Ladrengielle – blogpost 15

After our short rest, we need to return to Wyllow with the good news. We have defeated the Cloakers and Wyllow is happy with that. In return, we ask for information about the red ruby dagger. She thinks the Green Dragon has seen it; he has a big ward somewhere in the west (when we follow the destroyed bridge we’ll get there, it’s near a convent). The name of the Green Dragon is Valdemar. Wyllow says that we need to respect the dragon, if not, he’ll attack us without a doubt. We decide to go and talk to Valdemar to locate the dagger.

On our way to the dragon, we come across some caves and piles of bones inside. There are still bodies there as well, rotting away in a corner. There really are many caves with bodies: it seems like a burial site. Pethar thinks the bodies have something to do with the cult in the convent Wyllow told us about. We walk southward and see the road is steep down. We end at a wrecked door with claw markings on the sides. I listen at a door but Farryn just opens it. Luckily, there is no one behind it. Behind another door, I hear some sounds and see some Duergarr inspecting the walls. We have to sneak past them, but Farryn and Pethar seem not to try at all! The Duergarr do not notice us, and we reach the other side of the hallway. We enter a room that seems to glow from all the quartz in the walls. The door is engraved with a mountain and a gem. I hear talking and echoing – so it seems like we are about to enter a large space. I hear wings clapping as well: it sounds like a Cloaker. I warn the others and cast invisibility on myself to not get noticed.

Farryn sends Takwin inside and lets the door ajar. We can see many Duergarr and a Cloaker – I don’t think that was all… We decide to enter the room. It is a great hall with many pillars to the ceiling and an altar in the back facing a big black door. We immediately spot a female Duergarr with a golden harness and walk up to her. Farryn talks to her and makes up some stupid story about a necklace. Her name is Skella and she asks us if we want to earn some money: we have to kill the giant Clay Golem that’s praying at the altar. Some dead Duergarr lie around him, and no one dears to approach. The Golem fucked up the Duergarrs’ investigations here, the Duergarr have made house here in this dwarven temple and the whole level, which they call the ‘lost level’. The Cloakers work for them, and they won’t hurt us if we do this for Skella. She will grant us free passage and information about other levels of Undermountain, as long as we kill the Golem. She also says something about a magical sword Valdemar has in his possession, but I’m already more than interested and attack the Golem. I don’t get any damage in the whole fight because of my invisibility, even when I’m attacking in melee – the Golem is so stupid he cannot understand someone is fighting him he cannot see. Eventually, I kill the Golem with chill touch. Pethar is heavily damaged but nevertheless goes talk to Skella after the fight.

Skella tells Pethar everything we need to know – he gets a metal insignia with the symbol of Dumathoin: it will grant us passage in the whole level. She points us in the direction of the dragon, we totally misunderstood the directions Wyllow gave us. The dragon has a magical sword stuck in its skull to communicate with Wyllow so we need to be careful. She also tells us that behind the black door there is a treasury of a dwarven king. The door is really thick with some runes engraved on the door that I can’t read. I touch the door to cast comprehend languages. I can read the ruins now:

“It is the will of the Keeper of Secrets under the mountain that only the hand of the King may open these doors. Let all who enter gaze upon the heart of Melairbode and know the true power of dwarven kind!”

Before I realize it, a spectral hand has appeared above me and slams down on me. I’m not invisible anymore and run for my life across the room to catch up to the rest of the party – I stayed behind for a bit to investigate the door.

It takes a while to run outside to the forest again and to defeat the spectral hand, but eventually, it works out. We walked into the wrong room but did not encounter any enemies. We do steal some statues I put in my bag of holding. Firstly, we walk back to Wyllow to take a rest and ask if she can heal us. She can, but cannot fix Pethars’ problem. He looks pretty weakened. He just keeps saying everything in his body hurts, but I can’t figure out what’s wrong with him.

We want to find Valdemar to get the dagger and now make it to his lair, thanks to the directions Skella gave us. Inside a small house with a high roof that is half covered, half demolished, we find a large green dragon. We all present a gem or treasure. He accepts and asks why we’ve come here. I see the shiny heft of a large sword sticking out of his head and start thinking about how I can get it. Pethar says that Wyllow sent us to ask for information about the red ruby dagger. The dragon does not feel evil, but I don’t feel comfortable in his presence. He tells us that the dagger was stolen by a female Duergarr with golden armor. SKELLA. Internally, I smack myself in the face. Stupid! We just met her! The dagger apparently helps to achieve richness: Valdemar got it from an adventurer that was dying. He wants to protect the forest from the Duergarr: he hates those creatures. Pethar wants us to work together: we need to get Skella to the dragon to get the dagger and get his revenge…