Rise of the Runelords

After equipping for the hike back into the Aelinvudd you asked if you could lead a group of workmen to the dam to start repairs.  It was decided that leading a group of men carrying materials would only slow you down and without knowledge of what actually happened there was no way to tell what type of skills might be needed.  So you headed off.  Your first stop was at Turtleback Ferry to assess damages and lend aide.  The damage was nearly complete.  There were a few survivors picking over the debris left behind.  The water must have violently hit the town.  The gambling barge was no where to be seen.  You continued into the forest.  On the night before reaching Fort Ranik you were beset by some swarms of rats.  A few people were bitten and some of Golian's wounds looked particularly bad.  Edwin treated easily treated them.  The next night was spent at the Fort - actually on top of the fort.  Another two days of hiking took you away form the river due to the steep gorge and back again where you saw the dam for the first time.  There was a large chunk missing on east side.  Wolfgar pointed out some movement on top of the dam on the western half.  You climbed a natural stone stair that led to a cave.  While the group was climbing up a 15' tall ledge, Golian scouted ahead in the shadows.

He was surprised by an ettin who must have heard him coming.  Golian was painfully and forcibly pushed back toward the rest of the group.  D'Argo cast a spider climb on Edwin so he could scale the walls and help.  Malloric started with bow fire while Bach let go of the rope and unsheathed his falchion on his way to meet the beast.  It took less than a minute to slay the ettin, but a few of the group had some nasty contusions from the ettins two morningstars.  You cured up as the rest explored the caves.  You gathered some loot and continued.

After another 15' ledge, you exited the cave on top of the dam.  You could see a half dozen or so orges several hundred yards in the distance.  After some tactical discussion, D'Argo fired off an acid ball that caught their attention.  You lined up and waited for them.  As they charged, arrows dropped a few and softened up the rest.  Malloric noticed one was much tougher than the rest.  By the time the ogres reached the group, there was only two or three left.  The last one standing was surrounded and Wolfgar ordered it to surrender, which to some surprise it did.

From it you learned that the ogres were sent to the dam by Barl Breakbones, a stone giant, with orders to weaken it.  There were more ogres, but two things had reduced their numbers.  First was the fights with a group of trolls that laired in the dam housing.  The other was the Black Magga that appeared when the dam started to crack.  The Magga was washed over and the ogres went back to work on weakening the dam.  You debated the fate of the orge and decided to bind him and continue into the building in the center of the dam.

The doors to this building had been battered and reinforced from the inside.  You pushed your way in and encountered a number of trolls.  Another acid ball followed by swords and arrows and three were quickly dropped.  Two others fled deeper into the building.  Bach staved some head with a burning torch and you started the chase.  After descending perhaps as much as 100' you found a stone door with the following words clawed into it "Below dwells Grazuul. All hail Grazuul."  You ignored the warning.  Upon entering you found the two trolls on either side of the door and a larger troll standing in a large pool in front of you.  This troll was wielding a military fork.  The trolls on the flanks didn't prove to much of a problem as they hadn't been able to regenerate the acid damage from above.  Some engaged these trolls while Wolfgar and Henrik went after the large troll.  It had tremendous reach and was poking at people as they approached.  Some of you noticed that each time it hit, it grimaced slightly and a small wound opened somewhere on the creature.  The blows it landed were particularly nasty.  The creature wielded the weapon with skill and massive strength.  Each hit also opened additional wounds on its victim.  The troll had the better end of that deal because it regenerated much of the damage it received.  The group had it within a few blows of defeat when it lept up and dropped through a tunnel in the pool you had not seen.  Some suggested going after it as you had water breathing.  Others suggested fighting the beast in its element might not be the best idea.  You decided to search the floor on foot and hope you would run into it.  You didn't.


In one room, you found a scale model of the dam. The jaws of the skulls on the face of the dam could be lowered revealing tubes.  Golian mentioned that he had heard of an ancient dam, maybe this one, that had flood control gates operated with magic.  This seemed a likely explanation for what was happening here - or not as the case may be.  You cautiously entered the last room after removing a pile of skulls in front of the door.  The room beyond contained a small room on either side separated by a portcullis. In one 'cell' was a pile of reddish-black ash.  In the other was a rater large but very emaciated creature with dark red, leathery skin and wings.  It smelled slightly of brimstone.  Looking closer, you also noticed that on the floor of each of these rooms was some sort of arcane figure drawn with ash and metal flakes.  You looked to see of the creature was alive and when you were close enough you could see it breathe and you 'heard' it say "Release me."  The general response was 'I don't think so.'

After some conversation amongst yourself and with the creature, the theory that developed was that the dam flood gates were somehow operated by feeding off the magic in the creatures contained in the cells and that with one dead, the gates couldn't function properly.  The creature was suggesting that one of the group would need to sacrifice itself in the other cell in order for the gates to work.  Pirozzi figured that if a person would 'work' why not a badger.  So he summoned one inside the empty arcane circle.  Almost immediately you could hear the grinding of stone on stone and a deep rumbling inside the dam.  The badger immediately turned to dust as did the winged creature in the other cell.  You went back to the scale model and saw that the mouths had opened and water was flowing out.  Heading back up to the top of the dam you saw great spouts of water being released through the skulls on the face of the dam.  Deciding your work here was done, you started the trip back to Rothberry.  The orge you tied up was nowhere to be seen.

You spent some time looting the nearly score of dead ogres and all the while discussed what could have happened to Kaven. Two main theories developed. He either took the opportunity that the chaos of battle created and fled, or he was captured by some yet unknown foe. The first theory was tested by searching the area around the interior keep thoroughly. No sign was found. Vale said the only other place he could be would be the basement where the Black Arrows held captives in cells untill they could be returned for justice. The party formed up and headed down the stone stairs to the door to the jail room. You politely knocked first.

Upon entering the room, you found Kaven standing ready for a fight. Next to him was a thin yet attractive female elf. Some of you quickly recognized her from the top of the clock tower in High Madreth. There were a few groans as you realized that while you were healthy, you were mostly out of spells. Henrik asked Kaven if he was here of his own free will. His response was affirmative, but it didn't seem to ring completely true. The group started to cautiously approach the two enemies. Their positioning prevented an outright charge. As soon as three or four of you had moved into the room and others were filling in, she changed into her more memorable form and cast a spell, creating a wall of stone dividing the group in two. Those on the 'outside' started pounding, chipping, and casting at the wall hoping to break through quickly. Those 'inside' continued the fight.

You threw everything you had at her and Kaven. They returned the favor. Kaven proved not too much of a challenge as he was only moderately well equipped. She on the other hand proved to be much more of a challenge. She tried dominating several of you, fired scorching rays, and dished out some serious damage with her long spear, which drained Wisdom each time it hit. You all smited, raged, and used several wands you'd been hanging onto. She started to gain the upper hand while those cut off were still shipping away at the stone. A dispel magic landed on her, which forced here to cast an invisibility in order to re-buff. You took the time to heal as best you could. The others broke through the wall at about the same time.

She became visible, this time wreathed in flames. She was positioned in the middle of the room. With her long spear, she kept you movement to a minimum as she was able to make several attacks of opportunity each round. However, the added foes proved too much for her. Before she was cut down, she said something to the effect of, "You are too late to stop it. Mokmurion will have his sacrifice." You all shrugged your shoulders, got everyone to their feet and took great pleasure in looting her corpse. Her long spear has several runes along the shaft very similar to the bastard sword recovered from Nuallia under Thistletop.

The trip back to Rothberry was wet - still - and uneventfull. Once in town you set about getting ready to do identifies the next day, supplying the the long trip to High Madreth to report to the Mayor, and asking a few questions about someone or something called 'Mokmurion.' Wolfgar was able to find out that that is likely a name associated with giants, but that is in a very old form not used by giants for generations, back when they were more powerful. You had a good meal and nights rest. The next morning you cast some identifies and headed for the stables when you heard screams from outside. Running to take a look, you saw water everywhere. It was rapidly rising. Building debris, a body or two, and a large branch floated by. The branch writhed and you realized it was a huge snake. It was headed straight for a family of dwarves trying to flee their home. Someone asked, "Crap, we're never going to get home are we?" You threw your stuff back into the inn and headed for the snake. It was a pushover. You spent a little time helping other folks to safety when more screams came from the lake side of town. You jumped on your horses as the water was still rising and headed to the commotion. What you found defied imagination. Some of you recognized the beast from fairy tales - the Black Magga. But that was impossible as that beast was supposed to be stuck in the Storval Deep, far in the Aelinvuud Forest. Yet here it was.

The group spread out and started the approach. As you got closer, it breathed out a noxious cloud of gas. Instead of horses and people dropping dead, many became confused and started wondering off or attacking each other. Bach and Henrik were able to get to the beast and started the attack. Golian made it a few seconds later. Others were fleeing, fighting their own horses or standing and muttering away. The beast alternated between grabbing people and squeezing or trying to eat them or simply biting. No one was seriously hurt and you managed to do cause the beast to flee into the depths of Claybottom Lake.

After the fight and when everyone was accounted for, you noticed that the water was receding. You also noticed many more human corpses than you would have expected from within Rothberry. A little investigation revealed that nearly each and every piece of human flotsam had a sihedron tattoo.

You debated about what to do next and nearly settled on getting your stuff and heading home as the job at hand seemed complete when Wolfgar pointed out that the water could only have come from upstream, beyond the dam that holds the Storval Deep back. If the dam is damaged, the town could still be in danger. He asked the group to delay your return until you could at least inspect the dam. You all agreed with varying levels of enthusiasm.