Holy Forge

## Description

On a dusty, lonely plain you come across the shattered remains of an old Monastery. Searching through the building you meet an old man dressed in dirty robes.

As you traverse a particularly tricky trail across a mountain ridge you notice a dark ravine beneath you.

## Details

Holy Forge and Metal Ore are a pair of encounter cards that only function when both in the deck, with the exception of expansion cards like The Elder Lizard which also use Metal Ore. Both are safe spaces and it is highly recommeded to include them in the deck even though luck may put the two encounters on different floors in an order that makes them impossible to use properly. When the Metal Ore encounter is activated, the player can investigate to retrieve the ore. The ore does not appear in the inventory, but its presence changes the Holy Forge encounter. Taking the ore is safe. Ignoring it generates a new choice to exchange 1 food for a worthless (non-)item.

Holy Forge:

On a dusty, lonely plain, you come across the shattered remains of an old monastery. Searching the building, you meet an old man dressed in dirty robes.

"Long ago, we of the brotherhood forged holy weapons to support the war against the infidels - but the infidels were strong, and one day, one of their raiding parties took us by surprise."

"They destroyed most of our tools and took our supplies, including all of the rare metal ore that we used to craft our weapons."

"The king's army never returned after that day. I know not what became of them in the years that followed. I have stayed here all these years, but only the ghosts remain to keep me company. All of the others who survived the attack left long ago."

A) Give ore

*The monk's eyes widen in surprise and he exclaims, "By the Old Gods, where did you find that?!" He looks the metal over carefully. "If you're willing to put in the hard work, stranger, together we could fire up the old forge one last time!"*

*You spend several days with the old monk. By day, you toil together at the forge, and by night you swap tales of your adventures for a share of his food. Eventually, you hold the completed weapon in your hands.*

**Gain the Battle Hammer**

*"Thank you, warrior, for giving this old relic one last chance to prove its worth. Good luck on your journey."*

**This card's token is now yours**

B) Leave

*You bid the monk farewell and leave him standing in the silent, empty ruin.*

Without the Metal Ore: The player meets the monk, who laments that the Forge used to make great weapons but they were attacked and all their metal was stolen. The player can only leave.

With the Metal Ore: The same occurs, but the player can show the monk the ore. The monk and player will then spend some time creating a powerful weapon, the Battle Hammer.

After creating weapon: The player finds the place completely empty.

When playing the Iron Hunger fate: 75 ore can be used in place of encountering Metal Ore.

Metal Ore:

*As you traverse a particularly tricky trail across a mountain ridge, you notice a dark ravine beneath you.*

*Something glitters in the dim sunlight that reaches the base of that cavern.*

A) Climb down to take a look.

*In the gloom of the narrow canyon, you find the old remains of a wooden cart, apparently having fallen down years ago. You find nothing of worth, except a chunk of glittering metallic ore.*

*It might not sell for much in its current state, but perhaps you can find someone who can use it. You take it and make your way back up to the path.*

B) Ignore it

*You continue on your way across the mountain.*

When encountered, retrieving the metal ore will add 75 ore when playing the Iron Hunger fate. It can also be given to The Elder Lizard to receive 4 gain cards. When given to the Alchemist he gives you a health potion.

## Rewards/Penalties

No ore: Nothing. Space remains active.

With ore: Battle Hammer. Token.