After the retreat from Beoll-Dur, the adventurers rested for a week (1/9 – 1/16) on the ships. Aderian collected an impressive pile of boulders on the beach so that he’d always have a few to carry with him if they went back into the complex. Saul heard the call of Phakta. He rode off on the back of his orca. Inside the volcano, the salamanders, no doubt, were pondering these invaders who slew their brethren, and likely preparing another intrusion.
On the 17th day (1/17), the party organized to return to Beoll-Dur in order to converse again with Duinor, the dwarven cleric who existed only as a glowing pillar in the heart of the monastery. They climbed up the switchback stairs to the rim of the volcano, then climbed down the rope, one by one. Urgesh was first, and he spotted a flickering fire at the end of the long hall before Duinor’s steady glow. Presently, the fighters were dashing at full speed to the assumed threat. Urgesh, leading the charge, gave out an incomprehensible oath in what sounded like a dwarven dialect.
At the end of the hall they met five figures. Four of them appeared to be dwarves with skin that shined by bronze. They were shirtless, clothed only in kilts and boots. The hair of their heads and their beards were flickering tongues of fire, and a great heat radiated from them. The fifth figure was a fire-breathing hound of hell. At the sight of the charging heroes, one of the fire dwarves ran off to the west. Urgesh gave chase as the rest of the party set about defeating the others.
Bale Shezzar, Aderian and Ollie traded blows. The dwarven gladiator’s skin blistered versus the heat of these enchanted beings from some realm of fire. As Aderian struck down one of the foes, the metallic skin broke open and out spilled molten lava that soon crusted over and cooled. Ollie battled the hound, suffering a few bites before killing the beast.
Meanwhile, Urgesh caught the fleeing foe at the stairs where Saul destroyed the brown mold. He wrapped his arms around the dwarf, and was unaffected by the heat, but the dwarf wriggled from his grasp. The next moment, Urgesh threw himself at the diminutive fugitive, bringing the dwarf to unconsciousness. The barbarian lifted the body up and slammed it down on its head, extinguishing the flames.
Back before Duinor, congratulations were offered, and the cleric immediately healed all wounds. The booming voice once again offered the relics which had disappeared when the party left Beoll-Dur. He hoped they would continue on their quest to rid the monastery of the salamanders. This was the the intent, but now a more steady pace was adopted. Urgesh, uncharacteristically wise, urged them to explore the first and second levels more thoroughly since the direct assault on the salamanders seemed doom to failure.
So, they went east from Duinor’s chamber and back into the barracks, adjoining which was the steam room. Aderian felt his way around the perimeter of the room. The steam obscured vision to two feet, but after some time, they came to understand a bath filled the center of the room. Urgesh experimented by placing the sword of cold into the water, seemingly calling forth a water spirit. The interaction was confusing, as splashes of water came up harmlessly. Urgesh used his ring of water walking to stand on the surface and make stabs at the barely-visible creature in the water.
Then Urgesh brought out an ostrich from his magic bag. The bird was ordered into the pool where the water curled around it and pulled it under the water. It was then that they came to guess they faced a water weird. Tienarth, the the form of a small dragon beat his wings furiously, dispersing the steam. Aderian and Jerker assisted in slashing at the water weird. It suffered little from the attacks, but eventually seemed to be disappear into the pool
Aderian noticed a hole at the bottom of the pool, two foot square. Urgesh stripped off his armor and gear, diving into the hole with a rope tied around his waist. Just as the extent of the rope was reached, Urgesh could see another chamber, but Jerker suddenly pulled hard on the rope, reeling the barbarian back into the pool room. The water weird sudden surged back to life and grappled Urgesh. But with the rope, it was simple to pull him out of the water.
The mystery of the water protector and the hole was set aside. They ventured past the steam room into a vast room filled with piles of rust. Ollie wondered aloud about rust monsters, and lo his fears were confirmed as two of the iron-eating beasts lunged forward towards the fresh metal of the dwarf fighter’s armor. Most of the party retreated back into the barracks, seemingly terrified by the monsters.
Tienarth and Hocuspo, both in the forms of young, red dragons, went forward without fear to attack. The rust monsters were easily crunched and slashes by tooth and claw. Ollie rushed back into rust monster room and found a couple of gems after a quick search.
Another attempt was made at going through the hole in the water, this time with Nate, but this effort was abandoned when they found that the water weird was able to attack the paladin despite his aura protection from evil. And so, they moved past the piles of rust and into a new room to the south.
An arch crossed a vast circular chamber. Far below, a geyser erupted intermittently, making crossing the arch, which narrowed at the center, a dangerous prospect. Ropes were rigged with spikes hammered into the stone, which essentially mitigated the danger. Ollie, Urgesh and Aderian crossed the chamber to open a door on the other side. The rest stayed back, lest they be scalded by the geyser.
The door opened to a small room dominated by two statues of dwarven warriors. Past this room was a larger chamber lined with vaults, undoubtedly holding the remains of honored dwarves. Four more statues guarded the vaults, and the three warriors agreed not to disturb the vaults. Instead, they went further into a much smaller chamber. Two statues stood in niches to the left and right before an engraved door. Ollie tugged at the handle and was greeted by a boom voice that demanded his purpose in visiting the crypt. The dwarf explained their mission to free Beoll-Dur of the salamanders, but this did not satisfy the spirit of the door.
In yet another act of uncharacteristic wisdom, they three brash warriors agreed not to disturb the dead, so they retraced their steps, back across the arch, rejoining the rest of the party.
End Notes
- Days
- 1/17 – Exploring Beoll-Dur First Level
- Treasure:
- 2 gems worth 50 gp each
- Combat: 2745 xp
- 4 Azer 280 xp each
- Hellhound 610 xp
- Water Weird 205
- 2 Rush Monsters 405 each
- Characters (8 shares of 343 xp)
- Aderian (human, fight, lead) 384 xp
- Elaria (hireling) 172 xp
- Ferris (human) 377 xp
- Hocuspo (hireling) 172 xp
- Jerker (human, fight, strength) 384 xp
- Nate (human, fight) 381 xp
- Ollie (underground, fight, guards rear) 353 xp
- Tienarth 343 xp
- Urgesh (half-human, fight, strength) 367 xp