I don't think I said they went down. They are already underground, and they go through the earth, but not at any particular slope. Interestingly, the whole thing seems to have been carved out of bedrock, but finished with imported, cut and dressed stone. I'm warning you now that this has no deep meaning, other than that it represents my take on silly things dwarves do.
There are runes.
For the most part, they are in the tunnels, and they speak of the great works that were done to appease the Gods that they discovered on the surface - by which they clearly mean Pazuzu and Dagon, and of course, the Quest for the Sky which was done to appease Biyari. It's all horribly blasphemous, and they consistently refer to the demon Biyari as Torag. Reading between the lines, you are able to infer that these dwarves were a part of Tar Taargadth 10,000 years ago, but that they took a different path on their Quest for the Sky, and that they were led astray early on by Biyari or his agents, who twisted them so that by the time they reached the surface, they were completely corrupted.
There are also runes in the towers that speak of an alliance between the elves and dwarves against their common enemy, but it does not make clear what that enemy could be.
See my extensive edit. Also, the tunnels simply go a couple of hundred feet through bedrock and each ends at the representation of the demon lords.
Vallen relies the messages contained in the runes to the others of the group, his voice dripping with disgust and anger. "These dwarves may be beyond reason, corrupted and twisted by these demons. I hope that is not the case... The elves... well, they seem to have allied together against a common enemy, which is frightening. What could be so dangerous that the elves would work together with demon-worshipping dwarves to eliminate? Hopefully they did not worship demons as well. I fear this land may be a plaything for the agents of the abyss."
He leaves to go make repairs to the king's canoe with Cueta, casting Mending on the worst of the damage they inflicted. "I'm glad you got rid of that awful chair Cueta. Throw that abyss-worshiping ass-carrier into the sea."
Cueta props the chair up on the beach and studies it for a moment. A tasteless throne for a tasteless people. "Actually, Vallen - though I'd love to lock the bastard in Besmara's chest - I think we should tie king kuru to his chair and leave him at Bugbear Beach. Such a gift might go a long way towards maintaining peaceful relations with the goblins, and will show them that we are fighting force to be reckoned with, if they start to get ideas about raiding Newspring." The Ijo looks up at the foreboding cliffs towering above the beach. "Or here, if we decide to stay."
Cueta's demeanor then gets grim, and she gets close to Vallen, talking in a whisper. "We need to keep a eye on those women. If they are... with child, they may do bad things to themselves or others. Their sanity - I'm worried there is not much holding them together."
Later in the tunnels on the way to get king kuru's corpse, Cueta sees Manari and stops her for a second, resting her hand on the elf's arm. "Manari, friend, wise-one, I have a question about the people that made landfall on the Harpy. The Lady Kralish, she would have traveled with others most likely - her husband and a contingent of my people and halflings, enslaved of course. Did you see what fate befell any of them? I saw no bodies at the clearing of any of those people I knew."
Manari listens to Cueta and sighs.
"Elisa and her husband Marius were on the Pegasus when it was attacked by the kraken. They and Melilla were among those we pulled out of the water. To my knowledge, they were the only survivors of that party, but I do not know for certain. Perhaps you should ask her," she looks at Cueta for a moment, thoughtfully. "I have heard talk of putting aside old injuries and prejudices, so that we may work together to survive and build a place free of the evils that plagued the old world. I don't know that I've heard your thoughts on that subject, though perhaps your actions speak for themselves."
Cueta cocks her head and narrows her eyes at Manari. "Manari, I was on the Pegasus until it was sunk by the kraken. I'm pretty sure that I never saw my sister on that ship." Unless they hid from me. "I'll talk with my sister about it at some point, but for now I don't see the need to dredge up more horror. It is immaterial, really, I suppose. If they weren't on the Harpy and weren't on the Lillend, there's no way to tell where they could be, of if they are alive. I assume that Marius was taken by the sharkteeth as well?"
As Manari talks about putting aside prejudices, Cueta grits her teeth and blushes with anger, looking in the direction of the Lady Kralish. "When we were getting them out of the cage, I thought about tumbling the lady into the cistern. I'm not proud of this. And I do believe that this land should be one where everyone can be what they were destined to be, without interference from others, and - this is important - without interfering with others' destinies as well. There is no reason that Kralish shouldn't be afforded the same chance as everyone else. But, if she harms my sister one more time, I'll put that b+@@+'s name in the dead scrolls without thinking twice about it."
The dwarf chuckles as Cueta suggests leaving the kuru king on Bugbear beach. "While the imagery is certainly amusing, will the bugbears understand? Do bugbears have thrones? I like the idea, hopefully he won't be too rank in the next few days or we'll have to toss him overboard."
Vallen looks uncomfortable as Cueta speaks to him about the ladies. When she is finished, he swallows, and nods. "Aye. I prayed to Folgrit that such a.. horrific... thing... does not occur, but in case it does, I'm planning on speaking to a midwife when we return about... solutions..."
He doesn't seem to want to talk about it anymore, and simply continues working on fixing the large canoe.
Gair shakes his head at the mention of bringing the Kuru king with them, "I would not advertise our victory here just yet. This is a prized location. With luck we can convince the others to relocate at least some of our number here. The bugbears my well lay claim to this stronghold before we are able to return if we give them reason to believe it is uninhabited. I would much rather have this place than the potential for some goodwill with an unknown number of such creatures."
Regardless of what is decided with the throne and it's former owner, Gair takes his son and sets to dragging the corpses of the Kuru warriors from the hall down to the beach where they can be weighted and sent out to sea.
"I agree with the northman, let others think the Kuru still hold this place."
Kal'Tos collects some broken wood for a fire and uses spark to light it.
Cueta shrugs at Gair's suggestion. "That's fine by me - king kuru can go to Besmara's chest. He'll make a fine bauble in her collection. If we are going to send people here, we need to eliminate any threats along the way and make travel easy to and from each point. I'd suggest that when we get back to Newspring we turn around and go out again, perhaps after a moot with the community to tell them about this... dwarf island. If some people are interested in relocating here we can start exploring the locations between Newspring and the island and soon after a team of laborers and a team of guards should be assembled to start a path between the two, with regular patrols between the sites."
"Another thing has been weighing on my mind. We are starting to gain quite the collection of boats. It would be a real shame to have them stolen or wrecked. I think we need yet another team of guards stationed near the beach, with orders to run and alert Newspring in the advent anyone approaches. They could also help protect our fishermen if they get into any trouble."
"The beach is not far, I'm sure Hassan is more than capable of looking after such things. The boats are the very reason we need not wait for a path to be cleared in order to settle here. We are in agreement that a trail will need to be broken but we will have enough sailors to send a decent contingent by water as soon as a group can be convinced to undertake the journey. A few strong arms and sharp axes should be able to hold this place if well organized."
"Agreed, but I'm not worried about getting people to the island originally. I'm worried about getting goods to and from the island in a timely and easy manner, as well as people. We can't tie up boats that could be used fishing on three day trips to and from the island with regularity."
Vallen ponders for a moment, before shrugging. "The locals will notice soon enough that no more campfires burn on this island. I suppose those last five kuru that went to look for us will return eventually, though."
Vallen sighs at the mention of coming back. "Unless we're bringing people with us to settle this place, I'm staying in Newspring. I've got a forge to build."
Gair shakes his head, "With luck most of the neighbors will have learned to stay clear of this place before they end up on the menu. As for the others, I can only imagine we are likely to meet them on the way back to Newspring. We can deal with them then."
Kal'Tos agrees
Gozran 17th
The sun barely rises on a chilly, overcast day. The wind is sharp and cold and the surf pounding the island seems to do so with added ferocity.
In Newspring, the weather is hardly better, but the bay is calmer than the open sea.
Vallen spends the morning praying to Torag, requesting a safe journey and a solution to their strained food supplies. He takes out some nuts from his trial rations, waving his hands over each handful to bless them. Downing a handful, he waits a few moments and puts a hand to his stomach, the sensation of having eaten a full meal filling his body.
The dwarf offers the nuts to others, assuring them that is all they need to eat for the day. "Torag and Abadar have blessed our journey, and these will keep us full for the day. We should be able to make it back to Newspring without worry about food now."
Sighing as he hears the wind howling through the privy, the dwarf climbs down to the mega canoe and prepares for their journey. He checks the canoe over once more for any forgotten holes, casting mending if needed.
Cueta wakes grouchy. Blast and avast! It looks like the weather may not cooperate today.
Eating some of Torag's nuts , the Mwangi feels a bit better, and sitting near her sister, banters on lightly about inconsequential things, trying to gauge the woman's mental state and not wanting to upset her sister, and knowing that the road to earning Melilla's trust will be a long one.
She helps Vallen check the canoe and then makes sure everyone gets safely in before taking her place at the tiller.
Cueta looks at the sky and predicts a chilly day on the water, and the possibility of rain, but nothing serious.
Kal'Tos spends the day paddling and pondering what could cause a group of dwarves to begin worshipping demons. He may not serve the traditional god of dwarves but he still respects him and his power.
Muttering about the weather, Gair helps the others launch the oversized canoe, splashing into the icy surf before hauling himself aboard.
Watching the clouds carefully for any signs of the weather turning worse, he eventually settles into the easy rhythm of paddling. As the day progresses he tries to engage Balis somewhat, asking her of her past, "Where did you make your hearth before joining this fates cursed expedition Balin? You have the look of the north about you but seem to speak the same southern tongue as Ceuta."
During the morning, evening and when they stop to rest, Gair attempts to work on his neglected bow, hoping to make what progress he can.
Hassan is distracted as he makes his rounds in the morning chill, his mind on the seemingly lost party of explorers, the dwindling food supply and a mild nervousness about when the Harpy team will finally make their return.
Istiel stops by to visit Horn'tos in the chilly, early hours of the morning. She is pleased to see he finished his work on the hide shirt, and the elf slips into it wordlessly, flexing and turnin in the armor to test its range of motion. Turning her deep eyes on the dwarf, Istiel nods. "Fine work, Horn'tos. Rugged dwarf craftsmanship. I will bring some fresh game every evening for the next week to repay you."
Making her way to her usual tree for watch, the elf climbs up it and rests in the branches, bow and quiver close at hand, scanning the surrounding area for threats.
Ben does what he can to help with the canoe on the way back, but his small size makes it difficult for him to contribute much as they paddle back towards Newspring. He is happy that they have practically eliminated the threat posed by the Kuru. He knows there are many other yet unknown threats to the safety of his family out there but one at least has been put down.
"Do you think we will get a chance to kill the five that went after the boats? I'd don't care for leaving loose ends."
Balis is, of the rescued women, the least affected by her captivity. She is grim and despondent, but she is able to carry on something like a normal conversation.
"I am from Halgrim, in the Ironbound islands," she says. "My father brought us to Absalom and booked us passage aboard the Harpy, but he was slain trying to rescue me. I do not speak the Mwangi's tongue, though. I simply heard her speak. It was the dwarf whose words I understood."
--------
Horn'Tos shakes his head at Istiel.
"The first was easy, but this one gave me trouble. In truth, I would rather hammer honest metal than stitch bits of dead animals together, but we all have to make concessions to our circumstances." He looks at the forge slowly taking shape, and grins. "Soon."
Vallen grunts as he paddles hard, the mass of the canoe and a lack of sufficient rowers giving the dwarf more of a workout than he was anticipating.
"Torag willing, I hope not, Ben. We'll either see them on the open sea, and they'll try to board us, or they'll try to sneak up on us from the forest, like they did on the cliffs. While I'd sleep better knowing they were dead, we may not get a straight fight like the last time."
Istiel has the slightest of smiles on her face at the dwarf's attitude, looking at the forest around her momentarily. "This is a far cry from your mountain-homes. Take pride that you have adapted so well to your surroundings." She glances at the forge, and pulls her longsword partly from its sheath to show to Horn'tos. "Find me when you have honest metal. This human blade lacks foresight. I require something more rugged, and..." The elf thumps the bear bear shirt with her fist. "something bigger, if we have to keep fighting bears."
Gair nods, "The exploits of White Estrid are well known to us in the Mammoth Realms. I grieve for your father, you will have to tell me of him one day. What brought the two of your on this expedition, if I may ask?"
Turning at Vallen and Ben's conversation, the warrior shakes his head, "I am hopeful we will encounter them. We cannot miss each other upon the water. I would try to make land should we spot them however. Fighting them without solid ground beneath my feet is not a prospect I relish."
Balis smiles at Gair for a moment and then looks away, over the water.
"Father owned a meadhall in Halgrim," she said. "A place for seafarers, mainly. He was a good man, but not a good businessman. He had to sell it, coppers for gold, to pay his debts. The new owner kept me on as barmaid, but it was heartbreaking to see what had been ours in other hands. Before father could nerve himself up to do something foolish, we heard of this expedition, and made our way to Absalom."
Gozran 18
An uneventful day turns to night. Around midnight, the clouds that dulled the day light blow off, and the stars gleam above. The canoe crew finds a safe beach to pass the night and have a safe enough time, and the sun rises on clear skies. The four women rescued from the kuru seem to stick together, particularly Melilla and Elisa. Balis seems content to keep to herself when Gair isn't engaging her in conversation, and Thaliel mostly speaks to Manari, in elven.
In Newspring, Horn'Tos has completed his work for the players and engages on a wooden shield at the request of Sandra Thayer. Ingwe is losing weight quickly, and now weighs less than any combination of three PCs. A few of the settlers seem drawn to him and participate in evening rituals at the strange altar he built. The foragers come back nearly empty-handed and there is much worrying, though there is relief late in the afternoon when sails are spotted coming across the bay, and the two longboats return just in time for supper.
Kal'Tos spends the day debating the merits of possible methods of redecorating the stonework in the Dwarf Fortress with Vallen. Kal'Tos favours using abrasives to remove the current blasphemy to be replaced by proper carvings. Though he is concerned about how long such a method would take. The work would probably go faster with the ability to use soften earth and stone, unfortunately there is currently no one who knows such magic in the village.
Vallen and Kal'tos get into a detailed discussion about the most effective way to remove the reliefs in the halls of the dwarf harbor. It would certainly take a long time to smooth it by hand, and even longer to replace it with something more fitting. Vallen suggests simply removing the stone it is carved into and tossing it into the sea, considering the tunnel is carved out of bedrock and the stone was put in place.
"One day we'll fix that place up to be a proper dwarf settlement. When we have the luxury of time, I'll see to it that the true story is set in stone."
When Istiel returns from hunting, the longboats have returned to Newspring. She asks about Manari, but is informed of her scouting mission. Silently, the elf assists moving goods into the town if more help is needed.
Kyle, Edmund, Walton and Sai are welcomed like heroes. The people left behind at Newspring gather around a bonfire, and while the food supplies are too thin for a feast, per se, there is a general attitude of celebration as they report on their adventures. The encounters with kuru and zombies are frightening, but they seem distant. When Edmund hears the news of the lost explorers, he clenches his teeth and stalks off into the thickening dusk. Walton gathers together with the other halflings to mourn Valentinian.
Hassan finds himself both unsettled and curious about Ingwe's strange rituals. In the evening he finds himself watching the proceeding from a short distance away, trying to make sense of what is going on. Once Ingwe seems to have finished for the evening, the sellsword approaches him, "Interesting ceremony. What powers do you pray to on these distant shores?"
-------------------
Hassan greets the returned sailors warmly, grimacing as he learns that the others will still not be back for several days.
His gaze follows Edmund as he stalks off, eventually shaking his head and helping the others unload the goods.
Gair smiles faintly at Balis, "A fresh start then. It is a common enough tale among those who made it to these dangerous shores."
He makes a little more idle conversation throughout the day but is content to mostly keep to himself, trying to work on his bow succeeding only at frustrating himself.
While paddling he does his best to keep an eye out for the wayward Kuru canoe and it's savage crew.
Seeing how Ben had struggled with the rowing the day previous, Cueta turns the rudder over to the newly minted sailor, and - somewhat warily - keeps an eye on the halfling as she paddles, keeping the rest of her attention on her sister. Annoyed and angry with her sister's apparent attachment to her former owner, the Mwangi woman throws herself into her rowing and listens to see what Melilla and the Lady Kralish speak about when they do speak, if at all. Otherwise, consumed with her thoughts and guilt, Cueta hardly notices the day unfold, and paddles until the dark forces her not to or when someone tells her not to.
Sorala goes with the others when word of the boats returning comes, and although originally filled with panic at the sight of only four returning in the ship's boats, the news that the others are still out and scouting ahead fills her with hope. These ones brought building supplies and food. Perhaps the rest still out there will bring us something else of use - the lot of them are a resourceful one, for sure!
As the evening goes on and a somewhat happy mood strikes the camp, Sorala makes her way to the four returnees as she can find them , and taking Garrack and her quill and parchment, records their experiences for posterity, and hopefully for the future generations of Newspring, and because, if nothing else, someone should strike their exploits in firm form before all is lost to the winds of time.
Ingwe makes a sign that Hassan recognizes as one for luck common in the southern reaches of Garund. He holds up a flat rock with a small meal of thinly sliced edible roots laid out on it.
"Today, I pray to the spirits of deception, to hide this place from the eyes of the hunger spirits," he says. "I pray to the weather spirits to give us rain and sun in good measure and to spare us storms, and to the spirits of the land to welcome us. Would you like to join us?"
He offers the 'plate' to Hassan.
------
Gair sees no sign of the canoe until the group lands on Bugbear Beach at the end of their second day paddling (you guys owe me 2 DC 10 Fort saves). They find the remains of a fire near the shore, just enough unburnt scraps remain to show that this was a kuru canoe. Further up in the dunes, they find Cueta's sculpture, surrounded by five kuru heads. There are many tracks in the sand that are easily recognizable as bugbears.
-------
Sorala gathers her stories. Kyle veers from furious enthusiasm to irritation at having been left behind as he tells his story. Sai's story is carefully understated and draped in sarcasm. Walton is thoughtful in tone, but manages to exaggerate the danger even more than Kyle. Edmund, who returns from a tense conversation with his sister, gives a dispassionate report that focuses too much on the combat prowess of the group and tells little of what was learned.
Between the four, though, Sorala is able to form a reasonably accurate picture of what happened.
-------
Cueta listens closely to her sister and Lady Kralish as she rows. They are speaking softly, but not secretively. Most of their conversation seems to be gossip concerning Chelish nobility. At one point, though, they touch on their future, and though they are both clearly uncomfortable with the subject, they agree that if they are to survive, they will need to watch each other's backs. It is Melilla who turns to look at Cueta at that point.
Fort saves
While the first day was no problem, the second day of paddling left Vallen straining and aching by nightfall. The dwarf grumbles about hoping he can get a good night's sleep. Puzzled by the discovery of the burnt kuru canoe, he recalls the statue they made.
Checking up on the statue with the others, Vallen chortles at the sight of the five Kuru heads. He gives Cueta a good-natured slap on the back. "Looks like your plan worked better than expected Cueta! We might have some unlikely friends now, and we can all sleep easier tonight from their actions."
The dwarf strokes his beard in thought. "I'm not sure if this is a good idea or not, but I'm just going to toss it out there. Should we start a fire tonight, try and meet these bugbears? I can speak goblin, and they'll surely recognize Cueta from the statue, but I worry they'll see our canoe and mistake us for more Kuru at a distance. I don't know. And what would we talk about? I've never actually spoken to a bugbear before. It's almost absurd that we're considering it, but given the circumstances..."
Cueta's spirits drop even further when her sister looks her way, but even worse, in some ways, is to hear Melilla pratter on about the bathing and sexual habits of Chelish nobility, here on the ocean, a world away. Brow furrowing, the Ijo thinks, clucking away about Lord so-and-so's incontinence is not going to put food in your belly, little sister. It seems you've lost much over these last 10 years.
-------
Grimly and silently, she sets about unloading the canoe, barely taking into account the exhaustion of some of her comrades. When Vallen approaches with news of the sharkteeth heads and the burnt canoe, it proves a much welcome distraction.
Cueta returns a clap to Vallen's back and grins at the young dwarf. "Nay, Vallen, without your handiwork, nothing would be gained. My carvings sadly looked little like anything that could stand on two legs. However, you sir, may be the next Vincent Van Gory!"
As Vallen lays out his idea, Cueta nods her head in agreement. "We're here and we'll have to deal with them eventually anyway. Might as well find out their intentions. I say we point the canoe at the ocean and be ready to push it into the sea if an escape is needed. I don't speak goblin but have some skill at understanding languages, thanks to Deeshka. I may be able to help."
Gair puts his back into the paddling with little rest, eager to return.
Seeing the burnt canoe and the heads he smiles, "Well done. It seems our message was received well enough. I feel better for seeing these heads."
The kellid frowns at the talk of meeting with the bugbears this evening, "I'm not certain that's a good idea. For the moment we have a tenuous understanding. Should our meeting go awry, we could destroy that sooner than is needed. Not to mention it may be difficult to keep details of the Kuru island from them is things do go well. I am still disinclined to give up such a location to these creatures."
"This location is not far from Newspring. It will be easy enough for us to return at a later date once we know how things have progressed during our absence. In fact, given the location, we are likely to run into these bugbears while we scout a trail to the island anyway. We will have opportunity to treat with them then."
Cueta considers Gair's words, nodding again, as she did with Vallen. "There is wisdom in your words, northman, and I'd be fine trying to slip through tonight without notice, but all things being equal, I'd prefer to know the goblins' intentions sooner than later."
"If we are to send about 20 of our people through their territory, an agreement of safe passage may do well to get us volunteers for the journey. I also feel it a little disingenuous to not tell the goblins of our victory until we've sent people to Dwarf Island. Friendships are formed with honesty - if we hope to be the friends of these creatures, it is best to be upfront now, lest the goblins feel we were withholding down the line."
"I also believe the goblins have no means to get to Dwarf Island. They seem to prefer the burning of boats to the capture of them. But, I understand your worries, and am fine with getting my sister back to Newspring without any more excitement."