Dwarrowdeep #13

Our heroes were having their midday meal at the Quarters District one Drakonis day when they were summoned to Gund Felek, which in those days was not yet occupied. The Foxes - an adventuring band from Orlais - had apparently triggered some sort of arcane ward while exploring the district, and become frozen.

Our heroes (see PC profiles here) were unable to to disable the ward and free The Foxes, but with the light from their veilfire lantern they were able to see a the magical glyph that surrounded the Orlesians, and a warning written in Elvish: Here are our leaders Falos and Harel entombed. Begone lest you disturb their rest.

Zunn surmised that the ward was left behind by the Dalish elves perhaps five centuries ago, and that for it to be still active it must be connected to an artefact of great power. Sure enough, the light of the lantern revealed an arcane thread on the floor leading from the glyph to deeper into Gund Felek.

Following the arcane thread, our heroes found it led to a set of stone doors with the relief of a dwarven warrior upon it. Written under the image were the words, in dwarven runes: Emulate the Paragon. Taking the words literally, Lorca imitated the pose of the dwarven warrior, and the doors opened.

The doors opened into a large hall of many pillars. The arcane thread on the floor led to another door on the far wall. When our heroes crossed the threshold, the door closed behind them, and once more they saw the warning in Elvish written on the floor. Our heroes ignored the warning and stepped forward, whereupon the ethereal forms of two elven warriors sprung forth from the arcane line; simultaneously, two of the pillars began to shift and take on the form of giant dwarven warriors, and the four began to attack them.

For a while it seemed our heroes would fall to the combined attacks, until Zunn came upon a pedestal in a corner of the hall where a glowing blue orb was ensconced. Zunn lifted the orb, and the dwarven warriors froze, and the others were soon able to despatch the elven warriors.

Proceeding beyond the door in the far wall, our heroes entered into a tomb where they found sarcophagus of the paragon and his wife. The arcane thread on the ground led to a large standing mirror at the end of the room. Shining the light of their lantern onto the mirror, our heroes saw several glowing spots on the top of the mirror's frame that Bertil recognised as a constellation which the Avvar used for navigation by night. Judging that the hour when the constellation would rise in the horizon was near, our heroes waited. When the hour arrived, the mirror's surface began to shimmer, and it soon became a portal that led into a cave.

Passing through the mirror, Boggart entered into the cave. Here, upon stone plinth, he found the remains of two elves, which the inscriptions upon the plinth told were Falos and Harel. One of the elves was still clad in a mail shirt made of Red Steel, which indicated that he was an Arcane Warrior. Zunn claimed the mail shirt as his heritage.

When Boggart attempted to explore beyond the cave, he drew the attention of a blighted bear, and was forced to retreat back through the mirror. The bear followed the party back to the mirror, but was unable to pass through. Our heroes allowed the bear to destroy the mirror, whereupon the portal was closed, and the arcane thread leading from it vanished.

Returning to where they left The Foxes, the found the Orlesians sitting down to a dinner of roasted chicken, which they offered to share with their saviours.

Prepping and Running the Game

This scenario was cobbled together using a few puzzles and encounters from various GM guides I have accumulated over the years. The chief goal was to allow Zunn to get the Red Steel armour, which will allow him to take advantage of his Arcane Warrior specialisation.

I felt that this and the previous few sessions have been a little disjointed, and I asked my players at the end of the session what they would like the direction of the campaign to be, and one of them suggested some political intrigue.

We have a break of three weeks between sessions, which will give me some time to prepare for the next arc of the campaign.