Episode 36: Steel and Bone

Already battered and bruised from their fight with the Ogres guarding the artillery cannon, the Heroes of Bingle now stand face-to-face with a fresh battalion of Orcs. And leading them is a familiar foe with terrifying new augmentations. How will the team survive an encounter at the very center of a raging war, and what will they learn about Uggo’s brother and the looming threat that hangs above everything?

##### **GM/DM Intro**

It started as a simple Dungeon Run but now, it is the story of war. Dwarves and Orcs in a decades long struggle over the resources found in Nelrim, the sweeping mountain range that rises between their homelands. Battles have been fought and many lives lost in those mountains but now the hostilities spill out into the kingdoms below. The Orcs advance on the Dwarven stronghold of Dalto Thum with a brazen disregard for peace pressing the attack. Something has changed. The war-like Orcs have spent years fighting amongst themselves the mighty ravagers of Ook Dun and the ferocious brutes of Thorn have clashed over grievances large and small. No one knows this better then Uggo, as an Orc of Thorn, he has seen first hand how the desire to prove strongest has led to bloodshed among his people. Siv, too, has witnessed this strife. In his youth as a sell sword of Olsvach in the north, he killed for both sides of this senseless conflict. But now, the banners of Thorn and Ook Dun seem to be united, and the Orcs are armed with a new weapon. A Cannon, of staggering size, capable of bombarding Dalto Thum with carnage that threatens to topple the mountain itself. Our Heroes find themselves in the middle of this carnage. Thrust into the center of battle on a purported suicide mission from the Dwarven King. Ruzer Forebrand holds the power to grant them access to the next step of their epic quest. Entrance to the fabled Fortress of the Four Former Forges, which happens to be the only way in to Skyscorcher Peak. A volcano of legend, where the Dwarves once crafted the most wondrous items of the Aureate Age. It also seems to be the location of a captured Warden of Aïn. The 100 foot tall protectors of the Realms. Our Heroes have been tracking down the Wardens and attempting to free them, to piece together the lost history of Aïn from the memories locked in their subconscious. They came to Dalto Thum in search of Dondo Karigina a Paladin devoted to the truth and an advisor to the King. But, with an Orc on the team and 2 young Dwarven deserters as their guides the Heroes were forced to use deception and guile to talk their way past the Dwarven army and into the city. The Dwarven battle commander that they tricked, Nort Gaboon, a hardened warrior festooned with orc skulls and tusks was none to happy to see the team  escorted by royal guard after they made a deal with the King. To stop the bombardment of the city by destroying the cannon or killing the leader of the Orcish battalion. With hundreds of Dwarven and Orcish soldiers clashing on the battlefield only a short distance away, the team scouted the Orc camp and spotted an old foe, newly augmented. Grollogo, an Orcish captain that Uggo bested weeks ago in one on one combat. Seems now to be outfitted with dark tungsten steel plates grafted directly onto his skin. The Heroes of Bingle decided not to engage the camp and instead followed the thunderous blasts of artillery reverberating though the mountainside. They arrived at the source of the terrible sound finding the cannon manned by a pair of enormous Ogres and a group of Orcish fighters. Attempting to sneak around to a more advantageous position James was unable to maintain stealth and the Orcs attacked. And that's when the teams most powerful asset made itself known, The Secret Keepers Amulet.

An incredible relic from a forgotten time, the key to their quest, and a conduit of chaos. that grants you, the watchers of the time stream the means to turn the tide of battle in their favor or to their detriment  with your Forces of Good and Evil. The Amulet flashed and blinked the Heroes wielding forces in stunning combination overwhelming the enemies and eventually destroying the cannon itself.  Bending and melting its metal casing with acid and brute force. Uggo, fueled by the Amulets magic, unleashed such a torrent of damage that he himself felt its violent affects collapsing in a heap, as his mighty fists rocked the giant weapon.  But even as the dust settled and the Heroes of Bingle managed to inspect the cannon, finding clues to its creator they spotted, across the battlefield, Grollogo. Black steel glinting across his skin flanked by Orcish mages. Arcane energies dancing between their fingers. The fight was not over, it was just beginning. Grollogo called out to Uggo, invoking the name of his brother, Brakka, and taunted the heroes with information about their captured friends. As we ended last week, Uggo barely back to his feet from Lily's restoration magic, stared at Grollogo and raged.