the city came under many threats, first from orcs of the surface and then from the duergar below. I took drastic measures to continue my stable rule, using alchemy and arcane magic to extend my reign far beyond the normal dwarven life span. My mind remained sharp, but eventually my morality wavered as my body withered into dust.
"After centuries under my rule, the people of Kraggodan plotted a revolt to place a living heir on the Sky Citadel's throne. I... I lashed out, calling down unspeakable violence at the hands of conjured inevitables. Horrified to discover what I was capable of, I abdicated in the bloody wake of my actions and ordered my name be stricken from Kraggodan’s records for my shameful deeds. I waited to move on to the Great Beyond, but I had so long spurned Magrim, lord of death, that death would no longer take me, leaving me nothing but breath in a bottle.
"Thus, I ordered myself to be interred in my family crypt alongside my long-dead children, and comissioned these golems to serve as both guardians and jailers. The golems prevent me from escaping or divining the world outside, lest my mind slip to terrible deeds once again."
Eustoma senses the king's story is true, as is his sorrow and regret for his previous actions.
***
Wulfram peeks around the corner at the inert iron statue. It has a enormous, rounded midsection seemingly made of glass. The shaman's sharp senses pick up movement deeper in the cavern, two similar creatures peering around the corner in much the same way that Wulfram is doing. Unlike the first one, these seem to have flames flickering within their bellies, the light shining through their eyes and mouths as well.
As Wulfram is looking into the next room, a ghostly gug emerges from the statue in the hall. It issues forth an eerie, frightful moan!
Rogar inclines his head with respect at the Enthroned King's story, "Ye did well, my lord. You made a mistake, yes, but you learned from it. Ah wish ye tha best in yer solitude."
His head snaps over at the ghost-gug as it tries to scare Wulfram into the next room, and begins moving towards the fight.
Wulfram stepped back and recited a prayer to bolster himself and his allies.
He warned the others, "I saw a couple of Forge Fiends in there; they can damage armor, I think, and can spew for searing slag. There's also the ghost of a Gug!"
The ghostly gug fades away after its moan.
"Those aren't golums? I guess we have to get past them, any ideads? Teleport? Invisibility?" She casts Protection from Energy Fire on everyone unless Wulfram and Pele choose not to take the protection.
"Forge Fiends are evil outsiders from the plane of earth,"[b] Wulfram explained. [b]"From what I saw of the layout of the cavern, there isn't good line of sight to teleport, but Rogar might have a better sense of that."
When Eustoma offered to cast Protection from Energy, he told her, "Pele is immune to fire, so she doesn't need it; she could swim in magma if she wanted!".
Pele retorted, *I don't want to! It's like swimming in molasses, only worse!*
Wulfram replied, "We could also just destroy the forge fiends. I don't think the dwarves of Kraggodan would like the idea of them hanging around in their vault."
"Sounds like we're going to fight them. I wonder if cold would slow them."
As they prepare to fight, Rogar slips underground, then moves to where the forgefiends are, hiding in the walls as he prepares to strike.
Wulfram replied, "I'm not aware that they're resistant to magic, but they could surprise me. Given that their affinity to fire, cold seems like a logical thing to try."
He reached into his backpack and pulled out a bottle. "I have a potion of remove fear — anyone want it? In case the ghost shows up again."
He recited a prayer and prepared to move forward.
Karla speeds up the group as you head towards the next chamber. Realizing they've been spotted, the forgefiends bellow and move to attack!
The fiend leaps forward, avoiding the pit. It raises its arms and conjures a wall of fire that engulfs Karla and Eustoma. The other one shatters the inert statue nearby, which turns out to have been an elaborate trap! It detonates in a massive fireball!
Wulfram dodged the worst of the explosion.
Pele basked in the heat of the fireball. *Aah! That feels good!*
Wulfram said a prayer to the battle spirits, doubling in height, and moved forward to threaten the nearest enemy with his spear.
Eustoma tries to avoid the trap. She avoids most of the damage. She fires at one of the golems with her arrows.
Sia's evasion allows her to avoid all the damage.
Rogar steps out of the wall, and reaches out, trying to crush the forgefiend's metal body as he throws a rock at it simultaneously. It's a practiced rhythm at this point, and his mind wanders a bit as his muscles almost act on their own.
Eustoma fires several arrows, but only one scores a good hit. Rogar's attempt to crush the fiend ends in failure, but the rock cracks against its armored body. Wulfram swells in size and moves into position.
Both of the forgefiends resist being blinded by Karla's spell. Nik'o bites at the wounded fiend's legs, scoring a hit but failing to trip the enemy.
Sia rushes at the other forgefiend, dodging its claws and barreling into it. It topples backwards into the pit, crashing to the bottom far below!
That fiend gets back to its feet and then steps into the ground, melding with it and disappearing from sight. The other one spews forth a searing pile of slag on Nik'o and Sia!
Wulfram backed up and, calling on the battle spirits to help him defeat these hated foes, stabbed repeatedly with his massive spear.
The forgefiend's body shatters under the force of Wulfram's strikes, spilling molten slag onto the ground. The thing collapses, the light fading from its eyes.