Session 024

## The Mines Revisited

**Age of the Wolf, Year 5, Summer, Aerlun Toil 2 day 3-5**

*The party opens up a passage to a deeper level of the mines. Heida introduces her new servant. Some underwater treasure is recovered. A friend returns to the fold and introduces the party to a new faction. The party further explores the former living quarters of Storm Hammer Keep.*

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## Player Characters Involved

* Nygäär the Dark the Fey Blooded Rogue/Fighter played by Dana
* Heiða the Seer the Dökkálfar Blooded Dread Necromancer played by Justin
* Esbjörn Sigvardson the Giant Blooded Barbarian/Cleric/Surtr's Chosen played by Greg
* Brydd Hjarta the Jörmung Human Sorcerer/Marshal/Sand Shaper played by Jason

## New Servants

The party spotted a mine shaft that led deeper into the bowels of the earth, but a collapsed tunnel barred their way. A more pressing matter, at least in Nygaar's mind, was the ghostly visage he had witnessed enter Heida's body. Heida explained that the small incorporeal being, known as Imra Aratoris during her mortal life, was a servant of hers and was not something for the party to concern themselves with. At first reluctant to accept that Heida wasn't being possessed, Nygaar eventually relented. That settled, the next question was how to explore the lower mines. Nygaar suggested one of the servants be sent, and it was noted that Imra took exception to what she saw as being "commanded" by the fey blooded warrior. Eventually, the quasit Droog was sent, as the demon was eager to prove his worth to the party. Before exploring the lower levels, however, the party thought it best to have the quasit explore the large pit in the adjacent cavern. While Droog explored the hole, Heida communed with her new servant.

## Imra Artoris

Leaving the party to be by herself, and speaking telepathically, Heida asked the ghostly visage who she was, and why she had chosen to serve her. Imra informed the volva that she was a dark elf sorceress, formerly of Svartalfheim, who had served a summoner of vast power. The dark elves had come to these mines and fought the dwarves because there was a connection between Midgard and Svartalfheim here, but things had not gone as planned when her former master had attempted to summon a Marilith. This Marilith, known as Abraxia, was a servant of the demon lord of Svartalfheim Graz'zt and had slain both Imra and her mistress. Abraxia was still bound within the iron cage and had taken on the appearance of a young elvish maiden. In any case, Imra had been drawn to Heida as a kindred spirit and wished to venture out of the caverns she had haunted to enter the wider world, in order to kill as many mortals as she could. Heida accepted this explanation and formally bound the ghostly visage to herself.

## New Followers Prove Their Worth

Droog soon emerged from the large pit, reporting to the party that there was nothing to be found at the bottom some five hundred feet below. Esbjorn and Nygaar then turned to the collapsed tunnel, and Esbjorn bade Droog enter the mine shaft and explore the area below. Meanwhile, Heida had returned, and the volva and Brydd decided they would reexamine the foul pool from which the Aboleth had emerged.

Droog eagerly squeezed through the small space that led into the lower mines and immediately flew below. After a few minutes, the quasit returned and reported to Esbjorn that he had found a sizeable dwarven statue. In addition to the statue, there was silver inlaid upon the cavern floor in the shape of a hammer, a shrine to Volund carved from the surface of a wall, and a strange bluish iron ore that ran in veins upon the walls. The quasit reluctantly admitted he could go no further into the caverns below, however, as he had felt a strange feeling and become ill when he attempted to do so. The party attempted to puzzle out what this meant. In his excitement to explore the depths below Esbjorn began to excavate the fallen rock, and nearly caused a further cave-in. Luckily, the sharp eye of Nygaar spotted the unstable ceiling and warned him, and the party decided it was better to cause a further collapse and then go about removing the fallen stone. Esbjorn fired large boulders into the cave-in, causing a tremendous racket but achieving his objective. As Nygaar and Esbjorn began the arduous task of removing the rubble, Heida and Brydd made themselves busy elsewhere.

Looking again at the fetid pool that the abomination had risen from, Heida and Brydd wondered what lied below the surface. Heida eventually sent her servant Imra into the depths, and the ghostly visage made an interesting discovery. There was an underground river below the dungeon, and Imra found a small treasure horde not far from the surface. At first, discouraged that the treasure was beyond recovery, Brydd eventually realized he might be able to use his summoning abilities to retrieve the horde.

First creating a mirror from some dirt, Brydd then summoned a creature called a Nerra Viroot. Such creatures can move through mirrored and reflective surfaces at will, traveling through the plane of mirrors. Brydd commanded the creature to move through the mirror down to where the treasure glinted in the water, and gather as much of the horde as possible. This creativity on the part of the Harii sorcerer was rewarded, and before long the party was in possession of a large sack of coins and gems. Banishing the creature back to the nether realms, Brydd nodded triumphantly to Heida and the two magic users returned to check on the progress of their more muscle-bound companions.

After perhaps two hours, Esbjorn and Nygaar were able to clear a passageway through the rubble that would allow a man to explore the depths below. While the party considered exploring further, they ultimately decided it would be best to return to Heedi outside and rest. Esbjorn and Heida were still suffering the ill effects of being poisoned, Nygaar was wounded, and Brydd had expended a fair amount of his magical power. They returned to the surface to rest and were much refreshed, resting longer than they would normally. They then returned to the first level, in an attempt to clear it more completely.

## A Fearsome Golem

The party ventured into rooms and passages not formerly explored, and found little of interest until they peered into one room in particular:

*Niches are set into the wall within which stand clay urns. One of the urns has been shattered, and its contents have spilled onto its shelf and the floor. Amid the ash it held, you see blackened chunks of something that might be bone. There is what looks to be a statue made of iron, roughly six feet tall and rendered in the shape of a fey covered in nightmarish patterns, standing in front of the western door. There are two dead flatheads at the foot of the statue.*

 Trying to gauge the power of this golem, which Imra told Heida looked like a guardian golem of the dark elves, Heida summoned a Troll Skeleton and had it charge the construct. While the rest of the party stayed behind closed doors, Nygaar peered through a crack to watch the battle. What he saw gave him pause. The skeleton attacked the golem to little effect, while the golem began by releasing a poison gas cloud and then proceeded to pummel the skeleton apart with little difficulty. Realizing this was a dangerous foe, the party wondered what may lie behind the door it guarded. Eventually, after encouragement from Nygaar, it occurred to Esbjorn that the favor of his god would allow him to break through the stone wall that led to the passageway behind the door the golem guarded. As the rest of the party stood and waited, Esbjorn began to smash the wall, sending pieces of granite flying with every strike of his huge fists.

While Esbjorn pummeled the wall, Brydd stood nearby. Unfortunately, the noise of Esbjorn's pounding attracted the attention of a hideous dungeon denizen known as a grey ooze. Being nearly transparent, Brydd failed to notice the ooze until it was upon him, and while the mindless creature failed to consume him, some of the sorcerer's equipment was not so lucky. While Esbjorn moved to fight the creature, Brydd retreated and cast a dessicate spell upon the creature, evaporating much of the liquid that made up the ooze's body. Esbjorn finished off the creature, and the party checked to make sure Brydd wasn't too badly wounded by the acid attack he had endured. Byrdd was fine, but his feathered cloak and leather gloves were destroyed by the acid. Esbjorn then continued his attempt to break through the wall, and after some time burst through to an adjoining passage.

The party's instincts had proven correct, as they found a chest that radiated magic in this new passage. Looking to play it safe, Heida once again called forth an undead servant to open the chest. Unfortunately, Esbjorn's bulk worked against him, as he was crammed tightly within the narrow passageway and didn't think to move far enough away before the chest was opened. A magical confusion spell was triggered upon the chest being opened, and Esbjorn stared vacantly and babbled incoherently under its effects. Gathering the treasure within the chest (small bag of holding, gems and coins), the party was forced to lead the disabled champion of Surtr back to the surface once more.

## Vungar Returns

The party laid Esbjorn down to recover and set about their watch. After a time Droog called out a warning, exclaiming that a man and a large wolf were approaching. Heida had just woken up Esbjorn, who had finally recovered from his magical confusion, and the two of them greeted Vungar warmly. Vungar then introduced his companion, who had some intriguing news.

The man introduced himself as Harald Greycloak. A servant and scout for the priests of Heimdall, Vungar had sought him out in the wilds to learn of what was happening in the mountains since he had been away. A hardy warrior armed with two axes and a bow and wearing an iron breastplate, Harald informed the party that the priests of Heimdall were interested in forming an alliance with any who were foes of the giants. In the morning when all of the party was awake, the ranger invited the party to visit the Sky Cliffs, the temple of Heimdall in the mountains, in order to speak to his masters and learn more. He also asked for Nygaar specifically and informed him that his cousin Gryfhild Völundson was now a Golden Warden, the scouting troop that Harald himself led. The party contemplated Harald's offer and told him they would give him an answer once their work at Storm Hammer Keep was done. While Vungar, Harald, and Heedi remained on the surface, the party descended into the dungeon once more.

## Back Below

Traveling underground once more, the party began a systematic exploration of the remaining rooms on the first level. They found an abandoned armory, a room filled with sprung and rusty traps, and a room filled with cobwebs. Seeing dead flatheads in the room filled with webs, Heida cautiously summoned yet another undead minion and sent it scurrying about. In short order, the skeleton fell into a seventy-foot deep pit, that led all the way down to the former chamber of the Crag Drake. Using a minion to spring this trap was a wise decision as all agreed that such a fall could well have proved fatal. After entering the room, the party found a small chest with a masterwork lock on it. Nygaar was unable to open it with his masterwork lock picks. It seemed the dungeon still held dangers, and with any luck, the first level would soon be clear so that the party could focus on exploring the as-yet-unseen level of mines below.

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