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He attacks the thing and destroys it.
A thrumming chant of dwarven voices sounds through the hall, swearing, “We who court the ways of honor.”
You enter a vault with ornate chests, tapestries, and geometric stone carvings line this expansive tomb. A heavy stone sarcophagus—its lid shattered and scattered across the floor—rests on a dais to the north. The dry air is heavy with the smell of cedar and berries. Seven dead duergar lie sprawled around the room, their bodies contorted in unnatural angles and their faces frozen in screams of agony.
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Damiel disables the mechanism on the scythe. A ghostly figure of a dwarf woman appears and speaks. “Hail strangers! I... I saw those who violated my redoubt and stole my Firebrand. Vile duergar thieves and that... that woman. She looked so familiar, like Karexin’s wisp of an apprentice, but older, more confident... perhaps her mother? I... it is difficult to put the pieces together... She held my axe, and her touch... the blessing of Torag and the symbol my soldiers swore their fealty to... I feel her fingers closed around it even now as if they were on my own throat. I do not know who she is, but I can feel the tug of my axe on my soul. It screams in pain over what she is doing to it... and through it I can feel the cold spite of the miserable creatures her magic has corrupted my soldiers into. She lies down the twisting narrows of the Blighted Path.”
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"--this is Delbara!" Dorn stage-whispers at Kaleena, and then attempts to smooth his raggedy beard and drop something resembling a bow to the ghost. He's very rusty.
"Ah, well met great lady! Which way is this Blighted Path, that we can do right by ya and put our own steel in her face?? An' who's Karex..y? Karexa?"
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“Yes, Delbera is my name. The Blighted Path is... a twisting, turning, narrow streaks of death. They were mines, old and forbidden when I was still flush with the gift of youth. The stone bled death, and coaxed back the worst pieces of those who died within. So we walled it off, but bleak things still crawl up through it from the Darklands below. We followed the Blighted Path to fight Karexin, and I can feel Firebrand being dragged back through those cold tunnels.” her voice trembles as she speaks
“Karexin was a beast... a soulless corrupter clad in an elegant man. He was some kind of fey, an orphne, exiled from the Court of Ether far to the south. His undead abominations dominated so much of our young lives, and confronting him nearly killed us all. But we crushed his body—burned him in Torag’s divine light—and wiped out his unloving army. Only... only the youth survived.”
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First part concludes. If you wish to use the redoubt as a base on your further exploration, Delbera will consent to it. To convince mayor of Davarn not to charge a rent for using the fort, successful DC 25 Diplomacy check is needed.
I still need character numbers for Therin, Kaleena and Colin's PC. We will soon continue with Part 2.
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Lukher Stinnison is distressed by what happened in the Firebrand’s Redoubt. "If this necromancer succeeds with her plan to kill descendants of the Axebringer clan, she will have resources to create army of undead. Can't sleep well at night, unless heroes like you recover my great aunt’s axe and protect my family from this fate."
Erna Stoneheart likewise promises to deputize you to travel down the Blighted Path and investigate further. "Deputized guards receive healing they need free of charge from the temple of Torag, and may borrow any non-magical exploration gear required in the journey. Mayor Bensik has promised a total reward of 5,000 gp for anyone who can recover Firebrand." she states
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As one of the more capable Pathfinder agents , Damiel is, as ever, in high demand and has been called away on another urgent assignment. The alchemist offers his farewells to the group and introduces his replacement, a holy warrior of Iomedae.
Clad in gleaming full plate, with a cold iron longsword at her side and a griffon at her command, she presents a figure that leaves little doubt as to her faith. One look is enough for most to think, "She is Iomedean alright."
"Greetings and salutations. I am Jeanne of the Rosenthal family. I have been assigned to assist you with this Firebrand situation, and I shall endeavor not to disappoint," she says with composed confidence. She then rests a hand upon her mount, gently petting its head. "And this is Michel, my steadfast companion in battle."
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"Greetings to you Genie. I'm sure you are gonna have fun. Can you see in the dark? Do you throw bombs like Damiel? Are you gonna bring your breakfast companion deep into the caverns with us? It might get tight down there. I left my mount out of it. Don't wanna throw a shoe while in the dark."
"I can see in the dark just fine. And Michel here are trained to fight in narrow space . If there's passageway that require us to proceed on foot, then I could summon Michel to my side afterward. But no, I don't know much about bombs. The art of alchemy, explosive or not, is not something I have training on."
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At local tavern Jeanne meets the only resident still alive today who worked the original mines, a cantankerous old man named Rodert. Turning to smuggling after the mine closed, Rodert tells he has explored much of the upper reaches of Nar-Voth around Davarn. "Oh, you want to explore *that region*? If ya pay my bar tab of 15 gold pieces, I could share my knowledge of those caves. For meager compensation of 1000 gold pieces, ya could hire me as a guide. I'm totally useless in combat and someone has to carry my rucksack, cause old age has greatly worn me down."
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"A thousand gold?! A thousand? Do we look like nimby babes fresh on our first cave walk? Ha! I'll pay your tab, oldtimer, but no king's ransom for ya."
Dorn flips a small handful of coins to the barkeep. He is wearing new finery - a fancy cloak and a clasp in the shape of a spider - and seems willing to flash some coin, at least 15 GP worth of it anyway.
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Rodeert sips his ale and starts talking “The weather’s always nice—warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and it only ever rains in the same spots all the time. Cave crickets are easy enough to catch and they toast up nicely. And those little fish without eyes, they’re pretty tasty too, but you need about a handful to get full. It’s maddening at times, and you should never travel alone in the caves. Take someone with you to help keep you sane. I’ve seen some lone travelers and they were never quite right in the head, if you catch my meaning.”
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Kaleena expertly navigate the winding tunnels with aid of Therin and Jeanne, and it takes around 4 hours to reach the entrance of mines.
Clean, worked tunnels occasionally give way to crumbling, chalky stone shot through with sickly black veins of an alien mineral. A damp coldness seems to roll off the walls, and the musty stench of long-ignored decay fills the air. This mine complex breaks away from the Five Kings Road about an hour beyond Firebrand’s Redoubt. Its main entrance has been bricked up, leaving only a stout, iron door to provide access. The door’s padlock has been freshly broken.