The adventurers currently lost in the halls of Tannhiem (Jym, Mike, Lethe, Dawn, Rael, and Vismund), spent an uncomfortable evening in the crypts after dealing with the undead guardians only hours ago. After the extended rest they carefully examined the large stone doors carved in the shape of a glowering dwarf's face and found a hidden latch. Taking precautions against any traps, they safely triggered the latch from a distance using rope. The doors came open with a groan, but otherwise without incident.
Beyond was a dark hallway. At the edge of the threshold Rael and Dawn noticed arcane symbols inscribed in the dust covered floor. The purpose of which seemed to be to keep something inside rather than keep interlopers out. Lethe and Mike attempted to stealthily proceed down the tunnel, but sconces set at even intervals along the walls lit themselves with magical energy as they passed, confounding their efforts. Still the deepest part of the tomb remained in deep darkness. Dawn called down bursts of magic at the extremity of her range, which briefly lit up the chamber at the far end of the hall. In those brief glimpses the party caught sight of a single figure sitting on a stone throne at the back of an octagonal chamber.
When Mike crept into the octagonal chamber two large braziers set in the center of the room sprung to life with magical flame. Now the party was able to get a good look at the figure on the throne. It appeared to be a dwarf dressed in ceremonial armor with dry leathery skin drawn tightly over its bones and with a sickly greenish glow emanating from the sockets of its eyes. Lethe identified the creature as a wight, an undead creature of considerable power. A battleaxe and a shield lay nearby. As the rest of the party entered the room the wight slowly raised its head as if first becoming aware of them and called out in a gravelly voice "Have you come to torment me more, Naurorc?".
The party was on high alert and ready to attack, but when the wight did nothing more than wait for a response they decided to parley. Dawn took the lead and attempted to diplomatically engage the creature. The wight identified itself as "The Underking" and when it was convinced that the "High priest of the Septych, Naurorc" was not among them he choose to test their mettle with carefully targeted questions. He queried Lethe on his faith, Rael on his experience with the arcane, Vismund on his knowledge of the halls of Tannhiem, Jym on his ferocity, and Mike on his awareness of his surroundings. When the Underking was not impressed with some of the answers Dawn had to cover her companions' missteps with glib lies and diplomatic apologies. Eventually the Underking either tired of the exchange or became convinced of the groups worthiness and answered their questions.
He told a tale of how long ago he was betrayed and slain along with some of his remaining loyal guards by Naurorc and his fanatical followers. Naurorc was the one who summoned the demon Azan-Zog and bound it in a chamber hidden beneath the Temple-Forge. Naurorc had forged special chains made of meteoric iron which kept the demon captive and forced it to perform magic item creation rituals. Unfortunately the rituals required blood sacrifices in greater and greater quantities. Eventually the Underking became aware of the nefarious practices and planned to destroy the evil heirarch, but it was too late, Naurorc had become too powerful. The Underking's last memory was as he lay dying in the throne room with Naurorc standing over him laughing and clutching the Underking's crown in one triumphant hand. When he became aware again it was as a wight, bound in undeath to guard this chamber against interlopers, but more importantly to suffer eternal torment and shame of his failure to protect his people.
The party asked what they could do to rid the halls of Tannhiem of its curse, and potentially relieve Vismund from his plague of dreams. The Underking said that the only way to cleanse the halls would be to destroy and banish the demon Azan-Zog, but that would be impossible without a way to break the chains. Breaking the chains would require a weapon forged with the same meteoric iron that the chains were forged of, and the Underking did not think any of those remained. The party asked if the strange metal filings they had found earlier could be forged into such a weapon. The Underking felt that if they went to the Temple-Forge and coated one of their weapons with the filings they may be able to fuse them together, imbuing it with the ability to break the chains. Once the demon was unbound it could be killed and banished and then the spirits of the sacrificed dwarves would be at rest. As a special favor the Underking asked that his missing crown be returned to him. He then awarded the party with the paltry offerings which were entombed with him: a magical shield, a single gem, and a bag of gold.
The members of GoHAC took their new treasures, promised to return the crown and destroy the demon and headed out of the crypts area. They had asked directions to the Temple-Forge and determined that the Great Stairs would be their best option. They navigated the labyrinthine halls for a couple hours before stumbling upon an ancient abandoned brewery. The old kegs, brewing equipment, and parts of the floor were covered in fungus and a foul looking greenish slime. From around a corner a single fire beetle trundled out and began feasting on some of the slime. The beetle became aware of the group and gave a chittering alarm before charging. At the sound of the insect's warning, two of its companions came out from hiding to join the battle. Rael and Lethe moved into the room, carefully avoiding slippery slimy spots on the floor to engage with the beetle pack. When Mike moved past a particularly slimy keg, a patch of mobile slime detached itself from the keg and engulfed him, burning him with acidic juices. Attempts to cut the slime off hurt Mike as well. Mike was able to extricate himself eventually while the others beat the slime to death. The beetles took turns blasting their fiery breath on the party, but the adventurers avoided serious burns. The beetles were systematically smashed and the party took a short rest before continuing their search for the great stairs.
A couple hours later they came upon the great stairs. The stairs climbed upward to a dizzying height in a series of landings and sharp turns crossing and recrossing a great crevasse. The party was at the base of the stairs on a narrow ledge of rock overlooking the crevasse. On the first landing far above them they could see the shadows of hunched figures gathered around a campfire, apparently guarding this part of the stairs. The sentries had not yet noticed the party. Lethe and Mike attempted to creep closer to the group while avoiding detection. They could make out at least seven distinct humanoids in the group. Most of them seemed to be hobgoblins, tall goblinoids with reddish skin and triangular ears, who were armed and armored. Two of them appeared to be larger and hairier and one was dressed in robes and carried a staff mounted with humanoid skulls. One of the larger goblinoids facing the stairs picked up the party's scent and hollered an alarm to its companions who began to hastily grab up their weapons. The two groups met in furious battle on the stairs spanning the crevasse far below. Dawn and Mike unleashed magical fire into the goblinoids, killing many minions and leaving only the two large hairy hobgoblins and the be-robed one. The large hobgoblins revealed themselves as barghests, a magical blend of goblin and worg, as they shifted into worg form and leaped into combat. The robed hobgoblin was a warcaster, a master of lightning and force powers. He blasted the party with waves of force knocking them back down the stairs. The barghests attempted to savage the prone and helpless party members, but Rael successfully defended his companions. Jym called down a few commander's strikes on the barghests and Lethe gleefully brought his fullblade vengefully down on their heads while Rael assaulted them with magical sword blasts. With the barghests slain the warcaster did not last much longer. The party attained the first of the main landings leading up to the upper halls of Tannhiem and took a short rest.
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