Oin tells Dwol that at the time he left about 25% of the people of Janderhoff were leaving for other areas, how many and where they went are something he plans on looking into as these folks may be willing to return with different leadership. The 75% that remained were mostly indifferent to the change in leadership with perhaps 10-15% firmly behind Brald. That was over a month ago so things may have changed. He’s not 100% sure who Brald may be allied with but suspects there may be a connection with the Duegar in Nar-Voth. Oin feels 2 of the 10 main clans will support Dwol, Oin’s clan the Burntbeards (mostly forge workers and smiths) and Alesmiths (mostly brewers and military), the rest he is less certain of.
Hal:
Janderhoff is a dwarven Sky Citadel and settlement in southeastern Varisia's Mindspin Mountains, north of Korvosa and south of the Cinderlands. It is a firm trading partner and competitor of Korvosa, and also retains good relations with the Shoanti of the Storval Plateau. It holds the greatest concentration of dwarves in Varisia, and boasts one of the largest populations of Shoanti outside of the Cinderlands. Its smiths are well-known throughout the region.
Appearance
The first thing visitors to Janderhoff see are the massive iron curtain walls of the city, proud reminders of the glories of dwarven architecture and engineering at their peak. Once through the tunnels that provide the city's only access, however, one finds only trade and crafting chambers with low ceilings and few above-ground dwellings. The vast majority of Janderhoff lies below the surface in hundreds of interconnected rooms and tunnels. As one of the Sky Citadels built by the dwarves at the end of their Quest for Sky, it retains a working connection to the Darklands that is heavily watched by dwarven patrols who rightfully fear an incursion from below.
The city of Kalsgard sits on the southern banks of the Rimeflow River† in the northern reaches of the Lands of the Linnorm Kings known as the Thanelands. It is the biggest city in the Lands of the Linnorm Kings and as such is the most cosmopolitan city for several hundred miles, housing communities of dwarves, gnomes, Varisians and people from even further afield.
King Thira Ash-Eyes, ruler of the Thanelands and Kalsgard.
Kalsgard was home of the oldest and most powerful of the Linnorm Kings, Sveinn Blood-Eagle, before he made his final journey across the seas to Valenhall in distant Arcadia, as is the tradition amongst the Linnorm Kings, in 4719 AR. He was succeeded by his daughter Thira Ash-Eyes, who claimed his throne in the traditional manner: by slaying a linnorm.
Geography
Kalsgard is divided into nine districts, called city quarters:
Amber Quarter
Bone Quarter
Fire Quarter
Horn Quarter
Ice Quarter
Ivory Quarter
Jade Quarter
Oak Quarter
Stone Quarter
Undercroft
Underneath the city is another living area known as the enclave of Undercroft, home to many dwarves.
The next morning the group with Oin in tow have an audience with King Ibram.
Arrayed around the room are a few of Ibram’s councilors: Tirnel, Kentaur and Svetlana the Hand of the King. Svetlana whispers in the King’s ear as the group approaches.
King Ibram:
“Welcome Dwol, Svetlana tells me trouble brews in Janderhoff and you must leave to set things right. Know that you and your companions leave with my blessing and support. And Tirnel has told me that he can shorten your journey considerably.”
Kentaur:
“Abadar watch over you all and may you succeed with your mission, Janderhoff needs deft leadership. I have a small gift for Dwol’s self proclaimed protector, may it aid you in your duties.”
Kentaur hands Chack a scimitar (+1, keen)
Tirnel:
“Well let’s get on with it, the King doesn’t have all day and neither do I. I can place you much closer to your goals, and yes this means you too Oin. Now all of you gather round me…well not necessarily that close Halafrin, no need to bump into me like that. Look what you’ve done, you’ve dropped this Halafrin, please be more careful.” Tirnel hands Hal a pearl of power level 2.
Tirnel performs a casting teleporting the group to a small town in Varisia called Biston.
The low stone walls of Riverwatch come into view after a long day of travel. Ahead you see a gate with guards.
What you collectively know about the town:
Ten miles northwest of Thornkeep, on the banks of the West Sellen, stands the town of Riverwatch. Considered the last settlement of the River Kingdoms before one crosses into Numeria or Ustalav, Riverwatch is a bustling port for barge traffic along the West Sellen. Mosswater’s destruction 50 years ago left Riverwatch as the only port along the river between Lockridge, more than 100 miles to the south, and the squalid village of Dravod Knock 250 miles farther north.
As such, it’s the last outpost of civilization along the West Sellen River for a long way.
Ninety years ago, the Knights of Iomedae established a chain of small keeps along the wild stretch of the West Sellen to protect pilgrims and crusaders bound for distant Mendev along the western route. The knights established a garrison at Riverwatch, and assumed responsibility for maintaining law and order in the area. To this day, the knights are still the effective authorities in the town, governing the settlement and doing their best to keep the river and roads safe for travel.
For as long as you can recall you have been a slave. Your existence a blur of years of repetitive and grueling physical labor for your master Zoldor, a bitter and miserly old stone mason and builder in the small but significant town of Fort Inevitable.
Fort Inevitable stands on the rolling plains near the West Sellen River, close to the forest. The town is surrounded by green pastures and wide, golden fields of grain. A strong stone wall with battlements and gatehouses protects Fort Inevitable, and within this formidable defense, the town is an orderly collection of two- and three-story stone houses and workshops with roofs of red tile or blue slate. If the streets seem a little cheerless and drab, at least they’re paved with good cobblestones and cleared regularly.
Nothing epitomizes the essential nature of Fort Inevitable as aptly as the stone Citadel of the Hellknights, which looms over the town. There is no difference between martial law and civil authority in Fort Inevitable. The senior officer of the garrison rules as the commander, directly overseeing civic administration as well as exercising military command. The current commander is a stern, middle-aged Chelish woman named Paralictor Audara Drovust. She is the commanding officer of the Order of the Pike’s chapter in the Crusader Road region, ruler of the Citadel, high magistrate, tax assessor, director of public works, keeper of the treasury, and chief regulator of business and commerce. No important aspect of the town’s life and activity is left outside the lady commander’s authority.
You stand before Paralictor Drovust now. Your master, Zoldor (may he rot in hell), died 30 days ago, purportedly of natural causes, and apparently without a legal heir.
The Paralictor’s words pull you back from your thoughts to the here and now.
“You belong to Fort Inevitable and the Hell Knights now. Ordinarily I would just auction you off to the highest bidder but I have a task that needs completing and my knights have other pressing duties. If you complete the task successfully you will become free men, if you fail you will be dead, or worse.”
“It’s becoming increasingly clear that some malevolent presence is stirring in the dungeons below the Emerald Spire (you generally know where this is). We’ve kept it quiet but undead monsters have begun to plague Fort Inevitable in recent months. High Mother Dremagne (you know she runs the local Temple of the Golden Key devoted to Abadar) has successfully divined a clue about this malevolent presence: the emblem of a crown above a skull. Your task is to search out the ‘crowned skull’ in the Emerald Spire and destroy it. Questions?”
Head back to Z’s. Write note to Korim and give to Elb.
“Korim, Your letter was almost too late. The gnomes had been studying 2 of the gems and they merged. Some of the gnomes seemed to be falling under a spell of sorts. With Torag’s aid as well of that of Shelyn, we were able to destroy the gem. I think The gems were being used to enslave the local goblins. I will check on the local goblin populace again and see if they are behaving differently since these gems were destroyed.”
0:Detect Magic, Guidance, Light; 1:Longstrider, Entropic Shield, Divine Favor, Obscuring Mist; Domain:Longstrider or Remove Fear
Vraxel will take 20 to open the lock.
"Look at all this stuff."
There are six suits of masterwork chainmail and six suits of masterwork studded leather armor, four masterwork longswords, four masterwork heavy
maces, two masterwork heavy crossbows, 120 crossbow
bolts, and with a DC 18 Spellcraft check a case of 10 +1 crossbow bolts, a wand of hold person (11 charges), 4 potions of cure moderate wounds, and a rope of
climbing; otherwise 10 crossbow bolts, a wand, 4 potions, and a rope.
