Vorst class travel – 8 Oct. 2019 – Heret

7 Marpenoth, 1396 AR
at guest accommodation in Vorsthold

Too weary last night to write. As planned, accompanied Milo to visit Vorsthold for satisfaction of his curiosity. Others in the group:

• Bubbles
  
• Faye
  
• Serpentine
  
• Stedd, a human fisherman, friend to B & F
  

Milo paid for teleportation after I offered. Recalling Mystigon’s foolishness on last visit, I gave due warnings about proper behaviour.

As before, transported to grassland near the mountain. Found the entrance quickly enough. Ser. of course immediately disregarded all my admonitions (which she later averred I had never given) by sending her new magical pet into the entrance chamber (where it was promptly killed of course) and then, once we had been admitted, making much ado about the spell of truthfulness. By good fortune Aurelia had offered to send a message ahead of us and M was able to smooth the way by vouching for us (I doubt whether I would have done the same!).

Mayor Grimblefoot being occupied, we were received by one Kinren Loremantle, who has offices in what seems to be an engineering quarter of the city. KL had much discourse with M about their respective homelands. (The dwarvish tongue of Vorsthold has some interesting features different from the dwarves of Faerûn.) F, St, & B excused themselves and approached some Vorstborn outside the office; Ser & I followed. Found F struggling to make themself understood in broken dwarvish, stepped in to interpret. The dwarves were in the midst of arming & equipping rows of very still figures. These, we learned, were ‘the Honoured Dead’ (or perhaps ‘the Armoured Dead’ – the Vortsborn accent is a little unfamiliar to me): cadavers of enlisted Vorstborn soldiers, reanimated by skilled mages called ‘the Undying Circle’ to perform a ‘final tour of duty’. As we spoke, two apprentices of the Undying Circle, named Rangim & Lorin, arrived to collect the undead warriors, and swiftly on their heels came a messenger with bad tidings for KL: grey dwarves had captured an important iron mine without the great walls. All around being busy, and the iron being urgently needed for repairs to the gate’s chains, KL asked for our services. I agreed with him a fee of 150 gp or as close as he could secure. (In the end he paid 100 gp each – not bad, save that we shall each lose five days’ work travelling back to DH.)

Rangrim & Lorin accompanied us to show the way and to recover the bodies of the fallen guards for their own grisly purposes. They also brought 4 of the corpse-soldiers to pull a wagon. Before we set off I present KL with the Company’s gift, with which he seemed well pleased.

After some hours’ travel through the Underdark, we came to the mine. B summoned (or created) an owl to scout ahead, but it seems to have alerted the duergar and brought a handful of them charging at us. To make matters more difficult, several of them vanished from view completely. The magicians among us were most effective in the skirmish – in particular B enveloped some of the dwarves in a horrific sucking blackness. I was able to find one of the invisible enemy by sound alone and reveal him to the attacks of the others. When only two remained, they turned and fled, but Zozo and I managed to catch up with one and cut him down, while the mages finished the other.

This bought us some respite, which we invested in preparing an ambush without the mine’s entrance. After a long wait, no more enemies came forth, so B eventually shouted into the mine and we heard the roaring and thudding of a charge. Waiting beside the entrance, I could not see what was coming, but saw Ser draw a circle with the blood of one of the grey dwarves killed earlier, and heard a horrible buzzing sound begin within the tunnel, followed shortly by screams. Then to those sounds within the mine was added the whispering, sucking sound of B’s magical darkness; and then Ser made another bloody circle and a deep roaring joined the cacophony. The rest of us could do little but wait outside and strike down the ragged few who escaped whatever was happening inside the tunnel – which we did with fair efficiency. Soon all the invaders were dispatched, and at Ser’s instructions St and I finished off the buzzing thing – a sort of huge demonic insect – while she banished the growling ape monster.

The Vorstborn miners and guards, alas, had all been killed, but the necromancers recovered many of their bodies and loaded them carefully onto the cart. The grey dwarves had little goods of interest save for a few alchemical items. Lorin & Rangrim were keen to return home as quickly as possible, although by now it must have been well past midnight. All reached Vortshold profoundly weary therefore, and slept through what must have been much of the morning. I believe it now the afternoon or evening of the day after our arrival in the city, though it is difficult to determine such things in this underground world. We will set off for DH tomorrow.

Gains:

• 100 gp each from the War Council;
  
• 300 gp found on the duergar;
  
• 2 flasks of explosive fluid that I think is what is written of as ‘alchemist’s fire’, val. ~5- go each;
  
• 2 vials of acid, val. ~25 gp each;
  
• 5 warhammers each engraved with the official seal of Vorsthold, gifts of thanks from the War Council, val. ~15 gp each;
  
• 1 warhammer of similar kind but forged of adamant, and enchanted withal, val. ~2,250 gp.
  

Gave cash portion of my share to M in thanks for a stimulating trip.

Division of gains:

• OMTC: paid in 110 gp, took 2 acid, 4 warhammers;
  
• Self: took 1 alchemist’s fire, 1 warhammer (a keepsake), 497.5 gp (gave to M);
  
• Milo: paid in 1,687.5 gp, took adamantine warhammer;
  
• Bubbles: took 1 alchemist’s fire, 512.5 gp;
  
• Faye: took 562.5 gp;
  
• Stedd: took 562.5 gp;
  
• Serpentine: took 562.5 gp.
  

TASK: on return to DH, add acid & warhammers to Company inventory, claim 110 gp expenses.

Own conduct:

• when I could act, I did well – particularly in finding the invisible duergar by sound alone;
  
• little I can do at distance, save throw my K’ul Goran boomerang – not very powerful. Consider whether this could be improved.