You hear Boggel's voice carried on the wind of the crevice say, "I believe the point of climbing is NOT to crash, friend Wulf."
Liam holds back, not terribly interested in the specifics of dwarven weapons and armor. He'll watch back they way they came, just in case.
Helgrim looks about in awe trying to take it all in.
”It’s amazing. There’s so much here, I mean it’s like a window into the crafting and forge works of a different age.”
Then he picks up the breastplate and gingerly brushes it off to inspect it.
”Oh my, what do we have here?”
"Aside from the antiquities is there anything else in there Helgrim? Any stairs or what not?" Wulf asks after a hearty laugh.
"True Boggel but we are not naturally blessed in the area of climbing as you are. We have to go out and actually train in the skill. For me it was climbing as a kid"Wulf said with a smile.
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[If few would overhear]"As always, the Gavel wants to thank you for the 'help' you've given over the past few days. In return, he extends a warning, that a delegation from Almas arrives soon."
He pauses for affect, then in a hushed whisper, warns "Make certain all of your affairs are in order."
[If many will overhear] Timothy inclines his head towards the others "The Gavel, of course, thanks you for your help over the past days. However, he wishes to discuss a manner with you. In another room, perhaps? I can outline the details there."
[/spoiler]
"Then you definitely need a bit of a crash course. Walking up a hill ain't nothing compared to these old trees" he says with a smile as he stands leaning slightly on his staff
”Take a few minutes to do things safe and you save days, weeks or a lifetime of healing.”
”Boggel found an enchanted breastplate and it has carvings all over it just like the door! I got a little distracted, but I am checking the walls and whatnot. I’ll let you know what we find.”
”That and make a few notes marking the place out.”
The breastplate seems too ornate to belong to just a guard captain, so Helgrim suspects it belonged to a member of Clan Dunkil, the wardens of this fallen fortress.
The quality of the masonry holding these walls together against both time and the Rending bespeaks the skilled artisans and the resources available during the prosperous age of Tar Khadurrm. Aside from the iron door, there are no additional passages or tunnels out from this armory, save for the precipitous drop down into the gorge.
The iron door could also be brought back into working order, but it would require sturdy tools and a couple days of work.
The scarred but well-dressed half-orc offers a brief growl that seems to resonate within his bronze noseplate.
"Very well," he says with rumbling courtesy as he beckons you to one of the curtained-off back rooms.
The private room is lined with soft pillows and a plush divan, probably worth more than all the loggers in the Hollow make in a year. Of course, you doubt that Bloodeye paid for it squarely.
Bloodeye takes a seat on the divan and wordlessly beckons you with a broad, calloused palm to speak your business.
”You know what? Although it might take a spot of work, a ladder or even just a rope could be secured along the cliff face as a somewhat safer approach to this isolated room.
The iron door could also be brought back into working order, but it would require sturdy tools and a couple days of work. We might just have the beginnings of a dwarven fortress!”
”Well okay, a dwarven strong room at least.”
Helgrim beams as he looks around.
”No more passages past this point though. That’s it then right? We have done all the passages we know about?”
The dwarf holds the breastplate up to himself checking the fit.
Helgrim looks at Boggel and whispers.
”Do you think it’s okay if I put this on?”
Boggel laughs... well, croaks, but in a laughing manner. "I was wondering when you would try it on. I'm a bit surprised you held out this long." He pats the dwarf on the back. "We may wish to find someone who can tell us about the particular enchantments on this armor. Perhaps there is someone in town."
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The dwarf smiles at the grippli. Helgrim then sets about removing his armored coat and with slightly trembling hands begins arming himself in the breastplate.
”This armor is simply magnificent. Think of it sitting here all these [i]centuries[/] maybe the last held place in this entire stronghold, until you found it.”
Once he has it on he looks down at himself.
”Look at me. In this I am no longer just a simple engineer. Nor even a meet captain of the guard or even a general of an army. I am wearing the armor of the Warden of this entire seat of power.”
The dwarf strikes a stoic imperious stance and slowly paces around the frogman.
”I am the highest ranking dwarf, the Lord Warden Helgrim Ironstar of this Caer, Master of this place and all that I rightfully command!”
He begins cracking up with giggles.
”Albiet, I now command the only known open aired Dwarven fortress in the known world and my saferoom only has one entrance and it’s not the door.”
He bends over laughing.
”The only guard’s I can muster is a angry swarm of mosquitos and I can’t even fend off rock gnomes intent on stealing my precious hoard of rusty tools. “
He gets a hold of himself after having a good time with it.
”Still. This place has some good bones and given time I could repair it. I could make the workroom usable again and the tower is still intact.”
He really sobers up.
”I might be the first noble dwarf to have stood here since the breaking. The first not under the Black Blooded One’s thrall.”
He looks down at the ruin in the gorge.
”or I may go unknown as the last dwarf to wear this sacred armor . . . Helgrim the Last . . . “
"It looks good on you, friend Helgrim. Come, let us see if we can find a ladder," he says, trying to distract the dwarf from his sadness.
""Gods I hope so. otherwise I believe it might be a fight!" He says chuckling as he watched from his position trying to make sure no one snuck up.on them
No surviving ladders - or anything that could safely fit the bill - remain within the cellar or tower. Fortunately, as Wulf keeps guard, no new surprises sneak up on the party.
With the rope secured around the iron door, the return trip around is safe, albeit none-the-faster. While Helgrim is able to wear the magic armor in order to carry it out, a new method of access may need to be contrived before attempting to retrieve and repair the other pieces from this armory.
Helgrim has barely made it off the ropes before he begins displaying the recovered armor.
”Look at this suit of armor? Can you believe it? Sitting untouched all these years. Built to last and for a Warden of this Fortress or maybe even the Thane himself.”
He begins vigorously shaking everyone’s hands.
”I want to thank all of you for making this happen. Had I come here alone I would have been dead up there in the Harpy nest. Not to mention if it wasn’t for Boggel I don’t think I would have made it around that door. Oh! And the door itself is a treasure! Just you wait, if I could get some dwarves in here and fix this place, well we would have a work shop, we could help fix the towns water problems. Plus you see the ruined fortress down there? Blocks, maybe millions of them, but they’re already cut! With scaffolding and ramps you could make a new structure. Heck we could build a whole town.”
”Ah sorry, sorry it’s just all so exciting, the ruin, the possibilities, the discoveries, but ahhh. . . “
The dwarf looks out the missing wall up into the sky.
”Oh my, the days gettin away from us.”
”I’m up to pressing it to get back. I can see in the dark and I know Wulf’s gotta take care of his animals, but do you guys want to hole up here instead?”
The dwarf holds up his armored coat to Wulf’s broad shoulders.
”Hummm, yer a wee bit taller than me but we’re about the same size in the chest. You should try my coat on. Its sturdy musk ox leather coat reinforced with metal plates sewn into the lining. It’s a bit more cumbersome than light armor, but the advantage of it is that you person can don it or remove it with one move action and you can wear it over light armor and if you need to be light on your feet you just drop it off.”
”Well thank you kindly Miss Chadwick, and sure, sure you could build a bridge, but I think I would rebuild a defensive structure first based on what Liam told me about the area.”
Helgrim squints across the gap at the opposing cliffside. He rubs his beard then his hands together with anticipation.
”But If the dwarf roads are intact you could travel all over the place on them. I’ll betcha that road would take you to a dozen more places like this one.”
”Maybe if I contacted the Government they might send up a detachment and we could work out an agreement. If Hallow was the northernmost settlement it could support a garrison, it would make a new economic model for the town, save the trees, and could be part of the Dwarven Mission to retake our lands! Think about it. Think of the wealth we could generate. Don’t you think Wizards and Druids would come to study these places? If I could get some of the Dwarven Undead Hunters and a few clerics of Torag to come . . .”
Helgrim blushes behind his beard.
”Truth be told Miss Chadwick many of my fellow dwarves think I’m a bit off. Most my kin have the goldbug. Me, I get these ideas, like the Great King who ordered my people to make for the sky. Then for 7500 years we hallowed mountains, channeled rivers in pipes—-harnessed volcanoes— think of that. We harnessed valcanoes. After the breaking and the taint of the Black Blooded Ones, my people now live in the shadows of our ancestors accomplishments, sure we still have the wonderful works they made for us, but most of the secrets of their creation are missing.”
”If one of us could figure out those secrets we could change the world. We could stop hunger in places with underground hydroponics, mitigate droughts with cistern and water channel systems, when the Dwarves lived here we practiced forestry so that we always had timbers and balance with the dwellers of the forests.”
Helgrim stops and looks a bit sheepish.
”I am respected for my abilities back home, but most Dwarves are too busy clinging to what we have. If I can find something grand enough, I think lorekeepers and engineers like me will come.”
”I have to find something out here. I am going to have to start something myself. It’s going to be a big job. But meeting people like you all has really shown me what all of us can do together.”
”Can you imagine a construction crew of grippli? Or if I could get some of Liam’s tribesmen to help me unlock the secrets of nature and Wulf with his knowledge of farming and animal husbandry?”
The dwarf takes in a huge breath and lets out a sigh.
”Well enough of me flappin my lips. We either need to set camp or beat feet. Which is is guys?”
Boggle shakes his head. "I'm afraid I cannot predict the harpy's actions. We could camp here, easily enough. Or move back into the woods. But I think we can make it back to Wulf's as well. My concern is for Wulf's home and family. I cannot predict Kreed's actions either. And he concerns me more than the harpy."
"We can head out in the morning, I got a neighbor who will watch my place. Sent the kids and my sis to my parents. So if the goons strike It just means I go to war"
”okay, lets make camp in the armory. I never got injured and I can stand watch for those who need to get their spells back.”
”I can make notes in my journal.”
”We can set out at first light.”
Helgrim pauses.
”Well if that’s what the majority want to do that is.”
"Very well. Let us set up camp."
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"Yes, I do," Boggel says with a smile. "I have added some to my survival kit. But I will have to get more when we go back to town."
"I think a dwarven settlement in this area would provide an excellent counterbalance to the Lumber Consortium. If we can find enough of your stout folk willing to undertake the challenge." Liam says to Helgrim when they return.
The night is fitful.
Every time the whistling wind rises from the chasm, you momentarily wonder whether those earthen creatures have returned.
On the bright side, it tends to carry away whiffs of stench from the tower above - even if only briefly.
The calls of nightbirds chorus the twilight and darker hours. When something unseen disturbs them, and you hear entire trees full of such birds take flight, you worry that the harpy has returned. Even worse, the flapping of wings often takes on the sinister aspect of several bird-women approaching the ruins in search of revenge. Thankfully, it remains only figments of tired, stress imaginations.
Finally, the first light of dawn can be glimpsed above the chasm's eastern horizon.
Suspicious as ever, Helgrim looks down from the party’s perch and scans what he can see from their position. He is as keen on trying to study the rubble pile below as he is looking for potential threats. While he does so he is also thinking of where he might place ladders or Climbing safety rings upon his return.
”Darn rock gnomes are probably having a party in the ruins below. Heh, I wonder what treasures they have stashed away down there? I wonder why they didn’t take the breastplate? This is sure a mystery. I made a bunch of notes so we can visit the guy you know in town that might be able to identify them Naomi.”
”When we leave outta here we’d beat keep our eyes open for an ambush.”
He looks at the party members who are waking up for the day0 Ben k Wûh
”When we get back to town what do you think we need to do about that Tim character? What his deal anyway. I can’t figure him out. Who’s side is he on and is he a threat we have to deal with?”
”Oh, and can we not mention the tower we found here? Someone might come steal my valuable door.”
The dwarf says in a serious tone as he reverently traces some of the carved figures and runes on the massive vault door.’
"The tower is yours by right Helgrim, as it was built by dwarves it is only fair for a dwarf to reclaim it as there own. Besides I like your idea of a settlement of dwarves nearby. Might increase my stock just to help feed them too"Wulf says with a smile on his face as he easily gets to his feet. his body still in his leathers.
At first light, you extricate yourselves from the cliff-side ruins, eager to return home - especially to be free from the mosquitoes that began to grow bolder and buzz out from the cistern.
Returning to the surface, you find the orange-tinged sky is calm and populated by high, white clouds. A cool, refreshing breeze wafts in upon the easterly wind. Your emergence from the tower spooks the razorcrows perched above and they scatter, flying low into the treeline.
Based upon the position and shape of the clouds above, you believe that the storm will descend upon the vale in the afternoon.
...
Travelling southwesterly, along the old dwarven road, the trek home is peaceful - at first.
After several miles, once the road plunges back into the forest's thick fringe, you can feel a tremor through the ground. It does not take very sharp senses at all to hear the sounds that soon follow: something large crashing through tree branches and tearing through underbrush.
You can also hear a guttural, rumbling voice muttering, but its meaning remains indistinct.
”A storm’s comin, but that’s not thunder. Something big that talks.”
”Follow me, but try’n be quiet.”
Helgrim prepares himself suspecting an ogre or a giant. He looks for a large tree to get behind, but tries to move quietly and tries to be mindful of the wind for the party’s scent.
He tries to catch a glimpse of what is coming.
Boggel isn't worried about the rain. Even thunderstorms are part of nature. The booming caused by a large creature that talks... that's another story. Boggel draws his bow and moves to the side, hopefully out of any direct path of the creature.
Wulf smiles then grumbles."Great I left out the blankets when we left"
Wulf sighs and treks on until he heard the powerful crashing. He whirls his staff and shakes his head."Now what"
Noticing the signs of a brewing storm, Liam grimaces. "Beter hurry back. Storm coming this afternoon."
At the sound of something large and talkative, Liam melds into the bush.
The terrible racket grows louder, the rumbling transforming into a thundering. Sturdy oak trees are parted like mere willow fronds as a towering, burly hill giant blunders out of the forest and onto the old road.
He carries an immense cudgel like his kind are known to wield - made from an entire uprooted tree - but it currently serves more as a crutch than a weapon. Every earthshaking step he takes is an ordeal as he totters like a rickety barn, struggling just to keep upright.
The giant kneels down and begins sifting through bushes and saplings (pulling them up and tossing them aside, actually) as though frantically searching for something. His efforts make little headway and, with sweeping, stumbling steps, he staggers over to a thick stand of trees to catch his balance. The trunks groan and creak in protest beneath his weight.
While you've heard stories of giants being foul creatures, you were not prepared for this. He reeks of unbearably strong spirits. In fact, it almost seems as though a cloud of alcohol followed him like a fog.
Thankfully, this incredibly drunk giant seems more keen on searching for something than causing carnage, except accidentally.
Naomi trips and stumbles from her hiding spot, landing upon the road.
In a terrifying moment, the giant stands and raises his club as though the smash the woman, but the motion leaves him again unbalanced and he falls back against the trees, muttering and moaning incoherently.
Helgrim was ready to attack when he saw the giant raise his club to flatten the woman, but Naomi’s reaction made him pause. He breathes to those near him.
”What in the fool’s hell is she doing? That’s a Hill Giant nastiest of the lot.”
While it goes against his racial training, the dwarf holds back his charge and waits to see what happens.
In a throaty voice, the giant grumbles "Kardoblag," which you're reasonably sure is his name rather than simply a belch, especially since he emphasizes the word with a barrel-thick finger pointed at his own chest.
Kardoblag starts to rise but then falls back onto his rear, sending a tremor through the ground.
"Party...ogres," he mutters in broken Common. "Lots to drink. Pretty ogre women. Took off ring. Got mad. Smashed ogres. Lost ring. Find. Need find. No want wife mad."
Helgrim whispers.
”Hummm, I was mistaken, an angry Hill Giant wife has to be the the nastiest . . . Uh, well shoot, how about a Hill Giant Mother-in-law? I can’t believe this is actually happening. Naomi must be a saint.”
Boggel tries to project his whisper to Naomi. "Ask him what the ring looked like? Or where he put it when he took it off?"
"Hill Gaint cheating on his wife with Ogre Women. That poor sod is dead if he gets caught. Might need to help him out so he owes us a favor" He whispers to Helgrim as he stands calmly ready to strike if need be.
In gurgling groans that approach intelligible Common, Kardoblag explains that his wedding ring looks like, well, a ring. Although his description is hardly detailed, you imagine that a ring the size of a wagon wheel should stand out.
His liquor-pickled memory hasn't the foggiest idea where exactly he might have dropped the ring. His evening became especially hazy when an argument about the best way to roast halflings got out of hand, leading to him drunkenly bludgeoning his ogre hosts.
However, he has already scoured much of the land west of the road - and there is a swathe of uprooted trees behind him to support this claim.