Chapter 23
After the dream visitor banished me back to sleep, I decided to wake myself up. Opening my eyes I saw that all of my companions were still asleep in their tents. It was impossible to tell time in the Underdark, but judging by my only half-rested body I probably had a few hours before dawn. I remained lying on my back staring up at the star-like ceiling of the underground civilisation. So not only does Halsin want me to head to Moonrise Towers but now the Dream Visitor. What will we find there? The Absolute? Mindflayers? Both? More likely we'll find whatever force or people are pulling the strings behind these illithid cultists. But who or what could be powerful enough to take control of a whole colony of mindflayers. A god maybe? If it was, could I be the thing Nicodemus threw Maggie to? There was a connection but I couldn't figure out what it was. Shar was my biggest suspect for Maggie's abductor but… I don't think she's behind the Absolute. Creatures with no souls are of little consequence to a god. And with this 'Netherise magic' involved, could it be a powerful wizard? A practitioner or group of magic users gathering and using artifacts to control the mindflayers? Both were likely explanations. But until I got to Moonrise, I wouldn't know for sure.
I was pulled out of my contemplations by a light squawk. I sat up to see the owlbear cub moving cautiously towards me. The owlbear stared at me with curious eyes. "How did you follow my scent all the way down here?"
The owlbear turned its head sideways in answer and a rumble came from its feathered tummy. I grabbed a piece of meat from my pack and placed it on the ground in front of me. The cub approached it slowly and started eating ravenously. While it ate, I noticed a wound on its left paw, a slash that oozed blood and caused the owlbear to limp slightly as it stepped back after eating. I held my hands out in front of me, calming my body language, "Hey there, little guy. Can I have a look at that?" I said pointing to the wound. The owlbear lifted its paw and let me examine the cut. It wasn't that bad but without treatment, it could be crippling to a cub. I grabbed some bandages and disinfectant from my pack, dressing the owlbear's wounds. After I was done the cub tested his weight on the leg and hooted its satisfaction with my care. I smiled at the young animal, "How did you end up with that in the first place?"
The cub started bounding and standing on its hind legs, seemingly mimicking a battle with another creature.
I chuckled, "Well, did you win?"
The owlbear hooted sadly and bowed its head.
"Hmm, well we got some food to share, why don't you stick around," I asked reaching my hand towards it to see if I could give starches.
The owlbear hooted happily and accepted my pets with enthusiasm.
"Alright then. We gotta give you a name, how about… Bearfeather." The owlbear hooted satisfactorily at its new name.
"Careful. Once those it's eaten through the camp. It'll start looking at you hungrily." Shadowheart warned now awake.
"I'm sure he'll be fine. He'll be a good boy, and we got a druid to look after him besides." I said starching Bearfeather behind his ears again.
Despite her rolling eyes, Shadowheart quickly joined me in greeting our new beaky companion.
Once the others woke up, and Halsin assured everyone Bearfeather would be a safe addition to our camp, we set off towards the dock. I brought along Halsin and the main three, and all got on the Duergar vessel with me trying to sail the oversized raft with an oar built into the top of the vessel.
About ten minutes went by before we heard another vessel approaching. It was the same as ours and crewed by more Duergar. "Human! What are you doing on Gekh's raft?" A balding silver-bearded Dueragar asked as he signalled his crew to board our vessel. "Where's Gekh? Who are you?" The bearded Duergar questioned hopping onto our raft.
I pulled the shoes the gnome woman gave me out of my pack, "Absolute cobblers, retrieval and repair. At your service." I announced.
A half smile appeared on the Duergar's face, "Heh… didn't know you True Soul types could have a sense of humour. So, you've got 'em then. Good, the sergeant's been whining non-stop. What about Gekh where's he at?"
"Scouting the shore for more runaways, told us to go ahead of him." I lied.
"Bloody gnome slaves. They've been useless lately. We've gotten more work out of the rothe." The Duergar complained. "Right we better guide you through, sergeant's gonna wanna see you."
And so, the duergar guided us to the entrance to the Sharran base. The path to the entrance was guided by statues of a robed woman, arms crossed in an x-shape holding curved blades in her hands. The statue had a mask on its face that covered its eyes. The reverent stare from Shadowheart told me what I needed to know, they were statues of Shar, Lady of Loss. The entrance was a massive water gate that opened upwards to let us sail into the base. We arrived at a dock and were greeted by three more Duergar's, "You shithead- time you showed up. We got trouble." A female Duergar with a bald head and brown leather armour greeted.
"Spit it out. Sergeant finally choked on True Soul Nere's prick?" Our guide answered sarcastically
"Drugh no. The Twat-Soul caused a rockfall. Trapped tighter than a ring on a fat finger."
"You're shitting me. He pay up."
"That's the trouble-he's got the gold on him. Sergants arms falling off with all the gnome slaves she's beating." The Duergar woman turned her attention to me, "How's the hoon, Greymon- another slave for the dig?"
I could feel Karlach's rage as she stared at the slavers. A deep and more blazing anger than any that came before. I reached into her mind, "Karlach stop! Go off now and we won't be able to help the slaves. We need to know how many dwrves are here and what they want." She didn't calm but she didn't attack the Duergar either.
"We are True Souls. We have had the grace to return your sergeant's boots. So I suggest showing us some respect before we become… less generous." I warned the Duergar, feeding the line with my own anger towards the slaving bastards.
"That so? I… nngh…" I felt the slightest of stirrings in my head. The Duergar is not infected, yet our minds still resonated. "I'll be. You ain't shitting. Felt that tingle." The Duergar woman said pointing to her temple. "Your Twat-Soul chum owes us a load of coin. You want through? Make a donation."
"We will not be bargaining with the like of you. Slaving Underdark abomination." Halsin spat the advantages of the tadpole unable to help me curb his outrage.
"Unclog your hole- just shitting around. But I'm warning you- that Twat-Soul ain't settle up soon, there'll be hell to pay for the lot of you cult buggers" The Duergar woman warned as she, our guide and the others left us be.
I turned to Halsin when they were out of earshot, "You do know the basic rules of an infiltration mission right? For example, don't directly antagonise the enemy until it is absolutely necessary."
Halsin stared me down, "I can't just stand by while these… monsters spit on the lives of their captives and insult the natural order." Halsin growled.
"We aren't just standing by, but we need to be smart about how we play this or everyone is going to die. No going off on anyone until I give the signal, or you can head back to camp now." I said matching the druid's stare.
"Very well. But be quick about it. I don't know how long I can hold my instincts." Halsin said.
I nodded in acknowledgement, and we continued. The base was a testament to what I expected when I heard the title, Goddess of the Dark. It was built with polished black stone and covered wall-to-wall with Sharran imagery and statues. And despite the broken and dilapidated condition of the structure, a sense of foreboding emptiness still filled the space, even as we moved into what looked like the main hall which was filled with Duergar. The room was more broken than the hall, the floor was only half standing, and the rest was presumably melted down in the lava pit that flowed from beyond the obelisks depicting Shar and her followers. The space was filled with Duergar, talking. working and trading, and at the very end was a group of gnome slaves, bashing a ton of rock that blocked an entrance with pickaxes, presumably the entrance Nere caved in. Watching over the slaves was an immaculately dressed Duergar woman with short silver hair. The only thing missing from her ensemble was shoes as she walked around giving orders and threats to the slaves barefoot.
I walked up to the Sergeant who turned to me annoyed, "What now?"
I presented her with the boots, "Gekh said you were looking for these." I said with a cordial smile.
"Thought I'd never see these back. Nasty sneak gave even Gekh the slip." The Sergeant then clapped her hands and the gnome slave quickly put the boots on for her, "Crafty little shits these ones. Need a stiff cane to keep them in line." The Sergeant said as she kicked the slave away. "Now move- I've got no time for…" The parasite stirred, but it was merely a tickle. I heard no voices or memories, just an echo of scars that never healed. "A True Soul eh? Useless rakkah of a lookout could've told me. Glad you're here to take responsibility. Tunnels collapsed, trapped True Soul Nere. He's trapped in there with poisoned geysers. We don't get him out soon, it's both our heads."
"Trust me, the only head that concerns me is Nere's." I said with a silent smirk, "How'd he get trapped?"
"Place is older than bone dust. Previous tenants left a trap- dropped a shit-tonne of metal once we'd dug a ways in. Get Nere out and you'll have the Absolute's blessing, no doubting that."
"What were you digging for?"
"Entrance to an ancient temple. General's orders, Nere said. Must contain somethin' important. He got me to recruit non-believers. But not everyone is seeing the Absolute's truth. They don't get paid soon, I'll have a riot on my hands."
Sooo. There's some problems in the hired labour force. If I can get the Duergar to turn on the Sergeant and Nere, this might be a slightly less suicidal mission than I first assumed, "I'll take care of it. No True Soul left behind and all that."
The Sergeant gave a nod of thanks, and I moved closer to the gnome slaves. I recognised one of them, it was Barcus Wroot the gnome I saved from the flight-enthused goblins. I walked up to the sweating gnome and he jumped in surprise, "Ah it's you. The mascot of my ill fortunes."
"What are you doing down here?" I asked
"I came down here looking for Wulbren- I suspected he and his little friends might've come to this region, and I was right. But I was too late. Wulbren had already been taken to Moonrise Towers. The rest were put to work. You won't find a worse gaggle of rare-do-wells than these 'Ironhand gnomes' except for Wulbren, desperate as his taste in companions might be. As I was contemplating his folly, I was spotted by a very ugly Duergar. Now, I dig. It isn't looking good."
"Barcus listen…" I said whispering, "I'm getting you and the other gnomes out of here, but I need to get the True Soul out from the rubble first. Any ideas?"
Barcus looked at me hopefully, "I overheard the gnomes to my right talking about smokepowder. Get them to tell you where it is, and this rubble will blast right open." Barcus whispered.
I nodded and headed to the gnomes Barcus suggested who were arguing in whispers. I listened in carefully over the clanking of pickaxes and churning of lava. "We'll never get through we need that smoke powder." The male gnome said to the female gnome.
"Philomeen's gone. And if she's smart, she's not coming back." The gnome woman spat silently.
"Tell the sergeant where she went- Beldron's still trapped with that maniac Nere!" The gnome man demanded desperately.
"Forget the smokepowder! They'd kill Phil on the spot. I won't let that happen."
I walked closer to the gnomes, "I'm a friend. Your speedy boot-snatcher buddy sent me." I said whispering.
"Glittering gods- Thulla actually survived?" the gnome woman said.
"Praise Ironhand! Laridda- our prayers are answered." The gnome man said ecstatic. "Sir- our friends are trapped in the cave-in. And I know a way to get them out."
"Bug, please. True Soul Nere will- you know what he'll do." The gnome woman warned.
"I'll take care of the silver-haired bastard. Just tell me how to get through the rocks so I can get your friends out." I assured them.
"Lunkbug don't." The gnome female pleaded
"I've got to Laridda. We have to chance it. A few days back, there was a scene. Our friend Philomeen, she's a sapper. Set off a blast and ran off. We set a spot for hiding if someone found trouble. I'll mark it on your map." And the gnome man marked the location. "If Philomeen made it, you'll find her there. She'll have the stuff to blow the tunned wide open and get Beldron and the rest out."
"I'll find her and get you all out. You have my word." I said
"Just… please don't hurt Phil." The gnome woman pleaded.
"I'm getting everyone out. Philomeen included." I assured her.
After an affirming nod from Laridda, we left. I decided to explore the area before going after Philomeen, to case the area when we inevitably had to fight our way out of this place. We initially went left of the entrance to the main hall in which we saw about two more patrols of about four duergar each.
"Big crew they got here, I've clocked about fifteen of them thus far. If it came down to a fight, I'm not sure of our chances. Especially if we're protecting the gnomes on top of that." I said to the group whispering.
"You're not suggesting we leave the gnomes to these monsters, are you?" Halsin asked in a harsher whisper.
"Of course not. But we need to be smart about it. Nere has to die, Sergeant too. They're the Duergar's only line to the cult. Once they're gone we're dealing with a bunch of mercenaries. Mercenaries can be reasoned with." I responded.
"The Duergar do seem rather upset about not being paid. Perhaps we can convince the more frugal-minded of them to turn on Nere and the Sergeant." Shadowheart suggested.
"My thoughts exactly," I responded
"Our guide, Greymon he seemed especially irritated with the Sergeant. Perhaps start with him." Gale added.
"All well and good but first we must find Philomeen and release the gnomes and Nere." Halsin interrupted.
"And we will, after I've finished casing the joint. We walk into this fight blind, and we might as well kill the gnomes ourselves." I said irritation creeping into my voice as I nearly tripped on something on the ground.
Looking down I saw it was a skeleton. The dust-covered bones were draped in dark armour and looking to the right of them, there was another skeleton in the same plate. The armour was worn and slightly damaged but I could clearly see the black plate that covered similarly coloured cloth. The shoulders were also covered and made in a triangular style that had the edges stocking upward off the metal. This style was mirrored on the chest plate as the symbol was an upside-down triangle with lines coming out the top of it. The same symbol on Shadowheart's armour. The symbol of Shar.
Shadowheart's eyes widened when she got a closer look at the corpses. "Dark Justiciar uniforms… these were Shar worshippers- same as me."
"Must have been hit hard by something nasty, given the state of this place," Karlach said gesturing to the collapsed wall just a few steps behind us.
"Yeah, let's get this done and get out of here some. Whatever took these guys out might still be hanging around." I concurred
"Wait," Shadowheart said lightly grabbing my arm.
"What's up?" I asked concerned.
"Seeing these remains. Reminded me of something. I need to talk to you about something important."
"Well, don't keep me in suspense."
"I could have died in that pod, back on the nautiloid. You could have died, spending precious moments trying to free me, but you did it anyway. I owe you my life. I'm trying to say that you've earned my trust in a way very few ever have. I want that to mean something." Shadowheart said seriously.
"A pair of skeletons reminded you how much ya trust me? I'm both flattered and a little creeped out." I said jokingly.
Shadowheart gave me an irritated look and whacked me on the shoulder, "No, you dolt. The remains reminded me of what I need to talk to you about." Shadowheart said, her annoyance dissipating as she drew in a breath to continue speaking. "As long as I've prayed to Lady Shar, I've wished to serve her as a Dark Justiciar. There is scarcely a greater way to fully dedicate yourself to Lady Shar- save perhaps becoming head of her church. To become a Dark Justiciar is to become the Nightlinger's sword arm- her implement with which she will cast down the unbelievers and win the final battle to restore her perfect, endless darkness… It's all I've ever wanted. I prayed it would be my calling. But Mother forbid me from seeking to prove myself of the rank. She said I was not ready. Not my mother-mother, I should add. The Mother Superior. Head of Lady Shars enclave in Baldurs Gate. Sometimes I wonder if she would ever deem me ready. I owe her everything, and I only wish to serve, yet she can prove… inscrutable."
The more I heard about Shar and her followers. The more I'm convinced she and Nicodemus are bunkmates in whatever plan the Denarian cooked up. But I kept that worry off my face, Shadowheart just shared a lot with me, and it wasn't easy for her. I couldn't call myself her friend if I belittled her passion out of unconfirmed suspicion of her deity.
"Why keep this ambition a secret? As devoted as you are, I thought you'd be shouting your goals to mountain tops." I said a chuckle in my tone to mask my worry.
"Dark Justiciars are hated by many- judged to be ruthless fanatics. Even the few who would accept a follower of Lady Shar would likely baulk at a Justicar in their midst. But there's a simpler answer to your question. I simply forgot about the desire I had, until I saw the remains. Now I can't get it out of my mind."
"Thanks for sharing, Shadow. I know it isn't easy for you."
"Usually, you'd be right. But it's easier with you with every passing moment." She said smiling at me
I smiled back taking the moment in before shaking it off and getting back to business. We continued forward until Halsin stopped and said he heard something. We followed him until we saw a group of Duergar whipping a large animal, trying to get them to smash a collapsed wall. The animals looked like muscular rams, if they were the size of cows and had horns as hard as steel.
"Damn, rothe!" One of the deep dwarves cursed shaking a spiked whip, he turned around and noticed us standing there. "That rubble needs clearing, and my patience is hanging on by an arse whisker. See if you can beat some sense into them." The Duergar demanded handing me the weapon.
I could see Halsin's fury bubbling up, but before I could even glare at him, he'd stepped in front of me and spoke to the beast master in a surprisingly friendly tone. "Good sir. I am a druid, formerly Silvanas' best. By the light of the Absolute, I will get these beasts to comply."
"Whatever. Just get the blubber balls to do their jobs." The Duergar beast master spat.
Halsin took a calming breath and began speaking to the rothe. No words came out of his mouth, only a modulated impression of the animals' grunts and mules. Halsin then turned to the Duergar crowd and said, "The rothe said they'll clear the path if you all step back and get into a line over to the left of them." Halsin said
"What?" The Duergar beast master said.
"You heard me. The rothe feel crowded. They're large beasts after all. Do as they ask or no amount of beating will get them to comply."
The Duergar gave Halsin a suspicious stare, but he remained steadfast. The beastmaster rolled his eyes and did as Halsin instructed. When they were lined up as suggested Halsin gave me a look pointing me towards the Duergar.
Looking at the deep dwarves, I finally noticed what was behind them. Like every other room, the walls and floors we were standing on were in disrepair. This room in particular was now overlooking a chasm, straight down into lava. I pointed my staff at the perfectly positioned Duergar and cast, "Fozare!" A blast of force hit the slavers and they went flying off the edge. The rothe bowed their heads to Halsin, then to me and bashed their horns into the rock of the collapsed wall until the way was clear.
As the rothe left, Gale picked up a piece of the rubble and examined it. Looking over his shoulder I saw the rubble glowed with a blue and metallic shine. "There are specks of adamantine in this rubble?" Gale said pondering.
"We must be close to that forge the drow guy was searching for," Karlach said excitedly. "We should go looking for it. Could get some choice armour out of it."
I considered the option. We should probably focus on getting the gnomes out as soon as possible. But… if the amour made by this 'Adamantine Forge' was as powerful as the drow man seemed to think. It might be the edge we need to get us and gnomes out of here alive.
"Alright, let's get searching for some ancient forge. Onwards explorers!" I said in my best goofy British explorer voice.
We continued through the opened passage and moved to the opened doorway on the right. Walking through, we saw that we were on a sort of long balcony that overlooked the rest of the structure. As we continued we found a straight passageway that led to a ladder down at the halfway point and a locked gate at the end. Before we could continue through, I stopped my party and put my hand out in front of me. I focused my will and cast with a whisper, "Ventas Reductas" The small wind picked up the dust that covered the floor and I saw the trail slip under various ridges in the ground.
"Traps." Karlach spat.
"Yep. Everyone watch where they step." I confirmed
So, we walked carefully forward, avoiding the ridges and plates on the floor until we were all down the ladder at the halfway point. At the bottom, we found a platform suspended above in the air by chains, with a switch next to it on a pedestal. I walked up to the switch and pulled it, the platform moved to the other side of a great drop down to the ground level. I pulled the switch again and it returned, so we all jumped onto the platform, I sent a light blast of air to the switch, and it moved the platform forward. Indiana Jones, meet wizard Dresden.
After the platform moved us to the other side of the chasm, we moved to the right and found and large drop that led to another area. Looking at the area, the lava that flowed throughout the Sharran base, seemed to be pumped into pipes that were seen through metal grates. This had to be the forge. I nodded to Gale, and he cast the feather fall spell and jumped down to the metal ground. Looking around there were a few broken tables around the area, an elevated stage with a rope ladder on the far right of us and a large metal door. Walking towards the elevated platform, Karlach picked up a metallic rectangular shape with rounded edges. The object was a grey metallic colour with a glowing blue circle in the middle. Gale looked over Karlach's shoulder and gave a curious hum.
"That must be a mould for the forge. Pass it over." Gale asked as Karlach carefully placed the mould in Gale's hands, "Ahh, this has a magical signature, the forge instructions can only be accessed through arcana." Gale moved his hand over the mould and his hand, his eyes closed in concentration. "The mould is for a 'Scale Mail Armour' an armour that provides similar protection as heavy armour but allows the wearer to move around uninhibited."
"Oh, hell yes! That's perfect." Karlach said with almost schoolgirl-like excitement.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We need to find some Mithral ore and get it and the mould into the forge." Gale said
"I should be able to help with that. Gale you still got the adamantine flecks from the collapsed wall." Gale nodded and handed me the flecks of glowing metal. I focused my will on the flecks and used a tracking spell to find its ore component. Usually, this sort of tracking spell wouldn't work. It's not like I could use a tracking spell on a metal rod and find the mountain the ore was mined from. But due to the magical nature of the armours I was able to isolate the magical properties of the ore the Adamantine was made from. Following the spell we were faced with a river of lava. On the other side of the flaming river was a chunk of ore sticking out of a stone floor.
"Well, this could be a problem," I said deadpan.
"I could walk across the lava without getting hurt," Karlach said.
"Are your clothes lava-proof?" I asked.
"Ummm, no I don't think so," Karlach said rethinking her decision.
"Thought not. Gale, Shadow. Got anything for this?" I asked.
Before either caster could answer Halsin raised his hand and said, "I believe I could be of assistance." And Halsin body shifted and changed into an ethereal being made of air and metal armour. Halsin then floated over the lava river and smashed a chunk out of the ore with a sparking mace. Floating back over he dropped the ore into Gale's hands and transformed back.
"Not bad. What kind of animal was that? It looked more like a wind spirit than a naturally occurring being." I commented, curious about how druidic magic worked in this world.
"It's true that Air Myrmidons are more on the spirit side than animal. But all myrmidons are elemental creatures, so they are connected to nature thus any druid with enough skill can shift into them." Halsin explained.
"Interesting, I got a wizard associate who specialised in shifting into animals. He has a connection to the land but he's not quite a druid." I said remembering Injun Joe's beat down of the Naagloshii.
"Ah, well that's charming. Does he draw some power from Silvanus? I've known a few wizards who mastered wild shape through studying Silvanus texts." Halsin asked.
"I don't know him enough to ask about his religion." I commented hastily to end this line of questioning.
"Gentlemen I believe we should be on our way. This armour isn't going make itself." Gale interrupted.
We tabled the subject and followed Gale to large metal door. As he opened it, I could feel a gust of warm wind hit us. Looking down I saw a staircase down to a massive forge. It was made of one oversized smelter with a mechanical hammer and a metal box next to it. We walked down to the forge and Gale instructed us to place the mithral ore into the smelter and the mould into the metal box. After doing this we found a lever, and when I pulled it, the hammer slammed down with large and satisfying clang. As the ringing in my ears faded, I noticed the floor began to lower itself down until we connected to a metal grate and a metal wheel.
"We need to split up. One of us needs to stay at the lever to pull it once the lava pours through the grate. After that happens only the slightly elevated parts of the floor will be safe."
We nodded in acknowledgement, and I volunteered to stay at the lever. Everyone else stayed near the wheel as Karlach pulled it in a groaning circular motion. The lava poured out of the metal grate covering every surface, except for the smelter, metal box and a few elevated platforms. Suddenly we heard a deep modulated groan, and the metal grate was bashed off its hinges.
Out of the flowing lava came a twelve-foot behemoth of metal and fire. The robot was made of dark metal and where that metal didn't cover, it had a core of pure blazing heat. Panicked I pointed my staff at the metallic creature, "Hexus!" I cast, and there was no effect. I looked at my staff in defeated annoyance, "Oh come on! Giant robot! This is your whole thing man!"
The metal behemoth roared a deep bellow as it stepped slowly towards me. Karlach raged and jumped into the lava charging at the robot. Karlach blazed with uncontrollable fire, superheating her axe. She swung the glowing weapon at the creature, and it didn't even dent the metal. The robot suddenly turned around and focused it's attack on Karlach. It swung its massive hand at Karlach and jettisoned her across the room and she slammed against the metal wall a horrifying crack. The others were throwing goats of fire, light and lightning at the robot, all of it had no effect on the behemoth. Before the indestructible metal giant could reach my friends, I fired a lance of pure force at its back, and there was a slight dent in the creature's shoulder.
My mind worked furiously. The creature was weak to force attacks, but mine are too weak to destroy it outright. The thing only attacks one at a time and is too large to move fast. I stared past the approaching monster and focused on the hammer above the smelter.
"Get it under the hammer!" I yelled at my companions.
Halsin responded by shifting into a bird, that pecked at the behemoths massive head. The behemoth followed the bird's trail as he dodged past the robot's smashing fists. Finally, the creature was under the hammer, and I pulled the lever. The hammer came down and crushed the metallic monster like a beer can. The lava was then sucked back out of the forge and the metal box opened to reveal a blue and silver armour. As the lava left we found Karalach lying on the ground unconscious. Shadowheart ran over to the burning tiefling and healed her head wound and handed her casual clothes to her as her battle wear was burnt in the lava.
Karlach walked over to the armour and stared at it with smiling awe. She put the armour on over her clothes, and I got a good look at the torso protection. The armour was coloured blue and silver with triangular shape designs worked into the front of it and metal pads covering the shoulders and arms of the armour.
"Now this feels good." Karlach cooed as she slammed her fist on her chest causing a metallic sound.
"Hope it was worth it. Cause I can't feel any other sources of ore around here, so that's all we got." I breathed.
Karlach's smile faded slightly as she said, "Sorry guys. Thought this would be a more useful trip."
I gave an assuring smile, "No problem fire girl. I always wanted to kill something with a Looney Tunes gag."
Karlach looked confused but before she could question my reference Halsin changed back into his natural form, "We should be going. We need to get the gnome out as soon as possible."
We nodded in agreement, and I signalled Gale to teleport us back to the Duergar base.