"I'd be careful to call the desecration of a burial place a 'side distraction'. Where we walk, our ancestors go with us, and what happened here ... what has been done here ... it is unstomachable. I'd even dare say it is unstomachable to the Gods." And Karti is anything but a pious lad.
"Anyway, I think the main issue now is how to get our non-dwarven brethren out without the haunt claiming them. That, or we find a way to make kindling of that there tree."
"So you believe the tree is the root, of the problem?"
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”I am thinking a good first step could be to put those souls haunting the graveyard to rest - since they seem not to attack you Torvi, could you perhaps read the gravestones? Maybe we might be able to understand what is tying them to this place?” - Razaniel suggested.
Torvi goes and checks out the headstones.
The front side of the headstone you had previously scrutinized contained three scenes. The first two were small and narrow, near the top of the stone. First, an orcish army hosted in the hold of Brish Kah. Second, they marched past Sheppard's Shield, which burned as they passed through it. The final scene took up most of the space, curved stone twisting with the motions of battle. The same dwarven figure depicted on the back side of the gravestone stood atop the battlements of Pyrsa castle, three defenders arranged around him. His warhorn was raised high. There were dragons adorning the horn, made of a different type of stone that shone faintly in the morning light. The mason must have known that this shiny material lurked inside the dull grey rock of the rest of the stone before they began carving. Beneath the dwarven figure, an orcish host quailed. Far in the background, an army of dwarves could be seen marching back towards Sheppard's Shield.
----
The other grave was not so neatly cut into the earth. Tufts of torn grass and scrabbled earth had been grabbed and pulled down into the grave. The gravestone had nine carvings on the backside. Each depicted the same elf defeating a dwarf in single combat, while a crowd of frowning dwarves looked on. On the front of the gravestone, it was the elf who was defeated, a triumphant dwarf bringing her low with a dorn-duergar. The weapon was engraved with the dwarven rune for thunder. Below and in another register, the weapon was shown being brought to the Temple to Kolls, where it was displayed on a wall before a group of noble dwarves.
Does Torvi know much about this battle, the duel, or the lineage of the dwarves?
+2 for dwarves and their enemies
Having described the basics of all of the inscriptions to the group, Torvi adds, "So, it looks like the horn in this one inscription, is this same one I have here. The dwarves are different though, and umm, the dwarves are..."
Torvi will relay whatever she can discern about the dwarves from the GM.
The one with the horn Torvi recognized as Karena, a brave dwarf who had claimed descendancy from Mahal. She had defended Pyrsa faithfully while most of the other dwarves were away, holding the castle until they could return and trap the invading army of orcs on the mountain. For this, she had been granted a small tract of land far to the south of the river.
The dwarf with the Dorn-Dergar Tori recognized as Dimitris. Her opponent was the famed elven wanderer Rona, whose two swords had made fool of a hundred challengers. She had stayed at Pyrsa for a long dreary winter, while dwarf after dwarf rode from afar to challenge her. When Dimitris had returned from a scouting mission in the lands of the Ice Giants, she had defeated Rona in resounding fashion, bringing great glory to all her descendants. Among those was Dimitra the Steward, who you had already met.
Having relayed all of this, she asks, "Ok, anyone have any ideas?"
”I am not sure….” - Razaniel pondered - ”I would say mending the horn might appease the ghosts, but we are not sure which of those buried here are the restless spirits…” - he added - ”I would say the disturbed grave is the most likely one to be causing this haunting, and this would be the one where Dimitris should be buried, correct? I am however unsure how to appease his soul, if that is the case”
”Perhaps this is beyond our understanding for the time being, and we should proceed forward. It is unfortunate that apparently we are unable to aid those pour souls for now…”
Torvi moves to the open graves and kneels on her right knee, her weapon in her right hand with the handle across her left knee. She looks to Karti, "Join me brother." She lowers her head, "Lo, there do I see my father. Lo, there do I see my mother, my sisters and my brothers. Lo, there do I see the line of my people back to the beginning. Lo, they do call to me. They bid me take my place in the halls of Torag, Where the brave may live forever"
She continues, "Mighty Torag, Father of Creation, I call to you, to grant me the wisdom, and the strength, to set free the souls of your people herein entombed, that they may join you in your halls, and at your forge, as all right thinking dwarves seek to do."
Razaniel observes Torvi (and Karti) with a nod of approval.
As Torvi finished her prayer, the wind howled. A voice rang out in her mind. It was not the deep voice of Torag, which the paladin had never heard before, only a dry distant whisper that came with the wind. "Return...to...me..." And then it was gone.
Torvi wraps the horn in some oilskin and places it in Karena’s grave, and starts to fill it in.
Torvi felt a rush of blood move towards her head as she laid the horn to rest. Something shimmered at the edges of her vision. She felt the urge to blink...
... When she opened her eyes she stood atop a battlement, an army of orcs attacking from below. Far away, a bell was ringing. Beside her, a goblin lept from a ladder onto a dwarf. The two crossed swords, then impaled one another in a deadly embrace, each with a sword sticking out their back. The dwarf was quicker to her dagger, plunging the steel blade into the goblin over and over until it smoked with green blood. Nearby, a horn blew, the noise so loud that Torvi had to close her eyes to shut it out...
...And opened them back in the graveyard. The horn was in her hands. It looked different. Cleaner.
When blown as a standard action, the horn summons a warrior from the household of Karena. The stronger the resolve of the person who blows it, the more powerful the warrior summoned.
Guard of Karena
Medium Dwarf
HP 18 3d10+3
AC 17 (+7 Armor)
Fort +4 Ref +1 Will +2; Dwarf Traits
Speed 20 ft Reach 10 ft
MWK Dwarven Longaxe +7 (1d12+2 x3)
Str 14 Dex 10 Con 12 Int 10 Wis 12 Cha 8
BaB +3, CMB +6, CMD 16
Feats: Weapon Focus, Power Attack
Torvi describes her experience to the party, crying as she does so.
She reverently hangs the horn about her neck.
Razaniel tentatively approached Torvi (depending on whether the haunting is still there or not), placing a hand on her shoulder - "It is something amazing that you have accomplished my friend"
"::sniff:: Thank you."
After reassuring his companion, Razaniel returns to the mission at hand - "Atash, Karti, are you able to use your magic to allow us an easier descent down the cliff? Or should we resort to the ropes?"
"Sure...if we all jump off...at the same time...should be a...peachy float down."
"Dwarfs float poorly even worse when wearing armor!"
As Razaniel approached Torvi, he caught a glimpse of a something moving on the ground. A moment later and the whole graveyard was writhing with hands, their flesh so thin and drawn that you could clearly see the bones beneath.
Razaniel tries to dash through to the other side.
Karti shakes his head in reply to Razaniel's question. "I don't have formulae like spider climb, if that's what you're asking, that and the brews I prepare only work for me." To be thorough, he checks his bags and satchel for any possible potions or extracts that might help, but the search leaves him empty-handed.
The golden-bearded dwarf chases after Razaniel. Perhaps they can outrun the hands, but if not, at least they'll be in this mess together. And there's a certain comfort to be found in that.
Razaniel manages to dash through before the hands can grab ahold of him. Karti follows quickly behind. Both make it to the stairs safely.
"It seems I was mistaken about what is required to put these souls at ease" - Razaniel pondered with sadness in his voice - "Perhaps we will find further answers as we proceed" - he added, making his way to the stairs - "Shall we go my friends?"
Atash hurried after the others from his spot at the door to the temple. He made it across safely just as the hands began to reach for him.
Having safely crossed the graveyard, you were once again at the mouth of the river. The stone stairs that had been cut into the cliff were slick and wet with spray, worn smooth in places by centuries of footfalls.
The river had an iron grate set in it. Atash would be able to squeeze through without issue, but for a larger person such as Torvi, the grate would need to be cut. After that, all that remained was to swim into the river and hope that it led into some kind of cave.
"That river looks fairly fast to me. I don't even see a reason to try and get to it."
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Atash starts rummaging around in his pack, taking out a large collection of tiny scrolls, and a small collection of regular sized scrolls. "Mhmm...mhmm hmmm...mhmm..." He set three of the smaller ones and one of the regular sized ones to the side.
"Anybody who truly...can't swim...I can make you good at it...for a few minutes...We still need to find a way...for you to fit through the bars..I could create an...entire pit underneath the bars...and then you fall into it and climb back up the other side...And if we truly can't manage swimming...I can make us all able to breath water...for a few hours...and you just walk on the bottom of the river."
"Now, I don't know how all of that works, but if you say it will work, then I'm up for it."
"Do any of you...think you can...destroy the gate?" He asks more pointedly.
The snub-nosed dwarf kneels down next to the metallic hurdle and ponders what can be done about this obstacle. Would brute strength do? The dwarf's muscles start to ache when he considers meeting the obstacle head-on in a contest of strength. Perhaps with enough alchemical juice and some luck? Maybe.
Perhaps the answer can be found in a more mundane manner, a typical Dwarvish one that involves using skill and craftsmanship to bend metal and stone to their will. "Say, Atash, how about we see what a chisel, some rope, and two ingenious minds can do to get this gate to open up for us?"
Atash scratches at his nose. "Perhaps...let me scout first...maybe there is...an easier solution...deeper in..."
Atash and his mount were able to squeeze through some bars near the top of the river. The water rushed just below him, so that there were only a few inches between his upside down head and the rushing water.
The river itself was narrow, deep, and fast. Atash found himself on the roof of a tunnel perhaps thirty feet wide. It was hard to tell, but the bottom of the river was probably around fifty feet below him. The tunnel walls looked natural, though the whole formation itself wasn't. This much water should have carved a gorge through the mountains.
The wizard rode his familiar into the tunnel only a short distance before the rock his capybara clung to began to grow too smooth and slick to climb. Up ahead, the tunnel grew wider and the ceiling lower. The space Atash could breath in tapered off until the ceiling went underwater only a short distance in.
Karti took a closer look at the iron grate, trying to determine whether he could use a chisel and raw strength to produce an opening.
The bars appeared to be fused to one another. They had been sunken into the rock around the edges of the river, perhaps only a few inches. Simply grabbing hold of one of the bars and pulling wouldn't work. While a chisel was a poor tool for cutting iron, but Karti suspected that he might be able to use it to cut through the rock the bars had been sunken into. Having done so, it would probably be possible to bend whichever bar had been so freed from the rock. Doing this to two adjacent bars would definitely create enough space for each of you to squeeze through.
The river was grey as tears and cold as the grave. As you plunged into the frigid water, you took a look around. Your darkvision worked just fine underwater, but the strong current made it hard to look forward. It was clear enough that you could see to the bottom, but it was hard to tell where the water ended and the stone began when everything was a shade of black or white. There were squibs swimming against the current up ahead, and small larva that clung to underwater nests of silk and rock. Far below, you could see a huge salamander, at least four feet long, which waited patiently for something to swim by.
You swam forward almost a hundred feet before finding a spot where someone might go up for air. The current had slowed, and the tunnel you were in grew wider. It looked like there was a small cave opening above you, but it was hard to be sure without going above water and looking around.
Another fifty or so feet in front of you, there was a tangle of long thin objects that emerged from the ceiling into the water. It was impossible to get a good look at them from so far away, but they didn't seem to be moving.
Razaniel waits patiently as KArti investigates the iron grate, and Atash goes scouting.
You silently emerged, hoping that no creature would see your unconcealed head poking up from the water. Stalactites surrounded you on either side. If there had been any light in this small cavity, their reflections on the water below would have made them look like huge jaws, closing in from either side. The air was breathable. You could see no living creatures, and no pathway out of this lightless chamber.