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"Ye have a rare skill me lad!" exclaims one bald headed dwarf as Yvandel winds down his act. "I'll certainly buy ye a drink fer that impressive show!" he says. He waves over to the innkeeper and in moments, a large foaming pitcher of ale appears, which he shoves over towards the young puppeteer. "Wet yer whistle with that!" he grins through his beard.

Thinking the show over, many of the others who had gathered start to drift back to their tables, offering congratulations and toasts in parting.

"Don'ta forget us." Dorn piped up after he finished his first drink. "Me and Larz."

The dwarf grins at Dorn and Larz. "I ain't forgotten yer!" he says. "I just ain't buying yer a beer 'cause yer ain't earned it - not like this young'un!" He slaps Yvandel on the back, almost knocking the puppeteer off his bench.

"So, what brings yer to Citadel Felbarr?" asks the dwarf to the table generally, taking a long pull from his own brew.

"We're just passing through" says Blondung, answering the dwarf's question. The older wizard, still looking sour faced at having to have endure another one of Yvandel's embarrassing performances shakes his head and then looks over towards the bar, impatiently awaiting the food he had ordered.

"Passing through?!" exclaims the dwarf, misunderstanding which direction the party had been travelling. "Where in hells could yer be passing to? There's nothing beyond here 'cept wilderness! Filled with barbarians and orcs!"

Yvandel's own answer is quickly doused in favour of the much wiser Blondung's. Yvandel dubiously eyes the offered drink, and hefts it to take a careful sniff. Whatever reaction he might have had for the pungent alcohol is prevented by the slap on his back which not only threatens to unseat him, but also causes the young magician to nearly drop the tankard. Luckily he manages to stabilize both the drink, and himself, without inadvertently dropping his puppet. Once settled, he sets the drink down and goes about re-securing the puppet to his neck. Then hefts the tankard again. "Many thanks, though as Blondung says we were passing through..." The stranger can easily tell that Yvandel is clearly deferring to Blondung in this, and might or might not have said something different were he alone when asked. "Barbarians, Orcs, Umberhulks... and countless other creatures besides. Good people too mind, as those mercenaries we stumbled upon seemed to be." The young puppeteers tone likely makes him come across as a little bit naive.

He takes a long draught from his own ale before wiping his mouth with the back of his calloused hand. "How was the trail from Sundarbar?" he asks. "It can be a rough trail unless yer travellin' in force, and I don't recall a caravan being scheduled to arrive t'day..." He raises an eyebrow as he eyes the pair of wizards, turning his head to take in the others at the table as well.

The dwarf looks first from Yvandel and then to Blondung, and then back again before shrugging. "Ack well, if yer want t' keep yer business t' yerself, then that's yer business, I was only askin' t' be friendly..."

Blondung chokes in his stew for a moment as Yvandel talks about a pack of Umber Hulks. Wiping his mouth, he glowers at the younger mage. "Hooked Horrors!" he corrects. "Six of them." He glances at the dwarf and the others listening in close by, shakes his head in exasperation, and returns to his stew.

As Blondung corrects Yvandel, the dwarf chuckles. "Both creatures of the underdark" he says. "And if it WAS an umberhulk, then I can see why you might get confused" he chuckles again, this time at his own rather lame joke.

He leans back for a moment, one hand stroking his beard as he appraises the group. "So, do you think King Emerus will be able to persuade yer to not 'pass through' and stick around? We could do with a few more able adventurers to help out... quite a few nasties still hanging around our mines yer know." His voice carries to the entire table and he looks them up and down, from Milo and Ceely at the far end, all the way up to Yvandel and Blondung nearer to him.

Yvandel eyes the stranger curiously. "While I'm in no place to speak for everyone, I'd imagine propositions like that would need to come through official channels towards... one of the other more senior members of the group. Otherwise I'm sure after brief respite we'll be continuing on in some direction or other." Yvandels' look of curiosity fades to one of minor discofort at being put on the spot in such a fashion. He'd barely secured his own place amongst the companions, even the reasons for keeping him along were few (his belated revelation of illusory might not amongst those reasons when compared to the skills of Bondung and Merrell). That his discomfort, or the attitudes of his companions might be attributed to his naive youth wasn't even a theory or consideration that crossed Yvandels mind.

Dorn turned his head and walked over to where Yvandel was talking to another dwarf. "What was that again?"

"Ye think that the king would want us to stay and give a helping hand? Who might ye be that ye be speaking on the king's behalf?"

The dwarf turns to Dorn and stands. Puffing himself up slightly, he announces his name more formally, continuing to speak in common for the benefit of the non-dwarves at the table. "I be Sharn 'Forgefire', 2nd cousin to King Emerus Warcrown, and 'tis well known that crown is still looking for stalwart adventurers and sell swords to aid in the long reclamation and restoration of what was stolen." He looks expectantly at Dorn to respond with his own name.

Dorn stood in reply. He brushed his beard as he hooked his thumb on his belt. "Me known as Dorn, of Clan Fireforge from Citadel Adbar."

"If our King be needing a helping hand. Then I'll check with me comrades, and see if they be stout of heart."

Dorn reached for a mug at his table. "But let's drink first."

The dwarf named Sharn grins and clasps forearms with Dorn. "Aye, sounds good t' me!" he says. Sitting, he takes a long pull from his tankard, nearly draining it.

Dorn lowered his mug. "What can ye tell me about these tunnels. Me companions will be wanting to know. And what they can expect ta be paid for their services."

Sharn smacks his lips, apreciating the ale, then wipes his mouth on the back of his sleeve. "I dinnae know the details of the payments, but most of the mines that need clearin' are dotted around the area - within a mile or so of the citadel. Some go deeper than others - even as far as connecting to the underdark - and some remain quite shallow. The latter tend to have been used by more surface orientated beasties - usually orcs - acting as scouts fer their cowardly chiefs" He lifts his tankard again, drains the last dregs and waves for another to be sent over.

"If yer serious about helping out - then go see my cousin Harius - yer can find him t'morrow at Warcrown Hall."

"Ye can be sure of that." Dorn replied after he finished his drink.

The dwarf waved for another mug of ale. Dorn allowed some time to pass as he kept bringing the mug to his lips. Finally, the dwarf seemed satisfied.

"Tis good drinking with ye. Will I see ye in the morn when I seek out Harius?"

Sharn shrugs. "Mebbe, if our paths cross..."

As Dorn orders some new ale, the dwarves who had been speaking to Larz come around the table to Sharn, exchanging cheerful greetings with him. One of them looks to Dorn. "Your cousin is a fine dwarf!" he says in dwarvish, a little flushed from having drunk too much. "Shame you won't be staying" Belatedly realising that he was being rude by speaking a language not all present would understand, the dwarf turns to Yvandel, and the other humans at the table. "Well met o' hearty adventurers! What do yer call yerselves?" he says, in accented common.

"While we've been hesitant to adopt a name for ourselves, it seems we've been labled as 'The Unknowns' in the towns we've assisted thus far. In point of fact, even the Silverymoon News-Sheets refered to our company by that very name. Wonder where they got it?" Yvandel says, his cheeks flushed with pride by the end. Beware Unspeakable Evils, for you might soon face The Unknown Heroes!, is a headline that races through his imagination.

The dwarf laughs uproariously. "The Unknowns eh?!" he says loudly. "Excellent name!" he grins, his teeth flashing white through his beard.

"The Unknowns eh?" echoes Sharn more soberly. "Say, weren't yer the folk that discovered lost Kheizar Dalan back at the beginning of Flamerule? We had a minstrel here last week tell news of that! It's all the buzz!"

"That be right." Dorn replied loudly. "We be the same that discovered Kheizar Dalan."

"But me never heard the tale. Did the tale mention that only dwarves were able ta open the entrance? Ye gots to give credit that dwarves know how ta build."

"Hey lads!" calls the other dwarf loudly across the tap room in dwarven. "These is the folks that uncovered Kheizar Dalan!" He gestures broadly at the dwarven community to gather around the table, crying things like "yeah, it's the Unknowns!" and "they're about to tell us first hand their tale!" in response to various returned question in dwarvish.

To the non-dwarvish speakers, the only words really recognised were 'Kheizar Dalan'.

"Oh great!" mutters Blondung beneath his breath. "Now we're the entertainment" He looks daggers at Yvandel as if it were all the puppeteer's fault.

Within moments a large crowd of dwarves are pressing around the table, even clambering onto the next nearest table to get a view of the heroes sat around the table...

"I thought there were more of them?"
"Yeah, weren't there a dozen"
"Some of them are sitting over there"

A few of the dwarves hurry over to the other table where Merrell, Cleo, Vaslin remain sat. Lucretia, with Ceely next to him, are still standing, having just returned from Lucretia's intimidation of Haeg's friend. "Yer friends are about to tell the tale of Kheizar Dalan!" one of them blurts. "Yer gonna join them t' add yer parts?" he asks.

"So much for a nice quiet night, a good drink dinner and bed," Vaslin gives a light-hearted laugh. "Lets go join the others and give them support. at least physically."

Vaslin stands and moves over to where Dorn and Yvandel sat.

Sharn laughs in amusement as the other dwarf calls other dwarves around to listen to the forthcoming tale and the crowd gathers.

Raising his voice slightly, he addresses Dorn's question.

"You mean you've been to the long lost Kheizar Dalan and yer don't ken its legend?!" he asks incredously. He laughs again.

Clambering onto the table, he hold up his hands for silence, waiting as the others of the Unknowns rejoin the main table, dwarves shuffeling around to make room.

"Most of ye ken the myth of Kheizar Dalan" he calls aloud. "Well these young'uns here have visited the place, explored its lost halls and seen it ancient lost mysteries!"

He pauses dramatically. "But they don't ken the myth behind it! Shall we hear the ancient tale, or the more recent tale of these folk here?" he asks the crowd.

As he made his way though the crowd Merrell looked around for those who seemed to be takeing more than just a passing interest in the Unknowns' business. "Well puppetmaster you got us into this one, now you get to tell the tale." Merrell said with a smirk and a wink in Yv's direction.

Yvandel sputters out the second swallow of the drink he'd been bought. Not only was it strong, but now people were making a spectacle of having actually HEARD of them.

When he admitted the company name, he really hadn't expected much over-recognition... right up until Dorn started mentioning their exploits into a Dwarven site. At that moment, eyes as wide as saucers had locked with Blondung's. When Yvandel saw the accusation there, he dropped his gaze immediately. He saw it there. The accusation bereft of words. The man Yvandel looked up to most in the party, most in the world truth be told since leaving home, held him responsible for this mess.

Yvandel looks truly embarassed when his companions begin pointing fingers at him.

From his biased oppinion, it was clearly Dorn who really crossed the line of annonymity. But rather than pass the blame, or dodge his way out the Puppeterr clears his throat, prepared to salvage what he might and provide some small account. Enough to sate the interests, without sharing over-much about his companions and their purpose in the North. Then he hesitates, Vaslin having swooped in unexpectedly to save the youth from an unrehersed and unexpected preformance. Despite the glimmer of hope, Yvandel could easily tell that the locals would have none of such a notion. They'd expect a first-hand account now above anything else. He casts a look at Dorn, to whom he casts a sour purse of his lips.

Yvandel hides well his sigh, when he turns his crystal blue eyes on the dwarf. "Master ForgeFire, it would be an honor to relate for you our tale..."

"Like all hell!" DOLO's voice cuts him off, and the puppet moves again. The hand circles wide to paw Yvandels jaw with a soft slap. "You know we're the story tellers, not you. All you're good for is your long legs, and getting us in over our heads."

"Which he's done yet again Dolo. Just look at the expression on sour-pusses face!" VOLO cries, and points a many colored hand at Blondung. Yvandel's eyes widen again, and he snaps his eyes to Blondung with a look of fear.

"Uncalled for Volo." Yvandel admonishes, setteling his puppet into place again on his lap. "I'll be expecting an apology later, but first... the tale?" Yvandel looks up from Dolo and Volo to ensure his audience is suitably settled and attentive.

"Get comfortable ladies and gents, he's long winded and quite dry..." VOLO teases.

Yvandel's spare hand pulls out a journal, in which he'd been meticulously recording their events to date. Not merely a puppeteer, but a true chronicler.

DOLO launches into the tale then, carefule to prefce that he was no ballader nor singer. Volo occasionally breaks the pace with asides, voices, and even sound effects! Remarkably, even to his companions, Volo does a fair approximation of all the voices involved.

"On the way to Kheizar Dalan [Kythorn 27th mid morning]
The Unknowns set out early from Quaervarr to an overcast sky. Soon, all evidence of the logging community was left behind, and the group of them found themselves wandering along the edge of the Moonwood. At one point, they stumbled across a large opening in the ground which disappeared downwards into the darkness. Lucretia seemed keen to explore the hole, despite the large claw marks in the still fresh earth, the strange smell and the distant grunting from the hole. After descending several tens of feet, the unstable nature of the the hole made Lucretia realise there was a very strong possibility of being buried alive, and both he and Merrell, who had surprisingly followed the reckless warrior, exited the hole again and the group continued their journey.

As Yvandel describes the finding of a hole in the ground, some of the audience look on in anticipation expecting perhaps this to be the entrance to Kheizar Dalan, only to be disappointed. One chuckles at the description of Lucretia's common sense overcoming his desire to explore the unknown.

"At the end of the day, they camped again, feeling that they were perhaps quite close to Kheizar Dalan, and set watches, hoping that they would be able to get an early start to Kheizar Dalan, and be able to get there mid-morning." There is a pause then, as Yvandel turns the page for his Puppet.

"Outside Kheizar Dalan [Kythorn 28th mid-morning]
By mid-morning the next day, the group could smell something rotten, and a short while later, the group came across the rotting remains of the barbarian massacre.

There are a lot of puzzled expressions when Yvandel describes the rotting corpses and the scene of the battle outside the entrance to Kheizar Dalan.

"Who were all these dead" interrupts one, and a brief explanation of the group's previous and first visit to Kheizar Dalan, together with the entrapment by the Sky Ponies, the discovery of the orc stronghold and the battle between orcs and barbarians. (OOC: Does anyone mention Merrell's lightning bolt killing Jerek, a leader of the barbarians?)

At first glance, it became quickly apparent that the majority of the bodies that had been there before had disappeared. On the far side of the clearing, amongst the trees, a couple of worm like creatures appeared to be feasting on one of the few remaining corpses. As the archers (Cleo and Serena) dispatched them from afar, Lucretia and Dorn headed off alone to check out the cave. Tracks seemed to indicate that something was probably still in there. As they slowly entered the cave, they could hear something. Cautiously, they crept around the corner, only to be surprised by a glimpse of something large leaping around before a sudden explosion and a cloud of acidic noxious vapours billowed around the pair of them. Stunned and confused, Lucretia staggered around the cave as a gigantic beetle charged around the corner and appeared through the dispersing mist.

The other party members charged towards the cave entrance. Merrell and Blondung fired off some magic missiles, and Larz, less affected by the explosion, swung away with his axe, to limited effect. Lucretia's arm was somewhat mangled by the creature's powerful mandibles, and Milo courageously ran in to try and pull Lucretia to safely. Soon, mainly due to the damage caused by the spell casters, the beetle finally gave up it's struggle for survival and finally collapsed. DOLO pauses again, as he and Volo argue about what precisely Yvandel had been doing with himself during this escapade. After a very brief quarrel, Yvandel gets DOLO back on track:

"The next few hours were spent clearing the cave, both of the beetle carcase and the huge pile of dead barbarian bodies that the beetle had obviously piled up at the very back, blocking the "dwarf door" entrance to Kheizar Dalan in fact. It was a gross, sickening business. Lucretia, having had his wounded arm tended to by one of the clerics, spent some time carving up the bombardier beetle's abdomen - collecting two flasks of liquid. Apparently they were items on his list of spell components that Xara Tantlor of the Silver Scroll had given him to keep an eye out for.

"Finally however, the grisly task was complete, and the dwarf door was finally cleared. The ponies and Thunderbolt were led inside, and a make shift camp was made just inside the entrance of Kheizar Dalan" Another turn of the page follows, and those close can see an accompanying illustration of the mentioned battle. While the sketch is not of astounding quality, it's clear and accurate enough that few cannot recognize it for what it is.

Dragon Ghost! - Inside Kheizar Dalan [Kythorn 28th early afternoon]
Leaving the horses and the majority of their supplies close to the entrance, the group started to explore, using a couple of lanterns and Lucretia's light coin as their light sources. After passing some defensive type areas, the group descended a long stair case. On a short landing, a short passage led off to another "dwarf door" - a door that couldn't be opened by anyone but a dwarf. Behind this door was a natural cavern with a dark still pool in the middle. The group entered, and Lucretia spotted some gold coins scattered along the edges of the pool. Luc approached the edge of the pool, then glanced back at the rest as Dodge barked, his hackles on end. The light in the cave was suddenly tinged slightly red, and without the water rippling, a shimmering red ghost-like dragon's head roses up out of the water above Lucretia. Seeing the other's expressions and the sudden change in light, Lucretia jerked his head back to the pool, and then staggered back several yards in surprise as he saw the apparition looming over him. The Dragon's head seemed to peer at the figures clustered near the entrance, then spoke, the voice deep and sibilant, yet at the same time so quiet it almost sounded as if it was whispering in each of the party's ears. Even those in the corridor heard it DOLO goes silent here, expecting Volo to pick up. Volo doesn't. Dolo slaps Volo, who sputters as though waking up from sleep.

VOLO realizes he's on, and immediately sets in theatrically: ""At lassst! No more orcsss!" it hissed. "Sssammassster did thisss to me He woke me from the sssleep of death and ssstole my body." The dragon roses up above the pond, half-spreading it's incorporeal wings - making it dominate the cavern and appear to almost double in size "I command you now to wreak my revenge!" the ghostly red dragon commanded. It pauses for a moment, looming terrible and magnificent all at once, before folding it's wings and slowly sinking back into the still waters of the pond, removing the red tinge from Lucretia's light coin. VOLO goes silent then, allowing the silence to hang his hands raised menacingly above his head.

As Yvandel theatrically describes the appearance of the Dragon Ghost, there are a lot of puzzled expressions, and several of the dwarves whisper amongst themselves. There is near silence now around the tap room, and there are very few people not listening to Yvandel's story.

The arms slowly drop, and DOLO continues: "After discussing the import of this strange occurrence, the group gathered a few coins, Cleo going as far as getting her boots wet, before they returned to the staircase and continued their descent.

At another short landing, a long corridor led off to the east with the dwarven runes for "Safe Passage to Silverymoon" could be seen on the wall. Continuing down, the group came at last to the bottom of the stairs, the relatively narrow passage opening out into a roughly triangular room with the door in the middle of one of the sides. Opposite the door was what appeared to be a drawbridge, raised, behind which was a portcullis. In front of the drawbridge was a deep looking pit - at least 20 feet across at it's narrowest point. On the two walls either side of the drawbridge, murder holes could be seen high up on the wall. This was obviously a major defensive spot." Another break in the story, as Dolo and Volo argue if it's really defensive or offensive. Yvandel is quick to again interupt them though.

DOLO presses onwards: "Herod invoked a spiritual hammer, which he used to smash one of the chains (and also Luc's grapple, which had been lodged in the second chain), causing the drawbridge to sag on one side a bit. Merrell cast a spell on Cleo, which allowed her to clamber around the walls, bypassing the pit. Once across, she helped affix some ropes to the bottom of the portcullis, such that they travelled up over the top of the raised drawbridge and then across the pit to the others. With a lot of pulling, the drawbridge started to descend slightly, and the portcullis to rise. Cleo slipped under, and started to look for some mechanism to complete the process. A moment later though, and her efforts were thwarted, as the second chain, weakened by Herod's spiritual hammer, and now holding the entire weight of the drawbridge and the portcullis, finally parted. With a huge rattling of chain and a double smash, the drawbridge slammed down across the pit and the portcullis crashed back into place.

Several of the group crossed the ancient crumbling and very much weakened drawbridge, and started to try to lift the portcullis. With the aid of a clerical spell from Larz, giving everyone involved, even Yvandel, the same strength as Lucretia, the portcullis was raised again and held up whilst everyone crossed the crumbling portcullis. Milo, the last, and the heaviest member of the party, was only half-way across when the drawbridge suddenly gave way beneath him, and tumbled into the dark depths. Winded, but luckily tied for safety to a rope, Milo was hauled up the last section and under the portcullis.

Larz set too to dig up a three foot square flagstone, which was finally manhandled into place as a wedge to keep the portcullis partially open.

On the far side of the portcullis, lay an open area, arcing around to either side to give access to the murder holes. Directly ahead however, lay a yawning chasm - a ravine disappearing off to each side, below and above into darkness. About 20 feet away, on the far side of the ravine lay the entrance to another large passage heading off. Crossing the chasm were three iron girders, presumably the remains of some ancient bridge. A few odd bats flew past, indicating that the ravine presumably had access to the open air at some point. Rigging up precautions with the remains of their rope, the group carefully made their way across the chasm, smelling the cold and damp, and if anything, slightly mouldy smelling air of the ravine, which implied that the access was probably a fair distance!

The corridor on the other side led about 20 yards, before ending in a large door. The Runes of Kheizar Dalan blazed into life as soon as Dorn approached it, and it became quickly apparent that this was another door that had been enchanted to be only openable by dwarves." When Dorns' name was mentioned, Volo's hand snaps outwards to indicate Dorn where he sits, DOLO doesn't pause in his tale this time though. " Opening it, the group blinked in the relative brightness of a well lit corridor. To their left was an ancient guard room come barracks room, unlit. Further ahead appeared to be a several other junctions heading off. As they started to explore, the group heard a sudden tapping noise echoing from some distant point. Keeping quiet the group realised that someone or something was approaching. Lucretia, tapped his two Chardaly gems together, invoking the stored invisibility spell, and he disappeared from view. All the remaining party members, bar a reckless Dorn, hid in a side room, which appeared to be some ancient guard barracks of some kind."

Multiple pages have gone by, now revealing a panoramic two-page sized sketch of some of his companions squaring off against dark elves. Another flipped page, and DOLO continues:

"Fighting Drow! - Inside Kheizar Dalan [Kythorn 28th late afternoon]
After a few minutes, the source of the noises came into view. It was a pair of drow, one male and obviously a warrior - the other either a priestess or mage perhaps. They approached the middle of the corridor, before they came suddenly face to face with Dorn. Surprised to see a living dwarf in this place, the pair question Dorn briefly before suddenly the woman cast a holding spell on him. Serena, Herod, Larz, Cleo, and Ceely burst from their hiding place and charged towards the pair of drow. The place plunged into the magical darkness invoked by the drow, and a chaotic battle began. Vaslin, still in the side room, realised from the sounds of the battle that the darkness could only aid their opponents, and after a few moments of indecision, finally called upon Tymora's power, and dispelled the darkness with a spell of Light.

"The battle was bloody and long, the drow warrior using his levitation skill and his superb agility to perform acrobatic feats that would normally be impossible, making him a very difficult opinion. Similarly, the drow woman had levitated to the ceiling, and was casting balls of invisible dark fire down onto Lucretia and Serena. It was at this point when the battle seemed to go downhill, as an undead creature with emaciated flesh, whom the drow called Torus, joined the battle from what was assumed a blocked side passage. Dwarven skeletons and a hunched ghoul also struggled into view from a hidden passage amongst the rubble, only to be kept back by an impressive warding spell cast by the ex-Zhent mage Blondung.

"At last the tide was turned, and finally the two drow and the undead creature were dispatched, but not before Merrell had most of his strength drained out of him, and Serena was knocked out by a poisoned dart from the drow woman. Herod, having worked himself into a berserk battle rage, tackles the remaining undead, whilst Milo turned them back to the crawlspace they had arrived by.

"After the last skeleton remaining had been smashed, a little first aid was administered, some of the priests casting healing spells to bring the most severely wounded back from the brink of death. The group then split, with one half - Lucretia, Dorn, Serena, Larz, Dorn, Blondung, Herod, and Vaslin , leaving Milo, Yvandel, Cleo, Ceely and the still weakened Merrell behind as they followed the fleeing skeletons and crawled through the hidden space in the caved in corridor.

As Yvandel describes the battle with the drow, and then the undead joining it, there are a couple of collective intakes of breath from the listening dwarves. Several turn and spit at the mention of the dark elves, only to do so again when the undead are mentioned.

"Splitting the party - Inside Kheizar Dalan [Kythorn 28th early evening]
Once through, they found themselves in another brightly lit corridor, stretching off into the distance. Doors and a couple of turnings could be seen. At the first junction, another passageway was blocked by a huge lump of stone, which Dorn confirmed was some form of defense mechanism sometimes used in dwarf holds. Further on, through a door that crumbled to dust at their touch, the sound of running water met them, together with a view of what must have once been the dwarves "garden" - growing all sorts of giant mushrooms and similar. Spotting some form of corpse, Larz and Lucretia headed further into the room, and disturbed a giant ant. Retreating to the corridor, the ant was dispatched, but not before Dorn gained a nasty injury to his arm.

"With the sound of more giant ants approaching, the group decided to retreat through the crawlspace again, not wishing to face the creatures in their somewhat weakened state. With Luc covering their retreat, the group finally manage to return.

"Meanwhile, the other's explored a spiral staircase, which had led towards what looked like the entrance to some mine shafts. It is believed that this is where the drow had come from. Returning to the main corridor, a decision about cleaning up the drow corpses was being discussed when the others returned.

One dwarf blurts out something about the fabled mines of Kheizar Dalan, to several nods of agreement from other dwarves.

"Searching some old bedrooms - Inside Kheizar Dalan [Kythorn 28th mid evening]
Having decided to stick together after all, the group started exploring some smaller rooms off the main corridor. For most of these, the doors were all good solid ancient ironwood that had lived up to it's reputation, and required a good shove to open them. Ceely found an ornate sealed flash in the first room. Herod came away with a set of adamantite metal working tools, Dorn took charge of a large gallon sized glazed pottery flask of what was appeared to be ancient dwarven spirits - a real find for him!" Though DOLO doesn't pause, a knowing snicker from Volo is heard. "Serena found what appeared to be a fresh clean-shaven dwarven corpse in a traditional dwarven coffin. The corpse had a dagger in it's heart, with the blood still wet. There must have been some form of stasis spell cast on the coffin to keep the corpse fresh."

As Yvandel tells of the finding of the traditional dwarven coffin, with its still fresh corpse, there is another stir amongst the listening dwarves. Some of them scowl a little at the idea of the coffin having been opened, but others seem less concerned, the understanding of the mystery around Kheizar Dalan's disappearance being more important.

"Inside the cloak, which showed a marking Larz identified as similar to a modern day dwarven courier guild, Serena found a note which when translated read as follows:

"Translation from Ancient Dwarvish - Note on Dead Dwarven Courier in Coffin

"SLAYED HAS BEEN DORAB 'FASTNESS' JADLON, RESTING LOCALLY. REMAINS TO SAFEGUARD, COFFBOX LENT HAS BEEN BRIEFLY FOR MITHRAL HALL CONVEYANCE AND REVIVAL ANON. WEIGHTY SUBSTANTIATION HAS HE ABOUT THE VERACITY OF KHEIZAR DALAN MASTER WEAPONSMITH ALSO ROSE FORGE.

"TWISTED IS MINDS HERE FROM MANIFESTATION OF DARK FORCES. UNDERCOVER COMPROMISED MAY BE. ATTEMPT TO SMUGGLE COFFBOX AMID NEXT SHIPMENT.

X.D."

"A discussion took place as to the possible meaning and fate that had befallen this poor dwarf. From a mark on the dwarves' cloak, Larz suggested that the dwarf had been of a courier guild.

The telling of Yvandel's story is interrupted here by an outbreak of lively and loud discussion over what this could mean - mostly in dwarvish. It is several minutes before Sharn manages to restore enough order for Yvandel, or at least his puppets to continue the story.

"Shortly after this some of the other members of the group explored a few of the other rooms in the corridor. In one, another dead dwarf was found, though this one was laid out in state on the remains of it's bed, it's body dry and desiccated. The group, tired and still somewhat injured from the days events, decided that they would retreat back up to where they had left the horses, and rest for the night.

"At the pool - Inside Kheizar Dalan [Kythorn 28th late evening]
The return journey was difficult, an attack by stirge first, and then Vaslin very nearly falling when crossing the improvised rope bridge across where the drawbridge used to be. A sling for Dodge the dog was created and with much barking and whining, he was transported across. Upon returning to the "camp" the group began to relax a little, drinking a little wine, before some of them decided to go have a swim in the pool where they had seen the ghostly apparition of the red dragon. The water was cold, but this did not deter several stripping off their clothes and swimming in the waters." A whistle from Volo cuts into Dorns' description... but again Dorn slows not for such distractions! " At the deepest point of the pool, a chest was found with more gold coins spilling from it. When it was opened however, it turned out to have a rotting head in it -which floated to the surface - and two animated hands, which attacked those swimming. Cold, tired and hurting the group finally reassembled back with the horses, and rested for the night.

Yvandel describes the treasure hunting in the pool - which sparks another brief interruption - firstly questions on the dragon ghost mentioned earlier, and then on the undead animated hands and how they might have got there. Again, after Sharn, who seems to hold some degree of respect amongst the dwarven community, manages to quieten everyone down, with many an apology from the dwarves to Yvandel, the puppeteer is allowed to continue.

"Returning to the depths - Inside Kheizar Dalan [Kythorn 29th morning]
The next morning, whilst priests and mages prayed and studied respectively, the fighters went outside into the daylight to fetch some wood. The stink of the rotting corpses outside was still nauseous, and the group hurried to their work, chopping several 10' long tree trunks with which to construct a safer way of crossing the pit. Shortly afterwards, after tending to the horses, the group descended again to the depths of Kheizar Dalan, returning the the area with the bedrooms. They explored several more rooms - uncovering a number of unusual objects, including a life size metallic abstract sculpture of a dwarven woman, several hundred gold pieces in a trapped chest<SCENE>, a magic carpet (not flying) and dwarven priest scrolls from a trapped drawer. The last door to be opened led to a couple of latrines.

Unfortunately, Vaslin decided it would be good to drop a torch down the deep hole, and somehow managed to ignite some ancient pocket of gas or something - as there was a distant explosion and a back draft of flame that blasted out of the latrines, burning some of the party. The group decided to return to their camp in case the drow came to investigate." Surprise surprise, Volo with a loud explosion-like noise and flailing of the arms.

"When the group (carrying the loot found so far) got back to the ravine, they discovered that the dwarven body had been removed from the casket. Also, their carefully constructed rope bridge had been cut.

Yvandel's audience listen more quietly to his story under the stern eye of Sharn, but even he lets loose an oath when the story turns to the disappearance of the body and the sabotage of the rope bridge, cursing the drow as the assumed villains of the deed.

Ceely found some hidden rungs, leading down and sideways into the ravine, but came back before exploring further.

"After considering the construction of a more solid bridge, the group re-raised the portcullis, jamming it open with the now empty lead built dwarven casket. They then rebuilt the rope bridge, and most of the group returned to the camp to dump the loot gained so far. On return, the reformed group briefly discussed what to do. Vaslin, with invisibility cast upon her by Yvandel, followed the hand-holds whilst most of the rest of the group went through to the Mushroom Farm room. It was confirmed that the hand-holds led there. This must have been where their mysterious rope bridge cutter and body snatcher had come from.

"The rejoined group continued exploring, the invisible Vaslin scouting ahead. Soon, dwarven skeletal warriors were encountered, and a pitched battle started. As it continued, the noise brought more undead- including a figure the group thought they had dispatched already - Torus - the undead they had supposedly killed earlier. Things went from bad to worse, as Merrell was charmed by the undead leader, stabbed Cleo and zapped Blondung with a lightning bolt from the bone wand.

Sharn's and other dwarves jaws drop as they hear of the reappearance of the undead Torus, having already heard of his dispatch. As Yvandel describes the battle and how it very nearly went terribly wrong for them when Merrell fell under the undead's charm, all eyes turn to half-elven book worm for a moment - especially Blondung's - the ex-Zhent mage scowling as deeply as he ever had at the painful memory.

Milo started to turn Torus, but then attacked instead with his flaming sword as Yvandel doused Torus with oil. But the undead had some form of protection against fire, and pulled Milo close, burning him and draining him at the same time. A ghoul also attacked Milo, paralyzing him and starting to chew on his ankle. A finger of fire from a barely alive Blondung dispatched the ghoul, and Merrell was taken down by a combination of Yvandel and Dodger and finally the flat of Dorn's axe. Vaslin turned Torus at the last moment, who fled, along with some remaining skeletons and zombies, into the swirling dust cloud caused by a summoned dust devil.

"The group beat a hasty retreat in the opposite direction, escaping back to the portcullis area, where they had a brief rest. Some healing took place, along with some relearning of spells, before the group, with some serious reservations, decided to return to finish the job."

Another sketch, this one a portrait of Torus (the name written in spidery script beneath it).

"Second attempt to defeat Torus - Inside Kheizar Dalan [Kythorn 29th early evening]"

As DOLO reads the title to the next section, Yvandels spare hand traces a fes sigils in the air. A small nest of light meshes around, a mish-mash of colors finally setteling into an illusory play of the scene and the battle as it unfolds.

With the addition of an illusion, the audience become significantly more impressed with the story-telling, and even those few who hadn't been listening in, draw nearer and start to pay attention. Concentrating on both illusion and the story telling, Yvandel's ventriloquism loses a little of its polish, but as all eyes are on the conjured images, nobody really notices. Even Blondung watches the mini scene unfold with fascination.

"Things didn't get off to a good start. Crawling through the crawlspace, Larz was attacked from behind by an undead Quaggoth. As the other's struggled out of the small opening, a couple of skeletons also attacked. Finally, Herod managed to turn them, and the wounded quaggoth ran off down the corridor. The group re-assembled their ranks, and started cautiously down the corridor, checking each room thoroughly before moving on. When they reached the corner where they had had the last battle with Torus, they spotted a skeleton waiting at the far end of the corridor. Seeing the party, the skeleton pulled a stopper out of a flask it was holding, and was suddenly obscured by a large fog cloud, that rolled down the corridor towards them. As Blondung blasted a lightning bolt down the corridor, Herod summoned a dust devil to push the fog back, which appeared to work, pushing the fog back and making it denser. Lucretia and Merrell charged after the dust devil in a reckless attempt to get to the flask and re-stopper it.

"Unfortunately, the dust devil was destroyed and the fog almost instantly filled the corridor, plunging everyone into virtually zero viability. Somewhat split up, the party called to each other and managed to gather most of them together on a rescue mission for Lucretia and Merrell. Meanwhile, Merrell miraculously managed to find the flask, and stoppers it with his thumb as he scrambled injured away from the undead The quaggoth roars in the fog, and after yelling a warning, Blondung lets rip with another pair of lightning bolts, which just about clear the corridor of undead. Meanwhile Torus, who had been following the party, attacked Yvandel and Milo, before killing Vaslin. Larz, hearing Milo's warning, pulled Cleo with him, and they charged back up the corridor in the fog till they came across Torus and amazingly the barbarian woman managed to down the undead with a critical blow.

All heads turn and look to Vaslin when Yvandel describes, somewhat matter of factly, the Luckpriestess's death at the hands of Torus. They then turn a respectful gaze to Cleo as her part in defeating Torus is retold. The Unknowns can see the questions begging to be asked in most of the on-looker's eyes.

As the party regrouped, they retreated, dragging Torus's corpse to where the fog was thinner, before realising that Vaslin was missing. Performing a quick sweep of the corridor, they came across her dead body, and also brought it back. Torus's body was completely destroyed, once Blondung had found a magical broach pinned into the flesh of Torus's chest and removed it. Luc examined the broach and..." Yvandel clears his throat, and Dolo stutters. The illusion fizzles away right before Luc's hand touched the broach.

VOLO surprisingly tactful: "... Luc learned a very valuable lesson."

The onlookers laugh, assuming a joke is being made, their imaginations filling in what Lucretia might have learnt. The Unknowns, knowing more about the nature of the broach, its evil connections and where it currently resides - i,e, embedded in the flesh of Lucretia's chest - do not.

Dolo laughs, and then resumes his tale: "The group returned to their base camp and cleaned up before resting.

"One last search - Inside Kheizar Dalan [Kythorn 30th]
Somewhat refreshed, the group prepared for a final investigation into Kheizar Dalan before starting the journey back to Silverymoon. It was not to prove so easy though. Making their way back down the stairs, across the bridges, through the crawl-space and around the corridors, they cleared one last room (finding the body of the dwarf from the casket again) found themselves facing the doors to a temple. Larz and Dorn were so incensed by the obvious desecration, that they charged towards the temple. Inside were numerous skeletons, zombies and one ghoul. A fierce battle ensured, during which four angry and very much alive quaggoths burst up from a trap-door on which some zombies had been previously standing.

Yvandel describes the desecrated temple and there are several scowls and muttered curses at the sacrilege and the heavy undead presence. As he goes on to describe another battle, the dwarves look at the party with increasing respect, which only grows as they describe how they manage to find the secret route past the defense blocks and Larz and Dorn experiencing a manifestation from Clangeddin. At this there is a lot of back-slapping for Dorn and Larz and a series of toasts that interrupts the story for several minutes.

"Yvandel was taken to the brink of death, but brought back by Milo, and the group managed to defeat all the creatures without any fatalities of their own. After the battle, the group paused to eat some bland food that Herod prayed for, before they quickly explored the crypts below the temple, finding them pretty much empty.

"Exiting the temple, they looked at another large block of stone, blocking what seemed like the other end of the corridor which they had seen previously blocked in the same way. After some discussion and experimentation about trying to get past the block, Dorn finally concluded that their must be a secret passage past the blocks - if only to get to the activation mechanisms for the defense system. As the party set to looking for such a secret, Larz and Dorn went back into the crypts to search there. Merrell and Yvandel rested in the temple, chatting.

"Down in the crypts, Dorn found a secret compartment behind a particular crypt, and with Larz to witness, there was a manifestation of Clanggeddin, indicating he should take up a battle axe he found there." The next page shows a skets of Dorn brandishing proudly the axe in question... Larz and a spectral dwarf-shaped person watching in the background.

"Meanwhile, Lucretia found the secret passage they had been searching for - in the latrines near the accommodation section. The group re-united and Dorn and Larz examined the narrow tunnels more carefully, looking for possible traps. Reaching a locked iron bound door he couldn't open, the two dwarves returned to the group above, and Blondung volunteered that he had a spell that should be able to open the door - but that he needed rest before he could learn and cast it.

"The group decided to split - Herod, Larz, Dorn and Serena went back to the temple to help "clean it up". The others returned up the stairs to the pool room, where Ceely, Cleo and Lucretia stripped off to dive for the gold - with a little help from a water breathing spell from Blondung. Defeating the two crawling claws that were still in the water, they managed to bring pretty much all the gold up to the surface, almost succumbing to hypothermia in the process. Milo helped out with some herbs and finally they warmed up.

As Yvandel goes on to describe the "clean up" of the temple, many of the dwarves nod in appreciation of this respectful gesture. At the news of the others stripping off and diving for gold, several of the human on-lookers grin in their own appreciation of the mental images.

"Eventually, the whole group re-united back at the camp - fast running out of supplies - both for themselves and their mounts.

"Past the Defensive Blocks - Inside Kheizar Dalan [Flamerule 1st morning]
In the morning, the group prepared themselves for "just one more" delve into the depths of Kheizar Dalan. Blondung spent time ensuring that he had learnt a spell to open locked doors, and the priests learned some more healing spells amongst others. After all their preparations, the party made their way back down the staircases, over their make-shift bridges, through the dwarf door and to the latrines. Here Blondung climbed down into the latrine and made his way through the narrow crawlways to the locked door. Casting his spell, the iron bound door burst open, and he made his way through, finding himself in the passage between the two defensive blocks. The rest of the party made their way through, Cleo having to leave Dodge behind and using her enchanted sword to light her way as she crawled, somewhat terrified through the narrow enclosed passage ways.

"Once regrouped on the other side, the party started to make their way down a wide staircase. About half-way down, a large warning rune appeared infront of them, and suspecting a trap, Larz cast a detect traps spell. Detecting some form of magically triggered pit trap, it was decided that Dorn would be tied to a rope and he would go ahead to trigger the trap whilst the party waited above. Sure enough, Dorn disappeared from sight as a pit opened up under him, though to everyone else, it looked simply as if he disappeared through the stairs, as an illusion made it look like the stairs hadn't moved. Dorn, tied to the rope, narrowly missed the nasty stakes at the bottom.

"Dorn made his way past the trap and to the landing below, where he entered a guard room and found a large lever on the wall. Pulling it, there was a loud grinding noise, and the trap reset itself, though it jammed slightly down from the level of the illusionary staircase. The others joined Dorn on the landing, and entered the guard room. In the room, there were four dead dwarves. One of them had engraved the following message on a stone tablet in front of him:

"Translation from Ancient Dwarvish - message left by doomed dwarves:
“We have waited for 4 days and it truly appears bleak. We have heard nothing since the sounds of combat in the first hour after the alarms were set, the blocks dropped and the doors sealed. We have no idea what has transpired or is transpiring, but only fear that the Forge has been breached. It is only from that direction that we heard combat and the heart-wrenching sounds of our dwarven comrades dying what must have been horrible deaths. May Moradin receive their and our valiant souls.”

As Yvandel starts to relate the penetration of the inner area of Kheizar Dalan and the descovery of some of the clues to its downfall, rapt attention from the listening dwarves is regained.

"One of the dwarves had some chainmail which appeared to have survived the ravages of time. Serena thought it might fit her, but it was clear it was sized for a dwarf only. Larz agreed to try it on at a later time, and it was put neatly on the stairs to collect later.. Continuing to explore, the room opposite turned out to be an armoury, and there were several suits of dwarven armour and lots of cobweb covered weapons. Larz accidentally opened a secret compartment, finding some scrolls. Yvandel, upon someone else's suggestion, cast a detect magic spell. Whilst it was still active, he tore off down the stairs - a large square spiral going steadily down, pausing at each landing to see if he could detect any magicical traps. The group, somewhat surprised by this somewhat uncharacteristic action, tagged along. Soon his spell had expired however, and the group made their way down the rest of the stairs somewhat more cautiously. A crack in the wall had let water in, and soon they were splashing down slippery steps trying to avoid a nasty tumble." DOLO pauses of his own accord, and makes a comment about Yvandel ignoring common sense, and this becoming an uncomfortably common habit of late. Volo agrees, Yvandel snorts, then DOLO continues:

"Finally, after many many flights of stairs, the group came across a flooded landing, on which was a stone door with an inscription:

"Translation from Ancient Dwarvish - The riddle on first door.
I am the property of a powerful dwarf, clothed in red,
Hard and steep-cheeked, my place was once
That of dark places; now I am the remnant of hostilities,
Of fire and file, firmly confined,
Decorated with wires. Sometimes he weeps
Because of my grasp, he who bears gold,
When I, adorned with rings, shall ravage."

Cleo took off her armour and stepped into the cold water to look around the corner, where she saw that the corridor was blocked by another defensive block. The group spent some time trying to figure out the answer to the riddle, Lucretia also stepping into the waist high water to examine the door closer. Eventually, Herod suggests the working solution to the riddle - "sword", and as Larz utters the dwarven translation, the door rappidly rises, causing the water to drain away. Cleo manages to get out of the way, but Lucretia is swept under the rising door, and nearly into an abyss beyond.

Several of the older dwarves smile and nod, appreciating the use of a riddle as a way to lock a door. As the answer to the riddle is revealed, there is a roar of approval for it, only to be replaced by a gasp as Yvandel continues to describe the knock-on effect of the water draining away.

Once the water has nearly drained, the group hurry through the opened door to see Lucretia hanging off the edge of a narrow bridge that spans a bottomless looking pit. Serena rushes over and helps him back onto the relative safety of the bridge and the group examine the new stone door they were faced with. This had a simpler message engraved on it:

Translation from Ancient Dwarvish - Message on second door
"Sons of Dalan, smiths of virtue,
enter without fear. Others turn back now!"

"This door didn't seem to need a riddle answer to open it, and once through the group entered a short corridor leading to an open area. Cobweb covered dwarven corpses littered the place, all showing marks of being slaughtered by edged weapons. Three axes, a short sword and two large almost double handed swords suddenly rose into the air and started to attack them. Defending themselves as best they could, the party fought back at the flying weapons with their own weapons and spells. Finally, after a vicious battle, they managed to destroy them. Moving into the open area beyond, Larz opened a still intact and sanctified shrine to Dumathoin, and the group examined a hatch in the ground as well as a couple of small rooms which had once been used as rooms to defend the bridge. The corridors beckoned onwards, and a short distance further on, the group found what they had been looking for. The Rose Forge."

Yet another sketch to break up Yvandels script.

"The Rose Forge - Inside Kheizar Dalan [Flamerule 1st afternoon]
The forge itself was beautiful to look at as the group looked down from the entrance on a balcony above. Suits of armour and weapons lined the walls, 3 on the balcony and 3 down on the ground floor. Suspecting a trap, Serena suggested that they stand in front of each suit of armour and remove their weapons before the suits animated. As soon as Lucretia's foot touched the ground floor however, the suits animated, and only the three on the balcony were successfully disarmed. A severe battle ensued, and it was a miracle that no-one died, though several were brought close. After the battle, Yvandel did a detect magic spell, and identified that the forge itself had some form of elemental link - possibly a gate to the plane of fire deep within it, and also that there was some source of magic hidden behind a symbol of Dumathoin on the wall under the balcony. He also went back upstairs to find the source of a couple of other magical emanations, accompanied by Cleo, returning with an enchanted forge hammer, three pea sized glow stones, and a copy of the last engraved words of an ancient long dead dwarf:

As Yvandel describes the weapons rising up and attacking there are shocked expressions from the listening dwarves, even incredulous ones. One dwarf mutters something about the place being cursed. In silence the audience listen to the description of the Rose Forge, and the battle against the animated armour and weapons.

"Translation from Ancient Dwarvish - engraving on the wall by doomed dwarf

"Our very constructs have risen up against us and attacked in earnest. All of my comrades have fallen, but I am unable to escape this prison. Even now the weapons hammer away at the door and I fear my end draws near. Only now do I see how foolish we have become and that we were the forgers of our own doom. We have been beguiled by Garthgau and his promises of ever more powerful creations, and there is an evil within the forge he created that we did not see before. I beg forgiveness of ye, Silent Keeper, though I deserve it not."

The group looked again at the forge, and noted something no-one had spotted before - a repeating pattern on the forge that looked somewhat like a broken horn. Going back over old memories, the group came to the conclusion that the corruption of the forgre, perhaps even the original maker of the forge, was either a follower of the power DelRoy Harpel had mentioned - Gargauth, or Gargauth himself. After a brief rest to allow Milo to recover, the group climbed the stairs all the way back to their camp, and rested for their last night in Kheizar Dalan.

DOLO finally shuts up, and silence hangs.

At this final quotation and the following words from Yvandel, the faces of the dwarves remain grave and solemn, and for several moments silence reigns.

"Gargath eh?" says Sharn eventually. "Perhaps once I have explained the legend, then this will all make more sense."

Holding his hands up for silence, he begins his own tale, stepping up again onto a chair so all can see him better.

"Let me start by telling you the history of Khiezar Dalan, or at least that which is known about its history."

"Somewhere about minus 900 DR, a vein of iron was discovered beneath what was known then as the Dharvudd (now called the Moonwood) and was mined by an honorable clan of dwarves from a nearby dwarven city within the Nether Mountains." At this, several of the dwarves give a brief cheer - it is obvious he is referring to Citadel Felbarr. "Within 2 years, the vein proved to be greater then anticipated and the dwarven miners moved their families to the site, constructing a small keep within the bedrock under the ground."

Sharn, who is nowhere near as good a story teller as Yvandel, clasps his hands behind his back, and, still standing on a chair, continues to speak. "Well, let me see, about 150 years later, somewhere around minus 750 DR, other metals were discovered, deeper within the ground, as well as a large deposit of coal to the north. Ideal components for smithy work eh?! Soon, master smiths come to the area to test their meddle at the Forge Meets held within the keep’s halls."

He turns as if he was about to pace up and down, remembers he is on a stool, overbalances slighty but manages to recover. Coughing in embarrasement he continues.

"Over the next few hundred years, the reputation of Kheizar Dalan for began to grow as a prolific producer of good quality metalwork, their work often winning prices in the annual Blade Moot at midsummer. But then the weapons and armour suddenly went up a notch, and clearly outshone dwarves' work from elsewhere."

"Apparently around this time a young master weaponsmith had joined the clan, though his name and origins have been lost in the mists of time. The laird at the time had taken him in based on the quality of the weapons he had shown at the Blade Moot, and had allowed the dwarf to build a special forge with which a better quality weapon could be produced."

Sharn looks down at those around him and scratches at his beard for a moment. "Certainly the tales tell of the quality of the weapons coming out of Kheizar Dalan at that time were beyond compare to others. But the supply dwindled and then stopped, and the dwarves of Kheizar Dalan stopped attending the Blade Moots, and in fact stopped visiting with other dwarves at all, becoming possessive over their special forge and their superior quality weapons. Those who tried to visit Kheizar Dalan were turned away, or simply never returned." He shakes his head sadly.

"In time, the other people’s of the North only spoke of Khiezar Dalan in fear or in pity. It was not long before their very location left the maps and few even knew where they existed. Only the occasional group of traders would emerge from the keep to obtain mithril or some other needed metal, and they never spoke much, slowly causing even the memory of the keep to fade over the centuries. Finally, the trading caravans even ceased and no word was heard from Khiezar Dalan again."

He pauses in silence for a moment before continuing. "The dwarves of Felbar remember the name of course, since it is our great ancestors who founded the hold. The location may have been lost over the years due to the lack of contact, but the ancient history and its reputation for the highest quality weapons remained."

He frowns. "I wonder... that evil power you mentioned at teh end of yer tale..." he mouths 'Gargauth'. "...I wonder if perhaps he was the young master weaponsmith who built the forge - corrupting the community from within."

"So, what brings adventurer's like ye t' Citadel Felbar?" asks one of the other dwarves as the crowd begins to disperse. He eyes Yvandel from across the table, and nods his head towards Yvandel's hands. "Summat t'do with them marks yer all bear?" he asks, raising his eyebrows questioningly, his expression clearly hoping not.