Hogar's Journal (Translated from Giant)
Year 781 of the founding of the City
9th Day of Meloramensis – Part I
Thunderspire Mountain – En Route to the Seven Pillared Hall
As we returned from fetching the stray humans to Mirklemoor's chambers Rodney presented me with an amulet and the slavemaster's flame enchanted maul. As no-one else had use for them he offered to transfer the enchantment from the maul to my bow and let me keep the amulet. I'm starting to like that mage.
None of the others seem to know how to find north on a map so it was up to me to lead us home. This wouldn't normally be a problem but it's very difficult to navigate when people continually wander off ahead of you. The dwarf marched off into the distance as soon as we had left the reservoir, he is clearly feeling much better.
The tunnel that the humans pointed out to us was well travelled and lit at regular intervals by well maintained torches. For several hours all was well as we followed the tunnel through countless junctions. After a while the torches ran out and the natural gloom of the caverns closed in around us.
The cave widened out into a large chamber. In the gloom I could make out numerous skeletons scattered about the floor, some dwarven, some human. They all seemed to have collapsed straight down from a standing position as though their legs had suddenly failed them.
At the far end of the room was a corridor just wide enough to allow us to move along it two abreast. As we moved closer I noticed what appeared to be three skeletons floating in mid air a few feet into the passage. Eligos and Minron led the way as we moved up to investigate.
Before we knew what was happening Eligos and Minron were engulfed in some sort of gelatinous fluid that caused their skin to sizzle and blister. Suddenly three wraiths emerged from the cube to viciously attack Glen and Vic whilst the cube carried Eligos and Minron further into the corridor.
The wraiths flitted in and around the rest of us, disappearing through the walls of the corridor only to reappear somewhere else entirely. Rarely did they remain in one place long enough for us to strike them. Even when someone did manage to land a blow it had little effect on their insubstantial forms.
Rodney raised his arms above his head and in response an imp materialised behind the cube, it struck the cube with a bolt of energy and then vanished into thin air. In response the cube moved towards us once again as the wraiths continued to menace us from the rear. Gradually the wraiths and the cube were combining to force us all into an ever decreasing space.
Unable to use my bow in such cramped conditions I drew my sword to fend off our assailants whilst trying to manoeuvre myself into a position where I could shoot effectively. My efforts were greatly aided by Glen who dropped himself into a ready stance and slammed the butt of his ugrosh into the floor. By some power unknown to me the wraiths and the cube were all drawn to him to be met by the vicious welcome of his axe blade.
Glen's attack bought Minron the distraction he needed to escape the cube's hold. A sound akin to the gurgle of a freshly drained ale barrel announced the emergence of the minotaur from the side of the cube. He landed on his hands and knees with a slap as acidic ooze dripped from every inch of his body, fizzing and popping on the flagstones as it landed.
The minotaur hauled himself to his feet and roared at the cube. As he did so lightning streaked forth from his open maw. The bolt passed through everything in the corridor, living or dead before coalescing into one fearsome bolt which slammed into the cube invoking a thunderclap that left all other sound superfluous. The impact of the electricity reverberated through the cube and plumes of steam rose gently from its sizzling form.
Glen continued his relentless pursuit of the wraiths until, faced with the deadly onslaught of his blade they retreated behind the cube. Rodney took advantage of the close proximity of our assailants and engulfed all of them in a jet of flame. The cube was largely unaffected by the flames and responded by engulfing the unfortunate mage.
Rodney's discomfort was not to last long however. The retreat of the wraiths had bought me enough space to draw my bow. I wasted no time in sending a shaft into the cube. The effect was devastating. As the arrow buried itself in the gelatinous mass the cube solidified as if frozen and then shattered into countless tiny fragments.
Rodney and Eligos fell to the ground amidst the shower of crystallised acid and immediately leapt to their feet to join in the attack on the wraiths. Partially insubstantial as they were the wraiths were still fighting a losing battle as the combined might of the party wore them down. The fight was brought to a conclusion as Rodney encased all three of them in solid ice. Blade, bow and magic bolt them finished them off. As their icy shells fractured feint wisps of smoke floated towards the ceiling.
As the smoky forms passed through the roof of the passage a feint voice came to us as though carried on a breeze;
"Thank you".
Rodney later informed me that the wraiths were the souls of the cubes previous victims trapped inside their killer and driven insane over time.
Having survived our detour and ambush we are now ready to retrace our steps and find our way to the Seven Pillared Hall. We should be fine, as I keep telling Glen, I'm pretty sure I know where I went wrong last time.
10th Day of Meloramensis – Part I
Thunderspire Mountain – The Seven Pillared Hall
True to my word I led us back to the hall without further incident. As we emerged from the tunnels into the hall I soon started to notice people following us from a wary distance. Mostly children, the figures would flicker in and out of my peripheral vision, disappearing behind buildings only for heads to poke out and peer at us curiously.
During our journey through the streets the number of people tracking our movements began to grow. Before long there were too many of them to be able to effectively mask their presence and even Vicreal noticed that something unusual was going on. By the time we got back to the shop there was something of a crowd behind us. Though they were not acting in a threatening manner their presence was still somewhat disturbing. We entered the shop to find an animated Charrak pacing up and down, beside himself with worry.
"Thank heavens you're back". He squeaked. "Brugg is threatening to take away our stock."
"Why would he take away our stock?" I asked
"He says we owe him money." The diminutive kobold wrung his hands in anguish.
"Owe him money?" Asked Glen. "In what way do we owe him money?"
"Taxes! Taxes! Oh!" He wailed. "He going to close us down! I'll be all on my own with nowhere to go."
Eligos attempted to calm Charrak whilst the rest of us tried to infer exactly what was going on. It was all too obvious when you come to think about it. Despicable an activity though it is the slave trade is lucrative and it had made the Bloodreavers rich. Not wanting to risk coming to the attention of those enforcing the law in the hall and the inevitable clampdown that would follow, they had paid their taxes in full and on time without fuss or complaint. Their activity was also therefore lucrative for Brugg and his masters and would remain so as long as the Bloodreavers were left in peace. Us shutting the slavers down had cost Brugg and his paymasters substantial sums of money. They either didn't know or didn't care about the nature of the business that had been shut down in the process.
This injustice sent Minron into a rage. He became so agitated that we had to physically restrain him to stop him marching out of the shop and confronting Brugg. We managed to placate the minotaur enough to at least stay in the shop with us whilst we discussed what to do. The conversation did not last long before Brugg himself, doubtless alerted to our return by the crowd outside, stooped under the lintel to enter the shop.
"So." He rumbled. "The brave boys and girls have returned from their adventures having changed life in the mountain forever and leaving poor old Brugg out of pocket." All was silent for a moment before Vic flashed one of his friendliest smiles and addressed the ogre.
"We also rescued several people from a life of slavery and removed the threat of enslavement for many others." He pointed out.
"True enough." Brugg conceded, folding his arms across his chest. "And that gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside, it really does but money is money and those grey dwarves were good customers, worth a lot to me."
As Brugg finished his sentence Minron snorted loudly, bared his teeth and strode up to the ogre. Even at over seven feet in height the minotaur was a clear foot shorter than the ogre. Nevertheless he butted up against the tax collector and growled his challenge;
"Those customers raised undead abominations to guard their chattel. They were in league with an active death cult of Orcus. They were enemies of the Imperium, condemned to death for their actions by the holy word of the Raven Queen. A sentence that must be shared by any who stand with them against the balance of life and death."
Brugg, clearly intimidated by the aggression of the minotaur took half a step backwards and began to glance about as though considering calling for backup. Vic and I quickly stepped between the two beasts, a fight over this would serve no-one's interests. Vic assured him that we have no intention of closing down the shop and would of course continue to make contributions to the authorities in the hall. The ogre relaxed and turned back to address the half-elf.
"It's good to hear some sense from the more rational amongst you. There is still the question of arrears however. This shop owes me five hundred gold pieces".
Rodney stepped forward before Minron could lose his temper again.
"We don't have that sort of coin but I'm sure a business relationship with us could prove just as profitable as your previous one with the duergar. For example I can enchant some of your equipment if you bring me the materials I need".
Rodneys suggestion was followed by a number of suggestions from the rest of us as to how we could be of assistance to Brugg and his cohorts. Including guiding them to previously unexplored sections of the labyrinth (sections that are sure to be teeming with valuable artefacts) and the provision of healing if required. I think Minron immediately regretted the latter offer when the ogre proceeded to drop his breeches and show him a boil on his backside.
Glen came up with the idea that we continue the discussion at the Halfmoon Inn. Leaving Charrack to mind the shop we decamped to the Inn. Brugg immediately showed an interest in Eligos which, to my utter amazement she seemed to reciprocate. Glen turned out to be something of a competitive drunk and insisted on matching the ogre pint for pint despite being only a quarter of his size. Increasingly rowdy and sure of his superiority over Brugg in all things, the night ended with Glen challenging Brugg to an arm wrestle and being thoroughly defeated. Most of us engaged in dragging him reluctantly from the Inn back to the shop to get some sleep. Not Eligos though. As we were leaving I spotted her disappearing into the labyrinth with Brugg in tow. Most interestingly of all she had changed into her brute form. A wild night is in store for the ogre I think. Still it should secure us a favourable tax rate!