Nayce is no mining engineer, but he can see that closing the gap is necessary or the weakness will spread to other areas. A simple ritual would suffice.
"I imagine that Abelard's chamber may be the safest place around. At least we know the door is well fortified and we've already disabled the outside lock," Quillan says finally, wiping the blood from his enchanted axe and trying to cool its temper.
As if on cue, Abelard plods stoically down the corridor towards you.
"I met another diseased dwarf. I thank you for sparing my workers if possible. I had to knock him out, alas. He is quite mad."
He looks at the room, taking in the carnage and the rent in the wall. Tutting, he gestures and speaks the necessary words and you see the vent pull itself closed.
"It will hold now," he comments. "As will you once you are rested. I will return to my charges and see if I can make further headway with them. Matters have taken a difficult turn, but I will not ask for your help until you are healed. My chamber is safe and there is good food there."
When you waken (or, in the case of Amenephus, leave your trance state), you find Abelard waiting patiently.
"I am glad you are refreshed, despite the cold."
Over a day has passed since you left the upper chambers and clearly the chill is deepening.
"My errant charges ... I fear that I am in a dilemma. They are unwilling to return to the Hearthforges as their contract demands. Such a thing has never happened before. In all the centuries since the contract with the dwarfs was concluded, there has never been a breach and now - " Abelard looks immeasurably distressed.
"Now, it seems that Gefangak has swayed them with his arguments. Perhaps you can deal with him? I have failed and fear that without your aid, none of the elementals will return."
The dragonborn's eyes glint with the possibility of profit. But then he remembers the frightened, half-starved miners and their families. He stops himself for asking for something in return for dealing with Gefangak.
"Gefangak is not a pure fire elemental. He is also of the earth. He has been particularly distressed by the seeming betrayal of the dwarves."
Abelard looks at the companions. "I returned to the Vent Shaft Chamber and examined the bodies of the slain, hoping for clues to the nature of the madness that grips them. I found these."
He places a pair of rather elaborate boots on the ground in front of you. You recall that they belonged to Sebastian.
Rusty scratches his head with a chipped talon.
"So how was Gefanak betrayed by the dwarves? And who are these interlopers who wish to destroy all this? What do they have to gain?"
Quillan wakes that morning and spends some time with his morning prayers, asking Moradin to guide his axe with wisdom in the pursuit of justice for the cold and starving people of this mountain.
"It's gettin' mighty cold around here. We need to be hurryin' with our first task. Just point me in the right direction," Quillan says with cold finality.
Quillan then joins Rusty and Abelard.
"Aye," he agrees with Rusty, "I feel like this situation is gettin' out of our hands quickly. I'd like to know what I'm gettin' into."
"And where can we find this Gefanak?"
Abelard explains further as he leads the way through the maze of worked corridors.
"Centuries ago the dwarves made a contract with the fire elementals. It was agreed that the elementals would willingly heat the Hearthforges. Gefangak believes that the contract has been broken by the greed of the dwarves and wishes to return to the elemental plane.
He has a following, but I do not believe that the other elementals would attack unless provoked. Gefangak himself is so far resistant to my arguments. If he cannot be convinced, he will have to be defeated. Without the elementals, there is no way to reheat the Hearthforges before the cold takes many lives."
Abelard shakes his head regretfully. "Since the Halls were re-opened, the madness has spread. The mountain itself seems afflicted. Abominations from the dark have been freed."
His voice hardens. "Come what may, I will tend the Hearthforges. The Citadel will not fall while I live. Let us see if you can persuade Gefangak to accept my will, whether by force or by persuasion."
"Do you know what is causing your helpers to go mad? They are vomiting gold - not a healthy sign!"
"Rusty, remember the ritual the cultists were enacting? Our problems are likely interconnected."
"I have never seen a sickness like it. It seems to me as if the gold they vomit on death is a symptom of the greed that has consumed them."
Abelard turns to Isari. "You saw a ritual? Please tell me about it."
"I have never seen a sickness like it. It seems to me as if the gold they vomit on death is a symptom of the greed that has consumed them."
Abelard turns to Isari. "You saw a ritual? Please tell me about it."
"Specifically, Rusty did. I was only reminding him of what he saw."
"No, we all missed seeing the ritual. By the time we had descended the lift to the chamber with the great locks, the casters had gone. What they left behind were the corpses of their foul sacrifices. Isari, I believe you had interpreted it as a binding ceremony."
The dwarf girl, Vianna, limp with fever, sags in the arms of a human and an armoured beast, while behind her a spined devil and another human look on gleefully. Around the room, golden-eyed dwarves and a leering kobold wait exultantly.
A older, robed dwarf advances on her, holding a steaming beaker of liquid gold in tongs.
"We bring the blessing! The ceremony will be completed!"
The spined devil brutally pulls back Vianna's head and prises her jaw open as the dwarf dumps the contents down her throat. Dropping her callously to the floor, the assembled group watch with a kind of vicious pleasure as the dwarf screams, writhes and clutches at her chest. Her eyes open wide with golden fury as the older dwarf stands over her exhorting her to accept the transformation.
The dwarf bellows defiantly and starts to change...
Abelard listens intently to your tale.
"I see." He looks extremely perturbed. "The dragon will have to be found, but I do not see how at present. If she has been afflicted, she will be a grievous foe, poor creature. Her whole nature will rebel at the conflict within her."
He muses for a moment. "Nonetheless, the immediate task still remains. The elementals must be convinced to return and the Heathforges must be restored. There is," he adds, somewhat unnecessarily, "great evil afoot here."
"It is indeed! Now where can we find this disloyal Gefangak?"
"He and all the elementals have moved to the old underground market. They are discussing what to do."
Dorvin grimaces, "This stinks worse than a trog. Dwarves break an oath? Drinking gold? These shenanigans are gonna stop."
The corridor leading to the underground market grows perceptibly warmer until you reach the closed metal door that is warm to the touch. Beyond it, you can hear the babble of voices raised in argument and the hiss of flames. Abelard pauses.
"Can you protect yourselves from the heat? It was foolish of me not to ask."
"My cloak should protect me from the worst of the heat."
Dorvin pats his shield, "This beauty can suck those flames up. Can also use it on one o' yoose."
Abelard comes to a decision.
"If you have to fight Gefangak, you will need protection."
Leading you a short way down the corridor, he chants for a few minutes and finally pauses, satisfied.
"This will not protect you from the flames, but the ambient temperature will be endurable."
Even from where you are standing, you can hear the rumble of voices growing more urgent as Abelard casts his ritual.
"We must hurry."
Abelard hastens to the door and opens it.
The Fire Shepherd strides through the door, confronting his errant tribe and addressing the large elemental orchestrating rebellion from the top of a burning pile of debris.
Formerly a well structured and rather elegant marketplace, the elementals have inadvertently charred much of it in the course of their discussions. Gefangak is in mid-oration as the party arrives.
Primordial
Abelard replies in the same tongue.
Primordial
Gefangak punctuates his retort with blast of flame as he snorts in response.
Primordial
The surrounding fire elementals seem confused and uncertain, but do not appear to be taking sides for now.
Abelard shrugs sadly and turns to the party. "I had hoped to reason with him, but I fear that only his death will decide this issue."
Dorvin strides forward, "Ye see here, ye firey big bastard - if ye dinnae quit yer tomfoolery, we're gonna have to smack ye aboot the heed!" he roars.
Gefangak turns as Dorvin thumps towards him and speaks in Common as heavily accented as the warlord's own.
"You have betrayed our contract. Why should we heed it or you any longer?"
Flames crackle and roar around the outraged elemental and the ground shakes slightly.
"Reet," Dorvin says, keeping a rein on his temper, "Ah dinnae know all o' what's goin' on but dwarves dinnae break their word. There's some greed cultists driven people loony, 'n' yer no' helpin' matters wi' this. Noo, yer pal here" he indicates the azer "says ye've gi'en good service fer years. Why don't ye tell us what changed?"
Sword at the ready, Rusty marches in behind Dorvin.
Gefangak pauses in his ranting and rumbles. "The dwarves are corrupted."
Outraged at the suggestion that dwarves would break a contract, Dorvin is quite unable to understand any other viewpoint.
"I for one can agree that some corruption appears to be spreading among these dwarves, and we intend to get to the bottom of it. It's some sort of sickness that is taking many of the ones we have interacted with."
"However, what this sickness has begun, the deep cold will finish. It is making matters worse, not better. If you can give us the time we need to weed out the root of this corruption, the contract may be able to be restored. Now is the hour of their greatest need."
Nayce's words give Gefangak pause. "My people should not be forced to serve those who betray them," he maintains.
"Oh fiery one, do not rush to judgment. If the dwarves' are not in control of their actions, then they can hardly be faulted for betraying you."
Dorvin proceeds to remind the rogue elemental of the steadfast nature of dwarvenkind throughout written records.
Rusty's attempt at sweet reason draws an angry growl from Gefangak, swiftly suppressed as Dorvin methodically outlines examples of dwarven steadfastness.
Isari reaches into his pouch and pulls out the gold coins vomited up by the dwarf. "When they died they vomited up this. Would an unenchanted dwarf do that?"