11th Day of the Arc of Doshram

The smoking ruins of Durgis Rock greet Carrack, Lucial, Orgo and Thalan as they leave the council hall, blood-soaked and tired.  The weeping of women and children fills the thin crisp mountain air as the widows and orphans go about stripping the dead and preparing them for burial.  The fear of the Fell drive them to take these practical steps, even as they begin their time of mourning.  The group consults with a widow of a fallen council member and directs her to prepare the survivors for the arduous trek to Silver Vein.  Even though they want to be gone from this terrible place, they wear the mantle of duty—some more than others.  At Carrack’s urging, they all begin to prepare themselves for the difficult climb.  Searching Durgis Rock, they find little of additional material value, but they do learn more. 

Rothgar, Dorthane of Silver Vein, cares little for the people of Durgis Rock and perhaps less for Woden.  He refused to send a representative to the recent meeting Woden called and may not welcome a pack of “useless” mouths; but, there is no other option but to throw the survivors on his mercy and trust to that.

A brief conversation with a child raises their hopes that Woden may live, but after hearing the description of his captor, they know that he might be better off dead.

Finally, at Orgo’s direction, the passage to the nexus is collapsed.  Not wanting a powerful magic to fall into the hands of the Shadow, it was better to deny access to all.

Finally after tending to the dead and gathering the necessary supplies, the group leads the ragtag survivors out of Durgis Rock and into the wilds.  Several uneventful days follow as they move deeper into the mountains and higher in elevation.  Finally, they climb to a glacial plateau.  Moving along the eerily silent snow covered terrain, the group finds a “safe” place to make camp for the evening.  But just as they are about to settle in for the night, ambush is sprung.  Up from the snow around them spring 8 ft. tall white furred creatures with piercing blue eyes and brutal white fangs.  With blinding speed they incapacitate the wildlander and snatch a small child.  Each attacker flees in a different direction, which the remaining creatures attack the other party members and the blocks of women and children.  The melee continues at the ambush site as Thalan and Orgo give chase to the creature carrying the child.  Carrack stands his ground with the dwarven women, as each trades blows with the attackers.  Wounded and bloodied, Carrack goes down, only to be healed by Orgo.  Finally, Orgo and Thalan subdue the first creature and return to give chase to the other monster who escaped with the wounded Lucial.  Finally, the three catch up to the creature and slay it, just before it is about to disappear down a crevice in the glacier.  Catching their collective breathes, the party tends to the wounded.  Another encounter like this could very well be their last.

Another day or so passes uneventfully as the survivors finally enter a large bowl-shaped valley.  Trekking across a great frozen lake, they all notice defensive positions above, undoubtedly manned (or dwarfed) with defenders.  They also noticed several steps of footprints in the snow, but the importance of those marks escapes them for now.  A large door craftily created to blend with the stone walls meets them after crossing the frozen lake.  After convincing the guards of their identity and the nature of their mission, the dwarven women and children are permitted to enter, but quickly the two groups are separated.  After a time the party is brought before Rothgar in his great hall, magnificent bridges span the mighty depths of the mountain as the party is led to this meeting hall.  Flanked by his bodyguard and joined by his two sons Immolan and Boran, Rothgar quickly cross-examines the group at to their purposes.  Rothgar mentions that Barak, son of Woden, is there amongst his people.  Enraged at this news, Carrack demands the right to confront him; Rothgar turns this request aside.  Concluding the interview as abruptly as he began it, the party is again lead to their quarters, which take on the appearance of a prison.  Stripped of their weapons and gear, the group rests and plans on what they should do next to convince Rothgar of their honesty. 

Later, in what seems to be the dead of night, Boran enters their quarters with their weapons and gear.  He informs them that Immolan (and perhaps Barak) have convinced his father to execute the party.  Fearing for their lives, but wanting to clear their names, the party flees the Silver Vein Holdfast.  Only after making their escape does the party begin to question the wisdom of flight.  Should they have stayed to clear their names and bring down the “traitor” Barak?  Should they have trusted Boran’s story of their impending execution?  Shaking their heads, the group looks back at what might have been.

Laboring in the mountains to escape any would-be pursuers, the party is confronted with a quandary—what to do?  Should they flee to the plains and leave the cold forbidding Kaladruns behind?  Should they travel to the Sea of Pelluria and attempt to make their way to elvish forest on that route?  After heated discussion, they finally decide to warn some of the surrounding dwarven holdfasts of the fate of Durgis Rock.  Proceeding towards Pardrem Holdfast, one of the closest dwarven settlements, the group spies a column of dust in the distance.  Guessing at the numbers needed to generate such signs, they quickly move onto a spur trail that takes them to an abandoned dwarven refuge.  Seeing the weathered hieroglyphs, Carrack recognizes an old dwarven nursery rhyme that is strangely written and equally strangely out of place.  Touching the runes in the order that they should have been in causes the rock entrance to open.  Within this refuge, they rest and wait for the passing of the column they saw.

After exploring this refuge, the group finds a passage that leads them deeper into the mountain.  Not ones to avoid a challenge, thought the wildlander would rather have the open sky above, they move deeper into the bowls of the mountain.  After proceeding for some time, they encounter an open cavern, illuminated by some silvery moss.  At the base of a small pool, the group sees a recently killed creature—all barbs and bone spurs protruding from its body.  Just as they examine the slain creature, an unhealthy sound from the passage ahead can be heard.  Lumbering forward, a hulking mandibled creature approaches.  Dusty and tired, the party reacts instinctively—flight or fight the only choices, they opt for fight as harrowing as that may be.  Thalan and Lucial begin peppering the creature with arrows as Carrack charges into melee.  The glare of these creatures is unnatural, causing Orgo and Lucial to become confused.  Luckily, before Orgo or Lucial can injure their allies, the creature is slain by the combined might of dwarf and Erenlander.

Searching the offal of the creature’s lair, for that is what they now thought the cavern to be, the party found bits of bone and such as well as some trinkets.  After once again resting and healing themselves, the party moved off down the passage from which the creature emerged.  After hours of trekking down the passage, the group heard sounds of combat. 

Thalan, clinging to the shadows quickly scouted ahead to see two dwarves locked in a circle of orcs.  Dashing back to the others, he relayed the situation.  Knowing that they had but one choice, the party burst upon the orcs, for once obtaining surprise.  After the arrival of these “intruders,” several orcs turned to attack, while the others continued to finish these two dwarves.  With the wily magics of Orgo, the orcs were quickly dazed and frozen in place as the archers peppered the remaining orcs and Carrack charged into combat.  Quickly the tide turned as the group finished the standing orcs and slayed the stunned.  Fishing the dwarves from the pool, they quickly revived one to learn he was Bedal of the Pardrem Holdfast.  Assuming the worst, Bedal worried for the fate of his companion, Golin, Scion of the Cardaal Clan.  Luckily, the party was able to save both and together they journeyed to the beleaguered clan.  As they left this site of battle, several noticed the masterwork quality of these orcs’ gear.  Not the inelegant cleavers that they had come to know, but much finer weapons.  As they walked, Golin explained that the Feral Mother Tribe has laid siege to his clan’s holdfast.

Upon entering the Pardrem Holdfast, Golin was welcome by all.  As the story of the party’s aid was explained, looks of distrust gradually melted into hearty congratulations and even some stares at the party’s weapons.  Taedron, Dorthane and father of Golin, welcomed the group after his son relayed the story of his rescue.  Taedron called for a feast, even over the objections of the party.  Later that night after feast of food and drink, Taedron took the group aside and began to explain why he called the feast.  The people needed to celebrate, if for only one last time.  The clan was decimated, a healthy holdfast of 6,000 had dwindled under the onslaught of the Feral Mother Tribe’s relentless attacks to only 1,000.  A holdfast of 9 “deeps” originally, they had collapsed all but three and even then the orcs kept coming.  But most troubling, orcs had captured the forgemaster, Duergden and held his family hostage.  This capture not only provides the orcs with a  quality of weapon that had never been available, but it also cut the supply of weapons to the holdfast.  Learning of this shortage, the party made several gifts of their “extra” weapons, a generous gesture in the eyes of the clan, but in fact, but a drop of water in the desert of their need.

The Dorthane acknowledged the party’s need for a passage out of the mountains, but in return for this help, he requested that they venture into the lower deeps to set the forgemaster free or if need be, take the steps needed to halt the supply of weapons to the orcs.  Just as the party was about to discuss this further, an alarm went up throughout the hall—the orcs had breached a defense and all dwarves were called to counterattack.  Breathlessly, the party grabbed their weapons and joined their hosts in the defense of the holdfast.