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Previously on Rime of the Frostmaiden
Starring:
Valravn, level 5 Eladrin Bard of Eloquence
Fray, level 5 Halfling Barbarian of the Beast
Celeste, level 5 Half-orc Sun Soul Monk
Edmond, Level 5 Human Alchemist Artificer
Thimbleweed, level 5 Gnome Swarmkeeper Ranger
After a brief battle in the interrogation chamber, the party discovers just how close Xardarok is to fulfilling his grand plans, and how little time they have to act.
The surprise round against the pair of Mind Masters in the interrogation chamber (X34) isn’t terribly impressive, with lots of missed attacks for the players and successful saves for the duergar. One of them turns invisible, but Valravn is able to cast Dispel Magic, then Thimbleweed (played by Chris/Valravn) kills both of them with back-to-back double crits!
To the party’s dismay, Captain Nefrun is ungrateful for the rescue. Despite the false accusation and torture, she’s still loyal to Xardarok, and shocked to find “Durth” conspiring with surfacers. After trading some venomous barbs, Edmond grants her a swift death.
The Marshals continue through the door to the north, into a T-intersection. Far to the north they can see light from a lounge area at the end of the hall, with multiple doors and paths along the hallway.
The first juncture leads up some stairs into a manned watchtower overlooking the main floor of the forge (X24-26). Over a dozen duergar are gathered here, lit by lava spilling from the forge in the middle. To the south, the great Chardalyn Dragon rests on a large platform as Xardarok Sunblight, clan leader and warlord, addresses the crowd with a speech about how their time to claim the surface world has finally arrived.
Before activating the dragon, Xardarok wants to bless it with the blood of the captured mind flayer. Uh oh — the party freed F’yorl last session! As Xardarok sends some quaggoths to fetch the creature, the party must quickly devise a plan.
“Devising a plan” isn’t exactly their strong suit, however. Edmond, still magically disguised as Durth, strides up to the watchtower, while the rest of the party hustles back through the secret door in the interrogation chamber, arriving back in the temple (X29) just as the two quaggoths arrive to see the missing mind flayer.
Unfortunately for the party, the duergar forewoman is also right there, having opened the door. Now the party is in danger of triggering the entire duergar forge. Thimbleweed (played by Chris/Valravn) attempts to shoot the doors closed with his arrows, but is only partially successful.
Edmond seizes the opportunity to provide a grand distraction. He brazenly addresses his “father,” Xardarok. As he hears the sounds of violence coming from the temple (and Fray’s maniacal rage-laughter), he changes gears and openly challenges the warlord for the throne, gambling that there are enough duergar loyal to Grandolpha, the visiting leader of another clan (and whom Xardarok hopes to wed), to stage an uprising.
He’s correct, though his sedition earns him a blast from Xardarok’s chardalyn gauntlet — critical hit! The duergar on the watchtower turn their weapons on Edmond-Durth. But one of them shouts in agreement, and many other duergar shout in kind, weapons drawing. The revolution is on!
In the temple, the other four party members engage with a pair of quaggoth searching for the missing mind flayer. Fray rages and attacks, along with Celeste’s fury of blows (played by Heather/Fray). Valravn Misty Steps near the doors and shuts them closed, hoping to stave off the larger war that’s unfolding in the forge. Thanks to a slew of additional crits, the quaggoths are quickly slain, and Valravn braces the doors for any incoming reinforcements.
In the watchtower, Edmond uses his Alchemy-telekinesis cantrip to yeet the two hostile duergar off the watchtower, plunging them 20 feet onto the forge floor, before retreating back to the hallway, out of sight of Xardarok’s nasty gauntlet-beams.
The sounds of battle ring out from the forge as Xardarok barks at the rest of the quaggoths to put down the rebellion, while the forewoman, Thontara, shouts about the missing mind flayer and trouble in the temple.
It’s absolute chaos, and it’s only just beginning.
No D&D for the next two weeks. Have a safe and happy holiday, and we’ll see you next year!
MVPC – Edmond
Post-session live discussion:
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