September 7, 1372
The
next morning, as you are finishing your breakfast, you see a troop of
creatures approaching you through the trees. There are about a score of
them, of roughly human or demi-human form, though short of stature.
They are clad in gleaming armour and wear great helmets atop their
heads.
"Those ain't oompa-loompas," says Trinity.
Malvis frowns, shrugs his shoulders, and says, "I'm so disappointed. I
was hoping to see some of them. Well, whatever these people are,
let's ask them if they know an archmage."
"Wait. Niko, let me borrow your invisibility ring, please.
I will go out to meet them. If things do not go well and I am
attacked or you see me draw my swords, drop a few fireballs on
them. If I need to escape after that, well at least I have the
invisibility ring."
"Excuse me," Dor interrupts. "They already see you, so going invisible
might be like an act of war or something. Why don't we just speak to
them and see what they want? Perhaps we are on their land."
"The ring is in case I need to escape from them. And I will go speak with them. The rest of you will stay here."
Niko takes off his ring of invisibility and hands it to Kadlian, "OK,
but if you manage to grab a pair of trousers from one of them, I have
dibs on them!"
"Agreed." He slips the ring on his finger but does not activate the invisibility.
Kadlian steps out from the trees and heads towards the humanoids, his hands held out away from his weapons.
He approaches within a dozen feet and then greets them in Common.
"Greeting, I am Kadlian Lun'Folard of Aldacan. Who are you and what is the name of this place?"
The people are quite close by this time, so you can all see and hear what transpires.
They are dwarf-warriors, clad in full plate armour of gleaming mithril
with matching shields. They carry battle axes in cases. and wear ornate
great helmets. Upon their breastplates and shields are the sigil of two
crossed battle axes. You have seen that symbol before.
They halt, and inspect you all. One of them steps forward.
"Our lord commands you to attend an audience with him," he says, making
a slight motion with his head in the direction of the great fortress
that you saw earlier.
Galil shrugs.
"This can't be good," she says grimly, exhaling slowly and watching Lord Kadlian to see if he will do as they request.
Malvis smiles, and says, "Followers of the major dwarven god of good can't be that bad. Let's see what they want."
Kadlian nods. "Could you tell me your lord's name and the name of this land?"
The dwarf nods.
"Clanggedin Silverbeard. This is his land: Arcadia."
Kadlian smiles. "Then we are indeed fortunate. One of our
good friends, Hlarn Meg, is a cleric of Silverbeard's. We were
actually exploring the tower where he was located before a series of
events brought us here.
"Very well, Sir Dwarf. Lead on. Folks, something has gone
right. Silverbeard is a good dwarven god. Perhaps he will help us
get back home."
"I have to change!"
Kailar starts rummaging through his packs looking for his Elvis suit.
Niko snorts and whispers to Dor, "Yeah, but I bet it'll cost us a pretty penny!"
Dor considers for a moment.
"You know Niko, I am not sure any pennies are very pretty. But I have
seen some really gorgeous gold pieces. One had a picture of a beautiful
lady on one side. Now that's a pretty sight."
Galil nods in agreement, "But don't forget that free is worth what you pay for it."
You quickly gather up your goods and set off with the dwarves leading.
Soon you emerge from the forest close by where you originally entered
it, and head across the fields and pastures, making for the enormous
mountain fortress.
It is a long day's march to get there.
As you get closer you encounter other groups of dwarves, either walking
along the roads that delineate the farmland or working in the fields.
They wave politely. Your escorts say little.
As you approach the fortress you are amazed at its size and bulk. A
mountain has literally been taken and reshaped into a giant stronghold
reaching tens of thousands of feet in height and covering scores of
square miles of area. Battlement upon battlement, rampart upon rampart,
it reaches for the heavens.
At last you come to the main gate. It consists of two enormous valves
of mithril, hundreds of feet wide and a thousand feet tall. They stand
open for you, and a legion of dwarf warriors present arms as you pass.
Inside, you walk down a broad concourse lined with soldiers, and
eventually turn off into a narrower passage. Eventually you are led
into a small chamber with a number of doors leading off of it. The
place is furnished as a common room, with ornate chairs and tables. The
side doors, you soon learn, open into bedroom suites, each comfortably
furnished and each with its own commode and bath. There is a suite for
each of you.
You clean yourselves up, and discover that a change of clothes has been laid out for each for you. Niko is overjoyed.
When you emerge from your suites you see that the main chamber has been
laid out for dinner. You are seated, and dwarven servants bring you
wine, beer and spirits, followed by appetizers of fresh breads, fruits
and sweetmeats. The main course is a creature resembling a giant boar,
roasted to a turn and served on a giant platter adorned with roasted
vegetables...many of which you have never seen before. There is more
beer and wine. The feast is superb. For dessert you are served cakes
and fresh fruits, and finally liqueurs and coffee in tiny cups.
After that repast you are all exhausted, and retire for the night.