Bombing blue skele
"You guys got it under control, right?"
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As the skeleton tries to slip away, Dorn delivers a perfectly placed "uppercut" chop that not only slashes through bones like kindling firewood, but sends quite a few fragments up into the air to rain down like small white hailstones.
Dorn stands there, breathing hard, the fires of fury slowly fading from his gaze and his mouth losing its rictus snarl. He blinks. He blinks again. Slowly, he looks from the destroyed skeleton to Glorin, and favors him with a very long blank look.
".......Yer too tall fer a dwarf," he says at last, as little bits of bone finally stop bouncing.
(Hence the name, Dorn.)
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Its once again dead as Dorn absolutely crushes it. Lukher is still shaking from shock, but expresses his thankfulness for saving his life.
Once the undead are dispatched, reports of other missing dwarves begin to arrive in the crowded marketplace, including dozens of members of the town guard. Mayor Bensik asks people to return to their homes and secure themselves against additional undead incursions, while Erna Stoneheart begins rallying any guards who remain unabducted and uninjured.
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Dorn is less sure what he should be focusing on outside of combat. As the saying goes, if your only tool is a hammer...... (or an axe)....
He notices he is bleeding, though. Once he has caught his breath, he looks around for the fellow Pathfinder who can use the stupid magic stick he carries. (Doesn't like it. But carries it anyway.) There is always at least one Pathfinder who can use the stupid magic stick, in his experience.
It looks to be Therin, this time. He approaches the human man, fishing out the stick from his belongings and wordlessly holding it out, then jerking his chin towards his own injuries from the fight. It is not the politest request ever, but hopefully it is clear.
Glorin's words earn another long stare from Dorn as the heavily-scarred dwarf tries to process all this.
"Grew up in clan?" he says, switching to the guttural language of the dwarves. "Done gladdringgar? Have clan dagger?"
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Kaleena hears that many people were crowded into the market square and the rest of town was all but abandoned. All of the missing are related to the late hero, Lady Delbera Axebringer, who spent over a century defending Davarn from foreign threats. In addition, Therin is told that all the skeletons’ victims were seen being dragged down Taggun’s Crawl to the east, which connects to other dwarven cities, but the tunnel hazardous and unpatrolled beyond Firebrand’s Redoubt.
Damiel tries to identify the poison
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Looking at the dead guards and hearing Therin explain what likely happened to them Kaleena blurts out "Well crikie!. If it were poison that'll put a dwarf boots up then I reckon it'll do wonders for all of us. Seems dangerous to go further down the tunnel... Dorn, Glorin... you two go first... I'll cover you with ol'Thunderclap and Whisper here if need be." and she taps her musket and pistol hanging on her belt.
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Damiel thinks the poison stopped their hearts.
Erna assigns investigators look into murders and turns to you. "There's not much hope of finding the perpetrators, but if you could assist us exploring Taggun's crawl, then we could at least rescue those who were abducted and put an end to this horror. When I was child I often visited there at my great-aunts home, but have rarely returned since its conversion into a crypt. At least I can tell you about its location and layout, but I have no idea of who may be currently inside the redoubt and raising the dead guards buried there." she recalls facts about the tunnels
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Therin's inquiries once again yield valuable information. Firebrand’s Redoubt is an old fortress that marks the farthest eastern influence of Davarn and its guards. Local hero Lady Delbera Axebringer constructed it. You also learn the fortress’s precise location. Lady Axebringer had her keep constructed after a relatively long adventuring career, both as a place to keep her trophies and as a forward position from which she and her assembled mercenaries could defend her hometown. A large group of duergar assaulted Firebrand’s Redoubt about 40 years ago. The dwarves ultimately repelled their Darklands cousins, but many members of the Firebrand Legion died in that defense, including Lady Axebringer. Unable to finance the fortress, Davarn consecrated most of it as a mausoleum for the fallen, only maintaining the foyer as a remote guard station. Firebrand’s Redoubt had a concealed sally port a quarter mile west; sometimes local kids used it as a clubhouse .
He also listens Erna's recollections, which reveal more about the fortress.
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"All of that is fairly interestin. As far as supplies go I reckon if you cant see in the dark then you'll be needin something to help ya. If it is a fortress then do we have enough rope if we needs to climb up a wall? How far of a walk is it? Will we need more foodstuffs? and liquor? If we facing undead maybe we should geet some of that holy water in them breakable glass jars to throw at'em. Just some thoughts."
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Dorn listens to everyone's discoveries with his usual silence, and starts making sure his pack is in order.
He nods once to Kaleena's suggestions. "Ways to see invisible good too. Wish were potions. Not potions."
The scarred dwarf seems satisfied with the contents of his pack and shoulders it. "We go. Rescue others."
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"Rope and holy water are always useful and if ya can't see in dark you should have torches or other light source. The crawl is about 6 miles from town to Firebrand's redoubt. Definitely you must prepare for ambushes by monsters, its dangerous there." Erna tells
Taggun’s Crawl is a well-maintained tunnel winding its way east to from the town of Davarn to Taggoret. Many side tunnels, some of which are natural caverns, others active or abandoned mines, branch off from its length. Located in one of the ancient lava tubes branching off from Taggun’s Crawl, Firebrand’s Redoubt rests among a scattering of truly ancient dwarven ruins dating back to the Quest for Sky. The building is carved directly into the basalt of the mountains in the shape of Lady Delbera’s favorite weapon: her double-headed flaming axe.
A dwarven-built wall surrounds a courtyard cut into the cavern. Grand doors depicting dour, dwarven faces and angular glyphs stand beyond that open space. The metal doors to the redoubt are ajar, twisted and bent by brute force, and a line of light spills out from the opening. Statuary of dwarves decorates the courtyard, some of them showing signs of recent vandalism. The walkway from the main gate to the front door is littered with debris from the broken statues and overturned benches. In the debris lie a few recently discarded, sturdy clay bottles with dregs of a soursmelling ale inside.