Session 25: The Noble Art of Burning Bridges

Even with the core stabilized, the city is heavily damaged. The group magically heals their wounds and seeks out Gorat. Gorat uses his device to transport Grombrin, Joe, and Vica (the fire-resistant members) back to the plane of fire. There they find a ring of magical runes around the crystal tree, identical to the runes that Ruthstin made and Grombrin altered. Grombrin inspects the tree more closely and concludes that it is a kind of shrine to Cerebarieth, though more powerful and otherworldly than earthly shrines. Vica now recognises that it is made of coalesced aether energy, and that destroying it would cause an enormous explosion. However, she expects that Grombrin’s runes stabilized it enough that destroying it would siphon the energy back to where it came from instead. Vica and Joe shoot arrows at the tree, causing it to crack and fall apart into shards. The dimensional rift and the runes remain. Gorat pulls them back to the material plane.

Meanwhile, Vojta and Elric rescue Grubsnik from his collapsed quarters and inform him about the situation. Grubsnik asks Elric about the mech head that he’s carrying, and Elric convinces him to let him keep the head as a trophy for his tavern. When Grombrin and co return, Gorat and Grubsnik go to work on repairing the damage to the heart, while the group drinks a ton of booze and rests for the night. The next morning, the dragonborn army is still looming at the city gate. Elric and Grombrin come up with a plan to place a pair of giant glyphs that will blow up the dual bridge into the city when the dragonborn army tries to cross it. They gather a large group of runecarvers, a platoon of crossbowmen, and several dwarven mages to accomplish the task.

Vica takes command of the crossbowmen, who stay back while the rest march onto the dual bridge. Grombrin leads the two groups of runecarvers, who start creating the glyphs, while the others stand guard. As expected, two dragonborn platoons approach to disrupt their work. The dwarven mages create walls of force to block their path, while Elric, Joe, and Vojta barrage them with spells to break up their formation, with limited success. Two groups of flying dragonborn appear to flank them, but their attack is hindered by a barrage of arrows from Vica’s archers.

Shortly before the walls of force expire, the mages place magical traps along the ground. These successfully slow down the advance of the dragonborn on Elric and Vojta’s side of the bridge, but on Joe’s side the dragonborn spot and avoid the traps. They attack Joe’s squad, but one of Joe’s mages banishes the leader into a demiplane, and they fight off the disorganised attack force with the help of one of the runecarvers, who is transformed into a giant yeti by Vojta. On the other bridge, the dragonborn avoid the final trap and start heavily battering Elric’s and Vojta’s squad. Elric convinces one of his mages to charge into the enemy ranks, triggering the trap himself. This collapses many of the dragonborn into magical sleep, allowing Elric’s crew to drag the dwarf back to safety.

Grombrin and his carvers complete the glyph on Joe’s bridge, so the yeti throws Grombrin to the other bridge, where he helps the other group to finish their glyph. Elric’s and Vojta’s squad is injured, and is increasingly pushed back as the dragonborn recover from the trap. Just before they can be overrun, the runecarvers finish the glyph, and Grombrin creates a wall of fire to block off the dragonborn infantry. Both squads retreat, while Vica’s archers give them covering fire against the flying dragonborn. The dragonborn infantry notice the giant glyphs and retreat from them, making the expedition a success.

The group rests, while a team of crossbowmen remains stationed at the bridge, to prevent the dragonborn from attempting to dispel the glyph. The next day, two flying dragonborn arrive with a letter for Grombrin. It is from Ruthstin, who commends them for putting up such a good fight, and admits that the invasion is no longer worthwhile. Attached is a legal declaration of armistice between the dragonborn and the dwarves, which is soul-bound to Ruthstin, meaning that breaking the armistice would kill him. Grombrin releases the prisoners of war, and the dragonborn armies pull away.

The group receives a bounty of gold for their help in protecting the city. They decide to go to the Spike next, by way of Xandarbor. Elric says that he will continue on his way to Watershade, parting with the group. He gives them all a special business card, which will give them free stay in his taverns, and says that he will return here later to start a new tavern in Moradhin, to help its economic recovery. Vojta messages Lokreth and Saleekh with the sending stones to tell them about their progress. Lokreth warns them to be careful in seeking out Theras, because Pha’uel is suspiciously amused by the prospect. Saleekh answers that the dragonborn have set their sights on conquering the Descotian Desert as well.